Chapter 10: New World Man
"This is impossible." Sasuke murmured in disbelief.
"How in the world do they get in?" Kakashi ran his hand over the warm metal of the Temple. They had found no entrance after an hour of searching. Kakashi was cursing, Sasuke was growling, and Naruto began yelling.
"How can you live like this?!" he screamed after he had jumped onto a low-hanging roof. He continued his erratic string of thoughts. "Don't you see how ridiculous you look? You're his mindless slaves; his playthings! Have you even heard of freedom? You don't have to live like this! The outside world is a billion times better than this asylum!"
"The outside world is dirty and unsafe! The Temple is wonderful! Lord Cygnus protects us!" A burly man yelled from the front of the mob that surrounded Naruto.
"Your 'Temple' is no more than a brainwashing facility!" Naruto retorted.
Kakashi left Sasuke as Naruto's back up, and then began to ascend the side of the temple by focusing his chakra to his feet and hands. He knew the risks; he could be walking over a one-way window at any point, but he pressed on. After checking the inside of any signs of chakra, he made the hand signs- Snake, Dragon, Horse, Ram, Bird, Dog, Ox, Rabbit, and Monkey.
"Chidori!" he hissed, before blasting a hole in the Temple. The crowd below was too busy roaring at Naruto to notice what was happening above.
"Poor oblivious people…" he muttered as he crawled through the shallow hole and successfully entered the Temple; but what he faced was the most unholy thing he had ever seen. Rows upon rows of incubators filled with green liquid stretched as far as he could see. The unclothed people inside were hooked to thousands of wires and tubes. Some of the bodies appeared coated with silver, and some were partially turned into the liquid metal he had seen the members of Aerosky turn into.
"Their Kekkei Genkai? These people all have it? All of these people share the same blood?"
"Not exactly, but you're close, brotha." Ukion took bouncing strides towards Kakashi. "They just had some of Lord Cygnus's blood put in them. Most of them reject it, but the nerds in the lab are trying to prevent that."
"Why are you telling me this?" Kakashi questioned darkly.
"You'll be one of them, soon. So will that little girlie."
Kakashi cursed, "Where is she?!"
Ukion interrupted, "Cut the talk. It's time to boogie!"
*****************
"Let me out of here, you pigs!" Sakura kicked the lab's door before dragging her tired body to the gleaming floor of the sterile lab. White sheets covered still figures; Sakura felt a chill whenever she looked at them, but now that she was looking at them, she noticed that they had clipboards at the end of their gurneys. Curious and bored, she crawled over to one gurney and pulled the doctor's clipboard out of its plastic holder. It was pages upon pages of scientific jargon, but the last page brought a scream to her lips that her hand muffled. She dropped the clipboard and pushed herself upright. After a moment's hesitation, she ripped the white sheet off of the body. The little Sasuke, Satoshi, lay in the gurney. Touching him with a finger, she felt that there was no pulse in his cold body. Tears flowed from her eyes as she tried to speak.
"You…were a…"
"A clone? Yes, he was. You see, DNA is not the most difficult thing to acquire, and your Sasuke had such beautiful DNA." Dimitra slinked towards the other gurney and took the sheet off, revealing a pasty Nozomu.
"Your friend, Naruto, was also easy to clone. They died when their bodies rejected Lord Cygnus's blood."
"His blood? Why would you put his blood in other people?" Sakura tried to appear confident, but her knees violently shook.
"Lord Cygnus has the amazing ability to turn into liquid silver and reform. He has gifted all of his people that gift and many others!" Dimitra sat on the edge of the bed and crossed her legs, but the effect was like a cat sinking low before pouncing on its prey.
"But it kills the people who reject it! He's a murderer!" Sakura's voice was a hysterical whisper.
"Only the worthy survive! I wonder…are you worthy?"
Sakura's mind told her to run like hell, but her thoughts couldn't reach her feet before she felt a prick in her neck. Her vision blurred, and time seemed to move at a snail's-pace. Not being able to fight it off, she slipped into unconsciousness.
**********************************
"And your tofu sucks!" Naruto was beginning to run out of arguments, but he knew he had to keep being the bait.
"That's it, child!" The man screamed, before singing the highest note he could. The rest of the crowd joined in, filling the streets with an ungodly keen. Sasuke, having seen this coming with his Sharingan, pounced on Naruto and covered the other boy's ears. Sasuke screamed as his ear drums rang painfully in his bleeding ears. Horrified, Naruto put his own hands over Sasuke's ears. They braced themselves against the tone as it rose in pitch and strength. The music made every cell in their bodies convulse. They were pushed by the sound waves towards a wall; Sasuke turned so he'd cushion Naruto's body. He released a strangled yelp as his own back and head cracked against the wall. When he opened his eyes, he saw horrified blue eyes that were near tears staring back at him.
Damn it, I'm tougher than this! Don't cry! But…Sasuke's hurt! Naruto berated himself mentally.
"I'm fine, dobe." Sasuke groaned as he peeled himself away from the dented metal. Naruto surprised Sasuke with a gentle peck that let him know that he was relieved. I could get used to talking through kisses, Sasuke's garbled mind let go of that fleeting thought as soon as a hand grabbed his wrist and dragged him towards the Temple at a speed that was too fast for his aching body. Naruto sent kunai back into the fighting mob, but they were deflected using the same sound waves. What are these people?
Needing to get away from the soprano singers from Hell, they sprinted up the side of the Temple of the Syrinx. After a few minutes of frantic running, they made it to the roof, on which they collapsed.
"So lovely of you two to join us!"
"Cygnus!" Naruto panted, recovering as fast as he could. "You bastard! What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Cygnus was flanked by the remaining gang members of Aerosky and Dragonskin, and he was also joined by Naomi.
"I'm making the best village in the world!" Cygnus emphasized 'world' by throwing his stubby arms into the air. "And I'm doing it by taking the best ninja from other villages! They remember nothing about where they come from or who they are! Every person here is an amazing weapon! You will be added to my arsenal soon, boy. And once it's big enough, I can have the best army! We will demolish all those filthy villages and replace them with my vision of perfection!"
"You prick! You're brainwashing people!" Sasuke growled, clinging onto Naruto's jacket for support.
"It's not brainwashing, you ignorant brat. My music is amazing; I engrain a suggestion in their mind like "Forget about the horrors of the past!" Then, I enhance the feelings that my words just made present in their minds until they can't hide them, and soon, they forget everything! With my music, no one can hide their feelings! I thought I could use this on you two because you seemed to hate each other...but, maybe I read your relationship wrong."
"You're just another jerk who wants to rule the world!" Naruto roared, his fists aching to connect with the mayor's fat face.
"Yes, and as cliché as this sounds, there's no one who can stop me; I'm invincible!" Lord Cygnus cackled, as all of the people around him- including Naomi, to their surprise- turned into liquid silver and coated him, becoming impenetrable armor.
"Fire Ball Jutsu!" Sasuke had quickly made the hand signs before blasting fire towards Cygnus. The silver was left unscathed as it absorbed the strong attack. Cygnus maliciously giggled, before an equally-large fireball aimed at the boys launched out of the metal. Sasuke tackled Naruto away just in time to avoid being thoroughly roasted. Naruto's first response was to hug Sasuke, trying to convey his gratitude. Sasuke raised his eyebrows, before a flash of understanding ripped through his genius mind.
"Sasuke?" Naruto's voice snapped him out of his planning mode. Knowing what to do, Sasuke sprinted towards the round edge of the U.F.O.-type roof. Sasuke took a deep breath…
"I LOVE UZUMAKI NARUTO!"