Chapter Eleven – Kensei
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Disclaimer- Don't own Naruto or any other anime/games/manga mentioned in the chapter or story.
Key-
"Normal Talking"
'Thinking/Mindscape talking'
'Kyuubi Talking'
"Summon Talking"
(Announcements concerning place and time changes. Also author ramblings)
--
(Konoha Camp)
"I want two teams to be sent out. One will check in Sand and the other in Waterfall.", said Sarutobi.
"But sir we don't have people to spare.", said an ANBU member.
"Then send just two to each place. These are orders from the Hokage.", answered Sarutobi.
"Yes, sir. We'll find Uzumaki Naruto.", said the ANBU, disappearing out of view.
"Ugh. He's nowhere in the camp. He really did leave.", said Tsunade, walking up to the old man.
"Yes. He gave me a message too. Must've gotten away when he woke up earlier.", said Sarutobi.
Tsunade sighed, she had had to much to deal with for one day. He eyes were still slightly red from having cried for her lost teammate.
"Oh right, he also had a message for you. He said he'd definitely get revenge for Jiraiya and that you would have to take care of Konoha till he returned.", added Sarutobi.
"Stupid boy.", said Tsunade with a small smile on her face.
--
(Random Forest)
Gamabunta sat in the clearing amongst the trees. The small blonde stood in front of him.
"Naruto. What the hell do you think you're doing? Running away from Konoha like that. Those Akatsuki bastards will kill you before you can make it to the next village!", shouted the frog.
"Don't worry about them. In my travels with Jiraiya I picked up enough information about the Akatsuki to get by. They attack only once every three years. Which means I have another three years to train.", answered Naruto rapidly.
"Even so, they wouldn't let an opportunity like this pass so easily.", said the frog.
"Don't worry about it. I called you here for information regarding Kensei. I was going to ask Jiraiya, but he's…."
"Yeah kid, I know. And I'm sorry but I really can't tell you anything about…"
"Jiraiya was killed by Pein! I met Kensei in Sand, he defeated two of Pein's bodies without any injuries on him. I need to know! I also know that for some reason you frogs are afraid of fighting against him. You're the only person left to ask.", shouted Naruto.
Gamabunta was silent for a few minutes. He took in the scenery around him. He recognized where he was, Waterfall. He filed the information away, he could alert Sarutobi or Tsunade now.
"Alright. I'll tell you what I know. But you're not supposed to have heard this from me.", said the toad in its deep voice.
"Yeah, of course.", replied Naruto quickly.
Gamabunta sighed deeply then spoke again, "A long time ago, around the same time as Jiraiya there was this small boy, Kensei. He wasn't a very happy boy; on the contrary, he was a really gloomy one. He had no friends or families. Jiraiya first met the boy on Myouboku mountain, the place where he learned his Sage Arts. This weird thing is that the path to the mountain is extremely well hidden, and no one had guided the boy. The elders were all impressed and decided to teach Kensei as well. Both boys signed the contract one after the other, Kensei first, and were enrolled. So Kensei and Jiraiya learnt together. Their friendship grew by leaps and bounds. The boys were a force to be reckoned with. They were strong individually, yes, but together they were nigh invincible. Things were fine, Kensei was happy for the first time in his life, and Jiraiya, well Jiraiya was always the mischievous one amongst the two"
The frog stopped speaking as if remembering what happened next.
"Well.. go on!", said Naruto impatiently, engrossed in the story.
"One day, there was a fight between the two kids. It wasn't a small fight, it was a really serious one. Both boys activated their Sage Modes and were dueling for well over an hour. Kensei had never had shinobi training before that day, so Jiraiya had a great advantage over the boy. In the end, Jiraiya managed to sever some tendon in Kensei's right hand. Kensei lost all control over the weapon he was holding and was left dying. If you've seen him fight, you'll notice he can't bend his right arm anymore. Anyway, luckily one of the elders found Kensei and Jiraiya before anything too serious could have happened. They quickly took Kensei back to heal. Jiraiya was gone the next day. He didn't ever tell anyone what the fight had been about, he didn't even stay to say goodbye.
This is where all the problems started. The elders noticed that Kensei's wounds had started to heal themselves…"
"Yeah, I saw that when he fought me too.", interrupted Naruto.
"Yes, well the elders soon found out the cause for his rapid regeneration. There was something inside him that helped him with his injuries…"
"He is a… jinchuuriki?", asked Naruto.
"He was. He was the container of the seven tailed demonic tiger. However, three years ago, the Akatsuki attacked Kensei, and stole the beast from within him…"
"Wait! How's that even possible? The Akatsuki couldn't have been here three years ago! I mean, Itachi was still in the village!", interrupted the blonde.
"Though Itachi may have still been in Konoha, there were other active members of the Akatsuki at the time. The organization was just forming and their first target was Kensei. I have no idea how they managed to pull it off, Kensei was easily stronger than most of them."
"But, wouldn't Kensei die if the beast was pulled out from him? And why can he still heal himself? And shouldn't he be as old as.. Jiraiya by now? He looks like Kakashi's age to me.", asked Naruto.
