Chapter 4: The Civil War in Kiri Part I

Three Months Later

Grunting as he finished his most recent spar, Ikari smiled as he sheathed his swords and wiped his brow. Bowing to Ameyuri as she reciprocated his actions, they took a seat and relaxed. "That was intense Ameyuri-san. If you had to honestly rate my abilities in kenjutsu, where would you say I'm at?"

Taking a moment to slug down some water, Ameyuri thought about what the young man had said. Three months ago when she had first met him and the rest of his comrades from the Leaf, she had chuckled to herself thinking that the child was just playing at being a ninja. Then a month into their stay, he had been one member of a two man team that had been sent out to assist them when she and three others had been ambushed on a medicine and food run.

*FLASHBACK START*

Cursing up a storm, Ameyuri sliced through yet another kunai thrown at her. She had managed to hold off the attackers for a while now, enabling the rest of her team to get out and hopefully make it back to the base with the food and medicine. Running on fumes as far as her chakra was concerned, she was almost desperate enough to consider making this her last stand and taking out as many as she could before going down as well. That was when she saw five figures blur past her into the trees where she had seen at least ten of her attackers lash out at her from, and then heard a young voice scream "Idaina Bakuhatsu Hyōei bunshin!"

Then there was a flash of blue light and the sound of multiple explosions as the figures turned a bluish-white color and shattered sending fist sized shards of ice into the surrounding woods. By the sounds she heard afterward there must have been at least five of her enemies that were either dead or wounded. Right after that she saw a three tail Kitsune race past her and take up a protective stance in front of her, and then felt a presence at her side.

Turning to look she saw one of their few medic ninja and smiled a tiny bit. Getting a nod in return, she broke for cover, and took a breather. The Kitsune tilted its head toward her and spoke in a low voice. "How many of your attackers are left? Be quick so I can assist my summoner."

Taking a quick moment to count in her head, she rapidly did the math and replied. "Five to seven, all either Jonin or ANBU level let your summoner know that as soon as I have recovered a bit of my chakra we will be leaving. I just wish we could leave no survivors, because the people will be punished for assisting us."

Nodding his head really quickly, she heard him growl and bark a number of times before hearing a faint response. Cocking her head to one side she looked at the fox in front of her in a questioning manner. Chuckling as he felt her look at him, he spoke quickly before leaving in a hurry. "I just told my brothers and sister to leave no survivors, so don't worry about that. Once you're ready, head out and we will cover your retreat."

While she waited for the medic to finish healing her more severe wounds, she dug around in one of her pouches, and finding one last soldier pill, popped it into her mouth. Once she was healed enough to move, she quickly stood and nodded her thanks to the medic. Hearing a scream of pain, she turned her head to look in the direction she had heard it come from and then heard another shout. "Shakuton: Shakunetsu no Ryū Hinotama!"

The next thing she saw was a white hot fire dragon form from the flames coming out of the young boy's mouth, only to watch it spit out three fireballs the size of boulders. That combined with the screams of the three dying enemies convinced her it was time to leave and immediately ran after the medic ninja. Ten minutes later as they were making their way back, she was stunned to watch as five Kitsune took up position around them and the one in the lead, a five tail, was carrying what appeared to be the young boy that had come to help from the Leaf.

*FLASHBACK END*

Chuckling to herself, she saw Ikari's eyebrow rise at her mirth. Shaking her head, she sighed and looked at him. "To be honest I was just remembering the day my opinion of you changed, that day that you and your Kitsune saved my ass a few months back. I would honestly say that if you were one of ours, I would be doing whatever it took to get you as my apprentice to become one of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū. You are currently at or around low ANBU level with your blades, and have an almost uncanny ability to read what your opponent is going to do before they do it."

Blushing lightly at the glowing praise and recommendation, Ikari bowed his head to her. "Arigato gozaimasu, Ameyuri-san, your assessment is much appreciated as is your honesty."

