Unwanted Travelling
Chapter Twenty-One: Information is Rampant
Tsunade sat in her office as the staff outside was in total disarray, scrambling to whatever section they were going to. She had just received a letter from Naruto just a few days after she found out that the Kazekage was missing according to their liaison and sister of the Kazekage, Temari.
"Watch where you're going, flatfoot!"
"Hey, screw you, man!"
"I'M A WOMAN, YOU ASSHOLE!"
"REALLY? I COULDN'T TELL BECAUSE OF THE IRONING BOARD ON YOUR CHEST!"
Tsunade felt like a vein was starting to bulge on the back of her head as she concentrated on the letter that Naruto had given her earlier. The ruckus outside was driving her up the wall and the important letter that Fukasaku had given her hours earlier was something she needed to review and see for herself.
There was no doubt about it, Naruto wrote the letter himself. It was obvious that it was his handwriting. She smiled slightly with pride as she read the letter, Naruto was learning in diplomacy though he still has a long way to go. It was formal, but not overly so. Perhaps she could never remove that part of him, he was raised differently, he learned differently, and unsurprisingly, became unorthodox in his own life because of it.
Perhaps it was his way of handling things; the letter was very reassuring to the Sand Siblings and he was already writing a letter to the Kazekage right now. He was telling the Hokage and the Sand Siblings that there was something wrong going on that catapulted them here, and that the implosion that happened in the training grounds was no mere accident. There was something going on in the other world and he intended to find out just what it was.
Naruto had an inkling suspicion that it wasn't just the Kazekage that was sent in that world. He mentioned to watch out for increased patrols, political envoys and search teams from Lightning Country just to make sure. If anything, he also left a letter to a Kumo messenger just in case.
Tsunade scowled at this as she remembered that there was still another jinchuuriki left alive.
It was Killer Bee, the Raikage's brother.
Whoever or whatever force was under this, Tsunade was sure, the drums of war was about to sound again.
The Alliance would not take this kindly. If someone has the nerve to do this against the Five Great Nations, they would surely retaliate.
The hammer of judgement has raised its gavel, and the person or persons responsible for this had already been sentenced before they could ever meet them.
If the horror of the Fourth War was any indication, the jinchuuriki would once more play the most vital role in this.
"That's it you chauvinistic pig! I've had enough of your antics! Let's take this outside!"
"I didn't know you were the kinky type!"
Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose at this as she shook her head, another headache slowly making its way in a few minutes. She needed something to numb it down.
"Shizune, get me a bottle of the toughest Sake there is in Konoha! I want to get this over with as soon as possible!"
Going on a drinking binge surely doesn't help, but damn it, she needed something like this!
Mahora:
'Patrasche… I'm tired'
"NO! PATRASCHE! WHY'D YOU HAVE TO DIE?" Naruto shouted in anguish as he bit his handkerchief tightly while holding it with both hands as he sat among the current discarded props Negi's section had lying on the floor. His eyes were watery and were shimmering with tears.
"Geez, Sensei, it's only a kid's movie!" Madoka shouted as Naruto glared at the girl with a pout while Negi was openly weeping as well.
"SILENCE! I WILL NOT HAVE YOU DISRESPECT PATRASCHE'S MEMORY! NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS!"
Mana sighed at this as she shook her head. The priestess gunslinger chastised their slightly older teacher, "Sensei, calm down, it's a fictional character. And although tear jerking, you're acting worse than Negi-sensei."
Said teacher was already calming down and was wiping a few droplets of tears from his eyes.
"Well, it's your fault for letting me stay after class for your report on Nitta's subject!" Naruto shouted indignantly with a pout as he crossed his arms and turned the other way.
Many of the class found it both cute and childish.
"That's because Madoka suggested you help us in our literature homework." Yue added rather poignantly and everyone glared at Madoka.
Half past the movie, Naruto was already bawling as was Negi. The fact that they were immediately distracted because of the two distracted them from the main point of the entire ordeal in the first place. Konohamaru couldn't help. The PE teacher was stuck in the gym for at least two more hours for his last class to finish.
"Well, now that we've watched the movie, what do you think, Naruto-sensei?" Konoka asked politely. The blonde scratched his head sheepishly and answered rather embarrassingly at that, "It was sad?"
"And?" Shiina asked expectantly.
"Sad?"
"Aaaannd?" Ayaka dragged on as the impatience was getting the best of her.
Naruto was looking rather thoughtful for a moment and finally shrugged, "I got nothing."
An awkward silence…
"Madoka, you promised to us Naruto-sensei would be able to help us with this! YOU LIED TO US!" Asakura shouted that last part louder than usual as she continued, "How you guys got a high score on Nitta's last homework, I'll never know! It might just be dumb luck!"
"Hey, I resent that. I was just familiar with the book, is all!" Naruto defended himself.
Well, not familiar per se, but the book had a lot of characters he was familiar with. He still couldn't get over the fact that Tsunade and Jiraiya got together in that one. A smile graced his lips as he remembered that book. He had enjoyed reading that fine piece of local literature.
Every.
Single.
Minute.
He couldn't possibly wait for him to take this book and give it to Tsunade. Perhaps a dramatic reading in front of her and some of the staff in the office would be icing on the cake.
"Naruto-sensei…"
A voice brought him out of his musings as he looked towards the front door and quickly noticed Takahata was calling out to him.
"It seems the dean requests for your presence once more. He says he needs you for something"
"Be right there in a moment!" Naruto exclaimed as he quickly got out of his seat and made his way out the door.
"Wait, Naruto-sensei!" One of the girls asked, Naruto looked and noticed Shiina was approaching him.
"Would you like to go see our concert for the festival?"
Then, the questions began piling up.
"What about the play?"
"The Haunted House!"
"The Fighting Dojo!"
Naruto held his hands up and told them in a simple manner, gesturing for them to calm down, after that he cleared his throat and said to them with the grin, "Sure, I'll go where you girls will be stationed at! But I don't know about Konohamaru…"
With that, Naruto left and ran off towards the office of the dean with a wave of his hand at the class.
"You know, I've been noticing lately that Naruto-sensei is being called out by the dean more often. Are you noticing the pattern?" Haruna mused as she looked thoughtful at this. She looked towards her friends who were quietly watching many of their classmates already packing up and going home.
"Enough about that, have you girls ever heard a rumor concerning the world tree?" Yuna asked, all matters pertaining about the blonde sensei were temporarily forgotten when gossip was in the air. Particularly this one, as it featured in the school newspaper just recently. Something about the World Tree and getting a kiss near its vicinity.
Nodoka, however, wasn't paying attention to the group of students that were talking about the rumor (although it did interest her), but instead was reading the note written on a crumpled piece of paper.
'Nodoka, I have something that Asuna and the others might be interested in talking about.'
Yue
"Hey, Honya-chan, watcha' reading?" Haruna asked as Nodoka suddenly crumpled the note in her hands in surprise. She looked over to her friend who was staring at her rather curiously as she kept the note very close to her chest, not letting Haruna see the contents of it.
"Um… It's just something that I need to do at the library later." Nodoka looked sideways at this as Yue wordlessly stood up from her seat. The one questioning her, however, didn't even look convinced.
"I'm sorry but I have some errands I need to do. If you'll excuse me, I won't be back at the dorm until later tonight." Yue said in her monotone voice as she went out, Haruna's eyebrow was raised at this.
"Since when did Yue-chi go outside for errands like that? Are you two hiding something from me?" Haruna inquired and Yue's eyelids twitched ever so slightly.
"Aha! You are hiding something! Spill! What is it?"
