Mr. Nobody: Hello readers! My apologies for this story being so horrendously late… just that I am at that phase in life during the transition from college to real life… been quite distracted for a while, and hadn't the time to actually sit and write anything… My updates will be slow, but I hope they will still meet you, the reader's… satisfaction. Anyway, onto the story. Enjoy!
Welcome Home
"YOU WERE THE YONDAIME MIZUKAGE?" 9 yelled out in exasperation.
"Technically, it wasn't me exactly. It was my past life, Yagura, who was the fourth Mizukage. Plus, I wouldn't be that impressed, Yagura was the Mizukage who issued for the destruction of those with bloodline limits. At least, that's all I can remember. The rest goes foggy after that…" 3 stated, as he sat fixing his robotic leg with scrap parts found inside of the cart. While 9's clones were pulling the cart, 3 went on to tell the tales of his past life to the original 9, who sat enjoying the stories being told.
"Still, that is so cool. I was the Rokudaime Hokage way back when. Or, at least I think I was." 9 stated, scratching his head as if searching for the memory.
"Don't rush the memories; they'll come back to you in time." 3 said.
"So why again do you and the others go by numbers instead of your real names?" 9 decided to ask. "I mean, Yagura sounds like a better name than 3."
"Because it doesn't matter that we have the memories of our past lives, we are someone different this time around. The past is the past. The best thing to do is move on. We were all given our names by the marks on our bodies, and that is what we go by." 3 stated flatly, pointing at the '3' mark on his torso. "Besides… in my opinion, 9 sounds better than being called 'Fishcake.'" 3 joked.
9 gave him a flat look, showing he was not amused.
"There we go, good as new, or good enough for now." 3 stated, flexing his robotic leg. "I should be able to help move the cart. Plus we are getting close to our hideout."
"Great, because my clones are starting to look ragged." 9 pointed, showing his clones looking dead on their feet. "I should probable dismiss them to save my chakra so I can help out too." 9 stated as he put up the hand sign for dismissing his clones.
Poof!
All the clones had disappeared, the red chakra returning to 9's body, seeping through the fabric of his burlap flesh.
"Too bad, I was hoping they could help us out with pulling the cart the whole way. But I guess we should just be glad we are so close to the… Hey! Are you ok?" 3 stated worriedly, as 9's face instantly went blank. Suddenly, 9's body fell over, completely turned off and unresponsive.
"Darn. The clones must have transferred their thoughts to him and they probably were depleted. And here I was hoping to have him help with pulling the cart. Oh well… better get moving." 3 complained. He then proceeded with singlehandedly pulling the cart, making his way towards the ruins of a broken down monastery with broken down rusted iron walls and two broken statues on either side of the gate, still a mile away by human standards, and not to mention having a lot of stairs to up to.
"Damn it! Why did you have to pick now to go unconscious?" he stated grumpily.
TARGET LOST…
PROCESSING…
The "Cat Beast" looked up in surprise. Earlier, the energy source it was following was lit up like a beacon, easy to track and follow with its Chakra detectors. Now the chakra source had just suddenly vanished, as if it was never there. It began processing and reviewing its current programming…
FORMER DIRECTIVE: TRACK MASSIVE ENERGY SOURCE AND SIGNAL THE LOCATION OR RETRIEVE THE ENERGY SOURCE.
OBJECTIVE STATUS: ENERGY SIGNAL LOST.
SYSTEM COMMAND: SENDING REPORT TO HOST ADDRESS…
SYSTEM STATUS: AWAITING COMMAND…
The "Machine" came back online after going into sleep mode to preserve the limited energy it had left. It was receiving a signal from its scout.
CONNECTING TO WIRELESS NETWORK…
CONNECTION ESTABLISHED.
RECEIVING DATA… DATA RECEIVED.
The "Machine" began to process all the information that it had received, and began to analyze the available options for the current situation.
Thanks in part to the rebels; it was greatly low on energy, due to missing the human energy resource that provided it constant energy to use. It was now only running on preserve energy, only sparing enough for the smaller units that scavenged for energy, or salvaged parts.
The "Cat Beast" was designed to scavenge and hunt for energy, and due to its small size, didn't waste too much energy to run. It was a device developed by the "Machine" to either locate a large energy source, preferably human, and send a signal of its location, or bring back small biological fauna to use as a substitute energy source instead. On its own, it was not combat efficient, and from the feedback the "Cat Beast" had provided of the fight, and considering the doll units outnumbered the "Cat Beast," it would be logical to have it hold back and continue tracking the doll units, and continue monitoring them. It will also send out some of its recon units to investigate the area in which the "Cat Beast" originally found the dolls. In the meanwhile, the "Machine" will construct a new unit created with the purpose of combating and capturing the doll units.
