Chapter VI

Hidden Rain Arc II

As his genin team trained in the fields, Minato took the time to stretch and yawn as he relaxed on the small tree branch that he was lounging in. Being sent to the frontlines so often against Iwa and their invasion of the Land of Fire, and the constant need to look after his team and of course, the need to balance his own life was a tiring and thankless job. When people looked at him, they saw the great Yellow Flash of Konoha but didn't see the tired man behind the calm and collected mask. Letting his spiky blonde hair fall to the side as he fully leaned back on the rough bark of the tree, Minato's blue eyes looked heavenward as he recalled the conversation that he had with the Hokage that morning.

"Kushina's cousin has been sent to Ame. He is being monitored. You need not worry about any threat from him to Kushina however. I do think he is sincere in his wish to protect her."

Perhaps what the Third Hokage told him was true. It was most probably true, Minato acknowledged grudgingly. Still, as an orphan who had risen through the ranks in Konoha through sheer determination, grit, and hard work (and yes, he was talented but Minato firmly subscribed to the belief that talent without hard work was worth nothing), Minato did not trust easily. He especially did not like the convenience of missing family members popping out of the woodwork after more than a decade. Kushina was dear to Minato's heart, and he would not have anyone, even another Uzumaki, hurt her. Especially another Uzumaki, considering how high an esteem Kushina seemed to have placed her newfound cousin. 'The optimist in me sincerely wishes to believe that I have found a strong and trustworthy future cousin brother-in-law. But the realist in me ponders about his sudden appearance. Despite clearing Inoichi's test, we still don't know his past. Tch, I don't like this situation at all.'

Still, Minato couldn't deny that Naruto was strong and had style. The inner author in him – hey, having Jiraiya as a teacher had made him a bit of a literature connoisseur! – had approved of the banter between himself and Minato. The You are no longer god. I am. Phrase that Naruto had proclaimed went hard. Honestly, if it had been Minato, he would have added more of a flair to it, but still, breaking the original line would be something akin to blasphemy. And he was strong. Very strong. Minato had held back considerably during the fight, but then, so had Naruto. Neither of them was aiming to kill or injure permanently, and both of them were trying to give a show for the sake of the examination fight's audience. Minato narrowed his eyes as he considered the hypothetical possibility of fighting Naruto with nothing held back. Considering the damaged state of the fighting arena and the hefty bill that had been sent to his bank account, Minato shuddered at the sheer hypothetical scale of destruction that would emerge as a result of that fight.

"What's got your panties in a twist?" Came his sensei's cheery voice. Minato inclined his head, acknowledging his sensei as Jiraiya's body flickered in front of him, his wild and spiky white mane announcing his entrance grandly. "Still thinking about that fight, Minato?"

"Yeah." Minato nodded slightly as he kept his eyes trained on Kakashi, who was exchanging practice blows with Obito and Rin in the training field below. "He's been sent to Ame with a squad. Something about flushing out enemy spy cells in the region without getting Hanzo involved."

"Ame huh?" Jiraiya reminisced, placing his hands on his waistline. Minato had barely been a genin when the Second Great Shinobi War had ended. It had consumed the entirety of the Great Nations, and the death toll had been incredibly high. But everyone knew about the tripartite Invasion of the Land of Wetlands. As Suna, Iwa, and Konoha invaded Ame, Hanzo sent all three of the invasions running back. Jiraiya had earned his title as Sannin in those bloody days. "I still wonder what those three are up to. I haven't heard of them in a long while."

"You mean the three orphans you taught during the war?" Minato asked lightly, trying to keep the slight tinge of jealousy out of his voice. It was childish of him, he knew but still. 'He practically raised those three kids! He taught me, but he didn't do that with me! To me, I'm just his student. His most favored and loved student yes, but those three are like his own children.'

"Yeah. Nagato, Konan and Yahiko." Jiraiya murmured as he placed an inquisitive finger on his chin. "I haven't been sent on a mission to Ame in ages. Would have loved to catch up with those three. Anyway, so Kushina's new cousin is there huh? Well, at least we know that he can handle himself in a fight if Hanzo gets involved."

