Chapter 5: Homecoming and Revelations

The wait is over. Thank you for being patient. I had a single idea. One. Just one. And like me trying to tell a simple story in real life, I went off on a tangent that ended up with me writing a 22k word chapter. That is NOT this chapter, so don't worry. That chapter has been shelved as it has ideas I want to incorporate. So I had to re-write this chapter just for y'all and I'm hoping it turned out ok. I like it, I think.

Also wanted to apologize if the formatting was weird for the last chapter(s), I didn't realize it was taking out my line breaks when I was uploading, so I'll get around to fixing those in the near future.

FINAL NOTE AND IMPORTANT FOR THIS CHAPTER AND FUTURE CHAPS – Cpt = Captain

Anywho, hope you enjoy this chapter. Things will really pick up after this chapter! :)

(I do not own Naruto)

It had been 4 hours since we had left the Land Of Waves and we were an hour or two from reaching Konoha. Seeing as how we didn't have to sprint, the pace back was almost leisurely. I was able to actually enjoy the scenery around me, noticing the beauty that was the land of fire. I couldn't help but compare the trees to those that surrounded Konoha directly. While still overly large compared to other parts of the world (or so I had read) these were average compared to most of those found in and around our village.

I smiled and then looked around at my traveling companions. Naruto and Ami both seemed to be on the same page as me and were glancing around and admiring the scenery. Sasuke appeared to be bored, as usual, but there was a wariness in his gaze that I was quick to pick up. Good on him, this whoel ordeal was an eye opener to him. Sakura was in a similar state, though she wore her emotions much more openly. The anxiety was written clear as day all over her face, her eyes darting to and fro as though she anticipated being attacked at any moment. While also an improvement, it was still a little sad seeing that expression on one of my fellow classmates. This entire mission seemed to hit Sakura harder than anyone else. As I said earlier, this would either be the final push she needed to begin training serious, or she would realize this isn't the life she wanted and would retire before her career really began.

The last three of my companions were much harder to read. First was Cpt Genma. He was wearing the usual mask of boredom and indifference he usually wore, but underneath there was an underlying current of… was that anger? I'll ask him later, but right now didn't seem to be the time or place. Next up was the other Jonin of our group, Kakashi Hatake. Glancing at the silver haired enigma one would think not a single thing in the world could ruffle his feathers. He had out his little orange book and was hopping from branch to branch with seemingly zero effort. Observing him for more than a few moments though showed that his lone visible eye wasn't moving at all and that he hadn't turned a single page in some time. Something was also on his mind. He wasn't my Captain though, so not going to stick my hand into that nettle bush.

The last and final member of our merry band was the biggest surprise of all, Haku. After many talks, interviews from our Captains, and therapy sessions a la Naruto's strange charisma, Haku had made the decision to come with us and see if Lord Hokage would allow HIM to join our village. I emphasize 'him' because it was quite the shock to most of us to find out that Haku, was in fact, not a girl. A few days after Haku had made the decision to join the village, a very red-faced and nervous Naruto approached Haku and asked him on a date once we returned to Konoha. That was when a giggling Haku informed us, not unkindly, that while he was flattered, he couldn't accept Naruto's date due to the fact of them both being male. The sheer look of shock and horror that Naruto's face morphed into would be one of my fondest memories for as long as I would live.

I chuckled once again at the memory before refocusing on my surroundings. The trees were growing denser and larger with every step we took. I grinned, knowing that we were getting really close to home. As if he was reading my mind, Cpt Genma signaled us to drop to the road and continue our approach on foot. People thought that the two Chunnin manning the gates were the only guards we had. Yeah, that's how we maintain our status as the strongest village of the great 5. By having two Chunnin be our first line of defense. No, patrols regularly passed by, as well as the ANBU that were the real first line defense. Continuing to approach the gates via the dense foliage was a surefire way to get a kunai in your temple. Throw first, ask questions later is the ANBU moto when it comes to the defense of our village.

I smiled as the giant gates of our village appeared before us. Seeing the red and white monolith in front of me brought a sense of calm and peace I hadn't realized I had been missing since we left those weeks ago. Even after taking out Gato and his thugs, you never know what else a mission could throw at you, so the tension of being in enemy territory never quite leaves you until you're back in your own home.

