The Sand Village (Patreon)

Jiraiya walked ahead, the news from Hiroshi weighing heavily on his mind. Naruto followed at a much slower, more relaxed pace.

Having emerged from his deepest gloom, Naruto was even whistling softly as they walked. He had been told about someone named Mangetsu, allegedly a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Their mission here wasn't to capture the shinobi; that would risk exposing their secret, as Naruto was a prime Akatsuki target. No, they were simply here to observe the village where Mangetsu had been sighted.

Jiraiya had heard of him – a shinobi rumored to be capable of wielding all seven swords simultaneously. A far-fetched tale, most likely, because a ninja capable of such a feat wouldn't be discarded by any shinobi village, least of all Mizu.

He heard a yelp and glanced back. Naruto was sprawled on the ground, having most likely slipped on a patch of algae on the forest floor.

Jiraiya smiled and shook his head. No matter how much Naruto improved, he was still as clumsy as the day Jiraiya had met him.

"Stop laughing, Ero-sennin! The stupid forest floor, growing slippery algae when they shouldn't!" Naruto grumbled.

"Sure, this is the fault of the forest and not your clumsy self," Jiraiya sniggered.

Naruto mumbled to himself before brushing dust from his clothes.

Although finding Mangetsu would likely create more problems, Jiraiya knew he had to inform Tsunade. An A-ranked foreign shinobi within the Fire Country was a concerning development.

They reached the hill overlooking the town as the sun began to set. The area looked quite arid. The summer heat showed no signs of abating, and the town's proximity to the Wind Country made Jiraiya uneasy.

He nodded towards Naruto, who began applying makeup to conceal his whisker marks. His hair was already brown from the dye used in the previous town.

They were going incognito; it was their only chance to ascertain the truth behind the rumors.

They climbed down the hill and entered the village. Jiraiya located a suitable tavern and booked rooms for a few nights. Leaving Naruto there, he ventured into the town to investigate the rumors.

Despite the multitude of stars dotting the night sky, Jiraiya felt no respite from the oppressive heat of the town. The temperature in this area made life arduous. The capital regularly dispatched supplies, a common C-rank mission undertaken by Konoha every month. The temperature would finally dip near midnight, soon turning freezing – an anomaly in the typical desert climate, but a unique characteristic of this region.

He surveyed the town's bars, but no useful information surfaced. He then explored the main market district, where everything appeared normal. Hiroshi must have latched onto a fanciful rumor; there were no shinobi around this area, he was reasonably certain of that, at least for the time being.

Upon returning to the inn, he purchased a twin ice pop-sickle from a nearby store to share with his apprentice. He opened the door to his room to find Naruto seated cross-legged, an ink brush in his hand. Ink was slowly dripping onto the paper as Naruto remained engrossed in the journal.

"Hey, ero-sennin. Who's Kushina?" Naruto asked, his expression serious.

Jiraiya tripped slightly before regaining his balance. "Why do you ask?" he inquired, placing the pop-sickle on a nearby table.

"It's mentioned here that she developed a sealing matrix for my father. He says her Uzumaki style was so different from Konoha's style of Fuinjutsu," Naruto replied, holding up the book to show him the passage.

"Kushina was a foremost Fuinjutsu expert of Konoha for a time, a hero of the Fourth War, just like the Yondaime. She used the Fuinjutsu style of the Uzumaki clan," he admitted.

"Uzumaki clan? You mean to say I used to belong to a fancy clan, just like Sasuke-teme or Shika?" Naruto asked in wonder.

"You used to belong; the clan is non-existent now. Haven't you read about them in history books at the academy?" Jiraiya mentally slapped himself. Naruto was not book-smart. He realized the journal in Naruto's hands was likely the only text the boy had ever read with such enthusiasm.

"Nope, do I look like Sakura-chan to you? She's really smart like that, always into those books. That's not my style, you know." Jiraiya nodded as Naruto placed the brush on the already ruined paper.

"The Uzumaki clan was native to the Uzushio islands. They were masters of fuinjutsu and kenjutsu. They had striking red hair and a large chakra pool, the largest of any clan," Jiraiya explained in simple words to ensure Naruto understood.

"What happened to them then?" Naruto asked as Jiraiya broke the pop-sickle in two and handed one piece over.

"During the Second Great Ninja War, Kumo, Iwa, and Kiri joined together to destroy the island nation. The Uzumaki were quite feared, and they were an ally to Konoha. The First Hokage's wife was an Uzumaki," he informed Naruto.

Naruto frowned. "That sounds mean to me. Isn't it cheating to attack three on one?"

