Chap-16 Call to arms

(Eight Years Later)

Naori Uchiha stood atop the walls of an ancient and proud castle of her clan. Considered one of their most strongest holdings in the Land of Fire, Castle Tsukiyomi was their clan's pride.

Built on top of a tall mountain it dared to reach the skies, with its lower levels being divided into seven long divisions each having a wide forest.

Ten times great armies of their enemies had attacked this Castle.

And ten times were they defeated.

More than half of those attacks had happened in the past eight years alone for the Uchiha had started doing something that threatened their enemies.

The dragons were gathering allies.

And unlike the Senju who were busy trying to gather support of only the largest and most powerful clans for their side, the Uchiha's had done the opposite. Instead of going after the bigger fishes, the Uchiha under the leadership of Naori had focused on smaller clans and those shinobi families that had lost their power.

The results were quite unique for both sides.

Today, the Senju clan was quite powerful in everything, be they power, money, or political clout. They had mighty allies in the form of the Sarutobi Clan, The Akimichi Clan, and the Inuzuka Clan. Together they all represented the strongest alliance in the southern areas of the Elemental Nations.

On the other hand, the Uchiha's were still the single most largest clan having the most number of fighters than any other, even the Senju. They had developed great allies in the form of Aburame Clan, Shimura Clan, Yuhi Clan, Namikaze Clan, Kurama Clan, and many more smaller families. Together these clans combined represented the single most largest and cunning faction.

But there were still many more clans who were yet to choose sides.

However, Naori knew it was inevitable.

The gathering of such powerful factions on this scale was a clear indication of something inevitable...

The Great Clan War.

She had done her best to gather as many allies for her people, most smaller families who had lost their prestige had readily flocked to the Dragon banner for they had all heard of Madara's exploits. The clan heir had grown to become one of the most, if not the most powerful shinobi across the elemental nations. Someone against whom not even the Senju's dared to openly strike unless they had the support of one powerful shinobi.

Madara had made himself famous, when at the age of 13, the young Uchiha had single handedly defeated the entire Aburame Clan in single combat leading to their surrender and joining the Dragon banner.

Seeing an ancient and noble clan like the Aburame being defeated like that had made the remaining lesser clans join the Uchiha quite quickly. The Shimura Clan had joined quite eagerly without asking for anything in return.

However, the Yuhi, Namikaze, and Kurama Clan had taken quite some persuading alongwith fertile lands to settle upon in the Uchiha territory alongwith inter-marriage between their families and lesser powerful Uchiha families to join the cause. And Naori had done her best to create the perfect balance.

But it was not enough.

For if the Uchiha had Madara to rally behind, the Senju had their own hero.

Hashirama Senju.

Considered to be the most powerful shinobi of this era, Hashirama was the only person who had faced Madara in single combat and not only did he survive but actually forced Madara to a draw. The Senju was highly respected among his clan and it was his jovial and friendly nature that made powerful clans like the Sarutobi, Inuzuka and Akimichi readily join their cause.

Madara had developed a personal rivalry with the Senju leader which only went up a notch when Madara declared the Dragon as the Uchiha's official symbol, apart from their ancestral fan.

Hashirama retaliated in kind by choosing the Antler, a fine animal found in the forests as the Senju's official symbol, apart from the Vajra that had been their symbol for thousands of years.

She was distracted from her thoughts by the sound of steel clashing against steel.

Looking down into the training yard, she was pleased to see her six bodyguards engaged in a fierce duel.

Their group's name being inspired by that of their leader.

Naori's eyes settled upon the one having the most dark long hair tied in a ponytail as he finished performing his hand seals unleashing a massive fireball. His dark eyes settled upon his opponent as he unleashed the blazing jutsu, out of the six he was the best Fire style user and a master at shurikenjutsu. Itachi Uchiha was all the Uchiha could ask from the new generation, a prodigy.

Beside him another boy with short spiky black hair and the same dark eyes raised a single finger shrouding the entire training arena in darkness. Naori still had trouble believing this Uchiha's talent with genjutsu despite his lack of sharingan, having placed many of his enemies in unbreakable illusions before ending their lives with his hyper-fast shunshin; Shisui Uchiha was the most devious and fastest of the group.

A burst of chakra made sure the illusion was dispersed before it took hold by none other than Kagami Uchiha. Charging forward he engaged both Itachi and Shisui in fierce Tajiutsu combat pushing both talented boys back. He was physically stronger than every member of his group and as quick as a bird.

The sound of clashing steel again assaulted Naori's ears as she glanced at the twins attacking one fighter fiercely. Takeshi and Mikoto were the newest members of the group, they were once servants having been deemed too weak to fight. But during one of the sieges of their castle, the twins had taken up arms and slayed four grown men together. Their act of valor and strength hadn't gone unnoticed by the man currently battling against them, one who decided to make them fighters and was teaching them all he knew.

Naori couldn't help but smile at the young man of fourteen, soon to be fifteen who had kept her safe all these years.

Naruto Uchiha had made a name for himself in the elemental nations as the finest swordsman. Dazzling in his golden armor and his silky brown hair and angelic features, he was a handsome sight to look at. While his brother had made his enemies shake in fear, Naruto was hated and looked down upon because of his past actions. Many had dared challenge him, the most prominent being the Fuma Clan who had tried to take this castle only to be slayed in single combat by Naruto himself. She still shivered on remembering the day her nephew butchered the Fuma to their last member with Dawn, his ancestral weapon ending a noble family that had lasted thousands of years.

The same boy blocked the sword strike from the twins with his own ancestral weapon before pushing them both back with a firm push. He smirked when Kagami, Itachi, and Shisui joined beside Takeshi and Mikoto; all of them now pointing their swords at him.