I turned to Haku, grinning. "Well, what do you think?"

He looked and me and then turned back to the gates. "I… It's very impressive, but surely they wouldn't do all that against an invading force?"

We slowed our pace to that of a casual walk as we made the last approach to the gate to check in. "Well, if you only think of this gate as our only means of security, then no it wouldn't." I shot him a grin.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, first thing is the triple-layered detection barrier surrounding our village. It's used to detect, record and catalogue any and all persons entering and exiting the barrier. The first layer spans about 10 miles from the edge of our village in all directions. It's our early detection and usually only throw alerts if a high, unregistered chakra signature is detected. The second layer is about 3 miles out, around where we dropped from the canopy to the road. That is the one most closely monitored. Any unknown or unregistered chakra signatures larger than chunnin are marked and coordinates sent to the ANBU patrols. Since we dropped to the road, we've had an ANBU team following us, since you're an unknown. Finally we have the final layer which directly surrounds the city. This gives the barrier team pinpoint accuracy of someone entering the village at any point other than the main gate. Coordinates are relayed and recon teams are sent to the breach within 60 seconds."

Haku looked truly impressed. "I see, so your village has tabs on people the second they are within 10 miles of your village?"

I nodded. "Yup. The closer they get, the more data we can collect on them. Right now they know all the basics about you. Height, weight, estimated age, chakra levels. The barrier was created by Mito Uzumaki, one of the greatest seal masters to ever live. It isn't perfect, but it's as close to perfection as you can get."

That seemed to stun Haku even further, before he could ask any more questions Naruto jumped in. "Oi, Kenta! That's what your dad is in charge of right? The barrier?"

I nodded. "Yes, father is the head of the barrier detection squadron. Most of those that work there are part of my clan as well. We have techniques we invented in conjuction with Lady Mito that allow us to "link" our minds to the barrier to provide even further and more detailed information. Dad's really proud of his team, as he has handpicked and trained all those that work in the department since he took over 11 years ago. The last head was fired after the Kyubi incident. Not that anything was really his fault, but someone had to be punished."

Sasuke and Sakura both looked impressed, neither knowing how important my dad's job was. Haku then asked another question. "That's amazing, Kenta! Is that what you want to do as well?"

I shook my head. "Nah, that's dad's thing, not mine. I know exactly how important that job is to the security of our village, but it isn't for me."

"I see," Haku said simply. "So, hypothetically someone was able to fool or circumvent the barrier, I don't think that the wall would be that useless."

Naruto laughed and spoke up this time "Well sure, a normal wall. Lady Mito also rigged that wall with so many defensive seals, I doubt the Sage of Six Paths himself could destroy it without some effort. Reinforcement seals, chakra disruption seals. You can't wall walk on this side of the wall. It's impossible. Any technique that doesn't use more chakra than a B rank technique will just fizzle out on hitting the wall. Trust us, that wall is more than just for looks!"

Haku smiled at that. "I see. I was simply looking for the reason that all the tension you had all been carrying seemed to melt away upon seeing that wall. I was simply curious if it was a symbolic reason, or if there was a practical one. It seems that it is both."

All of us, well genin at least, looked at Haku in mild shock. Forgetting just how talented this guy was to pick up on something like that. He saw those slight changes and made a working hypothesis within seconds, then asked the most common and basic questions to gain the information he desired. And I fell for it. I grinned sheepishly at the older boy, letting him know that I had caught him but not before he had played me.

"You sure you want to be a medic, Haku? I bet you'd make a fantastic interegator with those skills." Cpt Genma joined the conversation. He was looking at Haku with a mixture of humor and wariness. I couldn't blame him. I had to constantly remind myself that no matter how kind and sincere the boy was, he still needed to be vetted properly before we could trust him fully.

Haku smiled slightly at Cpt Genma and shook his head "No, sir. My whole life, for as long as I could remember, I've only had one desire. To help people. Traveling, training, and working with Master Zabuza obviously didn't allow me to pursue that avenue. But I've been graced with a second chance and I'm going to take it."

"Meh. Worth a shot. I guess good medics are just as hard to find as a good interrogator. I wish you luck, kid. Medic training is no joke. As soon as we get the clearance to take the chakra suppressors off completely, start working on your control. Even if you think it's perfect, it's never good enough in their eyes." Cpt Genma finished with a barked laugh.

