《Naruto: Yoshio Namikaze Of The Magnet Release》


 Chapter 1 - Prologue

    So, I died. It was pathetic, really really pathetic. Death by fishcake, or rather Naruto. It''s ironic considering where I was, in the middle of Akihabara, visiting the homeland of Naruto, my favorite anime. To think that I would choke on the very thing I came to admire, in a ramen stall doing a special promotion with the Naruto anime, for 50% off. Well it doesn''t change anything anyway, I died and now I''m here.


    Now as for where I am, I have no fu?k?n? idea. I guess you could call it a void, considering all the darkness around me. Well aside from the big glowing wheel in front of me, it was all black. Rather than void it should probably be called the afterlife, but it seems really boring compared to the heavenly paradise I was promised. The only thing to do here is to wait in line leading towards the wheel.


    I estimate I''m about half way there by now. At least the pace is moving quickly, or this might as well be hell. I can''t really see what''s going on up front, but I''ve got hope. With my massive anime obsession, I often researched the Japanese folk lore and Buddhism along with other beliefs, and my best guess is that the big wheel is the wheel of samsara. In other words, the wheel of reincarnation.


    Considering my shit luck up till now it makes perfect sense. I live in suffering, and then gets reborn into a better existence. At least I hope so otherwise I''m fu?k?d, in all meanings of the word.


    I guess I''ll find out soon anyway, there''s only about 20 people in front of me. It looks like there is a terminal and a portal right under the wheel. Do I have to register for something? It looks like some sort of interface, and the portal changes for every person, so I''ve come to the conclusion that I somehow get a choice.


    Now you may be wondering; ''you just died how can you be so calm about it''. The truth is, I don''t know, but I guess it helps that I have nothing to live for. My family already died in a plane crash years ago, leaving me all alone. Also, my favorite anime Naruto ended years ago, so I got nothing to regret on that front. In addition to that, I graduated university last year, earning my Ph. D. in physics.


    "next"


    Hmm? oh, I''m second in the queue now, guess I dosed of a little.


    "next"


    Finally, my turn, let''s see. ''welcome to the wheel of samsara'', I was right it seems, ''Subject have died early, and still has most of its life force in it. As such Subject has been given the right to choose one of the following worlds from subjects memory to reincarnate into''


    So, I get to reincarnate, and in a different world at that. This is like every otaku''s ideal situation, and I didn''t even get hit by truck-kun nor meat the clich¨¦ old man. I guess I still get to reincarnate, and I still died anyway, so I better make the best of it.


    On the terminal it was written I could choose a world from my memory. I''m a little confused, does that mean I get to go to an anime world or just like movies and stuff. Anime''s would be cool, especially something like Naruto, that would be awesome! Now let''s see my options


    -Black clover


    -Detective Conan


    -Fairy tale


    -Hunter x Hunter


    ...


    I found it! haha I''m going to get reborn in Naruto!!! This is fu?k?n? awesome, like a dream come true! I get to use chakra and shit... Aaaaand select. I might be a bit too excited because of this, but, meh, who cares anyway? Now then, aren''t you supposed to get some cheat of bloodline when you get reincarnated? That''s normally how the clich¨¦ goes...


    ''Subject has chosen the Naruto world, due to actions I subjects last life, subject has been granted a chance at the kekkei genkai lottery. The is also a chance to gain a kekkei genkai depending on birth family. Subjects birth family is randomized, but subject has been given a choice; Choose birth village or choose birth time period''.


    There it is, kekkei genkai lottery, that must mean I indeed do get a bloodline of some kind. And the deal with birthplace or birth-time... Hmm, it would suck if I was born in the bloody mist, so I better choose Konoha, at least with the timeline I know a bit about what is going on.


    ''Village: Konoha has been chosen, please proceed to spin the kekkei genkai lottery''


    Ohh what''s this? Sharingan, Byakugan, Mokuton, Bakuton, Hyoton, Shikotsumyaku, Yoton... damn that is some good options. I see that I can get kekkei genkai not native to Konoha... That might be a problem. Oh well let''s see, I guess is should pray for the Sharingan, after all it is the most op dojutsu in the series when you consider that it can be evolved into the Rinnegan. Ok then, Initiate kekkei genkai lottery!


    ''subject has initiated kekkei genkai lottery. Subject is the 1.234.567th subject and has been granted a second spin. Spin #1 start''


    Come on, come on, come on...


    ''Subjects spin #1 result is jiton, please initiate spin #2''


    jiton huh, that''s the one Gaara''s father has, right? the magnet release, I can work with that, I guess. Too bad it''s not the Sharingan, well I still have spin #2 to try for that. I already have some ideas for jiton, but most of them require me to make a fighting style for them, so I guess it depends on what I get in spin #2... Well then, initiate spin #2


    ''Subject has initiated spin #2. Spin #2 start''


    ''Subjects spin #2 result is Byakugan''


    Uhm ok, so this is probably going to be a problem. Either I get born in the Hyuga clan and risk getting the seal, oooor, I''m going to have a hard time explaining why I have it... What in the actual fu?k am I going to do now? I''m actually boned, imagine I get born in the Uchiha clan, that''s would most definitely be a nightmare. At least in that scenario, I would get that some pretty cool abilities. How would it even work though? One eye Sharingan and one eye Byakugan, or maybe the fabled Byaringan. (AN: Combined form of the two)


    ''Subject will now be transferred to new life, please step into the portal''


    Well I guess I can''t do anything about it now, I will worry about that later. It''s probably not even going to happen, and if it does, I should have at least 6 years to think about it before enrolling in the ninja academy, plus the time it would to take to awaken it thereafter, if it goes by the same rules as the Sharingan, that is. I also might not even get it while I''m a genin. Anyway, I should probably hurry up now, so; Here we go! To Naruto it is!


    After that I stepped in to the newly formed portal, and my vision went blank as I fainted.

 Chapter 2 - New family

    As I regained consciousness, I couldn''t see a thing, ironic when you think about it, but never the less, I couldn''t feel much either. I could sometimes feel what felt like feet hitting me mainly in the stomach. Outside of that I could hear some womanly grunt and something squeezing against me. Logic tells me I''m getting born, but I guess everyone starts their life that way. It also explains my lack of sight and the numbness of my body.


    "Come on push! PUSH MISS! The second one is almost out" -???


    "WHAT DO YOU THINK I''M DOING" -???


    "I can see the head, just a little more" -???


    "ARRRRRRRRRRGGGHHH" -???


    At that moment I felt the liberating feeling of being born. It was weird, like really weird, and slimy. The sticky fluid slowly dripping for your body was not pleasant in the least. No, it was fu?k?n? awful. no one, and I mean NO ONE, should ever go through that and remember it. On the positive side though, l learnt a few things. One; I have a twin, two; being a baby sucks, and three it FUCKING HURTS being born, might as well squeeze my intestines out mother... I left that train of thought as the nurse handed me to my mother along with my twin.


    "Miss, it''s two healthy boys, what shall their name be?" - nurse


    "The oldest has such beautifully calm blue eyes, like the still water of a harbor, and shining golden blond hair, like his father. I shall name him Minato. The youngest one looks like his brother, but his eyes are look fierce and intelligent, he has my eyes, but his father''s hair. I hope he will become an admirable shinobi one day, so I shall name him Yoshio" - Mother


    "Indeed miss, he has your eyes, I will congratulate you clan. Today you gained two healthy young masters" - Nurse


    I''m not really sure the, ?ssumed to be nurse, meant with that, but at that moment I could hear the door open. It was a little hard due to my brothers crying, and with what little my eyes could see, I saw a blurry image of a tall man with blond hair, some kind of green garment over his upper body, and black pants. I could also see the nurse inspecting me and realized I hadn''t cried at all. As such I began crying as well, just as the figure reached us.


    "How are my little babies?" - ???


    "They are fine and healthy, Arashi-sama, but you wife has fainted, so I will have to ask you to take the babies, and get out of here so we can examine her - Nurse


    "Nothing is wrong with her right? You''ve got this under control, right?" - Arashi


    You could hear the worry in the voice of Arashi, who I guess he is my father. Well I was kind of worried too, losing you mother right after birth isn''t really the start I wanted, yet as I was getting carried out of the room by another nurse, with my father holding Minato, I could faintly hear screams of "we are losing her" in the background, while my father wore a painful expression.


    As we were sitting on the bench in the waiting room, my father now holding both of us, my brother in his right arm and me in his left, and the nurse looking over his shoulder with eyes of wonder as she looked at us, my father finally chose to ask a critical question.


    "Nurse, I had agreed to let my wife name the children. Since she carried them, I felt it was only fair, but I have yet to be told what my boys are called?" - Arashi


    "The older one on your right arm was named Minato, since your wife felt his eyes was still like the water in a harbor, and the younger one on your left are was named Yoshio, because of his fierce looking eyes, and your wife''s hope that he will become a skilled shinobi" - Nurse 2


    "I see, Minato and Yoshio, fine names worthy of the clan heir and his brother" - Arashi


    It wasn''t after that another man came running towards my father with a serious look on his face, interrupting the small talk mt father was having with the nurse, after which my father reluctantly was forced to hand us over to the nurse as the man addressed him.


    "Arashi-sama, we need you help right now, I have been told the second hokage and his team was ambushed on their way home from the mission, by the gold and silver brothers of Kumogakure. We are gathering all jonin as well as clan heads to head out to support him, and as the head of the Namikaze family you are required to go. I''m sorry you have to leave you newborns, but this mission is of utmost importance" - Random ninja


    "Alright, I''ll go. It seems Tobirama needs my help" - Arashi


    That was all he said before turning towards the nurse who was now holding us with a serious face


    "Please take care of my children while I''m gone, and please please save my wife. That way, if I happen to die out there, my sons will still have a mother" -Arashi


    "We will try our best, just go Arashi-sama, the village needs you" - Nurse 2


    I began to feel some kind of energy enter me, it was making it hard to stay awake. It was probably some kind of medical jutsu designed to make infants fall asleep, quite a useful jutsu I must say, unfortunately it just happened to be used on me and I fell asleep soon afterwards.


    When I woke up again, I was in a crib. I could hear babies crying all around me, it was really hard to concentrate with all the stuff going on around me. I could see nurses trying to calm down the other babies, some br??stfeeding and others just cradling them in their arms. The most surprising thing was that a nurse was leading a man about eighteen to twenty years of age towards my crib. As they got closer, I was able to pick up their conversation.


    "These are his children, lord third" - Nurse 3


    "I see, they look just like him. To think they would be orphaned so early in life, I really pity them" - Hiruzen


    "Indeed. The complications after their birth left their mother with severe blood loss. We... were unable to save her" - Nurse 3


    "That is really unfortunate. Their father died taking a kunai for me, so I will take responsibility for these two children. Arashi was a dear friend of mine, and this is his legacy as well as the last living members of the Namikaze family. Due to them being so young, you shall place them in the orphanage, while I take care of their clan''s properties until they are at either jonin or at the age of 18" - Hiruzen


    "As you wish hokage-sama, they will be placed within the orphanage starting tomorrow and a suitable wet nurse will be ?ssigned to them" - Nurse 3


    And that was how I ended up with my older brother in the orphanage. It took me at least a week to realize just who I was, or more precisely who my brother was. The man, the myth, the legend, fourth hokage of Konoha and the father of the series main character; Minato Nami-fucking-kaze, also known as Konoha''s yellow flash. A bad-ass with a flee on sight order in the bingo book.


    As for me, I didn''t exist in the original series, as Minato was mentioned to be a lone child, an anomaly. At least I now knew when exactly I was. Right after the first great ninja war, which is supposed to end shortly after Tobirama''s death, and right in time to participate in the second great ninja war as soon as I become a genin... I do not look forward to that.


    The next day I was in the orphanage with Minato. The hokage had made sure we were personally taken care of by the owner Midori-san. Although Midori-san herself was too old to produce milk for us, in every other aspect she might as well have been our mother. She showered us with love and care, but it seemed, to me at least, like my brother was her favorite. It might have been because of his gentler face. I personally think the largest cause, is that he behaves like a normal baby... that I do not. I try to act like a normal baby, by copying my brother, but a could tell from Midori-san''s expressions, that I was far from getting an Oscar.


    Life as a baby, was honestly not very fun. You''d just lay in your crib, waiting to either get fed or have you diaper changed. The only other alternative was sleeping. Though that was only for ordinary babies. Now that I know the time period, I can finally think about a training plan.


    And so that''s what I did for the next 6 months. Although nothing really happened, my first problem had to be my intelligence. I was a grown man in a baby brother, and I must think about how to hide it. Minato is supposed to be a genius, so I guess if I just follow his example, the worst that could happen, was me getting some advantages from the status as genius. Ok, that''s my plan, stick close to Minato and follow his lead.


    I have to say though, babies really need a lot of sleep, and I''m don''t really have any reason to fight. Anyway, having found my place, my adventure would finally begin. And with that I fell asleep.

 Chapter 3 - Twin geniuses

    After six months, not much changed. Well aside from the fact that Minato apparently learnt to talk. Like, seriously what the fu?k, you''re only half a fu?k?n? year old, you''re not supposed to be able to do that. Anyway, he still didn''t speak fluently, but it''s impressive enough already. At the time Minato said his first word, I waited about a week before I said mine. Ok, that''s a lie, I was able to speak even before Minato, and I can already speak somewhat fluently, I just don''t do it. I choose the time where the other children, and if possible, Midori-san, was asleep to practice my speech. Luckily, I didn''t have to impersonate baby speech too much, as pronunciation already got absolutely destroyed by my underdeveloped vocal tract, but I still have to be careful about formulating my sentences, as to not get found out.


    Soon after speech came walking. Due to excessive care from Midori-san, and visits from the hokage, both Minato and I learnt to walk after just nine months. To put that in to perspective, that is about the earliest a normal child takes their first steps in my previous world. But it wasn''t just the first steps, but full out walking, even bordering being able to run, though Minato always fell over when he tried. It was pretty amusing, when you think about the future fourth hokage burying their face in the dirt every few steps.


    Once again, I copied my brother, and started walking shortly after him, I even began to run before Minato, just to give him some competition. Of course, I also began running to set a foundation for my future training. It was also this that lead me to discover, that humans developed not only faster, but also differently than what I am used to¡­ I blame chakra¡­


    Whenever the hokage visited, he would always praise us, calling us the genius twins. Nothing really interesting happened while in the orphanage. None of the other kids, was someone I recognized from the anime or mange, but I was at least able to convince Minato to start training when we were like two years old. At that age, we weren''t really supposed to know anything about shinobi life, but I was able to sneak out together with Minato to watch the hokage train his team of future sannin.


    Of course, as hokage, Hiruzen noticed us as soon as we entered the training, even though we tried to conceal ourselves. That part was Minato''s idea. I would expect nothing short of getting noticed instantly, when trying to spy on the hokage. Also, Minato didn''t know about the ANBU stationed around the area, and I''ll be honest, I had no clue where they were either. I knew they were there, but they didn''t take action, so I guess they got orders from Hiruzen to stay hidden.


    This in turn allowed us to see a bit of the training they were doing. I got to watch Hiruzen with Enma in hand, fighting of the combine ?ssault of Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade. I think this was the moment I fell in love. Not with Tsunade, as you may think, nor with the rather feminine Orochimaru¡­ I don''t swing that way. No what I really fell in love with, was the beautiful movements demonstrated by a master of the bo-staff. It confuses me a little to see Hiruzen wield a normal size staff, instead of the oversized adamantine staff, he was seen using in the Oto-Suna invasion, but he still soundly beat his three students, and summoned the ANBU to carry them to the hospital. See I told you they were here. As soon as those ANBU left, Hiruzen walked towards us. Minato panicked a little at the fact that we were noticed, but soon regained posture and politely greeted the hokage.


    "Hallo sandaime-sama" ¨C Minato


    "Please, call me ojisan, I was quite close to your parents you know. Anyway, what are you doing here, not that it is not nice to see you Minato-kun, and you too Yoshio-kun, but this place is for authorized shinobi only. You have to be at least genin before you''re allowed to be here" ¨C Hiruzen (AN: single i in ojisan means uncle, while two i''s mean grandpa)


    "Sorry ojisan, we were just trying to see your awesome shinobi skills, and when we saw you fighting those guys, who are they anyway" ¨C Me


    Even though I already knew who they were, we were no supposed to know, as such, I played the role of an ignorant child. Although we were already told about shinobi, the team cells and overall structure, was something you learned in the academy.


    "That was my genin team. When you start in the academy you will learn all about how shinobi operate here in Konoha" -Hiruzen


    "Ne, ne, when can we start at the academy?" ¨C Minato


    "You will both start when you are six years old, so you have to wait a little, Minato-kun. Now let me escort you two back, you wouldn''t want Midori-san to worry now would you" ¨C Hiruzen


    As we made it back to the orphanage, where the hokage soon left us, I still felt inspired by the display from earlier, so I immediately ran out the back door of the orphanage to try some of the moves myself. Hiruzen''s moves honestly reminded me of Aang from Avatar: The last airbender. This gave me a couple of ideas for jutsu, especially of the wind element, but as of yet, I still have no idea how to use chakra, let alone the elemental version. I was quite sure I had wind affinity, not only because it, along with earth, is supposed to make up the magnet release, but also because it is one of the 5 affinities Minato was shown to have in the data book, with those being; wind, fire, lightning, yin and yang. As his brother I should have similar affinities, so wind was almost guaranteed.


    The jutsu idea though, I''m not able to train fully. Thus, as I couldn''t learn the chakra part, I decided to start training with a semi-straight stick I snapped of a tree nearby. Much to my frustration though, I had no knowledge of how to train, so I ended up half mindedly swinging the stick around every day for the next week. On the eighth day though, I was approached by the hokage. He was probably informed by the ANBU guarding me, I never saw him but I''m sure he is there, or by spying on me with his crystal ball. I don''t know if the crystal ball is even invented yet, but if it does, I''m sure it''s Tobirama who made it. That guy is too way smart for his own good, and considering he came up with both the original Hirashin and Kage Bunshin, I''m sure it wouldn''t be impossible for him.


    "I see you have taken a liking to the art of the bo-staff, Yoshio-kun, but you have no training method and you are only slightly over two years old, you are supposed to do too much physical training, as it might hurt you body in the long run" ¨C Hiruzen


    "Sorry ojisan, I just got really excited seeing you spar with your team, and couldn''t help want to learn it" ¨C Me


    "I see, *sigh*, I guess I could get you a training method suitable for your age, as well as basic instructions on chakra usage. I didn''t get you and Minato any presents for your last two years, so this would be a suitable substitute. ¨C Hiruzen


    "Do you mean that, ojisan, you are really going to help me train" ¨C Me


    On the prospect of getting training by one of the strongest shinobi ever, I couldn''t help but be exited, though my dreams were soon crushed by the hokage himself¡­


    "Unfortunately, I don''t have the time to do that, but I can get you some scrolls about it. Anyway, I need to get back to work. Come to the hokage tower tomorrow at 10:00 am, and bring your brother, this is going to be his gift as well. I''m warning you though, I''m not helping you when you have to explain this to Midori-san, good luck" ¨C Hiruzen


    With that he disappeared in a whirl of leaves. He probably used the body flicker technique. Anyway, I need to tell Minato about this¡­ and explain it to Midori-san¡­


    I''m not looking forward to that.

 Chapter 4 - Three years of training

    As a few years, more precisely three, went by, I was now five years old. Nothing exiting happened during those years, but the tension between the villages was increasing. Minato and I was starting in the Academy in less than a year, though I''m not really sure if we fit in. I guess some of the clan children might have gotten to the same level of training as us. As far as I know, and based on the explanation from Hiruzen, most clan children start training at four years old. We had been training intensely these three years, giving us a head start of two years. Using the scrolls, we got from the hokage, we learn many things, but the most essential is that we learnt to use chakra and got to train our control with the leaf sticking exercise. Even to this day, I still have nightmares about the day before we got our first set of scrolls, it was pure hell¡­


    Right after the hokage sent me back to the orphanage, I quickly got to work by sharing the news with Minato. Just like me, he seemed really excited, finally being able to learn the shinobi arts. As excites as we were, we still had to explain why we would like to begin training early, both of us together, spent about twenty minutes planning how to explain to Midori-san¡­ but no amount of planning could have prepared us for what came next¡­


    First of there are a few key points to the situation, that we only found out after it was to late. One of those being that Midori-san was a former jonin, though I had already anticipated that, the final nail in the coffin had to be her former position and profession¡­ Head of torture and intelligence. I seriously had to question Tobirama''s intelligence¡­ Who in their right mind let someone with her record and profession, run a fu?k?n? orphanage? Though credit where credit is due, she really did a damn good job, so I guess it wasn''t that bad of a decision.


