#hidden whirlpool village

[nardo-headcanons]

that music headcanon question and post was genius! can you do that for the rest of the villages pretty pleaseee 🩵

oh my god, that was quick lmao i just had to do it. two minutes after posting, goddamn. here's a music headcanon i have for you, anon.

tagging @danceofthexdragons because she was the one who made the initial request c:

Music In The Narutoverse

I think in Kirigakure, most music that can be heard originates from either the union of fishermen or monks, as many cultures have been. wiped out due to their ongoing political unrest. As for the fishermen, some popular instruments are steel drums, which can sound like this or like this. Gamelans are often played near the temples up high in the mountains, the wind carries their sound across the village. Radios aren't really used.

Iwagakure's traditional music is very percussion heavy, using various kinds of drums and gongs. They have fallen in love with the guzheng, aka the moon guitar. Another instrument originating from there is the erhu, which Kirigakure citizens also really enjoy listening to and consider a high class/fancy instrument. These are the kind of songs Iwagakure ninja can hear in their radio, Onoki's favorite is this one. High up in the mountains, sounds like these can be heard. These horns are used to communicate between different valleys.

As a stronghold of trade, Kumogakure's music has been shaped by many cultural influences. One of the more traditional instruments in Kumogakure is the cowbell/agogo bell. Kumo citizens enjoy music from all across the shinobi world, including songs in foreign languages. As a rather technologically advanced village, it is not uncommon to hear electric guitars and synthesizers be used in their music. Here are some songs I think could be heard on the Kumo radio. As for Killer Bee, here are some of his faves.

In Uzushiogakure, an instrument that could often be heard in traditional music is the anklung, as well as the t'rung. Music was often performed for the whole village, and everyone was invited.

As for many western instruments, those have originated in the Country Of Knights. This country was only mentioned in the movies, but for the sake of it, I will consider it canon as well. While their traditional music sounded somewhat like this, sounds like these here weren't uncommon as well. It was popularized by immigrants from the country of knights.

As stated before, Madara Uchiha was a skilled pianist, his sharingan allowed him to read sheet music while playing, here are some of the pieces he played. Madara often played this piece for his siblings to make them laugh.

[spacealligator]

Uzushiokagure Headcanons

I did a similar post about Kiri and a anon ask got me thinking about making one for Uzushio too! Here are some world building headcannons for Uzushiogakure:

Geography

Uzushio is located in a place with high temperatures and high humidity

likely to be hit with tropical storms, hurricanes, monsons

constant singing of the cicadas as if it's always summer

scorching sun coupled with heavy rain that doesn’t appease the heat

there are no defined seasons, it’s always hot, sunny and rainy

the seas around Uzushio are very hard do navigate, it makes it hard to get to them

the island is located close to the forests of Fire Country coast, so they also have lush green vegetation in Uzushio

Architecture

houses have to be built to withstand recurring natural disasters

subterranean shelters for the tornados, though those also get flooded during the storms sometimes

heavy building materials like stone and concrete instead of wood for example, to withstand the storms

stone also helps with cooling the temperature inside the houses

streets are not paved in anyway to help with drainage, so it's nostly grass and dirt

circular and rounded buildings as a reference to the whirpool also help them withstand the strong winds

People (the Uzumaki Clan)

big chakra reserves, great lifeforce, a lot of energy, long lifespans

they are like that because they are so close in lineage to the Sage of Six Paths

during the warring states era the Uzumaki were known as the people close to the heavens and blessed by the gods

Uzumakis are mostly extroverts and fiery, like Naruto, Kushina and Karin, but Uzumakis like Mito and Nagato, that don’t follow most stereotypes still have that fire burning inside them, they won’t settle, they know what they want, are strongwilled, strongheaded, a bit stubborn and passionate, so really, it’s not because they aren’t loud mouths that they aren’t Uzumakis where it matters

big sense of community and family

even after the massacre of Uzushio, Uzumakis tried to flee together and stick together, building their communities and helping each other wherever they went

Religion & Spirituality

since they have so much chakra and are so close to the gods and the Sage of Six Paths, they're deeply religious people

tons of temples and shrines and little altars spread around the city for a variety of gods

there are small altars inside people's homes too

a lot of rituals bring the Uzushio people together, there are seasonal festivals, parties in honor of the gods, start of harvest season banquets, offerings, weekly meetings on the temple, there are several recurring events linked to temples and gods that make up for most of their social lives

because of that the city is always decorated for some sort of festivities, it’s always very bright and colorful, and even if someone doesn't worship that particular divinity or is not involved in that event, they will still go to the event and celebrate together

Economy

since they're so isolated from a geographical standpoint, trade is not big on the region

no merchant marine or trade routes established with other countries

very closed economy, meaning they had to become self sustained

a lot of farmers between them, since the climate and soil favors tropical vegetation

even if it’s an island, their economy doesn’t revolve around fishing only, because the Uzumakis like their meat, so they also have a lot of cattle, mainly pigs, goats and chicken

they are hired by different villages and people at a very expensive price because their shinobi are very skilled, and an Uzumaki shinobi is never on low demand

shinobi activity is what drives the city's economy

in second comes money from services linked to the temples such as talismans, exorcisms, blessings, burials and others

the money from shinobi missions are reverted to the civillians too, but in general there are no conflict between what civillians want and what shinobis want

Politics

the Uzukage is always chosen by combat, they must be the strongest shinobi in the village at any given time

democratic system of sorts, since at any time anyone can challenge the Uzukage, because they should be able to hold his own, otherwise, they weren't fit to rule the village any way

the challenge is always public, always in form of a battle and always needs to be accepted or you lose by default

there are no main families or branch members like the Hyugas have, the Uzumaki stand in equal footing with each other

but of course there are different groups and parties, with people trying to connect themselves with a poweful shinobi, hoping for them to achieve the position of Uzukage and do their wish

for example, when Uzushio alligned themselves with Konoha there were people in favor and against it, at the time Mito was the second strongest shinobi in Uzushio, so she chose to help strengthen the bond by marrying Hashirama

local politics are not based on blood or lineage, only in power and political opinions

regarding international affairs, Uzushio spent a lot of time defending themselves from attackers

it's mostly an easy thing for them, since Uzumakis are strong and the way to Uzushio is long and hard but there are always constant ruckus on the borders

Culture

wear a lot of traditional clothing due to their religious traditions

people refer to others by their first name, since most of the population comes from the Uzumaki clan, and also because everybody is close and not very shy

they have great handwriting from practicing writing seals and talismans so much

very wary of spirits and respectful of the desires of the land and its creatures

not afraid of ghosts, or the dark, or haunted houses, they are very serious about leading a life in harmony with all the forces at play, including spiritual ones

big on oral tradition and not so much on the written records because: first everybody knows stuff, knowledge sharing is common and encouraged, and second, the elders and professors would live very long, so they can teach the youth themselves, instead of writing it for posterity, and that’s why after Uzushio was attacked, a lot of knowledge was lost

a lot of nursery rhymes, lullabies, supersticions, old wives' tales and popular sayings are passed down to the new generations

they also read cards, stones, tea leaves, stars, palm lines, whatever there is to draw their luck on

big eaters, all that chakra and boundless energy means they need a lot of food to fuel themselves

their cuisine is all about abundance, a lot of protein and fat, always a big volume of food, a lot of seasoning, spices, condiments, and such, loud flavors

they don't focus on veggies, fruits and baking as much as i meat, warm dishes, broth, and of course lamen

they put a lot of meaning and importance in getting together for a meal, it's a core moment for the familiar and comunal lives

the city closes during lunch so everybody can go back home to have lunch with their families and/or friends and be together in quality time

festivals often have banquets or traditional dishes linked to them, along with competitions for the biggest eater, and Uzumaki are very competitive

they're also big in games: card games, mahjong, shogi, go, dominos, bocce, drinking games and so on

there are also games that are linked with specific festivals and times of the year

they're great drinkers because of their big chakra reserves

Shinobi World

shamanism and shinobi activities blur, priests and priestesses make for great shinobi and vice versa

most of the shinobi are sensors, even some civillians are sensors

specialized in sealing

focused on research knowledge about minor gods and yokais, that's why they have things like the reaper death seal and can summon shinigamis and spiritual beings

they hunt for yokais like goddamn pokemon, and the tailed beasts were just an extention of that

when Hashirama sealed Kurama in Mito, the sealing of tailed beasts were already under research by the Uzumakis and she was the one who volunteered for it, they just needed someone like Hashirama, the god of shinobi to activate the seal

[ladytabletop]

If I may be so bold as to request two: a 1d10 list of heroic deeds a barbarian must accomplish to prove his/her honor. and 1d10 Dwarven folk tales.

Heroic Deeds as Tests of Merit

Climb the highest peak and retrieve a single egg from the snow eagle's nest. Raise the eaglet until it is grown.

Set aside weapons of all kind and traverse the continent from one end to another.

Hold up a waterfall.

Construct a bridge to unite two villages. Accept no help. Use no tools.

Race a cheetah and win.

Retrieve the shield of an ancient warrior, long sunk beneath a deadly whirlpool.

Slay a dragon and carve its skull into a cottage.

Find the bog witch and live with her for a year and a day, doing whatever she bids.

Find a fallen star and bring it to the king.

Scale the Tower and discover what is hidden within.

Dwarven Folk Tales

The Lady of Under is a figure of myth every dwarven child knows about. They say she comes from the deeps, from the very center of the earth, covered in the glitter of mineral and the dust of stone, to grant sweet dreams to those who are sleeping.

Have you heard the tale of the Lovers of Malachite? The trio separated by distance and politics? Their story is a tragic one, for when their knocked messages were heard by the kings of their respective nations, they were locked away forever.

Shadowmoles aren't real. They aren't! They're a made up creature used to explain away miners losing things in the tunnels. Some even say depth sickness is blamed on them.

They say there was once a dwarf so talented on the guitar that even tallfolk were enchanted. If you are lost and hear music, know that it is his songs guiding you.

Efri the Rash was a dwarf so strong and so quick to anger, they say she carved the vast canyon we now live in in a fit of pique after her prize badger was slain.

If you're very quiet near a tunnel's entrance, and the wind whistles across it, you can hear the weeping of a king under the mountain, now long dead. His spirit wanders above ground, unable to return home because of a curse.

Dwarves once were able to swim in the lava flows found deep underground, but a trickster god in the form of a tunnelworm robbed them of their fire immunity. That's why tunnelworms can now swim in lava lakes.

If legend is true, twas a dwarf that hung the moon and the sky. She so loved the stars that she gifted them a great rock to be near them. Some say her bones lie at the moon's center.

If ever you fall into a sinkhole, you have been chosen by the earth to hear and interpret her words. They say you will come back stronger and wiser - but forever changed.

The glowlark flowers that bloom in the caves only grow where a giant's tears have fallen as it laid down for final rest to let its body turn to stone.

all d10 random lists

[luv-kakashi]

One of us is dead

.ೃ࿐ author note .ೃ࿐

Hello dear reader, I hope this note finds you well!

Three years ago, I published my first ever Naruto fan fiction named Delilah. It follows much of the same story line in this story.

Yet the immature, childish drive in my mind started overthinking and became embarrassed and took it down.

And it only took me a good three years to reboot the fiction again. How silly of me.

Now three years wiser (I hope!), I wish to make the inner child in me happy by reposting the fan fiction with a few tweaks here and there.

So here it is. One of us is dead.

One thing to note when reading this story: I switch between the Japanese and English names for the villages a lot. The main village names which appear in this story are:

Kirigakure - The Village Hidden in the Mist Konohagakure - The Village Hidden in the Leaves Uzushiogakure - The Hidden Eddy Village

Another Village also makes an appearance in this story: The Village Hidden by the Rivers. I am unsure if this village is a fragment of my imagination or if it's a canon Naruto village.

