DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO JUST MY OC's
CHAPTER 1: BLACK EYES
Inmi Senzai looked down coldly upon his sleeping wife. His black eyes glittered coldly in the night air as he thought about what he had just done. If all went well she was now pregnant and the Inmi clan would finally have an heir. That thought alone brought a smirk to the pale face of the lord of the Inmi clan. Now if only he could keep the child a secret till its birth then he would be ready to move against the other clans. He just had to keep the damn Hokage from interfering…
"My lord" the disembodied voice of a spectral retainer hissed through the air, "The Yondaime requests your presence immediately; He states that there is urgent business that you must attend to."
Senzai cursed silently to himself, "Yes I will meet him later, and just tell the troublesome child that I will see him in the morning. I have much more pressing business to attend to with the upcoming birth of my heir. I will not simply put my work aside for the sake of that upstart young pup."
"My lord he is…"
"That troublesome child is right out hear Inmi-sama and I need to speak to you right now. You can leave your beautiful wife for just a few moments now can't you."
"… here already."
Senzai quickly moved to the sliding door that separated the clan heads compartment form the rest of the clan's compound. Behind the door stood a tall man with shockingly blond hair and piercing blue eyes that stared unflinchingly into Senzai's own. Arashi Kazama the Yondaime Hokage stood there silently his quizzical smile prompting Senzai to speak.
"Hokage-sama I am quite surprised at your presence, what have I done to deserve this… honor?"
"Cut the Sama crap with me Senzai you skipped the clan meeting, I want to know why?"
"Hokage-sama I had urgent business to attend to my wife as you can see is ill and I needed to be here by her side."
"Well…" The Hokage looked unsure of himself his blue eyes softening. "You have a good reason I'll give you that. Even so you had better make sure to show up at the council tomorrow, I'll send a medic nin if you need any assistance..."
"That will be unnecessary, my house will take excellent care of my wife, you should return to yours Hokage-sama it is a cold night and we live in dangerous times"
All of the softness in the Hokage's visage immediately fled at the mention of harm to his own wife. "Just remember the meeting Senzai it wouldn't look good for Konoha if one of the most powerful clan heads in the village had to be dragged in chains to a meeting now would it?" As Arashi turned to leave he smiled, "Oh and Senzai, congratulations on the kid, I'll look forward to the announcement at tomorrows meeting," And with that the Yondaime Hokage, the most powerful Shinobi in Konoha disappeared in a flash of golden light.
"Kami I hate that man" Senzai muttered under his breath before activating his himitsugan dojutsu to make sure the Kage had actually left before turning back towards his compound. "Wake the old hag there is work to be done." As the spectral retainer hurried off to do his bidding a cruel smile spread across Senzai's face. "Soon, Arashi this will all be mine, neither you nor any other can stand before the ascension of the Inmi, soon this will all be mine."
The Next Day
The Clan heads stirred in anticipation. This emergency meeting had been called to session regarding to the unusual absence of certain great clans from their traditional meeting place. It seemed almost as though a single misplaced word could bring the great clans of Konoha to a riot.
"Hizashi, you've checked the grounds. Is there no sign of the Inmi?" A tall pale man with pale white eyes seemed to glare at his twin.
"Hiashi-sama there is no sign of the Inmi and the wards around their compound block my sight."
"If they seek to make a fool of us by having us wait here for them then they have seriously underestimated the patience of the Hyuga."
"What would you have me do Hiashi?"
"For now my brother we wait."
The other clan heads seemed to be in varying states of irritation and
"This is so troublesome" A smallish man with scars over his eyes and a black topknot, "Why does the Hokage go through the trouble of calling together a meeting when he knows that the Inmi aren't even going to show."
"Calm down Shikaku, it's mostly just show anyways. If the Hokage want a reason to denounce the Inmi he just needs to call enough meetings and then they will dishonor themselves by staying away."
Shikaku turned to his blond friend, "I know that Inoichi, I just don't understand what the Inmi have to gain from destroying the trust of every clan in Konoha, even the Kurama clan works hard to overcome the stigmata of their demon genjutsu. The Inmi seem to take pride in the village's anger. It's not right"
"What's right Nara has very little to do with what we do." Shikaku Nara stiffened as a cold voice suddenly filled his ear. "What we do is our own concern and is not for the speculation of some pathetic shadow user."
Shikaku turned to look into the black eyes of the lord of the Inmi clan. With a contemptful glare Senzai turned away for the Nara chief and walked toward the Inmi booth of the meeting hall, his two branch retainers followed behind silently.
