Akari baa-chan dies when Naruto is twelve years old.

When Naruto arrives home from fishing that day, he shouts, "I'm home!" like he does every day.

There's no response. It's not really unusual considering Baa-chan has been sleeping a lot lately. She hasn't been able to get out of bed for about six months, and although Naruto has been super happy to be helpful and take care of her just like she took care of him, it makes him really sad that he doesn't have anyone to talk to most of the time. Still, he knows that Baa-chan needs her rest so that she can get healthy again.

Naruto wants to surprise her when she wakes up, so he goes straight to the kitchen to make dinner.

He has learned how to cook over the past few months. At first, it was really difficult, and they ate terrible food. Baa-chan would wince with every bite before plastering on a strained smile and dishing out a compliment. Luckily most of the neighbors are kind, and they often brought meals over for them. But after a few months, under Akari-baa's constant and careful directions, Naruto learned how to make a few dishes, enough that they could eat something different every day of the week.

Today, he is going to make fish curry. He rolls the storage scroll that he takes fishing with him out onto the table and summons the food that he had stored inside. A pile of fruits and vegetables along with a few fish appear on the table.

For the hundredth time, Naruto is grateful that he is so good at storage seals and clones because with their help, today he collected enough so that he won't have to go out again for a few days, giving him more time to practice his ninja techniques. He hasn't seen Tobi-nii in a really long time, but he's certain his big brother will be back when he finally masters water walking.

Even as he cooks, he can't help but practice. He drops ingredients into the pot by hanging from the ceiling directly above. He cuts the fish by practicing his kenjutsu. He knows if Baa-chan sees him cooking like this, she would scold him. But she always says that his food is delicious, so he thinks his ninja techniques make the food taste even better.

When the meal is ready, he decides that Baa-chan has been has slept long enough. She hasn't been eating as much lately, so he's worried she'll get even sicker if she doesn't eat a hot meal regularly.

So, after filling a bowl with steaming rice and curry, he goes into her bedroom where she's sleeping. "Baa-chan," he says, "I made dinner."

She doesn't respond.

Naruto sets the bowl down on her bedside table and nudges her. "Hey, Baa-chan."

He is surprised at how cold her skin is under his touch. It feels waxy and stiff, and when he shakes her, she doesn't respond. "Baa-chan?" he asks tentatively.

As realization settles in, he sees how her lips have lost all color. Her chest doesn't rise and fall. Trying his best to ignore her cold skin, he lowers his head to rest on her chest and doesn't hear a heartbeat.

The absence of that sound confirms it. It's a sound that had comforted him all throughout his childhood. It lulled him to sleep when Baa-chan rocked him, and it made him snuggle in closer when she read to him. And now it's gone. Tears spring to his eyes, and he buries his face into her shirt, sobbing.

An unbearable fear consumes him at the idea of never ever seeing Baa-chan again. It makes him feel cold and alone.

Then, as if to mock him about what he's lost, his brain starts to rush through memories of Baa-chan, leaving Naruto to wonder whether he really did everything he could to show her that he loved her.

The first memory that comes is one that he isn't sure is a real memory or one that his brain made up because Baa-chan told the story so many times. She didn't like leaving the village; she said it made her sad. But that day when Naruto was maybe four, she took him out on a boat for the first time. She had been a nervous wreck, but Old Man Kuri, who had been driving the boat was calm and confident. So she started to relax too, that is until Naruto had stood up and launched himself into the ocean. Naruto didn't know how to swim yet and had immediately started sinking, but the Old Man had dove in and dragged Naruto to safety. Baa-chan had scolded Naruto about doing dangerous stuff like that, but Naruto had insisted that something cool was beneath them. In that moment, waves of both water and chakra swept over their small boat, and soaking wet and terrified, the Old Man had taken them right home.

Baa-chan always said that was the day she knew that Naruto was so fearless that he was destined for great things. Naruto still wonders what he had seen under the water.

Now, though, he wonders if he was maybe too difficult on Baa-chan.

Other memories follow. These ones are blurry, but they're all sweet. They're memories of mornings eating porridge in a bright and fresh kitchen, afternoons of endless brush stroke practice, and evenings watching the sunset from the porch. They're memories of things that Naruto had thought were so boring at the time, but now they feel safe and warm. They make the tears come faster.

Naruto cries until Old Man Kuri finds him and takes him away. Naruto supposes maybe the old man had heard him crying since he lives right next door, and maybe Naruto annoyed him. Old Man Kuri is always annoyed. Baa-chan used to say that he just didn't like kids, but Naruto's seen him like the other kids in town. Plus, the other villagers are also kinda grumpy around Naruto. He's pretty sure it's because of the whispers he hears sometimes about demons and the earthquakes that hit Uzushio twelve years ago. When the whispers happen, eyes always glance towards Naruto. He doesn't really get it, but he doesn't let it bother him. He's got Baa-chan and Tobi-nii, and that's all he needs.