SENDING NEW DIRECTVIE THROUGH WIRELESS NETWORK…
DATA RECEIVED…
PROCESSING NEW OBJECTIVE: CREATE COMBAT EFFICIENT DRONE…
OBJECTIVE CONFIRMED…
BEGINING CONSTRUCTION…
It transmitted the new directive to the "Cat Beast," and then began constructing the new device, using various and random parts, one of which was an old Kusarigama (chain scythe) that was being held by a skeletal Shinobi corpse. After some buzzing, sparks flying, and connecting parts, the "Machine" was finished, a figure with a red glowing optic at the center, and the "Kusarigama" attached to the top, the new device hissed and whirred, showing it was ready for its prime directive.
Another picture of static went through his eyes, another image trying to tune in, blinking in and out as the memory played out, and images of a figure standing opposite of him on the other side of a battle field. He was seeing Naruto's memories again. The other person was a young man around the same age of Naruto, with black hair in the shape and color of a raven's wing. He wore a black cloak with red clouds on the design of it, which matched up perfectly with his incredibly pale skin. He stared back at Naruto with crimson red eyes.
"So *buzz* see you *buzz* finally ac*buzz*plished *buzz*ur goal dobe. Or shou*buzz* I say, 'Rokudaime *buzz*kage?'" the figure stated, static cutting some of the scenes out.
"Last cha*buzz* Sas*buzz* *buzz*ease end this now!" Naruto yelled out.
"Naruto. You always *buzz* such *buzz* fool." The young man responded. "After I capt*buzz* you, I will *buzz*pletely erase th*buzz* self serving *buzz*lage of Konoha, and finally, my veng*buzz* will be complete. All things related to me will cease to exist, and then will I know peace."
"So, *buzz* have completely *buzz* your ties Sas*buzz*. Then I have no choice, prom*buzz* or *buzz*, I will stop you and Pain from destroying Kono*buuuuuuuuzzzzzzz*" Naruto stated, just before the picture went black.
Blink! Blink!
He blinked his optics a few times. He awoke to see a lot of sharp objects hanging above his head. Suddenly, 3 appeared in 9's sight, with a pair of mini-scissors opened and ready to cut. To say 9 freaked out would be understatement, for he quickly knocked the scissors out of 3's hands.
"Whoa whoa, easy now! Just cutting a loose thread on your shoulder." 3 exclaimed, placing his hands up complacently. 9 looked over his own body and saw some fresh brand new thread was sowed into him, a long loose thread sticking out of his shoulder. 3 picked up the scissors, then moved slowly, cutting the loose string. "There we go. You had some slight tears here and there that were probably from the fight, so I decided to patch you up."
9 looked around and saw he was lying on a bed made from balled up cotton, wrapped up in stitched up fabric. The room he was in looked to be a small hole in the wall, perhaps created by insects or rodents gnawing on the wood. The hole was covered by some fabric, and the hole in the wall was illuminated by a single eight watt light bulb. There were sewing needles and spools of thread lying about in the room.
"Sorry, I was having a tense dream." 9 stated, rubbing the back of his head.
"Let me guess, a memory of some battle from your past life?" 3 asked.
"I guess… oh and thanks for the… uh… mending?" 9 nervously said.
"Yeah, I kind of thought you should look good before meeting everyone else." 3 stated.
Thump! Thump!
Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps began to make its way towards the two, and then a large figure stepped into the room. Compared to the six inch dolls, the doll that walked in must have been ten inches tall, quite huge to them, and his robotic parts looked quite bulky and much more heavily armored, showing that his body was built for close range combat.
On his head was what looked like a sake cup, small enough to resemble a conical straw hat, some bandages wrapped in place to hold the hat in place, also wrapped around his face was a leather material covering his mouth and nose region of his face and going down to his shoulders. He was wearing what looked like the top part of a ripped up black Gi, only covering his back, shoulders, and the sides of his chest; he also wore leather wraps around his ankle area of his legs.
His burlap skin looked as though the seams were not as finely cross-stitched as it should have been, leaving small gaps and groves in his fabric. His eyes were the color of a reddish-brown, and a white horses tales swayed behind his back. On the side of his left arm was the number 5 in green glowing ink, and strapped to his back was a human's kunai, almost as big as he was tall.
He scanned the area, peering over 3, until he spotted 9's surprised form. He then let out a low growl, clearly upset about something.
"Uh, hey there 5, I was just finishing up. The new guy just woke up, and I was about to bring him up to meet everyone else." 3 said nervously.