"By Kami Inoichi," Shikaku shuddered, "every time I look one of them in the eyes it's like staring into death itself"
"I know my friend I just hope the Hokage knows what he is doing."
A While Later
"This meeting has been called into session in order to discuss the end of the Leaf-Rock war now that we will be accepting our enemies surrender." Arashi's eyes darkened briefly as he remembered just how much had been lost beating the Rock shinobi before they had decided to surrender; "Now I know that most of you want revenge for your loved ones lost and for the damage that Iwagakure caused but the war is now over. I will not tolerate any useless vendettas or blood-feuds destroying Konoha now that the conflict is over." he paused as the clan heads began to murmur amongst themselves. "This is our home, and I am your Hokage, I will not allow any of you to destroy the peace that we have worked so hard to win. Is this understood?"
"Hai Hokage-sama," the response was unanimous. Arashi let a small smile grace his lips, as he surveyed his people. Pride warred with despair as he realized how few were still remaining after the war.
"Now we turn to the next order of business, hopefully this one should be more cause for celebration. Senzai-sama please."
Senzai kept his face a stoic mask as he took his place at the podium. Inwardly he was seething how could the damned Yondaime know, there was no way that he could have found out in so little time.
"Citizens of Konoha, my fellow heads of state I have come to you with an announcement from the Inmi. As you know I have been missing for the past few days from the clan meetings. This has not been without a purpose. I am happy to announce that soon the Inmi clan will have an heir."
As the startled clan heads began to talk amongst themselves Senzai bowed and took his seat. "Now let them stew for a while." he thought, "Let the damned Yondaime try to turn this against the Inmi. This was the shining moment for the Inmi. Soon we will have our revenge."
That Night
"Begin the initial readings Oracle," Senzai moved past the old branch family seer, "I need to know how much work needs to be done and I only have 8 more months to finish him."
"The first seal is set Senzai-sama I am beginning the initial reading." The old seer began a complex series of hand seals before slamming the ground
"Yogen-suru no jutsu"
Intricate traceries began to surround the air around the Oracle as the air began to move blown by some unseen winds. Her eyes began to glow an eerie black light that seemed only to strengthen the shadows in the room when finally everything froze. The oracle sat still with her eyes closed as the jutsu abruptly faded from view and calm descended upon the room. Suddenly her eyes shot open and she spoke with a voice unlike that which had ever come from a mortal throat.
"Senzai, head of the Inmi clan and last heir of the main family. Black betrayer, you have called me. What knowledge do you now desire? "
"Spare me the history lesson demon, you know what I want, what is the fate of my son, will he be the tool I need to complete my plans? Will he be the weapon I desire?"
"Ahhh…. Ha Ha Ha you have no idea the weapon your child will be become Senzai-kun," the grave voice took on the air of a mocking teacher, "Your son if left alone will become a shinobi. In fact he will probably succeed you one day as the head of your clan… That is not what you want though, is it?"
"Do not play games with me demon," Senzai's voice was shaking with cold rage, "What do I need to gain my revenge. A mere jonin even one with the power to be my heir is not enough. I need an avenger a mortal born demon, I want the power to destroy my enemies, the power I was denied."
With this outburst Senzai composed himself quickly, "now demon your time in this world is growing short. What can I do to make this child into the tool that I desire? What can I do to change fate?"
The old oracle possessed feature shifted into a calculating smile, "Finally you ask the right question. To gain the power that you desire seek might from the halls of the damned. There you will find what you seek among the souls of the ancestors. Find the power and leave..." The oracle began to shrivel upon herself as the powerful spirit began to fragment its mortal husk.
"A word of warning, Senzai. Do not linger in the realm of the deceased, more than the dead stalk the halls of the death god. Farewell, my brother." With that the oracle faded to dust her life energy spent in the service of the Inmi main house.
Not sparing the corpse a second glance Senzai stalked from the room. There was work to be done.
Timeskip 8 Months
"Hey Arashi, have you noticed how quiet it's been lately?" A tall white haired man leaned against the desk in the Hokage's office, "We haven't had a single complaint from any of the major clans for almost a year, do you think something is up?"
"Jiraiya you worry too much. I think their just all waiting for their kids to be born to start making a fuss. I haven't had a moment to myself since Yuki first got pregnant. Now everything I do is wrong, if any of the clan heads are having similar problems then I don't think that we'll have to worry about it for a while. Of course you know the wiles of women better even than me right, oh might Toad Sage?"
