Nekoshou Village. 1 year after Kuroka chose Hiryu as her husband.
"Well, aren`t you just the cutest thing ever~?" Raven said and in a childlike happy voice, as she continued to play with her prey, who continued to giggle and laugh as she was being 'assaulted'.
And watching over them both was Kuroka, who had an amused and happy smile on her face, as she looked at Raven, the Great Kage of Akatsuki, one of the strongest creatures in the entire world and someone who is highly respected by most of the factions and pantheons in the world… was simply and carelessly tickling her little granddaughter, having a time of her life with her family. For Kuroka, it was something new at first, to see this side of someone who is often called "Goddess of Shinobi', but right now, it wasn`t something that she minded and was pretty used to it, seeing how Raven was now visiting the Nekoshou Village at least 3 times a month, just to be with the members of her family, despite all of her duties. Plus, it was clear that Raven simply couldn`t get enough of her little granddaughter. Kuroka could understand that very well, considering that she was the mother of this little black bundle of joy, whom she named Kurone.
Nekoshou Sage recalled her first night with Hiryu. Back then, it was supposed to be a way for them to bond, just like most of Nekoshou and Nekomata did. Along with that, she knew that Akatsuki Shinobi may be the best of the best, but there are risks, and very high ones, so she and Hiryu didn`t want to waste precious time. Along with that, Kuroka wasn`t in fully right state of her mind so she ended up having a night of lovemaking with her chosen husband. The next morning, she, Hiryu and Irina all had a serious talk about their relations and how they will go from that point on. At first, Kuroka expected that things would go badly, but it turned out that Irina may`ve looked like a little bit of careless girl, but in reality, she was far more mature then most people twice her age. She laid down the rules and made it clear as day for Kuroka that as long as she and Hiryu cared for each other and she didn`t try to hurt Hiryu and make this into a completion of sorts, then they will be good. Kuroka agreed to these terms with Irina, who, not so much to Nekoshou`s surprise, was quite curious about their first night. Or rather, about Hiryu during their intercourse. Though Kuroka would rather not discuss it with anyone, but since Irina was a good friend and Hiryu`s first girlfriend, she decided to share a little bit of their night, saying that Irina is ought to prepare herself for a night in Heaven. Well, as it turned out in the next few days afterwards, Irina decided to also have her time with her boyfriend and from the sounds that Kuroka heard, as she has managed to convince them both to move into her own house, Irina was most satisfied with their first night, just like Kuroka.
However, there was one more significant change that occurred after Hiryu and Kuroka had their night. Soon enough, Kuroka revealed to Hiryu and Irina, and soon after all others, that she was now with a child. As it turned out, when Kuroka used her Senjutsu, she was simply suppressing all her hormones that were influencing her mental stability and driving her to mate, but her body, in reality, stayed in constant readiness to bear children and after her night with Hiryu, she successfully conceived. That news was shocking for everyone, especially for Hiryu, as he wasn`t expecting or even thinking that he would be a father so soon. Not that he wasn`t thinking about not having children, as he did, but still… It took him some time to think this all through and after he consulted with Irina, Minato, his mother and Kuroka, Hiryu has made up his mind: he will be a father to that child and he will a damn good one, not just for Kuroka and their child, but also for himself, as deep down inside of himself, he needed to prove a point to himself.
He needed to prove, that he was nothing like Zeoticus Gremory, his bastard of a father. And Hiryu already did so, as Kuroka and their little Kurone were at their happiest. Throughout all 2 and a half months of Kuroka`s pregnancy, Hiryu has stopped going out on missions completely, instead focusing on his personal life, with Kuroka, their upcoming child, and Irina, who has taken it well and was also looking forward when the child would come into life. And when it did, the entire village went into celebration as it was their Sage and Ruler that had a child, whom she named Kurone. For village and Akatsuki Shinobi, it was a great event and good one to celebrate, but it was an even bigger for Hiryu, as he was literally crying over his newborn daughter and when he held her carefully in his arms, Kuroka couldn`t help but smile and understand one simple thing: Hiryu will be the best dad for Kurone.