"You'll find, Naruto, that the shinobi world is rarely fair. By the way, the style that your father uses, and that you're learning, is derived from the Uzumaki clan itself," Jiraiya said.

"Oh, that's why she gave him a matrix. Ne, Jiraiya-sensei, can you try this seal?" Naruto asked, handing him a seal on paper. Jiraiya looked it over before activating it, and a wave of water flooded the room.

The following week was uneventful as Jiraiya didn't find any evidence of a foreign shinobi in the area. Fortunately, Naruto didn't ask anything else about Kushina, and Jiraiya was out of that issue. The blonde was more focused on the seal that had flooded the room.

Training progressed steadily, and Jiraiya introduced him to a new technique. It was the third day of the week when he separated Naruto from his sealing supplies.

"That's enough of that. Working on those seals is good but not healthy for you to sit for that long," Jiraiya said, dragging him out to a clearing nearby.

"Today, I'll teach you about conjunction techniques with the toads. Summon one of them, preferably Gamakichi. He's going to be a good battle toad in the future and has good chemistry with you," Jiraiya said.

Naruto summoned Gamakichi, and they worked on the principle of two types of combination attacks: Mud Style and Fire Style. The toads of Mount Myoboku were able to use chakra nature, and Water Style and Wind Style were common in the clan.

Jiraiya taught him to use Doton (Earth Style) jutsu, while Gamakichi would mix them with Water Style to turn into a Mud Style. Alternatively, Gamakichi could use Wind Style, and Naruto could provide Fire Style. The second was proving to be impossible as Naruto didn't seem able to produce Fire Style, so Jiraiya had taught him a trick: the Ash Style.

To be more precise, it was a common technique used by Konoha shinobi without fire affinity to use ash instead of fire to produce the same effect.

It had left Naruto with a mouth full of ash and a burnt tongue. He had grumbled and whined before returning to his seals and taijutsu, Needle Jizo still a superior technique in his estimation.

Soon, they had departed the town and journeyed to the River Country, taking a narrow trade route towards Wind Country. The Hidden Sand Village, Sunagakure, wasn't their ultimate destination, however. No, Jiraiya needed to locate his informant in the northern part of the country, a region perilously close to Earth Country, but certain risks had to be taken to acquire the necessary intelligence.

They arrived at the first desert village east of the nation, a place that served as a recreational hub for traders from across the land. The town was reasonably pleasant, save for the extreme daytime heat and the bitter cold that descended at night.

Naruto had discovered a new seal that captivated his attention: the security seals Konoha had employed before Kushina's upgrades. He had also stumbled upon another fascinating seal, one that altered a person's appearance without the need for dyes and makeup.

With swift strokes, he had meticulously copied the appearance-altering seal. Now, he could change his looks on a whim, all thanks to his father's notes and Kushina's ingenuity. The past few days had seen Jiraiya indulging in the local red-light district, while Naruto dedicated himself to mastering the Rasengan. Reducing the clone requirement to just one was a significant step, but his father's journal hinted at forming the spiraling ball of destruction with a single hand.

Driven to emulate his father, Naruto worked tirelessly day and night on perfecting the technique. The week flew by, and it was the day before their planned northward journey when a messenger hawk located them.

"It seems our plan to avoid Sunagakure is jinxed. Tsunade needs us to travel to Suna to pass on the list of participants for the next Chunin Exam."

"Is Sakura-chan on the list, or Kiba, or any of my friends?" he asked, perking up with interest.

"We're not allowed to open it. The information is for the Kazekage's eyes only. We also need to deliver his reply back to her," Jiraiya said with a frown. "That's going to cause some problems. I need to meet Takashi; he says he's got some crucial information regarding Orochimaru."

Jiraiya plopped down, deep in thought. He would have to move at full speed if he wanted to accomplish both missions. But it could also disrupt his other plans. He had intended to travel south, towards the Nanmen Ocean, and a quick trip to Tea Country was essential.

And with the new Kazekage in power, the Suna trip could take up to a week. He glanced at Naruto. The new Kazekage was rumored to be friendly towards Naruto, maybe.

"How long would it take you to travel to Sunagakure at full speed?"

"Depends on the distance. From the border, it would have taken me three days. Maybe two from here," Naruto replied with a shrug.

"Hmm, I think we should separate. You take this scroll to Suna; I will meet Takashi and then pick you up from Suna as quickly as I can," Jiraiya decided.

"Sounds good to me. Just give me a map, marked east, west, north, south, and a compass," Naruto said with conviction.

Jiraiya laughed. Naruto would likely be quite enthusiastic about meeting the Kazekage.

