Broken Seals of a Pure World
Chapter 2 – Arrival
With a loud crack, Haruki appeared on a roof deck of some building some distance from where he left the three Genin. He stumbled a bit, still not used to Apparating even though it's been a long time since he first learned to do it. The fact that he didn't splinch himself is very fortunate. It seems his old Potter Luck decided to throw him a bone today for some reason. He really didn't need that on top of what's happening.
Steadying himself finally, Haruki looked around and alerted himself for any attacks. Even in the Old World, Constant Vigilance was not just the ramblings of a paranoid old man; it was something that could mean Life or Death. Here in his current world, the very idea of it rings especially true. This is a world that kills the reckless and the stupid, and utterly destroys the unprepared. It's a cynical view, he admits, but one that holds merit. He can almost hear Moody shouting his signature phrase while Snape berates him for being reckless.
Though there are noises of fighting happening in the background, it didn't seem to be anywhere nearby. Relaxing a bit at this knowledge, he cast Notice-Me-Not and Disillusionment charms on himself non-verbally, and then cast a Muffiliato on the entire roof deck. He then summoned the Elder Wand from within himself. A small green light appeared at the center of his right hand and the wand came up tip first and grasped the handle end when it finally came out. The wand is crooked like it had always been, looking for all intents and purposes, like a dead branch fallen from a tree. Correction, it looked like a dead branch fallen from a very creepy tree.
Strictly speaking, he didn't really need the Elder Wand to fight but there are just some spells that can't be used without it, one of them being the Point-Me Spell which he needs at the moment. It seems that in this world, wands in general are unnecessary for casting most types of spells; raising one's hand or hands and/or pointing them someplace and saying it is enough to do it. However, you also have to know the particular spell and what is does, and add just the right amount of intent to use it. And while most spell-casting is done this way, some spells, like the Point-Me or even the Cruciatus Curse, need a conduit to work; the former needs a wand to act like a compass while the latter requires it for the user to be able to control the intensity and direction of the pain it inflicts.
Another thing of note in this world (at least according to Hermione and Remus) is chakra, which is essentially the same thing as magic, just more widespread and is present throughout all the denizens of this world. The things you can do with jutsus using chakra are nothing short of magical. Chakra also run in the same pathways in the body as magic does apparently. And because they are so similar, jutsus (what they have in place of spells here) can be cast using either chakra or magic. The same cannot be said of traditional spells however, because the very nature of these spells requires magic to work. Chakra can do seemingly wondrous and almost impossible things but it cannot bend the very laws of nature like magic can. This advantage of magic over chakra however is not without its drawbacks since using magic to power jutsus requires more power and produces a slightly watered-down version of the jutsu compared to when chakra is used.
Haruki put the wand in the palm of his hand and thought about the Hokage. With a clear picture in his head, he said "Point me, Senju Hashirama." Normally, the wand would spin and finally stop, pointing at the general direction of the target, but there wasn't so much as a twitch. This worried him but thought it could be a fluke so he tried again, more forcefully this time.
"Point me, Senju Hashirama."
Again, there was nothing. It is worrying to think about, but considering he just woke up from some tomb in the Uchiha District of all places, he probably isn't at his best. He still doesn't know how long he's been out for. But he was able to throw curses and spells, even apparate, earlier. Maybe he should think of a different target.
"Point me, Senju Tobirama" but there was no movement. "Not him too," he thought, his husband of ten years seemingly missing like his brother. iItama and Kawarama are next, they were his children with Tobirama, twins named after Tobirama's late younger brothers who didn't live past their childhood.
Taking a deep breath, he once again positioned the Elder Wand on his palm and said, "Point me, Senju Itama." Just like the first and second tries, the wand didn't even budge. His brow furrowed getting frustrated. He pictured the other twin in his head he said, "Point me, Senju Kawarama" and yet again, nothing. "That can't be right," he thought. He just saw them a few hours before he blacked out.
"Point me, Senju Touka!"
