Chapter Twelve: The Unknown Fire

Shizune paced the hallway outside of the Hokage's office. Lady Hokage had begun absorbing the Goddess's chakra, and even though there were no obvious changes in Lady Tsunade's behavior, Shizune could not help but worry about her.

Shizune's heels moved swiftly across the floor as she wished to know how to put a firm stop to the business with Lady Kanoko, who the Leaf had lost track of completely. If there was only something Shizune could have picked up on back then, years before when she first saw Lady Kanoko...

...

"Come on, Shizune, pick up the pace!" Tsunade said, "We have to get to the Hidden Leaf quickly. I have to get these papers to Lord Third as soon as possible."

The then ten-year-old Shizune hurried behind Tsunade, which was something Shizune would continue to do as the years went on.

When they finally arrived in the village, Tsunade encouraged Shizune to walk around and explore as Tsunade met with Lord Third.

Shizune happily listened to Tsunade. Shizune ran around the village and enjoyed herself until she accidentally ran into a group of three older kids who were carrying sticks and rope.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry," Shizune said.

"Hey, watch where you're going, loser!" an older boy said as he shoved her.

"Who are you anyway, you don't look like anyone I've seen before," another kid said.

"Wait, I know you, you're Lady Tsunade's little puppy that she drags everywhere, right?" the first kid said "What, are your parents dead or something?"

The older kids all laughed as Shizune's face turned red. They continued to shove her until her back was against a wall.

"Hey, I have an idea," the first older kid said, "How would you like to be our sacrifice?"

He grabbed her by the arm and the others helped pull her away to take her to what they called the "Goddess's temple".

"S-sacrifice?" Shizune said, "T-to a Goddess?"

"Yeah, I heard the Goddess has been going crazy lately," the third kid said, "Only a sacrifice will calm her down, and you're the perfect person for the job. It's not like anyone will miss you."

They all laughed cruelly as they dragged her away.

"Hey, dipshits," someone said, "Leave the girl alone!"

The older kids turned to see a kid with a senbon in his mouth. His name was Genma Shiranui.

"Are you talking to us, needle face?" one of the older kids said.

"Needle face?" Genma said, "So you really are as dumb as you look, huh?"

"Shut up, or you'll be sacrificed next!" one of the other kids yelled. Tears were welling in Shizune's eyes as the older kids kept yanking her around.

"Sacrifice?" Genma said, "Sounds like a load of crap to me."

Genma then glanced at Shizune.

"It's okay, don't worry about me," Shizune said.

Genma looked up at the clouds and sighed.

"Listen, I'll make you a deal," Genma said to the older kids, "I'll spit my senbon way up into the air. If I don't defeat all three of you by the time it comes back down, then you can "sacrifice" her or whatever."

Shizune's eyes widened and Genma looked at her again. He had a neutral look on his face, but his eyes made her a promise. He was going to save her. But how, she wondered.

"Ready?" Genma said.

"Oh, this'll be a piece of cake," one of the older kids responded.

"I like your confidence," Genma smiled and then shot his senbon high into the sky.

Before Shizune could process what was happening, Genma disappeared and reappeared behind her and her captors. He knocked the largest of them out cold with a quick kick to the side of the head, and then he slammed his fist into another older kid so many times, that kid was staggering around in confusion for minutes after. The final older kid held onto Shizune, but he was shaking as Genma circled him a few times. Genma finally made the move to strike him, but the kid fell over and peed his pants before Genma could even touch him.

"Okay, okay, take her," the pissy pants kids said, "just please don't hurt me!"

Shizune was about to thank Genma, but noticed that Genma had his eyes on the sky, waiting for the return of his signature object. Soon, he caught the falling senbon with his teeth and then took a bow.

"There's one more!" someone else yelled. A silver haired kid leaped up from behind Genma and launched himself at a fourth older kid who was running up behind Shizune to attack her. That older kid had been waiting to strike Genma whenever he saw an opening, but the silver haired shinobi swiftly knocked the fourth bully out. The barely conscious older bullies dragged their unconscious friends and fled the scene.

"Ah, of course," Genma said with a half smile, "The honorable Kakashi Hatake comes to save his comrades once again.".

