The Goddess of Hunter

Two years later…

"Your right side is open." Itachi called as he swiftly brought the wooden sword in his hand down in an arc and knocked the jet black blade in Naruko's hand away. Recognising the loss, the little girl who had wielded the black blade fell to her knees in exhaustion, panting heavily.

"Good work, you've covered most of the holes in your defense that were present before, just need to keep working on it so you can stick to it on instinct, we can't have you going out of stance mid fight simply because of panic and exhaustion." He said, earning a weak nod from the girl. His light smile grew slightly when he saw the determination in Naruko's eyes.

Itachi had taken to himself to train Naruko in the ways of the sword. Though he wasn't a master in Kenjutsu, he certainly wasn't inexperienced either. They had managed to figure out that Naruko couldn't wield any other sword-type weapon other than the strange jet black sword with red markings that she had 'created', literally COULDN'T, as in any attempts to try would be met with the black blade materializing and replacing any weapons she held, including wooden practice swords. Because of this, they had taken to developing a new style she could effectively use in combat with the sword as no other sword they had seen in the elemental nations even remotely resembled it, meaning that existing styles were ineffective.

And so they were back to the basics— endless spars to identify how to go about using the sword, offensive? defensive? passive? aggressive? As time passed, many questions were answered, and they found that due to the weight of the blade being adjustable at will by the Naruko, its offensive capabilities were extremely high, not mentioning the natural sharpness of the black blade itself, which proved to be able to cut almost anything like butter.

There was a legend on the elemental nations that told of a sealmaster who specialised in Kenjutsu. Utilising weight seals, the man would change the weight of his blade repeatedly during battles depending on the situation. When defending, he would lower the weight for faster parries and counters. On the offensive, he would increase the weight of the sword by tenfold moments before swinging, increasing the overall strength in each attack.

The issue was that no sealmaster in the present day could replicate the feat as the art of weight seals were lost and gravity seals had extremely slow reaction time and couldn't be used effectively in combat. Naruko however, could change the weight of the blade by simply thinking about it, no seals involved—meaning that weight shifts were almost instantaneous.

Implementing the strange fighting style however, was another story. At first, even changing the weight for small moments at a time caused her to lose her balance, leaving herself wide open. Though she managed to get a hang of it easily thanks to Kurama's influence, It didn't mean that she could utilize it to its full potential without many more years of experience.

Speaking of Kurama, a major boost after the merge would be the fact that Kurama was also in control of the body. Naruko would usually do most of the work, dodging and swinging whilst the tailed beast would adjust each swing slightly to perfect the accuracy and precision mid-swing, whilst also keeping track of the footwork and mentally keeping Naruko up-to-date with her stamina and chakra levels. Overall, the two made a great team.

Even though Itachi only used practice wooden swords due to the inherent danger of using sharp objects as it was possible that he would accidentally injure her beyond what she could handle, he still emerged victorious most of the time. Since her sword could cut through the stick, chakra reinforced or not, as if it didn't exist, Itachi simply redirected each swing instead of directly parrying, though it was evident on the sweat that had built up on his face after the spar that redirecting the weight equivalent to a house every time their swords met had tired the Uchiha out.

Though his opponent was still a child, it was also true that each and every swing was precise and accurate beyond what even a jonin could reach due to Kurama, meaning that he couldn't slack off either. Though it wasn't at a level where he needed to activate his Sharingan as the swings were still relatively slow, the young girl certainly had the potential to triumph most genins with how versatile she was.

This wasn't even mentioning the armour, which could surprisingly deflect most of his attacks without even a scratch, though due to Naruko's inexperience, she still left her unguarded sides open at times during their spars, leading to her eventual loss, either due to loss of concentration or fatigue.

"Can we do one more before we're done? Heiwanakuro wants one more round." The girl said as she reached out with her hand towards the sword that was embedded in the ground several meters away. As if recognizing the gesture, the sword immediately detached itself from the ground and flew straight into her hands.

