Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Naruto awoke early, sweat pouring from everywhere, as a result of the nightmare he just had. Was it really a nightmare? or was it something of a fragment of a dream that only seemed scary to him? Well, it doesn't matter.

He walked over to where his apartment window was, the iron of the window sill well worn out from repeated landing on it, running away from the citizens of Konohagakure. He puts his head down, trying to shake the memories of the villagers, chasing him, no matter the district, whether it be the civilian or shinobi district.

It's still dark out, he thinks, as he goes over to his cabinets, and as usual, finds nothing there except for two more bowls of instant ramen. Sighing, he turns around and sits at the chair he keeps by the counter top. It looks like he's going to have to go another day hungry, not like he eats regularly or knows how to cook anyways.

Instead of going back to sleep, because that's already a far away concept, he looks up at the popcorn ceiling of his ratty and small apartment, sighing deeply. He hasn't felt this tired since the last time he was chased around the village. He grimaced at the rumbling of his stomach, but pointedly ignores it because he has no food to eat in the first place. 

He closes his eyes, envisioning white beaches and clan compounds that he's never had the privilege of seeing, and he feels something pulling him in deeper and deeper, into an unknown abyss.

When Naruto opens his eyes, he's met with silver bars arranged in a way that reminds him of a jail cell. There's a tag in the middle, and no visible lock near the gate. He's in yellow-ish brown water, at least, what he thinks is water, and there's nothing but straight darkness on the other side of the cage.

There's long beats of silence, before a loud sound rips through the space, getting heavier and heavier the closer it gets to where Naruto is. He tries to run the opposite way, but there's an invisible barrier that's not allowing him to leave.

He turns around, cerulean eyes meeting blood red and black slits. A giant beast, about forty stories high, the color of dark orange, with nine tails whisking around menacingly. The beast huffs, sending a rattling sensation through.

"Uh, hello?"

The beast is silent for a long period of time. Naruto just stares, unknowing of what to do. What would you do if you just closed your eyes and suddenly ended up in an unknown location for who knows what reason? To be fair, the universe has fucked him over a lot, who's to say it can't do it again?

"Get out, you filthy human. I have zero patience for your kind. Dirty Mortals."

It's delayed, he notices. However, he gets pulled back again, and before he knows it, the sun is in the sky.

It's been two weeks since then, and Naruto has not eaten.

He's starving, but it's not like he can even do anything about it, because he has no Ichiraku money (No, it doesn't matter if Teuchi and Ayame give it to him for free, they make a living off of that, he's going to pay whether they like it or not), and any food he even attempts to buy will be swapped out for spoiled food. His stomach growls, practically begging for food at this point, but his body needs to understand that there is no food for him to eat.

The bell for class rings, signaling the beginning of lunch, and he books it out of the classroom before anybody cares enough to talk to him. He'd rather not take another Sakura punch to the back of his head, thank you very much.

The Ninja Academy is a pretty big building. Not as big as the Hokage Tower and definitely not as big as the Hokage Mountain, but still big nevertheless. It gives him plenty of space to move around, and many good hiding spots if you know where to look. Which, in this case, Naruto does. He doesn't know if anyone's actually picked up on his Lunch Time Escapades, but he supposes it's for the best. People knowing spreads rumors. When rumors spread? The wrong people know, and all of a sudden, Naruto's bullies are back on his trail.

He'd like to avoid that, at least for this week.

While he wanders, he comes across the Academy Library. Most of the time when he goes in there, he gets immediately kicked out. Maybe if he's lucky...

He goes in the double doors, and looks to the Library Reception Desk, and sees that there's a new person there. He moves further into the library, looking at the person at the desk, and they haven't even responded to him walking in. Before he can risk his chances, he bolts to the shinobi section.

He sits at one of the study tables that are in between the book shelves. He puts his head down, and tries to stamp out the lingering hunger in his stomach until he gets his orphan stipend tomorrow. While trying to ignore his raging stomach, he reluctantly goes through the bookshelves.

"Might as well, even if I hate reading. Maybe I'll find something that can help me beat Sasuke in a brawl, that stupid teme..."

He looks through the books, finding Kunai Care : The Ultimate Handbook and The Second Great Shinobi World War : The True Story Behind A Survivor, and many other books like it that relate to topics as such. He just groans aloud, finding absolutely nothing that can help him. He may not graduate after all, but that's what everybody was counting on anyways. Everybody. Including Sakura, and Ino, and Mizuki-sensei, and Jiji-sama, and-

Interrupting his thoughts, was a glimpse of what he sees as a book. He grabs it from the shelf, and if he felt a click! sound deep within, as if he finally solved something that's been hidden from him for so long, he keeps that thought to himself.

He brings the book onto the table, running his hands over it, the sky blue of the book reminding him of the sights he's seen in his dreams, of white beach sands and cities of people and ink and parchment and masterful skilled people, shinobi, kunoichi, and civilians alike.

On the front cover of the book, there's a white spiral with black lining on it, with a brown belt on it, the buckle being a soft gold. There's no title on the outside of it, so it leads him to believe it may be a journal instead of an actual book.

As soon as he tries to pry it open, the buckle immediately unclasps. The pages start flying around frantically, flipping back and forth repeatedly. Naruto runs and bends around the corner, and he hears a small boom! sound, followed by silence. Prompted by the silence, he goes back to the table, and looks at the first page.

UZUSHIOKAGURE, THE VILLAGE OF WHIRLPOOLS.

BY : UZUMAKI YUUJI, UZUMAKI CLAN MEMBER

FOR : THE LAST STANDING.

He looks around, making sure nobody else saw or heard whatever the hell just happened. He takes a deep breath in, and a deep breath out.

"Hokage-jiji, if I don't make it out of this because I started reading a book that magically popped the hell open with no jutsu on it, please tell Teuchi and Ayama-san I said hi."

And with that, he turned the page.

Chapter Text

When Naruto walks down the street to get home, there's a rumbling in the back of his head. Yes, not in the pits of his stomach, but in the back of his freaking head.

"Do you stupid mortals know how to consume food? Your systems haven't had anything in them for weeks."

Naruto just huffs exasperatedly. Contrary to popular belief, Naruto has basic comprehension skills and knows this is the orange thing he found when he closed his eyes two weeks ago. However, the orange thing literally kicked him out before he could even ask who it was (if it had a gender.)

Well excuse me, but it wasn't bad enough for me to break into my emergency funds. Plus, it was just a couple weeks! Besides, I wasn't in the mood to eat spoiled instant ramen, thank you very much.

"Why in the Sage Lands would you have spoiled instant ramen? Certainly you're not that incompetent."

Hey! There's nothing I can really do about it anyways, anything I try to buy gets swapped out for spoiled food!

There's no reply from the voice, so Naruto assumes that it took the answer for what it was. Shifting his focus onto his newfound book (journal? diary? He doesn't know how to classify it), he ran his hands over the front cover, ignoring the looks of disgust and fear as he walked down the street.

The Uzumaki Clan. He has a clan! Though, it does raise the question on why the hell he didn't know about him having a clan? He hasn't seen anybody else with the last name Uzumaki, so maybe he's the last one or something? That would make sense. The clan's inactive if he's the last one. He's alone forever, but Sasuke, the teme, is the last of his clan and his is still considered an active clan anyway, so why?-

He opens the window to his apartment, setting his stuff down and changing into regular house wear, from whatever clothes he may or may not have stitched together from rags. He moves his stuff around, and also goes to take out the trash. When he comes back in, he pushes up at his cheeks, setting himself into focus, so he could be ready from the contents inside this book.

He opens the book once more, looking at the message on the inside.

Hello, Uzumaki Naruto!

Um, I have no idea on how to approach this in an effective way, so I'm just going to rip it off like a bandage.

I'm your cousin! Yeah!

And by that, I mean that your mother, Uzumaki Kushina, has a brother. Said brother is my dad!

I know you're wondering, what the hell is up with this book? There's no jutsu on it? Well, that's kind of because there is a jutsu on it! It's Fuuinjutsu, an Uzumaki clan specialty.

This book was made during the creation of The Shinobi World War, after Iwa and Kiri Nin made an alliance to team up on Uzushio, effectively taking us out. As a last gift, Auntie Kushina asked me to use one of the contingency planned seals that was in the works to make this book. Well, books.

There are two other books inside this book, one for culture and one for jutsu and fuuinjutsu techniques. The book that you have now, is on clan information and general Uzushiogakure knowledge. Please, see the next page for The Founding for Uzushiogakure and Whirpool Country (Uzu no Kuni).

- Uzumaki Yuuji, your cousin.

Naruto goes silent, mourning for a family he never got to know. His own cousin, wrote this book in advance of the fall of his village, where his people come from, just so he could have the chance to learn about where he's from. He takes a deep breath, scratching at his eyes to stop the tears from falling, and turns to the next page. There's no way he can rest now.

