Chapter 13: Uzushio survives. Lumia, Tayuya, Rollo, and Sora

Three days later, Naruto's eyes shot open and he jumped to his feet before quickly channeling chakra to the seal on his back that his sword would always return to. He reached for furaijin but jerked his hand off the handle because it was scalding hot. Still regaining his senses, Naruto decided to figure that out later as he took a look around the room.

At first, his vision was blurry and his senses were fuzzy but they soon acclimated and he realized he was in a somewhat familiar location. Laid on futons, similarly to how he was, were Shino and Hinata. They seemed to look ok and to his surprise, whole. Naruto pulled down the sheets covering Hinata's upper body and found that she was, in fact, whole.

She had a fever and her breathing was ragged but that was much better than the state he'd last found her in. Naruto hurriedly covered her once he noticed that Hinata was naked. He fought down a blush as he tried to focus on the situation. He couldn't let his mind wander.

It was nothing he hadn't seen before during a couple of his sleepovers with her and Haku, but he just wasn't prepared. Checking shino, he found that the Aburame was in the same state and after further inspection of the room he concluded that they were in the safe house.

Activating his seigan, he examined his two teammates further. It didn't take long to see what was wrong, luckily it was a chakra problem. Shino and Hinata were overflowing with chakra, more chakra than either of them should have.

To make things worse, there was a heavy imbalance of spiritual and physical energy within their chakra, it was mostly spiritual. Naruto was at a loss for words. Last he remembered, his team was dismembered and dying. He vaguely remembered healing himself when absorbing Miryo's chakra and essence but didn't understand how Hinata and Shino were healed.

"You're welcome gaki, you owe me and I expect to be repaid ningin," Kurama said with a growl. "You did this, how? And how'd they end up like this?" Naruto responded, he could care less about a debt to the kyuubi when Hinata was healed. "I rerouted the healing effect of your chains to your friends.

When you and that ambitious sword of yours tried to eat a fucking demon, yall bit off more than the two of you could chew, or cut, whatever. In that moment, you probably would have healed anything but death but that came with more chakra a few puny human bodies could handle so suddenly.

Luckily, I managed to pull all the chakra you couldn't handle into the seal and acclimate the rest through your coils. You're welcome." The cheeky fox said before cutting their connection, presumably to avoid more questions. Naruto figured his sword was overfilled with chakra at the moment just like his teammates. What a peculiar sword he thought.

Naruto placed a hand on Hinata's head and attempted to see if his coils were good enough to absorb chakra again. The answer was a resounding no, he tried but couldn't bite back a short shout as the chakra burned the moment it entered his coils.

Seconds later, Mai and Sakura came running into the room. There were only two rooms in the safehouse so they weren't very far away. "Naruto, you're awake. What happened out there?" "Are you alright? What's wrong with your teammates?" "Your clothes showed heavy injuries but how do none of you have a scratch?" All that blood. "What happened to Miryo?"

As the questions rolled in, so did a headache and all Naruto could do was hold up a hand to stop them from talking. The girls looked sheepish as Naruto took a deep breath. "Give me a moment to gather my thoughts and I'll explain everything. After I'm done I want you to explain the current situation. But first, how long have I been out?" "3 days Naruto-sama," Mai responded.

Naruto didn't know why she was calling him sama but he had other things to think about. He couldn't believe he'd been out for three days. After a few minutes, Naruto relayed everything he remembered from the encounter with Miryo. He left out Kurama's part in it all but explained how his teammates were healed.

Naruto didn't blame them when their eyes nearly popped from their sockets because he was still acclimating to the fact that his Hina-hime was whole again. Despite her current predicament that didn't seem life threatening. Mai and Sakura then gave their update.

The two had waited for hours after Miryo's presence disappeared before they went to search the cave due to Mai's insistence. Mai had drawn a few stasis storage scrolls to transport the unconscious shinobi back to the safe house after finding them in the ritual chambers.

She'd placed the strongest barriers she knew and Sakura took up setting traps and watching out for enemies. For the most part there was nothing to speak about, Just Sakura and Mai getting to know each other and tending to Naruto, Hinata, and Shino.

The last few hours though, there'd been a shinobi team in the surrounding area, presumably looking for them because there was no one else to look for. The two girls had gone to the cave system in a hurry. Sakura hadn't thought of covering their tracks very well in her state of mind after seeing her team in such shape which is probably how they were tracked there.

Mai wanted to know more about exactly what happened to Miryo but Naruto said it would have to wait due to the new revelation. His first priority is figuring out what to do with the shinobi outside. Naruto once again tried to mold chakra although this time he took it much slower.

Naruto slowly channeled chakra to the seal on his back to release furaijin. The sword appeared but when he tried to remove it from its sheath it was too hot for Naruto to hold, forcing the blonde to reseal the sword. He'd have to figure it out later, he seethed.

Next, Naruto created two moku bunshin and felt some pain but it was manageable. It seemed that he could expel lower amounts of chakra without much harm but his furaijin and large jutsu were out of the picture for now. Naruto had the wood clones go to his teammates. With mokuton they'd be able to siphon away the excess chakra from his teammates, hopefully remedying the fever and saving them from any more strain to their coils.

Leading Sakura and Mai to the other room, Naruto asked for some water, which Mai provided while he thought of what to do. "Naruto, what do you plan on doing? Are we going to confront those shinobi or wait until Hinata and Shino wake up?" Sakura asked timidly.

The pinkett was glad her team leader was awake but it made her nervous at the same time. "I can hold the barrier for a long time since this safehouse was prepared beforehand. If I have you two add chakra to the seal then it'd be reinforced as well. We have the provisions to make it a few weeks so there's no need to rush," Mai offered.

Naruto wasn't sure what to do. If the enemy shinobi, or whoever they were, found their safe house while his teammates were out of commission then they'd be at a heavy disadvantage.