Allow me to set some context about the Uzumaki Clan. A clan that you, the reader, will find yourself part of.

The Uzumaki Clan resided in the Hidden Eddy village, located in the Land of Whirlpools. Just before Kushina is taken to Konoha to become the next nine-tails jinchuriki, the Hidden Eddy Village is destroyed.

The surviving clan members relocate to Kirigakure for some years, before ultimately moving to The Village Hidden by the Rivers.

Apologies if this is all too confusing. Please let me know if you have a preference regarding the village names.

Finally, I hope you have a fun time reading this fan fiction. It certainly was a lot of fun to write.

I will try to upload within a respectful timeframe. Unfortunately three years later, I am now a busy uni student :/.

Loving you always, Suri 🎀

(Let's pretend that I posted this note before any of the chapters)

[numbuh-7-knd]

Random Naruto AU musings/fanfic ideas incoming:

OK so, I was listening to Naruto theme songs in my room via speaker to drown out the sounds of my mother/housemate having a private appointment downstairs via zoom. (As you do)

And I started to think of how Asuma's death kind of represented a turning point where the konaha 12 are not kids anymore, things are getting serious, main ensemble members are drying, ect.

And I thought, the other thing like that in the original series was the death of the third homage. Exept even that didn't hit as hard because he was old and stuff. Then I realized one big opportunity lost with his death: the person was likely to maybe someday tell Naruto the truth of his parents, especially since he's the one who made it classified in the first place.

Here's where the AU comes in: I was trying to think of scenarios in which the third would have allowed Naruto to know about his parents during the time before the thirds death, and had a thought: there's a bunch of fics out there of Wave having some connection to hidden Whirlpool village, Uzushio, either neighbors or even that they were protected by/allied with Uzushio before the village destruction.

So what if, during the wave arc, Tazuna and the other villagers reacted when they heard Naruto's last name, being overjoyed to hear that at least one Uzumaki survived. Being hush hush about it because they don't want Gato to know because having an Uzumaki present threatens his standing.

Eventually they get Naruto alone with some of the older villagers who express their relief and exitment that there are still surviving Uzumaki after the destruction of Uzushio.

Naruto is so confused, poor kid. These old people are almost acting like he's some long lost relative or something, something about his last name, the destruction of some place called Uzushio? And what's this about asking about his family? Are all these old people senile and mistaking him for someone else?

The villagers confirm his last name is Uzumaki, and that they are talking about his clans home village of Uzushio, which was destroyed during the last war. What do you mean you've never heard of it? Is your ancestral homeland surely your parents would have mentioned it.

And then they learn that he's an orphan left all alone in the world, nothing of his family save his name and the symbol on his back. He tries so suggest that maybe he's not related to those Uzumaki, only to be rebuffed by a team of geriatrics, each pointing out some innocuous feature they swear is an Uzumaki trait, from his speech pattern and large amount of Chakra, to his ears and his chin.

By the end a group of Wave villagers old enough to remember Uzushio in its prime have mentally adopted Naruto and started telling him stories of Uzushio and the Uzumaki Clan, even trying to determine who he might be related to.

Eventually an old woman remembers a friend of hers, who's daughter was sent away to Konoha years before the attack, to be a Konoha ninja. they figure that must have been his mother, and naruto puts together that he was born around the same time as the nine tails attack of the village and they come to the conclusion that his mother probably died in the attack, weakened from childbirth, maybe even dying to protect her baby, and that he must not have had a dad in the picture for him not to be claimed afterwards.

Maybe they even introduce him to a village elder who's actually an Uzumaki and married into Wave decades ago, even long before the attack, and as she took her husband's name and wasn't a ninja, no one caught on. Maybe it Turns out to be his great aunt or something.

I'm imaging the bridge being named something representing the return of the Uzumaki clan.

Also, when the missions over and is time to return to Konoha, the entire village of Wave tries to fight for custody, especially his Great Aunt, who insists on accompanying them back to Konoha to interrogate the Hokage as to her grand nephew's treatment.

Maybe his newly found great aunt or distant cousin decides to move to Konoha, maybe with a bunch of her kids and grandkids giving Naruto a bunch of cousins. Or maybe he just gains a single elderly Uzumaki refugee from Wave.

I feel like Sasuke would be pretty mad/offended on narutos behalf over having the knowledge of his family hidden from him, since at least Sasuke has his memories and his clans belongings.

It'd be pretty funny if however many Uzumakis end up in the village, they all more or less adopt Sasuke as well as Naruto.

[red-garden]

Young Gods, Old Blood

ROTTMNT AU by Red Garden

Setting

◦ High Fantasy

◦ Magic, mythic creatures, alchemy

◦ Warlock magic system: mages make deals with gods, devils and beasts to use their magics

◦ 7 (6) continents known- Aldera, Kufyteu, Ignosios, Y’Theaka, Mbano-o, Kibuxia, Unock

◦ Kingdoms, empires, feudal states, tribal leagues, and anarchistic communes

◦ Main characters- April, Casey, Casey Jr, Sunita, Draxum, Hueso, Piel, Hypno, Warren, and Big Mama

Overarching plot-

Casey is out to destroy the Foot with the power of the dark armor. Little does she know that the Spider Empress is looking for the same relic so she can extend her empire across the globe. There are forces far greater than they can imagine wrapped up in the dark armor- old gods waking from slumber, ancient warriors hidden away, and at the heart of it all, The Crying Titan.

Characters

Casey Jones

Any pronouns, 26, 5 6”, ronin

No magic; lightning long sword, Morningstar gauntlets

Born to the Foot clan in Ignosios, she was raised to be a samurai. But the Foot hides many secrets. After years of service, she was confronted with her actions. She killed a child in a village raid. It wasn’t the first time, but it would be the last. They left the Foot at 20, searching for the relic that could wipe away the Foot with a singe stroke- the dark armor.

April O’Neil

She/they, 25, 5 2”, martial warlock

Magic pact with the Four Pillars (the turtles), uses elemental magic; wields iron knuckles, mostly used martial arts Her family granted shelter to Yoshi and the turtles after they fled Kibuxia. She grew up along side the turtles and trained with them to protect her village from Kibuxia raiding forces. The Four Pillars (the turtles) have been keeping the empire from spreading further north, but they can’t last forever. April needs to find and destroy the dark armor before the empress gets her hands on it and can use it against them.

Sunita Pandit

She/her, 25, 5 10”, paladin

Magic pact with River Bottom; blessed silt spear

River Bottom is being intentionally poisoned by the Kibuxia Empire so they can invade the land. With her god weakening, Sunita joins April and Casey on thier quest to find the Dark armor. Secretly, she wants to provide River Bottom with the armor so it many grow unbeatably powerful.

Casey Jr Jones

She/her (later he/him), 11, 4 8”, apprentice

Learning to wield a bow

To prove herself useful enough to Casey that she’ll keep her around.

Baron Ganzaya Alazar

He/him, 53, 6 4”, artificer

Pact with Ashpush goddess of the forge; wields an artificer’s hammer

Searching for his estranged sons, The Pillars, who he lost when they fled Kibuxia. April promised to bring him to them if he could help them find the dark armor.

Hueso Rivera

He/him, 40, 5 8”, Twin sea spirit

Can create whirlpools; Bone whip

Wants to find his son and let him know he’s still alive.

Piel Rivera

He/him, 40, 5,8”, twin sea spirit

Can summon waves; Sabre

Since the transformation, Piel has lost most of his motivation, and is content to follow his brother.

Ihaka Atama (hypno)

He/him, 31, 5 9”, prophet

Signed a pact with Y’Kana, god of prophecy

Part of the deal with Y’Kana was to sacrifice the only he loved most after 10 years. It’s been 9 years, and since then he’s become best friends (and maybe more) with Warren. He hasn’t told Warren about the deal, and is determined to break his connection to Y’Kana to save his ‘bestie’. Unfortunately, the only way to do this is with extremely powerful magic, such that that only relics like the dark armor could offer him.

Warren Stone

He/him, 36, 5 3”, bard

No magic, no weapons, he’s not even very good at barding

Happy to go where ever Ihaka goes. Not a thought behind those eyes.

Empress Sen Motsu Kumo (Big Mama)

She/her, age unknown, size varies , 1,000 Hands Spider Goddess

She’s a spider goddess, she has spider powers (miles morales?? 😳)

She’s a colonizer. She wants her empire to conquer all, extract their resources, and make her the more powerful/wealthy being on earth.

Ocean (Leo)

He/him, 23, 7’, artificially created water god

Can control water ATLA style; wields a double katana

To stop the empire from spreading no matter what.

Mountain(Raph)

He/him (?), 24, 15 7”, artificially created earth god

Can control earth ATLA style; wields twin sai

To keep his family safe, no matter what.

Wind (Donnie)

They/he, 23, 8 1”, artificially created wind god

Can control wind ATLA style; wields bo

To create a weapon powerful enough to wipe out the empire.

Fire (Mikey)

Any pronouns, 22, 5 7”, artificially created fire god

Can control fire ATLA style; wields dual nunchaku

To find a way to stop the war.

Hamato Yoshi (Spinter)

He/him, 54, 5 1”, Martial arts master

No magic, just punches

To keep his family hidden from the empress.

Usagi Yuichi

He/him, 23, 5 10”, samurai

Pact with martial goddess Yama which gives him bursts of extreme speed, strength, and agility- but he passes out from exhaustion immediately after (shonen ass); wields a katana

One of the only surviving samurai from the conquest of clan Usagi in Kibuxia. He ran away from the fight, and carries the shame with him. Now he wants to fight alongside the pillars to maintain the norther border of the empire (it certainly helps that Ocean is easy on the eyes too).

Kitsune Kanoe

She/her, 27, 6 1”, mage

Pact with the illusion god of clan Kitsune, Red Mist- she can cast complex illusions with extreme concentration, as well as shapeshift into a fox

Her clan was conquered by Kibuxia as well, scattering or imprisoning any survivors. She got away, but unknown numbers of her family are in imperial labor camps. She wants to become an illusion master so she can free them, but is terrified of facing the empire again.

Tora Chizu

They/it, 30, 5 11”, brawler

No magic, no weapons, just fists and anger

Fled clan Tora when it was young, and has been running ever since. They’ve been homeless for the past 6 years, picking fights where it can and getting paid when it wins. After being given food and medicine by Kitsune, they’re entranced, willing to follow wherever she goes.

Ashigawa Gen

He/him, 32, 6 8”, Calvary soldier

No magic; rides a great horned beast and wields a metal club

He defected from the Kibuxia army, heading north to escape execution. After Usagi told him of the Four Pillars he decided to follow the same path and hold the border with them.

Tora Hana

She/her, 14, 5 2”, apprentice

No magic, wields a wakazashi

She’s another runaway from clan Toru, with nowhere to go. Usagi found her while heading north and took pity on her. She wants to impress him, and later Chizu, and learn how to defend herself.

The Metal Man(Repo Mantis)

He/him, age unknown, height changes

Pact breaker curse- he’s covered in metal and spikes, half living half dead, doomed to do the bidding of Wheynin, the collector god, until he’s destroyed

He has no motivation, he is merely a husk at the whim of his master, no longer alive but not dead either.

Hunger (Meat Sweats)

It/it’s, age unknown, size indeterminate

It’s comes to you in a haze. The Hunger. It must feed.

There is no running. There is no resisting. There is only Hunger.

The General (Rocksteady)

He/him, 51, 6’, knight

Powers unknown; wields an axe

Full obscured by his armor, he rides that great horned beast… he comes and goes as the empress pleases, rolling over the land like a tide, leaving the earth soaked and trampled. The only thing he wants is to dominate.

