Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: This story is not mine!! Read the original at fanfiction.net "Remnants of Uzushio by Loco Mortis"

Also I changed the name Mito -> Kasumi to suit my preferences so some sentences might be weird.

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"Fuinjutsu?" Kasumi asked in confusion. "I don't know that much about it. I'm sure the academy gave a description of it, but...I didn't really pay attention most of the time." She finished sheepishly. Naruto could only sigh. An Uzumaki that didn't know a thing about fuinjutsu...he wasn't sure who to blame more for such a travesty! Sarutobi, the academy for only describing it, or Kasumi for her short attention span. 'Oh, well. The initial theory of fuinjutsu isn't that extensive. Most of it is just practical stuff, experimenting until something works. Shadow Clones will make the time needed to learn fuinjutsu much shorter and eliminate the risks of working with certain seals.' Naruto thought.

"Fuinjutsu, the art of sealing, is a skill that made the Uzumaki such a feared clan in the past. Through the use of various kanji and symbols, written in chakra-infused ink, shinobi are able to create a variety of seals. Similar to hand signs, the kanji and symbols mold the chakra in the ink to produce the desired effect. The effect of each seal is largely dependent by the symbols and kanji used. For example, a storage scroll," Naruto said as he pulled a scroll out of one of his pockets. "is made using a circle-type symbol and once you seal the item inside the scroll a kanji of the item appears in the center of the circle. The part that actually seals the item inside the scroll is an extremely basic space-time seal. It's creator's name is unknown, but the way it works is simple. It takes the chakra used to make it and creates a "pocket" where the item is stored." Lectured Naruto. Naruto looked beside him and saw that Kasumi was staring at him, a blank look on her face. Naruto sighed, 'I guess, she couldn't follow most of it.' "Kasumi!" Naruto said, getting her attention as she jumped in shock.

"Huh!? What, is it over?" Kasumi said. Naruto had deadpan look on his face.

"Were you paying attention?"

"Um, chakra-ink...kanji..." Kasumi said as she tried to remember what Naruto was saying. Naruto shook his head as he decided to dumb it down.

"Alright, I'm gonna make it as simple as I can. Fuinjutsu uses symbols and kanji to make different effects, different kanji and symbols produce different results." Naruto said. Kasumi then got irritated.

"Why didn't you say that in the first place!" Kasumi yelled. "I thought I'd gotten rid of boring-ass lectures once I got my headband, but now I have to listen to you drone on and on." She said as she crossed her arms. Naruto, however, wasn't amused.

"The explanation is soley for your benefit. Some seals can be extremely dangerous to work with, and if you're not careful you could be severely injured. I figured the more detailed I make it the easier it would be to understand, but it seems my efforts were wasted." Naruto said as he looked away, a smirk etched onto his face. 'Three...two...one...'

"ARE YOU CALLING ME STUPID!?" Kasumi yelled, thoroughly angered. 'Boom.' Naruto thought, holding back a chuckle.

"Me? Why I would never..." Naruto said with a shit-eating grin(1). Kasumi's face was starting to look as red as their hair, and Naruto could've sworn he saw steam shooting out of her ears. 'Too easy.' He thought. Kasumi gave a yell of frustration at his smug answer and started to chase Naruto around the field.

Naruto had realized that today must have been very stressful for Kasumi, and since there wouldn't be any more training today there were be nothing to keep her mind off of today's events. He was determined to keep her mind off the subjects they discussed with the Hokage until they were in a more peaceful setting. Kasumi had eventually stopped chasing him, her breathing slightly shallow. He made a note to run her through some endurance training. She was still shooting him dirty looks every now and then, but she had calmed down for the most part.

"You're a jerk." She muttered. Naruto just threw a wry grin.

"Oh come on. It's all in good fun." He replied. The last few hours had been stressful for him as well. He was just now starting to relax again. 'I didn't believe her at first, but Kaa-san was right. Politics are a bitch.' Naruto thought with a frown which Kasumi noticed.

"Something on your mind." She said curiously. Naruto glanced in her direction, but didn't say anything for a couple seconds.

"We'll start your other training tomorrow." Naruto said.

"Why?" Kasumi asked

"We need to talk. Is there a place where we nobody goes to?"