"Point me, Senju Mito!"
"Point me, Senju Kureno!"
"Point me, Senju Haruhiko!"
"Point me, Senju …– !"
This continued for some time, with Haruki trying to locate every member of the Senju Clan he knew. Every name he thought up, he immediately pictured the face that went with it. His breaths were starting to come up short, and every time the Elder Wand did not move, his heart rate would speed up at the implications.
"This can't be happening. This isn't making any sense!" he thought frantically. This whole exercise distressed Haruki to no end. There are only so many things that can cause this to happen. The Fidelius Charm could be one; no one can ever find you if the secret-keeper doesn't divulge your whereabouts. It's doubtful however, because shinobi who use chakra cannot and do not know how to use it. A ward or barrier is another one; even the chakra users have them. Another reason the spell could fail would be if the target did not exist or if the target is –
Green eyes widened. Shaking his head in denial, Haruki dropped the Elder Wand and stumbled almost falling, his legs seemingly unable to support him. Bile rose up to his mouth and he covered it with his left hand. His shoulders sagged and he felt cold dread fill him.
The possibility that the Senju are dead is devastating. It's not the most likely scenario but it is the most frightening; he can't find any of the people he tried to locate so far because they're no longer here. But the Point-Me spell isn't perfect to begin with, he thought; it is one of the most reliable spells for finding someone, second only to Scrying (which requires blood or an object owned by the target). It will tell you what direction to go to, no matter where in the world the target could be, but it cannot tell you where the target is exactly. There are ways of hiding from it, just as he thought earlier.
Straightening up, Haruki summoned the Elder Wand attempting the spell once more. He'll start with Tobirama and the kids. Maybe this time it'll work.
"Point me, Senju Tobirama."
He's not surprised anymore that it didn't move, but that just added more to his worry and frustration. . His heart is beating strong enough to shake his body and he feels blood pounding in his ears.
"Point me, Senju Itama. Point me, Senju Kawarama."
When the wand still did not budge after that, Haruki did the only thing he could do: he cried out, no longer holding it back. His magic flared around him and cracks appeared on the floor. He was breathing hard, a few tears falling down his face. Fortunately, the Muffiliato were masking the sounds of his anger, and the Notice-Me-Not and Disillusionment effectively hid him in his moment of grief.
It's been nothing but frustrating since he came to from the underground shrine and this just takes the cake. Questions on top of more questions and piles of disappointment are crushing him with their weight. He just let himself go for now, because if he bottled it up some more, he's pretty sure he'll be able to level a few structures in the immediate vicinity. As it is, he's holding himself back, lest the enemy were alerted to his presence.
He finally calmed down after what felt like forever, his heart rate and breathing slowing down. After that little tantrum he threw, everything just seemed clearer in his mind; most of the haze of his panic lessening somehow. He has to think rationally about this. Hashirama wouldn't let anything bad happen to everyone, and he along with Tobirama must've found a way to avoid detection. And given now that Suna and Oto have found their way into the village, such a strategy for a counter-attack would be just like Tobirama to think of, given how he never misses an opportunity to attack enemy weaknesses every chance he gets. Yes, that must be it. He refused to believe that his family could be harmed.
Assumptions were dangerous. He may not like the truth when revealed, but he must know for certain. His old life from his old world taught him that the hard way, and he almost lost his godfather for that.
For now he must set aside his feelings lest they become a hindrance, and he must steel himself and be prepared for anything because a lot is still at stake. There is still the matter of the invasion, and enemies are afoot. The three Genin he met earlier did say that the Hokage was last seen in the StadiumFinding the Hokage takes precedence, because enemy Nin will surely target him in a bid to destabilize the village. Without the Hokage and his Will of Fire, this village will surely fall.
Haruki stood up, and faced north. That's where he must go to, the heart of this conflict, the Stadium. "Hold on, everyone. I won't let you down," he thought, picturing the faces of his brethren, most especially his family. Finding his resolve, he made a run for it, jumping to the next building, and with great speed, disappeared from view.
