Naruto starts to use a bit of chakra in this chapter.
Chapter III- Swordsmen
Naruto's fingers raised the cigar to his lips, and he slowly breathed smoke into his mouth, not letting it go into his lungs.
As he tasted the smoke, his thoughts, yet again, returned to Shinratsu.
He was nearly at peak performance, and nearly ready to restart his task. He released the smoke from his mouth, continuing in his thoughts.
The Colours-as he'd once heard them called- were searching for him. Few spoke of their names, but their signifying colours were known. Black with dark green. Red with steel blue. The two teams hunting down the man called Uzumaki Naruto, the last known Konoha-nin in existence.
His mind drifted slowly through memories...he had defeated so many opponents over the years, had seen terrible foes such as Pein or Madara, and yet, Shinratsu- , not even Shinratsu, his servant Kuroi had defeated him.
How? Naruto repeated to himself a question he had asked himself so many times. How did he lose?
He pondered over it, and time went on. It was not until Naruto had smoked the entire cigar when he realised the answer, obvious as it was.
Shinratsu was different from any foe he had encountered. The man had clearly an intelligent mind, and as for the skills of his troops- they were not the type of inherited techniques, they were things learned and made better. Something Rock Lee and Gai always referred to as "Geniuses of Hard Work."
As well as that, Naruto found himself wondering more about Shinratsu's motives. Clearly, Shinratsu had some long grudge with Konoha- but Naruto had researched more, and it seemed the man had a dream for the world.
Finally, what was this hatred Shinratsu had for him? He'd heard the man had displayed his eye as a trophy, and even mentioned about having the thing served up as a meal. Who was Reikon Shinratsu? The black hair, the slightly pale skin...
An image of another dark-haired ninja who'd hated him flashed to mind, but Naruto quickly dismissed it. Sasuke was long dead. And as well as that, Shinratsu not only looked older, sounded different, and clearly lacked the Sharingan.
As he stood, Naruto couldn't help but let his thoughts go back to comparing Sasuke to Shinratsu, before concluding the men were nothing alike. Shinratsu appeared very calm, composed, analytical, whereas Sasuke...the bastard was a moron.
"SASUKE!" roared Naruto, blood seeping from his forehead over his eye, the crimson fluid looking like the tattoos of some barbaric warrior.
"NARUTO!" Sasuke screamed, clearly not unscathed either, his clothes dyed red, blood seeping from his eyes. "DIE!"
Suddenly, two pairs of eyes changed.
The two drew their fists back-
And Naruto hit Sasuke first, the man staggering to the cliff's edge. He waved his arms crazily, before stumbling as he reached the edge.
"You know...you're pretty good," Sasuke managed.
Sasuke's eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell backwards, his body falling over the cliff.
Naruto raised his head "Uchiha Sasuke is dead..." With a mighty use of chakra, Naruto caused part of the cliff to fall away, to fall onto Sasuke's body, "-and buried."
Naruto shook his head, as if it'd rid him of the thoughts.
"Bastard," Naruto muttered to himself. "Don't torment me after your death." Naruto stood from his position, ignoring the stick he been using to aid walking.
After years of regeneration and accelerated healing...Naruto knew what it meant to be truly mortal. Maybe even lower, but he was no longer the god, the master of war, the man of infinite stamina and chakra.
He was even beginning to wonder if he was dying. The Kyuubi had needed everything it had to keep him alive after his battle with Kuroi, and it had got to the point where Naruto couldn't even feel the beast's presence.
Maybe the damage had been too much? Was his body only held together by his will? And in that case, how long did it have, how much more punishment could it take, before it collapsed?
Naruto shook his head again. This was only a passing thought, something else he was sure that would return to torment him. And besides- he'd make sure vengeance would be achieved before anything like that could occur.
The Rokudaime leaned by the window, watching people go about their business. And then he saw why war-weary warriors had so much trouble fitting in with the "normal life".
How could these people be so...content? Did they not know people died every minute? Could they not feel the winds of change, attempting to break them out of the monotony that the ninja world had fallen into, a structure that was dependent on war to survive.
Naruto had heard of such a phrase for this. War economy. It made sense. Ninja governments needed wars to stay in power.
It was the century-long debate, whether having warriors merely invited war. It was true, but there would always be conflict, and if there were not warriors, there would not be people to stop those conflicts.
But Naruto had left the world of ninja behind. A path of vengeance was all he had left, he the shadow who stalked his prey.
And he could feel the time was arriving for him to leave. True, he was not at perfect condition, but if he waited too long, he'd lose the trail completely.
