NARUTO
The Art of Appropriation
Tender Hands
Elsewhere in Konoha…
"You certainly are a persistent little fly, aren't you?" Ran exclaimed, watching the blue haired man in front of her collapse to his knees again, panting heavily and clutching his knee with both hands. Judging from the extent of the bruises and scuffs all over his body and the way his mouth was bleeding meant that he had been having an incredibly rough time against the woman, who even up to this point looked as though she hadn't even broken a sweat. "You should give up."
"Why should I throw in the towel now? We're just getting started," Kabuto replied, forcing a wide grin across his face. His hands once again became surrounded by a brilliant green aura, the bloody knee he had suffered from a previous hard landing gradually started to fade away, with the ligaments painfully snapping back into place. "I haven't even begun to fight seriously yet."
"Even a wounded fly will have to admit sooner or later that its wings have been cut off. It's cruel, unusual and painful, but that's often the indisputable truth in life," the ronin replied, her frown being replaced by a smile. "This situation is no different to that. There's no denying that you are by far many leagues beneath me and that your wings are close to being severed. Do not force me to inflict a wound upon you that you will never recover from."
And with that comment Kabuto's overconfidence vanished, lowering his face as he looked up at the ronin towering over him like an iron monolith.
It was quite an intimidating sight. Despite her harmless looking appearance and the way she strolled about villages in that carefree manner of hers, Tsukikage Ran was in truth an extremely terrifying person to confront. She was as calm and collected in battle as she was skilled in combat, as proven by his many failed attempts so far to land even a single hit on her. He had tried slashing her, destroying her movements with Chakra Scalpels, binding her in wire, hitting her with throwing knives, and using jutsu on her.
However, at every attempted engagement he made, she countered; tossing and throwing him whenever he tried to make the battle an in-fight, dodging his throwing weapons with ease, and stopping him from using ninjutsu by closing the distance between them in a flash and preventing him from forming any hand seals. It was a skill practiced with samurai called Iaido, where they are able to prevent shinobi from using any jutsu by striking at them with lightning fast speed and disrupting their hand movements, which were the key to most of their techniques.
That wasn't even the best bit.
The most infuriating aspect about the entire duel that had transpired so far was that she had yet to even draw her sword. She was sticking to hand-to-hand combat, which was just as troublesome and irritating.
To sum up the total damage he'd sustained, the woman had not only broken his wrist with her opening toss, but had also broken his other arm in two places, cracked his jaw, dislocated his shoulder, cracked his pelvis and snapped his leg at the knee.
He had to heal himself at every interval to stay in the fight and it was becoming a real chore.
"I can definitely see the difference in skill between us. For someone who fights with such a low-bearing, defensive style, she attacks swiftly in order to disarm her opponents rather than kill them. As expected of the legendary, wandering ronin, she's certainly on a level above that of an ordinary shinobi or samurai," Kabuto thought. He then grinded his teeth together and shook his head angrily. "Still, this is both insulting and infuriating! Am I that far beneath her that she has no need to use her weapon?"
"I'm not through yet," the man declared, regaining his composure quickly and rising to his feet. Wiping his chin down, he once again reverted back to feigning indifference to his situation, reaching around to his pouch and drawing a curved kunai. He twirled the blade between his fingers in a threatening manner, "I've still got time on my hands to spare."
Ran sighed, "Nobody ever takes the option of giving up. Men are so stubborn." Content with his answer, the samurai then looked back up with a narrowed gaze, "Then you have decided your fate."
Kabuto chuckled and rushed at the woman with his knife drawn back. Zigzagging swiftly on his approach, he slashed at her with the blade in a chopping motion, carving a nice, downward arc through the air.
The moment he moved in to engage her Ran used her thumb to flick her katana out of its sheath, grabbing it with her right hand and drawing it out in one smooth motion. She blocked the incoming strike and knocked the young male away when she completely removed her sword from its scabbard.
The enemy ninja stepped away, flipping his blade around into a backwards facing grip. The two circled quickly, with Ran keeping the rhythm of the fight on her terms and her opponent set clearly in her sights. Kabuto then came in again with another series of attacks, yelling out as he rammed his blade across at various angles to try and carve a nice piece out of his target. He closed the distance at every thrust, but Ran easily made sure that his attacks didn't make their mark by keeping him out of reach.
The samurai parried her opponent's every strike effortlessly, the fourth parry throwing the shinobi off of her again when he got too close.
Stepping back, Ran took to the outside. With her sword lowered Kabuto saw an opening and immediately seized the opportunity. As soon as he regained his footing, he lunged in with a loud yell, slashing his blade across in a compact hooking motion.
This was the moment the samurai had been leading up to.
Ran allowed the man to take a swing at her first, at the last second and with blinding speed dropping low underneath his strike before carving her blade across his abdomen. That was all that was needed to decide the outcome of the fight when she slashed through him in one go, a cry of agony escaping Kabuto's lips as he stumbled forward, his knife still extended.
The samurai stood up to full height and turned around, watching her opponent continue staggering forward, obviously in excruciating pain. Groaning loudly and with every step being accompanied by a wobble, the young wounded male then fell flat over seconds later, hitting the ground with a deafening thud and blood dripping out of the wound in his side.
The battle was over.
With a bat of her eyes Ran threw her sword out to her side, twirling it and sheathing it all cool style. The sound of cold, sliding metal echoed throughout the entire neighborhood before ending with a loud click when the weapon was returned to its rightful place. She then slipped her hands back into her sleeves and continued to glare down at her fallen opponent.
Remarkably enough he was still alive and kicking. Well… when she said kicking, she really meant groveling.
"You're young and foolish. I wanted to spare you the pain of the sharp edge of my sword, but you left me no choice," Ran stated with a furrowed brow. "With that wound, it is highly unlikely that you will ever be able to fight at your full potential again."
Coughing, Kabuto grabbed a fistful of dirt and rammed it into the ground. Biting back the pain, he glanced around and over his shoulder at the samurai staring down at him, his expression clearly revealing his frustration. "Y-You… You're strong…"
"That's been mentioned before… many times," the samurai exclaimed, tilting her head. "You'd better hope for your sake that these aren't your last words, because you can do much better."
"I can't die (cough)… and I won't die… not from a wound like this. I refuse to yield to an attack of that level," Kabuto choked through bloody teeth, while attempting to hop back to his feet. However, that one strike had done so much damage to his body it felt as though he was trying to push a rooted tree up a mountain with blocks of lead tied to his feet. Just one slash and he was close to slipping away.
The area around the wound started glowing blue when he activated his healing technique and it quickly started working its magic. Ran watched on with minor interest and intrigue as his blood dried up and the affected area around the open wound started to heal. However, after a few seconds and looking as though the wound was about to close up completely, the man's body shuddered and he retched. The pool of blood forming around his face expanded even more, with his healing jutsu fading away.
"D-Dammit!" Kabuto choked out, with blood dripping freely from his mouth. "My body isn't responding how I want it to. She sliced through my chakra coils! How the hell did she do that?"
