"I AM an Uzumaki believe it!" Naruto shouted aloud, proudly announcing his surname.
"Tcha- Oi you can't say stuff like that so loud, our clan got decimated for a reason. Just because the Uzumaki are respected in Konoha doesn't mean other nations will feel the same way." The red-head said in a hushed voice.
"WAIT DECIMATED WHAT DO YA MEAN OUR CLAN GOT DECIMATE-."
"Keep it down Naruto." The red-head said in a stern tone.
"Oh uh, I didn't catch your name, what is it exactly?" Naruto asked, with a toothy grin covering his face.
"It's Kai, and don't forget it." Kai said with a small smirk on his face.
"Woah woah woah how did you know I'm from Konoha?" Naruto asked, genuinely concerned as to where Kai drew the connection from.
"Your forehead protector silly." Kai answered, seriously questioning the hyperactive blonde's intelligence.
"Oh, uh well about that, can you keep a secret?" Naruto said, his demeanor quickly changing into a look of doom and despair.
"What's with the sudden change of the look on his face." Kai thought inwardly.
Just barely above a whisper, Naruto said, "Well uh, I just deserted the village a few months ago."
"PFFFFTTTT WHAAAAAAAAAT!" Kai shouted, now looking at Naruto with a slightly fearful eye.
"Oi shut up! And you're talking to me about being quiet." Naruto said as he knocked Kai across the head.
"Oh, right Hehe..." Kai said after realizing his hypocrisy.
"Wait a minute, are you an Uzumaki too?" Naruto asked
"I sure am, how else did you think I knew so much about our clan?"
"That's right. So uh, where did the Uzumaki live exactly, and can we go there?" Naruto questioned, with the hope of trying to find the rest of his family.
"Well, uh Uzushiogakure is east of here, so we would have to get a boat. But all the whirlpools make it damn near impossible to enter. The only reason the Iwa-Kiri-Kumo coalition managed to land on the island was because of Kiri's talented water users, and even then, they wouldn't happen to have a strong affinity for water, would you?" Kai said
"Not at all." Naruto said, grinning sheepishly.
"I have an affinity for water but I'm no good with controlling it." Kai said, looking embarrassed at his struggles.
"Why does that matter, just train harder until you can control water like its second nature. Believe it!"
Naruto and Kai leave the restaurant and start walking over to Naruto's hotel. Naruto opens the door and walks in with Kai in tow.
"This is my place for now, it's pretty nice and I can make plenty of ramen in here, so I like it. Plus, we're gonna figure out how to get to Uzushiogakure in here!" Naruto said, determined to find his clan home, destroyed or not.
"Woah wait, I'm not going there, you can figure that out yourself. I like land just the way it is, I'm not drowning with you." Kai said, the fear of drowning taking over his judgement.
"Well, I already sent a few shadow clones to look for information on how to navigate whirlpools. Until then we're gonna train harder until we can make the whirlpools move for us!" Naruto said with renewed determination.
Kai just shook his head in disbelief, just wondering how Naruto can stay optimistic all the time. 'Whirlpools move for us. Yeah right.'
Naruto went back outside and to a nearby pond to practice chakra control and fighting on water. He starts by dashing around the pond as fast as he can and then starts sparring with shadow clones to up the intensity.
"Man shadow clones are the ultimate jutsu, I don't see how I didn't figure this out sooner." Naruto shouted with glee
Kai watches Naruto spar with himself on the ponds surface, staring in amazement at how he can stick to the water without falling inside. Kai himself is practicing his chakra control by doing the leaf exercise which involves sticking as many leaves as you can to different parts of your body.
"Hey Naruto, you gotta teach me how to make clones like that, they seem pretty useful."
Naruto sprints from the pond to Kai's location, and shows him how to do the jutsu.
"Try not to make so much at first, it really drains you ya know." Naruto warns, trying to save his cousin the trouble.
Kai form's the cross symbol with his hands and creates 100 copies of himself.
"Gahhh, t-t-t-to many." Kai says, fumbling for words due to chakra exhaustion.
"Oh uh, yeah you take a break over there, I'm gonna finish my training." Naruto says before walking off to the pond, ready to continue conditioning his body.
Kai took a warranted nap while Naruto finished his training until sunset arrived. Naruto went over to Kai to wake him up, drowsy himself. He lifted Kai from the ground and Kai stirred into consciousness. The walk home was long and brisk, but they both arrived at Naruto's apartment. And before they knew it, both of them passed out on the floor.
Next few weeks.