Except he doesn't have Baa-chan anymore, and he hasn't seen Tobi-nii in months.

Old Man Kuri leads Naruto to his house, and gives him an empty room. There is way less grunting and growling than usual, and Naruto wonders if that's maybe the Old Man's way of showing sympathy. His eyes certainly aren't as hard as they usually are. There might even be some uncertainty in them as he glances around the room before closing the door.

When Naruto is alone, he looks around. The room is pretty bare. Old, salty wood has hardened into a mosaic, and a matching brown blanket covers the bed. The only changes in color come from a few knickknacks that sit on a set of shelves and two black and white pictures on the wall. Naruto checks out the pictures first. One is of a family. There is a mother, father, and a little boy, maybe about six years old, with bright, mischievous eyes and a laughing smile. The mom and dad look happy too with their hands on the boy's shoulders. The other photo is of the boy alone, a little older now, he is showing off a handstand. His shirt rides up towards his chin to reveal a skinny stomach, and his long hair brushes the ground.

On closer inspection, the knickknacks are clearly toys. There is a set of three dirtied and cracking wooden blocks. A series of moldy books. A deflated ball. And a few other old and unusable toys.

Naruto goes to the bed and pulls his blanket up to his chin. The toys and pictures make him think of dead people, and he doesn't want to think about dead people right now.

But he does have to wonder if the Old Man is giving him this room so that they can live together. He doesn't want to live with Old Man Kuri. They both know that they don't like each other. They would be miserable together!

And as he lays in the Old Man's spare bed that night, trembling with the cold that Akari Baa-chan left on his skin, he decides he can't stay.

He'll be unhappy living with the Old Man, and none of the other villagers like him. Still, Naruto knows they won't let him live alone either, even though he's totally capable. He's basically lived alone since Baa-chan became sick. He totally knows how to take care of himself! Plus, if he stays in Uzushio then he'll think about Baa-chan all the time, and that'll make him sad.

With his decision made, he then he wonders where he should go. He doesn't really know anywhere else, and he doesn't really know anyone else either. It was always just him and Baa-chan.

And Tobi-nii.

But where does Tobi-nii live? He always just appears, giving no clue of where he came from.

Naruto could wait around until he shows up again, but he's been doing that so much less frequently recently. And despite Naruto's dearest hopes, he has to admit that he doesn't really believe that Tobi-nii will come back when he masters water walking. Naruto's been having to make up his own ninja techniques more and more since Tobi-nii isn't around to help him very much.

But maybe Naruto can go searching for him.

Tobi-nii is a super cool ninja, so Naruto just has to go to a place with lots of ninja and ask for Tobi-nii. For sure someone will know him.

And if they don't, well, he can keep working on water walking, and if Tobi-nii ever decides to visit him again, he will probably be able to find him. He can probably find Naruto anywhere.

Then when he does, they can be like real brothers and live together and be shinobi together!

The thought almost lifts Naruto's mood, and it's enough to convince Naruto that the only way he'll be happy is if he gets to live with Tobi-nii.

He doesn't wait for dawn. He doesn't want to deal with the grumpy Old Man. He doesn't want to watch Akari Baa-chan's body get buried. He doesn't want to be reminded about how beautiful Uzushio is when the sun is shining on the ocean, and the world is full of color.

Those are just memories now, and he wants them to stay that way.

He slips out of the Old Man's house and runs back to Baa-chan's. Careful not to get to close to her room, he grabs everything he thinks he might need and shoves them into a bunch of storage scrolls. He takes all the food he gathered the previous day. From his room, he grabs his best practice stick, a couple of pairs of clothes, and his fox stuffed animal that Baa-chan gave him for his fifth birthday. (He promises himself that it's only coming for moral support, and it won't ever come out of the storage scroll.) It looks up at him with faded, baleful eyes, one side of its face sagging from so many nights crushed in Naruto's arms. He gives it one last squeeze and vows it really will be the last.

The seal on his wrist is meant for the most important things, which are mostly Baa-chan's most prized fuuinjutsu books and the ones that Naruto has returned to again and again and again over his years of study. The Naruto of yesterday would have called him crazy if he saw how many books he was taking. But that was yesterday when Baa-chan was alive. When Uzushio is far behind Naruto, the only way she'll live on is through his continued study of fuuinjutsu.