"Uh, there's a small forest near the Hokage Monument. No one really goes there." Kasumi said, curious as to what Naruto wanted to talk about.

"That'll work." Naruto said. He then looked towards the monument and determined how much chakra it would talk to shunshin there. 'Hm, it's not that far away.' Naruto thought sarcastically, this shunshin would take a decent amount of chakra. Naruto then put a hand on Kasumi's shoulder and the two vanished in a plume of smoke.

Before Kasumi knew what was going on, they were on at the base of the forest she spoke of. She gave Naruto an eager look.

"Will I be learning that?" She asked hopefully.

"Of course, it's a convenient skill to have. It gets you from point A to B quickly. Although the amount of chakra used depends on the distance between the two points." Naruto said. Naruto and Kasumi then walked towards the edge of the forest. Naruto took a seat underneath one of the large trees and Kasumi sat next to him like she did in the training ground.

"So what did you want to talk about." Kasumi asked curiously. Naruto was trying to think of ways to ease into the topic he had in mind, but was drawing a blank. He then decided to just be straightforward.

"I'm just curious about how you're handling everything that you learned today." Naruto said. Naruto was concerned for Kasumi. She had just learned that she had some family left and she learned that the person who sealed the Kyuubi into her was her own father. 'She doesn't know that I know about the Kyuubi, but I'm sure she'll tell me eventually.' Naruto thought confidently. Kasumi suddenly frowned pulled her kneese to her chest. Her hood shadowing her face slightly.

"I'm...I'm still kinda stunned, ya' know?" Kasumi said as she hugged her knees. "It's a lot to take in. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to find that I have family left. It's just...I just wish that the old man told me sooner." Kasumi was still upset that the Hokage had kept secrets from her for her entire life. Naruto sighed before answering.

"I don't really agree with what he did, but his intentions were in the right place." Naruto said as he looked past the edge of the mountain and at the bustling village.

"Still, I'm just glad that I met you." Kasumi said with a smile as she looked at Naruto. Naruto returned the smile before replying.

"Yeah, it's great to meet another of the clan." Naruto said. "For the longest time I thought that I wouldn't meet any other Uzumaki's."

"What about your parents? They were both Uzumaki too, right?"

"Yeah, both were pure-blooded Uzumaki."

"...What was it like?" Kasumi asked quietly.

"What was what like?" Naruto asked, not fully understanding the question.

"...Growing up with parents." Kasumi clarified in the same voice. Realization dawned on Naruto then. A fond smile grew on his face as he thought of his parents.

"It was okay, I guess." Naruto said. "We had our ups and downs, and we were mostly in hiding while I was growing up."

"Why was that?"

"Like I told the Hokage, most of the Uzumaki clan had fled to Kiri. That's where I was born. When I was ten, the Mizukage started the bloodline purges. The Mizukage had everyone in Kiri believe that bloodlines depicted tainted blood and that the clans were monsters." Kasumi clenched her hands at that. She'd been dealing with that sort of treatment for her entire life so she knew how hard it must have been for those people. "My parents had been training me to defend myself since I was five. Once the purges started ten years later, my parents decided that we would travel the elemental nations like our ancestors. They did this so I would get more experience, and so that I could learn from anyone willing to teach."

"What was it like traveling the elemental nations." Kasumi said, enthralled by his tale.

"A curious one aren't we?" Naruto asked rhetorically. Kasumi slapped him on the arm in response to his goading. "Jeez, no need to be so violent. It's just an observation." Naruto said as he pretended to rub his arm in pain. Kasumi just gave him a sour look.

"Keep telling the story!" Kasumi said childishly.

"Fine." Naruto took a pause to gather his thoughts. "Traveling around was...difficult. Especially for a couple who was taking care of a toddler. Even if that toddler was able to defeat a chunin. We saw many places like the waterfalls surrounding Takigakure, the Kumo mountain ranges, and the deserts in Kaze no kuni. The desert was not fun, by the way. Sandstorms are a bitch to travel through." Naruto said as he remembered the one irritating night he and his parents had been caught in a sandstorm.

