Greetings one and all to Kage no Naruto chapter thirty seven, man this thing is getting gigantic
Greetings one and all to Kage no Naruto chapter thirty seven, man this thing is getting gigantic. Over one hundred and fifty thousand words and I haven't even got into Shippuden yet! But yeah, in this chapter, you shall see how Itachi and Kisame deal with the traps Naruto left behind, the final version of the names that will be given to Naruto's group and base, and maybe, if I'm in a good mood, the Sound Four might make an appearance. Who knows? I know, and you will too if you stop reading this foreword and read the damn chapter already!
Disclaimer: For the thirty seventh god damn time, I DON'T OWN NARUTO!
Note: Oh, in the spoilers last chapter, I forgot to mention how Sasuke is starting to be affected by the sight loss of the Sharingan. My bad. Mind you, fifty quit says that he finds a way out of the blindness somehow.
Second note: A few people asked if Naruto couldn't change the dark stone necklaces to help relieve the feelings of creepiness caused by the Dark Energy and the answer is no. Natural Energy is different than chakra, there's the kind that's dispersed in the air that is malleable, but every other type has a specific purpose that cannot be changed. In the case of Dark Energy, its purpose is to harm, to corrupt, to imprison, to destroy. It can't be used for something that is not in its nature. Naruto's group will eventually get used to the feeling, but it will never go away because they are human, and Dark Energy is not something humans can comprehend or live with under normal circumstances. They'll just have to tough it out.
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Summary of last chapter
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Tsunade managed to survive the second assassination attempt and took her place as Hokage. She had a flashback which showed how she got rid of her fear of blood.
Naruto examined his new hideout and moved everyone there, leaving several traps in the old one for anyone who might come looking for him there.
Sasuke's leg was healed by Tsunade and he is now plotting on how to obtain more power, what else is new?
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Naruto's new Castle, one day after last chapter
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Naruto was in Hogback's lab, and they were just finishing up a few more tests to make sure that their data was accurate. They had been testing it for some time now and they were pretty sure that they're information was untainted and their hypothesis was true.
"So, Hogback, you believe that the controlling element behind Orochimaru's Curse Seal is a piece of his soul that was implanted with the enzyme during the application of the seal? "
The old doctor nodded and said "Yes, Naruto-sama. I have narrowed it down through extensive testing and that is my final result. All you have to do now is find a way to exorcise Orochimaru's soul, or suppress it, and add that seal into the work of your Shikeishuu no Fuuin to complete it."
Naruto smiled and shook his head slightly. "You're wrong there Hogback, if I add such a seal to it, then it won't be the Shikeishuu no Fuuin. It will require a new seal to accommodate such a work. I will have to think of a name for it once I make it, but that won't take long."
Naruto stretched his arms over his head and said "Good work doctor, now we can get back to other tasks such as completing new General and Soldier marionettes and re-stocking our virus program. It's about time we replenished the supply that was destroyed by that whore Haruka."
Hogback only nodded, more than happy to get back to the more fun work.
Naruto turned and walked out of the door, saying "See you later Hogback, I have some seals to work on."
Naruto walked out of the large complex of rooms that Hogback had chosen as his living quarters and laboratory. Just about everybody had their own little section of the castle that they pretty much claimed as their own. As you might have guessed, the sections of the castle that they inhabited showed signs of their preferences.
Hogback had his complex of rooms on the second and third floors that contained his large lab, freezers, and his room, Anko had her room on the third floor and region near an armory. Absalom, perhaps influenced by his animalistic side, took a liking to the caves that they lived in before and so lived in the basement, where the caves were attached to. The place gave off an animalistic vibe, and a hint of perversion that came from the small bookcase of Icha Icha novels.
Temari apparently liked high places so she had her room on the seventh floor, the highest level, and resided at the base of one of the towers. That entire tower served as her little section of the castle.
Haku didn't like high places so she remained on the ground floor, in a small complex of rooms that were colder than anywhere else. Near the place was a large library of books on just about any subject you cared to mention.
Perona lived near the front of the castle, about midway up on the fourth floor. Her room had a balcony that showed a grand view of the ruined town. Naruto had only been in her room once and it was dominated by the color pink and a large amount of plush dolls. That girl could be childish and sadistic in the same moment, it was just creepy.
