Story Title: Technological Ninja Naruto Uzumaki
Crossover: Naruto / Star Ocean game series
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or plot from Naruto anime/manga series and the Star Ocean Video games series. This is a work of fanfiction.
Chapter Ten: When destinies are altered
Previously...
"I believe to preserve the identity of The Eye, we'll need to throw out some misleading information." Sica spoke up in his head. "I've have spin up a possible red herring to divert the Hokage's attention ever since I detected the arrival of the militia. However, we'll need to secure the cooperation of Kakashi Hatake... This is what you should say..."
Naruto gave a sniff, tears beginning to shine in his eyes as he looked at old man Hokage. His body shuddered as if from great stress before he leap forward, engulfing the Hokage in a hug.
"I was so scared..." Naruto said, lifting his head to look at the Hokage, sparing a glance to Kakashi who was standing at the side with a raised eyebrow.
Please let this work. Naruto prayed, as he began spinning the cover Sica had came up for him...
"Old man... I was so scared." Naruto said, the words seemingly caught in his throat. Sarutobi rest an arm reassuringly on the child. A powerful S-rank ninja and his Uchiha cohorts were loose in the village, Sarutobi knew that his first priority was to ensure the safety of the village. But Naruto's involvement in this matter needs to be investigated as well, especially since he was Konoha's demon container. Now that his ninja militia were off searching and safeguarding the village, he had a few moments to spare to find out what in the world had brought Naruto within arms' length of Madara Uchiha.
From Kakashi's defensive stance in front of Naruto when Sarutobi had arrived with his militia, to the look of disbelief the copy eye ninja had leveled on the boy when Naruto had started sobbing into Sarutobi's arms, Sarutobi had known that something strange was up, and somehow Naruto was in the thick of it.
Naruto's next words however shattered Sarutobi's appearance of calm and control.
"I am the student of The Eye and I think Teacher is in trouble." Naruto said raising his head to look up at Sarutobi, a frightened look in his eyes.
"WHAT!" Sarutobi shouted in shock before he caught himself. Beside them, Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise. As one of the elite Anbu, Kakashi knew about the mystery concerning The Eye. Sarutobi struggled for control even as he wondered how the mysterious infiltration ninja had managed to train Naruto secretly. It was an incredible feat since The Eye had remained undetected by the Anbus that were sent to check up on Naruto, not to mention the frequent "look-in" by Sarutobi to monitor the well being of Naruto with his spy technique. Sarutobi took a deep breath to calm his nerves as he looked at Naruto sharply. "Naruto, answer me truthfully, how long have The Eye been training you? And why are you here?"
"He... he came to me one plus year ago, a few months after the meteor showers." Naruto said in hesitation. "He told me all about my parents, I... I know my heritage... It is something that Teacher told me must be kept a secret until the time is right..."
Sarutobi squeezed his eyes in shock. It seemed that The Eye had been in Konoha for much longer than anyone had thought, which answered part of the mystery of why The Eye's training with Naruto was undetected. By the time The Eye made an official appearance in Konoha, he probably had months of preparation and planning to back himself up.
What was more, The Eye had revealed to Naruto who his parents were... Sarutobi had intended to tell Naruto about his parentage when Naruto had reached maturity. When Naruto had grown prudent enough and not go boasting about this SS-rank secret to anyone. It had been one of Sarutobi's greatest fear that other ninja villages would discover Naruto was the son of the legendary and infamous Yellow Flash. He could only imagine the numbers of assassins coming after Naruto if that secret was out.
However, looking at the boy before him now, it seemed that he had underestimated Naruto's maturity. The boy had known about his parents for months, and if he had never confide in Sarutobi tonight, Sarutobi would not had known Naruto knew. Naruto had changed greatly from a child starved for attention to one that could safeguard a secret. Naruto had grown up without Sarutobi even knowing about it. Sarutobi felt a pang in his heart for not paying more attention to the boy who was supposed to be under his charge.
"He told me he owed my parents a great debt and he was going to take me in as his student. He said he would teach me everything he know. His only requirement was that I never tell anyone that I was being taught by him. He never told me his name, just to call him Teacher, and every time he appeared before me, he wears a different appearance. I never knew what he looked like." Naruto said as he sniffed, rubbing at his brimming tear filled eyes. "He is strict... but he always treat me fairly. He was always there for me... A few months ago, he said he was going to help Konoha, by gathering news and information that would protect the village. Our training became less and less frequent, but Teacher always kept me updated on what was happening. He told me how he became The Eye..."
"Then tonight, Teacher appeared and told me that he was going to do something that might get him killed. He told me about Madara Uchiha, how the Uchiha clan was under attack. He said he was going to try to stop Madara, to buy time for the village militia to mobilized." Naruto said with a glazed look in his eyes. "Teacher specialized in Bloodline research and infiltration techniques. He confide to me once that offensively he was barely the level of a Jonin. He was more of a research ninja, he was outmatched against someone of Madara's level. I begged him to let me help him, he had done a lot for me. In the very beginning, he... he had given me the Wood Release bloodline which allowed me to tap into the Kyuubi's chakra safely. I thought it would be enough for me to help..."