"Your parents trained you so well you were able to defeat chunin when you were five!?" Kasumi asked awed at both his ability and his parents' skills in teaching. 'If he's even half the sensei they were then I'll be kicking ass in no time!' Kasumi thought, absolutely giddy.

"Yeah, they were great teachers, and even greater parents." Naruto missed his father, and he hadn't seen his mother since they parted a month ago. 'That reminds me, I need to get in touch with Kaa-san. If I send a message today by summon, she'll be here some time this month.' Naruto thought.

"What were your parents like?" Kasumi inquired.

"They were amazing...My mother, Rei Uzumaki, is a very caring and gentle person. Although, you wouldn't be able to tell by meeting her. That was a side of her that only family and close friends saw, but don't worry. I'm sure that she'll absolutely love you. After all, she always wanted a daughter... and you both have huge tempers." Naruto said with a grin.

"Shut up!" Kasumi shouted. "I know I have a temper, you don't have to constantly remind me!" Kasumi then took a couple breaths to calm herself down, and once she had done so she resumed her questioning. "What about your father? What was he like?"

"My father...my father was a great man. He was very laid back and tended to be sarcastic at time, something that greatly annoyed my mother. He also loved to mess with people. As a shinobi he was very taijutsu orientated, so he influenced my fighting style the most. He helped me create the style that I use now." Naruto said. He had a sad look on his face as he recounted all the moments he had when his family was whole. Kasumi looked alarmed at the sadness on his face.

"Um...did I say something to upset you?" Kasumi asked, hoping that she didn't say something stupid. Naruto just waved off her concerns.

"No...you didn't do anything. I just miss him is all." Naruto said.

"Did something happen to him?" Kasumi hoped that by talking about it, he wouldn't be as sad. Naruto kept his sad look on his face.

"Yeah, he died about a year ago." Kasumi gasped in shock. She felt horrible for making him remember his father's death. As if reading her mind Naruto said, "Don't worry Kasumi, you didn't do anything wrong...He...he died because of an illness. We were traveling through Kaminari no kuni when he caught it. He had been fine at first, we didn't even know he was sick until it was too late—about two months later. The disease was native to Kaminari no kuni and it was said that one in every five hundred people contract the disease. Due to its rarity, the locals were unable to make a vaccine for it since the patients died before they could run tests. The only reason my father so long without showing symptoms is because Uzumaki have a greater immune system. That's one of the reason we are able to live well into our hundreds." Naruto said. The pain of losing his father was still very fresh in his mind.

"I'm sorry." Kasumi whispered. Naruto shot her a dry look.

"For what? You didn't do anything, so stop worrying about it!" Naruto said with a sigh. "But thanks for listening...it's nice to talk to someone about this kind of thing." Naruto felt odd telling his problems to someone younger than him, but didn't deny that it did help. Kasumi smiled, the earlier mood forgotten.

"No problem! We Uzumaki have got to stick together after all!" Kasumi said enthusiastically. Naruto gave a similar grin in kind.

"Damn right!" They then fell into silence, enjoying the tranquility of the nature surrounding them. Naruto, however, had a slight frown on his face.

"Kasumi...I just realized something." Naruto said.

"What?"

"Even though we're family, we barely know each other...like hobbies, interests, goals. That kind of stuff." Naruto said.

"Oh, I know how to fix that!" Kasumi said and she turned to face Naruto completely. Naruto then gave Kasumi an interested look.

"What do you have in mind?" Naruto asked curiously.

"We'll do something similar to what Kakashi-sensei did when my team met him. We tell each other our likes, dislikes, dreams, and hobbies. Stuff like that!" Kasumi said excitedly.

"Well why don't you go first, Kasumi." Naruto said as he gestured for her to start.

"Okay. My name is Kasumi Uzumaki," Naruto snorted as she needlessly stated her name. "my likes are ramen, gardening, and my family. My dislikes are the villagers, arrogance, bigots, rapists, and sexists. My dream is the be the first greatest Hokage in the history of the leaf. Even greater than my father. My hobbies are gardening, training, and pulling pranks on the stupider villagers." Kasumi kept the same enthusiasm in her voice the entire time she was talking. Naruto found it unusual that someone as hyper as Kasumi had an interest in gardening. 'Maybe it won't be that hard to teach her patience.' Naruto thought happily. "Okay, you're turn." Kasumi said. She was excited to learn more about her family member.

