Author's Note: Once again, as a reminder, Kirigakure and its characters and history have been changed for this story. Please read carefully. There are hints scattered everywhere. Reviewing really helps me out. Please enjoy.
"I don't know about this," Naruto persisted again.
Haku rolled her eyes drolly and continued to stare forward.
"That's what you've said every other time," she laughed.
"But this time, it's serious," Naruto whined. "What if passing through those whirlpools just spun us around? We might be heading father away from Uzugakure, not getting closer to it!"
Haku's eyes turned cold. "You still don't have any faith in me," she accused, flatly.
She refused to talk to him for the next hour despite several attempts on Naruto's part. Naruto sat at the back of the boat, confused and exasperated. Why was she so keen on gaining his trust? Now that he asked himself that question, the answer seemed quite obvious.
"I do trust you," Naruto spoke, the ship moving forward still at a faster tempo.
"You keep saying that," Haku sighed. "But every time we run into the slightest bit of trouble you lose all faith in me. You're not as confident as you once were."
Naruto paused in introspection. "I'm sorry. It's just…I don't know. A lot happened in those four years. There's less for me to be confident about."
Haku turned around and cupped his cheek. "You don't need to be confident in conquering or saving the world. I'm just asking you to be confident in me. Can you do that?"
Naruto wanted to say yes. But if he said yes, they'd be hollow words, lies easily detected by Haku. After all that happened, he was having a considerably hard time putting faith in anything, anyone. The Will of Fire, Uzugakure, defeating the Akatsuki…even peace. Even himself. He wanted to. He wished he could be back as a child, naïve, ignorant but as confident as could be, before he had tasted the pain and betrayal of the real world.
"I'll…try," he concluded, struggling.
"A start," Haku replied. "I have something that might help you. Look over my right shoulder."
Naruto tilted his head, peering past Haku's and beheld shadow and shades of tall shapes and lofty figures. His mouth parted silently as through the weakening mist, he saw what could only be what he sought.
He urged the boat forward with much speed and enthusiasm. His journey and his pain had brought him to eastern shores and now spurred him on with the hope of reclaiming a city fallen from memory. He couldn't tell if this was a false shade or illusion but if it were reality and if closer inspection brought these vague shadows into existence, he would reclaim Uzugakure and discover the secrets it beheld.
Murky shapes materialized into abandoned stone. But it was real. And the closer Naruto got, the more surreal it became. His eyes blinked countless times trying to etch away any doubt that this was an illusion. He and Haku stayed in silence as they stared in awe at the majesty of this place. He'd thought his revisit to the Great Naruto Bridge would forever curse him from seeing a sight its equal. Naruto did not mind being wrong. Not in the slightest.
The city was of stone. Masterfully structured, much was broken and crumbled. But more stood as a testament to the eternal mark that Uzugakure left upon this world. The stone was crafted and chiseled into illustrations of wonder and near perfection in its grace. Faces of long-bearded philosophers and strong stout warriors marked the stone, their eyes still fierce with a fire that long since left this place. Naruto felt excitement and wonder build up in his chest. The boat was too slow. He wanted to see it, touch it. He leapt from the boat. His feet found the icy surface as Haku paved him a path of ice to the shore. He didn't exactly what spurred him to such thrill, but he ran all the same.
Haku ran after him, smiling. His sense of adventure was contagious and it graced Haku with contentment. They had made it to a city that had used all its efforts to hide itself. Naruto felt the ground beneath his feet as he stepped into this ancient city. The sight was tragic and marvelous. Craftsmanship and artistry greater than any he had every seen, decorated the stone and the marble and surface of the buildings. They had stubbornly resisted the timeworn malady of old age and stood proud and tall, greater than the face of any Hokage monument.
"Haku, look at this place!" Naruto exclaimed. "Have you seen anything like it?"
"I don't think there's a place on earth to match it," Haku murmured, awestruck.
Naruto ran his hands across the delicately crafted masonry. He felt like his fingertips brushed against something that went beyond stonework. It wasn't just the city. It was a legacy and memory.