She had taken to naming the bow 'Fukitsushirou'—Shirou for short whilst naming the sword 'Heiwanakuro', Kuro for short. Though Itachi sweatdropped when he heard the names she had given the two weapons, they were undoubtedly fitting, it even played on the theme of contradiction that seemed to run in her.

"We will continue tomorrow, it's almost time you left for the academy, Sasuke should be finishing his lap and heading for the dining room now, get changed an—" Before he could talk further, a light enveloped the girl. After a few seconds, her pure white armour and sword disappeared, and in its place appeared a black hunting dress along with a bow that had been neatly strapped to her back. Seeing her eager grin, he sighed in defeat.

"Yes, good job on getting the transformation done in under five seconds, it's an improvement from the full minute you needed initially, though once you master it and get it down to an instant, you can start implementing it into your fighting style." He lectured. Though Naruko could change between her hunting and 'knight' gear as she called it, the transformation was horribly slow and required all her concentration.

Over time after constant transformations, she had finally managed to bring down the transformation to only a few seconds, but a few seconds was enough for an enemy to get behind and end her life, meaning that it was currently useless in combat. Though Itachi looked like he wanted to say more, the pout that had appeared on the girl's face caused him to chuckle slightly.

"But it's going to take so long! Why is it so hard to just switch between weapons and armour!" She complained.

Itachi raised his eyebrows. "You do realise that most people can't even change, you're probably the only person in the world who can change their fighting roles on a whim. Besides, you're already pretty good with the bow, though the same can't be said about your skills in the blade."

"Hey, take that back! I'm going to be the best swordswoman in the whole of the elemental nations!"

"Right right, now off you go, don't want to be late, do you?" Itachi said before turning around and disappearing into the woods.

"We should get going, you know, standing around isn't going to help you." Kurama called from within her head.

"Right." She replied before taking off for the academy. It had been half a year since her education began formally, and she had registered under the name 'Naruko' without a last name since she hadn't been particularly attached to them. Since she was officially registered as a ward of the Uchihas, there wasn't a problem in the registration.

She had contemplated on actually listening to Itachi and going with Sasuke, but the thought of Sasuke waiting at the Uchiha gates for no reason seemed to win over the logical choice.

"… We're pure evil, you know that?"

"It's a harmless prank, the worst he can get is a detention anyways." She said whilst silently chuckling at her own 'masterplan'.

She had improved with her bow over the past two years, to the point where she didn't need Kurama's assistance on aiming, but her control over its power was still rather lacking. After much testing over the two years, she managed to figure out how to adjust the output of the bow to the point where she could draw it all the way without it causing an S rank explosion. Now instead of the power of the bow being measured by the percent of the draw, it was simply based on both the amount of chakra she used and the visualising of how much power she wanted to pack.

It was awkward to only draw a bow by not even a fifth, so the discovery was godsend for her.

A few months prior, she attempted to empty all of her chakra reserves into one attack, which resulted in around a 50% overall attack, the highest she had ever managed to pull off. Needless to say, a crater the size of the Uchiha training grounds (which in itself is quite big) was left in the forest, though she had also fallen unconscious for a week from both mental and physical exhaustion.

The main problem with such attacks was that it required time for the energy to build up. Anything beyond 25% and the charge up would consist of several seconds. She could see improvement over the years since that limit was at 15% when she just got the bow, meaning that it was possible for her to reach a stage where she could potentially fire such shots repeatedly. Just the thoughts of it had her mouth watering.

"… Damn pyromaniacs." Kurama muttered.

"You're the same too, you know?"

"Atleast I can hide it properly." She huffed.

Absent in her thoughts, she hadn't realised that she had already reached the academy. Subconsciously navigating through the building, she slowly made her way through to the second floor where her class was.

As she sat down, still mentally reviewing her earlier spar with Itachi and discussing it with Kurama, she hadn't noticed other children beginning to pour into the room. She was eventually broken out of her thoughts as her head was slammed into the desk by a hand.

"Think you can just ditch me and get away with it, Naruko-chan?" The voice said mockingly. Looking up, he could see a raven haired boy looking down at her with an irritating smile.

