(I don't own Naruto)
Too long I'd been running to evade my pursuers but, to no avail. The trees became blurs of browns, and green as a maneuvered in between large trunks and jumped from branch. Constant rainfall muddied the forest floor beneath me turning soft soil into sloshing drumbeats made personally for the ears of my pursuers. It was loud all around me, but I swear the pounding of my heart was the loudest.
Every beat it made was a beacon for my enemies.
HOUSE OF SILVER
"Welcome, Yara-sama to the House of Silver" a smiling Geisha with her arms spread wide greeted me with a low bow. I was in the Land of Grass, in a mid-quality hotel that had more security than it did rice to feed it's patrons. Rising from her bow I was able to see the fresh marks of lashings, and the added pressure on the right leg to compensate for her left.
"Follow me to your room please" the geisha spoke turning her back to me. Her pink yukata was designed with pink petals, and splotches of green for the love and admiration toward Grass country. On the bottom were branches intertwined, and matted. A silver obi tied it tightly around her waist.
The House of Silver was a brothel, a chain of brothels toward the western borders of Grass where the law was extremely lenient to non-existent. The cheap bamboo tiles were scuffed, cracked, and stained with booze and blood. Men with scary faces some scarred, and some beaten from past fights stood guard around the hotel hidden, civilians. Trained, but civilians. One shrill shriek and there'd be more bloodied tiles.
I could hear the low breathes of sex mixed with drunken laughter even snoring while following my guide past the rooms of other visitors. "I didn't make a reservation, and I never paid for a room" The exhaustion in my voice was like a rock to glass.
Turning right she responded, but didn't turn to speak to me "In advance it was paid for, a letter and ryo arrived with instructions to reserve a room."
Before she could finish another geishsa came bursting out of a room further down barely dressed with make-up smeared. "Next time you'll pay asshole! No more Jiraiya-sama!" Quickly she walked past my guide, and me brushing my left side. My eyes followed as she walked past, beautiful.
"To the left is your room, excuse me" smiling the same smile she hurried off. Rolling my shoulders I entered my small room to see a futon and small lit candle beside it hung a mirror. I hadn't looked in a mirror in weeks, and when I finally did I was...numb.
I'm fifteen, 5'9 now "tall, and strong" my father would say while looking down to me. My face is a exact copy to his in every way, the scars that cross over one another, my blonde hair, and these green eyes. Loosening a plain yukata of mine own I lifted the blood stained shirt below revealing a muscular body, trailing my hand to a scar to the left side near my belly I almost reminisced, but the sounds of fist beating soft flesh interrupted my thoughts. There'd be more blood on the tiles.
Looking at myself again I lowerd my shirt now searching for a towel "I'll bathe before I sleep" I told myself seeing the bath house before I entered my room. Leaving I walked past my halted position from before even going past the closed room of the Great Toad Sage, Jiraiya.
The water was hot when poured out of the bucket onto my body. Alone I sat in the bath house rinsing, and washing careful to not irritale the scar on my left. Scrubbing the dirt, soot, and blood from my hair felt good pure even.
A heavy body sat next to me releasing a long breath whilst pouring water onto his own body. White hair down to the floor was all I saw while washing my body "Nothing like a good rinse to wash the smell of cheap pussy off, eh brat?" I heard him vulgarly ask me. Rinse done I looked up to see a large man obviously a shinobi washing himself next to me.
"I suppose." a mild answer for a stranger. I watched as he carefully and meticulously washed his own hair.
Dirt, soot, and blood.
I no longer needed to bathe I was clean again, pure but still I didnt move. Hunched over squatting on a wooden stool naked the same as the man next to me the same as Jiraiya of The Senin. "You look exactly like him you know?" turning my neck to face him our eyes met; "Scar for scar you two are identical even your eyes." the look on his face becoming vex.
Turning away Ignoring his glare I looked behind me toward the entrance of the bath house. Even before Jiraiyas entering the sounds of sex and drinking faded slowly, but noticeably. "It's gotten quiet, Senin." turning back toward him I expected the same glare, but now only curiosity.
"Tell me did you notice the whore who led you to your room, anything?" He asked me waiting my answer; I didn't answer his question. "Have I been betrayed Senin?" I asked calmly, behind me dust fell from the roof onto the wet floors.
"We're not allies, now tell me what did you notice?" He insisted, but again to the far left of me dust fell from the roof onto the the floor. I swung my head to the left inspecting then back to Jiraiya. "Roots, not branches" I said to him giving away my only information to get a grin in response. "Damn right, roots." he snorted and poured another hot bucket of water over himself I imitated doing the same.