    What comes next you could probably imagine. Us viewing her as our surrogate mother, and her viewing us as her surrogate sons, we got an absolute, no chance at all, beating. It was so bad Hiruzen had to call in some medical shinobi from the hospital to fix our wounded bodies, and furthermore a Yamanaka to make sure we didn''t suffer from mental trauma.


    Making the story as short as possible, our conversation went a little like this¡­


    "Midori-san, Minato and I have something to inform you about" ¨C Me


    "Oh, and what might that be? You didn''t get in trouble, did you?" ¨C Midori


    "No, of course not Midori-san, we came to inform you that we are starting our shinobi training early, and will be visiting the hokage tomorrow, to pick up our first equipment and scrolls" ¨C Me


    "Hmm, how about you DON''T do that, and we can go get some ramen together tomorrow, while we forget about this matter" ¨C Midori


    Midori-san at this point, didn''t seem that angry, she smiled at us, which sent chills down our spines. Somehow though Minato though it was a good idea to press on. I can safely say¡­ it wasn''t, and ohh boy was she angry after that. That is also what led to us being confined to bed for the rest of the day, also spending the night with empty stomachs.


    As I thought back on it, it really was the worst day of our life, possibly only second to losing our parents. Anyway, over these 3 years I managed to learn up to intermediate level with the bo-staff. Much to my surprise though, both Minato and I, got started in fuinjutsu, during some of the few actual training sessions we had with Hiruzen. Before this, I had always thought Hiruzen learnt fuinjutsu from Minato, but I guess it makes sense, considering Jiraiya, was already far on this path when he received Minato as his apprentice, also being the original one to spark his interest in seals. My most qualified guess is that Hiruzen doesn''t know too much about it, and later having been taught the Reaper Death seal, by Minato.


    Well back on topic, as much as I hate to admit it, Minato was born to be a fuinjutsu expert. I however not as much. From what I''ve been told by Hiruzen, my talent is on par with the Uzumaki, while Minato''s was enough to make him a prodigy, even within the Uzumaki clan. He didn''t hold the top score of all time in the chunin exam for nothing it seems.


    In terms of abilities overall, we were almost even. Minato held the advantage in fuinjutsu and shurikenjutsu, while I prevailed in hand to hand combat and chakra control. Due to Minato not wanting to take up the bo-staff, he was given a scroll and some lessons on the basic academy taijutsu style, almost mastering it and adventuring into the intermediate version. As the academy taijutsu style was obligatory, I of course also learnt it, but I stayed at the basic level, choosing to focus on the bo-staff instead.


    The only to ninjutsu we were taught was the E-ranked bunshin(clone technique) and the henge(transformation jutsu). Once again kawarimi was left for the academy. When we were first introduced to the techniques, I was a little sad, as I had hoped we would get to learn the tajuu kage bunshin(multiple shadow clone justu), or at least the normal kage bunshin(shadow clone jutsu). Thinking about it, it was probably too much to expect, since the former was considered a forbidden technique and the later required jonin level chakra reserves. Too bad, learning with kage bunshin would have been quite nifty, but I guess it at least must wait for later.


    In January of the next year, Minato and I turned six. (AN: In the data books it says Minato''s birthday was the twenty fifth of January, so I''m going with that) That meant we got had to start in the academy, which we were both very exited about. We still had to wait a few months for the next school season, so as of now we still did private training. As we had gotten more familiar with our combat styles, I managed to reach close to the peak of intermediate bo-staff technique, which I though made me close to chunin level, until I realized I was still in the genin section. I guess being close to mid-genin level in technique was pretty good, I was still nowhere near their level, as I didn''t have the strength or speed they had, making it a loss ten out of ten times if I were to try and fight one.


    While we were training, I had time to think about who I should make friends with in the academy. I seem to remember Nawaki being somewhat similar in age to Minato, and the same being the case for many of those who was clan leaders during Naruto''s youth. Other than that, the only civilian I had to worry about would be Might Duy, and possibly Sakumo Hatake, since I''m not really sure if the Hatakes was a clan. (AN: Might Duy is Guy''s father, and Sakumo is Kakashi''s father, just in case you didn''t know) I''m not too sure about their age, but they should have gained their fame in the second or third war. To sum it up, there were lots of people Minato and I would profit from by becoming friends with, but first and foremost, I was really hyper, since I get to go to school with so many legendary characters.


    I really can''t wait to start.


    (Edit; i will start using english jutsu names, since it was requested)

 Chapter 5 - The academy and the Namikaze clan

    Five months went by quickly and it was finally the day we got to start at the academy. During the time four largely important things happened. Firstly, both Minato and I awakened our skills as sensors. Just like in Naruto, Minato was a strong sensor, and I''m proud to say that I was nothing less. This was welcome addition, as it led to me finally being able to locate and track the ANBU that had been tracking us since our birth.


    Secondly, we got our own apartments. Minato and I was able to negotiate with Hiruzen, and secured our tickets out of the orphanage, sponsored by the funds of the Namikaze clan. Midori-san didn''t like it, but seeing we were more m?tur? than most genin, she allowed it, with the cost of a promise to come and visit her when we have time. As for why we had separate apartments, it was my idea. I needed a place away from the eyes of others, even Minato, since I needed a place where I could train unhindered. Of course, I wouldn''t be able to hide forever, but it would prevent me from gaining unwanted attention. With my current skill in seals, I was able to modify the silencing seal, so that it was also able to block the hokage''s crystal ball. Now as to why I decided to start keeping secrets, it leads me to the third major thing that happened¡­


    I managed to touch upon my magnet release. As of now though, I could only do small things like lifting a kunai for a second before dropping it or turn on and of the light. I admit turning on and of the light isn''t that amazing, but I was able to create a small magnetic field to interfere with the cables. For now, I had developed a little training technique for the magnet release. I call it Spoon bending!!! As silly as it might sound, it was actually a very hard exercise, as I had to keep the spoon floating, while simultaneously moving only one half of the spoon. The best thing about it though, was that it helped me up my chakra control and reserves, as it was a quite taxing task.


    Now, the last thing that happened, was none other than the start of the second ninja world war. It started with Iwagakure attacking Kumogakure, but soon Konoha was brought in to the war, due to the Sunagakure, with Iwagakure soon joining with an offensive against Konoha. This led to a three-way battlefield in the land of rain, with separate fronts stretching into the land of river and the land of grass. I don''t know much about the second war, since it wasn''t explained too well in the original, but due to a little eavesdropping, I found out that Tsunade and Sakumo was sent to face Sunagakure, since Tsunade, now having gained her reputation as a medical ninja, was the only hope to counter the poisons from Chiyo the puppet master. Orochimaru, as one of the most skilled jonin of Konoha, was sent to the front against Iwagakure as commander. The last of the three, Jiraiya, was currently on standby near rain, since there had only really been small skirmishes in the country, due to the three villages combined fear of their legendary leader, Hanzo of the salamander.


    Back in Konoha, we were attending the opening speech from the hokage, as tradition at the start of a new year in the academy. Furthermore, the traditions required two of the newcomers to show their skills, and what better match than Fugaku Uchiha vs Nawaki Senju. As they came from rival clans, they obviously both wanted to win, which led to an intense battle, ending with Hiruzen having to step in, before Nawaki was toasted by a fireball jutsu courtesy of Fugaku he had no way to defend against.


    I was personally most surprised to see that they were both almost at the same level as Minato and me, but this only made me more determined to become stronger faster. As we got situated in our classes, I realized that this version of the academy was vastly different than the one in Naruto''s time period. It might be because of the war, as I could see from the pamphlets on our desks, that the curriculum focused a lot more on battlefield tactics and actually developing our skills as ninja.


    In the beginning, it wasn''t really that interesting in the academy. There was only one lesson that caught my attention, that being the history of the clan wars period. The reason it caught my attention, was none other than the mentioning of the Namikaze clan, when we were going through the Senju clan''s history of fighting with the Uchiha. Apparently, a major oversight from the original story, was that it failed to mention, that the mother of the first and second hokages¡­ was a Namikaze.


    That''s right a Namikaze. That day after school I went with Minato to the village library, to figure out more on the history of our clan. Much to my surprise, the Namikaze clan was once a clan renowned at the same level as the Uzumaki clan. During our great grandfather''s era, the clan was known for three things; their sensory abilities, an affinity for space-time ninjutsu, though not many such jutsu was created, and finally the cherry on top, The swift release. It was also this that led to the clan getting attacked, and mostly destroyed. This attack left the clan with only our great grandfather as the only inheritor of the swift release, and all the space-time jutsu being destroyed. Thus, due to the difficult position, our great grandfather chose to enter an alliance with the Senju-clan, by marrying his sister to the, at the time Senju leader. Unfortunately, our grandfather didn''t inherit the swift release, leaving the clan to decline, until only we were left, with the rest of our clansmen dying in the first war.


    After about a year in the academy, Minato and I, finally finished learning all that Hiruzen had provided us in sealing techniques. Having nothing more to work on, I had just the person I mind who could teach us seals. The only problem was approaching her, since Kushina had yet to join Konoha. Thus, I figured we had to make contact, but that was easier said than done. First of Mito didn''t live in the Senju compound, even though I was her husband''s clan, if that had been the case, we might have been able to meet her through Nawaki, who we had befriended shortly after we started.


    No, Mito had chosen to isolate herself from the Senju by living in the guest compound of the Uzumaki, which was located at the edge of the village, contrary to the Senju compound, which was close to the center. As a plan was formed, Minato agreed to sneak away from the ANBU, which was hard and wasted nearly an hour, in order to sneak in to the Uzumaki''s home. Although that was what I told Minato, I knew we would get caught, as Mito not only was a sensor, but one that could read the emotions of others due to Kurama giving her that ability. It was also likely that the grounds around the compound was protected with seals, but I was hoping we would be able to avoid them using our own knowledge of seals.


    Only problem was forgetting that the Uzumaki were infamous, not only for their seals and chakra chains, but also for their trap making. Sure enough, we were able to avoid a few seals, but nothing good ever lasts long, as we were soon caught in a genius trap straight out of Indiana Jones, leaving us incapacitated and losing consciousness, as Mito came and retrieved us into her house¡­

 Chapter 6 - Uzumaki and seals

    "I see you''ve woken up, mind explaining why you were trying to sneak into my house" ¨C Mito


    As I regained consciousness, I was met with a death stare from Mito. I looked to the side, only to see that Minato was still cozily in dreamland, which meant Mito was able to focus solely on me. I figured, she had already seen through our intention, at least somewhat, so I decided to tell the truth¡­ at least some of it.


    "Uhm, you see Uzumaki-sama, we happen to be fans of seals, thus, knowing the Uzumaki are renowned for their skills in seal work, we decided to go and see if this compound had anything cool¡­ also we didn''t know there were anyone living here" ¨C Me


    Mito continued to glare at me with a raised eyebrow. Seeing the look on her face, it was obvious that she didn''t believe me, knowing I wasn''t telling the whole truth.


    "And the real reason?" ¨C Mito


    I sighed


    "Well we were learning sealing from hokage-sama, but just last week, we finished everything he could teach us, so I told Minato I knew someone who is really skilled at using seals, who would be able to teach us if we could convince her" ¨C Me


    Mito didn''t glare at me anymore, but instead looked at us with interest, and a slight expression of surprise on her face.


    "You''re saying you and him, seven-year-old boys, knows sealing at the same level as Hiruzen?" - Mito


    "Yes?" ¨C Me


    "Then do you know how seal masters are graded?" ¨C Mito


    They didn''t really elaborate on that in the original story, so the only rank I know is seal master, though I don''t have anything to compare it to. Hiruzen didn''t tell us his rank, so I literally have no idea how good I really am, especially compared to the Uzumaki.


    "No, the hokage didn''t tell us his rank, so the only rank I know is seal master" ¨C Me


    *sigh* "Then I guess I''ll have to explain it, but first let''s wait until you companion there wakes up. Anyway, I don''t have anything against teaching you if you are really as good as you said, but know that I can''t teach some of the more powerful seals to someone who isn''t Uzumaki. Also, I didn''t catch your names, mind telling me the names of my soon to be students?" - Mito


    I was quite surprised at how easily she agreed. Sealing was a delicate art-form, in which the slightest mistakes could cost you your life if you were not careful, but yet, she was willing to teach high level seals to two seven-year-olds¡­ I guess it''s because of her ability making her know we don''t have any bad intentions, also, being the highest ranked seal user in the village, Hiruzen might have already told her about our prodigious talent.


    "My name is Yoshio Namikaze and that is my older brother Minato Namikaze" - Me


    "What''s that you got on your hip, I don''t recognize a seal like that, is it something you made?" ¨C Mito


    While I was contemplating if Hiruzen might have sold us out, Mito was able to spot my newest homemade seal. As for what it did, I was quite proud of my ingenious creation. Basically, it was a super compact storage seal, allowing toggleable seamless partial release, AND was able to have access points integrate, making at a multi entrance and exit storage dimension, which of course also had everything else standard for storage seals. Currently, I have three such seals on my clothes, one on each hip, and one on my stomach. The one on the right side of my hip contain my shuriken and kunai, while the one on the left had bandages and healing salve, you never know when you''d need it, especially during wartime.


    Now, both those seals, had access points positioned on both my forearms for easy access, both having partial release turned off. The real reason I included that feature, was the seal on my stomach. It was connected to my weapon through access points¡­ well weapon might be an overstatement, as it in its current form, was just a handle with an access point in the middle, as well as on each end. Of course, a separate handle wasn''t something just any weapon store had in stock, as most of the times swords broke, it was the blade, but I still managed to get on custom made. It was made from chakra metal, and the quality was really high, most likely because it was handcrafted by Masamune Higurashi, whom I ?ssumed must be Tenten''s grandfather, since he and his son were running the Higurashi weapon shop. (AN: Masamune is recognized as the best smith of Japan ever)


    The reason I carried a handle as my weapon, was because I came up with an idea for melee fighting, which used fine chakra metal dust, which could be released from the seal in both ends, enabling me to shape any weapon of choice with my magnet release, which I had become way more efficient with. This arrangement created what I like to call the everchanging combat form. For now, I only know staff fighting, but that was getting to a pretty high level, which would allow me to allocate some time to swordplay or some other weapon. The reason I used chakra metal dust, was simply because of two properties, namely being able to semi-fuse together when magnet release chakra was inserted, and still allow some of the outer metal to channel another element of chakra.


    Back with Mito, I explained this to her, not bothering to keep my magnet release a secret, first of because I had already told Minato and Hiruzen, since I knew I wouldn''t be able to keep it a secret for long, and I was now sufficiently experienced to use it in combat. The second reason was that she was going to be my teacher, and I might require her help making a large enough storage seal, so I could use my magnet release like Rasa or the third kazekage. I tried using a gourd like Gaara, but I soon realized that even if I decked it out in storage seals, I wouldn''t have enough dust. My best guess was that Gaara''s guard was some kind of artifact, making it able to store large amounts of sand.


    As our conversation finished, Minato had woken up, so after explaining the situation to him, Mito was finally able to tell us about the ranks of seal users¡­


    "Seal users are separated into six categories, each containing three levels. The categories are; Apprentice, Intermediate, Advanced, Master, Grandmaster and finally God tier. If you are as good as Hiruzen, you should be about level two advanced seal users, level three at max" ¨C Mito


    "Then what level are you at?" ¨C Minato


    "Good question, I''m currently at level 3 grandmaster. Before you ask, yes there is a single God tier seal user in the elemental nations, that being the current Uzukage. Now before I send you home for the day, I need you to make space in your schedules between 16:00 and 19:00" ¨C Mito


    After giving a quick affirmation, Minato and I went home. For the next few weeks, we spend our days being busy with the academy, Mito''s training as well as our personal training. After one and a half month, Mito informed us we were getting new companions under her teaching, as two of her relatives were transferring over to live in Konoha. I was not really surprised when she confirmed that she indeed meant it in plural, as even though the original series only had Kushina move over, I had been striking quite a few conversation regarding Kurama, as it was pretty much common knowledge between ninja, that Mito was his jinchuriki. The conversations mostly revolved around her seal, and how Kurama was able to influence her.


    One of the points that came up was her pregnancy, and how her seal had weakened while giving birth, since Kurama''s power was too great. I brought up the idea of creating two jinchuriki, and splitting Kurama in half. At first, she questioned the idea, but soon she seemed to gain an epiphany, most likely remembering the reaper death seal or something similar. She was going to die from the extraction anyway, so by the way things went, she likely accepted the idea, and was going to go through with it.


    I really look forward, to meeting Kushina and the other Uzumaki. I always liked Kushina''s goofy and violent attitude, so it would be fun to see how similar her clansman was, since Mito didn''t seem to have that violent attitude. Also, since I had decided to leave Kushina for Minato, we can''t delete the main character from existence now can we, I might potentially have a love interest in her clansman¡­ provided they were also female¡­

 Chapter 7 - Kana and Kushina Uzumaki

    Okay, I take that back, who cares if I delete Naruto, if it meant I could be together with that beautiful thing for the rest of my life, I''d certainly do it. These were my exact thought when Minato and I arrived at the academy and got introduced to our new classmates.


    "Quiet class, today we got two new transfer students" ¨C Teacher


    He pointed at the two redheaded girls to his left.


    "Would you please introduce yourselves?" ¨C Teacher


    "I am Kushina Uzumaki dattebane. I will become this village''s first female Hokage!!" ¨C Kushina


    "And I''m Kana Uzumaki, we recently moved her from Uzushiogakure, and will be studying together with you" -Kana


    Kushina was still as hyperactive, as she was shown to be in the original, but contrary to seeing her through a screen, the living, real life version before my eyes, were a lot more beautiful. On the other hand, Kana was a lot calmer, and her beauty was only slightly below that of Kushina. Now that I think about it, Kana''s personality seemed to have a lot more in common with Minato than Kushina''s. I also saw that his eyes were drawn towards Kana¡­


    "Ne, how did your hair get so red, are you half tomato or something?" ¨C Random guy in the front row who had a death wish


    *smack, BOOM*


    Just milliseconds after he had asked his question, he was now imbedded into to back wall behind us, with Kana standing at his original position, with a cruel smile on her face.


    "I would like if you refrained from asking stupid question" ¨C Kana


    You know Kushina''s nickname? The red-hot habanero... Yeah, I think Kana is taking that one. Also, I''m no m?s??h?st, you''re getting this one Minato¡­ Good luck, you''re going to need it, I can only hope you survive¡­


    The teacher was still standing behind Kushina, obviously as flabbergasted by Kana''s display as the rest of the class. I took him nearly half a minute of stammering before he was able to full accept what had happened. Only after some teachers from other classes came to figure out what caused the commotion, was he finally able to get the passed-out ragdoll like boy, down from the wall and sent to the hospital. It was safe to say, that from then on only suicidal people would pick on those girls, though the display probably also managed to ruin almost any chance they had at making friends. Not really surprising, considering even I was scared, while Minato didn''t even dare to look at them.


    After Kana''s little thrashing session, it was time for taijutsu practice. Minato and I were miles ahead of anyone else, even the Hyuga and Uchiha. Thus, we would always end up sparing against each other. I Had made Minato go a little easy on me while sparing in the academy, since it would then allow me to study the fighting style of our classmates. I was mainly watching Fugaku, Nawaki and the Hyuga twins, since the Uchiha interceptor style and the Senju defensive style, were both solid additions to my everchanging combat technique.


    Although they were important, the ones I watched the most had the be the Hyugas, as it would first of allow me to memorize some of the gentle fist style, but most importantly, I would be able to see how they activated their byakugan. Since my rebirth, I knew I was supposed to have the byakugan eyes, but I simply had no idea how to activate them. I tried many times already, but was unable to crack the code, so I hoped watching them would give me some insight.


    As such I walked to the hokage tower. I would also need to talk to Hiruzen about early graduation for Minato and me, since we were clearly outclassing everyone at the academy, even being better than most genin. After I checked with the secretary, that Hiruzen was indeed in his office, even though I could sense that he was, I proceeded to walk in. Hiruzen was sitting behind his desk full of paperwork. I kind on expected there to be less, since we were at war, but I guess there''s still stuff that needs the hokages approval.