"Well, I'm Uzumaki Naruto." He was mocking the way Kasumi had said her name when it was her turn. She didn't find it funny if the scowl was any indication. "My likes are fuinjutsu, taijutsu, learning new taijutsu moves, training, and my family. I also like to meditate and coming up with new seals." Naruto then paused and his eyes gained a determination that Kasumi had never seen before. "My dream for the future, is to one day see the Uzumaki clan rise back to its former glory." Naruto had stated his dream with such passion, such fervor, that Kasumi had no doubt that he would succeed. She also wanted to the her clan be resurrected, but her focus right now was on becoming Hokage. She was shaken from her thoughts when Naruto continued. "My other dream, is to bring peace to the shinobi world." This completely stumped Kasumi.

"Peace?" She asked. "Is that even possible in our world, Naruto-kun?" Kasumi had heard many stories about the cruelties of the shinobi world. She thought that the idea of piece was a little farfetched. Naruto wasn't deterred by her doubt.

"I believe it is possible, Kasumi. There's so much grief and death that surrounds our world that could easily be avoided. If everyone could just put aside their differences and petty grudges, then they could see that each person is no different than the last. If everyone could understand that, there wouldn't so much conflict. My mother believes in this dream and I am determined to make it a reality in honor of my father, who is unable to see it. I want to be able to meet him in the afterlife and tell him that I made his dream a reality." Naruto said. Kasumi was actually tearing up a bit after hearing his speech. Any doubts about his dream were swept away by his inspiring words. She wanted to help him achieve his dream.

"And I'll help you reach your dream, Naruto-kun." Kasumi said with a grin that could light the night sky. Naruto was happy that he could convince someone that peace wasn't out of reach. 'Now I just have to convince the rest of the world.' Naruto thought tiredly. He looked at Kasumi and couldn't help smiling back. 'One step at a time, I suppose.'

"Thank you, Kasumi-chan. I'm sure you'll be a great help." Naruto said as he fondly put his hand on her head. "I'll also help you with your dream. When I'm through with you, you'll so close to being Hokage that you'll be able to taste that hat." He finished with a grin.

The two stayed on the mountain, Naruto telling tales of his travels. Soon enough, the sun started to set and they decided to get some dinner before parting ways. Kasumi suggested they go to a ramen stand that she frequented and Naruto agreed. He hadn't had ramen in a while so he was looking forwards to indulging in one of his favorite foods.

The stand was located on the main road of the village so Naruto just shunshined both him and Kasumi into the middle of the street. From there, the two walked to where the stand was located. Eventually, Naruto saw the small stand that had a sign that said "Ichiraku Ramen." The from the outside the stand looked quite plain, but Naruto's opinion quickly changed once they sat down in front of the counter. The stand had a homey feel to it and the only employees behind the counter were a middle-aged man and what looked to be his daughter. The girl looked to be about Naruto's age, give or take a few years, and had long brown hair and equally colored eyes. She was wearing a white robe and her hair was held back by the bandana that she wore. Her name was Ayame Ichiraku, daughter of Teuchi Ichiraku.

The waitress visible brightened when she saw Kasumi walk in and take a seat, she also noticed the boy that she was with sit down on the adjacent stool. She wondered who he was and why he was with Kasumi. 'Maybe they're on a date!' She thought with a giggle. 'He's a bit older than her, but who cares?'

"Hello, Kasumi-chan. Who's you're friend? Is he your boyfriend?" Ayame asked with a grin. Kasumi's face immediately got as red as her hair. Naruto, however, gained a mischievous look on his face. 'This should be fun...' He thought deviously. He then extended his hand towards the waitress.

"Hello, miss. My name is Naruto, and I wouldn't say she's my girlfriend just yet. This is our first date after all." Naruto said with a charming smile. Kasumi turned to Naruto in shock, her face reddening even further. 'What the hell is he doing!?' Kasumi thought furiously. Ayame turned her attention to Naruto and shook the offered hand.

