Chapter 27: The Curse of Immortality
"And with this it comes to ten thousand gold bars, a couple thousands more and I kiss good bye this clan…" said a gruff voice to no one in particular as his dead eyes kept marveled at the golden shine of thousands of gold bars arrayed in front of him in a dimly lit room where no one but him stood watchful over the considerable fortune.
Callous cold hands caressed the last of these bars with the care of a lover and his dead dark green eyes almost seemed to come back to life while entranced with its glow as if it was the most beautiful piece of art ever seen.
"Hidan may be crazy but I can't complain about his proficiency; I guess that even after becoming immortal his training as a Shinobi didn't dulled for a moment… But the best part are this simpletons among the Sarutobi, holders of a thousand victories and they are scared shitless about losing a living mummy to lead them…" continued in a low tone the masked man as if he knew something others didn't.
He kept touching his treasure absent mindedly until the ring of a bell disturbed him and forced an unpleasant growl from him.
"Calm down Kakuzu, earning your gold won't be always pleasant…" said Kakuzu as he rose from his kneeling position after carefully depositing the bar in its box and secured it under the floor of his room.
Taking his white and black ceremonial cloak he stepped outside where dozens of similarly clothed people hurried to the meeting the bell announced to the residents if the fortress they lived in and worked to satisfy the every need of their leader or more likely prophet…
At the courtyard…
Every resident of the fortress stepped outside to the courtyard and quickly assembled into neat ranks in front of an absurdly large black throne made of welded weapons of every sort which would make a person cringe with the idea of miss stepping on it and fall against its deadly edges which were already covered in dry blood.
As they noise produced by so many footsteps died the main door of the citadel slowly opened making the skeletons hung on them clank making an eerie introduction for the beloved leader of these clearly despaired people who sought him as a source of hope for the coming future.
A very tall and apparently healthy man in his mid-twenties strode forward showing half his chest while the other half remained concealed by his fine robe of black silk.
One could almost say that this man was handsome but no more than any other man in his prime, what made this man interesting even in the aged Kakuzu was the look in his eyes; the look on them belonged to something one rarely see in a lifetime and when it does it's for a brief moment.
The look of a man not afraid to anything, literally without fear as if every question in life had suddenly been answered to him and left him without nothing else to search for or wonder about. The look Kakuzu had seen in so many opponents throughout his long life just as they learned that victory was impossible and so they would just sell their lives as costly as possible though to no avail at all.
Kakuzu knew that Hidan's mind was beyond anything he or anyone could ever reach, and that left him with the perverse interest of thinking how does his thoughts looked like but quickly dismissed them as their sight would be maddening even to someone as seasoned as him.
Sighing sounding almost exasperated he just watched the grinning Hidan climb to his insane throne as his followers watched in awe as the sharpened edges made cuts into his body and these healed almost as quickly; he just couldn't conceive more stupid people to not see the abomination before their eyes.
Finally Hidan reached the top of his Throne and there he grabbed a giant three bladed scythe with which he made a long deep cut across his chest to the amazement of his followers as his blood spurted in a fountain spraying on the closest followers who saw it as some sort of blessing as they smeared it all over their faces.
After he had traversed the scythe over his torso Hidan let out a thunderous maniacal laughter while watching straight to the heavens with wide demented eyes trembling in ecstasy as his wound slowly closed.
After being done with it he placed his scythe by the side of the throne and proceeded to seat and with a large grin he began with clear voice "Praised be Jashin! The bringer of death and destruction! May his followers find immortality and happiness everlasting!"
"Praised be Jashin! Blessed be his prophet!" replied the assembled crowd with perfect unity making Hidan's grin grow even larger.
"Today we gather as every day to praise Jashin and acknowledge his fundamental truth! This is that of death and destruction upon all things! Be it by the hand of man, the claw of beast or the passing of time all things die and all things become ruined!" screamed Hidan to his amazed crowd.
"Everything in the world praises Jashin unknowingly but only those who acknowledge his miraculous hand can truly reap his rewards! And so my children you all have been blessed by his truth and in time with faith and hard work you can all become his chosen ones!" roared Hidan as he laughed maniacally with the cheering of his followers.