5 just stared angrily at the two, gave a low growl, and then motioned his head to follow him out of the hole in the wall.
"Boy… isn't he a bundle of joy…" 9 stated sourly. Either 5 didn't hear him, or choose to ignore his comment.
The two dolls followed 5 out of the room, going through the makeshift door, and out into a large monastery hall. 9 saw that the place looked old, creaky, and abandoned, showing century's worth of dust and decay. In fact, if it wasn't for their small size, he assumed that they would have fallen through the rotten floorboards. Just in case, he was wary of his step, and made sure not to step on anything too weak to support his weight.
They made it to a bucket attached to rope, resembling a makeshift elevator, and all three jumped inside. 5 then grabbed a rope, and began to pull all of them up. They were heading up to an attic or perhaps to the bell tower. There were many rotted holes on the roof, allowing light from the outside to peer in, and the floor looked the same as the bottom floor. 9 looked around, catching sight of a figure in the corner of the room blowing bubbles.
"Huh, that looks familiar. I feel like I've seen that before." 9 stated with a confused stare. 9 looked ahead to where they were walking, and spotted a small throne in their size made from random materials.
Sitting on that throne was another doll, this one with brick colored hair tied back into a ponytail. On his face, a leather patch was sewn on covering above where the nose and up his forehead would be, and covering his cheeks as well, and a sewn on brick colored fabric for the lower part of his face making it resemble a beard on his chin and around his mouth. He was wearing a golden ring like a crown on his head, with sapphire jewel in the center. He wore a red short Yukata with long sleeves, and around his waist was a big leather strap, held together by a zipper, almost resembling some armor for a Samurai. Coming out his rear was a long fuzzy red monkey tail, and on his leg, printed in green ink was the number 4. In his hand was a Senbon needle with a hook tied to the non sharp end of it, tied or melded together with metal wiring.
The guy in the throne had a frown on his face. He proceeded to stand up, showing his 6' inch height, with a bit of a slouch in his stance, and he began to walk toward 9 and 3, using the needle-hook as a cane.
"You have a lot to explain 3. Like for instance…" He then pointed the end of his cane towards 9. "Where did you find him?"
3 sternly looked the elderly rag in the eyes, matching his hard gaze. "We were running low on supplies, and my leg was beginning to come apart, so I knew it needed repairs. In order to get the supplies, I excavated the scraps in the old caves at the place of our beginning. I came across him while I was searching for the needed materials. I apologies 4 for my impatience and disobeying your orders, it will not happen again."
"YOU IDIOT! Do you have any idea what might have happened. Did you run into any of the machines?" 4 asked infuriatingly.
"Well, we did technically run into the "Cat Beast," but thanks to 9, we were able to get rid of it." 3 stated. "What's more, he helped with the supplies, which I had to leave half way here when he dispersed his shadow clones."
"Did you say he used Shadow clones? Don't you know that using Shadow clones permeates chakra? You could have given away our location." 4 yelled at 9.
"Easy 4, we saw the "Cat Beast" get buried under some pieces of rubble." 3 coaxed, hoping to calm 4 down.
9, having enough, decided to speak what was on his mind. "Besides, how was I supposed to know, I just woke up. And for that matter, do you mind explaining WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON AROUND HERE?" 9 yelled out.
"Hmm. Very well, if we must." 4 solemnly mumbled. "Hey 6! Provide us with an image."
As 4 said that, the bubbles from earlier began to move toward the center of the room, black splotches filling up the inside. The black splotches then began to take shape inside the bubble, taking the form of a figure strapped to some kind of machine, spikes jutting out the back of the figure.
"We don't remember how or why. But long ago, the humans were terrorized and oppressed by a tyrant who went by the name of Pain. Apparently, he was collecting some large beasts of some kind for some power hungry purpose, and in the process, caused a rebellion to be formed." 4 narrated.
The ink inside of the bubble took shape again, taking the shape of some kind of mechanical looking spider. "In a desperate attempt to retaliate against pain, they created the "Machine." We're not sure of the details, but apparently the "Machine" won its fight, but began to eradicate life."
Suddenly, the ink took the shape of a people running, and in another bubble, it showed the image of a man shaped thing, launching some kind of projectile at the people, supposedly killing them. Another bubble appeared, the black ink taking the shape of smaller ragdoll like figures, hiding out of sight.
"When we first woke up, it was war. Some humans tried to fight back, but only succeeded in giving the "Machine" more materials and energy. You see, it runs on natural energy and chakra. Without its proper source of life, it will eventually die out from lack of energy. Because of how our bodies are built, it cannot detect our chakra, and has to visually find us. It is our task to remain hidden and safeguard this place, until all of the machines are put to rest. And because there is so little in supply, it grows weaker every day."