"MY COMRADES, NOW IS THE TIME TO DEMONSTRATE OUR YOUTHFUL PASSION, THE HANDSOME BLUE BEAST IS HERE TO ASSIST YOU, I WILL NOT LET-oh no, I'm late again, aren't I?" Guy said as he rushed from behind Kakashi.

"I swear, you and Obito have the worst timing," Kakashi said.

These boys, they're...interesting, Shizune thought as Genma helped her up.

They all introduced themselves and she thanked them for their help after telling them her own name. She recognized the silver haired one as the son of the legendary White Fang and she knew of Guy because she had heard of his father as well. But the boy with the senbon was new to her.

"This was kind of like one of those group projects where the guy who does all the work has to share credit with the slackers," Genma joked.

"Slackers?" Kakashi said, "What are you talking about, I totally saved you."

"Oh, to be a young and dedicated shinobi. This is the most honorable existence! I am incredibly grateful to have you all as my comrades!" Guy said as he raised a fist to the sky.

"Okay, okay, guys I'll take it from here," Genma said, shooing them away. As they departed, Guy began to speak passionately about his rivalry with Kakashi and the power of a youthful spirit. Kakashi walked away slowly and Guy followed soon behind him. As usual, Kakashi's disinterested look did nothing to discourage Guy from talking excessively.

"Those guys," Genma shook his head. He then helped Shizune dust off the bottom of her kimono, "Are you hurt at all?"

"No, I'm not, thank you again."

"You don't have to keep thanking me," he said, "I did what any decent shinobi would do, Shizune. It's Shizune, right?"

For whatever reason, Shizune started giggling.

"Yes, that's my name," she said. She was stunned when Genma then locked arms with her.

"Shizune," Genma said, "I like it."

Genma walked around the village with Shizune and showed her all of the sites he could think of. Shizune saw many familiar faces and buildings and whenever she saw something new to her, she asked Genma about it. Their arms stayed locked together for the whole village tour and they found each other very entertaining.

"Genma, can I ask you something?" Shizune said.

"Yes, Shizune?"

"Those mean older kids earlier...they said they would sacrifice me. That they would take me to the Goddess's altar. Do you know what that was all about?"

Genma took a few seconds to respond. She gazed at the side of his face as he tapped his teeth on his senbon.

"It's something about the Nishi clan, I think," he said.

"Oh..."

"There's something going on with that clan's leaders. My mom was telling me a little about it. Rumor is, there's a link between them and some old Goddess tale or something. None of us are supposed to talk about that stuff outside our families, but-"

Genma suddenly stopped. Nearby, they spotted Kanoko Nishi, a beautiful lady with long orange hair and a graceful walk.

"Who is that?" Shizune asked as she gripped his arm.

"That's the only surviving daughter of the Nishi clan leader who recently passed away. Her name is Lady Kanoko."

"Oh, I remember hearing about her from Lady Tsunade."

"She's a pretty lady," Genma said, "But they say that if you stare at her for too long, your eyes start to burn."

Shizune stared at Lady Kanoko as she passed many of the villagers. At that point, Kanoko's chakra had been greatly diminished because it had been sealed by Lord Third years before. Even so, that didn't make her presence any less threatening to many of the villagers.

"Why do they say that about her?" Shizune said, "She seems normal to me."

"Seeming and being are two different things," Genma said, "At least that's what my dad says. Our family is close to the Nishi clan, but even some people of my clan are suspicious of the Nishi. If it weren't for the Unknown Fire agreement, I don't know if we'd get along at all."

"The Unknown Fire agreement?" Shizune said. Genma smiled and shook his head.

"I don't know many details, but it's an agreement that has helped the Shiranui clan reduce tension between the village and the Nishi clan. It's really important that the agreement isn't broken."

Shizune took in all of the information that he gave her. They continued walking and Shizune changed the subject.

...

Genma's words had stuck in her mind back then and they all came flooding back to her years later as she paced the Hokage's hallway.

"The Unknown Fire agreement..." Shizune said once she snapped out of reflecting on her childhood memories. She looked at Lady Tsunade's closed door. As she walked down the hall she ran into Genma and Raido who were coming in for a guard shift.

