Chapter 14: Essences
After she had mentioned her full name, there was a blurry of emotions. While some stared at her in astonishment, the blond woman was furious. She screamed, stomped her small foot on the ground to a point where the ground shook with her might. Tendrils of web-like cracks slithered up the walls.
Chinatsu gasped in fright, jumped to her feet and darted towards Kitty for safety.
Tsunade hissed in irritation, raking five red-tipped fingernails through her scalp as new information processed through her head.
This was something too grand; it was so grand that the elders of the village including the daimyo is required his presence, and it was required immediately. There had been some doubts that what the bijuu had mentioned could be lies, but the tailed demons have lived on longer than humans. What would the point of the information be if it were lies? Demons held no greed as humans would.
"Call the council and the elders," Tsunade snapped.
One ANBU saluted before disappearing.
Her honey-colored eyes turned towards Chinatsu, narrowing as she watched the wary woman pet the two-tails as if it were a normal house cat.
It was then when Tsunade noticed something odd about Chinatsu.
"How does she have chakra?" Tsunade questioned, coming close to the woman with furrowed brows. "It can't be possible. Half a year ago, she had no chakra whatsoever, and now, out of the blue, she does? Which brings it to another question: if she was did, hypothetically, time-jump, why did she not have chakra in the beginning?"
Matatabi purred lowly for Chinatsu's comfort. "As I had said, she came from the beginning of time…"
It was a time of desolation and hunger.
The beginning of the world was not of those who imagined it with a religious base. The beginning of the world was introduced with destruction. There was no greenery, no vital life. It was passed on in historical books that the world was a barren wasteland. Humans have fought hard, dreadfully hard, to work along with Mother Earth and have her produce her children water, food, and shelter. The Wise Woman, the elder of that time, and even now, provided her assistance.
People looked within themselves spiritually, continuing to raise plants from dry dirt until they discovered untapped power: chakra.
As time passed, humans continued to withdraw from this chakra, using it to feed and nurture the earth they wanted to preserve for the future generation. And they succeeded in it when the help of the Wise Woman was given freely.
Soon enough, the earth produced plentiful and bountiful, and thus the Five Great Shinobi Nations were created.
"How was she summoned to this time?"
Matatabi shook his head. "We don't know."
Yamato glanced at Kakashi who was in deep thought. "Then why Kakashi's house? Why was she summoned to his house deliberately? Was there a plan Madara wanted to use, including Kakashi?"
"I highly doubt it." Matatabi yawned. "She must've grown up in the exact same spot he does, despite the whole centuries in between. Haven't you realized she never had any difficulty adapting with the environment and weather of your precious Konohagakure? Usually tourists, especially merchants, complain and compare about the weather to their hometown. But she didn't need no adjusting."
"If she was from the time of the Wise Woman, why did I see a house? From what I've learned, in the beginning of time people lived in huts." Kakashi said, remembering the images of her very fancy house before she transferred here.
Matatabi rolled his eyes. "I am a demon, not a god. I don't know everything."
"Do you know why was she brought here?" Yamato asked, confused by the information invading his brain. "Or what's her purpose to Uchiha Madara?"
Shukaku shrugged his tiny beige shoulder.
"We, unfortunately, don't know." Matatabi gazed down at the worried woman who continued to concentrate on petting his blue fur. "We know who she is, but we don't know what she is intended to be used for. The tailed beasts are merely attracted to her. Perhaps, that's the reason why he wants her. Who knows?"
"Tailed beasts?" Kakashi questioned, crossing his arms over his chest. "Are you saying that all the tailed demons will be coming for her?"
"All of them!" Shukaku cackled.
Tsunade frowned. "That's why Naruto was so adamant to protecting her during the interrogation despite never meeting her."
"But he's like that with everyone!" Yamato protested.
"Kyuubi usually isn't so keen to meeting new people," Kakashi informed, scratching the back of his head. "But during the interrogation, it threatened to break free. It's all the information we need to be sure that the other demons will be coming for Chinatsu."
A shudder ran over Jiraiya's body at the thought of Konohagakure surrounded by all the beasts. "But why? Why do they feel this need to be with her? The only person who had control of all the tailed demons was-"
"Senju Hashirama."
Everybody in the room, including Chinatsu turned towards the double-entranced door. There, standing in shell frozen shock were the two elders. Koharu gasped, whereas Homura staggered back with the intensity of the shock roiling through his old feeble body. The original thought to berate the Hokage, ANBUs and Jounin instructors about releasing the two bijuus dissipated as they felt a specific chakra signature that shouldn't exist at this time.