Waving her hand at him as they both stood, she simply shrugged off his words. "You asked for an honest opinion, and I am nothing if not blunt about the way I speak my mind. I call them like I see them, and if you ever change your mind about staying in Konoha, come see me after this civil war is won and I will ensure that you get a place here."

Chuckling lightly at her comment, he shook his head. "I highly doubt that my fiancée would agree with that all things considered. Especially since her clan and family all live in Konoha."

Shaking her head in amusement, she laughed aloud. "Engaged at ten, huh? Was it a pre-arranged betrothal of some sort?"

Grinning up at her Ikari nodded slightly. "Something like that, as I am the only member of my clan and bloodline remaining the Council has enacted the CRA for me, and to be honest I am grateful that it was one of my friends that I was engaged to. That alone makes it easier for me, especially since I won't have to be pressured or forced into any arrangements with women or girls that I may not even like or want to be with."

Grimacing slightly, Ameyuri shook her head and shuddered. "Better you then me, that's all I'll say about that particular subject, we'd best be heading out to see if there is anything going on."

Six Months Later

Having proven to be a superior swordsman, Ikari found himself teamed up with Ameyuri and Chojuro quite often on missions. All too often, at least in the beginning, he had been caught in the middle of the two seeing as how Ameyuri was an outspoken and brash woman, and Chojuro was lacking in self-confidence and rather meek to boot.

Now six months later, they were a fluid and efficient team. Having spent a lot of their off time together, he had somehow managed to calm Ameyuri down and built up Chojuro's confidence in himself and they had both imparted quite a bit of experience to the young man. They had provided the refining and polish that the young man had needed to truly shine.

At the current point in time, they were all heading back from a successful infiltration mission, which had gotten them some very interesting information on the actual numbers of Yagura's forces. They were all joking and laughing when there was a near silent gasp from Ameyuri that drew both of the other's attention.

They both stopped and turned to look at her and saw that she was staring at a copy of the Elemental Country's Bingo Book. Moving so that they could both look at what had her so shocked, they were shortly stunned as well. There staring up at them from the Unknown Affiliation section was Sōjin Ikari while wearing his Fox mask staring back at them.

The Hokage's Office

Sarutobi Hiruzen had been calmly reading his Icha Icha novel after having finished his paperwork when an ANBU popped into his office. Bowing to the Hokage, he failed to notice what was in his hands, thus allowing the Hokage to salvage his dignity. "Boar, report."

Handing him an open Bingo Book, he pointed to the page it was open to. Hiruzen frowned as he realized just who they were talking about.

ALIAS: Chi no Akuma Kitsune

NAME: Unknown

AGE: 12-13

VILLAGE: Unknown

DATE OF BIRTH: Unknown

BLOOD TYPE: Unknown

HEIGHT: 5 FT

WEIGHT: ~100 LBS

BLOODLINE: Hyouton/Shakuton

THREAT RANK: B

ABILITIES –

TAIJUTSU: UNKNOWN

GENJUTSU: CHUNIN/JONIN

NINJUTSU: JONIN

KENJUTSU: JONIN/ANBU

KNOWN ELEMENTAL AFFINITIES: WIND, FIRE, WATER

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE – KIRI (500,000 RYO)

Wanted in Kiri for aiding and abetting the Rebel Faction, as he has killed 10 ANBU, 20 Jonin, and 37 Chunin all in the name of the Rebels is especially lethal with his twin kodachi. Be cautious and never approach him one on one, as he knows multiple jutsu that point to him having multiple bloodlines, similar to Terumi Mei. Has been seen with two of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū, Ameyuri Ringo and Chojuro, if he is seen with the two of them FLEE ON SIGHT.

Exhaling heavily, he sat back in his chair for a moment. Turning to the ANBU he looked at them for a moment and then sighed again. "They're fishing for information, are they...?" His frown returned as he thought about his course of action at this point in time. Unfortunately there wasn't anything that they could do at this point in time.