Naruto himself stayed on the fifth floor, right above Perona's room. His room was pretty much the same as it was in all of his dwellings. It had a large amount of books on the various shelves, and he had an office and a small laboratory nearby. The furniture in his room was limited to a large bookshelf, a large King size bed with a dark blue comforter and wine red silk sheets. There was a decent sized fridge in the corner. Not five rooms away was the pantry where most of the non-perishable food was kept. There was also a private bathroom.
The kitchen was on the third floor, with a large freezer adjacent to it. There was a door from it that led to the dining room, which was extremely large. Breakfast was served at the same time every morning, same for lunch and dinner. With Naruto's appetite, every meal was a feast.
The whole place was filled with ornamentation, Naruto's living paintings spread on every floor, and there were also other paintings as well, rare pieces of masterwork. The whole place would probably sell for several billion Ryo.
Naruto was, of course, always prepared. He was keeping his ear to the ground in important matters to the world. Most specifically in Otogakure, which was only a hundred or so kilometers away, and Konohagakure. He had several zombies working undercover there gathering information, relaying it via zombie portrait. He was keeping tabs on Orochimaru, he knew that he would try something and when he did, Naruto wanted to be ready to take any kind of advantage that he could from whatever happened afterwards.
Speaking of the zombies, they were accommodated too. Most of them were kept asleep and in their coffins, which were mostly in various storerooms. They would be awoken when necessary but until then they were kept out of the way.
The General zombies were treated differently of course, as were the non-combat zombies. Kagerou had a bunk in Hogback's lab, Hildon slept in one of the towers, though he was currently on a reconnaissance mission in Konoha, Bearsy slept on a cushion in Perona's room. Rei slept near the kitchen, and since they were living in a new, larger place, Naruto had created several new 'Maid Zombies' like her and they all slept near Rei, the eldest of them and generally took orders from her regarding housework. They were known as Nao, Shizuru, Fumi, Asuka, Mai and Sasami. They could all cook well, and were basically there to look after the place in general. They had a lot of work to do cleaning the place since it hadn't been inhabited in centuries. (1)
The Generals were kept in a single large room filled with large coffins of stone, most of them were empty mind, the count of General Zombies wasn't that high, and he had yet to animate a good number of them. Ryuuma simply roamed the halls, sleeping where he will. He was the head General so he was awake on a normal basis.
So now, Naruto climbed the stairs to his laboratory, he had a seal to devise.
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Konoha, Hospital, Sasuke's room
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Sasuke was sitting on his bed, holding his head in one hand. He had just woken up to find his leg healed, and a throbbing pain in one shoulder, the one where that Dobe put his seal on him.
Kakashi was in almost as soon as he woke up and explained everything that had happened recently. Sasuke was pissed, that idiot had managed to hurt and almost defeat a member of the Sannin that was supposed to be Hokage, and was Hokage now. Was he that weak? If some random nobody could get that strong, so could he!
At the moment though, he was still trying to recover from the horrible things that he was besieged with as he slept. Horrible, horrible dreams.
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Flashback, Sasuke's dream
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Sasuke was in a dark place, he couldn't see anything at all. He walked, but there was no sound, he smelled the air, but there was nothing.
He walked on and still he found nothing. He sat down to rest his tired limbs.
The second he did, red skeletal specters materialized around him, whispering into his ear, but he couldn't do anything. He couldn't move, he couldn't reply, all he could do was listen to their whispers.
"Hey, mister." One of them said "How about some diet pills?"
A second one said "Yes, buy our diet pills."
The third one said "Why exercise and watch what you eat to lose weight, when cheap, effective weight loss can be yours?"
The first one said "Yes, try out diet pills, sign into the corporation, go out and find new recruits, sell your own diet pills. For every recruit you get ten Ryo and fifty percent of what they make by selling diet pills, but you have to give fifty percent of what you get to me, in addition to ten Ryo."
It went on like that. "Buy our diet pills, sign up and join the corporation, you know you want to." It never ended and he never could get any rest.
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Sasuke's room
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Sasuke's newly found fear of diet pills aside; he got up and tested his leg. Seeing that it was functional, no pain or anything from putting his weight on it, he got up, got dressed, and then walked out of the room.
