Mokusei: Will of Fire
Chapter 2: Encounter in the Forest
Naruto left the purple haired Tokujo to her own devices as he sought out the Uchiha's team. Eventually, he was alerted by his Kaa-san as to where the blasted Uchiha was. The blonde scowled as he learned they had found one of his favorite sleeping areas. The tree they were hiding in was a very large redwood, its base had been burrowed out by one of the many inhabitants of the Forest. Using his Wood Style: Gaia's Transport, the blonde Mokusei walked out of the tree and looked down to see two very unconscious members of the Uchiha's team.
"Hn." Naruto grunted in annoyance as he nudged the sleeping Uchiha with his foot. His Mokuton flared and Naruto's eyes narrowed quickly. He dropped to his knee and rolled the Uchiha onto his stomach before pulling his collar down. He saw a weird mark on the Uchiha's neck and he scowled again.
The hell is that? The blonde thought with narrowed eyes. He paused and listened as his Kaa-san informed him of the Snake Sanin's actions before. When the Forest was done speaking to the blonde, he growled in fury and placed his hand over the mark.
"Sealing Technique: Shodai Seal!" Naruto said, making his markings glow green and his chakra to flow over the mark. A green swirl appeared over the mark and it started to cause the tomoes to fade. The blonde snorted as his ears caught wind of the fighting outside one of his many resting areas. This small fact upset him.
A lot.
He stormed out of the tree and saw the girl with pink hair being held back by a girl wearing snake-skin clothes. A bandaged boy was beating on a boy wearing green. Naruto had watched this boy before, when he trained with a man that looked similar to him. He believed the man to be the boy's father and they both greatly amused him, especially when he was in a foul mood. The boy was also pure of heart and carried the Will of Fire, so seeing the boy getting smacked around like a rubber ball caused Naruto's fury to rise even more.
"You will STOP this instant!" roared the blonde, stopping the beating of the green clad genin and earning the attention of the other teens (both visible and not). A boy wearing a mask similar to Tobirama sneered at Naruto.
"And who are you supposed to be? A hero?" the boy asked. Naruto narrowed his eyes and then a scent hit him and he growled.
"Snakes..." he growled, "You all...you all smell like Snakes..."
The boy smirked and raised his arm, "So what, jungle boy! I think you need a nap! A permanent one!"
An immense surge of energy grew in the boy's arm and a small hole opened. Naruto narrowed his eyes and slowly crouched down. The boy's smirk never died as he shouted, "Decapitating Airwaves!"
Several young trees were cut down and Naruto's rage grew. He pressed his hands to the ground and shouted, "Wood Release: Oak Shield!"
The native genin all watching gasped in shock as trees burst from the ground and formed a small wall, defending the blonde from the airwaves. The boy growled and raised his other hand. The bandaged boy, who was holding the green clad boy turned to the other and shouted, "Zaku, you idiot! Don't use THAT!"
"He's as good as dead!" Zaku replied, "Extreme Decapitating Airwaves!"
Naruto saw even more young trees and even some matured trees fall. It made his blood boil with anger and determination to make this...this shinobi pay for hurting his Kaa-san. For injuring the Will of Fire carrier, for hurting his Kaa-san, and for being so damn proud of it. He slid into the trees before him with hisGaia's Transport with a final thank you and apology to them before vanishing and allowing them to be destroyed.
"Ha! See that, Dosu? Told ya I'd kill him! Stupid Konoha shinobi," Zaku jeered, "I'm ten times better than he was."
"Then why am I right behind you?" Naruto asked from his spot on the tree behind the boy. The genin present gasped and Zaku growled in rage.
"You! I'll...I'll kill you!" he raised his arms, but Naruto moved faster. He pressed his hand onto the tree and his body's markings glowed green.
"Wood Release: Vine Trap," the blonde said, malice evident in his voice. Zaku's eyebrows furrowed in confusion when he suddenly was grabbed by several vines that shot from the ground. His arms were pulled to his side as Naruto's grin widened.
"Now," the blonde said, "One chance to live. Apologize."
"Never!" Zaku shouted with anger at being caught in his eyes, "There's no reason to, we're enemies you dumbass!"
