Hey~ everybody! Dark0Insanity here with the long awaited tenth chapter! Please don't hurt me q-q. At least I'm uploading it right? Eheehee... right? If anything I am very sorry for not uploading 'til now 'cause I was busy with school work and... other things... yup, really need to come up with better excuses ^^'' By the way... how in the world did this story get to a hundred and one reviews! 0-0 The only reason I can come up with is that you guys are awesome :D and thank you for putting up with me and my slow updates ^u^
Review Responses:
WindWhistle21: He did X3. At the moment, they won't find out yet, but some may find out in the future. The Akatsuki aren't ever going to stop, though they might slow down the search once their plans begin.
suntan140: All I'm going to say is that they are in for quite the surprise -w-
milpld: :3 Happy you find it interesting
Sabie0521: If they got a piece of his scarf, no. But if they got some of his blood, they might be able to but it is determined on how much blood they got from Yoru.
4701rose: *cowers* I'm so sorry! D: B-But does this chapter make up for it? *puppy dog eyes*
4everfitional: Glad you like it ^u^ must... resist... the eyes... *falls*
MindfulThoughtlessness: ^u^'' yeah... I did rush it somewhat, but it was because I wasn't suppose to be on the computer at all ^u^'' and I did go back and fix some of the mistakes in last chapter, but I have a feeling I didn't get them all.
Tamani: Sorry for making you wait ^u^''
Allykrau: Happy you do :3
Guest: Thank you, I will try ^u^
DG a.k.a Demon Gurl: Probably not =w=
534667lc: Glad you do ^^ and sorry for making you wait though ^^''
Guest: I won't stop until it is completed! :D Yay! ^v^
Guest: I do too :(
Guest: Orochimaru has to go through Yoru's Mother Hen Mode first before he can touch a single hair on his head *pouts*. Itachi ran out of time, he was on a tight schedule and it was made even tighter by Yoru so he didn't have time to go to the Hokage. :3
NightlyRowenTree: Yay! Glad you do ^v^
Nyasararu: Thank you for pointing that out ^v^'' I went back and fixed it along with any other errors I had missed. Congratulations on being the 100th reviewer :D !
Theta-McBride: Yay! :D Happy you do!
Enjoy~!
Third Person POV ~Tsuchi no Kuni~
Jiraiya could feel the soft fabric of the Eyeless Demon's scarf glide through his grasp and with it; the only chance at finding Minato's and Kushina's child, "Uzumaki Naruto". He could feel his chakra coil and tighten in anger, but he forced it down.
No use on letting it out if it wasn't going to help.
They would meet again; of this Jiraiya was certain.
With his anger locked away, Jiraiya turned towards the other and saw that he wasn't doing any better. Kakashi's hands were balled up into fists while his shoulders shook with silent rage. With the mask hiding his face. Jiraiya could only assume that he was also glaring murderously glaring at the last spot where the Eyeless Demon once was. The Ninken could feel the hidden anger and rage emitting from both humans and all were looking at the two in concern.
The Toad Sage took in a large breath before breaking the silence, "The Hokage will want to know about this."
Audible gulps of air were heard in the small group as the ANBU nodded with a defeated air around him, "I'll go inform him." Chakra gathered at his feet, ready to take off towards Kohona, before he and the Ninken took off however, Kakashi turned towards Jiraiya, "I'm looking forward to your new book."
A lecherous grin spread across the Sage's face as he gave the other a thumbs up.
"It's the best in the best in the series thus far!" Kakashi could feel his mood lighten upon hearing the news and gave him one last nod before taking off towards Konoha with the Ninken besides him.
Jiraiya watched the retreating forms until neither them nor their chakra could be seen or felt. Once they were gone, he looked down at his slightly bloodied kunai from the rouge leaning in and cutting his neck against it. His eyes harden at the thought of the three children being under the Demon's control.
All they needed now was where the Eyeless Demon of the Snow was hiding out, then they could tear the children from his grasp.
Third Person POV ~Eyeless Demon Hideout~
Three children with hair of varying colors quietly sat together on the large couch doing various thing to keep them occupied as they waited for their guardian. Gaara rested against the back of the couch with his pupil-less eyes glazed as he sat there limply; Naruto rambled to no specific person about the types of ramen he had tried as he stared up at the ceiling, tracing random shapes with his finger pointed at the ceiling; Sasuke partially listened to the blond as he read a scroll that his brother had packed for him, grunting every so often to alert the other that he was listening.