Nodoka and Yue could only shiver at this.
With Naruto:
"Even though I already gave you an answer as to who was Theodora's guest at the time, you're still up and about giving this letter to this Albireo guy?" Naruto asked, looking annoyed.
Konoemon chuckled in good nature as he said to the blonde, "Yes, you've given me enough information to warrant a massive worldwide alert. Well, at least on Mundus Magicus, and for that I don't know if I should run around this room like a headless chicken or sign my granddaughter to be wed this early. You've hardly given me a description of what these beasts look like after all."
Naruto looked at his side and closed the door behind him slightly, activating a simple seal that sealed of sound from going outside.
"This place came dangerously close to having one and causing genocide all around here. I think it's understandable that anyone would feel terror once one of these things set foot on your grounds." Naruto spoke and the old man agreed with Naruto through a single nod of his head.
"There's also the matter that's been bothering me for a while." Naruto continued as he rummaged through his coat pocket, pulling out a small black scroll.
"What is it?"
"It's what the Ichibi said to me, telling me that they're calling out to each other, that they're seeking completion. But it should be impossible. The body exists back in MY world. The bijuu are just living chakra masses, even if they were to be completed, they need a container for such a massive amount of energy or else it could cause a surge powerful enough to wipe out a whole continent." Naruto explained as he put a hand under his chin and began to think as he placed the black scroll on the old man's desk.
"The information on how to contain them as well as the materials needed are only available through one of the three holders of these black scrolls. Not only that, one of the most essential materials needed to create such a thing is a certain genetic code that traces back to the origin of all Ninjutsu. That's something only located back in my world. If you have a machine that can cross dimensions, then that would be a problem."
Naruto specifically kept quiet about him being a descendant of the Rikudo Sennin, that secret was something he would never reveal to anyone here.
Konoe laughed nervously at that, it's not as if the terminal to Mundus Magicus could link to Naruto's world, if he wanted to apply that theory, they would need enormous amounts of energy to do it.
"For now, we're safe at least. Well with you having the One Tailed Shukaku is a bit of a relief. It means somewhere along the line, for whatever reason these bijuu are being used for is delayed. You've thrown a wrench in their plans, whoever they may be." Konoe mentioned this as he leaned back into his chair. Certainly the thought of one of his subordinates being as competent as the blonde brought a sign of relief at the whole situation. He could no further elaborate how much helpful Naruto has been in the Academy ever since his arrival. He would daresay that Naruto was as helpful as Takamichi about certain matters particularly this one. Convenient as it is, he was glad that the blonde and his apprentice made it here if only to bring light into the matter.
Naruto scoffed at it as he grabbed the black scroll from the dean's desk and pocketed it.
"I've been doing that sort of thing since I was twelve. Foiling plans from evil masterminds is something that I do, old man. Just to remind you though, the only person who knows a lot about these things in this place right now is me, which means that under no circumstances should any of your associates engage these things without me around, I've got the knowledge on what they are but sharing them is a different matter. These things aren't meant for anyone's eyes except to the people that have encountered them and those who we deem as people worthy enough."
The serious look Naruto gave Konoe brought the old man in a mirthful expression underneath his long beard.
"I'll take note of it. Now, however, you need to deliver that letter to Al and get to know him. Who knows? Maybe he can help you on our soon-to-be crisis. He's a member of Ala Rubra after all."
Naruto contemplated this for a moment before finally saying to Konoe, "I'll think about it."
With that, he went out the door and deactivated the seal he had planted on earlier. Once the blonde was out, Konoe gave a sigh and slumped from his chair ever so slightly.
"One would think that a person of his attitude would be quite careless and reckless. But he's actually shows more than he lets on if you talk about the right topics. Uzumaki Naruto, a living contradiction indeed."
Library Island:
Naruto stared at the gaping hole that lay in the middle of the structure with naught but a frown on his face as a powerful updraft of wind made its way to roof, ruffling his uniform and his hair from the forceful gale.
To his side, Konohamaru stood there with a hand on his hip as he stared down at the chasm like structure.
"Why am I here?" Konohamaru asked as he watched the blonde walk closer and closer at the edge with his hands in his pockets.
"I overheard that the girls and Negi were about to discuss something big in here and I don't want them bothering me for one bit." Naruto answered and Konohamaru immediately picked up on what Naruto had meant.
"You want me to make sure that they don't go to wherever you are?" Konohamaru looked rather annoyed at this. Naruto frowned at his apprentice because of the fact that he was relegated to being a distraction.
"Hey, to where I'm going you're going to be more of a liability than of help, stay to where Negi and the others are. I mean it, Konohamaru. There isn't a damn thing you could do about it." Naruto put his foot down with that statement and turned back to the chasm. In truth, he didn't want Konohamaru to hear about what he had planned. If he had heard then the brunette would have most likely pushed to be part of his plan as well.
Naruto, even though he had complete faith in his student most of the time, found it hard to keep Konohamaru involved in something as big as this. He knew the boy wasn't ready and he was sure that Konohamaru would die if he were to be involved. So he made sure never to speak of the bijuu or whatever discovery he had found concerning them, lest the brunette would want an untimely death, he had seen far too much of it already.
"Fine, but you owe me after this." Konohamaru relented as he jumped away from the roof and in to the main complex itself.
'Sorry, Konohamaru, but this is for the best.' Naruto apologized mentally as he jumped after he saw Konohamaru disappear from his view.
With a deep breath, Naruto dived headfirst into the spiralling chasm below with immense speed.
His hair swayed upwards as the wind blew into his face at tremendous speeds, diving like a comet as the wind began to pick up from his body surrounding him like a cocoon.
With Yue:
Loosing Haruna was a troublesome affair she did not want to deal with again. That woman was extremely good at following them. She had to take differing routes and all of them had to have a purpose in mind. Although frustrating and it hurt her wallet, the snooping mangaka decided to give up when she looked somewhat convinced when Yue bought something at the gift shop.
A terrible blow to her wallet but a minor inconvenience compared to Negi-sensei's or Konohamaru-sensei's situation. Once she had made it to the library, she was greeted by a set of familiar faces that sat all around the room.
Nodoka was sitting directly by the door while Asuna, Kazumi, Setsuna and Konoka were across the table. Negi and Konohamaru were at the side, looking quite confused while the other was solemn. From the top of the pile of books that Nodoka was sorting out, was Chamo who was talking to Negi about something.
Whatever it was, Yue had no intention of finding out. For what her discovery is would most likely be a much better topic than what the ermine has been babbling about.
"Took you long enough, Yue, was Haruna that hard to shake off?"
Ever the impatient one, Asuna remarked rather callously. Yue paid it no heed.
"She is difficult to convince otherwise once she has made up her mind. I cannot tell you how much money I had to spend just to keep her away from this little secret."
Yue then went through the pile of books that were arranged unceremoniously by the side of the table. Her hands began touching for each book as she scanned by the binders to find what she was looking for.
"So what's this big discovery you have, Ayase?" Konohamaru asked, looking quite disinterested at the moment as he rested his left cheek on his left palm.
"Konohamaru-sensei, I'm surprised that you're here. As I recall, I only called for a specific number of people." Not that Konohamaru should be aware of this, but Yue was honestly surprised.
"I bumped into Negi earlier and decided to tag along. So what's the big scoop?" Konohamaru asked and Yue nodded. With the desired book in hand, she flipped through the pages and scanned them, telling the people inside the room as she did so.
