Note: The inspiration for the Land of Whirlpool and Uzushio's designs came from Tuscany, Romagna, Monteriggioni, Forli, and San Gimignano, all Italian cities (except for Tuscany and Romagna, which are regions in Italy). Basically, the inspiration comes from all the places in Assassin's Creed 2 EXCEPT for Florence and Venice. The walls surrounding the village are based on Monteriggioni, as is the large citadel in the center. Some San Gimignano watch towers are built into the wall and around the village, and the city itself is structured the same way San Gimignano is. However, the buildings look more like the kind in Forli, with a more contemporary (by which I mean real-life contemporary) flair. Finally, the coastal area of the Land of Whirlpools is based on Romagna's marsh-like coast while the environment further inland before the mountains barrier is the same as the valleys of Tuscany.

Ninja of the Spiral

Chapter Seven - Uzushio

[Uzushio, Land of Whirlpools]

The rebuilt home of the Uzumaki was just as impressive seen close up compared to from a distance. The beige walls were a lot like Konoha's walls, though made of stone instead of wood, so entering the village was familiar to Naruto and Hinata. Made all the more familiar by the fact two chuunins were attending an outpost and requested them to sign in to enter. The first thing they saw on the other side of the gate was an open pavilion, with a fountain in the center where the water seemed to be constantly swirling around like a mini-whirlpool, with a geyser in the center. The fountain was int he center of a sidewalk X, which was itself in the center of a large square with buildings on all sides except for the perimeter wall behind them. Some decorative trees and flowers were placed around for ambiance, along with patches of grass, and if one looked closely you'd swear the plants were growing like spirals.

The buildings were a lot like the kind in Konoha, only constructed out of stone and painted in various colors, with red, grey, and blue being the dominant ones. Some of them were shaped like normal buildings with a square base, but others looked more like a circular pillar, and some even fused the two designs. One strange thing is they weren't arranged in a grid formation. None of the streets seemed to go in a straight line, more curved like waves. As a result, the buildings had to be built to accommodate the design.

"What's that?" Naruto asked, pointing to the most visible thing at the moment. It was a large rectangular building with a smaller square atop it, the same one flanker by the two large towers that were seen from a distance. It was hard to tell what color it was given the distance and the sunlight in his eyes, but Naruto could swear it had some blue on it. He could also swear he saw the Uzumaki spiral decorating it near the top.

"That's the citadel. Think of it as our version of the Hokage Tower." Kikyo answered.

"Actually, what you should think of it as is your new home." Rea added.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Did you think we'd just put you in a new apartment? Especially when you're such a political hotshot around here? Of course you'll be staying in the center of power in the village."

"What about Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"Well, we didn't plan on her, so she's going to have to live in a cardboard box until she can afford someplace." Rea said, trying to make it clear with his tone and smile that he was joking.

Given everything Naruto had learned in the days since meeting his clansmen, however, he wasn't in the mood for such jokes as he normally would be. "Very funny," he said with obvious sarcasm.

"Geez, you need to lighten up a bit more; I didn't think this situation would be that much of a strain on you." Rea said with some exasperation in his voice.

"For the time being, Hinata will stay with us. Given how she's just one person instead of an entire group it will be easy to accommodate her. But later, if more from Konoha come here, she might have to reside with them instead." Miya told the young boy.

"Alright." Naruto said in acceptance.

Hinata blushed. 'I'll be living with Naruto-kun?'

The group continued on, walking down the streets so Naruto and Hinata could absorb the sights of the city more. Most of the building fronts looked civilian in design, not unlike the non-shinobi towns the two had seen in past missions. People were out on business having a normal day and a couple even waved to the group, who waved back. Naruto and Hinata could see some Anbu patrolling the village, but that was to be expected.

"As you can see this is the market section of the town." Jun told them quietly.

"Jun-san, I see a lot of people here with red hair like you, but not everyone has it." Hinata cut in, addressing this minor detail that was bugging her.

"Now that you mention it, you're right. I thought everyone here had red hair." Naruto added, seeing some brunettes and blondes among the populous.

"Did you really think that everyone here was an Uzumaki?" Jun asked.

Both genin nodded. "You keep describing this as an Uzumaki village. You never said anything about other clans living here." Hinata clarified.

