Woooo! New chapter!
Standard disclaimer here! MUAHAHA.
Naruto: Keeper of the Seal
Chapter 10
The Time for Change
To say that the sudden and violent departure of Konoha's number one most surprising ninja was an object of some gossip would have been an understatement. The departure of the Kyuubi could be clearly defined by three phases. Phase one, Panic.
Panic could be described by the word itself. Every member of Konoha had lived their life knowing that the Kyuubi had been 'brainwashed' by the Yondaime to be absolutely loyal to the hidden leaf village. They had felt no remorse over beating the boy half to death, because they knew that any vengeance would be precluded by the power of the four point seal, and that pain was the deserved reward for such a monster. However, now that he had departed the village, the people 'knew' that the four point seal had begun to fail, and the Kyuubi would shortly return.
Chaos gripped the little village as villagers, and even a large portion of ninja, fell into a state of panic. The villagers all fled to specified shelters designed in the case of enemy invasion, while the ninja began gathering their weapons and saying goodbye to their loved ones. murmurs could be heard in every street, complaints of people who felt that the brat had just disrupted their lives again. Some even went as far as to suggest that they should have killed the boy as a child, preventing this sudden change in the seal's power. This talk was quickly quieted by the shinobi who were loyal to the Sandaime, but not quite on Naruto's side.
During this time of panic, word spread of the actions of Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai. Outrage greeted these three ninja when they were led into the city, bound by chakra shackles and escorted by a full two squads of ANBU. Spit, rotten food, and even weapons were hurled from the angry crowd as the three were forced towards the holding cells in the interrogation unit's headquarters.
"You set the demon free!"
"Why would you betray your own village?"
"Take this you bastards!"
This general dissent led into the second phase of the Kyuubi's escape, anger.
The anger phase was simply what it was, anger. Many of the shinobi of the village swore oath's against the Kyuubi brat, promising that they would hunt him down and kill him for betraying their village. The villagers themselves began assembling likenesses of Naruto and destroying them just as they had the boy himself. Naruto's apartment would never be used again, seeing as how it was put to the torch, in an effort to 'cleanse' Konoha of the Kyuubi's cursed taint.
During this phase, many of the villagers left the shelters and began yelling in the streets for the Kyuubi brat to come back so they could teach him a lesson. After all, they had punished him before, what was to stop them from doing it now? All fear of the fact that Naruto had been controlled by the Kyuubi was gone by now. The loved ones of the dozens slaughtered during Kyuubi's brief rampage put out a collective bounty of Naruto's head, high enough to be attractive to all but jounin who performed S class missions regularly. Needless to say, many ninja attempted to take time off to go after the brat.
In order to stem the tide of pursuit, Tsunade declared a state of emergency. A state of emergency prevented ninja from taking time off, and any ninja who were currently taking time off had to report for duty immediately. Many saw this as a wise decision, better to have every ninja on duty and ready to fend off the Kyuubi than to have them searching in random directions for him. However, others saw through this ruse, and secretly cursed the Hokage for protecting the brat. Among those who knew the real reason was Danzo, who immediately began assembling a small group of loyal un-registered shinobi to go in pursuit of Naruto.
The anger phase faded after a few days and finally went into full blown celebration mode.
As can be expected, celebration mode held nothing back. Shinobi and villager alike cavorted through the streets, gleefully celebrating their release from the baleful influence of the Kyuubi. Vendors opened up their stalls, announcing sales, and in some cases, even free items to the celebrators. Gifts were many and more than a few people got drunk and danced in the village streets, giving no heed to the looks tossed at them by the few friends of the Kyuubi brat.
Speaking of the Naruto's friends...
The Hyuuga household had never seen this much contention since the creation of the caged bird seal. Hyuuga Hiashi had issued a decree that those responsible for the leaking of the caged bird seal information were to be found and brought to him immediately. A noticeably small group of Hyuuga took notice of this decree, and unsurprisingly, it was mostly ignored by the branch house. The branch house had suffered under the burden of the caged bird seal for their entire lives, and they felt that it would do the main house some good to have their own foreheads branded with a seal that would render them slaves to another, even if it cost the freedom of some non-Hyuuga shinobi. Neji, and Hinata began their own search for the reason behind the leaked seal, but were meeting with no information. Neji had been warned off several times by his fellow branch house members, and had even been subjected to the pain of the caged bird seal by some main house members when he went too far. Hinata would find threatening notes and sometimes even traps set up in her room at night, and had gotten into the habit of changing which room she slept in every night to avoid these attempts on her.