"Mai, tell me more about barrier seals. Your clan has unique seals, correct? Can the barrier seals block our chakra signature? Can they directly see our safehouse?" Naruto asked the silver-haired priest, curious as to what a clan that rivaled the Uzumaki could do.

Mai's eyes gleamed for a moment before the current circumstances and her own uncertainty of Miryo's fate sunk back in. "Well we have dozens of barrier seals but we're being covered by a level 3 full protection barrier. A level 3 requires various preparations but all that's been done here."

"And exactly what does a level 3 full protection barrier entail?" Naruto replied, now even more curious. "It's a combination of almost a dozen barrier seals intertwined to run off of 2 to 3 power sources such as chakra storage seals, seal masters or even prisoners.. Some seals can use Nature chakra although it burns out the seal. We haven't been able to stabilize the use of Nature chakra as a battery.

It has a physical barrier, a chakra barrier that suppresses and even hides chakra from experienced sensors and doujutsu users. It has a couple strong genjutsu seals to hide our location and mislead pursuers. A barrier that notifies us and gives us certain information on intruders, and an emergency barrier that forms directly on the outside of the safehouse.

The emergency barrier is lethal to intruders although it's the hardest to maintain. It should be enough for at least another day or two Naruto-sama." Sakura knew what she wanted to do about halfway through Mai's description of the barrier but it all depended on Naruto.

Naruto figured the barrier was about as good as barriers get. Even better than his compound's barrier in some ways. He'd take a day's rest to see if his team gets better by then but after 24 hours, he'd confront the shinobi regardless.

Konoha, Jiraiya and Hiruzen were in the Hokage's office discussing plans for the village's jinchuriki. "The gaki and his team are growing strong fast. He's a liability and needs to be loyal to the village before the war begins. He'll need to be stronger than he is now and if he gets too much stronger before he's under our control, we won't be able to control him at all.

Even worse, there's an organization called the Akatsuki whose goal is to collect all the biju. They're composed of 7 or more s-rank shinobi from what I've gathered so far. I don't know much else about them but they're no joke. We need to move fast." Jiraiya said as Hiruzen puffed on his pipe.

He'd received a report about the akatsuki from Jiraiya a few months before so he was aware that it held shinobi like Itachi Uchiha in its ranks. "You are right my boy, but things aren't as easy as it seems. The boy's quickly gained a hefty amount of political power both in konoha and somehow in the fire capital.

He's a dual clan head to add. If we move wrong, the village will become disjointed right before a war." The aged Sarutobi responded. "Yeah, about that, why promote him to jounin? As a chunin his clan head status would be restricted to certain matters and his status in the village wouldn't have risen like it has.

And Why don't we just take the gaki to ibiki, he'll make him change his attitude, maybe even make one of those girls disappear for a while." Hiruzen released a heavy sigh at his student's rant, once again realizing why he hadn't passed him the hat, aside from his perverted antics.

"Jiraiya, the boy knew about his heritage and his wife-to-be was the hyuga heiress. At any time, they could've gotten married becoming adults fully in konoha law anyway which would've allowed him to take up the mantle of clan head. . Additionally, while they were genin, or if i had only promoted them to chuunin, then they would've been able to freely remove themselves from the shinobi roster.

With the backing of the old hyuga clan, even I wouldn't have been able to heavily influence the boy. Clan's can't remove jounin from the shinobi roster without the Hokage's or council's approval. Also, aside from the fact that abducting and torturing a clan head would have the Daimyo throwing a fit, how do you expect to effectively do such a thing when his chakra can't be sealed, as you've demonstrated.

Even if we bind him, he can defend himself in multiple ways. We could attempt to use Hinata or Haku as a hostage to get him to comply, but what is his breaking point? We know his sanity isn't fully intact, so at what point will the boy release the demon?"

Jiraiya interrupted to point out that the yondaime's seal was the closest thing to perfection but Hiruzen silenced him with a glare. "If he can absorb seals, I highly doubt you want to test what the power of his eyes and the demon could do together. The village couldn't take another kyuubi attack before a war! No, we have to move smart, not quick." Hiruzen finished nearly out of breath.

After all these years, Jiraiya still lacked the political forethought. Even Naruto seemed to be able to play it underneath his angry outbursts, Hiruzen lamented. Jiraiya grumbled. "Well we have to do something. We can't just let Danzo get a hold of him. He's better off in our hands. I can probably even make it seem like whatever we do is Danzo's work.

You know my spy network's a bit more than a spy network. Look, Sensei, it's just a gaki." "Jiraiya, he has the backing of the aburame, possibly the new hyuga clan, noble families in the fire court, two clans of his own, and most important of all, Tsunade senju. She's settled her debts after the chuunin exams, returned to full training, re-established her political connections, and now even has a highly coveted bloodline.

She could cause all types of hell in konoha, maybe even take the hat if you can't get your act together in time." "Old man, we both know I'm not cut out to sit in an office all day. You're gonna have to hold onto it until after the war and kakashi can take it, and it's not too late to get Tsunade on our side." Jiraiya responded.

Hiruzen sighed before continuing. "I might not be able to, the daimyo and some on the council are pressuring me to choose another Hokage. As you know, the daimyo and the council can override me if they are in agreement that there's a better candidate.

Tsunade might never forgive us, we both know that, but let's get back to the boy. I want you to take him out of the village for a year or until the war with Iwa begins. Do what you must, but it's imperative that he's loyal to the village, even if you don't have much time to train him.

Right now, his team's on a mission very few shinobi teams could handle. I doubt they'll all return alive but with his ability to recover and the Kyuubi's help, he should." Hiruzen handed Jiraiya the mission details. "When he returns, I expect he'll be in a particularly vulnerable state.