The tranquility and peace of the scene was broken when the one they were all waiting for tumbled out of the wall and fell to the ground with a hollow thud."
Naruto shot up and looked at Yoru with worry in his widened eyes, "Tou-san!"
The elder gave a grin and waved, smothering up his coughing with the scarf around his neck, "Hey fishcake." He coughed harder as all three shot towards him with high levels of concern.."
"He's chakra exhausted." Sasuke announced to the others, "I've seen Nii-san like this a few times after a hard mission."
"How did he recover?" Gaara asked, keeping Yoru steady with his sand as Naruto removed his heavy weaponry.
Before Sasuke could answer, purple chakra started leaking out of Yoru's form, enveloping him until the chakra completely surrounding him with the addition of pointed ears on top of his head as the two ends of his scarf waved behind him like two tails.
"That won't be necessary chibi."
Naruto's eyes lit up instantly, "Kono-jiji!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms around the elder's neck.
'Kono' twitched in plan irritation and head-butted the blond in less then a second, forcing him to let go to clutch his head in pain, "How many times have I told you not to call me that?"
Sasuke watched the exchange with growing confusion; confusion Gaara picked up on.
Letting his sand fall from Kono, the red-head slid next to the Uchiha and whispered, "That's Okono, the one we where talking about earlier when we told you about Ku-kun and Shu-kun."
Onyx eyes lit up in understanding as both children looked over at the other two when Naruto exclaimed with puppy dog eyes, "But Ku-kun said you could teach us!"
Okono snarled, crossing his arms as he muttered, "Lazy ass fox."
"Teach you what?" Sasuke asked, not liking being the only one not knowing what they were talking about.
Naruto whipped his head around and looked at Sasuke with excitement sparkling in his eyes, "Ku-kun said that there was a way for him to come out without hurting us."
Onyx eyes turned to Yoru/Okono or clarification. The chakra-cloaked man sighed with a slight hint of annoyance, "I can, but if any one of you get hurt I'm gonna hear it from Yoru for sure."
"Why's that?" The ever curious Uchiha asked.
Slowly, a sharp-toothed made its way across the man's face as he crouched down to be eye-level with the child, "Because, little Uchiha, Yoru has this thing called 'Mother Hen Mode' or 'MHM' for short. It activates at the smallest scratch inflicted upon the people he cares about, even then he has enough wrath to flatten an entire village. If, however, it was one of you three that caused the injury, the most he'll do is flick your forehead and nothing more."
Sasuke nodding, completely understanding the explanation. Though he hasn't seen Yoru demolish a village - yet - he had seen the blind man flick Naruto when a misthrow caused a stray kunai to glide straight towards his lungs; Yoru being fast enough to catch it before it could pierce the skin.
As he thought about the memories supporting Yoru's MHM, Naruto latched onto the elder's hand as he attempted to drag the man towards the training grounds, "Come on! You have to teach us, Kono-jiji!"
A low growl passed through Okono's lips as he pinched his whiskered cheeks, "How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?!" The blond yelped and started pulling on the assaulting fingers. Gaara sighed, seemingly used to this kind of scene, slightly gesturing for Sasuke to follow him. With most of his curiosity satisfied, the Uchiha followed after Gaara towards the training grounds.
"Does this happen a lot?" Sasuke asked.
Pupilless eyes glance over him before turning forward as Gaara nodded, "It always happens whenever Kono-jiji comes out."
"Ah."
They both stayed silent as they entered the forest biome, finding comfortable positions against the tree trunks. Onyx eyes slid shut in meditation as green eyes glazed over, both growing sleepy in the silence.
Only to be shaken from the grasp of sleep when the ground beneath them started rumbling as the trees shook with ferocity as the sound of light laughter came closer to where they were now standing in a defensive position. The two looked at each other with plain confusion swimming in their eyes; shock replaced it when an unmistakable blond flew through the door, mischievousness in his eyes and a wide grin plainly settled on his face.
"What did you do now, Naruto-kun?" The red-head asked, a teasing smirk planted on his face.
The blond in question flashed him a foxy grin, "I didn't do anything," Sasuke and Gaara raised an eyebrow at Naruto. A sigh was heard and the explanation continued, "Kono-jiji just grabbed his head and started banging his head on the wall and kept growling at Tou-san to stop as I ran away."