The Scout (Beebop)

He/him, 29, 5 5”, ranger

Made a pact with the goddess of the hunt, Heart Beat- can go invisible for up to a minute,moves exceptionally quietly and has a keen sense of smell; wields a bow

Always at the side of The General, The Scout is sometimes called the Harbinger. He wears all black, coming and going like an insect through walls. He never shows his face- some believe he bears a curse on it, some believe it’s because he was horribly mangled. Neither are true. He does as The General commands.

Brek Oso (Razar)

They/Them, 55, 7 6”, man hunter

Rumored to have made a pact with a devil. Wields a spear.

They chase gold. No one gets away.

More lore to come…….

[whoisglory]

So, one of my favorite AU ideas is what if Sakura was born an Uzumaki, that her parents were also from the village hidden in the whirlpools and came to konoha as “back up” for kushina. Most events would remain the same, Sakura would however be far more talented and capable. Having the minds eye technique at her direct disposal and a lot more chakra. She’d also be a bit more kind, sympathizing with sasuke over the loss of a clan. She’d become what little family sasuke had left. Inviting him over for dinner occasionally. They trained together. Sasuke for revenge and sakura to spend time with sasuke.

The three sannin would all be capable of incomplete sage transformations, slug snake and toad. And in this edited picture, sakura is using slug sage mode!

If you’d like you can leave suggestions for this au and what slug sage mode might be capable off and how it interacts with the byakugou seal!

[ladybird-with-a-pen]

Uzushiogakure

Now since I’ve been pulled into the Naruto fandom and have decided to worldbuild Uzushio, I’ll lay out some headcanons of mine and of things I’ve read from fanfics that I absolutely love.

These are specifically for a story I plan to write soon and so some of my worldbuilding is not canon at all. This is specifically made to push the story forward that I want to make.

* When Kaguya initially introduces chakra to the world, the Uzumaki clan already exists in what present day called Uzushio. They are stone workers a few families large that settled there out of a desire to get away from there war torn world. They learned how to navigate the dangerous whirlpools with their ships. Uzushio is settled in a shallow valley ringed by a large volcanic mountain range. The front faces a large bay which is ringed by several large islands.

When chakra settles into the world, a combination of the power of the whirlpools and large basins of magma under the earth draws a larger then usual amount of chakra into the bay, forming the spirit of Uzu. The Uzumaki make contact with the spirit and their souls and all their like-chakra descendants are bonded with the sentient chakra. This make it so that when the Uzumaki die, their spirits are able to stay on the earth until they want to move on. Only the Uzumaki are able to see their spirits, not even branch families that come from the Uzumaki and make their own clans can see the spirits.

With the latent chakra in the air and how much has gathered in the bay, the Uzumaki and the 4 other clans that make up the future Uzushio are granted longevity and vitality, with the Uzumaki living up to 150 year and the other clans, having come later, living to about 120.

The village of Uzushio doesn’t start out as a shinobi village and doesn’t even get that designation until Konoha is established 1000 years down the line as the first Hidden Village. Instead, they consider themselves a Chakra Village. The only people who can live in Uzushio are clans that can use chakra, as the majority of people who live in the elemental regions are civilians because they can’t use chakra. The people of Uzushio use chakra in their daily lives but are generally doing jobs that civilians do in canon, like being merchants, doctors, blacksmiths, fishermen, etc. But all of this is augmented with chakra abilities and seals. These clans that settled here were not separated and were actually called by the spirit of Uzu, who can sense the dispositions of clans and whether they were a good fit for the Uzumaki people. She called 4 clans that could come together to protect each other.

There was only one main clan that started as shinobi before they came to Uzushio in the first 100 years. They settled to be able to raise their children in peace much like they did in Konoha. But as other shinobi clans outside the Land of Eddys developed their own Kekkei Genkai, they found that their singular abilities was not enough to protect the merchants and clan civilians that wanted to travel as well as fulfill the daimyo and nobles requests. So they offered to train any person who wanted to become a shinobi. With this and other clans having already developed clan and chakra abilities and seals but not using them much for combat, the citizens of Uzushio are easily able to add a military side to their Village.

The Uzumaki were not originally royalty. While a daughter of Asura did marry into the clan and their members regularly chosen as the leader or Seiza (named for constellations who the fishermen followed as guides), they did not become royally until a Uzumaki leader married the only heir of the Daimyo. It was then decided that because of the Land of Eddys only extending a few islands past the domain of Uzushio, the roles of Daimyo and Seiza be merged, with the nobles city still existing and having their roles but the center of the government residing within the city of Uzushio. The samurai were appointed to be the guard of the nobles. Thankfully with the Land of Eddy’s being so small, the nobles have a pretty humble disposition for nobles and are rich off of land trade. Eventually as time wore on, the nobility died out and the samurai clans left for other lands. It was from then on that it became normalized for the main line Uzumaki to raise their children as future leaders of Uzushio from childhood.

Uzu has a big role in how Uzushio operates. Not only does she have to approve of the future leader of Uzushio, but she also decides if one is considered a part of Uzushio. While every child has a seal drawn on the bottom of their big toe at birth as to be able to recognize another Uzushioian by touching them, Uzu inhabits the space of Uzushio from the mountain range to the islands borders, below the seas and above. She also is connected to every body of water connected to the ocean. So even if a Uzushioian dips their toe in a stream in Kiri, if it’s connected to the ocean, Uzu can detect their innermost intentions. So if one marked with the seal but plans betray another Uzushioian, their seal is wiped away from their body and they are no longer considered part of Uzushio.

Thats all for now. I’ll probably explain in further depth who the clans are and other smaller details of Uzushio and it’s culture. But it could go on for awhile.

[legend-as-old-as-time]

I've been reading too many isekai stories. Now I have the idea for a story where a human plays a video game that is clearly based on Bionicle and the characters look like from Bionicle, but the plot barely has any resemblance to canon.

Then she visits an aquarium that has enclosures in the ocean, supernatural stuff happens, and she falls into a glowing, whirling pool that opens into a whirlpool / tunnel.

When she wakes up, she's washed up on the beach of what she quickly realizes is the game's setting. The game she's been playing. The game that has an excuse plot for the sake of blowing stuff up as a toa team.

And she's now in the body of a skakdi, one of the 'stuff'.

But one: the skakdi, name "Lekto", is still present but her mind pushed back. They strike up a friendship.

Two: The memories she has of the toa conflict with how they are played and programmed in the game. They were their area's protectors and were actually part of a larger group consisting of different species working together. Not always harmonously, but well. Which group doesn't have their problems?

But a few months ago, something changed. As if their entire personalities had been transformed. They killed, drove off, or captured the other members.

Three: The player feels intense deja-vu. Not as in "I recognize locations from my playthrough", but "There's a hidden entrance into a cave where my friends and I like to hang out with each other" that Lekto doesn't know about. The cave contains objects that belong to the protector team. This happens with other locations, too.

Four: Glatorian and agori and skrall and other species live in the nearby village. Where did they come from?! They never appeared in the game. And there's a book whose author's name is partly damaged, reading as "When-"

Five: The people are terrified. Rumors circulate that a Great Being has returned and is seeking revenge. They've teamed up with a mercenary from far away whose group consists of people who are only known by their code names.

Six: Sometimes, the world seems to... not glitch because that's not the right word. More like it becomes 'glassy', as if looking through a window, and you vaguely see something beyond.

Seven: Places have appeared where time seems to be broken. They're more frequent around the areas where the world is Glassy.

Eight: What the fuck is going on?

[damien-wolfram-art]

The Quick Yellow Fox Denned Up with the Old White Wolf

Minato never had a shrine to call his own. He was a curious young kitsune who spent his days darting around the wide world in search of fresh sources of life force. Though he was benevolent wherever he went, he knew it was unsafe to stay in one place for long for his antics in any given village left many humans drained and wary of him. He didn’t mean to cause trouble; it was simply a part of his nature.

Other beings were fascinating to him. He would watch them from afar with perked ears, poking through his fluffy blond hair, sparkling deep blue eyes, and a wagging golden pillowy tail. Some would eye the pale yellow robed kitsune with disdain and keep their distance, fearing his power. Others would approach him fearlessly and ask for his blessings. Others yet, would look at him with the same curiosity and desire as he offered to them.

He would den up with those individuals from time to time. Their company was a comfort to him, however fleeting, for the young kitsune rarely stayed still and his interests were as fickle as the Autumn weather. His travels took him all over The Land of Fire and its neighboring countries. He visited The Hidden Eddy village with its whirlpools, and its red-haired maidens in the south. He visited the whispering woods of The Village Hidden in the Sound and met other vagrants who were passing through the north. He even spent time in the deep woods of The Hidden Leaf Village at the center of the country.

It was about a day’s stroll to the south-east of The Leaf that he hit a wall of scent that stopped him dead in his tracks. It was a strong salty funky scent that was chock full of pheromones. He couldn’t help himself. He had to know where it was coming from.

Following the scent was straight forward enough. He had little trouble staying down wind of it, but its pungency was distracting to the kitsune, and he ended up walking right into a trap. Snap! It was a bear trap.

Minato’s eyes went wide, and his pupils dilated on the offending jaws that were digging into his left leg. He was bleeding so much that he thought he’d faint. The only thing keeping him conscious was the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching him. He tried to run in the opposite direction, but the jaws only tore deeper into the flesh of his lower leg and made him scream.

The footsteps closed in on him and he whipped his head around to see who or what it was. “Not this again,” said a soft voice filled with concern. Rushing to his aid, came a larger grizzled man. He had a shorter white tail and canine ears poking through his longer fluffy hair that was pulled back into a low ponytail. His tired dark eyes focused on the trap, and he took hold of its teeth. “You might want to grab that stick there and bite down,” he suggested, motioning with his strong neck to a fallen branch near Minato. When he abided, he wrenched the jaws of the trap open. Minato didn’t scream this time. The pain had proved too much for him. He blacked out.

He woke to the same pungent smell from before and a trickling sound. He was curled up in a den dug out of a three-meter-tall cliff. His wounded leg was wrapped up and no longer bleeding. Around him were the forms of many large wolves. He stiffened, almost reverting to his fox shape, but calmed when he realized they were all peacefully sleeping.

A shifting and a sigh at the den’s entrance drew his attention. He sat up to check it out and when he did, he saw his savior from earlier that afternoon, gilded in the white light of the moon. The trickling sound got louder, and the scent got stronger. Minato’s ears guided his eyes to the source of the sound. A heavy stream of urine crashed into the loose soil at the larger man’s feet; it foamed on impact.

Feeling a twitch between his legs, Minato swallowed a moan. He’d never come into contact with such an attractive sight and scent. There was something powerful and well-seasoned about the man at the entrance. He needed to know more.

“Uhm, excuse me?” He called to him meekly. The man at the entrance looked back curiously, though he did not stop peeing. Minato only grew more excited by this. “Were you the one who saved me?”

The man finished relieving himself with a few quick and firm spurts, before tucking away his long pale member. Minato couldn’t help but stare– entranced by how the foreskin clung loosely to the firmness beneath it. He could even make out a small blueish vein running along part of its length before it was hidden away behind his long dirty white and red patterned kimono.

The white-haired man turned to Minato and smiled in a way that formed wrinkles around the corners of his mouth. “So good to see you’re up again, little fox. I freed you from that terrible trap, that’s true.”

Minato blushed at the way he’d been addressed. Rarely had anyone called him anything, but Kitsune. “Wh-why did you help me?” He asked.

“Why?” The larger man pondered aloud, grabbing at his squared chin. “Well, that trap was most likely not meant for you. It’d be cruel to let you die in it. Besides…” He sat down beside Minato. “You’re much too young to be dying, little fox.”

The kitsune blushed deeper, leaning closer to the bigger man. “You can call me Minato…if you’d like,” he offered.