"This is an Uzumaki village, but not exclusive to the clan. We share it with our cousin clan the Senju."

"Wait, you mean Baa-chan's clan?" Naruto asked, not seeing that coming.

Kikyo nodded. "Yes, there are some people who aren't from either clan, mostly civilians and several shinobi with no clan affiliations, and even three smaller shinobi clans who have lived here since the founding of Uzushio. That said, however, most people in Uzushio are either an Uzumaki or a Senju, some more related to one than the othes but still a part of the family tree."

"And Baa-chan doesn't know?" Naruto asked.

Rea shrugged. "I'm not sure. It's possible she does, and it's possible she doesn't. If she does, then she probably ignores it because the connection is too strained to feel like family."

"What do you mean? Family is family." Naruto argued.

"Yes, but do you love a cousin as much as you love a brother or sister?" Rea asked.

"How should I know?" The whiskered blonde replied.

"He's right Naruto-kun." Hinata told him. "In a way everyone in the Hyuuga clan is related to each other, but that doesn't mean all the connections are equal. My sister Hanabi is closer to me then my cousin Neji, and there are relatives where he's closer to me than them. Sure, they're still family, but they aren't relatives I'm close to or know anything about. Even I can't love them all equally, that's natural."

"Weird, I always assumed family was supposed to be about equal love."

"In a small family, yes, but once you include the extended branches of the family tree, it's not so equal anymore. So if Tsunade does know about the Senju here, then she doesn't feel like they're really family. Similar to how you felt about us at first." Jun stated.

"Families aren't supposed to be this confusing." Naruto muttered to himself.

'To an orphan with an idealized idea of what a family should be, the reality is far from easy to understand.' Jun thought. "Tell you what, I can tell there's something you want to see even more than the citadel. How about we show you some Uzushio ramen?"

"I'm tempted, but no. I don't want the first thing I do here to be trying to replace an important part of Konoha to me." Naruto answered, surprising everyone with an actual declination for his favorite food.

'It's not just the ramen he loved, it was the service and atmosphere he got with it.' Kikyo noted. "So then, what would you like the first thing you do here to be?"

"Do you have anything from my mom?" He asked.

Rea smiled. "Of course. What would you like first?"

"How about a picture?"Naruto asked.

Rea nodded.

"There's a nice picture of her in the citadel. That one will do her justice the best." Rea said.

At this point, Hinata decided to ask something that had been on her mind for a while.

"By the way, who's currently in charge of this village?" Hinata asked.

"I am. I explained that back in Konoha; since there had been no surviving member of the leadership to take the reins, that job temporarily fell to the head of the leader of our clan's guardian branch which, again, meant me," Kikyo told the younger girl.

Upon hearing this, Naruto realized something.

"Hold on a sec, if you're the leader of the village, who was running the place while you were away?" he asked.

"You realize one person can't rule alone, right? We do have a council similar to Konoha's, though ours is more both capable and knows it place," Kikyo pointed out.

Naruto was about to question this before Miya stopped him.

"If you have any questions about that, I suggest you hold onto them for now. In the meantime, let's go see that picture Rea talked about." She said as the group kept walking towards the citadel.

Meanwhile...

It didn't take long for the news of Naruto's arrival in Uzushio to spread throughout the village. Of course the news, as is usually the case in these kinds of situations, didn't sit well with everyone.

"Hey guys did you hear?" A cheerful woman with light red hair said, coming up to three people who were seated to an outdoor table eating some lunch.

"Hear what Naga?" A black-haired woman with dark eyes said.

"They found the missing Uzumaki heir and brought him back."

A redheaded man with a ponytail looked a bit offput by this. "They actually found someone?"

"Not just anyone Nakuna, the grandson of Uzumaki Ashina himself. The rightful heir to the entire village. I saw him myself heading to the citadel with Kikyo guiding him." Naga explained.

"How wonderful." Nakuna commented, not looking or sounding as pleased as he tried to come across.

"Nakuna, we told you this before. Even if they didn't find him that didn't mean you'd get to be in charge." A yellow-haired man in front of him said.

"Hey I have a right to be annoyed. If there couldn't be a proven member of the monarch branch still alive then my family would have been the legal branch to take their place. Now we're still back to behind the scenes work."