"The Eye gave you the Wood Release bloodline? You mean The Eye successfully developed a method to implant the legendary bloodline into another?" Kakashi asked in disbelief. Beside him, Sarutobi stood stock still, his mind flashing back to the past where another powerful Konoha ninja, one of his students, had dabbled in illegal bloodline research by testing them out on innocent civilians. Orochimaru was the prodigy of his generation, yet he was also Sarutobi's greatest regret.
The Eye had revealed in the past that he was a missing nin, perhaps the reason why he was hunted now was because of whatever research he had performed. And the fact that Naruto knew he was the container of the Nine-Tailed Fox... Sarutobi had never meant for Naruto to find out about his burden at such a young age. For a moment, the weight of all the years he had hidden the secret from Naruto laid heavy in his heart. It was at times like this he wished Minato was still alive...
"You really have the Wood Release bloodline?" Sarutobi asked in a harsh voice, a frown on his forehead.
Naruto nodded, his hands flashing into several handseals. The ground below them burst open as large vines of green roots grew to wall height before them. Sarutobi just stared silently at the sight, his mouth tightening into a white line. There had been bloodline thieves in the world. Several bloodlines, especially the dojutsus, namely the Sharingan, were known to be able to be implanted in others. The Wood Release bloodline was one of the few bloodlines that was not easily implanted. Even Orochimaru had only succeed in implanting the Wood Release bloodline into a young boy out of the ninety-two deaths of other innocent subjects. He had no idea how The Eye implanted the bloodline into Naruto, but to do something so dangerous to his charge... It was unforgivable. The next time he saw The Eye, he was going to give him a harsh talking to... That was if The Eye was still alive...
"Teacher gave me the bloodline when we first started training together. I have a few months training in it. I can pull out all the Tailed-Beast chakra I want. I was also taught the Shadow Clone technique a few months back, so Teacher agree to let me help from a distance by spamming Shadow Clones to distract Madara. I also knew some special infiltration techniques of Teacher's which would change my appearance without chakra and hide me from sight. I thought it would keep me safe..." Naruto revealed, biting his lips nervously as he pointed to Kakashi. "I lost all contact with Teacher right after we saved this big brother here. I did not want to run so I stayed here and keep creating Shadow Clones to enter the fight. Then Madara found me and big brother saved me... and then you came. Teacher told me before I enter the fight that if something happened to him I should come to you for help. Old man Hokage, I don't know what to do... Please! Save Teacher!"
Sarutobi looked at Naruto's frightened and weary face as Naruto's words trailed off. Sarutobi's heart was still burning with anger at The Eye for secretly training Naruto behind his back and implanting the Wood Release bloodline into Naruto. He was also angry that an unknown missing nin had dragged Naruto into such a dangerous situation. But all things pale to the alarming fact that Naruto was able to freely access the Nine-Tailed beast's chakra, the situation needs to be monitored to ensure the Kyuubi would not have a chance to escape from its prison.
Sarutobi had no idea of the amount of danger Naruto had encountered in his involvement against Madara, but now was not the time to get a full debriefing from the boy. If what Naruto said was true, The Eye had gone missing sometime after he had went up against Madara. After all The Eye had done for Konoha, Sarutobi felt a sense of obligation to the mysterious ninja. If something really happened to The Eye, Sarutobi need to find out what had happened and render whatever aid to this mysterious ninja, and gave him an earful after that. But first...
"Naruto, lift your shirt. Since you know of the Kyuubi, I presume you were also told of the Dead Demon Consuming seal on your belly?" Sarutobi asked as he bent down to examine Naruto.
"Teacher mentioned it in passing. It keeps the Kyuubi sealed." Naruto said hesitantly as he lifted up his shirt.
"Good, I need you to mold some chakra right now, like when you use it to prepare your jutsus." Sarutobi ordered as he looked at Naruto's belly sharply.
Naruto gave a nod, a look of concentration on his face. Sarutobi sensed the chakra pouring out of Naruto's body as the Dead Demon Consuming seal on Naruto's belly appeared. Sarutobi tensed, since Naruto entered the Academy a year ago, it was the first time he had been near Naruto when he attempted to use his chakra. The chakra signature was familiar... almost like the signature he had sensed from the clone of The Eye... when the clone had presumably Body Flickered into his room, to inform him of Madara's invasion.
Sarutobi could identify the chakra signature clearly, a sensation of moist richly turned earth and a breath of clean air. It was rare for different individuals to have the same chakra signature, though it was not unheard of. Chakra signatures depend largely on the individual's chakra afinities and personalities. That The Eye and Naruto bears the same chakra signature means that they possessed the same chakra affinities and mindset.
Putting the similarity of the chakra signatures aside for the moment, Sarutobi turned his attention to the Dead Demon Consuming seal that appeared on Naruto's belly. Sarutobi gave a relief as he found nothing visibly wrong with the seal. The Kyuubi would not be escaping from Naruto anytime soon. History had spoken of how the First Hokage had used his Wood Release bloodline to suppress the Tailed-Beasts, Naruto might well be safer against manipulations of the Kyuubi, now that he had access to that powerful bloodline.