That's where you come in. I'll have you complete the mission, possibly even bringing him along with you. Once you've avenged his teammates, you'll offer to train him so he'll be powerful enough to protect his precious people. From there it's all on you." Hiruzen finished and repacked his pipe as he watched the gears turn in his student's head.

"I see what you're going for but you understand there's a high chance he dies on this mission, even with the kyuubi. This demon has a documented catastrophic history, and what if they simply retreat?" Jiraiya asked in response.

"They're young, inexperienced, and quickly growing in power. They even landed a hit on the great toad sannin though it was a special circumstance. They won't be able to see the underlying danger and likely won't take the necessary precautions when dealing with such an unknown power.

Even more, they won't know when to immediately pull out which means they won't turn around before they get in over their heads. Even still, they're talented and will know it's a lost cause eventually. They Should be Talented enough that the boy returns at least." Hiruzen said pointedly.

"That's a huge risk, and what if the boy dies? We have a war coming up, we'll need a jinchuriki." Jiraiya responded. "Then we wait 3-5 years for the kyuubi to reappear in the land of noodles before we seal it into someone else. We won't have a jinchuriki regardless if we don't get him under control."

The Toad sannin hesitated for a moment as he let those words wash over him for a moment. "You're right. He's Minato's son but if we can't trus't him to be loyal to the village then he may be better off dead. I've seen the anger in that boy, and he can be dangerous enemy for the village if he deserts in the future." Jiraiya responded steely.

"Yes, but it shouldn't come to that. I expect to see a humbled jinchuriki return to the village soon. I'll handle the council and Tsunade while you get him out of the village. They'll only know what they need to.

Being the Hokage means you have to do what must be done, remember that boy." Hiruzen said released a heavy sigh, nodded, and shrugged his shoulders. He'd just do his part when it was time.

Tsunade's office, konoha hospital. Tsunade was finalizing the procedures for a program she intended to implement in the next war. Medical ninja would be added as extra members to teams so combat ability wouldn't be lessened with one member training in medical ninjutsu. It would only apply to heavy combat or certain specialized teams but it would save countless lives in the process.

Interrupting her thoughts,Someone opened the door to her office in the hospital without even knocking. Tsunade was ready to break a few bones until she heard the tap of a cane and saw a bandaged figure she despised so readily. The old warhawk Danzo walked in and closed the door before taking a seat across from the slug princess.

"Tsunade," he remarked. "Danzo," She replied. After a short stare off Danzo dropped a scroll on the desk and motioned for his counterpart to read it. After giving her enough time to hesitantly pick up the scroll and read it, Danzo finally spoke.

"You're probably wondering why I've provided you with random mission details? Well I assure you, you'll appreciate this visit. We have a mutual interest after all." Tsunade eyed Danzo curiously before responding. "What mutual interest, and what does this mission have to do with me? It's something more suited for an elite anbu team or Jiraiya."

"We both wish the best for Naruto, that's our mutual interest. As for this mission, it was given to Nartuto's team about a week ago. Assigned by Hiruzen himself to Naruto, Hinata, Shino, and Sakura." Tsunade's eyes widened and she hoped to Kami that Danzo was just playing her.

"What!? That's not. Danzo, if you're lying, I'll cripple your other arm!" Tsunade shouted. Danze banged his cane on the ground creating a resounding 'Thunk'. This seemed to bring Tsunade to her senses as she glared at the warhawk.

"Surely, Hiruzen wouldn't give a mission like this to a newly promoted jounin leading a team of lower ranked shinobi," she said. Danzo inwardly smirked. "He would and he did. I believe Hiruzen's up to something regarding the boy. He probably believes he'll survive but doesn't think his whole team will.

It may be some ploy to gain the boy's loyalty but how, I'm unsure." Danze said smoothly. Tsunade gritted her teeth while rereading the mission details. "That old man's gone too far!" Tsunade's desk exploded into thousands of pieces when she slammed her hand down and Danzo simply glared at her, seemingly untouched.

"Tsunade, before you do something rash, know that I've already sent two teams of shinobi to check on the boy although as we both know it will be too late if they aren't able to handle it themselves. At the very least they should be able to rescue Naruto should he still be alive."

Danzo stopped speaking to block Tsunade's path to the doorway, which was probably headed to the land of noodles or to Hiruzen's office, both of which was the wrong option at the moment. "Move Danzo or you're first" "Enough," Danzo said as he slammed his cane on the ground again.

"You are a seasoned shinobi and even more you are brilliant. You know that you won't be able to do anything to affect their mission any more than my shinobi will at this point. Fighting the hokage will only leave the boy defenseless if he comes back in bad shape. Don't be a fool. Sit. Down."

Danzo motioned for her chair and even laced in a small genjutsu with his hidden sharingan. Tsunade honestly knew he was right but she needed to do something about Hiruzen and if Naruto and his team didn't return in good health, she'd take Naruto away from the village herself.

"Hiruzen won't get away with this one. I won't fail Naruto this time, not again." Tsunade said weakly, trying not to think of the worst. "He won't and we'll make sure of it. Because of this, I believe we have enough evidence to present to the council and fire daimyo to remove him from his seat." Danzo said.

Tsunade paused in her negative thoughts due to her suspicion of Danzo. "And you think I'll help you become hokage? That's why you're here? Well forget it, I won't support someone else who wants to control Naruto." Danzo sighed, he knew his chances at becoming hokage were close to none and he wasn't surprised at her reaction but he was silently dismayed.

"No, I've come to the realization that I'll never become Hokage and if I do, it won't be for long. No, I'm here because I want you to become Hokage. Naruto will need a Hokage in his corner until he is ready." Danzo said with the slightest bit of resignation.

