Living Decay

Chapter 21

Naruto was very hesitant on leaving his hospital room. He continuously looked down at his deformed claw-hand with a look of worry and fear.

Sure, Hinata was willing to accept his change, but Naruto knew that the other villagers would most likely react a lot more negatively towards his grotesque change.

He had full control over the hand and he had been practicing using the new appendage so to be sure to never harm anyone with it; despite it being some sort of weapon for him to freely use. How; he still did not know.

Eventually, the boy worked up the courage to leave and was pleased to see that every body was too busy with their own issues to worry about the strange claw that now stood in place of Naruto's hand.

Upon exiting the hospital, Naruto was greeted by his usual entourage, the two Stalkers he had made so long ago. He was pleased to see that they had made it through the invasion intact.

Walking home, Naruto noted the damage that the invasion had caused. And the damage his own monsters had put on his home; especially the massive tear in the Earth that his largest beast had caused.

Already, the construction teams were figuring out how to fill in the hole so that the rebuilding of the surrounding structures could begin. Everything was just one big mess.

And Naruto knew he was the one to blame. At least for a large portion of the village's destruction.

He did his best to avoid as many people as possible on his way home; the close he got to it the easier that became.

Naruto was not too surprised to see his dilapidated apartment still intact. It was a worthless place usually, so why would anybody bother to attack it?

The next few weeks were spent helping the village repair all that was possible. Naruto's team went on only one or two real missions outside of the village, mostly just resource collection to help in the repairs and not much more.

Kakashi was sure to document how his team was handling themselves after experiencing a miniature war first hand. Everyone took full-force aggression differently and nobody walked out of a fight without some sort of scar.

Naruto, strangely, did not complain about the lack-luster and rather boring missions. Feelings of guilt would not allow him to. The boy did not appear to want to talk as much as usual and his usual upbeat mannerisms had diminished significantly to the point that the jonin was already determined to address the issue to the Hokage.

He knew that the boy must be feeling an untold amount of guilt due to the destruction his massive worm-beast had caused trying to protect the village. Kakashi had tried to explain to the boy that sometimes casualties happen and that the damage that his creations had caused was nothing compared to what could have potentially happened to his home if they had not been around to protect it.

It did little to comfort the boy. At least having him help out with the village repairs appeared to ease his displeasure as well as the fact that Kakashi and Sakura were both accepting of his new hand.

Sakura was handling everything really well, not to the surprise of the old scarecrow. She handles herself well and even struck fear in the enemies when showing off her colossal strength. Kakashi was almost positive that some of the damage was so to her short-temper as apposed to either the enemies or Naruto's beasts.

She showed no real obvious signs of either mental or physical distress due to the invasion. But did cut her hair the next day after as well as began to forgo the tight shorts she wore as well as opening the front of her battle dress a little more. Something clearly happened during the invasion to cause the girl to 'express' herself more assertively.

Regardless, Rock lee did not appear to disprove of the girls change in attire. After seeing his girlfriend in such a public display, the poor kid became flustered beyond belief and was unable to say a proper sentence for at least a few hours without stumbling over his words.

Kakashi just hoped her parents have already given her the 'birds and bees' talk. Otherwise how was just going to throw one of his adult books at her and hope for the best.

Since the invasion, Sasuke had been acting more and more reserved than usual. He came to meetings with bags under his eyes and appeared to be in a constant of annoyance and exhaustion. He spoke even less than normal to his teammates but appeared to be harboring some sort of extreme animosity towards Naruto; if the glares to the back of the blond-boy's head was any indicator.

Every time the team performed a task, Sasuke appeared to try and do double as much. Even going so far as attempting to take away responsibilities that were put into Naruto.

This behavior, besides being very rude, was not conducive to a proper team dynamic and needed to stop immediately.

It was after another day of helping the village rebuild that Kakashi was about to pull the Uchiha brat aside for a stern talking to when an all-too familiar silhouette approached the tired group.