Naruto fights the tears that spring to his eyes when he thinks of all the times he argued with Baa-chan about studying. He can almost feel her warm body hovering behind him, making sure he takes every book that he needs.

She wanted nothing more than for him to be a fuuinjutsu master.

So he will become a fuuinjutsu master.

He takes as many books as his wrist seal will hold.

And then, when it's full, he fills a scroll and then another and another until the shelves are empty. The room suddenly feels cold and dead, as if Baa-chan's death is seeping through the house. Naruto shudders and leaves without looking back.


Kisame steps out of the ocean onto the northeastern shore of the Land of Fire and is surprised to see he's not alone on the beach. There's a kid a hundred yards or so away struggling to drag a small rowboat onto shore. The kid's cursing some old man for making it look easy.

Shame, Kisame thinks. He'd been looking forward to having the beach to himself. The sunrise over the ocean is one of of the few things he finds true joy in. Perhaps it's a reminder of the place where he grew up on the eastern shore of Mizu no Kuni, back when the world was a simpler place and he wasn't aware that everyone just sought to stab others in the back.

But this kid ruined it all.

I could just kill him, Kisame thinks. But he doesn't act on the thought. He may not be above killing children, but he has enough of a moral compass to only do so if he's ordered to or if they're a threat to himself or his mission. He pushes down the adrenaline that is still pumping through his body from his swim across the sea from Kiri. It wouldn't do to take that feeling out on a kid.

Still, he has to hold himself back form acting on it when the kid comes running down the beach yelling unbearably loudly, "Hey! Heyyy! Shinobi-san!"

Kisame sighs. Killing him would be so easy.

But instead, he turns to the brat who's wearing a big, fake grin. "Excuse me, shinobi-san, but I'm looking for a man named Tobi-nii." The words sound foreign on the kid's lips, like he's never tried to be polite before, and he has to thoughtfully shape his tongue to form each word. "Do you know him?"

"Kid, why would you think I know this Tobi-nii?"

"He's a great shinobi! And since you're a pretty strong looking shinobi too, you have to know him!" The kid warily eyes Samehada strapped across Kisame's back, but he quickly regains his determination.

Pretty strong, scoffs Kisame. I'll show him how strong I really am.

The brat seems to hesitate at Kisame's pause but quickly forges ahead with the same exuberance. "Maybe you've seen him but you don't know his name, so I'll explain him for you. He's super tall, and he wears a long black robe with a hood. He likes to wear the hood over his head but it makes him look kinda scary, so when he's with me, he doesn't put it on. He's got black hair, and he wears this weird, white mask with black stripes all over it. He's only got one eye, and it's weird and red, but he's still super strong! He's taught me all sorts of things…"

As the kid lists off a bunch of basic ninjutsu and taijutsu, Kisame turns inward. The man sounds exactly like Madara. Who else has just one Sharingan eye and wears that mask? But why in the five great nations would he be visiting a mere kid? Kisame shuffles through the options, each feeling more ridiculous than the last. Had Madara had a child recently? He couldn't imagine the man being intimate with anyone. Maybe the kid is adopted. But why would Madara bother adopting a child, and why would he leave him unsupervised in the middle of nowhere?

He stalls his thoughts. He need more information. "Where ya from, brat?"

Naruto stumbles on his words as he takes in Kisame's, but he quickly catches himself. "I'm from Uzushio!" Suddenly the joy falls from his face. "Please don't make me go back there. Baa-chan died, so I'm looking for Tobi-nii so I can live with him. He's the only person I know now."

A child from Uzushio, growing up with his grandmother knows and loves Madara so much that he calls him his brother. It doesn't make any sense. But taking the brat to Madara is out of the question. Even if Madara loved this kid back, he wouldn't want a kid running around the Elemental Nations telling everyone about his Tobi-nii.

But Kisame also can't just leave the kid here. Why would Madara take the time to visit a kid if he wasn't important in some way?

"What did you do when Tobi-san came to visit you?"

"I told you . He taught me all sorts of cool techniques, and he showed me how to keep the monster inside me from getting out. He told me I'm gonna save the world one day, so I have to become an awesome ninja, ttebayo!"

"I see," Kisame mutters. Finally, it all makes sense. Madara was keeping an eye on one of the jinchuuriki. But which one? He scours his mind and his knowledge of the jinchuuriki. He's aware of the location of all but the Sanbi and the Kyuubi. As far as he knows, even Madara doesn't know where the Sanbi is. No one seems to know whether it has yet reformed after Yagura's death. But Madara does know where the Kyuubi is. Kisame can remember various mentions of the Kyuubi and Madara's confidence that there was no need to search for it.