He'll get to the bottom of this somehow
"What a mess," thought Hatake Kakashi. Everything was just going smoothly when the proverbial shit hit the fan. The Chuunin Exam Finals were getting good, what with Naruto beating Hyuuga Neji of all people, then Sasuke facing Sabaku no Gaara, only for the fight to stop half-way when smoke and enemy Nin suddenly started appearing. To top it all off, Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin and the Sandaime's former pupil has the Hokage at knifepoint.
Looking around him, the general audience seems to be asleep, locked in a genjutsu. At least Sakura had the presence of mind to dispel it before she got caught in it. She always was a smart girl, if a bit too obsessed with Uchiha Sasuke to care about anything else.
He'd had a bad feeling about the whole thing from the start, a conditioned response from his time in ANBU. There are plenty of things that could go wrong in this type of event, especially given how both the Hokage and Kazekage were here, plus the Daimyo of Fire Country and some members of his court in attendance as well. Then there's the fact that foreign shinobi were given leave to roam the village freely, an attack like this was bound to happen. Orochimaru pretending to be the Kazekage just takes the cake.
The Sandaime trusted his allies too much, and Orochimaru took advantage of that. The Chuunin Exams turned out to be the perfect ruse to launch a surprise attack on one of the most powerful shinobi nations, on its own territory no less. The whole of Konoha got complacent and now they're paying the price for it. He can't help but wonder if these lapses in security were due to unpreparedness, complacency or just incompetence. He had to admit though, no one could've predicted this.
Orochimaru had always been unstable, but his brazenness today showed just how loose the screws in his head were. One has to wonder though why he came here, now of all times, after leaving the village so long ago.
As he pondered this, Kakashi looked at the people around him, asleep and completely unaware of what's going on. Behind him, there was Maito Gai, his comrade and "Eternal Rival," tense and ready to pounce at a moment's notice. Below them near the railings of the audience seating, three ninjas were looking up toward them, two of them Oto-Nin and flanking the one at the center wearing a black cloak and an ANBU mask.
A pretender or a traitor, Kakashi didn't know, but he had a feeling he knows who that one might be. He's also pretty sure that person was the one to cast the genjutsu on the audience.
He looked to his right to where Sakura was seated among the sleeping audience. She didn't dare move, seemingly paralyzed by fear. These shinobi are clear veterans compared to her, and they won't hesitate to kill her. When he looked back at the three people below him and Gai, four more people joined the ranks of their opposition making them a total of seven, the new ones apparently pretending to be civilians under the genjutsu. Things are getting tense.
Two of the enemy Nin suddenly decided that Sakura was an easy target and made a run for her. Wide-eyed she just sat there unable to move. She then closed her eyes tight, lifted up her hands and covered her head, probably praying this wouldn't be the end. Seeing this, Kakashi knew he has to act fast, or his student could be no more.
As the enemy approached Sakura, Kakashi used his speed and rushed to aid her. He placed himself in front her, took out his kunai, one on each hand, and slashed at the enemy, his arms both crossed. It all happened so fast, ending with both enemies dead and gurgling on the floor, blood gushing out from their slit throats. Kakashi then put himself in a crouching position readying for another attack. Meanwhile, Gai put himself in battle stance and repelled his own attackers.
Sakura opened her eyes to find him in front of her, and she seemed very glad for this. Kakashi then bent down and talked to her from his crouch, his head between his legs and said, "Sakura go find Naruto and Sasuke, they'll need you. Sasuke went after Gaara, and Naruto and the others followed him. We'll handle this." She understood him because she took off for the nearest exit without any more prompting.
The remaining Oto-Nin engaged Kakashi and Gai in combat, their ANBU wannabe leader, just standing there observing everything, uncaring about his comrades. In a show of speed too fast for a normal person, they clashed with the enemy with taijutsu, mindful of the civilians that could be collateral damage if they used ninjutsu to counter-attack.