Silence cloaked the three children as Okono wobbled through the sturdy door, holding his head with clawed hands mumbling, "Idiot host, you deserve every headache I'm going to send your way after banging your own head against a reinforced wall." With a sudden wince, he turned to the curious - and slightly grinning - trio in front of him, "Now that that little event is over and done with, let's begin."
All three trembled when his grinned turned feral.
Third Person POV ~Konoha~
The masked ANBU jumped from roof to roof inside his precious village, too tired to take in his surroundings but too anxious to stop and rest. They had another piece of the large, seemingly impossible puzzle, but they were getting closer to finishing it. His ninken had dispersed awhile ago upon his command, they had thought about complaining but... the hounds knew that their summoner needed time to get his thoughts straightened out.
Each leap brought him closer to his Hokage's office, and closer to telling the Hokage what he and the Toad Sage had found; no matter how small the information was. He opted for going his usual way but decided against it, this was no time for dilly-dally; every second passing by is one second the Snow Demon gained and was one step closer towards completing his plan.
Whatever it was.
Kakashi's fists clenched by his sides as his thoughts turned dark until all he could think abut was that infuriating grin planted on the Demon's face. He could only guess what the rogue was doing with the three children, none of them good.
He was too busy being lost in his thoughts to notice him entering the Hokage's office until a stern, and slightly worried, voice broke through his thoughts, "Are you alright, Inu-san?"
Clearing his throat, he answered, "I am fine, Hokage-sama." Taking a slight breath, he continued, "I have found more evidence concerning the 'problem'."
Through his mask, he could see the Third's eyes harden; the quill was set down on the desk, his hands weaved together underneath his chin as he spoke, "Continue."
Nodding, Kakashi cleared his throat and told the Hokage of the events that happened earlier today. The Third's eyes darken in thought one the events were retold as the air around them turned thick. A tired, nearly inaudible sigh came from the older man; had Kakashi been someone else he would've never heard it.
"Hokage-sama?" He asked, worry hidden in his question.
Tired, yet grateful, eyes focused onto the other, "At least we know the children are alive." The Third received a nod. A small one, but it held gratefulness as well. The elder's eyes glinted, leveling out his facial features until a stoic mask was in place, "Do you know when you and your summons will be able to locate the Eyeless Demon of the Snow?"
Straightening up almost immediately, he responded to his leader, "It will take a long time, Hokage-sama. Even with the blood samples my summons were able to get. At the most, we will be able to find where the Eyeless Demon of the Snow is hiding around the time Konoha hosts the Chunin Exams."
The Hokage nodded, closing his eyes for only a second and opened them to find himself in an empty room. Picking up the quill once more, he continued the - blasted - paperwork scattered around his desk; his thoughts running over the new information.
A small smirk formed on his lips, "'Uzumaki Naruto'..." The smirk fell just as quickly as it formed, "What else does he know?"
First Person POV ~Yoru~
My fingers tapped against my leg as I glared out into the open ocean, the tree branches behind me trembling with rage, making a blizzard of petals fall to the ground.
"Teaching Naru-chan and Gaara-chan this better not hurt them, Okono." I growled out, grinding my teeth together as I was still ticked off at Okono for taking over my body in front of the three.
Okono's chuckle echoed throughout my mindscape, making the water around me start to bubble, "They've already succeeded in putting the fox's and raccoon's mind into their clones, both raccoon and fox have already made adjustments to meet their tastes. The Uchiha is even furthering his chakra control with leaves, twigs, and rocks." He purred, the bubbles around me now appearing more frequently.
I felt my eyebrow twitch violently, not in the slightest bit did I like his smug tone, "Then since you are done, can I get out now?"
I could practically feel the shadow smirk, as if that one question was the one he was waiting for, "Sure thing."
The sky above me darkened, though this time not from my rage, tendrils pushed passed the surface of the water and headed straight towards me; I didn't even bother to move. They grabbed a hold of me and once I was in their secure grip, my body was yanked upwards towards the surface; I felt the tendrils around my body until I broke the surface, and I was back in control of my own body.
The first thing I did was scan the area around me, searching for the three children as well as the fox and raccoon. The first one to be found was Naruto's bubbly chakra heading straight towards me in excitement with Gaara helping Sasuke control his chakra better.
"Tou-san!" Naruto called, jumping up and wrapping his arms around my neck.
