The Illegal Trade: Spirit Crusher
The Slave Trade now has been banned in every country as of the last century. But there is still underground, illegal slavery going on in the country; whether it is animals or humans. Unimaginable horrors await the victims of slave trading and some never make it out alive. Konohagakure has found the breeding grounds for this illegal trade: right in the very heart of the village. Listen to the tale I'm telling about one determined team trying their hardest to accomplish the feat that has taken men over 200 years to accomplish successfully…
"Fear not the darkness Karuki, for even though its foreboding breath breathes heavily and the tears it sheds for its victim's sting like the summer wasp, there can be some good to come from it. Just wait until it calls you from your sleep. When it does, listen to it, willingly."
"Stop that boy! Stop him; don't let him get above ground you imbeciles! Hurry up!"
Karuki ran as fast as his worn out legs could carry him through the worn underground streets below the Village Hidden in the Leaves. His legs were coated in caked on mud and grime. They were red and welted from the stinging whips and the sharp stiff kunai. Rainwater dripped onto his matted, mud-crusted soot black hair. Droplets rolled down his brow, mixing with sweat. His eyes stayed focused ahead of him; there was no looking back. His father had known the cold hand of slavery most of his natural life and now that life had ended that night. Karuki wiped the mixture of sweat rainwater and now tears from his cheeks. He was so close to tasting the windy air of the over world.
"Shoot him, stab him, and cut the bastard to ribbons now! If he reaches the doors, we'll never get him back! Give me that you lazy oaf, you're doing nothing with it as usual!"
"But…but… you'll never land a direct strike to him Gao; your eyes and arms. It is near impossible for you to land---"
Gao shoved the sharp edged kunai into his fellow complainer's throat. Blood gushed from his jugular and down to his dirt stained white shirt. The man fell to the ground, one hand on his neck, the other parallel to his left leg. Gao focused onto the boy with clouded gray eyes. He reached out with a scarred and beaten hand. It shook violently indicating nervous damage was severe from years of slaving. He focused all of his remaining energy to his arm and launched the kunai at Karuki.
Karuki grinned a grin of uttermost happiness. He was almost there! He was almost home free; he was almost there. He could tell the Hokage about this illegal practice, this ungodly job. He could almost touch the kanji engraving of freedom on the door. The dark red engraving, the smooth yet filthy wooden door when pain streaked up his back like an arrow flying alongside a tall pine in the forest. He stood wide eyed, pupil shrinking as he fell face first into the wet stone ground of the back way underground of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. His own crimson colored blood staining his shirt and sinking between the stones. Leaking rainwater dripped onto his head as if the over world cried for him as he attempted his freedom from this oppression. Gao had hit his mark out of pure dumb luck. His arm shook ravenously as he lowered it back to his side. The clouded gray eyes he owned squinted as he gave a smile showing his broken and discolored and rigid teeth. He laughed loudly and evilly as he stared at the dark red kanji engraving meaning freedom. He remembered what it said on the other side, something ironic as he clutched his right wrist: Oppression.
CHAPTER ONE: Blood and Thunder
Uzumaki Naruto was giddy. He had just used his newest and most precious move on a foe successfully: the Rasengan. He placed his hands behind his head letting the night's previous rain smear onto his hitai-ate and his forehead. His eyes were closed as he walked behind his sensei that was once again seen with his favorite book, Icha-Icha Paradise clutched in his right hand, swinging back and forth as he took step after step. Haruno Sakura was annoyed by her hyperactive and dim-witted friend as he stepped gallantly as if bragging in silence. She rolled her eyes and turned her head to her other teammate, Uchiha Sasuke. The Uchiha lad snorted as he watched Uzumaki step alongside him. Jealousy was imminent in his attitude towards the Uzumaki child. He watched helplessly on the ground as Naruto had delivered the finishing blow to the foe on their last mission. The man had been hit square in the chest and was sent whirling off into the oceanic abyss in the Tea Country. Sasuke gritted his teeth and walked up just missing the gate to Konohagakure by mere inches.