"Yes, he should've been dead if they removed the tailed beast, and no, he shouldn't be able to heal, and once again yes, he should be as old as Jiraiya. But, Kensei is a strange one, no one has been able to account for any day in his life after the incident at Myouboku."
"What incident?"
"The night after Jiraiya's depatrure, Kensei discovered the demon inside him. That night, there was a massacre on the mountain. Most of the elders were killed by Kensei. With the tiger's powers and the Sage Arts perfected, the boy was too powerful to stop. My father too was among them."
"I'm sorry…", said the boy.
"Kensei left the mountain after killing to his content. Since then, we have never allowed a single member of the frog clan to fight with or against the man. He's dangerous and insane.", finished Gamabunta.
Naruto nodded slowly, "Thank you."
"Yeah well, I best be going now. You too, should get back to Konoha. You're not ready to fight Pein, or Kensei."
"I know, I won't make a mistake like that. Also, Gamabunta-san, there's no point in you telling jii-san or baa-chan where I am. After all, I'm just a clone.", said the boy, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
The giant red frog looked surprised, "Heh, that boy's getting smarter by the day.", and with that Gamabunta disappeared as well.
--
(Konoha)
The third day of war. Konoha had suffered a great loss, Jiraiya's. The post had been taken up by Yamato, who had so far managed to keep casualties at a minimum.
In another part of the battlefield, Yugito fought off a couple of sound ninja, her dagger held loosely in hand. Her cat-like eyes scanned the surroundings, looking for weaknesses in the enemy ranks. She was covered with purple chakra and two tails lashed out behind her, decapitating people.
She killed off two ninja, her clawed hands penetrating the men's chests, while her tails grabbed onto two more. A man charged her from the side, holding a spear. It was aimed for her heart. She tried to dodge the attack, but her hands were still stuck inside the corpses, and her tails wouldn't make it in time. She closed her eyes, trying to think of something, nothing came to mind.
A black wooden staff shot out from beside her, colliding with the spear, sending it off course. The spear moved again, towards the enemy ninja, crushing his skull.
Yugito heard a sigh then a man's voice, "I know I shouldn't be sexist, but you chicks always seem to need saving. Even you jinchuuriki ones. Such a pain."
Yugito freed her hands and spun around, holding the dagger defensively. She saw no one next to her. "Who are you?", she asked.
"Can't tell you.", replied the invisible man.
Yugito closed her eyes, trying to sense the man's chakra and discern his location. She had almost found him when she felt something cold on her forehead. She opened her eyes to see the black staff pointing at her.
"Sorry can't have you doing that. Besides, you'll put wrinkles on your pretty face if you continue doing so.", said the man.
She looked at the opposite end of the staff, to see its wielder, but the man had disappeared again, along with his staff. She closed her eyes again, searching for the man, but he simply placed his staff at her brow once more. The staff seemed to pulsate and absorb her chakra.
Yugito was getting pissed, she swung around her tails widely, searching for the man, flinging aside ninjas in the process. One of her tails connected with something, she quickly grabbed onto it.
"Got you. Now tell me who you are.", said Yugito as she squeezed the man with her tail.
"Heh, that's not me.", said the man. Sure enough, the object came into view, it was a small log.
Yugito growled, "Who are you?!", she shouted again.
"I told you, I can't tell you. Although, I am an ally. Also, you have three more kills left before I can take you somewhere safe.", replied the man.
"What?", asked the confused Yugito. She dodged a kunai and stabbed a man in chest with her dagger.
"I have orders to ensure your safety after you've caused a suitable amount of damage. So I decided to set a value to that. You have two more kills left.", replied the man.
Yugito charged forward and stabbed a ninja in the gut, then quickly crushed his wind pipe with her clawed hand.
"You can try! I'll rip you into shreds.", said Yugito angrily.
The black staff shot out, it soared past her and killed a man directly behind her, the man had been trying to sneak up on the female jinchuuriki.
Yugito turned around to see what had happened, when she felt a blind-fold cover her eyes.
"And that was your last kill..", said the man as he picked up Yugito. She felt the black staff touch her again, and all her chakra was sucked away. Her tails receded, she felt completely defenseless.
"Put me down! Besides that was only two kills!", screamed Yugito.
"No, my kill counts as well. And, if you don't stop screaming I'll have to gag you too.", said the man as he left the battlefield with the squirming jinchuuriki.
Yugito could feel the rough wind in her hair, this man was fast. After a couple of minutes she was put down on a grassy floor. She felt the blindfold being removed. Her eyes protested slightly as the bright rays of the sun attacked them.
She turned around to see where she was, but she couldn't make out. All she could tell was that they were on some field. The grass was ankle high and trees sprouted off in some places, providing shade. She saw that she too was sitting under a tree.
"What the hell? Where am I?", she asked the air around her.
Nemui sighed, he took off the grass hitai-ate and pocketed it. He then jumped down from the tree, landing next to the woman.
"Yo! I'm your savior. Can't tell you my name.", said Nemui to the shocked jinchuuriki.