“Minato huh? With a name like that, you must have been born by the water.”

“Yes, actually. You’ve got excellent deduction skills,” Minato said with a short laugh. “What about you? What are you called?”

“Sakumo. I am the Alpha of this pack.”

Minato felt the fur on his tail stand on end. “Sakumo…Alpha huh? No kidding,” he whispered.

“I know what you're thinking. An old wolf like me?”

Minato waved his hands in a nonthreatening manner. “No no no! Not at all! I think you’re very impressive.”

At that moment, Sakumo began to smell something coming off of Minato. It was a woodsy spicy scent hidden under a strong musk. The kitsune’s tail curled around the old wolf’s torso, beckoning him as he moved in closer. Both of their scents mingled in the air around them, making the both of them painfully aware of each other. That night, and for the few nights he needed to recover, the quick yellow fox denned up with the old white wolf.

@narutokinktober

@bitchbot3000

[nardo-headcanons]

Hi, I never get tired of saying how creative and talented you are ♡♡♡ I wanted to know if you would write about the Senju Clan. I know it's strange, since I haven't seen you writing anything like that and usually I don't see anything like that. I like the way you write, you're the best

Sigh. I have let this sit in my inbox way too long. I am so sorry. Thank you so much for your kind words, nonnie. I have some thoughts about the Hyuga as well, let me know if you would be interested in hearing that.

Also please note that I will change around some canon things and all of this is fanfiction/headcanon.

tagging some people i think will like reading this post: @narutobrainrotstuff , @the-real-sasuke-uchiha , @spookyphilosophertaco , @danceofthexdragons

cw for mention of genetics, racism, religion, genocide and human experiments

The Senju Clan

People

Compared to the Uchiha clan, who are phenotypically rather monotonous, the Senju clan had a very diverse population with a wider range of skin tones, eye and hair colors. There were generally very little restrictions when it came to marrying into the clan and becoming a part of it. The only traits most of the Senju shared were that of fine, straight hair whilst the Uchiha had thick and dark hair with curls not being uncommon.

The reason the Senju died out were two sides of the same coin - with many of the clan's members birthing less and less children, and those who did marrying outside of the clan to the point where there are many Konoha ninjas nowadays who are part Senju but may not even know it.

Traits and Abilities

The Senju were rather unspecified, wanting to hone their skills in all three fighting styles, though I like to think that Taijutsu was one they particularly excelled in. Once one's movements were fast enough to be evaded by the base sharingan (Mangekyou sharingan was, depending on the source material, either extremely rare or nonexistent), the Senju had an easier time fighting the Uchiha. Many of them became weapons and taijutsu specialists, making me think that Tenten might be part Senju and her idolization of Tsunade was a way to connect with her roots and get to know a fellow Senju.

Another skill of the Senju was wood style, which was a skill many Senju before Hashirama posessed, but they rarely ever utilized it in battle. Said ability was caused by a point mutation in the exome, prompting Orochimaru to later carry out experiment's on embryonic DNA to artificially induce said point mutation, killing dozens of newborns in the process.

Religion

While the Uchiha followed the way of Shintōism, most of the Senju were buddhists, like their distant relatives, the Uzumaki. Initially, the people living in the country of fire were engaging in both buddhist and shintōist practices, but with the continued rise of war between the shintō-believing Uchiha and the buddhist Senju, these two religions were more or less divided.

The Senju and the Uzumaki

The establishment of Uzushiogakure in the whirlpool country was received with mixed feelings from its inhabitants. Most Uzumaki, although practiced in the arts of combat, preferred their pacifistic lifestyle of teaching their ways on paper, and not on the battlefield. This instability made it easier for the hidden mist village to send colonialist forces, killing most of the Uzumaki in fear of their congenital abilities. And with the Senju living more and more decentralized and being too occupied with themselves, Uzushiogakure lacked the manpower compared to Kiri's extermination force.

The Senju's Legacy

Nowadays, after Konoha was founded, the Senju started living more and more decentralized, therefore there wasn't such a thing as the "Senju compound". The language of the Senju was adapted as Konoha's official language, causing the other hidden villages to adapt it as well. (You can read more about my thoughts on language in the Shinobi world here.)

There were shrines for both buddhist and shintō believers in the village, but once Hashirama became the first hokage, more and more citizens adapted the Senju's religion of buddhism, with the shintō believers dwindling in numbers. Tobirama's segregation policy did not help in the slightest; although the Uchiha, who believed in family unity and support, lived closely together, being redlined and pushed into the same profession felt patronizing. But even though the Senju as a clan is no more, their legacy continues on, in good ways, and in bad.

[luchicm04]

lost in the forest - part 18

Masterlist

Summary: The Uzumaki enter the scene at long last. Both heirs leave a permanent first impression.

Pairing: Senju Tobirama/Original Female Character

Tag: #lost in the forest fic

posted on ao3

Word Count: 5.2k

Overall warnings: canon-typical violence, adult content, time skips, angst, kidnapping

It is an elegant event, is what she notices when she begins to walk in a formal yukata in cold colors that match her light hairstyle in a fallen braid. Karen feels out of place considering her features and certain strangenesses outside the clan. 

Even so, she rises swallowing her discomfort to continue at her pace. It is not the first time this has happened... before, she also felt the same, although today it is heavy. 

“Karen, you remember the practice, right?” Mikami is at her side with an extremely careful gesture. Just like her, she wears a yukata in typical colors of her clan with flowers matching her comb. 

“Yes,” she sighs with a frown, offended by such doubt. She easily remembers all the mistreatment from that time. Karen still follows the course. There are many glances... until she reaches the main house. 

She can’t help but feel like she doesn’t fit in among everyone present when she notices strong features, slightly more pearly skin, and a reddish color in their hair so deep that it seems unreal. 

Like those fantasy tones that existed in her old home, where they had to bleach your hair so that it would take on that longed-for tone, although here they are diverse in a variety of warm colors that are surprising. 

Fantastic. 

“Good afternoon, miss,” one with a good-natured appearance gives the newcomer an interesting arch. He looks extremely pleased by such a visit that makes her raise her eyebrow. She greets back and doesn’t overlook the type of accent he has even though it is the same language, sullener and more raised that it is difficult for her to understand. 

She didn’t know there were other tones that confuse her. 

“Oh... well, Hashirama-ni wrote about you in his letters, but seeing you in person... is remarkable,” the young man comments, bypassing those she believed to be his guards, descending the stairs with agility. His yukata is a bit more sumptuous than the locals themselves. 

“Really?” She raised her eyebrow doubtful at such a comment. Does said leader talk about her to other people? That worries her and she does not avoid feeling exposed. 

“Of course, although let me tell you that only good things,” cheerful and happy he whispers in her ear calmly. “Mikami-san... also a long time without seeing you... same, Grandmother Kaori,” he greets those who are escorting her. 

“Sir,” her former tutor states. “You should not be here.” 

“Oh, well, my sister wanted to be alone with her future fiancé before the formal presentation,” assures the man right next to her without taking his eyes off her for too long. “And Oto-sama is with them,” he explains lightly, not caring that he is saying extra things, with a pleasing touch to her direction. 

Annoying. 

“I see,” Mikami sighs. “Karen-san, this is the young heir f the Uzumaki clan, who comes from the country of the Whirlpool. Uzu no Kuni is east of the Land of Fire,” she explains in more detail without missing a beat. 

“I had heard that you are unaffiliated with the hidden villages,” the same slightly tanned man blinks innocently. “But I did not think that civilians could have this kind of ignorance of their surroundings.” 

“Aoki-san,” someone calls with his harsh voice. She sighs in relief that even if it was the irritating Senju who she saw, he would get her out of this strange situation with said foreigner so close. 

“Oh, Tobirama... don’t tell me san, it’s too formal,” he complains so boisterously in a different way than the man she has heard, crossing his arms. 

“You are the son of our ally.” The albino frowns to look at her. “Karen,” he calls the girl who sighs with relief at standing next to said acquaintance. 

Like a little help from so many strange things around her, which she won’t say out loud obviously. 

“Oh...” The redhead points out easily. “I didn’t think that you...” 

“It’s not/It is not what you think,” both declare at the same time, making it uncomfortable. She stays silent letting the man talk. 

She’s already tired... Can’t she go? 

“Well, if not... there may be always a chance.” Cheeky, Aoki gives her a solemn gesture. “But how rude of me... young noblewoman, my name is Uzumaki Aoki, heir to the clan and prince of the Whirlpool Country,” he clarifies with more luxury of detail, seeing how Mikami is ashamed of the omission of name more than his position. “And I am happy to finally meet such a fine lady... as I said, I have heard about you and your reforms. They are remarkable.” 

“It is not much.” Karen looks uncomfortable about the rest. “Still... nice to meet you,” she leans slightly, trying to get out of this thing that she simply can’t put a name to. The anxiety rises and she wants to be somewhere else other than here. 

Even now, she would be more than happy to live in isolation... 

“Karen-san... it is a strange name,” points out the man. “Do you have a last name?” The redhead asks directly, which makes her blink at such a comment. 

No one has asked her beyond her first name. 

So even if she doesn’t admit it... the consideration is notable. 

“I have,” the civilian calmly accepts, looking worried because it is long and difficult to pronounce for a language that is not hers. It’s difficult to say even in English. 

“Oh... and could I know it?” 

“Alright!” Someone calls behind her, saving those present from such a disturbing question. Karen sighs in relief when the man turns to see who is leaving the main house, ignoring the look of ‘we’ll talk about this later’ from a particularly bitter Tobirama. 

Hashirama and a beautiful striking woman came out behind them with equally luxurious clothing. Karen couldn’t help but notice this and regret again not bringing her camera. “What?” She frowns when the albino shinobi keeps irritating her with those red eyes staring straight at her. 

He doesn’t say anything, he only turns his face when his brother starts to speak. He looks smiling... although the civilian, even though she is not a shinobi, sees a shadow in the eyes of said leader. 

Understanding something... getting married for politics never gets off to a good start... especially not for young people, right? 

──

The hustle and bustle and the noticeable red color added to this routine is a bit special. There are many people who start drinking while some others talk about such special feats that they mostly ignore her. 

Being a civilian, they don’t involve her in much... besides, listening to Uzu’s accent is tiring and makes her head hurt enough. 

“Uh... I don’t think you should be here,” the girl points out, watching Hashirama give her a glass of something she can only sniff. “Is it alcohol?” She questions doubtfully in her native language with a soft gesture. 

“Yes.” 

“I don't like to drink... thank you.” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah, I prefer some juice,” Karen says, not wanting to make a disfigurement when she feels that, despite the relaxation, they hope to approach her... at least with Uzu’s presence the harassment has calmed down, but she feels that the grandchildren of certain councilors are on the lookout. 

It’s a shame that they are hosts and must attend to their guests who may be well known. 

“I will consider it,” he says to take the two glasses easily, which makes her look at him with clear doubt. 

“Something is happening, isn’t it?” Looking at the panorama, Karen asks her partner without moving. Being almost on the edge of the entire event is good because it gives her time to think and get away from the men who are not exactly trying to talk to her. 

Annoying. 

Hashirama doesn’t look sad, but he doesn’t look as cheerful as he usually is. “Did you notice that?” 

“It’s difficult not to, you tend to be brighter,” she shrugs, being honest with one of the qualities by which she recognizes this former kidnapper, especially when it comes to his fiancée. “She is a beautiful woman,” she clarifies nimbly. 

“Mito... she is beautiful,” the man accepts. “However, I... I haven’t seen her in a long time.” 

“Really?” 

“The Uzumaki clan and the Senju are allies, but they are in another country. Visits are complicated with the war,” he states without hiding anything of what is happening, as he normally would, a point that clarifies how tense he is in this situation. 

Talking sometimes works very well. 

