The Chronicles of Power
The Gathering
By: bigo4190
Chapter 1 – A New Mission
The sun was high over Konahgakure no Sato, as the young man made his way to the Hokage tower. 'I wonder what Baasanwants me to do. I hope this isn't some crappy D-rank mission, not after all the training I went through with Ero-sennin.'
After only a few more minutes, Naruto arrived at the tower, and went into the Hokage's office for his mission briefing. As he entered the room he noticed the third occupant, Hyuuga Hinata. She hadn't seen him yet, and he entered more slowly, having noticed once again, after their brief meeting the day before, that she had definitely grown, and not just physically, for she stood straighter and more confidently, a least somewhat. That changed when he finally announced his presence, and she turned to face him, and blushed slightly. 'N-Naruto-kun is going on this mission with me?'
"Good, your both here, now lets get down to business," and even as she said this and the door shut behind Naruto, Tsunade raised her hands in a simple Hitsuju Seal, and a brief pulse of chakra signified that the room had been sealed to prevent any noise from entering or leaving. "Now onto your mission, I'm assigning it to the two of you for multiple reasons, not the least of which is you are the two youngest ninja able to operate outside of the standard three man team system that are available at this time. This mission is fairly simple, but it does need more experienced ninja then a team of rookies. Their have been rumors in an area of Fire country near the border of the forest to the south of the village. They seem to believe that a cave their was once a lair for the Kyuubi, before his rampage to the village, and the direction does lend some credence to that theory. However, any villagers sent to investigate the matter never return. They have always held this superstition, but never have they sent any word to Konoha, having no reason to believe anything sinister was happening, merely traps that the villagers could not pass. Now however, they have felt strange energies coming from the cave at times, more than one mile distant. I wish the two of you to investigate. Your skills, and other…talents, should allow you to enter the cave, and discover just what the source of these strange pulses are. Hinata you are dismissed, but I have another thing to share with Naruto." Hinata bowed shortly, then turned to leave, she glanced once at Naruto, blushing slightly, but seemingly encouragingly. As soon as the door had shut, the Hokage turned to face Naruto and her expression grew grim. "Now Naruto, this may seem hard, but I'm going to be blunt, due to the nature of this mission, you must inform Hinata about it."
Naruto's eyes hardened, but their was a sense of understanding still deep within them. "That may be somewhat difficult to do…Hokage-sama."
Tsunade glanced at him in surprise, 'He never shows such respect, so something must be bothering him.' She straigtens and looks at him, "Nevertheless Naruto-kun, you will need to tell her, and the rest of your class eventually. Would things be any different if it were to say…Sakura?"
Naruto merely stood their, thinking for a few moments after Tsunade finished. "I understand that Tsunade-sama, but it will still be hard. So very few of those people who know the truth have treated me with anything more than indifference at best, and outright hatred at worst. I really do not wish to lose the people I can call friends when they learn the truth. And as for if it was Sakura…it would be easier, but not for the reasons I think you are guessing at. I do love her, but I've come to realize that she is more the big sister I never had than a romantic interest. But I know that she would understand, and try and help me deal with my problem, the same as when I realized how much she cared for…, well anyway, she was so concerned for him that she would do anything, and I hope she would care enough for me to do the same."
Tsunade sat back in her chair, thinking hard about what Naruto said. "So I see you have done some thinking about this, that's good, and I think Sakura will be glad to hear you consider her a sibling now, because trust me, she feels the same way about you. Now is it difficult with Hinata merely because she is a friend, or is their more…don't look so surprised, I saw you watching her when you came in."
"You're way to smart for my own good, Baa-chan." Naruto let out a little sigh here, "Yeah, I have started feeling things for her, but now you're throwing this in the way of anything that could remotely happen," here Naruto's voice dropped to a wisper that Tsunade couldn't hear, "not that she would ever want anything to do with me that way."
"Well, I can see you're back to your normal self no Naruto-kun. All I have to say is that you should always have hope and those who know you will not so easily turn against you. You will need to tell her about it though. You're dismissed." Tsunade raised her hands again and another pulse of chakra meant that the sound barrier was removed.
After Naruto and Hinata had gathered their things they meet at the southern gates, and then set out towards the cave. Naruto glanced around after a few hours and then let out a sigh. "Hinata-chan, we should stop for a minute."
"H-hai, Naruto-kun." Even as they stopped and landed upon the forest floor Hinata mentally berated herself for continue to stutter around Naruto, no matter how much she had improved, it still managed to slip out around him at times, 'Did he just call me Hinata-chan?' "Why are we stopping now, we won't reach the cave until tomorrow, and the sun won't set for another few hours."
"This has to do with why Tsunade no Baa-chan held me back after the mission briefing. The information is another of the reasons why I in particular was chosen for this mission. It will also affect our teamwork for this mission and the rest of our lives."