"He can handle himself, yes," Minato grumbled, still put out with the fight. "Sensei is it wrong of me to want him to stay away from Kushina?"

"Well, the Uzumaki weren't believers in keeping the bloodline pure. So he wouldn't pursue a cousin marriage, unlike the Uchiha and Hyuga, if that's what you mean." Jiraiya chuckled humorously as Minato coughed uncomfortably at the taboo mental image that was sadly all too present in some of the more pretentious clans all throughout the nations. "More seriously, I know you're wary of the kid, Minato. But honestly, after observing him and speaking with Tsunade he seems to be a good kid."

"Maybe. But he is hiding a secret."

"Kid. We're shinobi. All of us have secrets." Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Shinobi with a refugee background is bound to have secrets. Don't try and angst over it. He passed the Yamanaka's mind walking test. Plus, Sarutobi-Sensei and Tsunade seem to like him. That's enough for me."

'I would like that to be enough for me as well sensei.' Minato thought solemnly. 'But there's something…something about him that unsettles me so much. Something that I am sure will come into the forefront in the future.'

"So you're a sage?" Naori asked curiously as she leaned forward inquisitively, trying to discern Naruto and his comments about natural chakra. Two days after arriving in Takatori, all of them had tried to find information about foreign shinobi from the civilians but had scarce information to show for it. For the moment, all five of them were inside the kitchen of the flat they had rented, getting ready for lunch.

Naruto looked up, his blue eyes twinkling. "Yes. That's how I used natural chakra to sense those two Ame ninjas at the border."

"So which summoning contract do you have for it?" Naori asked, genuinely curious, as she waited calmly for the lunch that Haruka was cooking. 'Only Lord Jiraiya and I think Mr. Namikaze know how to use Sage Mode in the entire village. We Uchiha have the Cat Summoning Contract. I don't know if the Uzumaki have a clan summoning contract though….."

"None." Naruto shrugged as he took the plate of ramen that Haruka placed in front of him with relish. "Hey thanks, Ms. Haruka for making ramen for me on my request!"

Haruka hummed and accepted the gratitude silently as she moved to hand Hizashi the plate of udon that she had prepared for him. Naori blinked as she bit into her rice cakes. "Really? Only Lord Jiraiya and Mr. Namikaze are the only sages I know of other than you. And both of them use the Toad summoning contract for their sage modes according to what I know."

"According to Dad, my grandfather could use Sage Mode with the Monkey Summoning Contract too." Ichigo interrupted the conversation. Having had some street foods in the morning, the Sarutobi wasn't hungry and was just lounging next to the group. "Sasuke Sarutobi was a name feared far and wide during the Warring States Era. Wonder why he didn't learn it himself though."

"Well." Naruto paused before launching into the explanation that was forming in his throat. "Summoning Contracts help a great deal. The space-time link between summon and summoner helps the summoner coordinate the natural chakra that they are pulling into them whilst the summon stabilizes the nature chakra. That's why among the rare examples of those who can use sage mode, some kind of animalistic trait is seen. But it isn't strictly necessary. If you can stabilize and coordinate natural chakra by yourself, you can use sage mode without a summoning contract. The First Hokage used sage mode and he didn't have a contract. All it did was give him some facial tattoos of some kind." 'Besides, I can't use the Toad contract without signing it, can I? I haven't signed it at this time.'

Hizashi looked up from his udon with a glint of fascination in his pupil-less eyes. "You seem to be very knowledgeable about nature chakra and sage mode Mr. Uzumaki. You almost sounded like an academic there."

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck with an embarrassed grin, letting his deep garnet-colored hair fall to his sides. "Well, it's something I'm passionate about yeah, believe it!"

"Mr. Uzumaki." Haruka interrupted the small talk as the insect user and designated chef of the group leaned forward on the kitchen counter. "Despite using subtler methods of interrogation with the civilians, we haven't succeeded in finding an enemy cell. Hizashi's Byakugan cannot go beyond a few miles and my insects can't go beyond a few kilometers away from me either. If it can be done, I believe we should use your sage mode to find an enemy cell."

Naruto took a deep slurp from his ramen as he finished it. Casting a sad look at the finished plate of ramen, Naruto let out a sigh and then turned to Haruka with a smile. "Sure. Give me a second."

