welcome my son
The gates of Konoha loomed massive before them- and yet, in Naruto’s memory, they had seemed bigger still.
Haku and Karin, together with the Kusa ninja who had never been to the land of fire had exclaimed at the size of the trees, big at the border but bigger and bigger the closer they had gotten to Konoha.
They entered the village, their papers reviewed and signed, then politely said goodbye to the Kusa ninja. There were five teams from grass participating.
Naruto was glad to see them go. One of the jonnin’s had been trying to flirt with Konan-sensei, asking about her beautiful blue hair, and her pretty paper flower and how exotic her piercing was. Konan-sensei hadn’t said anything… but her face got blander and blander, and the Uzushio gennin could tell by that, more than anything, how annoyed she was.
Yes, Konan-sensei was beautiful. There was no denying that. But she was also terrifying and strong, and could probably slice the other jonnin into a thousand little pieces, if she felt like it.
To top it off, when they’d stopped to eat before entering Konoha, Naruto had heard a couple of the other gennin whispering about them.
“They look so tiny.” said one.
“Young, too. Unexperienced, that makes them weak.”
“What was their village thinking? Sending out only one team… they're going to look bad, in front of the other villages. Uzushio is already so small, it would have been better if they hadn’t come at all."
Naruto had bristled, and would have started a fight right then and there if it weren’t for Haku.
The other Uzushio ninja’s hand had flashed out as Naruto began to stand, and held him still. Haku’s grip was strong.
With the mask on, Naruto couldn’t see Haku’s eyes, but when he turned to look at them, Haku raised their free hand, and began to sign.
All ninja villages had unique hand signals, usually used by senior ninja on assassination or infiltration missions that required absolute silence.
Uzushio ninja learned them in the academy, on account of them having to be able to communicate underwater. A typical D rank mission in Uzushio was diving for clams, or harvesting coral, and if divers couldn’t tell one another where to look, or where to avoid… missions would be much longer.
Haku was a genius. Two weeks after studying the hand signals, he’d already been able to communicate accurately. They'd mixed Kiri hand signs a couple of times, at the beginning, but they hadn’t made a mistake in weeks. Naruto doubted they would ever make another.
Ignore them. Underestimating us can only be beneficial.
Naruto had agreed, but Hak kept an eye on him the remainder of the trip. He was actually kind of thankful, he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t have “accidentally” tripped up one of the Kusa ninja if it weren’t for his teammates watchful eye, and possibly caused an international incident even before the exams began. Yeah, Chiba-baasama would have loved that. So he was thankful for Haku.
A chunnin led them into the village and towards the place were they would be staying. The exams began in three days time, and so they would be able to relax, supposedly, and sightsee if they wanted to, before hand.
The inn they were lodging in was medium sized and traditional. Wooden columns and white walls, and pointed roofs. Like all of Konoha, trees and a nice garden framed the building on all sides.
The Konoha chunin left them, and soon they were unpacking their belongings. Once again, Konan-sensei had her own room, and the genin were sharing, for which Naruto was thankful. They’d bonded the previous night, as a team, and he wanted to continue building on that.
It didn’t take long for Naruto to finish up. Unlike his teammates, he had brought most of his belongings in sealed scrolls, instead of packed bags.
They had a desk near the window, where he sat down, looking as Haku organized his kimono in the dresser, tapping his fingers against the wood and bouncing his leg. He buzzed with energy and excitement.
Konoha! he was back in Konoha… there were so many things to do, and little time to do it. The exams where said to last a month, and during them his attention would be focused on passing. He wasn’t sure were to start, with his personal mission.
He decided to make a list. With a couple of seals he materialized a piece of paper and pen.
Mom’s picture was #1.
Under it, he put a series of interrogation marks. Library? Ninja Administration Office? Hokage?
He wondered if any of those would let him in, as a foreign ninja. Konan-sensei probably knew, but she had mysteriously disappeared as soon as they arrived.
