Nothing Else Matters

An Uzumaki-centric story

Chapter 9

"Catching Kittens and Weakened Rabbits"

(Nami no Kuni)

"You know what, this place isn't too bad. It definitely has a more hospitable climate than Kaze no Kuni." Naruto muttered the last part, apparently he still hadn't forgotten his terrible trip to Suna.

"I agree, I honestly didn't know a minor country could be this prosperous. They don't even have an army." Honoka remarked offhandedly while leading her two charges through the bustling streets of Nami.

Indeed, it wasn't a bad place. A somewhat prosperous island off the coast of Hi no Kuni. Judging by the dozens of merchant ships they had sighted coming to and from the island, trade was profitable and frequent. The architecture was somewhat reminiscent of Hi no Kuni, spacious wooden buildings were huddled together in large blocks. There was a variety of stands lining the busy high street, from apparel and cloth merchants to food and candy stands.

"Honoka, let's get something to eat, we've been running on empty for three days now." Karin suggested. "We can keep looking after we eat."

Glimpsing a tea shop among the smorgasbord of shop signs and crowds, Honoka lead her niece and nephew towards it.

After being led to their table, they all made their orders. "So what are we looking for anyway? You only told us to 'Keep an eye out', what should we keep an eye out for?" Naruto said before taking a sip of his green tea.

"We're looking for a shrine, the shrine of the sage of the six paths. The scrolls in Uzu gave very vague instructions as to its whereabouts. 'An island to the east' was what was written. Hopefully we find it here, otherwise we'll have to scour all of Mizu no Kuni, which would be a much more annoying task."

Naruto nodded and looked down to the teacup in his hand, he wondered what his sister and mother were doing right now. They were no doubt in immense danger, fighting the Nibi wasn't easy.

"Why are we looking for the shrine? Is there something specific we need?" Karin asked, getting Naruto's attention.

"There is, actually, we're looking for the jutsu the sage used to seal the rabbit goddess, so we can understand it's mechanics and isolate her chakra from the Shinju. Sealing Shukaku into the Juubi was a bit of a gamble, thankfully nothing dangerous happened. As soon as we rid the Shinju of Kaguya's influence, we should be cleared to seal the other Bijuu." Honoka said.

Naruto seemed to be deep in thought, biting his inner lip and squinting his eye. "Why are we doing this? All of this? I thought mother didn't care for this world." Naruto suddenly asked.

Honoka looked at Naruto for a brief time before sighing and taking a sip from her tea cup. "I don't know honestly. I know what she intends to do, but not why she wants to do it. Perhaps it's revenge for Uzu, or maybe it's just a want to end the cycle of war the Shinobi world has birthed. Either way, we should trust her, your mother has your best interests at heart, I'm sure of it." Honoka ended with a sincere tone.

Karin was a bit puzzled as to why her auntie would do this. Kushina was always an isolationist, so it was a bit puzzling to see her determined to change the outside world. Her mother, Akahana, always seemed a bit apprehensive of the de-facto matriarch of the Uzumaki clan, but she didn't see why. Perhaps it's because she grew up around family, and that gave familial bonds such a special place in her heart. To Akahana, Kushina was just someone she met in her twenties, but to Karin, she was a family member who was with her since day one.

Unlike Karin, Naruto wasn't thinking too hard about it anymore, Honoka's answer had pacified him. As long as his mother intended to do this, he would do anything necessary to help her achieve her goal.

Naruto finished his meal and put his teacup on the table with a slight 'bang'. "We've wasted enough time here, we should start searching for this shrine before the sun sets."

Nodding, Honoka put a stack of ryo on the table and left the establishment and the village with her two charges in tow. She addressed them once they were far enough from the village. "Alright, that should be far enough. Karin, you're the best sensor here. See if you can sense any irregular chakra signatures in the area. The numerous seals on the shrine should be emitting a chakra signature, but if my guess is right, then the signature would be muffled by chakra nullifying seals."

Karin put her hand in a half ram seal and extended her senses. Several blue flames popped up in her mind's eye. Scouring all the information her Kagura Shingan was providing her, she came up short. "There are no people with chakra higher than a civilians' other than us. I didn't notice any irregularities though."

Honoka nodded. This was good, no unknowns meant that they could search without having to watch their backs. "We'll walk along the coast and try again every few miles. This island isn't small, so it'll take a while to scout all of it. Naruto-kun, make a couple of Kage Bunshin and have them patrol the island." Honoka ordered.

8 Kage Bunshin popped beside Naruto and headed in different directions in order to inspect the island more closely while the three Uzumaki walked along the coastline to see if Karin could sense the chakra the shrine emits.

(Rai no Kuni)

Blood dripped from Kimiko's right hand as it dangled uselessly from her body. The skin on her right hand was ripped to shreds while her right forearm was burned to a crisp. She stared defiantly at the angry form of the Nibi no Nekomata. The Bijuu wasn't very happy judging by its' screeching and posturing. Her chakra chains weren't strong enough to hold the beast down yet. Her brother and mother could surely do it with their chains, but her chakra just wasn't thick and potent enough to subdue the hell cat in front of her. Her mother wanted to test her abilities in front of the Bijuu, which is absolute bullshit in her opinion. Who in kami's name sics a Bijuu on their kid just to test them? Either way, she wasn't having a very good time, not at all. The icing on top of the cake of misery that was her day was the Bijuudama that was hovering above the Nibi's open mouth.

