Setting onto the journey
The small knock on the door of Naruto´s quarters made the blonde open his eyes. He´d already felt the presence coming, so it wasn´t much of a surprise to him. Naruto had already been awake, he hadn´t even slept in the first place if he was being honest, so he didn´t hesitate to sit up from his position on the bed and put on his mask before opening the door.
A short, ashen haired woman with brown eyes stood in front of him, dressed in her working clothes. She was the servant that had been assigned for him during his stay and was the one to take care of him whenever Arisu was busy. Naruto hadn´t seen her all too often aside from the times she brought food into his quarters or relayed a message from someone else.
“Good morning, Kitsune-san.” She nodded her head, voice a little timid as she spoke. Naruto smiled and raised a hand in greeting. Junko was a lovely woman, if a bit nervous and jittery around him all the time. Naruto had just barely managed to get her to stop calling him “Lord Kitsune”. She had constantly insisted on the title, seeing as she was a guest of the clan head himself and because he held a general high profile position in the eyes of the Hatake, apparently.
“Good morning, Junko-san. What can I help you with?” He greeted her back, trying to get his voice to sound as kind and easygoing as possible. She seemed to be a little frightened of his appearance and his reputation, so Naruto tried his best to let his gentle chakra float carefully around her, easing her up in his presence. It seemed to work, because the small tremor in her voice as she spoke up again was almost gone and she looked a little less guarded.
“Lord Shirogane has asked for you presence before you depart to the Uchiha compound. If you would please gather your belongings and follow me; he wishes to speak about the matter before you leave and believes that you would prefer to set off directly after.” She fiddled slightly with her fingers, twisting them in the hem of the fabric and shifted her weight from her left to her right leg, as if unsure of is answer.
Naruto hummed, using his free hand to run a hand through his hair while leaning against the door frame with the other. “Lord Shirogane is right. It´s almost time and I should get going as soon as possible. Give me a minute to gather everything, I´ll be right back.” Sending her a blinding smile, which she couldn´t see but could certainly feel from the way his chakra almost physically warmed up, Naruto went inside, not completely closing the door but pushing it closed at least a little to have his privacy.
Outside he could feel Junko shift again, likely to turn her back to his door and patiently wait for him to later lead him to Shirogane´s office. He sighed and went to work, turning to his bed were a few of his notes were tossed over the sheets. He didn´t have a lot with him, and most of what he had was stored inside the storage seals on his arm, but what he did have was hastily but carefully stored away.
It was almost time to leave. Yesterday evening Arisu and Naruto had gone over everything again and she had deemed him “adequate enough to at least not completely embarrass himself” – her words, not his – which was probably meant to be a compliment, but given the fact that he had sassed her moments before it was purposefully backhanded. Not that Naruto minded. Getting any sort of compliment from a woman like her was already an accomplishment, so he had given her a bright smile and thanked her wholeheartedly, causing her to let out an exasperated but somehow fond huff.
During the night Naruto hadn´t slept at all. He wasn´t necessarily nervous, but the idea of seeing Madara again after, well, everything seemed to bizarre to him that he could not stop thinking about it. The Madara that Edo Hashirama and Edo Tobirama had described to him seemed so much more different than the Madara that Naruto had gotten to know during the fourth war. Granted, time, manipulation, grief and many other horrible things had turned the Uchiha into a jaded man, full of hatred at the world and the reality he lived in, but knowing he had the world´s best interest in mind despite his warped perception of it made it a little easier for Naruto to believe that Madara hadn´t always been a bad person.
He could tell, even now, that this Madara wasn´t the same as his Madara.
Uchiha Madara´s chakra was like a beautiful bonfire at night, constantly on Naruto´s radar, no matter how much Naruto tried to tune him out. Chakra that powerful would always remain in his senses, similar to the chakra of Hashirama.
