The Golden Dragon of the Tribunal
Hey folks I'm back with another chapter for my Naruto TMNT Challenge. Credit for the challenge goes to Challenger so be sure to give him some credit for making such badass challenges. Also like I said in the last chaps, this fic will also be crossed over with others like Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry, etc.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything involving Naruto, TMNT, or anything else but I do own the characters, jutsus, bloodlines, and weapons I created.
Chapter 4: The Dragon's Path Pt. 1
Temple
In a temple that was lit by a few candles were two figures who were sitting in the middle of the floor in the meditative position. They were none other than Kon and his student Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. "While you walk on this earth your spirit walks in another world. What you see with your eyes is only one plane of existence, but what you feel with your heart and chi that is the world of the spirit." Kon-Shisho explained to Naruto and started to levitate in the air. "To be able to communicate with the spirits of the higher plane one must first understand his soul."
"Understand his own soul? How does one do so Shisho?" Naruto asked his master who lowered himself to the ground.
"The body and soul are like yin and yang. One cannot exist without the other. Yin is based on the spiritual energy that governs the imagination and can be used to create form out of nothingness. Yang is based on the physical energy that governs vitality and is used to breathe life into form. These two elements are what make up the cycle of life. If one were to be imbalanced, the consequences can be… catastrophic." He answered while Naruto ponders on what he explained.
"So in other terms my body is the Yang that vitalizes my soul which is my Yin correct?" Naruto asked Kon who nodded.
"Correct. Everything around us from the smallest of plant life to the mightiest of beasts each hold Yin and Yang Chi. Tell me Naruto when you were learning how to convert Nature Chakra into your body were you able to hear anything?" Naruto closed his eyes for a second and then reopened them.
"Yes I was. When I was learning how to use Sage mode I could hear whispers that seemed to be…. guiding me." He answered and a small smile formed on Kon's face.
"That was the Spirit of Nature Naruto. By becoming in tune with nature, you are stronger and more aware of your surroundings. In a sense, nature becomes your eyes and ears." He finished explaining while Naruto remained wide eyed and rubbed the back of his head.
"Wow that's pretty cool. So what about the explanation of fully understanding ones soul like my own for example?" Naruto asked Kon.
"In order to do so Naruto you must take a journey into the realm of the spirits. In order to do so you must first free yourself from your physical form. To do that you must clear your mind of all thoughts and stay focused using your chi to guide your spirit and understand its inner desires." He replied.
"Got it." Naruto breathed in and breathed out a couple of times before relaxing his body and closed his eyes in order to concentrate. His body started to relax a golden aura formed around his body as did the golden patterns from the glowing amulet. His body started to slowly hover into the air but remained still. Kon watched this occur and decided to do the same.
Spirit Realm
Naruto in ethereal form appeared in a realm where he saw countless spirits hovering and moving around different directions. Said blonde opened his eyes and they widened in amazement. "Wow so this is the spirit realm?" Naruto asked himself and that was when Kon appeared.
"In a since it is Naruto. What you see before you are the countless spirits that wander the physical plane." He then points to a lake that seems to have little countless orbs hovering over it. "Those are the water sprites that give life in that lake. As I said everything around you is made up of a certain amount of entities whose purpose is to make sure the life cycle continues."
Some of the astral orbs, that happen to be green, moved around Naruto in a circle while he watched until he held his hand out one of them landed in his hand for a while and then flew off. Naruto on the other hand smirked which made Kon raise an eyebrow. "They were praising me in my skills in gardening and said they loved my zen garden." Naruto explained since he did have a green thumb when he was little.
Afterwards Naruto and Kon traveled around the spirit realm for awhile, encountering different spirits that balanced out the circle of life and then returned to their physical bodies. "I must say Naruto you impressed me with your first travel into the spirit realm. Now you must look into your own spirit." Kon replied.
Naruto nodded and once again meditated. He opened his eyes once again and found himself in hi mindscape which was in the form of a sunny sky and a beautiful forest with mountains in the background. Kon once again appeared in beside Naruto. "As you can see Naruto this is your mindscape. This place is revolved around your emotions. Positive emotions such as happiness, joy, and peace make your mind look like this. But when you're facing negative emotions such as anger, envy, and rage your mindscape darkens and becomes a furious storm." He explained while they walked through the forest and then hiking up the mountain. As they made it to the edge of a cliff they saw a version of Konoha but hovering over the village was a storm that rained lightning.
"This is a part of your mind that represents your tragic past and the trials you had to go through. As your mind became more open the dark cloud that covered your mind has receded and has been reduced to this. However in order to be at peace, you must remove the small twinge of darkness that surrounds your heart before it has a chance to spread in the future." Naruto looked at Konoha blankly and sighs, brushing his hair back with his hand.
