Brothers in Arms Bonded by Soul
Chapter One: Beginning of Bonds
October 10th was meant to be a momentous occasion for the Maito Clan of the Village hidden in the Leaves. Maito Bai, eldest son of Maito Dai, the heroic Eternal Genin who gave his life in battle with the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist, was to be borne a son! It was meant to be a day of greatness for the family. That is, if not for two complications. His wife, Maito Seren, was holding onto life by a thread after giving birth to a healthy son, who was to be known as Maito Tai. And the other complication?
Oh, it was nothing too big, just the strongest of the Bijuu, the Kyuubi No Kitsune was attacking the village. You know, just a minor complication in the life of the entire village.
Jonin Maito Bai, Taijutsu master and a tree of a man even for the Maito clan, stood 6 feet 8 inches tall and wore the same deep forest green jump suit as his father in order to honor his sacrifice, watched from his wife's hospital room window, fists clenched so tightly that his calloused knuckles turned a deathly white, as the many ninja of the Hidden Leaf rushed to do battle with the monstrous Bijuu in order to keep it from destroying the village, while the many civilian families rushing to the shelters hidden in the Hokage Mountain prayed that their legendary Fourth Hokage, The Yellow Flash of Konoha, Minato Namikaze, would save them from the creature as he saved them from the war with Iwa, the Village Hidden in the Stone.
"It's so unyouthful that I cannot be out there helping in the defense of our fine village, but I must stay with my wife and son, at least until either my wife comes out of surgery or the tests come back on whether or not the Maito family curse will afflict my son..." Maito Bai muttered to himself while he stroked his goatee that he had grown in honor of his father.
However, it seemed that Kami was not on his side that day, as Doctor Yakushi, head of Konoha General and the man in charge of his wife's surgery came into the room, eyes downcast and face gaunt with sadness due the nature of the news he had to deliver to the man sitting in the room. Bai's eyes, which had filled with hope as the doctor entered the room, now drained of any and all emotion after one look at the doctor's face.
"I'm sorry Bai, but Seren...She didn't make it. the complications she suffered from giving birth were too much for her body to handle. Again, I'm sorry." Doctor Yakushi said, as he gave Bai the news. Bai, his posture once held so stiff and strong, slumped into the chair, his head held in between his rough and calloused hands, a product of hundreds of thousands of training hours put in on the training grounds of Konoha. Maito Bai looked up into the doctor's face, desperate hope burned deep in his eyes and clear in his face.
"I understand, doctor, but what about my youthful son? Have the test results come back with any information as to whether or not the unyouthful family curse will afflict him?" Doctor Yakushi let a visible wince shake his gaunt frame, not wanting to have to be the bearer or such damning news to such a desperate man.
"I'm sorry Bai, but the results have returned on your son, and they didn't show any difference from yours...Your son has the same affliction as you. If he manages to live past the age of 5, he will have almost no chakra available to him, as his coils will have been dedicated to fighting the disease."
To Maito Bai, a man of such passion and strength to the people of Konoha, this was the straw that broke the camels back. He could no longer keep his "youthful mask" in place, and he let the tears come rolling down his face and the sobs rack his body. In such deep sorrow he was that he did not notice the orderly come rushing into the room to speak with the doctor in hurried whispers. Doctor Yakushi's eyes widened as the orderly explained the situation to him, and a desperate plan formed in the doctor's mind that could possibly save Maito Bai's son from the desolate future that almost clearly awaited him.
Doctor Yakushi thanked the orderly and told him to wait outside for further orders. Turning to Maito Bai, he reached out and put his hands on both of his shoulders, causing him to look up into the doctor's eyes which were covered by a pair of broad rimmed eyeglasses.
"Bai, listen to me and listen to me closely. The Fourth Hokage has a plan to defeat the rampaging Bijuu attacking the village, however he has requested of us a newborn child to become one of two vessels for the Kyuubi no Kitsune. He already has one child chosen to contain the Yin half of the beast's chakra, but he needs another to hold the Yang half. Bai, this could be it, the cure for your son's condition! If his own chakra could not keep the ailment at bay, maybe the beast's could and he could learn to use his own chakra! This could be the key!"
Now, never let it be said that Maito Bai was a slow thinker nor a man who wouldn't consider all opportunities available to him when faced with a problem. However, this issue was not one that he could truly consider with rational thought, as the pain caused by his disease and struggles to gain recognition from the village after the troubles of his father, Maito Dai, was not something he wanted for his son, even at the cost of becoming a Jinchūriki.
Maito Bai stood to his full hight, righteous purpose burning clear in eyes"I...I will give my consent for this. Inform Lord Hokage of this, and tell him I will see him on the battlefield. I will go help hold back the Kyuubi." And with that, Maito Bai walked to the window, opened it, and jumped out across the rooftops of Konoha, racing towards the battlefield where the Kyuubi no Kitsune rampaged towards his home, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I will defend this village, just as you did, father! I will be a hero to them, just like the Hokages! Thought Maito Bai, knowing that this battle would most likely be his last due to what he called the Maito "Curse".