    "Hello ojisan" ¨C Me


    "Ohh Yoshio-kun, what brings you to my office" ¨C Hiruzen


    "Well, you see, I was just at the library looking through the genin section, but there was nothing useful, so I want to ask for permission to enter the chunin section and maybe the jonin one as well" ¨C Me


    "Yoshio-kun, you know you have to reach that rank before you can enter, also I''ve already made an exception allowing an academy student into the genin section" ¨C Hiruzen


    "Well, uhm, I was thinking that maybe you could allow us to take the genin exams, we should be strong enough already" ¨C Me


    *sigh* "I suppose if you were to be genin, I would be able to allow you into the chunin section, and you are almost as skilled as some chunin, but we have recently got attacked by Kumogakure, so I have no available jonin to be your sensei. You will have to wait until next year when the next batch graduate from the academy" ¨C Hiruzen


    "Can I at least get access to the chunin section while I wait?" ¨C Me


    "I suppose I can figure something out, but it will have to wait, we are currently lacking jonin on the Iwa front, since a lot of them have been moved to counter Kumo, thus I will head there to support for at least a week" ¨C Hiruzen


    Although I left the hokage office without gaining immediate access to the chunin section at the library, I gained something even more valuable¡­ The information that Hiruzen was going to leave the village, and that most jonin also were out of the village. This was a prime opportunity I couldn''t miss, as it would allow me to sneak, not only into the chunin and jonin sections of the library without much risk of getting caught, but it was a prime opportunity to get a little sneak-peak at the forbidden scroll, and maaaybe accidentally copy the whole thing¡­


    Although I had decided what to do, I still need to get some preparation done. Also, it wouldn''t be smart to inform Minato, as he was a sucker for rules, and would definitely object. The three most present problems were, one; Mito, who can sense everything in the whole village and a bit more, and two; Making a seal able to copy the entire scroll, as the ones currently on the market that could copy scrolls, were nowhere near able to copy such large quantities of information. And three, getting some byakugan blocking seals.


    The third one should be the easiest, since they already exist, and are used on pretty much every clan compound, clans do like to keep their secrets. The second would probably also be easy, but the first one might be harder. I could probably make up an excuse to make Mito help me, and then finish it at home, thus making my disappearance less suspicious to her. Also, it would probably help me sneak by any ninja I might meet on my way, so there''s also that.


    Anyway, my lesson with Mito was starting soon, so I just had to bring it up there. Now that I think about it, Kana and Kushina might be joining us from today, so it would also allow me to get closer to Kushina¡­


    Yeah, let''s do that, what could go wrong!

 Chapter 8 - Planning and preparation

    As I walked towards the Uzumaki compound, I suddenly remembered something very important, that being, that if I got the forbidden scroll of seals, how would I be able to us them¡­ If something like the Eight Inner Gates technique was in there, even though I know I hasn''t been created yet, I would need to have alibi, otherwise I would not be able to use the techniques without getting a trip to the torture and interrogation department, where I would get my mind read by some Yamanaka, which I definitely don''t want.


    Currently I could only think of a few things, that would allow me to use at least some of the techniques without suspicion, the best being none other than my last name, the Namikaze clan. Since I''ve previously found out Tobirama and Hashirama were both half Namikaze, it wouldn''t be too far of a stretch to think they may have stored some techniques in the Namikaze jutsu vault. Since it has been sealed, no one knows for sure what is inside, but I should ?ssume there''s some sort of alarm mechanism, probably connected to the hokage. I think I can work with this. If I trigger the alarm before getting the forbidden scroll of seals, I might be able to convince Hiruzen that I was just curious about my clan, since the main seal should be a bloodline seal, only allowing those with a certain bloodline or otherwise authorized people through.


    I had to leave my planning for later, as I arrived for my lesson with Mito. Even though Mito had allowed us to just walk in, it might be a good idea to knock, since Kana and Kushina might be living here, thus giving them a good impression. No one really interacted with them in class, due to Kana''s display, so this would essentially be my first impression. After knocking two times, the door was open by Kushina, who seemed confused as to why I was here, guess Mito didn''t tell them about us. This also confirmed they were indeed living here, and that I came before Minato, which was my plan, so that is good.


    "Hallo Kushina-san, can I come in? I''ve got sealing lessons with Mito-sama soon, but I had nothing to do, so I came early" ¨C Me


    "Ah, eto, I will have to ask Baa-chan, what was your name again? Why do you know my name?" ¨C Kushina


    "I''m Yoshio Namikaze. My brother and I are learning seals from Mito-sama, he should also be arriving soon, as too why I know your name, it''s because we are in the same class at the academy" ¨C Me


    "Ahh, sorry I don''t remember you" ¨C Kushina


    "No problem, I try not stand out too much in the academy¡­ even though that fails whenever we do combat training, haha" - Me


    I rubbed the back of my neck, just like Minato always did. I don''t know how, but since coming to this world I started picking up a lot of Minato''s habits, probably because I spent so much time with him. As I followed Kushina through the door, she really is beautiful from behind and I know she will only grow more beautiful, she suddenly turned her head towards me.


    "Ano, why are you learning sealing from baa-chan, as far as I know, there shouldn''t be many seal users in Konoha, that would be able to impress her enough to make her teach them, not to mention that she can''t teach clan seal due to the clan rules, so why would she teach you?" ¨C Kushina


    "Ah, that''s quite the embarrassing story actually, my brother and I finished learning seals from the hokage, who is a level 2 advanced seal user, so we got curious knowing the Uzumaki clans prowess with seals and tried to sneak in to the compound, only to get caught by Mito-sama, haha ha¡­" ¨C Me


    "That still doesn''t explain why she would teach you¡­" ¨C Kushina


    Seeing Kushina''s slightly pouting face, I couldn''t help but smile.


    "Well, when we explained it to her, it seemed that hokage-sama had already asked her to teach us, so she just told us some basic information and made a schedule for lessons with her" - Me


    Continuing with some small talk, we arrived at the library, the place our theoretical lessons would always take place, only to see Kana reading a book titled "Sealing master level 2; Guide to explosive tags", while Mito was just watching her, seemingly ready to answer any questions.


    "Uhm, was I interrupting something? I came early, because I had this idea I''ve been working on, and would like you help Mito-sensei" ¨C Me


    "No, I was just answering Kana''s questions, you''ve met her and Kushina-chan right? They should have started in your class today. Now, what is this idea you were working on, I ?ssume it has to do with seals, since you''ve come to me" ¨C Mito


    "I have, and my idea is quite simple¡­ I want to make a stealth seal, that could hide the user''s presence form anyone, thus help our ANBU on mission, lowering the death rate" ¨C Me


    "Ohh, that is indeed a really good idea, can I see the progress you''ve made so far, I''d gladly help" ¨C Mito


    "Well, uhm I''ve thought about it earlier today, and have an idea in my head, but I''ve never actually tested it, nor placed it down" ¨C Me


    "Let''s see the idea then, this might be interesting" ¨C Kana


    I quickly got some sealing paper and placed the neatly named; presence suppression absolute stealth seal mark one, unfinished seal down. The main mechanics of the seal was parts borrowed from a silencing seal and a chakra sealing seal, since it would make all sound around the user unable to escape to the outside, while also hiding the user''s chakra. The chakra sealing seal was of course modified so that it wouldn''t seal the use of chakra, by allowing the chakra from temporarily break the suppression seal.


    The seal was nowhere near perfect, since it would prevent stuff like the body flicker technique, but with a little work it could work. Shortly after the four of us began, we were joined by Minato, who was also very interested in my idea. One of my proposed ideas, was incorporating the byakugan blocking seal, which in turn allowed me to learn how to make those. It quickly got late, and we managed to create a prototype. Kushina seemed quite impressed with Minato and I''s sealing abilities, though she, and Kana, were generally objecting most of our ideas.


    Surprisingly, it was Kushina who had the chore of making dinner, though I have to say she I quite good at it already. I now fully understand why her homemade cooking was listed as Minato''s favorite food in the data books. I decided to help her as a way to get closer to her, but when we came back to say dinner was ready, we found Minato being thrown onto the ground by Kana whilst Mito was grinning at the display. He probably said something stupid to her.


    After dinner, I went home with the close to finished seal. I should go to the Hyuga clan tomorrow, to test the seal, from what I''ve heard the current leader wasn''t as strict as Hiashi was in the original, so as long as I can avoid the elders, getting help from him and the twins should be possible. This arrangement would also bring another well sought out benefit for me, that being, if I come during training times, I might get to see some more experienced gentle fist users, and I might see some of the younger members trying to open their byakugan for the first time, although this is quite unlikely.


    When I got home, I decided to do some physical training as well as some chakra training. Thinking about the benefits shadow clones would get me, I almost wanted to just rush to get the scroll, but since preparation was not yet done, so I had to wait. I had recently got an idea, to help make my training more efficient, by either doing all my training upside down or on top of the lake 5 min away. This required both chakra control and physical abilities, making it very exhausting.


    After each session, I would always sit down and meditate. I had made a makeshift version of the spikes on mount Myoboku, as preparation for possible future sage training. Meditating was also quite relaxing. Probably because of my magnet release, I was able to slightly sense the magnetic field lines of the planet, which had made me question whether it was similar to Hashirama''s relationship with nature, and if I could use it to make my own magnetic sage mode.

 Chapter 9 - Forbidden scroll of seals

    The next day, I woke up at around 6:00, since It would allow me to do some light training before eating breakfast and going to the academy. I knew from the twins, that the Hyuga clan had training time around an hour after the academy would end, thus that was the optimal time to come by. Therefore, the first thing I did after reaching the classroom, was seek them out and make an appointment, which they gladly agreed with.


    Using the class time to review my plan for the night I went over all the points of interest, in addition to the spots I had to go to. For now, the only points of interest would be the Namikaze clan compound, which I had to go to in order to deceive Hiruzen, the jonin section at the library, which was rather low on the priorities, the ANBU jutsu vault, despite having no idea where it was, it was still an interesting point, and finally the forbidden scroll of seals, which was located in the hokage residence. Since the Namikaze compound was rather close to the center of the village, it should only be a minor detour.


    While I was contemplating some scenarios during a break, I was snapped back to reality by Minato, as I noticed some suicidal boys walking over to bother Kana and Kushina. They started grabbing their hair while saying they looked like tomatoes. At first, I was puzzled as to why they didn''t beat those boys up, but from the look of it, Mito should have given them the "fill yourselves with love not hatred" speech, making them hold back, even if only a little.


    Just as I was standing up, pulling Minato with me, Kana was unable to endure any longer, and started throwing the boys through the classroom with a little help from Kushina. After beating them up, they looked grudgingly our way¡­


    "WHAT ARE YOU SMILING AT!?" ¨C Kana and Kushina


    Well, that could have gone better, but then again, it was close to what happened in the original, so I guess I would work out? It might be a little more awkward this time around, since we were closer to them, than Minato was with Kushina in the original. This should also be the start of the incident with the chunin, so I guess I will have to look out for them from now on.


    After classes ended, I went home to make sure I had everything ready for the night raid, also making a copy of the presence suppression absolute stealth seal mark three, before going to the Hyuga clan with the copy. After arriving and stating my purpose to the guards, I was brought to a classroom, where, conveniently enough, Hizashi was teaching some of the younger branch members how to activate the byakugan. I came in mid lesson, and was led towards Hiashi and his father Hokori, who was listening in together with some of the elders, probably because it was Hizashi''s first lesson. I quietly bowed towards Hokori and the elders earning a slight nod, after which I waited besides Hisashi.


    The elders didn''t seem to mind my presence, since from their perspective this lesson wouldn''t be of use to a non-Hyuga. I attentively memorized the rest of the lesson, which even though I missed a lot, would still be of great use in unlocking my byakugan. As the lesson ended, I saw some of the elders nod slightly before leaving, which brought a smile to Hizashi''s face, as he walked towards us. After greeting his father, the twins and I followed Hokori to a private room, in order to get business done.


    "You must be the Yoshio-san, my boys had mentioned would come over to test a¡­ seal was it?" ¨C Hokori


    "That is indeed the case, Hokori-sama, I''m currently working on a stealth seal together with my teacher and fellow students under the first hokage''s wife; Mito-sama, in order to increase the survival rate for our ANBU operators" ¨C Me


    "A noble goal, though I didn''t know the honorable Mito had taken any students¡­ that being the case, why did you seek our help?" - Hokori


    "Well you see, we have included parts of a byakugan blocking seal, and would like to see if it kept its function. Because none of us are Hyuga, thus not giving us access to a byakugan, I made a visit here to seek help" ¨C Me


    "I see¡­ then, can you bring out the seal? I ?ssume you brought it" ¨C Hokori


    As per Hokori''s request, I brought out the seal I copied earlier, and applied it to myself. Hiashi and Hizashi both opened their byakugan, amazed that they were unable to see me without direct line of sight. The most surprised was Hokori. He slightly raised his right eyebrow, which looked really weird together with the veins from his byakugan and seemed to be thinking about something.


    "Since you are a seal user, you should know that the byakugan blocking seal functions by making the byakugan unable to see through whatever it is applied upon, but this seal of yours does the opposite, making you transparent" ¨C Hokori


    "I see, that should mean that it is a success. There wasn''t really anything else, so unless you have something to talk about, I will be going now" ¨C Me


    "There is indeed an issue with you seal¡­ Since your seal makes the wearer transparent, it poses a security issue to the Hyuga clan, as anyone possessing such a seal, would be able to sneak into the compound¡­ The byakugan blocking seal on the other hand, only block vision behind the wearer, thus it is impossible to sneak into the compound with it¡­ This leads me to be unable to authorize the use of this seal, as it makes the clan vulnerable" ¨C Hokori


    Shit! I didn''t think of that, I knew the clan elders in the original care much about the safety of the Hyuga bloodline, and Hokori being the previous clan head, was probably the leader among them¡­


    "Uhm, I can see how that would be a problem¡­ Hmm, I think, if we tinker the seal a little, we can make integrate a beacon, that would deactivate the seal when entering a barrier. If we then place that barrier around the Hyuga compound, the security risk would be eliminated as long as the beacon can''t be removed, which shouldn''t be a problem, since irremovable seals are part of the Uzumaki specialty, and we have one of their best helping design the seal" - Me


    "If you are able to do that, I have no problem authorizing it, but only after it has been approved by me and the other Hyuga elders" ¨C Hokori


    "Alright, I can promise you that will be included in the final version" ¨C Me


    After discussing the details with Hokori, I went home to do a final check before the night mission. Having done so, I decided to put the knowledge I gained from Hizashi''s lesson to use, beginning my training towards unlocking my byakugan. Even though some parts were missing, combined with my already existing notes, I was able to deduce a large part of the missing information. Thus, when I had practiced for some hours and eaten my dinner afterwards. With the sky darkening, it was finally time to get the plan rolling.


    I changed into some black ninja gear, and applied the stealth seal to it, grabbed the copying scroll quickly, before I sneakily exited my apartment, in order to make sure Minato didn''t notice. The distance to my first stop, the Namikaze clan, wasn''t long, so I reached it after only a few minutes. I had made sure heighten my sensing, but I didn''t meet any ninja along the way.


    Seeing the gate before me, I was excited, and looked forward to see what was on the inside, but as luck would have it, I was only able to enter the courtyard, which was beautifully arranged to look like the clan symbol, not being able to enter any of the buildings¡­ I left slightly saddened, as I had hoped to gain something from my clan, but I had accomplished my primary goal in coming, so I moved quicker towards the hokage residence with even more anticipation towards the forbidden scroll of seals.


    Around the hokage residence, there were a few ANBU guards, but it seams they were only around chunin level, so it was relatively easy to sneak through with the help of the stealth seal. Biwako, Hiruzen''s wife, had already gone to sleep, I could tell since there were no light in the house. Sneaking my way inside, it was quite easy to locate the scroll, since the chamber it was in was literally just the scroll room¡­


    The scroll was placed on top of a pedestal, which had seal symbols running down the side. I should have anticipated this¡­ spending some time decoding the seals, I got more and more nervous, since the more time I spent here, the more dangerous it got. I couldn''t decode the seal, but I was able to decode enough to deduce that the seals main purpose was the alert anyone with an ANBU tattoo, as well as the hokage, whenever the scroll was removed from the room¡­ huh, the more you know, guess those tattoos had a function after all.


    Since the seal wouldn''t become a problem, I started the copying process, after soundproofing the room. Despite the scroll being so large, surprisingly little was written inside. I only recognized the multiple shadow clone jutsu and the impure world resurrection amongst the techniques inside, but I didn''t have time to read them, so I would have to save that for later.


    When the scroll was fully copied, I made my way out of the house, making sure to leave everything as it was when I entered. I was relieved to see that I hadn''t alerted anyone, and quickly made my way home. I only met a few ANBU along the way. Our forces must be spread pretty thinly across the battlefields for there to only be this few ANBU around.


    After entering my apartment, I instantly hid the scroll and began to change to normal bed clothing. I waited an hour before going to sleep, in order to make sure there was no commotion. I was really excited for tomorrow, as I would finally be able to read the scroll and learn some great techniques, I couldn''t wait!

 Chapter 10 - New training method... and ramen

    I woke up at about 8:00, which was a bit late, but I went to bed late, so it makes sense. Since it was so late, I didn''t have time to get my morning training, nor was I able to look at the scroll, as I had to go to the academy. Ever since the war started, I had this routine, to walk a slightly longer route through the main street, in order to hear the resent gossip, thus giving me an overview of how the war was progressing.


    Today, the villagers were almost partying, as a few recent events were finally relayed back to the village, with the most important being the homecoming of Tsunade, due to having cured Chiyo''s poisons, giving Konoha a great advantage on the Suna front, which was now being lead solely by Sakumo, who had gained fame due to killing Sasori''s parents. Some of the other news, included a temporary ceasefire with Kumo, caused by Gyuki, the eight-tailed beast, having gone on a rampage, killing two characters I knew from the original. The two killed were Blue B and Toroi, the later making me a bit sad, since I would have liked to at least see him use his magnet release once.


    Because of the ceasefire, some unknown jonin had taken command of the Iwa battlefield, while Orochimaru was moved to the land of rain, allowing Jiraiya to get a break from the war. I knew from canon, that it wouldn''t take long before Suna would give up, having lost their advantage, so Sakumo should also be coming to the village too. On a side note, I also heard a talented young jonin named Teuchi had open ramen shop after no longer being able to be on the front line, due to having sustained a permanent injury in his lower back and his left knee¡­ I knew I''d be visiting that one.


    The day at the academy were pretty much the same as always, but after they lessons were over, I decided to invite Minato, Kana and Kushina out for what I ?ssumed to be Ichiraku ramen, in order to make up for not helping the girls with the bullies. Surprisingly, Kushina was the most skeptical, which had me mentally in chock for about thirty seconds, since she was supposed to be their biggest costumer before Naruto. I finally managed to convince her, at the cost of me treating her, which would definitely leave a dent in my wallet, though I suppose I would have to live with it if I managed to gain her affection.


    Having reached our destination, which I had rightly ?ssumed was Ichiraku, we were greeted by Teuchi''s smile, as he energetically took our orders. Minato and Kana ordered miso ramen, while Kushina and I ordered pork ramen. After tasting the ramen, Kushina and Kana devoured the rest of the bowls with stars in their eyes, excitingly calling for seconds. Between the first and second bowl, I had the privilege to experience getting hug-crushed by Kushina for having led her to, with her words, the godly food paradise of ramen, which gave Teuchi a smug smile.


    "So, treating your girlfriends, are we?" ¨C Teuchi


    All four of us blushed at the comment, which caused Teuchi to show us one of his signature maniacal laughs, before giving us his so-called couple discount. This once again made us blush, but on the inside, I was grateful, not only because I managed to save a lot of money, but also because Teuchi had managed to further our relationships, by planting the idea inside their heads. Now I only had to wait for those seeds, until we could make them bloom by saving the girls from Kumo in a few years.


    Having almost emptied my wallet, I was quite depressed, until I remembered I had the Forbidden scroll just laying at home, which cheered my up immensely. I quickly made my way home, making sure to place privacy seals, before taking out the scroll and unrolling it. The scroll contained a total of eight techniques, two of which were suicide techniques and two which permanently damaged the user. I suppose I might be able to use them with shadow clones, but I''m taking no chances until I know more about them. This left four usable techniques; the multiple shadow clone technique, the impure world resurrection, the exploding shadow clone technique and something called the devouring technique.


    Based on the name, I could guess what the exploding shadow clone technique does, but I seriously thought it was created by the yet to be born Itachi Uchiha, but I suppose Tobirama created it instead. As for why it was a forbidden technique, from what was written in the scroll, the user would still gain the shadow clones'' memories, including the feeling of blowing up and being torn apart¡­ Itachi was more of a badass then I thought, though I already viewed him as a badass, so I guess he would be like, the badassest or something.


    The devouring technique, was surprisingly a technique with no apparent drawbacks, only having been categories as a forbidden technique due to its cruel nature. It allowed the user to devour the chakra of others, incorporating it into their own system, requiring only the target to be alive, thus slowly and painfully su?k?n? their chakra out until they died from chakra exhaustion. Based on this description, my best guess is, that it is a precursor to Hiruko''s chimera technique, but not being able to gain kekkei genkai from the devoured, nor is it able to bestow powers upon others, like the chimera technique can.