Not when there's a whole culture of people he has to get to know.

During the First Shinobi World War, the then generation of Uzumaki had found unventured territory off the coast of Fire Country's mainland. They were the first masters of Fuuinjutsu, the scrolls of your age are nothing but pieces of wasted ink and paper compared to them. The power of the chakra behind the seals merged with the land, becoming what was known as Uzushiogakure. Once the chakra merged, the seas calmed, and whirlpools began to form more land, eventually shaping up the land mass to become what it was known for back in my time. The sea and the earth surrounding and making up Uzushiogakure (and eventually, Whirpool Country) became so grateful, that it swore to protect the inhabitants, therefore naming us "The Children of The Sea."

After the village was founded, people from all over were accepted into the boundaries of Uzushio, then becoming Uzu no Kuni, or, Whirpool Country. These people who came from all over were masters of their craft, even if the Uzumaki were the only "big deal" clan of Uzu no Kuni. Their only allies were Konohagakure (The Village Hidden in The Leaves), such making them sister villages to some. (Not true for us, we were acquaintances to them at best.)

Bringing in new talents means that eventually, the economy was formed. Based off of cuisine, many different art forms, weapons, powerful antidotes against the toughest of poisons, and of course, seals.

The first clan to show up in Whirlpool Country were the Akamine, known for their skilled hands in forgery. They made some of the best weapons ever (Seriously, my girlfriend was Akamine and my kunai has never been sturdier or sharper.) Their centuries old techniques produced the best weapons of time, ranging from senbon to nagamaki and tanto, as well as your regular old kunai and shuriken, caused a lot more damage then any other one bought at the next gear store down the block.

After the Akamine showed up, the Hayashi Clan followed, the clan specializing in Medical Ninjutsu. The pin-point chakra precision of the Hayashi was one for the ages, as they could literally mend anything and some even had the ability to bring back long-gone missing limbs by simply reconstructing them from scratch. They also often worked with the Akamine, to study for antidotes and medicines, as well as toxins that could be infused inside the senbon that the latter clan produced. However, this pin-point chakra use was not only applicable in iryo-ninjutsu, but also for combat, preferably close quarters.

The Endo Clan were the clan that had the ability to make poisons and toxins. The 'Do' part of the name translates to wisteria, which was the most common poison for them to make, but the effects of the wisteria differs from each Endo to the next. The Endo's largely kept to themselves, but were a major friend to the Uzumaki from the moment they joined Whirlpool Country.

The Ishizaki Clan were known for their memory and for their wits. They were almost always excelling in academics whether they wanted to or not, and if not, they were always excelling in something. They were the ones that came up with Uzu's currency, a soft gold color with the Uzumaki clan spiral symbol on it. From then on, they took care of the economic and the government part of Uzu no Kuni, largely taking on the treasury and means of trade and products.

The Shiraishi Clan were largely a clan that were made of women, but did have some men here and there. (Let me tell you right now. Shiraishi clan men are PRETTY AS HELL.) They have a Kekkei Genkai, known as Ranton (Storm Release), which was made because most Shiraishi have either a Lightning Affinity, a Water Affinity, or both. The Shiraishi Clan were also great warriors, and created most of the fluid fighting styles that are found in Whirpool Country, while the Rikitake made more of the spontaneous fighting styles. The Shiraishi were also masters of Taijutsu. Let it never be said that they aren't gods at close combat. They made up some of the private forces of the Uzukage.

Rikitake were masters at the craft of unpredictable fighting styles. They were often prodigies, and had eyes the color of the sun. Most of them had mahogany colored hair, and had spirits full of joy. Also, fair note, never piss off a Rikitake. The Rikitake were the creators of the "Sky" Fighting Style, a fighting style that mostly suited those with a Wind Affinity, but worked with most Uzu-nin. They are mostly ninja, but some do work in Hospitals along with Hayashi. The chakra reserves of the Rikitake are the third biggest in Whirlpool Country, the second being Endo, and the first being, you guessed it, The Uzumaki.

(Fun fact, the Uzumaki have the biggest chakra reserves on the planet. How's that for being badass?)

The Kumagai Clan took care of the wildlife and plants of both Uzushio and Uzu no Kuni. The Raptors, Foxes, Jackals, Deer, down to the Armadillos and the colorful dragonflies and the bees. The exotic birds, like the parakeets and parrots in general, you name it, a Kumagai has probably seen it or touched it at least once, let alone taken care of it. They were also the creators of the summons seals of Uzu no Kuni, being granted the permission by the sea and the skies. Likewise, they are also amazing chefs and run some of the biggest food chains on the island, quite literally rivaling the Akimichi of Konohagakure.

The Uzumaki, the founding clan of Uzushio and Whirlpool Country. Known for the color of their hair, and the eyes of the sky, they're the oldest clan native to Uzushio. The Princess of Uzushio, Uzumaki Mito, was married to Hashirama Senju, the first Hokage of Konahagakure, and is credited to be one of the greatest Ninja, and one of the greatest seal masters ever known. She was also the first Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox. The Uzumaki are masters of Fuuinjutsu, as it is in our blood, and have the greatest chakra reserves on the planet. As such, the lifespan of a Uzumaki is longer than the average human, and we have been dubbed as "The People of Longevity." Our chakra reserves are the biggest among ninja-kind, and the most dense. We also have a Kekkei Genkai, the Adamantine Chakra Chains, which are powerful enough to contain a bijuu!

The next day, Naruto awoke with the sun half-way into the sky. He rolled out of bed, scratching at his head and walking to go take a shower and get ready to go to the Academy. As much as he tries, he can't blink away the sights of white beach sands, pure cerulean oceans and skies, the scent of fresh fruit and coconut, and the sun-kissed skin, a sight only found within the borders of Uzushiogakure, as well as Uzu no Kuni.

Sakura sits down at her desk, coming back from the ten minute break given to them between third and fourth period. She sighed, currently not in the mood for anything. Not even Sasuke-kun. She placed her head down on the desk, her arm hiding her face. She thinks back on what her parents talked about over the phone last night, that made her heart hurt.

Yes yes, I'm aware. Once she's done in the Ninja Academy, we'll be signing her up for more lady-like lessons. No daughter of mine will be one of those ruffians cosplaying around with vests and weapons. We'll teach her on how to be a proper lady, get her into the merchant business like me and her father.

She feels tears coming to her eyes, but forces them to not come. How could she! She wants to be a kunoichi! She wants to fight! She can choose to be what she wants to be, right?

Oh who is she kidding? She really doesn't have anything going for her, other than being smart, but she knows better than that. That Nara hides an entire treasure trove of knowledge behind his eyes, there's a reason why his dad is the Jounin Commander.

She attempts to listen to Iruka-sensei, something about shinobi politics and about the Second Great Shinobi World War, but she just tunes it out in a way to go through her thoughts.

What can she do, really? She's not allowed to train, really. That's a privilege for all the clan kids. Like Ino and Kiba. She looks over at the former, who's trying to strike up a conversation with Sasuke-kun, but to no avail. She quietly chuckles to herself, Sasuke-kun would never associate himself with the likes of Ino.

But, Sasuke-kun doesn't associate himself with her either? Whatever, that's a rabbit hole to go down another time.

Iruka-sensei starts handing out worksheets, but Sakura did it already, so she pulls out a book from her bag, a book about expanding your stamina. She eagerly reads it, hoping that she can learn something. Hoping that she can be better.

She doesn't want to be Naruto. She doesn't want to be behind.

Upon walking into the library, Shino immediately heads inside. He would've been with Hinata, but she said that she was leaving early today due to clan relations.

Clan Relations his ass. His mother hates the Hyuuga Heads for a reason. Kiba's Mom and Shikamaru's Dad do as well.

However, the Library does bring in a sense of comfortable quiet. He moves into the Shinobi section, looking for more information on Kunai Care, considering his other pair became rusty after a session with Kiba, per the Inuzuka's request. The one thing he doesn't expect, is to find both Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto at a table, comfortably talking.

"Oh, Hello Shino." Sakura gives him a small smile, reflective of the somber mood she had felt earlier in the day, Shino noted. Next to her, the blonde boy just gave Shino a bright smile, to which he nodded. He took a seat next to them.

"Hello Sakura, hello Naruto." Sakura, who has seen Shino in this part of the library, handed him one of the five books that she had stacked on the table next to her. He nodded, and began to open it. Naruto simply shook his head, and pulled out a book of his own. A sky blue book with a white spiral on it, lined with black thread.

"Naruto?" The blonde looked up at him, prompting him to go on. "May I ask what you're reading?"