Kakashi's lax stance quickly straightened as Lady Orochimaru approached the matter how hard he tried to keep his cool demeanor and his lack-of-concern attitude; it all quickly vanished when this beauty of a woman showed up.

She still confused everyone as to how she appeared to float along the ground instead of walking. Her beauty once again turning nearly every head while the power she radiated prevented any from approaching her. If she found anything even remotely interesting in you; she was going to approach you, not the other way around.

She gave Kakashi a momentary glance before focusing all of her attention on her one and only true target. She did not say a word as her eyes scanned the boy. She had not seen him for a while, but he had appeared to have matured a bit since their last encounter.

Her eyes zoomed in on Naruto's mutated had and the older woman had to fight an urge to grab the boy and do whatever it took to make him let her take a good long look at it.

Lady Orochimaru quickly caught herself staring and gave her elegant smile to the whole team; almost completely removing any possible inhibitions they might have to dealing with her in any way. Not that there were any.

Except from possibly Naruto. He still recalled what the woman had done to him that night so long ago; forcing a light blush to grace his face.

The older woman caught the slight flushing of the boy's face and made sure to hide her pleased grin as a simple kind smile.

"Lady Orochimaru." Kakashi addressed the woman forcing her attention away from her prize. "What brings you here?" He immediately wanted to slap himself at least a dozen times over. What kind of moronic question was that? She was clearly here about the attack on the village; though, specifically what for regarding as such was still unknown.

"I just returned from a little meeting with the Hokage." She explained in the royal tone that nearly knocked everyone right off their feet with the power each word held.

"He explained everything to me." She looked from Kakashi back to Naruto. "I just wanted to offer something to little Naruto here."

Said boy's only response was to gulp audibly. The unease that the woman gave him was indescribable; yet at the same time he could not help but feel proud that such an important figure had such an interest in him. Even though here very interest in the boy was something else entirely than what he would prefer.

"Y-Yes?" He tried his damnedest to hide the unease he felt, but not even his constant nightmares intimidated him as much as this woman did.

"I would rather explain my offer in private." She looked back to the rest of the group. "If that is alright with you." It was not an question. This was a demand. There was no way in Hell that this powerful woman was going to accept anything but the answer she wanted to hear.

Without saying a word, Kakashi gave a nod and gave a half-assed wave as he departed for the day.

Sakura straightened her outfit slightly before going off to go do her own thing and Sasuke had left right after Lady Orochimaru had uttered Naruto's name.

If anyone had actually observed the Uchiha as he left the group, they would have noticed his aggressive stance. Rage had quickly filled him the instant that woman had shown her intent towards his teammate.

Why was he so important? He was a freak that made a mockery of death by bring those lost back from the abyss. He should be held in the most darkest dungeon since birth and never should have seen the light of day. Better, he should have been killed the instant that his cursed power had shown itself. Would have saved the village a whole lot of trouble.

So why is it that this freak has the attention of not just the Hokage but also one of the most powerful ninja to ever grace the Earth when the last Uchiha was standing right here with the all powerful Sharingan eye and the blood line of the most powerful ninja family to ever exist?

Would it not make more sense to groom him instead of the village failure? He needed to become the strongest ninja in recorded history. There was no other way for him to kill his loathsome brother and restore his clan back to it's former glory. The incomprehensible stupidity of the village baffled the young warrior to no end.

So, he had taken it upon himself to train nonstop, day in and day out, to remind the village who he was and what he stood for. It was no secret that the Uchiha were one of, if not the primer, founders of this village. Without them, the village was significantly weaker than it had ever been; even with all the other clans.

HE was the future of this village.

"Um," Naruto had no idea what to say now that he and the scarily beautiful woman were alone.

Lady Orochimaru did not appear to hear the boy as she began to walk away from him towards an unknown location.

Naruto stared for a moment before realizing she wanted him to follow; which he did.

