Naruto: Dark Beginnings
A/N: That last chapter was the longest chapter I have ever written. It fell just shy of 8000 words. Hopefully this chapter will take this story past the 60K mark. Not bad considering the original (which ended after the chuunin exams arc) was only 114,428 Words. This story is half as long and still hasn't reached the start of cannon yet.
I'd like to just give a big thank you to Lix Lorn the Eeveetrainer and harlequin320 who have left reviews on almost every chapter. It is reviews that give me the motivation to write so thanks to everyone who has ever submitted a review.
Sorry for the long delay but I am currently going through the last set of exams I will ever have to take (hopefully).
Disclaimer: I own Ardot and the 'I want a Pony' Girl. That is all.
Arc 1: The Bloody Mist
Chapter 5: The Suffocating Fog
The Endless Swamp, Land of Water
Every nation has one area that is world renowned for its sheer hostility against intruders. Konoha has the aptly named Forest of Death, a small area of woodlands denser than the rest inhabited by creatures that couldn't possibly be natural. Many a biologist has proclaimed that the giant scorpion lion hybrids were impossible, right before said impossibility ripped them in half with its pincers. The land of Lightning has the giant turtle, an impossibly large creature housing an entire ecosystem not dissimilar to that of the Forest of Death.
Even the Land of Water had one place that was near impossible to navigate and filled with all sorts of foul creatures; The Endless Swamp, rumoured site of the Suffocating Fog Prison. There was no land mass in the swamp nor trees or landmarks to use as a guide. Once you entered the Endless Swamp your chances of leaving were slim at best. And that was before you took into account all of the strange beasties living underneath the murky waters.
Despite this there were often tales of people wandering into the mist on boats. Some even claimed to have made their way out of the fog eventually, but couldn't remember what it was they had seen there. All these so called survivors died within a week of their apparent safe return.
A lone boat slowly floated through the near solid mist that marked the beginning of the Endless Swamp. It was a simple affair, hastily constructed out of reeds. On the boat were three figures wearing tight fitting black outfits that covered their entire body. Only the eyes were on display.
[Right then,] Zabuza signed to Naruto using a secret code he had devised many years before. [Can you use your sensor abilities without glowing?]
[No.] Naruto clumsily signed back.
[Well we will have to rely on the information Ao provided us with,] Zabuza signed back before turning his attention to the thick mist.
Naruto joined Zabuza in searching for any signs of life in the mist as Haku prepared her kit for infiltration. The mission was simple. All they had to do was find this prison, sneak into the Warden's room and steal some of the Dragon weed. The bad news was the prison was well hidden and said to be manned by the Mist's best. The area was completely unexplored by rebel scouts and no maps of the place could be found. Only hearsay and folk tales had offered any clues to the whereabouts of the prison. Even the Loyalist forces that had been captured in raids had no idea about the true location of the facility, only that a large number of their forces were transferred there periodically and none of them ever returned.
There was no noise beyond the gentle lapping of the water against the boat. Not even the sounds of insects or fish. The entire swamp felt unnaturally calm.
[I see something!] Naruto signed desperately.
Haku and Zabuza crept over to him and followed his pointing finger. There was a silhouette in the fog that looked like a large prisoner transport.
[Our ride,] Zabuza signed back. [Prepare to board and stowaway. We don't want them to know we are here yet.]
Naruto and Haku nodded and waited patiently as they approached the boat. The first sense that something wasn't quite right was when the three realised the boat was stationary. The second was when they were close enough to realise that the boat was covered in moss, as if it had been left for a long time.
[Naruto, you first,] Zabuza signed.
Naruto nodded as the reed boat gently bumped into the larger vessel and he quietly crept aboard. The ship was a large prisoner transport and had boxes marked with emblem of the Village hidden in the Mist. The date on the container was two years old and judging by the smell not in good shape.
Taking care not to make noise, Naruto carefully opened the crate and found it was full of ruined food stuffs.
'Strange… I wound have expected flies or maggots to be in this.' Naruto mused as he sealed the container and walked across the wooden deck. Most ships that travelled through swamps had a complex array of paddles below the deck to provide motion but when Naruto went below deck, all he saw was an empty hold. There were no signs of the benches that the prisoners would have been bound to as they rowed to their own prison. There was also no sign of a struggle.