"Even now I can cut through the five of you like carving a cake!" mocked the Kinslayer,

The Kinsguard laughed at his remark but prepared themselves nonetheless.

Naori watched the group attack Naruto together which made him laugh as he activated his sharingan and began the battle. Naori couldn't help but remember the time when she thought Naruto would never gain friends because of his reputation. But as always he surprised her.

Itachi, Shisui, and Kagami despite being heirs to less powerful Uchiha families had made their own judgement of Naruto in the first three years watching the Kinslayer and his actions. When Naruto continued to prove his loyalty to the clan over and over again, the three boys again requested to serve under Naruto with the aim of protecting Naori's life.

Naruto had agreed for he had personally seen the skill of the three boys in battle. At the same time, against Naori's wishes her nephew had inducted Takeshi and Mikoto under his command. The twins were supposed to be servants but Naruto took them under his wing and taught them how to be ninjas.

As the years passed, the group learned how to work together and accept each other despite their different likes and personalities.

Kinsguard, they were called for their unflinching loyalty towards their leader, The Kinslayer.

Naruto chuckled when his kick connected with Takeshi's solar plexus making them boy gasp and fall to the ground in pain. He gave another quick roundhouse kick sending both Mikoto and Kagami crashing away. It was Shisui and Itachi who clashed their swords against him sending bright sparks everywhere.

However, Naruto rotated his longsword with enough force to disarm Shisui thereby leaving him open for Naruto's punch that connected with his jaw which sent him crashing away as well.

That only left the two most brilliant fighters of the Kinsguard against each other.

It was a well known fact that Itachi admired Naruto for his fighting skills. The boy had tried for years to defeat the Kinslayer in combat but was defeated everyday. His aim of defeating Naruto in sword fighting still evaded him everytime.

Itachi charged forward wordlessly aiming his weapon for a horizontal slash towards Naruto's chest, the older Uchiha simply side stepped before kicking Itachi in the knees earning a pained grunt. Both boys again began fighting fiercely but Naruto had a distinct advantage with his sharingan and Naori could see despite Itachi's best efforts, her nephew was handling the boy with ease.

Naruto finally had enough and charged forward feinting a strike to the right which made Itachi react in defense. The Kinslayer smirked victoriously by changing his sword hand to the left one and delivering a painful strike to Itachi's ribs that made the boy double over as Naruto placed his sword on his fellow Uchiha's neck.

"Still better than you..." taunted Naruto, but without any kind of arrogance or spite in his voice and instead offered his hand to Itachi when the boy made the sign of reconciliation.

"Someday I'll beat you, Lord Commander..." replied Itachi confidently, making Naruto groan at the title.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" asked Naruto irritatedly, a frown arriving on his lips when Itachi blinked confusedly.

"You are our leader. It is befitting I address you by your position"

There were brief chuckles as the rest of the Kinsguard came forward and surrounded the two boys. It was Shisui who spoke first...

"Leave it, Naruto. You'd find it easier to make the Senju surrender rather than making Itachi ease up on traditions a little" teased Shisui, earning a mild glare from Itachi.

"How's the stomach, Takeshi?" asked Kagami humorlessly, earning a groan from the young boy.

"Fuck you"

Naruto chuckled at the playful banter amongst his friends at they mocked each other.

Friends.

He glanced at each of them and couldn't help but be glad for having them in his life. After his past, he had given up on any hope of ever finding people who liked him, most people in the world still hated him. But these five had looked past the hate and his past, they had made their own judgement and taken a risk of believing in him.

He looked at the lazy fox pretending to sleep in a nearby corner and couldn't help but grin proudly for these people around him were a proof of his claim that not all Uchiha were bad or simply insane as the beast considered.

Naruto still found it hard to believe Kurama had decided to travel with him. The only reason the beast had given for such an action was the fact that the Hagoromo and Kaguya Clans were hunting for him and it was safer if he stayed by Naruto's side. On being asked why, the fox had simply said that the Uchiha despite their madness were quite feared. Staying with them would help the beast keep an eye on them while also ensuring that he stayed out of human conflicts.

But Naruto doubted that it was the entire truth for Kurama was strong enough to handle anyone that threatened him. He liked to believe the fox came with him because they were friends. Apart from the Kinsguard, his aunt, the fox had been his constant companion and protected any that tried to harm him. It was Naruto and Kurama together who eliminated the entire Fuma clan in single combat, a fact that still made the Uchiha proud and made them accept the beast into their ranks.

"Do you guys ever rest?"

He turned to see his aunt approaching towards their group with a smile on her beautiful face. When the rest of the Kinsguard knelt respectfully, Naruto followed suit but only for a moment as Naori caught his shoulders swiftly making him look back at her with a puzzled look in his eyes.

"You're family. You never have to kneel before me..." she said gently, making him look away.

"I am disowned, Naori-sama" said Naruto curtly, unable to his sadness over the affair.

"Not to me"

She looked him in the eyes that were so much like his mother's.

"You are an Uchiha. You might not have our name, but you are my blood"

Naruto looked away unable to meet her piercing gaze that always made him feel like a child even if he was man now. Soon to be fifteen of age which was quite old in the short lived mortality of their world, Naori still made him feel like a young boy. And as frustrating it was, it didn't change the fact that it was endearing as well for here away from his father and elder brother, Naruto still had family in his aunt who had looked after him all these years as if he were her own son.

He watched her interact happily with his friends, praising them for their skills while also pointing out their mistakes. And it was fair to say people respected her, loved her, which was the opposite of what most thought of him.