"I'd recommend that you drop this life of a shinobi of yours and start living honestly. Become a humble man and express no further ill will towards others." Her eyes did a thorough check of his condition, as well as the enraged glare he was directing towards her. "Looking at you however… I can see that adhering to that choice now would be an incredibly difficult task. Unless you choose now to be smart, I see no hope for you. Give me your word that you will turn over a new leaf and I will forget this encounter ever occurred between us."
Kabuto grinned while struggling to push himself back up. Body shaking and bleeding profusely at the abdomen and from the mouth, he met the gaze of the woman towering over him.
He balled his hands into fists, using whatever strength he could muster to keep himself up as well as conscious.
"Unfortunately, I do not have the luxury of choice here… not in my line of work," Kabuto sneered, opening his right palm and revealing a cluster of paper balls rolling around in his grasp. Ran flinched and stepped away, a split second before all of them went up in a cloud of white smoke. "I may not be turning over a new leaf, but I can promise you that we will never face each other in conflict again. Not after tonight…"
The man in glasses was consumed in the vapors, disappearing from sight the moment his smokescreen exploded into view. Seconds later, the wall of white lifted, revealing nothing but a pool of blood slowly drying on the floor at Ran's feet, with it being the only remains of her previous opponent's presence.
The wandering samurai furrowed her brow at the dry patch before loosening her grip on her sword.
"Smart move… but not smart enough…"
Shrugging her shoulders and rolling her arms up the sleeves of her robes to conceal them, she turned heel and hurriedly marched away. Making sure to collect her sake bottle on the way out of the area, she started towards home. All the while her mind was a whirl of concern and thought.
"There's some other game playing out in the shadows of these countries and that man is involved in them in some way. Though it is none of my concern, I should really prepare Naruto for whatever villains he is likely to face in his future," Ran murmured inside her head, tightening her glare and quickening her pace. She then suddenly broke into a run, attacking the streets as quickly as she could. "You'd better be alright kid. I'll never forgive you if you're not."
XXX
Back at Naruto's apartment…
In spite of Konohagakure being a village quite literally populated by light-footed shinobi, it still took a shockingly long time for the security forces within the vicinity itself to respond to an incident when called for.
It was the same bogus situation associated with every other country in the world. Wherever there was a standing law enforcement service, and the shinobi were quite frankly the law around here, and they're called in for something important, they always took too damn long to arrive to the scene. In the cases of a burglary, an attack or some other such emergency, they always come up with some sort of lame response that all their units are busy, they can't spare anyone at the moment or that your situation isn't as important as the next person's. That is whenever their assistance is required. However, whenever you don't need assistance, you're just going about your usual business or you simply wish to avoid the abovementioned law enforcers for the day, they are always, by some crazy coincidence or misfortune, around the next corner.
Now, the case that was unveiling itself right now could be jotted up to a couple of crazy, over-the-top factors. This was simply either the machinations of an unknown otherworldly force taking shape on some random person's life or it was simply Murphy's Law playing its sick, twisted hand to the world… because it sure as hell played it for Naruto tonight.
"I think this is number five…" the jinchuriki mumbled, his face hidden by his arms.
Iruka, dressed in his normal shinobi attire, was sitting on the boy's ruined porch right next to him, attempting to console his student over his mind rattling confrontation with the enemy shinobi from earlier. Yim and Ran were also with him, standing on either side of the youngster in a very protective manner while carefully surveying the decimated backyard.
Upon hearing his mumble, the Chunin raised an eyebrow down at him, "Number five?"
"Huh?"
"Number five, Naruto," Iruka said a little louder. "That's what I'm asking you about."
"R-Right. Yeah. Number five of Murphy's Law," Naruto continued while raising his hand. Still not looking up, he twirled his extended finger in a circular motion. "I read this in one of those lifestyle books Shiho-chan lent to me the last time I was in the library. The fifth law is either 'the chance of the bread falling with the buttered side down is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet' or 'the greater the value of the rug, the greater the probability that the cat will throw up on it'."
"That sounds… feasible. I guess bad luck just has that sort of feel about it," Iruka nodded in agreement, before glancing up at Yim standing closest to Naruto.
The martial artist, who was currently holding the little kitten she had picked up on her way here in her arms, turned away awkwardly and started whistling nonchalantly.
It didn't take a genius to see that the resident jinchuriki was sulking. Around him were about a dozen shinobi from the regular forces scattered throughout the area and were presently assessing the extent of the damages caused by the fight that had taken place right underneath their noses.
The Hokage was also in attendance. With his hands behind his back and a discomforting expression on his face, he looked out across the garden through narrowed eyes. He also had a pair of ANBU standing on either side of him keeping close watch of the area in case of unexpected hostilities.
The elder was also trying to get his head around the whole mess as to why a couple of young Genin from another village attempted to catch Naruto at his home unawares and kill him.
All things considered, the blonde had a right to be sulking.
It had taken all of the ninja currently in the area half an hour to get down here after being called, while Yim showed up exactly twenty seconds after Dosu had fled and Ran about two minutes after dealing with her problem. Now, while Naruto's friends had their reasons for being late, including Iruka who had been asleep at his desk finalizing his reports…
Just what the fuck took Konoha's 'Elite' so damn long to get down here? What kind of security were they really running?
I mean, geez, he could have been killed, but instead he was having it even worse…
"Great, I'm not only broken but now I'm homeless," Naruto sighed, rubbing his still aching wrists. "Well… I guess I should start looking for the most comfortable cardboard box in the neighborhood. Ugh. Perhaps I can get one outside of Ichiraku's Ramen; it's convenient and I get three square meals a day, easy."
Now that his adrenaline rush had worn out it didn't take much for him to start making out the various pings and pangs about his body, beginning with the broken bones.
Yup: cracked ribs, a broken shoulder blade, a mangled ankle, a broken forearm and a busted foot. On top of that his other ankle and wrists were sprained, he was cut up from glass and debris from all over, and if that weren't enough he still had this ungodly ringing in his ears he had trouble getting rid of.
It was also the main reason for his odd response to Iruka's first question, on account that he couldn't make it out.
Sure he had been able to neutralize the imbalance effects with his chi, but he was pretty sure his eardrums were close to shot.
"You know… Naruto…" Iruka began, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder upon hearing his fuss over his apartment.
"Pardon?"
"Naruto… can you hear me?"
"What?" the blonde replied a little louder, clearing out his ear with a finger. "Sorry, sensei. You'll have to speak up. I'm getting a lot of white noise here."
"Naruto!" Iruka sighed, adjusting his volume for appropriate transmission. Patting the jinchuriki on the shoulder to keep him still, he continued, "You don't have to worry about anything, alright. The Hokage will set everything straight for you. Not just your apartment but also your living conditions. Consider it a shinobi insurance policy. You have my word."
"Really?" The glimmer of hope in the boy's eyes returned with a twinkle. The Chunin nodded with a reassuring smile.
"Really…"
"What?" Naruto shouted, earning yet another sigh from his teacher.