"Prove to me you are the son of Hanzo, Yara and then I'll be your ally." I nearly snapped my neck hearing him loudly proclaim my heritage so brazenly in a whore hou-, again I noticed the quietness. Before it was faint now it was mute. "I've been betrayed" I said aloud looking to the ceiling.
"You smell that kid, hmm? It's blood and its alot of it. Right now every whore, thug, and patron are being killed." I did notice the smell while I began to notice the more Jaraiya washed the more dirt came off.
"You're a clone, a mud clone." I revealed to receive a toothy smile.
"Go south toward the large river 10 miles away, I'd hurry too." He looked toward the roof "You're surrounded." Due to too much water or the lack of chakra the clone melted back to its core elements dirting my clean feet. Crashing through the roof on the far left landed two figures garbed in shinobi gear and white blank mask, before they could position themselves I was in motion.
My hands blurred in front of my face while inhaling so when they leapt into action toward me I unleashed. "Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu!" The room was quickly blanketed in a extremely thick mist leaving my attackers blinded to only a few inches in front of themselves. Silently moving from my previous position I jumped upside down onto the roof using chakra to stick, another set of quick hand seals and directly below two clones formed out of water from one of the baths. One was immediately destroyed by shuriken, and kunai while the other took off toward the attackers.
Inside the mist I could hear my clone splashing toward them. Then I heard him engage them. Between them now. Closing my eyes I listened to the rhythm of their feet, distinguishing my clones. I heard kunai swishing and slashing trying to kill me listening still I picked up a pattern in my clones movements.
I heard from beyond the bathhouse footsteps, silently stepping forward to the scene of battle. They must've been observing.
I was as blind as them, but the splashing footwork of my clone allowed to to see everything. I'd practiced this routine plenty before if ever I were to be ambushed by two opponents. I'd been in this position before.
Naked still I jumped from the roof landing right side up making a splash I heard the low creaking from the hall cease now shifting toward my revealed position. Before entering the bath house to wash I noted everything of use so instantly remembering a Dragon made of stone I stood tall.
Kawarmi!
The statue, and I had switched places easily noticed by the loud crash mixed the the rumbling of broken stone in the bath house. The hall was void of light, my body still drenched, the only noise was the drippings of water rolling off me, and onto the floor. In the dark we danced.
A pivot to the left I ducked a slash from the right which I responded to by closing the distance with a ram of my shoulder to their chest bouncing his back off the wall, but again another slash. I could identify from the speed, and fierceness of the attacks they were trained in weapons extensively their combinations almost perfect. Only their footing causing them to fall short of drawing blood, a stab toward my gut failed when I swiftly grabbed their wrist twisting it harshly counter clockwise then again clockwise breaking the arm.
Pulling away, and retreating from me I heard him shift his weight to the right to defend the left, but I hadn't- then I recongnized my enemy. The Geisha from before, my guide whom showed me my room, a Root operative in grass country.
"Roots not branches."
I attacked high with kicks to her temple when blocked I repeated the process to kicks to her ribs. My balance was that of a Crane so when my blows were redirected and both of my feet touched the ground I was instantly in the air. From the balls of my feet I jumped high bringing my knees to my chest, my still muddied feet collided into her face. Sometime during our dance we got turned around, and now she was tumbling backwards to the bathhouse, I was able to see her face a blank white mask cracking from impact.
Crashing and rolling roughly onto the floor, a loud splash of water from the bath house mixed with the sound of a body falling harshly against the floor my hands were again a blur "Earth Release: Stone Spears!"
When she stopped rolling from the attack she tried to stand only to be impaled by spears of rock that protruded from the ground killing her quickly ripping through her flesh and clothing. The jutsu left her body caught in the air where the spikes had impaled and lifted her, leaving her.
There was now only one enemy still in the bathhouse surrounded by thick mist his partner killed by my clone. "Water Release: Water Bullet!" from my mouth shot condensed compact boulder sized water projectiles again, and again down the hall colliding into the geisha launching her lifeless body and destroying my hall of spears now into the mist destroying the room, and surely killing him.
Less than two minutes my enemies dead, less than twelve seconds reinforcements would arrive, but in five seconds I was down the hall past the corpses into the bathhouse and jumping out the roof into the night landing in the tall silver high grass. Three miles away I'd stashed a drop bag, but that was to the east away from where I was to meet Jiraiya. Naked I ran south through the grass. Through the woods. And through it all I heard them behind me; captains shouting maneuvers to subordinates which wasn't protocol but I was too fast the usual silent hand signals would do no good. Leaping to another branch I felt the beginnings of a heavy rain on my head. leaping to another branch I'd heard the rush of moving water. I was close to the river he'd told me to go to, pumping chakra into my legs I ran away from kunai that that penetrated where I was. I ran away from flaming attacks the burned the forests around me. They were closing in on me.