"I did no wrong to you," growled Naruto, "I even let you shinobi enter my forest!"
Zaku blinked, "Your forest? Ha! You're a freaking Hermit? How sad!"
Naruto's eyes narrowed, "I'll say it once more. Apologize."
Zaku only grinned defiantly, "I'd rather burn this whole fucking forest to the ground."
Rage crossed Naruto's eyes and he smiled darkly, "I was hoping you'd say that. Wood Release: Vine Rack; Execution!"
"Ooo," Zaku laughed, "I'm so scared! A Rack! What if I get a bone-errrrraaahhhhhhHHHHH!"
The vines started pulling and Naruto's grin never once dropped. His more protective nature of his domain because of his tenant's small hold on his head. As Zaku cried out in pain, many of the genin present were all sick as they watched the Oto nin slowly get torn apart. Eventually, Zaku found his desire to live greater than his desire to fight.
"STOP! FOR THE LOVE OF KAMI PLEASE STOP!" Zaku cried out as one of his arms was dislocated. Naruto laughed.
"I warned you," Naruto said with a shrug of indifference. The Oto shinobi exchanged a glance and dropped their hostages, rushing to help their teammate. Naruto grinned and left his hand on the tree.
"Ah, ah, ah," he chided, "That's cheating. Wood Release: Root Restraints!"
The roots of the trees shot up through the ground and wrapped around the two Oto genin's ankles, keeping them from going to Zaku's aid. Speaking of the black haired boy, his body was doing no better than his mind. The vines made one last tug and Zaku's arm gave. With that one tug, his left arm was torn out right from his socket. Zaku screamed in pain and agony as the vines released his arms. Naruto walked over to the downed Oto genin and kicked him in the side, earning a new round of screams from the genin as he landed on the fresh wound.
"Now you wish you apologized, don't you?" muttered the blonde to the dying Oto genin. He turned to the other two genin. The bandaged one, Dosu, pulled a scroll from his back pocket.
"H-Here! Take it! It's yours, just let us go! This exam isn't worth dying for!" the boy said as he threw the scroll at the blonde. Naruto made no move to catch or block it. He simply let it bounce off his shoulder and looked down at it.
"...what is this?" he asked bending over, picking it up and looking back up at the two Oto genin. The hidden Konoha genin and Sakura were all wide-eyed in amazement. They thought for sure that he was from another village and taking the exam with them.
He used Mokuton, Hyuuga Neji thought from above the tree tops, He must be a Senju! But...But how? Tsunade-sama left the village years ago!
"I-It's a Heaven scroll," Dosu said before his eye widened in realization, "Y-You really are a hermit, aren't you?"
"You can call me Mokusei," Naruto said as he walked closer. As soon as he got near Dosu, the bandaged genin threw a punch with his gauntleted hand. Naruto caught the punch, causing Dosu's eye to widen once again.
"Impossible!" the Oto genin breathed. Naruto increased his grip on his hand, crushing it easily with chakra enhanced strength.
"Not for the Mokusei aka me," the blonde said with a grin. He eventually broke the hand in his grip, snapping it away and throwing Dosu from his binds into another tree. With his Kaa-san's assurance Dosu was dealt with, Naruto turned to the girl and studied her for a moment.
She had long black hair, at least the bottom three inches of it was tied together in a wrap. The girl was wearing a slightly baggy khaki flak vest and snake-skin designed pants and scarf. He looked at her face and saw fear in her eyes. Slowly, Naruto raised a hand to cup her cheek, ignoring her flinch of fear. He studied her eyes and she stared back at him with them; they were a dark coal color, mixing well with her dark hair and lighter skin tone. With a flash of green on his skin, she passed out and Naruto slowly lowered her to the ground, where she then was covered by a cocoon of wood before it sank into the ground. He stood and looked at the pink haired girl as his tribal marks stopped glowing.
"Wake the Uchiha and the pale boy," he said. Sakura nodded, terrified and intrigued of the boy before her. He was very, very attractive and if she guessed correctly, he was perhaps her age, but her obsession over Sasuke made her revert to being afraid of the blonde before her. Before she left, Naruto grabbed her shoulder and gave her the scroll that was at his feet. Shakily, the girl took it and looked back at the kind blue eyes laced with green around the pupils and a smile on his face.