"Easier said than done shisho. How does one move from his/her past?" Naruto asked his sensei who looked back at him.
"You must face the darkness in your soul and overcome it Naruto because if you don't everything you've done will be for naught. You must face this task alone and I warn you now my student. If you give into the darkness I will not hesitate to take you down." Kon replied in a serious and dangerous tone. "All I can do now is wish you luck in your trial. Failure is not an option my student for the results will be chaotic." With those final words, Kon vanished in a swirl of energy leaving Naruto to face his inner demon.
Naruto looked at his past that was Konoha and sighs. "I have to face my demons sometime and now is that time." Naruto said to himself and leapt off the cliff towards the village. As he ascended, he entered the storm cloud and volts of lightning zapped him but he just shrugged it off. Afterwards, he appeared out of the thundering clouds with white lightning surging through him and headed towards the ground.
BOOM!
He landed on the ground crouching down while the area around him shook and formed a small crater. He stood back up and found himself in the middle of his former village and looked around the area. Next he walked through the market district and the whispers entered his ear.
'Demon Brat!'
'Monster!'
'Murderer!'
'Why don't you go back to hell with your own kin you abomination!'
'Let's kill that creature in the name of the Yondaime!'
Naruto paused and clutched his head for a few seconds trying to shake off the voices, and continued to make his way through the empty village. As he did he paused and frowned as he sensed something. "Whoever you are come on out." He ordered and heard a dark chuckle from the shadows of an alley.
"As you wish king." Said an eerie and psychotic voice and Naruto saw a pair of red eyes. As the shadowy figure walked out, Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief at what he saw.
Temple
Kon, Juto, Chikara, Hisomi, and Natsumi were circled around Naruto's meditating form. "So he is facing his inner darkness? I didn't think it would be this soon." Juto stated to his fellow tribunal members.
"Better to have him face it now than later. Facing one's inner darkness is not an easy task especially for those who are weak minded. All we can do now is pray that he doesn't give into the hate in his heart otherwise we'll have to…" Chikara stated.
"That won't happen. Naruto-kun is stronger than that so get whatever thoughts you're having out of your heads." Natsumi snapped back at the four. "This is nothing to Naruto and he will win. He has to." She said the last sentences quietly but was confident in his abilities.
Mindscape
Naruto was staring into the eyes of what appeared to be his darker half who seemed to possess red spiky hair in contrast with Naruto's blonde hair and had red slit eyes. "Hello Naruto long time no see." Naruto frowned as he looked at his grinning doppelganger.
"So you're my inner darkness. I expected you to be more… ugly." He replied which made Yami Naruto chuckle.
"Sorry but I get my looks from you. Since you know I'm your pent up emotions. The only thing that kept me from spreading was your strong will and without that I would be in control." Yami Naruto stated.
"Yeah but I doubt I'd want to be a brooding emo like Sasuke-teme." Naruto replied back getting a nod from his darker half.
"True. Very true though I have to say I was impressed when you killed that pathetic excuse of a ninja especially since you had to save his weak ass several times. That took a lot of balls to do what you did. Killing the last loyal Uchiha of the Leaf. That fan club of his must be raising a huge stink over it." Yami Naruto said with glee and grinned as he saw his lighter side shrug.
"What can I say? I honestly didn't give a damn about the teme anymore so I gave him a one way ticket to hell. I will say this I did enjoy shoving my Rasengan through his arm and into his skull. The horrified look on his face was priceless and I say good riddance to weak trash." Naruto spat.
"Damn maybe you and I should switch places then if you loved killing that prick." Yami Naruto replied while the blonde snorted.
"I didn't enjoy it. I just didn't care anymore so I did it though maybe I should have drilled the rasengan through his heart like when he shoved that Chidori through my lung." Naruto muttered while his darker half chuckled some more. "So what now? Are we going to fight for control over my body or what?" Naruto asked Yami Naruto who pondered on it.
"You know I was thinking about doing that… but I decided not to." He answered back while Naruto raised a brow. "Don't get me wrong if it was back when you were weak ass loudmouth with no skill I would smashed your skull in and locked you within the deepest part of your mindscape, but at your current state our fight would've razed this place to the ground and I kinda like this better than a damn sewer."
"So what do you suggest we do?" Naruto asked Yami Naruto who smirked.