The Maito curse was a disease, one that ran through the family reaching back to the days of the Senju and Uchiha clans, when the Maito were minor allies of the Senju clan. They were masters of ninjutsu, only rivaled by the Senju and Uchiha clans, and how they prided themselves upon it! However, that pride was their downfall, as a gene poison was brewed to be used against the main branch of the Maito clan. and used it was by a Uchiha infiltrator, destroying their chakra coils and causing such searing pain when the members of the Maito clan attempted to draw upon their chakra, thus rendering the once proud ninjutsu based clan shattered with no other recourse but to learn and master taijutsu.
The casualties upon the battlefield were so grievous that the clan elders were forced to request a ceasefire from the Uchiha and Senju clans in the hopes that they would not be wiped out. It was luck that the two clans were attempting to make peace at the same time, and thus the salvation of the Maito clan was beheld.
And yet, the Maito clan refused to find a new way of life, attempting to find either a cure for the disease or a workaround to accessing their chakra. However, no Maito ever found a solution to their affliction. That is, until Maito Dai! Though he was looked upon as an eternal genin, the man found a way to access the internal chakra limiters in the body, known as the Eight Inner Gates and release them in order to gain a massive boost of chakra, however temporary it was. Though it took him 20 years to tease and train the secrets of the Eight Gates from his body, his sons, Maito Bai and Maito Gai, had no such issues learning the same techniques from their father and making use of them to reach the rank of Jonin and Chunin, respectively. Proving his prowess with the Eight Gates, as he rushed onto the battlefield barreling straight towards the Kyuubi no Kitsune, Maito Bai began opening the Eight Inner Gates one by one.
"Kaimon: Gate of Opening, OPEN!"
"Kyūmon: Gate of Healing, OPEN!"
"Shōmon: Gate of Life, OPEN!"
"Shomon: Gate of Pain, OPEN!"
"Tomon: Gate of Limit, OPEN!"
"Keimon: Gate of View, OPEN!"
And while his approach towards the Kyuubi continued, Maito Bai moved with such speed that as he continued to open the Eight Gates, it seemed that he left a blurring trail of green energy as he moved with such superhuman speed only seen before from such select shinobi such as the Yellow Flash or the Fourth Raikage, A. As the Kyuubi no Kitsune, Mightiest of all Bijuu turned towards the trail of green rushing towards it, Maito Bai let loose with his father's first technique created using the Eight Gates.
"Morning Peacock!"
Striking the Kyuubi no Kitsune in the foreleg with a kick of such immense strength that the Kyuubi stumbled forward, dangerously close to falling on it's side, the Bijuu was completely unprepared for the seemingly endless barrage of punches wreathed in flames that struck it's undefended flank, causing it to roar in shock and pain! Disbelief warred with immense pain upon the face of the Kyuubi. How could such a insignificant creature such as a mortal make the Kyuubi no Kitsune, Lord of all the Bijuu, feel such emotion such as pain?! It was inconceivable!
Maito Bai, however, knew not of the term, and continued his relentless assault upon the creature, dealing as much damage as he could in order to delay the creature from continuing it's assault upon Konoha to give the Fourth Hokage as much time as he needed to prepare the seals to contain the beast. However, the Kyuubi was not without it's own arsenal of tricks. Flicking it's tails towards the side that was under assault from the human flea, the Kyuubi created such intense winds that not even Maito Bai could stand his ground against them, sending the valiant shinobi crashing into the ground near the rest of Konoha's shinobi forces that were arranged before the mighty Bijuu. Their leader, former Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, was the first to reach the new crater in the ground where the battered form of Maito Bai lay, struggling to escape the rubble strewn around and upon him, keeping him out of the fight.
"Bai, what are you doing? You shouldn't be out here on the battlefield!" Hiruzen barked at him in a commanding tone, the tone of a man known around the Elemental Nations under such aliases as the Kami no Shinobi and The Professor. There was no verbal response to this, other than a single sentence.
"Kyōmon: Gate of Wonder, OPEN!"
With that, the rubble that covered the crater erupted into the sky, flying in every direction and causing the few shinobi that approached the crater to either take cover or Kawarimi out of the danger zone. Those close enough to see the inside of the crater would behold Maito Bai, who stood at his full hight surrounded by a crackling, wavering blue aura. Crouching low to the ground, Bai leaped into the air straight towards the Kyuubi no Kitsune, left arm pulled back into a fist bearing a unique hand seal.
"ROAR, My Everlasting YOUTH! AFTERNOON TIGER!"
And with that, Maito Bai, current head of the Maito Clan, punched the Lord of the Bijuu, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, square in the face.