"Nakuna I've seen you do your job. You're good, you're really good. You'd be wasting your talent trying to run this village when you could be doing what you excel at." The black-haired woman told him.

"Maybe we should go introduce ourselves to the new heir." Naga suggested. "After the heir deals with the council of course."

"Sure, that sounds good. Who is the heir anyway?" The blonde man asked.

"From what I saw it was a genin-age kid blonde, a lot like Konoha's Yondaime Hokage, and he had whiskers, or whisker marks to be more accurate, on his cheeks like a kitty cat and he was dressed in an orange jumpsuit which looked kinda weird but he could pull it off. Not that I have anything against orange or oranges for that matter, oranges can taste really good and orange juice is great for the morning, or lunch, or anytime of day for that matter. I wonder if he likes orange juice. We should probably bring him some when we go see him. That would be a good way to make a first impression wouldn't it? We wouldn't want to make a young boy feel uncomfortable being in a place he should call home after all-"

"Enough Naga! We get it!" Nakuna interrupted.

"Oh, did I ramble again?" Naga asked, then lightly hit the side of her head while sticking her tongue out. "Sorry. Like my mom always said, I was born mouth first."

[Hidden Bunker, Otogakure]

While Naruto was busy getting accustomed to his new home, and the inhabitants of Uzushio, were discussing this latest news, one of Konoha's biggest enemies, save for Danzo and the Akatsuki, is considering his own prospects.

"Bad news Orochimaru-sama, we've finally managed to confirm that Konoha has managed to prevent Uchiha Sasuke from leaving, and succeeded in killing the Sound Five."

"Damn." A bandaged man whose only visible traits were yellow eyes with green marks around them said with a bit of a hiss tone. "Konoha is going to be on high alert for the foreseeable future, so we can't send another retrieval team. And even if we did, if the Sound Five couldn't succeed who do we have left that could?"

Kabuto nodded. "It seems our hand is forced. We must withhold bringing him to you, but we can count on him still wanting to come here."

Orochimaru nodded. "Yes, Sasuke-kun will still seek me out for the power he covets. I'm not yet sure how we can achieve our goal, but luck will be on our side in time. Do our spies in Konoha still remain?"

"I have not heard anything to say otherwise." The medic said.

"Let them continue their roles."

"Yes sir. But on a similar note, I believe we should withdraw any contact or involvement with Danzou for now. I heard that in the aftermath of Sasuke's return his judgment has... slipped a bit. Currently Tsunade is trying to arrest him."

Orochimaru looked like he didn't know how to respond. "Any idea what caused this?"

"Apparently he and his subordinates attacked the Konoha Hospital in a failed attempt to capture Naruto Uzumaki, in broad daylight no less. I suspect his health is not quite what it used to be and he's losing patience. But even then, something would have to seriously provoke him to take action in haste."

The snake sannin grinned under his wrappings. "Let him be hasty. That should distract Tsunade enough that she can't keep Sasuke-kun under her thumb as well as she needs to. At some point Sasuke-kun will have the opportunity to leave again."

"One question Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto started. "What if by some unlikely chance Sasuke decides he doesn't want to come to you now?"

The snake sannin chuckled raspily. "My dear Kabuto, you make it sound as if Sasuke-kun really has a choice in the matter. All I've been doing is making it look like it's his choice to come here. If he is under the impression he came here of his own free will, he'll be that much more compliant."

[Konoha, Land of Fire]

"Okay, we can be out in public as long as we're never alone." Shikamaru said when the group of rookie ninja had left Tsunade's house but did not break apart. "I think we can say that the immediate danger to us has passed, since Danzo missed its window of opportunity to do anything. But he'll definitely try something sooner or later, more likely sooner. Pairing up or being with adults will help, but it won't be perfect."

"Remember guys we have a week to decide whether to take their offer or not." Sakura pointed out.

"Yeah, but I think we've already gone over all the factors in this choice. The only problem now is peer pressure." Shikamaru added as the group walked down the street, looking for any trouble. Nobody on the street paid them any mind as it was not uncommon for these young ninja to socialize, even if not in this big a group.

"Peer pressure?" Kiba asked.

