The blue eyed reaper

Life in the whirlpool village.

Bolt opened the door to the house. It was nice, he supposed. It was a different style of architecture compared to what he was used to. The bed. The bed. He hadn't slept on something soft and warm in weeks. He couldn't even remember how many days. After laying down for a moment and just enjoying the feeling, Bolt sat up and cupped his hands. Like he did every night, he began to go through the steps of forming a Rasengan. Rotation. Power. Containment. Release. Rotation. Power. Containment. Release.

He was rewarded with a medium sized orb of pure chakra. Releasing the jutsu, he performed the steps again, and again, and again, until he fell asleep. His chakra reserves were becoming a sight to behold since he left and the rasengan is only one of the many powerful jutsus he'll learn.

Next day

Morning came all too early. "Get up, kid," Bolt heard someone say. A moment later he was hoisted out of bed by the ankles and deposited on the ground.

"What!" Bolt yelled. What could possibly warrant his attention so early. It wasn't even noon yet. He was not accustomed to being up at this hour after weeks of freedom.

"Uzukage wants you," Kohaku said simply. Bolt grumbled but quickly got dressed. If a kage wanted him, he'd go. Unless it was his stupid Hokage of a father.

Walking through the village in the daylight, Bolt noticed more people out and about. It was clear to him now that they were slowly clearing away the ruins, salvaging what they could of their culture and history while trying to survive day to day.

They didn't have to walk far. Kohaku pointed to the door of a large building. Bolt assumed it was where the Uzukage worked and did her day-to-day business. Bolt quickly realized the building was not, in fact, the Uzukage's office. It was a school. Long rows of desks and chairs filled the room, and at the front, there were ten kids eagerly listening to the Uzukage speak. At Bolt's entrance, they all looked up and shot him beaming smiles. He guessed they didn't get visitors often. "Ah, our newest student. Come, come. Take a seat," Akame said, pointing to one of the free chairs.

The kids, ranging from ages five to fifteen, as far as Bolt could tell, parted and allowed him to join them. "So long as you weren't leaving today, this would be a good opportunity to continue your education," the Uzukage told him.

Bolt shrugged. He really wasn't one for studying. He never let school get in the way of his education. "Now, where was I…" Akane pondered aloud.

A little girl in front of Bolt raised her hand, practically jumping up and down. "You were just telling us about how old you were!" she exclaimed.

Bolt looked at the girl like she was insane. "Yes, yes. Very good, Asuka," the Uzukage chided. "We of the Uzumaki clan naturally possess a strong vitality. That means we live long, long lives. So long, in fact, that we were once known as the 'Village of Longevity.' There were other benefits too; we healed from injuries faster, and we recovered from exhaustion quicker," she explained after seeing the confused look of some of the younger children. Suddenly, things clicked for Bolt. The reason he and his sister—and his dad—healed so fast was because they were Uzumakis, though the Nine Tails probably helped his dad more than his heritage did. He was immensely thankful for that family trait. His arm was still sore from where the demon bear had broken it.

"It also means we naturally have large reserves of chakra," she added, which seemed to excite some of the older students. Bolt guessed this was the new generation of ninja. Who better to teach them than the Uzukage herself?

"Of course, our strength earned us many friends, but also many enemies. For a long time, we Uzumaki did not marry outside of the clan. We lived so long that it was an inevitably that we would outlive our spouses. That all changed when we became allies with the legendary Senju. They were the only other clan whose vitality rivaled our own. We had finally found our equals," the Uzukage explained with a nostalgic look on her face.