Chapter X

Team 7 Arc I

"So, he defeated Hanzo in battle?"

The answer to that question was utterly absurd in Hiruzen's opinion, but from all the reports he had been gathering for the past two weeks, it seemed to be true. Rumors had spread throughout the elemental nations that Hanzo of the Salamander had finally been bested in battle. That too by a Shinobi of Konoha. A shinobi that was inducted only a week prior to the fight. Hiruzen had known that Naruto was strong. His showing against Minato during the examination fight was nothing short of exemplary and even the old and wizened Third Hokage could see Naruto visibly holding himself back. But Hiruzen hadn't believed that the young redhead was holding back so much. As much as Hiruzen respected his students and Minato, Hiruzen only trusted himself to defeat Hanzo in a one-on-one battle. His students together couldn't defeat Hanzo and Minato still had a long way to go. Even among S-class shinobi, the gulf between them was large. Kneeling to the ground in front of the Hokage desk, Naori Uchiha was kneeling before Hiruzen. The Legendary Sannin and Minato were standing to attention next to him in a military pose. All of their eyes were trained on the Uchiha Jonin with nothing but curiosity and even denial in their eyes being reflected back. Hiruzen leaned back, deep in thought. 'To think Naruto defeated Hanzo…his arrival cannot be a coincidence. He might have passed Inoichi's test and he might truly only have Konoha's best intentions in mind, but he does have secrets. Deep secrets…..'

Naori nodded, her purple hair swaying delicately. "Yes, Lord Hokage. Hanzo was defeated by Naruto. After being beaten, Naruto managed to convince Hanzo to give up the Iwa and Suna squads we were after. Unlike the previously believed month-long time period it would take to flush them out, with Hanzo's intel, we managed to finish our mission in just two weeks. Within a few days from now, I'm sure Hanzo will step down as Village Chief of Amegakure as well."

"And who will take his place?" Hiruzen wondered aloud. Amegakure had once been a proud but small village during the First Great Shinobi War, with many famous names arising from within its borders. But following that, during the Second Great Shinobi War and now the Third, only Hanzo's name permeated from Ame. The identity of a successor was both troubling and puzzling for Hiruzen. 'It's not as if Ame has produced any other Kage-level shinobi after Hanzo, after all.'

Naori's deep obsidian eyes flickered towards Jiraiya, whose hands were twitching, still in disbelief at the sheer idea of Hanzo having lost a battle. She inclined her head at the Toad Sage, snapping him to attention. "I believe that Lord Jiraiya knows the successor. He and his companions spoke of Lord Jiraiya most fondly. I believe his name is Yahiko."

"Yahiko?!" Jiraiya stammered out aloud clearly surprised. His eyes widened and his jaw went slightly slack before he collected himself back again. "Then that means you must have met –"

"Konan and Nagato." Naori interrupted, confirming Jiraiya's thoughts. Jiraiya leaned back against the window heavily, taking a deep breath before standing up properly again as he chuckled. A hand on his forehead he seemed to be reminiscing about a time gone by as Minato turned to him with a raised eyebrow. Minato smiled shyly at his sensei.

"Jiraiya-sensei, it seems that one of your students has become a village leader then." Minato pointed out with a slight tease in his voice. Minato may have been jealous about the parental care that Jiraiya had heaped upon the students he had taken in from Amegakure, but he wasn't one to become envious over a joyous occasion. After all the cruel realities of war, Minato believed that his beleaguered and peace-loving sensei deserved the good news.

"The start of many leaders trained by me I hope!" Jiraiya winked at Minato who turned away with a slight blush present on his cheeks. Tsunade cackled with laughter, as Minato's ambition for the position of Hokage was well known and even Orochimaru, hidden away in the shadows of the room, wearing nothing but plain military clothes cracked a small smile. His yellowish and snake-like eyes danced with mirth as he observed his best friend and his student in the room.

Hiruzen raised a hand, ending the little chuckle that everyone was having. Hiruzen's sharp eyes trained on Jiraiya. "This Yahiko, is he one of the three orphans you raised when you requested a leave during the Second Great Shinobi War?"

Jiraiya's mirthful mood dissipated quickly as he nodded. "Yes, Sarutobi-sensei."