"Okay, we move out tomorrow. Don't cause any international mishap, gaki. I don't need Tsunade breathing down my neck; she is frightening as she is," Jiraiya said.

"Who do you take me for? Yourself? I know how to behave, Ero-sennin. I am not a pervert like you," Naruto said proudly, standing up.

"Super pervert, you mean," Jiraiya corrected.

"Yeah, whatever that is. I am off to bed now," Naruto said, slipping under his covers.

Naruto wiped his sweaty forehead as he looked down at his map. He had taken cover under the shade of a desert cave, having left the town the previous day. He had traveled the whole day and rested during the night, high above the ground.

Jiraiya had explicitly told him not to sleep on the ground. Cold-blooded animals such as snakes and scorpions were attracted to the heat produced by the human body and could easily enter his sleeping bag. So, he had sought shelter in a desert cave and set up a temporary hammock.

He had covered seventy-five percent of the distance. In an hour or so, he would reach Suna, but the afternoon heat had forced him to take refuge in the cave. He would wait for the sun to descend before covering the remaining distance.

He opened his father's journal, flipping to the Ninjutsu section. The Rasengan section was easy to find; there were clear instructions that his father would return to make some changes to improve the technique.

He flipped through the pages and found a section titled "Improvements." It detailed methods to increase or decrease the technique's power by manipulating the size of the spiraling ball. "Odama Rasengan," his father had named the Rasengan with increased power. There was also a Super Odama Rasengan, clearly developed by his father, but the note beside it read: "For Kushina, her over-large chakra reserve could handle it."

Naruto frowned. His father was clearly close to this Kushina, yet he had never met such a lady, nor even heard about her. He vaguely recalled reading that name somewhere, but couldn't place where.

Was she his mother? But that couldn't be right. Jiraiya wouldn't withhold such crucial information, would he? He shook his head; all this pondering was giving him a headache.

He glanced outside to see the sunlight fading into dusk. Nodding, he placed his journal back into his utility belt, packed his belongings, and set off

The Village gates loomed in the distance, Sunagakure was like its name dry and sandy. The air was hot, and Naruto knew he would have to shampoo a few times to clear the sand out of his blond locks.

The gate guards halted his momentum, "Indetification and reason for visit," They asked.

"Naruto handed his Shinobi ID card, and the short offical missive from Baa-chan. Trying to look over the gate guards, to see if he recognised someone here.

"Uzumaki Naruto, Genin from Konoha. Here on the mission to deliver message to Kazekage-sama regarding upcoming chunin exams." They listed off.

Naruto nodded in confirmation.

"You'll be escorted to Kazekage tower, three anbu will guard you and Don't try to roam around the village, alone." Three Anbu appeared in sand shunshin.

He was escorted to the Kazekage Tower via the main street. The rows of houses lining either side were predominantly constructed from sand or mud; Naruto couldn't tell. The Anbu guards were just as rigid as those he encountered in the Leaf Village, though the village itself felt distinctly different from Konoha.

It seemed the Kazekage was trying to improve the overall condition of the village.

He soon reached the tower, a kettle-like structure with the kanji for wind on top. A smiling receptionist welcomed him into a lavish waiting room.

"Naruto, isn't it?" a voice asked. He looked up at a tall girl with four blonde ponytails, dressed in a purple kimono with a battle fan strapped to her back.

"Huh, yeah. You're Gaara's sister," Naruto said, narrowing his eyes, honestly not remembering her name.

Temari eyed him, wondering if he was being deliberately rude but dismissed it. She remembered Naruto as loud, brash, and not subtle enough for snide remarks.

"Yeah. So, you're the diplomat Konoha sent for the Chunin Exams? Surprising," she said.

"Honestly, Ero-sennin got the mission, but he'll be late, so he sent me for now."

"Ero-sennin?" Temari asked, a bit amused.

"I mean Jiraiya-sensei," Naruto grimaced.

'A replacement, hmmm. Interesting,' Temari thought. "Worry not, Kazekage-sama will be free soon; you'll be called in."

"Hope so, I am hungry. The faster I am done with this, the early i'll get to eat." Naruto replied with a smile.

Before Temari could reply, the receptionist returned. "Kazekage-sama is ready to see you, Uzumaki-san."

Naruto followed her to the first floor. The door to the Kazekage's chamber opened, revealing Gaara standing behind the desk in a white cloak, his familiar dark red hair unmistakable.

"Oh, hey, Gaara! It's really nice to see you. How are you doing?" Naruto asked enthusiastically.