"Ok, I think I get it, but why not go and attack it while it's weakened. That would be much quicker than just waiting for it to eventually kick the bucket." 9 asked.
"As I mentioned earlier, fighting it risks the chance of gaining more materials for its other machines, or gaining the energy and chakra from whatever it assimilates. Even though it has yet to find a way to extract our energy fully…" 4 winced a bit, instinctually putting his hand over the right side of his torso, gripping the cloth of his red Yukata. "It can still drain us and use our bodies as fuel, albeit slowly. There were others who believed we shouldn't waste time…" The black ink in the bubbles began to take a different form, turning into the numbers 1, 2, 7, and 8. "We do not know what has become of them though. They might still be alive and still fighting, captured and being drained of their energy or somewhere laying dead and destroyed. In the end, they all chose their paths, just as we have ours. Their mission is theirs, while mine is the survival of as many as possible."
"So are you just going to leave them for dead? You're not even going to go looking for them?"
He then took the hook of his cane, and swiftly wrapped it around 9's neck, lifting him up into the air. "Know this, if you dare threaten our survival, I will not hesitate to do away with you. Understand…" 4 threatened.
9 sternly looked 4 in the eyes, and nodded his head in understanding. "You don't have to worry about me. I'll make sure my actions don't affect you guys." 9 defiantly said.
4 continued to stare at 9, and finally he released him, walking back to his chair. "See that you don't, and you may do as you wish. After all, for the success of the mission, sacrifices must sometimes be made."
9 continued to stare at 4's back, and suddenly another memory began to play out in his mind…
A scene of the masked man with silver hair was standing next to a memorial, and he was speaking to Naruto, and the other two kids. "*buzz* Know this… those who don't follow the rules are scum. But those who would betray their comrades *buzz* are worse than scum…*buzz*" 9's mind returned back to the room, his vision returning to the back of 4.
"How far did you leave the supplies out?" 4 asked 3.
"I'd have to say at least a little ways away, at the bottom of the stairs of the Monastery. I couldn't push it up by myself." 3 answered.
"Very well. Take the new guy, and bring the supplies here. But be sure not to get caught." 4 warned, returning to his spot in his chair.
As the two left the room, a figure began to move out of the shaded area where the bubbles had originated. A pair of golden eyes stared out of the shadows as the figure attempted to peek from behind a support without leaving the confines of his hiding spot. His eyes followed 9 as he left, a look of remembrance shining within those glowing orbs of his. "Naruto…" he whispered
"Before we head out, let's set you up." 3 stated as they walked into another nook in the wall.
"Set me up?" 9 asked.
"If you haven't noticed, each of us are dressed and carry around our own makeshift weapons. The "Machine's" minions could attack us at any time, so we carry a weapon at all times. As for the clothes, that's optional… but some of us feel comfortable wearing them for our own reasons. Me… I like to wear them because it gives me individuality." 3 explained.
"Individuality? You have a tortoise shell on your back. I don't think you can get any more individualistic than that!" 9 commented.
"Oh shut up…" 3 snapped.
The two entered the nook, and it revealed an assortment of cloths and clothing just meant for their size.
"How the hell do you guys have so much clothing in our size?" 9 asked incredulously.
"Most of these outfits are clothes from dolls or action figures. Back when 7 was around though, she would make a whole line of clothing for us, and 1 would usually help her out." 3 then had a look of sadness on his face, remembering the missing dolls.
9 decided to browse through, and try to find something. It wasn't until he came across a red and black duster with black flames at the trim did he stop, and he began to stare at the jacket.
At that moment, another flashback began to go through 9's eyes again, coming in like a static picture on a screen. It was a battle field, and there Naruto stood, wearing a red duster with black flames at the trim, worn and torn from fighting. He stood before six figures, all of them with the same eyes, and Sasuke, his red eyes staring menacingly at him. In Naruto's right hand, a spiraling sphere of blue energy swirled. Before anything could be said or done, the picture blacked out, returning 9 to his senses, staring at the red duster before him.
"Huh, what is it?" 3 asked.
"I don't know, this thing just seems familiar…" 9 drawled.
3 stared at 9's face, and recognized the familiarity in his optic eyes. "This is the one for you." He smiled.
A few minutes later…
9 steps out now wearing a black bandana with the red and black duster, a hole in the back of it made for his tail.
"Looks good on you, like it was made for you. That one was one that was specially designed by 7 herself." 3 commented.
"You seem to really admire her… What's she like?" 9 asked.