Yugito immediately stood up, reaching for her dagger, which wasn't there. She settled for clawing the man. The purple chakra started to envelope her once again; her fingernails grew rapidly, her slitted green eyes turned purple.
Nemui simply lifted his staff, sucking the female's chakra again. Yugito fell to the floor as she felt the chakra leave her. She growled and then decided to use one of her kunai, to finish the job.
"Ugh, just stop wasting my time.", said Nemui. "You're not allowed to fight for now, the Akatsuki might be looking for you. You know who they are right?"
"Yes.", replied Yugito, calming down a bit.
"Good. Then I don't need to bother explaining. I'm taking a nap for a bit, don't try to escape, you won't be able to anyway.", said the man as he closed his eyes.
Yugito took this chance and quickly threw a kunai at the man's esophagus. Nemui caught the projectile with his hand, without opening his eyes. "Jeez, I told you to stop already."
Yugito remained silent. After a couple of minutes, she got up silently, ready to make her escape. She climbed the tree and took off.
Nemui continued to snore peacefully, blissfully unaware.
--
Sarutobi finished off another batch of ninjas. The enemy shinobi all fell to their knees, headless. An ANBU appeared next to the old man. "Sir, we've already reported to Hokage-sama and were told to report to you as well."
"Alright, what is it?", said Sarutobi as he skewered a man with his kunai.
"We found Uzumaki Naruto in Waterfall and in Sand, but they were both shadow clones. Both left a message. They said, 'Don't chase me, you'll be wasting your time.' ", reported the man.
Sarutobi frowned slightly, the boy was annoyingly good with his clones. "All right, thanks."
The ANBU disappeared in thin air.
Sarutobi then felt two different chakra sources approach him. He saw Muchuu and Bura appear next to him.
"Yo Sarutobi-san! We can't directly report to the Hokage, and we have no idea who that Kensei person is, so we came to report to you.", said Bura happily.
"Alright, how's the situation?", asked the old man.
"Our mission was a success. Nemui managed to finish off his job as well. Kitaou and Kira just managed to carry out theirs too. Due to loss of Pein and Orochimaru from the fighting force, Konoha is doing pretty well. The Uchiha kid has taken over control of Sound.", summed up Bura.
Sarutobi nodded, all was going well. The only thing that worried him was Sasuke's mentality, the boy had clearly no patriotism.
--
(With Naruto, Random Forest)
'So where we headed kit?', asked Kyuubi.
'Not sure, I'm still thinking.', replied Naruto.
'How about Waterfall or Sand?'
'No, they'll be expecting us there. Besides I've left a couple of my shadow clones there.', said Naruto. He jumped to the next branch. He stopped suddenly as he felt two of his clones disappear.
'What happened?', asked the fox.
'I've been discovered in Waterfall and in Sand. That was faster than I expected. We need to get somewhere fast.', replied Naruto.
'You got any places in mind?', asked Kyuubi.
Naruto thought for a second then replied, 'Hehe, you're not going to like it.'
Naruto quickly changed direction and headed towards his new destination.
'No! No no no! Not there!', shouted the fox. He had realized where the boy was headed.
--
(With Yugito and Nemui)
Yugito kept ending up in the same spot over and over again. It seemed like the entire field was a circle. After and hour of repetitively landing next to the sleeping man, Yugito fainted from chakra exhaustion.
When she woke up, she saw that she had fallen asleep with her head on the man's chest. She blushed slightly as she felt the toned muscles beneath her. Luckily the man was still asleep.
Nemui woke up an hour later to find the woman staring at the sky. He yawned loudly, bringing the jinchuuriki out of her daze. Yugito looked at the man with disdain.
"So how much longer are you going to keep me kidnapped for?", asked Yugito.
"First of all, it's not a kidnapping. Second, you are free to escape whenever you want.", said the man with a small laugh.
Yugito didn't find this funny, she quickly summoned the demonic cat's chakra and wrapped a tail around the man.
Nemui felt the tail wrap around him. He looked around for his staff and saw it lying next to the woman. The tail increased the pressure of its grip. Nemui remained silent as he felt a rib crack.
Yugito was pissed, the man wasn't making in sign of pain. She released the man, he fell to the ground harshly.
Nemui wheezed slightly, he winced every time he inhaled. He lifted his hand and placed it above his rib, green chakra surrounded his hand as his rib began to heal.
"So you're a medic.", said Yugito, still angry at the man.
"Can't say.", replied the man.
"You know I could kill you. You don't even have your weapon.", said Yugito threateningly.
"Yeah, I know.", replied the man sitting up, his bone had been healed.
Yugito frowned, the man wasn't letting up.
'Why don't you try persuading him another way Yu-chan?', said the cat within her.
'And how would that be?', asked Yugito.
'Use your charrrm.', purred the cat.
'Perverted cat.'
'Well, he's hot isn't he? You know I can read your thoughts.'
'G-go away.', stammered the woman.
Yugito blushed slightly, though she covered it up with a sneeze.
"Well, we have another hour before our next mission. I'm going to take another nap.", said Nemui.
