The Red Flash Chapter 37 (A Seal of Phoenix)

Naruto

He stood silent at what Roku said, the young Uzumaki stood confused and a bit happy, but at the same time wondering where he was. Is this a dream? Naruto asked himself, his eyes looking around at the endless sea on the horizon. The sun shining above the sea reflecting the destroyed village below.

His eyes turned to look at Roku again, his white robe had golden lines around his wrist looking like a seal. His white hair reaching his waist, Naruto looked at his eyes and could see hardness and pain in them, it felt like looking at Hokage-Jiji and toad-Jiji sometimes. Most of the time they would smile and joke but on rare occasions, their eyes would be like of a warrior, a man who had seen war with his eyes and knew the ugly side of humans, what war could do to a man, how far people could go just to gain the smallest amount of advantage against the other human. To Win a War, but there's no victor in War, only Losses.

Right now Naruto felt like he was looking at the same kind of eyes, the eyes of war and suffering.

"Roku Uzumaki? Who are you?" Naruto finally asked still not knowing who the man was. The old man formed a smile on his face, his face brightened up. Almost like he was talking with someone he knew.

"I was the first Uzumaki, the one who found the Uzumaki Clan" He stated with a calm tone. Naruto's eyes widened at what he heard, he gained his attention quickly and bowed his head respectfully, his right hand across his chest, his hand opened in front of his heart showing respect to the elderly in front of him.

"Is an honour to meet you Roku-sama. My name is Uzumaki Naruto" Naruto introduced himself still bowing his head until he noticed from the corner of his eyes, Roku moving his hand gesturing for him to look up. Naruto did that and looked up at Roku.

"No need for that young Uzumaki, you're a member of my family but I can feel The Senju Blood in you, way too similar to my father," Roku said with a hint of melancholy and taking a step closer towards Naruto.

"If I can ask, where are we? And how are you here?" Naruto asked with a respectful tone towards his great-great . . . Great grandfather.

"That will be revealed but first . . . " he snapped his fingers and the view changed. Now Naruto stood in front of a cliff, at the horizon he could see an amazing village.

Uzushiogakure was carved out of a colossal stone hill beside the Sunset Sea. The highest tower was in that position that when Sun was behind it, the shadow looked like the waves of a sea.

Uzushiogakure of antiquity built a ringfort on the peak, and as millennia have passed its natural defences have been expanded with walls, gates, and watchtowers. The base of the Rock contains large sea-carved caverns. The stone has been mined for thousands of years, so there are hundreds of mineshafts in the depths of the Rock, as well as yet untouched gold veins.

The island that Uzushiogakure was built was around 1100 Kilometers in length and around 700 Kilometers in width making it the largest island in the known world.

The Phoenix Gate, the main entry to Uzushiogakure, is an enormous natural cavern reaching two hundred feet high. Its steps are now wide enough for twenty riders. Its port has docks, wharves, and shipyards and is accessible by longships and cogs. From below the Uzushiogakure thunder can be heard, where the sea comes in.

Naruto could see a large waterfall coming out from a side of the village dropping to the sea below, homes build close to the waterfall. All of the houses had the Uzumaki Symbol carved in them. Trees everywhere and looked beautiful, birds singing around.

Naruto saw the main house of Uzushiogakure was much larger, this one looked to have nine floors, the walls red, the roof had nine large pillars that came together in the centre forming the Uzumaki Symbol.

"Amazing" Naruto said with a hint of awe and sadness in his tone, he wondered how would have been if he had grown up here, away from the people of Hidden Leaf Village. Raising with other Uzumaki, having friends to play with from the very beginning and not bothering and not being afraid of glares and insults in front and behind him.

"I built Uzushiogakure as a place of peace, I taught my children and my grandchildren and so on to always enjoy peace. An Uzumaki should always believe in a better world, never give up hope and most importantly to never give up on Family" Roku said and the scene changed showing within the village.

Naruto could see at least six big markets around the village, people walking around. He saw a big fountain close to the main house of the village, the fountain looked like three children playing around, from their hands' water dropping, some people drinking and washing their faces with it.

"Roku-sama, you say you taught your grandchildren! How old are you?" Naruto asked respectfully looking at the old Uzumaki.

The old man chuckled and turned to look at Naruto. "I died when I was 247 years old" he stated and Naruto's eyes widened. He had read and even Kurama had told him that the Uzumaki clan had a long lifespan but this wasn't something he expected.

"Wow. I have read about it but never thought that someone could live that long" Naruto replied still amazed by what Roku said.

He chuckled and his face grew more serious. "You perhaps you're asking yourself how you are here and why?" Roku asked and Naruto nodded his head.