Overcoming her shock quickly, Koharu snarled, "What devilry is this?"
Chinatsu blinked, grasping the fur of Kitty's fur tightly when the old woman wobbled towards her with an almost desperate-looking gait. Before the old woman had a chance to come within a feet of Chinatsu, a tower of blue fur blocked her vision.
"I will not allow you to come near my ward," Matatabi flashed his fangs.
Koharu was not perturbed. "I have sealed demons before, cat, and I can do it again just as easily," she hissed at the two-tails. Ignoring the growling from the demon cat, Koharu turned towards the Hokage. "Now answer me, why does the woman have chakra?"
"We were in the process of figuring out the answer," Tsunade said drolly, turning away from the elder to sit on a chair. She sighed wearily, threading a hand through her hair as a migraine fought for the victory of war.
"Okay, ignore the fact that the woman has chakra," Homura sneered. "I want to know why the woman has Senju Hashirama's exact chakra."
Silence, there was pure silence.
Kakashi frowned, looking at Chinatsu with an inquisitive eye. Her chakra was awkward, like a new baby gazelle's first steps. When he had met her in the flesh, she had no chakra whatsoever. And now, after the attack of Akatsuki, her chakra suddenly came to existence. As he continued to watch her, a small glint at the base of her neck caught his attention.
Chinatsu's head jerked up when she noticed Kakashi standing before her. She stared up at him in fright, her hand reaching around to grip at Kitty's fur for sanctuary. When his hand came up to her chest, she squeaked and shut her eyes.
"Isn't this your necklace, Hokage-sama?"
Tsunade looked towards Kakashi to see him holding up the base of the necklace around Chinatsu's neck. The familiar glint of the turquoise stone made her heart stop. "But," she said, her hand whipping to her absent neck. "I gave Naruto my necklace. He would never remove it…"
The Hokage of Konohagakure stood up and walked towards Kakashi, her eyes entranced by the stone. She took it from his hand and gazed down at it upon her open palm.
Recognizable chakra emaciating from the stone toiled through her, but they were much stronger. Tsunade gasped and released the necklace, stepping back.
It was exactly like hers, but it wasn't hers.
"Do you believe in reincarnation?"
Matatabi's soft-spoken voice sliced through Tsunade's hazy mind. "What of it?" she asked softly, turning to the cat demon.
Homura, who had stood quietly from the sidelines, nodded gravely as he caught on to Matatabi's words. "There's no other explanation."
His old teammate turned towards him swiftly. "What are you saying? That this is Senju Hashirama? That's a mockery! That's a joke!" Koharu laughed emotionlessly, shaking her head from side to side with nervousness. "It can't be true, it can't! And if it was, Hashirama's soul would be in a child's body by now!"
"…Only if he was the reincarnation of Chinatsu. That's why her chakra was so familiar…"
"Homura, it can't be!"
"Look at her. Her soul is the very same as Senju Hashirama's, but in a much more feminine aura. Koharu, you can feel it. Look! She has the same brown hair and eyes as he does!"
"Everyone has brown hair and eyes! That doesn't disclose to anything!"
"The tree! Didn't you see the size of that tree she created from absolutely nothing?"
"That somewhat explains Madara's want for her. Is it revenge? Or does he merely want to use her?"
Chinatsu's eyes drooped down. The excitement of today was getting to her. She sleepily looked up at Kitty whose fur was standing on the edge, hackles up and ready in case of an attack. Chinatsu yawned, her vision blurring with said tears. Though she very much would like to fall asleep, at the moment it was a bad idea. Everyone's face was stressful, yelling and snapping irritably as if they were debating about politics or religion. Chinatsu just wanted to sleep and never wake up.
She looked away from Kitty to see Yamato staring at her. Her brown eyes quickly averted and saw the blond woman, who was at the top of the food chain, silencing everyone with a snarl.
"Enough!" Tsunade snapped, glaring at everyone in the room. Her head tilted to her ANBUs, and with a slight jerk of her chin, they disappeared, leaving Kakashi, Yamato, Jiraiya, the two elders and Tsunade alone in the room with Chinatsu and her two demons.
Tsunade turned away from everybody. There was a tick-tock vein throbbing at her temple, threatening to burst like a dam as she sought for her chair. Once she sat upon it, she sighed and looked at everyone with narrowed eyes.
"This will be taken to the Wise Woman."
Jiriaya blinked, glancing at everyone's confused faces before regarding to his teammate. "Tsunade, what are you talking about?"
Tsunade turned her chair, swirling it till it was facing the window. "We will take this case to the Wise Woman."
