Iruka walked down the hallway, a smile on his face. A new day, a new opportunity to help shape the future of the village.
It's only been a little over a month, but this class showed a lot of promise. Seven clan heirs all gathered together. A one in a generation opportunity, which must have been planned since well before.
Though he still wasn't certain what Lord Hokage had intended when he brought that boy with the rest.
Iruka felt a tiny frown pull at his lips.
Memories of that awful night still came to mind whenever he looked at the boy, but…
All this time, Naruto has been trying his best to be a good student and become a great shinobi. Lord Hokage must have seen it before anyone else.
Even if loud and cheeky and irreverent, he was just a hard-working, talented child. If that monster had any power over the boy, surely it would have tried something by no—
As he rounded the corner and the classroom came in sight, the loud noise of arguing children reached his ears.
The hell was this commotion so early on?
A high-pitched, familiar voice briefly rose above the racket, echoing through the hall.
"You think I'm lying? Watch this!"
Iruka couldn't help a sigh. Just what was Naruto up to this time?
Lips pulling into a frown, he stepped inside, gaze sweeping across the classroo—
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
His eyes widened at the surge of chakra—more than he could ever muster in a fight—a puff of smoke filling the back of the room, and—
"What the heck?!"
"What's with the smoke?"
"I can't see anything!"
"Naruto, what did you do?!"
"Don't worry, guys, it's harmless. It's just the jutsu."
"Jutsu?"
"No way…"
The smoke cleared out, and Iruka couldn't believe his eyes.
What the fu—
Was that a real shadow clone?!
He froze mid-step, looking at the identical blond right next to Naruto, matching grins on their faces. A pin-drop silence filled the classroom, everyone staring at Naruto and his clone.
One of the civilian kids, Kenji, repeatedly poked the clone in the arm, jaw slack and a wide eyed look on his face.
"Woah…"
"Believe me now?" Naruto and the clone said in unison, hands on their hips, looking smugly at the other kids.
A moment later, the whole class burst with chatter, half of the kids gathering around Naruto, their mouths running wildly with questions.
"You can do jutsu?!"
"It looks the same as you!"
"Is it real?"
"How did you do that?!"
"This is awesome! Where'd you learn how to do that?"
The clan heirs weren't exempt from the excitement either. Chōji and Kiba had also left their seats to join the crowd at the back, and Ino was looking curiously from her desk.
Even the usually lazy Shikamaru was eyeing the blond intently.
Both Naruto and the clone preened at the attention, wide grins pulling at their cheeks as they shared a look.
"We're pretty amazing, aren't we?"
"'Course we are, ya know!"
They clapped each other's hand, the sound echoing throughout the room, and Iruka's jaw went slack. It was a real shadow clone.
This kid…
Shadow clones when not even six yet… He'd better not get a big head out of this.
Iruka slowly made his way across the classroom, some of the his students noticing his approach, their attention shifting uncertainly between him and the two identical blonds.
The chatter suddenly lulled as the crowd parted at the middle. "Oi, Naruto! Look!" Kiba walked through, head held high and a grin on his face, showing off his forehead and the leaf stuck onto it. "I can do the leaf exercise, too. You're not the only one ahead of the class anymore."
"That's awesome, Kiba! You're gonna be an amazing ninja in no time!"
Kiba puffed his chest a little, preening at the praise. "Wanna see who's the first to do it with two leaves?"
"You bet! We'll do it during lunch break."
"Don't think you can win so easily, though. I asked my mom for more training."
Iruka blinked. Was Naruto starting to motivate the other students?
"Oh, crap. Mr. Iruka's here!" A voice called out from the crowd, and everyone turned around to stare at him.
"Ah, Mr. Iruka!" The blond perked up with a grin, pointing at his also smiling shadow clone. "Look what I can do."
"That's pretty amazing, Naruto." He nodded, smiling back. "But who taught you thatjutsu?"
