Chapter 1 - A House of Cards
Unknown location
(Kingdom Hearts OST - Dive Into The Heart)
A young girl can be seen sitting in a room at a table. With her is a stack cards and a man with long green hair that stood beside her. The young girl was playing with the stack of cards by separating each of the cards by suit before trying to stack them up by a house.
"You know milady, the term "House of Cards" means instability rather than a strong foundation." the green haired man said.
The girl's face didn't change as she continued making the house, "I know, however it still takes many people to create a house. Each suit is like a family. They are all cards, but they are all different despite coming from the same box and manufacturer." she stated.
"Like humans, they come from the same earth. At some point, the population started from a pair and increased over time. Although, that does not mean that they are all equal are they?" the man asked.
The girl shook her head, "In a way we are the same, but in the end they can transform into filth. Even families backstab one another, the Hyuga in the arrogance will one day die as they kill each other. That seal is not absolute as the Hyuga are incompetent fools who cannot differentiate a brush from the ink used." she replied.
"And is that an example of a collapsed house of cards?" the man asked.
"In a way, however mine is the idea of a family. Each family wants to have a stable home. It does not matter where it is so long as they remain alive and content with their situation. Except everyone has to pull their weight whether it be the stereotypical patriarch with a nuclear family or a few desperate younglings and adults trying to survive together with very little." the girl explained as she quickly and elegantly stacked the cards into a structure.
"Similar to a government as well." the man added.
"Exactly, we all have our tools and resources. You just need to distribute them equally or enough to either grow or maintain your current position. Either way, it depends on who is in charge of the resources and who is in charge to invoke their authority." the girl said before the cards collapsed, but elegantly stacked into their normal deck forms by themselves. "There is also the idea of coming back from whence you've fallen and lost everything." she said before standing up.
"Yes Lady Naruko, I understand your words clearly." the man said as he followed the girl.
At a later time, wave country
Things were becoming dangerous. What was initially just a C rank had quickly become A rank. However, Kakashi Hatake had decided to break protocol and follow the suggestion of his genin team, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and Menma Uzumaki. It was ridiculous and with the fact that with the only training the had was composed of teamwork exercises and recently learning the tree walking exercise.
This team was in no shape or form ready to handle the likes of A rank missing nin, Zabuza Momochi. A man who has no fear or concern in terms of murdering a mere genin team. Along with him was a mysterious hyoton user that was disguised as a Kiri hunter ninja. Right now, Kakashi was having difficulty combating Zabuza who was a veteran practitioner of kenjutsu and wielder of the Kubikiribocho.
Which was one of the seven swords of the seven swordsmen of the mist and of course he would have it seeing as he was once a member. That hyoton user was no joke either, two of the finer genin were being badly beaten by the hyoton user.
Inside the dome, Menma and Sasuke, who recently awakened to his Sharingan, were practically turned into pincushions by the ninja's senbon. However when they were about to take a seemingly critical attack. Sasuke in all his stupidity, relied on his only real desire when it came to battling in the ninja world... his self preservation.
"Hey what the hell Sasuke!?" Menma asked as he felt Sasuke grab him.
"Shut up and hold still!" Sasuke ordered just as the senbon were coming close.
Only to suddenly be interrupted as the whole dome was hit by a giant projectile. The fake kiri nin fell out his ice mirrors as the whole jutsu collapsed. Menma took the chance to break free by breaking Sasuke's nose with his elbow.
"You're going to pay for hitting an Uchiha elite you no clan loser!" Sasuke said with a sneer only to get kicked in the face.
Menma scoffed, "Elite my ass, if you were actually good at being a shinobi. You would have taken the hit." he said as Sasuke sneered some more after being mocked for his cowardly actions.
Suddenly they were all surrounded by strange mechanical creatures that were coming out of the water. One of them had already been on the bridge and was working on trying to hit the hyoton user. However their ice ninjutsu was unable to damage the mechanical creature and senbon had no affect on it either as none of them had nerves like any normal humans.
As the fake Kiri hunter continued to unleash his bloodline on the beasts. Sasuke also attempted to attack them by spamming a great amount of fireballs in the belief that his jutsu would be enough to destroy the beasts. Sadly they were highly resistant to fire and that just left Menma who kept making clones that were either punching the beasts or trying to take them down with various kunai shuriken. Only to be smacked away.
Menma decided that now was a good time to reveal one of his secrets. Although his sensei, Jiraiya, had forbidden it until the end of the chunin exams Menma had no other choice as he needed to stop the beasts before the could create more destruction. The blond boy soon created a shadow clone and worked with it to create a sphere of chakra before running up to it and slamming the sphere into its chest.
"Rasengan!" Menma cried out as he was pushed back by the impact of the attack. Only to look up and see the beast had slightly staggered but continued moving, "Aw crap, what the hell is this thing made of!?" he asked before making more shadow clones.
"Hey what was that jutsu!?" Sasuke demanded.
"None of your business teme!" Menma responded before avoiding another sweep.
Of course with an ego that inflated, Sasuke did not like that response, "Tell me now!" he ordered as if he believed to have some authority over the orange clad shinobi.
Meanwhile Zabuza and Kakashi broke off their fight as the beasts started heading towards them. Both were already feeling heavy exhaustion as their fight took a toll on the both of them. Kakashi was already low on chakra while Zabuza was starting to get sluggish and found his sword to be heavy for every time he tried to cleave or block an attack.
Just as things seemed hopeless, the beasts soon stopped at the sound of finger snapping. The beasts stood still and all turned around to see a green haired man in a fine white suit approaching them. The man slowly came to a halt as the beasts moved away from their various opponents and stood in formation like normal soldiers would.
"Who the hell is that?" Zabuza asked as he took the time to recover his strength.
Kakashi's eyes widened as he recognized the man before grunting and feeling a phantom pain, 'No, why is he here?" he thought nervously.