Just as the crowd went silent two scantily dressed women carefully made their way to the top of the throne avoiding its terrible edges and quickly proceeded to seat on Hidan's legs and began feeding him freshly cut grapes and give him sips of wine.
Re-addressing the crowd the grinning Hidan said "Soon we will have enough followers to begin the conversion of our foolish Sarutobi brothers and it is sad that we must dispense Jashin's gifts upon them but their old cowardly leader denied my rightful claim after his stubborn child fell in fair combat against me! Now we must ready ourselves and prepare to enlighten our lost brothers! Welcome every death in our ranks, enjoy your every wound and savor the blood in your mouth be it from them or your own! We shall take our holy crusade to their city and soon to all of the known lands!"
The crowd once more exploded in cheering as Kakuzu watched impassive, his long years often witness to charismatic leaders fooling desperate people into utter stupidity as rising against impossible odds or leading them into slavery; though Hidan was rather impressive he had to admit as these people had already begun to scar themselves as to prove their faith.
Feeling a strange uneasiness seep into his old skin, Kakuzu withdrew himself from the gathering and began walking across the currently empty halls of the fortress looking nervously at every corner and slightly holding his stride whenever he stood next to a closed door waiting for a rustling sound.
"Old as you are and I still get you Kakuzu, ever considered retiring?" asked a smooth grave voice from behind Kakuzu.
Kakuzu knew better than to turn as he already knew from who did this voice was, the only thing that had been bothering him so far was how did he attained the gift of immortality and how the hell did he kept catching him by surprise.
"Hidan is quite a thing isn't he? Not even my followers were that fanatical back then…" said the voice barely containing a laugh.
"He performs as expected, especially since he actually believes what he spouts" replied a growling Kakuzu.
"A shame someone of his caliber lost his mind to the elixir of life; life should be enjoyed to the fullest don't you think?" continued the voice.
"You can't expect a boy to handle such a thing with ease; you were exceptionally cruel to impose such a thing on a twelve year old" answered Kakuzu waiting until the voice went down to business.
"My bad, sometimes I forget human frailty; you know what I mean old friend…" finished the voice.
"Are we here to talk about Hidan's lunacy endlessly or have you come to give me more orders?" replied an angry Kakuzu.
"Fine, you can't blame for not having many acquaintances these days, most are dead you know? Anyway, the Sage boy is in these lands and he is already meddling with the affairs of this clan, as we speak he is training Sarutobi's grandson to face Hidan in combat" said the voice.
"Let him try, nothing can take Hidan down or me for that matter; his death would actually work better for us as Sarutobi would have no more card up his sleeve" replied a smiling Kakuzu.
"True enough, but I wouldn't underestimate the Sage he already knows of your existence and is in league with that old hawk of Danzo; you would be wise to take precautions just in case" said the voice.
"Young Danzo huh? He has certainly grown sharp but you should know that nothing can take us down; still the Sage does represent a major nuisance, my fee will increase again as you must understand" said Kakuzu sternly.
"Always the greedy one Kakuzu, haven't I promised you the Sarutobi's wealth already? What else would you want from me?" asked the amused voice.
"An answer, I know the truths of my life but yours seem to be even more interesting; if I carry on to the end then you'll tell me how the hell did you came back! You seem to be far better than I so I thought of you sharing a bit of your wealth" replied Kakuzu giving no space to argument.
"Ha ha ha! I always thought that if you ever re incarnated you would make a great merchant, but despite my best efforts you just wouldn't go down! Fine I'll tell you my secret but a warning old friend, careful with what you wish! There are some truths that not even you could handle" finished the voice returning to silence.
Kakuzu didn't reply as he knew that the person behind him was already gone to whatever place he had come from.
