The sandy dunes of the Land of Wind stretched endlessly under a relentless sun, the heat shimmering off the golden waves like a mirage.
A tall man with bright red hair sprinted at top speed across the shifting terrain, his gray eyes focused intently on the horizon. His handsome face, marked by the sharp features common among his clan, was etched with determination.
This was Akinari Uzumaki, captain of Akagakure's guard. Though his primary role lately was searching for and rescuing scattered Uzumaki clansmen on orders from his leader, Lady Kushina.
The vast desert seemed to swallow sound, leaving only the crunch of his sandals against the sand and the distant howl of wind.
He could still remember the day Kushina arrived in Kumogakure like it was yesterday. The village had crumbled under her fury easily, like city before a natural disaster. She stood above the ashes like a queen, her presence inspiring an instinctive awe in all who witnessed it- especially him.
From that moment, Akinari knew he would follow her without question. Her actions had saved them, but they came with consequences. Many ninja from Kumo and Konoha, their homes destroyed, had turned rogue, vowing to hunt down any Uzumaki they found, no matter the cost.
A few had even banded together, sailing toward Akagakure in a suicidal bid for revenge. The thought was ridiculous to Akinari- the Uzumaki weren't weak. A single jonin from his clan could handle several elite shinobi from elsewhere. With him, Nagato, and Lady Kushina defending the island, those invaders had been obliterated before they even got within a kilometer of the island. He could only imagine their desperation had driven them to madness.
Akinari shook his head, pushing the memory aside. "No point dwelling on the thoughts of dead men," he muttered to himself.
His focus returned to the mission. Reports of surviving Uzumaki in hiding had grown scarcer, but he wouldn't stop. The clan's revival depended on every life reclaimed. Yet, even as he ran, he couldn't shake the fear that some might have already fallen to these vengeful rogues. He hadn't found any murdered Uzumaki yet, but the possibility gnawed at him. That was why he pushed so hard, why he didn't complain when Kushina ordered him on these long, solitary journeys.
The sound of fighting broke through his thoughts. It came from the west- a small settlement nestled in a rocky outcrop beside a sparse oasis. The buzz of electricity crackled in the air, mingled with screams of rage and pain.
Akinari's heart raced. It could be bandits, or worse- rogue ninja targeting a lone Uzumaki. There had been a sighting of one in this area. He veered sharply, his speed kicking up a trail of sand as he closed the distance.
----
The settlement was a cluster of low adobe huts and tents, their walls baked hard by the sun. Dust swirled in the central square, where four figures clashed in a whirlwind of motion.
One man with bright red hair, appearing middle-aged but moving with the grace of a seasoned warrior, stood against three opponents. The attackers were ragged, two had Konoha headbands crossed out in crude scratches- rogues, no doubt survivors of Kushina's wrath. The other had a kumo headband.
Their faces twisted with hatred, eyes burning as they pressed the assault.
"Die!" one grunted, his voice thick with venom, lunging a kunai.
"Your clan killed my family!" another screamed, lightning crackling along his fists.
The red-haired man, Akaji Uzumaki, remained silent, his expression calm but strained. As an experienced Uzumaki jonin, he should have dispatched these three rogues easily. But the leader wielded a strange weapon- a hilt projecting a blade of pure lightning, humming with deadly energy.
It sliced through the air like a saber of light, melting anything it touched. Akaji dodged backward, his kunai dissolving on contact with the blade during an earlier parry. Sweat beaded on his brow.
The leader snarled, swinging the lightning sword in a wide arc. "I'll kill you with this sword! You filthy Uzumaki!"
Akaji leaped back, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he formed hand seals for a quick ninjutsu. 'Earth Style: Mud Wall!' A barrier of compacted sand rose from the ground, infused with his chakra to harden it against the assault.
The leader's lightning sword slashed forward, but Akaji was already moving. He circled to the side, his taijutsu precise and fluid, closing the distance on the second rogue- a burly man channeling lightning into his body for enhanced power.
The rogue swung wildly, his Lightning Release Chakra Mode making his strikes blur with speed. Akaji ducked low, sweeping a leg to trip him while unsealing a fuinjutsu tag from his sleeve. 'Seal: Chakra Bind!"' The tag activated mid-air, wrapping glowing chains around the rogue's arms, sapping his chakra and leaving him vulnerable.
Akaji followed up with a powerful taijutsu strike- a palm to the chest that sent the man flying into a hut, crumbling the wall.
But the third rogue was on him, unleashing a barrage of shuriken laced with explosive tags. Akaji rolled aside, his ninjutsu flaring as he countered with 'Wind Style: Gale Palm!' A burst of wind deflected the shuriken, detonating them harmlessly in the air.
He pressed the advantage, closing in with taijutsu- rapid punches and kicks infused with fuinjutsu seals that disrupted the rogue's chakra flow on contact. A solid hit to the solar plexus left the third rogue gasping, but the leader was back, his lightning sword humming as it sliced toward Akaji's neck.