"I don't know call it the instincts of an old man but something is wrong, even the toads have noticed." Jiraiya stood up and walked over to the window overlooking Konoha. "I've even heard rumors that Kyuubi walks the land once again."
For a moment the two men look at each other in silence, and then Arashi lets out a huge sigh a gives a feral grin, "You think that it might be Orochimaru?"
"Don't sound so excited kid, the snake-teme is probably having too many problems trying to work with the Akatsuki right now. I don't think he has time for world domination, and even Orochimaru knew enough of how the world worked to know that screwing the balance is a bad thing."
"Hmmm… Well I suppose you right ero-sensei but I do look forward to the day that I get my hands on him, there isn't a place in this world or the next that he can hide from me."
"Yeah, kid I know that you hate him and of course he hates you too, but…. um Arashi"
"What Jiraiya is something wrong? I don't have time if your just going to tell me that you can see the hot springs from my window because I already know, Professor told me and as I'm sure you know he is as big a pervert as you."
"No, no that's not it Arashi. Come look, are the Inmi celebrating something, because I don't think I've ever seen a bonfire coming from their compound before."
"What!" Arashi jumped up and rushed to the window to see smoke pouring out of the Inmi compound. Thick, inky tendrils curled up from the building leaving it to the imagination how horrible the fire must be. Immediately Arashi began to perform hand seals he would need to fid water quickly if he was going to get a powerful enough suiton jutsu to stop the fire. Arashi had almost finished when suddenly Jiraiya caught him.
"Listen kid use your other senses like I taught you, something is off here."
Arashi stopped for a moment his fingers hovering just before the last seal. Something was terribly wrong. It was far too. Arashi knew that with a fire that large he should have heard screams; the first Inmi jonin should have already made it to his office with requests for assistance. The next thing to catch his attention was that even though the Hokage tower was downwind there was still no smell of smoke, in fact the smoke seemed almost to be moving against the wind.
"This isn't natural sensei I think that it may take more than a little water to fix this problem." Just then both men felt the huge chakra surge from the Inmi compound.
"What the hell is that?" Jiraiya called as they sprinted towards the Inmi complex. "That power it feel's… evil. You don't think that the Inmi finally snapped and tried to summon some sort of Oni do you?"
Arashi narrowed his eyes as he ran "evil chakra," he thought to himself, "a demon?"
"Jiraiya I want you to go get Tsunade before she leaves again this is of the utmost urgency. I need you to hurry."
"Hai Arashi, just remember your Hokage now the village needs you there is no running off and trying to get yourself killed like when you were younger."
Arashi smiled, "Yeah, but ero-sensei I can't die not yet at least, the village needs me. Until I see my sons face nothing can stop me." then Arashi was gone in a golden flash of light.
"Good luck kid, this one will be bad." With that Jiraiya turned back to the Hospital he needed to find Tsunade quickly. He just hoped that she wasn't already gone.
At The Inmi Complex
Arashi appeared in a flash of golden light upon the Hokage seal in front of the Inmi Clan house. The feel of pulsating evil chakra was almost strong enough to physically push him back. Arashi moved forward cautiously prepared for anything.
"Hey Sensei what's going on here?" A 14 year old boy with shiny silver hair and an ANBU dog mask moved cautiously behind Arashi. Though only 14 years of age the kid moved with all of the grace and stealth of a shinobi many years his senior.
"Hey Kakashi it's good to see you not late this time." Arashi smiled, the support of one of his students could come be quite helpful in the dark abyss before him. "Kakashi, where is Rin?"
"Oh sensei I meant to tell you," she decided to go with Tsunade and that orphan girl Shizune. "They were leaving when I got the call to come here."
"The call? Kakashi I haven't alerted the village yet to this I was hoping to avoid a panic. Who gave you the call?"
"Oh no sensei not about this, all of the Inmi shinobi including a few ANBU have withdrawn over the last week to their compound. Both branch and main house members began canceling missions even the two new genin from the clan left their teams and disappeared." Kakashi explained. "I was sent with two other ANBU to investigate. I was supposed to rendezvous with any possible reinforcements but soon after they went inside that black smoke appeared and blocked me from entering. I couldn't penetrated the barrier and we lost all communication we need to get in there and make sure they are all ok. We can't leave them they are my teammates. I will not lose another one."
Arashi's face was unreadable as he stared into the darkness, "I understand Kakashi. I miss Obito too but I will not let you waste your life on a suicide mission."
"But sensei, they need…" Kakashi trailed off as Arashi began to smile his fierce grin.