Haku smiled and nodded at Cpt Genma. "Thank you for the advice, Lord Genma."

"Gross. Don't call me that. Makes me feel all old and uppity." Genma grouched, causing us all to laugh.

As we were all talking and laughing, we finally reached the check-in booth. We chatted with the two eternal Chunnin Izumo and Kotetsu. The two had a general air of likeability around them and did the job of being the "face of Konoha" well. A few minutes later we were all checked in. It was time to brief the Hokage. Boy, was this going to be fun!

Lord Hokage stared at us. We stared back. He stared, and stared, and stared. I was starting to get nervous. There was this feeling in the air of barely contained anger. What seemed an eternity later, Lord Hokage sighed and removed his hat. He covered his face with it for a few moments before, as quick as lightning, chucked it and hit Kakashi square in the face. The hat landed on the floor revealing the face of an unimpressed jonin.

"You will be written up and disciplined, Hatake. Your poor lack of judgement, lack of foresight, your ill-preparedness and neglect in training not only your students but yourself cost a young boy his life. It is unacceptable. I allowed you to wallow in your self-pity and throw yourself into ANBU as it was only your life that you were risking with that attitude. I told you, warned you not to let this behavior carry on and you disobeyed me. We will speak on your punishment and corrective action after this meeting."

Cpt Kakashi simply bowed his head in acquiescence of Lord Hokage's dressing down of the elite jonin. I don't think anyone in the room thought this was going to go differently.

Lord Hokage then turned his icy gaze on the rest of us. A collective audible gulp could be heard by everyone. This time only a mere moment passed before Lord Hokage's irked frown morphed into a beaming if a little sad smile.

"The rest of you… I am so, so proud of what you were able to accomplish." His gaze focused on the other two members of team 7. "Losing a teammate is one of the hardest things you will face in your shinobi career, especially this early. If either of you needs someone to talk to, my door is always open or I can recommend you to our very professional counseling service. Whatever you need, Konoha is here to help you get through it."

Sakura and Sasuke both nodded. Sasuke a little paler than usual, Sakura with tears in her eyes.

Lord Hokage's gaze lingered on those two for a few more moments before he then turned that wizened gaze on us. "Team 11… What can I say? You went above and beyond the call of your duty. You rushed to your comrade's aide and not only fulfilled in your role, but you thrived. I am paying you for an A-Rank mission as well as adding an A-Rank to your records. Again, I am so proud of each and every one of you. Continue to train, get stronger, and serve the Great Tree proudly." He finished with a wide smile for each of us, his gaze settling on Naruto.

"Heh. Thanks, Old Man! We will! We won't let you down. Team 11 will be the strongest team in history, ya know!" Naruto couldn't help himself. The tension in the room was too much for me, so the fact that Naruto's outburst came at a decently appropriate time was a testament to his growth. Ami and I still couldn't let him embarrass us like that in front of THEE Hiruzen Sarutobi, God of the Shinobi.

Ami reacted first, bonking him on the head. "Naruto" she hissed "Show Lord Hokage the respect he deserves. I know you two are close, but this is a serious debrief you moron."

Lord Hokage chuckled "I thank you, Young Ami, but the day Naruto uses my proper title will be the day I throw him into prison as an imposter!"

That got a round of laughter from the group, seeming to ease some of the still lingering tension. Kakashi still hadn't looked up from the ground, seeminly lost in thought.

"Now, for the last order of business. Haku, was it?" Lord Hokage turned his gaze once more to the last person in the room.

Haku snapped his gaze forward and gave his full attention to Lord Hokage. "Yes, My Lord Hokage. It is an honor to meet you!"

Lord Hokage stared Haku up and down a few moments before continuing. "I'm sure you've been given an idea of what exactly joining our village entails. You not being considered a missing ninja is points in your favor. Even if you did train under one, you yourself were never one. You will be required to report to T&I and undergo an evaluation to determine if you pose a threat to my village. You will then be given a skill assessment to determine your capabilities, after which you will be given the appropriate rank, tentatively. You will then take a 3 month course which will cover the history of our village, the clans that pledged themselves to Lord Hashirama, and an overview of the political landscape. Once that is completed you will spend the next year on probation, taking heavily supervised missions. After that year is complete, I will take a look at all the reports from your initial interview to present day. A final loyalty test will be given and upon passing… You will be a full-fledged shinobi of Konoha. Where you will be able to apprentice and become the medic you always wanted to be. Yes, Kakashi sent me a few reports on you while awaiting the bridges final construction. Does all this sound good to you?

