Assassin's Legacy: Chapter 15
Truths and Lies
Aki was waiting for him at the usual clearing when Menma arrived. She looked at him in concern because the last time she had seen him he had rushed off to see his parents.
"Menma..." she calls hesitantly.
Menma doesn't reply and just moves to sit beside her. He leans over until his head rests on her shoulder. She waits for him to tell her something but Menma doesn't speak for a long time. She thinks he is hardly breathing at all but she understands that he might need time so Aki just sits there letting him rest on her shoulder.
It feels like hours before he speaks and his voice is raspy and breaking like he had spent hours screaming.
"Can I trust you?"
Aki looks at Menma in surprise then her expression softens, "Of course."
She can see the way his impassive expression breaks as he turns his head and hides his face in her shoulders. He is crying, she realizes as her shoulder becomes.
"I don't know what to do..." he says and then he is sobbing on her shoulders mumbling the words again and again.
"Menma..." she calls, concern evident in her voice, "Tell me what happened."
It takes him a moment to control his sobs and then he tells her everything.
_Flashback_
Minato is sitting in front of his children with an impassive face. He is silent for a long time and Menma grows impatient.
"Well?" he prompts angrily, "You said you will give us the truth. Why are you silent?"
"Menma," Kushina calls oddly subdued, "please, this is not a pleasant topic for any of us."
Menma wants to retort angrily but Mito's hand on his tightens slightly and he finds himself calming down and staying silent. As time had passed she had moved closer and closer to him until she was pressed tight against his side.
Finally Minato sighs and stands up.
"A year before you were born the toad sage gave us a prophecy..."
Menma narrows his eyes, what does a prophecy have to do with their lives?
Minato continues, "he foretold the birth of the Cursed One... The wielder of the Sword of Eternal madness."
Menma frowns, "What? What the hell is that?"
Kushina speaks up then, "The Cursed sword... It is part of the Mamoru family legacy. The sword has the power to corrupt a pure soul until it becomes a thing of evil."
Kushina closes her eyes in remembrance, "The sword was passed down through the generations... Because a new wielder will always be born after the death of the old one. It is an endless cycle."
Still not understanding what any of this has to do with them but willing to understand Mito asks, "Why not just destroy the sword? Or keep it away from everyone? "
Jiraya shakes his head sadly, "All those methods have been tried and failed. The sword can't be destroyed by any techniques known to men and if you separate the sword from the wielder for too long... The madness spreads like a disease. Three generations ago, the family of the fourth wielder tried to keep the sword hidden inside a cave in Grass country. Eight years later, the residents of a nearby village... They all killed themselves brutally all the while chanting about the sword. The moment the wielder picked up the sword, the madness stopped. People have also tried killing off the wielder as soon as they are born but that only means another wielder is born somewhere else..."
Mito and Menma were horrified.
"What does this have to do with us?" Menma asks in trepidation.
Kushina and Minato exchange a look before Minato says, "Naruto is the wielder..."
Mito gasped in shock and Menma stared at them speechlessly.
"How..." Mito gasps, "How do you know?"
"My father," Kushina says, "was Saito Mamoru... Before he passed he had warned me about the curse. In fact," she smiles sadly, "I have witnessed the devastation of a mad Wielder once myself."
Menma shakes his head, "But how do you know? How do you know it's him and not me or Mito?"
"The curse can be identified by a mark on the Wielder. The markings start appearing as soon after the Wielder is born. It starts as black spots and expands into vague lines and as the curse comes to completion the mark will also be complete. Naruto has the mark. After the mark is complete the wielder feels drawn to the sword," Jiraiya explains.
"My uncle was the last wielder," Kushina says softly, "He had taken up the sword only a year before I was born when the pull had become too much to ignore. He was very young then, only sixteen... I grew up with him. Father warned me to stay away. He told our family about the curse but..." Kushina doesn't seem to realize that she's crying, "But I loved him. I loved like a father, a brother, a best friend. I didn't understand why my father was so cold to him... We're Uzumaki! We never abandon family! I argued and fought with dad constantly. Mother was understanding but she was always on my side. Because we're Uzumaki..."
