Chapter 74: Expedition to the Water
'Mom will be pissed - at least I have two days to prepare. Hmm, what is going on?' Jumping above the village roofs, Kaname noticed a horde of civilians encircling someone crouching beneath the wall, sneaking behind the crowd, she eavesdropped their shouts.
"Devil eyes!"
"They're the reason we were attacked!"
"We don't want you here!"
"Leave us alone! We don't want to hurt you!" Naruto was body blocking every piece of rock thrown. Behind Naruto, Kaname saw an unconscious Sasuke with a bleeding eyebrow and Hinata trying to keep the blood away from the brunette eyes.
"Shut up, Demon! You killed my..." A burly man in the back took a rock in his hand and aimed it at Naruto.
*Tap-tap* Kaname interrupted him lightly tapping man's arm, "Hi! If he is a demon, then I suppose that makes me the demon queen?" Her smile did not reach the blazing red evolved Sharingan in her eyes.
"EEEP!" Man's squeak was somehow gratifying for Kaname.
"Sis!"
"I saw all of your faces. You can expect a visit from ninjas soon, hmm, it would look back for me to massacre all of you. You idiots have three fucking seconds to scram. Three, two..." her voice growled, eliciting a mad rush away from the alley, "Heh, they can be fast once they need to. How are you?" Walking towards the blonde, she examined his swollen cheek.
"Haha, shallow wounds, Sis. I will be perfect in less than an hour. As a future Hokage, I am not going to be defeated by a bunch of civilians ~dattebayo!" Naruto replied, grinning at his sister.
'*Sigh* He is too good for this village...' Kaname patted the blonde's head while walking past him towards Hinata and Sasuke. "Hina-chan, it's alright now." Kaname sat on her knees next to the trembling girl. Lightly pulling her small hands away from the handkerchief Hinata used to stop the bleeding, she examined the wound. "So, what has happened?" she asked.
"...We were playing tag, Kaname-sama." Hinata whispered back.
"Hmm, I think we talked about this, Hina-chan" Kaname grinned at the girl, healing the cut above Sasuke's eye.
"..." the princess cut haired girl dropped her head and murmured something, her hands dancing in front of her body, with the constant touching of two of her index fingers.
"Again, Hina-chan. I think the fly has drowned you out."
"...nee-sama."
"*Sigh* Someday you will have to work it through, Hina-chan." Kaname sighed out, "So, what happened next?"
"Sasuke was going after me, Sis." Naruto added, "But a moment before he caught me, someone threw a stone into his temple, instantly knocking Teme out. You saw the rest."
"Okay, I think it's time to end this once and for all. Hina-chan I will let my clone take you away to Hyūga district, I will take care of Sasuke-chan and Naruto-chan." Kaname explained to the girl's nod.
Leaving Sasuke in Mikoto's care, Kaname led Naruto to Hokage's temporary tent.
"Naru-chan, why didn't you fight back?" Kaname asked the boy.
"What do you mean, Sis? You told me not to fight back, as I'm not a ninja yet, I'm under the civilian laws ~ttebayo."
"Heh, good job." she playfully tagged Naruto's hair.
"Sis, if you let me join the academy two years ago, I could already be a genin." the boy complained.
"It's unusual to start the academy before the age of eight, Naru-chan."
"I heard that Scarecrow finished it when he was five. I won't be a Hokage if there is someone better for the position Sis. ~ttebayo"
"Scarecrow, eh? *Sigh* I will have a long talk with Aniki after this. Yeah, he did finish the academy in a single year, Naru-chan. But there were reasons I asked you to wait two years. I want your childhood to be filled with friends and fun, not blood and misery. Also, did you want to join the age group of average shinobi? You have this chance to join the same year as most of the clan leaders' children. Naru-chan, your age group is one of the most promising in decades, would you like to be in a team of two civilian made-shinobi or join up with Hina-chan and Sasuke-chan?"