More Oto-Nin arrived at the scene and Kakashi knew without a doubt that if this continues, no matter how skilled he and Gai are, they will be overwhelmed at some point if reinforcements don't come soon.
Two enemies rushed him, and with a kunai on each hand, Kakashi blocked their weapons before they could get to him. It was a pain trying to contain two enemies, but he was no stranger to this. It's just more difficult because there are lives could be lost if he became rash. The enemies pressed further, trying to push him back, their blades clanking at the contact with each other. Nearby, Gai is also fighting enemies two at a time, somehow holding his own against them.
Deciding to end this impasse, Kakashi kneed the one on his left to the stomach. The Oto-Nin lost his grip on his kunai and stumbled to the floor in pain, his fellow Oto-Nin getting distracted looking at him surprised. Taking advantage of this opening, Kakashi dropped to the ground and swept the distracted shinobi with his leg, making him fall to ground on his back. He then proceeded to stab the one lying down on the stomach and slit his throat for good measure.
When he looked up the shinobi he kicked earlier was gone. Kakashi kept alert for him, knowing he could be anywhere. Sensing an oncoming attack, Kakashi parried a slash from his left. With his other hand, he made a hand seal and the enemy stopped movement, seemingly frozen in place. He then cut him down. Kakashi sensed another attack coming from behind. He readied his weapons and braced himself. He turned around to face the threat but what he saw next would haunt him for some time.
There suspended in the air was an Oto shinobi. He didn't seem to be doing it of his own accord though, and instead is being held up by his neck by some unseen force. He was choking and the air surrounding him seem to pressing down on him adding more to the poor sod's suffering. He desperately needed air and is clawing at whatever is holding him by his throat. Nothing seems to be there at all and he's only succeeding at scratching at his neck.
Coming from one of the entrance doors to the stadium, walked a man. He wasn't too tall, just barely reaching his shoulders, has black hair that was messy and slightly wavy framing his face that seemed for all intents and purposes, serene, and the greenest eyes he'd ever seen, like liquid poison.
He's also wearing strange clothes: a short-sleeved jacket made of a tough-looking but scaly material, with fingerless gloves and boots to match; mesh armor underneath covered by a green vest that seemed too fancy to be used in battle; then there were the pants that looked to be the same material as the vest, but black instead of green. Then there on the stranger's belt buckle and hitai-ate (worn as a headband) is the symbol of Konoha.
The stranger had one hand raised forward making a squeezing gesture. At the same time, the man suspended in mid-air started choking more. His other hand glowed green, and a short wooden stick (more like a twig really) came out. Keeping the enemy afloat, he made a slashing gesture with his right hand holding this unusual weapon. Something connected with the floating enemy and he died, blood coming up from his mouth choking him; the enemy was bisected, his lower body falling down on the floor, while the upper body is still held by his neck, blood and guts spilling and drenching the ground Kakashi was standing on.
After a moment, the strange Konoha-Nin let go of his hold on the corpse, and it dropped to join its other half in a pool of its own blood in front of Kakashi.
That little display of power made everyone in the immediate vicinity gape, friend and enemy alike. Even the ANBU wannabe tensed and disappeared in a puff of smoke, making Kakashi believe that this newcomer is an ally. Thank Kami-sama, they could use some reinforcements.
"At least he's one of us," Kakashi thought, mentally breathing a sigh of relief. This beautiful stranger is deadly, his lethality belied by his gentle features. The power he held is immense, he can tell, and Kakashi is glad that they're on the same side. That was a brutal way to die and he didn't fancy joining his ancestors in that manner.
Somewhere in the periphery, Gai took advantage of the distraction to subdue some of the enemy Nin.
When he was done, he turned towards Kakashi and the newcomer, focusing more on the latter.
"Might you tell us who you are friend?" asked Gai, moving beside Kakashi and addressing the metaphorical elephant in the room. "You are wearing Konoha heraldry, but are you friend or foe?"