Kushina says in a self-deprecating tone.
Minato moves to stand next to his wife and Kushina leans on to him.
"I forced uncle Kai to stay with us in Whirlpool. My father was against it so to appease him I dug through hordes of Uzumaki clan scrolls until I found a solution. Or I thought I did... The seal could, in theory, seal away the madness and keep my Uncle, and whoever came after him, sane. Nobody would have to suffer anymore... My father was unsure but once we applied the seal uncle felt calmer, lighter. He said that he couldn't feel the pulls as strongly as before and we all believed it worked. Three years later... He snapped."
"He..." Kushina's voice broke, "It was unexpected... The three years after the seal was applied were the happiest years of my life... I had my family, my uncle and even my dad had been different. He was happier. He thought he could bond with his brother freely since the curse wasn't a problem anymore... Just before the madness took over, my uncle, my true uncle not the monster he became afterward, he begged dad to kill him. Dad couldn't and Uzushio paid the price."
Menma didn't understand but Mito did and she gasped.
"But I thought it was an invasion that..."
Minato shakes his head, "No. By the time the invaders had arrived Uzushio was on the way to being slaughtered. They couldn't fight off the invaders when they were busy with the wielder."
"But the invaders didn't survive either..." Menma says remembering his history lessons.
Kushina chuckles mirthlessly, "After he was done with us the wielder," she can't say her uncle's name about the monster who slaughtered her village, "slaughtered them too... He just kept on killing and killing and killing..." her eyes are wide and lost in memories, "until he collapsed. Even then, on the floor with no power to move he kept laughing... laughing at my family's bodies... Laughing at their dying screams... he kept laughing... Then I killed him."
"I killed him... And he thanked me for that. He thanked me not for saving him from the madness but for becoming a killer. He said he was glad that I had become a murderer..."
Kushina is rigid like she is trying so hard to hold back. She sighs and looks down.
"After all that happened, we couldn't let you go through that," Minato says, "We couldn't let you grow up loving him and in the end having to..."
Mito looks up at her father, "Is Naruto evil father?"
Kushina jerks away to look at her sharply, "No! Mito he is not evil. He is the farthest from it. He is a pure soul."
Mito looks surprised at her vehemence and Jiraiya decides to interject, "Mito, the sword is like a sickness... It taints the wielder's sword and drives them to madness. Only a pure soul can hope to stay in control and resist the madness for as long as it can. Do you understand?"
Mito nods.
"A sword of great evil and the one chosen to wield it will be one capable of the greatest of kindness," Minato repeats the words he had come across during his researches after the mark had shown up on Naruto.
"Why didn't you just keep him away from us from the beginning? Why did you raise him if you were eventually going to kick him out?" Menma asked confused.
Minato looks down, "I insisted. I didn't disbelieve Kushina but I thought that there may be a way to..."
Kushina smiles ruefully, "He reacted the same way I did when father had told me about uncle Kai..."
"What changed your mind?" Menma asks Minato.
"It was your fourth birthday. The day Mito got the Uzumaki bloodline... Menma, you lost control of the Kyuubi that day, do you remember?" Minato asks and continues when Menma nods, "You attacked almost everyone but when you went to attack Naruto, you stopped. You stopped and you turned around to attack Mito instead."
"I don't understand..." Menma mumbles.
"The sword has the power to control demons and by proxy, so does the wielder. And although the wielder couldn't properly use those powers until they wield the sword they do have the inherent ability. After that incident I observed and his influence on you was... Neither you nor Naruto noticed it. His presence near you always brought the Kyuubi forward. We couldn't alter the seal without affecting your chakra pathways. By your seventh birthday we had planned to send Naruto away. And then he pushed for the banishment..." Minato explains.
Menma waits for Minato to say something more but he doesn't.
"So that's it? That's what changed your mind?" Menma questions in surprise.
Minato's face is carefully kept blank and Mito interjects.
