Author's Note: Well, it has been a while, hasn't it? I've decided to make this update extra special for those who have been dying to see this story continue, for continue it shall. I have revised all of the earlier chapters (There has been no major changes to the story) and have decided that I shall briefly recount the story so far since it really has been a while and you've probably forgotten everything now. Also, look forward to cameo appearances of two other well-known anime characters and a bonus article at the end of the chapter all about Neji Hyuga.
The Story so far: Four Ninjas from the Village Hidden in the Leaves travel to Honshu on an A-Rank mission: destroy Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku and Sango! Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura decide, instead, to betray their employer Naraku, leaving Kakashi at an impasse.
Naraku's group seems to have traitors everywhere. Kagura and Kohaku ask Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Koga to help them defeat Naraku; Kanna has sealed Naraku's heart inside Hakudoshi's creation Moryomaru. And now, Kakashi is told to kill the priestess Kikyo as well as use Pakkun to relay information on Naraku's incarnations.
Now, join Team Koga (Koga, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura) on a feudal fairy tale. With Ninjas!
The Birth of Momotaro, the Peach Boy
Once upon a time, there lived an old couple in feudal Japan. Although they were happy, they were childless and somehow, their lives were incomplete.
One day, the old man was fishing by the stream when he saw the largest peach he had ever come across floating in the water. It could feed him and his wife for days! The old man quickly fished the peach out of the water and brought it home. His wife was delighted with it and together, they split open the peach to see what was inside.
Out crawled a little, healthy boy. It was the greatest shock in their lives!
Eventually, the old couple decided to call the boy Momotaro. When he grew up, Momotaro would be the strongest and mightiest in his village and his exploits would be known by the Japanese for all time to come. This is the story of his origins within the peach.
"Are we there yet?" said Naruto.
"Where's 'there?'" asked Koga,
"Naraku's castle," Naruto replied.
"Um… no."
"Then what's that castle in the distance for?"
"No clue."
"Then let's go there!"
Koga couldn't think of a reason why they all couldn't indulge in the pleasant diversion of castle-visiting, so he answered, "Why not?" And he shrugged.
Although the castle of Lord Momiji was not very large, this fault was made up by a bountiful garden within the inner walls. It was regularly maintained in the watchful presence of the guards and civilians. Lord Momiji and his wife Lady Momo invariably looked over the garden each morning prior their daily routines. For though the garden was exceptionally beautiful, there was one part of it that commanded all attention.
A large peach tree lay in the very centre of the garden. It seemed to shine, even when the sun was not smiling over it. The soil around the tree was the richest and most fertile to be seen, and the fruits dangling from the high branches were still ripening but promised much in harvest. This tree was where people went to pray. In Japan, the peach represented strength, and the tree's presence was so influential that it was thought capable of listening to thoughts in a human mind.
A woman walked to the base of the sanctimonious peach tree and prayed: "Please, peach tree, I hope my boy will be returned soon. Our lord never gave us a choice; he took Taro and all the other newborns today. He told us that the children would become mighty warriors. But all I want is for Taro to be happy and for me to see him again."
For years, Rukia and her husband Ichigo had been wandering demon slayers, using their talents in martial arts to help those in need. However, once Taro was conceived, the two had to settle down. Ichigo was offered a job as a gardener at Lord Momiji's castle and Rukia stayed with him. The two planned to resume their travels once Taro was strong enough to handle such a life. But that did not mean that Taro's parents saw him as a setback.
Rukia heard someone call her name. "Rukia, what are you doing by the peach tree?" It was her husband's voice. "Come back here."
Rukia turned around and sighed. "Of course, Ichigo." Then she continued indignantly, "I was only praying by the peach tree."
Ichigo snorted. "Who'd worship a peach tree?" he asked cynically.
Now, Rukia was starting to get frustrated. "Don't you care about Taro at all? He's your son!"
At this fierce accusation, Ichigo looked slightly shocked. "Of course I care about Taro," he said. "But what's the point in asking a tree for help? If we want to get Taro back, we may as well take action ourselves, right?"