Hiruzen stapled his fingers together, deep in thought. "That is beneficial for us and our position in the conflict. Even if this Yahiko remains neutral, he will likely be biased towards the Konoha ninja, on account of the fact that you raised him Jiraiya and the fact that Naruto facilitated his talks with Hanzo. This is good news…..yet, I am unsure about Naruto. He doesn't have any ill will against Konoha, that is for sure, but to suddenly appear on the scene and defeat Hanzo of all people. Not just defeat, but to convince him to see his way and then to facilitate talks with an internal faction within Ame that he owed nothing to. Kage-level shinobi, especially ones with the caliber to defeat men like Hanzo do not appear out of nowhere."

"That is true." Orochimaru's silky voice permeated through the air in agreement as Orochimaru folded his arms, leaning against the shadows of the room. "We would have heard about this Naruto Uzumaki if he was this powerful. You cannot become this powerful without someone at least knowing an inkling about you. Either our intelligence is woefully behind, in which case we are truly doomed during this war, or our newest Uzumaki is hiding something."

"If it benefits Konoha and he doesn't intend to go against Konoha, I don't see any reason to trouble the brat," Tsunade mumbled out as he raised an elegant eyebrow. "I know the brat personally; he lives in my clan compound. He's a nuisance during meal times with his constant clamoring for ramen. As if only Kushina wasn't enough. And he knows which buttons to push to make me lose my head. But he's a good kid."

"You live with him. Of course, you will be biased about this, Princess." Jiraiya pointed out. He let out a sigh before folding his arms in reflection of Orochimaru. "Though, from what I've heard about him and the little I saw him during the examination fight, I have to agree. Even if he does have a secret Sarutobi-sensei, Orochimaru, I don't think we need to pry it out of him if it doesn't really Konoha."

"And what about you Minato?" Hiruzen asked with a neutral voice, not giving away anything.

Minato had been silent during the entire exchange, azure eyes flickering between the Legendary Sannin with a thoughtful gaze. At Hiruzen's question, Minato's eyes sharpened as he became more rigid. Sighing and letting out a puff of air, Minato answered his liege's question. "I don't believe in coincidences. For Kushina's sake, I hope he truly doesn't hurt her and our village. But I don't trust him. Not fully at least. I think that if I were Hokage, I would keep surveillance on him. It is essential. Especially with Iwa's invasion of the Land of Fire, we cannot hope to have an irritant behind the lines hitting us when we're surprised."

"My Lords, Mr. Namikaze, I must protest." Naori interceded, her voice dripping into an angrier tone. "While Naruto has been a jokester and a bit of a comedian, he has done nothing wrong so far. His record in Team 20 is nothing but exemplary. He may be irritating to a degree, but he has done nothing but help me, help you and our village. He has already passed Lord Yamanaka's mental evaluation test. There is no need to beleaguer my teammate any longer. He has displayed sufficient loyalty to our village already!" 'He's annoying, but I owe Naruto this much at least. And he isn't that bad either….'

"Do you think that the best spies are the ones who prove themselves disloyal in the public arena Jonin Uchiha?" Orochimaru spoke up, his dark hair swaying as his snake-like eyes pierced the purple-haired Uchiha. "The best spies hide themselves in the masses, making themselves known as the most loyal and the friendliest. They spend years on that project. And when the right time comes, they betray you, hurting everyone next to them and bringing their enemies down in one fell swoop. The Uzumakis have been our allies since even before our village's creation, but you cannot deny that an Uzumaki may be harboring angry sentiments about us, their supposed allies, having failed to save their homeland. It is a possibility that we cannot ignore, foolish little girl."

"If he was anything like that, then he wouldn't have defeated Hanzo of all people, risking his very life for us." Naori spat back, her lone Sharingan flaring for a second inadvertently as she tried to control her emotions. Yes, she didn't like Naruto when he was irritating her. Yes, she didn't like him questioning her leadership with Team 20. But, in the end, he had saved her many times during the mission. And he had been ready to lay down his life to make sure that she and the others made it to safety. For Naori, that meant something. And while she didn't show it publically, she did respect Naruto and his fighting abilities. 'He was bleeding like a waterfall when he walked back from Hanzo's fight. He wouldn't risk death if he was a spy! No way!'