Well it's quite simple. You're the light half and I'm the dark half. We're two sides of the same coin. Yin and Yang and so on and so forth. If we remain separate then our strength is cut in half and that is something I don't like. But if we were to become one, we'd be even stronger than we are now." Yami Naruto answered. Naruto's eyes widened at the suggestion and thought about it for a while.
"One question. When we 'merge' will I still have my personality?" Naruto asked.
"To be perfectly honest… I don't know what will really happen but hey as unpredictable as we are, anything could happen." He walked towards Naruto and extended his hand. "So what do ya say partner?"
Naruto pondered on this and nods, extending his hand. "Let's do this but if I don't like the new me I'm kicking your ass six ways to Sunday and since it's my mindscape I can make that last for an eternity." Yami Naruto grinned and nodded.
"Right back at you. Turn into a pussy and I'll give you a beating that'll make the ones Natsumi-chan gave look like child's play." He grasps onto Naruto's hand and Naruto does the same with Yami Naruto. An aura of pure light surrounds the real Naruto while a red light forms around Yami Naruto. The two auras suddenly surround and twist into a mixture of light and darkness and became golden with a red outline.
Temple
The Tribunal and Natsumi felt something emit from Naruto and before they knew it, His chi flared out like a wild fire and released a huge gust of wind, forcing them to jump back. "What's going on? Is he fighting his darker half?" Natsumi shouted out.
"No this is something different. What it is we cannot." Juto said until they each heard a deafening roar echo through the temple and a great light shined around Naruto. His chi swirled around him like a typhoon and the power behind it destroyed the top half of the meditation room.
"Unbelivable! He's releasing his Avatar!" Chikara stated while Natsumi looked at Kon for an explanation.
"An Avatar is a totem in which a warrior possesses deep within his or her soul, manifesting into what animal represents their inner being." Kon said. "But for someone so young to do this through sheer will alone…. It's inconceivable." That was when the chi formed into what looked like a dragon but not any dragon, a golden dragon.
"I don't believe it…. His avatar formed into a golden dragon." Juto said in awe while the dragon spread its wings and reared its head back, releasing a powerful roar.
"The Golden Dragon is one of the Dragons of the higher plane just like our Avatars. To have a creature as great as this one as a manifestation of his soul is very rare." Chikara replied while the dragon released one final roar before dissipating and the golden patterns on Naruto's body and chi aura died off. The blonde lets out a sigh of relief and opens his eyes only to see his sensei's stare at him with looks of awe and pride.
Naruto looked around and blinked in confusion, rubbing the back of his head. "What?" Was all he asked his senseis.
Mountain Edge
Standing on the edge of a mountain was none other than the ninjutsu master of strength Chikara and standing a few feet behind her was Naruto. "Strength of Mind when combined with Strength of Body and Spirit can move mountains. Alone however the body shatters against rock like a brittle twig." She walks towards a large boulder and picks it up with only one hand and lifts it over her head. She then tosses it in the air like it was a simple pebble and when it ascends, she rears her right fist back and delivers a palm strike that reduces the boulder into a pile of rubble.
"Whoa, Baa-chan's got nothing on Chikara-Shisho. If she could do that to a mere boulder imagine what she could do to a mountain."Naruto thought.
"Now you try Naruto but remember you can only use your chi in this exercise." She instructed. Naruto nodded and made his way to another boulder and rubs his hands together.
"Alright Naruto. Focus on Strength of Mind, Body, and Spirit." He said to himself and then inhales and exhales his breath and crouches down. He places both hands under the boulder and at first he has trouble lifting the boulder but then his amulet glows and golden markings appeared on his body and he manages to lift it over his head. He then tosses it into the air, rears his fist back, and when it descends to the ground he swings his fist and shatters but unlike Chikara's his was reduced to only large chunks of rock.
"Not a bad start but it the execution could've been more proficient." She stated and noticed Naruto's knuckle were a little red. "And you need to be absolutely focused other wised your knuckles wouldn't be red."
"Yes Shisho." Naruto replied while the redness in his knuckles dies out and proceeds to do it again. After spending almost an hour trying to crush boulders, he manages to succeed after destroying the 10 one and reducing it to a pile of pebbles and Chikara had a pleased look on her face.
"Excellent. This exercise is based you activating your chi at will and controlling the amount you use in battle." Her hands glowed green and she slams them together, causing a wave of energy to emit around them. When it died out, the smaller boulders started to form and transform into what appeared to four rock like creatures. "These are Stone Oni (Demons). They are powerful and nearly impervious. It will take more than mere muscles to beat these foes." She stated as the four creatures made their way towards Naruto. "Now let's see you use what I have taught you so far and remember no Ninjutsu or weapons. Your fists and your inner strength are your weapons from this point on."