He loved how he just had to sign a form and he was free to go. Nobody questioned him, after all, he was an Uchiha. But now, he had to find a way to become stronger. He had to become strong enough to destroy Itachi, to destroy that idiot that hurt him, Naruto, and then strong enough to destroy anyone else who would dare challenge him. He was an Uchiha, he was invincible. (2)
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With Naruto
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Naruto had been sequestered in his lab for several hours now, pouring over complex texts on seals and other such things. Fuuinjutsu, as it was now known, was easily the most powerful and intricate of the ninja arts. What was funny was how much power isn't used; the techniques that even self proclaimed 'Seal Masters' such as Jiraiya didn't even have a clue about.
Fuuinjutsu is the modern terminology for it, but the whole art goes far back, thousands of years. There were endless things that could be done with Fuuinjutsu, but a great deal of the more powerful possibilities aren't even comprehended by the modern day seal masters because they are different from the methods they know.
There are many ways to enhance Fuuinjutsu to do much more than what normal seal masters can do, but it takes a lot of preparation. Certain dates and times have the ability to increase the potency of what you're trying, as is the material the writing is done in. Most seals use normal ink as a medium, hence one reason why modern seals are limited, ink simply doesn't have the capacity of holding that much energy without frying. It's like putting too much electricity through a small fuse; it's simply not capable of it. The most powerful and potent ink you can use to write seals in is mortal blood. That can conduct much more energy.
Other things must also be taken into account as well, objects, sound, sights, and many other things can all play a crucial part in extremely advanced Fuuinjutsu which fools like Jiraiya don't even know exists. That was the art that he was striving to learn and master. Such advanced seals could do almost anything if you knew how, they could do anything from light candles, to grant godlike power to an individual, although that particular work requires a LOT of preparation, a very specific formula, and skill and practice that he simply lacked at this point, not to mention he didn't know how the thing worked. That information lay in a one of a kind book that he was hoping to track down. He had little hope since it hasn't been seen in almost a millennium but he would still try.
But now, after researching the techniques used in the creation of the Curse Seal, he had to admit that it would require a big seal with a lot of preparation to do what he wanted to do. He had a lot more work to do before he could seal Orochimaru's influence over Anko, and add in his own fail-safes as well against betrayal. He had an idea of what the whole thing would take, but he was a bit tired to deal with it at the moment.
He decided to take a break, most of his group would be taking a break form their training, work, or whatever they were doing to get lunch anyway. He could grab the opportunity to make a few announcements.
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With Itachi and Kisame
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The two Akatsuki members were standing outside of a large cave entrance. According to Sasori, this was where the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki was hiding. They knew that the battle ahead would not be easy, attacking an enemy in his stronghold never is. Itachi took up a kunai and loosened a pouch on his belt that contained a decent number of pellets that were made of pure salt, and asked "Ready Kisame?"
The shark man simply nodded and took up his massive sword before the two of them charged into the cave.
They expected to be besieged by the undead, what they got was absolutely nothing at all. They stood a few yards in the cave, standing still, hoping to hear or smell their enemy before they attacked, but there was nothing. Either the enemy was so stealthy that even they couldn't detect them, or there was no one there. Either way it wasn't a good situation.
They slowly walked forward into the cave, keeping an eye on anything an everything, Itachi had his Sharingan active and was more that prepared for any attack.
The two walked silently, tense as a coiled spring. Until Kisame unknowingly tripped a laser, so to speak. Two seals placed across from each other about four inches off the ground sent a thin stream of chakra between them, and Kisame unknowingly broke that stream, as did Itachi.
The moment they broke that stream of chakra, the seals both flashed once, gaining the attention of the two ninjas, and a third seal flashed in reaction to them. That seal was above the door. As soon as the flash of light died, a heavy stone slab was brought down over the cave entrance, locking them inside. Another slab slid down about ten feet in front of them.
The two were immediately on guard, and as ready as they could be. They waited silently for any possible ambush, but they didn't get anything, not by hearing or sight.
But they did get one thing, they smelled something in the air, and before long, they could hear it too. A steady hissing noise, and combined with the smell, they knew almost immediately what it was. Gasoline.
