Naruto: Shy Fox Chronicles

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Shy Fox Chronicles

Chapter 4: Embers of The Long March

"Mama… why do I have to come to this meeting?" A spiky haired, four-year-old blonde boy asked as he was practically pulled along by Kushina.

"Because I can't leave you home alone for five minutes without you causing trouble, Naruto." Kushina replied.

Looking down at the boy, it amazed her just how four years had gone by. What was once a little joyous baby had turned into a spirited young boy who she could not tell if he had left his terrible twos. Barely up to her knee, the boy was thin even for his age. Despite him being fed quite well if she said so herself. Clad in an orange kimono, it featured fiery red and furnished gold scenes of a great fox and dragon clashing in combat. Underneath that striking outfit, however, was a boy that was not as fiery in public.

"I promise to be good with Grandpa Oda…" Naruto said, giving her puppy dog eyes in a desperate attempt to change her mind.

"I'm sorry, Naruto, but the answer is no. Besides, this will be a good opportunity for you to make some friends your age." Kushina told him sternly.

"Why do I need friends, Mama? I have you, Granny Tsunade, the clan, and papa's old team." Naruto innocently asked.

"Because friends your age will help you come out of that shell you always retreat into in public." Kushina told him with a smile.

"I don't wanna come out of my shell. I wanna be nice and safe inside it like a turtle. And it's cozy." Naruto huffed, puffing his cheeks like a pufferfish in indignance.

Kushina giggled a bit. "Come on, Naruto. Having friends is important for a little boy. That way, you won't have to pull pranks to get attention or keep yourself entertained." She told her son, trying to encourage him to listen to her.

"HELP!! I'm being taken against my will and my way of life is being threatened!!" Naruto screamed in bloody murder, flailing his free arm.

Kushina quickly clamped a hand shut over her son's mouth. "Keep that up, young man, and no Ichiraku's for lunch today." She hissed with a glare.

At that Naruto immediately shut up. However, it did not get his feet moving any more, forcing the Hokage to drag her son along like an ox with a plow. Arriving at the gates to the Uchiha compound, the guards had to hold in a chuckle at the sight. Swiftly ushered inside, Kushina saw Mikoto waiting for them.

"Greetings, Kushina-sama. Hello Naruto-chan." Mikoto greeted her kindly as Naruto hid behind Kushina's leg.

Kushina pouted like her son had earlier. "Mikoto-chan, you know you don't have to be so formal with me. I may be Hokage now, but you're still my best friend." She told her old friend childishly.

"Try telling Fugaku that." Mikoto sighed. "He's been insufferable about proper etiquette for several days now."

Kushina waved off her best friend's words. "Don't worry about what your stick-in-the-mud husband thinks. You and I have been friends since our academy days, so there's no reason to be so formal regardless of my position." She said with a grin.

"It's easy for you to say. You don't sleep in the same bed as him." Mikoto said, rolling her eyes. "Is something wrong with Naruto today?"

Kushina sighed. "No, he's always like this when it comes to meeting people who are either new or unfamiliar to him. Naruto, say hi to your Auntie Mikoto." She said to him with a smile.

Mikoto smiled and got down on her knees to get to his level. "Hello, Naruto. You don't have to be nervous with me. I've known your mother since we just started to learn about being shinobi." She said, giving a warm motherly smile.

"Y… you have…?" Naruto nervously asked, moving out a bit from behind his mama.

"Yes, I have. Would you like a snack?" She asked him.

Naruto perked up a bit. "Can I have some red bean soup…?" he asked tentatively.

The Uchiha housewife smiled at that. "Of course. Only if you come inside though." She answered him.

Looking up at his mama, Naruto perked up a bit when Kushina gave him a smile and nodded. Coming out fully from behind her leg, Naruto looked up at Mikoto and gave a small smile. At that, the three walked inside. To Naruto, this clan compound was not his cup of tea. It was far more austere, cold, and downright gloomy. It reminded him more of a barracks than a home. Then he, while distracted, ran into something hard. Looking up, however, he saw the stern, unyielding face of Uchiha Fugaku.

Hiding back behind his mother's leg, looked out nervously from behind her. "I-I'm sorry…!" He told the Uchiha leader, further unnerved by his stern looking face.

"It is all right, young Naruto. It happens to the best of us." The Uchiha leader answered simply. Little did Naruto know that it was among man's most approachable responses to what happened.

Mikoto smiled at Naruto. "It's okay, Naruto-chan. This is my husband Fugaku." She told the blonde four-year-old.