The Senju was taken aback, gaping like a fish at the words that just came out of Danzo's mouth. To think he was endorsing her as the next Hokage and giving up on his ambition was unfathomable but something he said stuck in her mind, 'until he is ready'.

"As much as I'd like to believe you, it's hard to. And what do you mean by, 'until he's ready'?" She responded. "I've come to terms with the fact that I'll never be the Hokage of this village but I will die content knowing I've left the village in the proper hands. Unlike the first Hokage and Hiruzen, Naruto isn't weak.

He doesn't hold the will of fire and the crippling need to make peace. He sees a threat and eliminates it. Naruto will become my apprentice and I'll ensure his clan thrives in Konoha. He will protect the village because the village protects his clan, and he will grow his clan to be the strongest the elemental nations have ever seen.

Naruto will bring Konoha to the undisputed power of the world whether he knows it or not. I will make him into the ultimate leader, weapon, and shinobi. I won't even force him, he will come to me himself. That's why I need you in the Kage seat." Danzo finished speaked and conveyed his resolve with his single visible eye.

The female sannin was torn between believing Danzo or writing him off as a psychopath. Either way he was right about her becoming Hokage. She'd begun planting seeds for it anyway and with him backing her, it was definitely possible. But it'd be for nothing in the end if Naruto didn't return alive.

"I'll give Naruto another 3 more days to make contact before I go to the land of noodles myself. Until then, what do you suggest?" Tsunade finished her question and could've sworn she saw Danzo's upper lip twitch as if the emotionless warhawk was hiding a smile. She'd make sure to tread carefully with Danzo.

24 hours had passed, his two teammates were still out cold, and there were still people in the surrounding area looking for them. It was time for the blonde jonin to act. His chakra coils weren't much better but they were good enough for him to create clones and maybe do a few small jutsu. Furaijin was still too hot to touch and he wondered if would recover any time soon if at all.

Sakura and Mai would look after the barrier and prepare for a possible evacuation. Naruto made his way outside and immediately searched the vicinity with his senses. There were four enemy shinobi which meant one just arrived or one was just good enough to avoid detection from Sakura and Mai.

It didn't matter in the end, it just made things more difficult. The crows who'd been scouting the area since they set up in the safehouse gave him an update on the shinobi's activities through the crows' memories.

The group of shinobi traveled together following a dark skin, brown haired shinobi with strange eyes. The fourth member appeared out of nowhere about 20 minutes before Naruto left the safehouse. Naruto was intrigued that two of the group had crimson red hair, much like the signature of the Uzumaki clan.

He didn't know what to do with that knowledge, he needed more information. Naruto slowly created 10 shadow clones and sent them ahead to engage the group of shinobi. If possible, he'd rather avoid a fight in his current shape with his teammates down.

He wouldn't put Hinata in any more danger because of his bloodlust, especially since she'd already been so close to death on this mission. He could still remember her armless body shooting out blood,too much blood. The sight was seared into his mind and he wanted nothing more than to get Hinata back to the compound where she was safe.

Focusing on the objective ahead, Naruto made his way to the shinobi team as stealthily as possible. The ten Naruto clones used their speed to quickly surround the group while hiding in the trees and shadows. The Shinobi seemed to just be waiting in a clearing but instantly took up a defensive position when the clones arrived.

They seemed to be guarding one of the members of the group because she was in the middle of a triangle formation. She looked to be in her mid 20's and was dressed like a civilian wearing an expensive, casual white kimono with black pants and sandals. She had long blood red hair that reached past her butt and striking silver eyes.

There were three shinobi forming a triangle around her, all wearing similar shinobi uniforms and headbands. The symbol on their headbands was a familiar swirl, the uzumaki clan symbol and the symbol of the former village of uzushio. They wore burnt orange flak jackets, black pants, and black long sleeved shirts with gray scarves.

A kunoichi guarded the woman's left flank, she had wild red hair coming from under a gray bandana, fierce brown eyes with a katana on her back and flute in her hands poised at her lips. She was cute despite the scowl on her face. Naruto noted that she was the one to signal the others of the clone's presence.

On the civilian's right flank was a ninja with black hair that went slightly past his chin. He had extra long black sleeves that completely hid his hands and he wore a gray bandana from his waist that held the familiar swirl. Naruto could see hints of steel protruding from his sleeves and imagined the weapon to be a metal claw.

The last member of the group had short black hair braided neatly into rows, almond brown skin and extremely weird eyes. His eyes had a slight purple tinge and ripple pattern that looked like 6 rings in his eyes. He was carrying a black staff with a circle holding multiple rings at the top end and he had a gray bandana wrapped around his right arm.

He seemed sort of frail but was hiding a lot of muscle, Naruto knew better than to assume. He sensed power behind those eyes too. Besides the woman they were guarding, they all looked to be around Naruto's age, just 2 or 3 years older.

Naruto kept some distance behind his clones and reached out with his senses while his clones stayed hidden. "Come out, show yourself, cowards," The Shinobi with long sleeves screamed to the trees surrounding the clearing. "Yea, come out and face us like a man," the ripple eyed shinobi added.

The real Naruto was busy analyzing what he could of their chakra and he was intrigued at what he was finding. His clone's sensory abilities were not as good as the original so one of the clones spoke up from his hiding spot, using chakra to echo and deepen its voice. "Why are you here? Answer me then leave." The clone responded.

The civilian dressed woman seemed to find it funny if her giggle was any indication. "We're not leaving until we find Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki, you sneaky fuck." The red haired kunoichi asserted. Naruto was taken aback because even if someone was looking for him, how'd they know where to find him outside of the village.

Naruto released a killing intent that smothered the area like a heavy blanket. "And what business do you have with him? You will improve my chances of survival if I don't like your answer." The clone's ominous voice boomed from all directions. The red-haired civilian giggled again, her voice was melodic.