Over the next few weeks, Naruto and Kai pushed past their limits, training to be better fighters while learning and applying chakra theory, with Naruto gaining better control over his wind and lightning release. Kai seemed to have had a major breakthrough with water release, trying a new type of training.
While Kai was strolling through town, he found a book of basic sealing theory and purchased it with what little pocket money he had. 'Maybe if I can seal the whirlpools away, then we can get through.'
Meanwhile with Naruto, he started refininghis chakra control even more. With Naruto learning more wind and lightning jutsu, his arsenal expanded making for more deadly combos with his clones and more versatility. The list of jutsu is as followed:
Lightning release: Thunder- The user fires countless small sparks of lightning towards a target.
Lightning release: Spider Web- After kneadingchakra in the body and converting it to lightning, the user places their hand on the ground, releasing a surge of electricity around them in the form of a web, which electrocutes anyone caught in its vicinity.
Lightning release: shadow clone technique- The user creates a shadow clone infused with lightning. Upon contact or dispelling, the chakra reverts back to raw lightning chakra and shocks anyone near chakra's radius.
Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder- A lightning release technique where the user creates a wave of electricity that can vary in power. Can be a small shock of electricity to shock an opponent or can be channeled into a powerful stream of lightning capable of ripping through a rock.
Wind Release: Gale Palm- The user creates a gale of wind and propels it at the target, which can blow the target away if enough chakra is used.
Wind Release- Vacuum Wave: The user takes a deep breath and spins while exhaling, compressing the released air into a solitary blade of wind that covers a substantial area around the user, due to their circular motion. The resulting sharpened blast is large enough to slice through multiple targets located at a significant distance from the user, causing grievous injuries to those hit.
Wind & Lightning release- thunder god and wind god technique: A cooperation ninjutsu that requires (Naruto uses a shadow clone for this jutsu) the Wind Release user creates a giant tornado which spins towards the opponent, after which the Lightning Release user run an electrical current through the tornado. This has devastating effects on the opponent.
Wind Release- spiraling wind ball: This technique allows the user to breathe wind-infused chakra into the palm of their hand, shaping it into a small, whirlwind-like ball. Then the user will shoot it at their opponent.
Wind Release- air bullets: This technique shoots multiple bullets of air at the victim with intense speed. The bullets also have great power, enough to subdue a whole group of shinobi.
Clone Great Explosion: The user creates a shadow clone, intending for their opponents to attack the clone at close range. After a certain amount of time has passed, the clone detonates, creating a large explosion.
Kai starts walking to Naruto's training area, eager to show him the sealing theory book
"Oi Naruto, I think I found a way for us to get through the whirlpools." Kai exclaimed, eager to visit his homeland.
"Wait really, alright Kai nice going!" Naruto exclaimed, bursting with glee.
"So, while I was near the sea's, I had realized something about the whirlpools. They are heavily laced with chakra. This helps us because if the whirlpools have chakra in them,that means that they can be sealed away into a scroll or there might be an off switch our clanleft behind." Kai explained, leaving Naruto's brain absolutely fried.
"Uhh, um, what?" Naruto asked out of pure confusion.
"Naruto, what is your favorite food.?"
"Ramen of course!"
"Think of me sealing the whirlpools away like you drinking all the water in a bowl of ramen, which will go to your stomach, or in our case, in the sealing scroll."
"That make's sense, why didn't you just lead off with that?"
Kai just shook his head in disbelief, dumbfounded at how simple-minded Naruto could be.
"I wanna learn this sealing stuff too, so you're sharing with me!" Naruto said, eager to learn a new type of jutsu.
As a result of finding the sealing arts book, Naruto switched his focus from learning and perfecting elemental jutsu to practicing his calligraphy and sealing technique. To put things into short terms, Naruto was incredibly gifted in the sealing arts, mastering all the beginner principles within a week.
"Hey this sealing stuff is easy! I'm gonna master this stuff and become the greatest seal master to ever live, believe it!" Naruto said with a newfound determination.
Meanwhile in Konoha
In the hokage's office stood Sasuke Uchiha, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Neji Hyuga, and Kiba Inuzuka with his canine companion. Shikamaru had gathered his fellow comrades as an order from the hokage herself.
"Listen here all of you, I want you all to bring Naruto back to the village hidden in the leaves. Make sure you complete the mission without fail and bring that boy back. Jiraiya's intel has told us that he is somewhere near the hot water village. Search the area and bring him back in one piece, do I make myself clear?" Tsunade asked with a steely attitude.
"Yes ma'am!" The group of 5 exclaimed before starting the expedition to the hidden hot water village.