[AN: Thanks IcyReaperz, for making me notice this problem :-). I did some "research" :-). Naruto wasn't older than the rest of the Konoha 11 you may ask how I know that? Easy - Mikoto has shown infant Sasuke to Kushina - while the redhead was still alive (moments before Naruto's birth). So... Sasuke is older than Naruto. In the canon story, the blonde, MOST LIKELY, must have joined the academy faster than the others, as Kakashi did. With Naruto's "chakra problems," he couldn't pass the exams for two consecutive years.]
"Geh~, I never can win an argument with you, Sis. Eh, why does the tent has got a cut-out window in its side? ~ttebayo." Kaname winked his way in response.
"Kana-chan? And oh, Naruto-kun. Good, I was looking for you." the old man greeted the duo entering through the improvised entrance.
"Hi, Jiji!" Naruto waved to him in a greeting.
"Which idiot was on protection duty today?!" Kaname growled out.
"*Sigh* I will let Anbu check on that. I received a notice from Civilian Council that you were bringing out havoc and unrest on the streets. I kicked out the messenger from the tent, can you tell me what has happened?"
"Wow, they work fast. If the Council thinks that a group of thirty adults lynching three pre-academy students is something that I will overlook, they are sorely mistaken."
"I knew it. How bad was it?" Hokage harumphed.
"Could be worse, Jiji. Let's say that, if Fugaku-san would still be debating about the coup, then today's events would tip the scales." As Kaname finished her explanations, an Anbu came back, whispering something to Hokage's ear.
"*Sigh* Someone put Mizuki-kun on the guard duty. It was his test to ascertain if he is good enough as an academy teacher..."
"Wait! You mean this egocentric, selfish, jealous Mizuki got himself a chūnin title? Did he bought it?" Kaname honestly asked.
"What do you mean, Kana-chan? As of yet, Mizuki-kun is accumulating only praises from all over Konoha. He even landed himself a fiancée." Hokage questioned back, clearly puzzled.
"Maybe he did change in those years, but as I was his teacher for a year, I noticed something wrong about this facade of his. Every problem Mizuki hit upon was, according to him, created by the surrounding people. In his own selfishness, he couldn't notice that he was the origin of the said problem. His childhood friend Iruka was his only source of good grades in the academy - without him, Mizuki was less than mediocre across the board."
"Hoho-*Cough*. To me, it looks like a bad-student situation, aren't you just against the poor Mizuki-kun?" Sarutobi laughed hoarsely, "I will send him on a mission to check if he is able enough to teach. Ah, you may not know, Iruka-kun is starting his career as a teacher this semester."
"Good for him, now for the important part Jiji. Can you get me Doofus-kun here? I want to give him a deal of the century."
"Hmm? Sure, but why?"
"I will end those attacks once and for all. I suggested for Doofus-kun to study his Sharingan powers under me. The protection of three young academy students for the duration I'm not in Konoha - will be the price." Kaname replied.
"Sis? Where are you going again?" Naruto asked, tugging at her hand.
"*Sigh* I will explain everything once we are home, okay?" She patted the boy's head.
They had to wait for Kakashi ten minutes, entering the tent, he greeted Kaname with a nod of his head, "You called Hokage-sama?"
"You're late... I did not, she did." the old man pointed at Kaname.
"*Sigh* Did I frack something up, Kana-chan? Eh, I'm sorry for what's worth it."
"Not yet, Doofus-kun. I have got a proposition for you. You have the chance to pay back to your late-sensei and receive free training from me, I'm not going to be in Konoha for long. I want you to protect and train Naru-chan. While you're at it, Itachi-kun will not be here either, so you can take care of his little brother as well. I doubt the two of them would run around Konoha without Hina-chan. I don't even have to stress what will happen if someone hurts her. You would have to explain your failure to aunty Shiori."
"Wait! Too much, Kana-chan! I can't be a nanny for three kids as I have too much work in Anbu already." Kakashi took a step back under Kaname's tirade.