"Improve what.. your chances of survival? Dude, what are you talking about? Where's Naruto?" The ripple eyed shinobi yelled out. "Tayuya, how many are out there? Looks like we're going to have to force out an answer." The long sleeved shinobi said.

The red haired kunoichi, presumably Tayuya, responded snarkily. "Gimme a second dammit. There's.. Ten of them and wait. I think they're clones, they all have the same chakra signature." "So it's a bluff, Ha! Come on, let's bring em out Sora," The ripple eyed shinobi said.

"Keep up Rollo!" The long sleeved shinobi, Naruto presumed to be Sora, responded before the two dashed into the surrounding treeline looking for their hidden enemy. The ripple eyed shinobi, Rollo, was the first to encounter a barrage of chains that nearly impaled him and forced him back into the clearing while the black haired shinobi, Sora was able to dodge a flying kick from a naruto clone before another clone sent him back into the clearing with a follow up roundhouse.

"You idiots, we're still surrounded, you can't just go running in blind. Form up now!" Tayuya shouted vehemently. Her team did as commanded and they again assumed the defensive position around the red haired civilian. While Naruto's clones were keeping the group busy, Naruto was able to learn some very unlikely facts about the enemy group of shinobi.

Ever since he'd given so many clans bloodlines and analyzed their chakra, he became adept at telling a person's clan by their chakra signature. From what he could tell, the civilian and tayuya were Uzumaki's and their red hair confirmed it.

The rollo guy with rippled eyes was a senju, his chakra reminded Naruto of the shodai, Tsunade's and now that Naruto thought about it, Shizune's. He'd have to reconfirm next time he saw shizune, but Rollo was definitely a senju and he had a powerful doujutsu that naruto had never seen before.

Naruto could feel the unique and potent chakra in those eyes, he wanted a sample of its chakra. The shinobi sora was also peculiar because he had Kurama's chakra sealed within him. Naruto's seigan could see crude seals covered by masterful ones and sensed the chakra, leaving him to wonder how there could be another kyuubi jinchuuriki.

What intrigued Naruto the most of all was the civilian woman. Her chakra reserves were heavily suppressed and sealed away but what he found unbelievable was the vast number of seals and the complexity of which they were woven onto her body was amazing. she was loaded.

Even more, her chakra seemed so, mature. It seemed almost old, he got the same sort of feeling from Kurama's chakra and wondered if she really was as young as she looked. He tried to decipher the seals littering her entire body but it'd take him months to unravel them using his seigan to its full capacity.

Naruto was sensing her out as much as he could when the two shinobi, rollo and sora, made their move before being sent back into the clearing. As they returned to a defensive position, the civilian woman looked directly to where Naruto was hiding, the real one. Even the team's sensor, Tayuya, had failed to sense the real Naruto's presence but Naruto felt that this woman could the whole time.

Yet for some reason she said nothing and simply smiled at him while her guards were oblivious. Naruto opted to wait and see how things would unfold, he didn't know what to do with the information he'd gathered so far.

Tayuya positioned a polished flute to her mouth while giving her teammates a look. They nodded and entered a fighting stance. Naruto guessed they were getting serious and finally acting like shinobi. The redhead started playing her flute and he could immediately tell it was a genjutsu. He saw every note as chakra pouring from her flute and seemed to dance through the air.

The tune was so enticing and he noticed himself beginning to slip under the influence of the genjutsu. Naruto leaked chakra from his eyes to surround him with enough to interfere with tayuya's chakra soundwaves. Unfortunately most of his clones weren't able to combat the genjutsu quick enough and were immobilized by a trancelike genjutsu.

Tayuya pointed out the clones' locations while Sora used metal claws to cut them down. Rollo opted for using his staff and a doton rock shard jutsu to eliminate a few clones. A few more of the clones put up a decent fight before being dispelled.

When there was only one clone left, it jumped into the clearing before being surrounded by Tayuya, rollo, and sora. The clone just looked on impassively. "Hey, doesn't this look like the Naruto were looking for?" Rollo said.

"It is him! And you were supposed to be tough, with everyone talking about what you did at the chunin exams and Lumia-sama telling us to be careful. I thought a fight with you would actually be difficult." Sora added.

"Last chance to answer my question. What do you want from Naruto Namiuzu?" The clone said stoically. "Yea, like you're in any position to make demands shit face," Tayuya replied with a snarl. "Look it's easier if you don't resist, we just want to talk." Rollo reasoned as he and Sora made their way closer to Naruto.

Tayuya was watching with skepticism because if it really was the Naruto NamiUzu, they were looking for, it wouldn't be this easy. She sensed a buildup of chakra from Naruto and jumped screaming, "move, now!"

Rollo grabbed Sora and jumped away as fast as he could but the force of the explosion still sent them flying. Rollo knew it was a clone but didn't want to say anything in hopes it'd draw out the real one. His eyes could easily tell a clone but they couldn't see through objects and they only had slightly better physical eyesight than normal eyes.

He was looking for the real Naruto when the clone built up chakra to explode so he missed it until his teammate warned him. Sora was almost blasted to pieces by the guy he'd just said was easy to beat. There's no way they'd let him forget this when they got back to Uzu, the boy thought.

Tayuya scanned her surroundings and fought the urge to yell when he saw Naruto holding a kunai to Lumia's neck. "Lumia-sama! Don't you dare lay a finger on her," yelled an angry Tayuya. Rollo and Sora heard Tayuya's scream and dashed to her side while glaring at Naruto.

They were slightly singed. The red haired civilian gazed into Naruto's eyes before her own silver ones took on a faraway look, as if she was taking a trip down memory lane. A moment later she came back to focus and gave him a smile. Naruto was confused that he didn't sense an ounce of fear, malice, or really any negative emotion.