"You can put down your shirt now Naruto, nothing seems wrong with the seal. Thanks for setting an old man's mind at ease... Kakashi, can you bring Naruto to the hospital? I want both of you to be checked out." Sarutobi asked as he turned to look at the battle weary ninja. Kakashi had numerous injuries across his body, but he could not ask Naruto to travel through the streets by himself without guard, especially not tonight. Sarutobi himself needed to join the search and had little time to spare.
"Old man. I am fine, there's no need for me to go to the hospital." Naruto chipped in, a stubborn look on his face. "I heal fast, and I am sure the doctors have their hands full tonight."
"Nevertheless I would..." Sarutobi began but stopped as he saw the pleading look on Naruto's face.
"Please old man, I just want to have a good rest. I can go for a check up tomorrow." Naruto said with a tired look on his face.
Sarutobi sighed as he gave Naruto a quick cursory check. Aside from the strangle marks on his neck Naruto seemed visibly unharmed, and already those bruises were fading. Naruto always had a fast healing factor since young. Part of it was due to the Kyuubi's chakra coursing through him. Another part was because he was descended from the main Uzumaki clan branch, a clan that bears a potent bloodline of longevity and great health. The bloodline had never emerged from Naruto, but being the descendant of the Uzumaki, Naruto's health and regeneration was above the average norm. Naruto was not inflicted with any life threatening wounds, and Sarutobi was finding it hard not to cede to the child's request.
"Very well, Kakashi, are you well enough to bring Naruto back home?" Sarutobi asked, looking at the white spiky haired ninja who gave a nod.
"I'll live." Kakashi said dryly. "I can bring Naruto home before going to the hospital."
"Good. Naruto, I want you to go home right now and rest. You'll have a health examination tomorrow. In the meantime, I will get the ninjas to look for any signs of The Eye." Sarutobi said looking at the boy sternly. "Tomorrow I will get a ninja to bring you to the Tower and I will need you to tell me everything you know and have done with The Eye. For now just get a good night's sleep. You've done well Naruto, I am proud of you."
Sarutobi gave the boy a comforting hug before nodding to Kakashi. The copy eye ninja moved forward and carried Naruto close to his chest before he began leaping over the Uchiha eastern wall towards the nearby rooftops.
Sarutobi watched them go, his eyes narrowing grimly. He would sort out Naruto's relationship with The Eye tomorrow. For now he needed to protect the village and make sure that Madara and the traitor Uchiha ninjas did not bring further harm to Konoha or the Uchiha clans, as well as find the whereabouts of the missing Eye.
A slight blur in the air and Madara appeared on a tree top, several miles away from Konoha. He was consumed with rage. He had been unable to destroy the Uchiha clan, much less destroy Konoha, and it was all because of the dratted demon container of the Nine-Tailed beast. Many of his plans needed to change. First and foremost, the young demon container of Konoha needed to be dealt with before he became too powerful a threat.
Madara was about to teleport away when he sensed several chakra signatures coming from the direction of Konoha. Thinking it was Konoha ninjas after him, Madara turned around, hands already flashing into the handseals of an Earth Release ninjutsu, before he sighted the three pale faced and bloodied ninjas behind him.
"Madara sama." One of the ninja cried out in shock as the three stopped at the sight of Madara. Madara sneered as he recognized the three ninjas before him, they were among the group of Uchiha he had freed from the Anbu Tower, who had then agreed to aid him in destroying the Uchiha clan. Apparently these three Uchiha had taken the option of fleeing instead of being hunted down by the Konoha ninjas. Their actions had been cowardly, but it meant that they still lived. And all three of the ninjas bear Sharingan eyes, making them a valuable future asset that Madara could use.
"I see the three of you are still alive." Madara said moving forward to them. "You have a choice. Join me, or be hunted down by Konoha as missing nins."
"The way I see it, you're the one that got us into our current situation in the first place." One of the Uchiha ninja snarled at him.
A flash of light and the ninja who had spoken gave a strangled cry as a kunai pierced into his throat. He gurgled out blood, crawling at his neck helplessly. As death claimed him, his body swayed and he tumbled to the ground below.
"I guess if you are not joining me, then I do not have any use for you." Madara said giving a cold smile to the two remaining ninjas. "I might as well dispose of you now in case you become a problem for me in the future."
"Wait Madara sama! Fukira's words are not mine. I Mozu Uchiha agreed to join you!" The Uchiha who identified himself as Mozu said quickly. His fellow ninja beside him also quickly nodded his head.
"Good." Madara said as he quickly leap forward, grabbing the arm of each of the men. "Then let us be off before the Konoha rats came looking for us."
The very air around the three Uchiha rippled as Madara teleported them away. In the stillness of the forest, only the dead Uchiha on the ground below marked their passing.
"So, The Eye trained you." Kakashi said as he looked down at Naruto as he ran across the rooftops with Naruto in his grasp. "Since he was the one that gave you the Wood Release bloodline, I presume than that The Eye also had the same bloodline as well?"