"No, you're not telling us something..."
Jiraiya takes over the explaining before Minato could refuse, "The prophecy. It isn't just about your brother. It's about Menma too."
"Me?" Menma asks confused.
Jiraiya nods, "Yes... According to the prophecy... The power of the Kyuubi under the wielder's influence will wreak havoc. The other eight will come together under the nine and the cursed one will have dominion overall. To save the world from the end, the one who had been the ninth will have to end the Cursed One with his sword..."
Menma took a moment to process it and then he looked horrified.
"You mean," Mito stutters, "Menma will have to kill Naruto?"
"The battle can go either way and the winner shall decide the fate of the world," Jiraiya says.
"If," Minato begins, "If Naruto cannot resist the evil... We have to make sure Menma wins..."
Minato looks away from them as he speaks, "I know you might not understand but it's better for Naruto out there. He can live the way he wants until the pull becomes too much for him. He found a family out there. He is happy, happier than he ever was with us."
"What about the sword?" Menma asks quietly.
"It's somewhere safe."
"When... If Naruto comes for the sword, will you stop him?" Menma questions.
Minato grimaces, "No. We will not."
"It won't do anyone any good if we keep them apart," Jiraiya says.
"I..." Menma stands up, "I need to go..."
"Menma?"
"I... I can't... I can't... Just give me some space..." and he runs.
Mito looks like she wants to follow Menma but she doesn't instead she turns to Jiraiya.
"The nine and the other eight, what does that mean?"
"The nine Biju or more accurately, the nine jinchuuriki."
"Are you sure?" Mito asks frantically, "I mean it could always be something else... The one that used to be the ninth... Maybe it's not Menma."
Jiraiya looks at her pityingly, "I am sorry Mito. We're sure that the nine refers to the nine jinchuuriki and the 'one that used to be the ninth' can't be anyone other than your brother... As your brother turns older, the seal will integrate his and Kyuubi's powers. In the end there won't be a Kyuubi, only your brother. So..."
"He will be what becomes of the ninth biju..." Minato says sadly, "There are no other possibilities."
_Flashback end_
"Kurama, we need to stop. There is a storm coming."
Kurama looks at Nagin pensively, "Can we make it to Sakura valley before the storm?"
Nagin doesn't reply and speeds ahead.
Nozomi shivered at the wind that whipped past him and kept a tight hold on his son.
"What should I do?" Menma asks Aki as she silently processes everything that had been told.
"You can't kill him," she pleads, "he doesn't deserve that. Nor do you deserve to live with your brother's blood on your hands."
Menma shakes his head, "Don't you understand? It's not much of a choice! When he becomes insane... I don't think Naruto would want to live like that."
Aki stands up abruptly and shouts, "' If' Menma, 'if' not 'when'... It's like you're already giving up on him!"
Menma looks at her stunned for a moment before his anger grows, "Don't you dare say that! What else do you expect me to do?"
"Find another way!" she says frustrated.
"Another way?" Menma looks at her in disbelief, "Didn't you hear the part where I told about how mom tried everything she had known for her uncle? Didn't you hear that my dad has been looking for years and couldn't find anything?"
Aki sneers, "Oh yes I heard. Your mom, your dad... After all that they did you trust this too?"
"What?" Menma takes a step back in shock.
"Maybe this is all a big fat lie! Maybe they just hate that Naruto doesn't have any special powers and just decided to get rid of him! Maybe they came up with this lie to keep you apart!"
Menma slaps her. Aki seems stunned for a moment.
Menma's eyes widen realizing what he had done, "Aki I am-"
"Don't," she steps back, "Don't even come near me! If you want to trust your lying 'parents' over me, then fine!" she cries, "stay away from me..."
She moves out of his reach and just before she exits the clearing she says, "My name is Akumu don't ever make the mistake of using that stupid nickname of yours."
And then she's gone and Menma has never felt more alone in his life.