"Is because of the final seal that I made for Uzushiogakure" he stated and Naruto saw as thin lines around the ground of Uzushiogakure started glowing red like blood. The lines spread across the whole island. Naruto looked all around and saw that it was a giant seal that covered everything, every house, tree and even inside some of the houses.

"This was the seal that I made in case something happened to my Clan" he stated and made a hand sign, Naruto looked below to see the seal spreading, even more, small lines started spreading from red lines with strange marks around the ground.

"This Seal was made to ensure the survival of our clan even in the darkest times" he stated before turning to look at Naruto.

"Tell me have you felt anything the closer you got to Uzushiogakure?" Roku asked with a firm tone.

Naruto nodded his head remembering the feeling he had when he first arrived in Wave and the whole time since he got here, almost like someone was calling him.

"This seal can detect anyone with Uzumaki blood nearby, but the seal works as a shield as well" he stated and suddenly the whole island was covered by a big shield that covered the whole island.

"If this is true! How were Kumo, Iwa and Kiri able to attack Uzushiogakure? Why didn't the shield protect them?" Naruto asked with a slightly higher tone, his hands made a fist and clenching his teeth. At that question, Roku lowered his head slightly.

"I don't know for sure but I can speculate someone betrayed our clan. I don't know if someone who was an Uzumaki or someone outside the village who knew how to penetrate the shield" Roku stated with a hint of sadness in his tone.

He turned his head around and looking down at the village.

"Despite that, my seal still protects the village, only an Uzumaki can walk inside and learn the secrets that were left by our clan" he stated and Naruto understood why no one could visit the island anymore.

"You mean the Phoenix Contract?" Naruto asked but Roku shooked his head much to his surprise and turned his head towards the young Uzumaki.

"My son Utari Uzumaki was the one who found the Secret of the Phoenix Contract, he told me that he had sworn to secrecy to never tell anyone how he had found it but the Contract works differently from all the other contracts" he started walking closer to Naruto before pointing a finger at his stomach.

"Can I see your seal?" He asked nicely, Naruto didn't know how could the old man knows that he has Kurama sealed inside him but decided to ask later.

He grabbed the end of his shirt and slowly removed it and his seal was glowing red, and had grown, lines with strange marks that had slowly spread around, almost reaching his chest.

Roku smiled slightly at the work of art, he was glad that people still appreciated and knew the importance of Fuinjutsu.

"Amazing work, but tell me what do you think your seal does?" He asked his voice strict, his fingers on his beard and his eyes feeling like was looking at his soul.

Naruto knew the seal did more than just hold Kurama but wasn't sure what else it does. "My seal holds Kur-Kyuubi sealed inside me and protects me if I lose control" he replied and Roku nodded in agreement and raised a finger.

"That's true, but that's not all that it does. The Phoenix contract can communicate with us through our seals, I made a rule after my son established how Phoenix contact worked, they can communicate with us through our seals, the rule was that every Uzumaki that was born and was already born to have the Phoenix Seal and if they found you worthy then they will help and guide you. Whoever made your seal made sure that Phoenix realm would one day communicate with you and see if you're worthy" Roku stated.

Roku noticed that Naruto almost used Kyuubi's real name and was glad to know that Naruto apparently has a friendship with the nine-tails fox.

Naruto smiled happily and sure that must have been his mother than the one who did this for him. He still couldn't comprehend the advanced seals used by Uzushiogakure. He knew his clan was superior when it came to Fuinjutsu but this was just amazing.

"Roku-sama, if I might ask what level is the seal that used to protect our homeland?" Naruto asked curiously, and still not sure how could someone create a seal as large as The island itself.

The scene changed showing what Naruto thought was a younger Roku alone in a large room, he was sitting on the ground, In from of him was a large blank paper that almost covered half of the room. Behind Roku were many open and closed seals, books and brushes.

"It took me a long time. I studied Fuinjutsu my whole life, always eager for more knowledge, wanting to see just how far can Fuinjutsu go. It took me almost 200 years of my life of nothing but dedication to finally earn enough knowledge to create this seal. And it took nine years to create this seal. The strongest seal. The Seal of Life" he stated and putting his hand on Naruto's shoulder. The scene changed again and they were standing in an open field, the Village far on the horizon.

He kneeled and took a leaf from the ground and handed it to Naruto. "You see every village has a Will to believe in. Konoha believes in the Will of Fire. Kumo believes in the Will of Lightning. Iwa believes in the Will of Stone. Suna believes in the Will of Wind. Kiri believes in the Will of Water, and We" he stopped and put his open hand in front of his chest.

"We believe in the Will of Life"

Naruto's face brightened and put his open hand on his heart. Roku smiled and sat on the ground spreading his legs across the field.

"How can you talk to me? I mean you have been dead for a long time?" Naruto asked still not sure how the old man could talk to him.

