Chapter One

While this story is a crossover, a majority of the story will take place in the Elemental Nations. However, later in the story, I will have the characters eventually leave the continent for plot reasons.

Also, this story will take place before the Third Shinobi War, and since there's not a lot of information to work around that time, I'll be making shit up as I go. Also, some characters will be aged up or down, or I'll put characters from the original Naruto/Naruto Shippuden timeline into the past timeline because why not?

My story, my rules, don't like it fuck off, and read another story. Not gonna apologize for wanting to do my own thing, but I will listen to suggestions or constructive criticisms as I am a writer who wants to improve.

As for when new chapters will be released, expect another one to come out every two or three months. I really like writing, but unfortunately, I have to go to work to pay rent. It also doesn't help I have ADHD, making staying still and focused really hard for me. There's also my horrendous sleep schedule and time management, but you guys get the point.

So, I apologize if I can't stay consistent with my uploading, and I hope you guys can bear with me.

Other than that, I hope you guys enjoy the story!

(ThirdPerson POV) Year: 1600 Location: In the middle of the North Blue

In the middle of the vastness of the North Blue was a highly advanced, autonomous, three-hundred-meter-long, six-storied red and black warship. The vessel was made entirely out of an unknown nigh-indestructible metal alloy, has two hundred automated turrets, and its figurehead is the face of a dragon breathing out fire.

This impressive vessel of war and mass destruction was called the Black Despair.

Leaning on the rails of the Black Despair and watching as the sun went down was a downcasted, handsome young man.

He stands at five feet nine inches, has brown skin, and has an incredibly muscular build thats hidden by his attire. He has long, spiky hair that's crimson red on the left side and snow-white on the right. He also has two neck-length bangs framing his face. Like his hair, his eyes are differently colored, with his left one being violet and his right one being bright red.

The young man's current attire was a set of crimson red segmented plated armor that covered his shoulders, entire torso, and hips. He also wore gauntlets, shin guards, and metal boots instead of sandals. Underneath his armor was a thick yet flexible black bodysuit that covered the rest of his body that wasn't protected by his armor.

This boy was Ryutori D. Uchiha Uzumaki Senju, the grandson of Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju, Mito Uzumaki, and the son of Yami Uchiha, the Black Dread, the former Calamity of the Beast Pirates.

The reason why Ryutori was depressed was because three days ago, his father, the only family he had left, had passed away due to incurable sickness.

Yami was someone whom Ryutori looked up to, as he was everything Ryutori wanted to be as both a warrior and intellectual. He was a deadly shinobi who was incredibly feared throughout the world and was powerful enough that Kaido himself admitted he wasn't sure who would win in an all-out battle between them. As for his intellect, he was a cunning tactician, versatile in multiple branches of science, created hundreds of jutsus from scratch, was a master engineer, and was a master of Fuinjutsu.

However, that wasn't the only reason he looked up to his father. When Yami wasn't a warrior or scientist, he was a loving father and husband who did anything to protect the ones he loved. His father, despite his infamous reputation, was a compassionate and easygoing man who held no animosity toward anyone, even his enemies.

Of course, Yami wasn't a perfect man; no one is. There was a reason why Ryutori's father was feared and hated throughout the world. His father had committed every crime conceivable, with the only ones he hadn't done were anything that involved cannibalism or sexual assault of any kind. His father had stained his hands with the blood of the innocents and the wicked without so much as showing any signs of remorse. But despite the atrocities he's committed and his indifference to ruining so many lives, Ryutori couldn't find it in himself to hate his father.

Perhaps if he abused him and his mother, or if he kept his darker self away a secret from them, then that would've been another story entirely. Instead, his father was straightforward with what activities he partook in and was the near-perfect family man. Sure, at first, Ryutori wasn't happy with his actions, but over time, the teen accepted his father for who he was. If his mother could accept the incomprehensible evil his father held within him, why couldn't he?

Besides, thanks to his father, he was more than prepared to handle most of what the world had to throw at him. Yami, before he passed, gave all his possessions, assets, and scrolls of invaluable knowledge to him, making his life all the easier. However, Ryutori's most valuable and last gift from his father was his eyes, and with his eyes, he could inherit the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. Once the teen found someone to implant them into him, the great descendant could begin his plans for the future.

Ryutori snapped out of his thoughts when he sensed someone coming next to him. The person also leaned against the railing and looked at the descending star with him.

"Hey," the person said after a few moments of silence.

"Hi," Ryutori replied a moment later, not bothering to glance at the person as he already knew who they were.

"How are you holding up?"

"Fine, I guess," Ryutori said, shrugging.

The person sighed. "Ryu...you don't need to lie and hold it in. You know you can talk to me, right?"

"I know, but it's pointless. Talking won't make me feel any better. All it does is piss me off," Ryutori said, raising his voice slightly at the end.