Suddenly a portal appeared and someone came out of it. The green haired man extended his hand like a gentleman as a woman came out and took it. This woman was an average height, with silver hair in the shape of horns, a red dress that revealed her chest and legs that looked similar to talons. While the genin were confused and startled by her appearance while Kakashi was even more shocked to see the woman.
"Greetings Konoha shinobi and Demon of Kiri." the green haired man said. "I present you, milady Ultimecia. You may now all, kneel or show some form of gratitude for milady gracing you with her appearance." he said.
Sasuke was less than happy to hear someone demanding him to grovel before some woman, "I am an Uchiha! You should bow before me instead of acting that you are mightier than a member of Konoha's elite clan!" he yelled.
Sakura was about to add her two cents when Ultimecia opened her mouth, "Kneel!" she demanded as everyone fell on their knees as gazed at her.
The green haired man also took a knee and bowed his head, "Madame, forgive this fool. I was too weak to make them kneel the first time. Please punish me for my actions." he pleaded.
Ultimecia placed a hand on his head, "Rise Kingu, do not berate yourself for not speaking the same language as these parasites." she told him.
"You are ever generous milady." Kingu said before standing by her side.
'What is this power? This is worse than Zabuza!' Sasuke thought.
"How tough is this lady? She looks weaker than Tsunade baa-chan, but...' Menma's thoughts trailed off as he stared at the threatening woman.
The fake kiri shinobi was also panting, 'No matter how powerful she is. I must protect Zabuza-sama.' he thought.
'Crap, is this that witch everyone is talking about? She's not some weak bitch like they said. I doubt Gato and any amount of men he could hire could take her out.' Zabuza thought as he was sweating under the pressure she released.
'I'm going to die here, won't I?' Sakura thought grimly as she felt like her lungs were slowly melting.
"Now then, which one of you is Naruko Uzumaki?" Ultimecia asked as the beasts moved away to give her a clear view. After receiving nothing but silence she spoke up again, "I will ask again. Where is the kyuubi jinchuuriki?" she asked.
"She's not here. Naruko Uzumaki is not a member of this team." Kakashi answered honestly seeing as he's not really revealing any real information.
Menma gritted his teeth anyways, "And there is no way we'd give up my sister!" he yelled.
"Keep your opinions to yourself as I did not ask for them child." Ultimecia said coldly as she studied everyone. "Oh that reminds me. Kingu be a dear and toss out the overgrown child. I am sure citizens of this impoverished nation have more use for him." she said as Kingu opened up the portal and a giant metal arm revealed a horribly injured Gato before dropping him and closing up again.
"Gato! Why do you have him!?" Zabuza demanded before being hit with a blast of fire.
"Do not speak to me that way swordsmen. Your associate Raiga had take a lesson in manners before being given an early burial." Ultimecia said as Zabuza grunted in pain while Kakashi was shocked.
'She killed one of the other swordsmen of the mist?' Kakashi thought.
'Raiga? Is that someone on Zabuza's level? Where does this woman get her power?' Sasuke wondered.
"Who are you lady!? And why do you want my little sister!?" Menma yelled as he managed to find the strength to stand up.
Ultimecia barely batted him an eye, "You are very annoying. I do not answer annoying little boys who act like men." she said as Menma growled in frustration. "Seeing as we've clearly wasted our time. I suppose now is a good time to leave." she said as she extended her hand into the air.
Suddenly the beasts were turned into pure energy in the form of cards and flew into Ultimecia's hands. Taking note that all of them are in place, Ultimecia put them away before turning to an opened portal. The sorceress took Enkidu's hand as he was about to gently lead her inside.
"You didn't answer my question!? Who are you and why do you want my sister Naruko!?" Menma demanded again as he pulled out a kunai threateningly.
"And who are you to demand answers from me little boy?" Ultimecia asked.
"I'm Menma Uzumaki, the student of Jiraiya and I'm going to be the future hokage and it's the hokage's duty to protect everyone! Especially family and my precious people!" Menma proclaimed.
The sorceress rolled her eyes, "Hokage, such ridiculous nonsense especially for a child. When will you wake up from the lies told by the silly toad and senile monkey?" she asked before crossing through the portal with Kingu.
"Wait!" Menma called out only to witness the portal closing.
"I'm done here. Gato's done for and so is my chance at getting paid. Haku, let's get out of here!" Zabuza said as the fake kiri ninja grabbed onto Zabuza and escaped in a water shunshin.
"Well mission successful team." Kakashi said before collapsing.
"Kakashi sensei!" Sakura called out as she ran beside her jounin instructor.
"Damn who was that bitch and where did she get that power?" Sasuke asked as he felt envious and yet useless at the same time.
Menma was still staring at where the portal once was, 'I have to protect Naruko at all cost. I have to put Jiraiya sensei's prophecy aside. Peace doesn't matter if I can't protect everyone.' he thought as his conviction started to alter a bit.
Konoha, several days later
After Zabuza's retreat, Gato's execution and finally the finished construction of the bridge. Team 7 had left Wave and Tazuna managed to work out an installment plan to properly pay back Konoha seeing as there were no more threats. Then again, it was thanks to Ultimecia that Gato and his forces were gone and a few were actually thanking her despite the notorious reputation she's built up.
It wasn't too long ago that Ultimecia had surfaced and made a name for herself. It was already safe to say that she was dangerous as she claimed to have killed Raiga, while he's a weaker member of the seven swordsman, he was still rather powerful and a threat for less experienced shinobi to face. He was the current user of the Kiba blades and the previous wielder, Ameyuri Ringo, was said to have killed over a hundred chunin that faced her. Ameyuri Ringo didn't necessarily die like a shinobi, rather it was by an unknown disease.
Sadly it doesn't look like random diseases are the best way to defeat a powerful threat.
Then again, Ultimecia had been given the title of witch as he techniques could not be described as ninjutsu. Along with being able to manipulate the earth and creating creatures that only serve her. There was also rumors of her being able to manipulate others from a distance and influencing nobles and high ranking figures of authority that suddenly changed their personality and have made choices outside of their character. While it sounds wild, it all points to an average witch hunt and most people tend to feel threatened by foreign powers.