Second on the list said Uzumaki relative?
The rest of the items weren’t as important as those first two.
Visit vivarium
Buy kunai and shuriken
Find a cool birthday present for baa-sama
He stared at his paper, tapping the pen against it a couple of time, and made a decision. It wasn’t difficult, all things considered.
“Kachin!” called out Naruto.
Karin, washing her face in the bathroom, the door open, called back.
“Yeah? What’s up?”
Naruto reached into his jacket and took out the paper Chiba-baasama had given him. He held it out between two fingers, waving it in front of him.
“Baa-sama gave me the address of an Uzumaki kinsman living here… want to come with me and meet this… Kizuna-ossan with me?
Karin’s head popped out of the bathroom and looked at him. She pushed her glasses up.
“Sure! Do you have any idea who he’s actually related to?"
Naruto shrugged. As far as he knew, after some rather boring lessons from Chiba-baasama, the Uzumaki family had 3 major branches. It used to be a much larger clan, with over 100 members, but instead of hiding or fleeing, most of them had stayed at Uzushio, fought, and died, with it’s almost destruction.
Now there were only 10 members, including Honoka’s baby, living in the village. Chiba-baasama was Naruto's great grandmother, and Nagato's... but she wasn't Karin's.
“I guess we can ask?” Naruto said, scratching his head. “Mostly I wanna ask him if he knew my mom! He's a place to start that isn’t the Hokage... I don’t think it’s gonna be as easy as it was when I was a child to meet up with the old man.”
Sitting on their bed, reading a scroll, Haku snorted, laughing. They covered up their mouth with their hand, but their meaning was obvious.
Naruto pouted.
“Don’t laugh! He did visit me, when I was a kid, you know?”
Naruto had yet to tell Haku about his special situation, so he didn’t press the issue. Instead, he swerved around and looked at his teammate straight on.
“You can come too Haku! That is, if you wanna…?"
Haku smiled, pulling their hair down, and taking off the mask. As always, Naruto was deeply impressed by how pretty his teammate was.
“No Naruto-kun,” they said, “I’m actually quite tired from today’s journey, and yesterday's. I think I will take a nap and then go in search of the market. Konoha is one of the major ninja cities, and marketplaces are always a good indicator of what the people are like. Who knows? I might even buy a new kimono.”
Karin finally exited the bathroom, and with an exaggerated motion threw herself besides Haku, draping her arms around them.
“Booooring, Haku-chan! But if it makes you happy, that’s ok. I know you are a boring person by nature. Just remember to have your hitae-ate visible if you do leave the room! Konan-sensei says that as foreign ninja, one of our obligations is to display our loyalties… and no one wants Konan-sensei to be mad."
Haku nodded seriously, and gently shook her off.
Naruto rolled his eyes at them, and offered Karin his hand so she could get up. With a final wave, they set out.
Konoha was a big village, but directions where easy to follow and soon they were standing in front of a nice looking house in one of the ninja residential parts of the village. It was a place he had never been to before, and most of the people they encountered on the street looked at their headbands curiously, before moving on.
Haruno Kizashi answered the door after a few knocks. He had a kind face, dark pink hair, green eyes.
His eyes swept over both of them, and then he did a visual double take, his eyes landing on Naruto’s exposed cheeks, and the unmistakable markings on them.
His face turned white.
Naruto frowned, lightly, and casually tucked his hands behind his back, clenching them together.
Kizashi regained his composure after a second, his eyes drifting to Naruto’s headband, and the Uzushio symbol displayed on it.
“H-Hello? Can I help you?” he asked, his voice level, though inquiring.
Taking a deep breath, Naruto smiled slightly.
“Sorry to bother you! My name is Uzumaki Naruto, this is Uzumaki Karin… I… I was wondering if you knew my mother? Uzumaki Kushina? I’m looking for information on her while we are in the village, and you seemed like a good place to start… if you wouldn’t mind?”
