Naruto--Rise of the Uzumakis Pt.1 Ch.3

Naruto Shippuden: Rise of the Uzumakis
   Part: 1

Chapter 3: Welcome to the Clan!

Location: The forests in the Fire Country.
Event: 1 year after Madara's death.

'It's been over a year since that day of victory. The day I became free of Madara's control, and although it was tough to do, I still kept my promise to Nagato. Over the past year I have successfully wandered this world and found seven other Uzumaki members!'

Draiko was leaping from tree to tree as seven other figures followed behind and beside him. Draiko's appearance had changed over the past year as he now wore customized clothing to show that he was part of the Uzumaki Clan. His shirt shoulders, his headband, the back of his breastplate and battle skirt, all had the Uzumaki emblem on them. He even started to wear thick black goggles to hide his eyes.

'The first Uzumaki I encountered was Kenji Uzumaki.' Draiko turned to his left to look at one of the people leaping beside him. He was a young man, somewhere around the age of 18. He had long, red hair that was braided and reached halfway down his back. He too wore clothing that had several Uzumaki emblems, including his headband.

'I found Kenji in a large marketing town in the Fire Country. His parents had died in a gang raid, but he successfully survived and became the town's vigilante. When I first met him, I was very curious with his child-like attitude and thirst for excitement. "The Dare-Devil Ninja" the people called him, but the thing he surprised me with the most was his speed. I have yet to meet someone who can match or even surpass Kenji's speed. Oh, and he's also my second cousin.'

Draiko then turned to his right to look at another person following beside him. This man was tall, really tall, about seven feet tall. He was a bit overweight and was a lot older than Draiko, but that didn't stop him from keeping up with him and the others. He had long, flowing, red hair that reached more than halfway down his back. He too had customized Uzumaki clothing as well as an enormous sword with jagged edges and a crescent tip straped on his back.

'That big guy, there, that's Sergei Uzumaki. He was the second one I found. He was living in the mountainous caves on the outskirts of Iwagakure; Hidden Stone Village. He had the ability to control any Earth-type element around him with deadly force. That big sword on his back allows him to maneuver it with astounding accuracy. He was nineteen during the attack on Uzushio, so he has a better memory of what happened on that day. After suffering an injury from an attack, he was ordered to take refuge in the Hidden Stone Village.'

Draiko then turned his attention to a young beautiful woman. She was around the same age as Draiko but was a few inches shorter. She had waist-length red hair and blue eyes. She wore customized Uzumaki clothing, and a headband, with the Uzumaki emblem on it, tied around her neck. Her weapon of choice was a long staff with a crescent-shaped spear tip at the end. Attached to the staff's blade were two rings.

'That beautiful woman there is Ayane Senju. Yes, I know what you're thinking. "How can she be a member of the Uzumaki Clan if her last name is Senju?" Well, it's because her mother was an Uzumaki and her father was from the Senju Clan. Her parents' relationship was a sign that our clans were still great allies. She was also my childhood best friend, despite the fact that she seemed to pick on me when we were both kids. But I guess after sixteen years of being separated, all that really doesn't matter anymore. It was really great to see her again. She has an amazing ability to create, manipulate, and perform ice-based attacks.'

Draiko then looked at a younger girl, around the age of fourteen, who was following very close to Ayane. Her clothing didn't advertise much of the Uzumaki Clan, but her headband, which was used as a belt, and her short-length red hair signified that she was indeed part of the Uzumaki clan.

'That little girl there is Ayane's younger sister, Kyoko. She was born a few years after Ayane and her parents fled Uzushio. Their parents were also the keepers of one of our great summoning scrolls. Unfortunately, the scroll was in danger of being stolen. So to keep it safe Kyoko's parents sealed the scroll, and its power, inside her own body. Now she can use its power to summon multiple beings and objects without even performing a single hand sign.'

Draiko then turned his attention to a young man, who was around the same age as Draiko. He had a serious look to his face. It was as if this person had never smiled once in his whole life. His clothing was a mixed combination of the Uzumakis and those from the Land of Lightning. He had four katanas, two on his back and two behind his waist, and had four small scrolls attached to the front of his waist. His hair was short, red, and slicked back, and his face had a few scars around his cheeks.

'That badass-looking guy with the swords, that's Takashi Uzumaki. He was the toughest one to convince to join us. His family is from the Second Branch of Uzumakis and holds little respect for my side of the family, which was the Royal Family. He was a tough one to beat, but I eventually convinced him to join the clan. Takashi can wield his swords so well, it's almost like he was born with them, but that's probably because this guy named "Killer Bee" trained him long ago.'

The next person Draiko looked at was another young man, about the same height and age of Draiko. He had short-length red hair that formed several bangs around his head. He carried with him a bow and two quivers full of arrows on his back and waist.

'The pretty-boy there, that's Ichigo Uzumaki. He and his parents fled to the ancient lands of the Archer Tribe deep within the Old Forestlands. He is an excellent archer and long-range fighter, and does quite well with the ladies, if you know what mean.' Draiko laughed at his comment.