Before anyone could say anything, she held up a hand.
"There was a rumor that the Wise Woman was a part of the Senju clan, the head leader, at the start of time. When she refused to leave the mountains, she passed on the head of the clan to another man. Because of this rumor, it was recorded in some of my ancestor's old diaries her whereabouts. It doesn't have specific coordinates, but there's a possibility that the Wise Woman resides in Sunagakure." Tsunade leaned back against her leather chair, bringing her elbows to the rest and lacing her fingers together. "I will assemble a team and they will go to the Wise Woman on my behalf. We need to determine whether or not if Chinatsu is of the Senju clan, and if she is, we will need her advice."
For once, the elders didn't argue with the Princess of Konohagakure. "Who will you be assigning to the team? Orochimaru and Akatsuki are after the girl, it won't be a safe journey."
Tsunade sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I will take two days to create the team, until then Chinatsu is to be under constant watch. I want twenty four-seven surveillance on her. And she will no longer be under Yamato's care."
"Hokage-sama-!" Yamato protested.
"No, it is not safe." Tsunade said. "I don't know if, though still impossible, the chakra of Senju Hashirama in Chinatsu will disturb the DNA of the Shodaime in your body. She will be looked after by ANBU specialists."
Jiraiya frowned. "Who are you thinking of?"
The Hokage pursed her lips, her eyes crinkling as she roamed through her mind for a couple ANBUs. "It will be my own personal body guards."
"But, they're the best of the best! You need them!" Koharu said, disagreeing with Tsunade.
"At the moment, Chinatsu is more important than me. She can control the tailed beasts and is targeted by dangerous people. Whereas she doesn't have any talent in the fighting field, I do. I have a better chance of defending myself than her. I want Chinatsu guarded at all times." Tsunade cleared her throat, sitting up straighter in her seat. "I will find another group of ANBUs for myself, but for now, they are to be transferred to Chinatsu's care."
"On top of that, I want Chinatsu to start training." Almond-colored eyes turned to Kakashi. "Kakashi, you and Yamato will be training her. I want her to be able to learn the basics of genins by the end of this week."
Kakashi nodded, holding Yamato back as he tried to throw in some words of his own. "Hokage-sama, with all do respect, I don't think Chinatsu will be able to learn it all."
"Try."
It wasn't going to be an easy task, but it was a necessary one. Tsunade knew that it was tough to get a teenager, an adult to start on the road of a ninja. It wasn't impossible, but it was a rough road; after all, old dogs can't learn new tricks.
She sighed heavily, frowning at the two bijous. "I'm assuming if I even mention the thought of separating you two, you will not listen."
Matatabi yawned, revealing long ivory fangs. "You stand correct."
"Then you two are to stay within the size of house-sized pets at all times. I will not tolerate you two growing any larger and scaring the village. We have enough to deal with and the both of you included doesn't make it any simpler." Tsunade turned to Chinatsu. "Chinatsu will be staying…" Tsunade paused, narrowing her eyes in thought. "She will be given a room in this building. If she's in the heart of the village, it'll be harder for anyone to get to her, especially with the many ANBUs at station here, including me."
One drawer opened and a folder came out. Tsunade flipped the folder open and started jotting down notes of the whole fiasco. "Kakashi, Yamato, you two will be in on the mission to visit the Wise Woman. And though you two are included, Team Seven is not, understood?"
"Hai." Yamato nodded.
Kakashi cleared his throat. "About that Hokage, after the attack on the village, we have someone missing."
Tsunade's head jerked up. "Who?"
"Uchiha Sasuke."
The anger and frustration going through Tsunade was very much toiling through Kakashi. She wanted to smash the little twerp's head to kingdom come. She should've known that the child would escape with Orochimaru at the given chance. Why hadn't she thought about placing guards on him? She was such a fool!
Shaking her head, Tsunade merely added the new information to the folder.
"Homura and myself will be taking her learning sessions. It seems as if her current instructor isn't fairing so well on having her learn fast." Koharu commented.
Jiraiya tilted his head to the right. "From what I've heard, Iruka-sensei had just started recently."
"It matters not. It's far too slow." Koharu turned away from the group. "When she isn't training, she is learning unless eating or sleeping. Do send her straight to the tower when you are finished with her, Hatake-san." And with those words, both elders left the room, allowing the ANBUs to reenter.
Chinatsu was falling asleep. She heard the commotion, the arguing, and the departing, but she was too tired to care. How long has it been? What times was it?
Lights still played outside the window. There were birds chirping, wind blowing, and sun shining, but she was honestly exhausted. Chinatsu pondered on the thought of wondering how long she was stuck in the tree, but didn't think too much of it. There was a headache already pulsing at her temple, she didn't need questions invading her mind.