"They've been gone a long time," Haku whispered. "But I don't think any nation has caught up with Uzugakure yet."
Naruto's pride in Konoha couldn't help but concede this point to Haku. The merchants had said Uzugakure was an ancient city, predating Konoha, the 5 Great Nations and even the Sage of the Six Paths. The roads were empty. The buildings were silent and the stone echoed no voices save for Naruto's. There was no life left in this city. And yet, even in this discomforting seclusion he felt the essence of the city, years after souls had parted from it. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine Uzugakure, bustling with energy and music and culture and happiness. Naruto stood still, breathing in through his nostrils, taking in the substance of this city.
Haku touched his shoulder tenderly. "Have you forgotten why you're here?" she asked him gently.
Naruto sighed. "If only I could. This place is nice."
"This place is dead," she observed, bluntly. "Dead things can deceive you. Living things are nice."
Naruto felt like agreeing with her but simply standing here in a city far beyond the years of even Konoha's founder, it was a sublime feeling indeed, more so because Naruto couldn't pinpoint exactly why. The mystique of Uzugakure did not fade even as he walked through its very streets. No, this wasn't a deception. No genjutsu would be strong enough to pervert the majesty of this city.
The first sign of life had been blasted at Naruto without any of the subtleties that Uzugakure possessed. A roaring sound, deafening and somewhat familiar, rushed through the corridors of Uzugakure and struck Naruto, so intensely that it lifted him from his feet and threw him several feet into the air. He landed less than gracefully. Haku was kneeling, having landed as well.
"That way!" Haku cried.
Naruto took off with Haku at his heels. He had sworn that he had heard that monstrous cry before. It had broken the tranquility and Naruto was anxious to see what lurked in this city still.
He crossed a stone bridge over a bright blue river. Naruto's gaze travelled down the river into a large pond within the heart of the city. In the middle of the pond stood a lone stone structure with roof and pillars but no walls in between. There, Naruto saw a man, sword in hand, and another laying still before the blade.
"Smart of you, coming here," coughed the older swordsman. "Even I was nearly taken by the whirlpools."
"Yes, that was the general idea," panted Ichiku, the Hozuki Swordsman of the Mist.
The many days of pursuit had tired him but it was his sensei's skill that had him laying on his back. He looked for his blade but it was in his sensei's hand, the blade now pointed at his chest. Ichiku looked curiously into his sensei, trying to surmise his intentions. And when he did, the wounds on his body and the exhaustion of his stature vanished from his mind and he merely grinned and laughed loudly and wildly. The now jovial Legendary Swordsman could hardly contain the shrieks of laughter.
"You, rascal, sensei!" laughed Ichiku, all peril of his position now lost. "You actually had me convinced! Hahaha! You actually convinced me that you had finally stopped being a fool! But no, no, no…you, my dear sensei are a sneaky little fool, aren't you? I can see it in your eyes. You actually think that by killing me and the others, you'll restore what? Your dignity? Your honor? Fictional abstractions and a paltry fairytale I'll say! There's no honor, no dignity. There's only the honest and those who pretend otherwise!"
The sensei raised both his sword and his student's. The tips of the blades, poised to strike and pierce the chest of the Hozuki who had no more tricks to play. Ichiku could turn to water no more. He was defeated.
"I yield," cackled Ichiku, hysterically. "I give up! I'm unarmed, hahaha! Is your pathetic honor going to stay your blade?"
"I lost my honor long ago."
The sensei thrust both blades at once into the chest of Ichiku Hozuki. The legendary ninja laughed for but a few more seconds and then his chest heaved once. His body slacked and his eyes dimmed. And before his sensei had removed the blade, the student was dead.
Naruto could not hear, but only witnessed what his mind screamed as murder. Blood ran down the stony steps and polluted the blue water with thin colored crimson. Before Haku could stop him, Naruto was sprinting at the assailant, kunai in one hand, a Rasengan in the other.