While Yim giggled, Iruka shook his head towards the world he was currently facing, and Ran took a better look at the boy's injuries for herself, the four of them were eventually approached by the Third Hokage, along with his ANBU guard and one other shinobi, who looked to be a medical-ninja.
While the other Chunin around them checked out the largest of the fallen debris and rubble, and began moving stuff around, Iruka made room for the field medic as she went in to check on Naruto. She quickly ran damage control using the Mystical Palm Technique, clearing up the scars and scuffs all along his body, healing the sprains, and doing what she could for the broken bones.
As she went about pulling out some bandages and prepared to fasten them around his most serious of injuries, the Hokage smiled as he gazed down at the young boy's face. Naruto glanced up at the elderly man with a perplexed expression in play.
"You've certainly been busy tonight, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen exclaimed, loud enough for even the half-deaf youngster to hear. The village leader exhaled a small cloud of smoke from his pipe, at the same time looking the newly made Genin over. "How do you feel?"
"Like rolled up ramen dough," the jinchuriki replied with a look of distaste. "I'm in pain all over and I'm in desperate need to change the soundtrack I'm still hearing."
"Oh… hold on," the kunoichi wrapping up his arm in gauze spoke up. With her free hand, she ran her glowing palms over his ears, making the necessary incisions without the need for surgery or hospital equipment. Seconds later, the piercing sound vanished and the noises of Naruto's world returned with two, simultaneous pops. The medical ninja lowered her hand seconds later with a smile, "There you go. Better?"
A grin sprouted on the boy's face and he raised his hands, "Thank Kami, I can hear agai-OW!" He crossed his arms over his torso sharply.
Moving around wasn't such a good idea at this point.
The Third chuckled, "Well, I'm just glad to see that you're alive. You must have been put through quite an ordeal to be in such a state." He tilted his head at the cringing youngster, who had his left arm forced back out to be properly bandaged up. "So… was the real world of the shinobi anything like what you expected?"
"Honestly, Hokage-jiji," Naruto groaned, looking up again with a weak grin, "I expected to come face to face with the shinobi world out there, not on my balcony at nine o'clock in the afternoon."
"Prepare for the unexpected then. That's the only advice I can give you right now. Though I doubt something like this will ever happen to you again in the foreseeable future, I can guarantee you right now that there will be more nasty surprises for you once you step outside of this village's gates," Hiruzen stated, removing the pipe from his mouth and pointing it in his direction. "These are the trials a shinobi is expected to face. It may not always be filled with grand explosions, last-minute rescues and heroics, but it's our job. What you pulled off tonight was just a slice of the bad stuff you're probably going to face out there."
"I'll try to be a little bit more careful next time then," the blonde replied, feeling his arm get fastened into a sling. The kunoichi did quick work. "I can't let a silly thing like this get to me. I won't have it. No matter how many times I get knocked down, I will always get back up."
"That's the spirit!" Hiruzen replied, slipping the pipe between his lips again.
From there, the village leader, Yim, Ran and Iruka watched on in silence as the kunoichi finished stitching up her patient. Though Naruto proved to be a difficult hospital visitor at times, now that he was out of it and almost completely drained of energy he was making life so much easier for the person that was treating him. It was almost a pleasure.
Every now and again the group gathered around the porch would look back towards the backyard to see the squads of shinobi present move more and more debris over to one side of the area. Already, a significant amount of fence, foliage and wood had been piled up over by the destroyed hedges in the corner, almost like it was ready for a bonfire. It would be one heck of a bonfire if they could get some kerosene. But right now really wasn't the time.
With narrowed eyes, Naruto watched as the tree at the edge of his garden that had snapped at the center get hauled out and from the hedgerows behind it, saw the body of Zaku get exhumed from the brush. Carried over the yard by a lone shinobi, the audience observed closely as the man laid the boy out over a stretcher and pulled a blanket over him. The fact that it was pulled up over his head told everyone everything they needed to know about his condition.
Hiruzen sighed. "At times it's almost unbearable… seeing a child like that die at such a young age." He looked back down at Naruto to see him glowering across at the dead teenager covered by the sheet. "You needn't feel shame or regret over what you've done, Naruto. In fact… you should be feeling proud of yourself."
"Proud?" Naruto murmured questionably.
"Yes. You defended yourself admirably against an entire team of Genin that was out to take your life. Whether they were rookies or not it doesn't matter, but what you performed out here tonight was an extraordinary feat no ordinary academy graduate could possibly pull off, especially on their first day. Not only that, but you were also caught off guard, severely injured and extremely disorientated, and even with your condition you were able to successfully ward them off, and at the same time take down two of them," the old Sarutobi said, a small smile gracing his lips. "There's only one thing I can think of that is substantial enough to effectively express my amazement and that is well done."
Naruto lowered his head further.
Even though the village leader had so charitably bestowed such praise upon him, he still felt like he didn't deserve it.
No…
It's not like he didn't deserve it. It felt more like a step-down than a step-up…
"I know. But…"
"But?" Hiruzen raised an eyebrow.
"Those three… they… they were really out to kill me. Over the course of the twenty minutes I was fighting for my life, I had this terrible thought lingering at the back of my head that things could have gone the wrong way," Naruto looked up at the elder, eyes narrowed. "I could have been killed just as easily as those two. I was riding the whole thing out on fumes and if the third one had tried to attack me at the end, there was a strong chance that I could have lost…"
"But you didn't," Hiruzen pointed, stopping the boy in his tracks. "What does that say about you? What does that say about your strength, your will power, and your determination to keep on going? All that it's saying is that even though it was three against one, even though the odds were stacked against you, your resolve was the stronger. True, things could have gone differently, sometimes we can't help it. It's just the way things are in most cases. You could have been killed on your balcony or when they moved in to finish you off, but events unfolded in your favor. They may have been strong individually yes, but in truth, they were simply matched up with the wrong opponent."
"It happens sometimes," Ran affirmed, while her gaze remained directed elsewhere. "Technique isn't completely full proof. There is always going to be a counter and there is always going to be a weakness."
Naruto considered the elder's words carefully for some time, his eyes darting about a bit as he pieced together all of the information given to him and attempted to settle the nerves shooting through his body. After about a minute or so, he decided to leave the discussion at that and nodded his head affirmatively, looking away with a deep sigh to follow.
Even though the boy looked as though he had laid the situation to rest, Hiruzen noticed that he was still troubled by something by the way he laced his hands together and fidgeted about nervously. This made the elder himself a little bit uncomfortable, since the youngster had yet to divulge all of the details of the events that had transpired out here. Although he had described the fight and everything that had occurred between the exchanges in full, the Third Hokage was positive that there had been words exchanged as well and not just punches.
While the medical ninja moved on to wrapping bandages around the boy's waist when he removed his jacket, Naruto suddenly decided to speak again.
What he said next came as a great shock to everyone who was familiar with the name, "It was Mizuki…"
Hiruzen, who was at that moment looking over the progress of the garden cleanup for the tenth time that night alongside his guards, caught wind of the words the boy spoke and spun around. He quickly glanced down at the Genin with a staggered gaze, "What was that, Naruto?"