"Mikoto, please take Naruto. By the looks of things, everyone else has already made it here. Glad to see you're in good spirits today, Fugaku." Kushina said, turning to look at the clan leader after addressing her son.

Fugaku nodded and looked at his wife. "Sasuke is being watched by Itachi. I'm sure he'd like some company his own age." He told Mikoto.

Mikoto giggled a bit. "I'm not so sure. You know how much Sasuke loves his big brother." She replied.

Fugaku rolled his eyes with a small semblance of a smile. "Yes, I know. But friends his own age will do Sasuke some good." He replied.

"Mama said that to me about me not wanting friends…" Naruto grumbled a bit.

"How do you know if you don't try? It's like trying a new type of food." Mikoto said encouragingly.

Naruto looked up at Mikoto. "I don't like new things. Old things are safe. Like mama." he replied, pouting as Kushina tried to keep herself calm.

'And I thought Sasuke was stubborn.' Mikoto thought to herself as she led him into the kitchen to get him food.

"That boy is such a handful." Kushina sighed as Naruto and Mikoto left the scene.

"Children usually are Hokage-sama. As a father of two, I speak from experience." Fugaku replied to the redheaded Kage.

"Is everything ready for the meeting?" Kushina asked him.

"It is. Seishin-san wanted to meet with myself and you first before meeting with the Hyūga clan. That way, we can plan out how to tackle breaking this news to the rest of the higher ups of the village's infrastructure." Fugaku told her with a nod.

Kushina groaned. "Gods, I'm going to hate that meeting… let's get this over with." Kushina said with a deep sigh.

"Agreed. After you, Hokage-sama." Fugaku replied, stepping aside to let her go through the door first when they reached the door to the meeting hall.

Opening the door, Kushina saw many faces among the Uchiha she did not know, but the face of Seishin stood out to her. However, he was not the only Kamishini present there. Unlike Seishin, who had faded light red hair, the woman next to him, being around Kushina and Mikoto's age, had more of a deeper red color. She shared his royal purple eyes but had softer facial features. Not to mention that she had a very elegant but dangerous aura about herself, something Kushina made a note of.

"Greetings, Seishin. I see you brought company today." Kushina said, bowing her head politely.

Seishin nodded. "Indeed, Lady Hokage. This is my daughter Miko, the oldest of my still living children. When I eventually retire, she will be the new head of the Kamishini." He explained, introducing his daughter.

"It is an honor to meet you, Miko-san." Kushina said politely, giving her a small bow of the head.

Miko, from her seat, bowed in prostration for a moment before rising back into a sitting position and giving Kushina a smile. "The honor is all mine, Lady Kushina. Our clan has always had close relations from the shadows with the Uzumaki and Senju, so I hope I can serve you and the village well." She replied, as calm and composed as could be.

"Do not worry about that. I know you all will." Kushina said as she sat down at the head of the meeting hall, and everyone bowed their heads customarily. "Right, this meeting shall begin. Does anyone have anything to bring up before we begin?"

One of the Uchiha elders spoke up. "I do, Lady Hokage. What is the topic of this meeting that makes it important enough to gather the entire upper echelon of the Uchiha clan in one room to tell us about it?" The elder replied.

"The Kamishini have brought something important to my attention. Something that could threaten not just the Hidden Leaf Village, but the safety and security of the entire world." Kushina said gravely.

"Should I be the one to explain this, Hokage-dono?" Seishin asked.

Kushina nodded. "It would be best if you do it, Seishin-san. I may be a master of sealing, but you know more about this particular brand than I do." She replied, giving the floor over to Seishin.

"The world we live in is but one plane. However, there is far more to this universe than just us. Many planes exist, most of which are beyond even my clan's comprehension. A few, relative to the sheer number of them, have connections to our realm. These are the planar gates. Their existence has been known to our clan and our ancestor's for as long as we have been in service to the gods of Heaven and rulers of men. We had sealed them, preventing the occupants of those planes from entering our world in uncontrollable numbers. However, after so many thousands of years, the seals on the gates are failing." Seishin explained, clearly using simple language as to best explain it.

This caused a murmur of chatter amongst the present Uchiha as Fugaku spoke up. "And what lies beyond these gates, Seishin-dono?" He asked the elderly Kamishini.

"Fugaku, we are family. You need not use such formality, even now." Seishin said simply. "As to your question, the occupants of those planes are far too numerous and diverse to speak about anywhere close to comprehensively. Even my clan doesn't know of everything that lurks out there."

Fugaku nodded in understanding. "I see. Based on your clan's vast collective knowledge, what can you confirm is out there beyond those gates?" he asked, having an idea of where this was going.