Naruto tightened his grip on the sword he carried and returned to the top of the boat and headed towards the captains quarters. The door was open wide when Naruto got there so he carefully walked into the small cubicle listening for the slightest sound that would betray a hostile presence.
The room was quite plain. A small wooden bed was at one end of the room, its duvet neatly folded although looked as if it hadn't been washed in a while. There was a desk next to the bed on which several sheets were scattered. They were all water damaged and all Naruto could gather from the files is that they weren't transporting any prisoners.
"NARUTO!" Zabuza yelled causing Naruto to draw his sword and race outside. Whatever caused Zabuza to break the silence that he had demanded of the two younger members meant something big was happening. He looked around trying to see any signs of his allies when he felt a sinister presence suddenly appear behind him.
"Well it appears the Kyuubi has walked right into my hands, how convenient."
There was a sudden shooting pain and the last things Naruto saw were an Orange swirl mask and a single sharingan eye staring at him.
Underground Caverns- Mei's Tent, Land of Water
"I am fine," Mei weakly protested as Ao and Choujoro ran about her tent and delivered all the paperwork she needed to her bed.
"You have a high fever and can barely move," Ao gently reprimanded Mei; "If you don't rest you will do yourself more harm than good. And we all need you at your best."
"Zabuza could lead you if something were to happen to me," Mei coughed as she tried to stand up.
"Zabuza is not the leader that Mist needs," Ao gently forced Mei back into a sleeping position. "The Mist needs you, Terumi-sama."
"Narnar could rule mist," A sulking Ardot proclaimed.
"I'm sure he could," Mei smiled at the young girl, who seemed more upset. "Is something a matter?"
"Yes," Ardot drew herself to her full height, which wasn't that impressive thanks to her young body, "You're stealing Narnar."
"Pardon?" Mei blinked.
"Since he joined your group he hasn't had as much time to play with me," Ardot sulked. "Even now he is somewhere doing something for you." She crossed her arms.
"Why do we have to look after this miserable little bitch?" Choujoro growled. "As if we don't have enough on our plates stopping the rebel factions from declaring war on each other and ouch! Get back you little monster," Choujoro chased a grinning Ardot who had bitten him.
"She is a bored little girl," Ao remarked, "I would have thought even you could handle that."
Mei chuckled as she watched her younger subordinate get outsmarted by a possibly ten year old girl. "You really care about Naruto don't you?"
"Yup!" Ardot nodded as Choujoro grabbed her by the collar and hauled her in the air.
"Got you," He smiled evilly.
"Bring her here," Mei patted a spot on the bed.
Ardot wriggled out of her dress and ran over to where Mei was patting.
"Don't you have any other clothes," Mei politely asked as the two men suddenly averted their eyes from the naked child.
"Uh uh," Ardot shook her head. "Narnar bought me that dress."
"He never bought you underwear?" Mei asked.
Ardot blinked, "He went red whenever he went into a store to buy them and never did."
"Ah," Mei smiled at the potential blackmail material. "Well I am sure we can find something for you to wear."
"Hmm…" Ardot narrowed her eyes and tried to stare menacingly at Mei. However the produced effect made her appear to have a squint.
"No tricks," Mei chuckled before coughing violently.
"Terumi-sama," Ao ran over to the woman and forced her to lie in her bed. "You shouldn't push yourself. If you do too much you may die before an antidote can be delivered."
"I know," Mei sighed, "I just hate being so helpless…"
"I'm sure Uzumaki-san will return shortly," Ao returned his attention to the paperwork whilst Ardot struggled into the new clothes that Mei had Choujoro bring her.
"It tickles weirdly," The young girl proclaimed on wearing her under wear and socks. She then put on a pale grey shirt designed to look like a flak jacket. There were some small cargo pants that were just a little too long for the girl but she put them on and proceeded to run around in circles, tripping over the long legs and giggling before getting up and repeating. "They feel weird and are hard to move in."
"You'll get used to them, "Ao commented, "The latest reports show the Mizukage's advance has been halted and will take at least a week and half to reach us."
"Some good new at last," Choujoro smiled briefly. "Now all we have to do is get the rest of the factions here to acknowledge Terumi-sama's authority."
"How hard can that be?" Ao remarked, "In my day the top man stood in charge because he was the most powerful."
"So you're saying I need to be a man or that a woman is only good for marrying men to produce strong male heirs?" Mei's voice managed to be both sickly sweet and purely demonic as she pulled herself into a sitting position in her bed.