Mizu no Kuni, Rebel Base

As soon as they got done reading the entry, they all leapt back into the trees and high-tailed it back to base. Once there they went their separate ways and Ikari took a copy of the Bingo Book and went looking for his Aniki.

Ten minutes later he found him leaving the armory, and Ikari fell in step alongside his brother figure. After a couple minutes of silence, Kakashi figured out that something was bothering the young man, and calmly placed a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong Otōto? Is there something bothering you?"

Nodding, he handed his Aniki the Bingo Book. Not comprehending what was going through his mind at the moment, Kakashi idly flipped through it to the Konoha section and didn't see anything amiss. "Turn to the Unknown Affiliation section, B-Rank threats."

Shrugging as he still hadn't quite connected the dots, he turned to the aforementioned section, and stopped suddenly as he saw the first person listed. Stunned, he read through the listing and smiled to himself as he got to the end. Moving along towards the living area that they had had setup for themselves he studied Ikari to see what his true thoughts were on the matter.

"So how do you feel about this?"

All he got in response was a head shake and a half-hearted shrug. "Don't honestly know what to think or feel about it to be honest. The first thing that came to mind was that I'd somehow compromised our village, at least until I saw where they had me listed. Then there was the fact that they somehow had someone survive one of the missions I had been on to have as thorough a listing as they did."

So absorbed in his thoughts and what he was saying that he didn't even notice when Yuugao and Itachi had joined them. Kakashi had wordlessly handed off the book to them, ensuring that it was open to the correct section.

"I think that it's pretty nifty that I'm only eleven and already people consider me to be a B-Rank threat, though it does make my life a bit more dangerous. I'm just grateful that there isn't anything in there about my Dojutsu. Wouldn't you agree, Aniki?"

It was at this point that he looked up and noticed that his other two comrades had joined them. Smiling slightly at them, he nodded at the book and looked at them in a questioning manner. Quickly getting the idea of what he was asking, they all nodded at him while smiling at the same time. Yuugao was the first one to speak up, hesitantly though, as she didn't want to offend Ikari

"So how do you feel about it, you know, actually being in the Bingo Book?"

Pausing as they had reached their initial destination, he smiled sadly. "In a way it's kinda neat, that someone who doesn't know me can rate my skills in such a manner. To be blunt, I figured that either it would be some time before I actually became a target in such a manner, or I would only merit a C-Rank threat at most starting out." Sighing as he collapsed backwards on his bed, he watched as everyone gathered around him as he thought out what he was going to say.

"It's also kinda nerve-wracking at the same time, knowing that someday soon I could be fighting off people who are only after my bounty, ya know?" Ikari ran a hand over his face, and laughed as a thought struck him.

"I guess I will just have to keep on getting stronger, so that I can protect not only those who are precious to me, but also to protect myself, ne?" Everyone laughed at that, with the exception of Itachi, who just smiled broadly at the young man who would be related to him sooner or later.

The raven-haired man leant back in his seat for a moment and looked at Ikari. "So how'd your most recent mission go?" Looking at Itachi with a grateful smile, they passed away the remaining time until dinner comparing notes on their most recent missions.

The Next Day

Whistling softly to himself as he headed off to the east of the base to train, Ikari was lost in thought as he walked along. He had prepared for this by summoning a couple of two-tailed Kitsune to watch over him to ensure that he wasn't snuck up on or attacked.

Enjoying the rarity of a day off from missions was a luxury he fully intended to take advantage of as they were so few and far between at the moment. Talking with his tenant at the moment, Ikari was discussing the details of being trained in Senjutsu, the pros and cons of the training were what were weighing on his mind at the moment.

'So the main difference in the way that the Kitsune and the Gama clans teach their summoner how to achieve Sage Mode is that the Kitsune teach it as a way of fighting meditation, while the Gama teach it through being still and gathering it through meditating, right?'