Rukia looked away. She knew that what Ichigo had said was right but she also knew that nobody could stand up to the sadistic Lord Momiji or his vain wife Momo.
Suddenly, Ichigo spoke. "Hey, there's someone at the entrance."
Rukia looked up and saw that Ichigo had already head off to greet the newcomers. She sighed and followed him, conscious of the gaping hole in her heart that her son had once filled.
The wind blew the peach tree and for a moment, there was no one to watch the gently swaying branches. For some reason, the happy aura of the tree almost felt like rotting corpses when no one was there to tell the difference.
Instead of displaying the common reactions of shock and ill-feeling upon coming face-to-face with three Ninjas and a demon, Rukia said, with a voice filled with puzzled curiosity, "Now how did you four get allowed into the garden?"
Naruto, Koga, Sasuke and Sakura could not adequately explain this phenomenon.
Since Ichigo was feeling much more worried about Rukia and Taro than about dangerous-looking intruders, he said, "If you do a job for us, we will show you the famed sacred peach tree, okay?"
"Sacred peach tree?" Koga repeated, slightly bemused. Sasuke looked on with mild interest. Rukia flashed Ichigo an odd look.
Ichigo nodded. "But first…" he said. "Look over there by the gate."
Everyone looked. A man dressed in the formal robes befitting a castle lord was standing by the guards with an air of imperiousness. It seemed the middle-aged feudal lord was telling the guards something important, although an air of calm intelligence radiated off him.
"Who's he?" asked Sakura inquisitively.
"That's Lord Momiji," Ichigo said. "I want you to find out what he did about our son, Taro. If it's something bad, please bring him back to us."
Rukia smiled. So that was what Ichigo planned to do.
Further details about the situation were given out. It took Naruto very little persuasion to undertake this B-rank (possibly C-rank) mission. Sakura too was inclined to help Ichigo and Rukia. Koga wanted to see the peach tree because he was hungry and didn't think it prudent to devour Ichigo and Rukia, despite his instincts. And Sasuke simply didn't care either way.
Ichigo lead Team Koga over to the peach tree. "There's the tree," he said, pointing.
As Sakura remarked on how pretty it was, Koga took one look at the peach tree and narrowed his eyes.
Team Koga spent the rest of the evening scrutinising Lord Momiji's actions. It was night when Lord Momiji retired indoors. He was an unpleasant, oily sort of fellow and were it not for the mission, the team would not have bothered following him.
As the guards began to yawn in their sentry duties, they were warily regarded by the Ninjas in the shadows.
"Hey, where's Koga-sensei?" Naruto asked suddenly.
This inquiry evoked a harsh "Shh!" from Sakura, and her hand immediately clamped over his mouth. A guard blinked and then he yawned again. All became quiet once more.
"He went to the peach tree," Sasuke explained calmly, which caused Naruto to look up in confusion, wondering why on earth Koga would take such an interest in an inanimate object.
At this point, Sakura uttered, "Come on; let's sneak inside now." Sasuke and Naruto nodded.
The peach tree rustled ominously. Koga's nose twitched. "I knew it," he said. "You're not a sacred tree at all – you're a demon!"
The tree rustled mutely in reply.
"Ha, Koga sneered, "You think you can fool me when you can't. I wonder what you're planning."
Koga had no idea when he became so self-righteous. Perhaps it was Inuyasha's fault. All Koga knew was that he was not going to allow the demonic peach tree to take advantage of a myriad of naïve souls. And while Naruto and the others were to investigate Lord Momiji's motives, he, Koga, would do the same for the peach tree.
Koga, at this point, heard the sound of an approaching stranger through his adept hearing. Turning his head slightly, he came face-to-face with Lady Momo, Lord Momiji's wife. He knew it was her by the pompous stature and expensive clothing.
"Who are you?" Lady Momo's voice was amusingly high-pitched in its artful blend of fear and distrust. "What are you doing in my garden?"
"Last time I checked, you weren't the one taking care of the garden," Koga retorted. "Therefore, it's not yours, at least, not according to common sense!"