"When I created the Seal of Life, I split half of my soul in the seal to make sure to always be there to guide the future generations, that resulted in my early death but still was worth it" he explained smiling.

Silence took over, Naruto was enjoying the beautiful view in front of him, to be able to see how Uzushiogakure was before the third war was a dream come true. He could see now why his mother had mentioned many times that Uzushiogakure was an Amazing place to live.

"How is Kurama?" Roku suddenly asked out of the blue.

Naruto turned to him surprised, not how he knew that Kurama was sealed inside him but that he knew his real name.

"How do you know his name?" Naruto asked curiously, his hands behind his head. With the winds flying all around him, Naruto could feel the fresh scent of nature around him, despite being in a 'dream' he still could feel it.

"My father told me the names of all Bijuu when I was a child, I and my brother knew them . . . A little. I meet Kurama when I was a young man, back when I was young he still wasn't large. The first time meeting him, he was only a bit larger than a small house. He looked frightened by me, but we talked and I was happy to meet him" he said smiling than his smile slowly disappeared and turned into a frown.

"Last time I saw him was when I was 197 years old. Kurama had changed and so had the world" Roku said with sadness and a hint of anger in his voice.

The scene in front of them changed again showing Roku inside a large cave, Naruto could only see the darkness inside the cave but knew there was someone or something there.

The younger Roku looked at the darkness in front of him with a stoic face.

"I know you're there my friend," he said, his voice echoing around the cave.

Suddenly a growl was heard, the sound of someone standing up echoed through the cave. An eye opened above Roku, the younger Roku could feel the KI coming from his old friend and it wounded his heart to know that his friend had no trust in him anymore.

"Why are you here Roku? Are you here to use my power? Has the time come for you to betray me as well?" Kurama spoke slowly showing his teeth.

But Naruto could see the sadness in his friend's eyes, despite not feeling anything in this dream, he knew his friend was keeping his real emotions in check.

Roku took a step forward and shooked his head. "I'm sorry for what the people of the mountain's Land tried to do to you, but I would never give up on a friend and certainly never betray you," he said seriously and with a kind tone. Kurama's eyes widened at his words before releasing a small sigh of relief.

Naruto turned to look at Roku beside him. "Mountain's Land?" He asked not knowing who he was talking about.

"You know them as Kumo, or the land of Lightning, with the time, the names of certain places changed as well" he replied and the scene changed again.

"It was during this time that the Bijuu understood that there are many people who see them only as a tool for power, this leads to the Bijuu losing their faith in humanity" Roku spoke. Showing Roku fighting against people with weird tattoos on their forearms, the tattoo looked like a sun split in half by a spear.

"Therefore my first grandson Akashi Uzumaki made the rule that Uzumaki clan was forbidden from trying to harm in any way shape or form the Bijuu," Roku said. And the scene changed showing Uzushiogakure again but this time in ruins.

Naruto felt his heart sink by what he saw, he knew his homeland was destroyed but seeing a great village like this one in ruins.

"What should I do? Our village has been destroyed, what do you think I should do?" Naruto asked sitting down and looking at Roku who sighed, still looking at the Village in front of him.

"I taught my people to believe in peace and prosperity, my father told me how my uncle had turned his back to the family, he had abandoned my father to get stronger. Killed his own friends to gain more power, did it matter in the end?" He asked grabbing grass from the ground. The grass slowly started turning black and burning in crimson red flames.

"No, what it did. Caused a war that didn't stop for centuries. How many people lost their loved ones, children, without parents and for what. To have more power, to have an edge over the other one" he stated with melancholy clenching his hands together in front of his chest.

"If you want my advice find every Uzumaki Left, rebuild Uzushiogakure, but never give yourself to Revenge. Is like killing someone while you poison yourself" he stated.

Naruto kept quiet and just kept looking at the village in front of them.

Roku stood up and he put his hand on Naruto's wrist.

"Go to Uzushiogakure, something is waiting for you there," he said and Naruto felt a burning sensation on his wrist.

He was about to ask what he did when he saw that Roku wasn't there anymore and slowly everything turned to darkness.

That night a seal formed in Naruto's wrist, the seal was red and looked like the spread wings of a bird, there was no bird, only the wings.

Later

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and decided to leave and train outside with Kakashi-sensei earlier.

After a long talk, Naruto and Kakashi left but on the second floor Inari looked at the redhead with a bit of admiration in his eyes, he remembered what sir Shinobi-Sama had told him that night.

Kakashi sat beside Inari, both looking out at the ocean. "Naruto didn't say any of that out of spite. He's just a bit stubborn is all", Kakashi gently said. While what Naruto had said was the cold, bitter truth, the weight of those words was not something an eight-year-old can handle. Naruto was different; he had been handling such weight ever since he learned to walk on his feet.

