Hyoton no Naruto

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So, without further ado, onto chapter trois, of Hyoton no Naruto!

"Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice."

-Robert Frost

Chapter 3: The second life.

Previously, in Hyoton no Naruto

She saw two people discussing something in hushed tones. Silently wiling her chakra to her ears, she tried to listen in on the conversation the two were having.

She wished she hadn't.

One of the men had said it, but the jounin chakra reserves of the men were enough to tell him this was not just gossip.

Uzushiogakure had been wiped off the face of the Elemental Nations.

Current time.

Uzumaki Safe house, outskirts of Mizu no Kuni.

Despair, pain, loneliness. These were the feelings Kushina was currently having. The subtle feeling of dread slowly but surely gripping her heart.

It had been a week since she had heard the two men talking.

At first, she had refused to believe it. But now, after 7 days and still no sign of survivors, she had begun losing hope.

The Uzumaki clan was a close knit group. So it was natural that they would want to be kept informed of the status of their loved ones who had gone to perform dangerous missions. Hence, the Uzumaki, with their sealing prowess had devised a seal which could be used to determine a loved one's status. The seal was a work of art, but for a clan who had designed jutsu that could summon Shinigami himself, designing a non-combat seal like it was akin to making a storage scroll for a normal ninja.

After a clan shinobi had performed and completed the coming of age ceremony, they were allowed to write their name in the scroll containing the seal. Their name was written in blood, not unlike what was done in the summoning contract. When the shinobi died, their name on the scroll blackened.

Its only apparent use was to determine if a person was dead or not. The seal was particularly useful during the clan wars era, where the risk of running into an opposing faction was exponentially higher. There was a scroll kept in every safe house of the clan, and the names were automatically updated on all scrolls once something was changed in the original scroll. Right now, all of this didn't matter to the little redhead. She was just looking for a rope to cling on too to prevent her from falling into despair.

She spied the scroll on top of the shelves. Quickly forming a gold chain, she whisked the scroll from its spot. Setting it in front of her, she bit her thumb, and swiped the blood over the swirl shaped security seal. The seal glowed and promptly opened. She shakily unfurled the scroll, hoping against all hope that she would find some familiar named written in red.

What she saw made her lose all hope.

All names on the scroll, except hers and her sister's were blackened.

She was one of the last Uzumaki alive.

The revelation brought forth a new wave of guilt and tears in the 12 year old.

That night, sounds of her crying filled the safe house.

Next Day

Kushina woke up with a groan. She did not want to move. Wanted to lay there unblinking, staring at the roof. She felt utterly, completely devastated... . Mostly everyone she knew, had died. Her village, the place she had grown up in, destroyed. What was the need to anything now. She had been weak then. Her sister's words echoed in her head

"...become strong to protect..."

'I couldn't protect them...' she thought miserably.

She hadn't even considered this possibility of the whole village being destroyed someday. She had, for as long as she knew, been told that the village was impenetrable. She had derived a sense of security from the repeated words. Then, there was also pride that her parent were the ones to whom everyone looked for protection.

Deciding to stop dwelling in her misery, she decided to go into the village. She still had not got her food, and the food in the safe house had been spoilt when she had carelessly left the doors to the pantry opened. She needed to get something to eat first.

Deciding on her plan of action for now, she squared her shoulders and set out.

Few days later.

Asahi Village, Mizu no Kuni

It had been a week since the revelation. She had decided long before that going to Konoha was not an option. She still hadn't ruled out the possibility of their involvement in the attack on Uzu. Even though she had heard that the attackers were of Sky Country and had been wiped out by Konoha in retaliation, her theory about the attack being staged by Konoha to acquire more Uzumaki in their ranks made much more sense to her. So, even with her nee chan living in Konoha, she decided it would be better for the two of them would be better off living separately.

No matter what her heart ached, she was not going to cave in to its demands.

She had taken to wearing a grey bandanna over her head to cover her distinct red hair. The redhead also did odd jobs like repairing fences and the like for money. Money, which she needed to buy food.

Food, meaning ramen.

Hey! Going through a difficult phase in life didn't mean she couldn't eat ramen!

But right now, all of this didn't mean anything right now.

Because she was running away from five greedy missing nin.

The chase had already lasted for about an hour and the rogue ninjas were showing no signs of stopping anytime soon. It was only through her experience in weaving through throngs of people while chasing Shigure that she was even keeping up.

At some point her s sandals had given out. Now, her feet were burning with searing pain.