"Oh, I learned it from Toad Gramps."
Toad Gramp—
Iruka's jaw went slack. Lord Jiraiya taught him? But wh—
His eyes widened. The memory transfer. With his abnormally high amount of chakra, Naruto might even rival the likes of Itachi by the time he graduated.
"Mr. Iruka, can you teach us how to do that clone jutsu?" One of the students spoke up, and the chatter reignited anew.
"Oh, that'd be so cool!"
"I wonder how many clones the teacher can do?"
"Yeah, can you—
"Absolutely not." Iruka raised his voice a little, leveling a stern look at the gathered students.
Their faces instantly fell.
"Aww, really?"
"Why?"
"I'll explain after you get back to your seats."
Iruka turned around and made his way to the front of the classroom, though when he looked again, only a few of his students had moved.
Most of the class still kept staring at Naruto and his clone, who suddenly vanished in a plume of smoke.
Another round of chatter spread through the classroom like a fire as the blond made his way back to his seat, though as he passed by Sasuke's desk, the raven haired boy abruptly called out to him.
"How do you have so much chakra?"
Iruka's eyebrows rose a fraction. This was the first time when Sasuke struck up a conversation with Naruto.
Naruto stopped mid-step, meeting the Uchiha's intense stare with a slightly awkward smile. "Uhh…" he said, scratching awkwardly at his head. "I train real hard?"
Iruka felt his mouth twitch in amusement. If only it was that easy.
"I do that too," the Uchiha boy said flatly.
"Train harder?"
Iruka couldn't hold back the smile. That was such a Naruto answer.
But that wouldn't do much, as far as advice went. All shinobi had a limit they couldn't surpass, no matter how hard they tried, and jinchūriki stood above the average ninja like a mountain to a tree.
Sasuke frowned. "If you don't want to tell me, just say so."
"What?" Eyes wide, Naruto shook his head quickly. "No, it's not that, it's just, uhh—I mean, gramps said I was born with a lotta chakra, ya know? I'm really not doing anything special, just normal training."
Going by the look on his face, Sasuke didn't seem to fully believe it.
Not that he could fault him. For those who didn't know about jinchūriki, something like this wouldn't make much sense.
"Gramps?"
"Old man hokage, duh."
"You call Lord Hokage gramps?" Eyebrows knitted, Sasuke mouthed the word as if tasting it and finding it particularly sour.
"Well, yeah?" Naruto shrugged. "He doesn't seem to mind it."
Iruka shook his head. Lord Third would definitely mind it if someone else called him that.
"If you say so."
Iruka's eyes briefly went to the clock on the wall, only to grimace as he saw the time. He should've started the class ten minutes ago.
Brows furrowed, he swept his gaze across the unruly children. "Class, I won't say it again." He raised his voice, enough to pierce the chatter permeating the room. "Settle down."
This time, thankfully, they all complied, quickly going back to their desks and sitting down quietly. Half the students were still stealing glances at Naruto, though.
Iruka sighed tiredly to himself. And this day had started so nicely…
__________________________________________
Hiruzen leveled a stern look through the tall bars of the prison, feeling like he aged a full year every time he entered this place.
"Why did you not tell me about Nagato when you spoke of the Rinnegan back then? You made it sound as if it couldn't exist anymore, yet there is clearly a wielder, and you knew about it. Didn't you?"
Head propped lazily on a hand, the Nine Tails met his glare with an amused look.
"Not quite. I only found out recently."
"And you're still not going to tell me how, are you?"
"It doesn't change anything if I do," the fox drawled, his gravely voice carrying a note of amusement. "But I have a theory as to why those eyes have emerged."
"Do tell."
"The chakra of a tailed beast gathers itself upon the death of the host, and thus, we always reform. It wouldn't be too far-fetched to assume that powerful enough chakra may linger beyond death and perhaps latch onto someone closely related."
