Chapter 53: Natarii's Plan

Natarii watched Naruto as he swam toward the edge of the massive orb of water. Then, she switched her gaze to Kisame. If my analysis is accurate, she thought, The orb of water moves with Kisame in such a way that he is always in the exact center. If I swim away from Naruto and in the opposite direction of Kisame, I should be able to get Naruto out of the water so he can begin the seal extraction process! Once her thoughts were complete and organized, Natarii swam as quickly as she could toward Kisame. But someone grabbed her ankle. Due to the shock, Natarii let out most of her air, causing a mass of bubbles to rush toward the top of the water. She quickly flashed a glance behind her shoulder. Itachi. Well, he certainly is persistent! She thrashed her leg back and forth, trying to shake him off. No good. She mistakenly let more air out. At this rate, she wasn't going to last. She swung her arm at Itachi. His body dispersed into a swarm pitch black crows.

Genjutsu again?! Natarii exclaimed in her mind. Crap! She turned around and Kisame was right behind her. She screamed, too terrified to move.

Kisame reached out to grab her, but there was an interference. Naruto rammed into him, not allowing him to lay a finger on Natarii.

"Go!" He yelled.

"How did you-"

"Just go!"

Natarii nodded and quickly swam in the opposite direction. She didn't look back. She had to swim as fast as she could for the sake of her plan.

Kisame broke loose of Naruto, turning him into a puff of smoke. It was a clone. He turned around, chasing after Natarii, causing the position of the water to shift.

Naruto continued to swim in the same direction as before. Soon, he reached the edge of the water. He passed through it and fell to the ground, gasping for air. Once regaining himself, he stood up and opened the scroll. He looked over Natarii's small notes, which looked like they had been scribbled down in only a matter of seconds. Was it even possible to write something down so fast? Apparently for Natarii it was.

There were small diagrams Natarii drew along the margins, describing how the process was supposed to work. Although, instead of just the person performing the removal, there the victim was pictured as well. The victim was doing the same thing as the one releasing the seal. Why? Naruto expected he would be the only one performing the release. There was a small note beneath it. "This must be a two-person seal release. Ignore what the scroll says about it being a single person release. Wait until you think the time is right." What was that supposed to mean? Wasn't he supposed to be the only one taking action?

Not understanding, Naruto brought his hands up to form the first hand sign.

"You really shouldn't do that."

Naruto turned around, picking up the scroll as quickly as he could. Itachi stood behind him, but from a distance. "Why should you care?!" Naruto shot at him.

"It's not that I should care. But that you should care. If this is what that friend of yours told you to do..." Itachi narrowed his eyes. "She must be a fool."

"Tsk." Naruto tightened his fists. "What right do you have to say something like that?"

"I have facts. Things you might want to know." Itachi's face remained cold and expressionless.

"I don't need anything from you," Naruto said sourly. He turned back around, opening the scroll.

"What if I told you that by taking that seal off, you would be killing her?"

Naruto's heart stopped. Killing her? Natarii? But why would Natarii tell him to do something she knew would hurt her? Unless she didn't know. But how could she miss something like that? There wasn't any way...

Naruto shook his head. "You're lying," he said. "You have to be lying!" He raised his voice this time. "Natarii's not stupid! There's no way she'd tell me to something like this when her life is on the line!"

"Really?" Itachi remarked. He continued his explanation. "The Keimusho Seal of the Takanami Clan is a powerful seal. It not only restrains the victim's ability to use Ninjutsu, but it also swallows their physical strength by almost half. When released, the strength of the victim returns, putting a large amount of stress on the body. It's almost too much to handle, causing potentially fatal damage."

"Shut the hell up!" Naruto raged.

But Itachi continued. "One can either be killed instantly, or have a shortened life span. No Takanami has been able to survive the release. That's why they locked the seal away, never to be seen again."

Naruto's anger was boiling, steaming hot. "How the hell do you even know all this?!"

"The mastermind behind our operation is an expert when it comes to the lost Takanami Clan."

Naruto looked back down at the scroll. "I don't believe you," he said. "If Natarii wanted me to do it, she must've had a reason."

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Itachi turned around and started walking away.

"You're not going to stop me?"

Itachi looked back. "You're not my main concern at this point."

"Oh, really? I thought if Natarii died you wouldn't be able to do your 'operation.'" Naruto's eyes widened at his own words, realizing what he had just said. He lowered his voice for a moment. "If Natarii dies, the Akatsuki won't be able to do anything with her." The gears in his head started turning. If the release of the Keimusho Seal was potentially fatal...did that mean Natarii was trying to die?!

"Just trust me!"

Her words rang through his mind. At this rate, all he could do was trust her and the plan she came up with.


Natarii couldn't move. She couldn't hold her breath any longer. Kisame was approaching her quickly. There was no escape.

"Kisame."

Natarii turned her head slightly and noticed Itachi. What's he doing here?!

Kisame stopped abruptly right in front of Itachi.

"You're overdoing it, Kisame. Don't forget we have to keep the girl alive." Itachi vanished.

Kisame appeared to be displeased. The large orb of water almost immediately turned into a raging wave that spread through the forest at extremely high speeds.

Natarii flopped onto the ground, trying to catch her breath. This is ridiculous, she thought to herself as she coughed up swallowed water. Come on, Naruto. You're taking longer than I expected. Natarii looked up from the ground, wiping her face with her hands. She looked around the area, which was no longer the clearing, but in the middle of the forest. She hid behind a tree and peered around its corner. She noticed Kisame in the distance. He was turned away from her, and his body returned to its original state. Samehada was back in its original state as well. Itachi stood in front of him. His mouth was moving, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. Natarii assumed the two were discussing something. They didn't seem to notice her.

Now is the perfect opportunity to find a hiding place. Natarii stood up, nearly tripping from her lack of strength, and ran as fast as she could away from the two Akatsuki members. She didn't want to run away, but at this point, especially with the removal of the Keimusho Seal, it seemed necessary. When she saw a decent tree branch, she stopped, then jumped, reaching for the branch. She got a firm hold on it, then walked her feet up the tree and swung them around the branch. Now, she would be able to sit upright on the branch. Once she was upright, she climbed higher, hoping she would be able to blend in with the leaves. Now, all she had to do was wait.


Naruto looked over the scroll over and over again. Natarii's notes made everything make sense, but what did Itachi mean by "fatal damage"? There wasn't a thing about the process being dangerous in the scroll. And Natarii's note about the two-person release wasn't mentioned in the fine print anywhere either. Confused, Naruto opened the scroll further in case he was missing something. To his luck, there appeared to be a small chart underneath the general instructions of the seal release. He took a closer look at it. There were four columns. The first column provided a name, the second column provided an age, the third column provided the amount of years the seal had been in effect, and the fourth column provided a final status of either living or deceased. There were several names. They were all around Natarii's age, the youngest being fourteen and the oldest being twenty-one. They all had the seal for several years. They were all deceased.


That's it for this week's chapter! The next chapter will be posted Saturday, September 7!

Next is: "Chapter 54: The Removal of the Seal!" Naruto is convinced he may be able to remove the seal, thanks to Natarii's notes! But will they be enough? Especially when every other Takanami who has endured the process died in the midst of it? What is this supposed missing link Natarii may have found? Read next week to find out!

'Til next time!

- ChibiNinja45