"Didn't you just sleep?", asked Yugito irritatedly.
"Yeah, and..?"
"Never mind. And what did you mean by 'our mission'?", she asked.
"Well, I'm sorta supposed to be taking care of you. So you're going to have to carry out any mission I'm assigned with from now on.", said the man as he shut his eyes again.
"But what about the war! What about my village!", shouted Yugito, but the man was fast asleep.
Half an hour passed by, Yugito was getting annoyed. She had no way to escape and the man refused to give her details about anything.
She fidgeted around with the hitai-ate around her waist.
'Ugh, I guess we have no other choice.'
'Yes! Go for it!', shouted the cat.
Nemui felt a weight on his chest. He slowly opened an eye to see what it was. He saw the woman sitting on him. He closed his eye, going back to sleep again.
Yugito slapped his cheek gently, waking the man up. Nemui yawned as he looked around him. He saw the woman sitting on him, her hands pressed gently into his chest. She had unzipped a portion of her jacket and was leaning forward, revealing a generous amount of cleavage.
"Hmm, what're you doing?", asked Nemui, tiredly.
"I just wanted to please you.", the woman said in an angelic voice.
Nemui finally grasped what was going on, waking up entirely. The woman had started to slightly rub against him.
Nemui placed a hand on either side of the woman's hip.
Yugito was slightly surprised, the man had a strong grip, and she blushed furiously at his touch.
Nemui picked up the woman and placed her on the ground beside him. He then got up and started to stretch, leaving the confused jinchuuriki on the floor. Nemui was one of the few icha-icha paradise fans, that didn't bleed from his nose while reading the book, i.e. he could control his urges.
"As much of a gratuitous nudity fan I may be, that's not going to work Yugito-chaan.", he said, adding the familiar suffix to the woman's name.
"And don't be ashamed, many women have tried before.", added the man.
Yugito blushed slightly and growled angrily at the man.
"Alright, let's head out. We have to destroy a bridge today.", said the man.
"Why?", asked Yugito, zipping up her jacket.
"Aww, you're not going to leave that open?", said the man with a perverted smile.
Yugito aimed a punch at the man, who quickly ducked underneath it.
"Alright, easy there kitty. We need to destroy the bridge so that Stone and Sound can't send in any more re-enforcements.", said the man.
"Okay.", said Yugito coldly, slightly pissed at the new nickname.
--
(With Naruto)
Naruto approached the foggy city gates. On the gates, with thick black ink was etched the symbol for Sound.
'Welcome to Sound, Kyuubi.'
'You're insane, if you get caught here you'll be executed. Or worse, molested by that freak.'
'Relax fox. They're still fighting the war, so security will be light. Also, this is just a temporary hideout, just until Orochimaru returns.'
'Still doesn't change the fact that you're insane.'
'Yeah, that may not be as bad as you make it sound.'
Naruto quickly slipped past the guards, sure enough security was really lacking in the village.
'Hey kit how are you going to find the hidden village anyway? I know you've been here with Jiraiya before, but you never got past the city did you?'
'Don't worry about that, when I first fought Orochimaru during the chuunin exams, I had placed a clone on one of the four Sound ninjas. I've kept it active, to collect information on Orochimaru. I'll just dispel it.'
'You kept it active this long?'
'Yeah, I set aside a portion of my chakra specifically for it.'
'Ah, your chakra control must be through the roof by now in that case.'
'Yeah.'
Naruto ordered the ancient clone to disappear. A huge wave of information hit him suddenly, his brain was still recoiling. After another couple of seconds, Naruto straightened up again.
'Ouch.'
'What else did you expect? It's been months. So what did you learn?'
'I know the location of the village. Also, out of the four ninjas, Shikamaru fought the red head chick.'
'I bet that smart-ass got his ass kicked!'
'No, apparently he managed to defeat her. She's also the only one from those four sound ninjas left alive. She's being held for interrogation or something.'
'Khe, the kid got lucky.'
Naruto sighed, the fox hated Shikamaru because the boy was smarter than it. The blonde quickly turned right and continued to walk towards the hidden village.
--
(Konoha Camp, night time)
Shikamaru sat around the camp fire that his team had set up. He wasn't part of Asuma's team technically, but until the war was over no one would have time to assign him his own students.
Rock Lee had told him and Chouji everything that Naruto had said. The Nara was shocked that Naruto had left, it was something that even he couldn't have possibly predicted.
Rock Lee had given Gaara the message as well. Gaara had personally apologized to Rock Lee, who accepted the apology. Gaara swore not to talk to anyone about Naruto's location or plans.
Sarutobi and Tsunade were in deep conversation. They were talking about Naruto's situation and future missions for the Yoinokuchi. The Akatsuki already had five of nine tailed beasts. It was essential that the remaining four were protected. However, the most powerful one amongst them was currently running lose, Naruto.
"We also need to find a person to replace Jiraiya.", said Sarutobi.
"Yeah.", replied Tsunade sadly.
"Also, who is going to be the next toad sannin and spy network head?", asked Sarutobi.
