A/N: Mwahahaha! After much adue about nothing, I am proud to give youthe next chapter of Ninja of the Earth! A lot takes place in this chapter, so sit down, put up your feet, grab a snack and be sure to enjoy everything that is to come. I was listenin to Drowning Pool when I wrote several of these scenes...they're an amazing band to listen to when you're writing action scenes lol. Now for the disclaimer...Vegeta, if you would be so kind?
Vegeta: *sigh* Neonzangetsu owns nothing, including myself, save for the concept and premise of this story. There. Satisfied, human?
Nz: Very. Now, would you kindly hold off on the wholesale slaughter for a little while longer-
Vegeta: Cut the 'would you kindly' crap and start the damned story already!
Nz: Yessir!
"My son...is alive?"
~?
Answers and Questions
Sarutobi Hiruzen was old. Some might even call him ancient. Wise beyond his years, he'd led the village hidden in the leaves through times prosperous and arduous since the death of the Niidaime in the Second Great Shinobi War. He'd seen many things, told many tales, and lived to a ripe old age where retirement should've been something involving many grandchildren. Something to treasure. He'd wanted lived out the last of his days in relative peace and serenity, surrounded by friends and family until Kami himself finally decided to take him fromthis world and into the next. His glory years were long since past. What more could god possibly expect from him? He found his answer in the form of strange space pod, come crashing down to the planet.
None knew his origins. One did. He did. He'd seen many before, countless before, and he knew one day that this boy's time would come, just as it had with all of the others in the past. Now he found himself face to face confronting a prince, many times stronger than he, more than half his age and twice as vicsious. But Sarutobi Hiruzen had his pride, and he willed his stiffening spine to straighten; the old authoritative tone returning to his words as he addressed the arrogant intruder standing before him.
"Why have you come here?" He asked, his tone genial, carefully ignoring the dead bodies just outside his door.
"I've found something of interest on this puny planet of yours." The prince of all saiyans remarked idly, and it was only then that Sarutobi noticed the child slung over his shoulder. "This," He gestured to the slumbering boy, "Is a member of my race. Funny thing though, he's much younger than he should be. Care to explaint that, old man?" There was a silent venom in his words, an implied threat that implied an equal amount of pain should he hold his tongue. Hiruzen chose to feign ignorance, rather than give this pompous prince the information he so desired.
"A member of your race, you say?" he touched a finger to his wrinkled chin. "I haven't the faintest clue what you're talking about."
"I thought you'd say that." The prince shook his head in lament. "Why must the people of this planet be so insufferably stubborn?" He shrugged forlornly. Punched a button on his scouter and spoke loudly. "Nappa, you can begin now."
"Gladly!"
Before Sarutobi could hope to ask just what the prince meant, he heard the screams. He didn't look out the window. He dare not. There were dozens of them. Shinobi and civilian alike, all began to die.
"You fiend!"
"That," He indicated the slaughter taking place just outside the window, "Is for Nappa's enjoyment. Not mine. Tell me what I want to know, and I'll tell him to stop."
Sarutobi blanched as the prince laid the boy down. If he could just reach him-!
As if sensing his thoughts, Vegeta offered a sly sneer.
"You're welcome to try."
Without warning the prince lunged forward and into the darkness and caught Saurtobi's throat in his grasp. Only the reinforced neckpiece kept his windpipe from being crushed in an instant. The prince slammed Hiruzen into the concrete floor hard enough to dash any man's brains out. His bare fists pounded on Sandaime's skull with unbelievable force blow after blow smashing down like a jackhammer. Concussed and breathless, all he could think to do was buck; his forehead mashing against the prince's widow's peak in a vain attempt to extricate himself from the brutal beating. It worked. The prince staggered, alarm, then wry amusement flickering in those cold dead eyes. He stepped backward, massaging the small bruise he'd been left.
Hiruzan had already regained his feet, his hands flipping through the signs-
"Oh no you don't!"