Lady Momo's lips curled in disdain. "You're an impertinent fool," she snapped. Then she added, as an afterthought, "Wolf pup."
Koga frowned. This woman did not appear to be afraid of him at all, which was worrying. Most high-born ladies would scream pathetically at the sight of a demon, so either Lady Momo had spunk or she had something up her sleeve.
Just then, a very strange and peculiar thing happened which disrupted them both.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Lord Momiji babbled.
The three Ninjas had cornered the feudal lord into a secluded room covered by shoji screens. Sasuke had been careful to knock out all guards in the vicinity and Sakura was on lookout in the passageway for intruders. This left Naruto to engage with Lord Momiji, who was cowering behind a statue of Buddha with obvious fear.
Upon hearing Lord Momiji's nervously spoken statement, Naruto challenged him rather bluntly: "Oh, yeah? And what if I do this?" He straightened up and made hand signs, yelling, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Lord Momiji almost fainted at the sight of more angry-looking Ninjas.
"Go easy on him, Naruto," came Sakura's voice from behind the shoji screen. "We'll never find Taro if we kill him."
"Taro?" Lord Momiji was sweating. "You mean the babies? I took them for the peach tree. It said if I gave him children to eat, I would be provided with an elixir of life, enough for me and my wife."
"The peach tree?" said Naruto in disgust. "You mean that tree in the garden eats humans?" He had never heard of such a thing before.
Sasuke asked, "Where are the babies now?" When Lord Momiji remained silent, he poked him with a kunai. "Answer me."
"I already handed them to the tree." Lord Momiji's voice was barely a whisper. "Just this morning I did it. The tree will sprout fruit and for a while, the babies will be living inside the core. Then slowly, they will disintegrate, replaced by the elixir of life."
Sakura gasped, "How revolting!" She had met her fair share of villains in the past but Lord Momiji had to the most unctuous. Exchanging babies for an elixir was something Orochimaru might do!
"Let's go save the babies!" Naruto cried enthusiastically, forgetting to remove his clones in his zeal. "Believe it!"
Lord Momiji began to edge away. Sasuke poked him again. "You're coming with us," he declared roughly, grabbing the hapless lord by the scruff of his neck.
Lord Momiji might have been the reincarnation of a mouse. He made a squeaking noise uncannily alike the small, furry mammal.
The peach tree was growing fruit the size of cannon balls.
"How," Koga gasped, "Can a fruit grow as I watch it?" Although he didn't quite understand how it was happening, it was happening nonetheless. He had a suspicion that there was some substance behind the trees abnormal growth but he was more worried about what other manifestations this might cause.
Lady Momo proclaimed in a gratified tone, "At last, the tree has bore the elixir of life."
"You idiot," Koga murmured.
Just then, a masculine voice seemed to issue from the dreaded peach tree. It was deep; deeper than Naraku's it was like it belonged from the roots of earth itself. It did not thunder, nor did it waver for a single moment.
"Momo, take a peach," it said. "Take it and eat."
With trembling hands, Lady Momo reached forward. Her face was as pale as the waxing moon, yet the exhilaration on her predisposed countenance was undeniable.
"No!" Koga roared, fiercely aware that the fruit being offered was probably a trap. He leaped forward to knock Lady Momo out of the tree's path.
Suddenly, there was a plop sound; a branch, being too weak to support a now enormous peach, had let drop the peach into Koga's strong hands. The ruffled Lady Momo, seeing and not liking the latest turn of events, snarled in a not very lady-like manner and proceeded to wrestle Koga to the ground. It was a foolish action and one with a singularly grave consequence: Koga let go of the peach in order to retaliate.
The peach tree was situated on a hill. On the west side there was the castle's foundations and on the east a bubbling stream. It was by sheer cruel fate that when the peach had fallen, it had been inclined to roll down the east side of the hill – directly into the stream!
"Uh oh," said Koga. His eyes followed the peach's rapid progress downstream.
"Never mind," said Lady Momo. "There are plenty more." Her gaze shifted back towards the tree, which had now fallen silent. Again her hand reach out.