"Naruto is our best bet right now. However he still needs to finish learning the Sage Arts.", stated Tsunade.
Sarutobi sighed, where could Naruto possibly be.
--
(With Kensei)
"Ugh this sucks! We couldn't find Jiraiya in sand, no one told us there was a war and now Jiraiya-chan is dead as well!", shouted Kensei.
"Yes sir.", said Rika.
"Oh and where are we right now Rika-chan? I seem to forget.", asked Kensei.
"We're in Sound. You wanted to kill someone strong, and since Jiraiya-san is dead, you wanted to kill his teammate Orochimaru-san, but…"
"But Jiraiya managed to drag that Orochimaru guy down with him too!", interrupted Kensei.
"I'm sorry sir.", said Rika.
Kensei sighed as he looked at the place around him. "It smells like fox in here."
"Fox?", asked Rika questioningly.
"Yeah, I think I spot a fox.", shouted Kensei as he pointed his umbrella towards a small redhead child.
Naruto heard a man shout something about foxes. He turned around to find Kensei pointing the umbrella in his left hand, towards him. Naruto quickly dropped the henge when he recognized the man.
Kensei laughed, "I was right!"
Naruto took out his tonfa and lunged towards the man. Rika quickly jumped in the way. Naruto saw the woman intercept his route and struggled to stop, but his momentum was too great. He collided with the woman and fell on top of her.
"Ooh, Rika-chan even we haven't done that yet.", said Kensei.
Rika blushed slightly at the man's comment. Naruto quickly jumped off the woman and offered her his hand. "Sorry, I was trying to attack that bastard.", he said pointing at Kensei.
Rika ignored the boy's hand and got up on her own, "Don't call my master that!"
"So why are you here Naruto-chan?", asked Kensei.
"None of your business.", replied Naruto coldly.
"Oh really? I heard your precious sensei got killed?", laughed the man.
In a flash, Naruto had raised his tonfa up, a near invisible wind blade was pressed against the man's neck.
Kensei walked towards the blade, as it cut deeply into his skin. Blood started to pour from the wound.
"Aww is the little boy sad his teacher died?", said the man mockingly.
Naruto resisted the urge to lop off the man's head. The wind around the tonfa died down and Naruto sealed the weapon.
"Goodbye.", said the boy, walking away from the demented man.
"How about I train you Naruto-chan?", shouted Kensei.
Naruto stopped walking and turned around. Hate was clear on his face, "I'd rather die."
"Hehe, I see you've heard some of my stories.", laughed Kensei.
The blonde continued to walk away.
"How about I let you fight me after you're done training?", shouted the man again.
Naruto stopped again, this time he was genuinely interested.
"I seem to have caught you attention Naru-chan. I'll train you and after we're done you can challenge me to a fight.", said the man happily.
"What do you want in return?", asked Naruto.
"I want Kyuubi!"
"Haha, no I was just joking.", said the man when he saw the shocked look on the boy's face.
"So what do you want?", asked Naruto angrily.
"I don't know. I'll have to think of something. So are you ready?", replied the man.
Naruto sighed.
'What do you think?'
'He's dangerous, but he's serious about teaching you. Besides, he could've already killed you if he wanted to.'
'Yeah, but what do you think he wants from me?'
'No idea.'
'Well I guess I've got nothing to lose.'
"Why do you want to train me?", asked Naruto.
"Because I'm bored and you're the only person I know here. Although it's mainly the bored part.", replied Kensei.
Naruto was slightly worried about the man's mental state. "Okay."
"Alright! I'm going to train you till you die!", shouted the man.
--
(With Nemui and Yugito)
"There it is.", said Nemui, pointing at a bridge in front of them.
"Alright, let's….", started off Yugito.
"Haha, not so fast kitty. You stay here.", interrupted Nemui. "I'm assigned to protect you 'Yugito-sama'", added the man sarcastically.
Yugito felt like wringing the man's neck, "Fine get yourself killed, there are eight ANBU there."
"I know.", said the man and disappeared.
Nemui appeared next to one of the guards, he swung his staff downwards killing the man, and then he swung it back up, connecting with a man's chin, cracking his skull. He jumped up and dodged a blade. He landed on top of a man's head.
Two of the ANBU plunged their blades at him. Nemui simply switched places with the man he was standing on. The two ANBU had stabbed their own comrade.
Nemui swung his staff, taking a 360 degrees spin. Both ANBU with their blade stuck in the corpse fell to the ground lifeless. Nemui planted his staff into the ground and went through some hand seals.
"Doton : Iwayado Kuzushi!", he shouted as he placed both palms onto the ground. (Earth Release : Rock Lodging Destruction)
Spikes shot up from the ground and impaled two of the remaining ANBU.
Nemui, palms still on the ground kicked the staff; it soared through the air and connected with the fleeing man's skull.
Nemui stood up straight and held his right hand out, the staff returned to him. He clipped it onto his back and wiped the dust from his shirt.
"You can come out now kitty-sama.", said the man.
Yugito was impressed, and she couldn't hide it. She staggered out of the bush, staring at the man with awe.