The Akimichi, Yamanaka, and Nara clans all exempted themselves from the celebrations, choosing to cloister their members within the small compounds they owned on the north side of the village, hoping that their close proximity and great numbers would deter the council from trying to place any of their members under this new caged bird seal. The Nara's even went so far as to put their best minds to work on finding a way to counter the seal, in the event that one of their clan, was marked. The Yamanaka's proved invaluable in this research, as their mind based jutsu gave them a greater understanding of the brain and how it could be enslaved.
Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji were kept mostly to their clans, but met occasionally to train or complete a mission brought to them by a representative of the Hokage, the only person allowed into the grounds besides members of the clans present. Shikamaru spent most of his time helping with the production of a counter seal, but had had no luck in finding a solution. He had resorted to referring to the lab as the troublesome room.
Almost every Inuzuka and Aburame suddenly found that their lives had become very busy, and not to say the least, they were unable to help in the locating of Naruto. The loss of Konoha's greatest trackers was a crippling blow to the Naruto retrieval mission, and caused a great deal of frustration to Danzo, who had to resort to the few pariahs of both clans, who had been cut off from their techniques and animal partners when they had left. An Inuzuka without his dog was only half a ninja, but a Aburame without his Kikai was a liability, seeing as how the colony which had once dwelt inside of him had stunted his chakra abilities.
Kiba and Shino gained a newfound sense of teamwork as they were forced to complete what little missions they received without the help of the lavender eyed team mate. They had continued with missions because the Naruto retrieval mission was ranked A class, and no one would dream of sending gennin out to hunt down the Kyuubi, especially two of the most promising wielders of their bloodlines to appear recently. Any talk of using the new seal of the two heirs was quickly quashed by threats of defection, which the council took very seriously. They weren't willing to give up their best tracking clans for the ability to control just one of each.
Lee and Tenten also found an increase in teamwork, and Tenten began training harder with Gai, intent of increasing her speed and strength to avoid a defeat like that in the Chuunin exams. She had not yet began to wear the green spandex of her sensei and fellow teammate, but was tempted every time to jsut give in and make Gai shut up about his falmes of youth and such. Then of course, she remembered that this would result in Gai using his patented sunset/crashing waves genjutsu on her with a copious amount of hugging. Her resolve suddenly found itself hardened.
As for Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma... they along with Anko became the first victims of the new caged bird seal. For those three, it was obvious why, considering that they had openly defied the council. but Anko was a different matter altogether.
After hearing of the council's plan to enslave Naruto, she had immediately thrown on her trench coat and headed for the council chambers. The minute Naruto left the room, Anko dropped in, unleashing a wave of shuriken on the surprised council members. The shinobi in the crowd, too stunned to react, had all taken minor wounds from the small, accurate projectiles. The civilian elders took far more grievous wounds, their flesh and reflexes not trained to deal with an attack from a special jounin. Needless to say, several were put into serious condition, and two even died shortly after, due to the poison coating her weapons.
Anko had thrown down two smoke bombs and disappeared, satisfied with the panic and confusion she had caused, but found the imposing figure of Danzo standing in her way. Before she could react, Danzo's hand lashed out and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up into the air. Several instants later, Anko was surrounded by the ANBU guards and apprehended.
The process of applying the seal had not been an easy one...