    The first one I decided to learn, was obviously the multiple shadow clone technique, as I would allow me to supercharge my training, and also help me learn the other three techniques. My plan was to start with only four clones, since even though both Minato and I had massive chakra reserves for our age, we were still b?r?ly at low jonin, thus not allowing me to spam clones like Naruto. As me reserves grew, I would be able to use more clones, but for now four was enough. I would use one clone on the impure world resurrection, two clones on the devouring technique, once they learnt it, one would research developing the chimera technique, and the other one would research using the techniques on dead targets, as it would be more convenient to just kill the targets instead of capture, while also saving them the suffering¡­ I''m not a monster, you know.


    The last clone would focus on learning weapon techniques, while the main body, as in me, would do physical training and fitness. I also decided just in case, that it should be the main body that interacted with others, as well as going to the academy and lessons with Mito, especially Mito, as she would be able to tell that it was a clone. I would use this training system at least until I graduated and get a sensei, as I would have adapt depending on who it was.


    "Hallo Yoshio, can we come in for a minute, I have something I would like to talk to you about" ¨C Hiruzen


    "Of course, ojisan, it might be a bit messy, as I was in the middle of training, I hope you don''t mind" ¨C Me


    "I don''t mind¡­ Gecko, can you fetch me Minato Namikaze, I would like him to be here. Eagle, you are following me, these boys and I have some important stuff to talk about" ¨C Hiruzen

 Chapter 11 - Actions and consequences

    Sitting opposite the hokage was kind of scary, considering I had now idea why exactly he came, nor how much he knew. I was praying my preparations had paid off, but the uncertainty made the whole situation more tense. Luckily for me Gecko soon joined by Minato, which helped ease the atmosphere a little. As soon as Minato had taken his seat besides me, Gecko immediately joined Eagle behind Hiruzen.


    "Boys, do you have any idea why I''m here?" ¨C Hiruzen


    Hiruzen was glancing at us with a serious look on his face, making me sweet profusely, as I had a suspicion, he might have caught on to me, but I forced my nerves to calm down, by trying to predict what he might say next. The only thing I had in my favor, was that Minato was here, which brought down the chance that it was because of the forbidden scroll, as he wouldn''t need to be present if that was the case. Other than that, it could be because of my fake break-in on the Namikaze compound, in which case I was safe. I could tell, that if I started talking right now, I would give away that I had done something, so I decided to stay silent and let Minato reply until I understood Hiruzen''s reason for visiting.


    "Uhm, I don''t know, did we do something wrong?" ¨C Minato


    "Minato, Yoshio, it has come to my attention, that you are informed about Konoha''s jinchuriki, and have probably already guessed the reason we had two Uzumaki join the village¡­" ¨C Hiruzen


    *Huff* I breath out my previously held breath¡­ it seems he has come to talk about Kana and Kushina, but I don''t know why he would come to us concerning that. It could be because of our discussions, inspiring Mito to split the nine-tails, but otherwise I have no clue.


    "My ANBU has reported, that you two has become the two chosen''s only friends, thus I will give you an S-ranked mission to protect and pass on the will of fire to them. As you know there has been a change of plans, by which it has been decided that the transfer will happen about a year from now, as otherwise Mito will be too weak to hold the nine-tails down, while performing the seal. Thus, the girls will be taken out of the academy for special training in about six months, as I would like if they get accustomed to the village first¡­ This means you mission will last six months as well, which works out perfectly, since the war has calmed down and I expect there to be jonin available at that time for you to be apprenticed under. I already have two in mind, but depending on how long it will take to finish up on the Suna front, and so long as nothing major changes in the land of rain, they will be available, but this plan could change any minute" ¨C Hiruzen


    "Uhh, that is a lot to take in¡­ so basically, we have to become best friends with Kana and Kushina, who will leave the academy in six months, where we also might get a sensei¡­" ¨C Minato


    "Correct" ¨C Hiruzen


    "So, if I understand this right, that means we get to be with our friends, get paid for it, and since we graduate at seven and a half years old, which is a record if I remember correct, we will likely not get any weak jonin as senseis. Since you mentioned Suna and the land of rain, I only know three suitable candidates, two of which are your students; Orochimaru and Jiraiya, while the last would be Sakumo Hatake, Konoha''s white fang, who has recently gained fame for killing Chiyo the puppet master''s son and daughter in law, right?" ¨C Me


    "It seems you are quite informed Yoshio-kun, you are right¡­ *sigh* Anyway, with that out of the way, I have something else I would like to address¡­" ¨C Hiruzen


    Hiruzen began staring at me, which gave me shivers down my spine, as my muscles became tense and my whole body stiffened¡­


    "Since you are both almost chunin level, and that a certain someone, has been sniffing around the place recently, I have decided to open up your clan compound, and you can move in if you like. This, of course, comes with some responsibilities as well¡­ I will still control your clan account, and make sure to hire maintenance workers until you become genin, but at that moment you are on your own¡­ Since this will indicate that the clan has been revived, as it now contains ninja which legally makes you ?du?ts, one of you will have to ?ssume the position of clan head, which also means you will have to attend meetings. You two can decide between yourselves, but one of you have to do it, or I will have to seal the compound again" ¨C Hiruzen


    I glance at Minato, who also glances at me¡­ I kind of hoped Minato would take up the role, as he was not only the rightful heir, being the oldest of us, but also because I really didn''t want to deal with politics, as it would delay my training plans.


    "I have nothing more to tell you right now, so I will take my leave. You should come to my office tomorrow after the academy, then I will personally accompany you to your clan compound¡­ Also, Yoshio-kun, whatever you learned in there, make sure you keep it a secret, as that stuff aren''t supposed to be available for anyone below chunin rank at least, much less an academy student¡­" ¨C Hiruzen


    After Hiruzen had left, I woke up Minato from his trance and quickly sent him home. All that responsibility shit, I don''t want any of that, but I should have six months to convince Minato that he was absolutely no doubt the best, most perfect candidate to become clan head.


    As I thought over what Hiruzen had said, ?ssuming Minato still got Jiraiya as his sensei, it would leave either Orochimaru or Sakumo for me. As of now, both of them would be great choices, as Orochimaru would be able to help me with research on the Devouring technique, since he is still loyal to Konoha and would no doubt be interest, while Sakumo would be able to help me with lightning jutsu, which is great, as it would allow me to use it with my magnet release, of course only if I was able to use it at all¡­ Still, lightning would be great, as electricity plus magnetic fields/metal, surely would create a mean combination with endless possibilities¡­ nothing more had to be said about that¡­


    Anyway, I continued with my training, quickly falling into a trance where I was training mindlessly. It was actually easier that way, since, if the clones I create in the future also did that, it would cause less strain on my mind when they dispelled. I really looked forward to the next half a year, where I would be able to get much stronger, also soon graduating from the academy with Minato, two and a half years earlier than Minato did in the original. I also really wanted to know who my sensei would be, as it was one of the most important people in the life of a ninja, shaping their future fighting style and potentially changing their fate, as Guy did with Rock Lee¡­


    Yeah, I really couldn''t wait

 Chapter 12 - Sensei

    Six months passed by quickly, and it was finally the day Hiruzen had picked, for Minato and I to become genin. During these six months, we both made sure to stay close to Kana and Kushina, which led us to become their only friends. Although the two were less violent than Kushina were in the original, probably because they had, not only each other, but also me and Minato as friends, they were still bullied a lot in the academy.


    It was never stated in the original, when it happened, but Kana and Kushina were tricked by our classmate, nonetheless. Since I already knew why, I called out to Minato, and we followed them, only to see our classmates chunin brother and his friend, who I ?ssume was brought since there were two Uzumaki, getting absolutely destroyed by Kana and Kushina. Despite having chased after them and also having been friends with them, they still got mad at us, and stayed away from us for a whole week.


    Outside the academy, I also had major improvements, mainly because I learn the multiple shadow clone jutsu, but also because of my hard training. Currently I am able to create twenty clones, which were then split into five groups. I had created an extra group, not long after I learnt the technique, mainly because of the discoveries Minato and I made in the Namikaze clan compound.


    Surprisingly enough, our clan''s relationship with Tobirama was closer than I thought, as it turned out he actually lived there instead of the Senju compound, as one might have thought. This though left us a giant gift¡­ Tobirama, despite his attitude and intellect, was a total sloth when it comes to organizing his personal space. Scrolls and notes were littered all over the place and going through them we managed to find some of his notes on the flying thunder god technique.


    Unfortunately, the finished technique formula wasn''t there, which is why I had my fifth group of clones work on it. I was also quite lucky, as the clan''s jutsu vault contained both the regular shadow clone technique, as well as the multiple version, which allowed me to use it without hiding. Of course, as soon as Hiruzen found out, he gave both of us a giant scolding, ranting about how dangerous the technique was and told us to be careful when using it. Still, because of the complexity of the flying thunder god technique, despite functioning on a few simple principles, we had made little progress as of yet, but the research speed was only increasing, due to us being able to create more and more clones.


    Back in my apartment, I had woken up late. I think I finally understand why Naruto always slept so much, it was the multiple shadow clone technique''s fault, since it made the user infinitely more tired with the number of clones created. When I had finally managed to get out of bed and eat breakfast, I looked at the clock, only to see that I had little time left before meeting with Hiruzen and our potential senseis. I hurriedly put on my ninja gear and stormed towards the hokages office.


    During our time with Mito, I had perfected my original seals after reaching level 2 master seal user, so I could now carry copious amounts of chakra metal dust for my techniques¡­ though I will admit the clan''s treasury could have looked better, ha ha¡­ Anyway, I had become way better at using my magnet release, discovering that I could control the dust with a single, one-handed hand sign or by having physical contact with the dust, which included my seal filled weapon handle¡­ The third method was an attempt to allow me to do both taijutsu while also controlling the dust, which ended up creating a waterbending like dance, as I found out those moves made it easier to control the dust in a fashion similar to Gaara''s sand, though it was difficult combining it with actual taijutsu, so it was still unfinished, waiting for my sensei to, hopefully be able to help me¡­


    As I reached the hokage building, I ran right through the lobby and into Hiruzen''s office, only to see four familiar people in there¡­ Two of them were part of the three jonin I had correctly ?ssumed to be our potential senseis. They were standing besides Hiruzen, and I noted that Minato was already in the room. Although I already knew their identities, I decided to keep quiet until Hiruzen officially introduced us.


    "I see that all parties have arrived¡­ Now, these two jonin besides me will be your new senseis, that is if you can complete their tests. Now, the one on my left is one of my own students, Jiraiya the toad sage, who will be training you, Minato-kun" ¨C Hiruzen


    "So, this is my student¡­ They must be quite talented for you to allow them to graduate so young, ehh sensei, why couldn''t you have given me a cute girl instead¡­" ¨C Jiraiya


    *Sigh* "They are indeed talented, bordering close to high chunin in skill, but please don''t teach Minato-kun your perverted habits" - Hiruzen


    "I promise nothing, hehehe" - Jiraiya


    "Back on topic, the one on my right, Konoha''s white fang, Sakumo Hatake, will be training Yoshio-kun. I have decided to arrange it this way, since you are training in the art of kenjutsu, of which Sakumo is the best in Konoha, and because he specializes in lightning release, which will sync greatly with your magnet release" - Hiruzen


    "Hallo Yoshio-kun, I''m happy to have you as my student and comrade" ¨C Sakumo


    "Likewise, Sakumo-sensei" ¨C Me


    "Since you have been introduced, let us head to training ground one, where we will conduct your genin test. Since I already know you are capable, the test has been changed into a spar between you two, so that you senseis can see your skills, and decide if you are worth teaching" ¨C Hiruzen


    Training ground one was the hokage''s personal training ground, so it was the closest one to the hokage tower, thus not making us travel very far. On the way, Minato and I glance at each other, instantly knowing the other''s thoughts, which were to give it our all, and show how good we were, without holding back.


    Arriving on the training ground, we stood opposite each other. Hiruzen had stepped in between us, and it was apparent he was going to be the judge. Jiraiya and Sakumo was standing to the side a good distance away, but still close enough to clearly see what we''d do, while Hiruzen explained the rules.


    "Boys, this is a friendly spar, so try not to hurt each other too much. I expect you to give it you all, and know at I, as well as Jiraiya and Sakumo, stand ready to intervene if things get out of hand¡­ Do you understand?" - Hiruzen


    "Hai!" ¨C Me and Minato


    "Good then, let the spar begin, HAJIME!" ¨C Hiruzen


    Making the confrontation hand sign to Minato, with him returning it, as soon as the word has been said, I instantly run towards Minato, with him doing the same, quickly closing the distance between us. The first thing I noted, was that even though my main body had focused on physical training these last six months, Minato were still faster than me. I don''t know how he did it, but it made me slightly annoyed, that despite my efforts, he still managed to out-speed me.


    Within ten seconds, we clashed in the middle, kunai against chakra metal sword, marking the beginning of our spar¡­

 Chapter 13 - The spar

    {AN: So, I found out writing battles with the writing style I''ve used until now. Thus, I will try this new style for this chapter, and after I post is, I will comment two comments, one saying; "new style" and one saying; "old style", so please upvote the comment with the style you like better. Anyway, I have seen this style used in other fanfics, and I think it makes the story more fluid.


    Anyway, here''s how it works:


    "Normal talk"


    ''Thought''


    *Tailed-beasts and the like talk*


    ~Tailed-beasts and the like thought~


    Also, updates might be slow for a while, since I''m entering exam season (?¦à?)


    }


    After colliding weapons with Minato, I quickly created some distance between us. I smirked, as I saw Minato take out some kunai, not even realizing what I did¡­


    ''Whenever I throw some kunai, that I have attached my chakra to, they will immediately turn towards Minato, good try but I win this exchange!''


    I had taken some inspiration from the recently deceased Toroi, in that, as soon as our weapons touched, I magnetized Minato''s entire body, which would make any metal with my chakra signature attached become homing, whenever they were close to him.


    Minato threw his kunai, quickly starting the hand signs for his jutsu. "Shadow kunai jutsu!". The kunai he had thrown, split into two, which then once again split, creating a solid wall of kunai, that would be impossible to dodge¡­


    Thinking fast, my mind came upon the picture of Pain''s deva path using the universal push in three hundred and sixty degrees, making any throwing weapon be repelled from him. I had been playing with this idea before, but I was never able to make it work¡­


    As if given a revelation from God, I remembered the technique I just used on Minato¡­ making a mental facepalm towards my stupidity


    ''It''s just like in my old world, where you would have to align the micro-magnets in the iron before it becomes magnetic. Here my chakra is the equivalent to the micro magnets, so if I pulse a magnetic field with my chakra, it will attach to the weapon, allowing me to repel them towards Minato, and use his own weapons against him''


    "Magnet style: dual wave pulse magnetic repulsion mark one"


    I sent out two quick pulses, the first to magnetize the iron, and the other to repel them. Just as planned, some of the kunai got repulsed, homing in on Minato, who was quickly replaced by a log, revealing that had used the replacement technique to get out of range.


    Unfortunately for me, most of the kunai, about three fourths, continued their path towards me¡­


    ''Shit, why didn''t it work, ohh wait, those must be the shadow kunai, which is made up of Minato''s chakra, that probably overwhelmed my chakra, making my jutsu fail¡­ now I just have to block these kunai first''


    ''Where is he now?''


    I looked around me, not daring to relax, since I knew that Minato could launch a surprise attack any time, keeping up the hand sign, so I would be able to react in time.


    I slowly shifted my position towards an opening in the trees in the training ground, hoping it would give me more time to reach to the oncoming attack.


    ''If I get to the middle, it should be far enough away, so he won''t be able to use the substitution technique''


    I smirked slightly at my thought, momentarily shifting my attention, which Minato captivated on.


    "Wind style: great breakthrough"


    Hearing the shout coming from about seven o''clock, I used the dust around me to create a wall, while also changing my weapon to the weapon I was most familiar with, the staff. When the wall lowered, Minato once again was nowhere to be seen.


    ''He is relying on guerrilla tactics, now I just have to find a way to lure him out and get close¡­ creating some shadow clones would help''


    I once again waited for Minato to attack, this time, it was a wall of fire coming in from my right, once again blocking it with a wall, though this time I created a shadow clone, thinking of using the strategy Naruto used against Neji in the chunin exams. Luckily, I had one of my trusty presence suppression absolute stealth seal mark one''s around, which I combined with the earth release: hiding like a mole technique, making it impossible for Minato to tell that I went underground, since his line of sight also was blocked by the wall.


    Underground, I focused on following Minato''s movements, while he continued to try to sneak attack my clone, only for it to result in more walls.


    ''Now I just need to wait for the perfect moment, where I can hopefully surprise him, and force him into a melee battle, where I should be superior''


    The moment Minato stopped for a quick breather, I attacked from below, successfully catching him of guard, and managing to knock him into the air. Following up with a kick to his midsection, I knocked him in the direction of my clone, which had taken out some chakra suppression seals, placing them on metal plates crafted from the dust, getting ready to catch him in the formation.


    ''This should be check mate. he should have no way to alter his direction or escaping the technique''


    Seeing my clone almost done with the formation, was about to lower my guard, but was brought back to reality by a kunai coming my way. I managed to dodge to the side, focusing my eyes back on Minato.


    He had rotated in the air, so that he was facing me, but the think that made me really alert, was that I saw him smile at me.


    ''Why is he smili¡­ What the!''


    Minato suddenly disappeared, with a kunai appearing in his place¡­ I instantly knew what he had done, but it was hard to believe he already had this kind of teleportation, even before he learned the flying thunder god technique.


    ''He switched place with a kunai, how did he do it?''


    This time it wasn''t only me that thought this, but also the three spectators having these thoughts.


    ''I need to end this soon, otherwise I will just get exhausted, as I''m using chakra faster than him''


    I made a quick one-eighty turn and ducked just in time to avoid a punch to the face.


    ''At least this is a melee battle now, I should be able to win this''


    Having ducked, I did a leg sweep with my staff, but he was able to avoid it with a back handspring, but I soon followed with combo consisting of a jab towards his stomach, which he avoid by sidestepping, spun around to make a blow towards his head, once again being dodged by ducking, following through and using the momentum to do a roundhouse kick at his lowered head, missing, as he took a step back, which threw him off balance.


    I ended the combo with another jab, extending the length of my staff, hitting him in the ?h?st and pinning him onto the nearest tree.


    ''Hiruzen should intervene any second now''


    I though, while simultaneously preparing to seal Minato''s chakra.


    "That''s enough boys, no need for more fighting, you have both proved your worth, and will be promoted to genin"


    Sure enough Hiruzen intervened. I quickly stopped my seal, and sent him a smile.

 Chapter 14 - Training ground and chakra nature test

    {As a reminder, here''s how it works:


    "Normal talk"


    ''Thought''


    *Tailed-beasts and the like talk*


    ~Tailed-beasts and the like thought~


    }


    Soon after Hiruzen came over, Jiraiya and Sakumo soon followed.


    ''Surely, they passed the test, my cute little disciple really did some work¡­ He thought outside the box and prepared an ambush on Minato-kun, even when his opponent pulled out a surprising technique, he was still calm enough to react in time''


    Sakumo was looking at him with a stern gaze, analyzing him in his mind, while thinking about how to teach him.


    ''sigh, I can''t plan fully yet, as I don''t know all his chakra natures, but because magnet style is the combination of wind release and earth release, it should be safe too ?ssume he can use those¡­ earth release is definitely a yes, as proved by the earth release: hiding like a mole technique, but I have no idea how proficient he is with either of them, I should test him as soon as possible''


    Although his soon to be pupil lost, Jiraiya was no less impressed with Minato, than Sakumo was with Yoshio. You could almost smell the anticipation from the teachers, but they were soon interrupted by Hiruzen clearing his throat, snapping them out of their daze.


    "Minato-kun, Yoshio-kun, you both have passed this test splendidly, exceeding not only the requirements to become genin, but also broke my ?ssessment of your abilities, which are clearly beyond genin¡­ you have therefore passed the test, and will from now on be considered ?du?ts and ninja of Konohagakure¡­"


    "Thank you hokage-sama!"


    Both Minato and I shouted at Hiruzen, and while we might have expected it and looked forward to it with anticipation for six months, it was still something else to actually achieve it.


    "While I have already accepted you, it is not me who makes the decision, if Jiraiya-san and Sakumo-san wants to take you on as their disciples, but guessing from their expressions, they will probably accept you"


    Hiruzen chuckled after the last sentence, probably because of Jiraiya and Sakumo still being deep in thought, only realizing shortly after, that it was their turn to speak.