"Stop." Hiruzen's commanding voice ended the argument before it could really begin. Everyone's heads swiveled to the Third Hokage who was now smoking from his pipe. His hand was on his forehead, sensing a headache that threatened to break out. "We are not going to have an argument inside my office. Not now. One of our key forts near the Land of Grass has just fallen to Iwa and has been declared annexed into the Land of Grass. I am not in the mood. Orochimaru, there is no need to antagonize the woman. Naori, we cannot dismiss the idea of Naruto being a spy who is hiding his intentions via unknown means. I do not wish it so, but the fact remains that it is possible."

"Sarutobi-sensei, I have a proposal for our dilemma so to speak," Jiraiya spoke up. The Toad Sage and the Slug Sannin had been quiet during the heated exchange and had exchanged wary glances during the entire exchange. But now, Jiraiya smoothened his grey hair and spread his arms. "Minato has just been assigned a mission to front against Kiri that is too dangerous for his genin team to follow with him. Kushina has volunteered to look after them. Assign Jonin Uchiha and Naruto to oversee Team 7 while they are in the village for new special training. If Naruto is a spy, then he will be under surveillance from Kushina, Naori, and the hidden ANBU scattered throughout the training fields. If he isn't, then Team 7 will have gained invaluable training."

"Sensei!" Minato's eyes flashed as he stepped towards his sensei with an undercurrent of anger in his normally calm voice. "That puts my students at unnecessary risk! No, I refuse."

"Your students, Minato, aren't fools." Jiraiya pointed out with a relaxed air next to him. "They're chunin and they earned their promotions. Simply inform them to be at their best guard before you leave for the front. With them vigilant, Kushina and Naori right next to him alongside the hidden ANBU, there is no way in hell, that he can do anything if he is a spy. If he isn't like I said, your team gets training from the guy who beat Hanzo, which by the way, I am still shocked about."

The office was silent for a second as everyone's head was focused on Minato. The blonde-haired Jonin floundered a bit mentally before sighing. Regathering himself, Minato nodded reluctantly. "Fine. But I would like to add some protection for my students. If possible, could you assign more hidden guards? Inoichi, Choza, and Shikaku when they're back from missions? Hizashi and Haruka? Hiashi? Tsume? Or even Fugaku and Mikoto? I'm not asking them to be there constantly, but as a new pair of eyes whenever they're free from missions that are assigned to them. Or Mikoto could just tag along as well. She's on the reservist list now after little Itachi was born, so I am sure she could extend a hand as well."

Hiruzen tilted his head. "I approve. And of course, Tsunade, I hope you will continue to observe him during his stay at your clan compound?"

"I don't like snitching," Tsunade muttered as she folded her arms as well, following Orochimaru and Jiraiya's lead from earlier. "But yeah, sure. Just that I'm gonna feel really bad if he isn't a spy in the end."

"Such is the lot of the Shinobi." Hiruzen sighed rubbing his nose before he turned to Naori. "You heard my student. Go to Naruto and inform him of his assignment. All of you dismissed!"

All five of the shinobi body flickered immediately, returning back to their duties. As he felt their chakra dissipating, Hiruzen leaned back on his chair. It wasn't that Hiruzen believed Naruto to be a spy like Orochimaru believed. No, Orochimaru hadn't even spoken with Naruto. Hiruzen had interacted with the kid enough to know that Naruto couldn't be a spy. The boy held his emotion to his sleeve and could be read like an open book. If he was a spy then Hiruzen would eat his Hokage hat. No, but Hiruzen did believe that Naruto was hiding a secret. Shinobis were built on secrets. A Hidden Village was practically a den of secrets. But soldiers cannot afford to have dangerous secrets. Especially if it involved himself, his students, and their students. Hiruzen's eyes narrowed as he heard the phrase 'I'll save you' over and over again. Naruto had muttered those words before in his office. Hiruzen believed that Naruto thought he hadn't heard. But he had heard. And now, as a puzzle gathered in front of Hiruzen's eyes, it seemed that it was time for the Second God of Shinobi and the Professor of Konoha to solve a puzzle once more.

"So is he a traitor? A spy?"

Minato paused, not sure how to respond to Kakashi, whose eyes were trained on their sensei. Rin and Obito were watching quietly as well. Uncharacteristically for Obito, Minato noted that even he was paying attention the moment Naruto Uzumaki was mentioned. Minato didn't know why, but ever since the examination fight between himself and Naruto, Obito had been hounding Kushina for any information about Naruto and the Uzumaki clan in general. It was something that irritated and amused Kushina, but something that made Minato uneasy slightly. He knew just how superstitious the Uchiha could be – he had shared a class with Fugaku and Mikoto after all – and didn't want Obito to think too much about the death seal that the Uzumaki famously used. Rubbing his nose, Minato thought about the question sent his way. Slowly, he shook his head.