The standing swordsman was deep in thought and only just noticed the charging Naruto moments before they had made contact. With great flexibility and speed, the swordsman brought his own sword to crash with the kunai, halting its path and used his free hand to grab the wrist of Naruto's Rasengan hand. He used Naruto's momentum to toss Naruto over his head.
"You attack me without cause," the swordsman commented. "Do it again, and I'll consider you my enemy."
"My cause is him!" Naruto pointed. "You just killed a man who had surrendered and was unarmed!"
"A true Legendary Swordsman of the Mist is never unarmed, not even while without sword or on his back."
"Naruto!" cried Haku. She started making hand signs.
Naruto eyes drifted to Haku for only a moment. But the keen swordsman followed his gaze and looked over his shoulder to see what had caught Naruto's attention. And suddenly, Haku had become his target. The very thought of that gave Naruto more motivation than he thought he'd ever had. With energy brimming in his legs, he pushed off the surface of the water and soared towards the swordsman, who now had his back turned. He was within striking distance now. Naruto raised his fist but felt his diaphragm nearly collapse as he suffered a straight kick to the stomach by a vigilant swordsman. He felt the breath leave his body.
Naruto exploded into smoke before the swordsman. And underneath the swordsman, the water exploded as well as Naruto proper surfaced, his fist extended. But the swordsman evaded that with too much elegance to have been a quick reaction. Naruto recovered, and decided to dispel one of his clones atop the mountains of Myobokuzan. Orange rings lit beneath his eyes and Naruto saw the swordsman's eyes turn to shock. Giving him no time to react, Naruto launched a kick, now enhanced and with terrible power, at his foe, who blocked it with a forearm. Despite that, Naruto's foe was sent flying back. He touched back on the water with his feet, but now held his forearm tenderly.
"Interesting," murmured the swordsman.
Haku finaly acted, sending a flurry of frozen water needles, a barrage of icicles at the swordsman hardly even noticed. Rather he leapt over Haku's attack, bringing his sword to bear, a single side unsheathed. He was headed to Naruto. Naruto blocked the side of the blade with his own forearm and was shocked at the fact that the blade had cut him and that his blood now flowed slowly down the sword of this swordsman.
Naruto ignored the cut and threw another powerful kick at his opponent's head. Again, the swordsman blocked with his forearm. However this time, Naruto's kick was halted and the swordsman was not thrown back. Naruto's eyes retreated from his opponent's blocking arm and travelled to the man's face. There, beneath his opponent's eyes, shone rings of blue.
"Did you really think you were the only sage?" asked the swordsman, expecting no answer.
Naruto leapt back, shocked and bade his icy comrade join him. Haku leapt back to Naruto's side.
"He has your eyes," Haku whispered.
"I know," Naruto replied, eyes fixed on his foe.
"Who are you?" he called loudly.
The swordsman smirked, lowering his weapon. "Calmed down have we? Are you ready to talk before brash action overcomes you?"
"Start with a name," Naruto demanded. "…then we'll see if we can understand one another."
"Your master was light on manners I take it," the swordsman spoke. "You attacked me first and without cause. I believe I should ask of your name before I grant you my own."
Naruto had to refrain from showing a grin. Jiraiya had many qualities. He wouldn't list "refined" as one of them.
"You're an intruder," Naruto accused.
"It's an odd thing," the swordsman mentioned. "To have such pride in a land you're stranger to."
Naruto had no answer to that. Half of what he was doing, he couldn't explain himself either. Haku nudged him. She gave him an annoyed stare.
"What's wrong with just giving him your name?" she asked.
Naruto shrugged at her. He turned to the swordsman. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha."
Naruto thought he saw the swordsman stiffen. A flying object caught Naruto's gaze from the corner of his eye. A flying black object whizzed past Naruto's ear into the hand of the swordsman. It was the other sheath of his sword, which he used to fully sheath both ends of his sword.
"Well met, Naruto Uzumaki," the swordsman stated, without the intention of hostility. "I suppose not so much a stranger after all."
"We didn't catch your name," Haku called.
Naruto nodded his head in agreement. "Who are you?"