"Yes..." Naruto said wearily, reinforcing the cover created by Sica, as he cling onto Kakashi while he ran across Konoha. "Wait... do you know where I live?"
"I have my ways, I know where I am going." Kakashi said simply. The two of them continued the journey in silence. Ahead of them, they could see several groups of Konoha ninjas patrolling the streets and the roof tops. The patrol teams must have recognized Kakashi because they were allowed to continue their way undisturbed.
It was only a few moments later before Kakashi spoke again. "The ones that saved me from Madara. It was The Eye as well as Shadow Clones from the both of you?"
"Yes, though the ones that saved you is mostly made up of Teacher's Shadow Clones. My clones were only supposed to act as distraction." Naruto said, not meeting Kakashi's eyes, feeling guilty at the lie he was sprouting.
"I don't know which clones are yours and which are The Eye's, but you and your clones held off someone of Madara Uchiha caliber for long enough till help arrived. That spoke highly of your combat abilities." Kakashi said in quiet praise. "Your abilities are possibly already above genin and chunin level."
"Being able to pull out the Kyuubi's chakra safely was what allows me to spam Shadow Clones in the fight." Naruto said trying to gloss over his accomplishment, it would not do for Konoha's ninjas to look too deeply into his fighting abilities.
"Quantity does have a quality of its own. But your skills have to be at a certain level to be able to hold off Madara Uchiha for even a while." Kakashi said as he took a flying leap and landed at the roof of the apartment building Naruto was staying in. He set Naruto down giving him a nod. "I will leave you here. Have a good rest tonight, I am sure the Hokage will have a lot of questions for you tomorrow."
"I will, thank you for seeing me back home." Naruto said as he thanked the white haired ninja who turned and quickly made his way across the roof tops.
Naruto slowly climbed down the stairs and entered his apartment. As he closed the door, he slummed against the closest chair in his living room. His body was heavy and tired, and he felt drained in body and mind.
Kakashi Hatake is now out of my scanning range. At the direction he took, he is most probably heading to the hospital to tend to his injuries. Sica spoke up in his head.
"Good. I think Kakashi and old man Hokage bought the story you come up with." Naruto said closing his eyes wearily. He did not like to lie to old man Hokage, not when he was the closest thing to a grandfather for Naruto.
But if he did not lie and was discovered to be The Eye, the ninjas and village council would investigate into why a clanless eight year old was capable of the things he was able to do. They might be able to discover Sica's existence either by forcing Naruto to reveal his secrets unwillingly or via a mind scan which Naruto knew the Yamanaka clan was capable of. Once the village council knew of Sica, there was a high chance of Sica being confiscated or stolen, forcing the A.I. to go into a lock down to prevent Federation secrets from being revealed.
A simple misdirection is enough to make those involved not look so closely into why you were at the Uchiha clan compound. As things stands, your identity as The Eye remains safe, and if the cover you've given to the Hokage spreads, pretty soon those in the know will see you and The Eye as separate entities, further protecting your secret identity. Sica revealed. Naruto could not master up much of a reply other than a tired grunt as Sica continued. Releasing "information" about the successful bloodline implantation method of The Eye also ensures a reason why you have your current bloodline, and secures the future in case you need to attempt any bloodline changes.
"Your cover is good Sica, but I am worried about what Old Man Hokage will ask me tomorrow... and there also Madara Uchiha..." Naruto said after a few minutes of silence. There was a tingly sensation as Sica boost his healing abilities to heal his injuries. Naruto forced himself to relax and not start scratching at his wounds. "From the way Madara attack me directly, he seemed to view me as a threat and he had a way to see past our cloak. I saw his eyes when he was trying to kill me... it feels like he wants to tear me apart."
From the recorded scans of the battle clones, it seemed that Madara also knew of your identity. Several times during the battle against the clones, he revealed to them as Konoha's demon container and the fox brat. He also spoke of his intention to kill you. Sica noted as it affirmed Naruto's suspicions. In regards to tomorrow's meeting with the Hokage, I've ran several simulations and would guide in in how to best answer his questions without exposing us too much.
"I will trust you with the details for tomorrow's meeting Sica, I am too tired to think... A legendary ninja is now out for my blood and the best I can do is hold him off for half an hour." Naruto said grimly. "I need to get stronger. We need to be prepared."
I have begin analyzing the whole recorded battle and will identify the abilities and weakness of those involved. It will allow us to come up with abilities or techniques to counter Madara should he appear in the future. Sica said.
"Thanks Sica. Increase my training schedule. I need to get more powerful fast." Naruto said with a hard look in his eyes. "The next time I go up against a powerful enemy, I want to do more than to hold off the enemy before nearly ending up dead. I want to be able to actually defend myself against enemy ninjas on equal grounds."
Understood, though using Madara Uchiha as a gauge for your skills is not really fair. You're already above the level of most chunin ninjas in Konoha. As for your weaknesses, one of them is your lack of battle awareness, which unfortunately is a result of your solo training efforts. Even when you use your clones for training, they are either used for one to one sparring or mastering a technique. I have outline a new plan based on the Wild Hunt training protocol for special Federation field agents. The training program is however tough and brutal with high chances for injuries. If you approve, we shall implement it into your training schedule. Sica remarked. I also wish to bring up a suggestion. If you have the endurance for it, now would be a good time to create clones for information gathering. The village is in a high state of alert and we need a good grasp of the current situations in the village to prevent any surprises during our meeting with the Hokage tomorrow.