"Ah, I'm not talking about preparing meals for them, Doofus-kun. They will start the academy this week. I want you to protect them between their home and academy, we both know you are going for the training fields close to sunset, just take Naru-chan with you and give him something to do. My fighting style is good, but it requires more hip flexibility than it's possible for a standard male, show him some moves. Naru-chan will live in my mom's home for some time."
"... *Sigh* Okay, I understand, Kana-chan." Kakashi replied, nodding his head.
"Good. Naru-chan, let's go meet granny." Taking the boy under her arm, Kaname flickered out of the tent.
Getting in her old home, Kaname loudly called out: "Hi, anyone home?"
"Ah, Kana-chan! Hi, everyone is in the living-room." Umino greeted her.
Naruto shot out to the room, with a small *Puff* he sat upon Sachi's lap.
"Hi, Naru-chan." the blind woman delicately hugged her grandson.
"Hehe. Hi, Granny."
"Hi, mom."
"...What happened, Butterfly, I don't need eyes to know you're conflicted about something." Sachi's head turned towards the voice.
"Have you heard about the civil war in the Land of Water?" Kaname sat on a sofa next to her mother.
"Why should a war across the sea matter to us, Squirt?" her brother was snuggling with his soon-to-be wife embrace.
"It should matter, Aniki. The agent of the rebel forces was in our village an hour ago. She and Jiji formed an alliance... *Sigh* Can you guess who the Rebels want as Konoha's ambassador?"
"... I decline."
"Heh, I'm sorry, mom, it's too late. Jiji already made his mind about that. It was either me or more than half of Konoha forces put into this. Don't worry. I'm to go there only to take control of the field hospital, pretty much the same thing you did during the war. I'm not going to fight."
"You're not going to fight, yeah right..." Ryuichi murmured.
"Sis, what are we talking about?" Naruto asked her, doing puppy eyes.
"... I'm going abroad, Naru-chan. I'll come back home monthly for three to four days."
"Where? Can you take me with you?" Kaname saw her brother's smirking expression telling her: 'Go on... Explain, that you're going to the frontline.'
"No Naru-chan, it's going to be dang-... boring there. I want you to go to the academy while I'm gone. I promise I will come back every month."
"Just... Stay alive, Sis."
"Easy-peasy, can I have a small talk with the fox, I need to make sure he will not act up when I'm not around."
"Sure." Naruto looked straight into Kaname's swirling-red eyes.
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"IT'S YOU!" the voice shuddered Naruto's mindscape.
"Hi, Mutt!"
*Clang*
"HOW DARE YOU CALL ME A DOG?!" Kyūbi's hand reached between the bars and swiped a hair's breadth away from Kaname's face.
"Yeah-yeah, we had the same conversation before, Kyūbi. You will start to curse on my clan, threaten my family, etc. I will use my Sharingan and make you fetch after a ball. Want to repeat that? I have your favorite ball in one of my seals."
"*GROWL* WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" The fox retreated into the shadow of his cell.
"What do you mean? I made my way here just to pet you."
"*GROWL*!"
"Hahaha, I'm sorry, it's so easy to tease you. I'm going to the Land of Water, I have got a question for you, oh~ almighty Mutt." Kaname replied sarcastically, eliciting another low growl, "Is it possible to put, what others called, perfect jinchūriki in a genjutsu?"
"I DON'T CARE..."
"Hmm, it's harder to notice lies in non-humans. You did not understand the question. From the description I received, the Mizukage was a very outspoken and composed man, not a blood-thirsty tyrant we see today. He is a jinchūriki of Three-Tails, with the full control of his powers. Is it possible to catch someone like that in a genjutsu?"
"YES, GENJUTSU WORKS ON EVERYONE THAT HAS EVEN AN OUNCE OF CHAKRA IN THEIR BODY. NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!"
"*Sigh* Don't you have enough playing this tsundere foxy, Kyūbi? Whatever, I hope, I'll not have to visit you personally when I come back home." Kaname's evolved Sharingan looked straight into Kyūbi's oversized eye.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING TSUNDERE!? JUST GO AWAY, I HAVE A LOT OF LAZING ABOUT TO DO."