"What is it, Naruto-kun?"
"Tell me Hinata-chan, what do you know about the Kyuubi attack 15 years ago?"
"I know that the beast rampaged on its way to Konoha, and was held at bay for three days until the Yondaime met it in battle and killed it."
"Yes, that is the story that everyone tells, but it is not the truth, as everyone from the earlier generations knows. Didn't you ever wonder why the Yondaime took three days to join the battle, and how he managed to kill the Lord of the Biju?"
"Yes, but I believed he may have shut himself away to study a method to defeat the demon, only joining the battle when he felt he could win. And what do you mean it's not true Naruto-kun? What did the Hokage tell you to pass on that she couldn't pass on herself?"
"She could have easily told you herself, but she respects me enough to allow me to tell my own secrets in mostly my own time. And don't forget that fact; this is an S-class secret, known only to the adults of Konoha. The Yondaime, no matter how strong he may have been as a Shinobi, was still mortal, and no mortal can hope to match power with any of the Biju through normal means. The Yondaime did spend those three days in study, but that study led him to the only thing possible, the sealing of the demon."
Naruto sighed here and then shook his head, but before Hinata could interrupt he began again, "However, no rock, tree, or even mountain could contain the vast power of the Kyuubi. An adult's body, set in its own ways, could not cope with the sudden influx of power any more easily, so the Yondaime took the only option, a newborn child who's chakra coils had not yet fully formed. Hinata…I am that child, the Jinchuuriki that contain the Kyuubi no Youko." Naruto finished his speech and lowered his head, knowing that his hope that he would not be rejected was only a fool's hope.
Hinata stood there, stunned. Here was the boy, no man, that she had admired, and grown to love, and all this time, underneath the smiles and the energy she knew to be at least somewhat of a mask, was a boy constantly rejected for something he had no control over. Now to see him so broken, mentally preparing himself for yet another rejection, she knew she had to reassure him, even if that meant that revealing her long hidden feelings. "Naruto-kun, not all the people of Konoha are blind to the difference between a demon and its prison. I know that you are a kind hearted man who never breaks a promise and fights with everything he has to defend that which is precious to him, and that doesn't sound like a demon. There are so many who care for you, even knowing the burden, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-san and Jiraiya-sama and Hokage-sama. And then me, Naruto-kun, nothing could make me hate you, because…because I l-love you."
Now it was Naruto's turn to be stunned. He wasn't being rejected, and what's more the girl, no…she was definitely a woman now, that he had begun to care for had not only remained his friend, but declared her love for him. He remained speechless for a few more minutes, until he noticed that Hinata now seemed to be on the edge of her own breakdown. 'Kuso. She probably thinks I'm rejecting her.' "Hinata-chan, thank you, this means so much to me. You're the first person our age that I have told, and I cannot begin to thank you enough. And Hinata-chan, I may be f-falling in l-love with you too."
"N-naruto-kun." Hinata could hardly believe her ears, when had Naruto gotten over Sakura. She was ecstatic, her feelings were returned, and without thinking she swept Naruto up in a hug, kissing him passionately. They stayed that way for several minutes, Ninja training allowing for them to hold their breath longer; when the lack of air finally became an issue, they pulled apart, gasping but both quite happy. "We should probably keep going until dark."
"With what, the traveling or the kissing Hinata-chan?" Naruto looked serious for a second, almost as if he meant the question before chuckling slightly and turning once more to the south, "I know as fun as the second alternative would be, we have a mission to complete, let's get moving."
The new couple, after camping for the night, continued on their way and arrived at the cave around noon. They stopped in the tree nearest the cave, sensing the lurking power that the villagers must have been reporting. It had pulsed once when they were passing the small village, but close to the cave, it could be felt continuously by those familiar with sensing chakra. What baffled them was who familiar it felt; they could almost distinguish a mixture of energies, some of which they recognized. They were shaken out of their thoughts soon, quite literally, as a small tremor spread from the cave, and a sound much like the turning of a giant stone wheel was heard from inside. They also felt the building of a new and different kind of power.
"What the—" Naruto seems perplexed, but is instantly on guard, anything with that much power and able to shake the ground that hard was a possible threat. "Hinata-chan, we should investigate, just stay behind me, I'm going to flare a little of the Kyuubi's chakra in an attempt to ward off some of the defenses this place might have. We need to find out what is causing this."
The two cautiously entered the cave, Naruto glowing with a red aura, the chakra of the Kyuubi keeping the hidden defenses of the cave at bay. AS they entered the cave the surge of energy reached its peak and they saw a large stone ring against the back wall flare with energy as a pool of what appeared to be water materialized within it. The portal rippled slightly and a man fell through.