Digi doesn't own Naruto... Oh but he does look like a tasty human...I wonder if Tobi would let us have him once this is all over...Hmm, I doubt it, oh well.
Sage
Book V: Water
"Insanity is doing the same fucking thing, over and over again, expecting shit to change. That's crazy." - Vaas
It was a relatively normal day in the northern region of Mizu no Kuni, so naturally it was raining, the mists were heavy, and visibility was low. Two Shinobi were out patrolling the coast, their worn headbands clearly marking them as Kirigakure ninja. Of course nowadays in Mizu no Kuni that can mean one of two things, loyalists or rebels. Unlike in Ame no Kuni, it was very well know that a civil war had broken out in Kirigakure ever since the Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura, had declared war on bloodline users.
It was a bloody time for residents in the land of water with entire clans of Kekkei Genkai users going extinct overnight under the orders of Kiri's Kage. Of course these people were human so they didn't take it lying down; naturally a rebellion arose against the current regime, with many bloodline clans banding together against the purists under Yagura's iron control. In this time of war and bloodshed the once peaceful, if not secluded, Mizu no Kuni had gained a new moniker, the Bloody Mist.
"Come on Kenji, get off your ass and stop lazing around." One of the Shinobi, a lanky man with limp brown hair covered by a loose-fitting blue bandanna, was currently waiting for his companion to get up from where he was lounging against the base of a large tree.
"Eh, calm down Shiroko, it's not like we're in any rush." The man on the ground had a decidedly more laid-back attitude than his more uptight comrade, as evidenced by his slack posture and lidded eyes. He was casually chewing on a senbon, a favoured weapon of the Kiri hunter-nin, both past and present.
"Yeah we are, we have to complete our patrol and report in to Shima-taichou in ten minutes." The man on the floor just groaned as he lurched to his feet, swaying slightly with his arms hanging limply in front of him.
"Fine, I don't get why we're even patrolling here, nothing ever happens this far north. Everybody knows all the real fighting happens in the contested zones on the main island." Shiroko's eyebrow merely twitched in irritation as he began to walk off, caring less and less if his lazy compatriot was actually following.
"You know perfectly well why we're here, it's because you were idiotic enough to make all those inappropriate comments about Mei-sama!" Kenji just chuckled into his long sleeve as he languidly followed after his rigid friend.
"Oh yeah, that was pretty funny. I swear Ao's eye was gonna pop out or something when he overheard." Because of the mist Kenji missed his companion's face turn an increasingly virulent shade of red.
"It wasn't funny, we could have been on lockdown for a few weeks for what you said. We're lucky to just be stuck on guard duty up here!" Kenji merely waved a lazy hand in Shiroko's general direction, more out of acknowledgement than any kind of apology.
"You worry too much, at least it's quiet up here. The reports from down south are getting pretty bloody lately." Shiroko merely sighed, adjusting his bandanna slightly and tucking a few strands of hair underneath the cloth.
"Yeah I guess you're right about-" Both Shinobi were suddenly interrupted as they heard a faint but increasingly loud whistling sound approaching their position. While Kenji might have been lazy, and rude, and incompetent at times, he was still a trained Shinobi and recognised what that sound could mean. Both sets of eyes turned towards the stretch of coast they were nearest two to see a black spot in the sky, barrelling towards them at astonishing speeds.
"Incoming!" Kenji and Shiroko both took cover behind a set of palm trees, keeping an eye on the shore and the incoming projectile. However both could only raise an eye when whatever it was drew closer, eliciting another sound.
"YAHHHOOOOOOOO!" As enormous crash followed as whatever it was smashed right into the water at the shore, creating an enormous splash that nearly reached the two hidden men. When the water finally settled both were astonished to see what appeared to be a young boy in his early teens crouched in a three-point stance on the water's surface. If it weren't for his unusual arrival in Mizu no Kuni the two might have mistaken him for a monk, he was wearing the traditional robes and carried a shakujou. The only thing that marked him as any different was the archaic headband on his forehead, the type that hadn't been worn for centuries.