Naruto and Shizune stood in front of the daimyo of the Lightning Country. The wife of the daimyo was Lady Amaya's elder sister. It was no secret that the daimyo adored Lady Amaya like a daughter and now hearing the accusation that this young boy had kidnapped Amaya's child was sending the man into a rage but he kept disturbingly calm on the outside.
Naruto and Shizune stood there nervously after being escorted by the guards here. The guards had searched the entire house for Nozomi but couldn't find him or a child.
Lord Raijin the deceased Lady Amaya's husband was the daimyo's cousin and someone who unfortunately held a lot of the daimyo's trust.
"Where is my child, boy?" Raijin shouted in grief-induced rage.
He is a very convincing actor, Naruto thought bitterly. Near him, Shizune had similar thoughts.
"My Lord your child died from the poison..." Naruto says as calmly as he can.
Shizune agrees easily, "Yes my Lord, your daughter was stillborn."
Naruto gave no visible reaction when Shizune said 'daughter'. The Lord didn't look all that thrown off either so he hadn't known the gender of the child Naruto thought relieved.
"They are lying!" Raijin turned to the daimyo, "I know they are."
The daimyo observed the two medics before him, "What happened to the child's body?"
"It was buried. Lady Amaya had woke up briefly after the labour and we had informed her of her child's fate. At that time we were not aware that she was from the Royal family and she said that she had no one else and to bury the child. We acted according to her wishes."
Seeing Raijin open his mouth to protest Naruto added, "The poison that infected Lady Amaya was a potent one."
Raijin's poison expert gaped when the boy said 'potent'. His special poison was more than just 'potent'. He huffed. Then curiosity took over, how did the boy cure the poison anyway?
Naruto continued unaware of the storm brewing on the old man's mind, "Lady Amaya thought someone was after her and was running away I think-"
"You think?" Raijin scoffed.
Naruto nodded not letting his anger show, "Yes Lord Raijin. Because she kept telling me to save her child and keep it away from someone I do believe that she was escaping someone."
The daimyo listened silently leaving his questions for last.
"I found her in a clearing near Tanzaku city. Her pelvic bone was fractured from the fall and there was extensive bleeding," Naruto sighed looking down sadly, "I was preoccupied with stopping the bleeding that I didn't notice the poison until too late."
Shizune explained the rest, "I arrived there while he was trying to stop the bleeding. I offered to assist. Naruto examined Lady Amaya for other injuries while I healed her and that's when he found the poison."
"By then the poison had spread too far. It wasn't a choice between mother and child because at that point I was certain the child would die..." Naruto trailed off sadly.
Then shaking his head in regret he continued, "We had to make a choice. Either we try and save both of them and risk the chance of losing them both or we save Lady Amaya while we can. We made Lady Amaya our priority. Shizune did the C-section while I tried to flush out the poison. We barely saved Lady Amaya but her daughter didn't make it."
Naruto put as much regret as he can into his words as he can. He did regret the lie when he saw the daimyo's wife. She was trying to stay strong but the loss of her sister had driven a knife through her heart and her composure.
"We are sorry for your loss Lord Raijin. We did what we could but it is true that your daughter was stillborn," Shizune said regretfully and Naruto nodded along.
"No!" Raijin said through gritted teeth.
"If I may Lord Raijin," Naruto began with a sympathetic expression, "what made you believe that your child is alive and that we hid her?"
Raijin startled when the Daimyo and his wife looked at him enquiringly. He regained his composure fast but Naruto saw it and so did the rest of them.
Raijin cleared his throat uneasily, "One of my soldiers heard Nozomi plan to kidnap my daughter with someone else. They didn't see the other culprit. And then my wife on her deathbed said that she was sure that our daughter had survived... Taking both facts into consideration I believed that he was conspiring with one of you!" he ended with an accusing tone.
Naruto shook his head, "We don't know this Nozomi you speak of."
"And Lady Amaya was severely injured and we are not sure we had removed the poison effectively. We did suggest keeping her there for observation but you are the one who took her and left against our advice," Shizune added a bit condensing and a lot sympathetically; only one of those was real, "We are not familiar with the poison used on her and was able to heal her through sheer luck. Essentially the poison degrades the cells and leaves the victim in agony. For all we know, delirium and hallucinations had been an effect of the poison. And that was what most likely made her believe that her child survived."