Haku nodded immediately. "I will do whatever I must to become a citizen of Konoha. I only have one question, if I may, Lord Hokage."

Lord Hokage nodded "Asked away, dear boy, and if I am able I will answer it."

"When I report to T&I… Will I be tortured?" Haku asked warily.

Lord Hiruzen laughed "Only if you give our team there a reason to think you're hiding something. Consent to the Yamanaka's mind walk, answer their questions truthfully, and it's a 100% painless process. The mind walk may leave you with a slight headache, but that's all the pain you will experience."

Haku breathed a sigh of relief "That is more than adequate. Zabuza told me stories about Konoha's Torture department. Well let's just say if a team like the one Konoha has can make someone like Master Zabuza nervous, well… You can understand my apprehension."

Lord Hokage sent him a knowing look. "Zabuza was wise to be nervous. My shinobi, in all our departments, are the best at what they do. I hope that when the time comes, you will join them and be one of the best medic's we've had since Princess Tsunade."

Haku smiled brightly at that "I will train and do my best, Lord Hokage. I thank you again for the opportunity!"

Lord Hokage smiled one more time before turning back to the rest of us. "Team 11 and 7. Despite the tragedy of losing one of our own at such a young age, you all did more than what was asked of you. I am proud. All of you take a mandatory 3 day leave to rest and relax. Keep training, young shinobi, for the future safety of the village must always be taken up by the latest generation. Dismissed. Kakashi, you stay."

We all bowed low to our leader and left the office. Outside Cpt Genma stopped us all. "Well team you heard the boss. We will meet at the usual spot in 4 days. Come prepared to be pushed like I've never pushed you before. Only light stretching and training over these next 3 days. I want your bodies and minds completely rested. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir!" The three of us saluted our Captain.

"Haku, I'll take you to get started on your immigration paper. Come with me." And Cpt Genma and Haku vanished in a body flicker. I turned to the other 4.

"Well, time to run damage control as I'm sure news traveled ahead of us." I sighed.

The other's nodded "I'm sure my parents are worried. I'm going to go home and convince them I'm fine before going with Cpt Kakashi to Arata's parents…" Sakura finished sadly.

Ami squeezed her friends shoulder "If you need someone after that visit, here's my address. My parents should be done scolding me and trying to convince me to leave the shinobi life for good."

"You mean you're not going to retire?" Sasuke spoke up suddently, genuine surprise written across his face.

Ami's eyes narrowed dangerously at the last Uchiha, causing him to look a tad nervous. "No, Sasuke, I'm not. I might be civilian born, but even I knew that not all missions go as planned, and sometimes shit hits the fan. One tragedy isn't going to scare me off. I've put in too much work to let one horrible incident detrail all the training I've put myself through."

Sakura nodded along with her. "I realize now that I wasn't taking this life serious. I never thought I'd lose someone this early in my career. I knew it was dangerous, but not this brutal. I'm with Ami, though… I made a promise to myself in wave. One I plan on keeping. I will carry on Arata's dream of making full-fledged jonin, showing everyone that putting your all into this even someone from a civilian family can be strong."

I smiled at the both of them. "Well said, ladies!"

Naruto was practically vibrating with energy "YEAH AMI AND SAKURA ARE BOTH GUNNA KICK ASS! I GOTTA TRAIN EVEN HARDER NOW! WE'RE ALL GUNNA BE KICK ASS SHINOBI!"

Sasuke looked between the two civilian born girls before smiling, not the usual Uchiha smirk, a genuine smile. "Then I wish you both luck. Ami, if you ever want to spar I'd be more than willing. Sakura, once you've been training seriously for a few months then the same offer is extended."

Dead silence was what met the Uchiha's statement. Several uncomfortable minutes passed before Naruto broke the silence.

"Ok, who are you and what have you done with the bastard?!"