"Didn't I?" She replied before tilting her head slightly to dodge in an attempt to dodge the flick to the head. Luck wasn't in her favour however as Sasuke still managed to hit her.

"Ow!" Looking up whilst rubbing her forehead, she was met with red eyes with two tomoes each looking down at her. She had forgotten that he had unlocked his Sharingan from his repeated spars with her, and as much as her bow, armour and sword were powerful, those eyes were literally cheat codes. The ability to see everything in practically slow motion and copy techniques flawlessly was something that was not to be underestimated. Though she could still best Sasuke in most spars since he didn't have anything to counter her with, who knows what could happen once Sasuke unlocked this 'Mangekyou' and gained more experience.

She could feel eyes stabbing into her back. Turning her head slightly, she could see a horde of females glaring at her and Sasuke. The more affectionate gazes went over to Sasuke whilst the all the killing intent seemed to be directed at her. With a slight sweatdrop, she sighed and decided to ignore them.

"Alright class, sit down." The instructor, Iruka said whilst entering the classroom, shortly followed by his assistant Mizuki, who sent a scowling glance towards Naruto and Haruka, who were both present within the class.

Namikaze Naruto, blonde hair the same as her's, three whiskers and possibly the loudest in the class other than Kiba and the Haruno girl. Lively, outspoken, and commonly mistaken as a delinquent due to his habits as a prankster much like hers and his tendency to annoy people by getting on their nerves. In fact, it was almost like the perfect clone of herself in male form but with less controlled emotions, less experience and even less manners. Though this was the case, he certainly did have the skills to back up his record of detentions due to pranks. Though not compared to her or Sasuke without using any Kyuubi Chakra, he could possibly close if he did use them, and from what she'd heard, he had a pretty good grasp over the chakra's use since Kyuubi's soul wasn't present to try to take over the host. Though that is the case, it didn't mean that there weren't any repercussions either. She had heard him telling his friends that he could successfully control three tails worth without receiving chakra poisoning.

Haruka, on the other hand, was the polar opposite. Waist length crimson red hair just like Kushina with golden eyes that was as empty as her expression. She was quiet, but definitely not shy. It was more like she simply didn't like doing more than necessary, and if the fact that she had less emotions and facial expressions than a brick wasn't enough, she rarely spoke unless a teacher asked her to read from a textbook or if gestures weren't enough to convey her thoughts. She usually sat in the back of the class next her and Sasuke and was usually buried in her books even when the instructors were talking. The majority of the class had learned their lesson from approaching her without warning, as the last time an idiot attempted to try and talk to her by snatching her book, she released her Kyuubi chakra without hesitation and proceeded to hospitalize the academy student for over a month, before returning to her book as if nothing had happened.

She sighed as her eyes swiftly darted between the two siblings and back to the desk. She didn't talk with many people in the school except a select few, and surprisingly, Haruka and Naruto made their way into the list. Perhaps it was simply because they were siblings by blood, but she felt that she could trust the two despite what their personalities may suggest.

There were far less suspicious gazes than when her time at the academy had begun. Most people tended to stare at her attire and choice of weapon with curiosity, not surprising since she had the most unique appearance from all the academy students in the school.

Some doubted her ability to even use the monstrous bow, most were shot down however during the first practical examinations where she completely decimated the ranged weapon exam that was used to record preferred weapons of students and their current abilities. Needless to say, a perfect mark on accuracy was noted by the instructors, though the part where each and every target was completely destroyed from the force of the shots was not forgotten.

After that day, no one in the class questioned her abilities. Rumors spread that she also owned a sword and was experienced with kenjutsu after one student managed to catch a glimpse of Kuro and immediately assumed that she was skilled as the sword seemed to be custom built despite her not being of a wealthy background.

After the lesson on the importance of the ways of holding a kunai ended, the students were let out for a break to grab some fresh air as physical examinations and training would be next.

After bidding farewell to Sasuke, Naruko made her way over to the edge of the yard and began to silently eat her bento box made by Mikoto that was identical to Sasuke's, who was eating whilst hiding behind a bush to avoid his fanclub.