The woman actually seemed to be happy to see him. Ignoring the kunai to her neck, Lumia turned to Naruto and placed a gentle hand on his cheek. "It's been so long since I saw those eyes, though, they aren't quite complete are they?" She said nonchalantly.

Naruto was at a loss for words. Where had she seen his eyes before and what did she know about them? What did she mean by incomplete. "What are you doing here and what do you want with me?" Naruto asked coldly, holding the knife to the woman, Lumia's neck.

"Hihi, You're so cute. I'm Lumia Uzumaki, leader of Uzushio from the hidden land of whirlpools. I heard you were in the area and think it's the perfect time to talk to the Namikaze-Uzumaki clan head." Lumia responded bubbly.

"How? Uzushio fell in the 3rd great ninja war, and talk to me about what?" Naruto questioned. "If we truly fell then why is the island still unbothered by other shinobi nations. Why are we here in front of you now? No, hihi, Uzushio is alive and well, young Namikaze-Uzumaki.

I wish to speak to you regarding a certain Uzumaki clan transaction." Lumia responded with a wink. Naruto sighed, he couldn't sense much of anything from this woman and all the seals surrounding her were getting nauseating. One thing he could sense or something he just knew. She wasn't a threat.

"Lumia-san, If you want to speak, come with me peacefully, you won't be harmed." He said, trying to hide his growing confusion and anticipation. He needed to speak to her but couldn't trust a whole group of shinobi when his team was out of commission.

"She's not going anywhere with you. She's the leader of our village!" The ripple eyed boy Rollo said. "Lumia-sama, stay still, we'll handle this." Tayuya said, raising her flute to her mouth.

"Enough, I'll speak to him. Wait for me here ok?" Lumia said sweetly. "But Lumia-sama, we can't just-" Sora was cut off by a sweet look from Lumia that said not to argue. Naruto grabbed Lumia by the waist and they both disappeared via shunshin to the outside of the safehouse's barrier.

The three Uzushio shinobi stood in the clearing looking at each other wondering if everything would be fine. Their leader was as far as they knew, untouchable but the stories about Naruto along with his bingo book entry was enough to worry.

From outside the barrier. Naruto performed a few hand seals to allow the woman to pass unbothered and led her to the shack that held the safe house beneath. He could speak to her there without directly showing her the exact location of his teammates though it was still too close for his comfort. Using a half ram seal, Naruto channeled chakra and stomped a foot onto the ground before two chairs and a table grew from the floorboards.

"Ooh that was a nice trick," Lamia said, clapping playfully before taking a seat. She seemed way too relaxed which had Naruto on edge but he reluctantly took a seat as well. Giving Lumia another look over, Naruto noticed how gorgeous the woman before him was. Her silver eyes highlighted her bright smile and held a nice contrast to her crimson hair.

"Well, it seems that all we're missing is tea, right Naruto kun?" Lamia then placed her palm on her sleeve before a steaming hot tea kettle and two cups appeared on the table. This was somewhat comical to Naruto because it's what he'd honestly expect from an Uzumaki but he kept his face as blank as ever.

"Why are you looking for me?" Naruto asked, attempting to get to the point. "Ah, Ah, Ah, this is our first time meeting Naruto-kun, let's not be in such a rush. Try the tea, it's the best Uzushio has to offer."

Naruto looked at the woman as if she was stupid. Why would he drink tea from a possible enemy? "Oh relax, it's not poisoned. That wouldn't be a nice way to treat family now would it." Lumia finished speaking and took a long sip while motioning Naruto to do the same.

Naruto smelled the tea and ran a few poison tests his sensei crow had shown him after he was poisoned as a kid. After finding nothing, he took a sip. Worse case Kurama could purge it from his system and this woman seemed familiar to Naruto. He knew he'd never met her but something about her seemed to make him comfortable.

The tea was delicious but he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of knowing it. Lumia looked at Naruto and giggled as if she already knew which annoyed the blonde. "So, Lumia-san, what are two Uzumaki, a Senju, and an impossible kyuubi jinchuriki doing looking for me. I also thought Uzushio was destroyed almost 30 years ago but you're saying I'm wrong?"

Taking another sip from her tea, Lumia decided to get to the impatient boy's answers and noted that he was observative knowing her name already. "We do have a request and a proposition but the real reason we're here is because you're family. You see, Uzushio never truly died and the Uzumaki clan, although scarce, still lives on.

Once we heard you were in the land of noodles, we made Uzushio's first official mission since its fall almost 30 years ago, a diplomatic mission to negotiate terms with the NamiUzu clan."

"How is that possible? Uzushio was said to have been raided for everything it had, even though they destroyed over half the invading force. No survivors were left and very few were able to escape. The island isn't even approachable anymore, the battle caused the whirlpools surrounding the island to grow and multiply. Konoha barely had time to send a team in who found almost nothing before it became unapproachable." Naruto replied.

Legally, he owned the Island because it was claimed by the fire daimyo until the uzumaki clan was reestablished or the uzumaki died out. When he claimed the clan in Konoha, it was given back to his clan although there was nothing anyone could do with it anyway.

Lumia took on a solemn expression which highly contrasted her bubbly personality up until now. "It's true, Naruto. During the fall of Uzu, we were out of options. Kiri and Kumo were relentless and outnumbered us 10 to 1 in the surprise attack. Konoha never answered our pleas for assistance.

Sky country joined shortly after the initial attack. They attacked from the air once our barriers finally failed and we were forced into evacuation tactics. In normal circumstances, our secondary barrier seals and expansive network of defensive seals would've been enough to stall the enemy but sky country had a weapon strong enough to destroy the island.

Their attack destroyed the secondary barriers and things fell apart from there. Although we were able to decommission sky country's weapon and halt their attack, Kumo and kiri still had far more numbers than we could handle head on. We were forced to seal away the island."