Knowing Ryutori for years, the person wisely chooses to drop the subject. Pissing him off won't do any good for either of them.

"Ok..." the person replied in a whisper, with a hurt expression on her face.

Sensing her sadness, Ryutori sighed and turned to look at the person.

The person in front of him was a fair-skinned woman who stood nearly nine feet tall and possessed a full-figured body. She had red horns that faded to orange at the bottom, long white hair that faded to aqua green and then blue the further it goes, and large orange eyes.

She was wearing a white garment, red hakama pants, scandals, and a large purple and white nio-dasuki behind her back and a pair of handcuffs with small chains still attached to them.

This woman was Yamato, the daughter of Kaido, the Oni princess, the wannabe Oden Kozuki, and the best friend of Ryutori.

"Yamato...I'm sorry," Ryutori said, placing his hand over her larger one and smiling at her when she turned to look at him.

Yamato had been Ryutori's best friend since he was six years old, and since that day, they'd never been apart longer than a few hours. She was one of the few people Ryutori could call one of his precious people, and it was only because of her and two other individuals that he hadn't gone down a much darker path than he already was.

It's because of that Ryutori felt terrible for being an asshole to Yamato when she was just trying to be there for him. She deserves better than that.

Yamato smiled back at him. "It's fine... it's my fault for being pushy."

"No," Ryutori slightly shook his head. "You weren't being pushy; I was just being a jackass," he lightly squeezed her hand. "Thank you."

"Of course."

The two looked at each other longer than usual, but eventually, they looked back at the sky. Yamato had a light tinge of red on her cheeks from staring into Ryutori's bright, heterochromatic eyes, and the latter's expression went back to being apathetic.

The two stayed in a comfortable silence for several minutes until Ryutori said. "Well, Imma head to bed. We have a long day ahead of us," he got off the rail and began walking away. "Night Yama-Chan."

Beaming at the affectionate nickname, the Oni turned around, looked at the retreating figure of the Uchiha, and replied. "Goodnight, Ryu-kun..." she sighed and leaned back against the railing.

"You still couldn't tell him," said another male voice.

Yamato nearly jumped out of her skin and quickly turned to face the individual behind her.

The individual she was facing was a gigantic genetically modified wolf. The animal had thick fur as white as pure snow, ominous crimson eyes, and a mid-night colored mane. When it stood on all four of its legs, it stood at twelve feet, five inches, and had a body length of six meters. It also had a muscular yet lean frame, weighed over several tons, and had a large, bushy tail.

This wolf was Amarok, one of Yami's greatest creations, Ryutori's other best friend, and his bodyguard.

"Amarok! Stop sneaking up on me like that!" the Oni beauty scolded the gigantic wolf.

"Oh, my bad, I thought you could've sense me," Amarok apologized while giving her a mischievous smirk. "I keep forgetting your sensing capabilities aren't as good as Ryutori-sama's."

A tick mark formed on the Yamato's head, and she growled at the wolf. "Bull fucking shit, you exactly what you did, fleabag."

Amarok quirked an eyebrow at the Oni. "Fleabag, really? You know, essentially insulting yourself too, right?"

"Don't care," Yamato then quickly changed topics. "And what do you mean by what you said earlier?"

Knowing what she was talking about, Amarok replied. "I'm talking about you harboring feelings for my master."

A large grin formed on the canine's face as he saw Yamato turn beet red and steam come out of her ears when he revealed he knew about her crush on his master.

"Y-You know a-about t-that?" she stammered.

Amarok gave her a deadpan expression. "Yamato, everybody in the Beast Pirates knew about you're crush on him," he revealed, making the girl go pale. "There was even a betting pool if you two would get together or not," his tone was filled with amusement.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" She asked, really hoping the canine was messing with her.

"Nope," Amarok replied in a sing-song tone.

"Fuck," the Oni groaned. "Was I that obvious?"

"Yup. You were so obvious that I wouldn't be surprised if Ryutori-sama secretly knew about it but just never said anything about it."

Amarok knew his master better than anyone, even more so than Yamato, due to being spiritually connected to the young Uchiha. Ryutori was incredibly intelligent for his age, as by the time he was nine years old, he had already grasped multiple branches of science, was an excellent engineer, and was nearly a master of Fuinjutsu. If Ryutori could grasp those subjects so easily at such a young age, then matters of the heart were mere childsplay to the teen.

Yamato stiffened at that statement as she really hoped that wasn't the case.

"I really hope he hasn't..."

Amarok tilted his head in confusion. "Why? Don't you want him as a mate?"

Yamato blushed and growled at the wolf. "Don't say it like that, you idiot...but I do want to be with him..."

"Then why not just confess?" Amarok asked, not understanding why that was so difficult.

"I...I...it's just not that easy..." she said lowly, but Amarok could hear her due to acute hearing.