    "You bet, how could I, the legendary toad sage of mount Myoboku, let such talent go to waste¡­ he might not be a cute girl, but I''ll take him!"


    "sigh, Jiraiya-san, you never stop thinking about girls huh, how is it going with Tsunade by the way, I heard she got a boyfriend¡­ what was his name again? Dan Kato, right?"


    "Urgh"


    "Haha, you are so easy Jiraiya¡­ anyway, back on topic, of course I will also accept Yoshio-kun as my apprentice, if he is willing that is"


    "Of course, I''m willing, Sakumo-sensei"


    I quickly answered back, even though I was still surprised by their interaction earlier.


    ''I never knew Jiraiya and Sakumo were familiar with each other to this point, though, it is good to know Dan isn''t dead yet, since Tsunade might be valuable later, if she doesn''t develop hemophobia¡­ Dan should be the main cause of it, but she only got mentally broken after Nawaki''s death, and since I have become friends with him, I don''t want to just let him die''


    "Good, you both accepted"


    Hiruzen took a deep breath and puffed his pipe.


    "Although I would like if you had more time, we are still at war and you two are some of the most important jonin in the village, so I can give you a month in the village to train you apprentices at most, before you are expected to be back on the frontlines"


    "Hai! That is understandable hokage-sama, since time is scarce, I would like to begin as soon as possible"


    Sakumo turned his head towards me, before he continued speaking.


    "Yoshio-kun, you look like you aren''t too exhausted, as such, we will begin training in one hour at training ground five, I have to get some stuff first, so use this time to relax a bit, ja ne"


    As soon as he was done talking, Sakumo left the training field in a spiral of leaves.


    ''I have heard many things from the villagers about him, but he behaves an awful lot like Kakashi did¡­ minus being lazy and late¡­''


    "Minato! I can''t let you fall behind your brother, so we too will start our training in an hour, just meet me at the hot springs"


    After my quick meal, I was of towards training ground five, to meet with Sakumo for my first lesson.


    ''This place looks¡­ shady at best, why would Sakumo pick this place as our meeting place?''


    Training ground five was one of the larger training grounds, only being smaller than the infamous training ground 44, known as the forest of death, as well as some of the clan owned ones¡­


    "Yo!"


    ''HOLY MOTHER OF BULLSHIT!''


    I quickly turned around towards the sound, while I simultaneously released all the dust in my seal.


    ''He managed to sneak up on me, one of the best sensors in the village after Mito¡­ that proves his strength. I don''t recognize his chakra signature, so I better get ready for an all-out fight, if this goes south, I should find a way to contact Hiruzen, informing him of the breach, someone at this level is out of my league! Huh¡­''


    "Chill, my cute apprentice, no need to go all defensive on me, but I guess this is good, I wanted to test what you would do, in the case of a surprise ambush by a stronger opponent, and your reaction was pretty quick, even though I managed to sneak up on you¡­"


    ''So, it was just Sakumo¡­ damn, I hope this surprise thing continues, or I might have a heart attack''


    "You seriously scared me Sakumo-sensei, by the way, what happened to this place?"


    I began to retract my dust back into the seal, as I looked around.


    ''This place looks like it just experienced a forest fire, an earthquake and possibly a flood¡­ at the same time''


    The trees around me were black, burned to a crisp and turned into charcoal, the earth was cracked multiple places, with many of the black trees knocked to the ground, furthermore, the cracks in the ground were filled with water, also creating many small lakes in the surroundings.


    "It certainly is a new look, huh. Well it''s fine anyway, we weren''t going to do any hardcore training anyway, the main purpose was this"


    He pulled out what was obviously a chakra nature testing paper¡­


    "Do you know what this is?"


    "Hai sensei, that is chakra nature testing paper, which is used to test the elemental affinity of one''s chakra. When said person channels some chakra into it, it will react by either; crumbling if it''s earth, wrinkle if it''s lightning, split in half if it''s wind, burn if it''s fire or get soggy if it''s water¡­"


    "Good, anything else?"


    "It can do multiple at once, with the size of the sections affected, showing which has the higher affinity, and will sometime react differently if an elemental kekkei genkai is involved, such as my magnet release"


    "Good, very good, now take this and channel some chakra into it, I don''t have any idea what your magnet release will do, but let''s try, so we can find out"


    I took the piece of paper from Sakumo''s hand, and channeled some chakra into it, which lead to a reaction shortly after. Out of surprise from the intense and spontaneous reaction, I let got of the paper, only to be even more shocked¡­


    ''???''


    Both of us was looking at the paper, unable to fully comprehend the papers reaction¡­


    "Is it supposed to do that sensei?"


    "Probably not, I have never seen something like this before"


    We both kept our eyes on the paper, our brains having short-circuited, and when I finally overcame the shock, I only had one thought on my mind¡­


    ''This is going to be a mess''

 Chapter 15 - Unnatural affinity and mission

    {Holy fu?k guys, you REALLY want it to be a smiley face xD


    Anyway, I''m going to paste the following once more :D


    "Normal talk"


    ''Thought''


    *Tailed-beasts and the like talk*


    ~Tailed-beasts and the like thought~


    }


    In front of us, the chakra paper finally dropped to the ground, signifying that it lost the last trace of the chakra I put in.


    "So¡­ are we calling the hokage again?"


    "Yeah, that is probably the right thing to do, I will go there now, I''ll be back in a minute"


    With that Sakumo flashed away with a body flicker, and I was left alone to try and comprehend as much as I could about the phenomenon created by the chakra paper.


    ''Starting from the easiest. The chakra paper split the paper one third of the way in form the side. The split was quite thick, so I should have a strong wind affinity''


    That much was not very surprising, considering it was Minato''s main affinity.


    ''In the data books stated that Minato''s affinities were; wind, lightning, fire, yin and yang. The split is wind, and the large piece wrinkled, while the small piece crumbled into dust, signifying the lightning and earth elements''


    Lightning was quite the lucky second affinity, as it would allow for combination techniques.


    With those three, the similarities with normal behavior ended. The easiest to explain of those that were left, would be the markings like those on Shukaku''s body.


    ''Those markings look like those on Naruto''s magnet release rasengan, so they are probably from my magnet release, though, it seems they have some sort of connection with seals¡­ I should probably research that when I got time. Now, the next thing to explain, was how it did that¡­''


    He wasn''t able to get much further than that, as Sakumo returned with two people in tow.


    "I''m back Yoshio-kun and I brought the requested company"


    One was obviously Hiruzen, as the whole reason he left was to bring him¡­


    ''I wonder if how Hiruzen has time for being dragged around¡­ with the amount of paperwork the other kage''s had to deal with in peacetime, I can only imagine it would be worse in wartime¡­''


    "Hallo again Yoshio-kun, I heard you''ve done something quite amazing once again, sigh, you and your brother never seem to stop surprising everyone with your ideas and actions¡­ I wonder what''s next, at this point I would almost believe it to be natural if you randomly unlocked a dojutsu¡­"


    I almost choked on my saliva from the comment, why did it have to be that example¡­


    "Anyway, Yoshio-kun, I have a suspicion of what is going on, so I brought a specialist to tell. I would like you to show us in person¡­"


    After that, Sakumo gave me another chakra paper, which I then channeled my chakra into.


    ''I see, once again it did that. I think I might know the specialist Hiruzen brought with him, but I can''t quite remember from where. He has long light blue hair, green-ish eyes, and a slightly square face¡­''


    "Hokage-sama, is that, but how, I should be the only one, are we related, who is this?"


    This time it was the specialist who spoke.


    "It is as you see Dan, this is also the reason I brought you with me¡­ As far as I know, he isn''t related to you at all, so this result is quite surprising¡­"


    Hearing the name, I finally connected who the shocked specialist was.


    ''I should have seen that coming, it totally makes sense¡­''


    The chakra paper floated in the air, but that was not the part that shocked Dan, no, what really shocked him was the ghostly image floating above the chakra paper, which was very reminiscent of his late to be discovered talent in spirit and soul related techniques. That''s right, he was none other than Dan Kato, the first and last user of the spirit transformation technique.


    Although there was still unexplained thing about his chakra paper, Dan seemed to be thoroughly drawn towards the ghostly image, even going up to touch it, though his hand passed right through the image, only slightly distorting it.


    "Hokage-sama, I will ask for permission to use my technique to see if this really is in the spirit realm"


    "Permission granted"


    From there, Dan''s body went limp, and was caught by Sakumo, while a ghostly version of Dan exited his body, quickly going to the chakra paper, grabbing the ghostly image above it successfully.


    "It''s true, it really is the spirit realm¡­ I thought it might have been a kekkei genkai, but it seems I was just an affinity¡­ I never did use chakra paper after discovering it"


    "Well, Sakumo, that confirms that. Most of the other stuff we have records of, so it isn''t really as surprising. The floating is a trait from the space-time affinity of the Namikaze clan, while the main interaction signifies wind, lightning and earth affinity. We have just confirmed the spirit thing, which leaves only those strange markings"


    ''So, the floating was from space-time affinity¡­ I wonder, did Minato''s paper also float? I better tell them about the markings, but how should I do it?''


    "Hokage-sama, I might have an idea. Those marking should be because of my magnet release. I can sense the changes in the magnetic field around them, but they seem to have a connection with sealing techniques"


    "So that''s the case, huh. Well that works out perfectly. Mito recently requested aid from Uzushiogakure. As it is of great importance, I marked it as an A-rank mission¡­ If your markings do have something to do with sealing, there is no better place to find out than Uzu, so I will have you go along with this mission, Yoshio-kun"


    ''I''m going to Uzu before it is destroyed¡­ THIS IS AWESOME! Just think about all the lost knowledge and techniques, if I could gain some of them, I would become much stronger¡­ I might also be able to warn them about the invasion. I''m honestly surprised it hasn''t happened yet¡­''


    "I WILL GO!!"


    I jumped in Hiruzen''s face, to give him a hug, this might be the best graduation gift ever.


    Hiruzen looked towards Sakumo before talking.


    "I guess this mission will go to you. I know you were supposed to have a month more in the village, before joining the war again, but at least this shouldn''t be a combat mission, so I hope you will still take it"


    This time Sakumo looked towards me, as I hyperactively nodded my head over and over again.


    "sigh, I guess I have no choice, since my apprentice seems so excited"


    "That is good then¡­"


    This time Hiruzen turned towards Dan.


    "Dan, due to this unexpected development, I will pull you from your mission tomorrow. Instead I want you to join Sakumo in training young Yoshio-kun, I hope you don''t mind"


    He did a few gestures with his hand, upon which I noticed one of the ANBU leave¡­


    ''I really have to learn the ANBU communication sign language''


    "I don''t mind Hokage-sama, I''m excited, that I finally will have someone to teach my techniques to"


    "Good, then from tomorrow you will start training him for the next week. Sakumo, the mission I scheduled for next week, so make sure Yoshio-kun is prepared to make the journey"


    "So, Dan-sensei, Sakumo-sensei, when do we start?"

 Chapter 16 - Journeying to Uzu

    Following that day, as expected, it was a whole week full of training. I learned surprisingly little during the week, mostly because Sakumo and Dan said they didn''t want to start on some of the advanced training, until I perfected the use of what I already know.


    During the week, I also tried prying into Dan''s mission, and surprisingly learned, that the mission he would have gone on, if not for being reassigned to me, could, in fact be the one that lead to his death, considering it was a solo infiltration mission, where Tsunade would have been sent with the backup team. What made me all the more certain, was that the very day after my genin test, Dan showed up to training, wearing the infamously cursed necklace of the first hokage.


    I was told, that although he had to train me, the day Sakumo and I would leave for Uzu, Dan would be required to still go on that infiltration mission, which I, of course, made sure to warn Dan about, in the least suspicious way I could think of. Thankfully he bought it, and even brought me to help him pack for the mission the day before, calling it something like a lesson on "Optimal preparation for infiltration operations in hostile territory¡­" Sakumo had also tagged along to make sure I had the required equipment for our journey the next day.


    I woke up earlier than usual, in order to get my morning training in, before I would be meeting up for the departure at the gates. We were originally supposed to stay in Uzu for about a week''s worth of time, but in light of the revelations from my affinity test, our stay would be extended to one month.


    To be honest, I was a little scared of going, since I had recently heard that Iwa, Kumo and Kiri, had pulled a lot of ninja staff from their respective borders, which I could only interpret as preparation for their invasion of Uzu¡­ Thus, I made sure to bring everything in abundance. I even brought my sketch of Minato and I''s unfinished Flying Thunder God seal, so that I could work on it during the journey.


    As I finished my breakfast, my clones finished putting up the final lockdown seals, so that no one could get into my room, after which I left the Namikaze compound, walking towards the gates. Unfortunately, since Minato was still in the village, and still would be while I was away, I couldn''t activate the compound security seal for extra protection, but I guess it''s fine, since only Mito, Minato and I, would be able to break my lockdown seals.


    As I approached the gates, I noticed Sakumo already being there, talking to Dan, who was also just about to leave. As such I decided to call out for them.


    "Hallo, Sakumo-sensei, Dan-sensei"


    "Ah finally here Yoshio-kun, I almost thought I would have to wait, you''re just on time."


    It was Sakumo who replied, while Dan just waved at me.


    ''It would seem, that unlike a certain white-haired descendant, Sakumo actually cares to be on time, huh¡­''


    "Dan-sensei, are you about to leave? Be sure to be careful not to get hurt alright."


    "Ha ha, like I would allow myself to get hurt, when I just accepted a student. Don''t expect me to kick the bucket before I teach you anything Yoshio-kun"


    "¡­ The kid is right Dan, don''t do anything stupid while on the mission¡­ Also, be extra careful, now that you have that necklace, I heard rumors, that only the firstborn Senju can wear it without getting into accidents"


    ''Huh? That''s weird, the necklace isn''t supposed to be seen as cursed before both Dan and Nawaki dies wearing it¡­ how come Sakumo knows about it?''


    "That is just superstition Sakumo-san, anyway, I got to leave now, see you when you return, you too Yoshio-kun"


    With that remark, Dan ran out the gates, leaving just me and Sakumo to sigh at his happy-go-lucky attitude.


    "I already checked out, so we better get going as well"


    It was quite uneventful during the journey, surprisingly so, as we only met five groups of bandits and a few pirates, which, although may sound like many, was less than what was expected during wartime¡­ at least that''s what Sakumo told me anyway.


    I used most of my time on the ship to study the Flying Thunder God seal. In the original, Minato decoded it between the second and third war, meaning he had about seven to ten years, three of which were also spent on developing the rasengan, while some of the time was also spent developing the Flying Thunder God mark two, he was known for¡­ Now, we were two working on it constantly, with at least twenty clones each, meaning we had already considerable progress, and was close to fully understanding Tobirama''s original seal.


    As of now, there were only one problem¡­ Unlike the rest of the seal, the main mechanism didn''t use the Uzushiogakure standard sealing script, which was what we had learnt from Mito. It should be said, that this wasn''t the script most Uzumaki used, even Kana and Kushina had distanced themselves from this script, delving into the Uzushiogakure advanced script, which was reserved for the Uzumaki clan only.


    Tobirama, apparently inspired by the idea of a more advanced script, decided, that the standard script wasn''t god enough¡­ Instead, he had the GENIUS idea of creating his own script, where he used new symbols, to which he, much to Minato and I''s frustration, decided that any kind of explanation or translation notes were not necessary, meaning only he knew what the symbols meant¡­


    The main mechanism contained twenty-eight different symbols, of which, Minato and I, had decoded twenty-six, due to a breakthrough last month. Unfortunately for us, the last two symbols meaning evaded us, but Hiruzen, displaying why he was known as the professor, gave us the idea to look through old sealing techniques from the warring clans'' era.


    When he told us about it, I face-palmed so hard, I almost gave myself a concussion, since the very first thing Hiruzen taught us about sealing, was where the current script came from¡­ Guess what, the one who created the Uzushiogakure standard script, was none other than the current Uzumaki clan head, who was also the only living God level seals user¡­


    He did this about two and a half years before the last Senju-Uchiha war started, meaning that the script was brand new and not very widespread at the time when Tobirama created the technique. He had later improved upon it, but the core was still from his own script, which we found out, was heavily influenced by various sealing styles from before the Uzushiogakure standard script¡­ hell, we even found instructions for the sealing style, from which twelve of the symbols was copied from.


    This led to what I was doing on the ship¡­ Looking over documents for different sealing styles. I had brought a lot of documents with me on the journey, for just this purpose, and I finally, three fourths through my stack of documents, found a document called; "The intricate art of sealing" by Aku Shiru from the land of demons¡­


    Unfortunately, it was right before we docked, so I had to leave it for later. In the harbor, we were met with a red headed guide, who checked our papers before leading us to the village, where we then, was left standing before a huge, Konoha style gate, with the Uzumaki logo on it instead¡­


    That''s were we are now, just outside the main gate of Uzushiogakure. I was so excited to see the great village during its glory days, I could only think of the all the culture that laid beyond this very gate, leaving me with stars in my eyes, as the huge doors started to pry open¡­

 Chapter 17 - Uzushiogakure

    Behind the door, we were greeted to the sight of a bustling village. Unlike Konoha, Uzu was made in a more systematic way, with tall buildings in the center, and progressively smaller buildings near the edge. From the center, eight wide straight roads led to the edge of the city, creating a spiderweb of roads, drawing concentric circles with the smaller bent roads connecting to the eight main ones.


    The main roads were filled to the brim with people, mostly redheads, about forty percent, followed by some with dark purple hair lastly some with white hair, much like Sakumo, but a shade darker. I could guess, since the number outweighed everyone else, that these three were the main clans, one of which, of course, was the Uzumaki. Other than that, everyone else looked normal, probably mostly civilians, since they seemed to be the ones who ran the stalls and shops along the main road.


    "Wow"


    I couldn''t hold in my opinion of the overwhelmingly beautiful sight before me.


    "Wow indeed, I was like that the first time I visited too, it''s so different from Konoha, it really gives of a foreign feeling"


    Unlike my amazement, Sakumo was more composed, though that didn''t stop our guide from letting out some small giggles towards my attitude.


    "Welcome to Uzushiogakure, I hope you enjoy your stay, just make sure not to make any trouble, our we will be forced to¡­ fix your attitude, ok?"


    ''Ok¡­ quite passive-aggressive, true to the Uzumaki attitude I see''


    "Sure miss, we will be careful not to make any trouble¡­ now, if you would excuse us, my apprentice and I have an errand with the Uzumaki clan head"


    After saying that, Sakumo began to walk into the city, only for the lady to stop him moments after¡­


    "I''m afraid I can''t allow you to go alone for security reasons. Although your papers check out, the village is a little tense right now, since we caught a few spies some time ago"


    ''Spies you say? I think the attack on Uzu is coming soon, hell it might even be while we are here, though I already knew that was a possibility, this almost confirms it''


    "Ah ok miss, I''m sure my apprentice would have a few questions for you, it is, after all, his first time in the village"


    With that, Sakumo continued on his way to the village, whit me and the redhead following closely behind.


    ''Sakumo has given me an excuse to gather some information, let''s see how loose-lipped this woman is, she leaked the information of the spy earlier, so I can probably get some more out of her, but I got to ease into it first''


    "Uhm, miss Uzumaki, can you tell me a bit about the clans in the village? Although we are allies, Konoha''s library has surprisingly little about the inhabitants of Uzushiogakure, so I know little about it outside its specialization in sealing and kenjutsu"


    She smiled at me, but from her eyes, you could tell she was contemplating on what to tall me, perhaps rather what she was allowed to tell me¡­


    ''So, she is careful, maybe she slipped up earlier when she told us about the spy''


    "Well, for starters, you should know this village was build by and is governed by the Uzumaki clan. They make up about fifty-five percent of the villagers, with the Suisho and Kusushi as subordinate clans. The two clans were originally branch families of the Uzumaki clan, but through some mutations of the original Uzumaki abilities, they gained their now trademark abilities"


    ''Suisho and Kusushi¡­ what could these trademark abilities be? Judging from their names, I can at least guess what the Kusushi clan''s specialization is, but what''s with the Suisho clan?''


    "Uhm, the Suisho clan and Kusushi clan, what''s special about them? You said they had mutated forms of the Uzumaki clan''s abilities, but how?"


    "hmm, the Kusushi clan is the youngest of the two. A mutation happened in their progenitor giving him an enhanced version of the Uzumaki natural healing, which also gave him the ability to direct it to others, even outside the clan, and healing them. This great power came at the cost of the ability to manifest his chakra like the sealing chains, and he, unlike any other in the clan, had white hair from birth. Also, when he used his ability on others, they would have to bite him, leaving a permanent teeth mark¡­"


    ''That seems like the ability Karin has, but as far as I know, she was an Uzumaki, and had red hair, so how come it was the ability of the Kusushi clan?''