"Last night we went over all the details, but no one made any attempt to actually decide anything. No one said 'I'm going' or 'I'm staying'. I think each one of us, myself included, wanted someone else to decide first. When we're in a group, we're treating it as a unanimous choice, all or nothing. And none of us want to be the one who has to the responsibility, or blame, for such a choice."

"Don't you think you might be overthinking it Shikamaru?" Ino asked.

"Last night Ino, did you stay silent because you didn't know, or because you didn't want to be the only one to say anything?" He tested.

"I... I don't want to be the only one who says yes or the only one who says no." She confessed.

"That's my point, we're all like that right now. None of us want to be the first to make a choice, take the risk that we'll be the only one to do so." Shikamaru then sighed. "This is unbelievably troublesome. This would be so much easier if we were assigned to go there. Then it would be Hokage-sama's choice instead of ours."

"Funny you say that. Naruto was able to make that choice and he wants to be hokage." Chouji pointed out.

"Yeah, but we aren't all Naruto. Besides, his hand was sort of forced on the matter; we all know that, if he had his way, Naruto would never have left." Shikamaru stated.

"Why does it matter?" Kiba claimed. "We don't need to think about this from every angle. We just need to ask ourselves one question. Are we better off here or there? And if we're so afraid to speak up first, how about we each go home and write down our choices before getting back, put them in a pile to go over, and then make the decision based on whether there are more Yes or No answers?"

Shikamaru blinked, then nodded with a smile. "I like it. We get to answer but the anonymous part will help us feel better about giving them. Good thinking Kiba."

The Inuzuka boy smiled at the praise.

"So when do we get back together to cast our votes?" Tenten asked. "And is this a majority rule thing?"

"I'd say we should reunite somewhere other than Tsunade-sama's house to play it safe. Maybe Naruto's favorite ramen stand for poetic justice?"

Shino arched an eyebrow. "Is poetic justice the proper term there?"

"You know what I mean. Let's try there tomorrow evening and everyone bring their vote. And I don't think this should be a majority vote thing. Those that want to stay should have that right to, and those that want to leave should be allowed to. This way we at least know whether or not others will be with us when we make those choices."

Everyone was silent for a moment, wondering if this was the best plan.

"It's the best option we've got for the moment. Unless someone wants to be brave and vote their stance right now." Neji spoke for the group's behalf.

"Should we ask Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

"I don't think so, though only because he's in no shape to move and in too much trouble to be let go for the time being. Hokage-sama will deal with him as she feels she must." Shikamaru told her. "For now, let's worry about us."

"If only there was some way for Naruto to tell us about Uzushio first." Lee thought out loud.

"Actually, if I know Naruto, he will find a way." Sakura couldn't help but say.

[Uzushio, Land of Whirlpools]

"Wow, this is Mom?" Naruto asked, in awe of the portrait he was looking at. He was up in the residential section of the citadel, the highest floor, and it looked big enough to house at least twenty people. And it looked like it already did.

Right now he was in a furbished room that looked better than his apartment ever could have. But he didn't notice those details such as the bed or private bathroom. All he was interested in was the portrait of a redheaded woman wearing a beige shirt and a Konoha hitai-ate.

"Yep, that's Kushina alright. Her picture was kept here so her parents would always be able to see her. Of course they adjusted to her absence over the years, but I think they still have her childhood picture stored away." Rea answered.

"So this was her parent's room?" Hinata asked, looking around the room for a moment. It reminded her of what the Hyuuga elders would reside in but with a more welcome personality in the details. Granted there were swords on the wall as well as a battle axe, but this was still a ninja village so weapons were not inappropriate.

"Yeah. This is where Uzumaki Ashina and Kuri lived."

"Who's this next to her?" Hinata asked, referencing the portrait of a red-haired man next to Kushina, something that Naruto hadn't noticed because he was so entranced by actually seeing his mother. This man had a normal hairstyle for a man, with the same shade of red as Kushina, and wore a deep purple shirt with a white strap of some kind on his left shoulder going down to his right waist. Like with Kushina, only the chest up was actually seen.

"Oh that's her younger brother Arito." Kikyo answered.

"Her younger biological brother that is." Rea pointed out.

"I have an uncle?" Naruto asked, finally looking away from Kushina.