I snickered slightly when the blond rubbed his head against my own, after adjusting him so that we were face-to-face, I spoke, "Hiya fishcake." His chakra continued to bubble as Sasuke's and Gaara's chakra stayed focused on what they were doing though I could 'see' them glancing in our direction every once in a while as they stood by the tree line. As I ran my fingers through Naruto's soft spikey hair, my focus locked onto two new figures approaching.
Though both figures were cloaked in red, they seemed to vary in shades.
The figure on the right had a darker tint to its chakra; I couldn't make out the finer details from this distance, save for the single, long chakra tail connected to the figure, twitching angrily in the fashion of a cat. On the left was a figure of a lighter red, nine tails swaying either behind or besides them lazily as it ignored the other. The corners of my lips twitched in amusement as Naruto's own chakra shifted from content to... protective? I glanced at him from the corner of my vision and sure enough, the blond now had his arms wrapped protectively around my neck as a tiny bit of killer intent leaked out of him, directed at the approaching figures.
"What are you doing Naru-chan?" I asked, a bit of amusement leaking out of my voice though I was trying my hardest not to let it through.
I felt his cheeks puff out against my chest as he mumbled, "Before you came back, Shu-kun was talking about how much he would like to... uh..." He trailed off, most likely trying to think of who he was going to word it. I didn't have to wait long at all, "Ah! He was talking about how much he would like to feast on your blood!" I couldn't help the chuckle that slipped through my defenses; it was quickly smothered before Naruto could hear it.
"Really?" I said, a hint of amusement laced in my voice, "Well, first he has to beat me in a spar before he can get any of my blood. And you know how strict Okono is with training." Once again, I had to smother the chuckles that escaped when I felt Naruto puff out his cheeks once more.
"What are you sulking about now, kit?" A deep voice asked from my right, belonging to the one with lighter red. I couldn't tell much thanks to my lack of vision, but I could make out the length of his hair - which reached all the way to his shoulders - along with the swirls of boredom and amusement in his chakra.
Naruto snarled at him, "I'm not sulking, old man!" I had to bite my lip, there was only one person Naruto called "old man" in this lifetime, too bad it had to be the fox trapped inside of him.
It was now Kurama's turn to snarl, "What did you say?"
"You heard what I said!" They growled at each other as I stood there, trying to keep my grip steady on the squirming blond. My eyebrow twitched a bit as they bantered back and forth; me stuck in the middle of it.
I already feel a headache coming on... I stated, my head already pounding from their arguing; Okono's snickering not helping in anyway.
It wasn't until a rather thick trail of the darker colored chakra danced in the corner of my vision and shot towards me specifically before they quit yelling/slightly growling at each other. I jumped out of the way and maneuvered through the branches overhead, dodging each strand of familiar sand as it came towards me; I stopped only for a moment to set Naruto down next to Sasuke and Gaara before moving away from them, the sand following my every move.
The sigh coming from Gaara only gave me the evidence I needed to figure out who it was.
"Just. Stay. STILL!" Shukaku practically yelled, his chakra twisting unstably, twitching around everywhere as he jumped after me.
I unsealed the katana from the bracelet; shifting the sword into my two scythes only took a second now rather than a minute the first time they shifted, "And let you tear me to shreds? I'd rather live, thank you." A deep growl tore through his throat, the sand now coming at me at a faster pace; thanks to Okono's Spartan-like training, I was able to keep up with the vigorous pace, though I mostly stayed on defense.
It seems your speed and stamina haven't gone down, good. Five out of five for both. Your intelligence is also a five since you already know what's going to happen in the future of this world. Okono mumbled, causing me to almost lose my balance and nearly getting me skewered by sand.
What in the world are you mumbling about now? I asked, careful not to let my focus off of the one-tail coming at me.
Evaluation. I groaned; I was never one for evaluations, to me they seemed to put too much pressure on others. Right now, pressure was the one thing I could do without.
"Can't we do this at a different time, Okono? Trying to keep a blood thirsty one-tail away from my own blood." I muttered, deflecting a blast of sand, keeping down a flinch when I felt some of the sand slice my cheeks.
I could feel the smirk from here, Sorry pup. But now is a excellent time to do an evaluation. The corners of my lips fell even as I forced down the snarl that was trying to make itself known.
"And me facing off against Shukaku helps how exactly?" I asked, still jumping backwards to keep the distance between Shukaku and I far; I'm fairly certain no one wants to deal with a near insane Tailed Beast... unless you were the host of one or were an organization bent on gathering all nine of them of course.