Naruto beams. "Sure! It's about Fuuinjutsu! The person who wrote it is describing how to do proper storage seals!" Shino simply quirked an eyebrow, to which Sakura shrugged.

"You can take a look at it all you want, it's a bunch of mumbo jumbo to anybody except Naruto." Sakura says, a hint of amusement in the back of her tone. Shino just shook his head, and turned his attention back to his book.

He's normally alone, and doesn't like small talk at all.

But maybe, just maybe, he can do this.

He can deal with the low chatter, and the quiet rustling of paper turning.

Chapter Text

("Food is fuel for chakra. Chakra is fuel for the soul. The soul is fuel for your life force." - Uzumaki Yuuji, Subtext)

The next day, Naruto walks into the Academy with a pep in his step, but still no food inside his stomach. It's looking like he might have to break into his emergency fund, but he has to see how he's feeling by the end of the day.

By the time he enters the classroom, only Hyuuga and Uchiha are inside. Upon opening the door, Hinata makes eye-contact with him, and gives him a tiny smile. His returning grin is wide. Sasuke turns around, and upon the eye contact, Naruto tries to give him a smile, since he always looks so.. downcast.

To the blonde's surprise, he gives him a grimace back. Naruto lights up inside. Maybe Sasuke-teme isn't as bad after all! Him constantly beating him in spars still kinda hurts though.

He takes his seat in the back corner on the right, and places his head down on the desk while staring at the green chalkboard that's nailed in the wall. Sasuke seems to be in a good mood. Hinata is out of her usual funk (he did notice that she's been hanging out with Kiba and Shino a lot more recently). Maybe today will be a good day.

--

Today was a good day! Still hungry as a result of not eating for almost a month now, but still a good day nevertheless!

Today though, Lunch was last period instead of the middle of the day, so all Naruto can hear is the hustle and bustle of kids eating, and some shoving food down their throats as they complain about their guardians picking them up. They don't know how lucky they are, Naruto thinks. They have parents to complain to.

Despite him observing everything from the rafters of the cafeteria, he knows there at least about two people who have spotted him. Shikamaru, because everybody knows you can't get better spatial awareness unless you know a sensor type ninja, and Iruka-sensei since he's doing round checks around the academy rooms and the academy perimeter. He likes it up here. Nobody actually has the guts or the ability in itself to get up into the rafters, so he gets his own personal chill spot.

Or at least that's what he thought, before a certain mahogany-haired kid with gray eyes and red markings (had those since birth, Naruto notes) lands next to him, no longer sporting the furry jacket that he normally is.

"I wanna say that I scared you, but I'm pretty sure your the only person in this village who has amazing sensor abilities besides us and the Hatake." Kiba laughs out loud, with Akamaru handing in a couple of yips! at the end.

Naruto had already noticed he's lost the jacket, but he realizes that most of his normal garb is completely missing. Instead, the Inuzuka is wearing a simple high-neck shinobi grade shirt which is sleeveless, with gray cargo shorts and regular shinobi open toed boots. He also notices that his hair is a lot longer than he thought it was, and is tied in a high ponytail on his head. Akamaru is perched on his shoulder.

"Damn, what caused the new look? Got too much wet dog all over your jacket?" Kiba whined, a very dog sounding whine, which made Naruto giggle.

"I just wanted to loose it. Feels nice to free up my arms and legs, even if Akamaru misses the body heat, don't you buddy?" Akamaru whines, obviously missing the body heat, which Naruto tongue-clicks at.

"Look at you, doing your own ninken dirty, Kiba. I'm ashamed of you." Kiba simply smiled, his fangs catching the light, making them glint. Kiba just shook his head. Akamaru pawed at Kiba's shoulder, as if to say I completely agree with him, and Kiba just giggles in return.

"Anyways, whatcha doin' all the way up here? Shouldn't you be eating?" Kiba questions. Naruto can feel his stomach about to protest, but he tries to stamp that down as quick and as efficient as possible.

It doesn't work.

"I'm not really hungry, besid-" His stomach growls loudly, and Naruto gives the fanged boy a grimace. Kiba just gives him a deadpan stare, and Naruto almost laughs uncontrollably because Kiba has almost never looked that dry before. Almost laughs uncontrollably.

To Naruto's reaction, Kiba grabs him by his wrist and drags him off the rafters, tumbling through the air onto the ground, and runs out of the cafeteria. Naruto tries to protest, but they fall on deaf ears, as Kiba is still dragging him, practically running at this point, with Akamaru at their ankles.

Kiba makes an abrupt right turn, then a left, then a right again, and he finally stops in front of their classroom. Naruto tilts his head in confusion, but doesn't question anything yet as Kiba pulls him into the classroom.

(If that day, they had been paying more attention, they would've noticed a certain black-haired boy in blue.)

Kiba drags Naruto to the front, and proceeds to dig through his bag, until he pulls out two bento boxes. He forces one into Naruto's hands, with a stance that shows no room for argument.

"Normally I take two, because I have a pretty big appetite, I think it's a dog side effect," Kiba starts. "But I can hold out for more food until I get home."

Naruto sputters, trying to protest because he doesn't need pity dammit, he'll get his own food when he has the time and the money, but as he stutters and babbles, Kiba takes a piece of onigiri and pops it in Naruto's mouth when he sees a chance.

Naruto chews for two seconds, and then promptly devours the entire bento box. He burps loudly after, to which Kiba just laughs. "So, you weren't hungry, right?"

Naruto rolls his eyes, but gives the Inuzuka a look mixed with gratitude and fondness. "Thanks, Kiba. You're the best."

The gray-eyed kid simply snorts. "I know I am. Don't be afraid to ask me for food if you're hungry, I'm sure I can always spare an onigiri or two. Maybe even the entire box."

Naruto knows the entire village hates him. The sneers, and the looks of disgust and killing intent, as well as full-grown ANBU officers being wary around him. It's never easy, but he gets used to it. But maybe, just maybe, if he had more people like Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino (and maybe Sakura? He doesn't know, she could switch up at any moment), it could get easier.

Living here, could get easier. Be easier.

--

When Naruto finally makes it home, belly full and pranks completed, he crashed onto his well worn bed, thankful for the day's events. He should count his blessings. There's not many people like Kiba and Shino (And isn't THAT something, being on first name basis with them...)

He closes his eyes, content. He didn't even get a chance to start daydreaming about a normal life. The minute he closed them and began to attempt to daydream, he felt something trying to pull him deeper. Realizing it was the same time as before, he didn't fight, and followed the feeling, and got pulled deeper into the darkness of his chest cavity.

Where he landed, instead of it being murky water (and thank kami he knows that it's actually water..), the water was clear, and the feeling of the landscape was calm and collected. Facing his eyes in front, he sees the same bars as before, and the paper that resides there instead of a lock. He walks up to the paper, examining it, and his eyes widen as he figures out what it is.

It's a seal. There's something sealed inside of my damn chest.

As he's not paying attention, a orange beast with blood-red eyes, black slits, and nine tails comes out of the shadows of the cage. He makes direct eye contact with the Uzumaki, and as a fight or flight response (trained very well because of those stupid civilians), he backs up from the cage and back to where he was standing before.

"You dare come and disturb me with your presence, human?" The voice of the beast rumbles through the atmosphere, sending a heavy chill down the blonde's spine.

"To be fair, you're the one stuck in my chest, but yes, I do dare." Naruto sasses back, and by the looks of it, the beast wasn't expecting that. However, the scowl on the beast's face just deepens.

"Get out, and never come back." Expecting Naruto to leave, the beast closes it's eyes. However, Naruto is still here. He cracks a singular eye open.

"What do you want from me? Power? Chakra? If so, you had best leave because I won't be giving you anything." Naruto just rolls his eyes, and takes a seat in the clear water, and surprisingly, he doesn't feel his pants getting wet.

"Why would I need power or chakra from you? If I wanted power I'd just train until I get the power I want." Naruto says lazily, yawning in the process. The beast sits there skeptical, there's no other reason on why the human should be here. If he doesn't want power or chakra, what in the fucking sage lands does he want?

"You know, the village talks about you a lot. It's like your a celebrity." Naruto starts, reminiscing on all the history lessons and the people going to both the shinobi and civilian cemetery. "But I think that they're looking at it in a weird way. I mean, you're not hurting me right now and I'm sitting right in front of you." The beast chooses to ignore the last part, and favors to redirect the part to the beginning.

"So you know what I am."

"Of course I know what you are, is that even a question?" Naruto snorts internally, and the beast can probably hear that, but he doesn't care. "You're the Nine-Tailed Fox. A bijuu, a creature made entirely of chakra."

The beast widens it eyes, being caught by surprise because this human doesn't look older than the age of six.

"Then why are you casually conversing with me? I've killed hundreds, thousands with a single swipe of my claws. If I had my way, I would've killed you ages ago."