"Truth I can't handle? I lived long enough to realize a great many truths of life and that is that once you die that's it, there is no heaven or hell, just the void and it's endless silence. I realized this long before my rightful demise and I vanquished it! No glory or honor is enough, life should be enjoyed to its fullest and money may not buy happiness but does leaves you within a mile from it! Leave young idiots fight and die for small scraps of glory and land, in time their sacrifice and their valor would mean nothing! With money I can have a reprieve from this life's foolishness and reap the rewards of my sacrifice! Life is everything and no one will take it from me! Be it a Sage or a hundred, nothing will stop me!" thought Kakuzu as his eyes seemed full of fire and his killer intent slew every small insect within the halls of the fortress.
xoxoxoxo xoxoxoxo xoxoxoxo xoxoxoxo xoxoxoxo xoxoxoxo xoxoxoxo xoxoxoxo xoxoxoxo
Almost a week has gone by since Naruto arrived with the Sarutobi and so far Konohamaru's training had improved by leaps and bounds; the boy never actually went out of shape, he was just lacking in interest and focus.
It was actually embarrassing as Naruto had to admit that Konohamaru possessed the natural talent to be a Shinobi he never had. Konohamaru absorbed skills and jutsu at a much faster way than he ever did and his chakra reserves were quite large as well.
Kurenai pointed out that was the reason of why the clan's hopes lay so heavily on his young shoulders, but still Konohamaru lacked the ever important actual experience of fighting against a real opponent in a life or death combat situation which made him dangerously inexperienced and Naruto had grim memories of the consequences.
Still he had to recognize that his teachers were drilling him very hard and so far the boy was meeting the expectative in a smooth fashion, at least smoother than him at his age and with far more scars to account for.
But Naruto knew that what was driving Konohamaru was the possibility of learning the Rasengan, and speaking of which he had been making significant progress with his own training thanks to his limitless stamina and the time saving use of shadow clones.
So far he was capable of infusing his combat kunai with wind element and to everyone's surprise the chakra edge of said weapons was so large that each could be used as twin blades or small scythes.
But beyond that he was more focused on acquiring a complete dominance of Nature chakra since infusing chakra into objects was a rather rudimentary and elemental use of such chakra and elemental chakra jutsu required an enormous amount of personal chakra and little of elemental.
He had been trying to focus entirely on the element itself and so far he had little success on solely focusing on the element itself without the use of tools or jutsu.
He was now seating with eyes closed as Konohamaru went about practicing his skill with the combat pole which as Yugao was kind enough to point was also his grandfather's weapon of choice, adding up to the startling similarities between the two relatives.
Sighing once more as he and his five other clones being unable to find an answer he dispelled them and stood up making a few stretches to alleviate his cramped muscles.
"Danzo's reports state that Hidan's followers keep increasing daily and they carry great tithes to afford their entrance into their fortress. What's worse is that several of the ninjas posted on far locations from the capital have started to flock to his side and his followers have started to incite minor incidents in other settlements" remembered Naruto from his continuous encounters with the old veteran.
"He says that Hidan's movement may turn revolutionary any day if Hiruzen delays his answer any longer…Man why am I always in the middle of this things? It's not even fun like when I went out with Sakura and Tsunade!" finished thinking Naruto when Anko blew a leaf in his face.
"Having trouble Sage boy?" said a grinning Anko who tossed him a bottle of water and a towel.
"It´s kind of hard to fully separate an element from other skills" replied Naruto with a broad smile as he was glad that Anko managed to return to her usual self after his continuous rejections, he had tried to ask about her standing in the clan but every time the pissed off Anko stormed on him not without insulting him in the process.
"That's because you aren't focusing the element properly; I assume you remember how you found out about your chakra nature right?" said Anko as she grabbed another leaf with her hand.
"You mean the chakra reactive paper right? It split when I applied some to it which in turn indicated that I was of wind chakra" replied Naruto as he held the leaf with his right hand.
"Correct, so the quickest way to fully grasp your chakra nature is by trying to do the same to any object; look and learn!" said Anko in earnest as she concentrated on the leaf in her hand.
Anko proceeded to cover the leaf with her hand and after exhaling some air she applied some chakra to it and when she uncovered the leaf, it has turned to brown dust which was blowed away by the breeze.