Kizashi was silent for a while, and curiously, so was Karin. After a few moments, Naruto was about to excuse himself once more and leave when the older man finally answered.
“Of course Naruto-san, Karin-san. I didn’t know her as well as you probably would like, but… If you’d like to come in and have a cup of tea?”
With that, they entered the house, and after a few minutes they were all seated in a comfortable and cozy kitchen. There were pictures on most of the walls, most of Kizashi himself with a blonde woman and a young girl with pale pink hair and his same green eyes.
After the formalities and pleasantries, (Karin: you have a lovely house, Kizashi-san, Naruto: this tea is delicious, thank you) Kizashi asked,
“What… what would you like to know?”
Naruto tried not to look at the man. He felt a series of conflicting emotions, and they were making him anxious. He wanted to know about his mother. It was what he most wanted at the moment… and yet. One look and the older man had reminded Naruto uncomfortably of what he represented, to this village.
Thankfully, Karin was as chatty as he was, and she spoke before he had time to organize his thoughts.
“Anything you can tell us will be appreciated. All we really know about her is that she was a ninja.”
Naruto chanced a look at Kizashi, and the man, though still visibly tense, was looking at him now with understanding, and maybe even pity.
He nodded.
“I see… well, like I said, we weren’t close. Kushina and I travelled when we were children to Konoha, but we’re only distantly related. My mother was Uzumaki, but she stayed in Uzushio… well. Kushina was… loud, is the first thing that I can think of. She wore her hair long, almost to her knees, and she was a terrific ninja…she made jonnin by 18 I think. She had a nickname... they called her the red-hot habanero of Konoha.”
The truth was Kizashi really didn’t know much about Kushina. But they stayed and listened to what little he knew; she’d wanted to be the Hokage, apparently, and she’d been fond of pranking. Kizashi confirmed that though Konoha ninja were for the most part cremated, and therefore there was no cemetery they could visit, there was a memorial they could go to pay their respects for ninja fallen in battle, if they wished.
Both Karin and Naruto thanked him for his hospitality, and bowing began to leave. Kizashi followed them to the front door, and then called out.
“Wait! You two… you are here for the chunnin exams aren’t you?”
“Yeah! What about it?” said Karin, looking at Kizashi’s chunnin vest curiously.
“I have a daughter,” he said, “She’s about your age… and she’s a gennin. She might participate in the exams as well. If she does… well. It’s a distant tie, but you are family. I hope you treat her like allies.”
“Sure old man.” said Naruto, making eye contact with the older man. “You didn’t have to help me with my request, and you did… so it’s only fair.”
A small smile made it’s way onto Kizashi’s face, and he nodded.
“I wish you luck in your search then, Naruto-san. And to you both in the exams. Goodbye.”
He closed the door after that, and slowly and silently, the two gennin began walking back down the path they’d arrived.
A couple of minutes passed in silence, before Karin nugged Naruto, and started talking.
“Naru?” she said, “He was… he was tense… and uncomfortable. And not just because of a conversation with distant relatives! I think he was afraid?”
It was a statement, but the inflection of her voice made it sound like a question.
Naruto brought a hand up to his cheek, rubbing it. The tree horizontal groves were like scars, rough under his touch. Nagato-nii made him carry patches to cover them with his ninja tools, in case of an undercover mission… but he’d only had to use them once. He contemplated wearing them for the exams.
“He probably was” replied Naruto, after a moment. “He recognized me almost immediately… what I was. What I am.”
Karin frowned severely.
“That sucks. I know you’ve told me, what it was like. And… Kusa sucked, for sure, so I thought I understood. But I didn’t really, did I? What it was like for you here…”
Naruto stayed quiet. They continued walking.
“He’s family. He should fucking know better.” she hissed, suddenly angry.
And just like that, the heavy feeling in Naruto’s chest evaporated. He felt a smile bloom, and he decided to jump onto his cousin, hugging her. They were exactly the same height, so it was a little uncomfortable and he made Karin stumble and curse him, but it only made Naruto grin wider, and laugh.