Hiruzen's eyes widened a fraction. "Ashura and Indra. Their chakra passed on to their descendants?"
An Uchiha and a Senju. Or Uzumaki. The history of those clans dated so far, it could have happened at any time.
"Quite. Though I believe only one at a time, or else we would have seen many of those eyes by now. And, whoever it was, they must have obtained the chakra of the other."
A frown pulled at Hiruzen's mouth. "Yet an Uzumaki has the Rinnegan."
"Very few can bear its chakra. One needs the body of the Sage to wield the Rinnegan." The fox smiled. "An Uchiha with Indra's chakra could steal the flesh of a Senju who possesses Ashura's—
"Or an Uzumaki could take the Sharingan," Hiruzen said, mouth set in a grim line.
"But either of them could still manage to bear a Rinnegan, even without the chakra of either brother," the Nine Tails said, and Hiruzen felt a chill travel down his back. "Though I assume it would place a heavy burden on their body."
Could Nagato have stolen the Rinnegan from someone else? He doubted that anyone would part willingly with those legendary eyes.
Unless he possessed Ashura's chakra, and managed to awaken them himself…
"This is troubling."
"Nagato is not The Sage. He may possess the eyes, though he is merely a pale shadow of my father. The likes of Minato or the Sannin could manage to deal with him."
Hiruzen fixed the Nine Tails with a frown. "We have a shortage of such shinobi at the present, in case you haven't noticed."
"But you have some forbidden techniques to throw at him." The fox said dismissively. "All you need is one man and the Reaper Seal. Or an army of ash puppets. Those are quite hard to deal with, even for the Human Path."
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed into a glare. That jutsu again…
"Or you could deal with him yourself."
He carefully observed the Nine Tails for a reaction, but the fox merely chuckled, that low, gravely voice rattling his bones.
"Perhaps. But for now, I think you should be far more concerned about threats a little closer to your home."
Hiruzen's jaw tensed, those foreboding words echoing in his mind as he readied himself for yet another piece of unsettling news.
"Is there a threat hiding among the leaves that I should know about?"
An amused smile curled the Nine Tails' mouth, and Hiruzen felt a spark of anger heat up his chest. The fox seemed to hold a nearly sadistic joy for burdening him with sleep-depriving knowledge.
"Have you checked the graves of the Senju brothers for any signs of tampering?"
His eyes opened wide, a sinking feeling pulling at his stomach.
Surely, he couldn't mean—
"You thought I spoke of the Impure World Resurrection on a whim? Bringing back the brat's mother would be nice, but you should know by now that I never miss the forest for the trees." Black lips peeled back, exposing a grinning maw, and Hiruzen could only curse in the privacy of his own mind. "A secret shared between two people is no longer a secret. So, tell me, Sarutobi, how tightly secured are you keeping that forbidden scroll of yours?"
A moment of silence passed as that question rang in his ears like a gong. His face felt as if carved from stone as he stared at the amused fox, a piece of leaden ice lodging in the pit of his stomach.
"Are you implying that someone had stolen it?"
"How many people currently alive do you think know how to perform it?"
"One." At least, that's what he foolishly hoped.
The Nine Tails destroyed that hope with another fanged grin. "Try perhaps two." The fox chuckled, and Hiruzen's blood turned to ice.
"Who?"
"Your wayward student, Orochimaru."
That name nearly scalded his ears.
How. When?
"I keep that scroll in my own ho—" he hissed, only for his eyes to widen and words to die in his throat.
"The good snake must have visited on more than one occasion, back when the two of you were still closely acquainted. He's always been quite slippery, hasn't he?"
Hiruzen clenched his jaw, mind awhirl.
He didn't want to believe his former student would betray his trust in such a way, but then again… he'd done much worse, hadn't he?
And if all this turned out true, then… One more thing that foolish boy had spat upon.
How many times had Orochimaru trampled upon his trust before he openly betrayed the village?