"I am doing fine, Naruto. It's a surprise to see you here. I didn't think you were the diplomatic type," Gaara replied neutrally, though a fleeting spark of happiness flickered in his eyes.

"You know me well, Gaara. Ero-sennin dumped this mission on me, and now I have to meet some lousy gramps, the Kage of your village, you know." he said walking toward gaara.

"I don't think I am that old, Naruto," Gaara replied, the slight tilt of his head the only indication of his confusion.

"I'm not talking about you, Gaara. I was talking about the Kazekage," Naruto said with a laugh.

"And I am telling you that I am not old. I may be Kazekage, but not old," Gaara stated neutrally.

"Wha... You? But... I mean, I thought the Kazekage would be some awesome strong ninja of your village," Naruto said in shock.

"Do you think me weak, Naruto?" Gaara asked.

"No, of course not! You're awesome! I just thought... okay, leave it. I'm happy for you, Gaara," Naruto said, shaking his hand.

"Thanks, Naruto. Please take a seat,"

Naruto sat down, but his shoulders slumped. "Oh man, I lost the bet with you. You're barely older than me, and you're already the Kage of your village, while I'm still training."

"Don't look at it that way, Naruto. I would gladly give up this seat if Suna were as prosperous as Konoha, but sadly, this responsibility falls to me. I will ensure Suna flourishes just like Konoha, and then I'll retire," Gaara said.

"You shouldn't, you know. Suna will benefit from a long reign of an excellent leader like you," Naruto said, recalling his father's journal entries praising the Third Hokage's long tenure. A long reign by a capable leader would only benefit the village.

Gaara nodded as he opened the scroll Naruto had handed him. He pressed a button under the desk, and an assistant entered. "Copy down the names of these genin and their jonin, and add them to this year's Chunin Exam candidate list."

The assistant nodded, took the scroll, and quickly completed the task. It seemed Konoha was only sending four teams to the exam.

"Are you going to stay or leave?" Gaara asked.

"I'll stay. Jiraiya-sensei told me to wait here until he comes, and then we'll move toward Tea Country."

"You previously named Jiraiya too. Are you talking about Jiraiya of the Sannin?" a voice asked. He turned to see Temari standing there.

"Yeah, he's my master, you know," Naruto replied, rubbing the back of his head.

Temari's eyebrow rose. "Really? You're learning under the Toad Sage, Jiraiya?"

"No need to be surprised. He's not that big of a deal – a lousy pervert, he is," Naruto said, and Temari shook her head in amazement.

"I am happy to hear that you'll stay. You'll stay with me. I have the Kazekage Mansion; it's pretty empty. You can take one of the rooms," Gaara said.

"Gaara, you can't do that. The Kazekage Mansion is reserved for the Kage. There are inns that Naruto could stay in," Temari said, trying to make Gaara see sense.

"No, he wouldn't. Naruto is my friend; he'll stay with me," Gaara said firmly.

"Hey, no need to bicker over me. I'll stay in an inn, Gaara. I've lived in them throughout the trip."

"No, you wouldn't. You're my friend and a diplomatic guest. I can't leave you to fend for yourself. I have a lot of free rooms; you'll take one of them."

"The council will not like that. I think Kankuro and I should also move in for the time being; that way, the issue of security will be solved," Temari suggested.

Gaara eyed her for a moment before nodding. "Escort him through the village and then to the mansion. He said he's hungry; you know all the good food around the village. I will add this as a C-rank mission and pay you."

Temari nodded as she lead Naruto out of the room, leaving Gaara to his paper work.

"I still can't believe you've never heard of ramen; it's the food of Gods! Next time you come to Konoha, and I'm there, I'm treating you at Ichiraku!" Naruto declared to Temari, who chuckled at his enthusiasm.

"Sure, Naruto. We'll see about that," Temari replied, amusement dancing in her eyes.

"I am still confused as to why we have to move to the Kazekage Mansion. Gaara can take care of himself. It's not like Uzumaki is going to harm him," Kankuro grumbled, trailing behind them.

"The council is already furious with Gaara for limiting their power. They won't like a Konoha shinobi staying with our Kazekage without any security," Temari explained.

"You're saying it as if it's Konoha who broke the truce! It was that snake, Orochimaru, who impersonated Father and did this!" Kankuro retorted, his voice laced with frustration.

Temari sighed. "Those old coots wouldn't see it like that, and you know it, Kankuro," she said wearily.

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," he grumbled in response.

They reached the Kazekage Mansion amidst their argument. Naruto had offered to seal their important belongings into storage scrolls for the temporary move to the Kazekage's residence.