The two Akatsuki members immediately ran for the door. One of two things was supposed to happen. Either they were meant to stay here until they suffocated, or there is a timer until a device is set to create a spark, and burn them both alive. Either way they had to get out of there immediately.
They reached the rock slab that separated them from freedom, and Kisame immediately took a swing at it. Due to the lack of sharp edges though, the thing only made a decent crack in the rock rather than a large slice.
Itachi was thinking of what to do. Fire and lighting jutsu were out, either of them would kill everyone involved. Water was unusable thanks to the lack of a water source and earth was a bit dangerous to attempt underground. That only left one option then, wind, Fuuton Ninjutsu.
Itachi did a few quick handseals and took a breath. As he exhaled a large ball of twisting air hit the rock. There were several cracks where the sphere hit. Itachi started doing handseals again as Kisame drew back his sword. They had a strategy now all they needed to worry about was: Who would get their job done faster? Itachi and Kisame or the impending fireball?
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With Naruto, the dining hall
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Naruto was eating his lunch. Just about everyone else of importance was there as well. The dining room had several rather long tables in it, but they only used one. There was a time when demons crammed the room, every chair was occupied, and they gorged themselves on human flesh. That time was long past, although there were a few skeletons in the pantry.
He had just finished a whole lobster when he held up his glass, and the attendant maid re-filled it with red wine. Chateau Duel, 1864, his favorite vintage, albeit several thousand years old. There was a decent stock of it in the castle.
When his glass was full, he raised his voice and said "Excuse me everyone, but I have an announcement to make."
Everyone immediately looked up. When Naruto spoke, it was usually something important.
Naruto smiled and said "Well, I have given it some thought, and I have decided that since this old place has no name, that I might as well give it one, same goes for our little group. Other organizations have names, why not us?"
Everyone just watched, waiting for him to get to it. He continued "Given that this place was once a safe haven for demons, and can still be considered a safe haven for the same, in addition to the fact that anyone would find life here to be more than equitable, I think that I have decided well when I dub this castle 'Kurotenshiro'. Does everyone agree? We all live here after all."
Everyone nodded, the name seemed rather apt considering the place. Naruto nodded in return and continued on "As for the name of our group, I have thought about it and believe that I have chosen well when I give our group the name 'Kurotaiyou' Does anyone know why I have chosen this name?"(3)
A few people shook their heads and Naruto said "Our enemies are known as the 'Akatsuki', the red moon. When is the moon red? Why during an event known as the lunar eclipse. The name 'Kurotaiyou', meaning 'Black Sun', only occurs during a solar eclipse, the opposite of the lunar counterpart. In addition to that, during a solar eclipse, it appears as nothing more than night during day, darkness in a time of light, once more very fitting. Lastly what do leaves need to live but sunlight? And there is no sunlight during a solar eclipse. I think I have chosen well."
Then Naruto raised his glass and said "So then, a toast, to the Kurotaiyou, and Kurotenshiro, our eternal home. They shall both stand forever!"
Everyone raised their glasses in answer and drank before Naruto sat down again and the meal resumed. The new names were fitting, and their purpose reflected upon them. It helped to have a definite identity, it brought a group together, which is what Naruto counted on, otherwise he would have been content to remain nameless.
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With Itachi and Kisame
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Itachi and Kisame ruthlessly attacked the stone slab, breaking away great chunks of stone. They knew that they didn't have long before gas level was enough that a spark would kill them almost immediately. Itachi had employed the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu in order to speed up the progress.
They mercilessly attacked the thick stone wall, breaking pieces away from the slab, breaking through it to freedom. Eventually they reached deep in the stone and Kisame let out a cry as he stabbed Samehada straight through the stone, causing deep cracks to appear. He ten ripped the blade out of the imprisoning door, allowing a small amount of air to seep through.
They worked quickly and tirelessly, desperate to make the hole wider to escape. Then something bad happened. A small seal, holding barely a dribble of chakra hidden in the shadows of the ceiling activated, setting off a small spark that immediately set the surrounding gas alight.
The two Akatsuki members shielded their faces and pressed themselves against the wall, praying to survive the impending explosion that pressed them against the stone wall behind them and sent flying into the forest behind it as the wall shattered under the force of the explosion.