She leaned against Kitty, allowing the purr to settle her panicking heart.
"Chinatsu…"
"Chinatsu…!"
"Chinatsu!"
Chinatsu yelped, pulling away from Kitty and swerved to see Tsunade's face right up against hers. She squeaked, her face turning into a color of furious red before staggering back. "I'm sorry!"
The woman leaned away from her and gestured to the five masked men and women behind her. "These are to be your bodyguards. You will not be allowed any place without them. You," Tsunade stressed. "You and them. Good."
"…Good?" Chinatsu said.
Tsunade nodded. She turned to Matatabi and gestured towards the double door. "My personal guards will show you the way to your room. Everybody else, leave, excluding, you, Jiraiya. I must speak with you." Tsunade turned to look out the window.
Chinatsu attempted to leave with Yamato only to have him shake his head solemnly. He grabbed her hesitantly by the shoulders and pointed to the four masked people off to the side. "You are going with them," he said quietly, pushing her towards them. When she tried to dig her heels into the ground to stop Yamato from pushing her, he swatted her head.
"Ouch!" she cried, rubbing her head. "What was that for?"
"Go with them." Yamato released her, and Kitty followed suit into pushing Chinatsu towards the others.
"Kitty, I wanna go with Yamato!" Chinatsu said frustratingly, shoving against the big heap of a cat. But the demon refused, merely pushing her as if she was his own kitten and guiding her to the ANBUs whom saluted the woman before turning away to lead them to their room within the compound. Chinatsu panicked, waving her head in an attempt for Yamato to come and get her. "Ya-yamato!"
Yamato sighed and walked towards Chinatsu. He patted her head, rolling his eyes when she glomped him. "It's okay, don't be scared."
"What are you doing? Why are we being separated! I wanna go home! I don't want to be here!"
"Don't be scared."
Chinatsu gazed up at him, teary eyes frowning in confusion. "…Obie…obierukoto…?"
Yamato nodded, smiling gently. "It's alright, don't be scared."
"…D-don't…be…scared," Chinatsu repeated, tightening her arms around Yamato. She ignored him as he patted her head, repeating the words under her breath. Her eyes lulled, feeling the heaviness of sleep draping down upon her body like a blanket. Unconsciously, she leaned against Yamato, snoring already as he rolled his eyes.
"About time the jutsus start affecting her."
Kakashi watched as Yamato heaved Chinatsu's body over Matatabi's form. "Did you…?"
Yamato nodded. "I did put her to sleep, else she would've continued fighting against the Hokage's demand. Chinatsu is very stubborn."
"Like every other woman," Jiraiya snorted.
"GET OUT OF MY OFFICE!" Tsunade roared.
And in an instant everyone disappeared with the exception of her very unlucky teammate.
Jiraiya stood there, twiddling his thumbs nervously until he caught himself. He didn't do anything wrong for Christ sakes! Why the hell was he…so anxious? Jiraiya sighed, puffing out his chest before approaching the deadliest woman in existence. "Tsunade-"
"How the hell did she get it?" Tsunade whispered, sitting down upon the chair of her office with a concentrated look. "How?"
"Who?"
"That girl…. Chinatsu. How did she get the ability to do that?"
Jiriaya carefully approached Tsunade, walking around her desk and laid a hand upon her shoulder in silent comfort. "What is it? What does Chinatsu have?"
Tsunade sighed, cracked her neck and leaned back against her chair. "She inherited the ability, which had…has skipped many, many generations of the Senju clan…"
"…to control the tailed beasts."
I've been fighting a bug all day. And it doesn't help that the weather is as hot as can be. UGH. If there are mistakes in this chapter, I'm sorry! The chapter would've been longer but this headache has been killing me for days! :c
Thank you for reviewing! Hopefully, I'll have something out sooner and longer!
HelKat nevvy Hime-Sayu TalaxVampirella Aiko Tachibana Brooklyn-nyc Riialuvsanime summersrevenge Thomas Drovin Eternal Cat Moon FEARFLUFFY dizzydani666 kid23jk7 Undertaker's Hattress RandomCitizen Oluhasuu bestfriend1245 invisible-gurl
AngelicWinter – Haha, I won't stop writing the story at all! I can promise you that! (: I'm glad you've taken an interest in the story and hope you stick around till the end!
Ochibi911 – Thank you! I'm doing hard to make this story come out great! I'm glad everyone is enjoying it! ;D
Guest – Here's the next chapter!~ (: