I don't own Naruto or any other manga, movie, book whos' contets may appear in this fiction. You hear that?! I ain't going down without a fight.
I'll be writing this longer than originally planned, stick with me if you are patient enough.
A Blade In The Mist, Chapter Seven- Bijuu
At first, Naruto didn't know what to think of the situation he was in. It sure was weir to be dead, seeing that he could neither open his eyes, neither feel anything around him than the softness of a soft 'something' almost surrounding him. He couldn't move any of his limbs, he could barely believe he wasn't juts crazy and that thing was so soft compare to the hard roots he had summoned to capture the swordsman and eventually served as a an improvised bed. He could not remember when he became unconscious, all he knew was that he was sort of awake for about five or six minutes. An almost in-human effort later and he opened both his eyelids and he regretted as his retina was not constricted enough to handle all that light.
It took him a minute or two but he manage to adjust his eyes just enough to see some of the surrounding area. As he suspected he had been placed in a bed, a very soft one that is, he never liked that. Back in the Root HQ he insisted on having a solid mattress and when he trained with Sai he choose the rockiest locations for his sleeping bag. Sleeping on a hard surface kept him vigilant, a discovery he had made years ago when he was still in the orphanage and his roommate Yoshi played annoying pranks on him in the dead of night. Not that he didn't do the same.
And then he remembered the fact that he hadn't seen Yoshi since he was taken in by the Danzou and found his strange powers. The people at the orphanage must have searched for him for hours, knowing that it was October 10th and he may be in danger. And another of Sais' stupid lectures came to his mind from the realm of the past.
"We, Naruto-kun are part of a secret military faction that a selected few know about, the Root ANBU."
"What is ANBU, and what is the Root? Is it like a different village or something?"
"No, no, the ANBU are an order within the Hidden Leaf formed of elite ninja that do extremely dangerous missions on a regular basis. The Root division has the job of dealing with external threats, as possible invasions or assassination attempts on a Leaf citizen."
"Cool."
"Our identies are kept a secret, we exist underground supporting the great tree that is Konoha. We use fake names in joint missions with other ninja than our own and we are under the direct command of the Hokage like rest of the Special Tactics and Assassination Squad."
"Are we really a secret? I mean aren't there any people who sees us without a mask, like when we are born. Or the people from the orphanage that looked after me ?"
"Your disappearance has been covered. We used the story that you died in an accident, we began a fake investigation, we planted fake clues which show that an old building collapsed with you in it. Most of the Hidden Leaf and the shinobi world think you dead, only high-ups were told the thruth."
For some reason, the blond felt uncomfortable. He was strangely afraid of this whole thing and could not understand. It was all for his own good, right?
Returning thoughts back to the main issue there. So the mattress was soft, meaning they would try to break him in a sneaky way, pretending to be his friends and treating him nicely. He open to them because he would feel he could trust them. ' But they wont't get me with that'
The room he was in right now was no larger than 3/3/2 meters and contained what looked like an office with lots of papers and writing tools it. A small, wooden table held a few books on it and there was a small stove with an improvised chimney. Two windows filled the room with light, both near to the desk. He would probably try to get up and explore his surroundings but as he tried to move all his muscles protested, sending waves of pain to his brain. He was either tired, either constrained by a very complex genjutsu. Damn interrogators!
"I wouldn't move if I were you kid, your body is weakened by the chakra you used back there." A man with a short, stuffed, with beard and hair to match it came into the shack, for lack of a better term. He wore greenish robes and a warm smile brightened his face." You were in a coma when I found you, stuck in a bunch of roots."
"Oh, really" he grinned, afraid of what the man might say next.
"Yes. And strangely, your chakra was flowing through them. I only know one man that could do that and he's dead. He's been like that for half an century."
"Wait a minute, how do you know what chakra is, old-man, are you from Hidden Mist?"
"No, not quite. Though I was once part of it. Right now I'm considered dead by my former comrades."
"Why?" he forgot all about an interrogation as he sensed he had hit a sensible spot.