Sasuke shook his head before addressing the group again. "I… Your captain is a wise man. He gave me some solid advice, as well as some truths I didn't want to hear. I… realize I can't do everything alone. I want to try and make a couple solid connections, but I'm not the best at talking so…" He trailed off, face as red as the setting sun. I quickly jumped in, realizing this was a HUGE moment for the loner Uchiha.

"We get it Sasuke. There's more than one way to make connections and make friends. What you can't say with words you say with your fists. After our 3 day break is up, I'll find you and kick your ass." I finished with a smirk.

The look of relief was quickly replaced by the much more familiar cocky smirk. "You're on, Blondie. I'll prove to you again why I got rookie of the year and you're still second."

"1 point" I mumbled, much to the entertainment of my two teammates.

"After Kenta kicks your ass and you're done licking your wounds, I'll take you on, Broody!" Naruto boldly declared.

Nodding, Sasuke's human interaction meter seemed to be about near it's limit as he began walking towards his clan's district. We let him go, knowing that pushing him any further could possibly damage any good we'd done today.

Shortly after Sakura and Ami both said their goodbyes and made their own way home. Turning to Naruto I grabbed his shoulder.

"Come on, Loudmouth. Mom will want to fuss over the both of us after that mission from hell."

The smile that lit up Naruto's face could have passed for an S-Rank blinding technique.

My suspicions were proven correct, as always. We entered my home and before we could even get our shoes off both Naruto and I were pulled into bone crushing hugs courtesy of my mom. After prying her off of us and ensuring we were fine, she finally let us go. We made a beeline for the bathroom to get cleaned up and changed out of our mission gear. About an hour later we were at the table with my mom and sister. Now Miss Tsunami was a good cook, don't get me wrong, but she had nothing on my mom. After helping ourselves to 2nds and 3rds, we all moved to the living room where we regaled my mom and baby sister over everything that happened on our mission.

The look of horror turned to one of pride as I went over what happened in the fight with Zabuza. My mom gave Naruto an extra hug hearing how he pulled off the barrier that she knew he had been working on for a few months. After we finished our story (leaving out the part of massacring 100+ men, Kono didn't need to hear that part) Mom pulled us both into another oxygen-inhibiting hug and told us how proud she was. Despite the embarrassment of the situation, it filled my heart with pride knowing my mom was proud. It was good to be home.

The three days of rest passed by rather quickly; too quickly if you ask me. I spent most of those days doing as I was advised, stretching and relaxing. I also helped little Kono with her homework and a few of her practical skills. It was a little unnerving how accurate she was already with those senbon. It's a good thing she adored me and wouldn't even dream of testing that accuracy on me as a living target.

At exactly 0700 on the morning of the 4th day since returning to the village I arrived at training ground 23 with Naruto at my side. Ami was already there, stretching and getting ready for the day. As soon as we arrived Cpt Genma appeared with a body flicker, smile stretching his face in a way that unnerved me.

"Good morning my adorable students. Do you all remember what I promised you when we last saw each other?" After receiving affirmatives from each of us he sobered up a bit. "I know that none of us so much as got hurt on that mission, but it opened my eyes. I… didn't want a genin team. At all. Ever. I didn't want the responsibility. I didn't even know if I'd be a good leader and teacher. Despite all that, you shitheads grew on me. If anything happened to any of you… Well, I've lost enough friends to last a lifetime. I plan on making sure that I've done everything in my power to give you all the best chance at not only surviving the harsh world we live in, but I want you all to thrive." He finished with a look of pride already shining in his eyes as he looked at each of us.

We all smiled back at the praise and confidence our captain was showing us. In a way, Captain Genma was like the older brother none of us had and hearing that he had the confidence in us to thrive as shinobi… Well it was a similar feeling to when my mom and dad said the same things.

"Now, before we get started today I wanted to make one quick announcement and do a quick little test before warmups. First the announcement. Since we all got paid for an A-Rank, I decided that, unless you all disagree, that for the next 2 weeks straight we would forego D-Ranks and train from sunup to sundown. Thoughts?"

"I'll train every day from dawn to dusk if it means I never have to do a D-Rank again." I mumbled, the other's nodding eagerly alongside me.

Captain grinned at us and simply nodded. "Now that's taken care of, onto this little experiment" and he held up 3 small pieces of paper. "Anyone know what this is?"