"Hey, I was just looking for you," Shizune said to Genma.

"What am I not important, too?" Raido laughed.

"I want to ask you about the Unknown Fire agreement."

Genma and Raido exchanged looks. Shizune frowned, she sensed that there was a secret she'd have to wrestle out of Genma. Impulsively, she grabbed Genma's hand, pulled him into a vacant room, and slammed the door behind them.

"At least they had the decency not to third-wheel me like Asuma and Kurenai used to," Raido sighed before continuing down the hall.

Shizune paced back and forth in the room before she spoke. Genma crossed his arms and sighed, waiting for her to start ranting.

"Lady Hokage is on her third chakra absorption cycle. I have to take her to the hospital to start the next one once that scroll is retrieved, but before I go, I want you to tell me everything you know about the Unknown Fire agreement. I mean everything! This is such a crucial moment, Genma, I can't belie-"

"Shizune..." he said in a firm voice that also had a hint of sweetness. For a moment she forgot her frustration and just looked at him. He closed his eyes and removed his senbon from his mouth. Anxiety filled Shizune.

"Go on," Shizune said, "Tell me."

"It's an agreement that keeps the peace between the village and the Nishi. This agreement allows my clan to act on behalf of the Nishi clan, and that's important to know, especially right now. When Lord Third extracted and sealed Lady Kanoko's powers, the agreement was amended and renewed. I didn't learn everything about it until I was about fifteen. That's the age when I..."

"Y-you what?"

"I learned I would be a part of the process that would allow the Nishi chakra to be transferred to another person under the Hokage's orders. I am a key part of the seventh and final chakra transfer. Heck, I may even be the most important part because that last amount has to come from me. I carry a massive portion of Lady Kanoko's true power. It's sealed so I can't use it but I'm going to have to give it all up to Lady Hokage when the time comes.

"So what? You're like...like Naruto? Like some kind of jinchuriki?"

Genma gave her a sad smile. Tears welled in Shizune's eyes. She knew what he'd say next.

"Yeah, something like that. And you and I both know...if the power within a jinchuriki is extracted..."

Shizune felt her throat tighten. Tears streamed down her face.

"N-no, no..." Shizune said, "No, Genma, no, no, no!"

She slumped to the floor and he dropped down as well to hold her in his arms.

"It's okay," Genma said, "Once this is done, Lady Hokage will be able to track and defeat Kichiro and Lady Kanoko's imposter and end all of this. She will eventually be able to recover the full power of the Goddess. All of that chakra will be in good hands."

Shizune sniffled.

"So it's you," Shizune said "You're the sacrifice."

He tilted his head down to look at her. Their faces were close and she moved her gaze from his eyes to his lips. Shizune noticed that it was one of the few times he was without his senbon. She pulled herself closer to him and almost pressed her lips against his, but stopped herself and bowed her head to rest against his chest instead. The tears were endless. She held him tightly in her arms, not wanting to accept the fact that she would soon never be able to hold him again.

—-

Shikamaru and Neji were well on their way to the Land of Water, but they had not gotten that far on their own. Naruto and Lee had caught Shikamaru and Neji as they were running to leave, and they had asked to join them. Neji at first refused to allow them to join, but Naruto begged to use his Sexy Jutsu to distract the guards at the gate so that they could escape. In brief, the plan worked.

"All right, where are we headed anyway?" Naruto said.

"Wherever Neji says we're headed, he's the only one who can track the girls because of the Hyuga charm," Shikamaru said, "Neji, do you see any potential obstacles ahead?"

"I can't say I do," Neji said, "But I have this feeling..."

They traveled mostly in silence for another three hours, and sensed nothing noteworthy. By the time they did sense something, there was no way to avoid this.

"Naruto..." the nine tailed beast within him growled, "This chakra I'm sensing...something's coming. Your life is in danger."

The feeling of doom hit Naruto and his friends at once. They stopped moving immediately.

Many meters ahead, Lady Kanoko grabbed hold of a tree trunk. She was disheveled, tired, and losing more control of her body with each passing second.

"Get out..." Lady Kanoko said through gritted teeth, "Get out of my head, right now!"

A blast of orange chakra came through her hand and shattered the tree she was holding. She staggered forward.