"Kuchiyose!" As if only to surprise the two even more the boy immediately slammed his hand down on the water, a sealing matrix quickly spreading out from his palm. Once the resulting veil of smoke lifted the rebel Shinobi could see two girls, one with purple hair dressed as a miko, the other with green hair in more revealing white clothing. The violette looked decidedly ill from the rather unorthodox method of travel while the verdette merely straightened up, glancing around their new surroundings.
The two Kiri Shinobi shared a quick look before nodding to one another and dashing off; their captain had to be informed of something like this.
"Urrgghh, I don't feel too good." Naruto just gave Shizuku a sympathetic pat on the back as the girl leaned heavily on a nearby tree. She sent a scathing look at Fuu who didn't even seemed fazed by the summoning; in fact she was scouting the area in case of dangerous Shinobi or bandits.
"How come she's okay?" Naruto just shrugged, careful not to remove his hand from Shizuku's back where he was making light, soothing circles which seemed to be helping.
"It must be like motion sickness, it just affects some worse than others." Shizuku nodded meekly, she didn't seem all that pleased about it; her rather green-tinted face said that much.
"I just still can't believe you made it all the way across in a day." Naruto just grinned happily. It had taken substantial effort and a brief stop at a small island he had passed but he had managed to cross the sea separating Kaminari no Kuni and the northern islands of Mizu no Kuni. Mostly he had just used his gravity manipulation to make himself lighter and bounded across the open water. It wasn't quite 'striding' but he figured it was close enough; however even he wasn't completely immune to Chakra exhaustion.
"Naruto? Naruto!" Shizuku managed to catch the blonde as he suddenly wilted on his feet, swaying like a sickly plant before simply slumping to his side, completely worn out. Fuu quickly jogged back over after hearing her friend's cries only to see a blissfully sleeping blonde in Shizuku's arms. A small smirk crossed the caramel-skinned girl's features as she helped her friend get the blonde up onto his feet.
"He really overdid himself this time didn't he?" Shizuku nodded with a warm smile, she was still feeling a little ill from the impromptu transport but she had to admit what Naruto did was reckless, even for the container of three Bijuu.
"But I don't know what he would be like if he didn't do stuff like this." Even Fuu had to smile at that as she quickly pulled Naruto onto her back, his limp head lolling comically over her shoulder. Shizuku looked a little jealous that Fuu was the one carrying Naruto but she knew Fuu was both stronger than her and had greater stamina.
"We should find a town so he can recuperate." Shizuku shook her head to clear away her green-tinged thoughts with a smile before nodding in agreement, only having half heard what her friend had said.
A light groaning announced Naruto's re-awakening to the world, or more specifically the little brown-haired girl who was staring at him not three inches from his face. She also happened to be sitting directly on Naruto's chest, a fact he noticed through his suddenly laboured breathing. They just stared at one another for a few moments, Naruto with an expressionless face and the girl with one of awed curiosity that only children can pull off well.
"You have funny eyes." Naruto let a small smile spread over his face, stretching out the whisker marks on his cheeks, much to the little girl's amusement.
"Thank you, I take pride in my eyes bringing amusement to others." The girl just cocked her head slightly, trying to figure out what Naruto meant by that and if he was being serious or sarcastic, then again very few three years olds have a solid grasp on sarcasm. In the end she simply giggled into her hand as she got up off of Naruto's chest and ran from the room with quick, pattering steps. Naruto raised himself onto his arms with an amused expression before looking around to try and see where he was.
It was a small but warm room with a very family feel with its cosy red walls and simple but well-used furniture. There were a few pictures on the wall of a family; the little girl featured in most of them as well as two adults who were most likely her parents given the similar hair colour of the woman and eyes of the man. He sat up and stretched his neck as he quickly removed the blanket that had been laid over him, panicking slightly when he realised his clothes and possessions were missing. He relaxed though when he spotted them over on a nearby chair, his shakujou leant up against it.
"I hope Tenai didn't disturb your sleep." Naruto looked up just as he pulled on the last of his clothes, his robe-like shirt, to see the woman that featured in most of the pictures. He just gave a kindly smile, allowing his features to set into his well-practiced serene expression.