Suddenly, she was interrupted from her conversation with the Kyuubi on the different sword stances by a tap on her shoulder. Tilting her head, she was surprised to see Haruka standing there whilst looking down with the same expressionless face, but in her eyes she could see a hint of anxiousness.

"Good morning Haruka-chan, what's wro—"

"You're my sister, aren't you?" She interrupted.

Her thought processes shut down for a moment.

Kurama's thought processes shut down at the same time.

After staring at each other for a full minute, Naruko collected herself for a moment before she opened her mouth to tell her that she was mistaken, but it wouldn't come out. Perhaps it was because she didn't want to lie to Haruka, or it was simply because of the shock of being called in such a way by someone other than Kurama.

Speaking of the tailed beast turned older sibling, Kurama seemed to remain silent as well, as if letting her choose how to handle the situation as she deemed fit.

Taking a deep breath, she weighed the pros and cons of the situation. She had known Haruka for over a year, and seeing as to how observant the redhead was, it was no surprise that she would begin to connect the dots. She also knew that Haruka was not one to tell anyone anything unless they specifically asked, including Minato and Kushina, so she didn't have to worry about that.

Even though she used a henge to cover her ears and tails, her whiskers were what defined her as a person, and as such she refused to leave them out. A normal person could dismiss them for simple coincidence, but the observant Haruka most likely already knew that no one else in all of Konoha had the scarred fox whiskers other than herself and Naruto, but the question was how she arrived at the conclusion of sister.

As if sensing her thoughts, Haruka began to speak. "I've checked the hospital records already, I know that I originally had a sister by the name of Naruko. For some reason, all records of you stopped being updated by Father a few years ago, and I have never heard of you being mentioned since I could remember." She paused whilst narrowing her eyes slightly, a rare show of emotion and expression, though minor, that was usually not present on the young Uzumaki's face.

"I don't know what happened, but our parent's behavior doesn't suggest longing, guilt nor any form of attachment to the past, therefore it can be concluded that you didn't pass away nor were you kidnapped. The next conclusion would be that you were given away, but judging by their personalities, they would never have done such a thing, leading to the most likely conclusion being that you were simply forgotten, as impossible as it may seem."

The word caused Naruko to shiver for a moment before she managed to collect herself. She was shocked by the observations made by the girl and the research that she undertook to come to such a conclusion. She knew that Haruka was observant and very intellectually capable, but this was on a whole other level, a prodigy was the only word she could use to describe the girl that was staring at her expectantly. She vowed to herself that she would not be stunted by the past, and looked up with a determined gaze.

"I tend to get into impossible situations, so what will you do now that you know?"

Before she could even think, she was wrapped in a hug by the redhead. Flustered by the sudden gesture, she awkwardly returned the hug, though she could hear Kurama laughing faintly at her situation from within her head.

They separated after a few seconds before other students could come around the corner and witness the scene. Haruka still maintained her brick-like expression, but to her surprise, there was a lone tear that trickled down her left eye that didn't seem to belong on the stoic girl's face. Even her eyes had warmed considerably, now with hints of relief and gladness present within them.

Was this what she was anxious about earlier? The fact that she could have been wrong in her assessment, and that I could have been a complete stranger?

"She seems to have pride in her intelligence, she was probably scared that she would be proven wrong." Kurama commented. It made sense, with how much Haruka seemed to read in her spare time, it was obvious that she valued knowledge, and the idea that her research and thought out theory being proven wrong most likely scared her.

But none of that mattered.

Because for the first time since she had entered school, she saw Haruka smile, a genuine happy smile. Tears began to gather in her eyes as she realised that she had just been recognised by someone in her family. For years she had fought alone without their support, for years she fought hoping that someone would notice him.

Without giving it much thought, She stood up from seat, leaving the bento on the bench and embraced her sister whilst sobbing, an embrace that was yet again returned.

"Finally…" She muttered as the two sisters stood there under the sun, unnoticed by the rest of the students except Sasuke, who watched with a light smile tugging at his face, camera in hand taking a snap of the moment.

Even Kurama sat there in the mindscape, viewing the proceedings with a tear of gladness running down the side of her face.