Naruto's eyes bug out but then he sighs. "I figured as much. Oh well I was always more of a hands on person." He got into the Senkouken no Ryu (Flash Fist Style) stance used his raw speed to leap away from an incoming fist. He flips backwards and lands back on his feet. "Wow not only are they strong but they're fast." He said and he ducked from an incoming fist and rolled under in between the third golem's legs. As he did that he was backhanded by the Stone creature and sent crashing and rolling around the ground for a while before flipping back on his feet.
Naruto rubs his jaw and spits out a bloody tooth. "Consider yourself rubble rock head." Naruto said as he went into the Acolyte state and cracked his knuckles. The Golem behind him brought its fist down on Naruto but the blonde hanyo spun around and caught it. "My turn." Naruto said with a feral grin on his face and proceeded to lift the stone beast off its feet.
He looked out of the corner of his eye and saw another charge at him so he spun his body and swung stone oni around and threw it. It crashed into the other one and they were now scattered parts in the area. "Next." Naruto said as he grinned at the other one that charged at him. As it got close and started to swing at Naruto, the former leaf ninja easily evaded the attacks and bent back as a fist passed his head. He curled his fist up and performed a flying uppercut that left a gaping hole in the rock creature and it fell over, and was reduced to a pile of pebbles.
Naruto used his chi enhanced speed to appear behind the golem and grabbed its arm. With a tug he ripped the arm off and snarled. "Batter up you ugly bird bath." He said and got into a batter stance and swung at the one armed elemental creature. "One!" It was struck across the left side which was shattered. "Two!" Its arm was smashed and destroyed, making it stumble back. "Three strikes and you're out!" Naruto roared and smashed its upper body, reducing it to rubble. The lower half stumbled back and fell off the edge of the cliff. Naruto then crushed the rock arm and dusted off his pant.
"So what did you think Shisho? Do I get extra credit for my final execution?" He asked the white haired Kunoichi who watched the event and then walked over to Naruto. She stared at him for a few minutes, making him nervous but then a small smile formed on her face and she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You have done well Naruto. Natsumi-san was indeed correct when she said that you show a lot of promise and I am pleased with the results." She said with a pleased look on her face. "And who knows? After the next couple of sessions I'll probably test you myself."
Naruto smile nervously at her statement. "Hopefully that won't be for a while Shisho as I'm positive you could beat me senseless without even trying." He replied back while she eye smiled.
"Maybe but only if you get cocky my deshi and like the Kitsune I don't pull my punches." She said back and he paled.
"For kami's sake what is it with powerful females wanting to kick my ass for the hell of it?" He muttered to himself while anime tears fell from his face. Chikara pats him on the back a couple of times and then walks back to the monastery with Naruto following behind.
Master Juto's Dojo for Weapons Training
In the ancient for of the tribunal, Naruto stood before the ninjutsu master of weapons, Juto Shisho while Natsumi was watching from the sides. "A weapon deshi is more than just a mere tool. It is an extension of yourself. Weapons represent the synchronization of one's body and skill. Any weapon, if harnessed correctly can become your greatest ally but without discipline, it can become your greatest enemy. In the hands of a master even something as miniscule as a pebble can smite the greatest of beasts and best warriors." He explained while Naruto had his mother's katana, the Uzu no Kiba (Whirlpool Fang), strapped to his back. The Katana had a hilt wrapped in a deep red cloth with black diamond patterns going down it with a bronze cap at the end. The guard was in the shape of a spiral representing his mother's former village and was in a black sheathe.
"Now then may I see your blade Naruto?" Juto asked his pupil who drew the sword. The blade was single edged with what looked like seals engraved into the sides. Juto took the sword and inspected it for a while. "Such fine craftsmanship. This is without a doubt one of the finest blades I've ever seen." He did a few practice swings with it and smirked. "And it is well balanced. Capable of performing quick and precise strikes. Whoever created this blade was without a doubt an excellent blacksmith."
Naruto smiled at how his sensei was praising his clan's heirloom. "Thank you Shisho. It was my great-grandfather's blade that from what I read about it was forged from a rare metal called dragon scales in their country. It was passed onto my grandfather who gave it to my kaa-san and is now mine." Juto then handed the blade back and Naruto sheathes it.
"While that blade is strong it is not enough to defeat the dark one. You will need stronger weapons. Ones that can do harm both physically and mystically." Juto finished. He whipped his arm arm out and coming out of the long sleeve was a glowing whip that struck the ground and released a wave of blue energy. When it dissipated, the ground started to crack and rumble and rising out of the ground were what appeared to be a two pair of reptilian like claws and in the middle a giant maw that was in the form of a roaring dragon's head.