"Please make your way to the Tower and get out of my woods," Naruto said with a firm, no questions asked, ordering tone. As the girl ran back to the tree where her teammates were, the blonde wild boy looked to a bush where another Konoha team was.
"Come out before I make you come out," he said. Immediately, a platinum blonde girl wearing purple clothes and tape, a chubby boy with an odd headband, and a tired looking pineapple headed boy walked out. The girl had hearts in her eyes as she looked at him making Naruto blink in confusion. He looked at the one eating chips and scowled immediately, his confusion forgotten.
"So you're the damned litterbug! I should've figured it was you," he growled as he pointed at the fatty. The boy stopped eating and swallowed as his food before looking at Naruto in fear.
"W-What?" he asked. Naruto growled.
"Damned Akimichi!" he snarled stomping towards him and snatching his bag of chips before shaking said bag in his face, "You all don't consider what your little 'snacks', and I say the term lightly, does to my Forest when ya leave em on the ground!"
"This is Konoha's training ground 44," the lazy one drawled, interrupting Naruto's rant. Naruto rounded on him with a glare. He shoved the bag of chips back into the Akimichi's arms before walking to the Nara, who sweated slightly under the intensive gaze.
"You're damn lucky, Nara-boy," the blonde growled as he poked him in the chest roughly, "Damn lucky that I appreciate what you do for Hashirama-sama's deer. Otherwise that super smart, lazy-ass head of yours would be one of my tiger's personal chew toys! Never, and I mean never call my forest a training ground for you goddamn shinobi."
Naruto turned and walked back to the trees and used his Gaia's Transport to leave back to the heart, the true heart, of the Forest of Death. The blonde girl of the group squealed at the 'Wild Boy's coolness factor before starting to rant about his hotness. The Nara groaned and thanked kami he didn't wet himself while the Akimichi nervously started to eat once again and followed as the Nara went to assist the members of Team 7.
The team of the green clad shinobi arrived and picked him up before going their separate way. Neji had been trying to figure out what the blonde boy known as 'Mokusei' meant by this being his forest. He looked back to where the tree was and tried to use his Byakugan to find him. There was no such luck as he seemed to become part of the trees.
Spirit of the Wood indeed, thought Neji as he helped his female partner carry their green clad friend back to their camp. He shuddered as he remembered the brutality shown to the one who disrespected the Forest and prayed that TenTen didn't accidentally start a forest fire.
Naruto walked away from the tree he had used to transport himself before molding into a much, much larger redwood tree. This is what he called Gaia. Hashirama's oldest tree, possibly the first tree of Konohagakure. Kaa-san told him Gaia was where she first became self-aware, and so Naruto considered this to be his Kaa-san's true form. He trained here, slept here, ate here, he did everything here. It was his home, and damn any who'd want to take him from it.
He put his hand on the inside of the tree before kissing it softly. He smiled and whispered, "I'm back, Kaa-san. I'm sorry Orochimaru got away, I'll get him next time."
It was silent before Naruto nodded, "I figured I could perhaps learn more about Orochimaru from her, since he smells highly of snakes and isn't from Konohagakure. You information was useful, but it is very outdated."
A branch formed and bopped him on the head, causing the blonde to chuckle, "It's the truth you know."
Naruto looked over to the wooden couch that was a part of Gaia and at the sleeping form on it. The blonde realized she might be out for a while considering his Senju Style: Sleeping Stare was untested. He went to the middle of the tree and sat in the lotus position. Shutting his eyes and becoming part of the Wood, his tribal markings (AN: Which on the face look like much longer versions of Mike Tyson's combined with the stripes on a tiger's face, covering both sides of his face and even coming close to linking at his forehead. The tattoos on his arms are similar to Jeff Hardy's right arm tattoo, but grow over his pecs and continue to branch towards his stomach, where they merge with the seal. From his back shoulders the arm tattoos merge and grow into a tiger's or face) glowed green as a result and his breathing slowed to a point where it was nonexistent.
