Chapter 15
Kakashi was not the only one staring in shock as they appeared on the ledge inside a summoning circle, looking out over the city, the true city he was amazed. The rumors of this place being big were wrong; this village was huge, taking in the fact that instead of walls this village used mountains, this place was incredible.
“If all of you will follow me we can meet up with Uzumaki-sama at the stadium,” Jiga was watching the two Jounin carefully, the Genin team might be calculating but it was the two older Jounin that could be the danger. After all the alliance between Konoha and Whirlpool was long over, the treatment that Uzumaki-sama had to endure by the hands of the village hidden in eh leaf assured that.
Naruto smiled as he felt he group approaching, leaning over Haku’s lap he whispered to Aki, “make sure you don’t activate your Sharingan, we have some visitors, Sasuke is one of them and until I have a chance to explain it would be better to act normal for now.”
Leaning over so he could hug Naruto back Aki, “Hai Oji…”
Chuckling Naruto looked at Haku, “Uncle, huh…that has a nice ring to it.”
Not bothering to look back as he felt Jiga enter the judge’s box, “Welcome Sasuke-san, I hope you’ve kept up with your exercises as I can’t wait to spar with you alter before supper.”
“Naruto-senpai,” Sasuke smiled as he sat down next to Naruto, “I look forward to it.”
‘Naruto-kun looks so happy’, Hinata thought to herself as she found a seat near the end of the row.
Kurenai sighed in frustration as Kakashi froze in the doorway, his eyes frozen on the battle down in the arena below them, “Greetings, Uzumaki-sama. I thank you for allowing my team to witness this exam,” seeing the two Jounin flicker as steel hit steel she noticed the skill being displayed below. “Can I ask what exam we are being honored with watching?”
Nodding regally Naruto kept his eyes averted so she would not see the prankster coming to the surface, “This is the second round of the Dragon exams.” Pointing to the side wall with all the dragon masks hanging off pegs, “Today the Dragon Guardians are being reborn.”
Sasuke heard the rapid indrawn breath from behind him near the door, looking over his shoulder he saw the panicked look in Kakashi’s face, not only that his whole posture screamed fear. Something he had never though he would see, making a note to ask about it later he turned back to the arena to watch.
‘Uzumaki one, Leaf zero’, Naruto thought to himself as he saw Kako flash in anger at the obvious beginner’s mistake being shown by one of the Jounin.
‘Come on, come on, even you should have seen the obvious mistake I left you, just a little bit closer and I’ll have you’, Tidori chanted to himself.
“Kako-san, do not anger yourself, Tidori is not one to make such a mistake, unless it is on purpose,” Ryoto smiled as he felt his nephew was up to something.
Tidori smiled, his opponent took the opening, jumping back into the protective circle he had created using several Shuriken he flipped through six seals rapidly before hitting the ground with his glowing hand, “Sealing release: death needles…thousand yard…explode.”
Naruto smiled as Tidori’s hand touched the ground and chakra spread out from his hand hitting the circle of Shuriken. Several things happened as the sealing release took hold, a column of blue energy leapt to the air forming a protective circle around Tidori and the ground around the circle latterly turned into thousands of Senbon that launched into the air before exploding with great force in all directions as smaller Senbon needles.
When the dust cleared Tidori noticed his opponent on the ground bleeding heavily from injuries sustained from the exploding needles, rushing over he felt for a pulse and let out the breath he was holding as he whipped out two scrolls. Unfurling both with flicks of his wrist he laid them crosswise on his dying comrade, and with a puff he was gone, sent directly to the surgical suite set up for injuries to hopefully be healed. Turning to face the judge’s box he bowed low and held it, “I apologize Uzumaki-sama; I must have put a little too much chakra into the technique.”
Nodding seriously Naruto thought about what he saw, it was not so much that the Jounin put too much chakra into the technique, but the fact it was a new technique that should be listed as a mass assassination technique. Moving in a blur Naruto grabbed one of the masks off the wall and appeared behind Tidori with a yellow flash as he slowed down; he had not only mastered his father’s speed technique but improved on it. “I understand Tidori, well fought,” Naruto smiled as he handed the stunned Jounin a blue full head mask. Picking up one of the shuriken to compare the runic seals inscribed on it with the kunai he plucked from the edge of the field as he went for the mask Naruto nodded as his mind cataloged the seal sets.