It was bright and almost scorching hot, but not in a way that would burn anyone who dared come near. Madara´s chakra felt like a large light-source, meant to guide his loved ones through the merciless night. A protective fire meant to burn away all threat and keep his loved ones warm. The chakra of a leader, who always had his precious people´s best interest in mind. In a way, Naruto was reminded of Sasuke before he became an avenger, which wasn´t all to surprising considering they were both reincarnations of Izuna.
Sure, Sasuke was more immature than Madara was. And maybe he was quicker to anger too, easier to manipulate and leave an impression on, but there were still enough uncanny similarities that Naruto found in their chakra signatures.
Both of them were passionate and fierce, protective when it came to the people they loved and vengeful when those people were taken from them. Almost obsessive with their love and so quick to anger, but so ready to give everything and anything for their family. They never shied away from any action they deemed necessary, no matter how morally reprehensible they were, damn all the consequences that would come with them
It was unsettling, sort of, that Naruto could tell all that just by Madara´s chakra, but then again, Naruto had always been more sensitive to other people´s feelings, even without emotional sensing. The distance would hardly stop him, especially with a signature this strong.
Naruto had promised himself not to judge this Madara before he had met him. But still, knowing that Naruto associated those traits with Uchiha Madara of all people somehow made the jump in time seem all the more real and even graver than before.
This was a man that had yet to be corrupted by Zetsu. Someone who still had something to protect, someone who Naruto could save from going down the same path Sasuke, his brother in all but blood, had taken.
The fact that this man was Madara made something uncomfortable clench inside of Naruto, like grief. Grief that this man was someone the shinobi world had lost to the dark, someone who abandoned the light. Fear at the knowledge that even this time around, they could loose him once again.
He´d promised.
Naruto had promised Hashirama to save Madara, even when killing him had seemed so very tempting at first. Even when killing him seemed to be the easiest solution to solve all of this, along with sealing away Zetsu.
But Naruto hadn´t survived in this world by striking down threats before they became threats. He has survived in this world by giving the people second chances. It was up to them whether they took it or not, like Obito, Nagato and so many others have done, but if they did, then Naruto would be there to reach out a hand and help them redeem themselves. Naruto has survived in this world by believing in the good of people, and taking on all the hatred without letting it consume him.
He would do the same this time around. He would not give up and let himself give into killing someone who was still innocent – as innocent as a soldier in war could be. But, alas, Madara was the founder of Konoha too. Without him, Konoha would have never been founded. Without him, Naruto might not have ever met the people he came to love, even if he lost them to Madara and Kaguya later on.
The last thought send a sharp and uncomfortable pain through Naruto´s entire body, making his chakra swirl and twist in suppressed grief and sadness. The pain the memories of his deceased friends caused him was so clear that he almost physically let out a low hiss, but he barely held himself back, shaking his head to rid himself of the thoughts.
Realizing that he was spiraling into his thoughts again and on the verge of overthinking everything, Naruto let out a slow and measured exhale, running a hand through his hair, as if that gesture would brush away all the unwelcomed memories before he would be too far gone. He didn´t bother tying it up this time around and instead let it hand loosely to his shoulders, only held back and out from his face by the mask.
With a final shake of his head, Naruto let his gaze wander through the room, making sure he left nothing in here, and turned back to the door where he could feel Junko start to grow slightly nervous from the prolonged wait.
With two long strides he was back at the door, opening it in one swift motion and coming to face with the small woman who looked like a deer caught in the headlights when he turned his head, directly facing her. His eyes crinkled at the sides and he smiled, waving his arm and showing the just barely fading ink seal. “I´m sorry for the wait, I have everything now. Shall we leave?”
When she dipped her head in confirmation, Naruto inwardly steeled himself for the conversation and closed the door behind him, ready to leave.
.
“So it is time, isn´t it?” Shirogane hummed, leaning back in his chair and regarding Naruto with a calculating gaze.