"As you know, the encounter that happened a few days ago brought many questions out in the open, particularly these two, 'Who are those people that sent those demons here?' and more importantly, 'What are these bijuu?'" Yue introduced as she finally stopped from scanning and held the book up. Konohamaru raised an eyebrow as he eyed the title of the book.
Japanese Folklore and Myths
"I have yet to come up with an answer to the first, but for the second, I have an inkling suspicion." Yue mentioned, Konohamaru's suddenly grew wide and his right hand grasped hard to his right knee.
"Bijuu, beings that are not biologically complete yet sentient, beings made up of energy, this thing called chakra. None of those references were found in any of the myths I've read around the world." Yue continued, Asuna however, raised her hand in question, "Why would you want to reference legends and old wives' tales, Yue? Doesn't it seem pointless to know about these things since Naruto and Konohamaru-sensei came from a different world?"
Yue shook her head, "There is a difference in that, Asuna-san. It's not that Naruto-sensei and Konohamaru-sensei are aliens from our side of the dimension; they are ultimately living at another universe with 'a different set of rules' as Naruto-sensei puts it."
A set of rules? Now Asuna was confused. As if Yue had read her mind, she began to explain as simple as she can, "It would be very hard to explain since I myself find it very confusing. But let's stick to examples so that we can understand it all."
Many of them nodded as Yue stood from seat and went for the blackboard that was conveniently placed by the window.
"Picture two places having several things in common and several things different in between them, in this case, let's stick to our language. Here we have our Japanese language or Nippongo as we put it. On the other side, they have the same medium of communication." Yue then drew a line in between the two identical words and continued, "Nippongo is a language that exists only in one particular country here in this world. Even though it's a language that's been getting popular recently, foreigners speak with the language in a completely awkward manner. Yet Naruto-sensei, who barely looks Japanese, can speak the language so fluently and so casually that people still find it hard to believe he could speak it let alone teach it and one that's so young."
Setsuna nodded at this, "No matter how you look at sensei, he looks more like a foreigner."
Yue's nod seemed to have told her that her say in the matter was noted. "Which leads me to believe that this language that exists on the other side is the more universal language compared to English."
Konohamaru looked thoughtful at this. It was true; their language has been used in and out of the country as a basic medium.
"With that difference noted, I suspect that Nippongo exists here as a minor language compared to English, but on the other side, it exists as perhaps the universal language which would explain Konohamaru-sensei's and Naruto-sensei's slight difficulty in reading the English alphabet. In there, Nippongo is the common language just like how English is for us or how Latin was to the ancient world. Do you see where I'm getting at, Asuna-san?"
Asuna nodded at this and Yue continued, "The same language but with a different circumstance or 'rules'. That is what Naruto-sensei meant. The same set of rules would apply to him. He isn't an extraterrestrial life form, Asuna-san. He's a being of an alternate plane that has a counterpart in this world, his complete opposite. The same could be said for Konohamaru-sensei."
Asuna shook her head, "Now It's getting confusing."
"It is and I would simply like to end it as it is. We've wasted enough time talking about alternate dimensions when we've dawdled long enough." Yue then showed them a picture of a small fox with nine tails swaying in the air.
"Bijuu, a beast with a tail; there has only been one recorded legend of a said monster with emphasis to its tail. For every one hundred years, a kitsune sprouts a tail to indicate its longevity. The more tails it has, the older and more powerful it is. If it then reaches the age of a thousand years, then it sprouts a ninth tail and is said to gain the gift of immortality."
To this, Yue flipped over the next page and showed that the kitsune, who looked visually small in the first picture, now stood towering over a man.
"Alone, the word doesn't terribly bring out any form fear in anyone. But a classification like this means that these bijuu aren't just single species, we can probably put the kitsune in there as our prime basis of these bijuu, but let's not worry about their appearance, we should worry about…"
"Does it matter?"
Yue was cut off when Konohamaru spoke, the girls and Negi all looked at the brunette whose scowl never escaped his features when Yue spoke.
"Those things aren't your concern and you would all do well to not bother with them. We'll deal with the problem ourselves."
"But…" Negi interrupted when Konohamaru looked at the red head with a stern expression.
"I mean it. If any of you can stand on Naruto-nii's or on Evangeline's level then we wouldn't even be having any doubts. If you all want to die early then be my guest, but I'm not about to…"
Konohamaru then suddenly stopped, for he felt an enormous amount of chakra escaping from the chasm, he felt a powerful pressure pressing him down as his eyes widened. His breathing suddenly deepened and increased, like the air had somehow thinned. He looked around; he could see his vision was getting fuzzy, as if everything was vibrating all around him. His world was instantly spinning.
Everyone around him all froze up as the sudden release of such powerful energy escaping from the very bottom of the chasm. It felt strong and unbelievably imposing. Negi felt his heart beating at a very fast pace. He could feel his fear escaping as it did the first time he faced Evangeline. Such unbridled power was nothing new to him, but the fact that he could feel himself as nothing more than a feeble little man compared to this was scaring him to his wits.
Konohamaru however looked like he recognized this energy signature, he looked panicked, scared even. The brunette was trying to show as little of it as possible but it was a futile attempt.
"This is…" Setsuna muttered as she went outside, fully aware of what it could possibly entail.
Konohamaru soon went after, dashing towards Setsuna at a brisk pace.
Then, as soon as it appeared, it suddenly vanished once more. The impossibly large energy output was gone in a matter of seconds.
Like there was nothing there.
"What the hell was that?"
She then saw Negi dashing outside to where Konohamaru and Setsuna most likely ran off to.
Setsuna, from the corner of her eye, watched Konohamaru dashing in a panicked look, his eyes were wide and his breathing was deep and fast. He stopped by the very edge of the floor they were currently in and jumped on the rails. He looked down and panic was slowly dissipating as the sensation left him.
It had been a year since he felt that kind of power, the power that no mere human should posses.
Kyuubi.
It was brief but the feeling was there. Unfathomable power, immeasurable strength, the power that could cause tsunamis and earthquakes, the power that can flatten mountains. It was brief but it felt longer. Being one that had a first hand experience in feeling the very power of the Kyuubi, Konohamaru's mind could recognize that chakra signature anywhere both good and bad.
"Konohamaru-sensei, I need to know. Is a bijuu supposed to be down there?" Setsuna asked and Konohamaru shook his head, cold sweat dripping at the side of his face.
The girl was adamant on finding out. She needed to know; the brunette turned to the swordswoman and said something that she couldn't fully understand.
"I-I don't know..." Konohamaru mentioned, as he grasped the railing rather hard.
Konohamaru gritted his teeth and cursed inwardly.
'Damn it, Naruto-nii… Why now?'
All he could hear as an answer was the sound of the chasm's bottomless abyss and the sound of the wind howling from the bottom.
A few minutes earlier:
Naruto descended to the bottom of the chasm like a rocket. His uniform roughly swaying with the wind as did his hair while his heart was pounding at a fast pace. It had been a while since he had done such a thing for the sake of thrills. Back then, he was too busy and was too focused in his work with Fuinjutsu. It didn't help either that Tsunade was grooming him to become the next Hokage.
When he could finally see what was at the very bottom of the abyss, Naruto redirected the flow of wind of his Fuujin no Jingi on to the side and glided him to it. Naruto then landed on his feet and with his momentum, dashed at an astonishing rate before jumping and landing on the ground hard with his feet. A cloud of dust escaped from his wake as the turbulence slowly stopped.
"Well, here's my stop. Now where is that Albireo guy?"
His search would have to be on hold however, when a powerful and earth shaking roar echoed all around him.
"RRRROOOOOOOOAAAAARRRRRRRRR!"