Naruto stood up and stood still for a fraction of a second. Immediately, golden markings formed around and underneath Naruto's eyes. A golden dot formed on his forehead which was surrounded by another concentric golden circle. Consciously stopping himself from utilizing his Six Paths Sage Mode, Naruto closed his eyes and two seconds later he opened his eyes. "There are five Iwa shinobi not too far from here. Around 12 kilometers in the northwest direction. If we want to go after them, then I think we should go right now, you know." 'There are six other shinobi there too…Two of those chakra signatures….they feel familiar somehow.'

All of them turned their heads to Naori in askance. Naori for her part was looking at Naruto's sage mode with something akin to awe. The others, perhaps barring Ichigo didn't recognize the rarity and the strength needed to use Sage Mode. The sheer amount of power needed to use Sage Mode just after a second of sitting still. 'He truly wasn't fighting to the best of his abilities against Mr. Namikaze.'

Breaking out of her stupor, Naori nodded to her squad. Without further ado, Team 20 scattered, leaving behind a quiet apartment.

A few minutes later the five of them crept up to the northern mountain crevice. Down in the small mountain pass, Naruto squinted his eyes and forced himself to stay still as he saw the Iwa squad talking to a group of Ame ninjas. Three of whom Naruto recognized. The deep orange hair, the brown hair. That was Yahiko. The blood red hair and the legendary Dojutsu, Nagato. The blue hair and papers swirling around her, that was Konan. The other three shinobi wearing Ame headbands were probably members of the first iteration of the Akatsuki, Naruto deduced. 'It's just my luck. To think I would actually run into these guys!'

In front of the six shinobi was a squad of five Iwa shinobi too. Wearing their typical red robes and flak jackets, the lead Iwa ninja was talking with Yahiko in a low tone. Despite Naruto's attempts to try and listen in, Team 20 was simply too far away to listen in properly. Naori turned to Hizashi who quickly activated his Byakugan. Squinting his eyes he whispered back to Team 20 quietly, having read the lips of the shinobi down in the past. "The orange-haired Ame ninja is trying to negotiate for the Iwa squad's withdrawal back to the Land of Earth. The Iwa Captain isn't considering the offer and is only asking for information about Hanzo in return."

"Why aren't the Ame ninja attacking the Iwa ninja? This is a blatant violation of their neutrality after all." Naori murmured quietly as she looked at the exchange going on below.

"The Iwa Captain," Haruka murmured a hint of emotion in her normally emotionless voice. "I recognize him. That is Natsuchi Kamizuru. He's the second son of the Kamizuru clan head."

Ichigo side-eyed Haruka. "You won't let your personal bias come in the middle of this, Haruka, right? You Aburame have always had a fierce rivalry with the Kamizuru."

"No." Haruka shook her head, her trench coat tightening a bit as her body grew more rigid. "I'm not a rookie to do something like that."

"Ms. Naori." Came Naruto's uncharacteristically soft voice. "Asking permission to engage Iwa cell."

"No!" Came Naori's harsh whispered answer. "Naruto, do you not remember what I told you two days ago? We must be careful about this and more importantly, please follow my lead!"

"I am," Naruto mumbled back as he crouched low, his eyes narrowed at the Iwa group. "But I can feel the Iwa buildup of chakra. They think negotiations have finished, evidently. But, it is your call."

Naori narrowed her eyes at Naruto before turning to the scene developing below her. True to Naruto's word, the Iwa captain struck, sending his bees at the orange-haired Ame ninja. Chaos broke out as fighting broke out between the Iwa and Ame ninjas down below. 'It would be better to simply let the two groups kill each other and we sweep down to clean the remains. But, it would be beneficial to eliminate an Iwa squad and also get some information on Hanzo. We can leverage the fact that we saved them to force them to at least give up some information on Hanzo. If not, well, Ame won't notice another six ninjas missing either.'

Biting her lower lip, Naori made a decision. She nudged Naruto and whispered, "Ok."

Naruto grinned at her happily.