"I will keep it as simple and concise as I can. Every legend, every monster, everything that lurks and goes bump in the night, is real." Seishin said, causing the room to go stone cold silent.

"That can't be. If that is the case, then why haven't we…?" One of the Uchiha elders began to ask before trailing off as he paled, realizing what Seishin was getting to.

"I apologize that I haven't explained it sooner. However, in our long history, this is the first time we have been under the vassalage of another civilization since the kings of Seaheart over a thousand years ago. We aren't used to having to explain these things to groups outside our clan." Seishin explained regretfully.

Fugaku, hiding how nervous he was, then spoke up. "So, every type of monster, demon, and legend we've heard of over the course of our world's history are what exist beyond those gates…?" he asked, already knowing that he would not like the answer.

"That is only the beginning. Those are all of what lurk and live among us now, with more of their kind beyond that gate. If you will, only what slipped through the cracks. Much more lurks out there, things that we have kept from the eyes of the public." Seishin said, disturbing the shinobi present by lumping them in with the wider civilian population in this context.

"If that is the case, then why the concern? Surely, if they haven't made an appearance before now, the chances that they will any time soon are slim at best." One of the Uchiha clan's elite jōnin asked, confused.

"The seals are weakening due to lack of proper maintenance. Truthfully, we do not have the resources to maintain them to their proper level, and they are constantly hammered at by the forces beyond. Only the potent mystical forces of our elder cousins could fully repair the seals." Seishin explained, the worry beginning to slip through his stern exterior.

This caused a clamor of whispers amongst the present Uchiha before Fugaku held up a hand for silence. "If that is truly the case, what can we expect if even one of those seals were to break?" The Uchiha leader asked, trying to hide his own concerns.

"An uncomfortably high chance, due to the current state of things after the world war, of complete global apocalypse." Seishin said, not mincing his words.

The present Uchiha seemed to be stuck in a strange limbo of sheer disbelief and absolute panic as they whispered amongst themselves. Meanwhile, Fugaku nodded gravely as he took this information in. For those paying attention, they could already practically see the gears in his head turning as he contemplated this.

"What would you recommend is the best course of action?" Kushina asked, surprising everyone with how unfazed and to the point she was.

"First and foremost, our top priority is getting Kamishini and Uzumaki seal masters out there to reinforce the seals. We need the seals to hold for as long as we can accomplish. The second priority is the location of four certain individuals whose existence will be vital should those seals begin to break." Seishin explained to those present once everyone had quieted down.

"Four certain individuals?" Kushina asked, her curiosity peaked.

"Tell me, Lady Hokage and esteemed gathered Uchiha: How much reverence and significance do you place on prophecies?" Miko asked, speaking up for the first time during this explanation.

"What are we now entertaining an idea out of my son's fairy tales?" Kushina asked in a confused manner.

"Trust me, Lady Hokage. This is no mere fairy tale. The seers and the oracles of our clan, blessed and cursed with the gift of prophecy by the gods, have never been wrong. And this particular vision has plagued them for thousands of years, since the fall of our ancient homeland." Miko replied grimly.

"And what does it entail, then?" Kushina asked, raising an eyebrow at this.

"A world set ablaze by the enemies of man and Heaven. A war to end all wars, on a cosmic scale that no mortal could even begin to comprehend. One that, if our side should lose, would spell the end of all of creation…" Miko replied, causing a commotion amongst those present.

"Order!" Kushina roared, silencing everyone. "What is it we need to look for to find these four?"

"Four warriors whose powers will grow to surpass human comprehension. A warrior of golden light, a man with the eye of a god, a shadow of white light, and a man who wields the powers of Susanoo himself." Seishin explained, paraphrasing the prophecy they had told Hiruzen and the village elders.

"I see…" Kushina said as her face contorted into one deep in thought.

"If we are to find these four, then several Uchiha secrets must be brought to light to help put things in perspective." Fugaku announced, causing a clatter among the Uchiha present.

"Surely that isn't truly necessary…" One elder tried to say, before being cut off.

"If the survival of humanity and all of creation is dependent on finding these four, then it is very necessary." Fugaku replied, causing the elder to shrink back with a glare.

"Which secrets?" Kushina asked, raising an eyebrow.

"There is a stone tablet hidden beneath our clan's sacred shrine. The inscription on the stone tablet is one that only someone with the eyes of an Uchiha can decipher. A message passed down by the Sage of the Six Paths himself." Fugaku told the non-Uchiha present.

Kushina raised her eyebrow further. "And what does that tablet say?" She asked.