"If Orochimaru knows that jutsu…" Hiruzen sighed tiredly, mouth drawing a tense line. That could have consequences beyond the pale.
"I'd advise to keep around an expert in the sealing arts, just in case the snake decides to visit with an army of immortal ash puppets."
Hiruzen felt a chill crawl down his spine at the mere thought. He still wanted to believe that Orochimaru would not stoop so low, but he knew better than to take that risk.
"Like Kushina."
The fox smiled knowingly. "If her chains can hold me down, I don't doubt they would suppress a mere puppet."
Hiruzen glared at the Nine Tails for a quiet moment, feeling a pressure start building behind his eyes. A headache. Wonderful…
"Why didn't you tell me this from the beginning?"
"I've been alive for ages." The fox gestured lazily with a hand in something that might have resembled a shrug. "Sometimes, even I happen to forget a thing or two."
Hiruzen met the tailed beast's amused eyes with a flat look. That was an excuse, and they both knew it.
He would have an easier time believing that the Nine Tails simply enjoyed giving him sleepless nights.
"Anything else that you might have happened to forget?"
The rhetoric bite in his words did nothing but draw a smirk from the fox.
"Did you know that your old friend, Danzō, is still rather closely acquainted with your dear wayward student?"
He's what.
"Oh? You didn't know, did you?"
The fox's amused voice made Hiruzen bristle. "What do you know," he spoke through gritted teeth. "Tell me."
That fanged smile stretched a little wider. "Well, if you asked so nicely, one thing that comes to mind is how Danzō was the one who ordered and funded Orochimaru's research into Wood Release."
Hiruzen inhaled sharply. He did what.
His mouth drew a tense line.
Danzō…
He knew his old friend better than anyone else, and Danzō could have gone that far if it meant regaining Lord First's lost bloodline.
Orochimaru had managed to keep his twisted experiments hidden under their noses for so long. If he'd had Danzō covering for him the entire time…
Hiruzen's face turned grim. He couldn't act rashly here. The Nine Tails had yet to lie, but… he'd known Danzō for so long, and the man acted in the interest of the village, even though he sometimes went too far.
Hiruzen let out a tired sigh. He needed to hear Danzō's side of the story, too.
He looked the Nine Tails in the eye, face as if carved from stone. "Anything else you want to tell me?" he asked, tone clipped, but the fox merely answered with that infuriating smile of his.
"Since we're already on the topic of the snake, why don't you make use of his infamy for a change?" The fox had barely spoken a sentence, and Hiruzen could already feel his headache getting worse.
Use Orochimaru's infamy? He had a feeling that he might regret asking, but, after all these revelations, he just wished to get to the bottom of it, even if only out of morbid curiosity.
"In what way?"
"Why, you could easily use Orochimaru as the scapegoat for Kushina's resurrection." What. "You wouldn't even have to name the jutsu itself. The snake has quite the reputation for deranged experiments, and he kept more than a few secrets from the village, didn't he? This could easily be another one of his unknown, failed attempts at researching immortality."
Hiruzen rubbed with two fingers at his brow, though it did little to lessen the growing headache.
His wayward student's obsession with eternal life should not be a secret to those who knew him. Some might even expect him to have extensively studied the Uzumaki's potent life-force and longevity.
It sounded far-fetched to his ears, but it was still better than that absurd idea to place the blame on the NineTails. The last thing he needed was to panic the civilians with the idea that the fox could somehow resurrect people into a facsimile of life to torture them.
Hiruzen's gaze went back to the cage, a spike of annoyance flaring in his chest at the slight curl on the fox's snout. Did he have to be so smug about it?
"You could have Jiraiya be the one who discovered her while investigating one of Orochimaru's hideouts. Perhaps along with notes that claim her as yet another failed research in the snake's pursuit of immortality," the Nine Tails said, voice darkly amused. "And who knows? Perhaps he even robbed Kushina's grave at some point in the past?"