The rings beneath the swordsman's eyes had disappeared and Naruto could see him contemplating a response. The swordsman raised his head and looked at Naruto.
His voice was low and solemn. "I am the founder of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist." There wasn't the slightest hint of joy in his tone. "I am responsible for the ruin of this city…and of my own."
The words were almost spat out with no love. The swordsman sighed heavily.
"My name is Yagura, Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure."
OOO
"Byakugan!" Neji cried silently.
Time itself seemed to slow down and Neji reacted as quickly as he could, the neurons in his head firing around madly. He had to see if anyone was nearby. He couldn't let anyone see what he was about to do.
"Neji!" Sakura cried. "Tsunade-sama! She's-"
Neji lunged for Sakura, grabbing her mouth and holding it closed, in an iron grip with one hand. Tsunade Senju, the Fifth Hokage had awoken. Before even she could react, Neji had lunged and placed his other hand on the Hokage in similar fashion. Both pair of eyes went wide in confusion, shock and betrayal.
Neji knew in his heart that he was going to regret this. But he had come too far. The gears were already in motion.
There was no turning back.
OOO
Shikaku Nara looked at his chessboard somberly. Ever since his son had gone off to war, he hadn't a player to match him. What was worse, every time the old Nara played, he imagined his son as one of the pieces, on the frontlines, fighting, and able to die. The skilled chess player found himself protecting his knight, a strategy no decent chess master would have ever approved. And for good reason. Shikaku lost many games by protecting his knight. The king fell, but Shikaku was merely glad that this one piece still stood standing.
"Shikaku!" said his friend sharply. "Are you listening?"
"I heard you Inoichi," muttered the Nara clan leader. "But hasn't it occurred to you that the Mizukage was lying? What better way to weaken a target's defense then to have it start questioning its leader and instigating internal strife?"
"I have thought about that," retorted Inoichi. "But from what I could gather from my technique, if the Mizukage was lying, she'd have had to be nothing short of a Yamanaka to fool my jutsu. And there's just something…authentic about her hatred of Danzo. I'm telling you, Shikaku, something happened between him and Kiri."
"And what of it?" Shikaku countered. "He is the Rokudaime Hokage, Inoichi. He is the leader of our village and likely the strongest shinobi that Konoha has. What good will come of digging up his past?"
"If I am ordered to kill, wage war and fight, I'd like to know that the one ordering me has a good reason for doing so," Inoichi growled. "There's too much surrounding Danzo that no one knows about. Do we even know how he was crippled? And regardless, he may not be the strongest…Tsunade-sama is still…"
"Regardless if Tsunade wakes or dies, Danzo has been sworn in. He holds the title now," Shikaku, stated tiredly. "And now is not the time to question our leader. Not when he is engaged at the first Shadow Summit in history."
"Has age dulled your mind, old friend?" chuckled Inoichi. "Surely you can't think something good will come of this."
"At first, yes," admitted Shikaku. "I was as pessimistic as you were when I heard about the Raikage's proposition for a gathering of the Kage. But…but…I can't help but hope. The world is changing, my friend. Times have changed. Leaders have changed. Perhaps it is wishful thinking, but I believe that these petty power politics can change as well. While we've never had a gathering of Kage, never have we faced a threat as looming as the Akatsuki. Maybe this time can be different. Maybe Kage and village and country can be set aside and we can unify to defeat the Akatsuki. And who knows…maybe peace. Maybe the nations cooperating is possible. Maybe…just maybe…"
A messenger bird shrieked loudly as hit flew in threw the window with stunning haste. Shikaku read the message written in large deliberate letters exuding the gravity that the contents held. His heart plummeted and he swore as loudly as he could.
THE RAIKAGE IS DEAD
THE MIZUKAGE AND TSUCHIKAGE HAVE BEEN INJURED
IWA AND KUMO MOBILIZE AGAINST EACH OTHER
WE ARE FLEEING SOUTH TO KONOHA
ALERT THE NINJA RANKS
WAR HAS BEGUN