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Two days later in the morning Kaname was seen waiting at the east Konoha gate.
"We're here, sensei!" Izumi called out to her.
"Hehe, who would have thought we would get ourselves a B-rank mission, eh Toru?"
"It was a likely outcome, considering the show of our abilities during the exams and the following invasion Sarutobi-kun."
"Did you take everything you need? We're not stopping till we reach the shore." Kaname asked them, "You're two are coming to protect us, I and Izumi-chan will stay in the hospital. If push comes to shove, I'll be most likely send on some kind of a mission, deeper into the country. Any questions?"
"Yeah, if you go away for a mission, will you take us with you, sensei? If not, what are we going to do?"
"It depends on the mission, Koji-chan. If I will have to leave you, I expect you will protect Izumi-chan's booty until I come back."
"Talking about booty, can I look for some while we're there? Geh~!" Izumi drove her elbow into Koji's side.
"*Sigh* I will pretend I did not hear that question." Kaname went first through the gate, not knowing that this trip will change her life forever.
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Team 7 reached the shores the next day at sunrise in front of them span a panorama of a calm sea, disrupted only by loud seagulls scream and the washing sea waves.
"Sensei, what's that?" Izumi pointed at an island just above the horizon.
"That is most likely the home and the tomb of Uzumaki clan, the Land of Whirlpool, Konoha's late allies."
"Eh? Do you mean that Naru-chan is from this clan? I never heard of it." Izumi replied, astonished at the news.
[AN: It was weird that no one knew about Uzumaki clan from Konoha 11, it wouldn't take long for people like Shikamaru to connect the dots and deduce Naruto's parentage that way.]
"Wait, Izumi-chan, what?! Torune-kun, Koji-kun, have you heard about Uzumaki-clan?"
"I found the records of it, in my clan's history books sensei. The academy disregarded this knowledge." With Koji's head turning sideways, Torune answered the question.
"Damnit, what did they teach you in the academy... I hope you at least heard of the Senju clan?" Kaname asked, massaging her forehead.
"Yeah, Shodaime and Niidaime Hokages were from the Senju clan, right sensei?"
"Yes, Koji-kun. *Sigh* Heads will roll when the news of it to get to Jiji. Uzumaki clan was one of the three most influential clans on these lands. Those seal-masters were being spoken about in the same sentences as Senju and Uchihas. As such, when those three clans joined up in an alliance, they created a Hidden Village, which we now know as Konoha. Hashirama-sama's wife was a renowned seal mistress from the Uzumaki Clan. Fourth Hokage's wife was also from this clan. And, knowing his stubbornness, we will have a Sixth or Seven Hokage from this clan as well..."
"Sensei! Then, the blonde kid you adopted is..." Torune commented, taking a step back.
"Hmm, smart, aren't we Torune-kun? Don't speak about it." Kaname replied, winking at Aburame.
"What? I don't understand?"
"Because you're stupid, Koji. Think it through!" Izumi replied to her teammate, "Can we investigate the island, sensei?"
"No, the seals would rip us apart. Jiraya the Sannin - once tried to enter the island, he landed himself in hospital for half a year. And he is one of the best seal masters still alive in this world. They will most likely let through only someone with Uzumaki blood in them."
"Then, how was this clan defeated?"
"I don't know much, Izumi-chan, only the official report. Three shinobi villages had to join their forces to overpower the Uzumaki's village defenses in a surprise attack. Iwa, Kumo, and Mizu gathered a considerable amount of ninjas. Hokage considered that after the fall of Uzushiogakure, the combined forces would launch an invasion on our sea borders, cutting our frontlines from much-needed supplies and reinforcements."
"Interesting, what happened, sensei?" Torune asked.
"Heh, Uzumaki's obliterated their forces. Unfortunately, quantity over quality won that time. There is a saying coming from that period, it got popular in other countries: You should never anger an Uzumaki. Thanks to their sacrifice Mizugakure lost most of their forces, making our east front keep silent for most of the duration of the war. It let Konoha put all it's resources up north. It's only thanks to them we weren't encircled and butchered there. And now, I hear the academy omitted the discussion about this clan..."