Hiruzen's eye went wide as his right hand was severed from his body, the limb now falling away from him in a flash. The wrinkled fingers were still wriggling slightly as the nerve endings within them struggled to form a sign, struggled, to receive signal from his brain once more, slipping from the sign they'd been meant to make as his remaining hand groped on blindly. Sarutobi choked in surprise and clutched at the sudden wound, his left arm stretched out in an attempt to grab and wield the fallen appendage.
The Prince of all Saiyans buzzed into view, his body blocking the Hokage's limb, his eyes glaring out coldly from behind the frightening visor of his scouter. With a hiss, he swung his hand backwards, a errant blast of ki rocketing out from the tip of his finger and incinerating both the hokage's limb and a sizeable portion of the wall within the foreign energy.
"I'm sorry," He smiled. "Was that important?" His grin grew as the hokage groaned and clutched at his limb. "Looks like it was." He stole a glance over his shoulder and at the wall admiring his handiwork as he peered a moment into the opening he'd created. Nappa certainly was enjoying himself. His gaze snapped back to Hiruzen as the scuffling of feet alerted him to motion. Despite his injury, the wounded kage had picked himself up once more and now lay crouched in the afternoon light, leaving the prince standing in shadow. Light and darkness. How fitting.
His scouter beeped a warning an instant before the Sandaime Hokage flung his hand forward.
White hot energy carromed harmlessly off the prince's palm, singing his glove as he slapped it into the floor. His scouter was shrieking at him now, its cries dying down as the hokage's power level took an abrupt dive in the opposite direction. Exhasuted he sank to his knees and into the prince's waiting hand, gloved fingers tightening about his throat. Hoisting him off his feet and into the air the prince silently marveled at the resiliience of these shinobi. They were fine warriors, even if their tactics were a tad underhanded. But this one...
"Nice try, old man." He snarled, and his grip tightened a millimeter. "Am I meant to believe that this boy was the only saiyan ever to be sent here?"
Sarutobi favored him with a stern scowl. The truth was out. No point in keeping it hidden any longer.
"You were meant to, yes."
"Coward!" Vegeta accused, eyes narrowing in recognition. "Traitor! I remember you now! Son of Brussell! Your father, raised an army and tried to seize my father's throne! He fled the planet in disgrace when you were but a child!" Disgusted, he flung the hokage to the floor, uncaring as the old man gave a gasping gurgle of renewed agony. To Sarutobi's infinite dismay he scooped up the still prone form of the boy and slung him over a shoulder, depositing him there as though he weighed no more than a sack of flour.
"I'll ask you one last time." Vegeta warned, his palm flaring with restraind ki. "Why isn't this boy fully grown? Malnutrition? Torture? A jutsu of yours? Answer me!"
...never."
"What?"
"You'll never be able to unlock his true potential." Sarutobi scoffed up at him in defiance, blood welling up between his bruised and broken lips. "I've sealed it away...it is lost to him now."
"You did what?!" Vegeta was furious! He wanted to crush hokage's head! Taking a deep breath, the prince exercised restraint. Were the boy ever to realize his mentor had been slain he'd doubtlessly refuse to cooperate with them. He still wanted to make the man suffer, though. Perhaps if he broke every bone in his body? He was a saiyan after all; that wouldn't kill him and without his dominant hand he'd be half the warrior. Maybe he ought to take off his other hand as well, just to be certain. Before he could set himself to the task however, a burly shadow thrust itself through the opening in the wall with alarming speed.
"VEGETA!"
The prince nearly jumped out of his skin as Nappa appeared before him.
"What is it now, Nappa?"
"Look what I found!" He exuded as he thrust a muscular arm forward, giving his prince a serious sense of deja vu as he introduced to him a young girl; her body secured in his hand by an iron grip upon the collar of her jacket. "Another local!" Vegeta nearly fell over when Nappa set her down at his feet. Not again!
"Godamnit Nappa! What have I told you about-
"But she knows about the kid!" Nappa protested. "She even knew he had a tail!"
"Did she now?" Vegeta's interest was piqued. "Interesting." He swung around to face the girl; rewarding her soft whimper with renewed, and intense scrutiny. She looked as if she just might shrink away into her jacket, such was her fear of him.