So she leaves it without asking anything in detail. She huffs... she wished she had some juice to pass the time. 

Pity. 

“I see...” Karen remains thoughtful a little, thinking about the type of long-distance relationship in a world without technology like hers. If having phones there are breakups... she can’t imagine one where they rarely communicate. 

“In your... home, do they do this?” He questions out of nowhere directly. 

“...This?” The civilian blinks, a little surprised by the turn of his words. “Get engaged?” She questions, doubtful of this turn. 

“Y-yes.” He doesn’t look shy, but he does look curious. 

“It’s complicated,” she explains without missing a beat. “In history, there have been many of these engagements. Things that were used to strengthen alliances, exchanges or even stop wars.” 

“Stop wars?” 

“Yes, it is said that some civilizations did it... they offered their daughters for peace.” She accepts the old traditions of her world in a time where it was so difficult to be a woman, especially when they were treated as objects of exchange unfairly. 

Without considering your own feelings or rights. 

“Oh...” 

“There may not be love... but it is complicated like romance itself.” She sighs with a soft gesture because this is a controversial topic itself, taking into account that her ideals and values clash a lot with what is presented in this reality. 

Karen sees her mistake at mentioning her opinion. “I think it’s not what you wanted to hear.” She raises her arm in confidence, as she did with work colleagues in difficult times, so she doesn’t hesitate to squeeze the man in consolation, passing my much the normal etiquette. “Frankly, I don’t know what to tell you, because these teachings do not apply at certain levels... where I come from, it is no longer common.” 

“You?” 

“Me?” She blinks innocently... but she sees her partner’s slight blush. “If you’re asking, I never got married,” she sighs, remembering. “But I remember one or two who wanted something more,” she says, looking at the boisterous shinobi who begin with their own business. “I never took the step, I didn’t give it a chance... not when I focused on what I wanted.” 

“...” 

“I preferred my job, my specialty over starting a family,” she explains in more detail, seeing the confusion normal of who does not understand much of what she says. “I wanted to grow in my work,” she explains in simpler words. “To be independent.” She keeps analyzing her position somewhat. 

“It sounds lonely,” the light man replies calmly. 

“It’s not when you have a family that supports you.” She mocks the irony of such a comment. Isn’t she supposed to be there to listen to the sorrows of said leader? ...She doesn’t know what this guy is doing to make her start rambling about intimate things. 

She may have been here for two years... but she is still closed in on many things. 

Especially when it comes to her closest circle. 

“I... I would like you to...” Hashirama looks extremely uneasy to look at her without a strange softness. He remains silent hesitantly. 

“Hashirama, Mito-san is waiting for you,” someone suddenly calls. Seeing a bitter Tobirama was no surprise. He raises his eyebrow between them, until he frowns at his relative with an air of scolding. 

“...I’m going,” the leader declares to look at her. “Thank you for your words,” he accepts after a while, leaving her wondering what he wanted to ask her. 

“No, on the contrary... if you need to talk about it, you can count on me. I won’t be of help regarding romantic things, but I know that both of you will find a way to be happy,” Karen comments as if nothing had happened, with sincerity of what she feels said man will achieve. 

Even if a few months ago she wished for the worst, given her isolation... now that she knows them a little better (what they tell her clearly), she doesn’t feel that it is that bad. 

At least Hashirama... he deserves to have a happy life of his own and fine love in some way, because rejecting this practice would ruin the peace of two powerful clans... She doesn’t put her own ideas or right and wrong first. It’s not her culture nor her time and she knows it will be misinterpreted. 

Letting herself be carried away by the river... making only clear the openness of being friends despite everything. 

She hopes that’s enough. 

“Y-yes.” Hashirama doesn’t look especially happy but he walks away, giving a gentle gesture to Tobirama. She can see him walking in his elegant clothes among the men who make boisterous happy greetings about this pact and what it means politically speaking. 

It’s sad... feeling love is overvalued... and it’s too painful to watch. 

Karen sighs and shales those thoughts away, feeling like yet another thing has been lost in this whole interaction that they rarely have considering she deals with his brother more. 

“...Here,” the albino orders harshly, interrupting her analysis still watching the leader sit at the main table. 

“You seriously can’t be nicer, right?” Irritated, the woman sniffs said glass, taking it calmly. She sighs audibly at who is still standing next to her. 

“It is juice,” he says with his rough, flat voice. 

“Huh?” She frowns at this and raises her eyebrow, so she simply takes what was delivered after a while, refreshing her throat. She sighs... it was unnecessary to tell him that she is not a fan of alcohol and that is strange. “Well... thank you” 

“...” 

“You know, you’re still terrible company,” the woman snorts, annoyed by the silent human with clear cold intentions. “Shouldn’t you be somewhere else? ...I don’t know, attending to the guests,” she offers bitterly. 

“Hashirama will take care of it.” 

“You are his brother, don’t leave him alone in this.” 

The albino greets his teeth but doesn’t comment on anything, maintaining his tree position to one side. At least it’s useful and scares away those who turn to look at her. In her annoying yukata, she’s still bright in the light of the torches that begin to unfold around her with a technique that is sure to be foreign magic. 

“The chakra does facilitate a lot,” she comments, keeping this conversation in her native language. 

The man says nothing, remaining in his sullen essence. 

“You know, it if worries you... it would be good if you told him,” she sighs, trying to theorize about why her partner is so bitter, more than usual... He is not usually like that, not even on their bad discussion days.  

“...What are you talking about?” Bites venomous her companion. 

“He’s your brother, he will understand that you worry about him. It’s normal.” 

“It is none of your business.” 

“Tobirama... why do you have to be so difficult?” She complains. 

Said man does not give her an answer. “What did he say to you?” 

“He didn’t tell me anything exactly... I guessed it,” she sighs, remembering the conversation. “Getting married without love is difficult, more so when an alliance with such distinguished people depends on it.” 

“Love is not necessary.” 

“Your brother... deserves to be happy. A woman who loves him.” 

“You?” 

“No, obviously,” she rolls her eyes at such an out-of-place comment, not at all affected by the kind of insinuation that passes by. “Just... It’s good that he talks to someone, and you should be his support. Help him now he looks so doubtful about it.” 

“He knows what he should do. Do not make him confused.” 

“I am not.” The woman easily glares, not understanding what the questions is about, although she is not sure what he means that her information confuses him regarding the path he should take. 

She huffs... she’s overthinking things. 

“You never make anything simple, woman,” Tobirama says after a moment, while she cursed in languages other than English or the local one. 

“It’s my gift.” She shrugs carelessly. “That skill comes with age,” she bites poisonously without caring if they are observed. She sees that they are shameless in whispering behind her back, which makes her frown. 

This will be hard to get over... great! More gossip around her. 

Tobirama looks at her for a long time. Karen sighs, not knowing what to do about it. 

“Why are you looking at me?” She frowns after a while of this silence, adjusting her now empty glass between her fingers in an anxious game of this unwanted company... being direct in her question when this only becomes uncomfortable. 

“Mph...”, he huffs annoyed to cross his arms. 

Karen rolls her eyes at the null result of her question. “You’re annoying, as always.” Looking at how the food table is now empty, she sees a different and more exciting standpoint than having this bitter shadow at her side. 

It’s her birthday... the least she can do is enjoy the banquet, right? 

“Where are you going?” 

“To eat,” the woman accepts without waiting for the surly shinobi. It was good that the old leader of the Uzumaki clan stopped him, because it would be irritating to have an annoying shadow behind her. 

Of course, it had its benefits... drunk shinobi or old councilors did not approach... but she is not willing to sacrifice a good meal for such bitter presence. 

It was better... right? 

──

Mito is a woman with a very refined, clean face, with those big eyes and reddish hair in two elegant buns that make her distinguishable from any beauty she has seen so far. 

Karen can indicate that it would be a success if she became a model... and up close this increases. 

“Good afternoon,” the redhead greets her calmly, stopping her mid-eating from her place. 

“Nice to meet you, Uzumaki Mito-san,” the civilian says with a solemn tone, bowing as etiquette dictates. She sees her eyes scan her slightly. 

“The pleasure is mine, Karen-san,” the woman assures with a soft tone. 

“Oh, thank you, Uzumaki-san,” she belatedly remembers the fact that they must speak to her by her last name. She keeps her face firm in front of the presence that carries the infamous princess. 

“Mito is fine,” the girl dismisses her to gently place her hands in front of her. “Do you want to talk?” She politely questions. 

“Uh... of course,” she says, sadly leaving her place and heading to some point in the meeting. She notices the fleeting glances of the old woman Kaori who changes more plates and refills others. She winks in confidence of Mikami’s teachings. 

She hopes not to provoke a war due to some slight or misinterpretation... which makes her feel somewhat distrustful, placing her business attitude at its maximum splendor. 

Like having a job interview... 

“We can have some tea here, away from the people,” assures the woman, following the passage to an elegant canopy placed in the background just behind the big house. She feels a light tingling on her skin that simply makes her keep on going. 

“Thank you.” She sits in perfect seiza right in front of a small table and blinks... it is spacious and with a peculiar smell or herbs or something of lavender that relaxes her anxiety and worry a little. 

“Not at all. As noble women, I am pleased that you accepted my invitation,” the redhead speaks with her usual tone and accent while the decorations on her high buns jingle. 

“On the contrary, it was nice of you to invite me... as a civilian, there is really not much to talk about,” she shrugs, maintaining her height as dictated by Mikami’s etiquette and scolding. 

“Oh, well I do not think you believe that.” 

“No?” 

“Of course, as I understand it, you have worked hand in hand with the Senju clan,” the lady states, taking an elegant sip of her hot drink. Hers is still ahead... she remembers the steps and hand position very well. 

However, she remains thinking about what she said. It is not a secret and as she heard from her brother, he was sincere in that Hashirama spoke about her in his letters. 

“Yes, I have... I must admit that the opening that the Senju brothers have given me has greatly favored certain processes,” she says honestly without missing a beat. “So, I understand your doubt about it.” 

“Hashirama is an idealistic man,” Mito responds, taking another sip of her drink to stare at her with a special glow that worries her. She doesn’t get uncomfortable... she tries not to do it and make it confusing for the woman. 

“He is, but I guess it is a step for his dream.” 

“Has he told you?” 

“Yes,” the civilian says without hesitation, noticing that a shadow passes over the redhead’s neat face. “Is there something wrong?” 

“Nothing,” the woman smiles softly. “You are very close, right?” 

“I would not say that, we are like co-workers.” 

“Co-workers?” 

“Yes, colleagues who seek the same goal,” the civilian shrugs calmly, which makes her feel more confident. “The way they work is gratifying in a certain way.” 

“I see,” she sighs. “And tell me, since we are more in confidence... what are you looking for from them?” She comments directly while still sipping her drink again. Karen blinks but she leaves the cup on the table. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, a noble and civilian woman... relating to a clan like the Senju...” She shrugs. “I do not think you would do it for... nothing.” 

“Oh...” Karen sees the point. She supposes that the doubt is normal because although she doesn’t want to admit it, even Tobirama looks sullen in every exchange or idea she shares. Perhaps it is a shinobi thing to wait for the figurative shoe to drop. 

This woman is direct though. “No good civilian lady would relate to a clan leader and his brother for nothing,” she repeats as if she were talking about the climate. 

“Oh, well... no one has been direct with their questions.” The girl is honest about it with a soft smile. 

“Oh... does it bother you?” Innocent, the redhead declares with a double blink that almost makes her fall... Karen sees that she is in trouble without really knowing why. She sighs... surely again, like with Touka, even if they are kunoichi, assurance is fragile. 

But she cannot be as direct as she was with the Senju kunoichi, since that would be difficult to fix as she is from another clan and and country... and a princess as the icing on the cake. 