"Hey you guys, you're just in time. The Hokage is waiting for you; you four have another mission to carry out and by her tone, it sounds very serious and dangerous." The guard said waving them in. Naruto yawned and launched his fist in the air with a swaying drowsy motion.
"All right, we're doing great, 'tebayo! This is probably the mission of our lives!" His teammates shared no enthusiasm with him. They rolled eyes and continued into the sun drenched leaf covered village. Kakashi stopped and turned around to his three man cell.
"All right you three take a break and meet me back at the Hokage's tower in about three hours for this new mission. Don't be late ok?" He smiled under his scarf and shunshined away. Naruto grinned and ran pass his teammates. They both knew where he was headed and the practically didn't care. Sasuke walked off with his hands behind his head. Sakura double took them followed him with her hands balled into fists clutching her face.
"The boy tried to escape, I had to kill him before he touched the door, you understand that don't you aniki? Ys I know that but the kid had always given me and my men trouble, so understand where I'm coming from."
Gao sighed deeply as he watched his boss paced back and forth in front of him. The man was from the Hidden Sand which showed from his apparel. The left side of his face was covered in a mass tangle of purple tattoos that snaked across his eyes nose and ear. One eye if you looked closely was jet black; cornea, pupil, iris. In fact there wasn't an eye there to begin with. He sneered at his employee and stopped, back turned to him.
"Do you know how much yen you have cost me Gao?! That boy was from Rock country, he would've gotten me a fortune in yen you dumbass! Now you've killed my rarest seller! I ought to break whatever you have left of that twitching wreak of an arm you have!"
Gao quickly clutched his arm and stared with clouded gray eyes at his boss. He let his arm go when he saw that his boss had calmed down. He stood up preparing to leave when he caught the blurred glimpse of a hand seal.
"No aniki please don't! It was a necessary evil, I swear it! He could've gone out and ruined our operation in a heartbeat; please I need this---"
Too late… The Doton jutsu had arrested his nervous arm in a tight grip and started to pressurize around it. Gao could hear the slithering and clanking of the silt, dirt, and pebbles around his arm. He heard the subtle crack of bone under it; the pain from it shooting up to his brain. He heard it again and again until the technique was dropped. He exhaled loudly between gasps as he let his bleeding arm droop to his side. The bone protruded just barely indicating a compound fracture of a severe degree. The boss turned to Gao with his eyeless eye slot. He had a menacing smile planted on his face. Gao looked at his purple tattoos and swore to himself that they moved around his face. But that was just the delusion setting in. He let a few tear roll past his cheeks and stared fearful into his boss's eye.
"Now get back to your slaves Gao. It's time to move out to Lightning Country. The traders there will be looking forward to our now lesser group of slaves."
"Yes aniki, whatever you say."
Kakashi sensei was late, once again. Sakura protested as usual as she and her two male teammates lazed around the front of the Hokage Tower. Naruto sulked and turned his head to the scuffling of zori across the sand clotted path. It was Kakashi-sensei with his usual "sorry I'm late" grin. As he spoke up, his students turned their head, showing that they weren't interested in excuses.
The sun began to set as summer came to a close. Blackbirds, crows, pigeons and small carrier hawks flew in to roost. Citizens began to clear from the streets in a disorderly fashion. The long, hot, bustling day came to a close finally. The air cooled as the rumble of distant thunder dinned through the air. Black swollen clouds swam through the skies waiting to deliver their summer rain to the village. The Yamanaka Flower shop hurried all of their flowers inside for the night to prevent wind damage to their precious flora. The Inuzuka compound and Nara Ranch directed their animals in heavily protected shelters. Tonight's storm would be a fierce and dangerous one as well as damaging. Naruto looked at the clouds as they rolled in gangs, combining into massive clouds. The thunder grew louder, shaking buildings and scaring many animals. The wind picked up blowing anything loose away from their temporary resting place. Papers flew everywhere and trees shook, sending loose leaves everywhere. Finally the rain started pouring. Not pouring, no; it started cascading in heavy sheets onto the ground. In mere minutes, large puddles pooled where shallow depressions had been beat into the ground by feet and man made vehicles.