Lips pursed, Hiruzen exhaled a weary breath. The idea had some merit, but…
"When Orochimaru finds out, he might take great delight in unearthing the truth," he pointed out, but the fox seemed to have an answer ready even for this.
"Or he might find your sheer audacity quite amusing and simply reap the benefits. And even if he tried to expose it, the word of a traitor against the word of a Kage? You would have plenty of time to spin the narrative however you wish."
Hiruzen considered it for a moment, his frown deepening. Such a rumor would easily draw the desperate into the man's clutches.
"So now we are indirectly strengthening Orochimaru?" He arched a brow, to which the Nine Tails merely scoffed.
"He is just one man. You could lay a trap and easily dispose of him."
Hiruzen couldn't refute that, falling quiet as a dull pang ached in his chest. He would have to do something about his wayward student at some point, wouldn't he?
__________________________________________
She stopped before the imposing gate, peering curiously into the darkness, a familiar silhouette lying within.
The Nine Tail—Kurama—opened his eyes, watching her through the giant bars of the cage.
"Your chakra feels brighter."
That gave her pause.
Busy with Karin and their new home, she hadn't paid much attention, though she felt a little better when she woke up this morning. It's only been three days, yet that bone deep exhaustion seemed to have lessened somewhat.
Now that nobody drained her chakra from sunrise to sunset anymore, maybe she'd slowly recover…
A tiny smile came to her face as she took a step closer to the gate. "It's thanks to you."
"Mostly." His mouth curled wryly. "The old monkey made the call to bring you here."
Old monke—ah, that had to be the Lord Hokage.
Her lips twitched a little wider. If anyone could get away with calling a village leader names, it had to be a tailed beast.
"If you wanted, I could help speed your recovery."
His words reached her ears, yet, for a moment, she found herself staring, wondering if she heard him wrong. She searched his face, brows knitting ever so slightly.
He wanted to help her? And with such a thing? How would he even do it?
Part of her couldn't ignore the doubt worming in her mind, though another part just wanted to believe. Kurama said it himself last time, didn't he? If he went that far to bring them here safely, why would he try to harm her at all?
She was just worrying for no reaso—
Her eyes widened. "Is that why you wished to see me?"
"Not really." He propped his chin on a hand, letting out an amused puff of air. "There aren't many people I can talk to, you see."
The blunt honesty in his tone gave her pause. That… sounded a little sad…
But…
"How would you even do something like that?"
"With my chakra, of course."
She blinked, holding his amused gaze, lips pursed.
Could his chakra even do such a thing? She'd never heard about tailed beasts healing someone. Even less about Kurama.
"Isn't your chakra damaging to anyone else?"
The fox smiled knowingly. "Not when freely given."
"And you could heal me? Truly?"
She wanted to believe, but… even those of her clan could not achieve such a great feat without paying a steep price.
A life for a life. Life-force could not be restored otherwise.
Or so she thought…
Kurama shifted within the cage, drawing a little closer to the gate, ruby eyes watching her intently. Her body tensed a little, heart picking up in her chest, but she forced herself to stay calm. These giant bars were the only thing between them, and he could easily reach a claw through the gap if he wished—
She took a deep, fortifying breath, pushing those thoughts out of her mind.
The cold feeling lodged in her stomach urged her to step back or run, yet she couldn't feel any hostility coming from the fox.
She wasn't in any danger.
"Every tailed beast has a unique aspect to their chakra." His deep, gravely voice broke the quiet, echoing throughout the chamber. "Mine is rejuvenation. It will restore your life-force, given enough time."
She'd never heard about this until now, even in the old legends of her clan. She knew the others held a unique power each, but nobody had ever spoken about Kurama's.
Had the knowledge been lost to the ages? Or… was this the first time he ever offered to do something like this? For her?
Kurama remained quiet, waiting patiently for her answer, lips curled ever so slightly in what almost resembled a friendly smile.