“It does not bother me... it just surprises me, a lot would be better if they asked directly,” she shrugs, leaving her own alarming musings. “And I am glad that there are still people like this among the shinobi.” 

“Well... I like to be clear and this does not look very good for my fiancé,” she declares with a soft smile, leaving her empty cup on the table. Mito is firm in clarifying her point here and her position, which makes her sigh internally. 

She sees her point... and even if no one has directly said anything regarding her strange relationship with two of the most important men in the clan, as a woman, that is frowned upon. 

“I understand your point.” With a professional tone, the woman looks into the redhead’s eyes. “Hashirama is a good man, idealistic and who puts the well-being of the village above his own. He will be lucky with a person like you by his side.” She goes straight to the point. 

Mito looks surprised but quickly replies. “Do you think so?” 

“I believe it and affirm it. If you care so much about him as a person, you will be the ideal complement for a leader who aspires to peace... an arduous job that not everyone can carry out.” The civilian cannot deny she was worried that this relationship was more complicated, considering the kind of reaction Hashirama had and his doubts. 

“You know... I thought you were just like any civilian... but I see why they see the danger in you.” She smiles, hiding whatever she talked about and with whom. She takes the teapot calmly, pouring it again into two cups. 

“I assure you, I am not dangerous.” 

“That is what you say... but as a woman, there are other dangers.” 

“Huh?” 

“But as you say... I guess it is something that should not worry you,” Mito states without missing a beat. “Since my Oto-sama told me about my engagement, when I was introduced to Hashirama years ago... I always saw myself at his side, I prepared as expected of a clan leader’s wife.” 

Karen doesn’t see the reason for the explanation, calmly sipping the drink while the young woman elaborates. 

“A civilian like you... that you are clear on this, I am glad... I just hope I do not have problems later.” 

Karen smiles at that slight threat. “It will not be a problem... and I hope that despite this strange comment, we can be kind in the future.” 

“That depends?” 

“Depends on what?” 

“On his behavior... Hashirama talks a lot about you, about your exploits and described you in a peculiar way,” Mito says with a flat tone. “I know I will be clear about what I am looking for from you.” 

“...Well.” She tries not to say anything when she feels offended on behalf of her friend. “I do not think that is a problem... Although it is sad that you doubt your fiancé’s loyalty before the wedding.” 

“I do not doubt him.” 

“Oh...” The civilian blinks innocently. Did she think she would be easily humiliated? Well... she sighs, putting up with everything that is going through her mind at this moment. “You do not have to worry about me,” she admits shamelessly without any kind of emotional attachment beyond friendship. “I am not interested in some kind of relationship... or that kind of thing. It is not for me.” 

“...” 

“I may be a civilian, but not all of us aspire to marriage. I am better off alone.” 

Mito does not look upset. On the contrary, she shows a soft smile after probing her eyes well. “Well, keep that in mind... I hope to be able to work with you later.” 

Karen wants to laugh hysterically at such a quick turn of events. “Of course, it would be good to talk about things other than your boyfriend.” 

“Boyfriend?” 

“Yes, you know, your fiancé.” The eldest blinks, noticing the girl’s blush at such a word, as if she is just realizing what will happen next... 

Karen sighs softly after all this intense exchange. She hopes she has passed whatever test this has been, so she limits herself to talking about things outside of what she encountered at the beginning. 

Feeling uncomfortable at first... and then she was washed away as she understood a little the reason for the young woman’s fear, because if she thinks about it carefully, they always instilled in her the marriage with the young Senju who she apparently loves. 

Deep down, this makes her feel a little better... Hashirama will have a good future with a young lady like this who honestly cares about him, his dream and so on. 

Mito is not so bad... only now she understands better why she is afraid and although she feels she should not feel insecure, Karen put that talk aside, glad that she did not cause some kind of breakup or political conflict difficult to fix. 

──

“Oh, Mito-san is in the room right now.” Karen blinks at the intimidating presence of that red-haired man who laughs lightly. 

“Not at all... I was looking for you.” 

“Me?” 

“Of course, we left a conversation halfway,” the man declares with his happy and boisterous attitude, so different from Hashirama. 

“Oh, I do not think it was a conversation, more like a presentation.” 

“For me, it was.” 

“I see.” 

“What did my sister tell you?” He asks without moving from that hallway, which makes the woman resign herself to socializing... she wants to go to sleep! 

“Well, she is a good woman. She is intelligent and quite worried because of the wedding nerves.” 

“Oh, I imagined,” the man smiles, looking into the distance, maybe remembering something from the past. “She’s fine then.” 

“Yes,” Karen blinks at such a comment. “Did you not ask her?” 

“Uh...” 

“She is your sister, it is good that someone from her family approaches her.” She sighs because she has already touched that point twice today. For a large and traditional clan, there are many gaps in communication. 

“Well... she’s a complicated girl.” 

“Not so much... she is kind,” she shrugs. “I tend to be a bit open with my sister, asking her doubts, concerns and so on.” 

“You have a sister?” 

“Yes, she is younger,” she states softly, remembering that exciting bundle about things that don’t exist. Ironic that she is there instead of her relative. “And I would like her to talk to me about these things.” 

“She is a woman.” 

“I know, but sometimes just telling her that you support her is enough.” 

“Uh... do you think so?” 

“You are siblings, family... you will always be united even if you do not want to,” the civilian points out with an audible sigh, keeping her distance from that tall character, because why are they all unfairly tall? ...Even Mito is centimeters taller. 

“You are civilians.” 

“Even if I am...” She rolls her eyes because she has been told that difference so many times. “It has the same meaning for you as it does for me, having a sibling... and even more so when they are younger. Ensuring their safety, being there for them... letting them open about their sorrows.” 

“Uh... such an interesting meaning.” The man laughed and approached swiftly in the blink of an eye. She felt his somewhat disturbing breath which made her take a step back. “I like you... maybe we should get to know each other better, right?” 

“Ni-san?” Mito is the one who, thank all the gods, saves her from her discomfort. The redhead looks at them... and more carefully at her with an ‘I told you’ expression that she doesn’t understand. 

“Mito.” So cold and different from what she saw before, the man stands at his imposing height. “Do you want some dessert?” He asks, taking out a plate from behind him. 

Karen wonders if it’s his magic and leaves it be. “I will leave you to talk.” She raises her hands and sees the opportunity to flee, although the cheeky man raises his hand in the direction of her funny locks. 

But when she slaps the insolent hand away from her braid to continue on her way away from those siblings, she sighs in relief at being left aside... better focusing on going down the stairs and maybe looking for Mikami. 

And just when she locates her among the noise of people late at night... she sees something that worries her... Why is Ryu following her? 

A/N: Hello everyone, thank you for your comments and good wishes, now I leave you another chapter for you to enjoy. As you see, the Uzumaki clan is now entering the game... what will happen now? What is Aoki up to? ...Why did Mito tell her that?

Well, considering the type of pressures that women have and the expectations they have in this regard, Mito has been prepared to be a good companion to the Senju clan leader. She is in love... although she notices that Hashirama changed somewhat. Even though they haven’t seen each other... the redhead did hope to meet him.

Karen, for her part, is zero interested in realizing this. She is a person who is uncomfortable with these issues in a certain way because she never paid attention to focus on other things. Considering the type of world in which she developed... she saw this as a nuisance... so she ignored it a lot.

For her mental well-being... plus she feels too old.

Thank you for reading.

Author-chan out! 

[intothewylde]

MINI REGION EVENT : RAIN FALLS ON ALL

the end of the coronation marks the departure of the kingdoms from kings landing and the crownlands overall. however, after a conversation with the master of coin, the lord paramount of the stormlands takes an opportunity to turn an annual event into open invitation in hopes of gathering more trade and economic opportunities for the storm lands.

this time of year begins the season of the great hunt, most specifically, those of the rainwood keep their eyes peeled for the tempest stag: a creature far bigger than a normal stag, with iridescent fur and large antlers. it's antlers are said to hold healing properties and bring good luck to those who possess them. though this is a special occasion for stormlords, morgan believes the occasion holds great promise. the hunt ends with a grand feast, with a grand variety of the weeks kill, and some, served to those in attendance.

however, during the feast, dark clouds begin rolling in, the sea can be heard churning in it's fury, and soon a heavy rain begins to batter down upon the keep of house wylde, where all nearby and within are forced to take shelter as the storm makes it impossible to see much of the landscape around them. it will take some days for a storm like this to fully resolve. with waters rising and the land getting damper with every hour, no one may leave until the roads are deemed clear for safe departure.

as the people within the keep are gaining their bearings on the situation, a disoriented sailor barges into the great hall, fearful and wide-eyed, he can only be heard muttering the following words before exhaustion overtakes him and maesters shuffle him away:

"she is real, i heard her. i saw her. i didn't think she was real…gods save us…"

-------

ooc note: welcome to the rain house! there is lots to explore around these parts. the hunt lasts a week and the feast ends the celebrations, however with the rain storm, this mini event lasts 2 weeks in total. anyone is welcome to attend, whether invited, or not, to participate in the hunt and seek alliances (or perhaps, stir a little trouble…). below the cut you'll find a list of locations you can utilize for the event.

settings within the rain house of the stormlands for this event:

the cliffs: these oversee cape wrath, just south of shipbreaker's bay. occasionally whirlpools can be seen in the waters below, and there are manmade paths down the cliffs that allow for access to the port and small strip of beach below. there are also small shelters built within the cliffs themselves, many of them containing candles and blankets as they are often used for prayer and safe havens.

the rain house: there are a variety of rooms within the rain house aside from the various chambers for guests, there is a vast library with written history from members of house wylde for many generations. the green house also offers an opportunity to see many of the foliage that grows within the rain house, but this is where morgan houses many of the insects he studies, as well.

the stables: there are grand stables to the east of the rain house where the horses are kept. these are larger structures built to withstand the furious storms that rage these lands, above it are quarters for the stable boys to keep watch over the steeds.

the great hall: where all the action happens, this is where the great feast occurs, but also where dinner occurs every evening. dancing and music can be seen and heard reverberating off of the stone walls. deals are struck and broken within these very walls, and it is in this very room morgan hopes to welcome in a more prosperous year for the stomlands.

the rainwood: finally, the rainwood - a large and fertile forest with dense foliage, towering trees, deep valleys and rolling hills. it is a place of wonder and danger. the rainwood contains within it many creatures, real and mythical, as well as hidden, ancient villages, waterfalls, streams, and winding pathways. the hunts are lead by experienced stormlords, who stay within a certain proximity to the rain house, but some braver souls may find themselves wandering to the heart of the forest.

[chattegeorgiana]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ARASHI & KUSHINA UZUMAKI!!! ♋🎂🎉🥳 (Yes, I was waiting for the full piece to be revealed before sending a message)

This birthday piece is so BEAUTIFUL! I love it so much i can't put it into words! The new ocs look amazing as well! I think the Karin look alike with purple eyes is Karin's mother when she was young. I'm looking forward to knowing who the other two are. I've already seen the guy with the oni mask on the cover for "The ties that bind" and given what I've read in that chapter, he must have played a major role in the creation of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. The lady behind those two though, I'm not sure but from the fact that she's in the front with the other Uzumaki's who are important to the legacy of the Uzumaki clan, I think she's going to be super important to the story as well.

Anyway let's talking about Arashi for right now. I'm super glad you got my message concerning his birthday commission, it ment so much to me. I was honestly somewhat surprised you responded but to be honest, I'm always surprised when someone answers my anonymous messages. Mostly because I don't expect them to answer most of the time. But anyways, Arashi just looks so cool and handsome! I think blue suits him perfectly! Is his long hair based on the old headcanon that Arashi would grow his hair out (on @kirabooksss-blog) and the old anon ask about him probably growing his hair out like Kushina when he's older on @askshinachiku? Because if it is, this is an amazing comeback. Personally, as a matter of preference, I prefer his short hair but the story of why is so sweet so I don't mind it at all.