"You won't be wasting your life Kakashi because as of now I have a new S rank escort mission for you."
"Now sensei I understand that you don't think I can handle this but I have a duty to my teammates, I …"
"You have a direct order from your Hokage are you going to disobey?" As Kakashi's shoulders slumped in defeat and he shook his head Arashi patted him on the back. "Now what are you waiting for escort me in I have some ANBU to save."
Kakashi looked up new hope flaring in his good eye, "Hai sensei I understand." With that teacher and student entered the abyss.
Inside
"Sensei there is the barrier" Kakashi began to move through a series of hand seals but the Arashi cleared his throat.
"Umm Kakashi what are you doing"" Kakashi looked up to see his sensei on the other side of the barrier.
"What sensei how did you get across I used Raikiri earlier and it had absolutely no effect." Kakashi stumbled toward his sensei but paused just at the barrier.
"Kakashi it seems to only repel ambient chakra sort of like the cage jutsu used on prisoners when they are being interrogated so that they cannot escape. Just power down your chakra to its lowest levels and walk through." As Kakashi did so Arashi began to laugh, "And they call you a genius damn even a dead last like me could get through this."
Kakashi reddened in shame as he followed Arashi down the hall deeper into the complex. Though no obvious light source was visible everything around the two shinobi seemed to give off shadow. The writhing tendrils of darkness followed no obvious pattern and their hypnotic movement began to beckon the two forward.
"Sensei…"
"Yeah Kakashi I see it just don't look at the shadows or if you do try to use your sharingan." As Kakashi lifted his mask off of the left side of his face a dull glow seemed to come from his eye. He turned to look at Arashi only to see a yellow glow surrounding his whole body.
"Sensei, you've already activated it?"
"Yeah, I don't know what were up against so we need to be ready." Just then the two shinobi turned the corner of the complex and saw two bodies laying on the ground. It was the missing ANBU. Kakashi ran to the bodies of his two friends and began checking to see if they were still alive. He was greeted by the sight of another dog faced mask and a broken squirrel mask. The ANBU themselves seemed unhurt.
"Their under some sort of genjutsu sensei I will attempt to break it now." Kakashi formed the dispel seal and immediately shouted "KAI"
As though responding to the use of a jutsu the shadows on the walls seemed to darken they waved hungrily and it seemed that only the presence of Arashi's golden aura kept them from consuming everything in the hall.
"YOSH, MY ETERNAL RIVAL HAS COME TO SAVE ME. KONOHA'S BEAUTIFUL BLUE BEAST WILL RISE AGAIN." Both shinobi let out a sigh of relief as the squirrel faced ANBU jumped up followed shakily by the other very pregnant dog faced shinobi. At the sight of Arashi both took off their masks and hurriedly bowed.
"Hokage-sempai we were assaulted by Inmi guards we were taken by surprise and incapacitated. I am sorry for the delay."
"Tsume we don't really have time for these formalities, one do you know where the Inmi are, and two why are you still in active duty this late.?"
"I'm in active duty because without my talents there is no way that these two idiots would have survived without my experience and as to your other question, yeah I had Kuromaru follow their scent before I was overwhelmed by their genjutsu it should be easy for me to follow his trail."
"YES AND IF WE DO NOT FIND THEM THEN I WILL RUN 500 LAPS AROUND KONOHA WITH TRIPLE MY NORMAL WEIGHTS" the loud Jonin yelled again.
"Shut up Gai," Kakashi once he had gotten over the initial relief of not losing his teammates was very quickly becoming irritated with his eccentric friend.
"HOW HIP AND MODERN KAKASHI, THAT IS WHY YOU ARE THE PERFECT RIVAL FOR MY POWER OF YOUTH."
"Enough, Arashi I have the scent we need to hurry. Something had the Inmi worried they looked almost as though they had seen ghosts when we came upon them in the hall. If anything can scare that clan then its going to take all that we can give to fight it."
With that the team of shinobi moved through the darkness following Tsume just hoping that they wouldn't be too late.
Elsewhere
A deep rumbling echoed through the mountains. The beast slept alone in a vast forest surrounded on all side by towering stone peaks. "That voice…. That power… so it has returned from hell. I think that perhaps I should return." The beast let out a roar and the mountains shattered around him, he stood flattening the forest as he rose.
The vast creature began to move his nine tails writhing angrily in the air. Kyuubi the Demon Lord of tailed beasts began to move. Soon it would be time for his name to once again live in the nightmares of men.