Naruto's expression slightly dropped to one of disbelief but he never interrupted her. "Our final failsafe to protect Uzushio's secrets and anyone we could was to completely seal the island. There was a hidden chamber underneath the village large enough for roughly a thousand people and as many as we could were sealed inside with enough provisions to last a year. The final failsafe sealed away every building with important documents, items or objects with historical importance.

The seal churned the waters around the island making it impossible to pass, and a barrier formed completely cutting off the island from the rest of the world. The process takes a few months to complete and until the process was completed the whole island would experience devastating storms.

The only ones to survive were the ones sealed in the chamber under the village. Ironically only 2 uzumaki made it into the chamber before it was sealed, me and another. The others who'd made it were civilians or other shinobi clan's apart of uzushio. The Uzumaki women and children who were meant to be in the chamber died in the blast that destroyed the secondary barrier defenses; they may have been the target.

Because of this, every remaining Uzumaki fighter chose to fight to the death while they allowed the civilians and other Uzu shinobi to pack the chamber. They fought to the end and the invading parties weren't able to get any of Uzushio's true secrets. Only what they could find when raiding the homes of the village or taking off the body of a Uzumaki shinobi.

By the time any shinobi village would be prepared to unearth the secrets of Uzushio, the island was sealed off. Since then, we've been safe on Uzu, but also trapped. It wasn't until 7 years ago were we able to unseal the barrier surrounding the Island. Even now, we need special seals to get off and back on the island. It hasn't been easy."

Lumina finished speaking on the verge of tears but she quickly fought them back and took a deep breath. Naruto had checked her chakra when she was speaking and he couldn't find any evidence of a lie but one thing didn't make sense, this woman looked to be in her mid twenties while the fall of uzu was almost 30 years ago.

Why did it sound like she was there in person? "Lumia-san, I'm inclined to believe you, but why do you speak as if you were there? Also, are those shinobi from uzu, and how is one a senju and how did one have kyuubi's chakra?" Naruto's head was starting to hurt, heavy thinking was usually Hinata's specialty.

Lumia chuckled at Naruto as if she could sense his confusion and frustration. Then the idea came to Naruto that maybe she could. she might be able to sense emotions just like him and even mito uzumaki.

"I was there, but that isn't important right now. I'm sure you can understand secrets for one's own privacy. As for Rollo, and Sora, the answer is yes and no. We used to occasionally have senju join us on the island in their retirement so they could raise their kids or enjoy old age without constant fear of enemies. The senju are cousins to the Uzumaki afterall. \

Rollo's mother was a young girl in uzu when the village fell. She grew up on the sealed island and met a man before getting married and having rollo but unfortunately, his mother died during childbirth. His father succumbed to illness a few years later and I raised him from then on.

I found Tayuya 7 years ago when we finally got the island unsealed. I went searching for as many Uzumaki as I could but Tayuya was the only one I was able to bring back. She was taken from her family by a nasty little snake called orochimaru but I was able to get her away and to Uzu.

I found sora 5 years ago living at the fire temple. His father had gathered the excess chakra from Kyuubi's attack on konoha 13 years ago and cultivated it before sealing it into Sora. His father lost his life when Sora rampaged, unable to control the chakra. From then he was raised at the fire temple but they feared him and were unable to handle his problem so I brought him back to uzu.

They've lived in uzu and trained to become shinobi since then." Lumia smiled brightly before continuing. "Tayuya is a recently promoted jounin of Uzu while Rollo and Sora are chunin. They're some of the best Uzushio has to offer." She finished happily.

Naruto took a moment to go over everything he'd heard, to think that there was a senju, more uzumaki, and a surviving Uzushio was amazing. "How many Uzumaki do you have in Uzu now and when you say your first official mission, is Uzushio officially announcing itself as a village?" Naruto asked.

"Including me, only 3. There's only a handful of us left in the world and gathering them isn't an easy task. As for Uzushio, yes, we're announcing our presence to the world very soon. We wanted to make sure we were strong enough and had sufficient defenses. Better ones than last time before we showed ourselves to the world.

Over the last 7 years we've been able to secretly grow our shinobi forces by accepting refugees and some of the lost clan's of Kiri. Up until a year ago, the mizukage waged a blood war against all kekkei genkai clans and families in Kiri. For nearly 5 years we rescued those we could and found those who were tired of killing their own people.

We even gained a significant number of members from the land of lightning due to kumo forcing anyone with promise to become a ninja. Once people began to flee, we would offer them a new place to live and defend if they wanted.

It's a funny coincidence that the lands who tried to destroy us ended up giving us the boost needed to return." Lumia seemed extra proud about that fact and Naruto guessed she had a hand in the recruiting.

"Wouldn't word have gotten out about Uzu if you were recruiting and accepting refugees? And why would you tell me all this?" Naruto replied, his inner skepticism coming to light. "Don't underestimate Uzu Naruto-kun, we've had years to train and hone our skill without interference, you'd be surprised at what we've accomplished.

All I will say for now is that we only allowed teams of jounin or our ops teams to leave the island and they would conduct espionage while looking for potential residents or future shinobi of Uzu. We never forced anyone although I won't lie in saying we were opportunistic in offering those who didn't have many other options but we never offer empty promises.

As for others discovering Uzu or hearing word of it, we never discuss Uzushio or carry anything that would indicate the village. Even those we recruit or give asylum aren't given the location, name, or description of Uzu. Until today that is. As you can see, we're trying out the new Uzushio uniforms. Do you like them?"

Naruto didn't feel the need to answer her question with everything else he was learning but slightly felt bad when she pouted. "Do you know where all the Uzumaki are? I'm planning on rebuilding a clan too. At first I wanted to rebuild the Namikaze and Uzumaki clans but lately I've been wanting to create a new clan altogether with as many Uzumaki as possible. And," he paused before continuing, " why haven't you asked me any questions?"