“No, he’s not. Not really. You’re family, cousin. It’s more than just the blood, now. We care about each other, secrets and all.”
Karin grumbled, but she hugged him back, fiercely.
“Damn right we are. We take care of each other.” she replied.
It was still early, so they decided to explore a little. They visited Naruto’s old apartment, taking more than once missed turn to get there. Some things Naruto swore he remembered, and yet, when he saw them again they were so changed he wondered if he had really imagined them so differently, or if a six year old height really affected perception that much.
They visited the Hokage monument next, the number one tourist spot in Konoha, and even saw a few hitae-ate that didn’t have a leaf symbol on them there. Then they bought flowers, and searched for the monument to fallen ninja. Uzumaki Kushina’s name was on it, and so was Uzumaki Mito. Naruto traced both names with his finger, reverently. His family... and his predecesors.
At that point, they decided to go find Haku before going to look for a place to eat, and headed back to the hotel they were staying at. As they were arriving, a couple of paces from the entrance, Naruto noticed a team from Suna heading to the same place. A blond girl with a huge fan on her back, a boy in a cat suit and kabuki paint, and a much shorter red haired boy, with impossible looking shadows around his eyes and a tattoo with the kanji for love carved on his forehead.
He looked them over quickly, but as they approached, Karin suddenly stoped dead in her tracks, grabbing him and pulling him towards her. The team from Suna eyed them curiously, but disregarded them and continued on into the building. They were silent, the smallest taking the lead.
“Kacchin?” asked Naruto, curious.
“Wait” she said, and made a seal to concentrate her chakra. She sat on the ground, crosslegged, frowning, facing their hotel.
Naruto’s eyes widened, and he looked around, semi-consciously flexing his hands, ready to protect his teammate while she entered her sensory trance.
No one payed them any mind.
It didn't take more than a minute, but as soon as she found what she was looking for, Karin’s head snapped up, and she surfaced with a gasp.
whats up? Naruto signed, aware that something had to be decidedly off for her to act that way.
She looked at him, her eyes wide, then turned her head back to the hotel entrance, now empty. She signed back.
that boy. The one with the red hair…
he…
his chakra.
it’s like yours.
Naruto frowned. Not understanding her hesitance.
like mine in quantity? He asked, because though it would be surprising for someone else that young, it seemed unlikely Karin would go to so much trouble just to point that out. Naruto’s reserves were equivalent to a jonnins… massive, but not unheard of.
No.
She signed.
I mean it’s… mixed.
There was no actual sign for what he was, but with a gesture Karin began to spell it out.
jin
chu
riki
Naruto’s eyebrows rose in surprise. He was no where near as good a sensor as his cousin, but he imitated her handsign, closed his eyes and tried to feel around him.
It didn’t take long at all.
Karin’s chakra, close to him and familiar was warm and steady. There were other flickers across his perception of ninja all around. Straight in front of him was a furnace, the regular blue color of chakra tainted, or as Karin would say, mixed, with a dark, almost familiar, malevolent aura.
He opened his eyes, and without thinking, spoke instead of signing.
“Do you think they put us in the same place as a joke? Or as a precaution?”
Karin stood back up, and shrugged.
“I doubt it…It’s kind of audacious, on Suna’s part. Ours as well, bringing you... but like this morning demonstrated, Konoha is at least aware of you. The Hokage knew who and what you are when he approved your application... I... wonder… about him.”
Naruto hummed in agreement.
“Naru” said Karin her tone turning unexpectedly intense. Naruto turned to her, and locked eyes.
“He’s different from you, that boy… I can feel it, just being close to him… now that I know he’s here I won’t be able to forget him either… it feels bloodthirsty. Like barely restrained killing intent. And... closer to the surface. I’m not exactly sure what that means.”
They returned to their room. Haku was still there, sitting on the desk, writing on a piece of paper, oblivious to their sudden discovery.