Chapter 1.

And finally, the long-awaited day has come - today my mother and I are going to visit my grandfather Uzumaki! And in this regard, I thoroughly prepared for the trip. The sets of kunai and shurikens that I had previously presented to me, a jacket similar to those worn by chunins in my size, and a shirt from my grandfather that I loved so much, as well as a field set of mednin, helped me with this. However, what other gifts to expect a child in the Nara clan - strategists, doctors and killers. Maybe a set for playing shogi, but it was given to me earlier.

In general, despite the fact that our clan is a clan of hereditary professional killers, the training of young people (starting from the age of three) is delivered very correctly. From childhood, all future shinobi and kunoichi are instilled with a very sensible outlook on life and, oddly enough, the "philosophy of survival", as it is called here. Its essence is simple - death is a natural cycle of life and is not something unnatural. As in the cycle of nature, predators fight for territory and the weak die, so do shinobi do the same. To this we add the gods, reincarnation and a bit of philosophy. Of course, this is a simplified version, but the very fact that the psyche of children is preparing for future losses and murders in their chosen profession cannot but inspire respect. If you think about it sensibly, this is why clan members are better shinobi in terms of head than those who went to study at the academy without any initial base bookmarks that affect the overall maturation of the child. Take the same Sannin - two out of three have their own overtures, and the last one decided to drown the longing for the destroyed clan and family in sake and gambling houses. Or the most striking example is Naruto himself and Sakura, if the first one always went on natural charisma and jinchuuriki bonuses, and not skills, then the second one was not adapted to the chosen profession, and remained so until Tsunade got down to business. And it's also lucky that they lived long enough, gaining experience and getting more or less normal teachers. If we recall the impending war, it is the people from ordinary townspeople who will be expendable meat both in the Second World War and in the Third, simply because more trained shinobi are able to get out of many troubles where the rest will lay down their heads, and not go into black melancholy about this . We should also not forget the transfer of accumulated experience from veterans to the young. Most of the leading Nara classes are already at a respectable age for killers, after three or four decades of service.

I think the rather idiotic idea of ​​"peace in the world", which Jiraiya caught fire and infected Minato at one time, and then Naruto, has the same roots. All three grew up in an orphanage and it definitely left its mark. If you think sensibly, with the help of shinobi wars, a natural selection of the strongest occurs and only an idiot or an idealist will come up with an attempt to remove the foundation of the system of the current world, both military and financial. However, these two words are not so different in meaning. It was always surprising that the Fourth, who almost single-handedly brought about the end of the Third World War, was able to maintain such a naive view of the world. Or was it the war that affected him so much?

- Ryu! Are you soon? - already fully equipped Saya looked into the room.

- Yes, ka-chan, I'm going! - the last time I checked the fastenings of the pouch with kunai and shurikens, I was convinced of my own readiness.

- Then let's go, the hired teams are already waiting at the gates of the quarter.

Nodding, I ran from my room to the exit after my mother. We lived in a small one-story house, on the outskirts of the main complex of clan buildings. In general, despite the fact that I had not yet left the Nara possessions for Konoha itself, I had the opportunity to appreciate the architectural style of the clan, since I could safely walk on a rather large territory of several tens of hectares without fear of anything. And despite the positioning of Konoha as a city, the vast lands belonging to the clans (I was also interested in the rest!) actually looked like summer cottages with cottages, except for almost the palaces of the heads of the clans. Certainly, this does not apply to the Hyuuga and Uchiha due to their habit of living together.

Around our house grew a small orchard, and a little to the side a small vegetable garden. Obviously, regardless of the world, there will always be people who like to dig in the ground and grow something of their own, even if these people have chosen the profession of an assassin. As for the style of construction - traditional Japanese houses of the old style, of the seventeenth-eighteenth centuries, only because of the large amount of wood around, the paper movable walls were replaced by thin wooden ones. The heat that prevailed in the country of Fire in summer and mild winter without snow and temperatures below ten degrees required good ventilation for comfortable living. Of course, such openness required appropriate security measures, but the presence of a real master of seals and barriers nearby allows you to perform real miracles, so the security barrier and various seals that protect our house, the exact purpose of which I did not even hope to understand in the next couple of years, turned it into a real fortress. However, such a picture concerned not only our house - almost the entire Nara clan took advantage of the opportunity to strengthen their homes, and my uncle generally fairly replenished the clan storage with various seals. And for all this paid full-weight ryo. More precisely, many hundreds of thousands. And he left all this money to us! You can say we are rich! That is why my mother can still afford not to return to the shinobi ranks, risking leaving me an orphan.

"So Ryu-chan, listen to me carefully!" - waiting for me to put on my sandals, Saya took my hand and led me out of the house, activated the barrier. "Now we will leave Konoha and travel through the Land of Fire towards Uzushiogakure no Sato, where your second grandfather lives. It's clear?"

"Yes, ka-chan," I nodded, patiently waiting to continue as we walked towards the exit of the Nara quarter.

- Great! We will travel not on foot, like ordinary citizens, but through the trees, like all shinobi.

- How did the mentors show? - we have indeed already been shown this method of controlling the chakra among others, but have not yet been taught how to use it. - But I still don't know how...

- No, my little one,- Saya laughed softly, bending down and picking me up in her arms, - you don't need to run like a shinobi at all - I'll carry you on my back.

- All the way? And you won't get tired?