"Yeah, I get that a lot too.", said the man with a smile.
Yugito snapped out of it and just frowned at the arrogant man. "Well what now?"
"Now we'll destroy the bridge, I'll go place the exploding seals.", said the man.
Yugito quickly summoned her two tails and laid the bridge to waste in a couple of seconds. "No need.", she said with a smirk.
Nemui looked at her blankly, "Why did you do that?"
"Hmmph, to finish off the job faster of course. This way I saved you some work too, next time try and be faster.", explained the girl in an equally arrogant tone.
Nemui pointed to the opposite side of the now destroyed bridge, "We have to get back to that side…"
"Oh..", said Yugito sheepishly.
"Good job kitty-sama.", said the man.
"Hey what's with all those nicknames?", asked the woman angrily.
"Trying to find the most suitable one. I think kitty-sama it will be. What do you think kitty-sama?", asked Nemui.
However before the girl could speak, Nemui had picked her up. The man started to run towards the cliff, pumping chakra to his legs, and with a mighty roar, he leaped.
"Nooooooo we're going to die!", shouted Yugito.
--
(With Kensei)
"So where exactly is your base?", asked Naruto.
"We don't have a base. We're nomads in a way.", answered the woman, Rika.
"Okay this is a good place to begin!", shouted Kensei.
Naruto looked around, "We're in the middle of the city. Won't we get discovered?"
"Hehe, that's your problem. Use a genjutsu or something if you want.", said Kensei happily.
"Is that why you look so young?", asked Naruto.
"Nope."
"Then why aren't you old?"
"Can't tell you."
"How about you tell me why you and Jiraiya had a falling out?"
"Ah you're a very talkative boy. I'll tell you all that if you can manage to finish my training."
"Alright.", said Naruto. He quickly gathered chakra to make a disguise for himself, but was interrupted by a kunai flying past him. Naruto dodged to the side.
Kensei had his left hand held up; the umbrella was floating in the air above him. The man threw another couple of kunai at the boy.
Naruto dodged them all, "Hey, let me do the genjutsu first!"
"I'm not telling you to stop little boy.", said the man as he threw another set of kunai.
Naruto dodged the first two and then ducked as the third one went over him. Kensei saw this and quickly threw another at the blonde. His hand seemed to blue, the motion was too fast to be caught by the naked eye.
Naruto didn't even know what had happened, he had just ducked and now there was a kunai sticking out from his chest, it had pierced his heart.
Naruto lay on the floor quivering.
"Haha stuuupid boy. It's just a genjutsu.", shouted the man.
Naruto flared his chakra and the kunai was gone. "B-but how? I didn't even feel your chakra!"
"Heh, do you see a weapons pouch anywhere on me?", said the man.
"No.."
"Exactly, all of them were genjutsu."
"But they felt so real. The last one even hurt!"
"Yeah well if your mind thinks it's real, it is. That's your first weakness, genjutsu. So your first lesson will be breathing.", said the man.
"Breathing?", asked Naruto confused.
"You heard me, you're going to learn how to breathe!"
"But I sorta already know how to…", said the boy slowly, treating the man like a five year old.
Kensei smiled and shot his hand forward, stabbing the boy. He pushed deeper until his hand was wrapped around the boy's heart.
Naruto couldn't fathom what the insane man was doing; he coughed, struggling to breathe. Blood filled his wind pipe and started to pour from his mouth.
"So, tell me Naru-chan. Is this real or is it a genjutsu? And tell me when you can breathe again.", said Kensei.
Naruto coughed again, the blood loss was making him dizzy. He soon passed out. Kensei was standing with his hands folded, his left one at least. He waved the hand slightly and the wound in Naruto's chest disappeared.
He started to walk away, swinging his umbrella around pointing at random things.
Rika quickly picked up the unconscious boy and carried him behind her master.
--
(Sound village, early morning)
Naruto woke up with a start as he felt something hit his chest repeatedly. He opened his eyes and saw Kensei stamping his leg on him.
"Oi, get up! Get up. Get up. Oi. Get up.", chanted the man.
"I'm up!", shouted Naruto as he rolled away from the man's leg. He looked around to see himself lying in the middle of a street. It was early morning, the first rays of the sun had just managed to break past the clouds.
"Ugh, you let me sleep in the street?", asked the boy.
"I dunno.", replied the man.
'Crazy bastard', Naruto thought to himself.
"Yes I am.", said the man with a grin.
Naruto went rigid, had he just read his mind?
"Anyway, let's get back to training.", said the man.
Naruto thought back to what training they had done the day before. His eyes widened as he realized what the man was going to do. He tried to get up, but found the umbrella inches deep in his chest.
'Shit not again.', thought the boy. Naruto knew that it was a genjutsu, but the glint of madness in Kensei's eyes kept telling him otherwise.
"Don't faint on me again blondie. This is a genjutsu for your information, 100 fake.", said the man.
Naruto heard him but still couldn't dispel the illusion. He couldn't breathe, the pressure building inside him. He realized just how important breathing was, and how he had been taking it for granted.