"Let's just say the Bloody Mist isn't what it was before."
"Wasn't it Hidden Mist?"
"You're too young to know that, but you will someday. I won't tell you. Back to where we were, how were you able to summon those roots Uzumaki-kun?"
"Damn! Does every ninja in the world know me? I'm DEAD, WHAT THE HELL?"
"Apparently, you're not" he said with a smile." Some of us bother to read every edition of the Bingo Book and some are very careful with details. You were careless to loose your mask." This sparked a rather slow chain of thoughts in Naruto's minds, ending with a shocked statement." Where is my comrade and the old man?"
"Who? I didn't see anyone near you except the Swordsman, and he was dead. Another awkward thing, but please answer my question."
"It's a Bloodline Limit, nothing to be said."
"Are you related to the Senjuu?"
"Who?"
"I thought so, no one remembers the old days anymore. Maybe one did live to this day, although you don't look like a Koichi either. So who are you?"
"Why should I answer? For all I know you're my enemy and want to extract info from me."
"I treated your wounds so it's only fair that I know who I housed."
"I'm an Uzumaki, I've got no clan, I've got no relatives at all, I was always alone. I have this bloodline from my deceased parents, whoever they were." He was starting to get angry, how was he supposed to know about something no one ever told him about.
"Do you know where the Hidden Whirlpool was?"
"What the hell is the Hidden Whirl…thing and what does it have to do with me?!"
"Calm down or your wounds will open again and it'll hurt. A lot. I'm sorry if I was indiscrete but curiosity got the best of me. Hidden Whirlpool was a ninja village, destroyed three decades ago by a huge cataclysm. Uzumaki was a known name there."
"Who where they? Where they strong? Are they still around?"
"I don't know" he stopped the barrage of questions" all that I could dig out was that the died in the tragedy, they were the first to do so, actually but it all stops here."
"Oh…" his face sank into the bed sheets, his hope crushed." Cheer up mate, your still alive. And that means they still exist in you. When you get back to Hidden Leaf, you better ask a girl or two out, you'd put their souls to rest." Then it occurred to him that he was talking to a child under twelve." Then again, better postpone that for now."
"Where are we?"
"In my humble residence, the one I currently own and live in."
"Do you have others? Where are they? And where exactly is this place, I don't remember seeing your shack in my journey."
"You're a pretty inquisitive kid" he eyed the boy suspiciously" And don't give that I'm an ANBU, I most know everything, I'm an elite speech, I'm sick of it. Get some sleep, it'll be getting dark soon anyway. In the morning you'll be able to walk around and see for yourself. It was not an advice, it was an order and he obeyed it without protest, being tired from the brief conversation. The entities in his mind, however, had a debate going on.
"I don't get it, I thought it was a no-risk technique, but still, here I am." Erik said in an annoyed tone." The man assured us it was completely safe for us."
"It seems he was wrong" the other man said" the link never disappeared, and given the nature of the chakra, it's quite normal. I think all of 'them' are connected, so we'll be meeting old friends soon enough. But how could he make such a mistake?"
"He was mistaking me for a weakling and that cost him and you alike." A certain bijuu put his two cents in.
"Aw, shut up fur-ball, you're still in that cage. For now you're fate is he same as ours so keep it shut." Erik was really angry now." It's all your fault anyway, going all berserk and stuff, now ten people are in for a big surprise. We don't know where they are so we can't warn them."
" Such a strong village and still worthless. Thirteen idiots, that's what you were and the biggest one went by the name of…" he stopped his insult as Naruto entered the sewer with a curious gaze." 'sup people?"
"Just a dumb ass talking. Why are you here, you should rest?" As on cue , the Nine-Tails retreated to a distant corner and drifted to sleep, apparently bored by the conversation that was about to start.
"Erik-nii-san, what's the deal with your sword? Does it do any flashy tricks?" The man winced, remembering something really painful that occurred recently.
"Don't let her hear you saying that, you'll regret it. The blasted thing was so damn spoiled by sensei that I've been thinking of throwing it away! Very arrogant and full of herself, you don't know what you got yourself into. As for any powers, well, I never found out, and sensei pulled a fast one on me when I asked him about it."