"No Ryu-chan, I'm very strong and I can carry you much longer than a couple of days," Ma chuckled, - and now a little about the serious. You've never left Konoha and the clan lands, and you don't know that the outside world is very dangerous right now, even for shinobi. That's why my oto-san hired one team to protect us and I hired another. So in the event of an attack, we will be protected. - It's clear! I nodded. - You are my smart girl! - Ma was touched, starting to rub her cheek against my hair. - Ka-chan! I already know it! "Ahem, so what am I talking about… Ah yes, in case we are attacked by enemy shinobi, I want you to continuously maintain the flow of chakra to your shirt," Saya looked into my eyes seriously, "it can happen in a battle anything and better prepare for the unexpected. Further, during the journey, you must remember the feeling of the chakra from each of our satellites, and in case someone else tries to approach without our knowledge, you must inform me about it,

"I'll try if you promise that as soon as we return, you will allow me to train in fuinjutsu," I squinted contentedly.

- Oooh, little trickster! Patting my cheek, she nodded. - I promise. And most importantly, when I order you to close your eyes, you will do it without any questions and open only when I allow! Remember?

- Remembered!

How she worries about me! From the surging feeling of happiness and such care, I tightly hugged Saya by the neck and buried myself in her loose hair, which fell freely to the shoulders. How nice it is to be loved so much!

- And no matter what happens - do not leave me a single step, if you suddenly want something, tell me and together we will decide what can be done. Is it clear?

"Yes, don't leave your side, close your eyes and talk about strangers," I repeated all my mother's instructions.

Well done, Ryuu-chan!

By the end of the briefing, we came to the gate, where I had long noticed the presence of two strong sources of chakra, one of which turned out to be stronger than I ever felt, and six weaker ones, except for the usual Nara chunin who served as guards at the entrance to the territory. Noticing us, they quickly opened a small door in the gate, having previously weakened the protection of the seals, and let us out into the street.

- And here is our employer, - said one of the nearby shinobi. Turning around, I began to examine the first shinobi that I met who served Konoha and did not belong to our clan or allies. In principle, all eight of our defenders wore standard chuunin and jonin uniforms, not much different from what my mother wears. The six chuunin boys, about fifteen or sixteen years old, looked completely ordinary and the only one who stood out a little, this is a member of the Inuzuka clan thanks to tattoos and a large dog, more like a wolf, reaching at the withers to his mid-thigh. The strangest thing, apart from the slight Asian features expressed in slightly slanting eyes and slightly more delicate features, the local people did not at all resemble the Japanese and certainly were not so small. A company of guys like that would be almost a common sight on the streets of our city. Unless the grace with which they moved betrayed enhanced martial arts. But the jonins were worthy of closer study. One did not differ much from the others, if not for the black straight hair that literally cast blue in the rays of the sun, and as if blind, completely without pupils, white-silver eyes. Hyuga! His partner in rank was a more exotic sight - a tall, very beautiful and curvy lady in her twenties, with piercing green eyes and luxurious red hair. The first time I see a color other than my father's red hair, the dark brown and black of our clan, or the blond Yamanaka heads. I wonder if there are any other colors I'll come across? It would be cool to see pink or green. That's something you don't see in everyday life. From behind the beauty's back protruded the hilt of a sword, the size of which exceeded my height by two, if not three times. Hmm, colorful aunt. If I were a dozen and a half years older, I would be salivating for sure ... figuratively speaking. Now, I just glanced at her with a curious look and returned to the representative of one of the strongest clans of Konoha.

- Good afternoon, Nara-san, my name is Yonshi Hyuga, and this is Linley Senju, we will be your escort with our teams. I am the commander for the duration of the mission.

Senju! Almost annihilated clan, the last representative of which will be Tsunade! Now it's clear why she has such a large amount of chakra - almost twice as much as another jonin and three times as much as mom! It's better not to remember about yourself and the chunins at all. It looks like they haven't been knocked out so far that there's no one left at all. That's right, there has only been one war since the founding of the village, most of which was fought by Tobirama, and he would not use his clan as meat and plug dangerous directions with an almost guaranteed fatal outcome. It was only later that Sarutobi brought the founding clan almost to complete annihilation. Noticing that I was looking at her with all my eyes, Senju smiled warmly and winked at me. I smiled broadly and waved back, my efforts rewarded with a soft, melodic laugh.

- I like him! - said the beauty, almost ignoring the surprise of others. - What is your name?

- Ryu!

"Nice to meet you, Ryuu-chan!"

"Nice to meet you Linley-chan!" I liked you too!

- The speech of a real man! Linley laughed. - Plain and direct, and not all sorts of - "how about spending the evening together" or "let me invite you to dinner" and the like!

Now Saya laughed, with such a characteristic intonation, as if the two of them knew some kind of joke, and everyone else caught it and began to intensively examine the ground under their feet or stare around, diligently avoiding meeting the eyes of two kunoichi, which only made them more amused. The only one who kept his cool was Hyuuga, but if you look very closely, you could see the slightest blush on his face. I wonder if this reaction means that each of the shinobi present tried to hit Senju in one way or another? I can't say I blame them - she is definitely one of the most beautiful women I have ever met. I think that even the recognized beauty Tsunade loses somewhat to her relative, judging by the photographs I have seen of the current heads of the clans and their heirs and heirs. The study of "allied" and friendly clans is also included in the course of a young shinobi, as well as teaching manners. Thank God the Nara are too lazy to really bother with this.

"Ahem," the Byakugan owner drew attention to himself, "if you're ready, then we can speak, and you can talk during the journey.

"Of course, Hyuuga-san," Mom bowed slightly, "we are ready. "Then let's go to the gate." Do you prefer to walk on the ground, or will we move in a faster way?

"Don't worry, I'll be in time for you," Saya answered, catching me more comfortably.