"Had. He's... no longer with us. Neither are your grandparents. When it comes to direct family Naruto, I'm afraid you have none left." Jun clarified.

"So I have relatives but no close relatives?" The whiskered blonde asked.

"Basically, yes." Rea said with a nod.

"Well, that went dark fast... anyways, we should probably go to the meeting. Has everyone gathered Kikyo-sama?" Miya asked.

"Yes. Besides myself, obviously, they're all in the chambers." Kikyo said, then looked to Naruto. "Are you ready to meet everyone, Naruto?"

"Who exactly is everyone?" Naruto asked.

"The members our council, of course."

[Hidden location, Land of Fire]

"It's good you have made it out of the hokage's grasp Danzou-sama." A masked ninja wearing a medic uniform said while washing their hands at a sink.

"That seems to be the extent of my luck so far." Danzou said, seated at an operating table, coughing for a moment when he stopped talking.

"I presume you need me to do more than a mere physical this time?" The Root-nin asked, this one being Danzou's personal medic since he didn't trust his records to be viewed by either Tsunade or Orochimaru. The snake sannin may have given him much help over the years, but Danzou didn't trust anyone but his own men to do anything to his body. Even when it came to bringing him a simple cold pill.

"My condition, I believe it might be getting worse."

"I find that unlikely. The last time I checked you had several years left before it could become critical. And once Orochimaru sends you confirmation that the missing piece of Project Founder is complete it may not be a threat anymore." The medic said.

"Even so, I need you to check and if required treat it." Danzou ordered.

"As you command Danzou-sama." The medic said, putting on a glove.

[Uzushio, Land of Whirlpools]

The four Uzumaki had taken Naruto and Hinata down to the meeting room for the head authority figures of Uzushio. Both genin had been expecting something like the council room back in Konoha, or what they assumed that room looked like. What they saw instead took them somewhat by surprise.

The first and most notable feature was that this room was in the basement of the citadel, like it was meant to double as a bunker or something. The second was that it was shaped like a sideways arch or a D, with the entrance on the flat side. There was no table, just a row of chairs against the curved wall, seven total, and all of them looking identical and made of dark oak.

Seated in those chairs were eight people, who looked like they had been waiting for a few moments. The chair in the center was vacant.

"Welcome back, Kikyo-sama." One of the seated people greeted before they immediately turned their gaze towards Naruto.

"Is this Ashina's grandson?" the person asked.

Kikyo nodded in the affirmative before she approached the vacant seat and sat down. "Yes, this is him. (she turns to Naruto) Please introduce yourself."

"Hi, I'm Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto said awkwardly, not sure how this group would response.

"Hello, Naruto. On behalf of our clan and village, I welcome you to Uzushio." A blonde woman with blue eyes said kindly. She reminded Naruto of Tsunade, but with a gentler aura to her.

"It's not bad for another hidden village." Naruto said, not sure what else to say about it.

One of the seated people chuckled. "Not that easy to impress are you boy?" Despite the phrasing this person didn't sound displeased.

"No, that's not it at all. I didn't mean to offend tiy. It's just I've never been in another hidden village before. This place kind of reminds me of Konoha but it's so... different at the same time."

"Understandable, there are similarities thanks to shared architects when both villages were created, even more so when we had to rebuild." Another person explained.

"Allow me to begin the introductions." Kikyo started. "You already know me. I am the current head of the Uzumaki clan, and these are the representatives of the other ninja families of Uzushio and civilian populous."

"Which ones are the civilians?" Naruto asked, not able to identify them right away.

The two people on the ends of the chair arrangements, opposite each other, raised their hands a bit to indicate themselves. They looked like normal people, one a little older than the other, and didn't look like they had any animosity towards the whiskered blonde.

"While we agree with Konoha that the non-shinobi portion of the village deserves a voice, we disagree regarding how much authority that voice should have." Kikyo explained to the boy. "Konoha seems to believe that the size of the shinobi and civilian councils should be equal, but in doing so they appear to treat both sides as equals which only serves to embolden the civilians which, as you know, can cause big problems. That approach, naturally, does not work in a village designed specifically to tend to shinobi needs. We do not ignore the concerns of civilians, of couse, but we make it clear there are many facets they have no business sticking their noses in."

