There's waking up in an unfortunate position. Then there's waking up as a Jinchuriki when your name is Kishu. For those who don't know, that means "horseman". The significance? I'm the Jinchuriki of Kokuo the Five Tailed Horse. The one after Han but before the Fourth Shinobi World War. Yeah, the Akatsuki's got it in for me, and Iwa gives exactly zero fucks about me. Abandoned immediately upon sealing at the ripe old age of two and a half, I'm nothing but a living jail cell for the Five Tails.
Oh they gave me a house on the outskirts of the village. It used to belong to Han. They send me food…courtesy of paranoid genin teams who look at me like I might explode at any second, drop the food within sight of my shack and then run like all of hell is after them. Guidance and comfort from Roshi the Four Tails Jinchuriki? Might be nice if anybody'd seen him in the last ten years!
In its own way, all of that's a good thing. It keeps anyone from noticing that I'm waaay too mature and intelligent to be a little kid. I don't have to conceal my manner of speaking or abilities (I'm actually quite a good sensor!), don't have to go on dangerous missions or deal with shinobi training, don't have to deal with the glares or muttering that go with being a Jinchuriki…but on the other hand it kinda sucks because I have to teach myself everything! Well…almost everything. Han was apparently a very considerate man, he left multiple scrolls on how to use Boil Release and all the water and fire techniques he knew. He didn't know much of anything about how to make contact with or control Kokuo, so as soon as I was made a Jinchuriki I decided to find out through whatever means necessary. And I was definitely not sticking around in Iwa. Iwa sucked.
Cold, full of unpleasant people, and the food from what I had tasted of it was crap. I was definitely not sticking around unless I was sticking Kurotsuchi who I remembered as being fairly cute. Otherwise? I was out of there first chance I got.
==Ten Years After The Sealing, Kishu Age 12==
I was woken up by a knock at the door. That was nothing short of shocking. The genin who usually dropped the food off usually dropped it on a convenient rock and ran without announcing themselves. Nobody ever visited. I sat up and stumbled to the door, not bothering to put on a shirt. I had slept in pants after falling asleep in the middle of sketching with some charcoal on a piece of bark. The whole shack was full of charcoal drawings, and I was usually covered in it. My hair was actually blonde, but unless I was fresh out of a bathing jutsu, you couldn't tell through all the charcoal that got in it.
I opened the door and found myself nose to crotch with a seemingly very tall shinobi. I looked up at him with my twelve year old face twisted into an extremely unimpressed expression, "Can I help you?" The shinobi's answer was to throw a kick at me. He got a Steam Eruption Punch right in the nuts for his troubles. It was more than sufficient to launch him across the clearing.
I was after him in a heartbeat, leaping on a steam blast and rocketing down like a bullet with another one to drive my feet into his solar plexus. I hopped off him, grabbed him by the lapels and spun, venting steam from the back of my right shoulder and the front of my left to accelerate the speed and power of my spin before slinging him across the clearing and into the rock the genin teams usually left my lunch baskets on. He slammed into it with enough force to rock it from where it had sat for at least as long as I'd been there. I stormed over, yanked a kunai from his pouch and slit the throat below his utterly crumpled bloody ruin of a skull before storming back to my shack and slamming the door behind me. Killing? Hard? Bullshit.
==Two Days Later==
Another knock at the door. I paused sketching and went over to the door, peeking through it and finding a very small, very old man with very big chakra on the other side. I opened it and observed the man with the porous red nose, white hair and fancy looking clothes, "Can I help you?"
"You murdered a Jonin." The old man declared angrily. I frowned, "He attacked me, I retaliated. Don't worry, it was quick and he was a total chump. I killed him in less than a minute. A kid with no training should not be able to do that to a Jonin. He was an embarrassment to Iwa."
The old man frowned, "While that may be true, he was still a shinobi of Iwa. There are calls for your execution in the village. People are saying that you are too dangerous to let live." I shrugged, "Fine. Send me into exile. I won't come back."