His kaa-san nodded at this as she smiled before continuing with the impromptu lesson on Senjutsu and Sen'nin mōdo. 'That's correct, Ikari-kun. There are some definite benefits to Sage Mode as you will come to discover. The first and one of the best, is that your ninjutsu and genjutsu will be far more powerful due to adding nature chakra to your attacks. The second is that once you have mastered Sage Mode, that when you exit said mode, that your reserves will once again be full. That is a natural side effect of the active meditation and adding nature chakra to your normal chakra. There might even be a way to add my chakra to the mix, but that is something that we will discuss at a much later date. I feel confident and comfortable enough with your ability to use up to two tails of my chakra safely, and it won't be until you can use six tails and maintain control of your emotions that we will talk about trying out such things.'

Nodding to himself, he stumbled as he tripped over an opening in the ground, and quickly recovered and shook his head as he looked around. Finally looking down, as he had not seen or felt anyone around, Ikari noticed a narrow set of stairs leading down into the ground at a rather gentle angle. Whistling under his breath, he peered down and saw that there weren't any light sources down below.

As he was looking down, he felt one of the Kitsune brush against his hand, and he spared a second to look and see who it was. The golden fur gave her away as Yuna, one of his personal favorites as far as the Kitsune were concerned. Running a hand through her fur, he pointed towards the opening in front of them. "Can you give me some light and let your nose lead the way for me Yuna?"

Getting a nod in turn, she curled her tails and let some fire natured chakra flow to the tips, creating a pair of living torches. Looking up at her summoner and getting a nod and a smile, she turned and led the way down.

The walls looked like they had been cut with blades of wind, and there were no doors or anything remotely resembling a door frame. They continued on and after a half an hour, Yuna spoke up. "Ikari-sama, the scent that I'm getting is…unusual to say the least. Until now all I could smell was the earth and stone all around us. Now I smell…the wind, almost like from a mountain top and some sort of avian scent…"

Nodding in response once again, Ikari looked ahead and saw that there was an opening that led into an area that was much wider and more open than the passageway that they were in. Holding up at the entry, he looked around and saw that there was a massive amount of engraving on the walls and as he stepped into the room and looked closer, he was stunned by the level of detail that was present.

The only thing that he could see was that there were many birds in various poses, each of them birds of prey. Ikari was brought out of his musings by Yuna, who had yipped at him and drew his attention to a pedestal that was artfully carved into the wall directly across from the entryway. Approaching it cautiously, Ikari noticed a rather large scroll that looked eerily familiar to him.

As he looked at it, it occurred to him that this scroll was a summoning scroll. Turning to Yuna, he tilted his head in thought for a moment before meeting her gaze. "Is it possible to hold more than one summon contract as a summoner, Yuna-chan?"

Sitting back on her haunches for the moment, Yuna sighed. "Technically, yes it is. The hard part about it is that you need both bosses to agree to it. Before I say whether or not Shinibana-sama will even think about agreeing or even considering the possibility, you will need to open the scroll and see exactly what summon the scroll is for."

Nodding absently as he turned to the scroll, Ikari quickly unfurled it and looked through it. There were only a handful of signatures there and they were so faded as to be illegible. Glancing at it once more, he quickly figured out which summon it was for. "Looks to be for the Washi clan, do you think that Shinibana-sama will go for it?"

Quickly getting over her shock, she rapidly nodded. "The eagles have always been one of our clan's allies, and I don't foresee any issues with it. You will need to summon her to ask before signing it though."

Smiling at her, Ikari grabbed the scroll and proceeded to leave the same way they had come. Once they were out of the passage, he turned to look at it only to see solid ground once more. Quirking an eyebrow at the strangeness of it, he ran through the hand seals and slammed his bloody hand into the ground. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

A large cloud of smoke popped into existence and cleared away rapidly. Standing there in front of him was a horse-sized dark blue Kitsune with eight tails waving behind her. "Greetings Shinibana-sama, I have summoned you here for a rather unusual request."

The rather large vixen smirked as she looked down at her clan's summoner, as he had his head bowed out of respect for not only her, but her mother as well. Settling down into place, she laid out in front of him, setting her head down on her paws. "Greetings to you as well, Ikari-kun and to you as well Yuna. What is this request you have for me?"