"Because honestly? I'm curious. Yes, you've killed a lot of people. Yes, I should be shaking of fear right now." Naruto nods along. "But not everybody gets the chance to get to know and immortal being made of completely dense chakra."

The beast just sits there, because the only reason this child, this human child, is sitting here talking to him is because of morbid curiosity?

"You. Want to get to know me."

"Yeah! Oh, let's start with names! Sorry for not asking earlier, Jiji likes to say that not asking for people's names is rude but the idea of talking to a chakra beast is a lot more interesting. Anyways, my name is Uzumaki Naruto! What's yours?"

The beast has killed thousands. By now, his kill count should be in the billions. He's made of nothing but chakra, shinobi wish they could even have a fraction of his power to hold for only a couple of minutes. He's seen wars, he's seen humans take more than they need and never give back. That's the prime reason for him despising the human race in general, especially certain Uchiha.

This human child has the audacity to break his faith of the despicable human race with a singular question and a raise of his eyebrow.

"...Kurama, tiny human. My name is Kurama, and I'm the Nine-Tailed Fox."

Chapter Text

Upon waking up the next morning, Naruto's vision and hearing is clearer than it's ever been.

He feels everything. Including chakra, since ANBU ninja are making their rounds around the village. He does live in the shinobi district, after all. There are colored chakra auras and patterns, he hears the rustling of the leaves from several floors down, he hears the slight swishing of his plants on his kitchenette's counter, and he can also hear Kurama in the back of his head, the angry growling he used to hear before now completely vanished.

"Morning, Kurama."

"Morning, kid."

He gets out of bed and immediately heads into his bathroom to brush his teeth and shower. His water pressure is shit, but it's okay because at least he actually has a shower, and it's not like the shower in the orphanage where he was pretty sure he stepped in three different unknown substances.

Once he finishes showering and brushing his teeth, he walks out of his room with gray sweats, and a black shirt with a red spiral on it.

"Do you know what the spiral means, kid?"

"Now I do, before I didn't. For whatever reason, Jiji didn't want to tell me that I had a whole ass clan and it took a book from the library for me to find out. I don't even think I was supposed to find that book in the first place."

And isn't that something that graces Kurama's ears. Because what the hell are they doing to his jinchuuriki but not properly teaching him???

"Your village confuses me, kid."

"It confuses me too, but some people here are nice so it's okay."

Naruto guesses that once again, Kurama took the answer for what it was. It's about eight in the morning, and Naruto would've left for the Academy, but he remembered that they shut it down in the mornings due to vandalism near the outer area. Of course, the first person they looked for what him but he had already proved it wasn't him.

Not like the other sensei's and kids believed him, but he's pretty sure Iruka-sensei did something about that.

He sits at the kitchen island he has, opening the sky blue book once more, and flipping the book open once more. He moves to a certain page that has a storage seal ingrained into the page. He presses his thumbprint in the center, and then another book pops out, this one being a soft gold, but has the same white spiral with black lining.

"Did I just see a book pop out of a book?"

"Yes, you did. Yuuji-san said there were two books inside of the main blue one. This one's on chakra and fuuinjutsu."

"Makes sense. The Uzumaki had oceans full of chakra. Probably why you can't do that exercise you told me about in your little Academy."

"That's what gets me so mad, because if somebody had just told me that I was an UZUMAKI and that not being able to do simple clones was because I had chakra reserves the size of WIND COUNTRY, that whole situation could've been solved already."

"Kurama, I have a question?"

"Hm?" Kurama can feel the morbid curiosity, as well as a hint of sadness and grief run through the seal, and the Fox has a very big sneaking suspicion that he knows what this is about.

"You knew my parents, right? Considering my mom was your previous jinchuuriki? Well, can you tell me about them? Iunderstandifyoucan'tbutIjustwanttoknowbecausenobody'st-"

"Chill out, kid. I was going to have to tell you eventually anyways." The Fox gears up for what he feels is going to be a tough conversation.

"Your mother was the textbook definition of a spitfire, but also very loyal." The Fox began. "Loyal to Uzushio and the rest of Uzu no Kuni. She didn't like Konoha much, at all really. I remember her irritation at most of her sensei's and handlers. You honestly remind me of her, I just like you more than I liked her."

"Kushina has fiery red hair, an Uzumaki clan trait, and had eyes of the skies. Her chakra reserves were as dense and huge as the oceans off the coast of Uzushio. Had great skill in sealing, I remember her sealing away an entire city block once during a fight."

"AN ENTIRE CITY BLOCK?! MY MOM'S A BADASS!!!!" Naruto cheers in excitement. The Fox simply shakes his head.

"She was, I won't lie. I also won't lie to you, I did not like your mother. However, she was the better human between my last two."

"Did my Mom have the Chakra Chains? I remember Yuuji mentioning it."

"She did. It's what she used to seal me inside of you." Naruto can tell that was a sore subject, so he decided to drop it.

"What about my dad? What was his name? Was he a powerful shinobi?"

"Are you familiar with the Fourth Hokage?"

"Yeah, wh- THE FOURTH HOKAGE IS MY DAD???"

"Yeah, kid. The Fourth Hokage's your dad. Namikaze Minato. A very annoying blonde, and he worshipped the ground Kushina walked on. She despised him for a while, but she warmed up to him in the end. Your father was also a genesis."

"A geni-what now? What's that?"

"Any shinobi that doesn't have a shinobi background."

"My parents were so cool!"

"Adding on to the annoying blonde that was your father, he was also known as Konoha's Yellow Flash. He could teleport, but I do remember a Shinobi before him that had the skill to do that, so not that impressive if you ask me."

"Kurama, you're a multiple century year old immortal chakra beast. I don't expect anything to impress you."

"Lies, you do impress me sometimes." Kurama could only imagine Naruto's smile of joy on his face. He clicked his tongue, nudging the kid back to his book on chakra and fuuinjutsu. "However, I'm sure there's a relative of yours that has something about chakra to teach you."

Hello, Naruto! It's Yuuji!

Whether you skipped all the way to find this book or you finished the first one, doesn't matter. This book is going to teach you all about chakra and how you can practice on chakra control. Literally, anything ninja related, this book has it.

Firstly, I know Konoha's Ninja Academy teaches you about affinities and such. I want you to scratch that all together and take the word of this instead.

In truth, using only one or two types of chakra pathways is detrimental to you in the long run because eventually, the pathways will decay and die after long periods of disuse. This is why I'm going to teach you to unlock all five of them.

Now, I'm going to tell you right now, your "affinity" is most likely going to be wind, water, or both. It's an Uzumaki thing, so if one, the other, or both feel easier and you think you may not have gotten it because it was easy, don't. You most likely did. The only other 'affinity' you may have is a Lightning one, but then again, we're Uzumaki, not Shiraishi. Still, I should tell you.

Now let's get started!

You need to be in a relatively clean room and in a meditative position. Calm works best to unlock any of the elements, and if in distress, it could send most of your systems into a frenzy.

Concentrate on the beating of your heart. All five of them resonate in the heart first, and then spread out to the other parts of the body, and then activate the chakra pathways for it. First, you're going to do Earth, which is the foundation for the rest of the elements. Try to think of grounding yourself. It's a way to connect to the world around you. You're there, you're aware.

Next, is Wind. Wind is the factor of change, sort of like the weather. For this, think of things that you've faced before, and how you overcame them, and how it changed you.

Up Next, is Water. It is said that Water represents the strength of emotion. Think of your emotions, be self-aware just for a while. What are you feeling? How are you feeling? Where are you feeling?

Fire. Fire is the element of want. Want could be anything that motivates you. Want can be physical. Want can be mental. What fuels you to get what you want. What do you want?

Last, but very not least, is Lightning. The most dangerous one of all. This one doesn't require thinking of anything, you have to find it all by yourself. Dig deep, deeper than you've never done before, and chase the feeling until it resonates in your chakra pathways. Be careful though, Lightning is the most volatile. One wrong move, and your lightning pathway will spaz out and shut down for good.

"Okay, so maybe this might not be a good idea." He grimaces at the thought of his lightning pathways shutting down for good, and he's sure the water down in Kurama's seal has gone back to murky water at least a little from the immediate drop in his mood.

"Don't say that, kid. I can feel your pathways, just attempt what your cousin told you and I'll check for you. I am a being of chakra, after all."

"Alright fine. But if my chakra pathways get messed up, I'm cursing you out for life for giving me the idea."

Okay, so his chakra pathways didn't mess up, but his Lightning ones came very close considering he isn't Shiraishi. His affinity was probably Wind, since that one was the easiest to unlock.

"That makes a lot of sense. Your parents had wind affinities too, kid."

Huh, and doesn't that feel bittersweet.