Stupid! Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid! How could she have let her guard down!. Her bandanna had slipped off, showing the world the fiery red hair of the Uzumaki clan. She had quickly covered it up again. Unfortunately for her, a few missing nin had seen the slip up and were now chasing after her, hoping for a bounty in exchange of an Uzumaki.

She gripped her pendant hard, tears spilling forth. In her distressed state, she unconsciously bled chakra to the stone. Suddenly, the world went black.

Groggily, woke up in a green meadow with a sun ray falling on her mid- section. She lift her head to take more note of her surroundings. When she did, she had to blink and pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. For in front her was a face she had not seen for two long months.

"Hello Kushina chan"

Standing in front of her, was...

"K-Kaa chan..."

Miki Uzumaki. Her beloved mother. Who was dead.

Bewildered, and a little scared, she hesitantly asked with a shaky voice.

"B-But I thought you had died..."

"That I did!" Miki responded cheerfully, thoroughly confusing the 12 year old.

"So you're really my Kaa chan?" Miki nodded slowly, unsure of what her daughter was thinking.

Her daughter started rising. "Kushina what are yo-oof!" any further words were cut off as the redhead felt her daughter tightly hugging her mid section.

Miki ran a hand through her daughter's long tresses, and patter her back slowly. Judging by the easing of Kushina's muscles, it seemed to have worked.

"K-Kaa chan... I thought I would never be able to see you again. "

"Oh? But you did ne Kushina chan?"

She directed a playful gaze towards her little tomato. (Not that she'd tell her)

"B-But how? How can I see you if you are dead?"

"Because of me", a heavier, definitely male voice, called out from behind her.

She turned around to see her father standing with his hands on his hips. "No love for me Kushina?" the former Uzukage inquired with a subtle quirk of his eyebrows and a fake pout.

Shaking her head and blinking her eyes clear of all the tears, she quickly ran up to him and pulled him into a hug, her mother following soon after.

In the warm embrace of her parents, Kushina's hastily erected barriers came crashing down.

"Why did you two have to die Kaa chan, tou chan? Haven't I already lost enough!? Akai nee chan left me, and then you too... It's like I'm not meant to be loved... All my loved ones are taken away from me..."

Her parents patted her head softly. Miki quietly whispered in a soothing voice, "I know you missed us, Kushina and we are really, really sorry that we left you alone like that."

Continuing where Miki left off , Arashi put in his two cents. "What's done is done..You can't keep living in the past, Kushina. Seeing your body, I can only guess how hard life has gotten for you. All because of our fault. But making something of it or staying down will be solely your choice. You were one of the most promising genin of our village. Don't lose your chance at happiness because of our mistake. Become strong Kushina, and remember ..."

At his point, both Arashi and Miki had started glowing. Speaking together, they both gave their daughter their final advice "The true power of an Uzumaki comes from the desire to protect. Live, love, and cherish what you have. Live like a true Uzumaki, dear Kushi"

With these final words, the parents dispersed in a glitter of particles, never to be seen again.

Barely audible, Kushina whispered "I will, tou-chan; Kaa chan"

The scenery slowly changed back to that of the forest she was running in. Resolve hardened and vigour renewed, she decided on a new course of action. Turning sharply, she landed in a meadow, and quickly started blurring through hand signs, completing her jutsu just in time, for four figures jumped towards her from the canopies-

"Fuuton: Daitoppa no Jutsu!"

-only to be pushed back when furious gales pushed against them.

The Fifth Nin, who had been lying In wait for an opening, quickly used the cover provided by the fuuton jutsu to launch a surprise attack on the little girl that they had foolishly underestimated. His blow was surprisingly parried by a golden chakra chain writhing out of the girl's palm.

"Impressive for a little runt, aren't ya!?" the man sneered, going through hand signs. Kushina blurred through her own, both finishing at the same time.

"Suiton: Mizurappa"

"Suiton: Teppodama!"

To the man's immense displeasure, and concealed amazement, Kushina's teppodama overpowered his mizurappa, and he just barely dodged it. Kushina didn't relent, however, and threw one of her three kunai, using the spray as a distraction, going through the seals even when it was still in the air.

A loud cry of ' Kunai kage bunshin' was heard, along with a dozen or more pops, and what used to be a single kunai, became twelve. The rogue had no time to ponder the sheer ridiculeness of a 12 year old using so many jutsu in quick succession and still not getting tired.

He was instead turned into a pincushion by her kunai.

"A little child got me eh... I am a fool for having under estimated her." With his dying breath, he noted, with some satisfaction, that she had not managed to win completely unscathed.

Kushina stood, pale faced as she took in the fact that she had just killed a man. She had no time to dwell on her thoughts however, as his comrades started attacking he with renewed energy.