Standing beside Ran with his arms folded, Iruka also caught onto the little mumble his student gave out. He too looked down at the jinchuriki, startled, "Mizuki?"
Naruto glared up at the Third Hokage, "The team that attacked me said they were hired by Mizuki-sensei to kill me. They said he wanted to get rid of me…"
The Hokage furrowed his brow. At first he was baffled. His feelings then progressed onto the stages of confusion and disbelief, before he eventually decided on the reasonable course of action to simply ask in order the verify the name given to him, "Are you sure, Naruto?"
"The three of them straight out told me so themselves," the blonde nodded, "I'm willing to bet my life on it, because it sure as hell was placed on the table a good half an hour ago."
The village leader looked over at Iruka with his hardened gaze to meet the flabbergasted one held by the academy teacher. When their eyes met, Hiruzen watched his subordinate's expression slowly transform into a worried one, before slipping into one of understanding. At the young man's nod the Third turned to face the ANBU guard on his left, "Alert the guards and all squads on patrol. Keep an eye out for Mizuki. If he is found, bring him in for questioning. He may still be within the village's borders and if he is apprehend him quickly. There's a good chance he won't be sticking around for very long."
"Yes, sir," the ANBU bowed, before vanishing in a puff of white smoke.
Naruto tilted his head curiously as he watched the whiffs of the cloud fade away, "I've got to learn how to do that."
Hiruzen then turned back to the youngster still undergoing medical attention, "Since they told you who it was that hired them, perhaps they also told you the reason why, Naruto-kun."
The jinchuriki blinked when he exchanged gazes with the village leader, his puzzled expression slowly slipping into a darker one. Eyes becoming overshadowed, he lowered his head when thoughts took him further back into his confrontation with the Sound Genin…
XXX
Sometime later…
The Hokage Mansion…
It was dark out and all of the lights on the property were switched off.
The large structure stood out like a silent pillar amongst all of the other brightly lit buildings occupied by the villagers of Konohagakure. The very estate belonging to the leader of the hidden village was not just one of the most outstanding pieces of architecture within Konoha, but was also the most recognized and most distinguished next to the monument and the ninja academy.
As opposed to word-of-mouth, the Hokage's records and office were in fact two entirely separate locations. While the village leader's sleeping quarters and place of residence was located at his large estate, his office was situated in the Administrative Division of the Academy. Work and documentation was handled up in the office, but all of the materials and items of value belonging to the previous Hokages were stored within the mansion itself in the various vaults scattered throughout the edifice.
The vaults were for the village leader's eyes only, with every one of these storage areas housing a number of unique items. A great number of these items were storage scrolls intended for long term use and concealment, not to mention that a lot of the aforementioned materials and information bore an extremely forbidden nature, which could either bring about great harm or devastation. The First Hokage especially stored objects within these vaults that could be considered dangerous by his standards, definitely not for an ordinary shinobi's eyes.
It was a treasure trove of ninjutsu, weapons, artifacts and alike… a perfect spot for a certain entrepreneur to make his mark.
This was what he had planned from the very start.
With the Hokage absent and his forces occupied on the other side of the village where Naruto was expected to have been attacked, Mizuki used this golden opportunity to sneak into the mansion to acquire his primary target. His distraction made and 'pest' controls hopefully taken care of, he had little to worry about while undertaking such a risky venture.
Ducking in through an open window, the white haired man immediately made a B-line straight for the vault where the First Hokage kept his most dangerous scrolls. Since security was generally placed upon the keen and reliable senses of shinobi, Mizuki knew exactly how the system worked and what to look out for. Being a shinobi of this village for so many years now, it was no stretch of the imagination to figure out how much he actually knew, with his occasional sleuthing for another foreign village adding an extra cherry on top of his already immense sundae of intelligence.
This tended to melt away with a combination of overconfidence and smugness, but that's for another time.
His target was located just outside of the current Hokage's study area.
Like a shadow on the wall the man slipped in from the long stretch of corridor and immediately began filing over the various shelves inside of the chamber. Since it was quite dark it made reading the scrolls' details a bit difficult unless you got extremely close to the articles, but that was of little consequence. He knew exactly what he was looking for. No mission was executed without extensive research and planning.
All he had to do was look for the biggest scroll in the room. It wasn't that hard to miss.
Finding it hidden behind a stack of rolled up parchments containing some of the records of the First Hokage's exploits Mizuki smirked widely and yanked out what could be classified as an oil drum. It was so big it made him wonder exactly how many techniques were stored inside of it.
The damn thing was a thick piece of literature, no question, with characters drawn on its opening base identifying it as the Scroll of Seals.
The white haired Chunin smirked as he set it up on the carpeted floor, running his finger over the text with great care, "Hashirama Senju sealed many kinjutsu within this relic. Acquiring this will definitely earn me Lord Orochimaru's favor amongst his elite." His smirk only grew wider as he placed both hands along its cool surface. "Of course, it would be incredibly selfless of me to just simply hand over something this valuable to him without taking in some of its sweet knowledge for myself? What harm could there be from a little bit of light reading on the way to Otogakure?"
Just as he was becoming that much more curious about what was actually contained within the scroll, he was suddenly jumpstarted back into reality when the lights to the room were switched on. Spinning around in his crouched position on the floor over his objective, he glared towards the entrance where he was met with the harsh stares of several very familiar faces.
Leaning against the door frame on either side with their arms folded he saw Kotetsu and Izumo glaring at him impatiently, as if the sheer act of making their way over here had been bothersome in itself. Of course, they weren't the only ones who were looking incredibly disappointed…
They were also accompanied by Shikaku's wife Yoshino Nara and his fellow academy teacher Daikoku Funeno.
Just one look told the sneak thief that they were all pissed off and it didn't take the culprit responsible to say who it was all that attention of theirs was directed towards.
"Looks like someone's a little lost," Kotetsu murmured, with his gate partner nodding in agreement to the statement.
"Did you take a wrong turn to the bathroom, Mizuki-san?" Yoshino asked sweetly, while her brow crinkled in disapproval.
Mizuki blinked, his expression frowning somewhat.
Yup, this was definitely that law enforcement sense of timing thing playing out…
"Oh… fuck me…"
XXX
Back at the Apartment…
The remaining ANBU standing by the Hokage placed a hand over his ear, alerting those scattered around the ruined porch to his actions.
Hiruzen looked over his shoulder to acknowledge the message coming through, his masked bodyguard nodding his head to the voice on the other end of the earpiece he was wearing before turning his attention back towards the village elder.
"Hokage-sama, a patrol has spotted Mizuki inside of Konohagakure just minutes ago. He tripped the security seals inside of your estate and was found raiding one of the vaults," the masked shinobi stated, lowering his head. "They've flagged the sensors his location and are rerouting back up."
The Third frowned, "So he baited us? He's a lot smarter then I gave him credit for. There's definitely Jonin potential there." The village leader fixed his gaze firmly on the ANBU. "What of the current situation?"