"In her past life, she wasn't a bad person, just mistreated." 3 stated sadly. "When we first met her, she was very aggressive towards us, not wanting to be with anyone. But as time went on, she slowly began to open up. She is really sweet when you get to know her…" He then took a breath, and sighed, eyes becoming focused. "We should get going. Grab anything you can for a weapon. Trust me, you'll need it." 3 stated, his hand pointing in the direction of random tools and objects.
9 nodded, randomly grabbing a metric wrench that was around his size, if not a little bigger, and used a worn belt buckle to strap it to his back. He then followed after 3, moving quickly to catch up with the turtle like unit.
"I will be honest… not being able to see out one eye isn't all that bad… I still have the other eye functioning properly, plus, it helps me to better focus on one thing at a time." 3 explained, conversing with 9 as they searched around for the cart.
"Not that I mind talking with you, but are we close to the cart yet?" 9 decided to ask.
"It should be around here somewhere…" 3 stated.
Both 9 and 3 were outside, walking through the large wasteland at the bottom of the stairs.
"I don't see it anywhere..." 9 stated.
"Oh, that's because I covered it with a brown tarp before I left it. You can't be too careful out here." 3 answered, his optic still scanning the area. "Whoop… there it is!" He stated as he pointed toward a bulging mound of brown.
The two ran toward it, lifted the tarp off, and 3 began overlooking it to make sure all the supplies were still there.
"Looks like everything is still here. Alright, help me carry this up without using your chakra. We don't want to draw too much attention."
As the two began to get ready to pull the cart up the stairs, 3 caught sight of something that would have made him pale, had he been capable of that. He caught sight of the red optic of the 'Cat Beast' in the distance, coming their way.
"Shit." He muttered, quickly pushing 9's head down, hiding behind the carts. "It's that 'Cat Beast.' Keep your head down. I had hoped that thing was destroyed… it must have followed the chakra of your Shadow Clones when you used them…"
"What does it take to kill this thing?" 9 whispered harshly.
"Obviously, a lot more than what we did. Fortunately, I don't think it's seen us. Still, we will have to make sure it is destroyed before it sends out any messages to its base and reveals our location." 3 mumbled.
They both then began to draw their respective weapons, preparing to sneak attack the 'Cat Beast.'
"When I give the signal, throw everything you got at it. Don't hold back. We need to make sure we kill this thing." 3 whispered.
"Right." 9 nodded, gripping the metric wrench tightly.
They both could hear the heavy foot falls of the beast as it approached the carts, both keeping low with their backs against the cart's side. If 9 had a heart, he would be hearing it as it was rapidly beating.
They could hear the mechanism's of the beast right behind them as it moved closer to its target.
"Ok… NOW!" 3 yelled.
They both jumped from behind the carts, the 'Cat Beast' caught by surprise. Thinking quickly, 3 positioned his dentist pike to strike the beast's optical eye. The pike came down with enough force to pierce the glass optic, causing cracks to form where it was stabbed. 9 decided to aim low, jumping over the carts and aiming for the 'Cat Beast's' right claw with his metric wrench, successfully striking the joint in the wrist area, causing a slight limp to the metal beast.
Violently, the beast began to shake its head, flinging 3 off of its eye, the pike coming off as well. Though, thanks to the cracks, it was nearly blind, seeing everything in a refracted form. It began to wildly thrash about, knocking over the carts in the process, forcing the two dolls to back away.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" 9 yelled out, his red chakra pouring out of his body, forming into identical clones. "Charge!" He yelled out.
Meanwhile, 3 ran to a murky puddle of water, and began to form another stream of hand seals. Suddenly, 3's chakra exited out his body, lifting the murky water in front of him. "Water style: Ice Darts Jutsu!" Suddenly the water in front of him took the shape of shards of ice, and rapidly launched them towards the 'Cat Beast.'
The 'Cat Beast' reacted by swiping at any clones that came too close and as for the ice, it was pelted a few times, but its metal outer shell prevented any serious damage from being caused. The 'Cat Beast' then suddenly realized that the two doll units had a slight advantage compared to the last fight. The 'Cat Beast' wasn't developed for major combat, and though it could probably take on one of them at a time, or one and the other in disrepair like last time, this time, there were two fully functioning units, which apparently shifted the odds into their favor. Not only that, but they also had the advantage of surprise on their side…
DAMAGE REPORT: OPTICAL SENSORY DAMAGED, VISUAL AT 30% CAPACITY; LOWER MOTORY LIMB DAMAGED, MOTOR FUNCTOINS AT 82% CAPACITY…
ENEMY STATUS: DETECTING TWO FULLY FUNCTIONAL ENEMY TARGETS...