Naruto speedily packed away his belongings, finishing it off by putting on his cloak, strapping on his pack, and raising his hood.
The hunt was resumed.
Haganeiro bitterly pushed his way through the crowd. It was raining heavily, a slight fog was in the air, but none of this bothered the man. He was born in Kirigakure, after all.
"Fuckin' hell!" he grumbled to himself.
When he was young, he'd been renowned as one of the best shinobi in Kiri, which got him into the elite "club" known as the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Those were the days, when Haganeiro had everything he wanted, fighting, drink, money and women.
Those days came to an abrupt halt as he lost his status, and became a missing-nin, thanks to the Mizukage of the days.
Time went on, Haganeiro himself becoming a mercenary for hire. The problem was, the big paying villages had their own ninja, the little villages were afraid of angering Kiri, and the people that hired- gangs and crime syndicates- didn't pay.
And then, Haganeiro met the boss. Shinratsu. Shinratsu enlisted him immediately, into the Coloured Elites, where he like the others, discarded their names, and took their own signifying colour to become their name.
Once again, good days, until, just like last time, an abrupt halt.
It was supposed to be easy. Haganeiro had made his way through Konoha, as did the other elites, butchering every Konoha citizen he could find. And then he encountered a man who proved to be his undoing. Hatake Kakashi, the Copy-Nin.
Haganeiro was familiar with the name, but never met him. After all, it was the Copy-Nin, one of Konoha's greatest ninja, a large bounty on his head- but the main reason Haganeiro knew him was because of his status. He'd defeated both Zabuza and Kisame- Haganeiro's comrades from times at Kiri- and one of his students had defeated Raiga, another of his old comrades.
But under his training with the boss, Haganeiro was confident he'd beat the man.
Wrong. Despite his mastery with the sword and water jutsus, Haganeiro had discovered something both Zabuza and Kisame learned. Those tactics were useless against an accomplished wielder of the Sharingan.
Kakashi had beaten him into a pulp, even severing his left arm, but then, the Copy-Nin had had to urgently leave, to escape to the tower. Haganeiro later learned that it was Shinratsu who had killed the man.
As well as that, with the loss of two of his elite, and the handicap of a third during the Fall of Konoha, Shinratsu had hired some upstart- Subeta.
Not only did the little shit claim to be a "master of blades", Subeta clearly even had no respect for the colours or the boss, wearing shades of grey and not one definite colour-in fact, a colour that was already taken by Gurei-he didn't correctly wear the garments of office, and didn't discard his name.
The little arrogant shit disgusted him. Well, he, Haganeiro would show the little upstart. Not only would he kill Uzumaki, he'd achieve what Kuroi, the boss's resident boot licker, failed to do. He'd become the right hand of Shinratsu, and he'd take pleasure in aiding the boss change the world from the filth and decadence that was clogging it down.
"What's the matter with you?"
Great, it was Akai, fucking little order-adoring bastard. The ninja wasn't like Kuroi, but they both had the same obsession with rules and orders.
"Fuck off Akai."
Akai's eyes narrowed. "Mind your manners, cripple."
Cripple. The nickname Akai and Subeta had called him of late.
"One arm's all I need to take out someone like you."
"Be quiet. The commander gave me leadership of our team, and you'll follow my orders."
Haganeiro snarled at the man he saw as trying to order him around. "I follow the boss, not you."
"And the boss has ordered that you follow me," continued Akai. "Don't waste my time. We are hunting Uzumaki, not wasting time with your tragic past."
The handicapped man followed Akai, the former still grumbling curses. Uzumaki, the target. What the hell did Akai think, that Uzumaki would just magically appear?
"Where the hell are we supposed to be going anyway?"
"I have a contact here who has some information. He'll have found Uzumaki for us, we only have to hunt him down."
Haganeiro snorted. "Wow, the great Akai has found Uzumaki."
Akai didn't privilege the man with an answer, only continuing till the two stood in an empty alley. A man appeared in front of them, wearing standard ninja garb.
"Well, have you found him?"
"Yes. It seems he is intending to go through this town. Outside this town there is a thick forest. Uzumaki will be travelling slow and is unfamiliar with the area. It is the perfect place to ambush him."
Akai nodded. "Very good. How many more of you are there nearby?"
"Just I."
"Then the task will fall to us. You may go. The commander will reward you."
The man nodded, before disappearing.
"Got more orders for me, Captain Akai?" said Haganeiro, clearly mocking the man.
He was rewarded with a kunai pointed at his throat.