He turned his back and his eyebrow rose at which the beast that Negi and the rest had faced earlier suddenly had its gaping maws facing him.
"So you're the beast that's been guarding this place, huh?" Naruto asked rhetorically and the dragon growled at the trespasser.
"Too bad I don't have that sword with me, but I guess I don't need it anymore to finish this." Naruto then pocketed the letter into his coat and cracked his knuckles. It was then that everything turned bright yellow. He could feel its power overtaking his entire being as his body felt warm, the feeling of once more using the Kyuubi's chakra at its rawest form, it felt absolutely magnificent!
The dragon unconsciously stepped back as it gazed upon the source of such tremendous power.
"Sorry, leather butt, but I can't waste any time here trying to play with you."
And in a flash of yellow light, Naruto turned into nothing but an instrument of pure and unbridled destruction.
A few seconds later, the dragon was knocked out of the count as Naruto stood at the side with what could be seen as a frown written all over his face.
"It's been a while since I had to do that, but then again, time was of the essence." Naruto then clapped his hands together as if trying to clean the dust and soot that somewhat collected in his hands.
"Oh? You didn't have to go overboard with this one." The new voice spoke.
Naruto turned his head just to the side and looked at his back.
"You Albireo?" The blonde asked.
The man made no response but a nod. Naruto couldn't get a good look at his face, but he nonetheless grabbed the letter from his coat pocket and presented it to the man.
"I've got a letter here for you and a few questions you might want to answer."
The man could only turn his head towards the blonde.
Upstairs:
"What the hell was that? Why were you all running?" Asuna asked for another time as she was by the edge of the current floor they were in.
"Asuna, look up." Konoka pointed upwards as she tugged Asuna's shirt to get her attention.
Asuna looked up and saw people from the outer ring looking down below at the chasm completely surrounding it. Apparently, Negi and the others weren't the only ones that came running here.
"W-What's going on? What on earth was that insane amounts energy coming from down there?" One of them shouted, pointing to the chasm below.
Negi and Konohamaru could recognize some of them as teachers and some were students. One of them was fortunately or unfortunately enough, Takamichi.
Much to Konohamaru's chagrin however, the said teacher took notice of them immediately.
"Would any of you two please explain to me what just happened?" Takahata asked in exasperation and Konohamaru twitched.
"You seem to know more than you let on, Konohamaru-kun. Perhaps you were involved in this mess?"
"No, I swear I'm not!" Konohamaru vehemently denied any form of involvement into something such as this.
Takahata was about to ask more from the brunette when he heard a ring from his phone. The bespectacled teacher then went to his mobile phone and read that the Dean was calling him.
A few minutes after answering the phone, Takahata's face was laced with shock and surprise.
"Are you sure?" The teacher asked.
'Yes, I just had a talk with Albireo earlier and said that he had everything under control and the one that let out that massive amount of energy was definitely Naruto-kun's. Be at ease, Takamichi-kun.'
"E-Even if you say that, Konoe-sama, I don't…"
'Let's just say Naruto-kun has a lot of tricks up his sleeve and leave it at that, Takamichi-kun.'
Takahata took a deep breath and sighed in exasperation before finally saying to the dean.
"Whatever it is, Konoe-sama, I trust your judgment upon the situation."
After that, the conversation was cut off.
The silver haired teacher then looked over to his fellow worried mages and announced to them, "Okay, people, it seems Konoe-sama has already identified the source of the massive energy surge and he is saying that it's no threat to the school. Apparently, one of the staff members is considerably powerful enough to let out something like that. Whatever it is, it's on our side."
With that, the magically aware people of Mahora slowly dispersed from the scene albeit warily as they all took a second glance at the hole before heading back to wherever it is they were going.
Takamichi sighed once more as he headed back but not before apologizing to Konohamaru and Negi. Who would have thought that a seventeen year old would have such an enormous amount of power? And able to completely control it as well? Takamichi had to put Naruto's levels of power very close to Evangeline's for this one. It wasn't malevolent, however. It was the complete opposite of what Evangeline usually gives out around her, dark and brooding. This one seemed lively and bright. Overwhelming positive energy was what he could make of it. It was there but the power was indeed very morale boosting, or uplifting if that were the case. It wasn't just that, even someone who has little experience in magic would be able to detect or the densely palpable levels of magical energy escaping.
But still, for someone of Naruto's age to be able to let out something as big as that, Takamichi shuddered at the thought of the blonde going full power. His musings were disrupted, however, by a tall blonde girl that tapped him on the shoulder. Emerald green eyes filled of what could possibly be confusion written all over her cute and heart shaped face.
"Takahata-sensei, I must inquire you about this new staff member that the dean has mentioned. I admit, he has me curious, that potent magical energy I felt was nothing of the sort that I felt in my entire experience as a mage."
The middle aged teacher looked rather uneasy at this and turned his gaze back at the chasm, scratching the back of his head as he cleared his throat.
"It's difficult to explain that person's circumstances, Takane-san. His current situation is quite… Unusual even for mages, I say. But if you must know, please ask him yourself, we're going to have that meeting later, aren't we?" Takahata asked, wanting to avoid on any form of revelation to the girl. He felt it wasn't in his place to explain a young seals master's life in front of her.
The young woman raised an eyebrow at this but nonetheless, turned back and headed back towards the mainland.
Back to Konohamaru and Negi's group, they were still thinking of trying to go down into the very bottom of the structure, with Konohamaru vehemently opposing the idea, when Mana and Kaede decided to make their entrance.
"Oya, oya, oya, I didn't know you were all here today. Were you all discussing something important?" The ninja asked with an amused tone. Yue, being the blunt girl that she is, gave a straight answer.
"We were discussing these things called the bijuu when something put Konohamaru-sensei in a panic and Setsuna-san ran out the door. Although it was minute, I sensed something very palpable in the air when the door opened. Sadly, I cannot fully grasp t what they were feeling so I can give no further description than that."
Kaede gave a single nod. Asuna on the other hand, continued to argue with Konohamaru about going down stairs to find out what it was that gave off that enormous amount of energy.
"I'm telling you that let's not go there! Those guys that were watching earlier can handle the situation. Let's not chase this thing without any form of preparation! It's suicide!" Konohamaru chastised although with a raised voice, quickly determining his frustration and anger. Stalling for time has never been easy nor was it enjoyable. He would have rather buttheads with Negi and the others and not deal with talking. Making up excuses are a lot more difficult than punching someone in the face.
"The hell? If we have a chance to stop then we might as well go for it! We need to go down there and see it for ourselves!" Asuna retorted. Did Konohamaru not have any faith in them at all? Their bickering would be halted however, when Kaede stepped in between them and told them.
"If you feel that you don't know anything about that energy signature, then let me tell you what it is, de gozaru." Kaede answered. Konohamaru turned to the tall kunoichi in a shocked expression. Was Kaede one of the people that faced the One-tailed Shukaku before?
"You know that energy signature? I'm surprised." Mana sneered at the girl who merely waved it off with a smirk of her own, "Of course, it's not everyday that you get to face a Bijuu alongside an age old vampire and a very powerful ninja."
Mana's expression turned into a scowl, "I've never heard of this, Kaede. You're telling me you've faced some sort of monster alongside Eva-san and Naruto-sensei?"
Kaede's smirk got bigger, "Of course, it was a pretty nasty creature, I must say. You could deliver no harm to it let alone destroy it. So Naruto-sensei used a sealing method to defeat the monster, de gozaru."