Orochimaru was lucky that no one could see her face, as she was sporting the strangest smile that fit more on a love-struck lunatic than an elegant lady of her standing.

The boy was actually following her with out her even saying a word! It was the most adorable form of obedience she had ever witnessed.

This boy was powerful. Very powerful.

His ability to bring back the dead as twisted malformed horrors was what originally caught his attention. His cute face helped a tad. But his willingness to do whatever she said just solidified her attraction to the boy.

She could see it now...

Naruto, a now full grown man tied up in chains, on a hard stone table. His eyes begging her to let him go as she stands over him with her foot firmly pressed against his-

Lady Orochimaru shook her head a bit to clean her mind of such foul thoughts. Those thoughts were not meant for someone like her.

Her interest in the boy was completely scientific based and had nothing to do with how obediently he did everything she asked without asking too many questions. She loved obedience so very much.

She lead Naruto over to a nearby food stand, ordered a small drink and sat down at the close-by bench; giving the boy a look demanding that he do the same.

He did so without question.

The pair sat in silence for a moment.

"I'm going to be going on a little trip in a few days." Orochimaru started. "I'm going out to search for my old teammates."

Naruto opened his mouth to speak but was quickly interrupted by the older woman.

"Yes. The other two powerful shinobi that make up the Legendary Sannin. The Sage Jiraiya and the world's strongest woman, Tsunade." She took a sip of her drink. "I am hoping to convince them both to come back to both help with the rebuilding of the village." She gave Naruto a glance. "As well as several other projects I have in mind."

She turned to face Naruto; who was downing his own beverage.

"I would like for you to accompany me."

Naruto gulped hard. The thought of being left completely alone with this woman was a terrifying thought. The thought of her trying again what she had done a month or so ago sent a shiver up the boy's spine; but not an entirely displeased one.

The woman reached out for the boy; who flinched back instinctively.

Lady Orochimaru halted her hand for a moment before gently placing it down on his constantly decaying hand. "I could help you with your ability, Naruto." Her hand gently caressed the rough and torn flesh.

"I really do want to help you." Her other hand had come up and was now gently holding onto the side of Naruto's face.

Naruto felt terribly uncomfortable and wanted nothing more than to deny the woman's request; but knew that doing so would be a terrible mistake with possible consequences effecting him for the rest of his life.

Needless to say, Naruto gave the powerful woman a nod and nearly gave a sigh of relief when she responded with a small smile.

Lady Orochimaru rose from her seat. "We will depart in a few days." She repeated. "I don't expect we will be leaving the Land of Fire, so please pack accordingly."

She turned her head to look at Naruto. Her face, the same graceful smile that nearly everyone else in the world would kill just to have directed at them.

"The Hokage already knows that I have requested to take you along with me and has agreed. So there are no worries about you leaving the village." She gave the boy a small bow. "I look forward to our trip together, little Naruto."

Naruto watched in a cold sweat as the woman left. Just what had he gotten himself into?

At the same time, he could not help but feel very proud. One of the most powerful ninja alive wanted him to travel with her to find the other two most powerful shinobi around.

Naruto decided to focus more in the prideful feeling than the worry and looked forward to the trip as a chance to grow and become even stronger. Surely, Lady Orochimaru was going to train him at least a little bit on this trip. She even said so.

This trip was a once in a lifetime chance and you bet Naruto was going to take full advantage of it.

"It was a complete fucking failure." A rouge Stone shinobi mumbled into his drink. The man sat at a table near the back of a barely used tavern out in the middle of nowhere. The last place safe for him.

"You were a part of that invasion?" One of his new cohorts replied. After his colossal failure, the shinobi quickly gathered all he could and made a break for any country boarder he could before his own people could find him and tear him apart.

"Yeah." He downed another glass of a foul tasting brown liquid that burned everything it touched. Yet the pain that he felt from the hard drink was nothing compared to his hatred for both his old home and the village that forced him from it.