Konoha Hospital
Jiraiya appeared in a swirl of leaves. Grabbing a nearby attendant he immediately asked where Tsunade was. "I need here now. This is of the utmost importance now where is she?"
"Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama left with her two attendants almost an hour ago. She said that she would be taking the north road if that helps"
Jiraiya let go of the stunned attendant and bit open his thumb, using his blood Jiraiya ran through a set of hand seals and summoned four man sized toads. "Alright each one of you to take a cardinal direction and find Tsunade sama as quickly as possible. Tell her that I need her and then return here. If she will not come… tell her that I plan to put her in my next book. Now do you all understand?"
"Hai, but Jiraiya is it really so bad that need to risk that much?"
Jiraiya sighed, "yeah if I'm still able to read my old student then this is worse than any of you could possibly imagine. Now go!"
Jiraiya turned back to the attendant and told her to tell Tsunade when she got here to meet him at the Inmi complex. Then Jiraiya turned and disappeared. His Hokage needed him.
Inside the Inmi Complex
"Hokage-sama we're almost there the scent is becoming fresh." Tsume Inuzuka may not have quite the sense of smell as her companion Kuromaru but her nose was still many times keener than a normal shinobi, "be on the lookout though."
"Why Tsume do you smell blood?" Kakashi looked over at her to see what could disturb the normally brash Inuzuka.
"No, and that's the problem. Except for Kuromaru's trail I don't smell anything it seems almost as though any trace of life in this area has been consumed. It is not natural"
"I AGREE WITH TSUME-CHAN THERE IS SOMETHING HERE THAT CHILLS ME TO THE CORE OF MY YOUTHFUL FLAME." Gai yelled completely disregarding his earlier orders to be silent, "WE MUST STOP WHATEVER THIS IS BEFO…"
Gai was cut off Kakashi clapped his hand over hid mouth and motioned for him to be silent. In ANBU sign language he immediately told the others that his sharingan eye had seen something up ahead. Something that wasn't human.
The four ninja gathered to attack whoever this newcomer was when they heard the soft padding of feet and the slow dripping of blood. The figure came into view, "Kuromaru," Tsume rushed to her companion and cradled his broken form. The wolfhound was missing an ear and an eye, his whole form seemed torn though what weapon could have done this sort of damage was unknown.
"Tsume-chan," Kuromaru panted "I tried to follow them but something happened. This thing appeared but it had no scent. It killed them both simply by touching them. They didn't die, not really, they just ceased to exist. I'm sorry my friend I couldn't get away before it saw me."
Kuromaru began to go still as his breathing became shallower. The other ninja were shocked by the sight of the fierce Inuzuka matron cradling her dying friend, her anguished sobs echoing through the silent halls.
"Gai, I want you to take Tsume and Kuromaru out of here and bring them directly to the hospital. Your mission is to make sure that they both survive alright." Gai nodded brushing away his own tears and Arashi continued, "If you see either Jiraiya or Tsunade make sure to send them here and then guard the complex so that no civilians get hurt. You can do that right Gai?"
"YES, MY SENSEI," Gai began only to see the look on the other nin's faces, "I will make sure that she will be ok. I will not give up until the people are protected." Then with his signature nice guy pose Gai turned back to the two Inuzukas and gathered them up in his arms.
"First Gate: Gate of Opening Release" vibrant energy began to swirl around Gai as he vanished in a flash his speed great enough that Kakashi could only see his afterimage even with his sharingan.
"Let's go Kakashi there is still work to be done," Arashi turned and moved towards the end of the hall as Kakashi followed him.
"Sensei what do you think could have caused the damage that Kuromaru mentioned?" Kakashi was curious as to what they would be up against and whether or not there was any chance of the pair surviving.
"I hope I am mistaken but what Kuromaru talked about fits precisely with some of the demon legends that predate the founding of Konoha." Arashi paused as they came to a small anteroom that was completely devoid of shadows. "This room seems to be protected by some sort of barrier or seal I think that we should rest here for a bit. You Kakashi should probably take a soldier pill and cover Obito's eye while we wait I have a feeling that we will probably be meeting with whatever hurt Kuromaru soon."
"Arashi could you tell me what demon you are talking about what sort of monster can destroy a person's very essence?" Kakashi shivered at the thought despite himself. Even after 14 grueling years of life as either a shinobi or a shinobi-in-training very little still fazed Kakashi Hatake but still the thought of simply ceasing to exist being destroyed with no container for reincarnation was a thought that sent shivers of fear to the core of Kakashi's being.