She was a pale skinned little thing, but her eyes even moreso. They seemed to peer right through him, those eerie lavender orbs, piercing him to the core and then some. He couldn't help but notice that gaze; she kept drifting toward the former blond slung over his shoulder. There was fear and anxiety in her gaze and yet, something more. So much more. Oho! Vegeta frowned, the gears of his mind clicking together. She had feelings for the boy. Perfect. Thankfully this wench didn't have a tail. She was human. All the easier to control.
"What is your name, girl?" he demanded of her.
"Hi-Hinata Hyuuga."
Vegeta's grin grew.
"Well then, Hyuuga, how would you like to serve a prince?"
Pale eyes bulged so large he was certain they were going to fall out of her head.
"N-Naruto-kun's a... prince?"
He most certainly is not! Vegeta opened his mouth to say these words, to deny her claim at royalty, but then an idea came to him. The girl was clearly smitten with the boy. Why not perpetuate the lie? Let her think he was a prince. If she did, then she'd certainly be more inclined to listen to his 'offer' when he made it. He just had to swallow his pride this one time. C'mon Vegeta, you can do it! He urged himself. You are a prince! This is for the good of your people! You can swallow your pride...just...this...once...!
"Yes...he certainly...is." Ever word was like glass on his tongue. He practically gasped in relief as he finished the falsehood. "In a way, you could say we're brothers." Well that, at least, was a half-truth. Saiyans shared blood, so technically they were related. He placed himself firmly between her and the hokage, knowing he'd full well he'd ensnared her mind with his words.
"Where are you taking him?" Hinata wanted to know.
"We are taking him off this pathetic planet to remind him of his saiyan heritage." No point in lying there. He fully intended to instruct the boy in the ways of their race...once he'd beaten the basics of ki and respect into his ungrateful hide. Behind him, Nappa sniggered. Vegeta shot his cohort a withering glare. Shut up, Nappa! He willed at the balding saiyan, glarind bloody red daggers. You'll ruin everything! Gathering himself, and his composure, he continued:
"Would you care to join us, girl?"
Hinata bucked in surprise.
"Me?"
Yes you you insufferable simpleton! Vegeta barely bit back the words before they emerged. "Its quite clear to me; you care for him deeply. I'd just hate to separate the two of you simply on a whim." He almost gagged at his own acting skilla. She'd have to be hopelessly in love with the brat to actually believe such a thing-
"Please, take me with you!"
And we have a winner! But he had to make certain of her true intentions.
"You're willing to wait on us, hand and foot?" he asked. "To conform to our every need?"
Hinata hesitated.
"I-If it means I can be with Naruto-kun...then yes!"
"Very good." Vegeta allowed a cold smile-held back for so very long-to spread across his features. "There's just one problem though."
"W-W-What's that?"
"You're still awake."
He struck her in the stomach with one of his 'soft' punches. Hinata toppled over like a broken tower, the breath stolen from her lungs, alongside her concsiousness even before her face became intimate with the ground in a way no self-respecting shinobi desired. Satisfied that she was indeed unconcsious, the prince bid Nappa to pick her up. Only then did he return his attention to her hokage.
"What do you mean to do with her?" Hiruzen demanded.
"She may not have the blood, but she'll certainly be of use." Vegeta cackled as Nappa slung her over his shoulder. "After all, what better way to ensure his cooperation than with a willing hostage?" His signature whitish blue aura flared about his body, launching him and his companion across the horizon. "Enjoy what's left of your village and your life, son of Brussell! Someday, I'll be back, to finish what your father so foolishly started." Sarutobi Hiruzen could only look on helplessly as the saiyans vanished, leaving the ruins of he once mighty Konoha in their wake.
(?)