"I'm a friend. My name is Senju Haruki, and I need to find Hokage-sama. It's important."
"A Senju, here? Aren't they extinct?" thought Kakashi. Not really though, if you count Tsunade-hime, one of the legendary Sannin. With her being the last one there is, they might as well be.
"WAS the last," Kakashi thought. If what Senju Haruki says is true, then he's a member of a long-dead, albeit powerful clan who's only just now coming out of the woodwork. Why he'd look for the Hokage, is anyone's guess. He glanced toward Gai, apparently having the same thought as him.
"Who are you? It's only polite to tell me your names after saying mine isn't it?" Senju asked walking down the steps to where they are, mindful of the bloody mess he left there. He walked with a grace not seen in many shinobi, with surety and certainty to every step.
"I am Maito Gai," said Gai, feeling completely at ease with Senju. "And this youthful fellow with me, is my friend and eternal rival, Hatake Kakashi" Leave it to Gai to be embellish about youthfulness even during situations like this.
"Quite an entrance you just pulled. Bit overkill though Senju-san." said Kakashi, looking at the dismembered corpse of the Oto-Nin on the floor.
"Got your attention didn't it? Anyway, where's Hokage-sama? It's important that I find him."
"The Sandaime would be up there, Senju-san." Said Gai, pointing to where the Hokage is being held at knifepoint by Orochimaru. "He's being held hostage by Orochimaru, though Kami knows why."
"Sandaime?" Senju asked tilting head to the side. It would be cute if not a bit worrying. Who doesn't know about Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage and so called God of Shinobi? Looking at him, he seemed genuinely confused, like he doesn't know such basic facts.
Sensing movement, Kakashi, Gai, and Senju looked to the periphery to find two four-man teams of ANBU suddenly came out of the woodwork, jumping on roofs and railings. They were all wearing cloaks, all but one wearing black. They also have masks to cover their faces, typical of ANBU garb. The one in the white cloak is obviously their leader, giving them orders while they run.
"Squad A, we're going up and protect the Hokage. Squad B, you're to protect the nobles. Double time!" The ANBU leader said.
"Yes sir!" chorused the other ANBU. They then split into two groups, with one group consisting of the ANBU leader and three subordinates going to the rooftops towards the Hokage, and the other four going down to wherever the Daimyo and his court are hiding.
"Listen, it's been fun chatting with you both but I have to run. It's important I get to the Hokage. If we survive this I'm sure we'll get to meet again, but getting him out of danger is imperative."
With that, the mysterious Senju Haruki took off at a run and went after the ANBU towards the Hokage.
"Should we go after them too?" asked Gai.
"No, we have plenty to do here. Let the ANBU do their jobs. I also have a feeling that Senju is going to be useful."
Enemy shinobi suddenly appeared, both from Oto and Suna, making Kakashi's earlier statement a bit prophetic. Konoha-Nin also arrived and engaged the enemy, giving both him and Gai some much needed reinforcements to even the playing field.
"Besides, this is the Hokage we're talking about."
Taking out their weapons, they then joined the fight.
~Tsudzuku…~
Author's notes:
So turns out, I didn't do too badly for my first ever fic. I got me a few followers for this story as well as a few who put it on their favourites list here in , AND it's only been a few days, and that was just first Chapter considering. The reviews weren't bad either. Thanks guys, I'm really happy with the turnout.
So I did an mpreg, though it happened in the past (I'm NOT writing a sex scene for this fic. Besides, I can't). If any of you don't like this sort of thing, I'm sorry you feel that way, but I'm actually a huge fan and I'm resolved to writing one, so there.
I don't have a Beta, so if there are any mistakes, they're all mine. I do double-check everything before publishing, though, so maybe I got away with it? For all your questions about the goings-on in the fic, they will be answered in due time as the story progresses. I got the whole thing panned out in my head, but it might change depending on where my thoughts take me.
Good? Bad? Lemme know what you think in the Reviews. Hasta luego~!