"Well, if I remember old man Sarutobi's stories about demons then the demon this is most similar to is the Kotori or child snatcher. He was a shadow demon who was supposedly the lieutenant for Shinigami the death god. He would send his shadows to cribs in the middle of the night and the baby would disappear never to be heard from again. The Nara method of shadow execution actually comes from the legend of the Kotori and he supposedly used to be one of the most powerful Demon lords of the dead ever to exist. It's only fitting I suppose that the Inmi would face such a beast as their whole clan revolves around taking power from the dead."
"Used to be Sensei? You said that he used to be, How could a demon that powerful be destroyed," Kakashi looked at Arashi quizzically as though Arashi knew the secret to defeating this monster.
"To be honest Kakashi no man or mortal was ever able to best the beast. It wasn't until he was sent to slay one of the pups of Kyuubi that he was finally banished." Arashi stood up and left the room through a door across from the entrance. Kakashi followed as Arashi continued, "Apparently the demon Kotori got greedy and began to devour all of the whelps so Shinigami took back his power and left Kotori alone to face the enraged might of Kyuubi."
The two shinobi turned into a long hallway lit with candles, busts of the old Inmi clan heads lined the sides of the passage and at the end of the passage a door. "Kyuubi would not have been able to defeat an agent of the death god on his own under normal circumstances you understand. A demon cannot hope to defeat the power of a god. But without the gifts of death the Kotori was forced to face the enraged kitsune with only his own power."
At the doorway the two found themselves leaning over the edge of a great abyss. Both Shinobi immediately detected the genjutsu and dispelled it clearing the path almost immediately and showing the two ninja in the midst of a beautiful garden. Arashi took out a handful of marked kunai and threw them in the air flashing back and forth between them in order to set off all of the traps in the garden. After the hellstorm of jutsus and manual traps the two shinobi passed through the garden unhindered.
"As I was saying the Kotori faced Kyuubi and this terrible battle destroyed much of the land shaping portions of it to what they are today. Finally though after years of terrible conflict the two demons prepared their final attacks the Kotori struck first and seemed victorious as he had completely destroyed the Kyuubi, moments later he realized his mistake as the vast construction of foxfire dissipated leaving the Kyuubi unharmed with his final attack ready and the Kotori having spent the last of his Yoki."
In the next room two sets of elegantly crafted samurai armor stood in their path with swords drawn. The soul fire common to ghosts and other undead shone brightly in their eyes. Both shinobi prepared their most powerful attacks to help them defeat these Inmi Blackguards. As Kakashi ran through the seals for his Raikiri, Arashi began to concentrate his chakra into his hand forming a sphere of light. Both men raced forward towards their foes. Kakashi had his sharingan activated and was able to read and dodge all of his opponents sword blows before ramming his lightning edge directly into the Inmi eye crest on the creature's breastplate. As his opponent crumpled Kakashi turned to see his sensei appear behind the guard in a flash of golden light and ram the Rasengan sphere into the creatures body. A horrible grinding noise caused Kakashi to wince as the back of the spirit warrior's armor was demolished and the body shattered itself on the opposite wall.
"Not exactly quiet was it kid?" Arashi turned and smiled his eyes creasing as he began to laugh. "Anyways where was I, oh yeah the Kyuubi appeared right behind the Kotori and struck him with all of the force of an enraged parent shattering his physical body and sealing the shadow demon to hell for an eternity or at least that's what the legend says. I'm hoping that the demon is just some overpowered Oni with a superiority complex. Otherwise Kakashi we are probably screwed." Kakashi gave Arashi a look as they moved into a large throne room complete with all of the setup for a daimyo and attendants.
"Umm, Arashi-sensei does this place seem a bit big to you?"
"Not really Kakashi what do you mean, for a throne room this is actually about middle sized."
"No that's not what I mean, what I'm asking if it seems strange to you that this house is bigger on the inside than the outside." As they walked to the end of the room and passed through the lords exit behind the throne Kakashi began to notice that the shadows had taken a life of their own again.
"Not really Kakashi the Inmi are masters at using seals I think that they would have no problem sealing an incredibly large area into a standard sized clan house. Usually when I come here I just warp right to the Clan head's garden so I have never really seen most of this place before. It's nice though, a lot bigger than the Hokage's mansion"
Kakashi gritted his teeth in frustration at the obvious flippancy of his friend's tone. "How big do you think that this place could really be?"
"I don't think it matters we seem to be nearing the end anyways use your sharingan to look at the shadows around that door." Kakashi lifted his forehead protector and took a look a long slow whistle escaped from underneath his mask.
