A mirror... Many superstitions were built up around mirrors, seven years bad luck, the mirror reflecting the soul and many other childish things like that... But despite them being childish everyone still accepted them... So when a man comes walking into a shop with a small cracked hand mirror around his neck and a bright clueless smile on his face, well a few questions have to be asked.

The man seemed completly normal, darkish hair, brown eyes, a red t-shirt with a white button up shirt over the top, black trousers and black shoes. If he didn't have the previously mentioned mirror no one would even spare him a second glance.

The clerk of the weapons shop smiled politely in response to the sweet and cheerful smile the young man was giving off.

- Hello sir, she began hesitantly, how may i be of assistance ?

- Ah, i'm simply looking for a new katana, i won't bother you with something so trivial.

And with that the man went to scour the weapon racks, his eyes searching for something, what that something was specificaly however, the clerk had no clue. She had seen many shinobi, samuraï and even bandits come through her master's shop but this man seemed slightly different.

Her shop, the 'seuil du commencement' was renowned for its fine craftsmanship and its fair prices. However with fame came the attention of strange customers. She believed the man before her could be put into that category.

After what felt like an eternity he finaly picked a blade. As he began walking towards her she already recognised the katana he was holding. The simple black leather wrapped saya and the detailed spiraling habaki seemed to general put buyers off as it was seen as pointlessly decorative, however most buyers were sorely tempted if they removed the blade from the saya.

- A nice light weight blade, sharpened to perfection and with an easy grip. It's perfect.

The clerk hid a cringe, this guy must have been clueless and trying to act smart. It hadn't been sharpened since she had picked it off the corpse of a long dead ninja. There was something about the guy that always made her wonder, it was the deceased soul's headband. The strange spiral engraved into it was not one she recognised or had ever heard about.

- Are you sure sir ther-

- No this one is exactly what i'm looking for... Who would have thought that i would- Well anyway, how much does this blade cost may i ask ?

- Uhh ... Well honestly it's been there forever and no one ever seems to want to buy it ... It's not of particularly good quality and the one who forged it is unknown so you can have it for free as long as you give me some form of identification or license that it.

- Ahh, of course how silly of me .

As the young man said this his smile went from disarming to almost gleeful. He handed the clerk a small red handbook, she quickly flipped it open and read its contents.

Name: Ryou Yamada

Origin: Land of whirlpools

Village: Uzushiogakure

License level: S rank

There were varying other miscelenious informations that were less important along with an official seal which was unmistakable. She frowned slightly while handing the booklet back slightly supprised that he had an S ranked license, those things weren't handed out for free.

- My deepest thanks for the blade, maybe i'll come back someday and actualy buy something !

Just as he was walking out of the shop an old man came walking in, said man stopped in his tracks as the now identified Ryou walked past him.

- What's wrong grandfather ? Did you know the man ?

- Know the man ?! The elderly man's voice was bordering on indignance as he spoke, That man Was Ryou Yamada !

At his granddaughter's confused look the old man became slightly downcast.

- What to they teach you brats in school these days ? That was whirlpool's infamous Kamikaze ! Damn that Uzumaki blood that makes him look so young, he must be at least fifty years old by now !

The young clerk wasn't sure what her grandfather was babbling on about but she knew that it was about time she took him to see the doctor again.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Ryou was sat on a tree stump, his newly aquired katana resting on his shoulder. His brown eyes lifted up slightly and his gaze fell upon the form of a kneeling person. Said person had light blond hair and dark blue eyes that looked up to him with what seemed like admiration.

- Ryou-sama.

- Inutsuna... Stand and give me your report.

The boy, as his face was young and his body short, hesitated for a short amount of time before finnaly standing up, his bright exuberant eyes fixating onto his master. As he stood it was easier to see that the young boy had a tanto tied onto his waist and that his clothing was very simmilar to that of his master. A white button up shirt with a green t-shirt underneath and light grey trousers however instead of wearing shoes like his master he was bare foot.