Don't fight it, sister, I will soon have all of your power. If you give it to me voluntarily, I'll be sure to spare your life.

"Spare my life?" Kanoko chuckled weakly, "Aren't you bold. This power you desperately want...you can't handle it. You want to absorb all of my power that was sealed away, but you don't get it. Even if you do find and absorb the sealed chakra...you can't handle Goddess chakra, your soul...it's-."

It's what, dear sister? Please continue to amuse me with your senseless rambling.

"Your soul is too...too fragile, my dear Yua." Kanoko said. In anger, Kanoko's sister, Yua, then suppressed most of Kanoko's consciousness.

"I'm taking over for now," Yua said through Kanoko's body, "I've had enough of your nonsense! You and father were always such fools, especially when it came to trusting people outside of our clan. You gave up so much of our power for those insignificant people who shun you to this day. Even your dear Tsunade distrusts you. It's a shame that I'll have to kill her with your hands. I'd much prefer to take her out with my own."

Yua moved Kanoko's possessed body forward. Kanoko's irises glowed gold as Yua controlled her.

She eventually landed near Naruto and his friends.

"She's just ahead of us," Neji said, "It's Lady Kanoko...no...no, this is someone entirely different."

"Ah, look at this. A perfect opportunity for me to train," Yua cracked her knuckles, "It's been a while."

Yua darted into their view with a crazed look.

"Naruto..." the tailed beast inside of him said again, "This enemy is too powerful for you...I could give you my power..."

"No, that's not happening," Naruto said, "Look, I don't know who the hell you are or what you've done to Granny Kanoko, but you're not getting beyond this point."

Rock Lee assumed a fighting stance. After recovering from a brief shock, Shikamaru studied the woman before them, and began working out a few strategies in his head.

"Do what you want, child," Yua smiled in a way that did not suit Kanoko's gentle face, "You're no more of an opponent to me than the falling leaves!"

Naruto charged at her with the Rasengan but stopped when a huge orange tinted barrier appeared before him. Hinata and Yumi had erected the barrier and suddenly appeared before Lady Yua.

"He's right," Hinata said, "You're not getting beyond this point. The two of us will make sure of that."

The male Leaf shinobi stood stunned outside of the barrier.

"No, the four of us will make sure of that!" A blonde girl resembling Naruto appeared next to Hinata, which shocked everyone except Yua. Sakumaru appeared immediately after her.

The blonde girl, who was none other than Narumi Uzumaki, had put her hair in a high ponytail like her deceased mother used to do before setting out on missions. Although she looked like her mother, she was dedicated to protecting the Leaf village like her father had, even if the Leaf village she was protecting was not her own.

"Who are you guys?" Yumi said.

"Long story, but we're allies," Narumi said, "Kakashi sent us because he sensed Lady Kanoko was in distress here."

"Turns out he was right," Saku said, "Look at her eyes."

"She is not as distressed as you all are going to be," Yua growled.

Yua formed an orange energy sphere in her hand and lunged toward Narumi. Just then, Hinata jumped between Narumi and Yua and kicked away the hand which held the sphere.

"Art of the Goddess: Seven Spears Jutsu!" Hinata struck Yua quickly several times causing Yua to fly back into a nearby tree.

"How was that?" Hinata asked Yumi.

"Good, maybe almost as good as Yoiko's," Yumi said.

"I don't know who that is," Narumi said as she ran toward Yua to hit her with a much larger, reddish-orange colored Rasengan, "But you're going down!"

"Is that-is that nine tails and Goddess chakra?" Saku said before quickly turning to the others, "Everyone scatter!"

Hinata, Yumi, and Sakumaru split up. When the Rasengan landed, hundreds of trees were obliterated and smoked blinded almost everyone. The barrier was unaffected.

"What is going on here?" Rock Lee said.

"I can't say for sure, but our comrades are certainly in trouble," Neji replied.

"Then we need to get in there!" Naruto said. They all looked at Shikamaru.

"Give me a few seconds, I'll get us inside. But once we get in, there's no holding back. We got to give it everything we got."

Yua let out a cry that shook the ground beneath them.

"You little wench," she said, "Prepare to die!"