She gave her mother a look, telling her not interrupt her fight. Biting her left wrist, she used her Shosaku Sen to heal some of the damage she'd sustained so far. Her right arm steamed as some of the mangled flesh stitched together and the black burned skin returned to its healthy colour. She squeezed her right into a fist to test its functionality before digging into her kunai pouch and bringing out one of her prepared kunai just as the Nibi released its destructive attack.

Disappointed and fearful, those were the perfect words to describe Kushina's current state of mind, disappointed with her daughter's progress and fearful for her life. Kimiko should have been able to deal with a Bijuu by now. Unfortunately, her Mokuton hadn't yet matured to Naruto's level and unlike him, she hadn't been taking extra lessons with the revived Shodaime to master her wood affinity. On top of that, it seems her chakra hadn't matured enough for her chains to completely hold the Nibi down. Perhaps she had been spoiled by Naruto's progress and the standard she measuring her daughter was too high?

Kushina smacked the Nibi's Jichuuriki, Yugito, until she released her Bijuu, at which time Kushina decided to step back and see her daughter in action.

Kushina decided to step in, this piece of filth was actually beating her daughter and was currently pointing a Bijuudama at her daughter. She couldn't let this farce continue on for much longer. A look from Kimiko made her pause. It seemed she still had some tricks up her sleeve, Interesting.

As soon as the ball started barreling towards her, kicking up dust and creating a trail of destruction on the ground below it, Kimiko jumped up and threw a wind enhanced kunai above the Bijuu while four chakra chains burst from her back and went to intercept the ball.

The four chains split off, each intercepting at a cardinal direction. The chains wrapped around the Bijuudama just as the kunai was directly above the Nibi. Kimiko disappeared in a flash, her chains were attached to her, still carrying the Bijuudama. Kimiko exerted her control over her chains and redirected the captured Tailed beast ball directly onto the Bijuu's unprotected back. She quickly flashed again using the Hiraishin and appeared next to her mother, waiting for the inevitable gigantic explosion.

"Good job." Kushina said as the purplish-black ball of chakra glowed brightly and menacingly. "I'll take care of the rest, I'm proud of you," She finished as the ball finally exploded, it's loud 'boom' overshadowing the screams and wails of the Nibi no Nekomata.

Kimiko gave a smile, her hard work had paid off. The Hiraishin wasn't easy to learn, but she'd be damned if it wasn't worth the effort. She had mastered it to a level even better than her mother and was able to use it to great effect during battle, unlike her mother who uses it as a glorified summoning jutsu. The beauty of the Jutsu was its efficiency, she just teleported an entire Bijuudama and was barely winded. The technique was a fascinating one and she had still yet to master it to its fullest extent, there were many of its mechanics she hadn't discovered yet.

Kimiko sighed and allowed herself some reprieve as she sat down on the ground and watched her mother "deal" with the situation.

Kushina didn't receive any pushback as she extracted the Nibi from the unconscious Jinchuuriki.

(Nami no Kuni)

They were, as they have been for the last two days, walking around the island looking for the vaunted shrine of the sage. So far it's been like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Almost robotically, Karin put her hands in a ram seal and extended her senses. It was faint, but she could a small signature on the edge of her sensing range. It felt ancient and untouched. She also felt something else, something black and sinister, creepy.

"I got something" Karin said with her eyes closed and both her hands in the ram seal.

Naruto looked to his aunt Honoka for instructions, they had finally found something, and he hoped it would be worth the trouble.

"Lead the way, Karin. The faster we finish this assignment, the faster we can return home." Honoka said.

They jumped into the trees and travelled at a moderate pace towards chakra signature. They took to the ground when they came to the shrine itself. When they arrived at the chakra signature's location, they found an empty clearing. "There's nothing here." Naruto said, intrigued.

He looked at his squad leaded and received a nod. He put his hands on the ground and pulsed his chakra. His chakra traveled as a visible, bright blue wave and spread across the clearing. It revealed a circular dome of Fuinjutsu that seemed to center around the clearing.

"Invisibility seals, Chakra nullifying seals, Chakra barrier seals, Nature Chakra absorption seals, whoever did this was quite good." Honoka said in an impressed tone while gazing at the ink 'structure' that was blocking their way.

"Can you get past it, Honoka?" Karin asked.

"Of course I can, who do you think I am? I am the foremost Fuinjutsu expert in the world, without par." Honoka said braggingly, she didn't care for much, except Fuinjutsu and Kushina. Having this little brat question her mastery over Fuinjutsu was insulting, even if she didn't mean it.

"I suggest just busting though it, I'm sure I can attack with enough strength to break through the barrier." Naruto while cracking his knuckles.