The canine rolled its eyes. "I swear you humans and humanoids make it far too complicated than it needs to be," he said before yawning. It stood up. "Well, it's not my problem if you choose to be a coward," it then turned around, missing the glare Yamato gave him for his last remark, and went to bed.

"Asshole," Yamato said under her breath and returned to leaning against the railing of the ship.

The Oni sometimes wanted to kill the wolf, but whenever the thought came to mind, she quickly perished the idea as she knew how much that would devastate Ryutori. Yamato just couldn't understand the wolf at times. One moment, they're getting along, then another, a second later, he's at her throat for no apparent reason. It had been like that between them for years, and she could never figure out why that was the case. It was like dealing with Ulti all over again; the only difference is that Amarok is a lot more amicable than the former.

However, Yamato did have did admit Amarok had a point, though. She was acting like a coward, which was very unlike her as long as the Oni could remember; she had never feared anything in her entire life, not even her father. Yet she was terrified of admitting how she felt toward Ryutori. It honestly made no sense to her, and she felt humiliated by being scared of something so insignificant.

Yamato let out a sigh.

Feelings suck.

(A few months later) Location: The Elemental Nations, Land of Hot Water

The group finally reached their destination after what felt like decades of traversing across the world. Ryutori brought the Black Despair toward a beach.

Once the vessel hit solid ground, Amarok could no longer contain himself as he jumped off the ship. "OH, SWEET KAMI, WE'RE FINALLY BACK ON SOLID LAND!!!" Amarork shouted joyously while in mid-air.

The entire time Ryutori and his best friends had been sailing, they'd only been off the ship once, and that was because the Uchiha had to pick up his other best friend, who lived on the other side of the world. After that individual had been picked up, they had to travel back to the other side of the Grandline as the location they were heading toward was deep within the North Blue. So, it was understandable why the gigantic talking white wolf was delighted to be off the damn fucking ship.

When Amarok's feet made contact with the sand, the wolf immediately dropped to the ground and rolled back and forth. The others got the ship and looked at that giant canine with amused expressions.

Yamato walked up to the wolf and looked down at him. She then placed her hands on her hips.

"Dramatic much?" she said, sounding amused.

Amarok stopped rolling in the sand and looked at the Oni with a blank expression.

"No. I don't think I am," the wolf then went back to rolling in the sand.

Yamato shook her head and turned around to see Ryutori sealing the ship into one of his larger scrolls. It still amazed the Oni beauty what Fuinjutsu could do. If she could, she would've loved to learn it as it would've made her life a lot more convenient.

Her gaze then turned to the person Ryutori brought with them, and a frown made its way onto Yamato's beautiful features.

The person Yamato was looking at was a beautiful young woman. She has fair skin, stands at five feet two inches, and has a well-portioned figure. She has long hair that's white on the left side and red on the right. Her hair is arranged into two long ponytails with two circular braids at the end; these circular braids are also seen at the top of her head. She also has bright purple eyes, with the left eye being shrouded by the side of her hair.

The young woman's attire was a red flak jacket, a white long-sleeved shirt, black form-fitting pants, and black running shoes.

This person was Uta, the adoptive daughter of Shanks and the other best friend of Ryutori.

Yamato, while amicable with Uta, wasn't exactly happy that Ryutori brought the girl along to settle in his ancestor's homelands, as she was well aware of the girl's feelings towards the Uchiha. However, Yamato couldn't be mad at Ryutori as he had long ago told her he would bring Uta with them, but it didn't mean she had to like it.

Once Ryutori finished sealing away the ship, he rolled up the scroll and put it into the seals he had on his right gauntlet. The teen then turned his attention toward the landscape in front of him, and a smile formed on his face. Ryutori felt connected to the continent. It was like he had always been here and not elsewhere. It was a strange yet pleasant phenomenon he couldn't convey in mere words. Whatever the feeling was, he didn't want it to stop.

The teen was brought out of thoughts when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

He looked to his left to see Uta looking at him in concern. "You alright? You were spacing out."

Ryutori gave her a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I'm alright. If anything, I've never felt better."

Uta smiled at him. "That's good. You had me worried there for a second. So what's the plan, boss?" she asked in a playful tone.

"Well, besides establishing ourselves in Kohona, we need to set a base of operations," Ryutori replied, getting down into business. "And I know the perfect place that no one will suspect," [Kanzen Kage Bushin No Jutsu] A clone of Ryutori poofed into existence. The teen looked at his clone. "You know what to do."

The clone nodded and shunshinned away.

"Where did you send him to?" Yamato asked, slightly curious.

Ryutori gave her a slight smile. "That's a surprise," his reply caused her to pout, but he ignored it and looked at his furry companion. "Amarok, if you may."

Amarok whined, knowing what his master wanted. "Why?"