'Snake – Ram – Monkey – Boar – Horse – Tiger.' Naori thought as she went through the hand seals. Putting her left hand on her mouth she inhaled a great deal of air before exhaling flames from her mouth. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu."

By her side, Ichigo went through his own set of hand seals as he blew out a fire dragon. "Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet Jutsu."

Naori watched with some satisfaction as the flame dragon that Ichigo blew out began to circle the fireball she had made, enhancing their own powers before attacking the enemy Iwa cell in front of them. The Uchiha clan was famous for their fire release, but in Naori's opinion, it was the Sarutobi Clan that deserved the title as the best fire release user in all of the Land of Fire. The Uchiha were in some ways held back by their Sharingan, as they specialized in their ocular techniques but ignored other facets of their shinobi growth after awakening their eyes. The Sarutobi on the other hand were known for setting battlefields alight. Sasuke Sarutobi had once been one of the rare few who had overwhelmed Madara Uchiha in fire Jutsu back in the days of the Warring States, after all. Naori turned to her side and saw Naruto getting ready to join in the fray. "Naruto, protect the Ame ninjas!"

"What? I can help!" Naruto shouted back as he batted away some loose kunai thrown at them by the enemy Iwa cell.

"You're the strongest amongst us. You can cover the Ame ninjas in case the Iwa cell breaks through us! Come on!" Naori grunted as she twisted around a kick aimed at her head and punched the offending Iwa nin away from her. Naruto clearly seemed to be put out by the order, but he followed it, jumping in front of the stupefied Ame group as his signature chakra chains erupted from the ground batting away any rogue Kamizuru bee or Iwa ninja from getting too close to them. Haruka was engaging Natsuchi Kamizuru directly as Hizashi sent air palms at the offending Iwa ninjas as well.

"Konoha ninja?!" Natsuchi growled as he slammed his hands on the ground. "So Konoha is meddling in Ame affairs as well! Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullets Jutsu."

Naori observed the bullets that were sent speeding at her as the Iwa ninja's conjured earth dragon growled menacingly. Naori's left eye transformed into her Sharingan as she leaped over the bullets, reacting to the bullets with the help of her Sharingan. To her side, Ichigo growled back and sent a large stream of fire at the enemy earth dragon whilst Haruka leaped up to one of the sides of the mountain pass before sending waves of her chakra bugs at Natsuchi who reacted by opening his arms and sending another wave of chakra bees back as the two insect handlers fought it out. Hizashi also leaped in front of one of the Iwa ninjas, hitting him with a gentle fist right in the heart, making the man's mouth explode in a cascade of blood before crumbling down dead. Naruto kept up his chain defense behind them.

The remaining four Iwa ninjas leaped back, regrouping as they eyed the Konoha ninjas warily. Their leader from the Kamizuru clan eyed Naori, having obviously pegged her as the leader of the squad, impassively turning his eyes to the ground the moment he saw the flicker of red in Naori's left eye. 'Well, at least he isn't an idiot. Only an idiot looks directly into a Sharingan.'

"Formation A." The Iwa ninja murmured silently as they suddenly leaped back into action sending a barrage of kunai and shuriken at them. Naori, Haruka, Hizashi, and Ichigo jumped into the air to avoid the attack as Naruto made another wall of chains erupt from the ground behind them to make sure the offending kunai and shuriken did not injure the Ame ninjas. The kunai and shuriken bounced harmlessly off of Naruto's chains.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough Jutsu." One of the Iwa ninjas intoned silently as a powerful blast of chakra-laced wind raced at them in the air. Caught in the air, Haruka acted quickly, sending a bunch of chakra-eating bugs at the attack whilst Hizashi sent another blast from his air palm. But the attack from the wind release jutsu was coming too fast to dissipate. Down below, another Iwa ninja sent another attack in conjunction. "Fire Release: Phoenix Flames Jutsu."

Ninety degrees behind the four of them, the third Iwa ninja arrived and sent another barrage of Kunai and shuriken at them. From their original position, Natsuchi sent another barrage of bees, this time carrying explosive tags as well. The coordinated attack was well executed, Naori admitted. As the four attacks converged on her, Ichigo, Hizashi, and Haruka who were still mid-air and unable to change their positions, were caught like a deer in headlights.