"Of course not, she was merely curious." The woman chuckled in a light tinkling tone with a knowing nod. She herself was like an older version of the little girl with the same long brown hair and kindly heart-shaped face. She had a few wrinkles and worry lines but her eyes held plenty of youth and energy. "May I ask where I am?" Quickly nodding the woman motioned for the blonde to follow her out of the room.
"I'm Minawa, your friends brought you here to our village saying you had fallen unconscious from exhaustion. I let you sleep in the spare room." Naruto just nodded politely. "They are in the kitchen waiting for you." The blonde followed the woman through the small house, it only seemed to have one floor and it only took them a moment to reach the cosy kitchen area. Fuu was sitting in a chair to one side, flipping through a book from the countless she had stored away in a scroll while Shizuku was at the table making funny faces for Tenai. However she immediately looked up as Naruto walked in, her eyes widening as Naruto braced himself.
"Naruto-kun!" Not one to be caught out twice Naruto actually managed to catch the girl this time instead of being bowled over, holding her secure in his arms as she hugged her. Fuu looked up over the edge of her book, her eyes narrowing slightly as a feeling ran through her chest that she didn't recognise; once again she wondered if she was coming down with something. Then again she was a Jinchuuriki, she had never been sick in her life before; her advanced healing took care of them too quickly.
"Morning Shizuku." The blushing girl quietly got off of Naruto, suddenly realising how that might have looked to the others in the room. Sure enough Fuu had gone back to her book, however there was a faint red on her cheeks and Minawa was quietly giggling into her sleeve like a schoolgirl. Naruto quickly turned to the woman and bowed his head slightly, not in deference but in respect. "Thank you for your hospitality Minawa-san, is there anything I can do to repay you before we leave?" The brown-haired woman frowned slightly at that, saddened that the people who had gotten on so well with Tenai were already leaving.
"Must you go so soon?" Naruto just nodded with a slightly sad smile, he didn't know the woman but she seemed kind for letting complete strangers into her home.
"Yes, we're going to Kiri so it would be better to get moving in the early hours of the day before the mists get too thick." The mists of Mizu no Kuni were somewhat of a legend; they never truly dissipated. The country was always shrouded by at least a light fog, much like how Amegakure was always experiencing some degree of rainfall. At worst the fog could make it almost impossible for you to see even your own hand in front of your face. They tended to get worse as the day went on so travelling in the mornings was fairly common. Minawa on the other hand just gained a look of alarm as her eyes widened; the two girls had not told her their destination.
"Kiri? You're going to Kirigakure no Sato?" Naruto just nodded, slightly confused by the woman's startled reaction. "But you can't! The civil war is worst between here and there!" She looked sadly across the room to another portrait of the happy family trio all grinning at whoever was taking the photo. "Many people are fighting and dying out there right now. And not just those fighting, those caught in the crossfires are dying too." She looked up, surprised to feel a warm hand clasp her shoulder, to see Naruto smiling at her softly.
"Don't worry about us, we're a tough group." He nodded politely again, leaving a few ryo, the equivalent for a stay in a nice inn, on the table as he made for the door. "Again, I thank you for the warm bed." With that he waved before ducking under the flaps that acted like the door, Fuu and Shizuku quickly following him out into the street after saying their own goodbyes. Tenai rushed out after them, slightly saddened to see the funny people leaving but waving with a grin on her face all the same.
"Bye mister funny eyes! Bye bye nice ladies!" The trio smiled at the little girl as they walked off, Minawa coming out a moment later to usher her daughter back inside. Soon they were walking down the street of the village they were in, getting the occasional nod from a townsmen that passed them in the opposite direction. Naruto just looked around with a genuine smile; the village seemed peaceful and happy, nothing like Mizu no Kuni had been described to him by one of the monks who had tried to provide aid there.
His name was Matoko, an elderly monk who had been with the Fire Temple for all of his adult life since running away from his home as a teenager. He had gone out to Mizu no Kuni when word of the civil war had reached the mainland; of course with Kiri being the isolationists they were that could have been anything from a month to a year after the war actually started. He had come back with tales of how run-down and desperate the population was with thieving children and beggars on street corners. In the end he had been forced to leave the country after numerous threats from Kiri loyalist ninja who didn't appreciate him aiding the supposed bloodline lovers.