“Are you nervous, Kitsune? Having second thoughts?” There was a wry smirk on the Hatake clan heads face, but the undertone of worry was clear to Naruto´s sensitive ears, as was the swirl of doubt and worry etched into his chakra to Naruto´s senses.
Not quite sure how to voice his concerns without having to explain that he was a time traveler from the future about to meet the man who brought his world to an end and resurrected a vengeful goddess that killed everyone he has ever known and loved, Naruto settled for a half-hearted shrug.
“I´m not thinking about not following up on the invitation, if that is what you´re asking,” the blonde hummed nonchalantly, masking his initial worry.
The answer was taken as what it was; a deflection, but luckily Shirogane didn´t push. He only tilted his head to the side, intelligent dark grey eyes searching for any tell on how Naruto might feel about the situation, but Naruto only met his gaze, no hesitation and just as calmly as him. Shirogane´s chakra rippled through the air, like water in a pond rippled in small waves after a stone was tossed inside, as if he was surprised that Naruto was able to squarely meet his gaze like that.
“I can´t say I´m surprised. You don´t strike me as the type to back down, especially not from an opportunity like this,” Shirogane explained, making Naruto hum in agreement.
“I won´t. And I´m not planning to. Ever. I gave a word to work for peace,” to save Madara and the world, “and I plan on keeping it.”
Then he adds with much more seriousness than the clan head expected him to, “I do not go back on my words Lord Shirogane – never have and never will – because that´s my nindo.” The conviction in his voice was clear to everyone in the room, and while for most this matter might seem insignificant, or not as important to warrant such a reaction from Naruto, Naruto knew that this would be a great step forward. For him and for the shinobi world.
The room briefly falls into silence, not uncomfortable but certainly unexpected, before a small smile appeared on Shirogane´s lips. His eyes somewhat softened, not enough to be fond, but enough to show Naruto that those words put Naruto in the man´s good graces, to some degree.
“A noble thing to say, I surely hope you live by those promises then.” With those words, Shirogane pushed himself up from behind his desk and walked over to Naruto, eyes straight on him and chakra set in determination. He came to a stop a few feet before Naruto and motioned with his hand to the side where some of the guards were positioned.
“Before you leave to the meeting point, I do wish to warn you Kitsune.” The tone in his voice was stern but not unkind and his lips were set in a thin line. Immediately the light air from before was replaced with a buzzing electricity. The white chakra of the Hatake felt like a static to Naruto as he silently tilted his head in question, prompting the man to continue to speak.
“The Uchiha are cunning and strong, stronger than your average shinobi. Especially Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna,” he began, slowly pacing a little as he continued to explain. Naruto already had a sneaking suspicion as to what Shirogane might be trying to tell him, but he kept quiet for now, giving the man the chance to finish, “And while I do not believe this to be a trap, a shinobi should be prepared at all times. Knowing that you will be escorted by a squad means that you will be at a disadvantage when it comes to numbers.”
Shirogane came to a halt, pinning Naruto under his gaze. Naruto could feel the Hatake´s chakra swirl, but the emotions were too vague for him to make out anything clearly. Instead, his cerulean eyes wandered over the form of the man, looking for any tells. He was good at hiding his feelings, but Naruto could see a faint tenseness in his hands, as if there was a conscious effort to not clench and unclench them repeatedly.
Whatever Shirogane was about to say, Naruto knew that the man hadn´t made this decision lightly.
Shirogane´s voice was steady as he spoke up again. “I can offer support. Four men that I can send to shadow you, at least until you reach the border to the Uchiha territory.”
That –
That had been entirely unexpected.
Naruto blinked, surprised, and his eyes widened at the offer. “Lord Shirogane, that´s –“ he tried to answer, voice in complete disbelief and utter confusion, but he was interrupted by said clan head, who held up a hand to silence him.
“I know you will try and refuse, but I want you to know that I still mean to uphold our side of the deal we made. You needed help? We will provide you with it. So far you have not shown any signs of not upholding your promises, and I don´t believe that you will in the near future, therefore I offer you this as a sign of our alliance – no matter how tentative.
