Gene Therapy Chapter 2 – Dust to Dust, Ashes to Earth
Two Years Later
A pane of ice hung in the air a few centimeters off the ground, two meters tall and half as wide, it was clear as glass and tinted the faintest pale blue. It held a reflection as perfect as a polished mirror. And it was mocking her.
Tsunade frowned at her reflection, and it of course frowned back. "This is just so frustrating!" she said in consternation. "I was doing so well and now I've just hit a road block that I can't seem to get around." She continued to mutter to herself as she slowly walked around the ice sheet, inspecting it from every angle.
"I don't know if you were doing that well Princess, you almost died six months ago splicing that bloodline into yourself." Jiraiya said from his perch on a low hanging branch in the lee of a large tree off to the left. Tsunade had noticed him a couple of minutes ago and had wondered if he was going to reveal himself or just ogle her. It was flattering of course, but it was also disappointingly juvenile.
"I wasn't in that much danger Jiraiya, as usual you exaggerate," she replied. "It was serious, but there was no danger of me dieing with Shizune and Sakura-chan there".
"Could have fooled me," he shot back. Pictures of her tossing and turning, her sweat stained fevered face straining as she twisted in bed filled his head. He'd stayed by her side for two whole days until the fever broke and Shizune pronounced her out of danger.
Tsunade waved his concerns off. "Be that as it may, I recovered quickly and learning to use the Wind element has come as easing as breathing. I can sharpen the Kubikiribocho to an edge that would make the Raikage wary. But dealing with his lightning armor is one thing, hitting him is another. The only one in the village who could do that is probably Gai."
Jiraiya quirked an eyebrow at her, "And how are those mirrors supposed to help?" he asked curiously.
She leaned back against the mirror and said "According to Sasuke, the Hyoton bloodline is in its own way even more incredible than the Mokuton bloodline", and with that she allowed herself to slide back into the mirror, the surface rippling as if it was water rather than solid ice.
Jiraiya leaned forward in interest, and then jumped down from his branch to get a closer look. "Now that is interesting," he said peering into the mirror. Rather than his reflection, he saw the enticing form of Tsunade.
She stepped out of the mirror as smoothly as she entered, "I can do the same with the wood I create if it's big enough, phase in and phase out. If the piece of wood is really big, I can enter it at one point, travel through it and exit it at another point. Haku could do more. He could enter one mirror, create another a considerable distance away and completely unconnected, teleport to it and then exit it. A poor man's Flying Thunder God technique if you will," Tsunade explained in a dry tone.
Jiraiya's mouth dropped open in surprise and he exclaimed "Space time ninjutsu via an advanced chakra bloodline! I've never heard of that before and we faced the Yuki clan plenty of times during the Third Shinobi World War."
"This kid was a true genius," Tsunade answered with grudging admiration. "Naruto said he was an orphan whose abilities with his bloodline were self taught. I'm in a similar position and I've been able to replicate most known abilities. Creating ice, manipulating it to form flying needles or spikes…I've even managed to make these mirrors. But I've no idea how to go further from here," she finished, looking down with an annoyed frown.
Jiraiya shrugged his shoulders apologetically, "I don't know what to tell you Tsunade. I'm pretty good with seals, but Minato was the one to go to for advanced space time ninjutsu. Without being able to talk to someone who's performed the technique I don't know if you'll ever get it down."
Tsunade's head jerked up like she'd been stabbed. "What did you…?" she stopped and bit her lip, looking back down and to the left as Jiraiya looked at her oddly. "You know, Jiraiya that just might be possible," she said softly, trolling for a reaction.
He recoiled in disgust, emphatically denouncing the idea. "No. Absolutely not! Not only does that technique violate the cycle of death and rebirth and the law of entropy, it requires human sacrifice and enslaves a soul's will to the bidding of the master. I can't believe you'd suggest this Princess!" he said aghast.
"Ah, but you're forgetting something important Jiraiya," she chided waging a finger at him.
"What?" he asked eyeing her suspiciously.
"We're shinobi, we kill people and break the laws of physics all the time," she replied sardonically. "I wouldn't use anybody except a criminal whose hands are bathed in blood. Furthermore, as you noted you're quite good with seals. Just because my granduncle used a seal that completely enslaved the soul of the resurrected, doesn't mean we have to, do we?" she asked archly, tilting her head questioningly at him.