Then again, they were currently in the territory that was more or less completely in the control of the rebels, namely the northern islands and about a quarter of the main island. Beyond that it was miles of contested territory, the territory borders being moved on an almost daily basis as counterattack after attack was launched between the two sides vying for control. So far the conflict had not reached Kiri itself but from what he knew the rebels were slowly but surely pushing south, claiming more and more land.
"So where are we going now? Are we really going to Kirigakure?" Naruto just nodded as they walked, the group having already made it outside of the village and into a thickly forested area that would be difficult to traverse once the mist really came in. "But why? What about the war." Naruto sighed but didn't stop moving, deftly stepping over various roots that would have tripped a civilian.
"Because that is where we can provide the most aid." Fuu nodded from behind him; she had a chance to talk with Minawa and had gotten a fairly good idea of what it was like in the contested areas. "Plus, we need to go somewhere to train mine and your water affinities." Shizuku nodded slowly with a large frown; from everything she had heard she didn't particularly like the sound of Kirigakure, she agreed more with the rebels.
"Couldn't we go to the rebels instead? I'm sure they could help us just as well. It's not like there is much we could do anyway, we're only three people and this war is country-wide." Naruto stopped for a moment, shifting his weight to lean against his staff as he looked around at her with a kindly smile. His eyes were open, a rarity even when it was just the three of them, and they had a deep sense of pain about them.
"It doesn't matter how much we can help Shizuku, just that we do something." With that he started walking again, the soft jingle of his shakujou strangely reassuring to the violette. "Anyway, I want to try something soon. If I can get it right then I think we could help more than you'd expect. Plus, the rebels are already too busy to help us train before their own Shinobi; I wouldn't ask for their valuable time anyway, their goal is too important." Shizuku was genuinely surprised at that; she had thought Naruto abhorred all kinds of violence yet he had just admitted to agreeing with the rebels' point of view.
They stayed quiet for a while as they walked; the pounding rain was affecting them more than it usually did. After so long in Kumo with relatively clear days for their entire stay it was rather depressing for Shizuku to once again be subjected to her curse. It didn't help that as the day slowly dragged on and then moved further and further south the mist seemed to only thicken and get worse. Soon it was to the point where even Naruto's Rinnegan was struggling to see more than ten feet in front of them
That was dangerous, an ambush you couldn't see coming was the most likely to be successful, and in a rundown and impoverished country like Mizu no Kuni, especially as they approached the contested areas, bandits were highly likely. That wasn't to say Naruto doubted his ability to defend them should the need arise, but it was likely there was more than just bandits out in the mist. Soon it became too much for them and the trio settled in the next clearing they stumbled across, quite literally in Shizuku's case as she tripped over a jutting root.
Once Naruto finished setting up their rudimentary camp, which meant putting up a sand barrier around the clearing as well as sending out his Chakra through the ground as an early warning system, they each went about their own business. Fuu retired to a corner off the hut and began to read; it worried Naruto a little she seemed to be becoming more closed off to the world, even around him and Shizuku. Shizuku played with Marseru for a bit while also seeing if she could perform her water exercises on the moist ground, with somewhat limited success.
She got bored after a while though and moved over to where Fuu was reading, peering over the girl's shoulder to try and see what she was reading. Fuu reacted like any normal person did in that situation; she shied away from the girl and moved her book so that Shizuku couldn't see it. The violette merely pouted as she took up her little exercise again; suddenly she blinked, looking down at the small tower of water she had created.
"Hey Fuu?" The girl didn't move her orange eyes from the book but Shizuku somehow knew she was listening. "What's your affinity?" At that the girl paused, licked her finger and marked the page she was on by folding the corner of the page.
"I have a main affinity to water and secondary one to wind." Shizuku nodded; that had been bugging her for a while but for some reason she had just never asked. Another thought suddenly struck her as she grinned at Fuu, motioning to her little tower of moisture collected between her palm and the ground.
"So does that mean I'm farther on in the elemental manipulation than you are?" Fuu just blinked disinterestedly as she picked up her book again.