- Well, i believe i have finnaly located another of our relatives Ryou-sama ! I was taking a nap in the sun near the town...Tanzaku-gai i think it's called ... And this big drunk man disturbed my sleep by shouting out about, and i quote ' That Uzumaki brat ' ! The ugly guy was wearing a konoha headband so i'm sure that must be where the boy is !

Ryou sighed slightly as he closed one eye and held a hand against his forehead.

- Inutsuna ?

The boy perked up and brough his hands closer to his chest almost resembling a dog wanting to get a pat on the head.

- Yes Ryou-sama ?

- What have i told you about going to sleep when your supposed to be searching for information ?

The boy shriveled up under his master's gaze and let out the equiviliant of a whine. He flinched as his master raised his hand above his head, he waited for the hit to connect with his head but instead his master's thick skinned hand simply ruffled his hair, which made the dog like boy push his head up into the man's palm.

- Let's hurry and start making tracks, i'd like it if we get to the hidden leaf before sunrise tomorow.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

It was quite a sight, the dense canopy slowly melting away revealing the blinding sun that hung over the huge red gates of Konoha. Two sets of footsteps crunched away at the gravel pathway. The footsteps slowly approached the small booth at the entrance of the village. Already the two strangers could see the hustle and bustle of the civilians as they went about their daily buissness.

- Names, buissness in the village and a form of identification please.

The voice that spoke was clearly rather happy to see someone they didn't recognise walk through their gate. The person had a bandage passing over his nose and wild spiky hair, by his vest he was a chuunin.

- Ryou Yamada, i'm here looking for a fammily member and this is Inutsuna Uzumaki, he's my... assistant.

The chunnin looked up at him with a furrowed brow as he handed him two red booklets. His gaze fell upon Ryou's katana and Inutsuna's tanto but as soon as he flipped open the booklets he seemed to relax as they had the appropriate licenses.

- I've never heard the name Yamada ... Sounds alot like Yamanaka ? Oh, but I have definitly heard of an Uzumaki though ...

The gate guard chuckled to himself as he spoke. Ryou smilled kindly and inclined his head slightly before speaking in a calm tone.

- I'm a part of one of the Uzumaki clan's branches. Would you mind terribly if i asked you about this Uzumaki you mentioned ?

- 'Course not, besides ask anybody and they'll tell you about him. Maybe not in a very favorable tone... Anyway, his name's Naruto Uzumaki, short blond kid wearing bright orange, can't miss him... I think i saw him heading to the Hokage tower with his team this morning so he might be out on a mission... I'm sure Hokage-sama will be intrested if you're really both members of his family though.

- Excellent, would you mind pointing me to the Hokage tower, it's my first time visiting here.

- 'Course, it's that huge red building next to the academy, you can't miss it if you head straight down that street.

Ryou inclined his body slightly and Inutsuna bowed deeply. They both gave their thanks after the chunnin had returned their papers. Ryou's brown eyes gazed down the street as he was followed by Inutsuna who was currently spreading his arms out and pretending to be a bird. Ryou kept his disarming smile up as he nodded to anyone who met his gaze.

- Ryou-sama, this village has a heavy millitary presence dosen't it ? It's not at all like the hot water village we passed through, those guys barely had any shinobi out and about.

The tall dark haired man didn't anwser and simply focused his eyes on what he could only guess was the hokage tower what with the sign with 'Fire' written in bright bold letters on it. The closer he got to the building the bigger he realised it was, it must have had at least seven stories all together and its width was something to marvel at aswell. Despite Inutsuna's wide eyes and awed expression Ryou seemed completly unfazed as he continued to walk forwards.

The inside of the building was rather suprising, the area that Ryou and Inutsuna were in took up the equivalent of two stories worth of space. The first level of the area was practicaly unoccupied save for three reception desks with three women sat behind them, each working away at their own pile of paperwork. Along with the reception area there were four staircases that lead up to the second area which overlooked the whole reception area, it was completly filled with bookshelves and filling cabinets, a chunin passing by every now and then to pick up a document or important book.