"So that's why he's been using fuuda. He's not only a high level ninja but a seals master as well…" Mana's scowl returned to a frown when she thought about it. Naruto bothered her for reasons unknown. Perhaps this was the cause of it? That subtle energy that she felt he unknowingly emits from time to time, like small drips of water from a faucet, suddenly felt like a dam had burst. That immense and overwhelming power, from so far away she could feel its intensity. But she could never find any form of malevolence in it, only a feeling of warmth, passion, and exuberance?
It was very weird, yet very intriguing.
She turned to look at Setsuna who was pelting Kaede with her questions.
"H-How was it like fighting a monster like that?"
Kaede only shook her head, "I couldn't fight it directly, but Naruto-sensei and Eva-san did. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be speaking to you now, de gozaru."
And it was an honest truth, she knew for a fact that no ordinary human could ever stand up against a monster like that. She had feared for her life at first, although she didn't show it. After all, what use would fear be on the battlefield? And one where you can't even hide from?
"So, whatever's down there is a bijuu?" Asuna asked, obviously laced with anxiety, while Kaede shook her head.
"No, it's familiar, but it's different all the same. When we were fighting the Ichibi, I felt its Ki as something chaotic, too random and very dense. This one still has that very dense and thick flow of ki. But it's calmer and feels much more like a pristine lake compared to the Ichibi."
Negi looked confused at this, "But it's impossible! The last time I was there, there was only a dragon guarding a big gate!"
Setsuna shook her head at this, "We don't know what a bijuu looks like; it could be as big as a house or as small as a human. If anything, It could only be as big as Chamo but with enough power…"
Kaede immediately interrupted, "No, it's definitely bigger than a house. When we were trapped in a seal, that monster was probably as big as the one that we saw in Kyoto although a lot more violent and much more unpredictable, de gozaru."
"But something of that size should have been seen by anyone in the campus!" Asuna exclaimed, remembering Sukuna no Kami's imposing stature that waded through the once pristine lake to where it was once sealed.
Something of that size would have definitely been seen. Kaede shook her head, "It should have, were it not for a seal that transported us to a desert wasteland. We were trapped in it until one side was beaten. Or at least, that's the conclusion that Naruto-sensei came up with."
Asuna's looked utterly confused at this while Mana's eyes were narrowing towards the ninja.
"So if Naruto-sensei and Eva-san failed against that beast…" Mana's eyes widened in realization of that event, surely the worst case scenario would have played out.
"The bijuu would have been the one who got out of the seal and wrecked havoc." Kaede finished, her sunny expression suddenly darkened and the consequence of failure had hit the group head on.
Konohamaru shivered. He could still remember what it was like to be near the presence of a bijuu. The six tailed form of the Kyuubi when it possessed Naruto was enough of a reminder to chisel that fear into the very depths of his soul.
"Enough about that, are you sure we should leave it be? The others might be willing to ignore this, but not me." Asuna stated and grabbed her card.
Konohamaru extended his arm sideways, blocking the path downstairs, eyes changed from that of panic to steel like gaze.
"Naruto-nii's down there taking care of business, to where you're going, you'll only be a bother. I suggest you stop."
Asuna's forehead suddenly grew a tick mark. She was getting annoyed at Konohamaru's attempts to stop her from going downstairs.
"Konohamaru-sensei certainly raises a good point, Asuna-san. It is best to agree with him and let things go." Yue helpfully added. Asuna looked rather reluctant at the suggestion, but seemed to agree nonetheless.
Later that day:
The sunset slowly gave way to the cold and starless night with its bright orange hue at Mahora, now littered with little lamps and the occasional fireflies dancing about the shrubbery and the side of the streams.
Naruto had gotten out of that chasm earlier after some pleasant talk with Albireo (Mostly it was about some tips in pissing off Evangeline to a greater degree than what he already does) to a deserted library island, his talk with the man had been quite long, explaining to him some of the things about the Helas Empire and its location within Mundus Magicus. He wasn't sure how long Eva will pick up on what he and admittedly crafty bastard would be up to, but he sure as hell would like to see her reaction once she does.
Maybe he should take a picture of it to for memory and share it with that guy. Mischief brings people together, they say, he wondered just how much material Albireo has against Evangeline.
Anyway, now that matter was out of the way, today would be the meeting that Konoe had been forcing them to attend. Not that he knows what was needed to be discussed; just the fact that the old man kept pushing the event was reminding him how annoying weekly Jounin meetings can be.
Tsunade always forced him to attend those meetings, she said it was to familiarize himself to the elite members of their shinobi forces and meet newly promoted Jounin as well as to get to know your peers, (Jounin population has a tendency to be low so organizing meetings with them was easier). Of course, that was the formal gist of it, Naruto was quite sure that Tsunade only wanted to torture him with the people inside through sheer annoyance. It's not like he was annoyed by the weekly meetings, it was a gathering, so he expected it to have something close to a casual party and some drinks. It's just that lots of the members of that particular rank were nutcases. There was simply something eccentric about each and every one of the Jounin he personally had a chance to talk to.
Even Neji, who he thought to be the sanest Jounin in the village, had some form of obsession when it comes to his hair.
'Speak for yourself, brat. You didn't fall far from the tree like the rest of those flesh bags.'
Naruto's face frowned at this as he and Konohamaru walked towards the designated meeting place.
'What, after a year of slumbering and not seeing your ugly face, that's all I get from you?'
'Kyuubi… I was wondering when you were about to wake up. Somehow I missed your putdowns and insults during the year I was drawing doodles.'
'Cheeky little brat. I was recovering from a forced extraction. Even with my power, it takes time to get adjusted once more into your system. You try to feel your limbs being forcibly removed and slammed back again into you after just being taken out. Thanks to you using my chakra, you woke me up. I'd have thank you if it weren't for the fact that you're my warden.'
'And here I was thinking that you were actually getting soft.'
'You would do well to never speak of that in front of me ever again, brat. It's enough that you've humiliated me and stole my chakra, but to imply that I am considering my stance as the prisoner of this place is something that won't ever happen. Limiting your abilities is enough, if it weren't for that accursed Sage Mode, draining you of your chakra would have been easier.'
'I thought you were all about this whole, keep-my-prisoner-alive business.'
The Nine tailed fox exhaled some air from its snout and turned its head from the cage, avoiding Naruto's smirk. Anymore and he would have snapped.
'Corrupting you was a miscalculation on my part. You actively rejected my offering back then and so I approached a different tactic. I would have never guessed that you would siphon chakra from around you that it would impede me from letting me out sooner. I would have also never guessed that your accursed progenitor would have made countless back up plans to your seal. It was better that I just let this happen, see through it to the end of your human lifespan.'
'Giving up on your freedom?'
'Not in the slightest. I've been alive for more than a thousand years. A century is nothing to me.'
'Damn, and here I was thinking that you've succumbed to your situation and allow me to use your abilities in maximum.'
'Brat, no one, and I mean no one, will ever be able to hold my power, it is mine alone and mine forever. You will never grasp it, so long as I will it so. Now begone, wretched vermin, I have nothing to discuss further with you.'
And with that, Naruto's attention was brought back to where they were going, meeting up with the other magically aware people in the campus. Along the way, they had managed to meet up with Negi and Setsuna who both looking quite distressed when Naruto was walking with them, grinning from ear to ear.
Not one to miss on Negi's slight discomfort, the blonde tilted his head to the side and asked the red head, "Something wrong, Negi?"
Negi looked to his side, uncertainty obvious in his expression at something but then found the courage to speak, "Nii-san, what were you doing at the very bottom of the island?"
Naruto looked at Konohamaru who was avoiding his gaze and then back at Negi, anxious to get an answer.