Naruto and everybody else standing close by to the old Hokage focused all their attention on the conversation now taking place between Hiruzen and his subordinate.
"He set off smoke bombs inside of the room and fled. As we speak, Yoshino's squad is attempting to apprehend him," the masked man replied. "They're driving him towards Lady Tsume's team. We should have him inside of twenty minutes if things go well."
"Make sure that he doesn't get away," Hiruzen nodded in understanding. "Order the border guards to set up blockades at all entrances. Nobody gets in or out of this village until he is caught, understood?" The ANBU nodded in response, placing his hands over his ear and getting back in contact with the shinobi communicating with him on the other end.
There was a moment of pause, with Naruto, Yim, Ran, Iruka and the medic-nin waiting on the sidelines with held breaths to hear if there was any more information coming in. The Hokage was as patient as ever too, hands behind his back and his breathing coming out in the form of puffs of smoke from his pipe.
After a minute passed them by and no updates were made on the situation, the ANBU lowered his hand from his earpiece to face the Hokage.
With questions still hanging freshly in the air, Hiruzen took it upon himself to question his bodyguard for further details so he could properly assess the situation and make plans.
"Which of the vaults did they find Mizuki in?"
"He was discovered looting items from the vault right across from your study area, Hokage-sama," the ANBU promptly informed.
This information had the Hokage look away with a tightened scowl. As a result, he began huffing on his pipe in a slightly more irritated manner.
"Then he was after the Scroll of Seals," Hiruzen murmured, completely aware of the contents of that particular chamber. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, calming himself. "The First Hokage sealed many dangerous ninjutsu and weapons inside of that artifact. If he gets out of Konohagakure with it, there's no telling what he will do."
With a sigh, the Hokage looked back towards Naruto's group.
The jinchuriki was all bandaged up, with wraps visible around his chest, waist and shoulders where his jacket was unzipped, his forearms, and his ankle. In spite of being partially transformed into a mummy, the youngster was still being run over by the medic-nin's healing jutsu to take care of the most serious of wounds. Since his limbs couldn't be cast up unless taken to the hospital, he required constant surveillance to make sure that his bones healed correctly.
Of course, the field medic was amazed at how fast his recovery was taking place. Broken bones for ordinary shinobi under routine checks of the Mystical Palm Technique still took a couple of weeks to heal. This boy's bones were healing within the hour, the swelling having already subsided.
The Hokage could see this not just on the medic-nin's amazed expression but on Naruto himself. His scuffs and cuts were completely gone.
He also knew the exact reason why…
"I'm sorry you had to find out the way you did, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen suddenly spoke up, recalling the other aspect of the story Naruto bequeathed to him and his friends following the reveal that Mizuki was the one responsible behind the whole mess.
The addressed jinchuriki and his friends looked towards the Hokage once more, where they all saw the solemn look he was giving the boy.
"Believe me I had all intention of letting you know as soon as the time was right. I made a promise to the Fourth Hokage that I would," the elder continued, moving the pipe in his mouth over to the other side. "But this… this I didn't account for; the attempt made on your life organized by a man whom I previously thought was one of our own."
Naruto flinched, trying to keep a straight face as he listened to what the elder had to say.
The Third noticed his change of expressions, "I never expected that you would find out about the Nine-Tailed Fox and that you were its jinchuriki during such an affair. My only hope now is that you are okay with it… of the information of the burden you are now carrying."
Blinking, the young Genin looked down with a thoughtful gaze drawn across his face, his eyes finding an appealing target on the lawn in front of him and sticking to it. Hiruzen waited patiently for his response and what it would be, with Iruka and Yim also looking on with concern. Ran however looked completely indifferent about the whole situation and just stayed where she was with her eyes fixed on her student.
After a moment of silence, Naruto looked back up, "Actually… I'm not too fussed over it."
Hiruzen tilted his head curiously at his response.
The boy's eyes narrowed further, whether in frustration or an ongoing form of discomfort it was unknown. "I mean… yeah… it was unexpected… and I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't shocked or upset over finding out… that I had this big, ugly fur ball fast asleep inside of my stomach," Naruto stated, letting out a small chuckle at the end. This was then followed up by a smile spreading across his lips, "But I think… finding out the way I did saved my life."
"Really?" the Hokage queried, a little bit surprised. He saw the boy smile even wider and nod his head vigorously.
"One of the only things I can remember the most from my entire life are the hateful glares and the whispers of displeasure from villagers constantly looking down at me. For the longest time…I had no idea why they hated me so much… and for the longest time… nobody would give me an answer… no matter how many times I asked them," Naruto said, shaking his head. In that instant of recollection, his mind allowed him to catch a brief glimpse of the multitude of stares and distance that came from his life.
Even if it was for just a moment, all he was able to see was him standing before a crowd of vague silhouettes, all of them villagers and all of them with their backs turned to him.
He could clearly remember the tears that came with it, a result of the insults, the comments and the names directed solely towards him.
It was a heart wrenching moment.
"Being all alone, not knowing who I was, where I came from, and why everybody despised me so much … are the worst feelings I have ever experienced. There's nothing else that I've ever felt before that could even come close to it…"
Yim and Ran's gazes softened, with the latter looking away with a saddened glint in her eye. Iruka was also listening intently to every word that his student was speaking. Hell, even the medic-nin had stopped treating his wounds to listen.
"But then… out of nowhere… I found friends," Naruto said, his smile returning full force and his face lighting up like the sun. "I met people who wanted to be with me, who were willing to talk to me, and whom I could look out for and respect in return for their kindness. Recalling those memories… the memories that showed me that there were actually people in my life who liked me for just being me… was everything I needed to push past the reason why everybody else stayed away from me."
He felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up to where he saw Yim smiling down at him. She crouched beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and giving him a reassuring hug. The boy giggled when he felt Iruka ruffle his hair, and even turned his gaze towards Ran to see her giving him a supporting smile.
Being surrounded by people who appreciated his company gave his words more meaning. This allowed him to face the Third Hokage with a more confident look on his face, where he saw even the normally stoic elder beaming at him in kind.
"I guess knowing something else about myself… even though it is something that everybody hates, gives me more of a reason to keep on fighting, not just to prove that I'm a normal person, but to keep my friends happy and to keep them safe. I'm not just a jinchuriki, and I know now for certain that I'm not just some nobody," Naruto grinned widely, thumping himself in his bandaged chest, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, a boy from Konohagakure who's going to become Hokage someday."
These statements brought an even bigger grin to the elder's face.
"Well… as long as you're okay with it… then I hope you will continue finding happiness in your life, Naruto-kun," the Hokage exclaimed, reaching down and patting him on the head. The youngster giggled against and tried to shake off the affectionate gesture, but failed miserably.
His hair ended up looking even more messed up then before.
It was uplifting to see that Naruto was still able to smile… genuinely smile. It told the Hokage that the boy was happy in spite of everything that's happened to him.