Akaji twisted away, the blade grazing his shoulder and cauterizing the wound instantly with searing heat. Pain lanced through him, but he ignored it, unsealing a scroll for a ninjutsu trap. 'Fire Style: Flame Bullet!' A condensed ball of fire shot from his mouth, forcing the leader to dodge.
The rogue countered with a lightning barrier, the sword absorbing the flames and redirecting them as electrified sparks.
"You're tough for an old man," the leader taunted, circling with his two remaining allies. "But we'll end your clan here!"
Akaji's eyes narrowed. He had no kekkei genkai like the Mind's Eye of Kagura or Adamantine Sealing Chains, but his mastery of taijutsu, fuinjutsu, and ninjutsu had kept him alive through Uzushio's fall and years in hiding.
He feinted left, drawing the second rogue in, then sealed a fuinjutsu array on the ground. "Seal: Gravity Bind!" The tag activated, increasing gravity around the rogue, pinning him in place. Akaji followed with a taijutsu combo- elbow strike to the jaw, knee to the gut- dropping him.
The leader charged, sword blazing. Akaji dodged again. The third rogue flanked him, landing a lightning-enhanced punch to his ribs. Akaji grunted, staggering back, his vision blurring from the pain. He was slowly losing ground; these rogues were relentless, their hatred fueling them beyond reason.
Just as the rogue leader raised his sword for a fatal strike, a golden chain erupted, wrapping around his arm. It yanked him brutally, slamming him into the third rogue with bone-shattering force. Both men crumpled, lifeless, their bodies twisted in the sand. The second rogue, still bound, met a swift end- a blade bisecting him cleanly.
It dragged him brutally and threw him into another rogue ninja. Both of them died on impact, every bone in their body broken. The last one was finished swiftly by a blade- dissected in half.
Akaji breathed a sigh of relief, cold sweat running down his back, and turned to his savior. The newcomer had bright red hair, gray eyes, and the unmistakable bearing of an Uzumaki. Hope surged in Akaji's chest. 'This has to be family,' he thought.
"I'm Akinari Uzumaki," the man said, his voice steady as he approached.
----
Later, they sat around a small, makeshift campsite under the starlit desert sky. The fire crackled softly, casting flickering shadows on the dunes.
Akinari tinkered idly with the lightning sword he'd claimed from the rogue leader, examining its hilt with curiosity. The blade hummed faintly when activated, projecting a saber of pure lightning energy. It was a useful weapon he wanted to make his own. Lady Kushina would need to sign off on it, but he didn't think she would deny him.
Akaji watched him, grateful for the rescue but still reeling from the close call.
"Thank you again for earlier," Akaji said, his voice rough but sincere. "Those rogues... they came out of nowhere. I thought I had them, but that sword..."
Akinari looked up from the weapon, his gray eyes reflecting the firelight. "Think nothing of it. We Uzumaki need to stick together. It's only natural I helped." He paused, focusing on the sword again. "Besides, I got something interesting out of it."
Akaji nodded, leaning back against a rock. "I think I've heard of that weapon before. The Sword of the Thunder God- something the Second Hokage used. Dangerous in the wrong hands."
A comfortable silence enveloped them, broken only by the distant howl of wind over the dunes. The fire popped, sending sparks into the night. Finally, Akinari broke it. "What were you doing out here, anyway?"
He paused for a moment, "I heard the Uzumaki clan was reformed..."
Akaji stared into the flames, his middle-aged face lined with years of hardship- though it didn't betray his real age, which was much higher. "I heard the Uzumaki clan was reformed..." He trailed off, his voice carrying a mix of hope and weariness. "I'm just an old man now, with nothing left. Even if it meant risking my life, I wanted to see it. I wanted to see the revival of our people."
Akinari nodded solemnly, understanding all too well. There were many such cases among the survivors- lost souls wandering the world, clinging to the rumors. "The village is doing great. With Lady Kushina leading us, we have nothing to fear anymore," he said with quiet optimism.
"The village is doing great. With Lady Kushina's, we have nothing to fear anymore." He said with some optimism.
"She's the new clan leader?" Akaji asked, surprise flickering in his eyes.
"Yes. She was Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."
"Amazing..." Akaji muttered before his expression shifted to one of regret. "I remember little Kushina. I was among the elders who chose to send her to Konoha."
Akinari's face showed surprise. The elders and leaders had been targeted first during Uzushio's destruction; he didn't think any had survived.
"I felt horrible at the time," Akaji continued, his voice heavy. "She clearly didn't want to go, yet Konoha needed her. Of course... if I knew what I knew now about that rotten village." His face twisted with hatred, fists clenching in the sand.
He shook his head, clearing the dark emotions. "Maybe it was a blessing in disguise all along... Without her, we wouldn't have Akagakure."
Akinari placed a hand on the elder's shoulder. "Come with me. You'll see for yourself."
Akaji looked up, a spark of life returning to his eyes. For the first time in years, he felt a pull toward the future. The two Uzumaki sat in companionable silence, the fire warming the cold desert night, as the stars wheeled overhead.