I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.


Unsealed

Bolt sidestepped Araya's sword and spun, blocking it then shoving it away and slashing at Araya. Before his sword reached him, Araya's tapped against his side and Bolt stopped. He growled in annoyance, backing away and putting his Chakra Blade away.

"You're doing well," Araya stated. "You can actually hold your own against me decently well. That's a far cry from the chunin exams a day ago."

Bolt sighed and nodded. Araya put his sword away as well and walked away to talk to his siblings and Kawaki walked over.

"You're doing really good," Kawaki stated. "Don't sweat that you're not as good as him. He's been trained for years. You haven't. Hey, where are the snake guy and his student?"

"They're scouting ahead," Bolt stated. "Or training. Not really sure which."

Kawaki nodded just as both stepped into the clearing.

"We're about a mile away," Kabuto stated. "It's clear for now. We should head out."

They all followed as he and Mitsuki lead them back the way the pair had come, and soon, they were in the trees around a hole in the ground, much like the hideout they had found Jugo, Suigetsu, and Karin in.

"You know," Suigetsu spoke up. "I've never actually been in this one."

"Me neither," Karin said.

"I've been in once," Kabuto said. "Orochimaru once told me that this hideout contained all of his greatest chances at fulfilling his life's work."

"What, Mitsuki and his brother are failures?" Suigetsu asked.

"Mitsuki's brother, Log, was," Kabuto nodded. "And Mitsuki has yet to prove to be a success or a failure according to Orochimaru's plans for him. He's likely given up on him."

"So then, what's in there?" Bolt asked.

"I don't know," Kabuto said. "While there, even I was confined to only one wing of the hideout. I doubt it will be lightly guarded though."

"Do you think Sarada is here?" Bolt asked.

"It's possible," Kabuto nodded.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Bolt growled, leaping into the hole, Kawaki and Mitsuki just behind him.

"He really is just like Naruto," Kabuto sighed. "We should make sure he doesn't get himself killed."

Sakura nodded and the others all leapt in after Bolt, landing in a large open and very dark room. Mitsuki, Kabuto, Suigetsu, and Karin all formed glowing spheres of chakra and the room was illuminated instantly, making their jaws drop open. One one side of the room, there were piles upon piles of scrolls and several racks of weapons. To the other side, were eight large stasis pods. Two were shattered with small masses of deformed flesh lying in the bottom. Two had what looked like a starved hairless monkey floating in them. Two had men floating in them, both men looking to be unusual only because one had skin made from stone and the other from wood. The last two tanks were the most concerning. One had a snake in it that looked exactly like the one Bolt had driven off with a Rasengan to the eye, except a smaller version, this one coiled up in the floor-to-ceiling tank, still standing all the way to the ceiling but seeming frozen. The last tank, was shattered with a tail of the fluid from the tank leaving the room and heading out a passage on the wall beside it.

"Um...so, should we follow the trail?" Bolt asked.

"That path only leads to the barracks," Kabuto said. "We can investigate that later. Bolt, leave some clones to read those scrolls."

Bolt created three and Kabuto created one of his own, who created a ball of light for them. Then, the real Kabuto led them down the other path. After a few minutes, they reached a fork and Kabuto stopped.

"This hideout is very immense," Kabuto stated. "To the right is the wing I have seen. To the left, I don't know."

"I'm going left," Bolt said. "You go right."

Kabuto nodded and began to walk down the right path, taking Mitsuki, Mirai, Inojin, Chocho, and Suigetsu with him. Bolt started down the other path with the rest and soon they came to a long hallway with dozens of doors on both sides.

"How big is this place?" Bolt breathed.

"He said immense," Shikadai stated. "We should get checking."

Bolt nodded and they all began to run from room to room, opening the doors, checking the rooms, and then moving on to the next. The rooms were all devoid of life, and contained random decorations, it seemed. One was a snake-themed bedroom. Another, an old-fashioned martial arts dojo. A third, was an indoor hot spring. Finally, they reached the last two doors of the hallway. Bolt opened one to find a set of stairs leading down. Kawaki opened the other to find a scroll on a pedestal, with a single shaft of light illuminating it and a glowing seal under it.

"Obviously a trap," Sakura said. "Tempting scroll though."

Kawaki nodded and walked to the edge of the seal, spinning his staff twice then slamming it down. A small purple seal spread from where his staff met the ground, then the large seal under the scroll shone purple for a moment before fading. Kawaki picked up the scroll and walked over, grinning.

"Got it," Kawaki smirked. "Should we read it now or later?"

"Now," Bolt said.

He took hold of one side of the scroll and Kawaki the other, unrolling it. Inside was the depiction of a strange seal, and an explanation that made no sense to either, something about Sage Chakra and Nature Energy and jutsus, but it was difficult to read in the messy hand writing.

"You understanding any of this?" Kawaki asked.

"Nope," Bolt said.

"Shame," Kawaki sighed, rolling the scroll back up. "Well, on to the next floor."

Bolt stored the scroll in his tool pouch then started down the stairs after Kawaki. As they reached the bottom, they entered another large room. However, this one was mostly empty besides one stasis tank in the center. In it, floated a body.

"Oh my God!" Sakura gasped. "It's Neji!"

"Neji?" Bolt blinked. "Like, my mom's cousin who died in the war?"

"Yes," Sakura nodded, walking forward, staring at the corpse.

"This stasis tank is filled with Nature Energy," Jugo noted, hand resting against the tank.

"It's an old theory," Kabuto spoke up from behind them.

They turned as the others entered the room, Mitsuki shaking his head at Bolt.

"What theory?" Sakura asked.

"Nature Energy has very special abilities," Kabuto stated. "One such ability is that it tends to break any seal it comes into contact with. Some instantly, other with enough exposure. Orochimaru theorized that even the dreaded cursed seal of the Hyuga Clan could be broken, given enough time."

"You mean, he wanted to unseal Neji's Byakugan and steal them?" Sakura gasped.

"I believe so, yes," Kabuto nodded. "However, the amount of time it would take to undo the seal after death was too much to bother considering, or so Orochimaru said. As well as he never had a way to generate enough Nature Energy to test the theory."

"Then where is he getting all of this?" Jugo asked.

"I don't know," Kabuto admitted. "It's coming from below us, though."

"We should get Neji out of there," Sakura said. "We can seal him in a scroll. His body should be returned to the Hyuga Clan for a proper burial after all this time."

Kabuto nodded in agreement and jumped up onto the top of the tank, opening a hatch and reaching his snake into the tank. He instantly transformed into his Sage Mode, but ignored it, lifting Neji out of the tank and setting him down on the ground.

"Sakura, seal him," Kabuto said.

Just as she rolled out a scroll, a green curse mark appeared on his forehead, then shone and faded. Sakura blinked and looked up at Kabuto.

"It's undone," Kabuto said. "His Byakugan are unsealed."

Sakura quickly sealed him and stored the scroll then stood.

"Let's continue," Sakura said.

"Sarada's not here," Karin spoke up.

"No," Sakura said. "But there may be something else useful here. Something to tell us where she is."


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