The cell ran inside soaked to the bone and shivering. They made it to the office, but not without leaving a long trail of rainwater on the floor. Tsunade-sama looked and sighed, placing her head in the palm of her hand. She would have to tell Shizune to get someone to clean that up when they left. She shuffled through mountains of paperwork on her cluttered desk until she came across exactly what she was looking for. She pulled a long scroll from under papers and books and cleared her throat. She looked at the jinchuriiki child and narrowed her eyes, a silent warning to stay in a child's place. Naruto looked and gulped imagining the horror of the reprimand. Sakura and Sasuke listened with full attention, their hands behind them.
"Now Team Kakashi, as you know, slavery is a problem in many smaller countries, many attempts have been made to stop it, some failing horribly and others that made small gains. But we now have a problem here in the village."
She stopped to clear her throat.
"The trade, we have concluded, is strongest here in the very heart of Konohagakure. Somewhere around here there is a slaving post, but we know not where it is. I've gotten a report by Inuzuka Tsume that her nin-ken Kuromaru, had been complaining about the smell of blood coming from around the alleyway. When she went to investigate, the found nothing but papers and trash. But the smell she said, was sickening and made her retch as well as Kuromaru."
Naruto nodded and closed his eyes half-way.
"I have also been given letters from Suna, Ame, and Kusa that they have had slavers around their villages for years in disguise. And the Kazekage has informed me that slave driving has been taking place at night in the outskirts of the Hidden Sand. I fear this is getting out of control. "
"So you want us to kick those slaver's asses out of here?" Naruto asked in a confident tone. Sakura rolled her eyes at his dim ignorance.
"If that is how you want to say it, yes. I first want you to sneak in and record all that goes down in your location. Do whatever you can to get in effectively. You got that Kakashi?"
Kakashi nodded and placed a salute to his forehead. Naruto grinned and started to walk out when he slipped on the puddle of water he left behind. He fell hard onto his bottom and cursed loudly.
"That hurt, 'tebayo!.."
Kakashi shook his head and took the mission scroll from Shizune. He looked at the kanji and noticed that the ink was a strange brown color and it stained the back of the scroll. I found that odd, but placed the scroll in his pocket. Her turned around and directed his team out of the office. Naruto stepped loudly rubbing his backside fiercely. Tsunade exhaled and placed her head on her desk to listen to the torrent going on behind her outside. Shizune caught any and all papers that flew out from under her as she sat there. Tonton oinked happily as he slept in his comfortable basket beside Tsunade, lulled to sleep by the rain and wind.
"Gao, wha-what happened to your arm? What do you mean an accident? That was no accident that caused this horrible fracture. Reijuu did this to you didn't he; that bastard. I'll get some bandages to wrap it up, just sit here for a few."
Gao watched as the medic-nin hurried over to fetch all of the necessary equipment to help him. She returned in a moment's notice with a hand full of gauze and wrap. She placed it on the ground and placed her hands over his arm. They began to shine a brilliant blue and directly under them, the bleeding began to stop, but the bone still protruded horribly through this skin. She sighed and wrapped the arm carefully and swiftly. He winced as she tightened the gauze and sealed it. The medic smiled sheepishly and stepped away, giving Gao some room to get up and move. He stood up groggily and walked around until he stepped past the door with the ironic words on their opposite sides. The rain made a waterfall down the steps as he slowly walked up them. He tapped three times in the form of a triangle and made the rooster and dog signs with his hand, struggling for each one. The wall gave way and instantly he was outside in the torrential downpour of the fierce storm. He turned around and pushed open the doors again. One of his slavers, Koromaru saluted and leaned over to receive a message.
"Tell everyone to relax, we aren't going anywhere in this weather. "
Koromaru nodded and replayed the message in a loud bellow to every ear in the vicinity of his voice. Gao dried himself with a dirt soaked white towel and sat in a dry corner, alone.
