The Unwanted Uzumaki

Deliberations

Author's Notes: Thank you to everyone for your continued support of this story and any of the others that I am writing. I know it has been some time since my last update, but life continues to be hectic. I would love to promise a regular updating cycle but I know that I would fail at it so I will only say that I will try my best to get these chapters out as fast as I can. Thank you and hope you enjoy!

Unlike his earlier appearance within the Council Chambers, the entirety of the Council of Three welcomed him.

"Are you sure that these are the exact locations of these camps? We don't have an abundance of Ninja that we can spare for a mission that we are unsure of." Tonri called out from her position at the table. 

Even as her voice bounced through the room, Tonri refused to take her eyes from the map that Talis and Naruto had crafted from the information that the Celestial Spirit had given him. While he had hoped that their newly formed relationship to one another would allow Tonri to give him more trust in these matters, Naruto knew that if he was leading a village as she was; he would have certainly asked the same question.

"Yes, I am sure that the information is correct. Talis is an expert tracker..." Naruto replied as he brought his hand towards the map. "...as you can see there are a total of six camps that Talis had been able to locate. By targeting three of these camps and killing all that lay within, I am hopeful that we can get their leaders to parlay with us where we will then convince them to return to their home or face annihilation." 

"Do you have any suggestions on which of these camps that we should attack?" the voice of one of the other Council Leaders questioned. 

Hearing the voice, Naruto turned in their direction which revealed to him that the individual that was speaking was the Clan Head of the former Cloud Clan known as the Kenha Clan. While he knew of which Clan they belonged to, he had never formally been introduced to them which meant Naruto had no clue what their name was. Regardless, this didn't stop Naruto from giving this Clan Head the answer that they had requested. 

Taking his finger, Naruto drew a circle around three of the camps. The reasoning behind this selection should have already been clear to the Clan Heads but to ensure that there would be no need for later clarification, Naruto's voice was soon fluttering around them.

"These three camps are the closet to the village. By destroying them, we can give the village room to breathe which should give you the opportunity to begin gathering resources for the village." Naruto explained as he brought his hand back from the map. 

While he didn't believe that there was any further need for deliberations, this wasn't his village nor was it the lives of people he cared for at risk which forced him to keep himself silent as the three Clan Heads deliberated on the plan that he had given them. Eventually, Naruto received a response to the plan that he had laid out for them. 

"Although your plan could use a more thorough outline, considering that it is our only option at the moment; I believe that it will suit us. Though I would like to add that I wish to conduct this attack in the dead of night where our smaller numbers would have a better chance of survival." Tonri explained. 

After giving a curt nod to Tonri which was then followed by one to each of the other Clan Heads, Naruto made a quick exit from the Council Chambers so he could get his own forces prepared for the fight that was ahead of them. 

*

Seated in a rocking chair, Hikaru hummed to himself as his body moved back and forth. While this motion had always been useful to relax his body; he wasn't sure if it would have the same effect on Kozen as it did him. Though after a few minutes of performing this action repeatedly, the once crying infant fell into a peaceful slumber. 

"Ha!" Hikaru belted though when he noticed Kozen stirring from the volume of his voice, he immediately forced himself to go silent and after a few turmoil-filled seconds; Kozen stilled once more. "That was a close one!" 

Now that he had returned Kozen to his peaceful slumber, it was time for him to get on his way. Taking his leave from the chair, Hikaru brought the youngest of his siblings back to his crib and once placing him carefully inside; he was taking his leave from the room. 

Knowing that any minute now, his friends would be arriving; Hikaru feared that their knocking on the door would wake his brother. Silently slinking down the stairs, he reached the door just as the first knock echoed upon its surface. Ripping the door open before another noise had the chance to sully his hard work, he came face to face with none other than Chouji. 

"Shh...I just put Kozen back to sleep..." Hikaru muttered as he slipped outside and as the door closed behind him, his voice continued to flutter around the pair of them. "...I thought Shikamaru was supposed to join us? Weren't the three of us going to spar against one another?" 

"When I went to pick him up, his mother informed me that he had come down with a fever. They are wanting him to stay inside until it breaks." Chouji explained as the two of them started to make their way towards the Uzumaki-Namikaze training grounds which should be far enough from the main residence that it wouldn't disturb those slumbering within. 

*

Naruto was just about to ram his dagger through his opponent's chest, when all of the sudden; an arrow slammed full force into the rival Ninja. Turning in the direction that the arrow had come, he had been expecting to see Talis though when Tara was the destination his eyes landed on; he was pleasantly surprised by her skill with a bow. 

With this kill, that concluded their battle within this camp. Pulling his mana from his dagger, Naruto made his way towards the middle of the camp where he was met by those that had joined him on this raid. 

"They surely weren't expecting this attack and though I'm thrilled that we made it through this unscathed for the most part, I'm surprised that they fell so easily..." Tara called out as she arrived before him. "...have you heard how the other camps our faring?" 

"I've only had one bond pulled on since we started these raids which means that only one other camp has fallen. If I don't feel anything in the soon, I will have to see what is happening..." Naruto replied and while it seemed as if he had more to say, something suddenly caused him to cut himself off. "...nix that, Oreatina just pulled on her bond. The last of the camps have fallen. For the time being, I believe that we should search this camp for any useful information before heading back to the village." 

While Naruto was mostly just giving a suggestion on what he thought they should do, he was slightly surprised when all present immediately dispersed to do as he suggested; even those who belonged to the Bone Village. 

Not wanting to force everyone else to do all the work, Naruto made his own way through the camp searching for any useful information that could be located and used to benefit the village instead of harm it.