You know? The staff Arashi has in his hand very much reminds me of a trident. Which is interesting because everytime I see something that looks like a trident, the first thing I think of is Poseidon who is the God of the sea (or water in general), storms, earthquakes, and horses. The storm part is what brought my attention because Arashi's name literally means "storm". I think it's fitting because the Uzumaki clan are associated with the ocean being that whirlpools form mainly in the ocean or wherever water is flowing which Poseidon has complete control over. I'm not sure about the shape it's supposed to be though. Fire? A seahorse? A crab? A dragon? A chair with Dolphins at it's sides representing the king of the ocean?? I don't know, I'm just guessing at this point, it could probably be just for design purposes but I like to read to much into things sometimes because it's satisfying. I feel as though my last guess could be it but I'm not to sure about it 😅.

I mentioned crabs before which brings me to something I want to say. Being that Arashi and Kushina's birthday lands on July 10th, their zodiac sign is cancer which it's animal symbol is a crab. I've read somewhere on the internet about the folklore that crabs are believed to embody the souls of fallen samurai in past battles. More specifically, the heikegani, which are a species of crab native to Japan, is representative of the samurais from costal battles whose souls were lost at sea. Legend held that the crabs were the reincarnations of samurai slain at the Battle of Dan-no-ura. This reminds me of the fact that Uzushiogakure was destroyed in times of war (which was a pretty huge battle if it destroyed a whole Hidden Village and majority of it's inhabitants), and large members of the Uzumaki clan went with it, only leaving a few survivors.

Cancer is said to be the house of Neptune (which is named after Poseidons roman counterpart, Neptune, and it's astronomical symbol represents Neptune's trident) and the exaltation of Jupiter (which is named after the Roman counterpart of Zeus, Jupiter, and is also the god of the sky, which storms usually occur, and thunder, which storms usually consist of), both astronomical bodies over those born under Cancer. Cancer also has a history of being in the sky as a crab was crushed under the foot of Heracles, and whose remains were placed in the sky by Hera, forming the Cancer constellation. In Roman variations of the story, it is Juno—Hera's counterpart in Roman mythology—who places the crab in the sky. Cancer is also a water sign which ties with Uzumaki clans connection with water.

I wanna say so much more but I just got off work, I'm tired and scatterbrained and I just got revealed to gods works so I need a nap 😭. But before I end this message, I gotta say you and Pumiih cooked. And when I mean you cooked you COOKED. Amazing work as always. Also, thank you for accepting my headcanon for Arashi's tigers name, very much appreciated. I also wonder if Arashi would ever meet Kaito at some point, I'm interested in them meeting. Anyway, awesome work, don't rush, take your time and rest, don't stress yourself, have a good day and I'm excited to see what Kaika has in store.

🌩️🌪️🌀🐯

Aaaaaaaaaaaaah, anon, whoever you are THANK YOU SO SO MUCH from the bottom of my heart! I'm certain @pumiih appreciates this as much as I do.

AND YES YES YES TO ALL THE THINGS YOU WROTE THERE. Omg you make me more excited about my own AU than I make myself. I LOVE IT the way you broke down all the things in this piece! Are you reading like MY MIND or something?? Of course, I got to admit, some of those things weren't intentional, but I knew they would match and since I love these kind of things I went ahead.

So, let's take it on turns...first... Karin's mother, because yes, that's Karin's mother, you guessed it right.

Her name is Izumo Uzumaki. Her name is very symbolic & related to a certain character attribute of Karin's. There's a lot I cannot unveil right now cuz it means I would spoil it BUT I have some great things thought about her. Some ties/connections that I can't wait to see how everyone will perceive. Nevertheless, I can't wait until I get to Izumo. Atm, she's only been hinted at in the story & there's a lot that Karin doesn't know and needs to find out.

So basically, as Karin will find out more and unravel about her Uzumaki ties/past, so will we. And like I said, I hope what I have in mind will keep people on the edge of their seats. Next... the guy is actually aaaaaaaaa girl, lol. She's the sealer lady, like I like to call her. I still haven't decided on her name though, that's why I'm keeping it low profile with her.

She, too, is a powerful type of sealer, since duuh, it's the Uzumaki descendance. Like you said, she has already been featured on chapter 11's cover in fanfic format. And not only that... if you have read chapter 11, you know there's a certain backstory involving Kaguya & the creation of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Welp, let's just say she's at the center of it. I'm honestly thinking of naming her Kaika Uzumaki because I want to make it a word's play with her mother... which is ba-da-bim-ba-da-bum...

The other lady: Ōhirume Uzumaki, the Uzumaki clan's matriarch. That is of course before Ashina's times. She is the weilder of a VERY VERY powerful clan technique. One that matches the godly powers of the likes of Otsutsuki. That's precisely when the whole Kaguya ordeal happens and Ōhirume & her daugther interfere, it creates a certain inner conflict within the clan, and the leadership changes, leading to the times when patriarchy takes over and men like Ashina get to lead, instead of the initial matriarchy that the clan has. Now onto BABY ARASHI WHO'S NOW A MAN! Look at him precious baby boy T_T (can't believe I'm this obsessed with him lol; it's like I'm watching my baby grow). And ofc I got your message! It is honestly a pleasure to talk to you about this. I've had this idea in mind waay before you wrote to me, but when you did, I was so glad you did because somehow intuitively it was like you knew what I was going to do haha. We "vibed" really well. Like I said back then, I felt guilty I didn't have anything for his birthday in the past, so I made sure this year I DON'T forget it! I wanted to do the boy justice and here we are today.

Btw, I don't usually answer messages here because most of the times I forget about Tumblr lol since it's sadly kind of a dead platform. But I do return to it from time to time like now, and I try to take my time in talking to you guys. It's just that now adulting life ya know, takes a lot of my time so I am always searching to balance everything out as best as possible.

Anyway, back to Arashi... Let's take it on turns:

Blue was meant to represent the whirlpools/sea aspect of the Uzumaki clan so ofc I had to have blue introduced in his design

The long hair was actually not inspired from there, it was a personal preference of mine given some costume inspirations i saw and the man had long hair (+ there were some details from my own heritage that i introduced in his costume hehe). BUT IS SO COOL TO SEE that other people thought about thiiiis. We, the NaruSaku fans, are truly on the same wavelength without even talking to one another, it's AMAZING T_T & still gets to me

The staff thoo... You know, I actually chose that one because it's part of certain weaponry the Japanese deity pantheon hold in their left hand (for example like the 1000 Armed Kanon that Kishi introduced in the universe). Those three forks are meant to represent the three jewels which I connected very much with the Uzumaki's past, present and future. And not just the Uzumakis, but the whole system in place for Naruto's universe. It's just that Uzumakis will be at the center of that change in the systems since they are the balance after all. SOmething I ALWAYS believed myself and Kishimoto gladly confirmed it with the last Minato One Shot. I'm sorry I can't say more but I DON'T WANT TO SPOIL ANYTHING T_T. BUT I LOOOOVE the way you're reading into this. WHO ARE YOU CUZ IT FEELS LIKE I'M LOOKING AT MY OWN MIIIIND! Lol, anyway, moving on.

OMG I didn't know about that folk tale but WOW IT FITS so well with the Uzumakis thoo and with something I plan on doing related to souls & water, GIZAZ I can't believe it! Sometimes I swear I feel as if I was meant to write this AU lololol. Like sure, it's just a silly AU play for me but to see so many things fitting when maybe I didn't even intended it to be this way it's just out of this world. AND YES, I KNOOOW, MY DAD IS A CANCER AND MY MIDHEAVEN IN ASTROLOGY IS IN CANCER!! I am OBSESSED with astrology so that's one of the reasons I wrote the Uzumakis having a matriarch in the past, because Cancers are water-element signs and it's the archetype of the mother. Mother - matriarch, ta daaa. So duuh, I said to myself it fits PERFECTLY the Uzumakis.

Anyway, I talked AAAA LOT! But if there's anything else that flows into your mind about this piece or any other, FEEL FREE TO DROP IN MY DMS ANY TIME.

I love talking with people about these things and you're just RIGHT ON SPOT with your interpretations!

Once again on behalf of @pumiih and I, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the support, for liking our work and for taking the time to write such a beautifully intrinsically introspective message. I FEEL SO BLESSED to have people like you that follow Kaika. All I ever wished is to have people like you that see what I'm doing with this story, and luckily my wish has been granted.

You guys are the MPV's! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for existing! Catch you on the next piece of art. :D

[crystalizedirongoblin]

The Village Hidden In The Whirlpools

Fandom: Naruto

Rating: Teen

Characters: Uzumaki Mito, Uzumaki Kushina, Uzushiogakure - Character: 

Tags: Warring States Period (Naruto), Uzushiogakure | Hidden Eddy Village, The Fall Of Uzushiogakure | Hidden Eddy Village, This is kind of, Character Study, i guess, Fuuinjutsu, Uzumaki Clan-centric, the Uzumaki were fuuinjutsu masters, Uzushiogakure Is Alive, and kind of sentient, No beta we die like mne

Summary:

There were many clans in the Land of Whirlpool, all of them with their strength, all of them just a step to the left from farmer, from fisherman, from civilian, but none more than the Uzumaki.

The Uzumaki with their blood-red hair, their too old elders, their too fast steps. The Uzumaki with their smiles and ink smudged fingers and too knowing eyes, carrying fish barrels just a little too fast, a little too effortlessly, making conversation and opening trade routes between families.

The clans of the Whirlpool were many things, but they were not stupid. They could recognize a predator.

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Back when clans still held wars on each other, when the not then ancestral home was no more than an island in the middle of the Land of Whirlpools, when Shinobi villages were nothing but a distant childish dream, Uzushiogakure was already standing.

It hadn’t been called Uzushiogakure, not then, not when the idea of a hidden village was something unthought, but it was a village nonetheless.

But people are resilient, and while miles into land the idea of peace was nothing more than a fantasy, the clans of the Whirlpool had already thought of cooperation. They weren’t shinobi, not then, not like the Senju or the Uchiha were shinobi, battle worn and blood hungry; or how the Hatake and Inuzuka were shinobi, animal side proud and instinct-driven; not like the Nara and Yamanaka, strategizing and information hungry, always two steps ahead; they weren’t even shinobi like the Funato or that hebi clan from the north, nomads of the sea and land. No, the clans of the Whirlpool weren’t shinobi like that, but they were resourceful and able to mold chakra, and to them that was enough.

There were many clans in the Land of Whirlpool, all of them with their strength, all of them just a step to the left from farmer, from fisherman, from civilian, but none more than the Uzumaki.

The Uzumaki with their blood-red hair, their too old elders, their too fast steps. The Uzumaki with their smiles and ink smudged fingers and too knowing eyes, carrying fish barrels just a little too fast, a little too effortlessly, making conversation and opening trade routes between families.

The clans of the Whirlpool were many things, but they were not stupid. They could recognize a predator.

The Uzumaki taught children how to read while others taught how to fight.

The clans of land taught infants to hold weapons, to polish and to sharpen, they scolded when shuriken flew off path and scoffed over the idea of games. This was war, and this was survival.

The Uzumaki taught every child to paint, red hair or not, and smiled when complex matrices lit up under chubby fingers, laughed with kids on their arms, paper exploding under the contention of shining chains, and explained their art, their life. They shared, and the clans of the Whirlpool grew.

The clans around the Whirlpool looked and ignored, for in paper and ink they saw weakness, and the Uzumaki kept on doing it, for they saw no difference at all.