The rain subsided overnight, about four in the morning. The sun just shone as happily as ever over the still grey clouds over the village. The wind that was to come would dry every wet building road and pathway. Birds flew freely and animals that were herded in shelters could finally come out and relax. The Yamanaka flower Shop set its pretty flora out on the window sills again. Peonies, Roses, Daffodils, and Tulips danced happily in the wind graciously. Naruto was joined by Kiba who decided to take his nin-ken, Akamaru, out for a little fresh air and sunshine. The two conversed to each other about their missions. Kiba was over-excited about his finished mission. His cell had to take down a large gang terrorizing a neighboring village. Naruto yelled his mission back in retaliation to nothing. He told him about his new move, the Rasengan and how he stopped the guy single handedly with it. With that move, he help a boy named Idate win the race for the Tea Country. Kiba was impressed by Naruto. He began to ask to see that new move when he and Akamaru began to gag and cough violently as if they were stricken with a sudden sickness.
"Kiba, what's wrong; what is it?" he asked panicking. Kiba recuperated with his hand over his nose and spoke nasally.
"The smell of human blood from around here is overwhelming my and Akamaru's noses. I can't pinpoint it right now because of the wind, but from what I smelled it was too much for me."
Naruto nodded and ran towards the Hokage's office.
"Wait Naruto where are ya going? Don't leave me here!"
"Don't worry Kiba; I'll be back in a few. I have to get Sakura-chan, Sasuke-kun, and Kakashi-sensei."
Kiba looked at Naruto strangely with their heads cocked to the side. Akamaru barked to Kiba who in returned answered him.
"I have no idea buddy…"
"Trying to escape again you filthy slave?!" Koromaru yelled. The man, who was very elderly, fell to the ground hard, breaking his arm in the process. Koromaru shoved a kunai into his shoulder slowly, listening to the poor man yell in agony. Gao pushed past the crowd of slavers and slaves to look at the site. He looked down at the man and recognized who he was. His eyes widened as Koromaru placed another kunai into the man's shoulder slowly watching his blood spill around him. Gao pushed everyone back roughly and stepped forward snatched a third kunai from Koromaru's hand. He shoved the metallic weapon into his gut and pulled it back out watching his blood drip onto the floor. Koromaru clenched his stomach tightly and grunted in pain as his face contorted into one of pain.
"Kawa, get this man up and tend to his wounds. Don't lag around, get to it now!" He yelled picking the man up and tossing him roughly into the hands of the medic-nin. Koromaru looked up at the body of Gao and winced as his stomach pained him once again.
"You idiot! You're wasting our profit in ridiculous ways. I ought to kill you now, and you know what, I should do that!"
"No Gao please, I didn't mean it, honestly… He was getting away, trying to escape… Please believe me!"
Gao ignored him and pulled out a second kunai. He placed it to his temple and pressed hard into his skin. Koromaru yelled in agony as the blood went from a trickle to a torrent. Koromaru grabbed the side of his head, but failed to notice Gao weaving hand signs painfully.
"Ninja Technique; Shadow Kunai," the slaver head said silently. The two kunai multiplied and jammed into Koromaru neck, arms, stomach, legs, and head. He fell to the ground and gave a final breath before his eyes closed for the last time.
"Kakashi-sensei over here, where Kiba is; hurry up, dattebayo!"
Kakashi clutched his head and followed Naruto with Sakura and Sasuke walking carelessly behind them.
"What's the idiot yelling about now?" Sasuke asked in a non-caring tone. Sakura shrugged and followed them until they reached Kiba and Akamaru.
"Ok, Kiba, can you pinpoint the smell?" Naruto asked his friend. Kiba nodded and sniffed the air. He grimaced and walked west towards the back alleys of the village until the smell grew too strong. Kiba began to retch and back away holding his nose.
"Here, it's over here," he said running away from the area with Akamaru resting on his head. Naruto grinned and folded his arms across his chest. Kakashi congratulated him and looked at he stone wall in front of them.
& my first serious, serious story in Naruto. Please give me good well thought out reviews for this story. I had the weirdest idea for the story as a Redwall epic, but I didn't get far enough in the series for it to be Redwall.
& please Read and Review; Vichy is gone!