"Neither do I, brother," Temari said as they entered the mansion.

"Gaara's room is on the first floor. I will take the room beside his, and you'll take the room between mine and Kankuro's," Temari instructed, and Naruto nodded in agreement.

They moved in quite easily thanks to Naruto's storage scroll, and Gaara returned that evening to the enticing aroma of a tasty dinner. They joked and conversed, sharing a bottle of cactus wine, a local drink enjoyed in Sunagakure and throughout the Wind Country.

Naruto slept soundly that night, feeling refreshed after an hour-long bath and secure in the knowledge that no venomous reptiles would be slithering into his covers.

The next day saw Gaara return to his office, attempting to conquer the mountain of paperwork his position demanded. Kankuro also departed early for the Puppetry Department of Sunagakure, leaving Temari and Naruto alone in the mansion.

"Man, it's boring. Don't you have a scheduled training ground where I could practice my taijutsu and stuff?" Naruto asked as Temari entered the living room.

"We do have them. Come, I'll lead you to one," Temari said, guiding him out of the mansion. After nearly half an hour of walking through the winding paths of Sunagakure, they reached a training ground. Dusty and sandy like the rest of the village, it was evident that this ground was one of the oldest the village possessed.

It didn't look rundown, but it was clear nobody visited it regularly. Nodding to himself, Naruto moved toward a training pole and took his stance. Soon, he was unleashing punches and kicks in rapid succession, the already battered practice pole groaning in protest.

Temari winced, amazed by Naruto's evident improvements. She was accustomed to his loud, brash, and somewhat uncouth demeanor, and even during the Chunin Exams, she hadn't thought much of his abilities. But watching him train now, relentlessly striking the battered pole to the point where she thought one more kick would surely send it crashing down, broken, she was genuinely impressed.

It seemed his training under the Toad Sage had truly refined him, both mentally and physically. He had momentarily ceased his assault on the poor training pole and was now intently focused on a leaf exercise. Where he had even procured the leaf, she honestly couldn't say.

He was attempting to direct his chakra in a specific manner, a practice that felt eerily familiar to her. She hadn't known that Konoha shinobi possessed wind affinity. Fire was prevalent in the Land of Fire, and even Earth Style was common, but Wind Style was a rarity there. Yet, it was the specialty of her village, her own specialty, making her intensely curious.

Her curiosity outweighed her caution regarding a foreign shinobi. She moved closer to observe his leaf exercise and immediately identified a fundamental flaw. It was an issue she addressed daily in her lectures to the graduating class of the Sunagakure Academy.

"You are doing it wrong?" she said, startling him, and the leaf fell to the ground.

"Oh, you're still here. Sorry, I just thought you were gone," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head. "What am I doing wrong, by the way?"

"You're flowing the chakra too rigidly. It's good for Earth Style, but Wind Style needs a continuous flow of chakra. It should flow like water, or wind, winding around the chakra pathways without restraint," Temari explained with slight gestures of her hands.

"Pathways? What?" It seemed his father was naturally gifted with Wind Release, making it difficult for him to explain it like Fuinjutsu or other types of Ninjutsu.

He had tried the leaf training exercise but hadn't succeeded. Jiraiya had already barred him from trying to perfect his Rasengan in the Sand Village, so his next best option was the leaf exercise.

Temari sighed. It seemed the blonde still needed simplified words to understand. "Your body... the chakra should flow like wind through your body to the leaf and back to your body. When done correctly, it will dissect the leaf into two."

"Hmm, thanks for the idea," Naruto said returning back to his practice.

It took him two days, but Naruto finally grasped how to handle Wind Chakra. It was dangerous, though; he now understood why Wind Chakra was considered the toughest to control and nearly impossible to master—even his father had noted as much.

He enjoyed the hospitality of the Sand Village, even if the climate wasn't to his liking. He laughed as Gaara tried his best to capture him in sand, Naruto proving fast enough to outrun it without his restriction seal.

Naruto ducked as a volley of sand whizzed past him. This training spar had been Gaara's idea, a way for him to unwind after a tiring day at work. And Naruto wasn't one to refuse; after all this time, the redhead wasn't even trying to kill him.

"Stand still, Naruto," Gaara gritted out.

"Wouldn't you want that?" Naruto taunted with a smirk.

"I don't remember you being this fast," Gaara replied, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Yeah, it's something I'm getting used to," Naruto admitted as he threw a volley of kunai his way.

Temari observed them. A few years back, these two were at each other's throats, and now here they were, sparring and holding a conversation like old friends. She also noticed the improvement in their skill levels. Where Gaara was previously dependent solely on sand, he was now incorporating Taijutsu and occasional Fūton jutsu.