"Hold your horses there Naruto, we're going in this shrine the delicate way. We don't want to leave behind any ruins." Naruto seemed to deflate a bit, but nodded anyway.

Honoka walked in front of the dome of Fuinjutsu and stared into it with her charcoal eyes. Her eyes moved from word to word taking every detail in to mind.

Karin put her hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Let's go, If I know anything about Honoka, she'll be staring at that thing for five more hours, let's go back into town and relax for a bit."

Naruto seemed reluctant to abandon his mission without orders. On the other hand, Karin was probably right, he had seen what Fuinjutsu did to his aunt, it wasn't pretty. "Fine, I'll leave a clone here to inform us if Oba-san needs us." Naruto allowed himself to be dragged by Karin.

(Rai no Kuni)

"Shee! Where the hell is she?" The Raikage roared as he scanned the destroyed battlefield again.

Poor Shee was sweating from every pore in his body, having an outraged Raikage shouting at you five inches away from your face was a traumatic experience. "I can't sense her anywhere, Raikage-sama. I apologize."

The Raikage punched the ground creating crater. "Damn it, damn it all to hell! How could our Jinchuuriki get kidnapped in the middle of our territory? How did she get kidnapped period? Yugito is one of my most powerful subordinates."

"Obviously, whoever attacked her was prepared, they lured her from the village and away from our protection and struck when they were certain of success. We must increase the protection on Bee-sama, or else the same might happen to him." A rather lazy looking man by the name of Darui drawled out.

The Raikage squeezed his fists until the knuckles popped. "Shee! Call for a meeting of the five kage, I'll find out which one of those bastards did this and then I'll rip him to shreds."

Darui interrupted his kage before he could get carried away. "I don't think that's a wise decision, Raikage-sama. The other kage shouldn't be informed that we lost the Nibi, we should until the information gets out there before we act hastily. Depending on which nation the nation the rumors of the Nibi's capture start, we can guess which of the kage was behind this operation. We should also consider the idea of an independent organization or person being behind this attack."

The Raikage looked at Darui with mad eyes before he exhaled heavily. "My Jinchuuriki was kidnapped and you want to be quiet about it?"

Darui nodded. "You're a Kage, Ay-sama, being reckless wouldn't be beneficial right now. One of the kage is obviously playing the long game, we should proceed extremely carefully."

Ay sighed heavily and seemed to be struggling to calm down. "Fine, if this backfires, it's on your head, Darui. Shee, tell Samui and that stupid brother of hers to join Bee's protection detail. Let's go back, a kage can't leave his village for too long, and get someone to clean this mess."

(Nami no Kuni)

"This isn't what I imagined our mission would be like." Naruto said. It had been three days since they found the shrine. Honoka hadn't moved an inch, still staring at the Fuinjutsu surrounding the shrine. Naruto wasn't inclined to interrupt her given what happened the last time he interrupted her study of Fuinjutsu. It wasn't a pleasant experience to say the least.

He and Karin were currently sitting on a park bench drinking some juice they bought from a vendor.

"At least we're in a nice country, I really like Nami no Kuni. The shops are great." Karin said cheerfully.

That was another thing, it seemed his 'date' with Karin was just her using him as a mobile storage unit for all the clothes she bought around town. She bought so many clothes! How could she ever wear all of them? "Yeah, I guess all the shopping just isn't for me." Naruto said dryly.

Naruto reflexes flared as he dropped the cup of juice and slipped out a kunai from his backpocket and held it in his hand while facing the source of the disturbance with Karin behind him, protected.

"Quite jumpy aren't you, Sochi?" Kushina said, amused by her son's over the top reaction to her and her daughter's appearance.

Naruto's cautious face exploded into a smile when he saw his mother, he dropped his kunai and hugged her. "I was so worried about you. I was worried that you got hurt." Naruto said in a whisper.

"I'm fine, don't forget, I'm tough, way stronger than you." She said cheekily while hugging him back.

Naruto just laughed into her shoulder. Naruto reluctantly detached his body away from his mother's and looked towards his sister. "You look smug, what happened?"

Kimiko smirked "Oh nothing, I just beat the Nibi into the ground."

Naruto's jaw opened in shock, before he closed it with excitement. "That's awesome. I'm looking forward to sparring with you now." Kimiko smiled before shooting Karin a dirty glare.

A/N: Sorry for the long, long delay guys. I had a lot of real stuff to deal with, I never had any free time unfortunately. First High school finals, which were exhausting,then the scramble for university admissions, then all the rigmarole and paperwork that comes with turning eighteen and finally learning how to drive. I hope you guys understand why I took so long. Regardless, my schedule is now cleared, so I can post updates regularly.

Oh, and check out my deviant art, I cooked up a little teaser for my next story, the link is in my profile.

Just in time for Kushina's birthday :p

Happy birthday Kushina.

translations and shiz:

Kagura Shingan- Mind's eye of the Kagura

Kage Bunshin - Shadow clone

Bijuudama - Tailed beast ball

Shosaku Sen - Healing Bite

Mokuton - Wood release

Hiraishin - Flying Thunder God