"It tells how to awaken a power forbidden by our clan: The Mangekyō Sharingan. It also tells that, as the Sharingan evolves, it gets closer and closer to reaching the realm of a certain god. The power of the Rinnegan." Fugaku announced.

At that, the few non-Uchiha in the room were stunned into silence. To all of them, the Rinnegan was a myth, a legend. Yet, in the context of this meeting, and what was being discussed, that fact had long since died. Therefore, it now was a matter of reality. And how to handle that reality.

"We will need as full of a translation of that tablet as you can give us, Fugaku. It may be a clue to tracking down one of the Four Warriors." Seishin told the Uchiha leader.

"So, we are in need of a treasure hunt then. On top of fixing the gates. Throw in a festival and we pretty much have a vacation right there." Kushina said, attempting to make a joke.

Miko nodded. "Indeed. We may already have a clue about the location of one of the Four Warriors. The issue, however, is that the place where he is entombed is guarded by seals and traps the likes of which we have never seen. Obstacles that only a Kamishini with aid from a Hyūga, Uzumaki, and Uchiha can overcome to release him." She added.

"Knowing our luck, he's under that Mountain of Death Minato and Hiruzen warned me about not sending shinobi towards…" Kushina said, which got an awkward silence from the two Kamishini. "You're not seriously saying it's there…"

"Unfortunately, it is. The Mountain of Death is the last known location of Seaheart. They had managed to find and move this warrior's tomb to their vaults deep beneath the mountain but were unable to release him." Seishin explained.

"Of fucking course, it is…" Kushina said as her voice trailed off.

Meanwhile: With Naruto and Mikoto

"Sasuke! I have a surprise for you!" The voice of Mikoto called out through the kitchen doors.

"Mom!" The voice of a little boy called out as he tackle-hugged his mother's leg.

"Easy, Sasuke." She replied with a giggle.

As Sasuke pulled his face from her leg, his dark colored eyes sparkled like gems. His black spiky hair shaked as he ended the hug on his mother's legs. In typical Uchiha drab and spartan fashion, he wore a dark blue and plain kimono.

"What's the surprise, mama?" Sasuke eagerly asked.

With that, Mikoto stepped aside to reveal Naruto. Who flinched and hid back behind her, looking out at Sasuke from behind the woman's leg.

"You found a hobo?" Sasuke asked confusedly.

"Sasuke! Show some respect! This is Naruto. He is the son of my best friend Kushina, our current Hokage." Mikoto chided her youngest before explaining.

"Why is he blonde? And short? And has whiskers?" Sasuke asked confusedly.

"I'm not that short!" Naruto piped up angrily before hiding back behind Mikoto.

"You barely come up to momma's knees. Therefore, you're short." Sasuke huffed.

"Better to be short than have hair that looks like a duck's butt!" Naruto snapped back, stepping out from behind Mikoto.

"That's it! Come and face me, you coward! Today we duel!" Sasuke exploded in anger.

"You'll have to catch me first, Little Duck Butt!" Naruto replied, running out of the kitchen and into the gardens.

"That's it, you little orange coward!" Sasuke yelled as he raced after him.

Mikoto giggled at the sight. "Oh, they remind me so much of Kushina and I at around that age." She thought nostalgically.

Naruto and Sasuke raced through the garden. Barreling through bushes, trampling flowers, climbing up the tree at its center like starved monkeys. Naruto even attempted to get onto the roof but failed due to a mistimed jump. Landing flat on his back, Sasuke used the height of the tree to body slam Naruto, nearly knocking the wind from the poor boy.

"You take back what you said about my hair!" Sasuke growled from atop the Uzumaki.

"Why take back the truth!? You take back what you said about me being short!" Naruto snapped back, trying to throw Sasuke off.

"Fight, fight, fight!!" Several voices yelled from the sidelines, making the two turn to look at where they were coming from.

Before them stood three identical looking boys. The only difference between them was minor differences in their facial features. The three all had light red hair and royal purple eyes, but the slight differences in their faces made it barely possible to tell them apart. The one on the left had slightly stern facial features for a four-year-old, the one on the right had slightly soft facial features, and the one in the center was in between compared to the other two. All three had mischievous smiles on their faces as they watched the tussle between the two boys.

"Great, just what I needed today. Dumb, Dumber, and Dumbest." Sasuke moaned in annoyance.

"Hey! You take that back, Duck Butt!" The three replied in unison.

"Thank you! I'm not the only one who sees it!" Naruto replied from under Sasuke.

"I'll take it back when you three return the toys you stole from me!" Sasuke yelled.

"We didn't steal anything!" The one on the left replied.