Hokage office
After arriving and leaving their reports, Team 7 minus Kakashi had left to rest after a long mission. At this point Kakashi was scolded for screwing up badly.
"Three missing nin and a rogue criminal Kakashi!? As much as I am disappointed that you ran into the witch of all people, no one could predict that event.
Kakashi hanged his head, "Perhaps it was just my blind optimism. After seeing how well everyone did during the bell test and passing a team for once. I assumed it was the best way to improve their teamwork." he said with dejection.
Hiruzen could see the logic, but that didn't mean it was good logic, "While I do see Team 7 as the potential successors to the legendary sannin. We are no longer in an era of war. With the little peace we have, we must take caution and not run head first into danger." he said as Kakashi felt a toll on his pride being hit. "Regardless, is there anything else you would like to mention?" he asked.
"One more thing sir, the witch not only wiped out Gato and his forces. She stopped our final battle and demanded to know Naruko Uzumaki's whereabouts." Kakashi said as Hiruzen's eyes widened at the news.
"Did she say why?" Hiruzen asked immediately after.
Kakashi shook his head, "No, Menma tried to stand up to her but ignored him as he was wasting her time. However she did refer to Naruko as the kyuubi jinchuuriki and left after being dissatisfied with her results." he answered.
"You are dismissed Kakashi. Do not endanger the lives of your genin team again or I will see to it that you are demoted." Hiruzen said sternly as Kakashi bowed his head and left. "Tora, summon the council." he ordered as he looked towards one of his hidden ANBU.
"Hai hokage-sama." Tora answered before leaving to complete his mission.
'I must send word to Jiraiya. We need to double Menma's training and see what we can do about Naruko.' Hiruzen thought as he believed Ultimecia to be as cunning as Orochimaru and possibly around the same threat level as him.
Later, council meeting
After gathering both sides of the council. Hiruzen held onto a couple of files as he prepared for his important introduction. All while most of those in attendance were tired and annoyed and further believed that their time should be used elsewhere. That is, unless Hiruzen Sarutobi would cover the topics that interest them or listen to their insane ideas.
"What is the topic for today Hokage-sama?" Hiashi Hyuga asked in his usual stoic manner.
"Today is a matter of a grave threat that is knocking on our doorstep." Hiruzen said with an emphasis on the threat level.
Shikaku raised a brow, "Care to enlighten us Hokage-sama?" he asked.
"I'm afraid someone as cunning and dangerous as Orochimaru plotting against the village." Hiruzen answered as a few shinobi and many civilians were on edge. "From the past couple of weeks, I have noticed a brand new trend. Lately someone has been tampering with missions and ruining our name by intervening." he added.
"Just who is this threat? With all do respect Hokage-sama, you have yet to explain this." Shikaku asked.
"It's the Witch, Ultimecia." Hiruzen answered as many gasped.
"The only thing worse than a demon is a witch!" yelled one of the civilians.
"Are you going to do something about it?" Tsume asked.
The civilian glared at the Inuzuka matriarch, "No, that is your duty!" they said.
"Then shut up." Tsume said as the civilian did as they were told with a huff.
"And what exactly has this witch done that warrants are attention to her now? How exactly is she a threat?" Hiashi asked as he would like to have some idea as to what his village face.
Hiruzen pulled out the files, "While Ultimecia has made a name for herself for nearly a decade. Within the past few months she has tampered with missions that have turned out to be higher ranking than what they are. One being the caravan escort mission in the Land of Vegetables." he began to explain as he passed the various sketches out of Ultimecia and her companion, Kingu.
Quite a few shinobi were well aware of Kingu's initial feats and accomplishments. He was a mere stranger that had appeared in the forest of death one night. He initially appeared to be a random B rank criminal and it was up to debate as to whether it should be higher as he defeated Kakashi Hatake. The man had been brutalized and appeared as if he was being chewed by a wild animal. While he wasn't permanently injured, Kakashi was found without his Sharingan implant as Kingu had destroyed it.
"Wasn't that mission secretly a cover for the daughter of of the country's daimyo to tread past a rogue ninja group?" Inoichi asked.
The hokage nodded, "Yes, they were a trio of brothers called the Janin. They lead a revolt composed of disloyal ninja and other members of local government. However the witch had arrived and slaughtered most of their forces. All before taking the poor girl, Haruna, as a hostage." he explained.
"Luckily the girl was left alive as Ultimecia had no use for her. Apparently the country had entered an economic recession." Shikaku added.
"Even though the assigned team was the one composed of Kurenai Yuhi and her freshly minted genin team. Who I mind you, only now recently graduated. Haruna-sama saw Konoha as weak and incapable despite us offering an alliance. Leading her to forge agreements with other small villages such as the Land of birds." Hiruzen continued to explain.
"Wasn't the Land of Birds in a similar issue with Team Guy?" Choza asked.
Hiruzen nodded again, "It wasn't too long before when Ultimecia appeared and killed the impostors who were trying to take over their government as well. Apparently she attempted to steal their techniques as there was a clan known for stealing from other nations. However they were mere knock offs and satisfied the woman." he answered.
"So what exactly makes this woman expensive? There has to be more to her than appearance and one bodyguard." Inoichi asked as his normal senses and shinobi instincts were contradicting each other.
"From the reports of each team. Ultimecia has been seen to summon strange golems made of the earth that act on her will." Hiruzen answered.
"Like the puppet ninjutsu of Suna?" Tsume asked.
Hiruzen shook his head, "No, they act on her will but they function without using any sort of device or chakra. However that is according to what the various jounin and chunin.
"Now hold up, we've mostly heard about the various genin teams being defeated and failing their missions because of this witch. So who's to say that she isn't getting lucky by handling one jounin and a few genin who are still green?" asked an annoyed civilian.
"You can ask her yourself if you're brave enough." Tsume suggested as the civilian sneered at her.