The red head looked expectant, and somewhat scared? He had to note that he had been releasing quite a bit of chakra earlier. So in a way, he blew his own cover.
"It's just some errands for the dean. You would not believe what that old coot has me do." He answered, as he ruffled the kids head with a smile.
"What about that energy? Nagase-san came by earlier to see if something was wrong and explained to us all about it." Negi asked some more and Naruto raised his eyebrow at this. Konohamaru meanwhile, decided to keep quiet about the whole thing.
"Oh, that. Well, it's something very few people in my world can do. What it is, I can't tell. I can't breach that line of confidentiality so easily. Sorry, kid, I'm just not cut out to tell you about it, maybe someday, I will but not now." Naruto said as they rounded up to a corner.
Negi didn't know what to make of the situation. He had noticed the change in personality in Naruto these past few weeks. They were extremely subtle, but present nonetheless. Perhaps the only other person that could tell much of those changes was Konohamaru. He had been with Naruto far longer than the red head was. So even he must find Naruto's behaviour quite peculiar as well.
He had noticed that Naruto would often pour much more time in his work. He had been making much more seals, going to Evangeline's quite often and having talks with her on important matters that he wasn't allowed to hear, being constantly called by the dean for some things he didn't know. If one were to look at the blonde at the end of the day, the exhaustion present with Naruto only show itself in a small flicker and would fade just as fast when he focuses on his writing.
Not only that, Naruto would often disappear whenever he had the chance. Something even Konohamaru found annoying. Naruto was always present wherever you find him. But now his current routine was disrupted. By what, he had no answer. The blonde turned elusive, seemingly working himself to the bone day by day. He couldn't stay at a place longer than he wanted or needed to. He always had to be somewhere. There always had to be something he needed to do.
The only time Naruto had been relaxed and had fun at all was during the day out that the four of them had.
"Ah glad that you could make it. We were starting to get worried about you not coming to our little arranged meeting." Konoe mentioned while stroking his long beard as his subordinates turned their gazes at the group. To the members of the staff, Naruto and Konohamaru's faces were familiar, they were occasionally present on their meeting along with Negi after all and seeing as their age distinguished them from the rest of the workforce of the school, they were easily recognizable within their crowd.
Naruto looked around him, there were a few familiar faces he could see within the crowd, but there were a lot more people that he didn't recognize that were looking at him and Konohamaru rather curiously, the blonde merely shrugged and put his arms on the back of his head and asked Konoe in a casual tone.
"Not that I'm thrilled to have this here, but what exactly is the reason why we're doing this?"
Konoe, much more amused rather than annoyed, laughed heartily for his age at the boy's blunt manner of talking. Naruto wasn't exactly one to hold any form of tact when he speaks his mind.
Konohamaru quietly waved his hand at Kotaro and Takamichi who returned the gesture with a grin for the former and a smile from the latter.
"Naruto-nii! You said you'd teach me the secret in punching harder!" Kotaro helpfully reminded him, Naruto waved at the dog demon and grinned, "Don't worry about it I hadn't forgotten…"
Konohamaru looked suspiciously at the blonde for this and uttered, 'lies.'
"… About your lecture on that, we'll discuss it once my schedule isn't demanding." Naruto answered, obviously caught red handed at this as Kotaro seemingly accepted the blonde's apology.
"Well then, people, let's start this meeting so that we can all prepare for the coming festival." Konoe began and looked at each and every magically aware members of his little group.
"I'm sure some of you may have heard by now the rumors that are going around the school about the World Tree's legend?" Konoe then looked up into the world tree as Kotaro answered, "Yeah, but I think it's just a really worthless thing, Legend of the World Tree's unrequited love? Sounds something you could read on some Shoujo Manga."
Naruto agreed in that point, "Yeah, that DOES sound pretty convenient even if it is magic. From what I've learned there can be as much limitation there is in magic as there is in jutsu."
A blonde haired girl, with emerald eyes and wearing a black version of the girls uniform affirmed that, "That would be the case, but little is known about the world tree except that it houses a great amount of magical energy."
That seemed understandable enough, the World Tree was mysterious, and it had a lot of things even veteran magicians couldn't understand. So implanting suggestions turned out it couldn't quite happen, but it wasn't out of the realm of possibilities either.
Konohamaru then spoke, "There are however, certain situations that would likely sway a person's decision making ability depending to their emotional well being."
"Well that's true. Certain energy can be infectious in people's emotions." Negi pondered over this as Konoe explained, "The World Tree does not grant wishes that can be considered tangible or in massive effect. So something like world domination, a hundred billion yen or panties would be left not granted."
Naruto scratched his head at this and looked up at the world tree, "So this thing is able to suggest emotions that would benefit the situation. In this case, if a confession were to be made…"
"Precisely, the World Tree can do that. It can implant unnecessary suggestions in both memory and sensory function. This is the tree that would grant the love wished by one person, and it gives a very successful rate of a hundred and twenty percent!" Konoe explained this as he turned back to his subordinates who were either looking intently or were quite confused about the whole one hundred and twenty percent success rate. Naruto looked like he was pondering at this. He may be pretty horrible at his math, but he certainly wasn't THAT horrible. He has the basics down decently but not up to par with his peers, unfortunately.
"Wow, a hundred and twenty percent? That's like saying out of one hundred people twenty of them fell in love with each other, suggesting that they may all have…"
Setsuna cut off the blonde at that statement by slamming her hand on the blonde's mouth, effectively blushing at the idea of what Naruto MIGHT have suggested out loud.
Everyone gawked at Naruto while Negi and Kotaro looked in confusion. Konohamaru had slapped a palm on his face and shook his head in embarrassment.
"I can't believe he's my idol."
"Setsuna-san, why did you have to disrupt nii-san like that? Is it something bad?"
Setsuna stammered at this the rest of the people who were listening to the discussion, quickly turned away from the scene and left Setsuna to explain about it.
"I-It's nothing really THAT concerning, Negi-sensei, it's just that it isn't the time to be discussing such things." Setsuna tried to find a way out of this particular situation when she turned to Konohamaru who vehemently shook his head when Setsuna told him to come up with something.
Kotaro looked confused at this as he then asked, "Huh? I didn't think it wasn't THAT out of the topic, I want to know what Aniki said!"
By now, the people around them were looking at Setsuna with sympathy who was still being peppered with Negi and Kotaro's questioning. Chamo, who had no sense of decency when it comes to these things, answered for Naruto.
"Ah, Negi-aniki, what Naruto-aniki was suggesting was that…"
The blonde haired woman sent Chamo a glare that somehow burned his soul into eternal damnation.
"You will tell no such thing to the children." If her voice were actually filled with some type of venom, Chamo would have already stopped breathing or turned into a puddle of his own flesh.
While the white Ermine was sweating bullets, Naruto had somehow escaped Setsuna's grasp and admitted his fault, "Right, sorry, my bad, there were children here. Sometimes I really need to stop thinking out loud."
"Why is it that the older kids get to know this and we don't?" Kotaro asked out loud this time, annoyed by the fact that he had been left hanging for information once again. Konohamaru simply answered bluntly, "Because you're still too young to know this, you'll get your chance when you're older."
Konoe, who looked amused at the interaction, merely hand waved Naruto's mistake and continued, "The world tree has this phenomenon for every twenty-two years. But because of changes in climate patterns, this came sooner than expected."
Then, with a wave of his hand, a diagram appeared out of thin air, it was a picture of the tree, in the center of a six pointed star.
"From the world tree in the center, six points around it gather its strong magical power. This Plaza is one of those places."