Raijin looked livid and then he sneered, "Then why did my soldiers see Nozomi going in the direction of your house?"
Naruto acted confused, "I don't know."
"You don't know?" Raijin looked incredulously.
Naruto shrugged in faux innocence, "Yes, I don't know. I already told you that I know no one named Nozomi. Then how am I know why the man was going in whatever direction? I believe it must have been a coincidence... Unless he was trying to kill me for saving Lady Amaya or something." Naruto put on a worried face at the end.
The daimyo looked thoughtful at that.
Raijin groaned, "Are you an idiot?"
The daimyo looked at the man severely, "The child has a point Raijin. You are the one who said Nozomi lost his mind and poisoned your pregnant wife. Insane men are dangerous and maybe he wanted vengeance on the one who thwarted his plan..."
Naruto and Shizune nodded along with that.
Raijin looked at a loss on what to say. Then Naruto said.
"Your soldiers searched my entire house Lord Raijin. If I had been plotting with this insane man, surely, you would have found evidence?"
Daimyo looked at the head of his troops and the man answered.
"We did not find anything incriminating at the house, My Lord. Although two of the house's occupants were missing."
"My sister and brother are on a sightseeing trip," Naruto added with enough exasperation and jealousy to make it real, "They left yesterday afternoon and will probably be on one of the boats to Water country. My mother and I are the only ones home now. If it is necessary I can call them back."
The daimyo shook his head and declined.
"There will be further investigations to ascertain your innocence," the daimyo added looking at Naruto and Shizune, "But Lady Tsunade is an old friend and she vouched for the both of you. I am sparing you today based on the trust I have on her."
"Thank you Daimyo-sama," Naruto and Shizune bowed in unison.
In the end they were freed. Naruto saw the look Raijin aimed at both of them and decided to meet his glare head-on. Raijin stomped away angrily.
In the sidelines an old man looked at the boy and plotted.
Three days after the trial Shizune and Tsunade were out with Yuki and Naruto when they were attacked.
Men with top-notch fighting gears and techniques Tsunade had seen only twice before. Their faces were hidden in the shadow cast by the hood and it never changed no matter how hard they fought. They weren't as strong as the ones she had met and she could have defeated them easily but she should've known that they exploit weaknesses. Her distraction ended up with a blood bag emptied over her and Tsunade was left almost catatonic.
She heard yelling and cries but she could not help.
Later when she came to Shizune informed her with a grim face,
"They took Naruto."
Beside her a distraught Yuki was pacing back and forth muttering this and that. Tsunade could only watch helplessly. She looked down at her hands and imagined the blood staining them. Her fear had cost her, her profession, her prowess, her confidence and now the boy she started seeing as her own.
No, never again, Tsunade decided. She will overcome her fear if it killed her and she will bring Naruto back.
She was startled when Yuki yelled, "Who the hell are they?"
Tsunade stared at the woman grimly before answering, "Assassins."
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or related fandom but the original characters and plot are mine.
To my dear readers, we are going through some tough times. People are suffering all over the world because of a virus and I want all of you to stay safe. Take care of yourself. Maintain your personal hygiene and the important one, DON"T DIE. Don't let your carelessness cost you your and others' lives. Personally I know a lot of people who still believe that the entire thing is not 'that big of a deal' and I keep telling them to open their eyes and see some news! We are suffering but we can survive if we are careful. Pray for those who are already lost to us and make sure that you keep yourself in check.
And if any medical personnel, volunteer or caregiver reading this (I don't think any of them will, because they are quite busy) THANK YOU for your hard work. May God Bless you. Our prayers will always be with you.
Take care people. And personally I think Fanfictions good. It keeps us glued to our rooms.
AND on another note; to that guy/girl who keeps telling me to 'f*** off and die already'; NO I do not plan on doing so. Sorry to disappoint you.
