Wandering Shinobi

1

"Kurama are you certain you aren't a chakra ball of energy anymore?" 

Kurama sighed as he rolled his eyes. "I have organs you idiot, they function. It doesn't take a genius to realize that I'm no longer chakra, this world has changed me into an actual animal." 

Naruto leaned against the tree with a contemplative look. "If that's the case then what do we do now?" 

"You aren't even questioning your new look?" 

Naruto leaned over to see his reflection in the clear river water. Several thick locks of crimson hair fell over his shoulders and the tips dropped into the water. He still had his whiskers, and his deep tan but his eyes had darkened considerably, a purple tint could be seen. "I suppose this world has reskinned me to be like my fallen Uzumaki. It's much easier to slip into society without explaining why I appear to be related to my father." 

"As an Uzumaki, you could say that you were one of the ones that managed to escape the tragedy at the Land Of Whirlpools," Kurama murmured. 

"True, I have no clue of my father's parentage other than he was an orphan. If I show up bearing the same features he'll have questions, uncomfortable ones that the likes of me can't answer," Naruto sighed as he pulled back from his reflection. 

"Should we get going?" 

Naruto unsealed a scroll that contained essentials. "Let me clean up for a moment, we also need to wash and brush your fur. No friend of mine will be wandering around like that." 

Kurama huffed slightly but didn't shy away from bathing with Naruto in the rushing river. After getting cleaned up Naruto got dressed in black ANBU pants with an orange shinobi pouch and a black sleeveless shirt with an orange Uzumaki swirl at his right pectoral. He allowed his still-damp hair to fall down his shoulders, settling at his mid-back. He pulled on his long fingerless gloves that stopped at his elbows as he inserted the metal plate that held the Uzumaki clan symbols before sliding on shinobi sandals to complete the look. 

"I think I'm ready, just need to forge some documents," Naruto mumbled as he unsealed some materials to forge his identity. 

"It's weird how good you are at this, faking your identity," Kurama eyed him with a small smirk. 

"I was an infiltration ninja, I would find it insulting if I wasn't good at these meager things," Naruto set the various identification papers down to dry before leaning his head on his hand. "How should I establish my reputation?" 

"Bounty hunting of course," Kurama chuckled darkly. "We need money to set up a life when we reach there." 

"We can hunt the Akatsuki then, well the people they were before they entered the organization. They had impressive bounties if I remembered correctly," Naruto smiled softly. "A nice payday is incoming." 

"No apprehensions with killing?" 

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "You're joking right, I've killed thousands during the war, beings far more powerful than these people, judging from the point in time that we've landed they would not have reached their peak as when we encountered them." 

"That would be the case yes, it should be a cakewalk for the likes of you." 

"How insulting and you call yourself my best friend," Naruto laughed as he piled Kurama into his arms for a hug. "I can finally hug you without being burned by corrosive chakra." 

Kurama had opened his mouth to protest the new affection but he closed it when he too could feel the warmth from his closest companion. He adored Naruto as his jailer and friend and maybe he could even call him a son if they gave it more time. "You're too much of a sap Naruto." 

"Just appease me once in a while Kurama." 

***********

"An Uzumaki?" Kushina was left struck in shock as she gazed at the Bingo book. There was a new update that added Narui Uzumaki. A bounty hunter who goes for S-class Rogue Shinobi. He's been making a splash after popping up from nowhere. His picture was of him in a low stance, a tanto blade between his teeth and a wild look in his eyes as blood was splattered on his cheek. 

"Yes, seems he's been making quite the name," Shikaku murmured as he took in the profiles of the shinobi Naruto had dispatched. "Kushina do you recognize him?" 

"No I don't," She murmured. "But he is of the main branch, that much is obvious." 

This shocked the ones gathered in the room who looked at her for answers. 

"How can you tell?" Hiruzen smiled at her. 

"His arm?" Minato looked at the arms in the photo. 

"Yes," Kushina pointed to the scarred pattern on Naruto's shoulder. "Uzumaki Main Branch members from birth are branded with these scars as a way to set them apart from the others but the scarring is actually a seal to store a reserve of chakra equivalent to the bearer as a way to prolong the battle should they run out from chakra."

Minato's eyes widened that there was such a seal. It was certainly fascinating, he would want to see if he could pick apart such a seal but Kushina kept talking. 

"It also acts as a preserve for their youth, it slows aging so that Uzumaki can keep their peak physical bodies longer as they age. You saw how active Mito was despite how old she was right, it was because she was a part of the main branch."

"And this boy is?" Inoichi stared at the picture and Kushina smiled. 

"I'm positive, he's a pure Uzumaki. From the Main bloodline, a royal member survived the tragedy," Kushina was in awe. "But why did you call us here?" 

"To go on a mission of course," Hiruzen pulled out a scroll. "I want to invite him to Konoha, just like with Kushina here." 

"If he's from the main branch then he knows for sure that Konoha would open their gates. He purposely avoided coming here," Shikaku sighed. "For what reason would that be we don't know." 

"I don't believe it was on purpose," Chouza murmured. "Imagine fleeing that night to the mainland. Anywhere you ended up would be a new safe haven. He probably stumbled into a civilian village since he bears no other village marks but his own that had fallen." 

"That would explain the lack of village but the skills?" 

"Oh that's easy," Kushina waved him off. "Uzumaki children have been training as soon as they could crawl and I mean that literally. With our large reserves, we start chakra control the moment we start moving on our own. We were invaded on the cusp of me turning fourteen, at that time he would have probably been a Jounin by Uzu standards." 

"But with no way to confirm I guess we should go ahead and seek him out," Inoichi folded his arms. 

"Jiraiya has been keeping tabs on him through his network, this scroll is the information on his latest whereabouts. Approach with peace in mind, I do not wish to make an enemy of Konoha."