"Then why have civilian members in the first place?" Naruto questioned.

"We're retired shinobi, so while we keep our focus on civilian concerns and village utilities, we're not ignorant of shinobi affairs so we know our limits better than true civilians would; plus, given that fact that the needs of civilians and shinobi are occasionally intertwined, it is a necessity to a point. But enough about that for now. We'll have time to discuss that after we get better acquainted." The older civilian representative explained. To Naruto he looked like a combination of Kakashi and Teuchi while wearing a dusty brown hat. "My name is Beniiwa Tozen."

"Hello." Naruto greeted back.

"I'm Kuribi Kunami." The other civilian representative introduced. This one was a young woman, likely only ten years older than Naruto himself, and had long black hair with a purple sheen to it while dressed in a beige dress decorated with blue birds. "I know my name is a bit hard to pronounce if you're not used to it, so you can call me Ku if that helps."

"Thanks Ku-san." Naruto replied. "If you don't mind me saying so, I'm surprised someone as young as yourself is retired."

Kunami smiled. "I retired when I had my children. It's something many kunoichi do."

"And those are the civilian representatives. The rest of us represent the other ninja of Uzushio. I'm Sanshiro of the Kondo." A man in a white shirt said next. He had black eyes, dark curly hair, a black wristband on his right wrist, and black pants while barefoot for some reason. He looked like someone who did as much taijutsu training as Gai usually did.

"What can your clan do?" Naruto asked.

"I'll tell you later. Now's not a time to show off or brag." Sanshiro answered.

"I'm Oshira Senju of the Uzushio Senju." The blonde woman who had greeted Naruto said next. Her hair was cut short, sort of like if Hinata wore her hair long but not long enough to touch her shoulders. She wore a purple jacket over a light green blouse with a maroon dress covering her legs. For decoration she had a beaded turquoise necklace.

"Do you know Baa-chan?" Naruto asked.

"He means Tsunade of the Konoha Senju." Rea clarified.

"We know of her. After all, the Sannin of Konoha are quite famous." Oshira replied. "But we left her alone. We didn't want to make her question her loyalty to her home by making her feel she had to choose between that and us."

"Would you?" Naruto asked.

"Oh no, no. But Naruto, let's say the Uzumaki had appeared to you but never given you the offer to come here. Over time, wouldn't you think that someday you'd have to choose between them and Konoha just because you know they exist somewhere?"

"I... I don't know. But didn't she deserve to know anyway?"

"Maybe, but deserving or not there's a time and a place to learn something. And with her spending a good amount of time grieving and indulging in vice, there was no time and place where her being told would have done any good." Oshira claimed.

"Maybe her knowing would have helped her get better." The whiskered blonde pointed out, not wanting to accept the idea that sometimes trying to help someone could do more harm than good.

"Then she never would have become the Godaime Hokage now would she?" Kikyo asked. "Little advice Naruto, don't get hung up on the what ifs of the past. You can't unring a bell."

"Fine," Naruto said, knowing that Kikyo had a good point.

"My turn." One of the men said. He had black hair that looked almost exactly like Naruto's own, and a short beard. His outfit was a black shirt with white stripes down the sleeves and a red zigzag emblem on the chest, and dark brown pants. His hands were covered with dozens of small scars, as if he had long ago handled quite a lot of sharp things not as carefully as he should have. "I'm Sogyo of the Meikai."

"And I'm Saki of the Gokanna." The final member of the gathered council greeted. This was a woman with short white hair that strangely enough had a green streak dyed into the right side draped down the side of her head. She wore a light blue kimono decorated with white flowers scattered around it, giving the impression of flowers floating on water. The most notable feature was the fact her obi was a bright gold.

"And now that introductions are done, I'm sure you've got a few questions for us Naruto." Kikyo said.

"I feel like I have a hundred, and yet none at the same time." The whiskered blonde replied.

"Not good with meeting new people are you?" Sanshiro asked.

"Oh no, that's not the problem. It's more like..." Naruto started, scratching his chin for a moment while thinking of the best way to respond. "I feel like there's something here I'm supposed to say, but I have no idea what that is."

"Like you're the only actor in a movie that never got the script?" Oshira asked.