"I can't say no to that can I?" Naruto remarked wearily as he made the handseal for the Shadow Clone technique. "We're going to need information about the current outlook of the village now more than ever."
Clouds of smoke puffed around him as twenty clones appeared, squeezed inside the small apartment.
"Go." Naruto ordered. There was a shimmer of light as the clones disappeared. The door to his apartment opened, followed by a strong gust of wind, slamming shut the open door.
Sitting in the stiff and hard chair, Sasuke looked at his mother lying pale faced and sleeping on the bed in front of him. The doctors had been barely able to save her. As it was, the poison in her body had damaged her by the time she arrived to the hospital.
"Uchiha san." One of the doctor said, coming out of the emergency room. His face haggard and weary. Around him were nurses and orderlies rushing with injured and bleeding patients to other operation rooms. The doctor paused in front of Sasuke's father, his eyes grim. "We were able to save Mikoto's life, but discovering the counter for the poison in her body took too much time... We're sorry, but Mikoto's spine is severely damaged by the corrosive in her body..."
Paralyzed. His father had later told him. His mother was temporarily paralyzed. But Sasuke was old enough now that those sugar coated lies did not work on him. He knew what the doctor was saying. His mother would never walk again.
Sasuke also knew when a group of Uchiha had came to the hospital room demanding to see Fugaku that something was a foot. Fugaku had left Sasuke beside his wife, closing the door to the room. There had been lot of shouting outside. Then silence. His father never returned through the night. Sasuke tried going out of the room, asking the nurses what was going on, but the whole hospital was a beehive of activity and the nurses have no time for him. He saw a lot of his relatives being carried through the front door of the hospital, dying, bleeding, injured. He was mostly ignored though one of his aunt who was supporting a bandaged arm had asked him to go back and stay with his mother.
He had heard snatches of conversations. His brother Itachi was apparently somewhere in the hospital, but when Sasuke had inquired where Itachi was, he was met with silence. He had also heard fierce arguments between some distant uncles in the clans, demanding a call to install a new clan head for the Uchiha clan.
Frightened, lost and alone, Sasuke had at last retreated back to the room where his mother was staying. Perching himself on the chair beside his mother's bed, Sasuke stayed vigil through the night. Tears hovered at the rims of his eyes, barely reined in. But he was a man, and he would not cry.
So much pain, so much blood, so much suffering. Sasuke still did not know what had happened. Why some of his distant relatives had attacked them and injured his mother so badly, but in his impressionable young mind, he came to a conclusion.
He had always held ninjas in high regard, after all he was descended from a clan of powerful ninjas. But now... he had decided that he would not become a ninja to kill and cause suffering.
He would instead become a ninja powerful enough to protect those he loves.
And he would find a way to heal his mother, to make her walk again.
He sat in his office, deep in the catacombs under Konoha, in the hideout of Root. Above the catacombs, on the streets of Konoha still cloaked by the darkness of the night, Danzo knew that Konoha's militia were in a desperate search for Madara and the Uchiha rebels who had attacked the Anbu Tower and the Uchiha clan.
Madara Uchiha. Danzo shook his head in disgust. A living legend had attacked Konoha. For years, Danzo had thought that Konoha had became soft under the rule of the Third. But recent events caused Danzo to have second thoughts. His agents had returned to him with reports minutes after the Third had sounded an alert throughout the village, calling up the militia. Looking at the reports, Danzo was concerned at how fast Sarutobi had mobilized the militia.
In times of peace, according to the mandate set forth by the First Hokage, which Danzo had always disapprove of, the militia was put into reserve and it would take at least half an hour to mobilize them since none of the reserves were in active duty around the clock. The Anbus were the ones that were supposed to deal with any threat while the militia was being mobilized. In times of emergency, the Anbus were to be deployed to hold off the threat long enough for the militia to arrive.
Madara had apparently known of the mandate. The Anbu Tower was the first place he attacked and more than eighty percent of the active duty Anbus were severely injured, buried under rubble. By the time that the militia got the word and was mobilized, it would have been too late.
Yet somehow Sarutobi had the foresight of placing two teams of Anbus around the Uchiha clan compound. Danzo's agent had got back to him of the time of the attack on the Anbu Tower and the time Sarutobi had mobilized the militia. There was only a five minute time difference. Somehow Sarutobi was aware of the attack on the Anbu Tower a few minutes after it happened. Danzo would have never foresaw Sarutobi to have such a powerful information network. Danzo had a sinking feeling that the Third had been fooling everyone with the kindly old man act.
Then there were the mysterious Wood Release users running around the rubble of the Anbu Tower, trying to save everyone trapped within. Careful observations of those Wood Release users led one of his agent to come to the conclusion that they were clones of one person. A person skilled in the bloodline itself, with some measure of healing techniques. The question was who were those clones of. The Senju clan had long declared that no other Wood Release bloodline users now emerged from their clan. The only known Wood Release user in the village was a young man, survivor of Orochimaru's bloodline experiments years ago. He was under the protection of the Anbu due to the potency of his bloodline.