He saw many dead genin and already saw several scavengers, such as the boar-rats that were local delicacies for the oversized tigers. It was through the tigers that he gained the Tiger contract, something that (although unknown to many of the villagers) once was used by Hashirama. He then saw that the genin he had interacted with were dilly dallying with another silver haired Konoha genin. Naruto snarled and opened his eyes, flaring his chakra and causing the sleeping Oto kunoichi to stir.
Naruto ceased his connection with the Wood and stood, glaring down at the intruder and his prisoner. Although he was confused as to why she had given him an odd look upon her awakening. Her eyes sparkled with...something he had never seen before. It intrigued him and made him wonder exactly what was going through her mind at that moment.
The girl, Kin Tsuchi, was staring back at her captor with wide eyes. It was the boy that had brutishly killed Zaku and then Dosu. There was no telling what he had in mind for her, and it both frightened and excited her for reasons beyond her knowledge. Well, she did know she had a fetish for S&M–which was usually normal for Oto shinobi–so that might have been it, but why did she fear him? Because she feared dying? Most likely.
With a slight glow of the markings on his body, this only made his toned body much easier for the girl to see and caused her to blush, a wooden chair formed in front of her. Kin watched the blonde sit down in front of her and he gave her another look over before speaking.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Kin Tsuchi, Genin of Otogakure," Kin replied without haste. She'd seen what the blonde can do, and she had no desire to get on his bad side.
The blonde hummed for a moment, "Why are you here?"
"Our Otokage, Orochimaru-sama," Kin said, noticing the flare of chakra and growl that from the blonde at the mention of her Kage's name, "Entered my team and I into the chunin exams of your village-"
Naruto cut her off with a scoff, "Please. Just because Hashirama-sama was the Shodai doesn't mean I follow any of that village's ways. Continue."
"...He signed us up for the Konohagakure Chunin exams to get us to test some Sasuke Uchiha kid," Kin said, having hesitated from how blatantly he insulted the most powerful village in the elemental nations, "We were about to when that pink haired girl stopped us with horrible traps. She was then saved by the weirdo in green."
Naruto growled, "Tread carefully, Tsuchi-chan."
Kin gulped and bowed her head, "G-Gomen, I didn't know he was your friend."
"...Continue," the blonde said, crossing his arms and leaning back, not commenting on her observation. Kin hesitated once again, now because of the fact she could make out every curve in the blonde's arms and could see just how defined they were.
Kami-sama help me, Kin thought with a blush, They look so...firm...No, focus Kin! Don't get distracted or he might kill you!
"...W-Well, then you showed up and," Kin said before taking a calming breath as the memory of just how easily he killed Zaku and no doubt Dosu, "K-Killed my teammates Dosu and Zaku...Are you going to kill me, too?"
"Do I have to?" he asked with narrowed eyes. Kin shook her head quickly in fear. The blonde kept his eyes narrowed for a moment before chuckling and standing. He yawned and stretched, earning another blush from the girl as his stretching caused his muscles to become even more visible. He walked away and Kin felt her eyes move to follow him, looking at his posterior with lust and unconsciously licking her lips.
"You will stay here until these...Chunin Exams are over," the blonde said as he walked towards the wall. He looked over his shoulder and caught her staring at him, prompting him to ask: "What are you staring at?"
That deliciously tight ass! Kin thought before actually averting her eyes and speaking quietly, "N-Nothing, sir."
"...Right..." Naruto drawled out, not believing her for a second. His Kaa-san was laughing hysterically in his head and Naruto groaned from the small headache. The blonde looked back at the girl that was keeping her eyes glued to the floor. He then realized that she hadn't once called him by the title he gave to the bandaged boy, Dosu. Naruto tilted his head and smiled slightly, "Oh, and call me Mokusei."
"M-Mokusei?" Kin repeated and looked up, turning an even darker shade of red she believed herself capable of at the sight of his small smile. The blonde's smile grew slightly when she repeated his name, and Kin fought to control herself from jumping him here and now.
"Hai," the blonde said, "It is the name I was given upon my rebirth. It means Spirit of the Wood."
Just how big is HIS Spirit of the Wood? Kin thought perversely before swallowing and nodding, "O-Ok, Mokusei-san."