"That's earth chakra being applied to the object directly; no jutsu or tool in the middle, just cnature chakra directly applied! This way you manage to fully understand the elemental chakra and automatically enhances the power and efficiency of elemental based jutsu" said a wise sounding Anko as Naruto saw her with awe.
Looking at the lef in his hand, he covered it with his other and started to apply chakra but when he uncovered it the leaf remained intact making Naruto go crest fallen.
"Don't sweat it, it's slightly harder than it looks but with a couple of days you should land it neatly!" said Anko to encourage the already tired Sage who return her a gentle smile.
"That's a very neat advice you got there! Your sensei must have been very good!" said an enthusiastic Naruto believing that the subject might make such an strong kunoichi swell with pride but that notion was destroyed when Anko seemed to freeze in place and relax a moment after.
Smiling sadly she replied "Yeah he was the greatest of them all, he was invincible and a hero of the clan; in fact he was old Sarutobi's greatest student…"
Confused about Anko's words and expression Naruto said "Is something wrong?"
Keeping the sad smile on her face she denied it with her head and went about to take up on Konohamaru's without replying Naruto's question.
"She is too proud and too kind to share her story, not to mention that since you are a stranger she has been trying her best to cause a good impression on you; though she isn't doing it too well in my opinion…" said Kurenai as she took a seat next to Naruto cleaning the sweat from her forehead with a clean towel.
"I've been meaning to find out what's the deal with her but so far everyone has been very elusive and Anko just won't mention it to me. But it seems to be quite the big deal since people gives her the cold shoulder everywhere" said Naruto observing the sadistic Anko throwing a barrage of shuriken at the panicking Konohamaru.
"She just won't tell since she really wants you to like her, but she goes about it the wrong way in my opinion , she is still at odds with her past you see" continued Kurenai with a compassionate look.
"Does it have to do with her sensei? She seemed to change her mood when I casually mentioned it" said Naruto.
"Quite obvious isn't it? Yes his sensei the great and infamous Orochimaru, Lord Hiruzen's second and last student ever and perhaps among the greatest ninja the elemental lands have ever seen, he became one of our greatest heroes and won many battles during the last war" said Kurenai.
Naruto was quite shocked at the news, was Orochimaru truly that great? Could that man be even stronger than his own father as for others to ensure it? And Anko was his student? Wasn't that enough to feel extremely proud?
"But you see, anything can rise so high before it falls; In short Orochimaru betrayed us and when he left, Anko was left to bear the mark of his betrayal when she insisted on his innocence…The exact details remain a secret but everyone knows that he betrayed us and Anko was his student, so you can imagine how it was to be the proud student of the clan's hero and the next become a pariah forever marked by his actions…" said Kurenai falling silent.
Naruto nodded knowing what Kurenai meant, the Hyuuga had so much hatred in their hearts because of the slight made by others, true or imagined, it didn't mattered if some nobles were truly such and never committed and injustice against the cadet branch, for them all of the nobles were like the devil itself.
"She tried her best to shake down those opinions and always volunteered for dangerous missions and did her best to help people around the clan but no one changed their minds and more often than not the higher ups were surprised to see her still alive even after sending her to suicide missions. By all accounts she should be considered one of our heroes and a model of what our warriors should strive for but Orochimaru's mark is all everyone else saw" continued Kurenai.
Naruto nodded in acknowledgement but suddenly another question came about "And how did you and Yugao became her friends?"
Kurenai smiled as if reminded of something fun and replied "Well, about two years before the end of the last war lord Hiruzen assigned me and Yugao with Anko for a small infiltration mission in a neutral land where he suspected the Uchiha were amassing supplies to infiltrate our forward lines. The mission was to confirm this suspicion and measure the strength of the infiltration unit, of course we were weary of Anko's reputation and dreaded that she may go traitor during the mission so we always held weapons at hand to end her should the need arose"
Naruto shuddered at the thought of being accompanied by someone who might stab you in the back without warning but saw that Kurenai wanted to continue.