The young man was an open secret among the council members and Danzo had kept careful records of his progress. The reports however never state that the young man was powerful enough to create so many Shadow Clones. That meant that unless the reports were flawed, it was possible that there was a new Wood Release bloodline user in Konoha.
Recent events had also drawn Danzo's attention to an infiltration ninja under Sarutobi's employ. He had only two words to go by, The Eye. Inquiries by his agents about this mysterious ninja was met with a blank wall. Most of the Anbus had no idea who The Eye was. Those that seemed to know were dead loyal to the Third and they were not talking. None of the other Konoha Jonins and Chunins knew anything about such a powerful infiltration ninja. Danzo was beginning to suspect that Sarutobi might have been training a group of specialized task force in the background, just like Danzo himself was doing with Root. He had already sent his agents to investigate further. If his suspicions proved true, Sarutobi was proving to be a more wily opponent than he had first thought.
His door opened and Danzo looked up as one of his Root agents stepped in.
"Hyo, what do you have for me?" Danzo asked. He had sent Hyo away for a specific task with several other Root agents. That he had returned earlier than Danzo had expected was not good news.
"My team could only managed to harvest five Uchiha bodies with their Sharingan intact." Hyo said in a calm voice. "Unfortunately the presence of the militia and the return of many of the Uchiha to their clan compound forced me to call off any further search for suitable bodies."
Danzo grimaced, he had been hoping that he would have more time before the Uchihas returned. With the attack on the Uchiha clan compound, Danzo had seen an opening for a plan he had always wanted to enact. His plan involved having more than five pairs of Sharigan eyes, but unfortunately he would have to make do with what he had.
"There's another matter Danzo sama." Hyo said in a voice devoid of any emotions. "I was in the area when the Hokage arrived with his militia in a face off against Madara Uchiha. Konoha's demon container was in the vicinity as well."
"What?" Danzo asked as his thoughts turned to Naruto Uzumaki, demon container of Konoha. He knew full well who the boy was, he had even kept a file on the boy. Throughout the years he had tried to wrestle control of the boy from Sarutobi by manipulating the council to no avail.
The boy would have made a powerful weapon for Konoha if properly trained, but Sarutobi would have none of it, and if there was one point the Third had made perfectly clear in the council meetings, it was that Naruto Uzumaki be allowed a "normal" life, or as normal a life a demon container could seek to have in a ninja village. Unfortunately Sarutobi somehow managed to get the village elders to side with him. All Homura had revealed when asked was that they owned as much to the boy, a fact which had mystified Danzo. Homura was one of his strongest supporter, but something about Naruto Uzumaki had caused Sarutobi, Homura and Koharu to shut down any decisions that would prove detrimental to the boy's health.
Danzo had his suspicions about the boy's parentage however. Though the Uzumaki name was commonly used for orphans in Konoha, in remembrance of the village's old alliance with the now deceased Uzumaki clan, there had been two known full blooded Uzumaki members to live in Konoha. Both were also the previous demon containers before Naruto. Kushina Uzumaki was the Kyuubi demon container that died during the Nine-tails' attack eight years ago. A powerful ninja had extracted the Kyuubi from her during her pregnancy. She and her new-born supposedly died in the attack, and the father of the child was none other than the now deceased Fourth Hokage. If Naruto was the child of that union, it was small wonder that the Third had been so vocal in his protection of the boy. But Sarutobi, Homura and Koharu steadfastly refused to confirm his suspicions, that the child of the Fourth was still alive, and Danzo had been forced to keep his silence.
"Apparently Naruto Uzumaki was the secret student of The Eye, a fact which seemed even the Third was unaware was. I managed to listen in to their conversations after the Third sent the militia away. I was unfortunately able to catch only bits of their conversation as I do not dare to get anymore closer to the Third while he was on high alert." Hyo revealed, now having Danzo's full attention. "The Eye is more then a mere infiltrator, it seemed he was a bloodline researcher, he somehow granted Naruto Uzumaki the Wood Release bloodline, a fact that the Third also does not seemed to have any knowledge of until told..."
"Really." Danzo's eyes gleamed in the darkness, a cold smile stretching across his face. "Tell me all that you've heard."
It seemed luck had finally turned in his favor, now he would just have to figure how to best use this new information and get his hands on Naruto Uzumaki who had became a much more important chess piece in the greater game of power.
It was day's break by the time Sarutobi stumbled towards the Hokage Tower, his office and symbol of power. The search had lasted throughout the night. The militia had saved a lot of injured, the hospital staff were working over time, all of the rooms packed with patients, but none of the militia had located any signs of The Eye. But then, even if the militia had found him, Sarutobi doubted they would have known who he was, especially since no one knew what he looked like. Sarutobi could only hope for the best, that The Eye was still alive and that he would have his chance to properly chastised The Eye for his actions in regards to Naruto.