"I would kill you now had the commander not requested that we unite," hissed Akai, anger seeping into his tones. "Foolish man, do you think you are in a place to mock me? You are weak Haganeiro. You have lost your status as the sword expert to Subeta, and despite your "mastery" with one-handed seals, you're the weakest of the coloured- and I include those Uzumaki has killed. Without me, you have no hope of surviving against Uzumaki, let alone killing him."
Haganeiro hissed back, drawing the large blade on his back, using it to bat away Akai's kunai.
"Don't threaten me Akai."
"You can't order me, you fool. You're weak, Haganeiro."
Shinratsu closed his eyes, distracting himself from the purple-clad beauty in front of him.
"I'm busy, Fujiiro."
The woman pouted, her face visible as her mask lay on the ground and her hood was lowered. "I don't recall it bothering you before."
"Then Uzumaki wasn't a concern."
Fujiiro sighed, picking up her mask and reattaching it, as Subeta entered.
"Milord, the troops are ready to move," said Subeta, boredom clear in his voice.
"Has Kuroi or Akai sent any messages?"
"Nothing."
"I see. They knew we'd leave this area, they'll know how to find us. Very well," Shinratsu stood from his chair, snapping his fingers, and one of his ninja gathered the papers and charts he had been gazing over before Fujiiro arrived.
"Milord, about Uzumaki-"
"What is it now? What is your obsession with the man?"
"I merely wish to fight him," replied Subeta.
"Why him?" asked Shinratsu. "Why, when so many others have failed?"
Subeta smiled thinly. "Yes, milord. I'm well aware my sudden appointment to the coloured ranks has upset many. This is my chance to silence them."
"So, acknowledgement..." Shinratsu brought a hand to his chin, scratching the stubble. "Very well."
Subeta's eyes widened. It appeared he had not expected the commander to agree so soon.
"We all require acknowledgement, do we not?" said Shinratsu, turning away. "You may go, Subeta. Join Akai and Haganeiro. Inform him that one of the two may return if they wish."
A feral grin lit Subeta's face. "Gladly, milord." He raised his hands in an unusual salute, before leaving, his pace quickening, a new spring in his step.
"Was it the best idea to let him go? He is young, and-" Fujiiro silenced herself when Shinratsu raised a hand.
"The boy is more like his father than he realises. And for his sake when he finds Uzumaki, those similarities should include fighting skills," stated the commander.
Shinratsu made to call the troops, but stopped himself, calling Fujiiro a last time. "Fujiiro, do you think I am stronger than Uzumaki?"
"Of course, milord."
"Do you mean that because I am of higher authority, or because you truly believe I am stronger?"
Fujiiro was silent, slowly thinking over Shinratsu's words.
"Namikaze first, now Uzumaki." Shinratsu continued his trail of thoughts as he summoned the troops to give their orders.
Naruto stretched as he climbed to his feet, staggering slightly. He had been tired after travel, and fallen asleep in the forest. His eye blearily gazed at the world, checking his surroundings.
He missed his left eye.
Naruto had taken to sleeping in the wilderness, seeing as more people than ever were out for his blood. On his way here he had been attacked by three different teams, one of Iwa, whereas the other two were wanderers and mercenaries out to make names and money for themselves.
None had survived.
He glanced around his surroundings, freeing himself temporarily of his bloody memories.
Bird calls occasionally sounded, and Naruto took a few moments to admire the beauty of the woodland, the sunlight seeping through the canopy of leaves...and he remembered where he fit into all this.
Those tranquil thoughts were suddenly eradicated by a rush of hatred as Naruto remembered his dreams, seeing his dead friends, his fingers wrapping around the throats of imaginary friends.
And he repeated to himself his oath. "They will pay. I'll make them pay if it's the last thing I do." Naruto breathed in, his stomach rumbling angrily as he felt the pangs of hunger.
Hunger and sleep, two things that felt foreign to him on his path of vengeance. The two things had felt natural to him, but those were the days before his mind was reshaped into something new.
Naruto drew a knife, twirling it in his hand, before throwing it through the air, killing a bird that had perched on a branch.
He gathered his prize, using the knife to merely tear off the skin and feathers, cut off the head, and he began eating the thing raw, spitting out bones and other inedible parts. Once his hunger was satiated, he tossed the rest of it away for the scavenging animals, wiping the blood away from his mouth.
Before he came to the forest, he was informed by a local about a river that passed through it. If he found that, it'd mean he was halfway through.
He glanced around for signs from the local plants and animals, and after having found them, it was not long before he had reached the river.
That was good. He had found a way of quenching his thirst, and it meant he was still on their trail. Apparently, a few of them had been sighted in a town not too far from the forest.