"YOU! I will cut you into little pieces and feed them to my dogs for killing my brother!" one of the rogues yelled and tried to claw her face with feral movements. In his angry haze, he didn't see the golden chain coming at him from the ground in time, and as a result, got skewered.

If the wayward ninjas were mad before, they were truly furious now. Not only had this little runt managed to lead them on a merry chase for the better part of an hour, she had also managed to kill two of their comrades.

Two of them started going through hand signs, while third flipped back. Seeing that their fellow ninja was out of the line of fire, the two executed their attacks.

"Suiton: Hahonryū! (Water Style: Ripping Torrent)"

"Raiton: Jibashi (Lightning Style: Earth Flash)!"

An electrified water wave started coming towards Kushina, who merely anchored herself to the ground with the chakra chains, activating her Chakra chain barrier. As soon as she sensed the jutsu ending, she made two Mizu Bunshin, and dashed towards her opponents, trying to slash their throats. It was all for naught, however as the bunshin were quickly dispatched by the wakizashi wielding ninja while the two ninjutsu users rested. Seeing his advantage, the shinobi quickly came at her with the subtlety of a bijuu and began slashing the sword haphazardly. Having spent her childhood with a weapon user had made her pick up some skills in the art of kenjutsu, and she could see that the ninja was self taught. She subtly added some wind chakra to her kunai and feinted towards his left. The ninja, falling to the deception, brought his sword down to block her kunai. She quickly brought up her palm to face his other side and fired a golden chain. The chain passed right through his right lung. He coughed up a glob of blood, and fell forward, dying before he even hit the ground.

The remaining ninjas wasted no time in sending kunai and shuriken her way. She dodged them but noted that she was becoming slower as the fight progressed. Her massive chakra reserves were nearly depleted after using all those jutsu and chakra chains.

The missing nin, too, seemed to have noticed this, and dashed towards her. Kushina was now truly scared. She had only one kunai left and her opponents seemed to have regained their chakra.

'Probably ate soldier pills.' Kushina thought petulantly.

She had never been in a situation like this before. Stranded in a Mizu no Kuni forest, having a death match with some rogue ninjas, who wanted to capture her and sell her to the highest bidder. With no hope for reinforcements.

It was a bad day to be Kushina.

As they reached her, Kushina thought about how disappointed her parents will be if she joined them now.

'At least I'll meet the other again. Then I can ask the old lady to make me some ramen.'

While the redhead was momentarily distracted,, the assassin brought down his blade to end the life of the stubborn girl who had killed three of them. He was stopped however, when three senbon embedded in his hands.

Senbons made of ice.

Realizing the predicament he was in, he quickly barked "Retreat! Kiri Nin are coming...
We gotta run before they come at us!"

His partner quickly obeyed, and they shunshined out of the meadow. Just in time for two forms to land in the clearing.

Kushina watched, slack jawed, as one of them froze a corpse, and then, sealed it into a scroll.

Both of them were about her age, with one of them having shark-fin-like light blue hair, and the other having blond haired. Both their faces were pale and pasty due to their near constant exposure to moisture.

The blond one seemed to have finally noted her presence, and quietly walked up to her. Looking her in the eye, he softly asked "Are you alright? The number of missing Nin roaming in these forests has been increasing lately. Do you have any wounds to be taken care of?"

"I think I may have a case of mild chakra depletion." She was careful about not giving away her clan name, but noticing him looking at her hair and giving her an understanding nod, she revised that she didn't need to.

"What is your name? Do you have allegiance to a village?"

"Kushina... Uzumaki. I was an Uzu kunoichi before its destruction."

"My name is Reitoko Yuki. I am sorry for your loss. Sorry for the inconvenience but you will have to come with us to meet our sensei Uzumaki san"

At her rapidly paling visage, he quickly added "We need to confirm your identity, once confirmed you will most probably give a choice to become a part of Mizu Shinobi force or leaving with an escort."

Kushina slowly nodded in assent. Just as she had done so, the pale shark-fin boy from before appeared next to his partner, eying her warily. The blond seemed to have noticed this as he quickly rounded on his partner.

"Ao, be nice. She is Kushina. She means Mizu no harm" At this Ao seemed to have relaxed a little.

"Okay then. Let's take her to Fuguki sensei. He'll know what to do."

'Fuguki... I seem to have heard the name somewhere...'

Suddenly, there was a sound of a body landing behind her back. She turned and saw a big man giving her a wide, toothy grin. His sharp, pointy teeth giving him an even more intimidating appearance.

"Ohayo, Fuguki sensei! We were just gonna come to you."