"Stupid kid!" A darkened voice growled at him from the blackness of sleep, her words laced with exhaustion. "You fucking owe me for this. And I collect my debts!" A furious scream tore through the black and it was gone, the blessed blackness; replaced by bright light. So very bright! He could feel hands around his body, holding him, cradling. "It's a boy!" Someone exclaimed from ofscreen, and as if on cue he felt a indignant wail build at the very back of his throat. When he did scream it was loud. Loud enough to earn laughter from those around him.
"Ha!" Someone laughed. "Listen to him! He's certainly got the spirit of a saiyan?"
"A boy?!" The darkened voice of the woman whined somewhere behind him. "Fuck! I wanted it to be a girl! Give him here!"
"No." Another voice growled. "Not yet. What is his power level?"
There was a distinctive beep somewhere out of sight.
"Sire...its...its...
"Well, what is it?!"
"Two hundred."
"What?! Only two hundred?!" A cape flared before his vision, pursued by the harsh footfalls as he went somewhere else. "Bah! Another weakling! He's no nephew of mine!"
There was a silence. Then...
"Give me him."
"But my lady, you're much too weak...
A snarl, followed by an explosion.
"I SAID GIVE HIM!"
"Y-Yes m'lady!"
He saw a face peering down at him now, darkened, sleep-deprived eyes of violet-black peering into his own.
"Huh." She sighed. "Little guy's...kinda cute."
He was vaguely aware of a man, standing at her elbow, cald in faded blue fatigues, not assimilar to the ones Vegeta wore. But this, was not Vegeta. The hair was all wrong, and the man was much taller than the prince would ever be. He couldn't make out his face, save for a strong jaw, and spiky hair, but he feld an odd nostalgia nonetheless.
"Whaddya wanna call him?" The man asked.
"Shut up, Torra!" The woman growled, eyes flaring a furious jade. "I'm thinking...
Her face brightened with a fierce smile.
"I'll call you-
The memory shattered like glass as his surroundings shook, an inistent beeping blaring to jar him forth from the face of the one who'd birthe dhim. He groaned, the vision already slipping away from him like mist, when he tried to close his fingers aroun it. Or was it a dream? He wasn't sure. He knew only that he stirred with a sudden longing in his chest, clinging to the one name he'd heard. The man at her elbow had a name. It was...
Torra.
Naruto woke to darkness. He found himself seated in a chair, confined to a terribly small space, with only a single viewport. Something told him not look but, he did he listen? Nope! Stars stretched before him, spanning the horizon, in either direction. A cold pang of fear stabbed at his chest and stomach, wormings its way through his body into a shuddering shiver as he remembered what'd happened. The mission. He'd been so excited so very excited to have his first real mission. Then came the attack. Sakura. Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke. All gone, wiped out alongside Tazuna, Zabuza and his mysterious masked partner. He remembered the rage, furious and all-encompassing, pouring from every pore. He'd fought them but it hadn't been enough. He'd been bested, not by the bald one, but by the threat to destroy the planet, if he failed to comply. The last thing he'd felt was the smaller one's fist, slamming into his stomach.
Then...nothingness.
Naruto slammed his fists against the console but to no avail. It would not budge. And even if it did, what awaited him beyond, save the cold vaccum of space? Rage welled up inside him; a tidal wave of impotent fury to which he had no release. They were gone. All of them. All gone. He could see three streaks of bluish white just beyond the cockpit's viewport, and it was to his dismay, that he realized he was not alone. He was trapped with these men. Truly, and utterly alone. He didn't even pause to consider whom the third pod belonged to; because soon thereafter his anger was left smothered in more immediate grief. No one was going to save him from these men.
And with that knowledge, Uzumaki Naruto curled up into a ball and wept.
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Rather, he tried.
"Are you awake in there, boy?"
His eyes snapped open as Vegeta's voice shattered the silence of the craft.
Who? What? When! Where! How?!
"I'm speaking to you through the radio." His irrtation was evident, even through the static. "Doubtless you've just woken up, but I thought I should inform you; we'll be arriving on the home planet soon. Be sure to be on you best behavior for Frieza. He has a penchant for vaporizing those who talk back to him," Before Naruto could ask just who this 'Frieza' was, another, much softer voice punched through the static. Well, not much of a punch, considering, but it was one he recognized nonetheless.