He coughed and wheezed, begging for release from the torturous world.
Kensei waved his hand and the genjutsu was dispersed. "Well I guess you lasted longer, though you still can't breathe at all. Pitiful, I would've done something like this on the first try itself."
Naruto panted heavily, inhaling all the precious oxygen around him. His lungs cried with pleasure as they inflated again.
He fell back to the floor, looking up at the sky. He saw the sky darken as Kensei's face came into view. The man lifted his umbrella up and brought it down straight for the boy.
Naruto rolled away from the attack, 'Holy shit!'
"No time to rest, you're five days behind schedule.", said Kensei.
"Five days? How's that possible?", asked Naruto.
"Cause, I found you five days later than I planned to.", said Kensei happily.
'Kyuubi I'm going to be killed…', thought Naruto.
'Haha, I know.'
--
(Konoha)
The Sound ninja had decided to retreat. With no route left for the re-enforcements to arrive and decreasing amount of provision, it was the only option available.
They had left during the early hours of the morning, and seeing them retreat the other villages too had started their journey back home.
Casualties were high in number, the war was far from over. This four day encounter had nulled all treaties and for the second time in a decade, the shinobi world was in a state of chaos. New treaties and alliances had been formed, the struggle for arms, provisions and soldiers had begun. The war would continue, but with greater vigor.
Tsunade sighed as the Konoha shinobi entered the city once again. They had managed to avoid too many casualties, against a much greater force.
"I hate this, that bastard Danzo managed to screw us even in his death.", the Hokage told Sarutobi.
"Yes, the battle here unfortunately will stir much larger things in the months to come. I can only hope that Naruto is doing better off than we are.", said Sarutobi dejectedly.
Tsunade then reached into her open robe and took out a picture, handing it over to the older man. "That's the message that he left us."
"Ah, Jiraiya's last clue to us.", said the man sadly.
The picture was of a small frog's back. There was a set of numbers arranged in rows and columns, the two ninja had no idea what it mean.
"Do you have any clue as to what this could mean?", asked Tsunade.
"No, I'm sorry I can't decipher it.", said the man, handing the picture back to the blonde woman.
Tsunade snapped her fingers and an ANBU appeared next to her. She handed him the picture. "Take this to the encrypting and coding people, tell them to make this their first priority."
The ANBU bowed and disappeared.
"Do you have any clue of Naruto's whereabouts?", she asked Sarutobi.
"The ANBU have looked for him in Waterfall, Sand, Grass and Lightening, there is still no sign of him. We met one of Jiraiya's informants in Grass. He told us that the boy had come to visit him. Apparently, he's making sure that Jiraiya's network stays active. He's been going around telling them that he's the new head.", answered Sarutobi.
"So then can't we trace him using that?", asked Tsunade.
"No. He's been sending clones all over to do the work for him. He's making sure we can't find by sending decoys to almost every village possible."
"That stupid boy! He's twelve years old, what is he thinking!", shouted the woman.
"Well, he is a twelve year old that's been evading capture from Konoha's finest for two days now.", said Sarutobi with a small grin.
Tsunade sighed, 'I hate this job..'
--
(With Yugito and Nemui)
Nemui landed on the edge of the opposite cliff. Yugito was clutching tightly to the man, afraid she'd fall.
"We're here kitty-sama.", said the man, placing her down on the floor.
Yugito staggered a bit, leaning against a tree for support.
"Well what do we do know?", she asked the man.
"We're going to be heading back to Konoha. I will be told what to do with you once we reach there. So stay close behind me, don't get lost.", said the man as he quickly leapt up to a tree.
"What if I run away?", said Yugito as she followed the man.
"I'm faster.", he said bluntly.
Yugito frowned at the arrogant man once again.
"So which village are you from?", she asked Nemui.
"Can't tell you.", replied the man.
"Why not?", asked the woman irritatedly.
"Ordered not to. Besides what's it to you."
"Just wanted to know the name of the man I'll have killed when I get back to Lightening."
"Heh, won't do much good."
"So you're an ANBU captain?", asked Yugito, noticing the tattoo.
"Was."
"They kicked you out?"
"I left."
"Why?"
"Can't tell you that."
Yugito growled, the man continued to get on her nerves. "So which other jinchuuriki are left?"
"The one-tailed container from Sand, the eight-tailed container from Cloud, you and the nine-tailed container from Konoha."
"Ah yes, I've heard about the nine-tailed one. Apparently it was the Yondaime that imprisoned it, right?"
"Yes. His name is Uzumaki Naruto, he's still a genin."
Yugito snorted, "Ha, I bet I could kick his ass, even with the nine-tailed demon inside him."
"Sure.", replied the man sarcastically.
"What's that supposed to mean?", replied Yugito angrily.
"Well, I've heard that he's easily jounin level. Also, he used to travel with Jiraiya of the Sannin."
"The toad hermit? The one that just died?", she asked curiously.
"Yeah, that's the one."
"Wow, I guess I should meet the kid, see if he can live up to his name."
"Well, that sucks for you kitty-sama. Naruto's just recently gone missing."