"No, I completed the second stage of both water and wind manipulation when I was ten years old." Shizuku just frowned dejectedly; she thought she finally had something she was better at than Fuu. Suddenly her head shot up, confusion evident across her scrunched up features.
"Hey, then why haven't you told me what the second stage was after all this time?" Fuu simply looked up once from the book, her face blank and expressionless.
"You never asked." Before Shizuku could retort Naruto caught both girls' attention as he sat down across the sand hut from them. Instead of sitting down and meditating lightly like he had done every evening since he was eight years old, he instead created a single Chakra rod and stared at it intently. Fuu actually glanced up from the book she was skimming through, her thin eyebrows quirked in curiosity. Likewise Shizuku looked over, her control over the very small pillar she had made quickly breaking as it splashed to the ground.
"What are you doing Naruto?" The blonde didn't look up, his eyes was firmly set on the thin black bar sitting on the ground in front of it. From the way he was just staring at the Chakra rod you would half expect it to simply combust from the intensity of his gaze. He took a deep breath as he picked the bar up, gently crushing it in his hand and allowing the dust to settle in his palm. He closed his eyes but you could still see the deep concentration on his face as he slowly closed his hand over the dust.
"Hopefully..." His hand clenched even harder as his face tightened in concentration, beads of sweat gathering at his brow. "...something..." The hand holding the Chakra dust was now shaking slightly as Naruto clenched his teeth; if any of them could see his Chakra they would have known enormous amounts had gathered in his palm, enough to act like a beacon to a Byakugan user. "...impossible!" Spontaneously his right hand erupted in blue flame, pouring out between his fingers like it was trying to escape his grasp.
Then, as suddenly as it had begun, he stopped, letting out a long and relieved breath as he opened his eyes and wiped away the sweat on his forehead. Tentatively he opened his hand, grinning slightly as he tossed something up into the air, something that had not been there before. He caught it again deftly, blowing off the dark layer of black powder around it to reveal glinting gold underneath. Shizuku and Fuu's jaws nearly dropped at the sight of a single ryo coin, the simple gold disk with the square hole through though the middle was unmistakable. Naruto just looked around, smiling at his friends' shocked reactions, they were just too priceless.
"W-What was that?" Naruto just grinned and tapped the side of his nose cheekily. Fuu on the other hand walked over, quickly grabbing the golden ryo from his hand and checking it over. She felt its weight, cast a keen eye over its size and shape and even bit it slightly to check if it was really gold. It was common practise for Shinobi to be able to tell the difference between real and fake money because sometimes the customers were as sneaky as the ninja they hired. She looked down at it in her palm, her eyes wide and disbelieving, nearly dropping the phantom coin like it would just combust in her hand.
"I-It's real." Naruto just kept grinning, although inwardly he was slightly tired from just that small use of the Jutsu he had half expected not to work. Fuu looked down at him, eyes narrowed and coin held in front of her, almost accusingly. "How did you do that?" Naruto stopped grinning; he figured he had played with his friends long enough.
"The Sage created the Bijuu from the Chakra of the Juubi, I think in comparison a small gold coin is slightly more doable." Fuu just blinked; Naruto had told her of the Kyuubi's brief mention of the Sage's ability that allowed him to create life itself.
"You are trying to re-create the Banbutsu Souzou?" The blonde just gave a knowing smile as he stood up, stretching his back out. He hadn't been sitting for very long but it had felt as though he had been in that position for hours, and all he had created was one golden coin. "How does it work?" At that the blonde just chuckled sheepishly, absently creating another Chakra rod and spinning it lazily between his fingers.
"Now that I couldn't tell you, because I have no idea." He sighed wearily, allowing the simple rod to disintegrate in his grasp, re-absorbing the Chakra he had used to create it. "I did it more off a hunch than anything else; the Kyuubi called the rods a cheap imitation so I figured I would start from there. Instead of trying to create something other than them from nothing but Chakra, I would try to convert the rod into something else. The gold coin was just the first thing that came to mind that I could easily visualise." Fuu nodded thoughtfully, still staring at the little piece of metal that minutes ago hadn't existed, at least in this form.
"So in theory, you could create anything you visualised?" Naruto shrugged; like he said he had been operating off of a hunch, he knew just as much as she did.