The old man's jaw dropped, "Aren't you the least bit worried by this?" I raised an eyebrow, "Why should I be? There is nothing to tie me to this place. I have nobody and nothing to live for, what fear can death or exile hold for me? You may try to torture me, but I will simply unleash the Five Tails and probably die in the ensuing fight. There are a number of options available to you sir, you may kill me now, or banish me. You could also try to integrate me into the village, but that strikes me as something of a lost cause. You might consider turning a blind eye for the next few hours and the problem will resolve itself."
The old man frowned and weighed his options. Then he nodded, "Very well, I will give you twenty four hours to resolve the issue."
==Twenty Four Hours Later==
I skidded to a halt outside the entrance of Orochimaru's hideout, "Hellooo-oo?! New Jinchuriki here to talk to the boss about a position with Hidden Sound!" How had I found it? I just ran southeast and hunted for the biggest nastiest chakra signature I could find. When I got close, I asked around, and it wasn't long before someone was willing to point me to Orochimaru's place. It helped that I had already narrowed down the possible locations during previous runs through the Land of Rice Paddies on my way to Kumo to see Yugito-sensei and Bee-sensei.
==Fifteen Minutes Later=
I found myself standing before a throne. Yeah. Seriously. A throne. "Egotistical much Lord Orochimaru?" Orochimaru hissed, "Imprudent much little one?" "Kishu sir," I replied, "And yes, I've been isolated for most of my life, manners are something I never picked up. The throne really is a bit overkill though." "There's no such thing as overkill," Orochimaru replied. I shrugged, "This is true. Shall we get on to the point of my visit?"
Orochimaru nodded, "Yesss, you say you wish to join me?" I shrugged with a small smile, "That depends. What's in it for me besides walking out of here alive?" Orochimaru thought about it, "What do you want?" I thought about it, "I understand from Han-sensei's books that a harem is desirable. Can I have one of those?" Orochimaru blinked and then laughed, "Of course! Nothing is easier my boy! You may have your pick of any prisoners we take and any kunoichi we have! Is there anything else you desire?"
I thought about it, "I'm not used to being told what to do, so I'd like a great degree of liberty to do as I please. I'll help you out as much as I can, but I'd like to be able to sometimes take little self-imposed missions of my own in between if that's not too much hassle. For example, if I pick up an interesting chakra with my chakra sense or see an interesting bounty hunting opportunity, I might want to go after it. Also, I am friends with the Jinchuriki of Suna, Taki and Kumo, I'd like to go see them about once a year if that's at all possible." Orochimaru nodded, "That is fine, so long as you do not betray me." I nodded with a smile, "Wonderful! Final request, no sticking seals on me. The one that's on me already is dangerous enough, I don't want anything interfering with it and screwing up my chakra."
Orochimaru looked slightly put out by that but then he nodded, "Very well. Guren will show you to your quarters. Feel free to explore, but don't leave the hideout." I looked at the pretty girl with the dark blue pony tail and green clothes and smiled as she gestured for me to follow her. I bounced with a little burst of steam and caught up to her, "You know you're really pretty right?"
Guren twitched slightly and looked at me, "No. I do not want to be in a harem!" I laughed, "Oh I'm not assembling it yet! It's too soon for that! I still have to get to know you first! Are you going to be my friend?" Guren frowned, "No." "Senpai?" "No." "Reluctant bodyguard?" "No." "Allied kunoichi who shows me to my quarters?" "Yes," Guren replied as she opened a door, "Here you are." I smiled as I stepped into the small dark room and slid my pack off my shoulders. Then I smiled over my shoulders, "Thanks Guren!" She snorted, "Don't get used to it." I just laughed as she closed the door.
==Five Minutes Later==
Guren strode back into the throne room and upon finding Lord Orochimaru already gone she strode to his laboratory and poked her head in, "Lord Orochimaru?"
"Come in," Orochimaru called over his shoulder. Guren walked in, paying little heed to the stasis tubes and medical equipment scattered all over the room. She quickly found Orochimaru studying something through a microscope, "You aren't seriously going to let that kid have a harem are you?" Orochimaru smiled without looking up, "Guren-chan, do you know how much power Jinchuriki possess?"
