A Hero's Come Back

Chapter 3: The Game's Begun

"So, this is it, huh?" I said, looking up at the Uzumaki Compound. "It's even bigger than the Hyūga Compound!" I whistled, impressed. Gramps said it was big, but dang. That was an understatement. The Uzumaki Clan symbol was all over the outside and the Fire River that ran across the entire Land of Fire circled around it. There was no way that could be natural.

I walked across the rickety old bridge, hearing it moan and groan under my feet. This is going to have to be fixed. I pushed open the front door, only to have it come off it's hinges and fall inside. Are you kidding me? I asked myself, annoyed. It's literally falling apart! There's no way I can bring the clan here until it's fixed! It looked like I was just going to have to ask Granny about fixing the place up.

As I got farther into the compound, the better it was. The hinges on the doors had to be replaced, and there were a few spots where animals had gotten in, but other than that, it looked pretty good for a place that had been abandoned for over 20 years. "A-CHOO!" I sneezed. Well, except for the cake of dust all over the place.

I pulled a scroll out of my pocket and unrolled it, holding it up along with a lamp. "Okay, so the head family lives....here." It was in the dead center of the compound. I walked inside and took stock of its condition. It wasn't bad, though the floor was a little creaky. Other then that, it basically just needed a little TLC. "Okay, then!" I said, clapping my hands excitedly. "This is nothing a team of Genin can't fix up! As long as nothing else happens-"

Right then, there was a huge POOF that usually accompanied a summon. I had just had the time to think, Shit, before a 1,000 lb. frog landed on my head and we went crashing through the floor. "GAAAHH!" I screamed as we hit the ground somewhere beneath the house. "Yo! Umm, Naruto?" It was freaking Gamakichi. "Gamakichi, get your giant toad butt off of me!!!" I choked out. He did so and I was finally able to breath. When I had recovered, I jumped to my feet. "WHAT THE HECK, GAMAKICHI?!?! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!!"

"WELL, EXCUSE ME FOR CHECKING UP ON YOU!!!" He roared back in my face. "DO YOU GUYS REALLY NEED TO KEEP DROPPING IN ON ME ALL THE TIME?!!" He huffed and turned away, stepping on pieces of wood. Wait a second, pieces of... I looked up at....THE GIANT GAMAKICHI-SHAPED HOLE IN MY CLAN'S COMPOUND FLOOR!!!!! "AHHHHH!!" I screamed, crying at the same time from utter shock. "LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THAT'S GONNA COST TO GET FIXED, YA KNOOOOW!!"

He looked back over his shoulder, sulking and mad. "GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF, NARUTO!! STOP FREAKING OUT!!" I collapsed to the ground, grabbing my hair. "Ah, man. Now it's probably going to take a carpenter to fix this, ya know!" I closed my eyes, thinking about how in the world I was going to pay for that. "Naruto?" Gamakichi asked quietly. I ignored him. "Naruto?" When I didn't answer, he hit me over the head. "Owww!" I howled. "What?!" "Look up blondie!" Gamakichi snapped. I snapped my head up, intending to tell him off. Instead, I had my mind blown.

"What..." I stood up, shocked beyond words. We had landed in an underground room that, although had no lamps, was lighted perfectly by blue and red orbs floating in the air. In the center of the room was a case that held a sheathed sword and behind that, a picture that spanned the entire wall. No, I realized, spinning around. It spans all the walls. Holy crap, what is this? "Naruto, do you know what this is?" Gamakichi asked, careful not to move and knock one of the lights. "No," I said, shaking my head. "Gramps said nothing about this."

"Well, I don't trust this situation." Gamakichi muttered. "Better be careful and- WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!" "Huh?" I turned to him, one of the blue lights cupped in my hand. "NARUTO, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THOSE ARE, YOU IDIOT!" I blinked and stared down at the light, a ball about the size of my palm. My god, I thought, not hearing Gamakichi's scolding. This is- "NARUTO, ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!!" "Gamakichi, these are made of chakra."