Finding what he thought he would Naruto pointed to one of the seals inscribed on both weapons, “It looks like it was not the chakra output into the release, this seal controls power, so if you want to practice this without shredding your team mates again I would suggest changing this seal for one of the least powerful ones. This set is good for combat, but have Hiato craft you a practice set out of that green metal of his.”
Squinting as he tried to figure out what to replace the seal set with Tidori bowed once more as he held onto his badge of office, part of his mind was jumping up and down that he had made Dragon Guardian, the other was worried beyond belief that he accidently almost killed his comrade, “With your permission I need to go check on Shoji, to make sure he is alright and make arrangements to take care of his family until he is released.”
Serious look still plastered on his face Naruto nodded, “Go…return with honor dragon warrior,” he whispered the traditional phrase used by the Dragon’s. Glancing up at the stunned faces of his guests Naruto motioned for the next two to take the field, glaring intently at them his voice was cold, “Make no mistakes, Shoji will be the only one being transported to the emergency ward toady. If you have new techniques yell freeze and we’ll test them on dummies not each other.” With a final nod to the two he jumped, “Go…”
Kakashi shivered as he contemplated what that single technique could do wielded by a dozen Shinobi to a village; no one would be left alive. Glancing at the serious look on Naruto's face as he appeared back in his chair he could not help but compare him to the older image of his father. Turing back to the exam he watched carefully, it was obvious the hidden message being sent.
Walking back through the village with his guests following him Naruto noticed the excitement on every ones faces, he had a feeling there was going to be another party tonight. Entering the citadel Naruto led the way up the stairs towards his office, eyes glancing at the long section of stairs between the third and fifth floor of his office, Haku was right there was something there. With a smile and nod towards Jiga who had prepared a light meal for them Naruto welcomed his guests, “Hey everyone, before we have to be all prim and proper let’s eat and relax before having to do the boring stuff. So help yourself,” he waved at the food placed on the long table as he went behind his desk so he could sit down and think.
A plate appeared in front of Naruto and he looked up, “Thank you Kimi-chan.”
Smiling Kimi went back to the other future mother’s of the Uzumaki clan and her own meal, very aware of how the visiting Kunoichi picked up on her subtle possessive act.
Dinner long since finished Naruto stopped taking part in the after dinner chit chat and gazed around the room, he had expected Sasuke to show up with one or two Kunoichi he had chosen, and maybe Kakashi as an experienced escort made sense. But another team he had to wonder what was up. “Sasuke,” Naruto grinned as he watched the unbelievable range of expressions on the last Uchiha’s face, “Would you introduce me to your companions, at least if they are what I think they are.”
Grinning Sasuke pulled the two Kunoichi around, “Naruto-senpai I would like to introduce two of the four mothers of clan Uchiha, Hayashi Yumi and Yoda Miyuki. They are both strong Kunoichi that I will be proud to father children with.”
Blinking at the overly formal words Naruto tilted his body to look at Sasuke strangely, not seeing or feeling a Genjutsu around his black haired student and soon to be good friend he nodded, “Okay…I was expecting something like they understood what your clan law is and would be good mothers. But I’ll take what I can,” grinning he chuckled, “Relax Sasuke, save being formal for the training grounds and when not private.”
Nodding at Kimi he smiled, “I set aside rooms for you and you two companions at my home and while we touch on the boring stuff I’m sure is about to come why don’t the Uzumaki mothers take your companions home so they can freshen up and have some girl talk.” Staring at Kako when he said that Naruto made a slight nod of his head as she mouthed ‘test them’ to him.
Waiting until the group of Kunoichi left via the bridge Naruto turned to look at Kakashi and Kurenai, eyes stopping in Shino with his pin openly displayed, “Shino welcome to my home, I see you wear the question from my father openly, so to honor your fathers decision my home is your home, a place shall be set aside for you at our table and training grounds.”
“Thank you Naruto-sama,” Shino bowed his head before pushing his glasses back up.
Eyes showing her curiosity Kurenai decided she would talk to Shino later.
“I’ve had a small house set aside not far from my estate for your use while you are here,” Naruto looked out the window, interacting with his former classmates was not as painful as he thought it would be, on the other hand it was awkward.”
“Thank you Naruto…sama,” Kakashi waited until Naruto turned around, “I am not foolish enough not to know you are more than curious to know why a Genin team was dispatched with me,” pulling a scroll out of his pocket he placed it on the desk, “A message from Sandaime Hokage, my mission besides escort was to give you that and to extend a hand of friendship. Plus in two months time Konoha is hosting the Chuunin exams this year and Hokage-sama extends an invitation for your Shinobi to join in taking the test if you like.”
Breaking the seal on the scroll Naruto skimmed it quickly before setting it to one side, “I’ll look at this more thoroughly this weekend, so consider yourself my guests as long as you’re here.” Smiling at the nod from the now relaxed Jounin, “And as nice as it is to be invited to the Chuunin exams…well our Chuunin exams are in three days, so this time around I will have to bow out.”
Seeing the spark of interest from Sasuke, Naruto made a hand sign he had taught him during the return of the Wave mission, ‘talk later’. “So that brings us to…” he looked at Kurenai.
Blushing Kurenai pulled out several scrolls and placed them on the desk, “My team’s mission was commissioned by eh Konoha council and clan elders. I have no idea what is in those scrolls, and I just hope they don’t piss you off.”
Naruto's hand froze halfway to the scrolls, “That is very…” searching for the word, “Bold. Should I be worried?”
“I think any time you deal with the council it pisses more people off than...”Kurenai sighed as she sank into the chair, “Look Naruto, I never liked what the village did to you growing up, and as much as I tried to help out…” shrugging she looked out the window, “I want to be honest with you, and I want to be the counter to anything stupid listed in those,” she pointed to the scrolls. After all she thought I along with Kakashi got your message.
Sorting the scrolls Naruto pulled out the two that had clan signets on them before dumping the rest in the basket on the corner of his desk, “I’ll have Jiga take those to my council to go over first then; they can summarize them for me.”
Chuckling in relief at the mischievous look on Naruto’s face she nodded as she sunk back into her chair.
“I’ll drop them off before escorting your guest to the guest house Uzumaki-sama,” Jiga reached over and took the scrolls from the basket.
Nodding Naruto stood up signaling the end to the meeting, “I best let you get some rest, I’ll see you tomorrow. Oh before I forget there is a nice training ground behind the guest house so help yourself.”
Standing she noticed Shino still sitting and leaned over, “I know you have some personal clan business to attend to Shino, so for tonight if you don’t make it to the guest house, we will have team training at nine in the morning sharp.”
“Hai sensei,” Shino turned and nodded once before relaxing back in his chair as the rest of his team walked out with the two Jounin sensei’s, they practically screamed curiosity over why he was staying behind as they both belonged to strong clans.
Once they were alone Naruto made for the door to the bridge, “How about we go to my training grounds and I can test how far you’ve come Sasuke, afterwards we can relax and talk.” Letting Haku take the lead Naruto waved the other two ahead of him, glancing back at the side of the citadel as he counted down the steps. Haku was right, the entrance to the secret floor must be from the bridge, he would have to dig through his parents scroll and find out for sure what was in there.
Sasuke noticed the blond’s attention to the back of the tower and the bridge but said nothing as he figured if Naruto had not been able to find out why the bridge was like this in the months he had been here, then he surely was not going to be much help. Though as he followed Haku around the extensive house to the training grounds he was more than pleasantly surprised to see it was both large and well planned. Spotting the young boy again, over by the target training area, he wondered if Naruto was or was going to bond him to the clan, he could not think of any other reason for him to be not only hanging around but actively trained by the mothers of the Uzumaki clan. Then again spotting Kako and her dark black hair maybe he was related to her.
Stopping where they normally did their chakra training Naruto grinned, this was going to be fun, “Sasuke why don’t you warm up by doing your chakra control exercises, let’s see how far along you’ve gotten in them.”
Nodding once Sasuke sat down with his legs crossed, reaching out he chose three egg size stones. Slowing his breathing as he concentrated, he infused his chakra into the stones and they started to hover above his hands, tiny microscopic chakra strings directing them as they started to rotate in a small circle around him.
Naruto watched carefully as Sasuke preformed the chakra exercise, looking carefully at the amount of chakra that was leaking out of Sasuke's hand, his control was getting much better.
After five more minutes sweat starting dripping from Sasuke's forehead and he had to drop the stones to the ground, slumping his shoulders he took several deep breaths before looking at a smiling blond, frustration for not being able to do the exercise longer rose up in him, “Besides making me exhausted and increasing my reserves is there any other purpose to this exercise. At least with tree walking and water walking you can use it in battle.”
Grinning evilly Naruto nodded, “Yes, definitely. Haku if you would,” he moved over into the clearing and started to pump some of his chakra into the sandy ground.
Sasuke stared in dumbfounded awe as Haku grinned as evilly as Naruto was before launching hundreds of Senbon needles towards Naruto, throwing in some Kunai for good measure. Naruto on the other hand stood there calmly before the ground literally rose up, small pebbles and rocks flew into the air and started circling around him blocking and deflecting the incoming weapons.
Waving at Haku, Naruto turned to face Sasuke, spotting the double eyebrows above Shino’s glasses as well, “when you’ve mastered this exercise, not only will it have increased your reserves and control but it makes a pretty good shield for thrown objects as well. All you have to do is pump some chakra into the ground through your feet, which you know how to do from the tree walking and water walking exercises, and attach it to some pebbles and small rocks.”
“Then using the same technique to tie chakra threads to the stones you practice with,” Haku moved back to his starting spot, “you can launch your shield at a moment’s notice to deflect an incoming storm of weapons, though if it is only one or two it is better to just deflect it with a Kunai.”
“That’s why I had you start with small pebbles and move up as you mastered the weight, you can control the same amount of weight as the three stones you just used,” Naruto removed his jacket and moved to the sparing ring, “But I want you to wait to start trying to make a shield until you can handle three rocks the size of your fist for ten minutes straight, anything less and it won’t be an effective shield in battle. Don’t get me wrong in a last ditch survival situation sending a small rock to distract your opponent at the right time can save your life, but to truly use it as a shield you need to master the weight of fist size rocks. Now let’s see where you’re at with hand to hand.”
Groaning so unlike an Uchiha Sasuke stood up, “I’m about to get my ass handed to me right?”
Nodding with the same evil grin on his face Naruto made the hand motion for come on and melted into his stance.
Activating his Sharingan, Sasuke readied himself and ducked as his brain told him it was to late.
“I do not understand,” Shino turned to Haku who had sat down next to him, “Sasuke with his Sharingan active should have the advantage and…” he trailed off as Naruto became a blur, moving as if ghosting around Sasuke who was attacking shadows. Concentrating he noticed it was not that Sasuke was hitting shadows; it was that he was hitting the spot where Naruto was and had moved out of.
Backing away after several minutes Naruto nodded with a serious expression on his face, “you’ve improved some with your speed, though you still have a way to go before your bodies catches up with what your eyes are telling you. That right now is your biggest weakness, though…” Naruto let his smile slip out, “In the two areas I’ve tested so far you are easily Chuunin level. Now let’s test your Ninjutsu, and if that is also at Chuunin level I’ve got a great Katon fire technique to teach you.”
Watching Sasuke run through his Ninjutsu techniques it was becoming obvious he only knew Katon, fire techniques. Though the power he put behind them were low Chuunin level by Sasuke not having anything but fire techniques it knocked him back down to Genin level. Frowning Naruto decided they needed to work on that and quickly, “Alright Sasuke I think I have a good idea of exactly where you stand.” Watching the tired teen stumble over to sit down next to Shino he tried to think of the best way to put what he needed to say.
“The only thing holding you back from being at Chuunin level in Ninjutsu is the fact you seem to only have fire Jutsu’s,” holding up a hand to stop the protest Naruto thoughts gelled, “Konoha’s Chuunin exam is in two months, Ours is in three days. Granted you don’t have a team that you work with, but if you can convince two others to join you.” Naruto pointed at Shino, “and you learn two non Katon Jutsu’s before Friday morning I’ll let you enter our Chuunin exam. Even if you don’t pass it will give you an advantage when you return to Konoha to take the exam there.”
Seeing Sasuke’s eyes light up in eagerness Naruto shook his finger at him, “And not some stupid Jutsu’s either, something that can be useful for battle. I’m going to warn you now our exam is brutal compared to what you will face in Konoha, BUT, we do everything we can to make sure there are no deaths, the whole point of the exam is to push you farther than you’ve ever been pushed before and for all those entered to show us they are ready skill wise and mentally to pass.”
Looking at Shino who had a thoughtful expression on his face, or what showed above the high collar Naruto knew if Sasuke was to compete he would need the help of teammates which meant that if Shino or the others were going to compete he would have to help them too, “Shino do you know your elemental affinity?”
Brows furled in thought Shino looked back up, “No I do not even have heard of any of my family speaking off such an affinity. What is it and what does it mean for a Shinobi?”
“Most Shinobi will have what is called an affinity to a certain nature element; those Jutsu’s will come easier to them and take less chakra to perform them,” Haku stood up, “We have some elemental testing tags in the office, if you follow me I can get you tested and explain more after we find out your affinity. I know most people ignore this aspect of their strength…”
Alone Naruto sat down across from Sasuke, “Sasuke, I need to know if you’ve read any clan history scrolls that tell of the time before your clan joined Konoha or if any of your clan split off from the main clan and left Konoha…well besides Itachi that is.”
Sasuke seeing ht every serious look on Naruto-senpai’s face stopped himself from the automatic half assed response he would have uttered and thought about it, shaking his head he looked into the serious eyes looking back at him, “No, Even the information you gave me about our Kekkei Genkai being given to us by your family and how it was modified from eth Hyuuga clans bloodline limit is not in our family scrolls, in fact nothing much is recorded before our clan had already been in Konoha for twenty years. Why? It must be important with how serious you look right now.”
Nodding Naruto looked over at the training ground where Aki and Kako had been training and saw they had gone inside, “True, I found out two things you should know about. The most important aspect of your bloodline is that sometime after your clan was formed with my families help, our work was perverted by what looks like a demon. And that is why I think Itachi went mad like he did, in a few minutes I’m going to take you to our medical bay here at the house and alter your Kekkei Genkai like I promised. From what I found out from doing my research on the original blood limit and comparing it to yours I found what happened I just don’t know why or when.”
Sasuke was stunned, shivering slightly as he found out his family had been demon touched and altered he felt sick, “We need to get this done as soon as possible then.” Standing up he was surprised as Naruto did not move, sinking feeling settling in heavily he looked down and whispered, “There’s more?”
Standing up Naruto decided he needed to know, it was only fair and would cause problems later if Sasuke found out he held this information back, “the other thing I found out I’ll tell you about on the way to the medical section.” Brushing off the dirt before walking through the dojo to the inner porch Naruto looked at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye as he led him down on of the hallways before it opened up to the medical wing. “There is no easy way to say this, sometime in the past one of your clan ended up fathering a child, that is if some of your clan did not outright leave Konoha to move elsewhere. I know this because while one of my teams was on a mission to destroy the last of Gato’s criminal businesses they rescued a child that has the Sharingan.”
Opening the door to the room Naruto had used to bond Haku and the future mothers of the Uzumaki clan and give them part of his Kekkei Genkai he looked over his shoulder, “I need you to strip down and lay down on the seals in the human shaped outline. With your chakra so low from the workout tonight it will be less painful to do the changes,” pulling the metal plaque off the shelf he moved over to where it would need to be inserted into the slot in the floor he looked over to see Sasuke standing in the doorway stunned.
“I’m sorry for being blunt, but I don’t know an easy way of saying that there is at least one more Uchiha in the world,” thinking about it Naruto frowned, “If there is one I wonder if there are more.” Shaking his head he went over and tugged on Sasuke’s sleeve bringing him into the room.
Several conflicting emotions crossed Sasuke’s face as he was dragged into the room, disbelief, rage at hearing Itachi’s name and hope before he looked at Naruto in wonder, he was not alone. Feeling hands on his chest he was startled as he realized Naruto was taking his shirt off, “What…” he managed to stutter out as he stepped backwards cheeks going red.
“Unfortunately,” or fortunately Naruto smirked, “you have to be naked so the seal sets are touching your skin, so you need to finish getting undressed and lay down in the ritual seal, in the section that looks like the outline of a body.” Nodding as Sasuke slowly started to do as ordered he went back to inserting the DNA overlay into the slot on the floor, “make sure you lay over the seals on the floor. We need good contact for this to work.”
Hiding his chuckle as a red skinned blushing Sasuke walked into the circle and sat down in the outline, making sure as he lay down to lay his limbs on the seals, Naruto started to run through the hand seals, all ninety seven of them. Hands glowing with chakra his voice deepened, as his hands hit the floor in the appropriate spots, “Relax.”
Kicking Sasuke's clothes to the side Naruto finished tucking him under the covers, sliding the door closed he looked back at his apprentice and friend with a smile, “You’re free of your clans madness now Sasuke. Sleep well because you’ll need to be good and rested in the morning so your real training can start.”
Walking back to the living area Naruto waved at Kimi and the others as they escorted Sasuke’s chosen to their rooms, it was getting late and he needed to find out what Shino needed to pass along before he could get some sleep. Spotting the two he was thinking about leaning against a pile of cushions talking softly he smiled at Haku, “Well Sasuke went through the procedure without a problem. Hello Shino, now that I have a chance to catch up, how is the new reserve doing?”
“It is doing well,” Shino stared at Naruto questioningly, “I did not realize Sasuke was ill or injured.”
“Depends on your definition,” Naruto shrugged, “Itachi did some serious fucked up mind shit to him after the massacre, I have a lot more knowledge on the different bloodline limits to work with than the medic-nin’s do so I was able to fix what Itachi did easily enough. Anything more than that you should ask Sasuke as it really is not my place to say.”
Nodding seriously Shino pulled a small scroll out of his jacket pocket and handed it over, “Everything is explained in detail in the scroll. But from what my father told me before I left, the clans listed inside are those wishing to take up your fathers offer of moving to whirlpool so if something happens, our clans will not die out. Some of the clan members listed there have children in the academy and hope they can seamlessly integrate into Whirlpool’s academy.”
Opening the scroll and skimming it Naruto nodded as Shino confirmed what the pin he was wearing told him, glancing over the list of names he looked up at seeing several Hyuuga names listed but not as representatives of a clan, “The Hyuuga clan was not interested, but I see several names on the list of those wishing to make the move?”
“Young branch family members, who hope that they will be far enough away from the main family that they will be safe and the cage bird seal will not be activated, or at least their children will not have to go through the pain of being enslaved to the main family,” Shino delivered the answer in a cold disapproving tone.
Folding the scroll up Naruto sat back and stared at the ceiling, to have all the major clans of Konoha set up clan houses in Whirlpool would be quite the feather in his cap, “I’m going to tell you what would be considered an S-Class secret, you can only tell your father and only when you are assured you cannot be overheard.” Looking back at Shino and seeing his serious nod, “My father created a Fuuinjutso that will remove the caged bird seal.”
Glasses slipping down his nose revealing his faceted eyes Shino’s mouth moved several times but no words escaped, finally after a minute where Naruto made mental notes to add to the scrolls on the Aburame clan, since they were one of the few clans that his family did not have a hand in creating Shino whistled, “That fact alone would cause the main branch of the Hyuuga’s to declare war on Whirlpool.” Hand shaking as he pushed his glasses up after noticing his glasses had slipped down Shino became as unglued, “Holy Shit, Naruto, if they declared war they would be wiped out if you sent a Dragon Guardian in.” Spilling half the water that Haku thrust at him to help with his shock, Shino stared at his fellow classmate before passing out.
“Well, I guess we should help him to bed,” Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he looked surprised, he never thought he would see the day Shino would get flustered. Moving to the window he looked up at the sky, eyes narrowed, turning back to Haku who looked at him questioningly he shrugged, “just checking to make sure the world wasn’t ending or something.