"No ma'am," Ao began sweating furiously, "I was just saying that the strongest will rule, and there is nothing to worry about because there is no way you can't marry these factions together!"
Unfortunately for Ao, in her ill state only one phrase got through to Mei 'You can't marry'. It was like waving a red flag in front of a bull.
"Ao. Shut up or I will kill you." Mei growled.
"Yes, Ma'am, shutting up Ma'am," Ao bobbed his head furiously.
"Wow…" Ardot looked up in hero worship at Mei. "Teach me how to do that!"
Unknown Location
Pain. That was the first thing Naruto felt. His entire body felt like it had been sliced open repeatedly. His gums were in pain and he could taste the coppery tang of blood on his tongue. He blearily opened his eyes and found himself in some sort of stone cell. There was a thick smell of blood and as the room slowly became clearer, Naruto noticed several teeth were scattered across the floor.
He opened his mouth to make a sarcastic comment but the burning pain from his throat resulted in more of a "Gargh," sound.
Slowly turning his head, Naruto noticed he was hanging from the ceiling via a complex array of chains and machinery. There was little light in the room, most of it was from a torch that was flickering lowly just behind Naruto.
"Kurama?" Naruto mentally called.
"Finally you're up. Feel alright?"
"Been better," Naruto realised he was topless and his armour and sword were lying on a desk to his right, along with strange devices that were bloodied. One of them looked like some sort of scoop and held a lone blue eyeball staring off into space. "Kurama… is that my eye?"
"It was and so were the teeth… it appears that they are greatly interested in your regenerative abilities. They've been continuously wounding your body and seeing how long it takes you to regenerate."
"Who are 'they'?"
"Hell if I know. I was able to use your senses to listen in on your torturers as I kept healing you. Interesting fact, I can apparently fully regenerate your organs."
"Am I missing any?"
"Don't think so… have you ever seen your own intestines? They're probably around here somewhere."
"How the hell am I still alive?"
"That's the real kicker. Whoever has you captured is quite adept at Fuin Jutsu, they managed to break the lock on the seal that stopped the majority of my chakra from being able to merge with you. So be careful when using my chakra. Without the seal's safeguards it will be quite… controlling. That and there is a very real chance that the seal will collapse on itself and either a) release me and kill you or b) kill us both."
"Thanks for the warning," Naruto blinked and closed his eyes, calling on the single tail of power that was his. Nothing happened.
"Oh and before I forget… your chakra's cut off right now. They've placed seals on your back, specifically designed to cut off only your chakra. They want you to use mine apparently. But if you do…"
"The seal will decay faster," Naruto grimaced as he called upon the pure muscle mass that he had built whilst training with Zabuza. With a cry of pain Naruto wrenched himself free from the mass of chains triggering the mechanism to come crashing to the floor. With a deep breath Naruto staggered to the table and collected his items.
"Well that was subtle," Kurama snickered.
"Funny," Naruto muttered in a dry hoarse voice. He slowly walked around the cell, looking for an exit. "If I was put in here, I can get out…" Naruto glanced up and noticed the large hole in the roof that the falling machinery had made.
Without a sound (except the occasional grunt of pain) Naruto clambered atop the machinery and through the hole in the roof. He found himself in some sort of observation room. There were several desks with papers on it as well as strange seal arrays that showed the room he had left from different angles.
"Interesting," Naruto mused as he hobbled over to the desk, picking up the documents which had been left behind.
'Subject has shown remarkable regenerative abilities after T. tampered with the seal. It looks like we may be able to use subject as an organ factory until such a time as T. requires the subject terminating. Abilities seem to originate from the Bijuu within the subject. T's theory that the different Bijuu bestow different powers on their hosts appears to be correct. It appears we have exhausted the boy's regenerative abilities for the time being. K. Suggests we leave him for a few hours before continuing our experiments.
On a personal note; this boy may be the hope of the world. It may be unethical but this one boy's suffering may help millions across the world. Letting the boy go would be the moral option, but in doing so we could be damning future generations whose lives depend on discovers we could make from this boy. I only pray the Gods see the honour in my actions.'
"An organ factory," Naruto rubbed his temples, "They were planning to use me to grow organs and sell them?"
"I think we should focus on this T flesh bag," Kurama's voice sounded concerned.
"Do you know something?" Naruto asked.
"Listen… there is a time and a place. I will share what I think after we get the hell out of here."