"Because I wanna get to Konoha as soon as possible," the teen stated bluntly.

"Ugh, fine," Amarok laid down and waited for everyone to get on his back.

Once everyone was settled, Ryutori ordered the gigantic canine to head southwest, and Amarok promptly told the teen to fuck off before doing as he was told.

(Timeskip: Midnight)

After nearly nine hours of nonstop running for the gigantic wolf, Ryutori was kind enough to give him a break for the rest of the night since the former covered a decent amount of ground. With their ride getting a break, the group found an area to make camp for the night, and once they established a spot for themselves, Ryutori placed a barrier Seal that covered a radius of thirty meters at the center of the campsite.

With the barrier set, everyone set up tents. Once that was done, Ryutori pulled out three items, two of them being MREs and the other being a piece of steak that was larger than Yamato's body. He gave the MREs to the girls while he tossed the latter to Amarok, who happily began devouring the meat.

Ryutori created three wooden chairs for him and the girls to sit on. Taking their seats, the girls looked at what kind of MRE the Uchiha gave them.

"I got orange chicken and rice. What about you?" Uta asked Yamato.

"Streak and fries..." Yamato replied. She then looked at the shorter girl and asked. "Wanna switch?"

"Sure," Uta shrugged, and they switched MREs.

Both being used to eating MREs, thanks to Ryutori, the females prepared them with ease and soon began eating the contents within them.

While consuming their food, both noticed that Ryutori was the only one not eating. He was instead mediating.

"Aren't you gonna eat?" Uta asked.

"Not hungry," Ryutori answered calmly. It remained silent for the next few minutes until he spoke up. "So, are you guys still sure you wanna be shinobi?" he opened his to look at the girls. "It's not exactly an honorable profession."

"I wouldn't have asked you to train me if I wasn't sure," Uta replied. "Besides, I used to be a part of a Pirate crew," she pointed out. "They ain't known for being saints either."

"That may be the case, but you were the crew's Musician," Ryutori retorted and then added. "You were also an untrained child and an incredibly bratty," he said teasingly, causing the girl to pout.

"I was not."

Yamato snorted. "Yeah, you were."

Uta glared at her. "Was not."

Yamato glared back at her. "Was, too."

"Was not."

"Was, too."

"Was not."

"Was--"

"Shut the fuck up!" Amarok barked out. "I'm trying to enjoy my fucking steak here, and you two bitches arguing is annoying as fuck!" the wolf then went back to eating his food, ignoring the glares from the Uta and Yamato.

Ryutori tuned the trio out as soon as the girls began arguing in favor of surveying his surroundings. Due to being a Sensor and having a high affinity for Observation Haki, Ryutori's sensing capabilities were heightened to such a degree that it was virtually impossible to sneak up on, lie to, or hide from him in any shape or form, and he could passively sense anything within a five-mile radius. However, if he concentrated, his sensory capabilities would extend to ten miles.

After surveying the area for several minutes, the teen was about to stop meditating but stopped when he felt six energy signatures enter his radar. The individuals within his range were four adult males, an adolescent female, and a creature originating from the sole female. It didn't take him long to figure out that the single female of the group was a Jinchuriki.

"I can't believe how easy it was to sneak into Kohona and take their Jinchuriki," the first man said.

"Right, you'd think with how things were going on right now, the leaf's security would be tight," the second man said. "Oh well, I ain't complaining."

"Do you think the Raikage will let us have some fun with her as a reward?" a third man asked, with a lecherous and malicious tone.

The fourth man scoffed. "Doubt it, he'll probably give the Uzumaki bitch to his son."

The teen's eyes widened slightly at that information. Now that Ryutori really focused on the girl, he could confirm that she was indeed a Uzumaki, as her life force was stronger than all the men's by a wide margin and had a similar energy/Aura signature to a Uzumaki.

"That lucky little shit," the third grumbled, displeased that he wouldn't be able to tap such a fine piece of ass.

"Oh, quit, you're bitching. There's plenty of ass back in Kumo," the first man commented.

Not wanting to hear more of that conversation, Ryutori opens his eyes and gets up. Ryutori then looked at the others, who looked at him in confusion.

"I'll be right back," Ryutori said, who then vanished into thin air before anyone could reply to him or protest.

"Rude," Uta pouted. "He didn't even tell us where he was going."

"What are you, his girlfriend?" Amarok asked in a teasing tone and grinning slyly.

That comment earned him a glare from both Yamato and Uta, although the latter's wasn't as intimating due to the furious blush on her face.

"S-Shut u-up, y-you s-stupid m-mutt!" she shrieked.

Ignoring the insult, Amarok chuckled. "Too easy," he said before going back to eating.

"Asshole..."