Shikaku continued overlooking the files as he had seen some of them before, "There have been a few cases of her fighting more higher ranking and experienced shinobi. One example was Jounin Hatake leading a group of jounin and chunin in an escort mission for Yukie Fujikaze who turned out to be Koyuki Kazahana. Even worse, the previous daimyo had a large force of his own and an elite team that was wiped out by her." he explained.
A few civilians did start to get nervous after hearing that. It was rather unsettling for the shinobi council as well as they saw Kakashi as one of their best shinobi especially since he is the last student of the deceased Yondaime Hokage. To hear him being defeated by the witch only proved that she deserved her status as an S rank criminal.
"And recently, she tampered with Team 7's mission in Wave country where they were assaulted by the Demon Brother's and Zabuza Momochi." Makarov said as a few people got up.
"Is Uchiha-sama fine?" one asked.
"Yes he's fine! Aside from that, they made it out unscathed as Ultimecia was looking for Naruko Uzumaki!" Hiruzen said as he tried to put aside their concern for Uchiha.
Suddenly the hokage was barraged by sneers and random yelling as Naruko did not have a good standing with the local civilians.
"Then let the witch take her." one said nonchalantly.
"One less demon, one less threat." another said.
"If Konoha's safety is dependant on giving up the girl. Then the choice is obvious." this time, the comment came from Unkai Kurama.
Hiruzen was ready to explode on them until he heard a cane hitting the floor as if it were a gavel. Looking towards the end of the table, he saw his old rival, Danzo, standing up.
"Now now, that won't do at all. We need a jinchuuriki after all." Danzo said while ignoring Hiruzen's glare. "While you do not like it. Other villages have jinchuriki as well. If we were to lose our own. Who is to say that the enemy will not tap into the power of their demons and attack us while our own is long gone?" Danzo asked.
"They wouldn't dare!"
"They would face humiliation!"
"Uchiha-sama will protect us!"
Danzo nodded, "Hiruzen, I do believe I heard a few volunteers willing to be conscripted into a potential war." he said as the civilians backed off.
"Don't forget the Uchiha, he just barely awakened to the Sharingan and Jounin Hatake's Sharingan is limited. The only other people being Mikoto Uchiha who was injured during the massacre and every other Uchiha being elderly or a small child. There is no hope in relying on them alone." Shikaku added as he saw the bad logic behind relying on one child.
"But if we nurture Sasuke. We can make him manipulate the beasts or possibly kill the demons!" another civilian said.
"Wrong, that is why you are the civilian. They are the shinobi. I am the elder and Hiruzen is the hokage." Danzo said while trying to avoid looking bitter in the end. "And not even the yondaime could defeat the kyuubi. It was sealed away, meaning it could only be contained. Unlike Uzumaki, Kumo and possibly Iwa's jinchuriki are able to enter a full transformation. We can't seal away something that's already been sealed and even with Jiraiya. We are very limited in combating them." he continued as many groaned.
"And who is to say that the girl won't be converted by the witch into fighting for her?" Inoichi asked.
"She wouldn't dare bite the hand that feeds her." Unkai said.
Tsume scoffed, "I'd bite off the dick off the one who feeds me crap. Not like most of the people in this room gave her anything to be grateful for." she said as she actually felt bad for the girl.
"It is logical, why wouldn't a child swear loyalty to someone else who grants her kindless? Answer, to live a more bearable life." Shibi added.
"And clearly only the sensible council members are thinking straight." Danzo said as his tone drove some fear into the civilians. "Now then Hiruzen, what do you suggest we do to prevent the capture of our jinchuriki?" he asked.
Hiruzen sighed as he knew Danzo was only working with him in order to maintain "the weapon" that he wanted since day one. However, not even Danzo or the elders were aware that Naruko is not the kyuubi jinchuuriki. In fact, Menma is holding the beast back but he kept it a secret so Jiraiya could protect him during his training trip. It was risky, but it paid off as Menma is loyal to his village and it's only strengthened by his need to protect his last living family members.
Even at the cost of the village's resentment towards young Naruko who was innocent in all this. Although Hiruzen Sarutobi, dubbed the professor by many, believed that pain and suffering builds character. He would only hope that the poor girl would understand when he reveals the truth after the chunin exams. Even so, Naruko cannot be turned against her brother or better yet, be used as a captive to manipulate Menma.
"Very well, I do have one suggestion." Hiruzen stated.
Elsewhere
In another location, Naruko Uzumaki sat on a chair in front of a condenser microphone while looking through a mirror that overlooked the council meeting. Having listened through the eyes and ears of Danzo Shimura, Naruko knew exactly what was going on and what everyone was planning.
"Very well, it sounds acceptable. Unless anyone else would like to speak up and add their suggestions?" Naruko said while everyone heard Danzo's voice in the meeting.
Everyone remained silent, "Very well, this meeting is adjourned. We will continue on a later date when Jiraiya has arrived or should village security be at stake." Hiruzen said as he ended the meeting for the day. "And Danzo, I would like to see you shortly in my office" he added.
"Very well Hiruzen." Naruko said before turning to Kingu. "Will you be taking over?" she asked.
Kingu nodded, "Why of course milady." he said as he took her seat in her master's place.
Meanwhile Naruko walked into her chambers and looked over a few documents, "So the chunin exams are taking place. It appears as if I have a couple weeks to prepare myself. I wonder what my little spies have found." she said before a clay bird entered her room and landed on her desk. "Speak of the devil, I was waiting for you little one." she said before being given the information she needed.
With Team 7
As usual, only half of the team was actually putting in any effort to train and actually exceed expectations of becoming shinobi. Sasuke was practicing his kunai throwing and his fire ninjutsu. While Menma was practicing his taijutsu with a few clones as well as working with a medium sized toad to use his combination techniques. However Sakura did put in a lot of effort into eating a healthy diet.