Opening the door to his office, he paused at the sight before him. Homura and Koharu were seated beside Danzo, their eyes grim as they turned to look at him. Danzo had a triumphant look in his eyes and a smug air around him which Sarutobi knew would only spell trouble. But what caught most of Sarutobi's attention was the white haired, silent and emotionless figure standing in front of the village elders and Danzo.
"It seemed that you've been hiding information from us." Koharu said in a voice that Sarutobi knew did not bore well for him. "Danzo had been letting us knew of certain information he had discovered. Who is The Eye Sarutobi? And what has he done to Naruto Uzumaki? I am giving you a chance to explain Sarutobi!"
"Hokage sama, I have not answered any of their questions." Kakashi who had been standing straight and silent in front of the two elders spoke up grimly, the meaning clear in his voice. Kakashi was not the one who had let slip any of the information the elders and Danzo currently had.
"Hold your tongue Kakashi." Homura barked out glaring sternly at the white haired ninja before him. "Your loyalty to the Third serves you well, but your silence answered our questions more than you thought."
"And what exactly was this information Danzo told you about The Eye and Naruto." Sarutobi said, trying to remain unaffected by the grim looks his old teammates were shooting him. He needed to know what they knew before he reveal anything that might led to an unfavorable outcome for him or Naruto.
"I know your tricks Sarutobi." Koharu said unimpressed. She glared fiercely at Sarutobi. "What Danzo told us will be revealed after you've given us a clear explanation on who is The Eye and why you've been so lax as to let him train Naruto Uzumaki in secret. What intentions does he have towards the boy? And what is this I've heard about bloodline research? You own us answers Sarutobi!"
Sarutobi's tensed posture relaxed. It seemed that Danzo and his teammates had not known The Eye was actually not a Konoha ninja. The Anbus in the know must have kept the secret, which was a good thing. Koharu and Homura would have gone ballistic if they knew Sarutobi had been receiving unorthodox help from a rogue nin, who had also been training Naruto Uzumaki, not to mention implanting the Wood Release bloodline into the boy. Danzo's spy must have overheard Sarutobi's conversation with Naruto, he would have to do some damage control and spin things in his favor. There would be great repercussions if The Eye was revealed to be a missing ninja who had been training and attempting other activities with Naruto Uzumaki outside of the Hokage's knowledge...
"Very well. I shall explain." Sarutobi said as he gave a loud sigh, trying to look like a harmless weary old man. The look in Koharu's eyes told him she did not buy the act, but Danzo seemed to take satisfaction in seeing a defeated looking Sarutobi. Sarutobi reined in the glare he wanted to shoot at the old war hawk. The man had been a torn in his side for decades, it was time he did something about it, after he smoothed things out with Homura and Koharu, before things have a chance to blow up and this became a village council matter. His own reputation and power over the village would be at risk if that happened, not to mention what would happen to Naruto if it became known that he was trained by a missing nin.
"I presume you knew that much of our information network outside Konoha was managed by Jiraiya? Throughout the years he had been training a prodigy in secret. Because of the sensitivity and nature of what he did, the prodigy's identity was kept secret, known only by a few. I publicly denied knowledge of him, or that he was a Konoha nin. This was a measure of protection for Konoha in case he was captured by enemy ninja villages." Sarutobi answered as he spin up a plausible lie that would cover his hide in case Koharu and Homura stumbled on the truth. He would have to make sure to send a letter to Jiraiya to get his cooperation and make sure their stories match. In fact now that Madara was on the move against Konoha, it might be best to recall his old student and maybe Tsunade as well...
"In recent months, this prodigy of Jiraiya returned to Konoha to recuperate after a mission gone wrong. He became known as known as The Eye. I started employing his service in the village while he recovered, but denied knowledge of him. The few Anbus in the know thought he was a missing nin..." Sarutobi continued straight faced, showing no signs of having lied through his teeth. "I gave him too much of a free rein unfortunately. He was friends with Naruto's parents and he felt that he owned them a debt..."
Koharu gave a gasp while Homura looked pale. Aside from Sarutobi, the only ones in the village who knew of Naruto's parentage were the two village elders. Outside the village, only two other individuals knew of this secret. Jiraiya knew because Minato had been his student, and Tsunade had been the one to first check over Naruto's condition during the first few days after the sealing of Kyuubi. Koharu and Homura's reactions however caused Danzo to give them a narrowed eye look. Sarutobi continued swiftly, diverging Danzo's attention, it would not do to have that man look too deeply into Naruto's parentage, though he was certain that Danzo had his suspicions.
"The Eye secretly trained Naruto without my knowledge. Unfortunately the nature of his work gave him access to a lot of access to unrestricted materials. He had been conducting bloodline research without my knowledge and had granted Naruto the Wood Release bloodline. Naruto truly have the bloodline which I had seen with my own eyes." Sarutobi looked at the grim faces of Homura and Koharu. That they did not seemed shock by the revelation meant that Danzo must have informed them of this. Which meant that the totality of information Danzo had, must have revolved around the conversation between him and Naruto. He was on the right track.