"Naruto is just like you in the regard that he has no father." Kakashi knew that Naruto knew who his father was, but Naruto had no memories of him.

"In fact, Naruto has no memories of his parents at all. They were taken away from him at his birth, so he doesn't understand what his parents are. He also had no friends", he explained.

Inari's head lifted to face Kakashi, confusion in his eyes. Kakashi continued, "However, there wasn't a single moment when I saw him cry or get sulky." That was true; Naruto, until now, had faced the difficulties of life head-on and won, becoming stronger after defeating each challenge.

"He is desperate to make people recognize him", Kakashi said. Even now, when Naruto had a bored/indifferent expression almost all the time, Kakashi could see it in his eyes. The hope that someone will recognize him for who he is was naked for all the world to see. Unfortunately for Naruto, the world acted ignorantly.

Kakashi chuckled softly, "He got bored of crying at the world a long time ago." Inari looked down, beginning to understand what Kakashi was trying to say.

Naruto was not born strong, he chose to get strong so he could live his life in a better way. "Naruto knows where true strength comes from, just like your father. Naruto might be someone who understands you the most", Kakashi said.

Inari was slowly understanding that Naruto might be the only one who was most similar to Inari. Kakashi eye smiled, "The words that he said to you earlier...He's probably told himself that over and over again."

A brave face slowly showed in Inari's face, his right-hand fist in front of his face. "I won't be a coward any more father. I will be brave just like you Naruto"

Tomorrow

The following day, Kakashi woke up earlier than usual, he knew today was the day Zabuza would most likely attack. He woke up Sasuke and Sakura but not Naruto, he was still sleeping from training like crazy last night, he decided to let him sleep for once.

He looked down at the sleeping form of Naruto, the sheet was slowly falling from bed to the ground, the Jonin smiled behind his mask and quietly grabbed the sheet and covered Naruto making sure to not wake him up.

When Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke and Tazuna finally arrived at the bridge, they were greeted by the sight of several unconscious builders. It appeared these builders had been slung to the sides by the flat of some huge sword.

Zabuza had officially returned.

"Where's the Uzumaki brat? I want to fight him again?" Zabuza asked.

"You will have to fight me, he's not here right now"

"That's disappointing but maybe I will get to fight him once I slice all of you"

A heavy mist quickly formed around the group, confirming Kakashi's suspicion. It would be annoying to fight on this bridge. He'd have to limit his techniques if he didn't want to destroy them. It was so hard to conjure a Mud Wall on asphalt.

Around the team, appeared a group of four Zabuza's. Sasuke judged them as Water Clones and as he looked, their muscles tensed as they prepared to swing their swords.

The swing was still ungodly fast to Sasuke, but he had finally reached the level where he could duck it, and off to the right.

Before, they were getting owned by just one of these. Now, they were able to fight back. It was definite progress.

As his team ducked, Kakashi jumped in the air and threw several Shuriken at each of the Zabuza Clones. Through training, his throw accelerated the Shuriken to invisible speeds and Zabuza's Water Clones were too busy to dodge. Around Team 7, the clones burst into water.

Through the fog, Kakashi heard Zabuza whistle.

"Impressive brats... Only a week of training and they've already progressed this far. But it was still too soon to bring them in a battle like this..." The Demon's voice echoed through the fog.

A single seal from Kakashi and much of the fog parted, revealing Zabuza and the shorter masked Ninja standing behind him.

"It looks like Naruto was right..." Kakashi started. "Our mysterious masked friend is playing on Zabuza's team."

The masked one flinched slightly at the mention of Naruto, something that was noticed by both Zabuza and Kakashi.

"The masked one's mine!" Sasuke said. Kakashi held him back.

"Don't be foolish, you've improved immensely but I can tell, that Masked Ninja could face even me. Fighting him would mean your death." Kakashi argued, stepping up tord Zabuza. "I'll face both of them. You protect Tazuna from Zabuza's Water Clones."

And with that, the mist thickened and the two Jōnin were obscured from view.

And for the next minute, neither Sasuke nor Sakura had any idea what was happening in that fog. Oh, they heard sounds, stuff like the clashing of swords, the rushing of powerful Water Jutsu and (oddly) the forming of ice.

Occasionally, a terrifying Killing Intent would wash over them only to be subdued, a split second later, by a Calming Intent of equal strength. Just being near this battle was akin to torture.

After an endless sixty seconds, a figure came out of the fog, spinning so fast that it looked like a tornado.

Sasuke was able to track and intercept Haku's weapon before it could cut him...

Sasuke used his kunai and clashed with Haku's needle. The Uchiha knew this was his moment to know just how far he had gone . . .