Lumia giggled and gave Naruto a knowing look, "I have my ways of finding out things my dear Naruto-kun, but never mind that. I will tell you about most Uzumaki but there's one that I'll keep to myself. He's not someone you'd want to meet at this point in time."

Lumia seemed to laugh to herself but son continued. "There's me, Tayuya, and Ashiren in Uzu. You're in Konoha with the slug princess. There's one in Taki although I doubt for much longer.

The little snake Orochimaru has his hands on one and I'm not sure we'll be able to get her out anytime soon. He keeps her close after losing Tayuya. There's three siblings in Tsuna and you almost killed one of them during the finals of your chunin exams. Good matches by the way. I won some money on you and konoha was so lively after you won."

Naruto wondered if she was there for the exams and figured she probably was when she winked at him before continuing. "There's one in Kiri who's soon to become the next Mizukage. And the last uzumaki is better left unsaid for the moment." Lumia finished speaking and poured herself some more tea. All the explanations were making her thirsty.

Naruto thought about the tsuna uzumaki. He fought one tsuna shinobi in the finals and it was gaara. Since gaara had two siblings it was safe to assume they were uzumaki. They must have only a little uzumaki because Naruto can't remember sensing the uzumaki in Gaara.

Now that Naruto was caught up and vastly less confused, he could see what else they wanted. "Lumia-san, I appreciate you taking the time to explain everything to me and I'm glad to find members of the Uzumaki clan, but there has to be another reason why you came to find me."

"Ah yes, I can't forget. First we'd like to offer you and your new clan a place in Uzushio. I've heard of your, not so desirable, upbringing and if you ever wanted a new home to settle down your clan with, Uzushio is open for you. And as for our request, well, since we had no contact with the outside for nearly 30 years, ownership of Uzushio has trickled down to you Naruto.

Because the Uzumaki clan had an open account and standing within the fire country, the Island was put under the daimyo's ownership until the Uzumaki clan was reestablished. Since you've claimed the Uzumaki clan in Konoha, it technically goes to you.

I want you to sign Uzushio over to us so that, legally, the fire country and konoha have no claim on our Nation and everything we've built over the years. Of course they can't have any of it and we'll fight to the end to protect our home but having you sign it over before we announce ourselves to the world would prevent anyone from attempting to stake claim to gain something or to outright find a reason to cause conflict."

Lumia asked for him to sign as politely as she could. She really hoped he wouldn't fight her on this. Naruto took a few minutes thinking it over. Having uzushio as a backup plan could pan out for the best, especially if the Island is unaligned with the fire country like it would if he signed it away.

It was their home and it would be the right thing to do in respect to the Uzumaki who died so they could live but could he just give it away for nothing. "Lumia-san, I'm not against the idea of signing over the island but as a new clan head, I can't help but ask if my clan would be getting anything in return."

Smiling warmly, Lumia unsealed a scroll from her sleeve. "It wouldn't be for nothing, I've already given you plenty of information that I'm hoping you keep to yourself. And I have a little gift here. In this scroll are a whole bag of Uzumaki goodies. Advanced communication seals, shared storage seals, location seals, chakra training seals and my personal creation, the best clone jutsu in the elemental nations."

Lumia held it out for Naruto to grab but before he touched it she pulled it back. "But before you get the scroll I'll need you to promise only to share what's inside to clan members and treat it like a highly classified clan secret." Naruto nodded before responding.

"Fine, I promise everything in this scroll will be treated as a valued clan secret. I'll sign over the Island as well but only after you tell me what you know of the seigan." Lumia handed him the scroll before taking a deep breath.

"Naruto-kun, it's been so long since I've seen those eyes and I'm not ready to relive the past. What I will tell you about your doujutsu is to be careful how you use it. It's much more powerful than you think. I'm sure your sword and the demon Miryo can attest to that." Naruto was confused again for what felt like the 20th time that day, how did she know so much.

"How do you know so much?" Naruto asked. "I have my ways, young uzumaki." Lumia sealed away her teapot and cups before standing up. "I enjoyed meeting you, Naruto-kun, but now I have to go.

My guards are probably throwing a fit by now and the village can't be without their Uzukage for too long." "You're the Uzukage Lumia-san?" Lumia giggled. "Yes, but I'll be passing on the hat when we announce our existence. With Uzu back on its feet and my little shinobi growing up, I can continue my... Travels.

I'll leave gathering the remaining Uzumaki to your clan and Uzu. There'll be a way to communicate with Tayuya and her team in the scroll. I do hope you keep in contact. Oh and before I go, I'm sure you've heard of Uzumaki metal?"

"Huh, Uzumaki metal," Naruto responded dumbly. Lumia pouted before continuing, "It's the metal used to create the 7 swords of the mist, other legendary weapons and some of Uzushio's old equipment were made with Uzumaki metal. Even your sword has some Uzumaki metal from the Raijin no ken.

I won't go into how it works, I've never really cared for it, but it's possible to infuse your chains into high-grade metals to make the smith dream material. Do with that info as you will. Until next time my little Uzumaki. I'll contact you during um, better circumstances, for your signature."

Naruto still had questions but did nothing but watch as seals expanded into a circle around Lumia before she seemingly sank into the ground but Naruto knew better. He wasn't quick enough to copy the complicated seal but he'd seen enough to know that it was a teleportation seal.

Somehow the mysterious Uzumaki was advanced enough in sealing to have a jutsu on par with the Hiraishin although he didn't know the limitations. He sent a shadow clone to check on the other shinobi but he had a strong feeling they'd be gone. With the problem solved, Naruto went to check on his teammates and mainly Hinata.