"Shit," Ichigo murmured as he went through a set of hand seals to counterattack.

Naori shook her head at him. 'He needs to conserve his chakra. I can get us out of this predicament. But after that, I will be worse than useless.'

Her left eye's Sharingan started to rotate, forming a petal formation as Naori activated her Mangekyo Sharingan. Taking a deep breath and expelling her chakra from each chakra point in her body, Naori felt a vague chakra being formed around and her squad still midair. "Susano'o!"

Just as the four attacks of the Iwa ninjas could collide with the Konoha ninja, a bright yellow chakra erupted into being above Naori, deflecting the attacks and protecting Naori and her teammates. Naori put her hand in the tiger seal, trying desperately to maintain the Susano'o ribcage as long as possible. 'I had a hard time maintaining this even with two Mangekyo Sharingan. With only one, it's draining my chakra way too fast! I….can't keep this up!'

The Susano'o dissolved into the air as quickly as it came as Naori became limp, utterly exhausted by the burst of power she had just expelled from her body. Before she and her teammates could plummet down in a heap, Naruto's chains erupted from the ground and caught them mid-air, letting them down onto the ground gently.

"What kind of power was that?" One of the Iwa ninjas asked, shuffling nervously with a head tilt towards Natsuchi who observed the Konoha ninja with hard eyes. "That seemed otherworldly, even though it only lasted for a moment. We can't fight against something like that can we, captain?"

"I thought that the evolution of the Sharingan was just a myth that the Tsuchikage mentioned now and then as a story to scare us about the Uchiha," Natsuchi murmured as he observed the Konoha ninjas being caught and placed down by chakra chains. "It seems that he wasn't being hyperbolic. Still, this is a great opportunity. If we can capture even one of them, we can get intel on what Konoha is up to. Come on, this is not an opportunity we can waste." 'The Avatar of the Storm God? Only Madara Uchiha was credited with that technique. Is it a secret forbidden jutsu of the Uchiha clan?'

"Not so fast!" Ichigo muttered as he summoned his staff and elongated it, attacking the four Iwa ninjas as he quickly shuffled out of the chains. "Naruto! Get Naori! After she uses that technique, she can't fight or even move properly! Hizashi, Haruka, cover me!"

Naori fell to the ground face first, her body aching all over. She never understood how the Uchiha of the legends, like Madara or Izuna used the Susano'o so liberally. It drained her chakra reserves so fast that she couldn't maintain it for more than a moment. And without two Mangekyo Sharingan, she could barely maintain control over the avatar. 'What's worse is that I have larger than normal chakra reserves! To actually maintain the avatar for long, I would need abnormally large reserves! Reserves that I don't have!'

As Ichigo attacked the Iwa group, flanked by Haruka and Hizashi, Naruto flashed forward, kneeling next to Naori. Silently, he slung Naori over his shoulder and then retreated back to the position she had assigned to him, protecting the Ame ninjas from any interference from the enemy Iwa ninjas. Naori grunted at the backside of Naruto. "T-Th-Thank you."

As Ichigo pierced one Iwa ninja with his staff, feling him, Naruto gently let Naori down next to him. Naori shakily took out a kunai and held it in her hand, eying the fight in front of her with exhausted eyes. She turned to Naruto, took a deep breath, and repeated. "Thank you."

"There's no need to thank me for just picking you up." Naruto smiled at her with a bright smile before he caught a stray shuriken racing at him and threw it to the side. "I think any Konoha ninja would have done the same."

Naori nodded as she glanced back at the six Ame ninjas who were whispering at each other, but still standing rigidly. "Have they spoken with you?"

"Not at all." Naruto shook his head. "They seem to be keeping to themselves. And the Wetland Accent is too heavy for me to discern by just trying to strain my ears."

"I know I ordered you to stay here, but is there anything you could do to help Ichigo, Haruka, and Hizashi speed things up?" Naori questioned as she winced. A jolt of pain lanced through her back, making her feel the consequences of the Susano'o again. Biting her teeth to keep the small gasp of pain from escaping she tilted her head questioningly.

Naruto hummed before nodding. Putting his hand into the tiger seal, Naruto activated an illusion. "Genjutsu: Bringer of Darkness Jutsu."