And he really is, as Kuroka now looked at her healthy, active little bundle of joy. In all features, Kurone completely took after her mother, save for her eyes as they were of a brighter color of ember, nearly being a color of sun. In the rest, Kurone was a perfectly healthy little Nekoshou, having inherited her mother`s race. She was literally a little copy of Kuroka in appearance, while in persona, Kurone already shown to be quite smart for her little age, as well as active, but not nasty or naughty. Due to her bloodline as a Nekoshou and Shinto Tengu, Kurone`s growth was faster than usual children, but there were no abnormalities and that was to be expected, as Nekomatas and their tribes had a faster growth than human children, so it was normal for Hiryu and Kuroka to look at their 10 month old daughter which looked like an almost 2 year-old, being able to walk on her own already. She never cried out for attention or out of boredom, only when needed, along with being very closely attached to her parents, with whom she enjoyed spending her time. As for Raven, it was clear from the get go for Kuroka and Hiryu that Kurone is going to be closest with her grandmother, who herself took immediate liking to her as well, as evidenced from their combined enjoyment right now. Irina, though a little frustrated and unprepared at first, grew very attached to Kurone too, with Kuroka entrusting her little baby in Irina`s hands completely, along with supporting and little encouraging Irina to "catch up" with her… Minato and others have also been very happy about Kurone and it wasn`t rare now to see Kakashi playing with Kurone, who has seemingly made it her prime idea to get to see under Kakashi`s mask. Rin and Obito too were very often guests and Rin has taken quite a liking to little Kurone, much like Obito, who had to fight off his desire to tightly hug this little bundle of life. This was the life of Kuroka and her little daughter now.
Kuroka stepped a bit closer outside of house and sit near Raven and Kurone. Kurone immediately noticed her mother sitting right next to her and as Raven released her from her tickles, little kitten went on her own towards her mommy, who took her up in the arms and hugged her tightly. As Kuroka did that, she started humming a familiar song to Kurone, which soon put already tired baby into sleep. As Kurone slipped into her dreams, Kuroka carefully put her baby on her lap and held her with great care, allowing her child to rest up. Raven watched it all with a smile on her face before speaking up.
"What a bundle of joy." She said to Kuroka. "If she has this much energy and strength to play now, I am little frightened to think what will happen when she grows up."
"Starting to feel a little old, Raven?" Kuroka teased her mother-in-law, who instead of being insulted, simply chuckled until laughing quietly at that one.
"Oh no, I am not even that old, if we are talking about my age when compared to other Shinto." Raven simply smirked. "I may be older by a good margin then Devils, Angels and even that Bible God, but when compared to my dad Hagoromo and mom Morrigan, I am still a teenager for them. And when compared to grandma Kaguya and grandpa Tsukuyomi… Well, let`s just say that I`ll never cease to be a little baby for some. As for why I am frightened, when this little lady grows up, she`ll be steeling all the hearts around her."
"It never ceases to amaze me how you can so casually speak of gods." Kuroka noted to Raven. "I myself actually prey to Lord Hagoromo and Goddess Kaguya, seeing how I am a Sage."
"Well, I myself a legitimate Goddess, so it isn`t such a big of deal for me. Also, when you yourself meet them, don`t act as if they are gods demanding worshiping. Just be yourself with them and treat them as normal people. Believe me, you can`t even imagine how tired they are when people simply put them on a pedestal." Raven gave her daughter-in-law a piece of advice. "Still, I am surprised that Hiryu isn`t here. He usually is always around Kurone when I visit. I think this is the first time I ever saw Kurone outside of Hiryu`s arms holding her."
"Yes, he and Itachi are on a mission with Kakashi and Obito." Kuroka said to Raven. "They left early in the morning. Should be back soon by now."
"Hm, a mission requiring all those four for it? Has to be A-rank, no less." Raven noted out. "I wonder, just how many has he completed so far?"
Kuroka shot Raven a surprised and curious eye, as she had expected that Raven, Hiryu`s mother and his closest person in all world, along with being a Great Kage of Akatsuki and its unofficial leader, would be well aware of the number and ranks of missions her son has completed. Kuroka decided to voice her surprise to Raven.