Four men to shadow you until you reach the borders, who will make sure it is not an ambush. I can´t provide you further help, since crossing territory is too much of a risk for my people. If the Uchiha were to know that you stand in contact with us, there might be complications. While we´re not enemies like the Senju and the Uchiha are, we do wish to avoid any confrontation on that front.”
Which made perfect sense. The Uchiha expected him to come alone, seeing as he worked solo most of the time and had no known allies – not known to the general public at least, thanks to the efforts of the Hatake of keeping their affairs private so far – to speak of. If the Hatake following him were to be discovered, then the Uchiha might feel betrayed or tricked, which is not the impression Naruto wants to give them.
So, like Shirogane already anticipated, he slowly shook his head.
His voice was laced with gratefulness, but also with a little reluctance. “With all due respect, I don´t believe it to be necessary. Not only do I think that the Uchiha are genuine with their intentions, but honestly,” and that is when a small smirk makes its way onto Naruto´s features and his tone turns a little smug, “I´m pretty confident I could take on four men on my own, Uchiha or not, if they do decide to attack me. Maybe even eight. No need to risk our status as allies or the safety of your kin.”
Naruto didn´t say that he could probably take even more than that – scratch that, he definitely could, most of all Madara, who would not stand a chance against him during this time, not even possessing the mangekyou – with practiced ease. He normally wasn´t one to brag, but being underestimated, while convenient for him, was not something Naruto liked all that much.
The confidence had Shirogane quirking an amused, if not skeptical eyebrow, before he let out a slow measured exhale. “Then so be it.”
They meet each other’s eyes and Naruto smiles, reaching out a hand for Shirogane to take. “Thank you for everything, Lord Shirogane.”
The clan head smiled as well, less brightly than Naruto but not any less genuine, reaching out his own hand to take Naruto´s and giving it a firm shake in mutual understanding.
“Safe travels, Kitsune.”
.
Nothing.
Madara had found absolutely nothing on the shinobi Kitsune. No heritage, no documentation of his skill, no sightings outside of missions, no records and no hint on who he might be under that mask of his. It had Madara gritting his teeth in frustration and run a hand down in face, trying to even out his breath.
The last few days, right after Izuna had told him of the man, Madara had immediately went on trying to find something, anything, on Kitsune. Despite having invited him per Izuna´s request and out of obligation and honor, Madara wasn´t usually in the habit of inviting strangers to the compound. The compound was a safe place, the place where his kin resided, and no potential threat would set foot onto his lands unless they wanted to lose their lives.
Until now that is, apparently.
Yes, Kitsune had saved Izuna and Hikaku, and yes, Madara was eternally grateful for that – he couldn´t have imagined what he would do without his little brother, the light of his life, the last person he had. Izuna was Madara´s everything and the clan head would never forgive himself should something happen to his baby brother – but that didn´t rule out the possibility of him being a threat. As a clan head Madara had the duty to protect his clan, and he would be damned should he ever fail.
So naturally, Madara wanted to know more about the person who was about to arrive at the clan compound in less than an hour, should he not be late.
But there was nothing. Not a single man that matched Izuna´s description of him, not a single record aside from those official records of Kitsune´s missions that he had been spotted on and not a single hint pointing at his real identity.
Izuna and Hikaku had both confirmed the young adult´s refusal to reveal his identity as well as the reason for the secret. All that was known about him was the fraction of the skill the two Uchiha squads had witnessed.
A wind primary and probably earth secondary natured shinobi with incredibly fine control, excelling at ninjutsu and fuuinjutsu but apparently lacking in the genjutsu and kenjutsu department. Which was ridiculous in itself, because the man wielded no weapons apart from a few kunai and preferred close range combat only with taijutsu. Then there was also the supposedly crazy healing factor and poison resistance that the man possessed, which both pointed towards a potential bloodline. Then again, a bloodline from a famed clan might be improbable, since the young adult obviously kept away from any and all clans. If he did belong to one, he was either exiled or a deserter, potentially a traitor to his clan.
