A/N: I want to welcome everyone to the second book of the Guardian Chronicles. For anyone that is new to the book, I would recommend that you read the first book to understand what is going on. This book was split up in order to pace the original series properly. So there is a whole lot in the first chapter that does not make sense if you don't read the first book.

It had been a whole day since the Sports Festival happened. A whole day passed since Naruto won the Sports Festival and she did not have a break. Oh, the school gave all the students a break but the blond-haired girl still had a part-time job to be concerned about.

She shook her head and put the plate of rice balls along with two plates of steamed rice and eggs on her small dining room table. The scent tickled her nose, almost tempting her to take one rice ball and begin eating but the blond-haired girl took a deep breath. She should wait for Jiraiya to wake up before heading out to her part-time job in the café.

Five minutes later and Jiraiya walked out of her guest room, hands ruffling his hair and a yawn escaped from his lips. Dark eyes flickered from the plates of breakfast and a pout tugged on his lips. He slumped his shoulders at her. "Is that all you made for breakfast? There aren't any fruits or vegetables."

Naruto folded her arms against her chest. "Be happy that I even made breakfast for you. If you wanted fruits or vegetables then you make breakfast."

"You need to eat healthy, Naruto." Her mentor pulled up the chair and grabbed the rice ball along with the single plate of rice and eggs. Naruto wrinkled her nose, her lips curled into a scowl and the man shook his head at her. "They can be tasty, Naruto."

"You sound like Kakashi-sensei when he used to 'pop-in' to give me groceries," she grumbled.

Jiraiya eyed her, not looking one bit amused at her comment. Naruto sighed and looked at her food, before taking a nibble on her rice ball. Not once did the girl looked up at her mentor. The white-haired man shook his head and then blinked as if just realizing that the blond-haired girl wore her waitress outfit.

"Are you really planning to go back to work? Didn't I tell you that I will provide for you?" Jiraiya put down his chopsticks and Naruto looked up from her food. "Naruto, I'm here now. You don't need to worry about rent or groceries."

She put down the half-eaten rice ball and her blue eyes flared with irritation. "Jiraiya, you might offer to pay for the rent and everything that is necessary but I don't want your sympathy. I don't want hand-outs! I want to earn my own money."

"Naruto, I live here too." Her mentor reminded her and Naruto slumped her shoulders at the reminder. A sheepish smile almost played on her lips but the girl steeled herself. "And I'm willing to do my own share of the apartment when it comes to the finance. The only thing I want is for you to focus on your training."

It was not a big deal for Naruto to work. She could always do their training after she worked and she could make her clones do any homework that her teachers gave her to do. Naruto could manage her time. She did know what she was doing so her mentor should not make a big fuss about it.

Besides, Naruto never liked handouts when it came to supporting her and the only exception was when someone offered to buy her, ramen.

"And I will focus on my training," Naruto finally said.

Jiraiya eyed her but doesn't question her about her plans of balancing school, work and training. The man saw her time-management skills during the weeks leading up to the Sports Festival and she knew he knew that she was capable of balancing things. It was just that she might have to give-up on sleep, which was fine for Naruto.

Sleep was for the weak anyway.

"The moment I think you are running yourself thin Naruto, is the moment that you need to stop doing your part-time job." Jiraiya pointed his chopstick at her, effectively stopping the girl from opening her mouth to complain. "As long as I act as your guardian in Japan, my word is law."

Naruto hunched her shoulders and bit back the words that threatened to come out. I know Aizawa-sensei and him had a talk in the hospital but I don't need someone to act like a father to me. She ignored the slight flutter in her heart at the care given to her by her mentor and picked back her chopsticks, intent of finishing the large bowl of food that she made for them.

'Uzushiokage? Where did you hear that title?'

Jiraiya's question nagged and echoed in Naruto's mind as she shoved the rice into her mouth. It escaped her notice to question him when she came back to her apartment after eating ramen with Todoroki, Midoriya and the others. The whole thing escaped her mind especially since Amejiki paid for their meals.

She always did forget things when ramen came to play.

"Why were you surprised when you saw the hero: Uzushiokage?" The tea that Jiraiya had been drinking was spit out as the white-haired man took in deep breaths. She leaned forward. "You seemed surprised to see him."

Jiraiya steadied his trembling hands and he took a sip of his green tea, black eyes focused on the clock. The clock's small hand barely gazed the 7, telling Naruto that she probably had another 30 minutes before she needed to do the shifts that she missed doing because of the Sports Festival.

The Toad Sanin took a deep breath and nodded. "Are you in a hurry to get to work?"

"If I run now then I will be 20 minutes early." Naruto drawled out, putting down her chopsticks. Jiraiya hummed and flickered his eyes to the cracked photo frame of the Third Hokage and her. She leaned forward and clasped her hands together. "So are you going to tell me or not? Ero-Sennin?"

"I will tell you," Jiraiya leaned his body against the chair and looked up at the ceiling. He took several deep breaths, his black eyes looking more serious than Naruto had ever seen him, and lowered his eyes. "But for me to explain, I want to know if the Third Hokage ever tell you anything about Uzushiokagure."

Naruto knitted her eyebrows and shook her head. "Never heard about that village. Should I know anything about them?"

She stood up from her seat and made her way to the kitchen. Standing up in her tip-toe, Naruto grabbed the instant coffee bag from the shelf and put a spoonful into one of her clean mugs. If she was going to learn something then her mind shouldn't be hazy. I probably should have waited till I come back to the apartment before questioning him.

"Yes because your last name is Uzumaki," Naruto swung her head around and she knitted her eyebrows. What did her last name have to do with anything? It was just a last name gifted to her by the Hokage, which was a lot better than some of the orphans. Most orphans in Konoha did not have a last name. "Naruto, you need to know that Uzumaki isn't a name that is associated with Konoha."

Naruto steadied her hands and poured the steaming water into her mug. "Where does it originate from? And why did the Third gave Uzumaki as my last name if it isn't associated with Konoha?"

"Uzumaki is a last name that is common in Uzushiokagure," Jiraiya leaned forward and took a sip of his tea. His dark eyes focused on the shaking shoulders of the blond-haired girl. Naruto inhaled and exhaled, feeling more and more irritated at his words yet knew better than to stop him because this was probably her only chance to get information.

"If it originate from Uzushiokagure then why did the Third give me the last name of Uzumaki?" She nibbled her bottom lip as butterflies formed in her stomach and blue eyes glinted with excitement. "Is it possible that my father come from there?"

"Or your mother," Jiraiya suggested quickly. She knitted her eyebrow, feeling confused at the mention of her mother because children always took the surname of their father. It was rare for a child to take their mother's last name. "Naruto, you do know the importance of continuing the name of a clan, right?"

Yes, she did know because Sasuke always talked about it along with restoring the honor of his clan.

"Then you know if a mother came from a stronger and more powerful clan then her child would take the surname of the mother," Naruto opened her mouth and Jiraiya held his hand up. "Tsunade is a different story because when Tsunade was born, her mother wasn't considered the last of her clan. You, on the other hand, are different story."

"Why?" Naruto knitted her eyebrow. "Are you saying that Uzumaki is also a clan's name."

The Toad Sannin took a sip of his tea and he kept his eyes focused on her blue eyes that shone with curiosity and weariness. He finally nodded. "The Uzumaki clan was a very powerful clan that rivalled the Hyuga and the Uchiha Clan. It wasn't just powerful but they were allies with the Senju Clan."

"You keep saying Uzumaki clan and Uzushiokagure in the past tense." Naruto grabbed the coffee mug and she returned back to her seat. Dread crept up in her stomach because past tense was never good news. She didn't know if she wanted to know the truth. "What happened?"

"Like what always happened in the Elemental Countries, war happened." Jiraiya grimaced and closed his eyes because war was never an easy topic to talk about. He exhaled. "Uzushiokagure was destroyed in the beginning of the Third Shinobi War and along with it, the Uzumaki clan."

Her hand trembled at this information because the implication was genocide. Bile rose up to her throat at the throat and Naruto swallowed it down, grimacing at the taste. She took several deep breaths and pinched herself in order to stop the slight tremors in her hand. Fear and sadness should not leak out of herself.

"How did they destroy the village?"

She doesn't ask why because the answer was just too obvious: it had been war and there were no exceptions in war.

"Iwa, Kumo and Kiri had been trying to break through the barrier seals," Naruto blinked and raised her eyebrows at him. Barrier seals? Could seals make barriers? That was kind of cool. "And somehow they managed to break through, which is a complete mystery."

"Why is it a mystery?"

Her mentor rubbed his chin. "Uzushiokagure was a village filled with masters of sealings and the village as I told you was protected with seals. The only way they could get in was if they had a master that could break through those seals."

This is starting to sound like the start of one of those conspiracy theories that my co-worker likes to watch in her break. She knew it sounded too ridiculous but Naruto knew very little about sealing except for the occasional exploding seal. Those things were easy to make but that was all the girl knew about the mystical art.

She took a deep breath and recalled the way Jiraiya was surprised by the man. "And why were you shock by the hero? I can guess that Uzushiokage is a title given to the leader of Uzushiokagure."

Her mentor rubbed the back of his neck and inhaled deeply. "You are right but there is something else that you need to know about that title. The way that title is given is similar to how Sunagakure gives the Kazekage title…except they aren't sexist."

Naruto raised her eyebrow. "What do you mean? How does Sunagakure give the title Kazekage?"

There were so many questions flooding in her mind. Not only about Uzushiokagure or Sunagakure but at the different traditions that the villages had. The Academy never really talked about it or maybe she skipped the classes when they did. She doesn't remember anymore.

"Sunagakure gives the title to the strongest male member of the Kazekage clan: your fellow jinchuuriki Gaara's clan." Naruto blinked, taken back at the knowledge that Gaara came from a clan. "It doesn't matter the sanity of the member nor how popular they are to the village. What matters in Suna is strength."

Naruto took a deep breath. "Does that mean Gaara is now Kazekage?"

"From what my spies tell me, he is in transition of becoming Kazekage." Jiraiya replied. His black eyes focused on her and Naruto forced herself to smile. She wasn't upset at the thought of Gaara becoming Kazekage but she could only imagine just how much of a struggle it would be for him. Because Suna treated him even worse than Konoha. She wondered if he really was happy to protect that village.

She doubt that she was close enough to ask him.

"And the Uzushiokage?"

Jiraiya's fingers danced with the chopsticks and he took a deep breath. "Only the head of the Uzumaki clan can inherit the title and unlike the Uchiha Clan or the Hyuga clan, the head is chosen through strength. When Uzushiokagure was destroyed, the 2nd Uzushiokage had been murdered by a Kumo nin."

Naruto nodded. "Wouldn't the 2nd Uzushiokage be ancient by now?"

Jiraiya slumped and hit his head against the table while Naruto just tilted her head at him. Her eyebrows knitted together as the man looked at her like she was an absolute idiot for asking the question. She flushed red, realizing that it might have been a stupid question but he was not getting straight to the point.

"Sometimes I think you can be an absolute genius and it was times like these, where I think you can be an idiot." Naruto laughed nervously and the man shook his head. "If the 2nd Uzushiokage was alive, he would at least look like he would be in his 60s and not his early 20s."

Naruto rubbed the back of her neck and she inhaled her coffee. The bitter scent tickled her nostrils, almost waking her up completely, and the blond-haired girl took a sip of her coffee. She wrinkled her nose in disgust before glancing at the clock, blinking her eyes at the realization that she only had fifteen minutes to get to work on time.

"So why were you surprised?"

Jiraiya pressed his lips into a thin line. "He looks like the grandson of the 2nd Uzushiokage and there had been rumors spread that the boy was the most likely to become the Uzushiokage if his grandfather died. That man made a name for himself in the beginning of the Third Shinobi War with his use of seals and ninjutsu."

There were more questions on the tip of her tongue. Was there a chance she could be related to him? Or was it a coincidence? But Jiraiya claimed that the man looked like the grandson, so it was possible that they came from the same clan. She shook her head.

Asking Jiraiya if she could be related to the man would open a box that Naruto wasn't certain if she wanted to open it.

Uzushiokage is a title given to the Head of the Uzumkai Clan.

Naruto took several deep breaths and she steadied her arms, reminding herself that it would not be a good idea to make a mess of her notepad. Even though the café was as busy as ever, having so many families and students coming in with cameras, her mind was still thinking about this morning.

She forced herself to smile when a couple of customers took a photo of her, their eyes filled with only a starstuck look that reminded Naruto of how the girls used to look at Sasuke. Their hands seemed to inch closer to their notebooks and in that moment, the doorbell ranged and Naruto took this as her chance to go and greet the customers.

"Welcome to—" The words died in her tongue as Naruto blinked at the sight of Aizawa and Eri standing in front of her workplace. Her teacher rubbed the back of his neck, body shuffling left to right as Eri bounced in her spot.

"Naruto-neechan!" All of the air inside of Naruto's lung seemed to be knocked off as Eri launched herself at her. Her hands wrapped around the white-haired girl, combing and patting it as a smile broke out of the little girl's mouth. Her teacher sighed and shook his head.

"W-What are you guys doing here?"

Aizawa hunched and picked up Eri by the collar of her dress, allowing the blond-haired girl to inhale a huge breath. The white-haired girl smiled shyly and squeaked when the crowds of customers turned to look at them. She quickly ran behind Aizawa's legs, peeking from behind his legs as Naruto pushed herself up from the floor.

Her teacher waited till she stood up to answer her question. "Eri wanted to see your workplace."

Blue eyes softened and Naruto knelt down till she was in the same eyelevel of the shy little girl. Red eyes locked on hers, looking just as nervous and a single hand reached forward to ruffle the ponytail that was tied sloppily. Her teacher flickered his eyes from her to Eri.

"Eri-chan, did you really want to see the café? Or did you want to eat some tasty cake?" Blue eyes twinkled with mirth and the girl pointed to the cakes on display near the cashier. Eri flushed a light shade of pink and drool leaked out of her mouth, speaking volumes to Naruto about how much she wanted that sweet cake.

Several of her co-workers blinked, eyebrows shooting straight to their hairline and Naruto gulped down a lump. I have been nothing but a bitch to them. Words should be said but she would worry about it later. Right now, her priority was Eri. Sweet Eri, who stared at the cakes on display with longing.

"Naruto-neechan, do you make these cakes?"

Naruto tapped her chin and shook her head. "I only take the orders and bring the cakes."

Eri bobbed her head and looked at Aizawa. The man made no comment throughout the exchange, only focusing his eyes between them and dimly Naruto realized that she needed to bring them to their seats. This is what happens when I'm distracted by cute little kids.

She lead them to the empty booth that could hardly be seen by anyone. Several eyes followed them and the girl ignored them, focusing on the task at hand because this attention was not the bad attention like her childhood. She won a Sports Festival and it was natural that they wanted to know her.

Eri and Aizawa slid into the booth and Naruto handed them the menu. Her teacher popped the colourful menu help while Eri leaned forward, eyebrows scrunched together. She is still struggling with learning how to read. Naruto darted her eyes everywhere and kneels down slightly.

"You want me to help you, Eri-chan?" Eri smiled and ducked her head slightly, her white bangs covering her eyes and parting slightly around her horn. Aizawa peeked up from the menu, lips tugging downwards and Naruto darted her eyes at him, challenging him to question her.

He didn't say anything.

"I-I can read, Naruto-neechan." Eri declared, puffing her chest. "I just want some time to choose. I'm a big girl now."

Naruto quirked her lips slightly and ruffled the girl's hair before flickering her eyes at her teacher. The man still had his eyes fixated on the menu, not allowing the blond-haired girl to see the emotions running through his black eyes. She nibbled her bottom lip and straightened her back.

"Why are you still working in a café, Uzumaki?" Her teacher kept his tone patient and no emotion seemed to flood between them. Not that Naruto expected it because Aizawa was always so logical. "Your guardian is here now so you don't need to work to support yourself."

Blue eyes narrowed at the question and a sigh escaped from her lips, earning a raised eyebrow from the black-haired hero. So many words bubbled in her throat, ready to rip him apart for questioning her but black eyes that reassured her that she was a good kid flashed before her eyes. Naruto slumped her shoulders and the words died down from her tongue.

"Because I like to earn my own money," Aizawa tapped his fingers against the menu and Naruto took it as a chance to elaborate. "That's why I want to work…it isn't about trust."

Aizawa lowered his menu and focused his black eyes on her, not one flicker of emotion seemed to shone through his eyes. "Uzumaki, you are still going to continue those therapy sessions. Nothing you say will change my mind about it."

Your actions will change my mind was implied and it told Naruto that he really did want to see some real progress with her behaviour. Naruto inhaled and thought of the events that happened yesterday. Dinner with Midoriya, Todoroki and her seniors had been interesting to say the least for her. Even though she ate with them, her mind still occasionally wondered if maybe her seniors had an ulterior motive.

She knew they probably did not and Naruto still had the urge to vomit at the way she kept thinking, because it was not fair for them. They had been nice to her even though she was just so cold to them, and they deserved better than this.

Her whole class deserved better than this.

"I-I want to get better." She choked out the words and Aizawa blinked before nodding at her. His lips almost twitched like he wanted to smile at her but he schooled it quickly. Naruto just blinked, taken aback at how close she was to making Aizawa smile because her teacher doesn't give his smiles easily.

"And if you continue in this path then you will get better, Uzumaki." Reassurance and confidence leaked out of his voice and Naruto felt her hands trembled. She steeled her hands, reminding herself that she should not get so overly emotional with the care that Aizawa gave so easily.

She gulped down a lump and forced a smile. "So what would you guys like to order?"

"Chocolate cake and hot chocolate!" Eri cried, swirling her head up.

I will make a note to tell Endo to make sure that the foam looks like a cat for Eri-chan. Naruto darted her eyes to her teacher and the man lowered his menu, lips pressed into a thin line and a small sigh escaped from his lips. "I will take a cappuccino."

Naruto scribbled it down and frowned at the dark circles around her teacher's eyes. She nibbled her bottom lip, pushing it back and forth as her eyes took in the puffiness of Aizawa's eyes. Her teacher did not have the most luster skin but his skin looked even duller than usual, speaking volumes of just how exhausted the man was.

"Aizawa-sensei, you aren't overworking yourself again are you?" Her teacher pressed his lips into a thin line and the lack of answer was all Naruto needed. She flickered her eyes to Eri and chose to bite back the words of telling her teacher to look after himself because Eri needed him too. Aizawa-sensei knew what he was doing and the importance of making sure the little girl had a stable home.

He knew how important it was for her.

"Uzumaki, I won't break my promise to you." Naruto gulped down a lump and her teacher took a deep breath. He flickered his eyes to the various customers that seemed intent on watching their every move, their eyes hungry to get her attention. "And if we are going to talk about our personal lives then I will ask you a question: how are you handling the change?"

Naruto knitted her eyebrows. "Change?"

Does he know about the change of me learning that I might have a clan? She nibbled her bottom lip and reminded herself that there was no way Aizawa-sensei would know. Ero-Sennin just told her about the news today and Jiraiya knew better than to spill those secrets.

"You and Jiraiya-san haven't lived together in a while, correct?"

Never was on the tip of her tongue but Naruto held the word back and she chose to nod, too afraid of spilling out a truth that contradicted the lie that Jiraiya gave him. She swallowed a lump. "I-It's weird."

Aizawa nodded, black eyes flashing with understanding and Naruto looked at Eri. The white-haired girl tilted her head and she scrunched her eyebrows together into one straight line like she was trying to figure out a mystery that no one in the world could solve. Naruto just smiled slightly.

Finally, Eri slumped her shoulders. "What does Guardian mean?"

"It means someone that takes care of someone that is younger than 18," Aizawa explained. "They care of them like how I take care of you."

The little girl bobbed her head and she flashed a tiny smile to her teacher. She is getting there, isn't she? I think Eri-chan has improved since a few weeks ago. Naruto took a deep breath and clicked her heels together, ready to go behind the cashier but something stopped her. Or your mother. She grinded her teeth and wondered what possessed her to remember that there was a chance she was a member of the Uzumaki clan.

Aizawa narrowed his eyes. "Uzumaki, did something happen?"

Naruto took a deep breath and forced herself to smile, ready to give him the usual lie but Aizawa shook his head at her. She slumped her shoulders. It had been too much of a stretch to think that maybe the teacher would just leave the whole thing alone, but this was Aizawa. He was nothing like the Academy teachers.

He cared.

"You know you can lie with your mouth but your eyes will always tell a different story, Uzumaki." Aizawa said dryly. "What happened?"

"Do I really have to talk about it now?"

Aizawa darted his eyes to the various customers, took a deep breath and shook his head at her. Naruto relaxed her shoulders, flashing him a grateful smile before glancing at the various customers that seemed intent on watching them closely. I might have won the Sports Festival but I want some privacy. She forced herself to smile at them.

"We can talk about it tomorrow in school," Aizawa kept his tone low and he stared at the menu. "Or you can talk about it with the therapist if you don't want to talk to me about it."

Naruto sighed. "Tomorrow, it is."

No way was she going to talk about her identity crises while she played poker.

(In an undisclosed location)

Uzumaki Kenji was only 47 years old but looking at his various clans member, he felt older than his 47 years. There must be around 200 clans member in the dojo with most of them being second generation Uzumaki that have been born after the large migration to Japan. He stood in front of the podium with only one elder woman sitting behind him.

His two daughters sat in the front, their eyes flashed with confusion while his only (foolish) son avoided looking at his hazel eyes. Standing right beside him was the only brother that survived the attack thrown at them from their enemies. Asa was only younger than him by a good five years but the little brat acted like he was the older one.

"Uzushiokage-sama, why did you call us here?" One of the younger clansmember asked, drawing everyone's attention to her. Whispers broke out, breaking the tense silence that surrounded the atmosphere, and Kenji locked eyes on Kumiko. His wife raised an eyebrow, hands folded against her chest and he jerked his head at their son.

His son had the decency to flinch and Kenji grinded his teeth.

"Because of the Sports Festival," a few members raised their eyebrows and Kenji took a deep breath. "Let me ask this: how many of you have seen it?"

Out of the 200 clans member present in his dojo, only a 100 members raised their hands. A few of his fellow shinobi grimaced, realizing what exactly was the cause of him calling out for an emergency meeting. Kenji swirled his head at the elderly woman, who showed no emotion. She only just clenched and unclenched her hands together.

No one had smiles on their faces.

"Is this about that girl who they claim is an Uzumaki?" Akane, his daughter, demanded. At the age of fourteen, his daughter took more like her mother but she had his coloring. She grinded her teeth together. "That girl can't be an Uzumaki, Pops! She doesn't have our signature red—"

"Akane, are you claiming that neither me nor my brother are Uzumaki?" Another clansmember yelled, standing up from her seated position. Uzumaki Tomoyo had long grey hair but inherited the violet eyes of his brother, Asa. Violet eyes narrowed. "Not everyone here has red-hair! But one of our parents is an Uzumaki. You should focus on your biology because you would realize that genetics has a play."

From right beside her, Haruto tugged his sister down. "Nee-chan, you need to calm down!"

"Why should she?" A man yelled. "I've got orange hair and my father is an Uzumaki!"

"My hair has hints of red!"

"I have got black-hair!"

Screams echoed and Kenji grinded his teeth, eyebrows twitching and if it was not for the fact that they were in public then he would whack his daughter for her comment. Asa darted his eyes at him, his lips curled into a scowl and Kenji just straightened his shoulders. The elder woman scowled, stood up from her seat and headed straight towards the gong.

Violet eyes narrowed and despite her elder age, his great-aunt swung her fist against the gong. The bell chimed, its sounds echoing throughout the dojo, and the arguments died down. The woman slammed her cane on the ground and the whole room shook.

"Conduct yourself with a manner that is befitting of the Uzumaki Clan," his great-aunt roared. Violet eyes narrowed at Akane and his daughter gulped. "Akane! You may have our red-hair but you are also not a full-blooded Uzumaki so don't talk about our signature hair colour. That colour is a game of luck as Tomoyo was trying to tell you."

Tomoyo bobbed her head and bowed her head. "Thank you, Akira-sama."

"You need to conduct yourself better, Tomoyo." Akira narrowed her eyes. "Akane is a disrespectful brat and she is younger than you. You need to keep your head held up high and not allow her words to annoy you."

His niece flinched and nodded before bowing her head down. Her brother patted her in the back, shooting irritated looks at Akane but his daughter just tilted her head up. I will discipline the brat once this meeting is over. He would make sure that she understood the importance of respecting her elders.

Taking a deep breath, Kenji cleared his throat and looked at the various clansmember. We used to be able to fill a whole village but now we can only fill a dojo room. He clenched and unclenched his hands, ignoring the narrowed eyes of his brother. His throat dried up as a pair of twinkling violet eyes flashed before him along with a smile.

'Kenji-niisan, Gramps says that I'm going to take care of his sister! The one that is in Konoha!'

He swallowed down the lump.

"I called all of you here, not because of the possibility that Uzumaki Naruto might be a member of our clan," he took a deep breath and pushed back the memories of a childhood that was longed passed. "There is another reason that all of you—"

"That girl comes from the Elemental Countries, doesn't she?" His fellow shinobi questioned. Kenji clenched his jaws, took several deep breaths and stared daggers at the woman. She flinched. "Sorry, Uzushiokagure-sama but that girl was just too experience to be a normal kid that just decided to become a Hero."

"And none of us have seen her in our reunions," another member pointed out. "It is just so easy for us to conclude that she comes from there, but which hidden village does she come—"

"Konohagakure." Several eyes widened and Akira pressed her lips into a thin line. Almond-shaped, violet eyes narrowed at him, questioning him about his knowledge and Kenji straightened his back. He took several steps forward, eying his son who still avoided looking him in the eye. "Eisuke saw the girl with the Toad Sannin."

Silence hung throughout the whole dojo with the only sounds that could be heard were the breaths of several members of his clan. The members of the clan, who lived through the Third Shinobi War, narrowed their eyes and frowned at him. They glanced at each other and his cousin stepped forward, straightening her back and everyone turned to look at her.

"Is it possible that the child is Kushina's child?" She questioned. "Kushina was the only Uzumaki sent to Konoha."

Kenji steadied his arms. "Eisuke will take a piece of her hair and we will compare her DNA with mine."

He shifted his eyes to Tomoyo. Out of all the clansmember in the dojo, his niece was one of the few medics that they had and was also the only one that had access to a lab. She was an intern that could do this without anyone knowing what they were testing for. His niece straightened her back and her hazel eyes glinted with excitement.

"Tomoyo, can you conduct the test?"

The gray-haired woman bobbed her head. "I can have it done during a shift but Eisuke can't forget to bring it."

His son scowled and Kenji shook his head, biting his tongue from reminding his son of how they wouldn't be in this situation if he just recalled the rules.

"Good," Kenji took a deep breath. "Now let us move onto the next order of business. Starting today, every child of the Uzumaki Clan from the age of four onwards will undergo training."

No words were spoken as the members of his clan, both that were born into the clan and those married into the clan, processed what was just said. Eyes began to grew large and it was not long before they jerked their heads at him, looking at him like he grew two heads. He did not smile at them.

"What?"

"Why?"

"Are you insane?"

Kenji walked to the gong, hazel eyes narrowing at them and without a second thought he smashed his fist against the gong. Everyone blinked and closed their mouths but the red-haired man growled at them. "I'm not suggesting that the children undergo this. This is an order and whatever I say, goes."

Asa's eyes eyed the members of the Uzumaki clan and grunted. "Kenji is right. It is time all of you to get your asses whipped into shape because that girl just alerted the Elemental Countries about Japan. If not her then it is my idotic nephew—"

"—I'm the only one that can call my son an idiot!" Kenji swirled his head at his younger brother and the man narrowed his eyes, daring him not to call Eisuke an idiot. His son slumped his shoulders and Kenji grinded his teeth at him.

"I'm not—"

"Eisuke, you broke the law of our clan!" Kenji grunted at his son and several eyes turned to his only son. "You alerted the Elemental Countries that the Uzumaki Clan existed. I thought none of you would question why Yuuei is forbidden, but no you acted like a child and now a whole group of people are going to come here."

His son hunched his shoulders and hang his head. Kenji growled and looked at his wife, who frowned at him. Her green eyes questioned him but he only looked away from her. His hands trembled as several corpses flashed before his eyes. I will be lucky if that smartass don't bring up my mistake.

He spoke too soon.

"Kenji-niisan, I told you that the children should know why you made that law." Asa locked his eyes on Kenji. "Do you honestly believe that those people won't break through the genjutsu? Or through those barrier seals that our ancestors helped to put in place? We are going to be hunted down like pigs again."

Kenji grinded his teeth. "I miscalculated, Asa."

His youngest daughter, Kiko, frowned and she nibbled her bottom lip. "Father, why would they hunt us down?"

The Clan Head took a deep breath and flickered his eyes to his aunt. The woman pressed her lips, tossed him her cane and the man caught it with a single hand. He twirled the cane, pointing at the various characters and shapes that decorated the dojo and the young members of the clan only frowned at him. Only Eisuke and Tomoyo blinked, their eyes widening at his message.

"Because the Hidden Villages of the various Elemental Countries feared our sealing capabilities," he threw the cane back to his aunt and he straightened his back. "This was why Uzushiokagure was destroyed and why they decided to take a sneak attack to our original home. Those people knew we could win the war without any problem—"

"It wasn't just that!" Another member cried out. "They wanted our seal masters and wanted our hiden techniques. Almost every single powerful seal master came from our clan! The only exception was Jiraiya and his student: Minato."

'Kenji-niisan, don't tell Akira-obaachan but I taught Minato some of our sealing techniques.'

Dread crept in his stomach and the blue eyes of that girl Naruto flashed before his eyes, haunting him. It was a possibility but Kenji never knew if Kushina did marry the man. He does not know if that four year long relationship lasted at least another eight more years and ended up with her getting pregnant.

"It will be worse now." Kenji shook his head. "The situation is going to be a lot more worse now."

Tomoyo narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Akira took a step forward and her violet eyes surveyed the various clans members, who stiffened their shoulders and squirmed in their spots. "All of you that have been born to an Uzumaki parent and to a parent that has a Quirk will be considered a gem to them. Wars had been started over Kekkei Genkai and to the Hidden Villages, you are children that they would want to integrate into the village."

Whispers broke out and Kenji leaned forward. His hazel eyes darted at the various members of his clans, his eyes always lingering on the youngest children that were now huddled together. His stomach rolled slightly but Kenji schooled his expression, curled his lips into a scowl and locked eyes on every single one of them.

The time for innocence was gone.

"If they don't try to slaughter us then each one of you might end up becoming a breeding cow," his wife narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head. He scowled while the other Uzumaki's parents nodded. "You might think that your Quirks are special and gifts, but it is celebrated here. You aren't forced to be soldiers. The Elemental Countries is a different story."

"W-What do you mean?" Akane swallowed. "Are you trying to imply something, Father?"

He grunted. "I raised you to be smarter than this, Akane. The shinobi villages would snatch you away and make sure that you become a tool that they can use. Your Quirks would make you weapons of war and if you refuse to comply then they will find ways to make you do what they want."

The only sound that could be heard was the sobs of the young children. His words might have been harsh but Kenji was not like their teachers in schools, who seemed to be a bit of a pushover. He was not All Might, who could foolishly smile and act like his actions was enough to stop them. Kenji was a shinobi and shinobi dealt with cold, hard facts.

"And what about our friends?" Another clansmember asked. "We aren't the only people with Quirks, or Kekkei Genkai. They have them too."

Kenji grinded his teeth together. "They will be hunted down as well and the chances are that there will be more children and adults that are going to be kidnapped. So if you want to protect your loved ones, friends and even your acquittances then go through the training that your parents are going to install. You will also need to keep an eye out for anyone suspicious and report it to either me, your parent or Eisuke."

He prayed for their sake that it would be enough for them to be protected.

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about the first chapter. Please tell me of your first impression of the Uzumaki clan.