Surprisingly Ami was the first to answer. "It's Chakra paper! It can tell you what element your chakra has a natural predisposition for!"

Cpt Genma blinked before nodding and smiling. "Right you are. How did you know?"

Grinning widely Ami replied "Cpt Anko had me use it the first week we started training together! She said she just wanted an idea for when I built up my reserves."

"I see. And can you tell the class what your results were?"

Ami's smile turned a little malicious before she answered "Fire." A little bit of that crazy glint in her eye that I saw the day Anko crashed our training.

Cpt Genma didn't seem to miss that glint either as he nervously praised Ami before turning to us. "What about you two?"

Both Naruto and I shook our heads.

"Ok good. Just take one, hold it between you index and middle finger like this… Then just channel a bit of chakra into it. I'll let you know your results."

He handed the paper to us and we looked at each other. "You first, Sunshine. You look like you can't wait anymore anyways."

Naruto stuck out his tongue at the nickname but quickly concentrated on this slip of paper. A moment later, the paper ripped right down the center. Naruto looked at Cpt Genma excitedly.

Grinning Genma answered Naruto's questioning look. "Your chakra has a natural wind element to it. Congrats, Blondie. That's a rare one in Konoha. Even luckier for you is the only other known wind user in the village owes me $500. So I'll just cash that in with some training for my student."

You could literally feel the energy Naruto was radiating. "Really Cpt Genma?! Really? Are you serious? You're the best! I knew you weren't totally lame like everyone else was saying!"

Cpt Genma held his smile even as his eye began to twitch a bit. "Right. Well. You're next, less blonde Blondie."

I scowled at Cpt Genma "That was the worst nickname you've come up with to date."

He shrugged "Doesn't matter. Because I can still kick your ass from here to wave and back so I can call you what I want. Now hurry it up, we need get to training."

I nodded and concentrated on the slip of paper between my fingers. A quick burst of chakra and..

"Damn, kid! Two elements! And two that are a good compliment for each other. Neither is common in Konoha either, but we'll cross that bridge when it comes to it." Cpt Genma praised.

I looked down at the crinkled and soaked piece of paper. Water and Lightning. I could work with that.

I stumbled through my front door, barely able to keep myself standing as my legs were refusing to support me. I took off my shoes and made my way to the bathroom to wash up.

"Kenta, dear? Is that you? Your training ran late tonight!" Mom said, appearing in the hallway.

"Cpt Genma is a madman and a slave driver. He's going to either make us into the next Sannin trio, or kill us" I lamented to my mother.

She simply smiled, not caring at all that I was basically just tortured. "Well dinner will be ready soon. Daddy should be home in a minute so go wash quickly."

I nodded at the uncaring women that had replaced my mother and trudged my way upstairs to bathe.

30 minutes later our small, but cute family of four were sitting down for dinner.

"Mom says your captain took your training up a notch today. How was that?" Dad asked to initiate some conversation.

"I mean it could be worse. Ami told us that Sakura said Kakashi was going to start having her and Sasuke train with ANBU for the next 3 months. I guess he got ripped a new one in 10 different places. Not that I feel all that bad." I informed them.

Both nodded. "It's a shame what happened to that poor boy. As a parent I can't even imagine what his must be going through" Mom said sadly, Dad nodding along.

"On the bright side, we found out our chakra elements today. Naruto got wind, which Cpt Genma said is super rare in Konoha. Ami's is fire. Which suits her perfectly. Thought it might get a little ridiculous since she also seems to have a weird fascination with explosive tags."

"What about you, dear, what did you get?" Mom asked… almost impatiently.

"Jeez, Mother, let your handsome son finish his story before you interrupt. Why are you so excited about mine? Didn't you hear me say Naruto got wind?"

"I did, dear. And that's very exciting. He has an excellent nature. Now tell us yours!"

I glanced at dad who was looking at mom a little suspiciously. The look was gone in an instant, replaced by one of genuine curiosity aimed my way. I shrugged it off.