She had never imagined that he would be so nice to her. She wasn't sure why, perhaps just because he wanted her to take care of the boy, but he acted nothing like people claimed a tailed beast would be.
Slowly, a tiny smile bloomed across her face. Those old legends rang true after all.
"Alright. Let's try it." She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, watching him curiously. "How does it work?"
Smile growing wider, Kurama reached an arm through the gap between the bars, but she made no move, even though her heart once more thundered in her chest. Clawed fingers pulled into a fist, held steadily in front of her.
"Do you know how to mould chakra?"
She nodded. She knew thatmuch from what little training she'd managed to get from her parents before the Whirlpool fell.
"Then touch my hand and strike your chakra against mine."
She wasn't sure how that would help, but she clenched her hand and rested it against Kurama's fist, guiding her chakra until it touched his own, and—
She took a sharp breath, eyes flying wide as a rush of energy, warm as the spring sun, coursed through her arm, and then she felt—
A spark of warmth, just like a gentle hand resting in comfort atop her shoulder.
She met Kurama's gaze, and, in that moment, finally understood that pleased look in his eyes.
He wasn't making fun of her.
He just enjoyed having someone in here. Enjoyed her company.
And that pleasant feeling from before, lingering in her mind like a fond memory…
He truly wanted to help her. Genuinely so.
His warm chakra flooded through her veins, pooling in the spiral within her stomach, where it mixed with her own. She followed its course, moments passing quietly as she just let herself enjoy the feeling, and then it stopped, as abruptly as it began, leaving a part of her wanting for more.
Kurama pulled away his arm, her gaze moving from her hand, back to the cage, as the fox sat cross-legged, palms resting on his knees.
It took her a moment to find her voice, the words spilling past her lips, barely above a whisper. "What was that?"
Kurama smiled down at her, a knowing look in his eyes. "Ninshū and the gift of chakra."
Ninshū?
An old memory surfaced to mind, her jaw slackening ever so slightly. "From the old legends with the Sage of Six Paths?"
His lips stretched a little further. "Indeed."
The Sage, his ninshū, and the tailed beasts… Her clan had the truth all along yet they dismissed most of it as old, far-fetched legends.
She took a glance at her hands, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, before meeting Kurama's amused gaze. "I feel like I just woke up from a good night's rest."
"And you will feel even better, soon enough." He propped his chin on a hand, though his smile dimmed a little. "I can't give you much at a time with the seal in the way." It could've been her imagination, but he almost sounded disappointed for a moment. "But you may visit whenever you wish. It shouldn't take me longer than a few months to restore your life-force to what it had once been."
The words left her staring, eyes wide. That sounded almost too good to be true.
How long has it been since she could look in the mirror and not see someone twice her age?
If only she could somehow get rid of those ugly reminders littering her body…
"Thank you." She wasn't sure what else to say. "You've done all this even though you had no reason to…"
What she felt from him when their chakras touched… it spoke more than a thousand words ever could.
"You are the children of the Sage," he told her simply. "That's enough of a reason."
She blinked, mouth opening a little, only to fall back shut. Ashura and Indra…
Another old tale that turned out more than just a legend.
She nibbled at the inside of her lip, searching Kurama's face for a moment.
"That's it?"
An amused puff of air escaped the fox. "Sometimes, things are that simple in life. Humans usually overcomplicate matters."
She felt a smile tug at her lips. Sometimes, it was easy to forget his age, but Kurama was older than her clan.
As they lapsed into an oddly comfortable silence, Kurama shifted around, resting his head on his haunches, a strange gleam shining in his eyes. A moment later, he spoke, a curious note in his usually gruff voice. "Karin is around Naruto's age, isn't she?"
She nodded, not quite sure where he was heading with this. "Why are you asking?"
"I think it would be wise for her to receive ninja training."
Her smile vanished, an icy feeling lodging in her chest. "I'd rather she didn't have to."