"Eto... Then Mizu ninjas are the bad guys, why are we helping them? Geh~" Koji was once again elbowed in his side.
"You are really an idiot Koji, do you know that?" Izumi spat out.
"Koji-kun, you don't know how it is to spend your childhood life on the frontline. Some of the ninjas from Mizugakure were responsible for the death of one of my friends. At the same time, I understand it was more than a decade when it happened, and I won't accuse the entire population of being murderers. As bad as it sounds, it's our job to kill, Koji-kun, especially when we're at war. You need to learn to look past the villages, I evaluate each person individually, not by their loyalties, but their character."
"I'm sorry, sensei..." the boy replied repentantly.
"Not a problem Koji-kun, as long as you understand. Oh! I see we came at the right time. There is a boat coming here. It seems that it's our ferryman." Kaname pointed at the boat emerging from under the horizon.
Thirty minutes later, the ferry reached the shores. From it came a hulking, dangerous-looking noticeably muscular man with light grayish skin, short spiky black hair, dark brown eyes, and small eyebrows. He wore bandages like a mask over the bottom half of his face. His back was adorned by a massive broadsword, that Kaname saw last time with one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
"Ah, I remember you from the Bingo Book - Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist, right?" Kaname greeted him.
"Hmph, the old fool was going to ship you onto the islands? Your ferryman got eaten by fishes, you can take the boat for all I care, I'm out." the man coldly replied, arrogantly moving past the team and disappearing behind the treeline.
Looking at the retreating back, Izumi commented: "A rude, how could he leave his country when it needs him, he killed our guide, just so he could flee his home. Hmm, Sensei?"
"*Sigh* We were lucky Izumi-chan, I could fight him, but I'm not sure about protecting you while I'm at it, it could end very badly. Let's go, how hard could it be to sail back to one of the islands." Kaname replied, boarding the boat.
"Wait, Sensei! Did you ever steered a sailing boat?"
"Hehe, Koji-kun, there is always the first time for everything, don't worry too much." Kaname pulled one of the strings, only for the sail to knock her out of the deck.
"*Sigh* It will end badly, won't it, Torune-kun?" Izumi asked.
"We're here to help sensei, Izumi-san. Neither one of us received any training in sailing." The boy replied, stepping on the ferry.
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Six long hours later the trio of young chūnins reached the shores, Kaname slowly walked behind them on top of the sea.
"I love the land..." Koji collapsed on the beach.
"How hard could it be, she said... *Wheeze*." Izumi was on her knees, slowly catching her breath.
"Your chakra reserves are monstrous, Sensei." Torune laid down on the sandy beach, wringing his clothes.
"Hehehe, I'm sorry kids, I did not expect that the whirlpools around Uzushiogakure were reaching so far away from the island. It does not matter. I think that you finished your morning warmup for now."
"A warmup?! We were dodging freaking whirlpools from hell for the last five hours! And how could you stand on the water for so long?!" Koji shouted back.
"Kaname Uchiha-san and her team?" A woman flickered towards them. She was wearing a dark-green kimono and a white mask adorned by two green stripes.
"Hmm, a Hunter-nin? Yeah, my name is Kaname. We had to improvise because our ferryman was killed by one of your deserters."
"Follow me, Mei-sama is waiting for you." The elite Anbu member nodded her head.
"Get your asses up, by a stroke of luck, it seems we reached our destination." To the overall grumbling, Kaname ordered her students.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
dahnik
dahnik Hope you liked it :-), I'm waiting for your comments and ideas on the chapter :-). Somehow, my Grammarly started to point out some other mistakes I made, like forgetting to put 'dots' at the end of the paragraphs :-). Is it clearer now for you?
The next chapter is being written right now, there will be a small time-skip of about a year in it, I'm still thinking if I should cover the fight I have in my mind in the next chapter or not, but it's going to be one hell of a nut to crack for Kaname :-).
If you found any mistakes please inform me :-) I don't like mistakes :-).