"I guess, if I had the Chakra." He looked down, frowning slightly as he plucked the coin out of the verdette's hand, looking at it strangely. "But you know, it's weird; in one way I feel as though I've used up loads of my Chakra, yet at the same time I feel almost exactly the same as I did before. I don't really know how to explain the feeling." He suddenly looked up, clicking his fingers once as he absently flipped the coin up; the flash of metal catching both Fuu and Shizuku's attention.
"Actually, do you remember when you first started drawing out Chakra?" Fuu nodded slowly, it was a long time ago but it was the kind of memory you kept with you as a Shinobi. "It's almost like when you first start to mould Chakra but you get the balance between spiritual and physical wrong. You end up messing it up and expelling the Chakra anyway but you used up more Physical energy than spiritual, or the other way around." He nodded once, seemingly satisfied with that explanation, before quickly adding. "But not quite like that; similar though." Shizuku had been nodding along to this through the whole conversation and Marseru had been parroting the motion comically.
"I'm lost." Naruto turned to Shizuku and just shrugged helplessly; that was the best way he could find to explain it. Fuu took the coin back, it was strangely warm and for some reason she felt inherently safe while holding it. It was strange because she had never been all that concerned with money before in her life; then again she had never held a coin that had been created from pure Chakra before either.
"Well I guess we're set for money now." Naruto just raised an eye at the purple haired girl as he took the coin back, closed his hand around it and concentrated for a moment. When he opened it again nothing but a fine black powder poured out, he didn't miss the disappointed looks from Fuu and Shizuku, although in Fuu's case it was for a different reason.
"That would be highly misappropriate don't you think? It's basically fraud." Shizuku merely pointed at the blonde accusingly.
"You were the one who made it in the first place!" Naruto just motioned to the now dissolving black powder on the damp floor causing Shizuku to pout cutely. "Well either way it's not fraud, Fuu said it was real money!" Naruto just shook his head and sat back down, this strange tiredness yet not-tiredness he was feeling was disorientating.
"I'm not going to just create money to make our lives easier, it's irresponsible." Shizuku frowned at the ground, not noticing Marseru sending confused glances around the room, wondering what was going on with the strange large monkeys he had been following.
"Then how are you going to use this to help people like you said you would?" Naruto just smiled sagely as he leant against his own wall of sand noting absently that the mist didn't seem to be affecting it as long as his Chakra was in it.
"Money is not the answer to all problems Shizuku. Now if you don't mind..." He yawned into his hand and curled up slightly on his sleeping mat, his eyes slowly drifting shut. "...I'm going to sleep." Fuu and Shizuku just stared at the napping blonde for a moment before both their eyes drifted to the small pile of black dust that had just finished dissolving into bright golden sparkles that slowly faded from view.
A/N: Hey guys, Digi here, I just wanted to share something with you that shows just how important reviews can be in a story. A few of you complimented me on my explanation for what the Sage's tools were actually for. That actually came to me after one reviewer commented that the Kohaku no Jouhei would be too bulky to just carry around. That got me thinking about why it was like that... that led on to why the Sage's tools seem so impractical and unwieldy so I looked at them and thought... okay so their geared towards sealing something, but in a very strange way. Well, the Sage's main enemy was the Juubi, who he wanted to get rid of, obviously sealing would be a good idea and I'm sure using his own body to become a Jinchuuriki would be very much a last resort. So what if the Sage's tools were specifically for that... then it would make sense for the Kohaku no Jouhei to be the successor of the Benihisago considering it works better and more easily. Everything else kind of led on from that.
I'm just saying, if you find discrepancies... point them out! If you have criticisms... tell me! I want them, they not only make the story better, but honestly... it makes it easier for me to write with new ideas. I'm not saying just give me ideas to write about, I already have a story plan pretty much set in stone, but little things that just improve the overall experience are not unwelcome even if ultimately unused. I'll put it this way, when I upload around 11:00 a.m (English time) each day, I haven't written a single word of the next chapter, and probably won't have until 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Thanks for all the amazing support I'm already getting, if you're an author as well you know how much I appreciate it.
-Digi-