If I looked back I would see Grass Country burn behind me. Root wouldn't leave evidence of themselves or me. Nearby villages who saw the flames were sure to be put to the sword, shinobi who came to investigate would be slain by masked assassins. At last I'd reached the river large and wide it was, but I didn't stop I ran on top of, and toward the land across, but my momentum was stopped by the sounds of shuriken, hundreds of shuriken! Stopping the flow of chakra to my feet, I was immediately drug into the rivers rushing waters. My body flowed in the direction of the current, my eyes closed I couldn't see anything as I twisted and twirled under water. Regaining control of my body I swam to what I believed was the top when my head breached I wildly reached for something to grasp, and pull myself out of the river a large jagged stone was my anchor. I clutched it close to my chest heavily breathing while the waters passed around me taking a look up I wasn't on the other side of the river just back where I'd started. The orange glow beyond the forest confirmed my assumptions...Grass country was burning.
Climbing out of the waters my nude form was scrapped and cut from my escape, "Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!" I heard Jiraiya yell from the other side creating a large earthly wall cutting off the flow of the river flooding the surrounding open area filled with high grass that was now being washed over. Picking myself up from off my knees I stood tall and stared. "This river runs through Konoha territories, it's now poisoned from you simply bleeding in it." Jiraiya told me dully speaking lowly almost unheard because of the still rushing waters. "He implanted the venom sac of the Black Salamander inside you didn't he?" Instead of answering I turned my back to him looking into the cascading forest; flashing through hand seals two more of me formed out of the flooding waters walking several meters away in separate directions. Again I was surrounded by Root agents who'd managed to catch up, and track my location slowly they leaked out of the shadows like specters.
Forcing chakra into my eyes my world became sharp, the dark rainy night became crystal clear. Turning my neck toward the other side of the river I looked directly at Jiraiya who'd hidden himself with his famous camouflage jutsu to hide himself from Root, but with my eyes I'd broken the illusion looking him directly into his eyes but he was no fool he quickly looked to the ground avoiding my gaze. The shock was evident. "The venom of the Black Salamander, and so much more." I responded turning my back to him again my clones had also activated the Sharingan in their eyes. Now Root didn't need to speak they now communicated through sign I counted thirty of them. A moment of clarity passed between us.
We danced.
One Hand seal and my fathers infamous Kusarigama was in all of our hands throwing the sickle toward my enemies then spinning our bodies in opposite directions. To the right of me my clone spun his weapon clockwise, to the left of me my clone spun his weapon counter clockwise as I jumped, rolled, and shushined between the two avoiding the blades by mere seconds all the while spinning mine own weapon moving in and out of certain death. My blades gutted Root, bisected Root, and cut Root when they entered the field of vision of me and my clones. When they countered with jutsu my eyes predicted it's speed, it's intent, and it's destination. A flaming ball from the west my clone to the right shushined in the air above it swinging his blade halving it in two burning two unprepared enemies to death.
Our feet splashed in the now muddied grass steeping over slain Root, and amputated limbs; "Yara, son of Hanzo you are now under the protection of, Konohagakure No Sato" I heard Jiraiya yell from across the river. I must've been a sight to see in the night. Nude, Sharingan blazing, and a merchant of death in every direction soon my enemies were few, then my enemies were none.
Thirty heavily trained men, and women lay at my feet soiling my body with blood. standing still I exhaled releasing my clones, and cutting the flow of chakra to my eyes. I looked to the forest again; Grass Country still burned, the wall of stone still blocked the river "here!" Jiraiya threw over a mask similar to my fathers.
"This is why you sent a clone to the brothel?" I asked whilst picking it up sliding it over my head, and snapping the respirator in place. On top was a symbol in the fashion of a spiraling leaf. "If Root didn't kill those patrons you would have simply by breathing the same air. The same reason I blocked this river." Jiraiya said, again he threw something this time large it was my drop bad. "You're toxic, poisonous, and the venom from that sac could kill even a Kage." Now I was dressed the same fashion as my father only red signifying me as a member of his personal guard "Follow me to your new home Yara" and he disappeared.
A final look behind me, and I saw what my existence had wrought. A country covertly invaded, burned, and bloodied, because I was the son of Hanzo of The Salamander a pillar of the shinobi world. Closing my eyes I activated my sharingan to burn the image to memory to always know the price of my life. What it was worth to be the son of a Tyrant. Looking, truly looking I know I'd pay this price every time.
A/N ONNNNEEEEE PUUUUUNCH!