He goes back to his soft gold book, flipping through the pages for something on Uzu-nin attire. If he has a clan he should look the part too, right? He flips and skims until he find the title of Chapter 10, which is Uzu-Nin, The Guide.

Uzu-Nin often have different color schemes depending on the clan, but the main genin uniform consist of a navy-blue shorts leeved shirt, a and a black shirt that goes over it. On the back of the shirt, the Uzumaki symbol is stitched near the collar of the over-shirt. The hitai-ate has the classic spiral on it, no matter the clam. Some, like Akamine and Shiraishi have fingerless gloves, for both forgery and kekkei genkai reasons. Endo often wear whole gloves to prevent poison secretion. It's not mandatory, but they do anyway.

Navy-blue. Black. Stitch Materials. Black Sandals. Things that could be easy to get, if he were allowed into the nicer parts of the shinobi district.

Well, he's always been good at sneaking around.

He departs from his window, taking the rooftops so people don't see him. He makes multiple lefts and rights, moving past the jounin and the ANBU guards on patrol with camouflage. He remembered something that Kurama told him that made it easier for him to slip past his bullies.

"Everything in the world has chakra. Some are dormant, some are active. Actively changing your chakra to correspond to the chakra of your surroundings makes for the most skilled ninja to move past you."

He looks at his paper that he has folded in his sweatpants while he's running, feeling like he's one with the wind. Navy-Blue Base shirt. Black over-shirt, A needle to stitch, and black sandals. Better for blending in with the environment when he graduates.

Finally, he lands in front of Sabertooth, one of the higher end stores for shinobi attire and equipment. Normally he'd go to Midori, but he feels like getting some of the more high end stuff. He is going to be representing the Uzumaki Clan. Might as well get the better quality stuff.

He enters the store, and feels eyes all on him as soon as a singular molecule of him moves through the door. He can see the jounin stifle in his peripheral, but doesn't comment and keeps moving. He moves deeper and deeper into the store, until he makes it to the spot that separates genin and pre-genin.

"Which one should I go for?"

"Considering you Konoha kids grow like weeds? Genin."

Naruto snorts and moves further into the Genin section, finding beginner kunai and beginner katanas. He weaves through the aisles, until he finally has what he needs, and leaves the aisle. On a spontaneous decision, he moves to the more serious equipment side of the store. He moves past freshly forged katanas and steel senbon that are powerful enough to kill several squads of ANBU if used right. He can tell, there's a clearance based on ninja level. Chunin or lower can't buy them.

He could've sworn he'd seen Sakura somewhere near the iryo-nin equipment, but he decides to let that thought die out for now. He had already made it pretty deep into the section until finally found what he needed.

Fuuinjutsu Ink and Specialized Paper. Perfect.

He's at the Academy early, and it's still too early for anybody to even be thinking about getting ready to be at the academy, but Naruto doesn't care. It gives him peace and quiet to work on his scrolls. It's a simple storage scroll, but he figures he should start on the basics before immediately going for anything higher.

"Uchiha incoming."

"You and your Uchiha slander."

Nevertheless, he appreciates the warning, because he turns around and there's Sasuke Uchiha in all his loner glory. Surprisingly, he has a softer look on his face, but he still hides the look of grief and anger, and also those eyebags that no amount of shut eye can mend.

"Uh.. hi?" The blonde says. The Uchiha moves forward to him, and takes up the seat next to him. It's awkward, he notes, because up until now he was set firm in the idea that the Uchiha hated him.

"Hi." The raven-haired boy says. Naruto can tell, with the way his chakra moves, that there's something he wants to say, but doesn't know how to word it. He catches his eyes straying towards his seal work, and he finally catches on.

"You wanna see?" He nods. Naruto shifts. Sasuke moves in.

"Fuuinjutsu is incomprehendable to most. How do you understand it?"

"I just do. It's in my blood to do so, after all."

Sasuke's eyes widen, and Naruto snickers. He continues to show him the storage seal he was working on.

If either of them were paying attention, they would've noticed about eight strands of Naruto's hair turning red.

Chapter Text

Sakura is useless.

That's what she feels like, anyway.

She's already at a disadvantage. She's a civilian, opportunities like becoming a skilled and powerful kunoichi are only given to clan kids. She isn't a clan kid. She's just a random civilian with merchants as parents. The only reason why she's even here is because per village policy, any child that shows chakra potential has to attend the academy.

Not to mention Sasuke doesn't even pay attention to her at all.

He lingers around Nara and Inuzuka a lot more now, but they don't actually sit down to talk or speak. She notices that he's gradually moving further and further to the back, where Naruto is normally residing with Nara and Inuzuka.

What is it that dead last has that I don't?

I mean! She's getting better with expanding her chakra pools, considering those are zero-to-none, but she still can't properly throw a shuriken, or be accurate with kunai throwing, or really good enough at taijutsu like Hinata, but she's trying! That counts for something, right?

Does Sasuke even pay attention to her at all?

Wait, when did she start calling him Sasuke?

I mean, they are close right? Even if they've never spoke and Sakura has always tried to win his attention when she does good with kunai aim and perfect chakra precision. It's what inspired her to go into iryo-ninjutsu, and the fact that some aspects of it can be weaponized.

So yeah, she just wants Sasuke-kun to acknowledge that she's doing good, that she's better, she's getting better, that her chakra precision is good, that her taijutsu and ninjustu are good (grades just mean that she meets the standard), and-

Does she actually like him?

She had books stacked up on her desk, full of human body anatomy and chakra points in the body. She takes a deep breath in, and out.

She can't keep waiting for parental approval, even if it hurts so bad that they don't support her in her ninja career if she'll even have one, what kind of kunoichi had little to no chakra?

She's never been sneaky, that's a Aburame and Nara Clan specialty, but she has to be in order to get out of the house. She pockets the money that she definitely didn't steal from her dad's wallet, and opens the window, takes a deep breath, and jumps.

She lands on her ass.

She quickly dusts herself off, making sure nobody sees her embarrassing attempt and window jumping, and walks to one of the better stores in the shinobi-district. Sabertooth has some of the more high end equipment and clothing, plus Sakura has to at least look like she knows what she's doing. As she's moving through the aisles to make it to the genin section, she could've sworn that she saw a very familiar blonde-haired kid, but they had red streaks in it, so she moved on.

Further into the genin aisle, she finds what she's looking for. Fingerless black gloves with leather padding for safety reasons, black shinobi-grade long cargo pants, and a maroon high-collared sleeveless shirt.

Once she picks out her items, along with some kunai and a pouch for them, she moves to the register. There's a person sitting on the side of the desk, a jounin, she thinks. They're wearing a blue bandana which is tied to the front, and has what looks like a senbon in between his teeth.

Weird. Ninja were weird.

She can tell the register lady is underestimating her, sizing her up even. How can she tell? She's looking down at Sakura the same way her parents do when she talks about being a worthy kunoichi. Which reminds her that she still has to fix her thingy with Sasuk- Uchiha.

She is not close with him. His name is Uchiha.

Once she purchased her stuff (had to bargain for a couple ryo, probably about a few 100 or two), she went to the changing room, and put on her outfit. Once she finished, she took the red bow that she normally wears, and unwraps it, using it as a way to put her bubblegum pink hair up into a high ponytail.

She decides that she's allowed to smile just a bit. She looks like a proper kunoichi.

Now to become one, if she can.

The walk to the hospital, yes, the actual proper shinobi hospital, she's trying to be a kunoichi medic and good at iryo-ninjutsu, not a regular nurse. That's boring, and she won't be useful enough working at the civilian hospital.

She wants to be useful. No, she needs to be useful.

She enters, and makes eye contact with the desk lady. She quirks one eyebrow at her, probably because of her small and overly-skinny build (side note, quit the "diet" you put yourself on to please Uchiha). She takes a deep breath in and out. Can't back out now can you, Sakura?

"Excuse me, where can I find Daisuke Hayashi?"

The receptionist's pupils dilate, and looks at her with a skeptical look. "At the very top floor of the hospital, room 1016. Be careful."

When Sakura opened the door to the top floor of the hospital, she found what is probably the most battle-hardened person she's ever met. Sakura is barely allowed outside of her house besides the academy.

Daisuke Akiyama has black hair with streaks of white in it. His eyes are an earthy-shade of green, and has an scar running from his left temple down to his chin. He also has an eyebrow slit.

His eyes avert to the young girl, with a stare that has her squirming where she stands. However, she squashes down that feeling and looks him dead in his earthy green with her emerald green.

"You're underweight. What do you want, brat? I have more important things to do than babysit." Sakura flinches at the underweight comment, though she supposes it's warranted considering she went on a diet to try to get Uchiha to notice her.