"Naruto-kun?" It whispered. "Are you there?"
The former blond shrieked, another tear slipping from his eye as entire body bucked in surprise; his head striking the pod's ceiling with a resounding clang. Ouch! Rubbing at the rising welt between the raven locks, still struggling to get his voice and breathing under control, he tentatively stabbed the blinking light on the console. Imagine his surprise when a translucent screen popped into view before him, revealing the face not of the third saiyan as he'd initially surmised, but a visage of the more agreeable sort.
"H-Hinata?" He exclaimed aghast, recognizing her face after a moment of thought. What the hell was she doing here?! "What're you-
"Sh!" She shushed, momentarily surprising him with her fierceness. "They'll hear you!"
...alright."
Naruto managed a nod. Leaning forward in the chair he grunted when he found that it barely accomodated his height. Either the pod was ridiculously small or he'd suffered a sudden growth spurt. Wait a second. Did his voice always crack like this?
"Hinata, what're you doing here?" He asked at last. She was the last person he'd expected to find out here in the vast nothingness of space.
Even through the screen, he could see her face inexplicably brighten. Strange. Was she sick? Did she have a fever? He tried to peer closer, but his shoulders bumped against the pod, denying him access.
"I...I was worried about you." She lowered her head and pressed her index fingers together. "You weren't waking up, and they were questioning me all about you for so very long...b-but I didn't tell them anything!" For her bravery, she was rewarded with a sigh and a relived smile. Naruto slumped back in his seat, happyg to have found at least one friend amongst the stars.
"Well, um...thanks, I guess." They'd never really talked before since they were children, so he wasn't exactly sure what to say. "I appreciate it. But why are you here?"
Tears brimmed at the Hyuuga's eyes.
"They said they were going to take you away because of your tail." She shook her head. "I couldn't let that happen."
Naruto blinked. He'd only shown her his tail once, and they'd been children back then. In all honesty, he'd forgotten about it. But she hadn't.
"Hinata...I...
She raised her gaze, suddenly tentative once more.
"Naruto-kun...?"
...thank you." Naruto lowered his gaze so she wouldn't see the flush on his once whiskered cheeks. He didn't know what else to say, but he felt he should at least say something. He raised his gaze to do so and abruptly found that space wasn't as empty as he'd thought it was. A vast blob of blue loomed before them.
"Do you see that?" Hinata asked, her words filled with awe.
"Hmm?" He peered around the screen as the planet swung into view. "Huh? Yeah,but...what is that?"
"That's enough chatter, you two!" Vegeta's voice sliced through the tension like a hot knife through butter. "We're about to land, and I expect you to be on your best behavior when we do! Do not make me reget this or so help me I'll disembowel you both! That goes for you too, Nappa!"
"But Vegeta-
"NO BUTS NAPPA!"
Both genin quailed at the tone of his voice. They had no idea what terrors awaited them on the planet below. Naruto felt the creature within him shiver in anticipation; the Nine-Tail's own delight at meet such a poweful entity was soon quailed by the fear of its host. He could sense it. Something deep inside him instinctively cringed away from it was they plunged toward the planet's surface. Something wretched, was down there. Cruel beyond belief and wicked without measure. And he, at Vegeta's behest, was about to come face to face with that monstrosity, whatever it was.
Dear Kami, what have I gotten myself into...
A/N: Poor Naruto. He's about to meet the most powerful being in the universe and he's scared out of his wits. And as a saiyan, has every right to. Wouln't you be? As to answer another question, why isn't Naruto near the age of Goku? Excellent question. All will be revealed in the coming chapters! Alasl, I must leave you know for works calls once again. We'll see some much needed action in the next chapter and remember, THE PAIRING IS NOT YET SET! It can go any number of ways with different girls, depending on what happens. So no flames, please. Now, dear reader, I leave u with the immortal words of Trunks...
...REVIEW OR IT WILL BE THE END OF ALL OF US!
R&R! =D