Whirlpool Country

Blurs were the only objects that crossed Naruto's sight as he traveled along with his wolf friend towards the place where his mother used to live, before coming to Konoha. His mind was running a thousand miles a minute as he kept remembering every second of what his life has been both as an orphan as well as the jailor to the strongest tailed demon in existence, even if he wasn't aware of the last fact, until he was twelve years old.

The constant beating, hateful glares, mistreats; all of these could have been avoided if even one of his parents were alive to proper guide him throughout his life.

He knew it was a selfish thought, as both parents were killed fighting the fox that now is nothing but a conscious in Naruto's life. Still, ever since he heard the story of his mother passing, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss in the whole thing. His father explained that due to her fear, she lost control of her body during birth, which resulted in her losing a lot of blood, meeting her demise in the end. For a civilian, this was rather expected. They don't go through the harsh life of a shinobi and certainly, not the training ninjas do. Certainly, a civilian would be blinded by fear when facing such a strong entity as a tailed beast. And this happens to be the reason why Naruto was conflicted about it.

According to everyone, Uzumaki Kushina was one of Konoha's top kenjutsu masters and a seasoned Anbu operative. So for her to suddenly lose control like this...something was amiss in this ordeal and Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that someone might have something to do with her demise. Right now, though, all he could do was run through hypothesis and alternative scenarios in his mind, because truly, no one in Konoha would dare to touch the Hokage's wife who happened to be an Anbu Captain at the time as well. Her room would be guarded, at all times, by Anbu personnel ordered by the Hokage, AKA, his father.

As an Anbu, it was hard not to hear comments here and there about a different faction, apart from the Anbu and even the Anbu Black Ops Division. The Root division, as the blond heard about, was secretly commanded by Danzou; an old war hawk who happens to hold great political leverage at the village council. Although, no one managed to link Root to him, it was no doubt that he was behind the entire organization, much to Tsunade's chagrin, since nailing the man happens to be one of her big priorities as Hokage. Just as Naruto was about to think about the possibility of his mother being murdered, Ace's voice reached his ears and awoke him from his day-dreaming.

"Naruto, let's take a break by the sea a couple miles from here. In a few miles, our path will be surrounded by water, so we have to conserve our chakra"

The blond nodded as they dropped on the ground for some jogging, before the beach became visible. According to the mission scroll, in order to reach the Whirlpool Country, Naruto would have to cross a good ten miles on top of the ocean until they arrived at the island which happens to be surrounded by whirlpools. Thing was that across the path indicated in the map, Naruto managed to pass undetected by some patrols from Kirigakure, since he happened to be located between Water and Sea Country. What was strange was that the mission specs never mentioned that he would be entering in either Water or Sea Country's territory, which means that he would need to pay even more attention to his surroundings, until he reaches the ocean.

In no time, man and wolf stepped on the beach as they stared at the horizon in hopes of seeing their target, but to no avail. The weather was humid and a heavy fog prevented their vision. Nevertheless, both relaxed a bit, allowing their chakra flux to return to normal standards, seeing as walking on top of the ocean would demand a level of chakra control that only Chuunin and higher could attain.

Suddenly, both Naruto and Ace sniffed other presences, before scowling at their situation. Chakra waste was a liability they couldn't afford right now, but they just couldn't avoid the confrontation.

"It appears we have a confrontation on our hands, right now. Let's avoid the killing part, okay. There is no need for a diplomatic incident right now" - Naruto said.

"I can't promise you know...I don't believe we'll have much of a problem. I don't sense a threatening level of chakra, so they're either Genin or Chuunin doing the patrol"

Naruto and Ace could see as the shadows entered the fog, before appearing right behind the blond and his companion. The Mist Chuunin were startled to see an Anbu from Konoha standing in front of the Sea with his arms crossed, before Naruto turned to see them, which ended up triggering fearful looks on the enemy's faces. Black wolf mask, blond hair, fearful posture, it was the...

"Oroi-taichou, this is the Shippu Ookami from Konoha, what do we do now, we can't fight him!"

Naruto could see the apprehension in all three Chuunin as well as the man the first one had addressed, named Oroi. Naruto could guess him to be a low level Jounin, but he could be wrong. The blond cursed the Hokage, upon hearing how he was addressed by the Chuunin. Anbus can't stand in the middle of the crowd; there wasn't only one strong shinobi, but rather the entire group. So, placing him in the bingo book was a bad idea in the past and still, in Naruto's opinion, it remained a bad idea. Ace, though, could feel the blond's discomfort and decided to throw some humor to the mix.