Although it's not healthy if you don't have the proper balance and protein to develop and ounce of strength. Yet Sakura also managed to shock everyone by revealing a strange beverage called "Diet Water" which actually exists. Out of anything needed in this world, diet water exists and it's being devoured by an anorexic girl. At least Sakura excelled at the tree climbing and if she manages to build up her reserves, Kakashi is highly considering teaching her how to walk on water.
'I'm going to make Sasuke-kun so proud by showing off my amazing chakra control!' Sakura thought with a glee as she watched her crush.
Kakashi eventually put his book down and stopped the two boys, "Ok you two, I think that's enough self practice. How about we get a bit more realistic?" he suggested.
"Are you gonna teach us some jutsus sensei?" Menma asked with glee in his voice.
"No not yet, I want to see you two spar for a bit. Just to see how you are both doing in that area. It seems unnecessary but it helps build up reflexes and stamina." Kakashi answered as both boys got into their personal stances.
"You can do it Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said as she cheered for her crush as Kakashi just ignored her.
A while later in the hokage's office
After dealing with Danzo, Hiruzen was given a surprise visit by Jiraiya. Not that Hiruzen didn't sense his presence a short while before the man jumped through the window. Most likely, this surprise visit either had some amount of urgency as Jiraiya was in charge of the village's spy network.
rAnd what brings do you bring me Jiraiya?" Hiruzen asked.
"Well there's a new village that's popped out of nowhere, but while it's location is unknown. I think there's a chance that it might be hidden somewhere in the land of rice." Jiraiya answered. "I think they're also thinking about participating in the chunin exams as well. So we might have to watch out for them." he added as his former instructor nodded.
"Speaking of dangers, Jiraiya have you received any news on the witch?" Hiruzen asked.
"Well..." Jiraiya started to say as he scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well she has a decent face and nice pair on her chest, but those horns and talons are a turn off if you are asking." he said as his pervertedness never ceases.
"It's not what I'm asking." Hiruzen said with a straight face.
"Well other than that. Just the same reports about the genin teams being attacked. Why do you ask?" Jiraiya asked.
"Other than the fact that she is an S rank criminal." Jiraiya gave Hiruzen a sheepish grin. "She ambushed Team 7 during their latest mission in Wave. Apparently she destroyed Gato's shipping company before demanding Naruko-chan's whereabouts." Hiruzen said as Jiraiya looked shocked.
"What!? Why is she after my goddaughter?" Jiraiya asked.
"Kakashi stated that she was looking for the kyuubi jinchuuriki." Hiruzen answered as Jiraiya gave a frustrated sigh.
"Ok, so not only is someone as bad as Orochimaru trying to capture the kyuubi, but now Naruko is in danger because of a white lie." Jiraiya stated.
Hiruzen nodded, "You could have taken both of them Jiraiya. You know how lonely Naruko-chan feels and how I had to lie to her face about her family." he replied.
Jiraiya shrugged, "Well Minato was orphaned at a young age and Kushina had Mito up until her genin graduation. No doubt Naruko is already getting stronger because of it." he said while trying to sound optimistic.
Hiruzen sighed at his student's ridiculous logic, "Jiraiya not everyone can handle hardship. Especially someone like Naruko-chan who didn't want to be a ninja at all." he said.
"And what's wrong with being a ninja? She should be proud that she's related to a strong kunoichi like Kushina. Then again, not like Kushina would be impressed with her daughter being a deadlast." Jiraiya said as he relied on his little knowledge of parental guidance.
"Then how about you return to her life Jiraiya? It's about time you acted more like a godfather." Hiruzen suggested.
"I am, look how great Menma turned out!" Jiraiya argued.
"I meant for Naruko-chan! Sometimes I wonder if you have steam in your ears from all the "research" you do at the hot springs." Hiruzen said as Jiraiya felt offended.
"Hey do you know how hard it was to get any research done? I had to keep putting my work on hiatus just to take care of Menma. Now I need to prepare him for when Ultimecia comes and tries to take the kyuubi away." Jiraiya stated.
"And what about Naruko!? She may not be the true jinchuriki, but she is the only family Menma has left! Not only that, but Ultimecia could try to harvest her for her Uzumaki bloodline or even use her as a hostage for us to trade the kyuubi!" Hiruzen said hoping to get through his student's thick skull.
Jiraiya sighed as his sensei did have a good point, "Alright, where do I find the kid? I could at least try to approach her with Menma. Maybe offer her some training for the chunin exams. I bet that would get her excited and prepare her for when that witch tries to come after her." he explained.
"Good, you finally see reason. Now that I think about it, I think she was in the previous year's graduating class. Was she a deadlast? I don't think..." whatever the sandaime hokage was meant to say next was interrupted by projectile smashing through his window.
The ANBU that Hiruzen ordered to stay out had rushed back inside and scoured the whole office to search for a potential intruder or threat. Only to find a shard of ice in the shape of arrow embedded into a wall. One of the ANBU pulled out the ice projectile and presented the elderly hokage with a note that was attached.
Hiruzen growled as he read the simple message left on the paper.
"Your sins will be revealed."
The hokage crumpled up the paper before ordering an investigation as to who sent the threatening message to him.
With Naruko
The young girl stared at an old painting of a woman, her ancestor to be exact. The Sorceress Ultimecia is an interesting person, while not remotely as insane as Orochimaru the snake sannin. Ultimecia did have a craving for power and wanted more even though she had allegedly cracked the ability to mess with time itself. However she was betrayed by her countrymen and was killed but not before she sealed away fragments of her mind and soul into others.
It wasn't too long ago that Naruko had found herself speaking with the powerful sorceress. Instead of being greeted with a warm loving embrace, Naruko ha witnessed how cold and cruel the woman was. Although, even witches are human to a certain extent and Ultimecia had felt pity for her descendant. After settling down, Ultimecia realized that there was no way to escape her eternal prison.
Therefore she at least decided to continue her legacy and memory elsewhere. Ultimecia passed down her magic and knowledge of sorcery to young Naruko and up until now, Naruko had worked day and night to work her fingers to the bone to perfect her magic. At one point she developed a pseudo life granting magic by using clay as her only resource. Naruko's only truly successful experiment came in the form of Kingu who could speak, think and act on his own without having to ask or be told what to do within every waking second.