Pure darkness enveloped the three remaining Iwa ninjas. Natsuchi frowned, trying to break through the illusion, but beside him, Hizashi and Haruka struck. Hizashi plunged his gentle fist into the Iwa ninja flanking Natsuchi's right, making him crumple into a heap as it struck him in the heart. Haruka grappled with the Iwa ninja to his left, as chakra-sucking bugs crept from her onto the Iwa ninja sucking the poor fellow of his chakra. Natsuchi, feeling the life force of his comrade's ebb jumped backward. 'This was a mistake. Time to retreat! Nonetheless, I got something valuable out of this mission. Konoha is meddling in Ame.'

"Not so fast!" Ichigo repeated as he jumped after the Iwa squad leader. "Can't have you blabbing about us to the Tsuchikage!"

Before Natsuchi could respond, Ichigo appeared above him. With a heavy heave, Ichigo slammed his staff on Natsuchi's head, slamming him to the ground with enough force to make Natsuchi fall unconscious immediately, bleeding from his head. Ichigo rounded his staff and fell graciously next to Natsuchi's body. "That's all of them taken care of."

"What do you Konoha Shinobi want?" Yahiko demanded as he leaned forward with a pinched expression. 'They protected us. But not for free. I can see that written all over that purple-haired chick's face.' "We had that situation handled. You needn't have been involved! You are simply inviting the war into the Land of Wetlands."

"It is already here." The man who looked vaguely like a younger version of the Third Hokage pointed out with a shrug as the redhead (why was his hair so similar to Nagato's?) sealed the Iwa leader's unconscious body into a sealing scroll. "Though Hanzo has stopped any invasion from happening unlike the Second Great Shinobi War, you are blind if you cannot see that within the shadows, Suna, Iwa, and Konoha are still operating in the Land of Wetlands."

"Answer Yahiko." Came Konan's firm voice as she raised her right hand in warning as the paper clips next to her feet began to flutter dangerously. "Do not think we don't know you protected us only due to some kind of material need or want."

"We are here to negotiate with you." Came the purple-haired woman's answer. Yahiko glanced at her. The chakra avatar that she had made had been terrifying, but it was clear to him that she could only maintain it for a second and that it took a great toll on her. She was still flushed and wincing at periodic intervals, making it clear to Yahiko that the tradeoff for such a fearsome technique was not inconsequential. "We protected you. In return, we want your silence and any information that you can spare about what Hanzo is doing."

"And why should we divulge national secrets to foreign ninjas who are currently on our territory illegally?" Kyusuke murmured from beside Nagato, clutching his sword.

Chakra flared from Kyusuke's body as Kie and Konan also got ready to fight. The Konoha ninja who had just tried to protect them stiffened slightly as they took their own positions. All barring one. Yahiko narrowed his eyes as he raised his hand and said, "Kyusuke. Stop trying to antagonize them. It doesn't matter why they helped us, but they did. And needless violence is not the answer that the Akatsuki is fighting for. Remember that."

"Let's leave the hotheads to cool their heads shall we?" Came the redhead's voice as the Akatsuki snapped their head to the redheaded ninja who had protected them from stray attacks during the entire confrontation with Iwa. He was the one wielding those powerful chains and using that powerful illusion. With a hair that matched Nagato's own shade of red, and blue azure eyes that looked so similar to the posters of the Yellow Flash, the redhead was raising his hands in a calm-down gesture. "How about a compromise? Our leader plus one will meet your leader plus one in the middle. The rest of our squads can relax by the side. How is that?"

Yahiko nodded, accepting the offer. "Konan, look after Kyusuke and the others. Nagato, with me."

As Yahiko strode forward, he observed the purple-haired kunoichi look at the redhead and shrug, before the two started to walk up to them. Despite all the fighting, only the holes on the ground from where the redhead's chains had erupted were new sights in Takatori Pass. Yahiko had been loath to confront the Iwa squad on such a well-traveled path, but thankfully Hanzo's embargoes had dried up the path in recent months, making sure that there were no bystanders caught in the fight, thankfully. Yahiko reached the middle and waited for the purple-haired Kunoichi and the redhead to join him and Nagato in the middle.