"Nice to meet you, Naruto-san. My name is Ayame Ichiraku. And I think it's great that Kasumi-chan is on a date, you look like a decent guy." Ayame then leaned in and whispered in his ear. "Also, great move coming here first. She loves this place." Naruto was having a difficult time not breaking out laughing.

"Really? Lucky pick, I guess." Naruto said with a grin. Ayame looked ready to speak again, but Kasumi had finally had enough.

"HE IS NOT MY DATE!" She yelled. She still had a blush on her face as she spoke to Ayame. "This is my idiot sensei, Ayame-nee! He's not my boyfriend!" She then turned to Naruto furiously. "And you! What the hell was that!? Do you know how embarrassing that was!" Kasumi yelled as she smacked him harshly upside the head. At that point, Naruto finally lost control of his laughter.

"HAHAHA! You should have seen your face, Kasumi-chan!" Naruto said through his laughter. "I didn't think that your face could be redder than your hair!" Kasumi's expression grew even angrier as the laughing continued. Ayame was just watching the two interact, a confused look on her face.

"So you two aren't on a date?" Ayame asked, clearly disappointed. Naruto's laughter had died down enough so that he could answer.

"Hehehe...no, we're not. I am her new sensei." Naruto said. Ayame was still confused.

"But I thought Kasumi-chan already had a sensei." Ayame said as she looked at the mentioned girl.

"She does, but I asked the Hokage if I could train her as well and he agreed." Naruto said. The answer was good enough for Ayame who then took their order.

"Oh, okay. So, what will you two have?" Ayame said as she took out took out a pen and paper. Kasumi answered first.

"I'll take the usual!" Kasumi said with a big smile and Ayame wrote it down.

"Okay, five bowls of miso ramen." She said as she writes, she then turned to Naruto. "And what will you have?" Naruto took a few seconds to look at a menu they had that listed all the flavors they had.

"I'll have two bowls of beef ramen." Ayame wrote down his order and took both orders to her father, who was in the back cooking. Naruto then asked what was on his mind.

"'Ayame-nee'?" Naruto questioned Kasumi, who look startled by the question. Her face then turned into a happy smile.

"Ya! I came here all the time when I was younger. Eventually I came to think of them as family." Kasumi exclaimed. "I'm also their number one customer!" Kasumi stated proudly.

"You must really love ramen." Naruto chuckled. "It's one of my favorites as well, but if your 'Usual' is five bowls then you have me beat." Naruto said.

"Ramen is great, isn't it?" Kasumi asked happily. "So, have you decided on what you're going to teach me, Naruto-kun?" Naruto hummed for a second before answering.

"Well...you said you were more into jutsu, but I'm not sure I'll be able to teach you much in that regard. I only know a couple that aren't taijutsu related. I usually just use my chakra to attack and defend, but there are a few situation where I need ninjutsu." Naruto explained. "You'll be learning taijutsu mainly from Kakashi. From me, you'll mostly be working on physical stuff and fuinjutsu."

"But you will still be teaching me the shunshin, right?" Kasumi asked hopefully.

"Of course. Like I said, it's a useful skill. Especially in battle." Naruto said.

"You can use it in a fight?" Kasumi asked, confusion written on her face.

"Yep..." Kasumi frowned when he didn't elaborate.

"How?" Kasumi asked, her tone slightly irritated.

"Well, you would use it the same way you would if you were just traveling from place to place. Through the use of chakra one is able to enhance their body to move at extreme speeds. Most people use smoke, or something similar, to mask their movements. In battle, however, most usually forgo using smoke. The shunshin is good for catching your enemies off guard." Naruto explained. "Even if you know the technique, you shouldn't slack off on your speed training. If your base speed is higher, it makes the shunshin more effective(2)." Their conversation was put on hold by the numerous bowls being placed in front of them. They spent the next couple minutes eating their respective meals with bits of conversations thrown in. While taking a bite of her ramen, Kasumi had remembered that Naruto had said something about an exam back at the Old Man's office. 'Ugh...I don't think I could take another exam so soon.' Kasumi thought worriedly. She had only been a genin for a few weeks.

"Naruto-kun?" Kasumi asked, gaining her fellow redhead's attention. He turned to her, noodles hanging from his mouth. He quickly ate them before answering.