Though there wasn't a doubt in the old Sarutobi's mind that the battle had changed the jinchuriki in a way, he was sure it was a change for the better.
"After the battle he's just had, I'm sure Naruto has been spurred on to continue fighting no matter what," Hiruzen thought, watching the aforementioned youngster engage Yim in conversation, telling her all about his battle personally and how her teachings had helped him stay in the game. "He's now aware of the many dangers there are in following the path of a shinobi. If anything, this attempt on his life has done him something good. True, as a below average student in the past he knows the values of hard work, but tonight… he found out that he has something incredibly precious to him worth fighting for; a goal, friends who believe in him, and a need to prove himself to the world that he can't be pushed around, regardless of what other people think of him."
The Third Hokage nodded his head affirmatively, "Yes… I think that's what he believes now…"
While watching Naruto commune with Yim, the village leader suddenly became aware of a commotion on his far left, causing him to turn around. Over by what was left of the ruined fence he saw three Chunin gathered around the giant log the jinchuriki had hurled at one of his opponent's earlier that night. They were carting it away from the scene and inspecting the area further, making a bit of a fuss over the body they discovered.
While what was actually going on over there didn't strike the Hokage as something to be overly concerned about, it did indeed become a big deal when one of the Chunin examining the area stood up to full height and began waving his hand through the air.
He certainly got everybody else's attention when he started shouting.
"We've got a live one here!" the man yelled, drawing all eyes over to him.
The Third Hokage blinked, "What?"
"A live one?" Iruka mouthed, stepping down off of the porch and onto the lawn. He leant over to get a better look across the way. "That means…"
Recognizing the damaged area by the fence, Naruto's eyes widened, "It's that girl from the team that attacked me. S-She's still…?"
Hiruzen immediately began making his way over to the spot.
Eager to find out the results for himself Naruto asked for Yim's assistance in helping him over there, which she gave without complaint. With his friend's support the jinchuriki managed to limp his way over to the scene at his own, comfortable pace.
A small crowd soon gathered around the impact zone, with the three Chunin who made the discovery forming a perimeter as the Third and the rest of the audience amassed over to one side.
Quickly following the discovery a stretcher was called in from the other shinobi standing by, which was laid out in whatever space was left for the girl to be hoisted onto it. Everyone took a step back so that the medic-nin who had previously been treating Naruto was able to swoop in to check on the girl's condition.
From everybody else's perspective she looked quite beat-up. To be quite frank, she appeared to have gone for one or two rounds against an opponent in a ring and was beaten half to death. However, it didn't look that way from Naruto's point of view beforehand in which he actually sent the object spinning at the girl that led her into such a state.
It had been a pretty gruesome hit… quick too.
She looked like she was sleeping if you deducted the blood stains and cuts she had covering her face and clothing.
The field medic ran all the required checks and diagnosis, starting with the chest and breathing patterns of the subject before moving on to everything else. It took a full two minutes to complete her scans, even with the use of the Mystical Palm Technique to help in her assessment of any internal injuries the Oto Genin may have likely sustained, but the kunoichi was soon done. She raised her head to meet the curious expressions of those surrounding her to make her report.
Her eyes showed relief, even though the rest of her said something else entirely.
"Cracked ribs, a broken arm, and a bad concussion would be the worst of it," the woman stated, rising to her feet. "Aside from the various cuts and bruises she was afflicted with from the stuff she flew into I'm guessing full recovery in sight of three months. Furthermore, judging from the amount of force she took I'd say she'll be out for quite a while still." Her eyes then fell on the gaze being given to her by the resident jinchuriki. "You truly have a fearsome kick, kiddo. She's lucky that she wasn't killed."
Blinking, Naruto raised a hand up to his head and chuckled sheepishly, "Heh… well… you see… it was the log that did most of the work."
"I have to agree with Kumi though, you do have quite a powerful kick, Naruto-kun," the Third admitted, smiling down at the blonde who was looking quite abashed from the compliments thus far, "Must be because of all of your extra training."
Seeing Naruto receive a nudge to the shoulder from Iruka and exchange smiles with Yim, the elder then returned his attention to the unconscious kunoichi in question and hardened his gaze.
Giving the situation further thought, he huffed on his pipe and brought his right hand up to remove it from his mouth. "Have her taken to the hospital for treatment. Once she's recovered enough we can then have her moved over to ANBU headquarters to get some work done on her by Ibiki. That is… unless we can't get anything out of Mizuki."
"W-What?" Catching onto the Hokage's immediate orders, Naruto shook his head to tear himself away from his conversation with Iruka and looked up at the old man, "Y-You mean… interrogate her?"
A visit to ANBU Black Op headquarters was something the young jinchuriki was pretty sure everybody avoided doing. Hell, any shinobi who wore a mask was labeled as shifty in Naruto's book, so it was to no surprise he had such an uncomfortable reaction towards hearing about their organization's involvement.
Those costumes were seriously creepy.
Even Yim and Ran stopped chatting the moment they heard the old man mention 'work done on her', with the latter frowning immediately upon realizing the true meaning of those words.
"That's barbaric…"
"It may not be what you are accustomed to Lady Ran, but this is how things are done in a shinobi village," Hiruzen stated, turning around to see the samurai and her martial artist companion staring at him with hardened glares. "In order to protect our home from any life-threatening dangers outside of our borders, certain steps must be taken in order to prevent a catastrophe from befalling us. We may be living in peaceful times, maintaining a steady balance between ourselves, the other five great shinobi nations and our smaller neighbors, but we still have enemies lurking in the shadows who mean to do us ill-will. The attempt on Naruto's life tonight is proof of that."
Despite their unsettled moods, Yim and Ran remained silent. Though the village leader did make an outstanding point, it didn't mean that they had to like it, since they had a choice not to. It was probably something to do with their own independent views of the world and how they chose to go about solving their own problems. But the problems of a village were by far different from the problems the two of them faced on a day-to-day basis. While the village of Konohagakure was a fixed society, they were a nomadic pair.
On this basis, everybody's lives could be considered different from each other's.
They chose to listen on from that point to see if anybody else had any objections, not really holding their hopes up high.
Hiruzen Sarutobi however could see that they were still troubled by his proposal and resolved to mend it as best as he could.
"I am not attempting to antagonize either of you. I'm familiar with Lady Ran's strengths, deeds and her conduct of years past, and I am in no way challenging either of your principles or methods, but here we do our best to protect our own and to trial our enemies justly," Hiruzen stated, lowering his head. "I can assure you that we will not harm her in any way. I hope you will respect our laws and customs just as we would respect your own."
He meant every word.
It was the hard truth as well.
In contrast to other Hidden Villages, Konoha was quite reasonable when it came to punishing the guilty. While in here, those who have committed an act as grossly dishonorable as treason are first trialed then interrogated, before being sent to whatever prison is suitable for their containment, other villages like Iwagakure sort of jump the gun on the whole trial system and execute offenders on the spot.