"I'm holding you to that," Naruto frowned.
There was the sound of voices approaching and Naruto quickly hid in the shadows of the room as three people wearing lab coats walked into the room. They paused and suddenly raced over to the hole that was made and started to panic.
"The subjects loose… oh gods we have to warn everyone. We have a demon loose!"
"Calm down!" The most senior looking of the three ran and hand over his bald spot. "Our employer placed all sorts of seals on the boy. He can't have gotten far."
"Right," The third of the group nodded frantically, "We are this close to unlocking some of the deepest mysteries of life. We cannot let that boy escape. Think of all the failed experiments. If we let this boy escape then the poor souls have suffered for nothing!"
"Hurry," The lead scientist turned to the others, "We have to sound the alarm."
"Sorry… but I cannot allow you to live." Naruto quickly dived at the first scientist and snapped his neck. The second one was dead before he could even scream courtesy of a surgical knife through his eye and brain. The third scientist had dived into the cell to escape, only to slip on a piece of the broken machinery and land with a sickening crack and his head at a ninety degree angle to the rest of his body. "Argh," Naruto leaned against the wall, trying to ignore the pain going through his body.
"Careful moron! I may have healed the serious wounds but I can't heal you any more without destroying your chakra system. Your chakra is dangerously saturated with my own as it is."
"My body feels like it is on fire!" Naruto thought back.
"Probably a side effect of having 70% of your chakra system tainted with demonic chakra. It's a miracle you appear able to function at all. It must be thanks to my awesomeness somehow."
"That's not a real word. Let's get out of here."
"Tch, not so much as a thank you," Naruto was pretty sure that Kurama was rolling his eyes.
Naruto shook his head as he exited the room and limped down out of the room and into some sort of gallery with glass windows looking into cells containing mutated people, all of which were dead.
"What the hell was going on here?" Naruto remarked as he walked along the corridor, each site was worst that the last. There was a man that had died some time ago, his ribcage having exploded .The small plaque before the window stated 'Test #122312: Increased Lung Capacity for underwater missions – Drug Failed. Unable to stop expansion of lungs.'
Naruto scowled as he pulled himself along and observed various other distorted corpses with titles such as 'Test #2314: Fire proof skin- Operation Failed. Body tissue rejected chemicals' and 'Test #9335: Wings capable of flight- Implant Failed. Brain unable to cope with foreign inputs.'
"What…" Naruto stumbled to the floor as his body suddenly screamed out in pain. "Argh!"
"Hmm… the seal is not looking good. I'll try and stabilise it as much as possible. You need to get to that perverted hermit ASAP."
"Fine… I'll get the weeds then get the hell out of here… I hope Zabuza and Haku are alright…" Naruto took a deep breath and continued dragging himself along the corridor.
The Suffocating Fog Prison – High Risk Cells, Land of Water
Life sucked. It was official. Not only did he, the great Zabuza, actually get ambushed in the fog, he actually panicked and yelled out like a rookie. It was embarrassing. Now he was stuck in some sort of heavily sealed room without his sword and usual outfit. Instead he was wearing a bright orange jumpsuit and was covered in seals to remove his ability to fight. In a brief moment of humour he muttered, "So this is now Naruto felt when I first found him."
Zabuza turned to his apprentice who was sat staring into space. She hadn't stopped worrying about that damn blonde ever since they had been dragged here and locked up. Fortunately the guards had left them to their own devices and given Zabuza more than enough time to fashion a crude sword from the leg of one of the beds and he was more than ready to use it on the next son of a bitch who pissed him off. The rest of his cell mates were all huddled at the other side of the room, terrified of upsetting the legendary Demon of the Mist.
"Do you think he is alright?" Haku asked.
"For the twenty seventh time, how the hell should I know?" Zabuza growled.
"If you hadn't screamed like a little girl they wouldn't have even known he was with us," Haku responded darkly.
Usually someone talking to Zabuza like this would be dead, but right now Haku was emitting a field of pure rage that made Zabuza wonder whether decapitation would even slow her down in her quest for vengeance. He really hated when Haku was pissed. It was made all the more fearsome for the complete 180 in personality.
"I didn't scream," Zabuza muttered.