Thunk! A kunai knife embedded itself in the trunk of the tree, narrowly missing Lady Momo's arms by inches. Suddenly paralysed with fear, she could only turn her stunned eyes towards the skilful thrower of the knife.
"Don't touch any more babies," said Sasuke menacingly.
Naruto grinned. Shoving Lord Momiji's quivering body onto the grass, he cried, "Now you're going to watch that tree burn down!"
"No!" the tree growled, and everyone stared.
Fortunately Koga had been through the shock before and recovered quickly. He scowled and brought his feet up, preparing to kick the tree and cause all of the leaden fruit to drop. The tree had put up a demonic barrier around its trunk and it rather annoyed Koga that he would have to break through it.
The shards of the sacred jewel inside Koga's legs glimmered.
The tree let out a hoarse moan as the invisible barrier around it was penetrated by Koga's strong legs. As Koga collided with the tree, his entire weight behind him, he yelled out a fierce battle cry and shut his eyes tight.
Lord Momiji and Lady Momo's faces literally fell with the fruit.
"Sakura, gather the peaches!" Sasuke ordered quickly. As Sakura rushed to do his bidding, Sasuke began making hand seals. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Naruto wasn't particularly fond of Sasuke's natural leadership skills, but even he was glad as the tree came alight and was slowly reduced to ashes, which the wind blew into the stream so that they followed the only missing peach.
On the following morn, a terrible sound filled the air; it was the desperate voice of a mother deprived of her child.
"Taro… is gone!"
The disgraced Lord Momiji and Lady Momo had already set on their way, but this did not lessen the tragedy that had occurred.
"Rukia, it'll be all right."
"Fine way those Ninjas and that demon screwed up. They're not even here to help me find my boy."
"Rukia, I'm sure Taro is still alive. Something tells me he'll be a great fighter, like we were."
"How do you know Taro even exists any more? How do you know?!"
"I don't. But all the same, I don't think he'll ever be forgotten."
"Thank you… Ichigo."
Preview
Naruto: How could you, Inuyasha?! All this time you've been two-timing Kagome with Kikyo!
Inuyasha: Shh, not so loud, idiot! Kagome might hear!
Naruto: But she already knows, right? Look, she's crying and hugging me and stuff.
Inuyasha: Oh, you feel so special, don't you, brat?
Sakura: Kagome's not feeling well at all. Next time, in Target: Inuyasha: The Tale of the Two-timing Scoundrel!
Bonus Article
Ten Ten explains how Neji is superior in every way to the males of InuYasha.
As you know, Neji is the most talented genin in Konoha. Sure, he may have lost to Naruto but that was pure fluke. I'm quite certain that if Neji came into contact with these so called "Bishonen" from InuYasha, he could account for all of them. Let me go through each guy one at a time.
Inuyasha: If Neji used his Sixty-Four Pointer strike, Inuyasha would not be able to use his giant sword. He would have to rely on his claws and frankly, his Taijutsu sucks. He only has two moves and both of them are really easy to dodge.
Bankotsu: If Inuyasha could beat this guy and if Neji could beat Inuyasha… do I even have to spell it out for you?
Koga: With his Byakugan, Neji would be able to see those jewel shards in Koga's legs. Neji's accuracy is superb because of his ability to hit chakra points, so removing Koga's shards in one strike would be no problem for our resident genius. After that, the wolf's a pushover. Without his precious jewel shards, he's a baby at fighting.
Naraku: Well, Neji's not evil so by default, he is superior to Naraku.
Sesshomaru: This guy might be cool but the people he hangs around with certainly aren't! Look at him with that little girl – how embarrassing! And even Lee is cooler than Jaken.
Miroku: Unlike this pathetic monk, Neji would not have to resort to groping at all. I mean, the Byakugan sees all, right?
Hojo: I don't even need to say anything.
And so there you go. I would go on further but I don't have any more room. If you can think of an InuYasha boy who is better than Neji, tell me and I'll think of a good rebuttal.