"No. No one can overcome Inoichi's mind-walking technique. Even if he had a seal somewhere that prevented that, then the seal would have shown up in his mindscape. Inoichi told us that none appeared. So, he is telling the truth that he truly wants nothing wrong to befall Konoha. He is loyal that's for sure." Minato hummed slightly, keeping an eye level with Kakashi, Rin, and Obito. "But he is hiding something. He defeated Hanzo after all. Kage-level shinobi do not appear out of nowhere. And we have been keeping an eye on him. Some unusual behavior on his part…..makes us believe he has a secret."

"Minato-sensei, don't all shinobi have secrets?" Rin asked slowly, her big eyes closing and opening owlishly as she turned to her sensei, deep in thought. "We can't be persecuted for having secrets can we?"

"You, no." Minato shook his head again. "But, for a foreigner who enrolled in our military in the middle of the war? The scrutiny is much higher. A hundred thousand times higher. Secrets that foreigners may have can make or break villages, especially during times of war. So for now, simply keep an eye on him. For me?"

"Of course Minato-sensei." Obito and Rin murmured whilst Kakashi gave the traditional military salute.

In Kakashi's honest opinion, Kushina's newfound cousin was a bit of an idiot. If Kakashi had been a foreigner who enrolled in the Shinobi forces of Konoha he would have kept his head down like everyone expected. It was unhealthy for foreigners to stand out, especially with the fearful atmosphere that arose during wartime regarding foreigners. Even if said foreigner was from a clan that was famous for their alliance with Konoha. A village could turn against its own so quickly. Kakashi was himself proof of that very fact. As the redhead tried to convey some techniques for them to use, Kakashi couldn't help but wonder whose idea it was to dump this weird shinobi on them. It was grating his nerves, especially with Kushina trying and failing to hide her smirking.

"Ah so, if you try to mold your chakra in physical form and do…. ah this and that? To it then you could create chains as well….." Naruto stammered out as he addressed Rin as Kakashi sighed internally again rolling his eyes in mental despair. Kushina shook her head in mirth, her royal red hair swaying in the wind.

"Rin, forget what he just said," Kushina smirked at an uncomfortable Naruto. "The Uzumaki chains are a bloodline. You can't use it even if you become better at chakra manipulation than even the First Hokage himself. Naru here is simply nervous about teaching eh?"

"Well, I don't see you doing it!" Naruto grumbled out loud as he pouted on the training field's ground, folding his hands in a petulant manner.

"I'm having way too much fun seeing you fumble with Obito and Rin whilst little Kakashi continues to grumble." Kushina shot back with a teasing smile.

"Hey!" Obito interjected as he hit the target a few meters away with the trick that Naruto had shown him previously. "It worked! Stop trying to haggle him, Ms. Kushina!"

The young chunin's characteristic blue clan coat shook in the air as Obito threw more shuriken and kunai aimed at each other in the maneuver that Naruto had shown him. Attacking each other, the shuriken and kunai clashed midair before Naruto could shout out a negative. Naruto's eyes grew comically large as he saw the deflected shuriken and kunai turning and attacking Kakashi. Kushina raised her eyebrow in alarm and two chains erupted out of her palms, but Naruto was quicker as he jumped towards Kakashi who was leaning next to a tree. To Naruto's apparent surprise, Kakashi just shifted and turned around, hiding behind the tree as the shuriken sped towards Naruto. A chain wrapped itself around Naruto's waist as Kushina pulled him towards her to make sure that the shuriken and kunai hit the bark of the tree harmlessly.

Naruto let out a breath of air as he stood up with a tic mark on his forehead. "I told you not to do that with people around!"

Obito smiled nervously as he patted the pack of his spiky hair. "Uh, sorry about that. Was just excited. I'm not as good as the other Uchiha in shuriken jutsu, so a small trick like that made me very excited in the end."

"Really?" Naruto grumbled as he carefully loosened Kushina's chain from his body. "I couldn't have guessed. Man, you Uchiha guys really need some good emotional control therapy. Trigger happy so easily."

Kakashi could hear some angry rustling from the bushes. Minato sensei had told him that someone had been assigned to quietly observe Naruto, but he wouldn't have guessed that said person was a Uchiha. Grudgingly, Kakashi would have to agree with Naruto. The Uchiha were indeed very trigger-happy. The amount of times he and Rin had to dodge wayward attacks from Obito during training was way too much to ignore. Even Minato had teasingly called Obito the 'spray and pray' shurikenjutsu user much to his indignation. Kushina chuckled as she tapped her feet and raised a basket. "Hey, come on you four. It's time for a break I think. Let's have lunch."

Obito happily skipped over towards Naruto who sat down on the soft grass next to Kushina. Rin joined Kushina on the ground, helping the redheaded Uzumaki princess lay down the food she had prepared carefully on paper plates that she unsealed from one of her spare scrolls. Kakashi quietly sat down next to Rin, staying as far away from Obito and Naruto as possible. Naruto raised a subtle eyebrow but didn't comment on it. Kushina offered a rice cake with her free hand and Naruto made a face at her. "No ramen?"

"Even I don't like ramen that much!" Kushina marveled slightly as she withdrew her preferred rice cake. Fiddling with something inside the basket, she withdrew a cup of ramen and handed it to Naruto. Naruto enthusiastically opened the peel of the cup and poured water into it. Covering it with the palm of his left hand, he placed his right hand on the end of the cup and started to heat it up by molding fire-release chakra on the palm of his right hand. It was a trick that he had learned in the past…..erm future. Time travel was confusing that way.

Rin giggled next to Kushina as she nodded her head. "I didn't think anyone would love ramen than Ms. Kushina."

"Ramen is the food of the gods," Naruto muttered petulantly as he finished heating the cup and started to slurp down the ramen. Kakashi remained silent as he observed the redhead and turned his head away, eating his rice cake as he continued to hide his face. Rin ate her udon slowly as Obito stuffed his sushi down. Kushina bit into her rice cake smoothly as she nodded in agreement with Naruto.

"I like the occasional rice cake, but Naru is right, you know." Kushina nodded earnestly. "Ramen is the food of the gods."

The entire scene was irritating for Kakashi. 'Minato-sensei told us to keep an eye on Uzumaki. To try and get his secrets out by coercion. Not chummy him up. I don't know what Rin and Obito are thinking! I can excuse Kushina, Minato-sensei hasn't shared his reservations about Uzumaki with her, but the others! This is a dereliction of duty.'

Frustration built up in Kakashi's gut as he tried to observe Naruto in a discrete manner. By the way Naruto's eyes flickered to him for just a second, Kakashi knew he was ultimately failing in the aim of keeping discrete. Kakashi should have known. A ninja of the caliber of Naruto – who had taken down Hanzo – would obviously know if he was being observed unnaturally. Another wave of frustration and irritation passed over him, as a result. Grunting, Kakashi placed his half-eaten rice cake down on the plate and spoke up for the first time during the entire mission. "Mr. Uzumaki, what did you do before joining Konoha?"

The merriment that lunch was providing ended as soon as Kakashi finished his sentence. Rin stopped giggling at a joke that Obito and Naruto had cracked, whilst Obito went rigid for a second. Naruto put down his ramen cup on the ground softly. Kushina turned to Kakashi with a raised eyebrow and a downturned smile. "Kakashi. It isn't nice to ask such things, and so abruptly!"

But more than that, Kakashi recognized that it was also considered ill-form to ask a foreign shinobi about their past. Whenever allied shinobi from the minor villages, like Waterfall or Hot Water visited, all formalities would have to be observed. No one asked anything beyond their mission parameters. Even among allies, it was discouraged to make personal relationships with foreign shinobi. No one knew when today's allies would become tomorrow's enemies, after all. But, Kakashi reasoned, finding out about Naruto's past was within the mission parameters that Minato had assigned him.

"I suppose I haven't shared that with anyone have I?" Naruto intervened before Kakashi could answer with a small smile on his face. It was a little forced, Kakashi observed, but sincere and genuine. Naruto stretched his long arms before setting his hands on his knees. "I suppose this is a good time as any."