UNIT STATUS: THIS UNIT IS AT A DISADVANTAGE
PROCESSING SOLUTION…
SOLUTION FOUND…
SIGNAL FOR NEARBY ALLY UNITS.
SIGNALLING…
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" a voice rang out.
The 'Cat Beast' looked up, and though its sight was limited, it could see through multiple cracks riddling the optic, and what it saw, its vision was filled with the sight of a battalion of 9, more than last time, all flying towards it, intending to dog pile it. It attempted to move out of the way, but thanks to the right claw, it couldn't move fast enough, and was successfully piled on top of.
"Good Work 9! Hold it still for me!" 3 yelled out. He then began going through a series of seals.
The 'Cat Beast' attempted to struggle against the brigade of 9 clones, but due to its optic sensor being cracked, its right claw being damaged, and the fact that there were enough clones to weigh it down, its struggle wasn't enough.
When 3 finished his seals, his chakra lifted the water again, and in an instant, the water puddle suddenly shot into the air, into the clouds.
"Water Style: Storm Upheaval!" He yelled out.
It then began to rain with a slow drizzle in the area of the 'Cat Beast' and the Shadow Clones. The real 9 took that as his cue to move away from the 'Cat Beast,' and just as he jumped back, a downpour of water crashed into the 'Cat Beast,' all of the Clones dispersing from the down pouring pressure. The water was beginning to mess up the Beast's circuits, and the pressure was preventing the beast from moving.
As fast as his legs could go, 3 ran towards the beast, into the heavy torrent of water, his hands going through signs as he ran. "Ice style: Ice Prison Jutsu!"
In an instant, all the droplets of water and the drenched 'Cat Beast' were instantaneously frozen solid, leaving a very excellent looking ice sculpture.
"That was awesome man!" 9 yelled out.
"That should hold for a while… I used more water this time to secure it." 3 stated, slightly winded from using too much chakra. "Now that it's imprisoned, we can take our time in destroying it. I don't have any more chakra to destroy something like this. How about you? Got any Jutsu for the job?"
"I can't remember… it's like the memory is there, but it's covered by a fog." 9 stated, slightly rubbing his head.
"That's to be expected… I guess we'll have to go back to base and… LOOK OUT!" 3 yelled out, tackling 9 to the ground. Just as he did that, a large hook connected to a chain flew overhead in a horizontal swing.
The hook then latched onto the frozen sculpture of the 'Cat Beast,' and began to pull it back to its source. The chain was retracted by a motorized pulley, which was connecting to a series of multiple chains. What the two dolls then saw was another beast made up of mostly chains and attachments at the end of the chains. The top that would have resembled the head was a Kasarigama's scythe, and below that, buried under a mesh of chains was a single red optic eye. At its side were two thin stick-like robotic arms, both holding a chain with a hook attached, giving it a preying mantis look. On its back were two of the motorized pulleys, one on its front between the arms. The rest of the machine's body was covered by the mesh of chains, and the beast's lower area were some chains that were dragging, thus making it resemble a snake made of smaller snakes meshed together with mantis-like arms.
"What the hell is that?" 9 yelled in shock.
"The 'Cat Beast' must have called for reinforcements! As for what it is, it must be a new monster the 'Machine' created!" 3 yelled, grabbing his Dentist pike, preparing for battle.
"The 'Machine?' What is that?" 9 yelled out.
"It's the reason behind the Mechanical Beasts roaming about! I'll tell you more after!" 3 explained, never taking his eyes off the new robotic beast.
The 'Kusarigama' slithered in front of the 'Cat Beast,' and suddenly launched its Scythe head towards 3 and 9, both jumping to the sides to avoid the incoming sharp projectile. The giant scythe embedded into their cart, nearly splitting it in half. The chain that connected the 'Kusarigama' to its scythe then began to retract back to the beast, being pulled back by a mechanical crank inside of it. The scythe then began to drag the cart back, scythe still embedded, at a great velocity.
"Look out!" 9 yelled, pushing 3 down out of the way as the cart almost rolled over them, flying over their heads, random parts 3 had gathered falling out.
The scythe then latched back into place with an audible click, and taking its hooks, latched them to the cart, unlatching from the Scythe, and then began to spin the hooks and cart around with the skinny mechanical arms, the chain connected extending, lengthening the spinning chains range. The mechanical arms then shifted the chains toward 3 and 9, bringing the entire cart towards them like a chained hammer.
9 and 3 jumped back, avoiding being crushed, but sent flying back by the force of the impact, both getting separated further. The hooks then detached from the chain, and the chains retracted back to the 'Kusarigama,' the mechanical arms switching out new chains with hooks. One of the hooked chains then shot out toward the fallen 3, hooking him on his newly repaired leg, and reeling him in.
"Shit! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" 9 yelled out, summoning forth six clones, all of them grabbing 3 and attempting to pull the hook off, while pulling 3 back.
"Forget about me! Run for it while you can!" 3 yelled.
"I ain't going to leave you behind!" one of the 9s yelled out. Suddenly, 9's vision began to tune out again, going back to the picture of static again. "Shit! Not now!"
The static image of Naruto again, only this time, he was falling down a large ravine, no sign of the bottom in sight. Suddenly, Naruto bit his thumb, performed some hand signs, and called out "Summoning Jutsu!" and in a puff of smoke, a large toad appeared. The image then cut off.
"Okay! It's worth a shot! Summoning Jutsu!" 9 attempts to bite his thumb, and perform the hand signs, pushing chakra into it, but nothing happened. He looks down at his hand, and see's that his metallic thumb didn't have any cuts on it.
"You dumbass! You don't have any blood anymore! And even if you did, the summon contract would most likely not have you registered! You're not the same you!" 3 yelled, his leg already straining with the makeshift repairs he did about to snap. The 9 clones all pulled, the seams of 3's leg tearing and ripping. Finally, his leg was torn right off, sending the hooked leg back to the beast, while 9 and 3 fell away from the inertia.
"Come on, I'm getting you out of here!" 9 yelled, as two of his clones began to carry 3 by his arms, jumping off just as another hook tried to latch on to them.
"Leave me… with one leg, I'll only slow you down…" 3 pleaded.
"I don't leave my comrades behind!" 9 yelled back, watching as the 'Kusarigama' was slithering just behind them, leaping away from the chained hooks sent in their direction.
"From your actions, I'm going to guess you were a Leaf Shinobi in your past life?" 3 inquired, his one eye looking to the real 9.
"I guess… why you think that?" 9 asked as one of his clones were pulled away by a hook, dissipating soon after.
"Leaf Shinobi always did put morals over their missions… one of their weaker qualities…" 3 stated, in hopes to have 9 leave him.
"Better to be a moral human than to be a tool that follows orders without remorse… I'd never leave an injured comrade to face an enemy alone… even if it was an order… I'd rather give my life than to leave them to die… now shut up and let me save you!" 9 angrily remarked, jumping over a hill of junk debris, nearly getting hit by the Kama scythe of the 'Kusarigama.'
3 digested 9's words for a minute, and then let out a heavy sigh. "If that is the case, then know that… I would rather die fighting than to be dead weight to my comrades." 3's arms then smacked the 9 clones carrying out of existence, letting him fall forward.
The real 9 turned back, skidding to a halt, his eyes widened. "What are you doing?" 9 yelled out.
"What I should have done from the beginning… what any self respecting Mist Shinobi would do… fight to my last!" 3 then slapped his hands together. The 'Kusarigama' stopped its slithering charge, assessing its target's strategy.
Suddenly, grey chakra began to pour out of 3's body, but then began to shift to a red, surrounding his entire structure. The area where his leg had been ripped off, the red chakra began to take the shape of a bulky looking leg, much like a turtles. The chakra that was pouring out pulled and taut at the burlap fabric that made up 3's flesh, and suddenly began to rip through certain patches.
"I'm going to show off something… beastly…" 3 stated. In that instant, a loud ripping sound was made, and from the area that was 3's back, the red chakra took shape around his shell, and explosively busted out, 3 still connected to the chakra. Water began to gather in the area, from either sources of water, the soil, or even from the air itself, and piled up around the red chakra, clumping and freezing together into a clear grey ice like substance. One of the substances took the shape of an arm that clawed out at the 'Kusarigama,' the weapon beast slithering back to avoid the strike, but losing many of its chains from the attack.
DANGER! HIGH POWERED ENERGY OUTPUT RAPIDLY RISING…
INITIATING COMBAT FORMATION!
The 'Kusarigama' attempted to counter attack by launching hooks at the building ice structure, the hooks latching on to a giant rock hard shell, and remaining stuck. When the transformation was complete, all the tainted liquid had shaped into a large crystal grey tortoise with a large snapping jaw, three tails, and spikes all over it, the lifeless body of 3 in the heart of this beast. In size comparison, the tortoise would measure about 5 feet in length. Not very large in size, but against the 'Kusarigama,' it was enough of a formidable foe.
9's eyes widened. During the transformation, he had jump back to avoid getting crushed under the size of this new form. "What in the world?"
The tortoise roared out at the 'Kusarigama,' the weapon beast attempting to reel the giant turtle closer, only to find out this monster was incredibly heavy. The Sanbi bit down on the chains connected to the embedded hooks, and then pulled back with its head, forcing the 'Kusarigama' toward it.
The 'Kusarigama' detached its chains, and in midair, flung its Kama scythe toward the Sanbi's neck, planning to lop its head off. The Sanbi looked up in time to pull its head in, taking cover within the confines of its shell, the blade embedding in the ground. The 'Kusarigama' landed on the ground behind the Sanbi, and pulled back its scythe, the blade latching on to the opening of the shell. The mechanical beast then latched on to the shell with more of its hooks, and then pulled it with great force. But the pull was for naught, as yet again, the turtle proved to be too heavy for the mechanical beast to move.
The Sanbi then turned in the direction of the 'Kusarigama,' gathering chakra and water into its mouth, compressing both into a ball. It launched the compressed bullet of water and chakra toward the weapon beast, the 'Kusarigama' slithering to the side to dodge. The water balls hit the ground the 'Kusarigama' was at, exploding and causing a small water filled crater.
The Sanbi then charged toward the 'Kusarigama,' its front legs dragging its large body, and using its front legs and its three tails, launches itself into the air, attempting to land on top of the mechanical beast. The 'Kusarigama' slithered to the side, but didn't move fast enough, and one of its chains caught under the large beast. In an attempt to escape, the 'Kusarigama' launched its Scythe and hooks, wailing them on the head and shell of the turtle. Suddenly, chakra began to build up with water again, this time two balls of water forming at its mouth. It launches both balls forward, the 'Kusarigama' attempting to dodge the liquid bullet, but thanks to the caught chain, its movement was limited, and with two balls hurdling toward it, one of the balls struck the core of the 'Kusarigama,' hitting it with the same explosive force, destroying it.
The core landed in a newly created puddle crater, formed few feet away, the red optic going off line. Without the core, all of servos and chains dropped dead.
At that instant, the oversized three tailed tortoise began crack, and started to crumble apart, the pieces melting back into water, the soil greedily drinking it up. All of it cleared away, until only the form of 3 remained. 3's form was face down on the ground, both his leg's missing, and the components around his stomach mangled and left strung about, a slight glow coming from under his burlap skin.
"Ah! Damn! I pushed it a little too much!" 3 yelled out in a strained voice.
9 rushed out of his hiding spot toward 3, his expression filled with amazement. "That was so awesome! How did you do that?"
3 tries to position himself to face 9, and he grunts before answering. "We're all able to do that…grr … some better than others… just takes time to figure out how…"
"Well it was still awesome… you totally decimated that beast! Why didn't you use it earlier?" 9 asked.
"See the state of my body… that power is a double edged sword… using it slowly destroys your body…" 3 haggardly answered.
"I see… but still, at least we got rid of those machines for now…" 9 then walks over to 3, and hoists him up on his back. "Okay, let's get you back to our hideout, and then I'll collect all the stuff you would need, and then we'll get you fixed up…" 9 reassures.
3 sighs, but accepts. Suddenly, 3 senses something, and then using his tail to hold himself up, and his arms to push 9 away. Just as 9 falls to the ground, the 'Cat Beast' grabs 3 in its jaw, the remains of his broken body hanging limply at the side of the beast's mouth.
"No!" 9 yells, and gets up to attack the beast, grabbing a hook from the ground, and charging forward. Before he even got close to the beast, the feline monstrosity jumps away, and begins to dash off, 3 reaching out to 9.
9 desperately attempts to give chase, but even in its wounded state, the beast proved to be too fast as it charges off in a random direction. As 9 gave chase, he suddenly tripped falling down toward the dead soil, and when he looked up, the 'Cat Beast' was already out of sight. In his anger and frustration, he began to pound the ground, yelling out his sorrow for the barren world to hear, calling out his captured friend's name. "Yagura! I'm sorry! I'll save you! I promise! I promise I will!"
If 9 had tears, he would be surly weeping for his lost comrade, as his optic's burned with a passion to save his new friend, and a rage to tear any machine that would stand in his way.
Okay, hope you all enjoyed this one… if not, my apologies for not updating for so long, and that this chapter did not meet your expectations…
As many of you had seen, I had added my own original Machine Beast, for the sake of this being the Naruto world. My challenge to those who review is this, come up with an idea for a Machine Beast of your own, and suggest it for this story. If I find it appropriate for the story, I'll give you a shout out.
Hopefully, it won't be another whole year before I update again… hope you enjoy.
Signed,
Mr. Nobody
