𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

50

"Ah, Naruto. I was just about to go looking for you."

As Naruto walked around the streets of the Uzumaki stronghold with his son in tow, he bumped into his great uncle Ashina, otherwise known as the clan leader. Beside the white haired male, Naruto recognised another one of his clan members, a woman with the signature bright red Uzumaki hair, and kind, dark eyes.

"Honoka!" exclaimed the blond, reaching down and picking up Boruto before he could waltz away from his father. "How did escorting Mito go? How was the meeting with the Uchiha?"

At the mention of the Uchiha, Honoka grimaced and looked towards Ashina, allowing him to explain the results of the meeting to his great nephew.

"Thanks to Honoka, Karin, and Koharu, Mito was safely delivered to the Senju," said the old man curtly. "As for the meeting with the Uchiha, that is something I have yet to discuss with you."

"I'm guessing it fell through?"

"Much worse than that. The clan's second in command, Izuna, was mortally wounded after he, his brother, and their accomplice attempted to use the meeting as a way to assassinate Hashirama. Now we aren't quite sure yet, but it is almost certain that he has since passed."

"What?!" exclaimed Naruto, outraged that the Uchiha had intended such betrayal. "Well, that serves them right for trying to take advantage of the situation!"

"Indeed. However, in light of Izuna's death, we must bear in mind that the Uchiha will no doubt be planning to exact revenge on the Senju, and when they do, it will result in a war of catastrophic proportions. It is because of this that I am intending on sending you to the Senju with our best shinobi as immediate assistance, and if more of our forces are needed, we will send them in due course."

After a lengthy period of thinking, Naruto finally nodded.

"I understand."

"Now, I'm unsure of what your wife's family is planning on doing, as they too are allied with the Senju, but while you are in the Land of Fire, she and Boruto will be looked after by my own daughters," said Ashina with an air of finality. "We will send you and the others down to the Senju as soon as possible. But for now, we'll wait for Karin's wounds from the battle to heal. It shouldn't take longer than a few days for her to rehabilitate properly- no doubt the boat ride here from the Land of Fire aggravated them further and delayed her healing even more."

"How badly wounded was Karin?" asked Naruto, surprised at the fact that she had received such injuries which required an unusually long recovery time. It was then that Ashina looked towards Honoka and said, "I will allow Honoka to fill you in on any further questions you have. I suggest you start packing."

"Ah, yes."

Honoka and Naruto bowed to the leader as he took his leave, before the blond turned to her with utmost curiosity.

"What happened to Karin?" he asked suspiciously, knowing that Karin was one of their clan's best kunoichi, and rarely ever copped injuries which required such a long recovery time. Honoka grimaced and folded her arms across her chest, pursing her lips before explaining what exactly had transpired at the meeting with the Uchiha.

"The 'ally' who accompanied the Uchiha was actually a woman who had married one of their members and settled down with the clan," she said waspishly, displeased by the Uchiha's deceit. "Luckily, Tobirama-sama recognised this, and stayed close by, because he knew it was not going to be an impartial meeting. According to Karin, the woman threw a fit when Madara called for her to retreat and childishly threw her off the bridge. While she only received a few moderate injuries from the actual scuffle with the woman, she sustained far worse injuries from being carried downstream by the current."