Raising his head and settling down on the ground as well, Ikari held the scroll out in front of himself resting on both of his palms. "While discussing the Senjutsu training with kaa-san this morning, both Yuna-chan and I came across a rather unusual opening in the ground. Deciding to check it out for potential threats, we ran into a large room that was most beautifully engraved with many different birds of prey in quite a few different positions. Yuna here discovered a pedestal and on it I found this scroll that contains the contract for the Washi clan. I then asked her if it was possible to be the summoner for more than one clan, and she told me that it is up to the discretion of the Boss summons for each clan."

Quietly taking a deep breath, he licked his lips as unobtrusively as possible before continuing. "It was my desire to know if you would allow this, as I desire the power and ability to protect all those precious to me, and having another clan to summon would be of no small assistance in accomplishing this."

Tilting her head slightly after getting past the amazement that he had actually found one of their long lost allies summoning contracts, she held the young man's gaze. Looking into his eyes, she could see the courage that it had taken for him to ask this of her, as well as the desire to grow stronger. As she contemplated his request, the vixen tested his patience and resolve by holding her tongue as she considered his request.

Staring at the young ningen, she considered what she knew of him. He was young, honorable to a fault, definitely very strong in spite of his youth, and he never lorded it over others despite his rough beginnings. Smiling to herself she knew that this would prove beneficial to both their clans and she nodded. "Ikari-kun, I will allow this, as in the time that you have been our summoner you have proven both your honor and loyalty to us. I know that you would not favor one of us over the other. All I ask is that since you will have multiple mates, that you allow your first mate to sign the contract with the Washi clan, your second mate with the Kitsune and your third with whichever she so desires, is this agreeable to you?"

Exhaling softly, Ikari smiled gently as he nodded his head. "Yes, it is agreeable, although I do have a small favor to ask in behalf of another, I shall wait to do so once the Boss of the Washi is here before us."

Without further prompting, he bit his thumb and signed the scroll after unrolling it. Glancing at his hand to ensure that there was still enough blood on it, he then focused on the eagle's contract as he ran through the summoning process once more. Another large cloud of smoke appeared, and there was a sudden sharp wind that blew it away, accompanied by the shrill cry of a large eagle.

As Soyokaze was gazing around, he took in the two Kitsune in front of him as well as the young human. Turning to Shinibana he nodded his head and greeted her first. "Greetings to you, might I ask your name? I am Soyokaze, Lord of the Washi clan, and it has been over a thousand years since the last time anyone has summoned me or mine to this plane."

Grinning widely, the elder of the two Kitsune raised her head and body so that she was sitting on her haunches. "Greetings to you as well Soyokaze-sama, I am Shinibana, eldest daughter to Miyuki who was the former ruler of the Kitsune. She is still alive and is present in a way. Sōjin Ikari, stand and present yourself." Turning and facing the young man as she spoke, she drew attention to the human present.

Gulping silently as he stood, Ikari bowed to both of the bosses. "Greetings to the both of you, Soyokaze-sama, Shinibana-sama. My name is Sōjin Ikari, Chunin of Konohagakure no Sato, Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and summoner of the Kitsune clan. It is my hope and desire to be able to summon both of your clans to aid me and mine in our times of need."

Stunned at his frank and honest admission, the eagle looked over to the fox as his eyes widened. Receiving a subtle nod of her head in answer to his unasked question, he then turned his attention to the young man standing before the both of them, still patiently bowing to them. "Rise young one, and tell me how you came to be the Jinchuriki to the strongest of the Bijuu and also how you came upon our summoning contract. Once I have heard your honest answer I will judge whether you will be allowed the privilege to summon my clan and I."

Over the next hour or so, they sat there and listened as Ikari answered their questions about how he had become the Jinchuriki to Miyuki, his former parent's rather sickening plans, and all about his new bloodline and clan. They also discussed his training, both past and present, as well as his current situation here in the mist.