"Morning Mist doesn't sound so scary, bet I can control her easily." Saizo choked on his drink for a few seconds.
"Did you just say Morning-" his low mumble interrupted before he revealed anything that he should not.
"Shut up, Saizo, he'll figure it out. Be careful never to insult her she'll screw all your control and strategy just like that."
"Nope, still not impressed." He said confident of his superior skills over a two hundred years old sword and a member of the Seven, even a dead but not quite dead one." I can deal with anything cause' I'm" the two repeated in a bored chorus " The great sage, Uzumaki Naruto"
"And don't you forget it!" They rolled their eyes.
"One stupid entry in the bingo-book as a D-CLASS JINCHUURIKI and he's a sage already. Why does the world hate me? Kid, we're both in the Book and with a higher level."
"But were you there when you were six. I'm gonna be the best. Believe it!"
"One more word and you die…Let's get serious here for a second."
"…"
"How much do you know about the Tailed Beasts? Anything at all, even legends about them."
"Dan-jii-san said they are huge ma…ma…- he struggled with the word- masses of chakra of very high frequency, the highest of them all, except the planet itself. They are more like wild beasts, that's the form they take, going all crazy and stuff…Or at least that's what he said but it was more complicated and I fell asleep." He was knocked down by a punch in the head.
"BAKA! As a jinchuuriki you should pay more attention then anybody when learning about bijuu. They are ancestral entities, way older than we can imagine. The amount of wisdom you could acquire is incredible, not to mention the power you would have…"
"Never thought you were a power addict, Saizo-kun." Erik smirked" You were mostly calm and gentle with those around you. Then again, we all have our three hearts and six faces, don't we?"
"Erik, this was the purpose of…"
"BE QUIET!" Both were wide-eyed and apparently agitated as if there was an imminent danger right next to them." You are wrong and 'he' was wrong too."
"Huh, what are you saying? Who is 'he'?"
" I guess you are bound to fin out given your status, better be the ugly truth than a beautiful lie. He is the most evil person ever to walk this realm of mortals. I won't say his name, it would be a sacrilege, even though he passed away." Erik's awareness grew as the blond child looked confused at him and the Leaf Jounin, trying to understand something.
"What's a 'sacrilege?"- smack- smack- " Ow, my head! And what does it have to do with me."
"Everything. You're tired now, go and sleep."
The next day in the man's shack.
The blond Root struggled to his feet, trying to maintain his balance as every nerv his body told him very inappropriate things. The old man watched him with a small smile as he finally stood up only to meet the cold wooden floor.
"Why don't you rest, you've got enough time to walk around later, wouldn't you rather have some breakfast."
"NO! I told you I have a mission and I must complete it…augh! Damn floor."
"Yeah, about a captured Mizukage and a Hyuuga that were accompanying you. I already told he is dead, I found him this morning with severe chakra burns all over his body as well as a few stab wounds. As for a Hyuuuga of the Core Army, it's like he was never there. Right now you should…- AAAA! My head!-… rest and then get back to your lines, you're just a kid, not a Kage."
"But I'm ready, I can do this. I'm an ANBU."
"That status was only meant to protect you, normally you should have stayed in Konoha until you are older. But if you're here I might as well give you a helping hand. Fellow jinchuuriki are hard to find nowdays, very secretive we are."
As if it was an accusation, Naruto pointed at the man with an angry/surprised glare" You're a jinchuuriki too?! Which one do you have?"
"The four tailed Bijuu is my companion, not my property, something you must learn."
"Why? Aren't they evil? Won't they consume us with their evil?"
"You are naïve kid. They merely do what they desire, be it good or bad, and only for fun. For them we are only insects, puppets or, in rare cases, pupils. However, when they are bind to a human host, they consider that person of almost equal status. If you will ask the Fox you will learn all about the Code."
"Zzzzz…some more please….zzzzzz"
"Baka! Pay attention!- smack-"