He glanced at himself in the river, and although the image was blurry and distorted, Naruto got the general picture.
His blonde hair had dulled and the spikes were drooping, age lines were becoming mixed with the scars on his skin, his face seemed hardened and weathered, the look in his eye...
All this had changed in a matter of days, and he had not noticed?
Naruto fell to his knees, dipping his hands in the icy water, cupping his hands together, bringing the clear liquid to his lips.
He drank, in a way some might call greedily, but he merely wanted it to be a longer period before his body required water again.
His thirst quenched, he stood. The current was hardly fast, and the water was fairly shallow, meaning he could wade through it. After all, he didn't want to force the use of his chakra.
It was when Naruto reached the middle of the river, when he suddenly jumped to the side, avoiding a sword being flung through the air, which continued until it hit into a tree. A moment later, a figure appeared atop of it.
"Well...this is nostalgic," Naruto suddenly said, before laughing humourlessly. The sword, the wielder, the forest and water...and fog was beginning to creep into the area.
Naruto slowly drew his own sword, the same one he had stolen from the Iwa shinobi, the same one that had pierced the Tsuchikage's flesh and through Gurei's summon. It was considerably narrower then the zanbato the man stood on, but near the same in length.
"Interesting weapon, Rokudaime," said the man, turning around, allowing Naruto to get a better view of him, also allowing him to see that he was missing his left arm. But Naruto first noticed the steel-blue clothes that cloaked him head to toe.
"A very unusual choice. Rare in these lands, too," continued the man, jumping down from the tree, pulling out his zanbato with him.
Naruto remained steady. It took remarkable strength to carry a zanbato- and wield it- one handed.
"I am Haganeiro. But you'll know me as death." Haganeiro stabbed his zanbato into the ground, forming several one-handed seals.
And moments later, a gigantic water dragon rushed at Naruto.
Naruto's eye widened, but he went at it with his sword. The steel stopped the dragon for a moment, but the creature reared back and charged again, this time sending Naruto through the air, all the way out of the river and into a tree, his sword clattering to the ground next to him.
Naruto climbed to his feet, picking up his sword, holding it in his right hand, his single eye fixed on his enemy.
"Red with steel blue," he repeated to himself. "So, where is your friend? You hunt in pairs now, don't you?"
"I don't need Akai to beat you!" shouted Haganeiro, the man jumping towards the river, his zanbato attached to his back, balancing on the water with his chakra. "Come on, Rokudaime! Or do you not use any chakra at all?"
Naruto scowled. But he knew he had to even the odds as much as he could, and began forcing the chakra in his body to comply.
Eventually, he managed to gain some control over it, enough to walk on the water, and Naruto too landed on the water's surface.
He felt unsteady, the chakra still feeling foreign as he used it.
"Come on!" Haganeiro charged forwards, his hand swinging his sword back as he slashed at Naruto's midriff.
Naruto jumped over the sword, before swinging his own down. Haganeiro however, still managed to lift his own blade in time to parry.
The one-eyed man fell out of the air, landing in a crouch on the water. Haganeiro brought his zanbato down, and Naruto rolled to the side, avoiding a strike that would have cleaved him in two.
Haganeiro formed a shark-shaped missile of water, but Naruto dodged it, taking his time to analyse his opponent.
He's clearly a former Kiri-ninja, likely to even be one of the Seven Swordsmen, Naruto thought. But unlike Zabuza, he doesn't seem to be skilled with silent killing, explaining why he doesn't make mist. Nothing particularly special about him then, he's really just a weakened shinobi, considering the missing arm. I'd wager that puts down his sword skills quite a bit- explaining why Subeta said he was the blade specialist of the colours.
Naruto shot forwards across the water, his sword in one hand, his left hand drawing a knife.
The sword met another, but Naruto's key advantage was that Haganeiro didn't have two weapons to use. Naruto sliced at Haganeiro's side, and the man only jumped back at the last possible moment, landing some distance away.
The two fought on the water, Naruto this time taking the advantage, getting in several slashes.
Haganeiro angrily slashed through the air, attempting to decapitate the Rokudaime. Naruto ducked under the blow, slamming his foot into Haganeiro's chest.
The former Kiri-ninja landed on the water. He began to climb to his feet- only to see Naruto's sword pointed at his throat.
Fortunately, a knife flew through the air, causing Naruto to jump back and look for the new enemy.
It was Subeta, the man leaning against a tree as he watched the two.
"Subeta, fuck off!" roared Haganeiro. "I don't need you for this!"