XXXXXX "Sai, paint the seals on them, the rest of you, hold them down." Danzo ordered. Each
of the victims was already strapped to a table which held a chakra
suppressing seal on it, but even so, the twenty ANBU in the room took
and arm, leg, or head of the jounin and held them still while Sai began
his calligraphy. The seal formed a three chain link over the back of
the victims neck, then wound down across their backs, crossing over
their hearts and down to their feet and the ends of their hands. Sai
waited for the ink to dry, then stepped into the center of a sealing
circle whose strands wound up onto the tables and into the chakra
suppressing seals. "fuuin." He muttered. Each of the
jounin writhed, but refused to cry out in pain. The chains painted on
their bodies came alive, growing and writhing under the skin, then
penetrating deep into their bodies. They each felt a heaviness in their
hearts, then a cloud settled over their minds. The chains returned to
their skin, then snaked outwards, encircling the neck and forming a
cross shaped seal on their throats. The pain faded and each of the
jounin relaxed, feeling the haze fade from their minds. The ANBU obeyed immediately, releasing their four prisoners. Danzo's eyes took on a glint, "Kakashi, why don't you show us your Chidori?" Kakashi,
felt a tugging at the back of his mind, and decided that it would be
best if he activated his Chidori. He didn't question the instinct, but
merely allowed it to carry out it's wishes. Kakashi sped through some
seals, then held his hand, allowing the lightning chakra to flare to
life, creating his most deadly technique. "Anko... why don't you take that ANBU's kunai and attack me?" Anko
leaped gladly to the task, snatching the kunai out of her captors
amazed grasp and charged the old man, intent on killing him. Anko's
speed was formidable, butnot as formdiable as Kakashi's. Kakashi
felt a tugging at his brain, realizing that Anko was about to kill his
commander. He dashed forward, catching her kunai arm with one hand and
punching forward with his Chidori. Then suddenly, he stopped. He looked
down in confusion at his arm, and found a chain traveling from inside
of his wrist over behind him. He glanced back and saw danzo smiling,
the chain held in his hand. The Chidori highlighted the chain, sending
crackling shapes across it's surface, reminding him of a snake. Kakashi
felt the haze fall from his mind and he gasped. He had almost killed
Anko! He immediately let the chidori disperse and turned to Danzo. "You scum..." Was all he could say, before hands wrapped around his throat. Danzo smiled once again, snapping his fingers. The grip around Kakashi's throat faded, he fell to the ground, coughing. "You
four are now the ultimate weapon. A shinobi who doesn't let his
emotions get in the way of completing the mission, and follows orders
exactly to the letter." Danzo said, "You still have your own thoughts,
and you may even take actions on your own, but you are now subordinate
to me. You will do what I tell you, when I tell you, and you will do it
gladly. And even if you find a way to resist... Well, then I'll be
forced to kill you." Danzo emphasized his point using the seals
to apply slight pressure to their throats. They all nodded and the
pressure faded. Danzo laughed, then opened the door and left. "Report to Danzo personally for your next assignments tomorrow." Sai said, then left, the ANBU trailing him. The four victims huddled together. Together, but alone. Alone in their own dark prisons.
Danzo
stood in the room, holding in his hand a concoction made from the blood
of each of the council elders and himself. He poured it into a vat of
ink, then motioned to his subordinate, Sai.
"Loose their bindings." Danzo said.
XXXXXX
Naruto
felt a slight twinge in his mind. He gazed back at Konoha for a second,
then continued through the forest. The Makai seal of his shoulder
burned slightly, and he knew that Anko had been hurt. It wasn't the
surety that comes from seeing blood, or an open wound. No, it was more
like a primal instinct, the same power that allows a mother to know
when her child is about to wake, or the instinct of animals to hide in
case of a rainstorm. Naruto paused momentarily, tempted to run back to
the place he had just left, screw the fact that he was now a wanted
criminal. One of his precious people had been harmed, and he wasn't
willing to stand for that. Unfortunately, logic intervened and let him
know that throwing his own freedom away would not help anyone, and his
best chance of helping people was to get stronger and return.
Naruto continued on his path, towards the border between sand and fire country. The scroll which Kakashi had given him was actually a really large sealing scroll, holding numerous other scrolls within it. Naruto estimated approximately ten, if not fifteen. The first scroll had been labeled "orders." Tsunade had left him a couple of missions to complete before he struck out on his own, along with some notes that ordered any Konoha operatives to give Naruto whatever aid they could... at least until they received word of his missing nin status.
His first mission was to go and warn the Kazekage about the current events in Konoha, and to be ready to receive ninja refugees. He was also to warn Gaara of the recent movements of Akatsuki, who were preparing to move within the next two years. Naruto also found within it a healthy advance for all of the missions that he had been assigned. Always a positive.
Naruto had already skimmed over his father's work on sealing. To tell the truth, it was incredibly advanced. Naruto had had to go back to the basic scroll which Kakashi had included in it and start at the beginning. He was hoping to buy some supplies, ink and paper, at the next village so he could start practicing. The amount of things that could be done with seals was phenomenal, and Naruto couldn't wait to start trying them out. Especially a certain camouflage seal which he had come across in his father's work. Of course, he didn't think he would be able to get that far for a very long time. Then again, that's why he had all the time in the world wasn't it?