When Fuguki seemed to be distracted, Kushina quickly noted that Fuguki's most distinctive trait was his fish-like appearance. He had small round eyes and sharp jagged teeth. He had long, orange hair that reached into his back with some pinned up at the top. He also had six green stripes on his face. Attire-wise he wore the standard striped jumpsuit of Kirigakure, a black outfit over it as well as a white cloak/robe over it and Samehada strapped over his shoulder via a large belt decorated by a tassel, betraying his position as a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

"Uzumaki-san here," Pointing at her to emphasize his point, the Kiri genin continued,"seemed to have been ambushed here by the group of missing ninjas we were assigned to take out. She even managed to kill three of her opponents, and was still fighting." At this, the Kushina's face heated up due to the unexpected praise. "And she managed to tire the remaining, so we easily drove them off."

Fuguki let off an appreciative whistle.

"Aren't ya a little strong girl?" Stepping closer to her, intentionally made her look up uncomfortably. He slowly brought out his Samehada. When the sword was near her, it started wriggling.

Kushina involuntarily shuddered, hoping that the Kiri shinobi did not see her moment of weakness. Seeing their smirks, they probably did.

'Just what is that sword?'

Apparently satisfied with the results of what he had just done, the swordsman nodded, and turned towards Kushina with more softened features.

"You really are an Uzumaki. I am sorry to hear about your clan and village." He leaned in closer to her ear "and also sad to hear about your parents."

Backing away, he saw Kushina's gobsmacked expression and laughed.

"I met them when I was a kid. You don't think I would forget how their daughter looked so easily did you? Don't worry. No one will know about your heritage."

Seeing her smile a grateful smile, he nodded.

The two genin, all the while, just dumbly tried to figure out what had happened that had softened up their sensei.

"So, do you want to join Kirigakure? I can take you to the Mizukage if you want."

The redhead thought about her options. She could go to her nee chan but her theory about Konoha being involved and trying to brainwash her stayed her hand. Kumogakure was known for weaponizing their bloodline shinobi, and she had no wish to be turned into a weapon. Iwa was a bitter enemy of Konoha, and by proximity, Uzu, and they would kill her if she got even a mile within their territory, they were going to kill her 'for being a spy'. Kiri was really the best option she had.

Smiling, she nodded in affirmative. The three man cell plus one girl started darting over the mist laden trees towards Kirigakure.

Two hours later,

Outskirts of Kirigakure no Sato

By the time they reached the hidden village, Kushina was on Fuguki's back, who had strapped her in the usual place of Samehada, which he was currently holding in his hands.

"We are finally here!" Reitoko announced cheerfully. The others of the group did not share his cheeriness, already exhausted from the non- stop run.

That included only Ao, by the way.

Kushina had already noticed the dynamics of the Kiri team. Reitoko would be the cheerful and optimistic one and try to lift everyone's mood, and Ao was his perfect counterpart, finding negatives in everything. Fuguki would just mind his own business. Until they got loud, when he would drain their 'extra energy' with Samehada.

Kushina cracked open her eye to take in the view of the village she was going to reside in for the rest of her life.

Kirigakure's architecture was composed of several cylindrical buildings, with the Mizukage's office being the widest and largest. Most of the taller buildings had trees on them. Befitting its name, the village was surrounded by a thick mist, with several mountains in the background.

The people, though, took no notice of the perpetual mist surrounding the village, and went about, doing their activities. The ninjas leaping through the rooftops were also seen as a part of the background. While passing through the streets, she noted that many gave Fuguki respectful nods; probably because of him being one of the seven swordsmen.

They finally arrived at the Mizukage Tower. Fuguki signed something to the guard, to which they quickly nodded and cleared a passage for them. Kushina was by now, walking on her own, and noted, with some awe that the floor was made such that no vibrations were felt.

Fuguki knocked on the Mizukage's door, eliciting a 'Come in'.

Behind an oak desk, sat the Sandaime Mizukage.

The man had darkened sclera, and long, greying hair which was long enough to reach his back with what appears to be pearl-shaped objects forming a circular pattern in his hair. He wore the standard Kirigakure attire complete with pinstriped arm and leg-guards over which he wore a sleeveless haori with ragged ends. He also wore a poncho-like scarf around his neck. At the time of his death, he had aged considerably, with notable creases and visible frown lines around his mouth, and much lighter hair.

Fuguki and the genin bowed before their leader before Fuguki gave the Mizukage their mission report.

The Mizukage read the report Fuguki handed to him, and after a while, quickly gestured the ANBU and the genin to file out of the room.

"So, Uzumaki san here wants to live in Kirigakure?"