Guren shook her head, "No my lord." Orochimaru's smile widened slightly, "To have a Jinchuriki is to be respected as a village by the shinobi world. Each of the Five Great Shinobi Nations have one, and three of the five have two. Hidden Sand, Leaf and Waterfall have one each. With a Jinchuriki, Hidden Sound can go from being invisible to a great shinobi nation because now we have somebody to counter the trump cards of the other great shinobi nations."
"So yes," he continued, "if the price of Kishu-kun's loyalty is a harem, I will certainly let him have one. Besides, the fact is that having multiple people he cares about here will almost certainly keep him loyal, especially if those people are all, or even mostly loyal kunoichi of Hidden Sound. On top of that, doing so might produce a clan of powerful kekkai genkai users with the potential to be Jinchuriki after him, or vessels for me. Really you will likely be required to reproduce when you come of age to preserve that marvelous kekkai genkai of yours, so you shouldn't write off his advances so lightly. No Jinchuriki has weak children, and mixed with your own abilities I would expect the offspring to be absolutely stupendous specimens."
Guren stared in mild horror, "I still think I'd like to gauge his character a little more if that's alright with you my lord." Orochimaru laughed, "Of course, of course. Just be warned, in addition to their cataclysmic strength, Jinchuriki are also known for being remarkably stubborn. You might not have much of a choice in the matter whether it's an order or not!"
Guren twitched slightly, "Yes Lord Orochimaru, I'll bear it in mind."
==Meanwhile==
I was dying to test my abilities against my new comrades, so a few minutes after Guren dropped me off, I went out and started sniffing around. It wasn't hard to find a training center, I just had to look for the telltale flares of chakra that signaled jutsu being used. When I got there, I found a white haired boy demolishing four other boys and a girl. He was fast I noted, but not as fast as me. I watched for a moment and then as the five were lying on the ground panting and wincing in pain, I looked at the white haired boy, "You look like you could go another round."
The white haired boy gave me a haughty look, "Are you volunteering?" I shrugged, "Are you accepting?" "Don't do it," one of the boys he had been fighting groaned, "he's a monster!" I raised an eyebrow, "If you believe Iwa shinobi, so am I." I smiled at the white haired boy, "So let's see who's more of a monster."
The white haired boy slid into a narrow stance and grew claws and spiky bone armor, "You will lose." I grinned, "Nice to see a confident opponent." Then I rocketed forward on an eruption of steam and hammered an Eruption Punch into his guard, which almost broke my hand, but did send him flying. I shook my hand a little as steam coiled off it due to the chakra healing whatever damage there was, "Well, those are some mighty strong bones you've got there." Bonesy looked stunned as he picked himself up off the floor, and then it turned to a look of excitement, "And that's quite a formidable punch you've got. I think this may be more fun than I originally expected."
We settled into our stances to go another round and I grinned, "I agree."
==Meanwhile, Iwa==
Kurotsuchi groaned as she looked around the tiny charcoal covered shack and ran her fingers through her hair in frustration, "Why is it always the cute ones?! First Deidara-nii and now little Kishu-kun! I wanted him on my genin team…" Onoki looked sideways at his granddaughter from where he was floating, "Well then maybe you should've dropped by and talked to him every once in a while instead of just stalking him from a mile away. Now he's gone missing and I'm going to have to send squads to track and find him."
As Kurotsuchi pouted, Roshi ran a finger along the bottom of one of the shelves, "Well, it appears he didn't intend to come back. He's taken all of Han's books and scrolls with him. You don't suppose he was going looking for me do you?" Onoki shook his head, "No, it seems unlikely. He told me point blank that if I attacked him he'd unleash the Five Tails, and either he's brilliant at bluffing or he's actually capable of it, because there wasn't the slightest apprehension or unease in him when he said it. He'd only come to you if he were seeking further training as a Jinchuriki or a friend, and he didn't seem to have any interest in making friends in Iwa."
Kurotsuchi picked up the one book left in the shack and opened it, and then she had to laugh a little, "First thoughts on Iwa: Cold, unfriendly, bad food. Yeah Gramps, he's got us pegged." Roshi guffawed with laughter as Onoki huffed, "The food's not that bad…"
Then Kurotsuchi kept flipping through the book and her eyes widened as she saw that it was filled with maps of the village in the first section and sketches of people in the second. It didn't take her long to find Onoki.