Naruto continued to ponder as he moved, especially on the beginnings of the scroll from Kakashi. Kakashi's first note had been specifically related to his Kage Bunshin skill:
Naruto, I've recently come across
some information about your Kage Bunshins that you will find quite
useful. You see, when you create a Kage Bunshin, it's a perfect,
although less powerful, copy of yourself. It has the capacity to learn
and adapt just as you can. I've discovered that when a Kage Bunshin is dispelled, not
destroyed, it transfers that experience to the user. When a Kage
Bunshin is destroyed, the chakra used in it's creation is dispersed,
along with any knowledge that it might have gained. However, when you
dispel it, your body will reabsorb some of the chakra, and thus, some
of the knowledge which it has gained. You may find this useful in your
training, as you will be able to learn jutsu invariably quicker, and be
able to memorize at a greater pace. However, I suggest that you do most
of your reading by yourself, as your clones will have differing
opinions on what they read, creating a rather disjointed collection of
information that may hinder more than help in your education. Remember,
this method is not a substitute for training, only a aid to it, you
will still need to train your own muscles to become more powerful, and
you will also need to develop muscle memory on your own, as Kage
Bunshins have no true muscles. I'd also like to note that your
Aspects may prove invaluable in this training method. When you and
Prime trained together you both learned twice as fast. You won't lose
any of the experience during dispersion by using Prime, as he is always
linked to your mind, and will be able to draw two points of view on
what you are doing, thus gaining twice as much experience twice as
quickly. So whenever possible, train with Prime. Also, after examining
your true clones, and their ability to generate their own chakra, I
have come to believe that they will grow stronger not only as your mind
grows stronger, but as you bring them out an train them. This is only
possible because of the fact that your true clone's minds don't get
dispersed, just their bodies. So get them training. Your Aspects each
have unique abilities which they can hone when you bring them out, and
they each have their own chakra natures, which I have listed below. Rage: Fire, Wind (unkown) These
unknowns are not just the fact that I don't know the element, but the
fact that the element they use is unknown in the shinobi nations. You
may want to discuss this with Kyuubi as the Bijuu may have more
knowledge of advanced elements such as Hyouton and Makuton. Each of
your aspects has wind as one of their elemental natures, considering
the fact that it is your natural affinity.
Will: Water, Wind (Possibly ice)
Courage: Earth, Wind (Possibly sand)
Prime: Wind, Unknown
Insanity: Unkown, Wind
'four hours, then it's back to running.' Naruto thought, letting his eyes slip shut.
XXXXXX
Naruto felt sunshine on his face and he opened his eyes. He was sitting in a large manor by a huge lake. Naruto almost panicked, before he realized that he was in his mindscape. To be more precise, he was in Prime's room in his mindscape. He looked around, noticing the large collection of scrolls which prime had tossed aside in favor of others. A few even made their way to the fireplace where they were cooking lazily.
"Erm... Prime, why are you destroying my memories?" Naruto asked, trying to pull the scrolls out of the flames.
Prime grabbed his hand, "I'm making space, it's getting crowded in here. Don't worry, it's nothing you need. Mostly academy taijutsu and stuff like that."
Naruto's mouth hung down, "You realize that's the only type of Taijutsu I know right?" Naruto asked.
"Not anymore it isn't... Naruto, I'd like to introduce you to your newfound Uchiha based sword skills!" Prime declared, holding out a familiar looking rose.
Naruto's eyes bugged out, "You pulled that out of Kyojitsu! Why hasn't reality taken it back?!?" Naruto yelled.
Prime laughed, "Calm down Naruto, I didn't pull it out, I just went in and copied it... or more like, I copied the memories. You should be able to wield a sword with some skill now, even more when I'm done training you. C'mon!"
Prime took Naruto outside and began teaching him some basic kenjutsu. Naruto found it quite easy, considering the fact that the knowledge was in his mind, he just hadn't accessed it consciously. It took about an hour, but Naruto was finally able to wield a blade without cutting himself open (a sad story indeed, which occurred many times). When they were done, Naruto looked down at the sword/rose which he held.
"Where am I going to get a sword?" Naruto asked.
Prime shrugged, "I dunno, I can always bring one with me from your mind, but you're going to have to buy one"
Naruto rummaged through his jumpsuit, then produced two trench blades, "What about these?"
Prime took the weapons and mused over them, "Hmmmm, I'll see what I can do. Why don't you read that scroll that Asuma gave you, it should have some info on how to fight properly with these. Plus, your wind affinity will make your weapons even more powerful."
Naruto nodded, then asked his next question, "Prime, I felt the Makai seal burn, and I know Anko's been hurt, is there a way I can check on her from here?"
Prime
looked thoughtful for a moment, then replied, "Hmm, I think that
Jinchuuriki ability has some other side effects. I think it may have
formed a link between you and Anko, kinda like your Kyojitsu formed a
link between you and Itachi when you took his Mangekyou. I suppose
there's someplace in here that could let you see her, or heck, even
contact her."
Naruto nodded and closed his
eyes. He drew his willpower in close, then let it sweep out over his
mindscape. What appeared to be a breeze swept through the valley of
Naruto's mind, pushing aside the tall grass and leaving ripples through
the lake. The wind returned to the castle, rebounded twice more, then
stopped. Naruto opened his eyes and nodded.