"I am the leader of this Konoha team." The purple-haired Kunoichi introduced herself. "My name is Naori, and this is Naruto. He's the one who stayed behind to protect you all from any stray attacks."

'No surnames given out.' Yahiko noticed immediately before he introduced himself as well. "My name is Yahiko. My friend here is Nagato."

"Nagato Uzumaki." The redhead murmured before a smile enveloped his face. "It's an honor to meet you, here of all places, my 9th cousin thrice removed."

Panic immediately seized Yahiko as Nagato froze next to him. 'How does he know Nagato's old clan name? Wait a minute, his cousin?'

"How do you know my surname?" Nagato demanded quietly, his Rinnegan blazing in the afternoon sun.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki." The self-proclaimed Naruto answered back with a dazzling grin, ignoring the spluttering protests of Naori next to him. "Like I said nice to meet ya."

"Another Uzumaki?" Yahiko murmured, biting his thumb slightly as he looked over the redhead again, mentally comparing the similarities he saw. The red hair was obvious, but beyond that their high cheekbones were the only similarities Yahiko saw. "Still, that doesn't explain how you knew him immediately Konoha ninja."

"The family stone in Uzushio still updates itself to any new blood for those born of Uzushio blood. To those who gave their blood to the slab as a part of the Uzumaki birthing rituals." Naruto shrugged as he glanced at Yahiko before turning back to Nagato. "Fuso Uzumaki was sent to Ame as an ambassador during the Second Great Shinobi War. There, she found love and in order to settle down, she willingly left all her positions and settled down with a man named Ise, according to the records of one Arashi Uzumaki. Your name is recorded in the old family slab as a result."

Nagato seemed overwhelmed by the information, taking a long step back. Yahiko himself didn't really know what to think. 'We walked out here on the assumption that we were going to talk about Hanzo. Not this!'

"What are you doing Naruto?" Naori hissed at Naruto, her eyes flashing. "Is this guy really your cousin?"

"Surely with your Sharingan, you could see the similarities in our chakra?" Naruto raised an eyebrow at her prompting Naori to do as he said. Naori turned her Sharingan onto Nagato, noting the truth in Naruto's statement. 'They have the same initial chakra signature. That is only shared among clansmen and kin. So it's true. Naruto and Ms. Kushina have a cousin in Ame of all places?!'

"I would give a spiel about how you join us Nagato." Naruto smiled warily at his newfound cousin. "But, I know that it would be useless. All I can do is inform you that there is another Uzumaki in Konoha as well, and that should you need any help, we would be more than willing to help you should you contact us."

"That is enough." Yahiko bit out, outwardly calm, but his emotions were raging inside. 'I know Nagato. The very thought that there is family for him in Konoha is going to cloud his mind. I don't want to seem selfish, but me and Konan are more family to Nagato than anyone else is. There is more to family than blood!' "We are here to negotiate, not discuss clan relationships. To be blunt Captain Naori, we don't know what Hanzo is doing barring the fact that he is preventing another tripartite invasion of the Land of Wetlands. Ours is an illegal ninja group within the ranks of Amegakure, and as such, we aren't afforded information that may be useful to any of the three Great nations surrounding our own. If that is all, I must demand your team leave the Land of Wetlands immediately."

"Illegal is correct." Came a foreign voice. All of their heads turned heavenward to one of the cliffs on the pass. Standing on the cliff's edge were two squads of Ame ninjas. Yahiko's blood ran cold as he recognized the leader. Who wouldn't? Tall, with long blonde hair reaching down to his back, and a scar on his right cheek. A dark hat on his head and a respirator on his mouth. His loose wetsuit-like flak jacket of Amegakure. Underneath his wetsuit, he donned a dark, short-sleeved midriff shirt which exposed his lower abdomen.

"Illegal Konoha ninja and Akatsuki together. It seems I am in luck. A single stone to get rid of two irritants."

Above the Akatsuki and Team 20, Hanzo of the Salamander looked down upon them menacingly.

Author's Notes: Thank you so much for your support! Keep the reviews coming! The Rain Arc is heating up!