'And finally, there's Kahn Uzumaki.' Draiko turned his attention to a man well within his forties. He had big spikey, red hair, a medium-length beard, and as usual, his own custom Uzumaki wardrobe. 'Kahn came from a unique group of Uzumakis called Uzumaki Oracles, which means he has unique telepathic abilities which allow him to read and alter another person's mind. Pretty creepy stuff. Luckily, when I found him, he was one of the nicest people I've ever met. I'm very lucky to have him on my side.'

Draiko and his group of Uzumakis continued to leap through the trees, getting closer to their next destination.

'Even though I've found these seven members, not one of them is the Uzumaki that helped Nagato. Which means that there's still another Uzumaki out there just waiting to be reunited with his clan.'

Draiko and the others continued their way through the trees until Draiko decided that it'd be a good time to rest. He stopped on the next branch he landed on and quickly raised his fist in the air. The others saw this and immediately stopped and watched him.

"Lord Draiko, what is it?" asked Kahn.

"We're taking a break. We need to make sure we're on the right track." Draiko responded as he scanned the area and found a nice clearing among the trees to set up camp. "There." Draiko pointed to the clearing as he led the others to it. "We'll rest here for a moment while I check our bearings." Draiko then pulled out his map of the country and laid it out on the ground.

"Draiko, pardon me for asking, but where are we going again?" asked Kenji as he looked at the map over Draiko's shoulder. "You never told us why we had to leave that last town in such a rush."

"Because, Kenji," replied Draiko. "I received word from that town that there was an Uzumaki in the Hidden Leaf Village. I didn't catch his first name, but they did say that his last name was Uzumaki, and I need them if we're going to continue with our plan."

"What plan? All you and I have been doing was look for other Uzumakis. You mean there's another plan to all this searching?" asked Kenji with an irritated tone.

The others heard Kenji's comment and immediately came to Draiko and asked him about this "other plan".

"Alright, I guess it's time I come clean. This other plan relates to us rebuilding our clan. I thought that since there's now eight of us, I figured the time has come for us to rebuild our beloved village of Uzushio."

"You want us to do what!?" yelled Kenji.

"Rebuild Uzushio!? Are you crazy!?" yelled Ayane.

"With all due respect, my lord, I don't think we can rebuild the entire village with just the eight of us!" complained Sergei.

Draiko kept his cool as he raised his hands to calm everyone down. "Settle down, all of you! I know there's not enough of us to actually rebuild Uzushio by ourselves. Which is why we're going for the back-up village."

The group of Uzumakis suddenly became silent as they stared blankly at Draiko.

"Back-up village? What back-up village?" asked Ayane.

"Good question, my dear." smiled Draiko, as he turned his attention to Kahn. "Kahn? Care to explain to them what I'm talking about?"

Kahn only smiled back as he walked next to Draiko. "Of course, sire. I would be happy to explain."

Everyone's eyes were now on Kahn.

"The back-up village Draiko is talking about is the one our ancestors built long ago. It's half the size of the original Uzushio and should make a proper place for us take refuge."

"Hold on a second!" said Takashi. "Did you say that this 'back-up' village was half the size of Uzushio? You do realize that that means it's going to be about the same size as the Hidden Leaf Village, right? Last I remember, which was not much, our old village was twice the size of the Hidden Leaf's. I seriously doubt the eight of us will be able to properly inhabit it."

"Now don't get too ahead of yourself, Takashi." Draiko responded. "Over the past year, I've met several other people who would be grateful to live with us once we've accomplish this mission. A vast majority of them will come from Kahn's little, refugee village. Without a doubt, those people will definitely join us after we summon this new village."

"Wait! Hold on a second!" Ichigo interrupted. "Did you say 'summon'? Why do we need to summon this new village?"

"Again, another good question." smiled Draiko as he again turned his attention to Kahn. "Tell him why, Kahn."

"Yes, sire. This village was already built long ago, but since our people weren't going to use it, why leave it out for strangers to inhabit it? So they did something that was just as astounding as sealing away a Tailed-Beast, they sealed away this entire village."

Everyone, besides Draiko, was astounded by what Kahn was saying. Hearing the tale of people sealing away an entire village sounded too good to be true. But they had to remember that Kahn was a certified Oracle, he and everyone there knew he was telling the truth.

"Ah, now I remember." Sergei said. "My parents told me about this story when I was a kid. Our ancestors used five different scrolls to seal it away. After they had accomplished their mission, they then hid the scrolls in sacred temples scattered across the world."

"That's right, Sergei." Kahn said. "The village was far too big to seal away in just one scroll. Which means we would need up to five people to summon this village."

"And we only have four qualified candidates with us now." Draiko interrupted.

"Four?" asked Ayane.

"That's right. There's me, Kahn, Sergei, and Kyoko. The four of us are perfectly capable of having the skills to summon large objects. All we need now is to find a fifth."

"And you think this Uzumaki in the Leaf Village will have the skills we're looking for?" asked Kenji.

"I certainly hope so. However, even if he doesn't, hopefully they'll make a great addition to the clan." smiled Draiko.

Draiko then looked up at the sun to see that it was starting to set.

"We don't have enough time to reach the village before nightfall. We might as well just set up camp here and continue our journey in the morning."

With that said, the rest of the group began to set up camp as they got ready for what tomorrow would bring.