"But isn't experiencing young love normal?" Negi refuted, Konohamaru shook his head solemnly at this.
"Sorry, Negi, but that isn't what you'd call true emotion." The brunette said and Naruto gave a sagely nod.
"Yeah, it's more like a forced relationship with the recipient being sent unknowingly into some sort of servitude." Naruto mentioned.
Setsuna had her eyebrow raised and uneasily remarked, "Well if you put it that way…"
"It's rather ludicrous to think of such things, Negi-sensei, remember that the underlying principle for a magic user is completely opposite. A person needs permanence to manipulate their spirit. But if love isn't there, one person becomes a slave if the person they love cannot shoulder the burden and the situation… Becomes rather unpleasant, wouldn't you agree?" Konoe remarked
Negi looked like he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar as he fidgeted nervously. Making Love Potions are illegal after all, not that any of them needed to hear that. Konoe, who found Negi's actions peculiar, asked why he was acting that way while Chamo covered for him.
Konoe had let this go, Negi was a child after all, and although a mage, his mind was still young. Konoe then spoke once more, informing them of the situation.
"A considerable amount of rumors had already spread through the pupils." He mentioned with dread.
Many of the people inside were now sighing in exasperation. Their jobs just grew a lot harder. Who knows how many poor saps will try their hand on the whole thing just to see if it was true?
Konohamaru and Naruto were listening to the briefings coming from the woman with the book as she explained the societies and clubs that have uncovered this whole thing.
"Wow, this feels like a mission all over again. I'm getting excited about this all of a sudden." Naruto said this as his grin grew wider.
The blonde girl that threatened Chamo earlier grew a tick mark at the back of her ear as she reprimanded her fellow blonde, "This isn't a game, please take this seriously."
Her voice was filled with annoyance, but her tone was mostly subdued. Civility was the way to be a proper lady, after all.
Naruto, who by now noticed the stunning woman, merely tilted his head to the side at the woman's stern lecture.
"What? I was taking it seriously. It's just that it's been a while since I had a very exciting mission." Naruto sheepishly replied with a grin, the girl merely gave a 'humph' to his laid back response.
"It's awkward from the start of the school festival until the closing day because at this stage; the effects will begin to appear. We need to watch out for malicious pupils confessing at these six places." Konoe said and faced the crowd once more. Konohamaru shrugged.
"Well, I don't know about malicious intent coming from the students, but I think this is something worth watching out for."
"That reminds me." Konoe mentioned as he went over to Naruto, Konohamaru and Negi.
"You three should watch out for yourselves."
With that, all three of them looked like they didn't know what the heck the old man was talking about. And they wouldn't think of it any further when the girl with the broom muttered very close to Konoe.
"We're being watched."
And as swift as a bullet, a concentrated projectile of pure magic escaped from one of the staff members' right hitting the drone that was in midair shattering it completely.
They all looked up and Naruto took quick notice of Sayo who looked like a deer in the headlights.
Naruto motioned for Sayo to come down from where she was and asked her with a raised eyebrow, "Okay, Sayo, mind telling me what you're doing here?"
Sayo looked at her side to where Asakura was currently hiding. It never went unnoticed by the two ninja. Although Konohamaru was about to walk over to that area, Naruto stopped him dead in his tracks by grabbing his shoulder and telling him to stand down for the ghost girl.
Konohamaru, who had never once in his life believed in ghosts or things that involve the supernatural, still found it hard to comprehend that an actual ghost was in their presence. He looked at the girl rather expectantly, waiting for her to answer when she looked somewhat non-compliant. Naruto quickly noticed this in her behaviour and could only come up with one answer as to why Sayo never once moved her lips to speak.
Apparently, Sayo was covering up for someone as she refused to talk about it when she noticed the people around them were on high alert. Naruto took note of this, it seemed Sayo had found someone to befriend.
"Nevermind, we'll ask later. Right now, that spy drone is more important." Naruto stated as he let the whole situation go for now.
"My, my, our students are getting craftier and craftier by the day. I think they're on to us." Takamichi stated while another remarked, "Well that's not good."
Konoe then gave them their schedules during the festival.
"We'll be taking patrol shifts starting from today until the end of the festival. You have your orders." With that, the old man dismissed the people he had called for and immediately, the magic that was set up earlier, vanished.
People then began to slowly flock at the plaza as the members slipped into the crowd and vanished.
Naruto and Konohamaru did the same, although Naruto allowed Konohamaru to track down whoever was the one to place the drone near the place. Naruto simply gestured for Sayo to go before they remember to question her.
Grateful for the blonde's gesture, Sayo bowed deeply in front of the blonde and gave flew off after she did so.
"Are you sure about letting Sayo go, Naruto-sensei?" Setsuna asked, the blonde teacher smiled and explained to Setsuna.
"She was protecting someone. I don't know about you, but I feel it's worth it to let her go. She deserves this much for being such a determined girl. I admire her for it." Naruto said this as they went for a walk around the campus. Setsuna stopped her train of thought for a moment and finally, she too smiled. She understood what Naruto meant and she too, soon admired what Sayo was doing.
It took awhile for Sayo to have friends, she was always alone and nobody paid attention to her, when she made herself known, it was such a chaotic mess at first that Sayo was ready to disappear. She wanted to have friends, really, because treading the grounds for someone to notice the ghost of a dead girl made her almost unnoticed towards the people spiritually or magically unaware. But after the explanation of a huge misunderstanding, she gained some companions on her own. In her words, she told Setsuna why she had the guts to appear to them.
'Naruto-sensei said, that if I show what courage I have to other people, they'll be my friends! They'll see me and they'll understand me!'
It was simple, yet somehow, it made so much sense. And Naruto, before he could put priority to the school's reputation, prioritized his students first. He didn't want to take away the result of Sayo's little courage like that. It was too cruel of him to do so. So he did what only a man of his thinking should do, he put his faith on the girl.
Her thoughts were disrupted however, when a loud crash and the toppling of fresh fruits and baskets were heard near their side.
"Damn, that hurt!" A familiar voice shouted and out of the mess, Konohamaru had appeared and in his arms, was Chao, seemingly unharmed.
Chao then pleaded to the red headed teacher, "Negi-sensei! Can you help me? Suspicious people are chasing me!"
"What's this all about?" Naruto asked as he looked around, quickly noticing the humanoid like creatures running at them almost unnoticeable in the crowd.
"No time! I'll explain on the way!" Konohamaru shouted as he grabbed Chao by the arms and lifted her up, dashing away into the crowd with the rest following suit. They jumped from wall to wall, with the suspicious looking group soon giving chase.
Once they were on the roof, Naruto flicked his right hand and a kunai appeared from his sleeve. The blonde held his weapon in a reverse grip. It was then that Chao spoke in the midst of their jumps, "The truth is I'm being chased by an evil magician!"
Naruto wanted to ask what motive this person had if he was chasing Chao. But held it off when three humanoid like creatures jumped from the other roof after literally appearing from it. Setsuna parried them with her sheathed Nodachi followed suit by Konohamaru who was carrying the Chinese girl.
Chamo had a scowl on his face as he said to Negi, "Aniki, it's pretty obvious now."
Negi gave a nod to affirm what Chamo had deduced. The person they were facing was a western mage.
'But why would a western mage…' Negi's thoughts were immediately cut off when the men in black clothing went back to them.
Setsuna asked her companions at this, "Should we fight back?"
Kotaro gave a simple but toothy grin, highlighting his elongated fangs. The thrill of a fight was making him feel on edge.