"Yes, Kasumi-chan?" He replied.

"Back in the Old Man's office you said something about exams. What exams were you talking about?" Kasumi asked, somewhat nervous.

"Oh, those. The exams I was talking about are the chunin exams." Naruto said simply.

"Chunin exams?"

"The chunin exams are a bi annual event that help the villages that participate determine if the genin that are in the exams are ready to become chunin. Each village takes turns in hosting the event, and that village often has the most genin participating(3)."

"How long until the next exam?" Kasumi was wondering how long she had to prepare.

"About four months, and they will be held in Konoha this time around. Don't worry, I'll make sure that you're more than ready for them." Naruto said confidently.

"But how do you know about the exams if you aren't part of a village?" Kasumi asked.

"My family had kept loose tabs on each of the villages to make sure were weren't in any danger. We weren't sure what any of the villages that destroyed Uzushio would do if they discovered that there were Uzumaki left. They were that determined to wipe us out. We only heard minor things about each village, but the chunin exam is a very popular source of entertainment among civilians. They even grab the attention of many daimyos and other important people." Naruto explained. Kasumi nodded in understanding. The pair then finished their food, paid the bill, and departed from the stand.

The hotel that Naruto was staying at was on the way to Kasumi's place and the two stopped when they got there.

"Alright, Kasumi-chan, time to call it a day. What time does your training with Kakashi-san start?" Naruto asked so he knew when to show up.

"Kakashi-sensei tells us to be at the training ground at around nine in the morning, but he's usually late by three hours." Kasumi grumbled.

"Alright, that's perfect. We can get started on your training with me during that time." Naruto said. "Do you have any downtime from training, Kasumi-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Um, Kakashi-sensei gives us Sunday off so we can rest up from training." Kasumi answered,

"Good, you'll be spending the first half of your Sunday's training with me as well." Naruto said. "Well, see you tomorrow, Kasumi-chan."

"G'night, Naruto-kun." Kasumi said back as she continued on towards her apartment.

Naruto walked back to his room in silence, mulling over today's events. 'Man, today has been hectic...I find more family...I become a sensei...I thought this was supposed to be a vacation.' Naruto thought tiredly.

"And I still have to contact Kaa-san...well, better do that now before I forget." Naruto said. Naruto grabbed some paper and a pen and wrote a letter to his mother explaining the day's events. He then made a few handsigns. 'Summoning Jutsu!' Naruto exclaimed in his head.

In a plume of smoke a medium sized bird appeared(4). It had blue feathers and its beak looked to be very sharp.

"Hey there, can you bring this letter to Kaa-san?" The bird merely nodded. "Great. Thanks, Sora." The bird nodded again before heading out the open window. 'Kaa-san should get the message in the next couple days.' Naruto thought as he entered his room and got ready to go to sleep. After doing the his usual nighttime routine he got in his bed.

"Hopefully tomorrow won't be so crazy." Naruto thought as he turned off the lights and went to bed.

Unfortunately for Naruto, his life was just going to get even more chaotic than it already was.

Hopefully the chapter was enough to satisfy everyone. Although, it is a bit shorter than the others. I'm also going to try to describe fuinjutsu as best as I can. Obviously some things are going to be different, but I don't think that the Kishimoto actually goes into detail about fuinjutsu in canon (at least I don't think). Anyway, time for explanations.

1) Naruto is finally able to relax after the stressful morning he had, especially after the talk with Sarutobi. His usual personality is starting to show.

2)I figure, since the shunshin is just a high-speed technique, it would be added to a person's base speed.

3)This just makes sense. Home-field advantage, right?

4)If Kakashi can train regular animals to be summons, why couldn't Naruto? Although, these ones can't talk, they can only understand humans.

I tried to make the talk between Naruto and Kasumi as realistic as possible. They are now a bit closer than they were originally :) I also realized, after I wrote this chapter, that some might consider the day Kasumi and Naruto had as a date. Introductions...Relaxing and talking...joking around...dinner. I'm sure others would disagree withmy opinion, but its just that. An opinion. Next chapter we'll be getting into the Wave-arc.

See you guys next time ^^

Date Posted: Augest 8, 2013

Last Edit: N/A

-Loco Mortis