Lord Tsuchikage Onoki, old, short, quiet but proud, big chakra. Doesn't like paperwork or bombs, does like his granddaughter and rice, as well as Deidara and possibly me to a lesser extent. Tries to hide his affections and aversions. Notices me but pretends not to so that he doesn't have to deal with me as a shinobi and can let me be a kid, appears to have much the same attitude towards Kurotsuchi even though he can't be quite as distant with her due to the way she follows him around (it's quite adorable).
"When did he find all this out?" Kurotsuchi asked herself quietly.
Then she jumped slightly as she realized Roshi and Onoki were reading over her shoulder. "He actually used to go out into the village and sneak around observing everybody and everything on a regular basis," Onoki declared, "I suppose it makes sense that he'd make note of what he saw. Most people didn't see him, even back then he was surprisingly good at stealth for someone who hasn't been through the academy. Keep going, I want to see what all he wrote."
Kurotsuchi flipped through and found a picture of her father on the next page. She blinked and then a thought occurred to her and a turn of the page later she found herself looking at a picture of herself smiling and laughing.
"Kurotsuchi, Onoki's granddaughter, mild tomboy, absolutely idolizes her grandpa, somewhat mischievous and cheats at Shogi using genjutsu…"
Kurotsuchi blushed, he knew about that? Then she kept reading and her heart fluttered a little as she read the rest of the description.
"Oddly endearing that, the brains and skill are definitely there to succeed her grandpa (kami the squeals of delight if anyone ever tells her that) and if she cultivates those good looks she's going to be even more of a bombshell than Deidara's art. She doesn't appear to be aware that her stalking me is getting her reverse stalked because my clones are apparently just that good. She's quite good at sneaking about, if I weren't a sensory type I'd never find her, but she needs to work on knowing when she's being stalked back. Very skilled in the aforementioned genjutsu and also making good headway on her elemental ninjutsu. All in all, fun. Will definitely investigate romantic possibilities in the future if nothing bad happens."
Kurotsuchi was blushing redder than her shirt by the time she finished and totally spaced out for the rest of the book until Onoki growled right at the end. Kurotsuchi snapped back into the zone and read what she then saw was a goodbye note.
"To my dear reader, if you are reading this, then I'm probably at least halfway across the continent by now. No I really don't intend to come back. I appreciate the timidly delivered food and honestly I could have put up with the cold for Kurotsuchi, but I knew the attacks and abuse for being a Jinchuriki were probably coming eventually, and I made up my mind a long time ago that if I didn't have some indication that I'd be allowed to be an active shinobi instead of just Iwa's reserve Jinchuriki at home by the time the attacks started, I was getting the hell out of here and going somewhere else where I'd be able to actually put my abilities to use. Well the physical attacks have started as you are by now no doubt aware, and I retaliated a hundred-fold as is my wont. Now Lord Tsuchikage has visited to tell me there are calls for my execution and that some now consider me too dangerous to live, which I find ironic given that shinobi are SUPPOSED to be dangerous, and I'm not going to stick around and put up with such nonsense. If all I'm going to be allowed to be here is a regularly kicked house pet/guard dog, I'm not staying.
I may go to Kumo, their Jinchuriki are pretty cool, or I may go somewhere in worse need of a Jinchuriki. I've got a bad feeling about Ame, so I probably won't go there, but Suna and Taki would probably both welcome a new Jinchuriki, and both of theirs are in dire need of friends. Being able to see them only a few days a year each isn't doing them nearly enough good. I'm not sure where I'll go, but rest assured, you won't catch me. I wasn't joking about being halfway across the continent by now. I can run to Kumo in two days easily, and yes I HAVE done it several times before."
"So, until we meet again my good Iwa-nin, farewell and safe travels,
Kishu"
"That little brat!" Onoki growled, "This could disrupt the balance of power among the five great nations! We've got to get him back before all hell breaks loose!"
==Meanwhile==
Guren leapt back as the wall exploded, steam, dust and manic laughter filling the corridor. As the dust and steam continued to whirl, she was able to make out two figures fighting in the middle of it. Then a long sharp bone blade came flying out of the steam and missed her by a hair's breadth as one of the figures dealt the other a vicious uppercut. Guren's eyes widened as she realized the form that had just been hit hard enough to be lifted off the ground was Kimimaro.