There was the sound of bolts scraping and the large steel door slammed open and three men walked in. I would go into detail describing them but to be perfectly honest, it would take more time to describe them than they had left to live. Zabuza was all too eager to try out his new sword and Haku was… well… in a state of mind that can only be referred to as 'Dark Haku'. She pulled off attacks that made Zabuza think she was being unnecessarily cruel. I would go into more detail but the last thing I need is a lawsuit against me for traumatising people so… yeah.
"Well… that was easy," Zabuza remarked as he kicked the last body from his improvised weapon.
The remaining cell mates were all huddled up in a corner sobbing.
"Weaklings," Dark Haku growled as she stormed out of the room. "We are finding Naruto now."
"Yes Haku-sama," Zabuza sarcastically saluted the girl and followed her out.
The Suffocating Fog Prison- Observation Tower, Land of Water
"Well isn't this interesting," A tall man sat upon a throne of bone watching the events in the building with a smile. His name was Koro and he was the warden of the prison. He knew he was probably going to die soon but was surprisingly unworried. Right now he was more interested to see who would kill him. This experiment had four possible outcomes. The first and most likely was death by his mysterious employer.
Tobi as he introduced himself was always wearing a cloak and wearing an orange mask. He had funded most of the… research that had been performed her. He had brought the blonde boy here and demanded that the boy be left in stasis until such a time as decided by Tobi.
The second contender was the blonde boy himself. His spies in the rebellion who had alerted him to their plans had said the boy was very dangerous. The insane amount of sealing that Tobi thought necessary to hold the boy went to prove that fact. However out of the spirit of scientific enquiry Koro had tampered with the Stasis seal and removed some of the limiter seals. The boy had been a gold mine as far as science was concerned. Still the boy was now very angry and hunting him down, all for some weeds to cure a poison for some woman he didn't really know. It was all very romantic but Koro preferred the hard facts of science to some fantasy of the mind such as love and romance. Still the boy was proving quite capable and as if guided by fate or some obscenely good fortune, was rapidly making his way towards Koro's hiding place. Koro was interested to see the full power of a Jinchuuriki before he died, but the boy seemed reluctant to call upon his power.
The other two contenders, Zabuza and Haku, were running in circles and getting nowhere fast. He was not surprised though as he had only allowed the two to escape their cell to see what amusement they would provide him with in his final moments. It had been several hours since he had broken the seals on the blonde boy. Surely Tobi would know by now and would be on his way.
"I wonder…" The man stood up and walked over to a screen staring at the scenes of the young blonde slowly dragging himself along the corridor. "His body is broken and even with the healing factor it appears that he is barely alive… yet here he is refusing to die. Maybe there is something to that 'Will to live' rubbish."
There was the sudden sound of a door being smashed from its hinges. Koro turned to face his death, and then scowled. "And who the hell are you supposed to be? An external variable? Were you sent by Tobi?"
"I was sent to retrieve you by my lord, Orochimaru-sama." Guren scowled at the strange man, "He believes your research will be valuable."
"Hmm…" Koro got out of his chair and walked over to a set of screens, keeping his back to the newcomer. "You are not one of the expected outcomes… still this is why I love science." The man turned to her with a strange twinkle in his eyes, "We can learn so much, even when you think you know everything about an experiment there can always be some sort of unexpected change. It makes life so… exciting. Very well I will go with you." Koro turned to face the screens. "And as much as it pains me to end an experiment prematurely, it appears the gods have decided to give me more time to live." He tapped various seals and the entire room glowed an urgent red. "Well that gives ten minutes until this entire place is reduced into a smoking crater and overrun by the wildlife. All the data your lord requires is sealed in the vault behind you. Now let us be gone. Shame to kill the Jinchuuriki but…"
"The Jinchuuriki?" Guren blinked, "Is he a blonde haired boy?"
"Yes he is," Koro tilted his head.
"Can we get to him and capture him in time?"
"Unlikely," Koro scratched his chin. "It would take seven minutes to get to him and at least that long to escape."
"Well cancel the self-destruct!" Guren snapped.
"Oh I would love to," Koro waved a hand dismissively, "But you see the process is irreversible. Besides I want to see if his healing factor can save him from this one."
"Can't you delay it?" Guren looked at the blonde boy on a monitor. "He is too wounded to get away."
"No… but there are his two friends I released," The man pointed to Zabuza and Haku on another monitor. "I suppose I can help them find the boy."
"That will have to do," Guren frowned. "Can you give them an easy path to Naruto?"
