Chapter 3
Upon getting the news that his genin have left the village with a stranger, he only manages a dismissing nod towards the Chunin at the gate before he leaves the gates. There's no need to summon Pakkun just yet, he has scent trails for all three children. He starts to look for Sakura's overbearing flowery scent first, but it disappears just around the gates. That's weird. Finding Sasuke's and Naruto's is easy, and he follows the direction it leads too. If they left at eight then they must have covered quite a bit of distance by now. He sure did take it easy today and showed up at noon.
Cursing himself for forgetting about the extra addition to their team for this mission once again, he leapt forward from branch to branch. It was only a C-rank mission. Nothing would most likely happen. But they were without him. For their first mission outside the village. He couldn't help but be paranoid. What if Sasuke and Naruto clashed and Sakura was stuck acting mediator? What if someone saw the falling dynamic and attempted to attack them?
Logically he knew that Senju Kirari was a very competent ninja, one of ANBU's finest. But he'd never really interacted with her and didn't ever see her smile or joke. Sure, he knew from Genma that she wasn't always like that, but he'd only seen her during joint missions. What if she prioritised the mission over his students lives? What if they didn't make it? Kakashi's mind was a very dark place.
He could only imagine how his team would be having the worst possible time right now.
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"And then, he said, 'No Naruto, you're too great for a D-rank so I'll give you the most important C-rank ever dattebayo!'" Naruto finished his tale and with the best old man tone he could mimic and Kirari snickered at the thought of the Hokage talking that way.
"Pretty sure he said 'Since this brat won't shut up I'll give him something to get out of my hair!'" Sakura retorted and Naruto stuttered to reply and made a sound of offence. She's pretty sure she saw Sasuke smirk.
"Does this look like the 'most important client' to you dobe?" he scoffed and this time both Tazuna and Naruto made a sound of offence.
Kirari could only smile at the cute antics of the children. How wonderful was it to be a genin and clash at your team at every turn. She remembered the times when she, Shisui and Takato would fight for the tiniest reasons. She hadn't allowed herself to think of them in a very long time. They'd promised to be friends forever. Well, Kirari had a bit of a puppy crush on Takato during their early genin days but that had faded soon after they actually got to know each other. And then Takoto died. Shisui let him die. Now she knows that there wasn't really a chance for Shisui to try and save him anyway, they'd both have died that way. But twelve-year-old Kirari wasn't this mature.
Shisui and her eventually grew distant, both grieving and coping in their own way. Their genin sensei, Yamanaka Inoichi, didn't really have the time to be with them at every moment. The war had just ended and it left the T&I working twenty hours a day. He still tried, which is probably why she still spoke to Shisui at all. Years later they'd reconnected. Coming out clean with apologies and their feelings. They'd only just started to regain what they had before he got dragged into clan politics and then died.
Once more she was left with an aching heart, it was Takato all over again. This time she had other good friends, Genma and Kurenai. They'd pulled her back up again. And she stored all these events in one corner of her mind and delved into work. She was a shinobi. They didn't let emotions rule them.
"Senpai?" she heard Sakura's voice and snapped out of her thoughts. Sasuke and Naruto seemed to be arguing still and the younger Kunoichi and came to walk beside her.
"Yeah? Sorry I spaced out," she answered and the girl nodded, "Just wondering where Kakashi-sensei is," she replied.
"Don't worry. He'll be with us in a few minutes if we maintain this pace," she answered, which earned her the attention of all three genin. She might be lost in her mind, but she was on a mission. Hatake was masking his chakra, but not to the point where it was not spottable. She'd sensed him as soon as he came in her range.
"How do you know?" Sasuke questioned, a frown ever-present on his face.
"I'm a sensor," she replied.
"Sensor?"
"Naruto-baka! A person who is sensitive to chakra by birth or through practice is called a sensor-nin. They can tell people from their chakra and spot their locations. Senju Tobirama could even tell the different emotions a person was feeling from their signature and make out if they are lying or not," Sakura went on to explain. Yep. She'd excel in the medical arts with that chakra control and the power to remember and theorise.
"WOAH! HOW DO I BECOME ONE?" he yelled excitedly and Sasuke tch'd but was looking at her as well.
"You need to train really hard for it. I am able to do so because of my genetics and training. You don't have the former to fall back on, ask your sensei to teach you." she said, though it wasn't entirely true. Mito-obaachan was able to utilize Kyuubi chakra to tell apart negative emotions but he couldn't do it because of how tight the seal was right now. No point in telling him.
"He is useless, he didn't tell Sakura about using scentless products. He doesn't teach us any jutsu. We don't train." the Uchiha remarked angrily. Kirari didn't respond. She grew up during a war, even though she wasn't sent to the frontlines, their training regime was very different from now. Still, she did know that Hatake Kakashi was one of the best ANBU instructors, so they'd be fine. Hopefully. It didn't seem so yet but... It wasn't really her place to question his methods.
They walked in silence for a few more minutes before Kirari abruptly stopped. Because she just sensed something. She'd let her plane expand as much as she could and Kakashi was very near to them. But that wasn't what stopped her. From the direction of Kusagakure, she could feel two very distinctive chakra signatures.
Uzumaki Admantine Chakra.
She hadn't felt this since... since Kushina-san died. It wasn't her, but it was a woman of similar age and a child, probably a girl. Their chakra was a vast ocean compared to the others that dulled out.
"Kirari-senpai?" Sakura questioned in confusion, all the others had stopped by now.
"Children, Tazuna-san, we're going to take a break here. Hatake-san will be here soon and I need to leave. There's something else that's come up." she explained, unsealing a simple scroll and bottle of ink from her pouch. She sat down to write a letter to the Hokage explaining him of the situation.