"These things are like my Inugami Tsukai, putting them down is okay." Kotaro mentioned this with nothing but an amused tone.
Naruto quickly grabbed a smoke bomb from his pocket and dropped it on the ground, effectively concealing them from the sight of their enemies.
When the cloaked figures entered the smoke and their vision obstructed, the blonde shouted as loud as he can and commanded the others, "Start your counter-attack now!"
Almost immediately, the people that the cloaked wearing assailants thought were inside the smoke, appeared outside and pounced on them like wolverines, tearing them apart and quickly decimating their assailants.
Konohamaru, who had by then left Chao alone to get into the fray, was the first to act by activating his Doton: Domu. He smashed his way to the first two with a powerful clothesline that ripped them apart. Kotaro was next after performing a straight flying kick and flipping over the familiar's head before kicking the man's nape effectively destroying it.
Setsuna came in after, her dash was straight forward enough as she slashed her enemy after enemy. Her Nodachi glistening into the sun as it reflected its rays on it, performing a well crafted yet deadly dance around her foe.
"Fuuton: Daitoppa!" The smoke cleared, around the area, as the said smog covered only the outer ring, fully exposing them from up high. The tweaked jutsu adjusted the flow of the smoke as Naruto came in next jumping down below and smashing one on to the roof while kicking another one with a reverse heel kick on the person's chest sending it flying from the cloud of smoke. Naruto then spun and turned around; striking another with his elbow and finished with a direct palm strike that sent another flying as well. Naruto didn't forget the other one he had stepped on so he lifted the person up sent him away with Naruto performing a hip toss.
"Sagitta Magica Serius Lucis (Magical Barrage: Seventeen Arrows of Light)!"
Seventeen rays of light then escaped from Negi as he aimed his magic upwards towards where Naruto sent the puppets flying and with that, all seventeen of them bombarded the targets without mercy.
BOOM!
They all paused for a moment before Konohamaru spoke, "It would be bad if we stay around here, we need to get to somewhere safe then we can ask for questions."
All of them agreed to that and escaped through an empty alley so that they could talk.
"Now that we escaped from their sights for the moment, I'd like to hear as to why Chao was being chased by this 'evil magician'." Naruto meant to ask this to both Chao and Konohamaru. The brunette shrugged and had no idea as well. The heat of the battle prevented him from asking earlier.
"I don't think we're completely out of range yet." Setsuna warned, her eyes darting to her left, hand on her sword's handle once more.
"The one controlling them must be nearby."
Chao looked honestly surprised at this but commented nonetheless, "Everyone was so strong, I was actually surprised, ne. In this era, there's still this many people that can fight so well without the aid of firearms."
Chao then approached Negi and gave the redhead a thumbs-up, "To perform magic and release it like fireworks, as expected of Negi-sensei!"
Negi scratched the back of his head at this and looked rather embarrassed, "Chao-san, it seems you know a lot about magic."
"Oh, well, a little, ne." She replied, a little too coy.
"Who exactly was chasing you?" Negi asked, obviously wanting to get down to the bottom of this little scuffle.
"More importantly, why?" Konohamaru interjected. There had to be a reason why they were chasing this girl. Did she know something they don't?
To this question, Chao flinched a little. Konohamaru easily caught on to that body language but decided not to ask her about it. He would have to ask Naruto instead.
Setsuna then told them to keep quiet.
"It seems that they already know of our location." Setsuna mentioned as Kotaro grinned.
"Three of them, in fact, one on the roof, the other two are fifty to eighty meters away from here, on either side of the alley. They have this place surrounded." Kotaro mentioned this to them.
"They're planning an ambush…" Naruto told this as he cupped his chin to think. An idea sprang forth from his mind and grinned.
"Konohamaru, ambush-counter number three…" Naruto simply said this as a small bubble of distorted space appeared before him before vanishing in a yellow flash.
"What does he mean by that, Konohamaru-nii-san?" Asked the red head, the brunette simply answered.
"Just sit here and keep Chao safe. Setsuna, take the person on the roof." Konohamaru then used a simple Shunshin to get out of sight and only left behind a cloud of smoke.
Out into the crowd and into the roof, the three assailants stopped dead in their tracks when two out of the five of them vanished into thin air.
No, there was only one that vanished; the other was moving at an incredibly fast pace.
By now, Chamo had blocked any and all telepathy spells with his magic.
Takane was not having a good day; she couldn't have found a more laid back person in her life than the one she had just talked to earlier. Was that the new staff member that Takahata-sensei had been referring? He certainly did look the part, but his attitude leaves much to be desired. That and he didn't take the situation seriously. The person had never even introduced himself. He was very rude if she could put it to words. That man wouldn't survive for another decade if he kept his attitude up, genius or no genius.
"I would stop here if I were you."
The voice threatened. It sounded familiar, but it held no ease to her. She felt a very cold and sharp object resting on her neck. It was close. An arm then wrapped itself just above her chest, disabling her arms to do anything since her shoulders were affected, if she were in a normal position, she would be flustered.
She was suddenly pulled back in an empty alley, one different from the place she was supposed to go to as her hands shivered from the danger that she was feeling.
Her eyes looked down; cold sweat escaping from her as she finally noticed the knife very close to her neck.
"You're after one of the students. Who are you and what do you want?"
"T-Takane D. Goodman… Senior, Mahora Academy. I'm here to arrest the culprit, Chao Lingshen on suspicious grounds that she has violated one of the rules by releasing information concerning the magical world."
Naruto eased the grip of his kunai and dropped it. He then forced Takane to turn around to face him and shouted very loud.
"SAY WHAT?"
To be continued…
Heh, it's been a while again. I've been busy with all the projects and stuff around here that I couldn't find the time to write. Though I really, really WANTED so bad to skip this chapter and you can see some significant parts that I obviously omitted since I wanted the Festival to get rolling already. I already have the perfect design and abilities for Naruto's pactio. For Konohamaru's, I'm still thinking about it and no, I'm not using claymores, katanas, broadswords, zanbatous, or ANY sword and especially NOT firearms for Naruto's main pactio, what it is, you'll just have to wait along with WHO the pactio partner is. It certainly won't be Negi or Konoka and I'm still undecided with Eva. And as you can see here, I've explained some things that may intrigue you on the alternate dimension thing.
Regarding Naruto and Kyuubi:
Naruto and the Kyuubi have this cutthroat relationship to begin with. Naruto hates the Kyuubi as does the Kyuubi to Naruto. But Kyuubi respects Naruto's abilities, it's just that he had no intention of letting Naruto earn his power because he doesn't want to let Naruto do it. The reason being he's a complete bastard with no sense of pity or mercy and that Naruto, like it or not, utterly humiliated him by taking his chakra and taming it.
another author's note: Guess who Naruto's counterpart is.
Preview:
"You mean to tell me that Chao was violating the school rules on the ground that she's been leaking about Magic to outsiders?" Naruto asked, incredulous at that fact
"Yes and because of this, the school is concerned about what may happen if the world of outsiders discover and believe this. Wars can and will happen if Magic becomes a commodity just look at the past wars triggered by petty disputes. Do you see the reasoning behind it?"
"I do."
A smile graced Takane's lips as Naruto finally understood the implications of leaking magic to the rest of the world.
"But I should let you know, from where I come from, jutsu is very common knowledge. So before I side with anyone in this, I think it's a safe bet to let Negi decide what to do with HIS student. You all don't have the authority over that." Naruto reminded her, seemingly turning his back from her site and vanishing after a bubble of time and space, bent and swallowed him, leaving behind a trail of a yellow flash.