Naruto Uzumaki, on the other hand, was quick, very quick. She reckoned he could easily outmatch a low-level Jonin. His accuracy was commendable, and the occasional Doton jutsu he threw back were powerful.

There were a few non-elemental jutsu to distract Gaara, but they were rare. The most astounding one had been Needle Jizo.

Gaara had avoided the blonde hair projectiles, but he knew it was primarily due to his sand. He also knew from experience that they weren't going all out; they didn't want to level an entire section of the village. Jinchuriki could easily do that without breaking a sweat.

"They've been going at it for hours, don't they tire out?" Kankuro asked.

"Jinchuriki are stamina freaks. They can battle for days on end. And they aren't even using their damn tailed beasts," Temari said, sounding as if she was beyond being surprised by the antics Gaara pulled.

It was after three hours that they finally called off the spar, ending in a tie. Naruto eyed Gaara appreciatively. "You know, nowadays even Jiraiya-sensei struggles to match my stamina. You're the only one that can match mine, although he doesn't let me drag it out. He finishes it off with powerful jutsu combos."

"Well, it's due to Jiraiya-san that I can do this. After my capture at your hand, he used a seal to improve the control I had on Shukaku, or gave me control more like," Gaara replied. Temari didn't think it was wise to share something like that, though it wasn't like Naruto could understand something as complex as Fuinjutsu.

"Oh, he did? Can I see it? I just want to check what components he added to stabilize it?" Naruto said, surprising the three Sand siblings.

"Come on, Uzumaki. Stop bullshitting. I get that you've improved under his tutelage, but you can't be telling me that you understand Fuinjutsu," Temari scoffed.

"Hey, stop belittling me! I do understand Fuinjutsu! I get I'm not the sharpest arrow in the quiver, but that doesn't mean you can be rude to me," Naruto huffed.

"Temari, apologize to him. You were really rude there," Gaara told her upfront.

"I am sorry, Naruto. It just seemed unlike you to sit and learn Fuinjutsu; it's one of the most complex ninja arts out there," Temari said, raising her hand in surrender.

"Yeah, I get it. I still want to see that seal, Gaara," Naruto said, focusing on the redhead.

It wasn't until they were back under the security of the Kazekage Mansion that Naruto finally saw the seal. It looked somewhat familiar; he'd seen an incomplete formula of it in his own journal. That night, he sat in his room, journal in hand, searching through its pages.

There it was: a seal based on a simpler Uzumaki containment seal, improvised by Kushina. He frowned, noticing a tiny scrawl at the bottom of the page, the handwriting not matching his father's. It directed him to a different page, which he quickly found.

'A seal developed by me and improved by Kushina, as she is the master of Uzumaki style of fuinjutsu, no surprise there...' Naruto took out his brush and began to copy the seal. His strokes were steady as he meticulously reproduced the complex design. Then, he separated the components, and what he discovered amazed him.

The Uzumaki clan was truly terrifying if his ancestors could construct such intricate seals. He looked back and found a few modifications. He recognized the one used on Gaara; to a normal person, they wouldn't look much different, but he could clearly see where the containment function had been altered for separation. He gulped nervously.

"This seal is developed by Kushina. Considering her condition, I let her work it out of her system; after all, it was her legacy. I am still amazed at how much she loves the art of her people."

'Her people?' Surely not. His father was just being overly smart, like he did whenever he wrote about something he liked and excelled at. He couldn't mean what Naruto was thinking. He would have at least found a record when he tried to learn about the Uzumaki in his second year at the Academy.

Naruto took a deep breath, then revised the seal. There was something different about the style Kushina used; it was easier to follow and understand. Something uneasy settled in his gut. Maybe he was overthinking.

He flipped through pages until he found another with handwriting he recognized as Kushina's. It was also about a seal. This time, he read the words carefully; no mention of her heritage or anything. He closed the book, pulled up the covers, and decided he'd ask Jiraiya.

The old pervert more often than not skirted around the topic of his parentage. Naruto frowned; all this thinking wasn't giving him answers, just a headache.

The next morning found Naruto in the training ground, practicing his taijutsu kata on a wooden pole. This time, it was Temari who offered to spar with him.

"The shinobi around here are too afraid of Gaara to give me a good fight. They think a scratch from them would anger Gaara. With you, that's not the case," she stated.

Naruto nodded with a smirk. "So what are the rules?"

"No maiming or fatal blows. Also, please don't destroy this training ground."

"With me, you don't have to worry about that," he boasted.

"I highly doubt that you can't do that; fighting Gaara to a standstill is a much bigger feat," Temari countered, and with that, she rushed forward.

Naruto ducked under her hook, pushing a right jab toward her ribs. She leaned back, but he followed with a left elbow, pushing his legs into her guard. Temari grabbed his elbow, and flipping it, she went for an arm-breaker. However, Naruto used his strength to shove her back.

She wasn't one to go down so easily, though, and pulled him with her, using her legs to push him off. Before he could recover, she launched a high kick that connected with his jaw. He leaned back to avoid a second kick. The grab was smooth, but Temari used it as leverage to deliver a back kick to his head.

He rubbed his head. She was good. He had to give her that.

He let her move into his guard before striking out with another jab. She swayed to the right, but didn't see the sweep coming. Her back hit the ground, but she kicked her leg to roll back, trying to move out of his striking range. Unlucky for her, he was expecting that and threw himself forward.

The taijutsu bout went for another ten minutes before Temari, frustrated, fired the first wind jutsu. He jumped over the wind ball and slammed his palms hard on the ground. The earth rose like a wave, unbalancing her. She plunged a kunai deep into the ground to get some grip, but as she looked up, he wasn't there.

She tried to jump, remembering him using the Headhunter Jutsu in his spar with Gaara, but her legs were stuck. A hand pushed out of the ground to pull her in, but her quick thinking saved her as a log was buried in her place.

"You're good, but not enough to outsmart me," she said proudly.

"Oh, is that so?" A voice said from behind her. She rotated on her heels, the kunai still in her hands. She tried to plunge it into his abdomen, but he went into a puff of smoke.

Of course, how could she forget his annoying solid clone jutsu?

"Look down, princess." She was about to retort before her mind finally registered the sealing paper stuck on her leg.

Before she could do anything, the seal paralyzed her. "It's not fun to fight a fuinjutsu user, is it?"

She snarled at him, her face still working perfectly.

"I yield."

"Good for you, Sand princess."

Naruto sat on a wooden bench across from the training ground, meticulously inspecting a piece of paper. "Looking over it like it's your lost lover wouldn't translate it," a familiar voice quipped.

He looked up to see Jiraiya, who regarded him with amusement. "You're a day late. By your own calculation, you should have been here yesterday."

"Don't be gloomy, gaki. I wasn't just researching for your information. I found a clue about Sasuke's whereabouts and went to investigate," Jiraiya replied.

"And? Did you find something?" Naruto asked, looking back down at the seal with a frown, unconsciously drawing a curved line where it didn't belong.

Naruto looked up in alarm, but Jiraiya was gone. A moment later, Naruto himself was on the other side of the ground, thanks to practicing sealess shunshin.

The bench he had been sitting on exploded.

"This is the third one you've sacrificed to your seals, Uzumaki," Temari said, appearing from seemingly nowhere.

"I'm sorry, it was just Ero-sennin distracting me," he said automatically.

"Stop blaming this on me, gaki!" Jiraiya said, appearing beside him.

"You did distract me! I was just trying to get it to work," Naruto retorted with a petulant glare.

"You're more destructive than my previous apprentice, although you have the same flair for fuinjutsu," Jiraiya said offhandedly.

"Now, did you finish the mission Tsunade gave us?" Jiraiya asked.

"The mission she gave to you, and yes, I did," Naruto replied with a smirk.

"Good. I'm late, so we need to move. We'll have to head south and then to Tea Country," Jiraiya stated.

"Today? It's afternoon already. We could move tomorrow morning," Naruto proposed.

"And face the full brunt of the desert sun? Not happening, gaki," Jiraiya shook his head. "Say your goodbyes. We'll move out as soon as the sun goes down. We'll travel through the night and rest in the next town; that way, we'll reach the border by the third day."

It took Naruto an hour to gather his supplies, say goodbye to Gaara and his siblings, and purchase some cactus wine, as he'd developed a fondness for the drink. Perhaps he'd even send a barrel to Baa-chan; she did enjoy liquor.

With promises of revisiting Suna again in the near future, the teacher and student departed from Suna that evening. They traveled for four hours before stopping for dinner and rest. Jiraiya had stated they would be traveling through the night, but this respite also gave Naruto the opportunity to ask the questions he was desperate to get answers to.

Jiraiya settled down with a roasted meat on a stick, and Naruto sat across from him.

Naruto looked up at his master, "Was Kushina an Uzumaki?"

Jiraiya stilled, gulping down the bite he had taken, and looked up at him. "Why do you ask?"

"I looked through the journal. My father hinted at something. I just want to know if she is somehow related to me," he replied quickly.