The clans of the Whirlpool carved seals in stone, fed chakra into the earth, under careful guidance they connected to their chakra pathways, and from them to the roots of the trees, to the soil and deep, deep into the very core of their island, they saw and sensed every creature, for chakra is energy and in the end all is one. 

They learned how to meditate, how to detect sound from further away than their senses allowed, to detect life.

And the island fed on vestiges, on the small traces left when all energy is recalled, but something is always left back, and the soil and the water feasted. The Whirlpools protected their own.

The clans of the Whirlpool weren’t shinobi. But the Whirlpools were treacherous, so they learned the ways of the water and the wind and sailed. They learned how to walk over the sea foam, how to call the currents to lead the fish to their nets, how to write small, tiny symbols on their ropes to make them sturdier. They were not shinobi, not yet.

News of peace traveled to the Whirlpools, news of shinobi villages rising, one after the other, and they smiled, painted all the houses the same color and built a plaza in the middle and called it a day. Spoke of union like t was a new thing, because the clans of the Whirlpool weren’t shinobi like the other clans of land, but they knew secrecy.

They dressed in dark clothes and unnecessary armor, they strapped pouches of kunai and shuriken to their thighs and concealed scrolls in between. It’s never good to be unarmed, but an Uzumaki needs no steel.

They looked at the Uzumaki and called themselves Uzushiogakure, snickering. The clans of the Whirlpool were now Shinobi, but they weren’t hiding. Not between the whirlpools anyways.

With peace came union, and with union left Mito-Hime, red buns bouncing in her head with every step, ink-smudged fingers still at her side while her father presented her to the Shodai Hokage and the Whirlpool smiled, for he looked not like a shadow and not like a flame and thought she’s going to eat him alive. At least he looked like the type to enjoy it.

Stories of Mito traveled fast to the Whirlpool, always mindful of its people. Mito who was a princess without need of royal blood, who excelled where even countless others failed, Mito, who looked up into the red eye of the powers that balance the world and said you bow to me.

She doesn't understand, they realize, not really, what she’s chained to herself. She doesn’t understand the magnitude of her feat, and the Whirlpools rejoice for her.

She chains the others, they see, and gifts tem like objects with her husband to make peace. Balance, they wonder, and stand back to see. Everything falls back into place eventually, they just have to wait.

She returns twice, and the currents calm with her arrival. Pristine Senju-white kimono by the hand of her husband, hands clean. No Senju clan symbol in sight. No Uzumaki spiral either.

The children show her their seals, the young admire her from afar, and the elders observe. She moves with the grace of a princess, jumps with the dexterity of a panther and stands on the water flawlessly. Her balance is as good as ever but she doesn’t know how to walk through the whirlpools anymore.

Her heart belongs now with the forest, even if she hasn’t realized.

The second time she visits she does so alone. Her hair is darkened with age but her movement is just as graceful. Children call from their places in the playgrounds and young adults comment on her strength. 

She talks with her father, with the elders, with the Uzukage. Talks of age and weakening seals, talks of successions and burdens. Talks of peace.

She carries a pouch of kunai on her thigh.

The Island listens and watches, senses, looks over its people, no matter how far, how faint the connection might grow to be.

The Whirlpools ward them as they grow, as they connect with it and their surroundings, as they seal more and more of themselves in it and rumble.

The children of the Whirlpool, Uzumaki even without blood-red hair, because it’s been too long since the clan was just their blood, since the clans of the Whirlpool were such instead of just their people, play and learn and grow, creating seals and jutsu and new ways of connecting with nature. All is one, and impossible is just for those who can’t understand that.

It takes all they have to let small Kushina go. Their little Whirlpool of red hair and vibrant energy, chakra bursting out of her in waves. 

Her position is an honor, to go to the forest and accept the weight of balance inside her, even if she’ll never learn not to scoff at it, not to see it as a burden. She’s always been more free than others, temper like the tides, going from calm to tempestuous in an instant. She’s a child of the Whirlpool. 

But Mito-Hime requested it, and no matter how long it might be, how much she might have renounced them, they won’t deny their princess this.

They watch her go, waving her little arms over her head, red reflecting in the sun like freshly spilled blood, standing over the currents with the ease of every Uzushio citizen. She promises to visit and they smile. They know they won’t have the time.

The attack takes them by surprise (they were expecting it), they fight with all they have (they know what’s coming), they tell their children to run, send them towards Hi no Kuni and pray to the tides to let them cross, small feet dancing over the foam that swallows Kiri shinobi like they’re nothing, and when they fall, they pray to the Whirlpools (reaching, instinctually, to the core of their island, that ball of chakra and seals and energy where the underground currents meet, a knot of foam and power that’s been there since the beginning, the first seal drawn in the sand, the first drop of Uzushio blood spilled on its shores, long before Uzushio existed; feeding the tendrils of blood-ink that move with the water, alive.)

Uzushio mourns after, when there’s nothing but ruins and blood and chakra. It mourns with their children, tiny lights in the distance too far away. It mourns for them and for what is to come, and It bows one day, one day it will rise again, and not Kami and not the balance will take Its children from It again.

It feeds on what’s left, residue from jutsu and lifeforce, Its currents swallow the enemy, the outsiders, and takes their bodies to the bottom of the ocean, and waits. Everything falls back into place eventually.

It just has to wait.

[liarist]

Chains

Genin

Mito was having breakfast in complete tranquility while Kakashi looked notably frustrated, attempting to style her red hair.

"Can you repeat why you want me to do your hair?" he was a great ninja, but a hairstyle was getting the best of him.

"Because today we're taking the exams to become genin. If you style my hair, you'll bring me luck, Kashi," she replied.

He had no choice but to sigh in surrender. He couldn't say no to the redhead.

She wasn't nervous; she knew everything would turn out fine. But she was worried about Naruto. Her friend meant everything to her, and she didn't know what she'd do if he wasn't with her.

"Naruto!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arm around the blond's shoulder. "Have you practiced for today?"

"Of course, Mito! You'll see, I'll be the best," he responded enthusiastically, and Mito smiled, deciding to trust him.

In the classroom, everyone seemed excited, and the nerves were evident. Mito sat next to Shikamaru, who was sleeping. She doodled and occasionally paid attention to the students called to take the exam.

"What kind of drawings are those?" Shikamaru teased when he woke up. She looked at him seriously, making him shrink in his seat.

"Don't judge my art."

In reality, they were very difficult-to-understand doodles, and she knew it. But she had to keep her mind occupied, or she'd die of boredom.

"Nara, Shikamaru," Iruka-sensei called. Shikamaru reluctantly got up from his seat.

"Don't fall asleep during the exam," Mito said, and Shikamaru smiled and nodded before leaving the classroom.

The others were called alphabetically, and when it was finally her turn, Mito almost ran up to the front. She presented herself to everyone and started performing the jutsus they requested.

"Ah, Mito, Kakashi-senpai asked me to tell you to go home directly after the exam," Iruka-sensei said.

"So be it."

After receiving her ninja headband, Mito left the place and went straight home as instructed. When she opened the door, everything was silent. She left her things by the entrance and approached the rooms.

"Kashi?" she called his name. "I'm home."

The sound of the door echoed behind her. Mito turned and sat on the couch, tapping the seat next to her, signaling for the jounin to sit. He left several things on the table and then took a seat beside her.

"Congratulations! Your mother would be so proud of you," he said.

Those words filled the girl with emotion. Kakashi always talked about her mother, and thanks to him, she had learned several jutsus from her clan.

"Can you do me a favor?" That caught Kakashi's attention.

"Of course, what's wrong, Mito?" he asked, intrigued.

"I want to know the truth about that day…"

Kakashi went blank. He had never mentioned many details about what happened that day, only telling her what was necessary for her to understand things at that moment. He never thought the time would come when Mito would want to know the truth.

"Where should I start?" he sighed. "Your mother and Naruto's mother were very good friends. Both came from the Hidden Whirlpool Village. Naruto's mother, Kushina-san, was the host of the Kyubi, and when it was time to give birth, the seal broke. Minato-sensei ended up sealing it inside Naruto."

"Minato, the Fourth Hokage?"

"Naruto's father is the Fourth Hokage, but after what happened, they decided it was best for Naruto and the others not to know the truth."

"Will he ever know the truth?" This question left Kakashi pondering because he truly didn't know if that would happen at some point.

"I won't lie to you, Mito. I don't know."

"I see…"

"But I promise you I'll take care of him…"

"What do you mean by that? Naruto has me to protect him," she replied.

"I'll let you know the teams' arrangements tomorrow."

"Wait! Will he be in your team? What about me? Am I just irrelevant?"

"The teams are formed strategically…"

The conversation ended there, and they had dinner together, talking about other things. The next day, Mito woke up feeling completely disoriented. She sat on the bed, staring at her wardrobe for a few minutes, feeling as if she hadn't rested at all during the night, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the clock and paled. She jumped out of bed, grabbed some clothes, dressed hastily, and then grabbed her things, still by the entrance, rushing to the academy.

Luckily, Iruka-sensei hadn't arrived yet, but she had managed to make it in time for the commotion of several girls arguing about who would sit next to Sasuke. Naruto climbed on the table and stared at Sasuke intensely, and tension filled the air between them. Mito didn't quite understand why. The girls continued arguing, but now it was about Naruto's behavior, and there was even a small incident when someone accidentally pushed Naruto, causing him to get closer to Sasuke and ending up in a kiss.

"Hey! Stop hitting him, you jealous girls!" Mito exclaimed, pushing away all the girls who had pounced on Naruto. "This is easily solved," she said, taking the seat next to Sasuke.

"Move, Mito!" Sakura and Ino screeched.

"Make me," she replied, giving them a cold and emotionless look.

She put on that face whenever someone annoyed her, and according to Naruto, it was something terrifying.

When Iruka-sensei arrived, everyone returned to their seats. He slowly mentioned which teams they'd be in. Not everyone was happy for various reasons; some didn't get along with their teammates, some wanted to be with Sasuke, and so on. Mito could say that she was content; she wasn't with Naruto as she would have liked, but she was with Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino.

After the lunch break, they were going to meet their sensei. Mito followed Naruto, seeing him head toward Sakura, and how each member of her team went in different directions. She already knew how things might end up, and it was better to prevent Naruto from causing any trouble.

She followed him and saw him enter a room where Sasuke was, then saw Sasuke leaving as if nothing happened. She couldn't help but sigh and went in to help Naruto. But to her surprise, she found Sasuke tied up inside. She started to help him untie the knots.

"I'd say don't take it personally, but I think it has been," she smiled sheepishly, and he looked at her for a moment before nodding.

"It's a shame you're not on our team," he replied before leaving.

When lunchtime was over, Mito went straight to the classroom, where she found the other genins. The senseis arrived one by one, taking their respective genin. Mito went with her team to Asuma Sarutobi.

She already knew the shinobi; he was one of Kakashi's friends, and he had occasionally looked after her, so it wasn't a surprise to see him smoking while others grimaced at the smell of tobacco.

"I understand why they're here, but… Why am I here?" she asked.

"I think I don't understand your question, Mito."

"The Ino-Shika-Cho team is something that has been going on for generations because of their teamwork. What do I have to do with this?"

"Oh, well, that's because of your abilities. With them, the team can be greatly enhanced," he explained.

Mito nodded, not very sure. She knew that because of her clan, she could do great things. Everyone expected her to be an expert in fuinjutsu, but the truth was that she hadn't had the chance to practice much of it. She could barely use the Diamond Chains. She hadn't been able to practice the various jutsus of her clan since most of them were lost, and Kakashi had forbidden her from using the ones he had until she was older.

As evening fell and they were officially approved as genin, Mito lay down next to Shikamaru to watch the clouds.

"I wish I were a cloud," he said, and Mito looked at him sideways and smiled.

"I don't know what I want," she replied. "But I guess I still have time to figure it out."