"Their glowing with solid chakra. That must mean that we're near whatever is the source. I guess we should get ready for a fight then." Both ninja checked their gear for one last time and each took another soldier pill.
"Alright then kid let's kick some demon ass," Arashi kicked the door open only to be shocked by the sight on the other side. The next room was massive, a huge seal was placed in the center in which a slightly glowing indigo sphere was pulsating. Ten or so Inmi jonin were fighting with various shadow tentacles around the room all of which seemed to originate from a huge ornate gate on the far wall. Jutsus seemed to be flying almost at random as the jonin fought against the near invisible tendrils. Each time the shadow touch something it would simply disappear with a popping noise as air rushed in to fill the vacuum left by the shadow. As they watched one of the Inmi jonin was caught by the shadow and almost immediately his entire body vanished in a loud clap. The shinobi's belonging fell to the ground as his body was simply no longer there. With one last look at each other both men charged into the fray.
Just Inside
"Jiraiya you bastard what the hell is your problem bringing me back here." A tall blond women in a simple gray kimono cracked her knuckles as she chased Jiraiya down the corridors of the Inmi complex. Both Sannin had just recently made it there and passed through the barrier as though it were nothing more than thin air.
"Tsunade please my student is in there fighting Kami knows what and he told me to find you. If Arashi hadn't ordered it believe me I would have done anything possible to stay out of you and your excellent body's way." Jiraiya turned to ogle Tsunade's obviously well endowed assets. "Besides Tsunade there was no way you could of lived with yourself if something bad were to happen to Konoha while you were gone."
"While this is true Jiraiya and believe me when I say it is, I do not want to be in Konoha, I quit the hospital because I don't want to be here and finally Jiraiya…" Tsunade trailed off as she noticed where Jiraiya's gaze was pointed. "And finally Jiraiya be glad that this building can repair itself"
"Huh, why… wait Tsunade what are you doing. No, noooo…" As Jiraiya is thrown through the walls Tsunade follows through the hole she just made. "You should thank me you shameless pervert I just took about a half hour off of our trip through the complex. Were almost at the training room meditation chamber. That's where you said you last sensed Arashi's aura right."
Jiraiya groaned out his agreement and began to pick himself up. Unfortunately for him his hand found a very soft hand hold in the form of Tsunade's most well endowed cleavage as he was trying to stand. Jiraiya froze and he instinctively groped whatever he was holding and then he slowly looked up with a sheepish grin into the raging killing intent that was Tsunade, "Oh shit, not again…"
A couple of minutes later Tsunade was once again moving through a new hole in the wall this time carrying an unconscious Jiraiya. At this rate she thought to herself, he m should get there almost as soon as the Hokage does. "Just hold on Arashi, hold on."
The Training Room
Kakashi cursed, no matter how many times he destroyed one of the shadows more just seemed to take it's place they were down to just two Inmi now and Arashi was beginning to look a little worse for the wear from the continual use of Rasengan and Kage Bunshin which he used in combination with the replacement technique to bounce from place to place in the room destroying shadows. Just as Kakashi took out another shadow he heard a death scream as the last two Inmi were caught and disintegrated. In a flash Arashi was behind his student destroying a shadow that had tried to get Kakashi from behind. "I'm not exactly sure that we're making any progress here sensei."
"No much but have you noticed something Kakashi since those Inmi were all killed the shadows have stopped regenerating. It's almost as though the shadows were specifically trying to kill them." Both Shinobi dodged as one of the last remaining shadows shot towards them.
"Even so I'm not sure if there is anyway past that gate." Kakashi looked around till he spotted that purple sphere from earlier. Throughout all of the fighting it had continued to pulse tranquilly but now it had begun to glow a dark evil color nearing black. "Arashi do you still have enough for a Rasengan?"
"Kakashi you know the answer to that. I'm just getting winded I still have enough for a hundred Rasengans." As Arashi flashed the victory sign to Kakashi, Kakashi's one good eye went wide and he charged toward Arashi with a Raikiri in one hand.
"Down sensei, down!" Arashi started for a moment at the urgency in his student's voice and the complied instinctually just as Kakashi's foot came down on his back and propelled Kakashi into the air. Arashi turned to look back only to see Kakashi cutting through the last shadow that had been trying to get Arashi from behind.
"Thanks Kakashi-kun," Arashi turned as Kakashi landed and he noticed the change in the sphere as well, "do you think that that is the key to the next room?"