"So what happened?" Another cohort inquired while leaning in. Not a word of the specifics of the invasion had gotten out to anyone who was not directly involved. As far as the rest of the world knew Sand and Stone failed to take down the Leaf and failed spectacularly.

The man downed another drink, slamming the glass onto the table hard. "It was all because of those damn brats!" He suddenly roared.

"A group of genin caused two military villages to fail in invading a single, unaided village?" A third snorted.

"Fuck you!" The rouge Stone ninja shouted. "If that stupid fucking kid had not given the wrong signal then the whole thing would have gone off perfectly!"

"That can't be the only reason the attack failed."

The ex-Stone shinobi glared down at his drink. "It doesn't fucking matter now. I'm not a part of those fucks anymore. I'll be making more doing shit with you all anyway."

The other three gave slight cheers while downing their own drinks.

One of them leaned in a bit. "I already got our first score all set up." He whispered. The drinking clearly already going to his head as talking about something in such a public; though empty, place was not usually seen as a good idea.

The others giggled a bit while leaning in to listen to the man's loud whispers.

"So, you know how there is this big ol' market town where a large number of the other countries bring their good right? Smack dab in the middle where all of them meet right?"

Everyone nodded, confused to what their friend was going to imply.

"So, I was thinkin' that we all join in with the local gangs and what-not and work our way up to the top?"

His friends all gave a collect groan of disapproval.

The man looked around. "What? I know it'll take time but I'm sure that we're good enough that it'd only be a matter of time before we all ruled the entire town."

"You think your the first to come up with a lame plan like that?" One of his cohorts commented. "I can promise you that nearly every single gang, bandit, and bastard there have the exact same idea and have been working on it far longer than any of us."

The plan making guy sighed heavily. "Fine, guess we'll just keep doin' what we've been doin'."

"Finish up boys." The second bandit ordered. "It's getten' late and we got folks to victimize." He nudged his crestfallen friend. "Maybe we'll catch a noble's daughter or somethin' and we'll get a fortune for her 'save' return."

His friend perked up at the prospect, but did not lose his disappointed stance.

One of them went up and paid the tab. It was a good bar and the owner never asked any questions about its' patrons; so keeping a closed mouth was good enough to warrant a paid bill.

The group made for the door, all chatting and have a good laugh.

Until one of them actually opened the door.

They were greeting with the large and imposing form of the Hunter bearing down on them. One bladed arm already thrust through the chest of one of the bandits.

"Oh fuck." The ex-Stone ninja whined pathetically. This hulking stalker was the other reason he was no longer in his homeland.

At first he thought it was just another one of the monsters that the Hidden Leaf had that just followed him home. He tried loosing it for a while and appeared to be successful several times; but it would always show up later.

He tried fighting the beast a dozen times. Nothing worked.

He cut it apart with a thousand blades. He blew it up with one million bombs.

All of it useless.

Any damage it appeared to receive appeared to simply vanish away.

He did everything he could to try and distract the creature. Not a single thing worked.

It just kept coming.

And it had finally found him here. How? He had no idea.

The grumbling beast looked at it's impaled prey for a moment; recognized that it was not it's target, then lazily tossed the body aside. It's hollow yellow eyes quickly fixed on it's target once again.

That living corpse that had dared to harm it's master!

The rest of the bandits quickly ran as the creature stomped forward, it never moving faster than a brisk walk.

The man ran once again; as he had done time and again.

Only, this time he had drink in him slowing him down dangerously. Every step felt like he had lead weights tied to his ankles.

He stumbled to the back of the bar, near the fire exit. The world swam around him as he was suddenly assaulted with the light of the setting sun.

He continued to run as best he could; doing everything he could to shake off his inebriation.

He looked behind him to see the creature slowly walking towards him; even as he got further and further away. By the time he found a place to stop for a moment, the effects of the alcohol in his system where nearly completely gone.

Years of training as an assassin could teach you some very useful life skills.