She didn't want her daughter to live this kind of life, but… she doubted she had much of a choice. The Leaf had brought them here, offered them shelter and food, and the Hokage even suggested to officially instate the Uzumaki clan.
Nobody made any demands of her just yet, but, for all of that… surely they had to give something in return.
"Truly, I'd rather have her just live a quiet life away from danger, but…" she trailed off, meeting Kurama's understanding gaze.
"But you know that she doesn't have too many choices."
"If any, at all." She nodded, a bitter smile crossing her face, as Kurama gave a weary sigh.
"Some will try to exploit the two of you, regardless. Becoming a ninja would, at least, make her strong enough to protect herself from those who would otherwise easily exploit her."
Her jaw clenched at the mere thought.
That too…
Little Karin should never have to go through what she did while they lived under the generosity of Grass.
"Sometimes, I truly wish we never inherited any of these bloodlines…"
The words spilled past her lips in barely above a whisper, and part of her wondered why she even said these things to a tailed beast of all people, but… Kurama had been nothing but nice to her so far, and it was nice having someone who would just listen to her woes.
"You might despise it for what it brought you, but your bloodline is a gift."
"A gift…" Those words tasted like ash on her tongue.
"It is the legacy of my father. The legacy of the Sage."
Her eyes flew wide. "You mean…?"
Kurama's lips stretched with a knowing smile. "Your stories never spoke of that, did they?"
No, they didn't.
A beat of silence passed as she just stared at him, mouth opening, only to close again. His words from earlier were starting to make even more sense.
"But… how?"
How did the Sage create these nine forces of nature given shape? Had he truly been that mighty?
"That's quite the lengthy tale. I wouldn't mind sharing it in full, but perhaps another time." His smile turned a little cheeky, and she felt a pang of disappointment, though nodded along nonetheless.
A quiet but gravely chuckle reached her ears. "Don't look so disappointed. Tomorrow is a day, too, isn't it?"
A flash of heat burned at her ears as she briefly averted her gaze. That showed on her face, didn't it?
Thankfully, Kurama didn't seem interested in poking any fun at her.
"Are you fond of us because we are the children of the Sage?" She felt a little silly for asking it out loud, but Kurama merely regarded her, crimson eyes not even the tiniest bit judging.
"That certainly is part of the reason." His mouth curled with a tinge of amusement. "The rest should be obvious by now."
Because they were family to the boy…
A tiny smile chanced at her lips. She was getting to understand him a little better.
"And speaking of which, it seems that your daughter has inherited more than meets the eye."
She blinked, her brow creasing ever so slightly.
Karin had never spoken about her mind's eye to anyone. How did he even learn of it?
"You can tell?"
"I am a being of chakra, of course I can tell." Kurama smirked, looking rather smug with his head perched like that on his arms.
Ah, so that was why. It made sense—
"The feel of her chakra speaks for itself. She bears the full bloodline of the Uzumaki."
She inhaled sharply, eyes going wide open. Part of her hoped he was jesting, but the grave look on his face brought a sinking feeling to her stomach.
"She has the chains, too."
Karin…
"She does. Her chakra is not strong enough to manifest them yet, but I'd never mistake that feeling for anything else. I've spent many years around a similar chakra in the past."
She wanted to be happy for her daughter, and yet…
That icy feeling from before returned twofold, twisting in a tight and heavy knot that lodged deeply in her stomach. "Does anyone else know of this?"
"No."
The weight somewhat lessened at that. "Keep it that way. Please." They did not need another reason to go after her daughter. If they wanted the healing chakra, she'd give it to them, but if they found out about the chains…
Kurama raised his head, leaning closer to the gate, lips curled in a smirk. "You would keep a potent means to suppress me a secret from the village?"
If it meant that Karin would be safer… of course she would.