"Well, for someone who enjoys the success behind the curtains, you sure have a funny way to show it. I step away for a while and people start calling you names, not that I complain, though, because it rather suited you"

Naruto snorted at his wolf friend as he observed his opponents' stances with great care. The man that supposed to be responsible for the patrol team, that could be the most threatening of the group, didn't look like much to Naruto; standard Jounin attire with gray flak jacket and kunai holsters strapped on each of his thighs and the fact that Naruto's new senses could perceive his muscles tensing every now and then, showed that he was hesitant to both attack or flee, meaning that a confrontation was unavoidable. Suddenly, the man gathered enough courage and grabbed a kunai from one of the holsters, before ordering the entire group to attack Naruto and Ace.

The blond, on his part, sighed in dismay, before he began a fast sequence of hand seals. He never tested this particular jutsu in the field, but the blond managed to cover quite a lot of the theory regarding pure lightning manipulation and how a Raiton master manages to diffuse electromagnetic fields throughout the air. This ability wasn't a new jutsu per se, just pure lightning manipulation, according to what Naruto read it at the Anbu extensive library. Nevertheless, he has yet to encounter a phrase in the book that says that was impossible to use it for offensive purposes.

Ace, for his part, just stood still while the enemy was coming closer to them. He could feel lightning chakra being molded right next to him and he also understood the blond's plans.

Raiton Shingaishouha (Lightning Release: Shockwave Jutsu)

After the monkey hand seal, Naruto focused all the molded lightning chakra to his right hand, before he waved it from right to left, sending the shockwave towards the team from Mist, who kept charging the blond, unaware of the wave of electricity until the near end. As a result, their bodies were filled with electric chakra instantly, before screams were the only thing Naruto and Ace heard it. The blond's theory was simple, yet effective. Mist shinobis are, for the majority at least, Suiton users and although water itself isn't weak against lightning, the element happens to be the most efficient electricity conduit out there, hence why just one bit of exposure was enough to spread the entire body and make quite the damage. In the end, all three Chuunin fell on the ground, unconscious, while the Jounin remained standing, albeit paralyzed from the shock in his system. Ace took that time and knocked the man's neck with the sole purpose of knocking him down.

That was problem solved, in Naruto's opinion, but another one soon followed as the team would surely report his presence inside their territory, which could cause a big headache for Konoha, not to mention the fact that he would have to explain, not only to his Anbu personnel, but to the high officials that composed the village council, what the hell was he doing here of all places. Fishing deep within his jutsu arsenal, Naruto remembered of a jutsu that every Anbu must learn for interrogation purposes. Sometimes, the enemy manages to block some information from his mind, not allowing anyone to know about it, the technique named Jigyakkou no Jutsu (Time Regression Jutsu) allowed the Anbu to retrieve this information, by forcing the enemy to relieve it. Although, this certain skill is useless right now, he remembered his girlfriend explaining that this technique has other uses besides forcing someone to remember deeply buried information. According to her, the focus of the technique is the mind itself and while it can force someone to remember, it also can force someone to forget what happened.

So, the blond set to perform the technique in each of the Mist team, while Ace was watching the entire procedure with a smile on his face. Indeed, it wouldn't matter not killing them, if they would report to the Mizukage, once awakening. After finishing the procedure, Naruto then proceeded with the next necessary requirement which was to move them from this position, by summoning four Kage Bunshin whom were responsible for taking each member and leaving everyone in different places within the forest behind him, so that no one manages to come to conclusions.

"Ace, let's go, we have a lot of water to cover and I have a feeling that those whirlpools won't be easy to pass by"

The wolf nodded, before both man and wolf began their path on top of the ocean. Unlike rivers and lagoon, where the water current isn't enough to take a shinobi's off balance, walking on top of the sea is quite dangerous. The theory behind water walking is to maintain a constant flow of chakra out the soles of the feet, aiming for balance on the water surface, but on top of the sea there are a great number of variables that have to be taken into account such as the water currents, the waves that messes with the water level, the strong winds, etc. The blond, though, kept walking like nothing happened which showed how much his chakra control improved over the years, even with the sudden increase of chakra capacity thanks for the fox's chakra mingling with his own.

"While we walk, Naruto, I'd like to talk to you about the whirlpools. While similar to water walking, you have other variable to worry about and I suggest you pay attention, otherwise you'll be sucked in and certainly you wouldn't want that" – Ace began the conversation as Naruto paid close attention. Indeed, he would have to figure out a way to cross the whirlpools that surround the island. "Now, the principle is the same; you keep an even flow of chakra out of the sole of your feet, but even by doing this, with how the water moves, it will eventually drag you to the center and you'll be royally screwed. The secret is to increase the amount of chakra, while still maintaining the level of control, as you proceed on your path"

To the blond, it sounded easier than he expected and certainly easier than his partner made it out to be, but what he learned from hanging with Ace was that he didn't need to voice his thoughts.

"I know it sounds easy in theory, but you'll see soon enough how hard it is to increase the usage of chakra and maintain the same level of control"

Naruto snorted at his friend, but he couldn't help but nod at the wolf's assessment. Increasing chakra and on the same time, maintaining the same level of chakra control is exhausting to say the least and since they will be winded from the path before they arrive at the whirlpools. For now, though, all they could do was walk on the water, since everywhere he looked was water and only water. Eventually, the blond passed through some small islands, which happened to be a blessing, since the blond could recover from the fatigue in his chakra coils.

It was one island in specific that called his attention as he heard a strange noise, followed by explosions. The specific island was wide enough for a small beach to form as Naruto stood on top of the highest peak. Looking down, he could see what appeared to be wooden made boats with sails strapped everywhere and he noticed the black objects that were responsible for the noise he heard.

"Pirates..."

Naruto suddenly turned to his wolf partner in question, before he explained it further.

"Being located near the ocean, both Water and Sea Country have one major enemy and yet no one was able to get rid of those imbeciles called Pirates. As you can see, both Kirigakure shinobis and Sea Country's samurai force are down there, trying to sink that ship, but with no avail, since those ships are reinforced with protective seals, which strength the wood's resilience to damage"

The blond watched as an impressive display of Suiton jutsus being thrown against the boat, but still the boat's exterior didn't suffer much damage. Both Naruto and Ace were so engrossed in what they saw, that none of the two paid attention to their senses, enabling an enemy to appear behind them, before addressing the dual.

"May I ask what Konoha is doing in this region, because I'm fairly sure your territory ended near Wave Country?"

The voice indicated it was female, but it was enough to shock the Anbu and the wolf as they jerked their neck to spot the menace behind them. It was after doing this that Naruto thought otherwise. It was a woman for sure and very beautiful one as well; green eyes looking at the blond as in looking at the back of his head with brown hair that went all the way down to her ankles. Her clothes were strange, since no one would say it was fit for battle. She wore a over-sized black dress with fishnet shirt beneath it, which, in Naruto's opinion, wouldn't allow free movement. However, the blond wasn't thinking much about the woman's fine curves and her looks, but rather the fact that yet another Kiri-nin appeared before him and he had the feeling that this person was someone important within Kiri's ranks.

"I happen to be on my way to a mission of mine handed by Hokage-sama and stopped here to recover from the trip"

The woman eyed the black wolf mask and immediately drew the same conclusions as the other Nins that confronted him at the beach.

"You're Konoha no Shippu Ookami, aren't you?"

The blond once more cursed his Hokage for the god forsaken name, before he nodded at the woman, while at the same time, studying her movements, in order to understand any possible attack intent.

"Yes, I am. I'm sorry but I don't know who you are. I don't keep much track of the Bingo Book" - Naruto asked, but he now had a feeling of impending doom, but he couldn't quite place It, until now.

"My name is not important, but rather the position I uphold in Kirigakure as the village leader"

The sudden stiff in his muscles was enough for the woman to smirk at the man's misfortune. Naruto, for his part, now seriously considered performing a U-turn and return to Konoha, but right now if he did that, she would think it was a trap and attack him, hence created the diplomatic incident. However, she beat him to it and changed the subject off the bat.

"You said, you're on your way to a mission, right?" – Naruto nodded as she continued. "There aren't many lands on this part of the map; I wonder where your mission would take place?"

The blond considered luring her away from his mission, but then considered that indeed in this path, there are only small islands and water.

"I'm heading to a place five miles from here, called Whirlpool Country…" – Naruto took the Mizukage's sudden shock as she heard of the place before, but continued talking nonetheless. "We are looking, or rather I'm looking for an object that was left there for retrieval and the Hokage sent me to do the job.

"Well, then you can just change your mind and head back to Konoha, because there is no way you will be able to reach that hunted place" – Spoke the Mizukage, earning a look of suspicion from both the blond and Ace.

"Why do you say, hunted place?"

"I'm sure you already aware of the whirlpools surrounding the entire island, but what you don't know are that once you manage to get into the island, strange things start to appear. I happen to know this, because one of my subordinates managed to escape that god forsaken island. He was sent there as a reconnaissance mission and to this day, he still has nightmares of what he saw. I'm sure you won't take my words for granted, and since you're a strong shinobi, you could have more luck than he did. But take a word of advice from a stranger…don't go there and return to Konoha"

The blond and Ace were staring at the gorgeous woman as they assessed their situation. True, Naruto already knew it would be tough to enter the place where his mother left his heirloom, as the riddle his father gave him kept playing in his mind with a low whisper.

In a land surrounded by whirlpools, lies the secret of the Uzumaki Family

Hidden within the deepest pits and protected by a fierce creature made of water,

Only a true member of the Uzumaki family is allowed to enter,

Nevertheless, not only by blood will it be granted passage.

He was already expecting the island to be well-protected against those who seek Uzumaki Kushina's most prized possession, is this happens to be one of the reasons he called Ace to help him, that and the fact that Ace is his best friend and he wouldn't trust any other with this responsibility. Right now, looking at the Mizukage, his resolve was absolute as he addressed the woman with utmost conviction.

"Regardless what happens there, Mizukage-sama, this isn't something I can back out from" – Naruto said, as he turned his back ready to leave the vicinity.

"Then, you'll be just digging your grave. It's a pity, though, such a fierce and respected shinobi dead because of his stubbornness. You've been warned, Shippu Ookami, now I have some pirates' lords to deal with, so good luck on your quest and oh don't worry, your presence here will remain a secret with me. After all, there is no need to cause any further mishaps between inner villages relationship, right." – Said the woman, before she jumped off the cliff probably to meet with her peers at the beach.

Naruto and Ace soon started their path on top of the ocean as they passed through a great deal of islands, before they looked forward. There, a considerably large island with a volcano in the middle stood at the horizon and both the blond and Ace could already see the water precipitation a few miles ahead, meaning the whirlpools are getting closer as they walked. In no time at all, Naruto and Ace stopped still a few meters apart from the deadly water traps that lay in front of them now. Each whirlpool was easily fifty meters in diameter as a lone tree log that dared reach the island beach was immediately pushed to the center of the whirlpool before it sank, showing Naruto what lay ahead of him if the whirlpool walking exercise fails. Unlike any other chakra control exercise, the blond feared that once he stepped inside one of these gigantic water hurricanes, he would have only one chance to escape out of this alive.

Ace for his part, smirked when he saw Naruto's hesitation. Indeed, this is not a walk in the park, you can't pass the whirlpools by trial and error, because one single flaw could send you a hundred feet below water and you'd drawn without even realizing it.

"Remember what I taught you Naruto. You always have to maintain the chakra control as you increase your chakra, don't ever let go or else you'll meet that tree log's fate"

The blond nodded while taking short consecutive breaths. He needed all the concentration he could get in order to pass the whirlpools alive. Then, he opened his eyes and set his right foot on the first and larger rims of the water typhoon, before its force started acting full force in driving him towards the center. However, the blond was prepared for this as he used chakra to stop being controlled, while walking step by step on top of the whirlpool. A few steps afterwards, the blond was feeling the strain of maintaining this level of chakra control as sweats started to fall down his face from the concentration. He felt his urges to simply stop the flow of chakra, but he just couldn't do that from fear of dying right here, so he continued with the objective of perseverance in his mind. The hardest part was already over as Naruto approached the closest area to the whirlpool's center, before he started to walk away from it.

Now, just as he was about to lose control of the entire thing, his left foot managed to get out of the whirlpool, enabling him to relax his chakra coils as he now just needed to maintain a small amount of chakra to stay on top of the water.

It was finished…at least the first part there is…

The blond looked back to see that Ace was still due to cross the whirlpool as well, before the wolf started its path. Upon seeing the ease in which Ace managed to pass through the whirlpool, Naruto somehow wanted to get at the damn furball for his improved chakra control. The blond could easily get killed at each step he took, but seeing Ace was like he was having a easier time then simply walking on water.

As if reading Naruto's thoughts, Ace stepped out of the last rim of the whirlpool showing a full grin on his face as he looked to his blond friend who happens to be glaring daggers at the wolf for doing this so easily.

"You know, I'm pretty sure you know what I'm thinking right now, so spare me with the whole 'I'm better than you crap', okay. You had more practice than I did"

Naruto snarled at his rival of a friend, much to the wolf's enjoyment, since this happens to be the first time since their Anbu days that they found something to compete about. Truth was that Ace won most of the time, but those few times when Naruto won, he made sure to enjoy when he could, not this time though.

"Yeah, when you win, you have every right to shove it on my face, but when I win, you get angry…you need to be more humble in this my dear friend"

Ace couldn't help but smile as he was enjoying this more than anything, much to Naruto's chagrin.

"Yeah…yeah…you have two hundred year ahead of me, Ace, you have me at a slight disadvantage here. Now, let's go towards…"

As Naruto was about to finish his train of thought, a huge roar echoed through the clearing, forcing a shiver up his spine. The roar came from the top of the island and simply because Naruto couldn't see it, that didn't mean that it was less frightening. Nevertheless, he was determined to go through with it, no matter what. A rational way of thinking would be to just turn and walk away because of how much danger he was feeling right now, but seeing as this was a test given to him by his mother, he couldn't back out of this; to the blond, this wasn't any ordinary mission, but his life. Sure he had his girlfriend Kurenai, his friends Kakashi, Ace, Hawk, Bear, Shikamaru, Shino; but right now, all he could care about was knowing about his mother and nothing that the creature throw at him will deter his path.

Ace looked at Naruto's resolve and smiled showing his full set of deadly sharp teeth. He knew that Naruto was scared of what's to come, hell that roar managed to rock even his steady resolve, but he also knew that family to Naruto was something sacred in his mind, especially given the fact that he never had any to begin with. So, no matter what appeared right now to defy the blond's path, Ace knew that nothing would stop them.

A few steps on the water later and they stepped on the beach, before resting a bit in order to recover the control of their chakra. Using for such a long time, could over-strain their chakra coils and if further opposition were to be dealt with, both of them needed their full strength. It was because of this that Naruto prepared back at Konoha. He acquired from the Anbu HQ, some soldier pills to replenish the strain in their chakra and revitalize the quantity to be further used when needed.

"Ace, take one of these soldier pills. It will replenish our chakra reserves. I managed to feel…the whirlpools…they were chakra created" – Naruto said, confusing his wolf partner, before he explained. "At first, I thought it was naturally created by nature and the island just happened to be surrounded by them. Being a Suiton user myself, I can attest to that. Whoever emanated that terrifying sound must be using chakra to maintain the whirlpools around the island, in order to protect the secret left by my mother. So, if this creature is doing this, then, we must be prepared for other tricks to deter our path".

The wolf was considering this while feeling the soldier pill doing its work on his chakra.

"If you what said is true, than the creature would be limited to a source of water; after all any water based attacks needed a nearby source to be manipulated, hence why the ocean was used. So, if the island has no river, then we won't find any opposition from here on out" – Ace theorized, but Naruto negated with his head, though he wanted to believe in his friend's theory.

"If were in main land, your theory would be correct my friend, but look around you…we're surrounded by water. The island is not big enough for someone or rather something to show a limited amount of control over its element. We must assume that everything that we face was previously planned, sorted out from the very beginning…let's move, then. We don't know what this creature is conjuring right now and in here, we are sitting ducks waiting for an attack"

Ace nodded with his head, before the two got up once more and started exploring the island. A few meters in front of them laid a deep forest with wide vegetation, but no visible species that could pose any threat to Naruto or his partner. That didn't necessarily mean they were out of danger since the creature was still out there and could probably attack at any moment. Taking off his ninjato, Naruto and Ace entered the thick forest, before walking around for a while.

Their senses were tingling like crazy and both could feel eyes at the back of their heads. Both of them felt like some weak pray just moments away from being hunted by the fierce creature. Little did they know, though, that inside a cave located in the middle of the volcano, two large yellow set of eyes watched the new intruders with a smirk on his face. Although, one of them wore a mask, the creature wasn't a stranger to how some shinobis used it in order to hide their identity. However, while other humans wouldn't be able to identify the blond man, the creature didn't need his eyes, but just his senses to see the dying resemblance between this new being and the one who summoned almost twenty years ago in order to protect her treasure.

Nevertheless, even though the resemblance was uncanny, the new presence needed to be tested and then, only then, will he prove capable of wielding the creature's summoner's treasure.

Back to Naruto, he was slicing through some heavy foliage, before reaching a small clearing surrounded by trees and a small river, sending shivers down Naruto's spine, since this happens to be the creature's territory. True to his fear, water suddenly erupted from the river up to the sky, before a creature made of water suddenly materialized, before showing its sharp elongated teeth and menacing yellow pupils.

"He so approaches this holy place must be aware that your life is now at my whim, human. You'll see that just like others who dared steal the treasure I protect, were meet with instant death from my claws.

Naruto averted his gaze at the monstrosity that appeared before him as the dragon appearance was easily fifty feet high and every appearance described bloody murder to the blond. However, he felt that he could get some answers from the creature as it stood in front of him with all its might.

"I'm sorry for disturbing your home, but whereas those before me came seeking the treasure for their own egoistical ideas, my reasons are totally different. I'm here to retrieve what's rightfully mine, left by my mother, Uzumaki Kushina and I won't leave this place until I find it. Now, could you perhaps…" – Naruto was about to ask something, but was instantly silenced as the monster found in his right mind to roar at the blond and his wolf partner once more, only this time the distance were mere inches away, obliging Naruto to feel the killing intent dead on.

"Silence human! You're in no position of asking questions, nor am I in any mood to answer them…"

While the killing intent was enough to parry Kyuubi's in his prime, Naruto didn't feel frightened probably from being accustomed to such feelings by the fox, but he could feel that the creature's eyes were seizing him up from head to toe, which meant that its intentions were not to get rid of him, but rather test him to see his resolve.

"Indeed you do possess Uzumaki Kushina's chakra, but that alone won't take you very far in this island. The Uzumaki Clan was never one for names and blood inheritance. All of them were mighty warriors who didn't back off from anything or anyone. What describes an Uzumaki; it's not the blood that's pulsing through your veins, but rather your resolve and display of will power to face the enemy without fear. I can see great strength in you; however I have yet to see your skills. So, in order for me to give you Kushina's heirloom, you'll have to prove yourself worthy"

The blond kept listening what the creature was saying and he considered a few things. He was sure that the creature before him was the one mentioned on the scroll. It knew, just by looking at him, that he was his mother's offspring and also, as listed on the scroll, blood alone wouldn't get him very far, meaning that he was about to pass through a test of valor in order to determine him worthy of carrying whatever his mother left for him. That didn't matter to him, though, as constant challenges were what made his experience at Anbu and he never once backed away from a challenge, no matter what.

===On main land===

After dealing with the pirates, the Mizukage and her peers appeared at the beach Naruto encountered the Chuunin team. They were to take another route towards Kirigakure, but one of the sensor type ninja in her group detected a strange usage of Raiton chakra at the beach, so they sought to investigate if Kumo shinobi were inside their territory. What they saw, though, startled them as they could see a great number of footsteps on the beach that would lead towards the forest in front of them. It only took an order from the Mizukage, before the ninjas under her command followed the footsteps' direction, before they managed to find the Chuunin team unconscious.

It took a little bit of examining, before they realized that someone tampered with their minds, seeing as none of them remembered what happened prior to their scouting mission's beginning. Upon hearing this, the Mizukage frowned while considering the possible attacker. She was aware of a Genjutsu that could do something like this and she knew that those who use it are either hunter-nins or Anbu level shinobi. The problem, though, was that she had very little to work with as little to no proof to backup her thoughts.

"Ao, there is nothing we can do here, whoever did this, didn't leave any hints. Let's just scout these to Kirigakure's custody"

Ao was wearing a black kimono with fishnet shirt beneath it. He had spiky blue hair and earrings carrying one seal in each ear. He happens to be one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist just like the Mizukage. The man nodded and carried one of the Chuunin while the others carried the rest, before vanishing towards Kirigakure.