(With Ryutori)

The teen quickly found the Kumo shinobi and the Uzumaki girl who was tied up. He then appeared in front of them, and without skipping a beat, he unleashed a lethal dose of Conqueror's Haki on the enemy shinobi. Before they could even comprehend the teen that suddenly appeared in front of them, all four of the Kumo shinobi fell to the ground, with all forms of bodily fluids spilling out of their orifices.

With the threats eliminated, Ryutori got a better look at his fellow Uzumaki.

The girl had fair skin, barely five feet, and a slender feminine figure. She had long, straight, pale red hair that reached her hips and shoulder-length strands that framed both sides of her face with a black hairclip that parted her to the left. She also had violent eyes and a round face.

Her attire was a short-sleeved, tan kimono-like blouse with a dark embroidered border, held closed with a black obi, a dark short skirt, and stockings that stopped at her thighs along with the Kohona's forehead protector and brown sandals.

'Wow...' Ryutori thought, nearly taken back by the girl's beauty. Shaking his head, the teen gave a friendly smile and asked. "You alright?"

Blinking several times, the girl looked back and forth at the dead bodies of her capturers before looking at the person who saved her.

"Uh y-yeah, I'm alright..." she replied and then continued. "How'd you find me?"

"I could sense you and these guys from my camp. I overheard these guys saying you were a Uzumaki, so I came here as fast as I could help," he replied while leaving out pieces of information. "I couldn't allow one of my own to be subjected to such a cruel fate."

The girl's eyes widened at his last sentence. "Y-Your an Uzukami?"

Ryutori nodded. "Yeah, but I'm also a Uchiha and Senju," he revealed, further shocking the girl. "Now let's get these off of you," the teen closed the distance between them and cut the ropes off. Once they were off, he stepped back and held out his hand. "The names Ryutori D. Uchiha Uzumaki Senju."

Taking his hand into hers, she gave him a beautiful smile. "Kushina Uzumaki."

(With the others)

"Oh, what's taking him so long?!" Uta whined.

"He's only been gone for ten minutes," Amarok looked at the girl with a deadpan expression.

The girl looked at the wolf with a pout. "It feels a lot longer than that."

Amarok rolled his eyes in exasperation at her. Not wanting to argue with her, he laid his head back on the ground and closed his eyes. Honestly, he didn't understand how his master put up with these two at times.

Uta stood up. "Well, I'm gonna go look for him," she proclaimed.

She was about to leave but stopped when Ryutori and a girl with long red hair suddenly appeared at the center of the camp.

"I'm back, and I brought a friend," Ryutori said and gestured to Kushina. "Everyone, this is Kushina Uzumaki. Kushina, these guys are my best friends. The girl with horns is Yamato," Yamato gave the redhead a friendly wave, and the latter waved back while gawking at her overall appearance. "The girl who also looks like a candy cane is Uta," Uta gave her a peace sign, but then Ryutori's introduction registered to her and let out an indignant 'hey,' but she was ignored. "And the giant fluff ball is Amarok, my bodyguard."

"H-Hi," the redhead greeted.

Amarok growled and lifted his head to glare at Ryutori. "What did I say about calling me that?"

"Don't know I forgot," Ryutori replied with a shrug. "Anyways..." the teen explained why he left.

The trio were disgusted with what they learned, and they looked at the redhead with sympathy. Once everything was settled, Kushina got to know the group.

"So, umm, not to be rude, but uh, what are you?" Kushina asked Yamato.

The redhead wasn't shocked about Amaroks size or that he could talk, as giant talking animals were the norm in the Elemental Nation. But giant humanoids were something else entirely to her.

"Oh, I'm an Oni," Yamato answered, shocking the redhead even further.

"R-Really? I thought Oni's would be more..." Kushina tried to think of the rights so as not to offend Yamato but failed miserably.

"Demonic looking and evil," Yamato said with an amused tone.

"Uh yeah..." Kushina rubbed the back of her head and chuckled nervously.

"No, we pretty much look like humans, only bigger and physically more powerful."

"I see..." changing topics, Kushina looked at Ryutori and asked. "So you're gonna join the leaf?"

Ryutori nodded, an expression of sorrow framing his features. "Yeah...before my passed father, he told me to come to the Elemental Nations and unite with our clansmen," he sighed. "Hopefully that goes well. From what he's told me the last time he was here, our clansmen had a bunch of sticks up their asses," that got a chuckle from everyone.

"You're not wrong," Kushina admitted between giggles. "However, they're not all bad. My best friend Mikito is pretty nice and is the heiress of the clan," a lightbulb went off in her head. "I could introduce her to you if you'd like!"

Ryutori smiled. "I'd like that. It would certainly make a lot easier," the teen then yawned. "Well, we should all head to bed," everyone nodded and went to their tents. The Uchiha looked at the redhead and smiled. "You can have my tent. It'd be rude to let a beautiful girl like you sleep out in the cold and hard ground."