So in conclusion, Madara was going into this blind – and wasn´t that cruel irony as the best sharingan user?
The sound of the door swinging open with a little more force than necessary pulled Madara out of his thoughts and made him turn his head to come to face with his little brother. Izuna was coming in, already formally dressed and hair tied down into his signature low ponytail. He seemed content at the moment and not even half as stressed as Madara felt.
“Brother, don´t you think it´s time to come out of your office and get ready? Time is running and Hikaku should be back with Kitsune in less than an hour.” With a few long strides Izuna was at Madara´s side and draped himself over his older brother´s shoulder, effectively hindering him from being able to look at any of his papers and notes without uncomfortably twisting his torso and neck. Madara grumbled and reluctantly let himself be stopped from working, but not without flicking his little brother´s forehead, causing him to yelp.
“Where are your manners, you know better than to just burst into my office, especially when I´m working, you little brat.” There was no real heat in his voice, nor any anger, just the usual exasperated tone he used whenever Izuna was being a little shit.
Izuna grinned and continued to use Madara to support his weight, causing the older to grunt at the additional strain. “Someone has to drag you out to see the light of the day. And no one aside from me and maybe Hikaku would dare. Or Elder Chiyo, but that hag doesn´t fear anyone.”
They both shuddered at the mention of the elder´s name. A fierce woman with temper worse than his and eyes that seemed to pierce through anyone´s soul. She wasn´t a fighter, but something about her made even the best of his shinobi cower, especially when she was on another scolding spree. She was like the old woman in the family that everybody knew they could physically win against, but mentally loose.
“Elder Chiyo has been busy with her own duties,” Madara replied, shoving Izuna off him to breathe a little easier while Izuna protested at being pushed away, “And you forget that Hikaku doesn´t disrespect me the same way he disrespects you.” He smirked at the betrayed look on Izuna face and the younger let out a huff of air, crossing his arms over his chest.
“It´s not my fault he´s playing favorites.”
“And it´s not my fault I´m the favorite.”
They both stared at each other, holding each other’s gaze and daring the other to break first, but like every time they do this, Madara is the one to win their little staring contest of will and Izuna looks away, grumbling something under his breath.
Before Madara could ask why Izuna was here in the first place, Izuna snatched away the files he was reading only moments ago, holding them to himself and skimming over the contents. “What have you been working on anyway that couldn´t wait until later? As far as I know you shouldn´t have been busy. I know for a fact you cleared your schedule today.”
Madara huffed, “Just the usual background check, now quit grabbing my work whenever you come in here.” He reached out to grab the papers back, but Izuna had already realized what it was. His eyes widened and his grip on the paper loosened, allowing Madara to grab it and store it away with the rest of the scrolls.
“You were looking for Kitsune?” Izuna asked, a frown covering his face. He didn´t seem to disapprove, but Madara could see the confusion in his eyes and turned to look at him to clarify.
“Of course. If he wants to step inside the compound I need to know who he is. It´s basic procedure, but apparently the little fox is a lot more cunning than given credit for” he sighed, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes for a moment, trying to chase off the oncoming headache. He could feel Izuna shift next to him, grabbing a second chair and sitting down at the table as well, facing Madara.
“There´s nothing on him I could use to find out who he is. The most I´ve found are rumors about his heritage, but one is more outlandish than the next. I doubt any of them are true.”
He sighed again at the thought, thinking back to the many strange rumors that he had heard of. Some described him as the vengeful spirit of the kyuubi no Kitsune in human form, others speculated that he was a yokai. There were rumors of the man being a ghost, since he seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, and others that stated he was probably immortal but only just now decided to show his face.
It was clear why Madara didn´t trust these tales.