"Raven, aren`t you supposed to be aware of all this, given your position as Great Kage of Akatsuki? Furthermore, shouldn`t a mother know just how much work her son has done?" Kuroka gave a slightly accusing eye to Raven, who simply smiled and answered.
"Back when Hiryu just appeared, right after he faked his death at the hands of Zeoticus and before he became an official Shinobi of Akatsuki, there was a bit of an issue among Kage and Master Shinobi with him getting missions and progressing without my help." Raven began explaining. "When he was put in Minato`s team, he, Tobirama and I came up with a solution to this, and that is Tobirama taking over all of the mission handling in this village and dealing with progression of all Shinobi regardless of rank with me being out of it completely. In fact, whenever Hiryu and I meet, we don`t even discuss our jobs. So, I don`t even know just how much missions has my boy completed. Heck, the only reports about his activity I actually read were about him being promoted to Adept Shinobi way back ago and about him along with Itachi becoming a Senior Shinobi two months ago."
Kuroka nodded to that one, as she understood what Raven meant.
"Well, if you are curious, I can tell you." Kuroka suggested, with Raven giving an eager nod to this one. "He has completed 127 D-rank, 91 C-rank, 77 B-rank, 40 A-ranks and 3-S ranks. I think he has been taking a couple of missions per day and working on them, plus he has often went along with Itachi and others on the missions."
"Wow, color me impressed." Raven simply said stunned, turning her head to the small garden and noticing something. "You know, hiding from someone like me is useless, no matter how many years of training and practice you have. Come out now, Minato, I`ve got something to discuss with you, anyway."
And as Raven said that, Minato landed near the three, turning to Great Kage and bowing to her. After that, Master Shinobi spoke in respectful voice.
"I simply didn`t wanted to disturb you while you are here, Lady Raven." Minato spoke quietly enough, as to not wake up Hiryu`s daughter. "After all, it is well known to everyone, that you hate it when you are disturbed with official business during your free time."
Raven knew that one well. She has made sure that while she is here, nobody disturbed her with anything less than a world war happening. She looked at Minato and spoke up.
"So, Minato, as my son`s former master, what do you make of him? I want to hear your honest response and nothing less." Raven said serious, as she wanted to know just how good her son is. "Tell me, how good he is as an Akatsuki Shinobi? We both know that a number and rank of missions often don`t tell the full truth about a Shinobi, so I want to hear what my son`s sensei has to say."
Minato nodded and sit down and spoke up.
"In all honesty, Lady Raven, all I have to say is that Hiryu is possibly one of the strongest Shinobi of this generation." Minato said in full honesty. "When I first started training him, I did have my own doubts that he has earned the right to be a Junior Shinobi without passing through the examinations. I did hear that you yourself were his trainer, but still… I have to apologize for doubting your son, as he quickly has proven to be a very promising Shinobi."
"Don`t worry, I don`t hold any grudge against you." Raven assured him. "In all actuality, I was compelled to give him an Adept from the start, but I decided that he needed further training as a true Akatsuki Shinobi. Anyway, continue on."
"Over the course of the months, following up to my examination, Hiryu has showed himself to be as one of the most calculative, precise and dangerous Shinobi for anyone to face off against. And I am not talking about his taijutsu, Ninjutsu or genjutsu." Minato stated simply. "Hiryu has a mindset of not a simple soldier, but one of a master strategist and tactician. When we were off training, with and without others, Hiryu has displayed an ability to quickly analyze the situation, along with being able to not just learn the pattern of my movements and abilities, but also how to quickly counter them. He is able to catch even the smallest and tiniest bits of details and information and use it to his advantage in combat. In fact, he and Itachi were the first ones to find out the principals of my Rasengan, along with being able to describe to me the full process of its usage. In fact, I starting to suspect that he also has learned how to make one of his own already."
"He did." Kuroka confirmed with a small smile, surprising Minato. "He also quite often praises you for developing such technique, saying that you really are a genius."
"Looks like his mind only became shaper over the years, as I`ve expected of him." Raven smiled "Alright, and what do you make of his combat abilities. Tell me all about it."