He leaned against a nearby tree trying to clear his grog-clouded mind, looking up just in time to see that monster slowly passing towards him.

He felt so helpless. No matter what he did, the creature would not stop. He could slow it down, but for only so long.

It had been chasing him for weeks without any sign of giving up. And he honestly doubted it ever will until he dies.

He couldn't anymore. He couldn't run. He couldn't hide.

He was so tired.

This thing was so unlike any enemy soldier he had ever encountered. Never resting, never tiring, never dying.

He slowly slumped down against the tree; the desire to fight having completely left him. Maybe, if he had not drunken so much, he might have tried to run once again; but the futility of doing so as well as his depression over recent events removed all feelings of hope that he might have had for survival.

He looked up as the creature approached. It stopped for just a moment in front of the man; staring down at him with those unyielding yellow eyes.

The man made a very feeble attempt at crawling away only to have an impossible amount of pain tear through every nerve in his body as a massive blade impale itself on his stomach.

The man's eyes widened in shock as he was raised off the ground and brought closer to the beast's face.

Said creature tilted it's head slightly before bringing up it's other am and stabbing the man through the stomach with it as well. It quickly yanked the second blade out before plunging it back in over and over, spilling blood all along the road.

Blood poured from the man's mouth as his gut was torn apart.

The creature stopped for a moment before using it's second blade to suddenly slice away the man's legs; finally tearing a scream out from his dying throat.

It did not hesitate and quickly sliced away one of his arms; leaving him little more than a bleeding torso.

In one finally desperate bid for life, the ex-Stone shinobi reached out towards the creature with his one remaining arm. His eyes begged for the creature to show mercy. To just let him go.

He just wanted to live; even it is meant being unable to move anymore. The man valued his life too much to just let it all go.

"Please." His bloody throat croaked out. His outstretched had was just able to reach the creature's chest.

It stared at him for a moment before letting out a low growl and bringing it's attacking blade down on his still impaled form; severing his head and remaining arm from the rest of his torso.

It then hacked the remaining corpse off of it's other blade and began to stab at the pieces; just to insure that it's target was no longer drawing life.

Satisfied with the mess it had made, the creature turned away from the human remains and began the long trek back home; pleased that it had removed the one that had tried to harm it's master.

It would return home and wait until it was needed again, to take care of those that the others could not; for one reason or another. Being able to ignore your master's occasionally foolish orders did have it's benefits it appeared.

Before, when it was still another of the master's loyal servants, it was tasked with the needless job of protecting the master's place of rest. What a foolish task to give such a prime Hunter. The master's home was never in any danger of either damage or invasion; being surrounded by his loyal family and the living corpses that appeared to want to serve him as well.

The master himself was also never in any real danger. His Stalkers along with the massive Tormentor would insure his safety; as well as the countless other members of the family. So there was no need for the Hunter to remain waiting at the master's home to guard against invaders that would never come.

Instead, the Mind had decided to give the first of it's master's creations the honor of becoming something more than it already was. A more effective member of the family that would be able to better serve it's master through it's own thoughts and volition instead of depending on it's master for every command, or even the orders from the Mind itself.

It's body had been changed to better serve a different purpose than the other's of it's kind. To be a true Hunter of the living. It's new purpose was to no longer simply protect it's master, but to teach the foolish living corpses roaming this planet that they are not to harm it's master. Any that do will never be forgiven and will pay not only with their life, but also by never being given the chance to join the family.

Thoughts of potentially betraying it's master never dared to enter it's new mind. Why would it? Killing him would remove not only itself but also all of new joy's it felt upon slaughter. Killing without the joy of knowing that you were expanding your family was not something that the creature was willing experience.

This new un-life it had been granted was too great for it to even contemplate betraying it's kind and loving master. But it will ignore the master's orders if it deemed the master's orders too detrimental to the master or the master's family. Even if it meant the wrath of either the Mind or the Master; if it was for the well being of the family, then nothing else mattered.

Nothing mattered besides the family.