Then there were the clay golems, a experiment that was made years after Ultimecia had been defeated. The Uzumaki clan had initially wanted them as guardians but ended the project as they feared that this would lead to warmongering. At least until Naruko arrived and found the beasts, she gave them life once more and gave them a purpose.
However while she wears the mask of Ultimecia, the Elemental Nations will soon be awakened to her true successor.
"I am no longer Naruko. I am Artemisia." Naruko says to herself as she leaves the painting alone just as Kingu arrives.
"Milady, what is the next phase of your plan if you do not mind me asking?" Kingu asked.
Naruko put a finger to her chin, "Those fools are going to try to be more suspicious of me. Then there is Orochimaru who is attempting to break into the chunin exams with unclear reasons outside of attacking Konoha. First, we set up a false team with the clay. Ones that can handle functioning for at least a week." she explained.
"Very well, I will have the best clay ready. Anything else milady?" Kingu asked as he bowed.
"I will prepare a few clay beasts for myself. I think it's time Tsunade Senju is alerted about the conspiracy going on behind her back. Especially one that will permanently damage her trust and relationship with her former teacher and teammate." Naruko answered as she went into her bedchambers.
Kingu smiled as he went to complete his own duties.
Chunin exams, academy building, several days later
Upon arrival, using her normal form, Naruko had arrived at the academy wearing regular clothes and the standard forehead protector around... her forehead of course. Where else it would it be? It's not exactly a belt or any other accessory.
Suddenly a certain Yamanaka sneezed, 'I hope it's Sasuke-kun that's thinking about me and not some weirdo who was thinking about the time I almost got stabbed in the forehead.' she thought.
Naruko moved onward as she went past the ridiculous genjutsu barrier. Even some idiotic Hyuga was standing there as his teammate was pleading with the fake genin to let them take the test. For a clan that believes that their vision alone to be superior than most of the village, one of their own clearly does not know how to utilize it properly.
However there still remained the fact that she needed to participate in a proper team as her memory manipulation could only go so far. With Naruko were two clay warriors that she dubbed as Satoshi and Hikari. Both just generic raven haired preteens wearing the standard konoha forehead protector as well generic clothing for genin as the lowest rank did not wear uniform. Naruko also planned ahead by setting up a jounin instructor that she named Shirona.
After getting past the hopefuls, who in her mind were already failures, Naruko was approached by Shirona. The woman merely nodded and gestured for Naruko and her "teammates" to move towards the doors that lead to the exam room.
Meanwhile the graduating class of this year was huddled around a silver haired teen who was showing off strange cards. Normally Naruko would ignored this rambling, but she heard her name along with some other strange details.
"I can reveal any information on just about everyone that's taking these exams." said the silver haired teen.
"I want information on Rock Lee and Sabaku no Gaara." the Uchiha demanded.
"You know their names? That's no fun." the teen said as he started spinning his cards.
Naruko raised an eyebrow, 'It should be impossible for a genin to reach information from other villages. No matter how special they are, not even Kosuke Marubashi gets special privileges and he's been active for over 50 years.' she thought before realizing something despite how absurd it sounded. 'Even if he does have less common information such as missions and personal reports from their respective kages and figures with higher authority. That would mean that this man is no ordinary genin.' she thought.
The teen explained the details as Naruko predicted. Rock Lee was genin under Maito Gai, son of Maito Dai, who is best known for using only taijutsu. Surprisingly or unsurprisingly enough depending on how you look at it, Rock Lee is only known for using taijutsu which would make Gai a perfect candidate to be an instructor for the boy. Nothing else was interesting outside of him being a teammate of that Hyuga and being an experienced genin for over a year.
However Gaara was more interesting, apparently he is less experienced than Lee's team and completed a single B rank mission with a few C ranks. As well as claiming that the boy has never once suffered a scratch during any of his missions. Rather peculiar and not something a genin would know without making it up as a story.
Then Menma decided to open his mouth, "Hey I got one, I've been wondering about this one for a while. Can you do Naruko Uzumaki?" he asked.
"We don't need to hear about your imaginary friend you idiot!" Sakura said as she was about to hit him only to get flicked on the forehead.
"No one asked you bubblegum brains." Menma replied as he secretly hoped for Sakura to be injured in the exams just to avoid dealing with her.
The teen continued working on the card, "Ok, I think this one is a bit tricky. But I think I got it. Here it is, Naruko Uzumaki." he said as he began to read it. "Let's see, sister of Menma Uzumaki and... the hell?" he asked with a confused face.
"What Kabuto-san? Is she like that eyebrows kid or the suna dude?" Kiba asked.
Kabuto shook his head, "No, I can't find anything. No graduation date, no registered sensei, no registered teammates, it only says that she's a genin and she's a jinchuriki." he said.
"What's a jinchuriki?" Ino asked as her weak little mind would cease to function if she didn't receive any information for gossip.
Naruko frowned, "Satoshi cover my hands, Hikari cover my back." she whispered as both nodded and did as they were told. Just as Kabuto opened his mouth, Naruko casted a small spell, "Blizzard." she said as a small dome of ice appeared over Kabuto's head.
"A jinchuriki is pretty complex. Basically every village has a..." Kabuto stopped as his senses kicked in and he moved out of the way of the ice.
Only to be hit by a few stray shards that shattered upon impact. As he backed away, he accidentally dropped his cards and immediately attempted to pick them back up only to see them get lit on fire. Naruko hid her smirk as Satoshi covered her face while Kabuto stiffened at the sight of his cards being turned to ashes. There was no time for tears or questions as to what happened when a large man suddenly appeared.
"Alright maggots, enough chit chat! You can socialize all you want when you pick out your favorite skirts together! So get your asses inside for the first portion of the exam!" the man ordered.