"The Eye and Naruto were the ones that bought time for the village militia to arrive when Madara launched his attack last night. I have asked Naruto to give me a full debrief of what he had done with The Eye after he had some rest..." Sarutobi continued but was cut in by Homura.
"Why do you not call The Eye in directly? I for one would want some direct answers out of him." Homura said in a voice that broke no arguments. "He had conducted bloodline experiments on a young boy for heaven's sake! Even if it was successful. And The Eye and young Naruto facing off against the legendary Madara Uchiha? How far has the boy's training progressed? These are facts that we need to know!"
Sarutobi grinded his teeth. That Naruto had been able to hold Madara off with Shadow Clones had also made Sarutobi curious in regards as to how much power the young boy now possessed. Once he had time to really think about it, it spoke highly of Naruto's current fighting capabilities that he had managed to survive more than a few minutes against Madara. He had intended to ask Kakashi about what he had seen when he had time... before he had found the village elders and Danzo sitting in his office demanding answers from him.
"I am afraid The Eye had gone missing after the battle with Madara. It was possible he might already be dead." Sarutobi began cautiously, trying to spinning the story in his favor. "As for Naruto's capabilities... Kakashi perhaps you would give a debrief of the fight against Madara Uchiha? I am also curious about how well Naruto did..."
"... The boy now has the Wood Release bloodline, with the Kyuubi inside him he would become Konoha's most powerful weapon!" The voice of Danzo argued strongly.
"No!" The Third's voice said sternly. "I will not have Naruto turned into just a weapon to be used."
"The boy has been trained, he has a powerful bloodline and bears the Kyuubi inside him." Homura said in a resigned voice. "He had faced off Madara and survived through a certain mastery of the Wood Release bloodline if the report of what Kakashi gave us of the battle was accurate. I would much rather he became a ninja now and come under the village's control then running around Konoha freely."
"We need to gauge his skills, decide where to place him in Konoha's ninja corps." Koharu said. "Kakashi's description of the battle he witnessed is quite frankly unbelievable. We need to know how much of the battle was The Eye's work and how much was Naruto. I suspect that the boy had to be at least of Chunin level if he was able to hold off Madara after the battle where The Eye supposedly disappeared. He could be given a special field promotion due to this unique circumstance. Of course some of the truths would have to be revealed to the village council, but I can see things going well for us if we phrase things the right way."
"Very well, Naruto will be tested and given a field promotion." The Third said in a weary voice, having given up the fight now that the two village elders were actively against his suggestion. "However his history with The Eye is an S-rank secret. I do not want information about The Eye to be spread to the public. We'll have to come up with a plausible story if Naruto's promotion is revealed to the council."
"I have an idea of what we should tell the public. But first, let us discuss how to test young Naruto." Homura began. "He would have to be caught unaware of course, so we can see his true potential..."
N11 snorted as S11 replayed the conversation it was recording through the mental link with N11. The two of them were the clones assigned to the Hokage Tower while Boss take some much needed rest. They had certainly never expected to listen in to a secret meeting between the Hokage and the village elders discussing about Boss.
"Lies within lies." N11 said as he shook his head. "Looks like old man Hokage is really invested in the identity he had spun up for The Eye now."
"I have a possible analysis of why the Third Hokage lied about The Eye's identity." S11 said. "It is highly possible that admitting he had help from a missing nin who he had no control of would have made him look weak in front of the village elders and council. By saying The Eye was a Konoha ninja however, he secured his power base instead."
"Politics..." N11 said shaking his head. "I am just glad Boss' Sica had the foresight to request for more clones to pick up information while he slept. Now we can prepare for whatever surprises the village elders would have for us come the new day."
"Now that a measure of Boss' skills are revealed, it would be for the best if Boss stick to using those skills during the field test the village elders are planning." S11 said in a calculative mental voice. "Boss should seem powerful, but not too powerful. And I can see the benefits of Boss becoming a ninja, even a Chunin ranked one. Ninjas are considered legal adults, no matter how young they are."
"Ah... I see your point." N11 nodded his head. "Becoming a ninja would certainly give us more freedom and might even hasten some of Boss' pet projects and plans."
"And now that it is known that Boss could create shadow clones, not all clones would have to hide from sight anymore." S11 revealed.
N11's eyes light up as he grinned, it seemed that things were finally looking up.
Author's Note: The Uchiha Massacre arc is coming to a close. I am just glad I could get this chapter out to you guys on the first day of the new year. =) A very happy New Year to all the readers out there! Work hard! And stay happy!
ps. There's two more years in the story timeline to go before the start of Naruto "canon" the time where most of the Konoha 11 take their genin exams. As some of you might have expected, things will turn out quite different this time round. What I want to ask is do you guys prefer me to do a time skip? Aka some filler chapters and then a skip to two years ahead. Or do you guys prefer to read the development over those two years?
And can you guys think of any events that happen before the start of the Naruto manga and anime? Currently I can think of a few.
- Hinata's kidnapping by Cloud nin (not exactly sure if that's even earlier)
- Gato taking over Wave Country
- Orochimaru forming Sound village
;) Who knows, maybe I can find a way to spin them into future chapters...