Jiraiya sighed. "Yes, Kushina was an Uzumaki. She traveled to Konoha from her home village of Uzushio."

Naruto frowned. "Then why couldn't I find anything about her? I went through the archives during my academy years. There was no mention of her."

Jiraiya ate his fill before tossing aside the empty stick. "Kushina Uzumaki was one of the war heroes of the Third Great Ninja War. She was also the head of the village barrier system."

"That still doesn't explain why I didn't find anything about her. The Yondaime was also a hero of the Third War, but you can find pretty much anything about him. Why this secrecy surrounding Kushina?" Naruto pressed.

Jiraiya rubbed his forehead. Hiruzen-sensei should be having this conversation with Naruto, not him. After all, it was his master who messed up. Jiraiya had been all for revealing Naruto's parentage after his graduation, but Hiruzen-sensei had held back. He was adamant that Naruto would be in danger if his parentage was revealed, and at the time, that decision seemed valid. But now, that choice was coming back to bite him, not Sensei—he was dead after all.

"Kushina was brought from Uzushio with a purpose. You know about your tenant, right?" Naruto nodded.

"The Kyubi can only be sealed in an Uzumaki, or that's what we derived, as all the containers of the fox had been Uzumaki until now," Jiraiya explained. "The first container was Mito Uzumaki, and then Kushina was brought in to serve as a container."

Naruto was shocked by the revelations. "Kushina was a container, just like me? And she was brought from her home to seal the Kyubi into? That sounds immoral and wrong!"

Jiraiya sighed. "See, Konoha didn't have an Uzumaki population. The children of Mito Uzumaki and Hashirama Senju were more Senju than Uzumaki, and the Kyubi was a buffer to stop war."

"But it clearly didn't work! There were two wars while Konoha had the Kyubi!" Naruto retorted heatedly, hurt that a member of his clan was used like a spare scroll to seal the Kyubi.

"I get that, but it wasn't in my hands. The upper echelons of the village, and even Sarutobi-sensei, supported this. We didn't have an Uzumaki, so one was brought in," Jiraiya replied, his usual jolly nature absent.

Naruto shook his head. He'd always thought his Jiji was the wisest person he'd ever met, but clearly not. "What happened to Kushina after the war?"

"She died fighting the Kyubi. Somehow, someone used her weakened state to extract the Kyubi out of her," Jiraiya said remorsefully. "She tried to seal it back, but in most cases, the host dies as soon as the Bijuu is extracted from them."

"But she lived and fought the beast, right?" Naruto asked, his voice low.

"Yeah, but she perished in the fight. There's a memorial of the Kyubi attack in one of the grounds. You can go and pay your respects once we return to the village." Naruto nodded, no longer in the mood to ask more.

It took them only ten minutes to pack their belongings and move out again. The night proved beneficial for their journey; they barely felt the heat and reached a southern town to rest for the day.

Due to the blistering heat, Naruto was unable to practice, even after waking by three in the afternoon. Jiraiya headed into town to seek out some entertainment, while Naruto returned to his Rasengan studies. Even if he couldn't physically practice, he could at least delve deeper into the theory.

His lessons with Shima had significantly improved his vocabulary and grammar, allowing him to understand most, if not all, of the words. He diligently noted down the methods for increasing his chakra output within the Rasengan and for using the Odama Rasengan.

They left the town in the evening, traveling southeast. By morning, they had reached the coastal area of Suna. The remainder of their journey would be by waterways. They planned to reach the main port city of the Wind Country before departing for the Tea Country.

"It doesn't seem like the sea likes you, gaki," Jiraiya chuckled as Naruto emptied his stomach over the side of the boat.

"I hate traveling by boats; they sway, and that just disturbs something inside me," Naruto groaned. Jiraiya himself was perched on the railing, or more accurately, stuck to it through chakra.

"It happens, you'll get used to it. We've at least two days until we reach the main port, and from there, another three days to reach the eastern coast of Tea Country," Jiraiya explained.

"Can't we just run on water? We're shinobi, after all. It would be faster and easier on my gut," Naruto pleaded.

"This isn't a lake, gaki. The sea is vast, and there are a lot of unfriendly creatures in these waters," Jiraiya replied, and Naruto nodded, accepting the reality.

The two days on the first boat were pure hell for Naruto. He found the sea-sickness irritating and exhausting. They finally reached the main port and, much to Naruto's relief, found a ship bound for Tea Country with much better accommodation than the trading vessel they had previously endured.

Their next destination: Tea country.

Disclaimer- All Rights reserved to Kishimoto.