With the way things seemed to be progressing nowadays, there was the likely chance that many things have changed from the social structures of old, but so far Konohagakure appeared to be ahead in the justice department race.
Seeing that the two wanderers didn't want to say anything else, Hiruzen turned back to the unconscious Oto kunoichi.
He received quite a surprise once he returned his attention to her and spotted the bandaged up Naruto crouching right next to the head of the sleeping girl he had been having it out with earlier. All of the people in the area were quite surprised, since they originally thought he couldn't move that well yet.
Well… he sure showed them. His recovery was going along nicely.
Arms folded and keeping uncharacteristically rigid, from the casual observer's point of view the new Genin looked as though he was glaring angrily at the girl, when in truth he was really just giving her a hard look-over.
It wasn't like he was thinking about killing her and exacting his revenge. He was just giving her a very intent stare.
"Uhh… Naruto?" Hiruzen murmured, clearing his throat to get the youngster's attention.
After gazing at her face for several long seconds more without responding, the jinchuriki then nodded his head and suddenly rose to his feet. With his fists balled at his sides, he limped in a full circle and turned towards the village leader, facing him down as he would any other formidable opponent. The look on his face alone raised an irrefutable, confrontation-like atmosphere from his very person.
"Oji-san… I have a favor to ask."
"A favor?" the Hokage blinked, looking around at Iruka, Ran and Yim. He saw all three of them shrug in his direction, before glancing back down at the boy. "What is it…?"
XXX
Thirty minutes later…
Somewhere out in Konoha…
Mizuki knew that he had had his fair share of tight spots in the past.
These particular situations he was constantly entangled in always occurred to him on missions in hostile or unfamiliar territories, most of which involved very unwelcoming shinobi who were very eager to get into fights. He could also recall that in each of those situations in which he was cornered in, he always had a teammate or two to help bail him out.
Admittedly, his comrades had been the perfect bait for the enemy and have always conveniently been there for him to buy him enough time to make his escape. He would then later on come up with some half-baked story for the Hokage with little details taken from the mission itself, describing how his teammates bravely sacrificed themselves for the sake of the assignment, while leaving him to carry on the objective.
That was all well in good, but right now the white haired double-crosser found himself in the same situation where he had no backup whatsoever. It was bad enough that he had over half of Konoha's active guard pursuing him through the village's streets, but he also had to be content with carrying a huge-ass scroll around with him. The damn thing was catching so much heat.
He had just seen the pursuing squad that had previously been right on his tail leap across the alleyway on the rooftops high above from the dumpster he was hiding behind. The rotting fish and food from yesterday really helped in covering his smell. However, about fifteen minutes later of waiting it out from where he was kneeling, the Chunin suddenly heard the distinctive sounds of dogs barking in the distance.
Mizuki cursed his luck, now that he was brought to the attention of the Inuzuka joining in the hunt for him.
"What I hate most about this village is that the entire population is so damn persistent," the man grumbled in his head, picking himself out of the hole he was hiding in and quickly making his way down the alley.
He made sure to balance out each step so as to not make so much noise in his retreat. If his finely tuned senses could detect other shinobi close by, then he was certain that their own finally tuned senses could detect him just as easily.
Looking left and right at the next exit, he sprinted across the road and entered another passageway behind a closed restaurant. Dim lights from overhead told him that civilians were waking up to the sound of the commotion.
That was something he didn't want.
"I bet that fuck Kabuto screwed up, the bastard," Mizuki hissed in his head, skidding to a stop and darting to his right down another narrow avenue. If he was to get out of this in one piece he had to stay low. Keeping tight was the key here. "He must have gotten complacent from all the praise he'd been receiving from Orochimaru-sama. Tsk, he's too arrogant for his own good."
His foot sank into a puddle, causing him to swear profusely under his breath. Shaking it off, he kept on going, rushing down one street followed by another. After running several blocks and passing many open roads, he then stopped and took a moment to listen out for any would-be followers.
The barking from the dogs had steered away a bit, but not enough to calm his nerves. There was no denying that Konohagakure had the best trackers out of the big five. He knew he wasn't going to be leaving this village's walls without a few scalps.
"Well… if I don't get out of here in one piece at least I've got one swell consolation prize," Mizuki mused, allowing a small grin to cross his sweaty face. "I'm sure that that Team I sent in to snuff out the demon brat has accomplished their mission. Though to what degree I'm not quite sure, but here's hoping that it was painful." In his mind he held up a metaphorical sake cup filled to the brim.
He was half right of course. Yes for a fact that it was painful, only that the damage was dealt to the wrong side.
Unfortunately for him, he did not know that.
Hugging the wall, Mizuki peered around the corner of the alleyway he was in and checked the street he had come across. He was in among some apartment blocks with quite a lot of water towers set up on top of the roofs. This meant that the dark space he was hiding in was quite damp and smelled a little foul. It was an ideal hiding spot, but still very unpleasant.
The details he was able to make out of his location meant he was somewhere in the lower multi-residential area on the west side of the village. Good news.
He could lose his pursuers here then make a break for the west gate. All he needed to do was figure out a way to get out from that point.
Mizuki smirked, "If I remember correctly there's a canal that exits out of the rice fields. I can sneak out through the dam's pipelines and follow the stream to a safe distance. That should guarantee a safe passage for me out of this locked-down hellhole."
Adjusting the strap with the giant scroll over his shoulder, he prepared to move out…
The sound of a metal can hitting the ground behind him caught his attention.
Eyes widening, Mizuki spun around and brought his hand swiftly out from behind him, a Fuma Shuriken snapping open to reveal its four blades of death. Dropping low, he prepared to throw it through the shadows cast by the buildings he was pressed between.
However, when he glared through the humid darkness of the structures towering on either side of him with his back facing the open street, all he saw were trash cans, the fallen tin canister in question rocking on the floor from its fall, and the droplets of water running out from the rain pipe some ways down the alley he had come.
A bead of sweat dribbled down the side of his face, his ears picking up on the ominous creaking sounds made by the pipelines along the walls around him.
After several seconds of held breath, the man then let out a sigh of relief and rose to his feet. He snapped the Fuma blade closed and sheathed it onto his back.
"Somebody up high is messing with me," Mizuki muttered, casually turning around, stepping forward and looking ahead.
The next thing he became aware of was the sound of bones crunching and a sharp pain hitting him square in the abdomen. The white haired man froze the moment he felt the stinging sensations suddenly coursing through his entire body, his widened eyes staring into the pale, lifeless ones of another.
At first he thought it was Kabuto smiling sweetly right in front of him…
However, he soon realized that Kabuto's features weren't that feminine.
Amidst his shock, his pupils quivered from side-to-side for a several seconds as he took in the appearance of this strange new character standing before him. She had a well rounded, pale face with a thin jaw line, light purple hair mostly tied up into a bun at the back, with two long bangs hanging over either side of her head. She also wore a light green, full kimono with sunflowers patterned all over it and a pair of glasses with rims only at the bottom.
She was fairly beautiful, the kimono slipping down her shoulders rather skimpily to reveal delicious, smooth flesh of her shoulders and the top part of her bosom. She was quite the eye-candy for a very literary type of girl.