"By this time Anko was already a hardened girl without any expectative of liking us or us liking her so she just limited herself to take point and hiss instructions at us probably suspecting us as much as we suspected her and very likely ready to end us as quickly too; so you probably get an idea of how tense was the general mood in the team" continued Kurenai.
"To ease some of the atmosphere Yugao and I used to make small talk whenever Anko headed out to scout as she insisted on a job well done clearly stating her lack of trust on us; but once Anko caught Yugao complaining about Hayate's sneezing when they were making out and couldn't help but laugh out loud and while Yugao seemed like she was about to burst a vein I couldn't help but join Anko in the laughter and soon enough even Yugao giggled a bit" added Kurenai with an amused smile as Naruto also broke a grin at the idea of someone sneezing while making out.
"Afterwards things went much more smoothly among us and reached the enemy encampment only to see that the enemy had sped up things and were about to launch a surprise attack that could have easily brake our front lines and forced us into a very costly counter attack; so Anko decided to sabotage them and delay their advance while me and Yugao headed back to alert our troops and prepare a heavy defense" continued Kurenai once more picking Naruto's attention to her story.
"But Yugao and I wouldn't leave Anko behind since we learned that she wasn't the demon every one ought to make her, since she immediately volunteered to make her best when she could have easily went her way and let many of those who scorned her die at the Uchiha's advancing Ninjas; she made a fuss about it saying that it was too dangerous for inexperienced Kunoichi and that we would get killed and she would be blamed for it, but one could barely believe her as she was blushing and looked so utterly happy!" continued Kurenai as Naruto nodded with some tears of his own.
"Well, combining our specialties we managed to delay the Uchiha's advance force and our clan managed to stage an ambush for such forces later on dealing them a strong blow! We were richly rewarded for our valor but when several commanders dismissed Anko and praised Yugao and I alone we stood by her and announced to the entire clan that it was her plan and that she wanted to do it solo from the beginning; we didn't manage to make people trust Anko but at least they recognized her worth as a Kunoichi and started sending her in important missions with enough support as to improve her chances of coming back alive" continued Kurenai.
"But people still seems to treat her with a lot of suspicion and contempt!" replied Naruto still not understanding why hasn't Anko earned more respect from the clan.
"Well after we became friends with her she unilaterally decided that we were enough as friends so she didn't cared for others as long as we remained her friends! Not to mention that she actually does have a very nasty personality to begin with so despite her reputation improving slightly no one likes her at all…" said Kurenai.
"Well it is good to know that at least people around here doesn't want her dead 24/7 but that leaves me with a question; why is she so insistent on tempting me?" asked Naruto.
"You are an outsider and so she wants you to like her but she no longer remembers how to properly make friends with anyone, so she goes with what most men want…Not to mention that she is too proud to ask for advice…" finished a sighing Kurenai.
Naruto laughed awkwardly as he did had his own share of trouble making good friends in the beginning given that until this year the only other human being he had known was his father, and he was jerk most of the time.
"But do not let these words confuse you; though she has improved greatly with our companionship, she remains very fragile and untrusting for the stigma of her sensei remains deeply stuck in her mind. From the three of us, I believe she is the one who would fall the hardest…" finished Kurenai as Konohamaru dropped unconscious while wrapped in several snakes while Yugao screamed at a grinning Anko who used more forced than she needed.
Seeing her grin Naruto came up with an idea…
AN: Done at last!
I know it feels kind of leaving the chapter at a half but I wanted to update already and I am behind my personal schedule with my other stories.
I hope this rendition is enough to sate your thirst since updates for this story have become very far and between!
Next chapter will have some NaruAnko for the followers of said pairing and the beginning of this arc's ending!
I am still undecided whether or not to end this story with this arc or keep it up till the end? I do have plans for more adventures for this sage but I think I need to take a rest and I don't want to put this on an extended hiatus. The plan is to write another story with Naruto's adventures in the other elemental lands and lastly another for the conclusion of his adventures and the fulfillment of his destiny.
Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself.
Read, Enjoy and Review!