"Stop calling me that! And why is he missing?", she houted.
"I don't know. Besides, I've already told you all I'm allowed to."
--
(With Neji and co.)
Neji had managed to snap out of his comatose state a few minutes ago. He was hounded by Ten-ten who had started to show fan-girlish tendencies. Rock Lee had also entered the room, smiling widely at the Hyuuga.
Neji nodded at the boy, a silent 'thank you' for saving him from the crazed Uchiha.
Rock Lee had received a note from Naruto a few seconds earlier. It had arrived on a white colored pigeon. The note asked him about the war, about Neji and about the general conditions of Konoha.
Lee had scribbled down as much as he could on the note and sent it back via the pigeon. He himself didn't know where Naruto was currently, but he planned to honor his promise to the blonde and constantly give him updates about the village.
--
(With Naruto)
Naruto, Kensei and Rika had settled down in a restaurant, taking a break from the laborious day. Naruto was guzzling down bowl after bowl of ramen.
"Thanks for paying Naru-chan.", said Kensei as he bit down on a takoyaki.
"Hmm? Wait…. why am…. I paying?", said the boy between mouthfuls of food.
"You can consider it payment for my training.", replied the man.
"Sorry to inconvenience you.", said Rika timidly, continuing to eat her bowl of ramen, in a civilized manner.
Naruto just sighed as he returned back to his meal. Kensei suddenly shot his hand up and a pigeon fell down on the table, dead.
"Hehe, I love doing that.", said the man. The pigeon disappeared with a poof, a small note was left behind on the table.
"Yeah I know. That's why I used a clone.", said Naruto blankly, picking up the note.
He quickly went over the contents, hiding them from Kensei, who wasn't being discreet about peeking at it.
Naruto nodded to himself happily, Neji had recovered, the sound ninja had decided to retreat.
"Alright! The war's over!", shouted the blonde happily.
"Nope. This is just the calm before the storm.", said Kensei from behind the boy. He was reading the note as well.
Naruto quickly looked around to see the man standing behind him. He covered up the note, waiting for the man to return to his seat.
Once Naruto was sure that he was safe from prying eyes, he finished the rest of the letter. His eyes went wide as he read the last bit again.
"O-Orochimaru's dead!", said the boy happily.
"Yeah, Jiraiya-chan managed to kill him off finally.", replied Kensei.
Naruto smiled, his respect for Jiraiya grew again. "So who's the new Kage? The letter didn't mention it."
"That Uchiha kid is.", said Kensei as he continued to devour the last morsels of his meal.
Naruto shot up, shaking the table slightly. "Sasuke joined Sound? After injuring Chouji and Neji he changed sides too? And now he's the Kage?", shouted the blonde angrily.
Kensei nodded, his mouth was full.
"I'm going to kill that bastard!", shouted the blonde, anger bubbling inside him.
"Yes, that's good. But you can't. The sharingan is mainly used for casting higher level genjutsu to break down a person's constitution. And you suck at dispelling them. Besides that, Orochimaru gave him a cursed seal that amplifies his power.", explained Kensei.
"But isn't Orochimaru dead?", asked the boy.
"The cursed seal isn't a part of Orochimaru. No, it comes from this boy named Jyuugo. Really messed up kid. He's the origins of the seal, so the seal will remain on everyone till he dies. Besides that Orochimaru isn't dead, he isn't one to die that easily."
Naruto fell back in his seat, Orochimaru still wasn't dead. Sasuke was Kage of sound. Everything was going wrong. "Hey, how do you know all this?"
"I keep breaking into the snake's base whenever I feel like killing something.", said the man simply.
Naruto sweat-dropped at the statement. "So how long do I need to train before I can fight Sasuke?"
"You need to train a year before you can beat the Uchiha. But, my training won't be complete for 3 years. So, you can go fight the boy in 3 years. That is, of course if you manage to kill me.", said the man happily.
Naruto nodded, his expression showed his concrete determination, "I will finish the training. I will kill you. Then I will beat some sense into Sasuke. And after that… I'll avenge Jiraiya."
"Hehe, that's quite a plan you got there. In that case let's get started.", shouted the man as he flipped the table. The food went flying, splattering against the walls.
Naruto had his tonfa held up, the right one was blocking Kensei's umbrella, which stuck out from the table between the two males.
Kensei smiled widely, "Alright, genjutsu time!"
--
Yeah, here's chapter eleven. Sorry about the delay, again.
My tooth aches like a… it aches a lot. Wasted two hours waiting for dentist, who didn't show up. So still stuck with a broken tooth.
Anyway, This Velvet Glove by RHCP, Negative Creep by Nirvana and Follow Me by Breaking Benjamin, awesome songs that helped me get over the pain in my mouth.
On another note, I'm finally gonna buy the DMC4 game for PC. (Believe it or not, it has better graphics and maybe some extra added content on the PC! I have a Logitech wireless rumble-pad thingey, so it's gonna be aweeeeesome!)
Once again, hope you enjoyed.
Read and Review. Thanks.
Bye.