"I had a dual element. Lightning and water, which is super awesome. I can do combination techniques on my own. I've been thinking of ways to incorporate elemental techniques into my fighting style, and I've come up with a few…" I drifted off noticing that mom and dad weren't even paying attention to a word I was saying. Instead they were having some type of nonverbal conversation. Dad was looking skeptical, while mom was looking both apprehensive as well as… was that hope? Before I could ask Dad just sighed and made a 'go on' gesture towards my mom who immediately smiled and bolted from the table.

"What the hell was that?" I asked dad.

"Language in front your sister, Kenta" Dad said winking at a giggling Kono.

"Oh please, she's heard worse from you and your buddies when it's your turn to host poker night. Now what's going on."

My sheepish looking father laughed nervously "Oh we don't get that bad for poker night do we?"

I gave my father my most unimpressed look I could muster "Last poker night you all were talking about the craziest places you've hooked up with women wheth-"

"Oooooooook enough of that conversation. Your mother just went to grab a scroll. It isn't my place to explain though so just wait." My red-faced father quickly replied.

I shot a triumphant smirk at my baby sis who was still giggling uncontrollably. Just then mom walked back in and sat down.

In her arms she held a large, intricately decorated scroll. She set it down on the table and then turned her gaze on me.

"Kenta, it's time you learn some family history. You know all about your Yamanaka heritage, but now it's time to find out where my side of the family originated."

"Mom, why are you acting like you're about to reveal that I'm like some long lost prince or something?" I laughed loudly at my own joke, but sobered up quickly when neither of my parents so much as even cracked a smile. "Wait, you can't be serious? I'm not a prince am I?"

"No, Kenta dear. Don't be silly. You're not a prince. You're just simplyrelateddirectlytotheraikage." She finished in a rush I barely understood.

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that, but much slower?" I asked my mother calmly.

She took a deep breath and said "You're related to the Raikage. Not the current one, but the very first Raikage."

I let her words sink in for a bit before I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing. "What're you talking about, Mother? There's absolutely zero chance I'd be related to any from Kumo. How would I be related to the 1st Raikage?"

"I know this sounds farfetched, but it's the truth. My grandmother, your great-grandmother, was the sister to the first Raikage. She fled Kumo due to political reasons. I will tell you the entire story, but you have to understand. You cannot go around bragging about this to anyone, especially if my suspicions are correct. You could cause an international incident which results in you getting shipped to Kumo if it means avoiding a war. Do I make myself clear?" Mom finished in the most serious and dangerous tone I've ever heard from her.

'International Incident? War? What kind of bomb is mom about to drop on me?' I thought to myself dazed. I nodded dumbly at my mom, waiting to hear just what the hell was going on.

"It's now been just over 100 years since the founding of the great villages after the warring states period. During the forming of Kumo the founding clans were all voting for their first Kage, the first to lead them in this new era. The voting was between two people, my grandmother Caime, and her brother A. The majority saw Camie as the one to lead them. She was the strongest shinobi in the newly formed village. She was a proven leader as she had led her clan to many victories. She was well versed in politics and could navigate the early stages of the shaky peace."

"There were those though that thought she wouldn't be able to go toe-to-toe with the other village leaders simply because she was a women. They felt that the other villages wouldn't take them serious if they elected a female. They would be seen as weak. This argument started to take hold in the populace until the day of selection. A was chosen instead of Camie. The seeds of doubt had taken hold of the minds of the villagers and it was decided a woman couldn't lead them in such a perilous time. Grandmother was hurt, but she would fulfil her duty to her village for she was loyal. That is until the incident occurred."

"Months after she was cheated out of the Kage position, she was called into the office by the man who had stolen the title from her. Her younger brother. In the office of the Raikage, grandmother was informed by A and the village elders that to keep the blood strong, she would be married off to A and was expected to produce at least 3 children. The blood had to remain pure to keep the Bloodline Abillity strong enough to protect the village. This was her new duty to her village."

"Disgusted by her village and still hurting from their betrayal, she couldn't handle it and fled in the night. She ran, and she ran, until she came upon a small village in a northern province in the Land of Fire. There she decided to settle down for a time and create her new life. Her only possessions being the clothes she brought with her, some money she had saved, and the scroll you see before you. All her notes on our family's bloodline ability and the techniques she developed over the years. For months she stayed in this small little village. Day by day hoping that she wouldn't be found."