Mizuki however blinked in confusion, "What?"
It quickly dawned on him…
He was supposed to be on the run from the authorities… completely out of sight…
When he checked the streets beforehand, he saw nobody. How the hell did this young woman around her thirties, dressed in striking getup, and standing just half a head below his height, get the drop on him?
It then also occurred to him that she was standing directly in front of him, her face just literally two inches from touching his.
Why the proximity?
Well, the pain in his lower abdomen brought him back around to the fact that he had just been attacked by this woman. Mizuki's eyes slowly trailed down from her face towards his core region.
Right in the middle of his abdominal region, he saw the woman's hand impaling his body with her index and middle fingers extended. Though the strike failed to penetrate the vest and even his flesh, her digits and knuckles were still pressing in quite deeply, right towards the major arteries of that part of his body.
All of the pain he was currently feeling was originating from this very point of impact, and it was really starting to make itself known.
Blinking for a second time, Mizuki looked back up at the girl.
Her sweet smile was still there.
"Y-You… bitch…" Mizuki gurgled, blood suddenly starting to pour out of his mouth like a waterfall. All at once, the man lost all strength in his legs and fell forwards, his hands reaching up and grabbing at the woman's kimono in a last ditch effort to keep himself upright.
He continued to fall while leaning against her, dragging her surprisingly thick robe down with him. While sliding over her large breasts barely covered by a sheet of gauze, leaving a trail of blood smears as he went, something caught his eye.
With his last embers of energy and through his quickly fading vision, he was able to make out, written in black and kanji along her shoulder the name Sengo.
"S…Sen-go…?"
There was only one person he knew of that he could possibly link that name back to, with the face of that individual bringing about an expression of utter terror to the dying man's eyes. The thought of that person alone frightened him so much that he completely forgot about the fact that he was literally millimeters away from death's door.
"H-He's… returning…?" Mizuki choked out, breathing his last when his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his face hit the ground right in between the woman's two feet with a heavy thud.
His blood continued to pour out of him despite the fact that his heart had stopped beating, forming a pool right next to his lifeless face.
Staring down at the corpse, the woman sighed and pulled her kimono back up to its previous position. She ignored the fact that she was soaked in blood; her top, chest and robes baring the last futile struggles of her latest victim.
With her clothing repositioned, she then bent over and picked up the scroll the man had carried all the way to his grave, snapping the straps holding it to his back to release it into her possession. Once it was safely secured in her arms, she stepped back further into the street from the passageway and laid it out over the ground, unfurling it.
It was definitely a large sheet of paper and weighed quite a bit, but the woman had no problem whatsoever in opening it up and reading out the scripts written upon its surface. She didn't even have to draw it out for too long either to find what she was looking for.
There was only one thing she needed.
Some ways passed the last list of Konohagakure's kinjutsu recorded by the late Hashirama Senju she came across a large seal slapped smack-bang in the middle of the page. It was highly elaborate, requiring some sort of command or combination to unseal it, since it had eight individual seals encircling a four-point seal with blockades on either side. It clearly wasn't something meant to be easy to crack.
There was also a brief description on the side as with every other piece of material listed in the scroll, but she ignored it in favor of the task at hand.
Reaching into her robes, she pulled out a sealed test tube. It was a vial containing a small amount of what could easily be identified as blood.
Unplugging it, she dabbed it onto her thumb before smearing it across the page. Making her mark clear and straight, she then slid away the glass tube and formed a ram seal.
Concentrating, she slapped her hand down on top of the page, the markings immediately lighting up and fanning outwards to form an even bigger seal across the scroll and road. It was so prominent that a person looking on from a distance could see each individual marking cross one another in the circle formed, as the barrier containing whatever it was within it was unlocked right before her eyes.
Moments upon laying her hand down, the releasing of the seal was completed. A great explosion of white smoke erupted from the middle of the seal and engulfed the user, the woman letting out a gasp of surprise at the unexpected blast of vapors. But the entire display was quick, and the fumes that so suddenly enveloped her dissipated on the wind seconds later.
Once the area was cleared, it was revealed that much of the seal had disappeared from the paper, and that the scroll had revealed one of the very secrets its previous owner had so desperately tried to contain.
Lying across the cracked seal just barely underneath the woman's palm, there sat a beautiful katana sheathed in a black, leather scabbard. It didn't look like anything special, just an ordinary sword for an ordinary samurai with white bands all along the handle, and matching gold base and handle guard. However, there was one key difference that set this sword apart from any other like it.
Inscribed on a piece of paper tied ever so carefully at the scabbard's end where the sword entered the sheath, was the name of the weapon itself. The woman's eyes shone when she read the name.
Yawarakai-Te, which translated into Tender Hands.
She picked up the sword and slowly rose to her feet, holding the weapon out in front of her and marveling it as if it were the most valuable treasure on the face of the planet.
It wasn't far from it either.
This was something not meant for ordinary men or women to hold, a fact she wasn't at all troubled by. The glimmer in her eyes held a much darker purpose she had intended for this katana, the devilish grin spreading across her lips saying that much more.
"My Lord will be so proud of me. Everything is going exactly as planned."
Rolling her fingers around the scabbard, she then held it close to her chest and looked back down at the Chunin she had slain just seconds ago.
Staring for a moment, the woman smiled sweetly, "Thank you for giving me directions out of this village. Your death will not go to waste."
With a bow, she turned heel and started walking away. Half way down the street, her body broke apart into thousands of pink, cherry blossom petals. The petals got caught on the wind and scattered over the entire area, leaving no trace of the mysterious assailant…
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author's Note: Well, it's coming along better than I expected. The sword is important, there's reason for it.
If you're curious you can look up the name and the sword to see where this is leading, they're from an old Japanese legend.
This story will be sticking with the original story line. There will be the Wave Arc after an initial Arc, like I had for Nightwalker but not the same, and the whole business with the Chunin Exams and Akatsuki will follow the same track. The additional villains help produce conflict for my story and add more to Naruto's life.
Let's see, Dosu is alive, Kin is alive, Kabuto always manages to escape by the skin of his teeth like Orochimaru, and Mizuki is dead after one hell of a chase (like all of Orochimaru's servants, he can definitely run), killed in a manner I thought was befitting for a guy like him. Oh, and you gotta give credit for Naruto. He can definitely take a beating and get back up after it, even with broken bones. It'd still hurt like hell though (close to immovable, but hey, it's Naruto)
I figured that Senju would hide more than kinjutsu in that scroll of his. It sort of took me back to the shot of him fighting against Madara and the Kyuubi in the manga/anime, where he had the giant scroll rolled out with all those swords. This sword is a key piece in the villain's story, something given to the First years ago.
The new girl is a cameo character from the manga Ninja Girls written by Hosana Tanaka, just like how Ran is the main character from the anime Carried by the Wind: Tsukikage Ran. I won't give too much away yet, I'll let you try to work your minds around it.
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. More later.