From inside the gaping maw fire shot out. Naruto was bug eyed and gawked. "Man that has to be the coolest thing I've ever seen happen since I've been here." He replied as flames danced around the mouth of the dragon.
"Behold the spirit forge young dragon. A forge fueled from the breath of four great dragons." He then turned his attention at the sacred forge. "Those worthy will find what they seek." A grim expression formed on his face and he turned his attention towards Naruto. "Those who are unworthy will suffer pain beyond their comprehension. Are you ready to step into the flames of the great dragons or will you be turned to ashes by their raging flames? Step forward… if you dare." The Ninjutsu master of Weapons challenged. Naruto was about to only to feel a hand on his shouler and he turned around to see a concerned Natsumi.
"Relax Sumi-chan I got this. Shisho just challenged me and I never back down from a challenge." He said placing an assuring hand on hers. She nods and steps back while he walks forward to the Maw of the Spirit Forge. He then slowly stretched his arm out and places his hands over the flames. "Hey these flames don't feel hot." He said to himself and took another step forward. That was when the flames suddenly surrounded and engulfed Naruto's body making Natsumi's widened in fear.
"Naruto!" She cried out and attempted to move forward but the flames were too strong. "Oh Kami please let him be alright." She begged while the flames died down. Naruto stepped forward and surrounding him were nine orbs.
Juto raised an eye brow when he saw this. "This is something new." He thought while the orbs took the weapons forms. His eyes widened in disbelief at the nine weapons he was gazing at. "By the Gods… He's been blessed with the greatest weapons to ever exist." The first weapon he saw were a pair of gauntlets and greaves. The gauntlets each had three wicked looking jagged claws and the greave had three bladed foot attachments on them (If you're all wondering they're similar to the falcon talons from Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2). The second one was a staff with spiked maces connected to each end of the staff by a retractable chain. The third ones were a pair of black tonfas that had a bladed edges and blades on the tips of the weapons. The fourth was a Scythe with a silver edge and the symbol of a crescent moon on the black edge. The fifth was what looked like two Kusarigama-like weapons, each with two scythe blades, with one inverted, giving it the resemblance of a pinwheel. The blades are connected to a spiked rod tethered together by a long chain (Kazeshini from Bleach).
The sixth one was a war hammer with a retractable staff and a cube shaped black hammer the the symbol of a turtle shell on it. The Seventh Weapon was a pair of twin double edged swords with the insignia for lightning on them. One the blades were two curved spikes. (Similar to Raiga's thunder swords). The eight weapon was a Naginata with a curved blade that had a blue orb at the end.
The Ninth and final weapon was a Katana with red cloth wrapped around the hilt with a gold cap. The guard was gold plated and in the form of a coiling dragon and had a silver single aged blade. "Wow." Was all Naruto said as he saw the weapons.
"Boy the weapons before you were each wielded by the first ninja who ever received the title of the Dragon. The Claws of Suzaku, forged and blessed in the holy flames of the Phoenix of the south. Diamond Staff of Enma, a weapon created by the monkey king himself. The Tonfas of Mokujin, carved from the wood of 2,000 year old tree. The Eclipse Scythe which was forged from moon rock for 7 days and seven nights and blessed by the moon goddess Tsukuyomi. The Gamas of Fujin, capable of manipulating the wild winds. Berugukana, a hammer created by the mountain god that is capable of reducing a mountain to rubble and leveling the strongest of fortresses. The Fangs of Inuzuma, blades capable of manipulating lightning and are said to be the sharpest swords to ever be created. The Naginata of Orochi, the blade that has been forged from the fang of the serpent king. Thi final blade is the Ryuken, a legendary Katana created from the fangs of the Dragon God and powered by the spirits of the Twelve Dragons. Only one pure of heart and with a strong spirit can wield such a marvelous weapon." Kon explained with excitement in his voice.
Natsumi on the other hand raised an eyebrow. "You seemed to be very pleased about this."
"Those nine weapons were wielded by my master, Ryu Hayabusa, who was a true master of the ninja arts and the first Ninja in History to ever gain the title dragon and was known as demon slayer, capable of defeating demons that were even stronger than him. But that is a story for another time." He watched Naruto inspect his new weapons and grin. "I can actually see the image of my master in that boy. He will without a doubt finish what me and my comrades couldn't."
And Cut! Well here's the next chap folks. The next one will be his training with Hisomi as well as finding a contract that the Tribunals Master possessed and if you can guess it then you are smarter than those who can't. Anyways I hope you enjoy this fic and until next time Peace Out!