"One day a man was brought to the village, gravely wounded. No one knew enough about medicine, except grandmother. She brought the man into the tiny cabin she had built in the village. She nursed the man back to health. It took 3 months for the man to recover and in those 3 months grandmother and the injured man fell in love. It turns out grandmother had saved a shinobi of Konoha. The man convinced grandmother to come with him to Konoha. Grandmother never revealed who she was until her dying day. On her death bed, surrounded by her 4 children and husband, Grandma told them this story and told them about the scroll. That if anyone in the family could use the bloodline, they should look to the scroll to teach them all she was able to gather."

Mom finished the tale that sounded like something out of some corny romance novel and smiled knowingly at me. "Sounds like something made up for a horrible romance novel, right? I assure you it's all true."

"So you're telling me, they wanted great grandma to marry her own brother? Just so the bloodline would stay strong? I mean, that's fucked up."

"Kenta Yamanaka you watch your language! But yes, it is messed up, but they had a reason for it. Do you wonder why this is the first time hearing our family having a bloodline limit?"

That gave me pause. No. No one in my family had ever even mentioned a bloodline ability.

"So what you're saying is the only way to pass it down is through incest? Thanks, but I'd rather our family not have a bloodline." I replied immediately.

Mom smiled at me. "No silly, that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying though is that the bloodline is very finicky. Supposedly even with both parents having the bloodline the children only have a 40% chance of receiving it. Only one parent? The odds dropped to less than 10% for the first generation. Less for each subsequent generation. No one ever received grandmother's bloodline."

I stared at my mom in shock. "Then, surely this bloodline, whatever it is, has died out by now?"

She shook her head "No dear, there's still a few in Kumo whom possess it. One of the current Raikage's Bodyguards does if I'm not mistaken."

That gave me pause. "But then if the bloodline isn't dead in Kumo, why would they care who our ancestor was?"

Mom looked at me sadly "It's because what our blood represents. We are blood traitors. They still hold a grudge that she ran away. They could demand our heads just for having her blood run through us."

That was not the answer I was expecting. "Ok so, no telling anyone this story. Got it. By why tell me? I don't have her bloodline. You said it yourself. If the first generation had 10% odds of getting it, mine are less than 1%!"

Mom nodded "I know dear. However, you are the first of her descendants to ever have lightning and water both be your natural nature transformations. It's a very, very long longshot, but if there's even a chance wouldn't you want to explore it?"

Well played, mother. Well played. You know me better than anyone. I smiled at her. "Well, you got me there. Anything to make me a more versatile fighter and to get me closer to my dream of reaching S-Rank. If anything, there's gotta be some good advice and techniques for each nature individually right?"

Mom nodded, smiling. "It's where I learned all my water techniques and both steps to master water's nature transformation."

I sat there for a few moments, absorbing all the knowledge I had just gained from Mom's story. It all sounded so lame and cheesy, but if there is one thing my mother isn't, it's a liar. Just then a question popped into my head, one that was rather important if you asked me.

"Ok so I've thought about everything you said and I just have two questions."

Mom looked me in the eye "and what are your two questions, Kenta dear?"

"One, when do we get started. Two, what even was great grandma's bloodline? It sounds pretty powerful."

If possible, Mom's smile widened even further. "To answer your first question, as soon as you're ready. To answer the second…"

Mom got out of her chair and picked a sleeping Kono up. She had fallen asleep right at the table at some point during mom's story. She made her way towards Kono's room, going to tuck her in for the night. As she got to the entrance to the dining room she turned her head to look at me and smirked.

"Your Great-grandmother was the first ever user of the famous Storm Release."

Annnnnd that's a wrap. Anyone see this coming? I didn't. Just a thought that popped into my head that I COULD NOT get out so I had to do it. Fite me.

To Pigs103 – I understand what you're getting at, but as I said earlier this story is all English. Unless there isn't a good translation for something, it will be English. Plus, my Konoha is slightly more militaristic (as it fucking should be btw) than what's portrayed in canon. Just like in the real world, someone with the rank of Captain is only as good as the officer. A good captain will have that mentor/teacher relationship with their troops and a shitty one won't. I'm hoping that the interactions between the 3 and Genma at least comes across more as a teacher/student relationship than officer/subordinate.

Edited: 3/31/2020 - Moooreeee LINNNEEEE BREAAAKKKKSSSS