    "¡­Currently there is an experiment to see how the ability interacts with the Uzumaki genes, and the first hybrid was born four years ago, so it''s still too early to tell"


    ''ahh, that would explain it, that hybrid is probably Karin''s mother, but since she was half Kusushi, it explains why Karins sealing chains were so weak¡­ though, I must say, this Uzumaki sure has loose lips, what she just told us should at least be classified information¡­''


    "Now the Suisho clan is opposite the Kusushi clan in abilities. Their progenitor was a half-blood Uzumaki, whose mother was from the Yuki clan. Due to the interaction of the Uzumaki chakra manifestation ability and the ice release of the Yuki clan, she was able to produce purple crystals from her chakra, which matched her hair color, which was a mix of the Uzumaki red and the deep blue of the Yuki clan"


    ''Wow, another unexplained ability from the original¡­ Guren was her name right, the one who worked for Orochimaru¡­ guess her ancestors were from Uzu, never would have guessed that, I wonder what other abilities have sprouted from this place...''


    "Other than that, there''s the minor clans such as the Gemini clan, the Seijin clan and Toraiamudo clan, which each has the ability to, ohh, were here, guess the explanation will have to wait, I''m sure it not a good idea to let the clan head wait"


    ''hmm, this is the front of the Uzumaki main family compound, quite pretentious¡­''


    We had made it close to the center of the village, standing before a mansion which was inhabited by the main family of the Uzumaki clan¡­


    ''Kushina''s parents, siblings and other close relatives lives in there, I''m getting nervous, her grandfather, the clan head, is the best sealer on the planet, and it''s almost like I''m meeting my parents in law¡­ well hopefully they will be later¡­''


    With that, I turned my head towards Sakumo, as the guards at the estate opened the front gate after seeing our papers. Sakumo nodded just before walking inside¡­


    ''Well, here we go!''

 Chapter 18 - The Sealing God

    The inside was modeled in a classic Japanese style, with a hint of Chinese temples. Beyond the walls, the first thing one entered were the gardens surrounding a smaller house, which supposedly was the main residence. On the path towards the house, they even had lookalike torii gates, which really mixed up the style from many of the religions present my old world, though it was a pretty nice atmosphere, given all the plants and trees between and around the walkways.


    One of the guards guided us though the large garden and into the residence, which had most of its walls decorated with pictures of what one could only ?ssume to be the ancestors of the main family. I even saw a picture depicting a younger Mito, together with a slightly older boy, standing in front of a male and female pair, which were obviously their parents.


    ''I never knew Mito had a sibling, but I guess even the Uzumaki clan wouldn''t marry their heir outside the village, meaning that boy is her brother¡­ can''t hurt to ask''


    "Sir guard, I noticed one of the pictures on the wall depicted lady Mito Uzumaki, whom married our first hokage, but unfortunately I fail to recognize who the boy in the picture is, would you help enlighten me?"


    "Hmm, such a polite young man. That my boy, is the current head of the Uzumaki clan, the only known God level seal user in the world; Sukiru Uzumaki-sama"


    ''Wow, why didn''t Mito tell us about her brother, which is THE Sealing God¡­ Well to be fair neither Kana nor Kushina told us he was their grandfather, so I guess they are just as guilty''


    The guard had a visible smirk, when he saw my astonished reaction to the news, after which I promptly asked more about the main family, or rather just about Kushina''s parents and her siblings, which were almost confirmed she had, since it was already established that the Uzumaki clan wouldn''t send their heir to Konoha¡­


    "The current heir is Sukiru-sama''s first second born son; Daiki Uzumaki-sama, since his oldest died in a skirmish during the First Ninja War, not even leaving behind children to take on the position. Together with his wife, Daiki-sama has three children; his oldest son Kazu-sama, and his daughter Kushina-sama and the youngest, Kamin-sama"


    "I know of Kushina-sama and also her cousin Kana-sama, as I shared classroom with the two, they even give me pointers with my sealing techniques once in a while"


    I had seen we were approaching a set of exquisite double doors, which I ?ssumed signified that the clan head was inside¡­ ''I made sure to say that sentence loudly, hopefully they heard it behind the doors and got a good impression, because, as they say, first impressions matter''


    I had already confirmed my previous suspicion, as I could sense four chakra signatures behind the door, and judging by chakra levels, two roughly mid jonin level signatures, presumably guards, a kage level signature and a massive signature beyond kage level, though I could tell it had been larger, signifying it to belong to an aged person.


    ''An aged person indeed¡­''


    As the doors were open, we were greeted with the sight of a man at about Sakumo''s age arguing with an aged man.


    The guard conveniently revealing their identities to us¡­


    ''So that is the Sealing God, who earned his title like Hiruzen, by being unmatched in his field, and the man in front, Daiki, is Kushina''s father¡­ This is a rather unexpected meeting and¡­ earlier than I had hoped¡­''


    Thankfully Sakumo quickly spoke up, since he was higher rank, and I was currently viewing Daiki like a hungry lion watching a giant beef¡­ minus the mouthwatering¡­


    "Indeed, it is so, Sukiru-sama, though we aren''t exactly here on hokage-sama''s request but rather by lady Mito''s. But before we get down to business, allow us to introduce ourselves. I am Sakumo Hatake, also known as the white fang of the leaf, while this kid is Yoshio Namikaze, my apprentice and current head of the Namikaze clan"


    ''Urg, Sakumo. You really didn''t have to remind me of that, besides I''m sure Minato was cheating somehow¡­''


    Although my thoughts were betraying my polite and m?tur? image, at least I was able to hide it¡­


    "Hallo, Sukiru-sama, Daiki-sama, Mito-sensei has told me a lot about you"


    I did a quick bow.


    "hoho, when did little sister Mito take on students? I can only ?ssume it is in the art of sealing, since I can''t imagine her teaching anything else, maybe trap making?"


    I nodded at him.


    "Mito-sensei did indeed teach me and my brother sealing, and we have both reached level two seal master under her tutelage. She is currently having us research the sealing styles which came before the Uzushiogakure standard style, since she isn''t allowed to teach use the Uzushiogakure advanced style¡­"


    "Hmm, that is an interesting idea, I myself drew inspiration from lots of different styles while creating the Uzushiogakure standard style, if I remember correctly, we still have the books about them in the main family library, why don''t Daiki here show you the way, to see if our collection can be of help?"


    "Hai, Otou-sama, come young Yoshio-san, let''s get going and leave your sensei to do business with my father, ok?"


    "I would love to, Daiki-sama"


    ''Even though I lied about the reason for researching old sealing styles, I guess this works out. Even though I''m pretty sure I already found the right book, it can''t hurt to know some more right?''


    Leaving the room, we walked down the hallways in awkward silence, so I decided to stir up a conversation.


    "Uhm, Daiki-sam¡­"


    ''Urgg this is Kushina''s father, possibly my future father-in-law, I''m so nervous''


    "Uhm ok, Daiki-san, I wanted to ask, you are Kushina-san''s father right, I went to the academy with her, she''s been really nice, Kana-san too"


    ''I just had to butcher that. What kind of conversation starts like that?''


    "Indeed, I am Kushina-chan''s father, are you her friend?"


    He raised an eyebrow while asking the question.


    "Hai, we are friends¡­ I think, though I''m not quite sure where we currently stand"


    I blushed slightly, which Daiki instantly noticed


    ''Fuck you, traitorous cheeks!''


    "Hmm, what are your intentions with my daughter?"


    "Uhm, Kushina is really beautiful and nice, so¡­"


    I took a deep breath


    "¡­ I would like permission to start courting her?"


    Although we aren''t even eight years old yet, marrying age was lower in this world, so it wasn''t uncommon for courting attempts to come early


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    "permission denied. Until you show you are worthy, you will go nowhere near my daughter, is that understood?"


    He sent me a menacing stare¡­


    "Hai, I understand Daiki-sama, but how may I prove my worth?"


    "I won''t allow my daughter to marry a someone unskilled at sealing, nor someone who is too weak to protect her, so how about I give you a little test in sealing while we are at the library? After which you could spar with Kazu-kun? I''m sure he would like to see who would dare to try and court his younger sister, and I ?ssure you he is veeery protective of Kushina-chan¡­"


    ''Kazu huh, I don''t know anything about him, neither his age nor skill level, but for Kushina I will fight through it all. Hopefully I can also hint at the coming invasion. Now that I know Kushina has siblings, I''m sure she would be happy if we at least managed to save them¡­''


    "I accept your request, Daiki-san"


    "Very well, the spar will happen tomorrow, but first the sealing test"


    Having reached agreement, we walked further down the hallways, after which we came to a stop in a large square room with at least a hundred bookcases filled with books


    "This is the library, I will give you thirty minutes to prepare, your time starts now"


    At his words, I jumped into the library, quickly locating the section on old sealing styles, taking a lot of unfamiliar books, also creating ten shadow clones to help me read faster¡­


    ''Let''s get this show on the road¡­''

 Chapter 19 - Test of knowledge

    AN: (Sorry for the late release, I''ve been functionally brain dead for the last five days due to a headache, but I''m fine now so here''s the chap)


    I was a little surprised when I noticed one of my clones dispel, so I looked at the clock to see that it had dispelled ten minutes into the session, so I quickly went over the memories from the clone to find the cause, and a cause I did find¡­


    ''This is¡­ a book discussing the markings on the one-tailed beast, Shukaku, and its connection to sealing¡­ this book its referencing, where have I seen it before?''


    Suddenly it dawned upon me that the book it was referencing was the very book, where I had found the last symbol from Tobirama''s flying thunder god technique¡­ which I, of course, had forgotten all about after arriving in Uzushiogakure.


    As such, I promptly pulled out the book.


    ''I guess it is fitting that a book from the land of demons talks about one of the nine major demons, but it still doesn''t make sense, this book shows a half complete sealing script from Shukaku symbols, but the rest is substituted with markings like the one used by Tobirama''


    Unknown to me, while I was reading the book and thinking hardly about it, I became so emerged in it that I forgot all about the test¡­


    "And time''s up"


    ''huh''


    "Dispel your clones so I can quiz you"


    "Urg, ok, I guess I got a little to emerged in this book, its just that it is exactly the book I was looking for to complete one of my recent projects, he he"


    Rubbing the back of my head in true Minato style, I gave Daiki a little smile.


    "Well, whatever it is you can study it later, now come here so I can start the test"


    Moving closer to him, I dispelled my clones, halting a step from the near overload of information.


    "You are spacing out again!"


    "Arg, sorry Daiki-sama, I''m ready now"


    "good, lets begin then. Question one; Who invented sealing and for what purpose?"


    "Hmm, the inventor was Sumato Uzumaki, and he did it without a purpose, since it was an accident while he was writing a poem for his lover, and while trying to put his feelings into it, he put chakra into it instead, which caused the paper to explode, since it was a faulty seal"


    "Good, question two, what is sealing?"


    This question I decided to take some time to think about.


    "Hmm, this is a deep question, on the surface, sealing is just calligraphy with chakra in it, which causes it to gain a specific effect, but deep down, it is more like programming, in the sense that the seal maker creates commands and guidelines to direct the flow of chakra in specific way, which is like hand sign, but with a broader alphabet"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "An interesting answer, but I guess you are right, however, this leads onto another question; Since you say sealing is a substitute for hand signs, with the ability to be written down and used instantaneously, what is the equivalent to dropping the number of required hand signs for a specific jutsu, and how does it relate to you answer in question one?"


    "Hmm, since hand signs are more of a guide to direct the chakra inside the body for a specific jutsu, dropping hand signs would be cause by the user being able to direct the chakra without the need for a guide. The closest connection to sealing would be the principle written down by the thirteenth leader of the Uzumaki clan, which states, that a sealing user should strive to simplify the seal as much as possible, since it creates a stronger effect, makes the formula easier to apply, and creates a better basis for teaching others its function"


    "And, anything else?"


    "Well, it also makes it harder to decipher, since simplifying often uses custom symbols or the like, so without an explanation, it would make it virtually impossible for enemies to use it against oneself, if they get their hands on it"


    "excellent, now, question four¡­"


    The test continued for another twenty-one questions, involving anything from theory behind certain symbols and their use, to more hands-on questions like, what happens when you mix some seven different matrices and how one would simplify them without opposites canceling each other out...


    "I guess you answers are acceptable, you certainly have the knowledge of someone worthy of my daughter, but don''t think I will let you go this easily, you also have to spar with Kazu-kun tomorrow, so you better get some rest if you don''t want to go back to Konoha in a million pieces"


    "uhm I will remember that, but before we go back, would you allow me to read some more in the library? I found some interesting books earlier, which might help me in my projects"


    Daiki seemed to be thinking it over a bit.


    "Hai, Daiki-sama" With that another study section began, this time mostly focusing on anything related to Shukaku and space-time. After another two hours, a servant came to fetch them, signifying that Sakumo and Sukiru was done talking. Due to the time they docked, it was getting close to dinner time.


    They were presented to a small feast, which probably would be able to feed at least a few families, but with two Uzumaki present, they were almost able to eat it all¡­ After dinner, Sakumo and I were led to our rooms.


    "So, how was the library, my cute student?"


    "It was alright, if not a little tiring, so I think I will head straight to bed, I have a battle tomorrow after all"


    With that, he went into the bedroom, in order to go straight to bed, not even doing his usual evening practice¡­


    "Battle? I wonder what that''s about¡­ what has my cute student got himself into this time¡­"


    Meanwhile in Konoha:


    "Dan, is this information reliable?"


    "Hai, hokage-sama, they knew I was coming, but was surprised since I left a week later¡­ also, I managed to capture one of them, and due to the circumstances, I was forced to interrogate him on the stop."


    "Yes, said prisoner spilled some beans before he was killed by a silencing seal. He mentioned an employer targeting the Senju and everyone related to them, but I was cut off before I could get a name¡­ but, his last words were; from Konoha"


    "This is very concerning, it seems we have a traitor in our midst, and if the price you told me is anything to go by, it is someone in a high position who hates the Senju¡­ Dan, this is an S-class secret until we know what''s going on, so tell no one, not even Tsunade"


    "But, hokage-sama, she has the right to know, it''s her family that''s getting targeted!"


    "I said no one, for all we know it might be someone within the family trying to gain power, is that understood?"


    "Hai, hokage-sama"


    "Good, dismissed, I have a war to win and a mystery to solve, I will temporarily give the Senju less dangerous missions, sigh, what a mess"

 Chapter 20 - The flying thunder god technique

    Waking up early was essential if he wanted to formulate a plan to take down Kazu, so he did. Sat upon the bed in a meditating position, like he always did in his morning training sessions, had the benefit of clearing the mind, ridding it of anything negative, which, as he had been told multiple times both by Hiruzen and Sakumo, would help come up with better and more thought through plans.


    ''As far as I know, Kazu is a jonin, so a direct confrontation will only lead to an earlier defeat. As such, I should use shadow clones to take the blunt off the attack and possibly wear him down, but with his skill and heritage, it would take too long, and I would be worn down before him''


    Sighting deeply, he let himself fall backwards onto the bed, straightening his legs into a more comfortable position. He''d been meditating for over an hour, trying to come up with anything that would help him win, but so far, the only thing he knew could end well was countering the chakra chains with his dust, but considering that the Uzumaki clan was known for kenjutsu and sealing, it wouldn''t be a stretch to ?ssume Kazu was quite advanced in one, if not both.


    Another sigh escaped his lips, when a long growling sound was heard¡­


    ''Better grab some food, I''ve thinking about this for too long, and not making any progress, perhaps I should distract myself a little, there''s still the invasion to think about, as well as everything I learned yesterday¡­''


    Walking out of his room, he headed to the living room, after asking one of the maids to prepare some food. It didn''t take long before some food was brought, and while he was eating. his mind wandered back to the fight that would be happening later that day, as well as the impending invasion of Uzushiogakure.


    ''THAT''S IT! This will solve everything for the invasion, but I only have about twelve hours till the match in the afternoon, it is not enough time, even if my affinity for space-time ninjutsu is high, which I honestly don''t even know if it is, and using shadow clones, I can only get an accumulative time of ten days, but it would probably take all my energy, so I would lose anyway¡­''


    The idea was simple, so was the answer, but mastering the Flying thunder god technique in under ten days, even if it was only Tobirama''s version, would be hard. That was, of course, not mentioning the process of even being able to use it¡­ The thing that made it tricky, was that the design was multidimensional, in Tobirama''s mark, the first dimension, also known as the surface dimension, was a link and primer, while the second dimension was the actual technique.


    The link was the tricky part, since it was a design unique to the user. In Tobirama''s notes about the technique, it was stated that the link should be a design that represented the user, which his did by being a stylized version of the Senju clan logo, where the logo was cut in the middle and opposing ends met, symbolizing his introvert ideology.


    Minato''s link was instead in the form of four kanji, being; endurance, passion, sword and sage, which symbolized his abilities and personality, from his character traits to his interaction with others.


    (AN: I know these aren''t the original designs, and I also added some extra depth to the technique, but I changed them to fit my future ideas with the jutsu)


    Rushing back into his room, he quickly spread out the notes he brought from Konoha regarding the flying thunder god technique.


    ''The most important part is the link, since I should be able to just copy Tobirama''s design for the actual technique, as well as the primer. The real question is, what represents me best, and how would I display it? Should I use a design like Tobirama, or kanji like Minato¡­ Then again, I was British in my previous life, so maybe kanji won''t work¡­''


    Unsealing some equipment used for sealing, from one of the travel scrolls he brought, as well as creating twenty clones, each trying out different designs that might work. Luckily, the right configuration would resonate with his chakra, or at least that was what Tobirama''s notes said, as it was the reason a flying thunder god user could feel where their marks were.


    ''I can feel it¡­''


    ''Holy shit, I didn''t even notice the time go by, I guess I was really emerged in finding the design, speaking of which¡­''


    since all his clones had dispelled when they found that one of them had found a design that resonated, he was once more alone in the room surrounded by scattered scrolls and paper with many different designs on them.


    He looked down at the design.


    ''Is that Union jack? It has reincarnation written in English in the middle, surrounded by the kanji for wind, earth, lightning, and¡­ knowledge? Huh, I would have bet that the magnet release would have been symbolized some way at least''


    Examining the linking design once more, he tried to recreate it using his chakra, while integrating the primer and the second dimension of the seal. The outcome being a seal that looked no different from the linking design, and unless one was and experienced seal user, it would be impossible to even tell that there was a difference between the two.


    ''With the seal created, and I''ve already triple checked it, that nothing is out of place, I guess the only real thing left is to try it out¡­ I should probably try with a shadow clone first¡­ just to make sure I don''t get turned into minced meat during the teleportation.''


    Even though he had used twenty clones to create the linking seal, over half of what he used returned upon dispelling, at such he created a single clone with half of his current reserves, just in case it needed a lot of chakra, and had it do the first test run. As soon as the clone disappeared, he was suddenly insanely thankful, that the excitement hadn''t blinded his common sense enough to make him try it himself, because boy, that was a nasty way to go¡­


    Other than obliterating the clone, he also noticed that the technique had swallowed about a third of the clone''s reserves, which was about equal to one eighth of his full chakra reserves¡­


    ''That didn''t feel good, but I guess I''ll have to try it over and over until I get it down, hopefully I don''t use too much chakra, otherwise I won''t even be able to walk to the battleground where I have my battle with Kazu.''


    As he headed out the door, he couldn''t help to think about Sakumo.


    ''Strange, I''ve been home all day, and I''m almost certain that I Sakumo didn''t leave, so where is he now? I know we didn''t have any appointments or anything today, so where could he be?''


    What he didn''t know was that a certain silver haired jonin, was out doing something critical for the original storyline¡­

 Chapter 21 - Heir Kazu of the Uzumaki clan

    Even though the match was supposed to be private, it was, for some reason, still held at a public training ground¡­ It might have been because of the size it offered, being at least twice the size of the private training ground for the main family, which was strange, though there wouldn''t be enough space for a training ground of that size in the middle of the village.


    That is also what caused this one to be so secluded, which, of course, would make it perfect for a private match, since there wouldn''t be anyone nearby, who might get a peak¡­ Overall it was a solid choice, for reasons Hiruzen could surely learn from, considering his team of soon to be sannin were discovered and peaked on by two two-year-old kids.


    Arriving at the training ground, made it apparent that the style it was made in, was done to emulate the forests near Konoha¡­


    ''I wonder if Hashirama created this forest, it is much denser than any other forest on the island, and it would surely be utterly destroyed by now, if it wasn''t reinforced with nature chakra¡­ Anyway, this environment gives me an advantage¡­ unless Kazu trains here regularly''


    Moving to the middle of the training field, he noticed two figures standing there waiting. One of them were easily recognized as Daiki, while the other person, was a slightly taller male, with hair more vibrant red, than any other Uzumaki.