Two things allowed them to survive. The first was that they had broken a hole in the door. That allowed a space for some of the gas to escape and slightly lessen the power of the incoming blast. The second was that Itachi piled his clones in front of them both to take the brunt of the blast. The explosion blew the door out of its slot in the surrounding stone and sent them along with it, albeit badly battered and bruised.
Kisame picked himself up off of the ground and said "Itachi, are you okay?" as he used his sword to help support his weight. He was badly shaken. He felt a few spots that hurt to see how bad the damage was. It could have been worse, a few cracks in the bone at worst. He would survive.
Itachi faired more or less the same. He put a hand on a tree for support as he shakily stood up and then regained his composure. He answered Kisame with a rough grunt as he stood properly and observed what had once been the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki's home. The blast had destroyed the entrance, covering it with several tons of rubble. No one would ever be living there again.
He just turned and said to Kisame "Let's get back and report. Sasori has some bad information to account for."
A raspy voice was heard from the trees nearby in response to Itachi's statement. The voice said "Oh, you guys aren't going anywhere. You'll be coming with us now if you don't mind."
The two looked up to see a group of four humanoid beings. They looked human, but a few things tipped off the two rogue ninja about what they were. Their skin was stretched, the skin color off, not the normal human tinge, and the two most important things were the stitches covering most of their bodies, and the numbers tattooed upon them. On their left forearms, each one said 'SZ-158, SZ-157, SZ-159, and SZ-160'.
Itachi closed his eyes and reopened them with the Sharingan activated while Kisame drew his sword. The two knew what these things were, they were just as Sasori described them. They were Soldier Zombies under the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki most likely left here to finish off anyone who survived the initial trap.
Itachi opened the pouch on his belt containing pellets of salt and drew a kunai as he said "Come Kisame.'
The shark man merely nodded before the two charged.
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With Sasuke, that night
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Sasuke walked down a dark street with a backpack upon his person. He walked toward Konoha's northern gate. He had made his decision, he was leaving Konoha.
A team from Otogakure approached him that day, effortlessly defeated him, and offered to take him to Orochimaru. He would leave the village, and gain power under Orochimaru. That Dobe from before left the village and grew strong, he could do the same.
That fangirl Sakura approached him near the gate, pleading to go with him, but he just knocked her out. He had no need for useless wannabe ninja on the path that he had chosen.
That day, Uchiha Sasuke left Konoha. He walked out of the open gates, with the guards already assassinated by Orochimaru's retrieval squad. He had to obtain power enough to kill his brother, avenge his clan, and satisfy his god complex.
A hundred feet away, hanging upside down from one of the trees, was a strange creature. It resembled a human, but was rotund. It wore a dress shirt and had its lower body wrapped in bandages. Its nose was long by human standards and it had deep black circles around its eyes, messy dull blond hair, and sharp fangs.
It also had leathery bat wings that stretched between his sides and the undersides of his long arms, stitching across its body, a bottle of red wine upon his back and the number twenty one tattooed upon his left forearm.
This creature was the non-combat zombie known as Hildon. The strange creature reached into one of his pockets with his long, but folded arms and pulled out a small picture frame big enough to fit in his hand.
He brought the frame to his face and said into it in a whiny and raspy voice "This is Hildon; get me Naruto-sama immediately."
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(1) Right, Asuka is from Evangelion, Nao, Shizuru, Fumi, and Mai are from Mai HiME (What it's awesome), and do I even have to tell anyone where Sasami is from?
(2) I actually gagged a little when I wrote that
(3) Kurotenshiro literally means 'Dark Heaven Castle', and Kurotaiyou means 'Black Sun'. Like I said, fitting
Okay, that's another chapter done, to what I hope is your satisfaction. A bit of a filler chapter but things will heat up again soon. The Sasuke retrieval arc is upon us! Or it will be next chapter. I'm sure most people are cursing me for not showing the fight between Itachi and the soldiers in this chapter though.
As for the seal that grants godlike power, I am NOT going to elaborate on that, although it may be a plot point later. I will say no more on that subject.
Right, that's all I've got for this chapter so I shall sign off now, read it again if you want, I hope you enjoyed it, and review already damn you!
Until the next chapter,
Artful Lounger