"Hai," Kakashi nodded the affirmative and then prepared the last Raikiri blade for the day. Both men were out of soldier pills and soon the cumulative effect of so many stimulants would crash both their systems. If they didn't manage to get to the end quickly neither shinobi would be able to stop what ever was in the room beyond.
As Kakashi finished his Raikiri Arashi created a huge Rasengan. Both ninja turned toward the sphere rushing towards it brought their attacks down upon the orb.
In the Hall of Elders
"Did you hear that?" Tsunade turned towards that rapidly recovering Jiraiya.
"Yeah and that explosion didn't sound good." Both Sannin grimly kept going they just hoped that they were not already too late.
The Training Room
As attacks met the orb a bright light filled the room momentarily blinding Hokage and ANBU alike. Just then a huge burst of energy threw both men back as the orb imploded and then the following explosion left the two shinobi momentarily deaf. The light cleared quickly and as the they got up two things became immediately apparent. One both the orb and door were simply gone, there was no trace of them as though they had never even existed. Secondly and perhaps more importantly the shadows had all disappeared. The room was revealed in the light of day to be nothing more than a massive dojo with all sorts of seals on the ground for training. But what drew the ninja was not the room or the new whole in the wall where the door had once stood but the noise.
"Sensei that sounds like a…" Kakashi trailed off as he saw the grim look on Arashi's face.
"Like a baby Kakashi, is that what you were going to say? Yes it sounds just like a newborn child and what that entails is probably the worst horror that we have faced this whole day."
Sensei and student walked cautiously through the hole where the gate had once been and came to a long hallway whit rapidly fading seals. The two moved rapidly down the hallway towards the noise all earlier weariness forgotten and when they got to the door at the end they immediately opened it.
A small white haired child seeming to be formed from the stuff of shadow lay alone in the center of the room. The crumpled bodies of the Inmi elders lay in a circle around the child as the last faint lines of a sealing jutsu faded from the floor. Senzai, lord of the Inmi clan sat at attention his body rapidly crumbling as the first rays of sun entered into the compound that day. His sightless eyes stared vacantly at the child before him.
"Darashi, my heir," the last words ever to come from his lips seemed to consume what remained of Senzai's life energy as his and the rest of the elder's bodies crumpled to dust around the child.
"They sealed the demon in that child," Kakashi started at the sound of Arashi's voice, "how desperate does someone have to be to seal a demon into a newborn child?"
Kakashi looked down at the child again this time to see if there was any sign of demonic influence. Now that the child's skin was fading from black to a more normal skin tine Kakashi could see that the child didn't have fangs, claws or horns. None of the normal signs of a demon were present on the kid.
"Sensei what do you mean they sealed the demon into him, I don't understand?"
Arashi looked sadly down at his student and then built up chakra into his finger before gently prodding the child. A bright flash of light occurred as the tiny amount of chakra was transferred from the Hokage to the infant but almost immediately the child seemed to change. Pitch black lines seemed to wrap around the kids body in a complex seal formation. A sand country ankh was plainly visible on the child chest and his small face seemed to be covered by symmetrical black flames. Arashi's eyes narrowed as he beheld the seal that covered the child's full body.
"Those bastards, they expected this to happen. The Ankh and Trigram seal takes three days to properly set and another day for the ritual of binding to be performed. Those Inmi bastards expected a demon to be summoned otherwise they wouldn't have used a heavenly trigram as a sealing medium on the child's back." Arashi turned and in a flash all of the remaining elders body were destroyed thrown back by the force of the Hokage's rage. "To do this to a child, especially one of their own, it makes me sick Kakashi."
Kakashi however wasn't really paying attention to his Sensei's words He was looking at the child. Or more precisely the child's eyes though drew his attention. They were black as pitch seeming to draw his gaze into their depths as the child cried forlornly on the floor. The black began to fade to the inverse eyes that most Inmi shared as the marking on his body began to fade.
While Kakashi was staring at the transformation that took place on the infant. Arashi wrapped his battle cloak around the newborn heedless of the bodies piled around him. As he turned to walk from the charnel house that was once the home of a great clan of Konoha Arashi turned and called to Kakashi.
"Hey kid don't stand around I don't want to stay here any longer." Kakashi moved to follow after the Yondaime not wanting to stay any longer as well. He still couldn't shake the feeling that he had after looking at the child. The foreboding that occurred when one looks into the abyss and something looks back. Kakashi had seen something in the kid, something that hid behind his eerie black eyes.
THUS CONCLUDES CHAPTER 1: BLACK EYES
UPCOMING CHAPTER 2: BORN A BEAST