    ''So that is Kazu, Kushina''s older brother¡­ he looks like he''s around fifteen¡­ and he is wearing the Uzushiogakure jonin vest¡­ I''m fu?k?d, aren''t I?''


    "Hallo, Daiki-sama¡­"


    He turned his head to the other individual


    "¡­ and you must be my opponent, Kazu, right?"


    Observing your enemy, one of the essentials of shinobi¡­


    ''He is glaring so much¡­''


    "So, you are the one who would dare to try and court my dear younger sister¡­ You don''t look like much, but if you passed fathers test, you must be good for something¡­ though, no knowledge will help you deal with me"


    ''Is it just me or is he kind of a prick?''


    "Sigh, since you are both here, we will start the match as soon as I''m done stating the rules, and both contestants are ready, is that understood?"


    "Understood, father"


    "Hai, Daiki-sama"


    With the rules out of the way, Daiki signaled for us to take our places opposite each other.


    "Ready?"


    "Hai"


    "You''re going down kid, don''t even think about touching my sister!"


    "Sigh, begin!"


    The instance the match began, Kazu was gone¡­


    "You are too slow kid"


    ''what, holy shit he''s fast, he got behind me instantly!''


    Turning around he saw Kazu standing there, with a single chain coming out from his back, slowly moving towards his hand, upon which the end turned into a one-handed sword. After Kazu grabbed the handle, the chain dethatched from, the pummel, and receded into his back once again.


    "I see you like my little trick¡­ I guess you never knew someone could form something other than the usual chains¡­ then again, this is my own original jutsu¡­ Also, I must warn you, this is not just a fancy replacement for a blade¡­"


    Finishing his sentence, he rushed forwards, slicing diagonally towards the wrist, while twisting his grip so he could hit with the flat side of the blade, in order to disarm his opponent.


    ''Shit, I can''t dodge in time, I just unsealed my handle, and he is already disarming me¡­ guess the only option is jutsu¡­ I need to try and constrain him as much as possible, if I want even the slightest chance of beating him'' Soon thereafter, the blade hit him, the sword not only disarmed him, but also left wristband like chakra construct on his arm, which surprised him greatly.


    Not a second later, he was pulled to the ground by the hand, and the wristband glowed in an easily recognizable seal¡­


    ''He left behind some kind of residue with seals on it¡­ It must be an effect of the sword. It was the only thing that touched me¡­ I need to create distance as soon as possible, and make this into a long-ranged fight''


    With that thought in mind, he undid the seal, after which, the first thing he did, was to release the chakra metal dust all around him, forming a protective cocoon, that he used as protection, so he had time to use the hiding like a mole technique to get underground.


    The Uzumaki, he forgot, were quite good sensors, so it was inevitable, that when he popped his head above ground once again, Kazu was already there waiting for him¡­


    "You know, if this is all you got, there''s no way you can protect Kushi-chan¡­ You must know, if you cannot protect her, how can I entrust her to you?"


    ''¡­He is right, I am too weak, but¡­ I will show him I can be strong!''


    ''I need to give myself an advantage, but how can I¡­ wait, I can use that, but it will need some preparation, and a way to keep track of Kazu¡­ yes that could work''


    Having come up with a plan, he created seven shadow clones, which he gave one eighth of his remaining chakra each, so that Kazu wouldn''t be able to sense which one was the original.


    To start the plan, he had two of the shadow clones out of the ground, one of them was immediately ambushed by Kazu, getting dispelled, but giving enough time for the second to get above ground and ready to perform its mission, getting into a taijutsu battle.


    "You know, sending clones to play with me will not get you anywhere"


    With that, Kazu disappeared once more, this time showing up right in front of the clone, swinging the sword overhead, preparing for a downwards slice. The clone though, had already anticipated the attack, and had therefore already created a wall of chakra metal dust to deflect the incoming sword.


    "Hou?, your little shield will not hold back this blade"


    When the sword hit the wall, it once again left behind some residue, this time creating a chakra su?k?n? seal, which almost instantly made the wall fall apart into the dust it was mad of.


    That however was a perfect opportunity for the clone, who used the substitution jutsu to switch places with some of the dust. This caused Kazu to raise an eyebrow in surprise, but he got over it quickly, and decided to kick the clone away before it could strike.


    ''Perfect''


    Gaining the memories from the clone, the original knew that the first phase of the plan was completed.


    ''The seal is in place, now it is time for phase two''


    The remaining clones as well as the original, promptly popped out of from the ground, with four of them in a square formation around Kazu.


    "Blue four side barrier!"


    The clones, screaming out the name of the technique, which was a weaker version of the four red yang formation, successfully trapped Kazu with the original inside, and final clone outside.


    ''Now the fun begins, I''m glad Tobirama left a scroll of this in the Namikaze compound''


    Finishing the thought he and his clone both cast their jutsu.


    "Bringer of darkness technique"


    "Magnet release: Dust storm"


    This jutsu combination accomplished two things, taking away Kazu''s vision with infinite darkness, and interfering with his sensing, due to the chakra infused in the dust.


    This made both himself and Kazu functionally blind, since both techniques also affected the caster¡­ But, because of the flying thunder god seal the clone placed on Kazu''s foot earlier, he could still sense Kazu''s location, thus giving him a significant advantage.


    ''I only have enough chakra left for one move, and my clones will only be able to keep the techniques running for another minute or so, as such, I must choose my next move wisely¡­ Kazu is fast, so an area jutsu is the best choice, since I wouldn''t be able to hit him otherwise, he can, after all, still sense the difference in chakra levels from the jutsu, and know where it is coming from¡­ Oh, I got it¡­ and the setup is already done'' Smirking at his plan, he substituted with his clone outside the barrier, and took over controlling the dust storm.


    Meanwhile the clone on the inside did the suicidal move, that was channeling the rest of its chakra into the dust storm and electrifying it with lightning chakra. While that was happening, the barrier clones continued channel more of their chakra to keep the barrier up, so Kazu was guaranteed to be hit¡­ Soon thereafter the clones dispelled from having completely depleted their chakra, while the original fell to his knees in exhaustion, letting the dust storm die down.


    ''That should have got him, even with the remaining chakra from the first two clones, that still used too much chakra, I''m almost out¡­''


    "Well, well, well, that certainly was an interesting idea, but now you are out of chakra, while I''m still completely fine"


    From the dust storm, the figure of Kazu emerged wearing a full set of armor, obviously made with the adamantine sealing chains in a similar manner to the sword. He was adorning a smirk that would make the future Sasuke jealous, making it apparent, that he was completely unharmed.


    ''I''m already exhausted, but how can I let him win this easily, I didn''t even scratch him¡­''


    As such, through sheer determination, he tried to stand up in order to keep on fighting.


    With that, Kazu formed the ram hand sign, which immediately activated a small ring of seals around Yoshio''s hand, which made even more sleepy than he already was...


    ''How¡­ when¡­ oh, I see, he must have placed it at the same time as the weight seal¡­ So, he was playing with me the entire time¡­''


    With those final thoughts, he fell straight asleep, falling to the ground, only to be caught by Daiki.


    "You know, he is not even eight years old, that level of power is quite impressive for his age¡­ it shows his potential is incredible¡­ and it''s not like he ever had a chance fighting the second strongest shinobi in Uzushiogakure, you know"


    "Ha ha, father, I knew me and Kushi-chan had the: you know, from somewhere, seems you are the cause¡­ Though I must say you are correct, his potential is incredible, and if he keeps training hard, I think he can become a suitable suitor for Kushi-chan"


    "Indeed, eh¡­ young love¡­"

 Chapter 22 - Kenjutsu

    Waking up the next morning, he was greeted by his teacher, as soon as he left his room.


    "Yo! You''re finally up, I was a bit worried last night when they told me you were so exhausted that you went to bed before dinner¡­"


    Sakumo was sitting at the table in their shared living room eating his breakfast, so he went over and sat down with him to eat his breakfast, while continuing the conversation.


    "Don''t worry Sakumo-sensei, I just did some training yesterday, and it was rather exhausting. I''m trying to learn this technique that I found in the Namikaze compound some time ago. And yes, I used clones first for¡­ safety reasons, which may or may not involve getting torn apart in a space-time rift¡­"


    "I had originally planned to start training you in Kenjutsu, since I found it inspiring to do in a village as well known for their Kenjutsu as Uzu, but¡­ now I''m curious what clan technique involves getting torn apart in a space-time rift, which would probably make some higher-ups in the village question my qualification as a teacher¡­"


    "You don''t have to worry so much about it, I''m almost done with the first step I think, so, if anything, I would rather have some help with my magnet release, I found out that the way I''m using it is far to vulnerable, and not nearly as efficient as I would like it to be¡­ maybe you have some ideas of what I can do to make it better?"


    Sakumo was someone he truly wanted help from, mostly due to his mastery in lightning techniques, but also someone who had fought against Suna''s S-rank shinobi, including the kazekage and the jinchuriki of the one-tailed beast, both of which could use magnet release¡­ (AN: I''m implying that Shukaku gives his jinchuriki magnet release, which implies that Gaara''s sand techniques can be done by mixing the sand with nano-particles of metal in a similar manner to ferrofluid)


    "Hmm, now that I think about it, in terms of efficiency, using massive amounts of sand is rather inefficient, but with the open desert terrain, It makes sense why the third kazekage''s iron sand techniques are so deadly¡­ you have nowhere to run or hide¡­"


    Somehow, after a few minutes of Sakumo''s ranting about pros and cons for sand, he said a single sentence, that sparked a new idea from his student.


    "¡­ I don''t get it, on a basic level wouldn''t it be more effective to swing around sharp blades instead of sand, that can do little more than crushing the opponent, I mean¡­"


    ''THAT''S IT, how could I forget! Bleach, fu?k?n? Bleach, one of the big five anime¡­ or was it seven? Never mind that, this is perfect, the Senbonzakura, it was many forms, and it can deal a lot more damage than dust, I was too focused on the Naruto universe, that I totally forgot about the many uses of magnetism in my old world¡­ At least I got something to go on now.''


    With that, he promptly interrupted his teachers rant, and went on to explain the idea to him.


    "Well, it certainly has more potential, so I guess that''s fine, but before you run of, we will be training your Kenjutsu until past noon, so don''t get too excited yet"


    "uhm, ok then¡­ Why would I even run of in the first place, I would need to get back to Konoha to get some dust re-forged for testing, and¡­"


    He was cut off by Sakumo''s stare, in which he made no effort to disguise the look that just said; are you stupid?


    It took another few moments before he though about it and facepalmed as he realized how utterly stupid his thinking was¡­


    Sakumo nodded


    "I''m never going to live this one down, am I?"


    "Nope, but if you pick up Kenjutsu quickly, I might consider not telling all of Konoha about it"


    "Fuck me then, let''s just go train, I''m done eating anyway"


    With that, the master and apprentice left the table to go train.


    The training field wasn''t that far away, since they were allowed to use the private training ground of the Uzumaki main family. When they arrived at the training ground, they found that it was already occupied by Daiki and his youngest son Kamin.


    Kamin was about six years old, which was the same age as kids in Konoha started in the academy, so it was not unusual for Daiki to have already started his training¡­ what was peculiar though, was that Kamin was holding a blade larger than the size of his torso, while Daiki was instructing him on some basic kata.


    Seeing the pair of Uzumaki, Sakumo had an idea¡­ Since both Kamin and Yoshio was beginners in the art of Kenjutsu and seeing that the Uzumaki sword fighting style wasn''t taught until one has mastered the basics, Kamin and Yoshio would be perfect sparing partner. Despite the age difference between them, Kamin had the advantage of already having started the training for a few months.


    "Daiki-sama, I wasn''t expecting you to be here, much less that you had already begun Kamin''s training in Kenjutsu"


    "Yes, but seeing this opportunity I can''t help but feel that this is the perfect opportunity for Kamin and Yoshio to spar and learn Kenjutsu together, since I was about to start Yoshio on the Kenjutsu, what do you say?"


    "A tempting offer, how much does he now already?"


    "Nothing much as far as I know, but I remember Hokage-sama telling me about a close combat technique, which mixes the use of different weapons with the help of his magnet release, so I don''t know if he started Kenjutsu before¡­"


    "Sakumo-sensei, I have been doing some basics, but I have been mainly focusing on bo-staff, which I''m quite advanced in."


    "Yeah I remember, you did indeed use a staff when you were fighting your brother, but it is good, that you already know something"


    "Well then Sakumo-san, Yoshio-kun, you are welcome to join in when you are done warming up"


    And that they did¡­

 Chapter 23 - Tailed beasts and pieces of cloth

    It had been two weeks since the kenjutsu training with Daiki and Kamin started, and while they had been training almost every day, there had been enough time to organize the return to Konoha, which would complete the main mission. Other than that, the two women who would help Mito with sealing the nine-tailed beast, turned out to be Kushina and kana''s mothers.


    The reason, or reasons, that they were chosen, was that aside from the clan head and the hair, they were some of the most proficient seal users who reside in the village, was them. Of course, there was also the fact that they would want to visit their daughters, and Sakumo even brought up, that it probably would help them accept their new status. While they were at it, Kamin would also go to, so he could visit his sister, his cousin and his two second cousins who also resided in Konoha.


    On the topic off Kushina''s mother; Akane Uzumaki, was the one who offered to help with the secondary mission; finding out if, and possibly how, the magnet release was connected to sealing and its connection to the one-tailed beast''s markings. In the original series, it was mentioned that Minato learned some sealing from Akane, though that didn''t add up, since Minato wouldn''t have graduated yet nor would he have been good enough friends with Kushina yet¡­


    Another point was Akane''s siblings, one who happened to be Akako, Kana''s mother. The other sibling was more problematic, given that it was a male named Ise¡­ who was married to a woman named Fuso¡­ and they both chose a nomadic lifestyle, only visiting Uzushiogakure every few years, but was currently declared missing due to loss of communication¡­


    (AN: Probably know what this means¡­ :P)


    From the time they were introduced, the two Uzumaki had helped doing research, but nothing conclusive was found out about the connection yet, making their only lead some ancient texts, which stated that the tailed beasts'' personalities were created with chunks of an evil higher beings consciousness of equal size, and that the reason Shukaku was insane, was that his chakra wasn''t strong enough to suppress the influence, unlike his other eight sibling.


    Learning of this knowledge, most certainly got Yoshio thinking¡­


    Thinking a little further debunked that idea.


    ''The two-tailed beast; Matatabi, also has some symbols on its body, but none of the others have them, meaning that the three-tailed beast; Isobu and all the others was powerful enough to keep it in check with their own power¡­ If that is the case, what does Matatabi''s symbols represent, if Shukaku''s symbolized the magnet release?''


    For the answer, he searched through his knowledge from the canon.


    ''The most likely would be scorch release or blaze release, but neither of them are blue, but the blaze release is black like the markings on Matatabi¡­ other than that, it could be some kind of plasma release, but it was never confirmed to exist in canon and was mostly a fan creation¡­''


    (AN: All confirmed canon nature kekkei genkai are; Dust, Wood, Magnet, Scorch, Ice, Magma/Lava, Explosion, Boil/Vapor and Storm/Gale. That makes Crystal, Dark, Smoke/Iburi clan kekkei genkai, Mud, Steel and Swift filler kekkei genkai and Ink, Blaze/Inferno, Coral, Acid which could be Vapor, Truth seeking orbs, Yin-yang and Insect/Scale abilities that are not confirmed to be nature kekkei genkai, and are only gained from tailed beasts or the Sharingan/Rinnegan, Ink being the only exception with Sai. Everything else is, as far as I know, made up fanfic. Also, in this fic, Sand falls under magnet release)


    No matter how hard he thought, there were multiple problems with each idea.


    ''In the case of the scorch release, was Pakura using white fireballs, but the color of heat goes from red being the coldest, to yellow, then white, after which is blue as the hottest. This makes scorch release a possibility¡­ hmm''


    It suddenly dawned upon him, that he had been stupid in his thinking.


    ''OF CAUSE, fire turns blue when it has enough oxygen, which means that the seal on Matatabi is most likely blaze release¡­ this means that Hagoromo sealed the pieces off consciousness with an element that supplemented the tailed beasts¡­ Better tell them about this theory¡­''


    Over the two weeks, his progress became exponentially slower, and he still hadn''t cracked the code to make it work and was therefore still stuck on the final step. Last time he tried, he was pretty sure at least some of his clones body made it out on the other side, so in order to test it, he decided to make the clone wear small pieces of cloth this time, all marked with what limb they belonged to so that when his clone dispelled, the pieces of cloth that made it out, made it possible to track his progress.


    Through this testing, he concluded that depending on the angle/position the clone took, he could make up to twelve cubic decimeters come out on the other side, which was equivalent to twelve liters of water, about twelve kilo and an estimated forty-five percent of his body!¡­ Either way, it was progress from not even being able to make it out of the space-time tunnel the technique created.


    After the private training, he joined Daiki, Sakumo and Kamin in the kenjutsu training, just like he had the last two weeks, finishing the training sessions full of small cuts from the sparing, and with a little food, he quickly found his way to bed once more¡­


    ''I have less than a week left before the invasion, and I''m not even close to being ready¡­ Hopefully I can finish the flying thunder god to a workable level, so that I can at least save some of the Uzumaki¡­ My priority should be Akane, Akako, Kamin, Kazu and Daiki, so that Kushina and Kana can still have some family alive¡­ Kazu and Daiki will probably have to protect the village, so I can''t flee with them and Konoha''s forces won''t make it in time¡­''


    Thinking for about thirty minutes, there where still a few thing he could do to increase the number of surviving Uzumaki¡­


    ''¡­So, with that in mind, the most effective and least suspicious method, would be to send a message to Konoha before the attack began, so that the forces were already mobilized, but I would need to make it trustworthy and give it the right clearance level and authority¡­ Arg I''m too tired to think about this now, I''ll think about it tomorrow, I should go to sleep now''


    And so, he went to sleep

 Chapter 24 - Preparation and opportunity

    Another day, another morning. Although the morning at first glance may have looked like any other morning, what was special about today, was that it was the day where preparation for the soon upcoming invasion would really begin. As such, much like with his other major decisions and objectives, Yoshio needed to lay a plan for the occasion¡­ The only problem that was apparent, would have to be the fact that before he could lay a detailed plan, he needed to know about the enemy first.


    The downfall of Uzushiogakure had always been a major mystery in the original series. The only thing that was really known about it, was that Uzu was attacked by the combined forces of multiple major villages, and that it was destroyed before any aid from Konoha could make it there.


    Having seen the security system firsthand, really made Yoshio wonder how the walls of the village had been breached. But that could wait for now, since it was much more important to find out how the enemy even made it to the wall¡­ Despite their relatively peaceful ideology and their refusal to participate in anything war related, ?ssuming they weren''t directly involved, the citizens of Uzu were anything but unprotected.


    On top of the wall, shinobi were stationed in watchtowers every two hundred meters. This made it to that no spot was watched by less than three different watchtowers at all times. Due to the position of the village, most of the village wall was surrounded by forests, but even then, the height of the wall and the watchtowers on top of it, made it possible to watch the waters all around the island.


    All of these factors, combined with the protective seals and barriers, made Uzu an absolute stronghold, that would know if someone was coming, no matter which direction they came from. The only two unknown factor Yoshio could think about would be Isobu, the three-tailed beast and the third mizukage¡­ The third mizukage''s abilities were mostly unknown, due to the simple fact, that since the formation of the village, no one who had faced him in battle, lived to tell the tale.


    As for why he of importance¡­ it was two simple words; Gengetsu Hozuki, the second mizukage¡­ In the entire world of Naruto, up until the birth of prodigy shinobi the like of Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha, Gengetsu was the undisputed top master of genjutsu, both due to his personal talent in the art, but also because of his infamous clam summons, who further improved the power of his genjutsus.


    How did that influence the danger of the third mizukage? After all, the man died at the end of the first shinobi world war in mutual destruction with Mu, the second tsuchikage. As the successor of such a man, someone with immense power was needed¡­ It was also rumored, though only Kiri shinobi would truly know, that the man was the captain of the first ever generation of the seven swordsmen of the mist, as well as being a master of all the swords...


    The most relevant suspicion about him though, had to be the rumors, that he managed to sign the summoning contract for the clams after the death of Gengetsu, with could potentially use genjutsu to mask the enemies approach to Uzu, even fooling the much sought after mind''s eye of Kagura with the help of nature chakra¡­ After all, no one really knew how many summons had access to senjutsu techniques, not even the toads who were the first ever summons.