"I felt her... or something like her, I'm going to check it out." Naruto said.
"Alright, I'll come with you." Prime said.
Naruto held out his hand, Prime grabbed it and the mansion warped around them, fading into the overgrown entrance to an old sewer pipe. Naruto looked down it.
"Hello! hello.. hello" Naruto's voice echoed.
Prime pushed Naruto aside, looking down into the pipe. He noticed a small light at the end of it.
"Hey Naruto, I think there's something down there." Prime said, gesturing downwards.
Naruto once again looked down the hole, noticing the light. He focused his will once again, forcing the space between this hole and the light to align themselves. An instant later, pale light shone through the sewer entrance, revealing a small room with a figure hunched against a wall.
"Anko-chan?" Naruto asked.
The figure's head flew up. Her eyes, normally a piercing quality, now looked glassy and unaware. She shook her head and focused on the boy in the wall. She tried to rise, but a pair of manacles and a neck chain held her to the ground. She struggled briefly, then gave up and slumped back to the ground.
"It's you..." She said, "I knew there was someone there, but of all the people... it was you."
Naruto grimaced at her condition, then gave her a smile, "Don't worry Anko-chan, your nightmare will end when you wake up!"
Anko snorted, "This isn't a nightmare Naruto... they've chained me in my own mind. It's the seal they planned to use on you, but they got me instead. Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma too."
Naruto's eyes widened, his mouth falling open, "No..." he gasped.
Anko nodded, trying once more to pull at the chains. A small seal on the chains burned to life and she cried out, reeling in pain from whatever the seal was doing. Naruto snarled, he had seen enough.
Kaigan!
Naruto's Kaigan flared to life, followed shortly by Prime's. Naruto's Kaigan emitted a burst of light , penetrating the gloom that was in Anko's mind.
Tsuraneru Shingan
Naruto felt the world shift and he was suddenly looking through Anko's eyes at himself. He forced mental energy into his Kaigan, and it responded, bursting to life in Anko's eyes through the link he had formed. Prime held out his hand, then snapped his hand shut. Anko felt a slight pressure, then the chains around her shattered to pieces. She instantly leaped to her feet, and would have hugged the boy if he weren't sitting inside of a wall. Tears leaped into her eyes, but she brushed them away, allowing her strong character to reassert itself.
"Thanks kid!" She yelled, wiping away the tears as if she had just been brushing her hair aside, "Now I can get my hands on that ba-"
Naruto shook his head, "No. Anko, the seal they placed on you is still there, I've removed the part which controls your mind, any physical hold they have over you is still in effect. You need to act as if you are obeying their orders, otherwise they'll discover that you've escaped their power. What they'll do then..."
"No way in he& am I going to continue doing these guys dirty work!"
"Anko! I need you to stay free. Look, you can defy them in ways they'll never know, just don't let them figure out that you're free of the seal's power... yet. Wait for my return Anko, or my call. I swear that you will not have to wait long. Promise me."
Anko averted her eyes, "I won't promise anything... but I'll give it a shot. But, if I have to do anything I don't feel is right, I won't."
Naruto nodded, "I wouldn't expect any less."
Naruto would have said more, unfortunately, Anko's eyes widened and she faded from her mindscape, returning to the waking world. Naruto sighed, releasing the Kaigan. It leaped from his eyes and onto the winds of his mindscape, drifting through the familiar currents and rising up towards the sun. Naruto watched the multicolored hue as it rose on the wind, then disappeared behind the globe of light which he had created.
"So... do you really think she'll stay put." Prime asked, releasing his Kaigan.
Naruto sighed, "No... looks like we're going back sooner than I thought. After we get this information to the Kazekage, we're turning around to retrieve her."
Prime nodded in understanding, "Well, look at the bright side, at least now you'll be able to experiment with a way to counter this new seal."
"Well, first things first, I still need to actually worry about learning how to create seals."
"Small detail my friend, small detail."
Prime's notes
Tsuraneru Shingan (Linking the mind's eye): This jutsu creates a link between two people which allows the user to see through into the mindscape of the target. A curious adaptation of the Yamanaka ability to actually take control of the body. This jutsu allows only for sight. However, information, and the fact that the Kaigan is a Dojoutsu... Needless to say, the power of this jutsu is considerably augmented when used by either a Kaigan wielder or a Sharingan wielder. (C rank)
Sooo, yeah, if you have any questions, I'll see what I can do to answer them. I haven't put up anything about the new seal for a reason, so don't bother asking... ;)