"W-what? But this is- you won't be escorting me home?" Tazuna questioned, looking nervous for some reason. Kirari stopped for a moment to analyze him, his emotions were all over the place. "This is a C-rank. Hatake-san is a very capable jonin. He's well equipped to handle bandits and the sort." she answered and the old man could only nod.
"Ah, I've finally caught up to my cute-"
"Hatake-san" she interrupted, not in the mood for this right now, "I sensed two Admantine chakras near Kusagakure," she said sharply and the silver-haired man lost his casual stance and straightened up. "I'm breaking off here to confront them, can you continue on your own?" she asked though it was most theoretic. He nodded once and she bit her thumb, summoning her fastest eagle. "Kiwa, no time to discuss right now, get this envelope to Hokage-sama as soon as you can," she said and the young ave gave her a look but nodded. "Take care, Kira-chan. I'll be quick," he replied and flew off.
Kirari could see the awestruck expressions on the three genin's face and gave a small smile. Her summon really was the prettiest. In her eyes at least.
"You're leaving?" Surprisingly, it was Sasuke who asked first. She sighed but nodded, eyes flickering over to Naruto for a moment. Uzumaki. If she was right, and they wanted to come back to Konoha, he would be able to meet the last of his clan. She had already explained everything she knew at the moment to the Hokage via the letter.
"Yes, unfortunately, something major has come up. I can't delay it. Be good, all of you," she said, ruffling Sakura's hair. The young girl smiled and nodded. "What did we learn today?" she asked, a poor imitation of Yamanaka Inoichi's end of the day recap technique.
"We should only use standard black ink on missions because it can't be traced back to any particular village," Sakura replied, always the most diligent.
"People who break formations on C-rank can't become the Hokage and ramen cups can be used as plant pots," Kirari had to smile at the latter, it was such a Naruto thing to note.
"....."
She sighed again, "It's okay guys, since your teammate is a little slow you guys have to make up for it. But don't worry, he'll be useful for other stuff, like making tents and food," she said solemnly. The Uchiha bristled like a cat thrown in cold water. Before he could open his mouth to argue, he too was given a head pat.
"I'll be going now, Hatake-san, there are two Chunin-level Shinobi a few miles ahead. Probably not a concern to our team but look out," she said and the man nodded in understanding. Not wasting any more time, she charged full speed towards the outskirts of Kusagakure.
A minute passed before Kakashi returned to the 'casual' facade he maintained in front of the kids, "Yo-" and he was interrupted the second time since he'd arrived, this time by Sasuke. "Actually, I did learn something from today,"
Kakashi nodded, encouraging him to go on,
"The fact that you really are useless."
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Katsue Uzumaki was a middle-aged woman with one daughter who was the sunshine in her otherwise cold life. The only thing that kept her moving. She was still alive, still using her body to heal these, these disgraceful shinobi, because it meant Karin had a warm bed to sleep in and food to keep her full.
She lived with her daughter in a small hut on the edge of Kusa's forest, because outsiders don't live in the village and should be thankful for what they get.
She 'worked' fourteen hours a day at the village hospital, and it usually left her too tired to even walk. She did it so Karin would be safe at home. Because Karin was still a child, with no bitemark on her pale skin, she was just a little girl. But the village leader had already ordered that she would go for the chunin exams in Konoha, to heal her teammates in case they need it. Katsue protested, but it was either that or a two-hour shift at the hospital every day.
She didn't really have any hope for herself left. The once-proud seal mistress and doctor of Uzu was just a chakra battery here. What she could hope for was a better life for her daughter.
She was lying down on the bed, a rare day where she had to work during the night and therefore that the day free, when Karin entered with someone else with her. It wasn't unusual, people came to check up on them regularly, they couldn't lose their most convenient healers after all.
But this time Karin was smiling when she entered. Katsue sat up with some difficulty to have a better grasp at the new lady in the room.
"Are you Katsue-san? Katsue Uzumaki?" the blonde woman questioned, her chakra barely noticeable even to a skilled sensor like herself. She slowly nodded.
"My name is Senju Kirari," she started, which made her gasp involuntarily, "I noticed two adamantine chakras while on a mission. According to the motion passed by the Sandaime after the fall of Uzushio, all Uzumaki's and the island's inhabitants are welcome to live in Konoha, as their sister village we'd be most happy to have you with us," she said in a professional tone before her posture relaxed a little and she patted Karin's head who was beaming at her mother. "And, from what little Karin told me, this place isn't treating you very well is it?"
Katsue could almost cry in relief when she processed the information. Karin, even at her young age, was a far better sensor than herself, if she couldn't detect any lie or malice in this woman's chakra, then it had to be true. She hoped it was true.
"Can we talk some more before agreeing to anything?" she asked and the other Kunoichi nodded. Even if she was from Konoha, Katsue wouldn't let her and her daughter enter an unfamiliar place without the proper information.
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Two Uzumaki.
Two Uzumaki who were still alive.
Alive and would potentially join the village.
Hiruzen went over the letter once more before closing and burning it. Kirari's eagle was waiting for a response on the window. He had waited for years with open gates for any Uzumaki to appear, to join the village. After Kushina's death, he had sent out teams once more, so that Naruto could have some family, someone to look after him without causing a political nightmare. And now they found some.
It would probably mean that Naruto would be informed of his parentage a little earlier, but he was going to do so anyway after the Chunin exams. If the boy did participate and clear the first two rounds of the exam. For him, and the village as a whole, a new clan would mean a major advantage. Hate as he may to admit it, but the two strangers would have to wait for a certain period before being allowed near him. Naruto was Konoha's jinchuriki. But from what he knew of the Uzumaki, they wouldn't hurt their own.
Sending a sealed letter with the summon, he leaned back on his chair to prepare himself for the council meeting he'd have to propose later today.