The redhead, nervously nodding, quickly replied "Hai"

"And why is that? You can join any other village, so why Kiri?"

Kushina knew he was testing her. And also that if she failed to deliver, she might not even leave the office.

"I want to live in this village ... because it reminds me of home" she answered. It was true too, Kiri reminded her of Uzu's shores and the vast sea she would gaze towards when alone. The people, too reminded her of the Uzu villagers with their fishing-oriented lifestyle.

The Mizukage's eyed her for some time, judging whether she was telling the truth or not. In the end he just nodded.

"Then welcome to Kirigakure. You will have a choice whether to keep your name or not. You will be instated as a genin shinobi according to your skills listed in the report. You will be added to Team Fuguki as they are one member short. You will also be monitored for a period of one month, during which you will be restricted to the civilian areas." Seeing her nervousness increase, he added "Don't worry, this is the standard procedure for a newly instated ninja."

'Especially with the second shinobi war on the horizon'

Kushina nodded understandingly. They would not just admit any ninja in their training grounds and other shinobi areas where a spy could steal information on Kiri.

"I am glad you understand. Congratulations on becoming a Kiri shinobi", he said, handing her a Kiri headband "Genin Kushina Uzumaki.", he finished with a serene smile.

'Maybe I can still find something worth protecting, something worth dying for.'

A/N- Big chapter. I. just wanted to be done with the grounding chaps

As usual keep giving me the love... You know follows, favs and reviews...

Review and tell me about anything you liked or disliked... I always love criticism. Help me improve this story.

The main story will start from the next chap.

Reitoko means freezer btw. (inspiration: DBZ)

Preview

"He is such a beautiful baby isn't he?"

"Of course. He is your son. And you are beautiful too-ttebane" she said with a giggle.

"Feeling funny are we to-ma-to-ch-an?" Her lover breathed huskily.

They slowly inched their mouths towards each other. Just when they were about to make contact,

"Waaahh wahhhh"

, a baby's wailing interrupted them.

"I am thinking you do some of this on purpose, neh...

...Naruto chan?"

Jutsu

· Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)

· This is a relatively simple technique that creates a sudden gust of wind, but its scale varies greatly depending on the user. If used by a superior shinobi, it has enough destructive power to knock down a large tree. The wind from the squall can blow away all things in the user's line of sight. A variation of the technique involves a smaller blast of wind which gets ignited with flame.

· Suiton: Mizurappa (Water Release: Wild Water Wave)

The Water Release: Wild Water Wave is a basic Water Release technique which has many variations. Water gushes from the user's mouth like a waterfall and washes away the enemy. One can freely control the power of this technique with the amount chakra one releases.

· Suiton: Teppodama (Water Style: Liquid Bullets)

The user kneads chakra, and converts it into water, and then spits it out in the form of condensed balls. The high-speed water ball attack possesses just as much power to kill as an actual gunshot. While this is a water release technique, it can still be employed someplace where no water is available, which is a great advantage. It is also possible to increase the power of destruction of the spheres themselves by building up the chakra inside of them. The number of bullets is determined while kneading chakra. By taking advantage of gravity, the bullets can brutally increase in power.

· Suiton: Hahonryū (Water Style: Ripping Torrent)

This technique creates water that spirals in the user's hand which fires at a high speed towards the enemy. The overall amount of water formed is large enough to help extinguish even large-scale fire release techniques. In the anime, it was also shown to be able to be conjured from the surrounding area in the form of a torrential wave. It can also be combined with the Wind Release: Rasengan to create the Typhoon Water Vortex Technique.

· Raiton: Jibashi (Lightning Style: Earth Flash)

This technique allows the user to create a wave of electricity from their hands. The user can vary its power from a small surge to shock an opponent to a powerful stream of lightning capable of ripping through solid rock. It is ideal to use in conjunction with a water technique.

Story recommendations

Tik Tok by Athrna

This poem is set during Naruto Shippūden 4: The Lost Tower. A poem where a father addresses his son. It is written in Minato's point of view to reflect on the event of meeting his son, in which he ought not to admit and he must forget.

Deep emotions conveyed by a short poem.

Q/A

Q.) How did Kushina meet her parents?

A.) Miki, being the awesome seal mother she was, had already sealed some of her chakra in the pendant to be given to Kushina. She intended it to protect Kushina during times of desperation.

And Arashi, being the awesome father he was, locked away some part of his wife's and his own chakra to the seal. When Kushina bled her chakra, it came in contact with theirs, and hence, she met them. Kinda like the one Minato used but a lot less stable and done with a lot less chakra.