"I'm here, because I want to learn iryo-ninjutsu." She tries to fix him a steely gaze, but she knows that with the way her face is shaped, it probably looks like she's doing a deadpan.

"Get out of here kid, and go eat something while you're at it. This isn't a playground." Daisuke turns around, facing towards the window that allows him to get a view of the hustle and bustle of an afternoon in Konohagakure. Sakura takes three steps forward, and turns her chin up to look him directly in the eye.

"I'm not here to play. I know I'm underweight, I know I look like I'm incompetent and I know that I look stupid because my hair is pink and unnatural and that I'm a civilian so I barely have any chakra but!-" She takes another deep breath in and out before continuing, to make sure tears don't fall.

"I have chakra control. I know I don't look like much but I'm willing to put in the work." She looks down, avoiding eye contact at this point because she can't make eye contact with him anymore without crying.

"So please, let me learn under you."

There's long beats of silence. Sakura eventually picks her head up and turns back around to the door of his office. "I should've known. Apologies for wasting your time, I'll be go-"

"Hold up, brat. If you're going to learn under me, I might as well give you some chakra exercises."

Sakura doesn't think she's ever been that happy in her short lifetime.

Chapter Text

Daisuke Hayashi. Iryo-Ninjutsu Specialist. Friendly Neighborhood Hatake Kakashi Annoyance. One of the sons of the Clan Head to Clan Hayashi, the medic nin clan of Uzushio.

Uzushio, how he missed that place.

The smell of Konoha is off. So, so off. Nothing like the tropical smell of Uzushio, with it's bright plant life and white sand beaches with water so clear you could see your reflection clearly. The wind like fresh air, and the connection to the ocean felt deep in any Uzushio inhabitant's bones, no matter where they were.

Uzushiogakure. Uzu no Kuni. How he missed Uzushiogakure.

Konoha did nothing to protect the Hayashi. Nothing to protect Uzushio as a whole. However, Konoha was a better version then Kiri (those bloody Kiri-nin), and no Uzushio native was going to betray the ocean and the skies by going to Kumo or Iwa.

Not on Ryujin, their beloved god of the sea. Not on Tenjin, the god of the skies. Not on their watch. Not now, and not ever.

Konoha was the better option. At least, wherever an Uzushio native went, the protection of the sea, and the sky on certain occasions, went with. Tenjin, God of the Sky, could be stingy with his care like that. Goddess Ryujin, however, loved all of her sea children.

Daisuke remembers the day Uzushio fell. Vividly, as if it was just yesterday he fled.

The fires were big. Some red, yellow, and orange. Some blue. The shouts of Iwa and Kiri nin rushing in and slaughtering the Uzu-nin defense force for an attack they were never warned or prepared for. The Uzukage had sacrificed themselves to the sea to save the village, but to no avail, the sacrifice ended up being for nothing.

Daisuke was at the Clan Head house, running, trying to get away from Uzushio and to find refuge somewhere with his older brother, older sister, and his younger brother. Their mother had already been killed, and their dad had sprinted to the Uzukage Tower to try and save the other staff. Deep down, Daisuke knew there was no use.

They were going to die here. All because Kiri and Iwa fear what is stronger.

"Daisuke, hurry! If we get to the entrance to Uzu no Kuni fast enough, we can make an escape!" The sounds of Miwa, his beloved older sister, shouting while trying to dodge the fires and quell them with her Suiton. They ran as fast as they could, dodging and killing Kiri and Iwa-nin as they invaded their beloved home.

"There! Those kids running! Go get them! Remember our orders from the Mizukage!"

"There shall be no survivors. All of Uzushio, especially those blasted Uzumaki should perish! Wipe. Them. OUT!"

The fear that was already prevalent as Uzu-nin clashed and fell while fighting the Bloody Mist increased and took over the entire being of him and his siblings. In the distance, they could hear their father yelling, chanting even.

"I'll never back down! By the name of the sea and the skies, you will all perish!" The Hayashi clan head rode into battle, though they knew it wouldn't last for long. Kiri-nin killed in groups. Dad would be dead. He will be dead.

"Cmon, Dai-nii! We have to get to the entrance!" The sound of his younger brother, Rintarou, attempted to yank him back to reality, but couldn't. Not as the white sand beaches he once knew turned black, and the sea, a once so clear cyan, was now blood red as the clans of Uzu no Kuni, the people of Uzushio, fell to Kirigakure and Iwagakure.

He whipped his head around so fast and hard that he got whiplash, but he didn't care. Why? Because right in front of him, he watched his older brother and sister fight the Iwa-nin that began to attack them.

"DAISUKE! TAKE RINTAROU AND RUN! RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN! MAKE SURE THEY CAN'T FOLLOW YOU!"

"But what about you?! YOU DESERVE TO LIVE TOO!"

They both smile grimly. Miwa and Souta. The twin waves of the Hayashi Clan. A rare sight, since twin children are usually female and female, or male and male, in the Hayashi Clan. Daisuke's beloved older siblings.

"We'll always be with you, Daisuke. When we die, our spirits go with Ryujin and Tenjin. We'll be with you, we'll be living with you, whether that be in the sea or in the skies. Now, take Rintarou and go. Survive. For us?" They say at the exact same time, holding out their arms in a hugging gesture. Both him and Rintarou ran to Miwa and Souta, relishing in what would be the last time they'd ever touch each other again.

"Bye, Miwa-nii. Bye, Souta-nii."

Daisuke picked up Rintarou. Oh, so tiny, six year old Rintarou, and bolted. With the wind at his back, he powered through the pain, the severe headache, his body aching, and continued to sprint through Uzushio to get to the entrance to Uzu no Kuni. Once he has an adequate amount of water source, he can use his personal Suiton that Souta-nii taught him so he can carry them to safety. Maybe Konoha? He doesn't like the place but it's the safest option.

"There they are! The Hayashi clan kids! GET THEM!"

"Dai-nii! They're trying to block us in! Go for the trees!" Rintarou yells. Ryujin bless Rintarou, he is amazing. Daisuke makes an abrupt right turn, going into the trees to make it to the entrance to Uzu no Kuni. In the distance, he looks at an attack from what is probably a Shiraishi.

"RANTON!" At that moment, there was a huge burst of lightning and water chakra, as that is what Storm Release is made of, and Daisuke silently mourns for all of his fellow Uzushio citizens. He checks on Rintarou, who's frantically letting out small bursts of chakra to feel around for any Kiri or Iwa-nin near them. Bless Rintarou.

He jumps out of the trees, and lands in the front of Uzu no Kuni's entrance. He walks to the ocean, over the now black sand and touches the water.

"Where are we going, Dai-nii?" Rintarou asks. In that moment, Daisuke makes a split second decision.

"Suiton : Wave Case." He makes a dome filled with water chakra, and steps inside with Rintarou in his arms.

"We're headed to Konohagakure, Rintarou."

"Dai? You good?" Daisuke snaps out of his trance, remembering that tragic day, by looking at his younger brother with stark white hair and eyes the same color as him. He's in standard civilian clothing, as the shinobi hospital is currently closing.

"Yeah, just... reminiscing." Daisuke responds to Rintarou, to which Rintarou gives a simple nod and brushes over the clan necklace he wears everyday.

"Also, I have something to talk to you about." Rintarou says, and Daisuke just quirks up one eyebrow as a way to tell Rintarou to continue.

"Yesterday, when I went into your office to go and get my lunch, there was a chakra signature left behind. Not enough to be Genin though. Who was in there?" Ah yes, he knew Rin would've noticed, he is a sensor type after all.

"Ah, well there was this kid that came in, looked real scrawny, probably underweight." Daisuke begins, looking out the window, where the sun has begun to set. "She came in, looked me dead in my eye, and told me she wanted to learn under me."

Rintarou's eyes widened only slightly, he was a ninja after all, controlled reactions is a thing in this line of work. "You? Daisuke Hayashi? One of the most hardass medic-nin to live, probably after Lady Tsunade of the Sannin? Had what was probably an academy student come to you, wanting to learn from you?"

"Yeah, and she went on a rant about it too. Something about 'looking stupid because she had pink hair', probably a civilian as well."

"Cmon now, Dai. You know how clan-ninja treat civilian ninja. Give her a chance!"

"Did I ever say I turned her down, Rin?" Rintarou's eyes widened even more, no longer being able to keep his reactions in control.

"The day has finally come! THE Daisuke Hayashi is growing soft and has a protege! Aww, when can I meet her?" Rintarou starts, beginning his trolling behavior. He swears that Rintarou acts like their mother so much.

"Whenever she comes. I told her to come in tomorrow, since the academy kids have off on the weekends." Daisuke sighs, taking his flask off of the reception desk, and takes a sip of what is probably apple juice. Screw him, coffee tastes disgusting and is basically dirt water.