"As I`ve said, because of his mindset, Hiryu is capable of coming up with very detailed and complicated plans and techniques, as well as predict nearly every move his opponent makes." Minato continued. "Speaking of his mind, Hiryu`s Genjutsu prowess is extremely powerful, on par with Uchiha`s best Genjutsu practitioners. His only rival in this field is Itachi and I believe that both of them know of that. I myself have once been under the effects of their illusions and I can tell, those two are beasts when it comes down to Genjutsu."
Raven could only smile to that one. She has always known that her son possessed some of the most powerful abilities in Genjutsu. Hell, she herself have gotten under his illusion and that was when he wasn`t even trained by her. She never revealed that fact to anyone, as nobody would`ve believed that the person that has created Genjutsu in the first place as an art would be affected by it.
"Hiryu`s Genjutsu are all very refined, detailed and extremely realistic, along with being some of the few that are capable of effecting all six senses of the person at the same time, being able from making a person to perceive something that isn`t there to being able to completely warp all of those senses or shutting them down at the same time." Minato continued. "Such prowess, I believe, is capable of matching some of the Tengu Abilities. And right now, I believe that Hiryu is currently capable of placing Genjutsu even on some of the Master Shinobi. Along with that, Hiryu also possesses an extremely potent and powerful mental defense, making him nearly fully immune from all kinds of Genjutsu or other mental abilities. Itachi has stated that during their sparring sessions, they don't even try to use Genjutsu on each other, as they both know that they can counter or block them. And if Itachi doesn't use his Genjutsu on Hiryu… I doubt that Inoichi Yamanaka or anyone for that matter will have a very hard time cracking him up."
"I would be surprised had I heard something different." Raven smirked. "So, what about his Ninjutsu? I believe his abilities in energy control and nature transformation have improved from where I left him if your care?" Minato nodded to this.
"Aside for already being able to perform the basic techniques, Hiryu has shown to possess the best chakra control I ever saw, one that even surpasses my own and Master Jiraiya`s. Couple that with his inherited large reserves of energy and ability to fight for many hours, Hiryu is one hell of a Akatsuki Shinobi." Minato smiled to that one. "With his primary natures being Lightning and Wind, he has been extensively trained by Kakashi and myself and while he was quite quick to learn all of given techniques, he soon began to create his own, using the techniques we`ve given to him as a basis or creating something of his own design. In Lightning nature, Hiryu primarily uses Kakashi`s Chidori when fighting in close quarters, though he has been able to use Raikiri for a while now, from what I know. In mid-range he has his Lightning Arrow, which speed is nearly equal to that of an actual lightning and is almost impossible to dodge without Flying Thunder God technique or something like that, but I doubt that there are any other counters to it. As for his long-range technique in Lightning nature… I haven`t seen it, but I believe that Hiryu calls it Kirin."
As Raven heard the name of that technique, her small smile immediately was replaced by an unmasked surprise. The reason as to why she suddenly changed her smile to a surprise was from the fact that she wasn't expecting to hear such name for a technique, as it wasn`t actually the first time Raven heard of a Lightning technique named Kirin, and the technique named liked that was classified as one of the most powerful and destructive Lightning Style techniques. Along with that, it was stated that the secrets of that technique were long lost, back during the time of Great War. Even Raven herself has known of this technique and it`s details not from the creator of it, but from Tobirama, who has known the creator of that technique and he was familiar with its effects and details how to create it. Still, it could be a completely different technique, so Raven quickly hid her surprise from Minato and Kuroka, replacing it by the interest.
"I know about that one." Kuroka spoke up, as she petted her daughter`s head. "It is an S-class technique and a very powerful one at that. He had it in his mind for over a year, but he only finally finished refining it a couple of months ago. It`s main principal is to send out in the air a large wave of Lightning-infused chakra and create a thunder cloud in the atmosphere. Afterwards, he simply uses the created thunderstorm through converging all of the lightnings in it into a shape of a dragon-like creature made out of pure lightning. After that, he sends it at his enemies. If anything, this technique is his most powerful and destructive, as it is capable of rendering this village to smoldering ruins."