"But then he will come after me," Koro looked confused; "I thought you wanted me alive."
"My lord will be more than enough to deal with that boy." Guren promised.
"Very well…" Koro walked over to the screen and began pressing random seals. "I have opened all of the security doors leading to the exit. That's all I can do for him."
"Then let's leave," Guren formed a two clones and lifted up the safe and left the room, Koro waddling behind her.
The Suffocating Fog-Lower Research Levels, Land of Water
Naruto lent against a wall trying to catch his breath. He had been wandering around the 'failure gallery' for a good half hour now and had yet to find any signs of an exit. His head was throbbing violently and he felt like he was burning up. Kurama had also gone silent. He kept briefly losing conscious and his stomach felt like he was impaled on a sword and Naruto knew all too well what that felt like.
"How can this get any worse," He muttered as another wave of nausea struck him causing him to stumble.
"SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE: INITITATED. TEN MINUTES UNTIL DETONATION."
"Oh come on!" Naruto threw his hands in the air and flinched in pain. "Give me a chance!"
"ALL SECURITY DOORS… OPEN."
"Now we're talking," Naruto grinned as a segment of wall suddenly sunk into the ground revealing a hidden room. "Maybe God doesn't hate me after all."
"EXPERIMENTS HAVE BEEN RELEASED. CAUTION SOME EXPERIMENTS MAY BE VIOLENT."
"Do you want to kill me or not," Naruto yelled, "Make up your damn mind!"
Grumbling, Naruto entered the concealed room and found himself in an iron room. The only features of interest were the glowing display on the far side of the room and the strange glowing seal etched on the roof.
"Here goes nothing," Naruto closed his eyes and reached out to trigger one of the seals.
"WARNING: IN SELF DESTRUCT SCENARIO ALL VERTICAL MOVING ROOMS ARE DISABLED. PASSWORD IS REQUIRED FOR USE."
"God hates me," Naruto moaned.
"PASSWORD ACCEPTED. DESTINATION: CONTROLLER'S TOWER, ACCEPTED."
There was a sudden jerk and the seal array changed colour. The wall slotted back into place trapping Naruto then the entire room seemed to judder, causing Naruto to fall over and curse loudly. The room seemed to shake violently for some time before it finally halted and the door swung open again. Naruto struggled to his feet, his entire body was screaming out in protest.
Naruto peered out of the room and found that he was now outside some sort of throne room. There were several screens that were counting down. There was also a screen showing Zabuza and Haku fighting several strange mutants.
"What the hell?" Naruto shook his head and searched the room. There was a small pot of flowers that had a strange blue tinge to the leaves. "Is this what we want?"
"Could be," Kurama's voice sounded distant. "I've finished running damage control. It's not looking good in here."
Naruto picked up the plant and searched the room for a sealing scroll with no luck. "Great…" He clutched his head as another wave of pain assaulted his body and he stumbled and blacked out.
He was aware of voices, one sounded like Kurama but the others were unfamiliar to him.
"It looks like this is it." Kurama sounded tired. "The Seal is failing."
"Please, do you know who I am?" A male voice responded, "I can fix this."
"But you won't be able to speak with the boy." Kurama titled his head. "I thought there was a message you had to give him."
"I'll be counting on you to tell him all about the masked man." The male stated.
"There is more than just that he needs to hear from you, like his heritage and your reasoning."
"I'll be counting on you to tell him Kushi-chan."
"So you're just going to sacrifice yourself again?" A female voice asked.
"Sorry… look after our son for me."
"Tch," The female sounded annoyed. "Always leaving the hard work to me… don't you worry. I'll make sure our boy grows up right."
Naruto opened his eyes and saw a blurry figure stood staring at the seal. There were two other outlines, one was quite clearly the Kyuubi but the other one appeared to be human.
"Naruto?" Kurama's voice was muffled. "You still alive?"
"Ku…rama?" Naruto choked out.
"My poor baby," the figure stood beside Kurama walked towards him. "Can you see me?"
"Who… are…?" Naruto was cut off by a spasm of pain.
"We will meet again my precious son," The woman faded away.
"You are strong my son," The figure examining the seal spoke proudly. "You have a great destiny to fulfil. I wish I could witness it. I am sorry for all of the pain I have caused you through my actions and can only pray you do not hate Konoha. People fear what they do not understand. Just give them a chance."
"I… won't kill them…" Naruto groaned.