Ryou walked up to the oldest looking receptionist and coughed politely.

- Oh, sorry i didn't see you, too absorbed in my work, how may i help you ?

Despite what she said Ryou had the glimmer of a feeling that she had sensed his approach before he had even stepped through the door.

- Good day, my name is Ryou Yamada and this is Inutsuna Uzumaki, we're here to speak to the Hokage about a Naruto Uzumaki, of course that's only if there are no other pressing matters that require his attention.

The elderly woman glanced at what to any civilian looked like a plant pot in the corner of the room however someone with sharp senses could feel the presence of someone hidding. When the woman looked at the plant pot there was the very slight but distinct sound of fabric rubbing against porcelain. The sound of an Anbu nodding.

- It would seem the Hokage has attended all of the meetings he needed to for today and has no backlog of paperwork so you're free to go up to the sixth flour and knock on his door.

Of course despite all of this charade Ryou knew that the second he had mention 'Uzumaki' to the gate guards the Hokage had been informed. Ryou didn't know why but that named held weight in this village and received both hatred and admiration from many of the shadows that had been following him.

His hope that the ammount of shadows following him would reduce when he reached the door to the Hokage's office was quickly shattered. He heard the voice of the strongest man of the village call him in and as he opened the door he felt the almost unnoticable displacement of air that went past him and into the room. Two, three, six not even, altogether he felt at least twelve shadows enter the room in the few seconds that he held the door open for Inutsuna.

- Ahh, you must be Ryou-san yes ? And the young boy is Inutsuna-kun ?

Ryou nodded politely, his smile was as disarming and natural as it could have been but the elderly man before him seemed to scan every inch of his face with utter seriousness before turning to smile at the blond haired young boy who was practicaly bouncing off the walls despite him being clearly aware of the situation.

- Please have a seat, both of you.

The words were spoken kindly and with a smile but they were an order, this was going to be an interogation session. Why was this village so protective of their Uzumaki ? Most villages couldn't care less. Ryou took his seat adjusting his Katana as he did so, this made every shadow in the room tense up but as he relaxed into his seat and crossed his legs each one seemed to calm down. The fact that the anbu had let both of them in with their weapons said that they were confident in their skills or the skills of their kage either that or they were unrealisticaly arrogant. Inutsuna took a seat aswell however he was a lot less refined than Ryou, he practicaly leapt into the seat and placed his hands between his legs on the seat, already starting to rock back and forth.

- I heard that you're looking for one of your fammily members Ryou-san ? Is that right ?

- Yes. I'm a part of the eighth branch of the Uzumaki clan, The Yamada branch. This boy is the child of a member of the first branch, the closest you can get to a pure blooded Uzumaki save for the main house. We heard that a young boy by the name of Naruto Uzumaki lived here on our travels and decided to pass by.

- Oh ? I never knew the Uzumaki clan had Branches ?

- Mhh, well it's not a well known fact but the Uzumaki clan was the biggest clan there was during the warring states period. However when that period ended and the Uzumaki clan came together to form a village many others joined the ranks and so the Uzumaki blood became less 'pure'. Nine branches were born from the original clan, each having something that distincly seperated them from the others. The first branch, which was the only branch allowed to keep the name of Uzumaki was born from the love between an Uzumaki and an Inuzuka, the result was children born with fierce loyalty that pledged to defend the main house and the strength to do so. My branch was born from the love between a civilian and an Uzumaki, which was the reason we were not the most important part of the clan.

The third Hokage narrowed his eyes slightly. Of course he had known about the branch system, he had heard about it from tip to toe when Kushina had gotten into a nostalgic mood. The fact that this man knew about it either meant he was telling the truth or that he had done his research in great detail. He shifted slightly in his chair as his eyes slowly drifted towards the mission file that had been assigned to team seven.

- I see, and why are you looking for clan members... Are you... Trying to reclaim Whirlpool country ?