"We just borrowed them!" The one in the middle replied.

"It's not our fault you weren't paying attention when we asked!" The one on the right finished.

"Borrowing and not giving back is stealing!" Sasuke yelled indignantly.

"Can you four just act like civilized little boys and not like loud, angry monkeys?" An older voice said from behind them.

Sasuke turned excitedly at the sound of the voice. "Big Brother!" The young Uchiha called out.

Naruto looked up at the boy, well to him man. He was far taller than Sasuke and indeed looked remarkably similar. However, he looked far more like his father, with the kindness of his mother. He looked up in awe at him as the Uchiha spoke.

"Sasuke, Shinkoku, Keikoku, and Seikoku. What did I tell you all about being quiet?" Itachi asked.

"For the last time, Itachi-kun! Call me Kei! I don't like being called 'Keikoku'!" The now identified Kei, the triplet in the middle, snapped out.

"Don't interrupt me." Itachi said firmly, but not meanly.

Kei immediately flinched. "Sorry, Itachi-kun…" He apologized.

"Now then, what did I tell you four?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke, Shinkoku, Kei, and Seikoku all sighed. "No fighting in the gardens…" They all groaned in frustration.

"And I distinctly told you four to be nice to our guest. You five stay right here. You're all going to replant and clean up after your mess." Itachi said, before turning to head to the garden shed.

Naruto turned to look at the other four boys. "Well, since we're all going to be in trouble anyway, wanna go do something fun?" He asked.

"What you got in mind, new kid?" Kei asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The name is Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto. And, as for what I have in mind, have any of you ever pulled a prank before…?" he asked with a small, mischievous grin.

"Mom is gonna kill us for this, guys…" Seikoku groaned. "She said be nice to the Hokage's kid. Now we are really gonna get it…"

"Oh, don't be such a baby, Sei! What's the worst that could happen?" Kei asked his brother.

"I can name a few…" Seikoku sighed.

"Well, if we are going to do it, then let's do it now. Before big brother gets back, preferably." Sasuke said, looking at where his brother had gone to.

"Follow me, men! Onward! To mischief and adventure!" Naruto called out before running off as the other four followed him.

What followed would be described by the Uchiha clan as a plague of Kitsune wreaking havoc on the compound. Naruto, Sasuke, and the triples had placed buckets of water over open doors to fall on top of unsuspecting occupants, rigged tripwires that dropped paint cans on people, rope traps that strung people up by their ankles, and all other kinds of mayhem and chaos. They even painted graffiti on the walls of the compound as the older kids and adults raced after them to catch them, laughing their heads off with joy.

"Okay, new kid! I like your style!" Seikoku chuckled.

"This is the most fun I've had since hide-and-seek with Itachi!" Sasuke called out with a smile, painting graffiti on a wall as he ran past.

"Well done, new guy!" Shinkoku said, smacking Naruto on the back as they went.

"All hail Naruto, King of Pranks!" Kei called out as he smeared paint on the face of an older kid who tried to grab him, getting himself free and running around the older boy.

"May his reign be short and terrible." A familiar, less than enthused voice said from behind them.

All five boys flinched and turned to look to see Itachi. The older boy had a frown on his face and a gleam in his eyes. Gulping, the five boys turned to look at each other as they weighed their options for getting out of this.

"... I'll give you five ryo if you don't tell my mom." Naruto offered in a hopeful tone.

"Sasuke? Do I take bribes?" Itachi asked, looking at his little brother, expecting an answer.

Sasuke sighed and shook his head. "No, big brother. No, you don't…" He confirmed.

"Then there's only one option left." Kei replied before throwing a can of paint on Itachi. "RUN FOR IT, BOYS!"

The five then took off running as Itachi tried to wipe the paint off himself. Once he had wiped the paint off himself, he took off running after the five four-year-old miscreants. Splitting up, the five tried to hide to avoid Itachi, knowing that he could not go after all of them at once. However, to their dismay, Itachi found all of them and tied them up. He then began dragging them back to the garden to clean up their first mess before working on the rest of their reign of terror.

"When you're done fixing up the garden, you can work on apologizing to everyone you pranked and cleaning up everything else." Itachi firmly told them as the five boys worked.

"Worth it…" Naruto mumbled with a grin.

"Yes, it was…" Sasuke agreed with a small smile of his own.

The triplets nodded as the five boys did a group fist bump before getting back to fixing up the garden. Despite the work ahead of them, there was not a single regret in any of their minds. What the boys did not know now was that it was the beginning of bonds of friendship that would follow them going forward. For now, it made for one hell of a day.

To Be Continued…