He stepped back a bit, chin in hand as he contemplated this. Then he nodded and said, "No, I don't think we do. It's been a long time since I've read that part of the forbidden scroll but I think I could write a seal that gives the target free will," he trailed off, obviously deep in thought. Then he turned his eyes back to her, "Of course then you have to convince the Ice kid to cooperate with you. He might not be pleased with being brought back to life to work for the folks that killed him," he said patronizingly.
"Obviously, but I already have an idea how to do that" she replied. 'Really, if he just stopped to think about what we know about the kid and how we know it, he'd realize the answer,' she thought in amusement. "And if that doesn't work out I can always simply release the technique," she assured him.
Jiraiya reluctantly nodded in agreement, "I suppose you're right Princess. With that adjustment the technique isn't really that bad and the information to be gained is priceless. Still, we're going to have to keep this under the rug. The Elders will definitely not approve."
"Let me worry about those old windbags" Tsunade answered, waving her hand in a dismissive little circle. "You just get to work on that seal."
"Why are you dragging me down to this dreary old dungeon Tsunade?" Naruto whined as they walked down one of the myriad concrete overhanging walk ways that crisscrossed the cavernous underground complexes beneath Konoha. One could see walkways and dripping pipes winding every which way in the distance, from the distant ceiling down to the floor so distant its existence was a blurred haze. Every once in a while the thin thread of a scream could be heard in the midst of the stagnant air currents. "I'm a frontline fighter. I just don't think I'm suited for T&I."
Tsunade ruffled his hair and dodged his attempt to swat her hand away, saying "Oh, I definitely think you'll like what you're going to see today. No doubt about it." And with that she unlocked and opened the door they'd come to at the end of the walk way. It revealed a row of grimy cells, all empty but one. The bars and the walls were covered in intricate seals designed to suppress the chakra of their prisoners. Inside the occupied cell, chained to the wall was a scrawny little man with haunted eyes. Covered in cuts and disfiguring burns, the man had obviously been tortured within an inch of his life.
Naruto jerked to a halt and turned to Tsunade, looking at her cockeyed. "Uh…I gotta say Granny, you don't know my tastes as well as I thought." He stammered in a shell shocked tone.
Tusande slapped him upside the back of his head. "Dumbass, that's not what I meant. And cut the act, I know you've seen worse. This scumbag's an academy washout turned drifter and serial killer from the Earth country who preyed on children. Suffice to say, Anko-chan wasn't pleased to hear about what he done and took her time to welcome him accordingly."
Naruto shuddered and turned back to look at the man, "I bet she did" he said as he flashed back to her welcoming him to the Chunin Exams. The flashing steel of a thrown kunai cutting past his face. Those soft curves pressing up against his back as her tongue lapped up the blood trickling down his cheek.
Shaking the memory off and hoping Tsunade didn't notice his blush he continued, "You know, I'd say I'm surprised she got her hooks into Sasuke, but in his own way he's just as dark and weird as she is." He smiled to himself as he thought of the likely reaction the two would give to that. 'He'd grunt in annoyance and pretend it didn't bother him, while she'd revel in the label and thank me for it.' Thinking of Anko though, a question occurred to him. "Should she really be doing this kind of work while she's six months pregnant?"
Tsunade rolled her eyes, "Kunoichi aren't made of glass Naruto, she could keep this punk under control if she was in labor."
"Can't argue with that Granny. Seriously though if this isn't what you wanted me to see, what is?" he asked in confusion. 'There just isn't anything else here,' he thought as he carefully inspected the room once more.
"Well, one could say that it starts off with what could be called an unusual method of execution," she answered as she pulled out a scroll from jacket. It had been a little more than a month since her little conversation with Jiraiya, and he'd finally come through. She was ready to act. Naruto watched in interest as she deactivated the containment seals and opened the cell. Then Tsunade unfurled the scroll, holding it in her left hand while pulling out a small vial in her left. The scroll had a sealing array inscribed on it, an array that bore a vague similarity to one Naruto recognized.
'This is a summoning technique…what could she be calling' Naruto thought, perturbed. 'Is this dude gonna get eaten alive?'
She kneeled and placed the scroll down before the groaning prisoner and emptied the contents of the vial upon it. Black ink like runes flowed off the scroll onto the grime encrusted floor, forming eldritch seals as they surrounded him on all sides, even crawling up the back of the cell. Five hand seals latter she clapped her hands and flecks of ash and dust began to rise around him. They quickly spiraled around, becoming a virtual blizzard as they encased him like a living tomb, the man wailing in anguish as Naruto watched on in unease.