"Well, it would appear our new Jinchuriki has found a playmate," declared a calm voice from beside her. Guren looked over at Lord Orochimaru's top spy and apprentice, "So it would seem," she replied in a polite but cool tone, "Any idea why they're fighting?"
Kabuto pushed his glasses up his nose as Kimimaro returned the favor of smashing Kishu through a wall, "Kishu-san has been isolated his entire life. He's never had a friend or anyone to really test his skills against, just the scrolls on jutsu and combat techniques left to him by the previous Gobi Jinchuriki. He probably saw Kimimaro practicing and wanted to test himself. I must say though, I am very surprised he is doing so well."
The corridor shook and Kabuto grimaced, "Although, perhaps you should reign the two of them in while we still have a base?" Guren sighed, "You're right." She flipped through a quick set of hand seals and thrust her hand into the cloud of steam and dust. Instantly the cloud began to crystalize, rapidly spreading away from her hand and traveling through the cloud like a racing plague, leaving nothing but smoky brown crystal in its wake.
Within seconds, the din of battle had been silenced. Kabuto shot Guren a glance out the corner of his eye, "You didn't crystalize them with the cloud did you?" Guren snorted, "And risk that Jinchuriki blowing himself, Kimimaro and whoever else is in there apart? Of course not. They're just trapped like flies in amber." She snapped her hands together into the seal for release and the crystal prison dissolved. "Enough you two!" she yelled as she advanced through the opening, "Knock it off before you bring the whole place down!"
Kishu and Kimimaro looked at her from where they were both poised to spring back into action against each other and then rose. Kishu extended his hand with a smile, "Sorry for not introducing myself earlier, name's Kishu. This was fun, we'll have to do it again sometime." Kimimaro rose and shook Kishu's hand, "My name is Kimimaro. You're insane." He smiled faintly, "I have a feeling we will get along well." Kishu laughed, "Nice to meetcha Kimimaro."
All of a sudden a very pretty but pulverized redhead sporting a rapidly swelling and turning black eye latched onto Kishu's arm, "Well hello handsome! I'm Tayuya. Mind if I show you around?" Kishu blinked into the bright friendly smile aimed solely at him, "Um, sure?"
Kidomaru watched as Tayuya dragged Kishu away, realizing that she had just procured a new Kimimaro-proof vest, "I have never in my life wished I was a girl so much. She's a fuckin' genius." "Ditto," Sakon and Ukon chorused. Jirobo cracked one eye and panted, "I'd say "language", but I agree. Ow…"
Then they were all suddenly aware of a bespectacled medic standing over them, his glasses shining so that his eyes were invisible behind the seemingly glowing white circles in the shadow of his face. Kabuto twirled a scalpel between his fingers with a sick grin, "I can arrange that for you."
All four rapidly covered themselves and shook their heads with faces ten shades paler than they'd been a moment earlier. The shadows immediately disappeared from Kabuto's face as his sick grin turned into a sunny smile and he straightened up, "What a pity, I'm sure it would've been an interesting procedure. Well, if you ever change your minds, you know who to call!" He strode away chuckling.
A moment later, after Kabuto was around the corner, Kidomaru muttered, "Kami that guy's creepy…" and immediately found a scalpel buried in the floor an inch from his ear. As he flinched away from it like it would explode, Kabuto's voice echoed from the corridor, "Aw, I missed!" Then the mad scientist cackle started as Kabuto strolled off.
==Meanwhile, Konoha==
Naruto groaned as he came to, his entire body aching. He rolled over and began dragging himself away, acutely aware of the fact that his leg was broken as it dragged behind him, screaming in protest at every bump and rock in the hard dirt. "Enough," the nine-year-old Jinchuriki growled as he grit his teeth, transformed into a fox and limped towards the village gates, I've. Had. ENOUGH. I'm out of here! If I ever come back here, it'll be to burn this place to the ground! I'll show em. I'll show em all! They haven't seen the last of Naruto Uzumaki!