'Ibiki Morino, the head interrogator of the village.. No doubt he will hope to break many of the riff raff among me through the means of psychological damage.' Naruko thought as she suppressed a giggle. Naruko soon turned her eyes to Kabuto who tried getting over his grief, 'Perhaps someone might want to leave an anonymous tip about a potential spy.' she thought before heading inside.
Later, second exam, forest of death
'I'm starting to receive some nostalgia. Although that would make me a masochist seeing as to what the circumstances were that lead me to obtaining my power.' Naruko thought as her "team" managed to overcome the first part of the test.
"Milady if I had the ability, I would have laughed when you played the act of an oblivious little girl in front of Morino-san." Hikari whispered as Naruko smiled.
"Me oblivious? Nope! Just thinking harder than the bigger thinker." Naruko said in a childish tone although Hikari understood what she really meant.
"And do we do anything about Kabuto-san?" Satoshi asked as he was preparing his battle mode.
Naruko tilted her head, "If anything, Kingu will arrive and distract them long enough for me to disguise myself as my ancestor." she answered as the clay boy nodded.
As she worked out any last minute plans. Naruko briefly shared a gaze with Menma who smiled. Naruko was internally begging that the idiot would stay away and not draw attention to her. Hikari saw this and nudged for Satoshi to do something.
"Hey, are you Naru..." Menma was about to say only for Satoshi to step in.
"Hey aren't you the toad sage's student?" Satoshi asked with an excited look.
Menma nodded, "Yeah I am, can I..."
"Dude you must be really tough if Jiraiya of the sannin wants to teach you. You must be like the future yondaime hokage." Menma nodded awkwardly as Hikari and Naruko scooted away.
"Yeah, anyways..."
"Hey you better watch out. I trained a lot too so don't think I want to take a shot at fighting you in the exams man. Hey by the way, have you noticed that you look like the yondaime. Only you got those cat scratches on your cheeks. You even have the right shade of blond hair and blue eyes unlike the Yamanaka clan." Satoshi continued to talk rapidly.
Menma stiffened as the Iwa and Kumo ninja started to stare, "Um I know, coincidence haha." he laughed awkwardly.
"Yeah I bet, the blonde, blue eyed guy that's trained by Jiraiya who also taught him how to summon toads. Do you know how to summon toads? I bet if Jiraiya-sama trusts you enough, he might teach you the rasengan. You would probably look like the yondaime incarnate if you could do it." Satoshi said as he sounded more and more like a fanboy.
Which only earned more suspicious stares from Iwa and Kumo which further made Menma nervous.
"Well see ya Mr. Yondaime look alike who is also Jiraiya-sama's student!" Satoshi said as he left.
An Iwa ninja nudged his arm towards his teammates, "Do you think that kid is related to the Yondaime?" he asked.
"Probably not, but..." the other ninja started to say.
"Hey didn't the yondaime supposedly have a lover who was an Uzumaki woman?" asked a Kumo ninja.
"Why would a yondaime look alike have the last name of an Uzumaki? Even if they were close then..."
Finally a certain Hyuga girl who was watching Menma started to blush, 'Menma-kun does look like the yondaime in a way. Although, Menma-kun is much more handsome. I doubt father would let me be with him regardless.' she thought.
Before Menma could further attempt to look for his estranged sister and hopefully avoid unwanted attention. Anko Mitarashi announced the rules for the exams and had everyone sign their wavers should anyone suffer death or very severe injuries that could result in death. Afterwards it was time for everyone to run through their assigned gates and begin their test.
Inside the forest of death, a while later
Menma sighed, he was hoping to catch up with his sister after being apart for so long. Yet, after a few months of training and missions, he couldn't seem to find her. All he could do was catch glimpses of her and see her through photos that Hiruzen provided. Why wouldn't Naruko be excited to see him? Didn't anyone tell her that he was her brother?
He knew that life was probably hard on her since they had to lie about her being the kyuubi's jinchuuriki. Menma heard that some jinchuuriki had trouble forging bonds like the one in Taki and the other in Suna, but even then he didn't know about her harsh life. Menma was too optimistic for his own good and assumed all things could be solved by either punching them out or talking things out.
Sadly, a happy go lucky personality in this world will get you nowhere fast.
With that said, after being distracted by a team from Kusa. Team 7 had run into a mysterious female shinobi among them after her two teammates had been dispatched.
"Kukuku, you are an interesting few aren't you?" the kusa nin asked with a chuckle.
Sasuke had no patience for talk and formed a few familiar hand seals, "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" he called out as he sent a large fireball from his mouth.
The kusa ninja smiled as she dodged it and kicked Sasuke's chest and made him hit a tree. Menma followed up by creating a few shadow clones and trying to hit the kusa ninja from behind only for them to all be destroyed before the real Menma was also kicked away.
"You're too much like Jiraiya you little brat. How about you play with this instead? Summoning Jutsu!" she called out as a large snake appeared and quickly swallowed Menma.
"Aw gross, maybe I could escape if try this. Shadow clone Jutsu!" Menma said as he made enough doppelgangers of himself to the point that the snake bursted open.
However by the time he escaped, he felt the woman's killing intent being released and was getting floored by it. Menma looked to the side to see Sakura and Sasuke in a worse position as the Uchiha was reaching for their assigned scroll and was ready to hand it over. Only for Menma to punch Sasuke in the face and drag him up by his shirt.
"What the hell are you doing!?" Menma demanded.
"I'm getting us out! She promises to let us leave if we surrender our scroll!" Sasuke said as if his logic and reasoning worked.
"You idiot, they won't leave us alone." Menma said before hearing the woman laugh.
Turning back to her, they saw her peeling off her face as if it were made of plastic or a cheap latex. After revealing their true face, Menma immediately recognized him by his pale face and long black hair. It shouldn't have been to difficult to realize after they had trapped Menma in the belly of a snake summon.
"Orochimaru." Menma muttered.