Even Kushina leaned in a bit. Though it had been rude of Kakashi to ask so suddenly, she couldn't deny that she was curious about her newfound cousin's history. She had decided to wait, to allow Naruto to come forward at his own pace, but now this provided her an opportunity to find out without having to open her impatient mouth herself. Obito and Rin perked up as well and Kakashi stared Naruto down with his beady and small eyes.

"After the Fall of Uzushio, I found myself in a village. A small village." Naruto started, flexing his fingers a bit, as his vision clouded slightly as if he was lost in thought. "It was a small village on the coast of the Land of Fire. I was a foreigner. I had shady origins. I was an orphan. And so I became a popular scapegoat for the villagers. I wasn't ever hurt physically. But words pierce deeper than any blade."

Your words cut deep, deeper than any blade.

Sitting there, underneath the shade of the tree, speaking with people who died in the future, Naruto felt a surreal emotion come over him as he remembered those words that Zabuza told him all those years ago. Though in the end, he was twisting facts to make sure that his cover wasn't blown, the emotion bubbling underneath the surface within Naruto, was real. Very real. Feeling his wet eyes Naruto continued on, soldiering on. "But all was well. In the end, a kindly ramen chef and his daughter took care of me. Then, a well-meaning teacher took care of me. And while he was always busy, the village chief did the best he could for me. When the time came for me to become an adult, I decided to become a shinobi. For years, I was happy. But then one day, or night I suppose, I lost a fight. My village and all my loved ones inside of it were ripped away from me. Since then I wandered the lands. And in the end, it led me here." 'Wander the lands I did indeed.'

'And isn't that just sad?' Overwhelming sadness permeated within Kushina as she heard Naruto's tale. It was highly simplified and abbreviated, Kushina was sure, but still, it resonated with her. Being the foreigner and having all the stares pointing at someone and being someone's scapegoat was scarily real to what Kushina had felt when she first arrived in Konoha. Naruto's tale sounded too close to that of a Jinchuriki indeed. Absent-mindedly, she started to click her knuckles, partially out of anger at the thought of her cousin having gone through all of that, but also at the sadness of having not lost one village, but two. To date, Kushina felt as if one of the chambers of her heart were missing. Uzushio's fall had been traumatic, to say the least. But to know that Naruto had lost two villages was a tragedy that even the greatest tragic poets of the age couldn't whip up.

"Let me go!" Kushina wailed as she started for the great gates that defined the entrance into Konoha.

"LET ME GO!" Kushina roared as red chakra bubbled from within her and chains started to form from the ground in a threatening manner.

"Kushina…" Minato muttered beside her miserably as he held her with an iron grip. "I'm sorry Kushina, but it's too dangerous. Please."

"LET ME GO MINATO!" Kushina roared again, this time the full force of her ire turning towards the blonde. "Let me go, or I swear to the Shinigami –"

"Kushina."

Kushina turned around immediately, forgetting about Minato entirely. "Lord Hokage! Please, you've got to let me go. All this talk about Uzushio being destroyed, it's just stupid rumors. Come on, old man, please. Let me go. I'll go check up on my mom and dad and come right back! You can send some ANBU with me as well! Come on!"

"I'm sorry Kushina." The younger face of Hiruzen Sarutobi was covered in the shadows with sad eyes as he observed the newest Jinchuriki of Konohagakure. "Uzushio….Uzushio is gone. Tsunade has confirmed it."

The guttural and primal roar that Kushina unleashed that day reverberated throughout Konoha.

It was the first of only two times that Kushina had ever lost control of the Nine Tails. Kushina shook her head, unwilling to dredge up more unpleasant memories. She preferred to remember the glowing faces of her parents, of her clansmen who treated her like a walking and talking fairy princess. It was better that way. For her own mental health and emotional stability.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Mr. Uzumaki." Rin broke the awkward silence with a slight fumble of her hands as she offered a glass of water to Naruto. Naruto smiled at her and took the glass gingerly. As Naruto took a deep gulp from the cup, Rin continued on. "Have you spoken with a psychologist? I could ask Lord Yamanaka for an appointment. It would be good to make sure that no psychological problems arise from such a history."

Naruto waved Rin's concern away. He grinned winningly at Rin, making a slight dusting of red appear on Rin's cheeks. "Thanks Rin. But I don't need it. I am healthy as a bat up here. Nothing could make me unhealthy."