Kushina's face turned scarlet at his compliment, but that soon vanished as she registered the rest of his sentence.

"You don't have to do that," Kushina attempted to politely decline his offer as she would feel bad for taking his tent.

"You're right. I don't have to, but I want to. Besides, I'm used to sleeping outside," the teen looked away from her and closed his eyes. "I'll see you in the morning."

"How about we share it?" Kushina suggested, her face returning to being scarlet.

Ryutori's eyes widened in surprise, and he looked at the redhead. "Are you sure? We barely even know each other," he pointed out.

Kushina nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm sure... it's your tent. It wouldn't be fair of me to take it from you after you saved me, so why not compromise and just share?" she reasoned.

Seeing no problem with her logic, Ryutori shrugged and smiled.

"Sure, I have no problem with that," getting up from his chair, he made his way to his tent with Kushina following behind him. Before he went inside, he flared his charka and the armor he was switched with a t-shirt and a pair of shorts.

Kushiha looked at him, surprised, and curiously asked. "Was that Fuinjutsu?"

He looked at her and grinned. "Yup! My entire boy and all my possessions have a wide array of seals attached to them. Pretty neat, huh?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, Fuinjutusu's awesome. If you don't mind me asking, what level are you at?"

Ryutori had a thoughtful look, wondering if he should lie to her or tell her the truth. He ultimately decided to be honest with her as he used his empathic abilities to get a read on her character, and he found nothing malicious about her in any shape or form.

"I'm currently a level ten Fuinjutsu practitioner," he answered, shocking the redhead.

"Seriously?! Me too!" there were stars in her eyes as she didn't think there would be another person in the world who was as knowledgeable in Fuinjutsu as she was.

Fuinjutsu was an art most didn't bother to learn, as its requirements were considered too overwhelming to learn and required a person to be creative, thus making it a near-extinct type of jutsu. The ones who even bothered to practice the art were descendants of the Uzumaki Clan and individuals of high intellect.

"Really now?" Ryutori grinned. "When we get back to Kohona, and I get a place there, wanna come over and study level eleven Fuinjutsu with me?"

The redhead beamed at his suggestion. "Sure, I'd love to."

The teen nodded. "Now, let's go to bed. I'm taking the left side," Ryutori laid on the left side of the tent and covered himself with the blanket. He then closed his eyes and shifted to the other side. "Night."

"Night," Kushina responded, her face beginning to turn the same shade of red as her hair.

The redhead still couldn't believe she'd suggested sleeping in the same bed together. However, not one to back down, she took off her sandals and entered the tent. Kushina took the right side of the tent and slowly rested her head on the pillow, facing forward. Kushina looked at the back of her fellow Uzumaki's head briefly before closing her eyes and letting darkness overtake her.

(Timeskip: 7 Am)

Slowly opening his eyes, his vision was blurry for a few moments before everything became clear. Letting out a yawn, he attempted to get up but quickly noticed the extra weight on him. He looked up and saw that the extra weight was Kushina. She was cuddled up to him with her head on his chest and arm wrapped around his side. Smiling, Ryutori let the redhead sleep in a little more before waking her up. However, it wasn't meant to be, as he sensed Uta making her way toward his tent, and before he could react, his best friend opened the covering to his tent.

"Ryu--" Whatever Uta was about to say died in her throat when she saw the sight before her. On the ground were Ryutori and Kushina, holding each other as if they were lovers. It also didn't help that the latter had a content smile on her face. Multiple emotions were bubbling inside Uta, with the primary ones being intense rage and overwhelming jealousy. "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Her loud, enraged voice woke up everyone and nearly caused the barrier Ryutori set to shatter. Kushina shot up with her eyes wide open and was about to ask what was going on, but stopped when she saw Uta's murderous expression directed at her. She looked at Ryutori and was about to ask for answers, but it quickly dawned on her why the other girl was furious with her. Turning beet red, Kushina looked at Uta and nervously chuckled.

"Um, I can explain," Kushina said sheepishly.

Before anything could be said, Yamato and Amarok came over to investigate what was happening.

"Hey, what's going---oh, thats what," Amarok commented wide-eyed when he saw the duo in the tent together.

"What do you..." The same could be said for Yamato, although the difference was that she was leaking Conqueror's Haki, and her features were slowly contorting into anger.

"You probably run," Amarok suggested to Kushina.

The redhead nodded in agreement. That was a wonderful suggestion.

After Kushina had run for her life for nearly half an hour, Ryutori sealed away everything, and they began making their way toward Kohona. The journey was somewhat tense as Uta and Yamato were angry with Kushina despite Ryutori telling the duo nothing happened between them, so when they all had to get on Amarok, much to his annoyance, Kushina made sure to sit in front of the Uchiha.