Once they had finished, everyone sat there in silence and digested all that they had heard and discussed. Turning to his counterpart, the eagle nodded and then faced the young human once more. "I have decided that we, the Washi clan, will answer your call and will become summons of the Sōjin clan, alongside our allies of old, the Kitsune clan. If you have need of one of us, you must focus on which clan you wish to call upon, or otherwise you will get both clans. There is a way around this however, at least when you are not in the heat of battle, and that will require the agreement of all three of us. If you agree to this, both Shinibana-sama and I will channel a portion of our chakra and touch one of your forearms. Doing this will form a tattoo of sorts that will eliminate the need for hand seals, as all you will need is the blood to wipe across the mark, and to channel the appropriate level of chakra needed for whomever you wish to summon."

Sitting down heavily as it hit him that he had two clans he could summon from, the young Sōjin heir thought about what he had just been told. Putting his agreement to their proposal to the side mentally at least, he vocalized the favor that he had been thinking of. "Pardon me for my boldness, Soyokaze-sama, Shinibana-sama; but there is a boon I would ask of you. My life has been blessed by many wonderful people to care for me and train me, and all but one of them have a clan to summon of some type or another."

Here he bowed his head and closed his eyes as he thought about Yuugao-chan and how much she had done and still did for him in his life. Raising his head to look both of the Bosses in the eye, he smiled gently as he thought about what he was about to say before speaking. "The woman who currently represents my clan in the Council is not related to me by blood, but she is closer to me than any in my former family, so much so that I see her as my Onēsan and address her as such. It would be an honor if I could persuade one of you to allow my Onēsan to sign one of your contracts, as I would never allow any other to sign them unless they were my mates or children without your permission."

Absolute silence was his response and he all he could focus on at that particular moment in time was keeping his breathing calm and slow. If he had been looking at the summons there in front of him, he would have been surprised to see the looks of astonishment on their faces.

Swiftly schooling their features, they turned to one another and smiled slightly. After a few more minutes of waiting just to mess with him, they nodded and Soyokaze spoke up. "Your respectful manner and the esteem in which you hold this woman is very telling, Ikari-san. I only have one question and this will more than likely determine which of our clans will respond if your sister calls upon us. What is her elemental affinity?"

Looking up and quickly assuming a neutral tone to his face as he did so, Ikari directed his gaze towards the eagle. "Her affinity is to fire, Soyokaze-sama."

Shinibana was up next with her own question. "If you had to determine where her strengths as a kunoichi are, what would you tell us?"

Taking a moment, Ikari thought about it and then asked for clarification. "Do you mean specifically or in general what I feel her strengths are?"

She immediately replied, "Both specifically and in general. Be brutally honest with us so that we can make the best decision possible."

Three Hours Later

Immediately upon reaching the base, Ikari sent three of his Kitsune to find his comrades and bring them to the nearest training ground. Once he had arrived there he set up an area large enough to contain what was going to happen and prepared for the other's arrival.

While he waited for them to arrive, he sat down in the lotus position and began to meditate simply to calm his mind and center himself once more, while at the same time ensuring that he had recovered enough chakra to accomplish his goal here today. Five minutes later he had sensed their chakra approaching his position and he stood to greet them while at the same time creating ten clones and positioning them in the spots he had set up before they had arrived.

Once they were in front of him, he nodded to his clones and they ran through the designated hand seals simultaneously, activating the chakra containment and privacy seals. Once they were done, they then transformed into rocks and awaited their creator's next command.

Facing his older ANBU comrades, his friends, his family, Ikari smiled and motioned for Itachi to stand in front of him to his left and Kakashi to stand in a similar location to his right. Clearing his throat he began to speak. "As you all know, I consider each of you to be family of mine each in your own way. Itachi, Kakashi if you would please summon a couple of your summons as both of the clans I am allowed to summon have requested their presence for what will be happening here today."