"Good," the blonde nodded before turning away again, "There is an extra shirt in the chest along with loose shorts. I'll be back with some Rat-meat later. Oh, and don't try to hurt Gaia-chan."
With that he left by walking through the wall before she could even asked what he meant. Kin's mouth was completely unhinged and her eyes were as wide as saucers. Her lower area started to heat up and she swallowed before deciding to relieve some tension. Before she started she realized something he had said and thought aloud, "Rebirth? Then that means...Goddammit, I don't even know his real name!"
Naruto stopped as he came out of a tree a few miles away from his home and sneezed. He wiped his finger under his nose and shrugged before resuming his small hunt. He came across the Uchiha's team and saw him using the damned eyes he despised so much. The pink haired girl was unconscious and the silver haired teen was healing her while the Uchiha and the pale boy fought against three genin with breathing masks and headbands with four vertical lines on them.
He didn't care for the outcome of the fight, but he saw the damage that was being dealt by the Uchiha's clearly lax concern for the forest they were in. Naruto seethed and stomped forward. He entered the clearing and the fighting ceased when the shinobi sensed his anger rising. Naruto looked at the Konoha genin and other genin before looking at the area they were in. His temper rose and his killing intent started leaking out at the sight of many charred trees and senbon imbedded in young saps, causing the genin and silver haired medic to clutch their chests in fear. The only one who was trying to be unaffected was the pale boy, Sai, but even he was failing to do so.
"I...am so sick of you shinobi!" growled the blonde, his tribal markings glowing green. He saw tree he grew himself over five years ago for the first time had several senbon imbedded in it.
"Who did that?" he asked coldly. The rain nin all exchanged looks before one with two eyeholes stepped forward.
"We did," he stated proudly, "Why?"
"I just wanted to say nice job," said Naruto as his look turned into a sickly sweet smile that caused him to frighten even Sai. He pressed his palms together and said, "Let me show you my senbon. Wood Release: Splinter Senbon!"
He aimed his fingers at the three and multiple senbon shot from his fingertips. The genin were all shocked from this new problem to even consider moving. Only the leader and one carrying a crossbow had enough brains to move. The one frozen in spot became a human pincushion, senbon was sticking from almost every inch of one side of his body. The Konoha genin all took a step back from the enraged blonde boy and had their own thoughts running through their minds.
H-Holy shit...He's...brutal...wait, maybe I can steal that technique! Sasuke thought, activating his Sharingan and aiming his eyes at the blonde. The second he did so, his eyes started to burn and he dropped to the ground clutching his face, groaning in pain. Gah, again? Why can't I copy anyone's techniques! Why!
A-A Mokuton user! Sai thought, Danzo-sama will want to learn of this immediately!
Mokuton? But I thought there was only one surviving child of that experiment! The silver haired genin thought, Did another survive and bear a child? If so, where is he or she? I must inform Orochimaru-sama!
Naruto turned to the other two genin and pressed his hands to the ground, "Wood Release: Root Spears!"
This time the crossbow user failed to escape. His body was pierced by three nearby roots of a tree that had a few arrows in it. The leader landed on a branch above the blonde. He smirked behind his breathing mask.
"Looks like you got two out of three," he said, "But will you be able to get me?"
"Playtime's over, asshole," growled the blonde as he ran towards a tree to his right. To everyone who could watch's shock, he molded into the tree and vanished. The Konoha genin were looking everywhere for him, as was the last remaining Ame genin. A thought occurred in the leader's mind and he put his hands into the ram seal.
"KAI!" the leader Ame genin shouted, flaring his chakra. He opened his eyes and saw that there was still no sign of the blonde.
"The Uchiha might have had to resort to genjutsu, but I don't," a voice said from everywhere at once. Despite this, the Ame genin tried again and again, earning mocking laughter from the blonde. The Ame genin backed into the tree and shook in fear, despite trying to calm himself.
"WHERE ARE YOU?" he roared, "FACE ME COWARD!"
"If that's what you want," a voice said from behind him. The Ame leader slowly turned and, to his horror, saw the blonde slowly emerge from the tree with a large wooden spear in his hand. The blonde extended it and impaled the genin through the stomach. The Ame leader cried out in pain, only for Naruto to twist the spear, earning another pained cry.