"This is taking to long." I heard Shukaku growl out; the blood rushed out of my face when I did. Waves of sand circled around me as I directed some of my chakra to me feet and sunk into the ground, the sand crashing into itself after I sunk into the ground.
You don't need hand seals for that one... but we both know you need to use them for your other ninjutsus. Okono stated, Three point five for both of them.
Mentally, I rolled my eyes at him, And just so I don't have to do it and you don't have to score it, my genjutsu is a two point five.
Okono hummed in thought as I continued to dodge the angry streaks of sand, That's true. You can't place one to save your life, but because of your lack of eyes you can easily get yourself and others out of even the most complex ones.
Thanks for the vote of confidence Okono. I deadpanned, memories of me failing to place a genjutsu multiple times flashing in my mind.
Anytime pup. Taijutsu's next. He chirped. Before I could respond to him, Okono took control over my legs and propelled me towards my doom.
Fuck you Okono! I yelled at the now chuckling bijuu, using my scythes to block the slashes aimed towards my throat as adrenaline fueled my veins. Shukaku's own chakra was bubbling in excited bloodlust, not doubt wanting to have a taste of my blood. After a few near breaks, he finally managed to break through my defenses and forced me to switch to offense. I switched my blades around so the point was facing towards him and started kicking and slashing him, nicking him every once in a while accidentally and steadily started guiding him backwards towards the trees.
Taijutsu at four point five. Strength at three. Not bad, though you need to learn not to hold back against your enemies, Yoru. He scolded.
I scoffed, The only time I wasn't holding back was with Zabuza since I didn't have a choice. When I went to kick the humanoid one-tail once more, his hand shot out and grabbed my ankle; my heart nearly stopped.
And I didn't need eye sight to know he was grinning like a maniac.
Shukaku's grip tightened, my bones started protesting against the tight grip as sand started latching onto every part of my body, making it harder to move and get away.
Shitshitshitshitshitshit! Okono! I yelled, panic now flooding every pore in my body with Okono growling and scratching at the edges of my mind as he tried taking over. As I split my attention between keeping Okono down and Shukaku's death grip, I didn't notice Kurama's chakra signature getting closer until he gripped the raccoon's wrist, forcing him to let go of my bruised ankle. Once I was freed of his grasp, I substituted myself with a branch, landing myself next to Sasuke, Gaara, and Naruto.
"Tou-san!" Naruto exclaimed, buzzing around me in worry, "N-Nothing's broken right! If anything's broken, I'll teach that raccoon a lesson!"
At his statement, a few chuckles escaped me, "Nothing's broken fishcake. Shu-kun only bruised my ankle with that grip of his." Naruto stayed quiet, but I could still see his chakra twitching with worry and anger.
"I'm sorry for Shu-kun's behavior." whispered Gaara, his chakra slowly turning as if he was ashamed.
"It's not your fault, Gaara-kun." I stated, silent sighing in relief when Okono sped up the healing, "Shu-kun hasn't been let out for a long time and he probably wanted a spar to free up his muscles." Even though I was only guessing, Gaara was seemingly content with my answer; Sasuke even seemed to lighten up a bit more as he continued with sticking stones, twigs, and leaves on his body.
As I stood, Kurama and Shukaku appeared in front of the four of us; both seemed angered at each other though Shukaku was a bit toned down.
When I felt the one-tail's eyes on me, I felt him grin, "Thanks for the spar. Though all you did was run away." The corner of my eyebrow twitched violently as I looked up at him
...
...
Oh you've got to be kidding me. I studied both of them closely; sure enough, they both were a head taller than me. The discovery of that little fact only made my chakra boil in anger. I might not have been the tallest kid in my old school, but I definitely wasn't the shortest, though I was considered short for my age and gender. It really irked me when someone would call me shorty or squirt, these only grew the more it happened.
Kurama seemed to pick up on my irritation if the tails wagging behind him in amusement were anything to indicate, "Perhaps next time you and I could spar, shorty."
Killer intent started leaking out of my body, even as I tried to reel it back in; Okono and the other three not helping anyway.
I blame you for this, Okono.
Aaaaaand chapter completed =w= *falls to the ground fast asleep*
Sneak Peek of Next Chapter:
"Finally decide to visit Snow Demon? I was worried you forgot about us."
"Aw, does someone need a hug?"
"Don't you dare get close to me."
...
Would you settle down!
I can't! It's show time!
Reviews motivate me to upload chapters faster! Constrictive criticism is welcomed, flames (however) are not.
See you guys next time!