It was both the best and worst decision of her life. Not only was she protected from the girls, but she also got to be pressed against Ryutori, so that was a plus. The downside is that the killing intent towards her made her uncomfortable, and the redhead did not doubt that the duo would get back at her later, which was something she was dreading.

Kushina could hear her tenant snicker at suffering, causing a tick mark to form on her forehead, and internally growl at him. 'Shut it.'

'No, I don't think I will,' the fox replied after calming down from the laughter.

'Oh, so you're talking to me now,' Kushina said with an annoyed tone. 'What gives?'

Deciding to humor her, the fox answered. 'The Uchiha hybrid you're attracted to interests me.'

Blushing and ignoring the fox's comment, she asks. 'What do you mean you're interested in him?' the redhead mentally narrowed her eyes at the fox.

The fox hummed. 'I feel several sources of power coming from the boy. The first one is Chakra. The second is Spiritual, like Yin Release, but it functions differently. As for the last one, it also feels similar to Buji Chakra,' the fox finished frowning heavily.

'S-So he's like me?' Kushina asked, visibly excited at the prospect of befriending another Jinchuriki.

'Yes and no...he's like you in the aspect that he has something contained within him, but what's inside of him is entirely foreign...it feels sinister more so than even mine,' the fox reluctantly admitted. 'If I'm being quite frank, I'm sorta jealous of whatever is inside the Uchiha hybrid.'

'Why are you telling me all this?' Kushina wondered. 'This is the first time we've had a full-blown conversation since you've been sealed into me.'

'Isn't obvious?' the fox rolled its eyes. 'I want you to get close to him to find out what's within him.'

'Why would I ever help you in doing that?'

'Because you're as curious about it as I am now that I've mentioned it, and don't even bother denying it. We both know it's true. Besides, don't you want to relate to and build a bond with someone similar to you? Sure, you may have those other hairless monkeys that support you, but what are they compared to someone who genuinely understands your burden?'

Kushina gave what the fox said some thought, and she eventually gave her answer. 'I guess I could do this, but no funny business,' she warned the Buji. 'This is the first time I'm interested in someone, and I won't have you messing it up for me.'

The fox scoffed. 'I'm not interested in messing with your petty human affairs. Just do as I ask, and I'll behave...for now,' the Buji finished chucking ominously and then cut the connection.

Kushina let out a sigh.

"You good?" Ryutori asked, quirking an eyebrow.

The redhead looked at the Uchiha and smiled. "Yeah, I'm ok."

Ryutori sensed she wasn't lying, so he let the matter drop and nodded. "Well, if you ever need to talk, I'm here. Us Uzumaki gotta stick together, am I right?" he gave her a bright smile that made the redhead's heart skip a beat, and a light blush appeared on her face.

Smiling back, Kushina nodded and replied. "Right."

(Timeskip: 4 PM)

After another nine hours of traveling, the small group finally reached their destination. They were ten meters away from the main gates of Kohona, and when they got within a meter of the entrance, they were promptly stopped by the guards.

"Halt!" the guard with short brown hair ordered.

Doing as the guard said, Amarok stopped his movement and let everyone climb off of him. Kushina went ahead of them and greeted the guard.

"Hey Haru, how's it going?" Kushina asked, grinning at the older man.

Haru eyes went wide when he took notice of the redhead. "Kushina!" he said in shock.

"Thats me!" kushina retorted cheekily. "Why do you look so surprised?" she knew why, but it never hurt to fuck with the man in front of her.

A tick mark appeared on the older man's forehead. "Because news got out that you were kidnapped, and the village has been on lockdown ever since!" he shouted. "Also, who the fuck are these guys?" he pointed at Ryutori and his companions.

"The guy with red and white hair was the one who saved me, and the people behind him are his friends," Kushina answered.

Haru was surprised at the information and got a good look at Ryutori. The older man blinked several times and stared hard at the teen as the boy looked oddly familiar.

"You look familiar. Have you been to Kohona before?" Haru asked the teen.

"No, this is my first time coming here, but you might've known my parents," Ryutori grinned, knowing when he revealed his heritage, shit was about to go down.

"And who are your parents?" Haru and even Kushina looked at him curiously.

"Yami Uchiha and Akari Uzumaki Senju," he revealed, shocking the duo into silence.

Before his parents had left the Elemental Nations, they were revered not only by their respective clans but by Kohona as a whole. Not only were his parents directly related to the founders of the village, but they both built reputations that only further elevated their already impressive prestige. Yami Uchiha was the previous Head of the Uchiha Clan, a renowned scientist, and he was why Kohona won the Second Shinobi War. As for Akari Uzumaki Senju, she was one of the most powerful Kunoichi in history and was renowned for Fuinjutsu capabilities, which were even greater than her grandmother, Mito Uzumaki.

It was because of who his parents were that Ryutori understood Haru and Kushina's reactions and was looking forward to the entire Elemental Nation's response to his Heritage when it was revealed. It was going to be a major shitstorm.