As he spoke he received surprised nods from the other two men, and he managed to see the veiled look of hurt that passed through his Onēsan's eyes. As the two men sped through the hand seals, Ikari bit both of his thumbs and channeled his chakra to his hands as he swiped the bloody digits across the tattoos that he had on his forearms.

For a moment everyone there was blinded by the smoke as the summons appeared, and then blinked as soon as they were able to see again. Bowing to the Bosses that were present, Ikari turned to his Onēsan and smiled gently at her.

"Yuugao, Onēsan; today has been a wonderful day as I have gained yet another powerful ally, both for my clan as well as for Konoha. I have long wished to repay you in some form or fashion for the care and affection you have shown me growing up, much as I have done for Kakashi and Itachi. That day is today, and I have just the gift to give you. After several hours of questions given to me by Shinibana-sama and Soyokaze-sama, I will be granting you something that I know that you have long desired."

Turning around and bowing once more to the Boss of the Washi clan, as he stood back up he held out his hands and received the scroll that held the summoning contract for the eagles. Once more he faced his adopted siblings and smiled. "Uzuki Yuugao, you have been like a sister to me for several years. You have always been there for me, whether it was to scold me for my foolishness, to comfort me when I was suffering and taught me the ways of the sword. I have been authorized to allow you the privilege of becoming the secondary summoner of the Washi clan, as you are the only member of my family who doesn't have a clan to call upon when you are in need."

Yuugao was in shock at that moment. Pure, unadulterated shock, as she finally wrapped her head around what Ikari was offering to her. Hitting her knees was enough to bring her out of it, and she looked up at her Otōto. "You're serious about this? This isn't a joke or a prank, Otōto?"

Shaking his head, Ikari knelt in front of her as he unrolled the scroll. "I would never pull a prank that would be as hurtful as this would be, Onēsan. I need you to bite your thumb and sign your name in blood, then place that hand next to your name leaving a bloody print of your hand. Then the hand seals are as follows: I, Inu, Tori, Saru, Hitsuji, and slam your chakra filled hand against the ground."

Going through the motions as he called them out, she shakily slammed her palm into the ground and heard another summon pop into place in front of her. Opening her eyes, she saw a much smaller eagle blinking up at her. "Hello there, are you the one who summoned me here? My name is Shiokaze, what's your name?"

Reaching out to touch the young summon, she steadied herself as she gently stroked the feathers on her head. Coming to her senses, she smiled gently at the young bird as she cleared her throat. "My name is Uzuki Yuugao, young Shiokaze, and yes I am one of your clan's newest summoners. It is an honor to meet you and I hope to work with you in the future." Turning to Ikari she smiled even wider even as her eyes began to tear up. Bowing her head in gratitude, she then looked to Soyokaze and Shinibana and bowed once more.

"My deepest gratitude and thanks belong to both of you, Soyokaze-sama, Shinibana-sama. I promise you that I will always remember this day for as long as I live." Standing up, she held out her arm and motioned for her summon to join her. As the group watched Shiokaze flap her wings and take to the air so that she could take a perch with her summoner, Ikari chuckled as he took in her excitement and awe.

Clearing his throat, the Washi clan leader spoke up at this point in time. "Uzuki-san, aside from our visual acuity which will assist you in reconnaissance and our ability to deliver messages, I believe that our greatest ability will lie in collaborative jutsu, since our primary affinity is to the wind, which can enhance your fire techniques. Once you are at home again, I expect the both of you to call upon us so that we can work together to find the best ways of approaching this. Until we are needed again, we will take our leave."

Here he paused for a moment, giving a nod of his head to Kakashi's ninken and Itachi's crows, who all bowed to him, and a slight bow to Shinibana who returned it. Taking one more look at his summoners, he spoke one last time. "It would appear that fortune has smiled once more upon my clan and given us strong summoners. I look forward to working with you, farewell for now."

Once he was done speaking he disappeared, starting a chain reaction with the summons popping out. After they were all gone Ikari gave a signal which told his clones that they were done and they transformed back, released the seals and then dispelled themselves. Ikari was then promptly blind-sided by Yuugao, who almost tackled him in a hug, mumbling her thanks over and over again.

