I don't own Naruto. But I do own the blade in my veins…just kidding you sick sadists- if any of you are sadists.
A Blade In The Mist, Chapter Two: What the Heck!
Naruto and Mizuro stared wide eyed at the form of the robe wearing man, who began coughing and swearing. Ninja were prepared for anything but this was just too out of the usual. A Kage, wounded and half-conscious lying in front of them after they destroyed his train and killed his guards. Was fate really against them or what?
The blond took a few steps forward, cautious to any sign of hostility and flipped the man on his back. His face was covered with dust and he had a small cut on his left cheek but besides that he was fine. Through some burned portions of his robes he could see a few minor wounds. It was like he had just fallen of a medium sized cliff, not escaped and exploding train.
The man opened his eyes and stared into the cerulean ones of Naruto with his own set of the same color. Despite his coughing he had a serious look on his face and his gaze could tear holes into the blond. In and instant Mizuro was at his neck, a poisoned kunai in his hand while a pair of Shadow Clones watched from behind, kunai and shuriken in both their hands. Their Byakugan was active in all it's glory.
"Mizukage-san, you are under arrest by the Core Army of Konohagakure no Sato. Make any move and I will make your passing as painfully as possible."
"I-cough- I surren-cough- surrender. Just-cough cough- just give me –cough- a few- cough- a few bandages- cough- I'll take care of my own wounds." The Hyuuga signaled his teammate who got a small medical kit from his bag. When the elder Kage tried to reach for it he immediately retracted his hand to his side, probably from a surge of pain. Seeing that he was unable to even stand, ?Naruto sat near to him and began bandaging their prisoner himself, earning a glare from Mizuro.
" Thank you…young man!"
"Name's Naruto jii-san! What's yours?"
" Getsu. Hogai Getsu. Yondaime Mizukage. What do you plan to do to me ?"
" Take you back to our positions. And then lock you up." Mizuro said in a joyful manner. It was like he was saying a funny joke- just his style.
"Yeah, you'll probably be used to end the war in our favor. A bargaining chip or a hostage." Naruto spoke in the same way.
" And how do you intend to get me there."
"Through the woods, the same way we came, then by no man's land."
"Are you serious? With a wounded prisoner that can't stand up you intend to get trough the lines of both my and your armies. You need to have wings to succeed in that attempt."
"He's right you know. We barely made it and if we aren't careful he'll slice our heads off with the first occasion. Plus they'll send men to look for him when his train won't arrive. And checking with the other railroad stations on the way they'll know the area where he disappeared. Tracker pro's. In two hours max this place will be swarming with them."
"Then what do we do?" Mizuro took out a map and examined it. This is the place where we are now, and our lines are here. Damn ,we'll never make it!"
"What's this big grey thing over here?"
"Rock formations. A few miles southwards there is a long line of mountains cutting the country in two. Supposedly a few guerilla troops have their base over there."
"Why don't we try reaching that point." Now the Hyuuga looked at Naruto like he was on crack." It's the logical solution. Every area north of here is full of governmental troops. To the east there's the same story because that's where the main front is. But the regions due south are clear, maybe only a few convoys for the front or some policeman. The way is clear. In three days we can reach our destination if we travel extra-cautious."
Now Mizuro was more than confused. ' Damn ,this guy is good ! Where the heck did he come up with this plan.' Unknown to him, inside Naruto's mind realm, a certain jounin was also examining the image of the map and as he did he gave various suggestions to the blond. Saizo was so bored that this kind of assignments were the only way to spend his time besides teaching his vessel some jutsu or playing shogi with his roommate.
"Okay we'll do that but we need a place to rest first. We couldn't get much sleep lately and we also have a burden with us. There's a cave a few miles from here. We can replenish our supplies there and wait for the sun to set. Exactly twelve hours."
"You take him and I'll cover or track." As the Hyuuga moved away with their prisoner Naruto flashed trough a long list of seals finishing in Bird. Concentrating chakra in the nearest water source he shouted." Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu- Water stile: Water Dragon Techinque.". A large reptilian like beast rose out and crashed in the middle of the burning remnants, extinguishing all fire and getting rid of their smell if any hunter dogs would be sent after them. Again he made a few seals, fairly fewer than for the last and called for and Earth Avalanche. The remaining corpses and metal pieces were swallowed into the ground, which solidified. Lastly he gathered the remaining bits of chakra in the area by willing them back into his body. No trace was left from their successful attack.
They soon found out that traveling with a prisoner considerably lowers your speed and stamina quicker. If you also had to look out for ambushes or escape attempts that could really wind you. Naruto was a freak in terms of endurance but Mizuro was not and Hogai Getsu's wounds were painful too. So the blond found himself in the position of squad leader and medic at the same time.
x
Water country itself was not as large as the other Elemental Nations or even some of the other countries of the continent. In the Earth Country distances were of hundreds of miles between villages, the same as with Wind Country. The Fire and Lightning had experienced multiple demographical booms over the last century, making them more urbanized. The very term of village was excluded from any chart or map, only huge metropolis or fairly large cities.Third in place were the nations north of Fire. There, along the coastline a large super-metropolis was formed on the territory of Rice Fields and Waterfall. Tea country was also a big nation, but mostly directed towards agriculture.