Minato looked shocked and surprised when he heard Kuroka`s explanations. He suspected that Hiryu might be able to use some of the most destructive techniques, but this… This sounded something like Susanoo would usually use. While Minato himself was highly impressed, Raven on the other hand was utterly surprised and shocked to hear this description. Tobirama has given her the very same description about Kirin many years ago and Raven has remembered it all well. She simply couldn`t wrap her head around it: how could her son know of this technique? It was never even listed as one of the Lightning techniques in any of the books and only she and Tobirama ever knew of its existence and how it works. That raised some questions…
"An S-rank technique at the age of 14… If Ay ever hears about that one, then there will be no end to his pleas to duel my son." Raven recalled Great Kage of Eastern Honshu. "Still, from what I hear so far, it seems like Hiryu doesn`t have any purely defensive techniques in Lightning. Is this the same with Wind?"
"Unfortunately, but true. Given the fact that both of those natures are most offensive out of the 5, there isn`t much of a defense that Hiryu could come up with." Minato sighed. "Especially with Wind, considering that there isn`t any technique that is considered to be completely defensive. And since we are on the topic, Hiryu`s Wind nature abilities are mostly standard ones, since he primarily uses Wind style to enhance his speed and cutting power of his weapons. However, there is one technique that he has developed with Wind nature, one that has shown itself to be quite powerful so far, Kazeshuriken. It`s basis is to create spinning ring of pure air and then from that ring form 4 Wind blades around it. This technique has the highest piercing capabilities and I`ve witnessed it`s blades being an ability to be used as drills to get out of the Earth and Wood combined trap of Nagato."
'Kazeshuriken?!' Raven`s mind immediately caught on that one as well. 'That can`t be a simple coincidence… The creator of Kirin was also the only user of that same technique, and Tobirama has also stated its effects to be the very same as Minato just told. How can it be that Hiryu is able to use two techniques that have been considered to be long lost and only ever deployed by one of the 17 Founders of Akatsuki? And not just any Founders… I could go and ask Hiryu about this directly, but there is no way that he could`ve known about those techniques, for there are absolutely no sources left about them, only Tobirama. Looks like I am going to have a little chat with my brother once I get back.'
"Speaking of Nagato, I haven`t heard of him or Kuromi for over a year now." Kuroka noted out. "I thought that Jiraiya would only work with them for a couple of months, but not this long. Were they transferred somewhere else or something?"
"Yes, they were." Raven has admitted that to Kuroka. "While Jiraiya has been saying a lot of the positive things about those two during his time training them, I, on the other hand, was quite a bit skeptical and suspected that they are playing into Jiraiya`s positive feelings towards Nagato. As you are probably already aware, Kuromi has all but broken all relations between us a long time ago, all because of our serious differences in approaching Devils. She has adapted an extremely radical view on Devils, and I am afraid that Nagato has also taken that view to his heart as well."
"That is nothing new for us to hear." Kuroka sadly admitted to that one, looking down at Kurone, who sniffed in her sleep. "I remember how Kuromi was spending time with Nagato, subtly manipulating him and changing his views on all things. Wasn`t too hard, seeing how he was always haled as the second coming of Hashirama Senju."
"Unfortunately, but true." Raven admitted. "Main house of Clan Senju has made Nagato into what he is, that much is true, with Tsunade though trying to limit the influence her son`s upbringing in more positive way, it still went wrong. As much as I hate to even think about it, I am glad that Hiryu had a much harsher upbringing." Raven glanced at sleeping Kurone with a small smile. "I may`ve not been able to son back when he needed me the most, but with Kurone… I can assure you, Kuroka that Earth will turn to dust sooner then we let something happen to Kurone."
"I know, Raven. Hiryu told me the very same words the day when I first held her in my arms." Kuroka smiled, looking down on the sniffing Kurone, carefully taking her in arms and standing up, getting a few whines of disagreements". "Now, now, my little girl. I know you don`t like being disturbed. Don` worry, mommy won`t let any scary things touch you. Now, let`s put you to bed, my little hime." Kuroka lovingly said as she caressed her daughter while moving towards the bedroom.