'This just freaky' Naruto thought, starring at the bizarre spectacle in confusion. "Wait a minute, is that…?" he trailed off dumbfounded as the ash quickly took on the form of another, someone whose silhouette was burned into his mind forever.
"Haku!" Naruto shouted in amazement, taking a few stunned steps forward.
The boy from Kiri seemed to shake himself out of a daze, looking down at his hands and then up at Tsunade in confusion. He opened his mouth to say something, and then gave a start as he noticed Naruto behind her. "Naruto, what's going on? Where am I?" he asked. His mind was spinning, 'Did I survive somehow and just wake from coma? Naruto looks a couple of years older.' He felt something slide into the back of his head, such a peculiar sensation. Not painful, just odd. 'What is that face for?' he thought, watching Naruto's face take on a horrified cast, and then shift back to amazement.
Naruto, having watched Tsunade slide a tagged kunai into the back of Haku's head, then watched in astonishment as the cracks in Haku's skin closed up and color returned to his skin and then his clothes.
For once Uzamaki Naruto was stunned speechless, Tsunade had never thought she'd see the day. "Where you are, is Konoha," she answered Haku's question. "What's going on is I've resurrected you with my granduncle's forbidden technique. However, rather than use a seal to enslave you to my will, I used one that grants you freedom. All I ask is that you serve the Leaf Village loyally, as you served Zabuza."
"Resurrection? Can such a technique truly exist?" Haku asked in awe, running his hands up and down his arms and then his sides as if he was making sure he was real.
"Well it's not truly life, but it's not death either" Tsunade said softly. "If your body is torn apart it'll regenerate. Your chakra will also continuously regenerate as if you were alive, well feed and well rested, so you'll be able to fight at full strength far longer than when you were alive. If despite that you do end up running out of chakra you won't die, you'll just be incapable of casting jutsu until your reserves have had a chance to build back up. Those are the good things," she explained.
"And the bad?" Haku asked with foreboding. He knew nothing that good came without a drawback.
In a solemn voice she replied, "You'll hunger and be unable to eat, thirst and be unable to drink. You'll love and be unable to consummate your desire, live and be unable to grow…and to die." There was an uncomfortable pause. "In many ways you'll be the perfect shinobi, yet maintain our greatest flaw. We are people and people are driven by our emotions."
"That's bullshit!" Naruto exploded. "Feelings aren't a weakness! You can't be strong if you don't have a reason. That's what the Will of Fire is all about."
Haku smiled at him, "Yes, Naruto is right. I'll stay here and protect him, and hopefully the rest of his precious people can become mine. These bonds are all that I need to sustain myself."
Tsuande grinned and reached into her jacket to pull out a Konoha headband. "Well, that's what I'd hoped to hear, but I didn't want to sugar coat anything. You should know what you're getting into."
Haku took the headband from her, and began to take off his old Kiri one. "And what exactly am I getting into? I'm sure you didn't summon me merely for Naruto's sake. There must have been more powerful ninja you could have revived if you were going so far as to use a forbidden technique."
Tsunade was impressed, "Very perceptive" she nodded. "As you may have guessed, I am Tsunade, the world's greatest master of medical ninjutsu. I've managed to splice the genes bearing the Mokuton and Hyoton bloodlines into my genome. I've managed to master the former, but have had more difficulty doing the same with the later. I'd like your help."
"As you wish Lady Tsunade" he murmured, tying the Leaf headband tight.
"Wait a minute" Naruto blurted out. "Back up there. You could have brought back other ninja?" he said with hope clear in his voice.
"Well… yes, as long as I have a sample of their DNA and a live sacrifice it's doable if the target's soul isn't sealed away in some other way," Tsunade answered, unsure of where this was going. To the side Haku looked at her askance upon the mention of a live sacrifice.
Words exploded from Naruto in a rush as he asked desperately, "What about my parents! Do you know who they were? Is it possible to bring them back?"
Tsunade pressed her left hand against her head and sighed in exasperation. 'I should have realized that would be his reaction,' she chided herself. 'Poor kid's been alone his whole life, of course he'd want to see his parents.' "Ugh…this is gonna be a long story so sit down and shut up" she groaned.