Water had one eight of Fire's territory, it's power was only granted by Kirigakure and the naval traffic passing by it. One could find it's way across the main island in four days if traveling by foot and only one if using the train. The only major cities- with over 1 mil. Populace- were Kateshima, Kirigakure no Sato and the Capital City. Being so small in size made it easier to control or transport troops. Railway lines filled the land and became a part of the scenery.
The forest were the ambush took place was right between the camp of the besieged port and Kateshima. A blank area with no checkpoints whatsoever. When the Mizukage wanted to pay a visit to the frontlines his personal guard suggested to go around it or use an airplane to get there faster but he had little trust for the Ame supplied aircrafts and preferred the good old fashion, steam powered machines created in the foundries down south. He took a member of the Seven with him and dispatched the to the front. Sakagura Kaiho had died in the surprise attack but six others still remained. And one was now impatiently waiting for the train to arrive.
He was named as Commander of the Suikatsu Corps, sent to this meaningless battle when others could go and fight a real war. 'Let's face it, I'll never be considered as good a Momochi or Hoshigaki. My appointing as a Swordsman is no such a great achievement as I originally tought. All you get is either becoming cold and distant like Zabuza or going crazy like Raiga or even Kisame . I have a large arsenal of Suiton and Raiton jutsu and my kenjutsu is one of the best but no. I'll always be a secondary figure. And where in the name of Valhalla is that idiot of a Kage.'
He bit his thumb, smeared the blood on his other palm and formed a few seals. Lots of kanji in a spider-web pattern appeared where he touched his hand on his left fore-arm." Summoning Technique" A hawk of normal size appeared out of the smoke. His feathers were light-blue, the same color as the sky.
"Go south of here, along the railroad and look for a train from Kateshima."
"Osu" and the talking bird took off. Returning his gaze to the empty station he felt the presence of another shinobi, his predecessor in the post of Commander, and now second in command of the siege. 'From his pace and breathing rhythm as well as heart beats he is afraid' the swordsman concluded without even looking at the newcomer.
"What troubles you, Yoshi-san? Usually you were still in a brothel until noon. Or have the girls become boring to your Heavenly Staff?" He said with a smirk on his face and disgust for the other. Sure he liked to spend some quality time with his girlfriend too but never on duty.' A shinobi is weapon. It needs to be regularly cleaned and sharpened but when it must be used it must be ready at once. Or at least that's what they told us at the academy- freaking liars. All they did was party all day long and barely made it to class. One day I'll take care of those fateles cowards.' He promised to himself.
"Well do you have anything to report or did you come just to meditate about the immortality of the human soul?"
"Pardon me, senpai, but some of the men from the patrolling area 14 reported strange sounds last night as well as faint chakra remnants. At about 500 hours there was a large ball of smoke but no sound or fire to confirm a blast and they took it as the train…"
"Incompetent idiots! Why didn't they investigate? What if it was a masked detonation?" now the colonel began to sweat visibly" Are they kids or soldiers? By any standards that means that a group of enemies passed trough our lines. You dumb, green eyed, son of a whore! If anything serious happened you'll be the one to blame. All those on patrol in area 14 last night are now sent to Court Martial for lack of attention on duty and aiding enemy troops on an infiltration mission. By Thor's ass! We have to find that train immediately!"
x
Naruto and Mizuro made camp in a cave a few miles south and had a short meal consisting in soldier pills. Getsu was also given some rice and sushi, which both Leaf nin loathed. Against all odds a rain started to pour heavily, aided by strong winds of 120 mph. It was the rainy season and because of the nearby shoreline, they were right in the middle of a storm. Both the Uzumaki and the Hyuuga stood powerlessly and watched as tree got carried up into the air with their roots pulled from the soil completely.
" A Divine Storm" The Kage said.
"A what, jii-san?"
"Divine Storm. That's the first sailors and colonists of this island called it. They appear once a year, and you can only see them at the last moment. Any ship out in the sea right now is more than likely smashed to the reefs or sunken. When I was a sailor apprentice, at about your age I once saw a whole battleship flying over my head. Five thousand deaths. Some call it a punishment from Heaven for our sins."
"Do you believe in such nonsense?"
"I was taught like that since I was a child. If you don't believe or you don't pretend to believe you will be ostracized by the rest of the people here. Our religion is very strict when it comes to myths and superstitions."
"You can't choose your religion here? But that's a major breaking of international laws!"
"On paper we have a lot of freedom but every boy and girl is educated in the same way and if any goes astray he either gets a beating from his parents or he is fired from his job, thrown out of his home. Many fanatics roam the country. I believe that is one of the reasons for which you entered this war against us."
"It more than logical. We are supporters of democratic ideas and free will. We have a Daimyo, yes, but he rules with the aid of a Parliament, a prime-minister and his cabinet. We allow any person that has a home that adds to the state profit by 2000 ryou each year to vote. We have one of the best political systems in the world."
"That may be so but you still miss the point, Hyuuga-san."
"What do you mean?"
"It should be obvious. Everything is controlled, anyone is studied and any action is premeditated. There have been no accident or stray attacks since humans discovered politics. What you have is just another façade of what we have."
"I don't understand."
"In time you will. Learn to look underneath the underneath." And with that he laid down and closed his eyes. In a matter of minutes he fell asleep.