Kisame sighs. This all just got a lot more complicated.

He can't leave the brat here and risk Konoha ninja finding him and taking him back to the village. The strength it would add to Konoha's forces would be devastating for the Akatsuki. But he also doesn't want to risk Madara's wrath by abandoning his current mission to deliver a kid.

But perhaps he can continue his mission while keeping an eye on the brat.

"I know Madar—er Tobi," he says. He needs the kid to trust him and listen to him.

The kid's eyes light up. "You do? Can you take me to him?"

"No can do. Tobi-san is busy and doesn't have time to take care of brats right now."

The kid's face falls, "Oh. Then where should I go? I don't have a home anymore. Maybe you can tell Tobi-nii to come find me at Uzushio? I really don't want to go back there, though."

"How about this. I'm on a reconnaissance mission. You can join me if you like but only if you help me with the mission. If you do, I'll make sure to report your help to Tobi-san. Then maybe he'll invite you to come see him."

It's not a flawless plan, but it's the best he can come up with right now. It'll at least assure the kid is safe with him while he thinks of something better.

"All right!" Naruto cheers, punching the air. "Let's go!

Kisame groans at the energy. He'll make sure Madara knows how grateful he should be that he still has a jinchuuriki. All morals aside, at this point, only the prospect of Madara's wrath is keeping him from shutting the brat up for good.

As they start walking, Kisame asks, "By the way, what's your name, brat?"

"Uzumaki Naruto!" Uzumaki. Kisame's mind is starting to see connections. Kisame isn't very knowledgeable about the state of affairs in Konoha since they don't have a tailed beast for him to track, but even he knows that Uzumaki Kushina, the last jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi disappeared a little over twelve years ago without a trace. Now here's a jinchuuriki Uzumaki kid about 12 years old that looks uncannily like the Fourth Hokage…at least from what Kisame knows from the photos. Thank Kami he hasn't met the man in real life yet. Considering the kid probably holds the Kyuubi, Kisame can't reject the relatively clear evidence that Naruto is likely Uzumaki and Namikaze's kid. With that in mind, he absolutely cannot risk the kid falling into Konoha's hands.

"We'll have to change that last name."

"But why? I like my name!"

I'm going to kill this brat. "Because, it's a name that will bring a lot of unwanted attention to you. The Uzumaki clan was a powerful one, and people might want to kidnap you for you power."

"That's what Tobi-nii told me too," the kid mutters.

Good. "Matter of fact, why don't we give you a disguise too."

"But why?"

"Because you stick out like a sore thumb with your orange clothes and blond hair.

The kid's hands go up to his hair, and he pulls it down in front of his eyes. "My hair? I like my hair. Akari-baa says it's the prettiest."

Kisame sighs. It's probably healthy that the kid has so much self confidence, but Kisame could care less about the brat's mental health if it ends up making Kisame's life more difficult. He's starting to feel grateful for his life as a rogue ninja. Sure, there are plenty of downsides, but at least he doesn't have to deal with kids. "We're dyeing your hair."

Naruto pouts but doesn't complain.

Feeling confident, Kisame continues, "Do you know how to do a henge?"

"What's a henge?" Naruto asks.

Kisame grunts and just goes through the hands signs himself, giving Naruto brown hair. It's not much, but it should be enough to avoid unwanted attention from Konoha until they can get some dye on that abysmal hair.

"This will be your new appearance until we find some dye."

To Kisame's surprise, Naruto holds his fingers in a cross in front of him, and a clone pops into existence. The kid shrieks in surprise and stumbles backwards. If Kisame wasn't so annoyed, he'd laugh, but at the moment, he relishes in the kid's horror.

"Memorize it, brat. This is who you are until Tobi-san gives you permission to change it."

"I look different," Naruto says in awe.

"That's the point. Now come on and keep up, I've got a mission to take care of. Bring the clone, you can use it to practice doing a henge."

Kisame adjusts Samehada on his back and then, desperate to avoid any more conversation, leaps into the trees without looking behind to see if Naruto can follow.

"So where are we going?"

The sudden voice just behind him almost makes Kisame miss the next branch he's leaping for.

"Taki," he growls.

"Taki? I love waterfalls! We've got a whole bunch of them on Uzushio. I like jumping off of them into the water. Its super fun, and then I get to practice my ninja techniques to climb back to the the top. I've always hoped Tobi-nii would come do it with me, but he never seems to show up when I'm having fun…"

Images of Madara doing a cannonball into a pool of water is the only thing that keeps Kisame from abandoning the annoying brat. All he has to do is get him to Taki and then he can come back to the beach and enjoy a peaceful sunrise

…he hopes.