Haru was the first to break out of his stupor. "I-I'll be right back," Haru said before running to his post to contact the Hokage

Not so long after Haru, Kushina broke out of her daze and looked at Ryutori with stars in her eyes. Besides Mito Uzumaki, the redhead looked up to Ryutori's mother and saw her as the pinnacle of what a Kunochi should be, like many girls her age did. Ryutori, being the son of her role models, only further solidified her already immense admiration of the Uchiha hybrid.

Faster than the eye could blink, Kushina was in front of the Uchiha and was asking him dozens upon dozens of questions a minute.

"Alright, Alright, calm down," Ryutori gestured while chuckling in amusement, and she did just that. "Ya good?"

Kushina nodded and sheepishly chuckled while rubbing the back of her head. "Yeah...sorry about that."

"It's all good. And yes, all that stuff about my mom was true," Ryutori puffed his chest in pride at his mother's accomplishments.

"Thats awesome, Dattebane!" Kushina said here, shining even better than before.

Before any more could say, several shinobi appeared, all wearing animal-themed masks.

The one wearing a Dragon-themed mask stepped toward the group and said. "The Hokage wishes to see you all."

Ryutori nodded. "Just once second," he looked at Amarok and then at Yamato. "Shrink down," both nodded and did as he ordered. Once they were of normal size, Ryutori looked at the Shinobi. "Ok, we're ready to go."

The animal-masked shinobi placed their hands on their shoulders and teleported them to the Hokage's office. Once in the room, the dragon-masked shinobi stepped toward a desk and kneeled.

"I've brought them as you asked, Hokage-sama," the shinobi said in a respectful tone.

The group looked at the individual sitting at the desk and was doing paperwork.

The Hokage was a man with tan skin, black eyes, and a small goatee with small amounts of grey hair. Under his eyes are tiny vertical lines, and he has a light amount of wrinkles on his face.

He was currently wearing the typical attire of a man of his position.

This man was Hiruzen Sarutobi, the God of Shinobi, the Professor, and the Third Hokage.

Hiruzen looked from his desk, and he looked at the small group with a blank expression. With a dismissive wave, all the masked shinobi disappeared.

It was quiet for several moments until Hiruzen spoke up with a smile forming on his face. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ryu-Kun," the older man got up from his seat and walked toward the teen. When he was in front of the teen, he continued. "Your father told me a lot about you through letters he would occasionally send me."

Ryutori smirked. "I hope they were all good things."

Hiruzen chuckled. "They were...mostly," he gave the boy a smirk back. "He did occasionally complain about your antics."

Ryutori rolled his eyes in amusement. "Sounds about right. So I assume he warned you I'd arrive here before his passing."

At the mention of his father's death, Hiruzen smile slightly faded, and emotions such as sadness could be sensed from him.

The Hokage nodded in confirmation. "He did. He also mentioned you'd be bringing company with you," he glanced at the small group before looking back at Ryutori. "Care to introduce me to them?" Nodding, Ryutori introduced his friends to Hiruzen, and they all gave him friendly greetings of their own. Once introductions were out of the way, Hiruzen placed a hand on Ryutori's shoulder and said. "Before I forget, I'd like to thank you for rescuing Kushina while on your way here. If it weren't for you, I'd shudder to imagine what kind of fate she would've had."

Ryutori smiled and replied. "It was no issue. Kushina was an Uzumaki, and we Uzumaki don't abandon one another."

"Good man," Hizuzen took his hand off his shoulder. "I take you all will join Kohona's ranks once you're settled in?" he asked.

"Yeah, just give us a month, and we'll be ready. Also, Kushina will be living with us," that last sentence, the Hokage.

"And may I ask why?" he asked curiously.

"She told me of her situation," Ryutori stated; his good mood faded instantly and was replaced with a cold expression, making everyone's spine shiver with dread. "Out of courtesy and respect, I'm warning you: if I find out or see anyone mistreat, harm, or attempt either of the two, I will either maim or kill them. Am I understood?"

'He's just like his father,' Hiruzen thought internally, shivering. Nodding slowly, Hiruzen said. "Understood. But before you go, I must warn you that the council will want to see you as soon as possible once I inform them of your arrival."

Ryutori nodded. "I'd imagine so," he pulled a device from his gauntlet and handed it to Hiruzen. "Just press that button in the middle to contact me."

"Thank you," Hiruzen placed the device on his desk and looked back at Ryutori. "Now, about your group's living arrangements..."

"Oh, don't worry about that," the teen smirked, which worried the older man. "I got that covered."

Before Hiruzen could ask what he meant by that, Ryutori and the others vanished into thin air, making the aging Hokage sigh again. He had a feeling whatever Ryutori was about to do would bring him a massive headache and a lot of paperwork.

End.