Naruto exalted, "So that means yes!"
"Do What I Say", she growled, overloading her words with killing intent.
Naruto blanched, "Ah…sure Tsunade, whatever you say" he said as he sat down on the floor.
"Now I didn't want to tell you this until you were a bit older, but you're a chunin, so I guess it's okay. I can't resurrect your father, and it's for a very good reason. His soul is sealed in the belly of the Death God." Tsunade explained, raising a hand to forestall the obvious question. "It was the price he had to pay to seal the Nine Tailed Fox into his son, the only one he knew could bear the burden" Tsunade told him, stopping there knowing that she wouldn't be able to forestall the next outburst.
Haku jerked in surprise next to Tsunade at the mention of the Nine Tail Fox, and looked at Naruto with sadness, finally understanding how he had been beaten and doubtlessly realizing how Naruto had been treated.
Naruto simply looked confused at first, "Huh? That doesn't make sense…" he stumbled to a halt, and then his eyes flew open wide. "Not unless my father was the Fourth!" he shouted in surprise.
"You got it kid" Tsunade said, relieved she didn't have to spell it out for him.
"But then why? Why didn't I know? Why was I treated so badly?" he asked in sad desperation, pain shining in his deep blue eyes.
Tsunade smile became melancholic, "Few people knew; the Third, Jiraiya and me, a couple of others. That's it." She explained, "The fourth had so many enemies. If they had known you existed, the villages of Hidden Rock and Hidden Could wouldn't have rested until you were dead." Watching him suffer like this was tearing her up inside. 'He doesn't deserve this' she thought mournfully.
"And the best way to keep a secret is for no one to know", Naruto added grimly.
Tsunade agreed, gently saying "That's true, but don't despair. Your mother's another story. She, we can probably bring back."
"We can?" he asked breathlessly.
Tsunade gave him a warm smile, "Yes, and she was a lot like you. A hyperactive knucklehead who just couldn't be kept down, no matter what happened to her. She loved you very much and couldn't wait to meet you."
"Really?" Naruto jumped up; his customary smile snapping back in place. "That's great! I can't wait to meet her. And we can bring back your special people as well Granny, and that bastard Sasuke's and even Kakashi sensei's!" he rambled on.
Tsunade drew in a deep breath, 'Dan… Nawaki,' she thought, their faces flashing in front of her eyes. She couldn't deny that she wanted to, but she had to put her foot down before things got out of hand. "Naruto, we're already breaking village law by bringing Haku back. I can explain that and your mother on narrow national security grounds and ask for exemptions based on that," she said thinking specifically on Kushina's experience as the Nine Tails host. "But if we go around flagrantly resurrecting everyone we ever liked, there's going to be a harsh reaction. The Daimyo and the Fire Temple will get dragged into it and it'll cause a lot of political infighting that could weaken the village," Tsunade explained.
Naruto smirked, "Take it from someone who's broken a lot of rules Tsunade. It's always easier to ask forgiveness than ask permission. After all, as much as they disapprove the means, are they really going to ask you to dispel some badass unkillable ninja that are loyal to the village? Old one eye would pitch a fit!"
Tsunade opened her mouth to object and then closed it. 'He's right' she thought in surprise, 'Danzo would be my biggest supporter on this issue, and he's by far the one most likely to find out about this.'
Naruto seized on the hesitation, "See! You know I'm right. The most they'll do is forbid you from making any more, so lets go all out before we get caught." he insisted. "You deserve to be happy for once."
"I…" Tsunade stuttered to a stop, taking on a look of contemplation. 'I do deserve this, and it will help the village,' she told herself. 'Each and every single one involved with me and team 7 that I would feel comfortable bringing back offers something valuable to the village.' She flicked her eyes down to Naruto's, "bring Sasuke and Kakashi here at this time tomorrow. ANBU division Phoenix will be born that day"
Naruto exploded out of his seat, wrapped her in a hug and spun her around. "That's great Granny! You won't regret this!" He put her down and then he was racing off to do who knows what.
'Probably going to tease Sasuke and hold the fact that he has a secret over his head.'
Tsunade shook her head and smiled at his antics, and pulled out an ANBU mask. The stylized face looking vaguely like a snow bear. She tossed it to Haku, "Put that on and let's head out on to the Senju training yard. I want to get some work in before I hit the cemetery."