Gently rubbing her back as he smiled and congratulated her softly as he looked up at the other two members of his team, from whom he was sure that he would never hear the end of this. Shrugging mentally, he figured that he could grin and bear it, especially since it concerned his Onēsan.

Once she was through thanking him she let go of him and wiped her eyes. "It means a lot to me that you would do something like this for me Ikari-kun. I appreciate this more than I could possibly tell you, and it makes me quite proud to be your Onēsan, Otōto."

Smiling up at her, he simply nodded and led the way back to the base. "I look up to each of you as my family, each of you in your own way. Itachi is like a favorite cousin, who is patient and considerate, teaching me the things that I need to succeed in life. Kakashi is like my perverted Aniki, who is humorous and keeps me on my toes while showing me how to have fun in life. Then there is you, Yuugao-chan, who is like the Onēsan I have never had, who is gentle and caring, always there to pick me up when I'm down or not feeling well. That is how I view each of you in my life, and I thank Kami every day for blessing me with each of you."

Everyone was chuckling as they entered the base, and it was quite relaxing to know that their already close bonds had become even closer and more tightly knit. They spent the rest of that day in fairly close quarters, just enjoying the break from the war and preparing for the next few months as they would need to be on top of their game to make it through to go back home once more.

Three Months Later, Konoha

Stretching as he finished dispelling the last of his clones doing paperwork, Hiruzen frowned as he went through the memories and walked over to a particular stack of and rifled through it. Once he had gotten to the one in particular that he had been looking for, he pulled it out and read through it.

Sighing to himself, he rolled up the scroll and put it into a safe that only he knew about. It would seem that they were still insistent on going through with their goal of having Naruto marry his sisters, even though technically he didn't exist any longer.

Lighting his pipe and sitting back in his chair, the Hokage chuckled to himself as he thought about how things were going to go down, once they were back and everything went wrong with their plans. Then there was also the look that would be on Jiraiya's face when the young man wouldn't be willing or able to sign the Toad contract, all because of their treatment and abandonment of the boy. 'This is going to be a sight to see, especially if Ikari-kun is able to finish his Fūjin no Mai, especially since it doesn't require seals so they can't complain that he has stolen their clan technique.'

Shaking his head as he envisioned what that match would be like, he rose from his seat and left his office chuckling as he thought about what was going to happen when those six idiots simply decided to drop in and try to claim him as kin. Frowning as he thought about who he was going to have replace him as the Hokage in a few years, he exhaled a rather impressive smoke ring.

There was no chance in hell that he would allow Minato to return and take the position back, and he definitely wasn't going to allow Jiraiya or Tsunade the opportunity either. That narrowed his options down to two people at the current moment in time, and that was Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi. Even he would be the first to admit that he was leaning towards the Uchiha, especially given his loyalty to the village and his ability to bring out the best in those around him.

Kakashi on the other hand, well he was the lesser of the two choices considering the fact that unless it was for a mission he was habitually late, always had his nose stuck in one of the orange books, and was more than just a little bit on the lazy side. If it came down to it, Hiruzen knew that he could be trusted to fulfill the position; it was just that he was his absolute last choice if all else failed. Sighing once more he decided to visit the Ichiraku's and take in a couple bowls of miso ramen before heading home and retiring for the night. He knew that there would still be time to decide which of them would be best for the job later.

A/N: So he's finally made a name for himself, and is growing in his skills and abilities, while the next chapter will finish this particular arc, and lead up to the confrontation arc.

Idaina Bakuhatsu Hyōei bunshin – Great Exploding Ice Shadow Clones

Shakuton: Shakunetsu no Ryū Hinotama – Scorch Style: Scorching Dragon Fireballs

Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū – Seven Swordsmen of the Mist

Chi no Akuma Kitsune – The Bloody Demon Fox

Fūjin no Mai – Dance of the Wind God