“Nothing at all? Really?” That seemed to surprise his younger brother, who let out a thoughtful hum. Madara was, honestly, surprised Izuna hadn’t started digging for information on Kitsune himself, seeing as his brother is usually incredibly noisy.
He shook his head, brushing his untamed hair to the side with a low rumble of annoyance. “Nothing. All signs and facts point to this man not having existed up until his very first appearance not too long ago, which is impossible. The lack of support system and allies does not make the search for answers any easier, to be entirely honest.”
“It seems unlikely that he doesn´t have any support at all, though.” Izuna countered, head tilted to the side like he always did whenever he was trying to figure something out. Madara watched a small crease form between his eyebrows, showing that Izuna was trying to connect some points or hints in order to get an answer.
Out of the two of them, Izuna had always been the one with a better emotional understanding. Madara was callous. A jaded man despite his dream of peace. Most people tend to not approach him at all, and if they did, they never respected him the same way they respected Izuna. They understood the strength and the fierceness Madara carried with himself, and the Uchiha trust him with the future of the clan, for he was a good clan head, but everyone was aware that Izuna´s emotional intelligence was far more superior than Madara´s.
It´s why Madara would always turn to Izuna for help whenever there are duties that don´t entail battle strategy or an iron fist. Sensitive tasks that require understanding of the person in front of them. Madara could detect what a person felt, could see their pulse quickening with his sharingan or could see their pupils shrink to the size of pins, courtesy of his kekkei genkei but he did not always understand what it meant in the long run.
Izuna was a lot more like their mother in that way than Madara. He was more like their bastard of a father.
Unaware of Madara´s attention on him, Izuna continued, arms still crossed in concentration and hand tapping against his forearm. “Even if he doesn´t have any allies now, which again – seems very unlikely – he did have support before. A team, a family, anything at all. Kitsune is a leader at heart, I could tell, but he is too unbothered by the idea of blending into a group. Too experienced at fighting aide by side with different fighting styles. He kept up easily with Rasa and Hikaku.”
Izuna looks up, meeting Madara´s eyes with a quiet certainty that tells the older brother that the younger has come to a conclusion and is convinced that he was right.
“One doesn´t learn that level of teamwork without having to get used to it first. Kitsune is a team player. It´s engrained in the way he interacts with others. He´s too open to be anything else.”
Madara wonders how Izuna could sound so sure, but he didn´t question it either way. Izuna was convinced and that was enough proof for Madara.
“So,” Izuna once again continued without letting Madara get a single word in, “if you want to find something about Kitsune that you can´t find from the man himself –“
“You find his allies,” Madara finished, smiling slightly. He quickly added something to his notes, intent on trying to look for something he might have missed, before Izuna was suddenly on to him again and trying to snatch his papers away. Madara was faster this time around, holding them out of reach and tripping Izuna so that he landed squarely on the floor with empty hands.
“Quit that or I´m throwing you into the pond.” Madara snarled, narrowing his eyes at his little brother.
Izuna gasped in playful, but also a little bit of genuine, offense, hurrying to hold his tied down hair in his hand and holding it out of reach. “You can´t do that! It always takes me hours to tame my hair and if it gets wet again I´ll have to redo it. You´re always looks like an untamed mane anyways, but I like to maintain mine, so back off.”
He rolled his eyes and stood up, storing his notes away and turning away from Izuna. Honestly, his little brother was so incredibly dramatic sometimes.
“You don´t want me to ruin your hair-do, then don´t interrupt my work.”
“You don´t want me to interrupt your work, so get up and get ready for our guest.” Izuna sassed back.
He came to immediately regret sassing Madara, when Madara grabbed him by the back of his yukata, making him let out an undignified yelp, and hauled him out of the door.
.
Naruto was squatted in the trees, nestling into the leafs and watching the Uchiha squad arrive at their meeting point. He was still wearing his mask, but his gear was abandoned and stored in his arm. Now he was wearing the tailored clothes that Lady Arisu had provided him.