    Isobu was an issue for the same reason. Although the current jinchuriki wouldn''t be a perfect jinchuriki, know through the knowledge that Killer Bee was the first ever perfect jinchuriki, there was still a chance that they could use some of frightening genjutsu potential Isobu possessed.


    ''They would definitely be a problem, but it explains how the enemy forces made it to the wall, Isobu could probably also destroy the wall with a tailed beast ball, not to mention the four other tailed beasts who could be ?ssisting as well¡­ Though if the kage are smart, which they probably are, they wouldn''t bring their jinchurikies, since the Uzumaki is well known for their sealing, Mito being the so-called "inventor" of jinchurikies¡­ They would be sealed away and potentially lost forever within a minute of the invasion starting.''


    Know, or at least theorizing, how the enemies made it to the wall was one thing, responding to it was another. Seeing that it was just past noon, Yoshio decided to go walk around the village, also using this as an opportunity to leave his flying thunder god marks all over the place¡­ Even though he couldn''t use the technique fully yet, with daily training he might be able to during the invasion.


    Exactly because he couldn''t use the technique fully yet, there were no reason to place seals on any and every available surface, not to mention that the mark one technique wasn''t nearly as effective at using this method as the mark two version. As such, Yoshio decided to place a total of five seals in each district, which, in case needed, would allow him to reach any part of Uzu within a few seconds¡­ if he could figure out the technique that is.


    As for the original thoughts of detecting the enemy¡­ he gave up. Why? Because no matter what he came up with, be it a seal or some fancy sensing method utilizing his magnet release, it would all be either fooled by the same things as the mind''s eye of Kagura, so instead he chose to invest his resources into something more productive, such as training the flying thunder god technique.


    After a few more hours of wandering around the village, Yoshio finished placing all the seals. What he didn''t expect though, was that he would catch a glimpse of a suspicious moving shadow, who he, upon investigating, recognized as an ANBU from Konoha¡­ But. It was not just any ANBU. No, it was a blank masked ANBU¡­ How could he tell. Simply from the fact, that he recognized the persons chakra signature, being the same as a regular civilian shop owner from Konoha.


    And there was only one person who had militarized unregistered shinobi within Konoha¡­ And he just gave the perfect excuse, the perfect opportunity, one that would solve soooo many problems¡­ Walking through the door into his shared living room, he found Sakumo sitting in the sofa. With events aligning like this, he would be a fool not to take advantage of it, and so he did.


    "Nee, Sakumo-sensei, I know Konoha had ANBU and stuff, but I was wondering, do you know if Uzu has anything equivalent?"


    "Hmm, what brought this up? I do know a bit about the systems that are in place here in Uzu, but why do you want to know?"


    "Well, when I was just outside, I sensed a signature I recognized from Konoha, so I was wondering if we had, like, a shared ANBU or something like that?"


    "I have never heard of such a system, but maybe the old monkey decided to strengthen the relationship with Uzu further¡­ Did you perhaps manage to see which animal mask the ANBU wore?"


    "Well, uhm sensei, the ANBU was wearing a blank mask, I know Konoha uses the animal system, so maybe he is a special operator?"


    Of cause, Yoshio knew exactly who and what the supposed ANBU was, and he was certain Sakumo did as well, but without being experienced in neither politics nor large scale military strategies, he left the decision up to Sakumo, though he was pretty sure what he would do, having learned a few things about his behavior during his still short time as the man''s apprentice.


    Not a second later, his hypothesis was confirmed¡­


    "Yoshio-kun, you managed to learn the basics of Dan''s special sprit transformation technique, right?"


    he received a nod.


    "Would you be able to bring or relay a message to the port on the mainland, or is it too far away?"


    "I don''t think I could make it, I would run out of chakra too fast, but the technique is anchored in the body, so if my body were to be constantly supplied with chakra, I think I could make it across"


    "We can arrange that¡­ This information is highly s?ns?t?v?, and cannot be delay for when we head back, so I can''t write a letter, and I can''t send someone to relay it, as the voyage to the mainland would take too long¡­ Therefor, I''m sending you to relay this information to someone I know, who is stationed near the harbor. I will prepare for you to leave later tonight, so gather up as much strength as possible until then"


    "Hai, sensei I will go gather my missing chakra, but who am I supposed to find on the other side?"


    "Hmm, I didn''t tell you? Well, it''s one of my former teammates, due to an illness he is not able to use chakra consciously, so he instead trained hard in taijutsu. Unfortunately, without using chakra, he is not able to be promoted to chunin, so he is still a genin, but he is fast and trustworthy"


    "Sounds like an amazing person, though it is unfortunate with his illness. Since I''m going to meet him, could you tell me his name, sensei? It would make it much easier to locate him¡­"


    "Might Duy, that is his name, do not forget it¡­"

 Chapter 25 - Relaying information

    When evening came, and all chakra had been restored, Sakumo came to fetch Yoshio.


    "The time has come Yoshio, everything is ready, so just follow me"


    "Hai, Sakumo-sensei, but who will be helping us keep my chakra levels up?"


    "Daiki-san has arranged for some Kusushi clan members to help us, since they are better at giving chakra to others given their kekkei genkai. They also give the additional benefit of their specialization in medical ninjutsu, thus being able to ensure your body''s stability while you use the technique"


    (AN: The Kusushi clan is explained in chapter 17)


    "I see, have you prepared what I need to say to Duy-san, sensei?"


    "Say? I was thinking we could use a scroll, since, although you can''t take it with you, by using a seal I got from Daiki-san, you should be able to summon it when you arrive¡­"


    "¡­ Sensei, you know I need a solid body to summon right, which reminds me, how do I identify myself and make sure only Duy-san gets the scroll?"


    "It is quite simple actually. As it stands, every powerful ninja, who plays a major role in the war has an identification sentence, which changes for every mission, and only the closest battlefield commander gets informed of this sentence, so as long as you state your registration number and say my identification sentence, they''ll know you are acting on your superiors orders"


    "First of, that doesn''t answer my first question, and secondly, don''t you need to tell me said sentence for me to use it¡­"


    "Urg, I guess you are right"


    ''Great, now I need to find someone to possess when I arrive¡­ I can guess they are using the scroll because it is s?ns?t?v? information, so I guess I just have to tell Duy about the invasion mouth to mouth''


    Sakumo took the opportunity to place a reassuring hand on my shoulder.


    "Yoshio, I trust you can do this, and don''t worry, Duy is a nice guy, though he might be a little¡­ eccentric"


    Continuing the conversation all the way into the main family''s private infirmary, which had been plastered with security seals, they entered the room, from which Yoshio would depart on his spiritual journey¡­ The inside of the room was no different than a normal infirmary unit, but two people were seen checking and preparing the health monitoring systems, with the supervision of Daiki.


    "Sakumo-san, Yoshio-kun, you are finally here, everything is prepared as you requested"


    ''Requested? I know it is my first time using this technique for long distances and with chakra ?ssistance, but I think Sakumo is being a little overprotective with all this equipment¡­''


    "That is good. Based on their hair colour, I ?ssume these two are the Kusushi clan members who will help us"


    "Hai, Sakumo-sama, I am Takumi Kusushi, and this here is my wife Saku Kusushi"


    After the formal greeting, everyone got to work. Yoshio was placed on the bed and was slowly hocked up to the various equipment, some of which were so unrecognizable that he couldn''t help but ask what they were for. Most of it turned out to have something to do with monitoring the soul and spirit, something Yoshio didn''t even think was possible.


    ''I guess that the citizens of Uzu are more accustomed to techniques which influence the soul, the Uzumaki clan do, after all, have techniques like the reaper death seal and I know for sure that some of their masks in the Uzumaki temple in Konoha, also deal with the spiritual realm¡­''


    After using around thirty-five minutes getting everything ready, Sakumo finally gave the go ahead to Yoshio.


    "Everything is ready Yoshio, from now on it''s all you"


    "Hai, Sakumo-sensei, I''m ready"


    With everything prepared, Yoshio quickly made the right hand signs for the technique¡­


    "Spirit technique: Spirit transformation technique!!"


    Not a moment later did Yoshio''s body go limp, as his glowing spirit left his body, only to quickly shoot out of the roof.


    "It is a technique that was created by a jonin called Dan Kato, and from what I''ve heard its nature is quite similar to the mind body switch technique of the Yamanaka clan, though, this is much more flexible in its use, since the user can control their movements and even switch from one body to another without the spirit returning to the original body in between. This flexibility is also why Dan is one of our most respected jonin, and the technique has even been classified as an S-rank technique, so imagine my surprise when I heard that Yoshio-kun learned it in less than a week¡­"


    "Ha ha, young Yoshio is quite talented, I might be okay if I leave my daughter to him"


    "Hmm, what is this about your daughter and my apprentice?"


    "Ohh, you didn''t know. Yoshio came to ask me for permission to woo my daughter Kushina"


    "Hoo, that is quite interesting, I hope you can inform me of the rest of the story, he he¡­"


    While his sensei and possible future father-in-law were gossiping about his love life, Yoshio''s spirit were flying over the ocean towards the mainland. It turned out that looking down at the ocean in the evening while flying hundreds of meters in the air, was quite relaxing. It should also be said, that Uzushiogakure looked almost perfect when looking back at it¡­ Too bad that perfect sight would be ruined by a shadow leaving the village in the direction of the land of water¡­


    ''That''s the Root agent I saw earlier¡­ judging by the way he is going, I can ?ssume that Danzo is cooperating with Kiri, Kumo and Iwa, for the destruction of Uzu, I should add this in my message¡­''


    It was around midnight that Yoshio made it to the shore, from which he quickly found Konoha''s campsite, and although the situation was serious, imagine the shock on the faces of the unfortunate chunin, who were tasked to keep watch for the night, when they saw a ghost looking figure dropping from the sky a few meters in front of them and walking towards them¡­


    "Hallo, this is Yoshio Namikaze, registration number; zero zero six five one one, I bring an important, time s?ns?t?v? message from jonin Sakumo Hatake, so please go wake up your commander to confirm my identity and orders, so we can get the message on its way to Konoha as soon as possible"

 Chapter 26 - Enemies approach

    It didn''t take long for the commander to show up. His name was Yuuto Nara, and as many others from his clan, he was recognized for his intelligence and strategic abilities.


    "Who are you, and what are you doing here? If you are who you say, then how and why did you come here? I know for a fact that Sakumo-san was ?ssigned a diplomatic mission in Uzushiogakure¡­"


    Although Sakumo had indeed informed Yoshio of the name and character of the commander, it would be obvious to even the genin, that the man in front of him was a Nara, and as such, was pretty pissed about his sleep being interrupted.


    "I am Yoshio Namikaze, registration number; zero zero six five one one, apprentices to Sakumo Hatake, and I bring an urgent message on Sakumo-sensei''s orders, that needs to be brought back to Konoha as soon as possible"


    After looking at a scroll for a few seconds, Yuuto found what he needed.


    "Your registration number checks out, but how do I know you are acting on Sakumo-san''s orders?"


    Yuuto raised an eyebrow as he questioned, putting his hands in his pocket in a typical Nara style.


    "You know how the leaves dance with the crop in the farmland?"


    "I do, then what are Sakumo''s orders regarding your urgent message?"


    "I was told to find genin Might Duy, who will run the scroll with the message to Konoha once I summon it, so if you could fetch him for me, it would be great"


    "Can someone bring be an empty scroll and a pen, I need to write something down. Ready Yuuto-taisho?"


    "Yeah, just go ahead"


    "Ok, spirit transformation technique: possession!"


    With that, Yoshio''s spirit flew into Yuuto''s body, after which he first did the hand signs to summon the scroll from Sakumo, and the sat down at a table nearby, so he could write about the situation in Uzu. When he first arrived at the camp, he thought about telling them about the attack, but upon seeing the size of the camp, he knew they were probably not more than a hundred people, which wouldn''t be able to help much, if they even believed him in the first place.


    With that in mind he decided to just write the letter to Hiruzen, and then hope he could mobilize some more troops to help their ally, while also informing him about the Root agent that signified Danzo''s treachery. Fortunately for Yoshio, it didn''t take long for Duy to arrive, so he separated from Yuuto, in order to greet him.


    (AN: I know that the Spirit transformation technique is supposed to rot the target of possession from within, but I think would be reasonable to make it so that the rotting is optional)


    "From the description Sakumo-sensei gave me, I will ?ssume you are Might Duy-san, right? I am Yoshio Namikaze, Sakumo''s apprentice, nice to meet you"


    "Ohh, Sakumo-san has such a youthful apprentice! I see that his flames of youth have not gone out yet¡­ So, what can I do for you Yoshio-kun? I was told I need to run an urgent message to Konoha"


    "That is correct, some circumstances have happened in Uzu and Hokage-sama needs to know as soon as possible"


    "It was nice to meet you Duy, but this technique is quite taxing, so I need to return to my body quickly"


    With that quick comment, he took off towards Uzu. The journey was totally uneventful, so he soon had Uzushiogakure in sight¡­ and a giant tsunami moving at fast speed towards the shores of Uzu¡­


    ''That¡­ does not look good, I guess I was right about Isobu being involved, but I got to alarm Sakumo and Daiki, even though they probably already know, since it is already so close to the village''


    Quickly flying back to the infirmary room which housed his body, he quickly reentered his body, noticing that both Sakumo and Daiki was gone, confirming that the tsunami was already well known within the walls of Uzu.


    "Sorry, Takumi-san, Saku-san, I got to go find Sakumo-sensei now, but thanks for helping with the chakra"


    ''Now, where would they be now? Probably the wall, right? they''d have to take a look at what''s happening¡­''


    Running towards the west side of the city, which was the one facing the land of water, Yoshio noticed that no one in the streets seamed to either know or mind that their village was being attacked¡­


    ''Well, they are supposed to be the village with the most advanced defense¡­ Now that I think about it, the biggest threat to the village is the Root agent bringing enemies within the walls¡­ I''ll make some clones to look out, but I still need to get to Sakumo¡­''


    Creating five clones, which was all he could spare considering he was running on the chakra he got from the Kusushi couple, he made his way to the wall, but was greeted less than favorably, since he wasn''t a Uzu shinobi¡­ luckily though, Kazu was nearby to let him through.


    Very professionally and calm, Kazu pointed out the direction, but before Yoshio could run of, he, as second in command, had to ask about the information.


    "They are over there, but can you tell me the short version?"


    Not really caring who knew, Yoshio quickly answered his question¡­


    "The three-tailed beast is involved"


    "Isobu?"


    Unfortunately, Yoshio was already too far away to hear Kazu''s mumbling question. Thinking he had answered Kazu''s question, he ran up the stairs onto the top of the wall, and he came just in time to see what could be called the most terrifying thing, he had ever seen or heard of before¡­ A giant five hundred meters high wave moving quickly towards them, and as a sprinkle on top, a massive black and purple orb emerged from the wave¡­ (The highest ever recorded tsunami reached five hundred and twenty-four meters, so considering that Naruto is a "magical" world, I think it is a reasonable size¡­ relatively :D)

 Chapter 27 - Breaking through the defense

    (AN: My wrist is better now, so I can finally write again, though the recovery took a little longer than expected :D)


    As the black and purple orb, which was unmistakably a tailed-beast bomb, moved incredibly fast towards the wall of Uzu, it quickly became apparent, that none of the seal masters stationed at the wall would be able to create a seal to counter it in time, since seals powerful enough to stop the tailed-beast bomb, were to advanced to be created instantly at their level, thus requiring them to write them using ink and brush. As such, the morale of the troops was dwindling at a fast pace.


    Even though they would not be able to make it in time, many of the seal masters present had started writing the seals as fast as they could, betting everything, that at least one of them would be able to make it in time, but it was all for naught¡­ With the tailed-beast bomb approaching, even Sakumo and Daiki were panicking, but just before the inevitable impact, Yoshio managed to hear the voice of an old man, moving at speeds which should have been impossible given his age, flew right past him up the stairs of the wall.


    "I''ve got this"


    The old man ran across the wall and jumped off, taking out a large scroll from his belt and unfolding it in the air! With the now unrolled scroll swaying in the air, the old man amazingly let go of the scroll, forming some quick hand signs before slamming his right hand into the middle of the scroll.


    "Space-time seal: void!!"


    For the troops on the wall, this was all they needed to recognize who the old man was, and even though they were unable to do anything to help him out, they couldn''t help to scream out his name when the tailed-beast bomb impacted him, creating a massive explosion of smoke.


    "Sukiru-sama!!!"


    Not long after the impact, a body could be seen flying out of the smoke, moving towards the side of the wall, carrying an unfolded scroll in his hand which had obvious seal markings on it. Luckily though, before he could make contact with the wall, another figure, who had previously jumped down the wall, could be seen catching him in his arms.


    "Father, are you okay? You are way to reckless, no matter how powerful you were in the past, you should know that your body isn''t strong enough to be in the field!"


    "Daiki, my son, you know as well as I do, that no one else could have warded of that tailed-beast bomb in time, and even if *cough* even if it will cost me, I won''t let anyone destroy my home!"


    While the seal masters rushed to activate the seal, Daiki instead rushed towards the nearest medic, hoping they would be able to stabilize Sukiru before it was too late. Although only exhaustion was seen on the outside, Daiki knew his father had suffered severe internal injuries. Seeing his father carrying his injured grandfather, Kazu quickly made his way towards them seeing if there was anything he could help with.


    "Kazu, your grandfather is injured, I need to get him some help, so you have to take command of our forces! Don''t ask any questions, do you understand what you have to do?"


    "Yes father, I will follow your orders"


    Right after Kazu finished his sentence, the tsunami struck the wall, creating a huge boom, and making all of Uzu shake, while water was shoot into the air outside the wall, due to the impact. Despite taking on a tsunami, with the help of the protective seals, the wall was able to hold, successfully stopping the breaching attempt. This, of course, caused the morale in the Uzu troops to shoot way up, making them scream out in relief¡­


    Unfortunately, the invasion was not over yet, and just when shinobi of Uzu though the wall had succeeded in protecting the village, and making sure the attackers couldn''t get in, a loud boom was heard a little ways out from their position. From his position Yoshio was able to, out of the corner of his field of vision, see a part of the wall suddenly burst inward, throwing rubble everywhere and creating a giant dust cloud around the area.


    Focusing his gaze towards the affected area, Yoshio was quickly able to conclude what had happened, wen he noticed a single dark-skinned arm poking out of the wall, covered in lightning. Before he was able to react to this however, another boom was heard from behind him, where a circular cone of white was seen bursting out of the wall and shooting into the air.


    ''This¡­ It has to be the third raikage; A and the third tsuchikage Onoki, but when did they get close enough, the sensors should have¡­ I see, they used the tailed-beast bomb to not only visually distract us, but the chakra radiating of it, combined with the a possibly chakra infused tsunami, would create a spike in chakra levels, which would render any and all sensing obsolete, by overloading the area! No wonder they were able to get close enough to breach the wall''


    Not soon after the two holes were created, troops of shinobi from Kumo and Iwa rushed within the wall, following their respective kage, which triggered a response in the form of Kazu''s commanding shout.


    "ATTENTION ALL TROOPS, THE WALL HAS BEEN BREACHED, GET DOWN THERE AND DEFEND THE VILLAGE!"


    Reaching a midpoint, the two troops on the Iwa side mingled into each other, and Yoshino soon found himself in the middle of the battlefield, but before he could even release his dust, he was hit by a kick in the side of his torso, sending him flying across and out of the battlefield, where he smashed onto the ground, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood. Despite having only survived the kick, which was obviously from a jonin level shinobi, due to the absorption seals on his outfit, he forced himself to lift his head towards the battlefield ones more.


    ''This, this fight is way above my level, my eyes can''t even keep up with most of the action. The situation is bad, even though the Uzu shinobi are outclassing the invaders, they are being overwhelmed with numbers and we are losing people quickly, this is not what was supposed to happen¡­''


    "Damn it, I was going to change the fate of Uzu, all my hard work will it really change nothing in the end, is Uzu really fated to fall, I don''t believe it"


    Smashing his fists in the ground, he could feel the wet tears running down his cheeks, but what accompanied it was not a wail of hopelessness, but instead a burning pain in his eyeballs, which caused him to squirm on the ground in pain.


    ''Why, why do my eyes hurt so much¡­ I, I can''t do anything to help in this situation, but the pain is too much, what is happening with my eyes, don''t tell me¡­''


    At long last, having lived eight years in the Naruto world, Yoshio was finally able to enjoy his second reincarnation gift¡­ As such, he, despite the pain, used pure willpower to force his hands to form the hand signs he had practiced so often to no prevail¡­


    "BYAKUGAN!!!"