"Yeah, something like that."

"What makes you think you have to give a specific response here?" Oshira added, hoping this would help him loosen up.

"That's not what I'm thinking at all... I just don't know where I should start. I have way too many questions that I can't decide which ones I should go with first," Naruto said rather sheepishly.

"Well, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to think about those questions. Take your time." Kunami said in a reassuring tone.

Naruto nodded before he remembered something he wanted to bring up. "I know I asked if my friends back in Konoha can come here. How will you bring them here anyway? And what if that man back in Konoha tries to stop you?"

"Those are very good questions. I plan to go back in a week to discuss the matter with Tsunade and to see what her and your friends decide and go from there. Don't be surprised if not everyone decides to come, though. You did force them into making a very difficult choice." Kikyo pointed out.

'Don't remind me. It's bad enough I screwed up that much, I don't need more salt rubbed on that wound.' The whiskered blonde thought, though he didn't say anything.

"Anything else?" Kikyo asked.

"I'd like to hear about the friend that did come here." Sanshiro asked. "What brings you here little lady?"

Hinata looked really nervous at having the focus on her now. "Well, he needed my support."

"Nice to see he has such a friend despite what we've heard of Konoha's general opinion." Kunami replied with a smile.

"It's not that bad, not anymore." Naruto countered, though he then decided to change the subject. "So, I'm going to wait until I can decide what questions I want answered first before I ask them. What happens next?"

"Well, we planned to celebrate your arrival later today. After that you'll begin your training first thing tomorrow." Miya pointed out.

"Alright. So who's going to be training me?" Naruto asked.

"That'd be me." Rea answered with a grin.

"More than just him to be precise." Kikyo interjected. "There's a lot here for you to learn, and not just related to jutsu. After all, whether you become Hokage, a Village Head, or even a Clan Head you need to learn a few things about the job too. And rest assured, none of your instructors will be as late as Hatake was... and they'll be far tougher so."

"Well, I guess you couldn't make it too easy for me." Naruto quipped. "Speaking of training... what about Hinata?"

"I have a couple of good choices for potential senseis perfectly suited for her individual training, but it'll take a while before I make my final decision. In the meantime, she will be training alongside you." Kikyo answered.

Naruto nodded. "I can't really think of anything else to ask for to be honest."

"If that is the case, Rea will show you and your companion to your rooms while we prepare the welcome celebrations. Take the time to enjoy yourself, and it would be best if you don't leave the citadel without one of the four of us who brought you here." Kikyo requested.

"Why?" Naruto curiously asked.

"That way you don't get lost." The expert archer answered. "Ultimately, make yourself at home here."

Naruto nodded and Rea motioned for the boy to follow, which he and Hinata did.

"So if you two want to go exploring, there's the armory Miya's family owns, the ramen shop owned by my chum Zenmaru, oh I love the-" Rea started when they were in the halls of the citadel.

"You going to take us somewhere?" Naruto asked.

Rea nodded. "Naw, I got my own plans. You two go off exploring on your own and get a feel for the village."

Hinata blinked. "But Rea-san, Kikyo-sama said we weren't supposed to go out on our own."

"You're ninja are you not? When was the last time you needed supervision to just go for a walk around town?" He asked. "Besides, she only suggested that you two don't go out on your own. She never actually forbade it, did she?"

Naruto thought this over. "Now that you mention it, no she didn't."

Rea nodded and smirked. "And did she not say and I quote, make yourself at home here?"

"You sure we won't get in trouble?" Hinata asked.

"Nope." Rea shrugged. "But you're ninja. You're not supposed to play safe in everything." There then was a brief chuckle from him. "Besides, you only get in trouble if you get caught."

Naruto grinned. "I'm starting to like you Rea-san."

"Starting tomorrow it's Rea-sensei, memorize that. Now go, have fun, but not too much fun."

"Damn, no one ever lets me have too much fun." Naruto replied sarcastically before heading towards the main doors of the citadel.

Hinata was less eager, but part of her felt brave and chose to accompany Naruto.

Rea kept smiling as he saw them leave. "Besides, if anyone's going to get in trouble for this, it's sure to be me. Oh well, it'll be worth it for Kushina's boy."