Minato and Raven watched this scene with smiles on their faces. As Kuroka disappeared behind the closed door, the smiles immediately came off and Raven now faced serious Minato, who was the first one to speak up.
"Lady Raven, I understand that this isn`t my place to ask, however…" Minato took some air inside his lungs. "There are some rumors circulating within the Akatsuki about signs of distress within our own ranks. Some of the boldest even claim that we might be soon facing a full scale war…"
Raven could only sigh at what Minato just said to her. She herself was very well aware about those rumors and as much as she wished to dismiss them as nothing short then speculations and farce, these rumors, much to her own dismay, were true. All this has been brewing up for some time now and all signs of distress were coming also from within Akatsuki, more specifically, from Hokkaido Akatsuki. Unlike all the other parts of Akatsuki, Hokkaido division was the most reclusive and closed up then the others, with most of the information coming from Hokkaido being mostly general and nothing that of the details.
This division was practically a completely separate organization, with its Shinobi being all absolutely and utterly loyal to their Great Kage, Danzo Shimura, a very old and very experienced Akatsuki Shinobi, a rival to Hiruzen Sarutobi and one of the most secretive and dangerous men in the world. He has always been the very definition of a Shinobi, but, unlike all the others, Raven has always had a very bad feeling about. He always stated that all of his actions have been for the good of Akatsuki and Japan, however, Raven has always been very skeptical of him and suspected that he always had the personal interests above the interests of others. Even more, it seemed to Raven that Akatsuki was Danzo and the good of Akatsuki was the good of himself. Unfortunately, Raven was in her mother`s lands when Danzo was elected as a Great Kage of Hokkaido and after she returned, she couldn`t say anything about it.
And now, it seemed like Danzo has been taking some questionable moves and it has raised the attention all other Great Kage. That is why Raven has decided to call an emergency meeting to try and solve this before they might be forced to take a more forceful approach to this situation. And all of these rumors were strengthened by Danzo`s known views on all other races, factions and countries. For Danzo, only what he believed was beneficial was good for him, as it was known to the others that he often viewed everyone that were loyal to him as resources while everything else that has been either outside of his reach and power, along with clearly being opposite to him, was a threat in need of destruction. Unfortunately, Raven had to admit that these views were viewed by quite a number of Akatsuki Shinobi and Kuromi with Nagato were just a few of them. She couldn`t help but be displeased at the fact that all those warmongers have failed to understand the very reason behind creation of Akatsuki and the fact that any war that they might start will not just affect them, but all the civilians will be caught in it as well and they will suffer the most. All those Shinobi have seemed to have forgotten the origins of Akatsuki and its main principals, which was truly saddening.
After taking a brief moment to draw breath, Raven spoke up in clear and serious voice.
"Minato, you are the Head of Namikaze Clan, one of Founding Clans, as well as one of the primary candidates of becoming one of the next Kage Shinobi, so I trust that you will keep what I tell you completely secret." Minato gave Raven a firm nod. "All those rumors… They are valid and there is truth to them. And because of this, I give you my official order: you and the others are to be on full watch for any strange activities and if you do come in contact with hostiles, inform me at the same moment, no matter the time or situation. Any unconfirmed Shinobi are to be treated as enemies and take care of them."
"Understood, Lady Raven." Minato nodded to it. "So… We really are at the war`s door steps, are we? Do you have a plan to avoid it then, Lady Raven?"
"In full honesty? No, for the first time in centuries, I seriously don`t know how I will be able to avoid it." Raven admitted sadly. "If anything, Minato, make sure that your students know of it. We might end up needing every single one of them for the frontlines."
The last of the prelude chapters and the next one… Well, you already get the idea what is coming. And yes, Kuroka has gotten pregnant and gave birth to Kurone. Along with that, Hiryu is a Senior Shinobi now.
Anyway, I`ll be posting something special tomorrow just for this event. Along with that, I can tell you, this is going to a serious war and I will make it affect Hiryu in its hardest. There will be battles, losses and other things. This arc will last for 10 chapters, at minimal.
Leave a comment in the review section, ask any question as well as suggestions. Also, please give your vote on the poll.
See ya!