Subeta raised his hands in his unusual salute. "I just had to save your life, the least you can do is thank me."
"Thank you!?"
"That's good, but next time, don't shout it out angrily," replied Subeta.
Haganeiro climbed to his feet, attaching his zanbato to his back as he began some more seals. It was clear he did not want Subeta's interference, as the next jutsu formed mist all over the water.
"Oh, that's mature, Haganeiro, really smart," said Subeta loudly.
"I don't need you! Fuck off!"
Subeta sighed. "No, I think I'll stay and watch you beg for help."
Haganeiro clearly intended to end the battle as he began an even more complicated jutsu, something Naruto recognised as he saw a gigantic wave of water rise up towards him.
The mist dispersed, Haganeiro having no more use for it. "See you in hell, Uzumaki!" shouted the man as he watched the wave hit Naruto head on.
Eventually, the waters subsided, and Naruto was nowhere to be seen.
"Well, that was quite impressive, Haganeiro," said Subeta.
"Stupid shit!" grinned Haganeiro. "With that, I'm the commander's right hand now, you little fucker! And seeing as I'm clearly the blade expert, I'll make sure you've no place in this army! You're fucked, Subeta!"
Subeta raised his eyebrows. "I doubt that. You've forgotten one thing. Confirm the body." Subeta strolled down alongside the river, until he was some distance ahead of Haganeiro. "After all, he might have escaped, fool." He called back without turning around.
"Escaped, what bullshit!" shouted Haganeiro, not noticing a figure rise out of the water slowly behind him. But he did notice when he felt a sharp steel go through his stomach.
Naruto leant forwards and whispered into his ear. "I am Uzumaki Naruto. But you'll know me as death," he hissed, mocking Haganeiro's earlier words.
Haganeiro gurgled his last, and Naruto removed his blade, kicking the man into the water.
But those sounds had been loud enough for Subeta to notice, the man now drawing his machete.
"This time, none of your throwing or disarming tricks," said Subeta, also balancing himself on the water, showing no concern for his fallen comrade.
Naruto sheathed his sword and kept to his knife.
The two shot forwards, blades clashing, neither of the two leaving any openings as they fought hard.
"I'm afraid there's a problem for you," said Naruto, sidestepping a stab, and slashing at Subeta's face. "I don't think you don't have what it takes to kill me."
"Oh really?" Subeta quickly caught Naruto's hand. "See you in hell!" he yelled, as he slashed at Naruto's neck.
He missed, but Naruto hadn't even attempted to move back.
"You don't have an understanding of range," continued Naruto, delivering a firm kick to Subeta's chin as he broke the young man's hold.
Subeta staggered back wildly, his empty hand cradling his chin.
"You see, you're so used to using a longer sword that you've forgotten that every blade you'll use won't have such a range," said Naruto. "It's not a mistake I've often seen, but you made it...boy."
Subeta snarled, but as he made to move forwards, a kunai flew between the two.
"Akai," said Subeta, turning to the forest line.
"Subeta. Why didn't you inform me that Haganeiro got himself killed?" said the red-clad ninja.
"I would have thought eliminating the enemy was-"
"You disobeyed orders!" barked Akai. "You know what the commander said, we hunt Uzumaki in teams!"
"So, what now?" said Subeta.
"We continue following orders!" said Akai. "Retreat."
"Wait...one moment," said Subeta, quickly shooting across the water, retrieving Haganeiro's sword.
Akai and Subeta left, just as Naruto crashed into the water, losing control of his chakra. He swam across the river, looking back a last time to see Haganeiro's body float by.
"See you in hell indeed," Naruto muttered, before heading through the rest of the forest.
It would seem that Akai and Subeta were going back to the commander to report, or other troops. And if Naruto was to follow them- he'd eventually find the source.
With that thought in mind, it didn't take long for Naruto to sprint after the two, mentally telling himself not to get too close that the two would notice.
His eyes lit up as he realised that revenge was getting ever closer.
Author's Notes:
Yeah, I'm sure that the chapters are looking a bit repetitive, every chapter Naruto kills another of the colours.
That'll change next chapter, don't you worry.
So, no one got the question a couple of chapters ago, about what fighting style Naruto's one is based on. Another quiz. Who can guess what character Subeta is modelled on? A hint, he's based on a character from a game set during the Cold War.
All of these trivia questions will be answered in the last chapter author's notes, which is still a bit of a while.
Oh, and I hoped you enjoyed Sasuke's death scene. If you don't know why Naruto's eyes would have changed as well, I suggest you read the recent chapters in the manga.