Rin didn't seem happy with Naruto's answer, but Naruto's upbeat tone made her silence the retort bubbling inside as she nodded her head reluctantly. Beside Naruto, Obito perked up. "How did you learn so much about your own clan's jutsus and bloodline if you were so young when you left Uzushio, Mr. Naruto?"

"That's easy to answer." Naruto quipped as he absentmindedly rubbed the back of his head. "One of my teachers was a seal master and he taught me the basics of it. Later I went to the ruins of Uzushio and learned from the remains of the scrolls there. A lot of trial and error, but I got it done."

"The scrolls are still there?" Kushina asked, with a surprised voice, as she jerked forward slightly. Her violet eyes widened a bit at the revelation.

"Yup," Naruto confirmed. "Despite all their hostility with the Uzumaki, not even the Kiri invading forces wanted to enter the main Uzumaki Temple in Uzushio and left the holy place be. The scrolls sealed in the temple are dusty but readable."

"I don't mean to be rude, Mr. Naruto, Mr. Kushina, but that reminds me…." Obito started, with a slight apologetic tone to his voice as he scratched his forehead with nervousness radiating off of him. "But my grandmother always told me to steer clear of the Uzumakis, even after the Fall. She told me that you guys blaspheme. Is that true? I don't mean any offense, just curious."

Naruto and Kushina shared a look. It wasn't an offensive question at all. Anyone who knew of the religious practices of the Uzumaki clan would raise the question eventually. Unknowingly or not, without context, the religious practices of the Uzumaki clan would seem very demonic. Naruto jerked his head slightly, asking Kushina silently. Kushina inclined her head and answered Obito's question. "Like most in the continent, we Uzumaki follow the practices of trying to find Nirvana and following the ideals that the Gods have left behind. But, Uzumaki also felt a connection with death. As such, the Uzumaki practiced an offshoot branch you could say, that gave heavy emphasis to the Shinigami and Izanami. We built temples in their honor and demonic masks in their honor. We didn't revere them because we celebrated death. We celebrated the finality of it. That death couldn't be denied. And that in the end, all of us would go into Pureland. Death is a simple truth. Nothing more and nothing less. For to those who don't know, though, the Uzumaki have always seemed blasphemous as a result."

"Being religious in this day and age is foolhardy," Kakashi muttered as he observed Naruto steadily. He hadn't expected it to be so easy, but it was clear to him that the 'loss' that Naruto had been talking about was why he had decided to relocate to Konoha. That was what Minato had been talking about anyway.

Obito - upholding the stereotypes of Uchiha's being religious – opened his mouth to disagree vehemently but Naruto raised an arm and chuckled at Kakashi's remark. "Who knows? Maybe you will find faith one day Kakashi. Or maybe one day you shall prove me wrong. Either way, it is what it is."

And wasn't that just thought-evoking?

The evening orange hue made Obito flinch a bit as he forced the blurriness out of his eyes. Despite being an easygoing guy personally and Minato's silent misgivings, Naruto was a slavedriver in training. He only used Taijutsu to subdue Obito, Rin, and Kakashi during training after that deep talk about the Uzumaki, but what he used knocked the sails right out of Obito. Combined with Kushina attacking in tandem with her golden chains, it had been one hell of a training session. Obito had to hide a smirk at the twitching Kakashi who reluctantly accepted some healing ointment from Rin and dabbed it on his right cheek, where his mask had once been. Naruto had taken a great amount of glee in tearing it off during the training for some reason that Obito simply couldn't fathom. Yeah, it was nice to see Kakashi's actual face for the first time since forever, but Naruto had seemed almost crazed for a second there. For a second, Obito could have sworn he heard Naruto mumble something about payback for 'trolling' him. What did 'trolling' mean anyway? Foreigners had the craziest vocabulary, Obito decided languidly as he walked slowly through one of the older and sparsely populated sectors of the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Still extremely tired from the training session, he stumbled over an errant stone on the road and collapsed into a heap. Rubbing his eyes, Obito's eyes widened dramatically as he saw wide green eyes widen back at him. Recognizing that he had stumbled over someone, Obito immediately stood up and apologetically lowered his head. "I'm sorry! Please forgive me. I wasn't looking where I was going!"

Obito offered his hands to help the young girl up. The girl took his hand shyly as she nodded and pulled herself up. As she threw the dust off of her, Obito observed her, with a tinge of surprise coursing through him. She had dark brown hair and high cheekbones. Wearing the standard dark blue Uchiha clan vest with the Uchiha fan embroidered on the back, her legs and hands were covered in Kunoichi bandages. Her forehead protector glinted in the evening sun as she turned towards him.