Obito steps out of Kamui onto a sunny field overlooking the glistening ocean of Uzushio, and immediately he knows something is different.

He is here for his regular checkup on the brat. Recently they have been from afar. There's been no reason to talk to the kid when there's no threat that the Kyuubi will escape. He's hoping that physical distance will also add some emotional distance to their relationship. Naruto has been growing uncomfortably attached to him.

He is in the field where he often finds Naruto playing on the beach while his clones fish. It overlooks a calm cove with reef that sidles up to the shore, the perfect place to catch fish without getting wet and a safe place for boys to play in the sea.

Obito isn't necessarily surprised that Naruto isn't around. He's not always in this field. Sometimes Obito also finds him amidst the ruins of the city. There, Naruto's antics are a lot more dangerous. He climbs crumbling pillars and explores unstable homes. He likes to find trinkets that he'll take home to the old woman or sometimes give to Obito. They're always stupid trinkets that Obito doesn't bother keeping. He's more worried about his jinchuuriki getting crushed and delaying his Eye of the Moon plans for at least another decade.

More recently, though, ever since that old woman has gotten sick, Naruto's mostly stayed near his home in the little fishing village.

Obito dons a henge and goes there next. But as he approaches the house, that feeling that something is off becomes stronger. The people in the town are acting different. They usually ignore him, but now they give him wary glances, and whispers fly unhindered through the unusually still air.

The house itself looks closed. The windows, which are usually open to usher through the relentless sea breeze, are firmly shut. It feels wrong. The friendly and predictable atmosphere of the house has always assured Obito that Naruto was living a life of naivety, a life that wasn't necessarily interesting or fulfilling but one that was far from Konoha's clutches and that made Naruto content enough that it was unlikely that he would ever give the Kyuubi the opportunity to escape the seal.

But now it's closed.

It's never been closed.

And now Obito knows that something is definitely wrong.

He hurries out of the town and then steps into Kamui, immediately reappearing inside the house. He's never been in here. It's a part of Naruto's life that he's never been interested in seeing. It's far too intimate and homely, and Obito doesn't like thinking about how long it's been since he was in a home. Still, he knows that it's empty in that way that suggests that it was vacated in a hurry.

The clutter of everyday life is scattered on every counter and table. In what must be Naruto's room, drawers hang open, and the bed is unmade. Yet, there is a bookshelf in the living room that is jarringly empty.

Neither Naruto or the old woman are anywhere in the house.

The feelings that settle in Obito's stomach at the knowledge are unfamiliar. Yes, there's rage churning in there. That one is far too familiar. It's the same rage he felt when he had found Uzumaki Kushina dead in the cave, the feeling of being thwarted, fueled on by hopelessness. But this time, he has an entire organization of S-rank nin supporting him. The Kyuubi won't slip through his fingers again.

No, the feeling is a much scarier one. It's fueled by emotions that Obito would prefer to believe he doesn't feel.

Worry.

He can't help but wonder what drove Naruto and the old woman from their home. Had they been attacked? Or worse, had Konoha finally come looking for Naruto. With that old fool of a Toad Sage running their spy network, it's not implausible that they finally got wind of a Minato look-alike scampering around Uzushio without a care. The whispers from the villagers suggest that something happened.

Obito disguises himself again, this time as an old fisherman, and, using Kamui, transports himself into a discreet part of town. He steps out onto the main road and hobbles to a roadside stand where a middle-aged woman is selling fish. He pretends he's interested in the fish, choosing one before saying, "I couldn't help but notice that house over there is all closed up. That's unusual."

"Oh yes," the woman says offhandedly as she takes out a piece of parchment. Yet, sorrow fills her gaze. "The woman who lived there passed away a few days ago."

"Oh," Obito says. It's not completely a surprise. The woman was old and sick. "That's a shame. She was a kind woman."

"She was," the vendor says wistfully in a way that makes Obito think that she's not just talking about the Naruto's guardian.

"And her grandson?" Obito asks. "She was raising a little troublemaker, wasn't she?"

"Yes, the woman says. He disappeared the same night."

Ice crawls through Obito's blood, and the mix of anger and worry surges. Disappeared?! "What happened?" he growls.

His change in demeanor startles the woman. Her eyes grow wide in fear, and she doesn't respond. She simply shakes her head twice and then hands him his neatly-packaged fish.

Obito admonishes himself for his loss of control and the loss of information that came with it.

He swipes the fish from the woman's hands even as he wonders what he'll do with it. When was the last time he cooked anything?

Whatever. He'll make Zetsu figure out what to do with it. After he finds Naruto.