"That's as much as I could hope for," The figure smiled. "And now, Naruto Uzumaki, my son… you must live." The man reached out and touched the seal. "That is my order to you as the Fourth Hokage!"
Naruto was aware of gentle warmth in his stomach and blearily opened his eyes.
"Thanks dad," He smiled as he staggered to his feet. "Wish I could have punched you though…"
"He's gone… he used the last of his chakra to fix your seal and destroy the seal on your back."
"What about my mother?" Naruto asked.
"She will speak to you when it is time… speaking of time… shouldn't you be getting the hell out of here?"
"Oh crap…" Naruto looked at the timer on the screen. "Ten seconds… This won't be good."
"Understatement of the year moron."
The Suffocating Fog- Main Courtyard.
The main courtyard was a beautiful garden, a symbol of the Warden's love of nature. Of course he had made certain modifications to the plant life… including making them carnivorous and with the release of the inmates, they were gorging and what was once a beautiful green garden was now red with the blood of the dead and dying. They were also trying to eat a certain duo and were having no success in their endeavours.
Zabuza was having fun. It had been a long time since he had been able to just run wild and kill stuff. Naruto and Haku were always so pissy about him killing for killing's sake but out here he was able to do what he did best. Slaughter anyone stupid enough to stand still. Having located the armoury and exit to the prison, Zabuza was officially having the time of his life. Not to mention apparently the whole building was going to explode. Nothing got the blood pumping like this. Fortunately they had found the main entrance and were merely waiting for Naruto to show up.
Haku on the other hand was having less fun. The supernatural rage that had been powering her had dwindled away at the realisation that in about three minutes this place would be blown up and she had no idea where Naruto was. It was always the case, Naruto would bite off more than he could chew and she would have to save him. Bad enough he was on some sort of self-given quest to save some two bit whore that he hardly knew on the account that she had a nice pair of breasts. As if Naruto really cared about some rebellion. He was just being a typical man, all machismo and completely hypnotised by Mei's body.
Haku glanced at her own modest chest before Dark Haku regained control.
"So what if I'm not a mammary monster!" Haku kicked a six eyed man in the crotch so hard he actually choked to death on his own testicles. "I have a more womanly charm than that big breasted bitch!"
Zabuza scowled at Haku. He wasn't sure what was wrong with the girl but clearly something had come unhinged during their time wandering around aimlessly. It had started with her wondering just how they had ended up in this mess and had ended with Haku wondering why Naruto was doing so much for some woman he hardly knew. Zabuza had pointed out that it was only to help the resistance but Haku had suddenly scowled and started muttering about breast size.
"TEN SECONDS TILL SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ENGAGED."
Zabuza muttered a brief prayer for Naruto and grabbed Haku and ran as fast as he could. The next ten seconds were the longest ten seconds in Zabuza's life.
"10."
Zabuza charged at a main door and barged through it with an angry looking Haku trying to break free of his grip. He threw said ice maiden as far as he could.
"9."
He leapt after her racing across the water as Haku finally landed a good five hundred metres ahead of him.
"8."
He lost momentum and began to sink in the swamp water, the seals on his back preventing him from being able to actually water walk.
"7."
For a brief moment he forgot how to swim.
"6."
He remembered how to swim and began furiously doggy paddling at a speed that shouldn't have been possible for a man carrying a Zanbato. He was practically blitzing towards the small island where Haku was nursing a concussion from hitting a tree.
"5."
He was regretting killing so many of the mutants. His arms were burning and he started to feel a little guilty for abandoning Naruto.
"4."
Then again the little bastard was constantly eating more than a small army. It would save him money when he came to fund his rebellion… oh wait… he already had his army and it wasn't costing him a Ryo.
"3."
"I wonder how religious Naruto was." Zabuza muttered as he clambered onto the small island.
"2."
"For his funeral service," Zabuza added for clarification.
"1."
"I feel woozy," Haku muttered.
Then all Zabuza could hear was an almighty roar and all he could see was white.
"He was probably an atheist anyway," Zabuza thought to himself.
Not sure what to make of this chapter. I've been writing it between revision and essays so I am not that happy with it. Well I am sure you will let me know in the reviews. I will probably re-write this chapter after I have finished exams (unless people think it is fine) but I was aware it was a while since my last update so I just wanted to make sure everyone knew I wasn't dead.
Sorry for the sucky cliff hanger as well