"I've been here for less than a week." She couldn't keep the bitterness from seeping in her voice. It might be the Leaf, but one mistake had nearly cost her everything once… "I am among strangers, and life so far had taught me to not be too trusting with them."
A day ago, she might have treated him the same, but now… after he shared his chakra with her like that, she couldn't truly call him a stranger anymore, could she?
And they were his efforts that ultimately brought the two of them here, weren't they?
"Very well." His amused voice carried throughout the chamber, and her shoulders sagged a little in relief. "They'll find out eventually, no secret lasts forever, though she should be strong enough by then."
"Thank you," she said, pushing as much gratitude as she could in her voice, watching as his smile grew, dark lips peeling back to reveal sharp, ivory fangs.
"I may be playing nice with the Leaf, but you and I are not so different after all. We're not too trusting with strangers, even if we share a village with them."
She'd never thought about it like that, but now that he said it out loud… she could see it.
A small smile slowly came to her lips.
It made sense. They were both the children of the Sage, weren't they?
__________________________________________
Danzō took a sip from his warm tea, enjoying the fragrant aroma before setting the cup back on the table with a soft clack. His thoughts once more went to that talk with Hiruzen from two days before, mouth curling slightly into a frown.
He never thought that his old friend still had it in him. It was good for the village, yet still left the taste of ash lingering in his mouth.
To miss such an opportunity…
His frown deepened.
The girl could have been a great asset for his Root, a pure blood Uzumaki, likely with their powerful bloodline running through her veins. He'd seen what they could do, back when he was much younger, the memories all too vivid in his mind.
A shame her mother seemed to lack even the most basic of shinobi training. She had her value as a village asset, but none as a kunoichi.
Lips pursing in thought, Danzō took another sip from his cup.
A waste, but perhaps not everything was lost. They could still be crucial assets for the village.
Ideally, he would have the girl join the Academy and train to become a medic-nin. If she possessed the same bloodline as her mother, she would have the potential to rival Tsunade.
Though even if she didn't, she would still be a keystone to revive a dying Clan. The jinchūriki had great potential, and their union should restore the bloodline to what it had once been. Her mother could still contribute, but only fools placed all their kunai in a single holster.
Danzō sucked at his teeth, gaze shifting to the lone scroll resting on his table, a spark of curiosity teasing at the back of his mind.
A rather sudden request, but it had been a while since Hiruzen last summoned him to have a talk. And in the light of these recent developments… mayhaps his old friend was finally ready to act as a Hokage should?
He took another sip of tea, a flicker of amusement tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Placing the empty cup back on the table, his gaze briefly traveled to the door and the courtyard beyond as he kneaded some of his chakra before flaring it in a quick pattern.
Terai appeared by the entrance, quickly dropping to a knee.
"Your orders, Lord Danzō?"
He regarded the man for a quiet moment, his good hand laid flat atop his thigh.
Head bowed, Terai stood still like a statue, his cloak looking as if aflame in the setting sun. A weighty task like this would take nothing less than the best of his Foundation.
He would have preferred Fū, but that man had more important matters to attend to.
"Gather a team and search the coast and islands from Mist to Cloud." Danzō spoke, voice measured. "See if you find anyone, be it civilian or shinobi, who might show signs of Uzumaki lineage. Bright, red hair. Strong chakra. Prowess in the sealing arts. And either of their three bloodline limits. The chakra chains, a potent sensory ability, or rejuvenating chakra." His lone eye narrowed. "If you do, attempt to convince them to come willingly, or, if that fails, bring them to me by force."
The words hung in the air for a moment before Terai inclined his head even further.
"As you will, Lord Danzō."
With a spike of chakra, the man vanished in a puff of smoke.
Giving the scroll on his table another glance, Danzō rose to his feet, gaze drifting out the window, to the imposing monument at the back of the village and the face of his mentor immortalized into the rock.
He might have missed one opportunity, but there had to be more Uzumaki hidden around the world. It was time to bring them where they belonged.