"Die," Naruto said, fully separated from the tree, as he pulled the spear back and drove his foot into the rain nin's face. The impact shattered not only the mask of the Ame nin, but had enough force behind it to destroy a fully grown redwood. You can do the calculations from here, I'd expect.
When the body hit the forest floor with a thud, Naruto dropped down and stormed over to the Uchiha. He grabbed the Heir by the collar of his shirt and snarled.
"Don't use Katon in my forest ever again!" the blonde snarled. Seeing the pale one approaching in his peripheral vision, he tossed the Uchiha back 'lightly'. Sasuke landed in a roll a good ten feet away from the blonde. Sai went for his brush, but suddenly found his hands bound by vines. Naruto's tribal markings never stopped glowing and his eyes were narrowed.
"Don't," he warned the amateur artist, "You have both scrolls. I told Pinky there that I wanted you all out of my forest. I mean it. Get your bastard eye user and get the fuck out."
Sai simply smiled at the blonde's words, "If that is what you want...Dickless."
Naruto didn't react. Visibly anyway. The vines tightened and tugged at the bound arms of the artist. Sai blinked in shock and tried to pull back, only to find himself at this blonde's mercy. He clenched his teeth in order to keep from screaming in pain. Luckily for him, the silver haired genin came to his aid.
"Would you please let my friend go?" the medic asked the blonde, "He didn't mean it. He's very new to talking to people."
"Same here," the blonde replied, "I talk to trees. That doesn't excuse insulting your host."
"This is true," the medic said with a small frown, "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."
"I never gave it. Nor did you give me yours."
"Ah, yes. Forgive me. I am Kabuto."
"..."
"...Now you tell me your name."
"What if I don't feel like it?"
"I could always force it out of you."
"...you were there when I killed those three genin without a sweat, right? Plus, you're in my forest. Major disadvantage."
"...You're absolutely right..."
"That and I don't need to fight a worthless battle if it means harming my forest. Kaa-san is already very displeased with me and at my reactions."
"...May I know your Kaa-san's name?"
"...Gaia."
"...Gaia? I don't understand..."
"Exactly. Take these fools to the tower and leave. None of you are welcome back in my forest. EVER."
"But we're wounded...we won't be able to make it overnight if we're jumped."
"Not my problem."
"Uh, excuse me?" Sai butted in through gritted teeth. When both boys looked at him, he tried to smile but it came out pained, "C-Could you release me now? I-I am very sorry for my words."
"That's all I needed to hear," the blonde said, the glow of his body fading and the vines around Sai's arms going slack. He rubbed his arms and looked at Kabuto with what was the equivalent of a glare. For Sai anyway. Naruto simply turned on his heel and walked back to the trees.
"Wait!" Kabuto cried, "What is your name?"
Naruto stopped and without turning around said, "I go by Mokusei."
"M-Mokusei?" Kabuto repeated with shock. Oh god. The legendary guardian of the forest of death! His story has spread through Konoha for the past 5 years! And he's only a child! Amazing!
Sai was having similar thoughts, his face still clear of emotion. His mind was officially blown away though. Every ROOT shinobi knew the rumor of a 'Mokusei' living in the Forest surrounding Konoha that had started when the Tokujo Hayate returned with Anko Mitarashi and Iruka Umino unconscious and the traitor Mizuki in his custody. He even told the Hokage and council of this, but they all laughed it off and believed it to be a delusion of his illness. Even Danzo believed it to be a story, a good one, but a story nonetheless.
"Yes. Now leave my forest...Or die," the blonde said, still not turning around. Kabuto and Sai exchanged a glance and turned to grab the two unconscious members of Team 7. They darted off towards the tower in the 'center' of the Forest of Death. Naruto waited five minutes before nodding and walking back into the tree and heading home.
He was going to be busy for the rest of this exam.
AN: Hi, Alex here, if anyone is wondering Bones made the Wood Style: Gaia's Transport from The Melt. Not me he owns that name and jutsu and has given me permission to use it in this story only, any other jutsu is their owners creation and belong to the owner. I will list any Jutsus that i have created here in the bottom.
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Digital reaper signing out.