Chapter 54: The Removal of the Seal

Naruto looked over the scroll over and over again. Natarii's notes helped everything make sense, but what did Itachi mean by "fatal damage"? There wasn't a thing about the process being dangerous in the scroll. 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.

Natarii saw this, didn't she?! Naruto thought to himself with panic. He looked down at the last row of the table. He shook his head a little to make sure he was looking at what he thought he was. He read through it multiple times. The name? Takanami Natarii. Age? Sixteen years old. Amount of years with the seal? Sixteen years. Status? Living.

Living.

The row was written in Natarii's handwriting. Naruto looked at it one last time. Relief overwhelmed him. It was just what he needed to see.

Natarii really did have a plan.

Naruto's face lit up. He put the scroll on the ground, then kneeled in front of it so he could see it. The first thing to do was to draw a symbol in the ground. Naruto looked around for a small stick. He found one almost immediately - he was in the middle of the forest after all. In front of the scroll, he drew a circle in the dirt, then put an "X" through it. He stepped into the circle, knelt, and formed the hand signs: Bird, Boar, Dragon, Horse, Rat. He felt a surge of energy rush through him. It was strong, yet somehow, he managed to control it. He remained perfectly still and focused.


Natarii clutched her stomach, resulting in her nearly falling from the tree. Something inside her was throbbing. It was burning. She could hardly move. This...this must be it! She thought. Quickly, putting the pain in the back of her mind, Natarii bit her thumb. It started to bleed. Here goes nothing...

Natarii lifted her shirt as best as she could and drew the same symbol, a circle with an "X" through it, on her stomach with her blood. Then, she formed the hand signs: Bird, Boar, Dragon, Horse, Rat. She remained perfectly still, despite the burning sensation within her. As she continued, the seal appeared on her body. It was a light shade of red, but as seconds passed, it grew darker. The pain quickly increased, yet Natarii remained firm. She felt something else beside pain building up inside her. It was a feeling of power and strength.


Naruto glanced at the scroll, not moving any part of his body. The energy going through him seemed to stop, meaning the first layer of the seal should have been taken care of. He looked at the next step. He skimmed it quickly, remembering what he was supposed to do. He formed the hand signs: Ox, Monkey, Boar, Ram. There was another burst of energy, but it was stronger than the previous time. It was harder to control too. But Naruto remained firm. He seemed to have better control over his chakra than he usually did.

On the other end, Natarii felt the same surge of energy, causing the seal to darken even further. It was now a dark maroon. Ph-Phase two! Natarii thought as she formed the same hand signs. Large beads of sweat made their way down her forehead as she focused. She was concentrating hard, trying extremely hard to put the burning pain at the back of her mind. That wasn't a problem though, for her concentration was top notch.

Minutes passed. In the distance, Natarii could hear Kisame and Itachi's voices. Somehow, she remained calm and didn't panic. She had to focus on the task at hand. However, the enemies were coming closer. Naruto would have to hurry. And he did. Suddenly, the seal turned pitch black. The pain was no longer bearable. Natarii was sweating all over. Her breathing was fast and heavy. But that didn't stop her. She quickly formed the last few hand signs: Dragon, Rat, Ox, Ram.

In the blink of an eye, the seal shattered like glass. Natarii found herself falling from the tree toward the ground. She landed flat on her back. She didn't even bounce. Her body lay there unmoving.

"What was that?" Kisame looked around the area, hearing the impact of Natarii's body to the ground.

Itachi pointed in the direction of the fall. "There," he answered plainly.

Kisame turned his head toward Itachi's point. He looked closely and saw Natarii. "Ah...I figured the little brat wouldn't last very long." He made his way over to her, Itachi following.

Did the jinchuuriki really do it? Itachi thought with little emotion.

When the two Akatsuki members reached Natarii, they took a closer look at her motionless body.

"Is she dead?" Kisame asked, nudging her with his foot. "What's this sign on her stomach?"

They must've gone through the sealing process. Itachi thought. But why is the symbol on her? Wasn't it supposed to be on the ground? He didn't bother to share the information with his partner and knelt next to Natarii, taking hold of her wrist. He remained silent. Then, he felt something. A pulse. "She's not dead," he said. "We can still use her. She's just weak."

"Is that so?" Kisame smirked. "Let's take her while she can't do anything then." He picked Natarii up and tossed her over his shoulder next to Samehada, who was wrapped once again, strapped across his back. He started walking. "Hmph. Making Deidara and Tobi do such an easy job...what was Leader-sama thinking?"

Itachi didn't bother answering Kisame's rhetorical question. He didn't need to. He walked alongside his partner, thinking to himself.

Operation capture Natarii was complete.


That's it for this week's chapter! The next chapter will be posted on Saturday, September 14!

Next is: "Chapter 55: Defenseless!" The Keimusho Seal is gone and Natarii survived! But will her survival last? The Akatsuki is very persistent! How much will it take for her to escape?

'Til next time!

- ChibiNinja45