Rintarou takes note of the heavy sigh he just did, and goes back into basic ninja mode. "There's something you're worried about, isn't there?"

"You know me so well, don't you?" At this point, both him and Rintarou have left the shinobi hospital, taking the rooftops back to their apartment, smack dab in the middle of the shinobi district.

"All right, Dai, out with it. What has you so worried?" Another deep sigh erupts from Daisuke's mouth, as he abruptly stops on their apartment roof.

"I'm not worried, it's just..."

"...Just?"

"It's just that... she reminds me of Miwa. So, so much like Miwa, that it hurts."

Inuzuka Kiba is a dog.

Well, not really. The Inuzuka Clan are dogs, but not necessarily.

They have dog traits, natural dog senses, group up in dog packs, and even have dog partners. They are dogs in their own right, but not so much as they still think and talk like humans.

Outside, in front of people anyway. Inside the clan compound? It's human speech mixed with growls and clicks and play-fighting invitations. That's how pack is.

And apparently, Mama has decided that it's time he starts forming one.

"Packs are important, little rascal. Think about who you'd like in your pack, but you don't have to rush it. If you need an idea of where to start, think of the people you've already made connections with."

Okay Mama, let's see what he got.

Mama said to start with people he's already formed connections with, so what better place to start than the academy?

Kiba sits under a tree, looking up into the sky and rolls around in the sunlight. He's bored out of his mind, but there's really nothing to do. Akamaru has an infection, so he can't bring him to school right now. He's about to take a midday nap, before he smells the natural smell of aloe vera and lavender.

"Kiba-kun?" Kiba tips his head up to look at the Hyuuga Heiress. He tilts his head to the side, a question resting in his gray-brown slitted eyes. He smiles at her, a small one.

"Hi Hinata! What's up?" Apparently his enthusiasm makes her mood better, because gives a quivering smile back. Okay Kiba, this is a potential pack opportunity. A good foundation for a pack is trust.

"Uhm, c-can you help us do something? Me and Shino-kun need help." Shino! Another potential pack member. Quiet, but trustworthy. Also a menace when he wants to be, but he's pretty sure that's just Aburame behavior.

"Sure, what do you need help with?"

Okay, so normal people didn't need help wiping out a several century old tree because the tree is technically a weed, but their ninja, and ninja are weird.

His potential pack members are also weird for wanting to wipe out the aforementioned several century old tree, but it's okay. It's a good kind of weird.

"Why are we trying to take out this tree, Hinata?" Kiba asks, as Hinata leads him somewhere in the forest behind the academy. She entered into a big clearing, where Shino was already standing, waiting. "Hello to you too, Shino."

"Hello, Kiba. Why? Because you are a friend." Yes! He's a friend! Friends trust each other, right? Okay, so pack member recruitment is going smoothly, although he does have to explain to them dog mechanics... that's a problem for Future Inuzuka Kiba though.

"A-Anyways, Kiba-kun. As y-you can see, the tree isn't here, and that's because the tree is behind the Hokage Mountain."

His eyes widen and his mouth falls agape, because academy kids, minors, going behind the Hokage Mountain has to be some form of illegal or just genuinely not allowed.

His friends and future packmates are the coolest people ever.

"So, we have to sneak behind the Hokage Mountain, where Jounin are probably guarding near it but not exactly near the location, to extract a tree for only kami knows what? Which is probably some form of illegal or not allowed?"

"Well, w-when you put it like that..." Her and Shino both look down, knowing damn well that trespassing past the Hokage Mountain is a crime. However, they weren't expecting the fact that Kiba actually wanted to do it.

"Well, what are we waiting for! We have jounin to sneak past and a tree to blow up!" Hinata gives a small smile, and Shino gives him a nod.

And away they go.

Tree hopping is actually so fun.

Swinging from branch to branch and making a game out of it with Shino is even more fun. They made Hinata laugh! Not her normal shy giggle, or a nervous one, but a real life laugh! Best achievement ever!

Until they got to where the jounin were stationed. Then they got to the hard part.

"How do we sneak past them?" Shino asks.

"Well, if you're up to it, we could use your kikaichu to do surveillance." Hinata says back, all nervousness gone. She'd make a great leader if they were a team.

"But aren't we all from tracker-nin families?" Hinata and Shino both look at him as a signal to further explain. "We track down ninja. Isn't that just roundabout spying? If I keep track on the scent, and Shino uses his kikaichu if he's comfortable, and Hinata is on lookout, we spy on them, and we make our way there easy!"

Well, it's not the best, probably doesn't make sense either, but it's the best they've got right now.

"Okay." Hinata nods, ready to assume lookout position. "Let's do this."

Chapter Text

She escapes from Otogakure no Sato at the age of thirteen.

It was a difficult thing, especially with the Otokage's guards being spread around the village. She had to pack food, a spare change of clothes, and of course, weapons. She wasn't a member of the Uzumaki Clan without at least knowing how to make simple trapping scrolls.

The first step, was getting out of her house. If you could call it a house, it was pretty much a cottage, small but hidden enough so that the Oto-Nin, the absolute bastards, wouldn't recognize who she was.

She's pretty sure the Otokage is old enough to remember the fall of Uzushiogakure. She's also pretty sure the Otokage is old enough to recognize an Uzumaki.

The second step, was to get rid of any evidence that she lived in Otogakure in the first place. She was an Uzumaki, and although Uzushiogakure lived off of the coast of Fire Country, that doesn't mean that they were prominent in Fire Jutsu.

However, she needed to be in order to escape this hell hole. So, with a will that only the skies could produce, she looked deep into her memories of Uzushio, trying to remember anything, anything, that could help her get rid of her little cottage.

She remembered.

It was a simple thing, used mostly by the Endo Clan, because their main summons were Jackals. She was old enough to remember, her best friend was Endo. She remembers him well. Isamu Endo. Known for being stoic yet one of the funniest in the room. She missed him a lot. His boy-crush, that he had at the time, Akimitsu Kumagai, was the sweetest person to ever exist, but also a little shit. Damn that infiltration specialist.

She missed those two so much.

Isamu taught her this jutsu, although it was harder for her, since she had both a Fuuton and Suiton Affinity. She has to breath in, feel the fire burning in her heart, and then push it out.

"Katon : Jackal Claw."

In an instant, her cottage caught on fire, burning faster than any Konoha-Nin she's ever seen, and Konoha-nin are known for being absolute pyromaniacs. Once her cottage burned absolutely to a crisp, she summoned a water jutsu to quickly put it out. Before she knew it, it was like her cottage wasn't even there.

The third step, was to make it through town to get closer to the gate. In a flash step, she moved around with her hood up, careful to not look suspicious but also to be wary of any Oto-Nin patrolling through the streets of the capital. Her skirt swayed back and forth with her movements, and the padding of her sandals against the cobblestone pathways made as little sound as she could will it.

Finally, after about thirty minutes she made it to town square, where people were dancing to music being played by a person. She rolls her eyes, they have no idea that this place is horrid. What do they have to be smiling about?

Another thirty minute walk, and she's near the gate. Of course, at the gate, there are chunin and jounin level Oto-Nin at the gate, guarding anybody and preventing anyone from coming in or getting out.

Well, Uzumaki have always been pranksters.

She bends the corner, and finds a bucket with a very suspicious liquid that smells like acid, a plank of wood, some ninja wire, and a slingshot.

Well, looks like the eyes of Ryujin are on her today.

The prank worked with flying colors.

The acid fell on the Oto-Nin, which burned quite a few, and she would feel sorry, if she wasn't trying to escape the hell hole that is Otogakure. She relished in the sight of the ninja getting burned, before seizing her chance. She runs up the steel gate, chakra coiling in her feet. She makes the leap over, and makes a break for it.

Good! The chakra control lessons work! I was worried about it, Uzumaki have good reserves but our chakra control has to be refined heavily. Unluckily for me, it's not like I could grow up enough to learn chakra control...

She hears Oto-Nin in the back, screaming orders while medic-nin showed up to treat the acid-burned. She knows some of them are chasing her, but it's too late. She's pureblooded Uzumaki. They don't have the stamina that she has. They're biting her dust.

She's making multiple detours, going through the forest while suppressing her chakra signature so that the Nin can't find her. However, she made the mistake of slowing down, thinking that she was farther away, and they caught up to her.

She's too close to give up now. Not when she can taste freedom on her tongue. She sprints faster, dodging Doton as she jumps from broken pieces of earth back onto flat forest ground.

"Get back here! You'll answer for what you did!" As if eighty percent of Otogakure isn't living in extreme poverty, or being enslaved by Otokage acquaintances. Like hell is she going back.

She makes a right turn. Shinobi on her tail. The smell of saltwater and fresh air gracing her nose was powerful.