After the fall of the land's main millitary defense, Uzushiogakure, the Daimyo's forces which mainly consisted of Samuraï and a few handful of ninja were slowly whittled away by poverty, famin and bandits. The previously famous land situated far off the coast of wave country was now refered to as ' The land of the lost '. According to rumours the Uzumaki seals that controled the deadly tides that surrounded the island went out of control after the deaths of their creators, completly cutting the place off from the outside world. No one was sure what the place was like now but the last message they had received from the place was that their daimyo had been assassinated.

- You think i'm try to amass skilled fuinjutsu masters and fighters to retake our homeland ? That place has nothing left for us except a lot of corpses to burry. No, i'm simply trying to reunite my family and maybe find a fresh start.

- Well ... You don't seem to have done well thus far ... The elderly man's eyes fell upon Inutsuna, if you've only managed to track down two children.

The look that Ryou sent at the Hokage was as sharp as a kunnai's blade that had been embued with wind chakra. Any other man would have at least shivered under the gaze but Hiruzen Sarutobi was not called the god of shinobi for Nothing.

- Inutsuna himself decided to become my assisstant, the five others that i have found so far are themselves out looking for our family.

Hiruzen realised that the conversation was at an impass, the back and forth that had been going on until now was wearing thin and neither saw a way out of this. Ryou was adamant on at least meeting his relative, which was dangerous even without taking the boy's status into concideration and Hiruzen's grandfatherly instincs wanted to protect the boy at all costs not to mention his leader's instincs that told him he could not let a foreign entity interact with the village's trump card. Once again at the thought of the blue eyed, blond haired ball of energy his eyes drifted to the C ranked mission file.

In a deus ex machina fashion an Anbu suddenly seemed to phase into reality next to him. The man completly dressed in black leened down to his leader's ear and whispered something that seemed to make the Kage both frown and smile slightly. It was a risky gambit if Ryou did have ulterior motives but Kakashi was with them so he was sure it would be fine. The elderly kage smirked.

- Naruto-kun's team has just run into two missing nin on their first C-ranked mission to the land of waves boosting the ranking up to B... Normaly with Kakashi Hatake, their sensei, there i wouldn't bother sending backup... But if you are really intent on seeing Naruto-kun as soon as possible then i suppose you could back them up.

And in a single phrase Hiruzen had not only confirmed that Naruto was not fully trained and announced that Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan, one of Konoha's strongest jounin was there. If Ryou's intent was to capture the boy he would surely use this opportunity but he would be visibly hesitant due to Kakashi being mentioned. Hiruzen picked up his pipe, filled it with tabaco and lit it as he would when he assumed he had won a conversation... rarely was his judgment wrong.

- I see... Inutsuna, how long would it take you to run there and sniff out Naruto-san's team ?

- Weeellll ... I suppose about three hours or so ?

Hiruzen suddenly choked on the smoke he had just inhaled as his eyes widened slighlty. Even one of his best jounin at full speed would take at least half a day, maybe more, to get to wave country. Hiruzen's gaze turned to Ryou with several questions but they were all anwsered quickly by the man's smirk.

- That's that then, Inutsuna will got meet up with Naruto-san's team and bring them back as soon as possible. Meanwhile i will stay here and explore the village a little more.

Hiruzen had lost... The professor had lost a battle of wits... His objective was to find out wether Ryou Yamada had any ill intentions towards Naruto Uzumaki. He had the luck to be able to set up a scenario to find out exactly that and Ryou had in one fell swoop proved that he had no intension of harming the boy by turning himself into a hostage and had rendered the Hokage's plan useless.

As Hiruzen watched the dark haired man leave his office he frowned heavily and as soon as the door closed he clicked his fingers to call upon his Anbu.

- I want three of you surveying him at all times, if he sticks even a toe outside the village i am to be informed. Boar, i want you to gather any information you can on Ryou Yamada of the Uzumaki clan... Now go !