But something was off.

The air seemed to hold its breath as Obito processed the realization. The thing that struck Obito the most was that the girl was the same age as him. Which was impossible. Obito knew everyone in his batch at the Ninja Academy, and Obito definitely knew everyone within the Uchiha Clan who was in the same age bracket as him. He would have remembered this girl; he was sure of it. Shaking his head, Obito repeated, "I'm sorry!"

"Ah, no need." The girl spoke with a musical quality to her voice. For a second, Obito felt as if a hypnotic effect overcame him as he molded chakra and released it subtly trying to feel for a genjutsu illusion that was affecting him. Finding none, Obito smiled at the girl with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that! After training, I get really clumsy!" Obito grinned at the girl, shaking his head in self-incrimination as he chuckled nervously.

"I get the same way!" The girl chuckled alongside Obito before straightening up. "Sorry. I didn't introduce myself. My name is Junko Uchiha."

"Nice to meet you, Junko!" Obito gave the girl a thumbs up. Junko's eyes, while seemingly warm, held a depth of mystery that Obito couldn't quite place. Shaking himself mentally, Obito supposed that the girl in front of him was one of the half-blooded Uchihas who didn't live in the compound. Sadly, the Clan Head was very stringent about such things, and whilst Fugaku promised to change that as the future Clan Head until Lord Hiyoshi Uchiha passed away, the Uchiha Clan would continue to turn away half-blooded Uchiha from the clan compound. Noticing one of the public clocks stuck on one of the pillars, Obito's eyes widened at the time. "Crap! I'm late for dinner! Grandma is going to have my hide! I gotta go! Nice meeting you Junko! See you sometime! And I'm sorry for the tumble again!"

With that said, Obito ran off towards the direction of his home. Junko smiled slightly as she gave a small wave at the retreating figure of Obito Uchiha. The girl observed Obito until he disappeared visibly before turning and walking towards a rather rundown shack on the very edges of the clan compound. She stilled as the air began to hum next to the shack. "Junko…." The hum murmured, like the echo of a long-forgotten memory. In the stillness of the evening winds, the girl opened the door and entered, disappearing into the darkness of the shabby shack.

Later that evening a local Uchiha began his routine night jog. It was good to keep up with his body, even though he was no longer on the active roster, and now on the reservist roster. If for nothing else, it was good for health. He began his jog quietly and passed by the shack like he did every night. Like always he read the small inscription on the small black signboard next to the door of the shack. As was Uchiha tradition, the name of the inhabitant or last owner of the dwelling and their parents were inscribed on the signboard with a small fan on the bottom. The jogging Uchiha spared one more glance at the shack before turning away and continuing his jog. The words were there as they always were after all. No one had lived in that shabby shack since the end of the First Great Shinobi War four decades prior.

Junko Uchiha

Daughter of Madara Uchiha & Hiyori Uchiha

Beloved Daughter.

Martyr of the First Great Shinobi War.

Author's Notes: Hey you all! How're you doing? This chapter was mostly the political reaction and of course Kushina and Team 7 slowly bonding with Naruto whilst mini Kakashi remains true to his mini jackass self. To clarify – no one, barring perhaps Orochimaru – truly thinks that Naruto is a hidden spy but that he is hiding something. As a foreign shinobi in the pay of Konoha, he comes under extreme scrutiny, especially during war times, where secrets can be make or break, which is why Hiruzen is insistent on finding out what it is. He is also rightfully suspicious about a Kage level shinobi appearing out of thin air and Naruto's hidden mutterings about saving everyone, which is intriguing towards Hiruzen. Many forget, of course, but Hiruzen is called the God of Shinobi and the Professor. He didn't earn those epithets by being an idiot. And I hope you enjoyed the hidden hints and setup in this chapter. See if you can catch them all!

Also, hope you liked the worldbuilding going on as well! I've waxed on about this before, but its something that I adore, like I said. While this chapter could be seen as a sort of 'filler' chapter I assure you that a lot of things are happening in the background that someone with a sharp deduction can catch. Hope you all can! This is the beginning of the Team 7 Arc after all! Also review! I love reading through all of your reviews! See you till next time! Would love to hear some predictions in the reviews!