Uzumaki Karin hasn't seen the sea since she was taken from Uzushio. She was 7 then, now she's 15. It's been eight years since she's smelt the sea, let alone looked at it. However, maybe. Just maybe.

The sea may welcome her back.

In a leap, she jumped from the docks where various Sound citizens are yelling for knocking down stations for ship equipment, but she really doesn't care. She's soaring high, probably because it was an accidentally chakra added, but that wasn't a big concern. There are sound-nin jumping into the water, but she really doesn't care. She doesn't even know if the ocean will recognize her has their child.

She drops into the water, there are sound-nin in the water, about 2 minutes away because swimming is most definitely not their strong suit. She's sinking deeper, trying to call onto the sea because dammit I know I haven't greeted you but I beg, I will praise you more than the entire Island of Uzushio if you save me, so help me Tenjin.

She feels her vision going black, and she doesn't have her glasses on, its in the deeper pockets of her bag, but she can also feel her lungs burning as they're filled with water. She resigns to herself to her fate, scolding herself for thinking that the sea would save her, that Uzushio's reach was limitless.

The taste of death by drowning was on her tongue, and for all that it was, she appreciated that she didn't have to die in the blasted confines of Otogakure no Sato.

She was knocked out. However, before she could lose her life, the water moved.

The water moved. The water turned into waves. The waves turned into a storm.

The storm beat the Oto-nin senseless. Their remains swept and degraded until the particles sept into the very bottom of the ocean.

The storm died down, but the waves moved carefully and gently, to move their child up and to empty their lungs.

With caring movements, they picked their child up, and moved them towards their home.

When Karin woke up, she felt both physically and mentally exhausted, as if somebody used some type of jutsu to drain all of the energy from her body. However, she noticed, that she was no longer in Otogakure no Sato.

She made it. She was free.

However, stopping her tiny celebration in her tracks, she comes to the realization that she had absolutely zero fucking idea where she is. Although, all she knows is that the place feels familiar.

So very familiar.

The sand beneath her feet felt coarser then it was probably supposed to be. Most of it is black too, however there are some nearly-white patched of it, placed sporadically along what Karin is pretty sure, is a beach. She gets up from her position, trying to regain her footing.

She feels a heavy presence behind her, and when she whipped her head around, she saw nothing. However, she knew better. She knew more.

The sea. The waves. They saved her.

And suddenly, oh so suddenly, her current location became clear.

She was in Uzu no Kuni. She currently, is standing on the beach of Uzushiogakure no Sato. Her home.

Chapter Text

Following the sea is as easy as breathing. Uzushio has reach everywhere, but it thins the farther away you get. Always know, that the sea will be with you wherever you go. - Uzumaki Yuuji

The two most known fighting styles among Uzu-Nin are the "Sky" Style and the "Sea" Style. The Sky Style was made by the Rikitake, while the Sea Style was made by the Shiraishi.

The "Sky" Style was a style suited more for ninja with wind affinities. My girlfriend was a "Sea" Style nin while I was a "Sky" Style nin. Any weapon could be used if you apply it to the individual fighting styles correctly, but Tessen Fans were favored when it came down to it. Our great princess, Uzumaki Mito, used Tessen Fans as a weapon. The Uzumaki Royal Line had fans of different metals and colors forged, courtesy of the Akamine, for ceremonies and festivals.

The "Sea" Style was a style mostly suited for, you guessed it, water affinities. My girlfriend, Akamine Keiko, used this style. The main weapons for this style are bo staffs, senbon, and more often, plain knives.

In the Akamine Clan, they have knives that are specialized for this style in specifics. (Never give an Akamine a knife. Learn from me, I've seen things on a battlefield. Heads were never seen again.)

Naruto flipped through the pages of the book. Apparently, while he was sleeping, all three of the books that he had initially came together to make one. He just had to find the seal that did that, which was a fun challenge in itself.

And what do you know? Learning is fun. Just not in the "traditional" way Konoha taught it. The Uzumaki Way was better. Way better.

"Yuuji-san was always talking about his girlfriend, now that I think about it. I wonder what she looked like?" However, he didn't have to wonder for very long. After turning a few pages, mostly deviating from the fighting styles to everyday life in Uzushio, a picture fell out between the crevices of the pages.

In the photo, it was Yuuji, leaning against a tree. Further up, there was a girl sitting on a branch. She had rich brown hair with streaks of black in it, and carmine eyes with black pupils. Her hair was styled into a half up half down look, with curtain bangs, and she had specialized gloves on.

There was a caption near the photo, although it's washed out, so he can't really see it. However, from what it looks like, a freshly made kunai, sharpened and shiny, softly glistening in the sunlight.

Naruto smiles, a bright, wide one. Yuuji was happy, and even if he's gone, he's glad that he got to love.

Sakura walks down Hawkeye Boulevard, passing by the apartment complexes of Chuunin and Jounin as they either come in from finishing their jobs or head out to receive one. She's decked in a pair of gray sweatpants, regular shinobi sandals, a black shirt with a black zip-up jacket, and her hair tied into a low ponytail.

Damn. She's glad she took the chance to come to the Shinobi Hospital.

With a turn onto Nagamaki Way, she comes to the front of the Shinobi Hospital.

The Will of Fire Shinobi Hospital is the biggest shinobi hospital to date in Fire Country territory. It has flora and trees running up on the sides, and is also has an emergency holding place for the Inuzuka Veterinary Hospital (Or, as any shinobi or kunoichi worth their salt calls it either, 'The Puppy Pound', 'The Inuzuka Link', or simply, the IVH.)

Now, don't get it wrong, The Puppy Pound has its own building, which is relatively close to the Inuzuka Clan Compound, but the one in the Shinobi Hospital is the backup in case tragedy strikes, a prime example is the Kyuubi Attack.

Sakura enters through the first floor window (Because the front door is boring, Inner Sakura coons.) and gives a tiny smile to the receptionist at the front. The receptionist nods towards her, and Sakura continues on her way, passing med-nin doing check-ups, or higher positioned med-nin taking a closer look at injured jounin.

"-And stop coming here for poison cleansing, Hatake! If you keep coming here, I'm gonna ban you from here forever you absolute fucking bastar- Oh, hi Sakura."

Daisuke changes his position to face his small student, her pink bangs framing her face. She waved at the older man, walking towards him calmly. She stared into the hallway, amused, as she sees a jounin with visible sweat dropping from his eyebrow at the screeching Daisuke was doing not even two seconds ago.

"Sakura, watch and learn. This fucking bastard is a prime example of a difficult patient that doesn't know how to listen. When dealing with such patients like these, you have to use aggravated force to get them to do what they need to heal." Sakura giggled, as she watched the jounin decide that maybe, just maybe, he should listen.

What kind of jounin wears their hitai-ate like that? Inner Sakura wonders.

"Alright Hatake, get lost. Listen to what I tell you, a week of rest. Come back the Sunday of the following week so that Rintarou can check. I have a student to teach."

Kiba missed a lot of branches. To be fair, they haven't exactly learned tree walking yet. Also, he doesn't have the chakra talent that Hinata does, so that's to be expected.

Sneaking past the chuunin shouldn't have been that easy, but he counts his blessings when he gets them. One thing that's really concerning though, is the fact that they were running for ten minutesw and Shino looked like he ran several marathons back to back.

"Shino, you really need to get your stamina up if this is how you're gonna be when we graduate~" Kiba teases, which earns him a glare from Shino. The kikaichuu host scoffs, and mutters something incomprehensible. Hinata looks slightly amused, which is good.

"We-well, we made it." Kiba glazes over the tree behind the Hokage Monument, which is as big as it is tall. Hinata walks closer to it, steps so quiet that not even Kiba could hear them and he's the one with enhanced senses here.

Well, not like the other clans know that. That's an Inuzuka secret. They are dogs, after all.

"So? How are we supposed to destroy it? That shit is fucking huge." Hinata lightly glares at him, probably for his language but he really doesn't give a fuck, Inuzuka don't listen to rules.

"We do it over time. The tree ha-has chakra in it. If we ta-take our time but do it regularly, we can destroy it." Hinata says, and Kiba is so hyped for this.

Hopefully they can destroy it before the Hokage notices.

Chapter Text

Hi former Lifeline Readers!

As I mentioned in the chapter before, Lifeline is being rewritten. As it stands, the rewrite is here!

Lifeline has many plot holes, and to be honest, the plot wasn't really going anywhere, I was just adding things to try and keep readers entertained, because, truly, this is the first fic I've made that's gained traction like this. It's honestly flattering.

Anyways, the rewrite is up! For old readers who aren't reading anymore, I hope you enjoyed Lifeline when it was still active. For old readers who would like to read the rewrite, thank you for sticking with me!

From, 

Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, Solar.