Four men arrived at the river and Naruto already found himself smiling at who it was.
Hikaku and his squad, sans Izuna, who was replaced by another Uchiha that Naruto has no recollection of ever meeting, strode over in near silent steps and came to a halt just a little further away from the tree Naruto was hiding him. Naruto, having senses the young prodigiy´s chakra from miles away already was hardly surprised at Hikaku being here, but he was still happy. He liked Hikaku, since they both shared similar interest. Hikaku was also a rather calming individual, his chakra being like a soothing candle flame for his senses.
“He´s not here. You don´t think he won´t actually show up.” The fourth Uchiha, a man with short black hair, a scar on his temple and a seemingly permanent from etched onto his features spoke, suspicion clear in his voice.
Hikaku shook his head, chakra turning slightly amused and the smile on his face turning a tad bit wry. “Certainly not. Kitsune has, as far as I know, simply a habit of making surprising entrances. As far as we know, he could be here already.”
Naruto held back a chuckle as he watched the fourth man´s eyes widen and quickly look around, sharingan active and searching for Naruto. Not that he´d find him, but the effort was amusing no less. Rasa seemed to think so too, because the man let out a snort that he didn´t even bother covering up.
Deciding to quit waiting in the trees, Naruto quickly shunshinned right behind the fourth man, who had taken the rear of their diamond shaped formation, so that he was out of sight for all four Uchiha.
“He´s right, you know,” Naruto took great pleasure in watching the man jump, startled, and draw his sword that was attached to his hip. Rasa and Kasumi jumped slightly, head turning to look at him. Hikaku on the other hand hid his surprise a little better. His chakra rippled in shock, just a little, but his expression remained carefully neutral.
Naruto smiled pleasantly, tipping his head to the side. His hand came up to rub the back of his neck sheepishly.
“I was actually waiting just up there,” he nodded his head in the direction of the tree, “and could sense you coming. I just figured I might as well wait. Don´t worry though,” Naruto added, suppressing his laughter, “most peple never got used to me just appearing out of nowhere. I´m told it´s unsettling, though I find it entertaining.”
When he didn´t get an answer from the man who was still staring at him, two tomoe spinning and eyes wide in surprise, he held out his hand for him to shake, his posture open and his smile clear despite the mask. The man almost took a step back when his clear blue eyes squarely met his sharingan red.
“A pleasure to meet you, I´m Kitsune.”
The man regained his composure as soon as he introduced himself and proceeded to warily stare at the offered hand. When Naruto could clearly feel that the man wasn´t planning on playing nice at all he withdrew his hand with a sigh. Kasumi whacked the man´s arm, scolding him about manners and hissing something about disrespecting “Lord Madara´s and Lord Izuna´s guests. Show some manners, we´re indebted to this man.”
Oh well.
Hikaku stepped forward with a smirk on his face that was part apologetic and part glad to see Naruto.
“Kitsune, it´s good to see that you seem to be in just as good health as you were when we last saw eachother.” Hikaku was the one who reached out a hand first this time and Naruto gladly took it, giving it a firm shake.
“Thanks, Hikaku-san. It´s good to see you´re alright as well. Have your injuries form the mission healed?”
“Yes they have. We would have been a lot worse for wear were it not for you though, so thank you again, Kitsune.” His words were sincere and Naruto could tell in the way Hikaku´s chakra swelled gratefully.
Naruto once again assured him that it was no problem and that it´s just what he does. The others watched the exchange, some amused, some confused, but focused on their conversation nonetheless. When Hikaku and Naruto were done, he quickly turned to Rasa and Kasumi as well, greeting them and catching up.
Their reunion was rather short lived though, because Hikaku took him by the arm, nodding his head in the direction of the Uchiha compound, where Naruto could feel all the signatures dance and flicker in his senses.
“We should go, Lord Madara and Lord Izuna are waiting.”
Naruto nodded and inwardly braced himself.
Soon, he would stand before Uchiha Madara.