Orochimaru chuckled, "Jiraiya may be a fool, but he's not stupid. I should assume the same from his student. Then again, knowing who your father is. I suppose you should be a lot more intelligent than you appear to be." he said.
"Who is this?" Sasuke asked while trying to maintain his cool again.
"Orochimaru, he's a missing ninja from Konoha." Menma answered while wondering how Orochimaru knows so much about him.
"You know less about me, than I do about you. However, one of you has something I want." Orochimaru said as he grinned.
"Well you aren't getting whatever it is!" Menma said as he and Sasuke formed hand seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
"Wind Style: Great Break Through!"
With the help of the wind technique, Sasuke's fireball enlargended and had it's speed increased. Orochimaru saw it as a decent move for a pair of beginners, but just a glorified version of the same move being used over and over again. The sannin then made a wall of mud before pulling out a sword from his mouth and striking at the boys.
Menma quickly reacted by defending himself with a kunai before tossing several shuriken at the sannin. Orochimaru pushed them aside as he continued striking at Menma before twisting the genin's hand and tossing him away. Turning back to his prey, Orochimaru avoided another fireball before launching a barrage of snakes at Sasuke. While he retreated from the serpents, Menma returned with a brand new jutsu.
"Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!" Menma called out as Orochimaru desperately tried to defend himself only to be severely pierced by the various shurikens.
"Got him! Pervy sage is going to freak out when he hears this!" Menma said excitedly only for Orochimaru to turn into mud.
"Dobe! Move out of the way!" Sasuke yelled as Menma turned around to see Orochimaru in the air with his sword pointed at him.
"Wind Style: Air Bullet!" Menma called out.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Missile!" Orochimaru countered as the air bullet was pushed away and ended up hitting a lumber of wood that Menma used as a substitute.
Orochimaru grinned as destroyed several shadow clones of Menma with a few kunai and turned to face the real one. Despite being predictable, Menma managed to surprise Orochimaru by trying to use the rasengan on him. This time, the tables were turned as Orochimaru surprised Menma by grabbing his hand and twisting it the wrong way.
"What the?" Menma asked in surprise.
"Five Pronged Seal!" Orochimaru yelled as he slammed his fingers into Menma's abdomen and sent him flying back. "And now for you Sasuke-kun." he said as he extended his neck and bit into Sasuke's neck.
Sasuke howled in pain as he fell on his knees while a seal appeared on his neck, "What did... you... do to... me?" he asked in between huffs.
"Kukuku, I gave you my gift Sasuke-kun. Now, please seek me out once you've chosen to seek out more power." Orochimaru said as he sank into the tree.
Sasuke attempted to run towards the other tree only to stumble and fall. The curse mark on his neck started to glow as Sasuke grunted in pain and passing out soon afterwards. Which left Sakura all alone as she had to go fetch Menma before grabbing Sasuke and finding shelter.
Elsewhere
After having witnessed the corpses of three Kusa shinobi. Anko Mitarashi had sprinted into the forest of death with the intent to find her former and treacherous sensei. As she continued to jump from tree to tree, she gripped her shoulder as she could feel the burning sensation that came from her curse mark. Eventually arriving, she found the man standing on a tree branch.
"Anko-chan, what a pleasure." Orochimaru said as Anko tossed a kunai at him.
Orochimaru dodged it easily before watching his former apprentice launch a barrage of snakes at him. That's when she suddenly felt the burning sensation on her shoulder to worsen.
"Kuku, you forget. I am the one who taught you everything Anko-chan." Orochimaru said with a laugh.
Anko gritted her teeth as she couldn't stand the pain, "Why are you here? What do you want?" she asked.
"Simple, I want to learn all the jutsus in the world. Konoha has the one thing that can help me learn them all with ease." the sannin answered with a twisted smile.
"You're after the Sharingan aren't you?" Anko asked with wide eyes.
"Of course." Orochimaru answered before having to avoid a spear attack.
Looking up, both snake summoners saw Kingu standing over a tree branch, "I would apologize for the intrusion, but I simply do not care. However my mistress does not like snakes. At least the pale skinned ones that covet things they could never hope to have." he said as he landed beside them.
"You are the servant of that witch aren't you?" Orochimaru asked.
Kingu grinned, "My lady is many things, but a witch. Someone who is hailed a genius fails to see that. Then again, if the greatest minds of this village are ignorant. It is safe to say you deserted because your mind is much weaker." he said as Orochimaru frowned.
"No, it is you who is ignorant." Orochimaru said as he launched his sword from his mouth in an attempt to impale Kingu.
The green haired sentient merely grabbed the sword by it's blade and stared at it in confusion, "The Sword of the Kusanagi. Such a fine blade and yet you toss it as if it were a decaying plant." he said as Orochimaru was starting to scowl.
"You are the fool, the Kusanagi is no mere sword and is not possible for just anyone to wield." Orochimaru said as the sword transformed into a snake and bit Kingu's had. "Now you will be punished for your insolence." he said as he expected Kingu to be poisoned.
"Ridiculous, poison only kills by decaying the cells and infecting the bloodstream of one's own body. However I have neither as I am no mere mortal." Kingu said as he summoned a spear and attempted to impale Orochimaru.
The snake sannin quickly blocked the attack as parried and tried to stab into him, "Let us see how cocky you are when I remove your head." he said.
"Let us see how cocky you are without an arm." Kingu said as he grabbed Orochimaru's wrist and started to freeze it with an ice spell.
"Hyoton?" Orochimaru asked before pushing the man away.
"Blizzaga!" Kingu called out as he launched several ice projectiles at Orochimaru who had a quick reaction time. "Thundaga!" Kingu called out as the tree that Orochimaru stood on was hit and proceeded to fall.
"Hidden Snake Hands!" Orochimaru called out only for Kingu to slash through them.
"Firaga!" Kingu called out as he disappeared and reappeared behind Orochimaru and set him ablaze with his fire spell.
Orochimaru howled in pain before slamming his hands down, "Earth Style: Mudslide!" he yelled.
"Blizzaga!" Kingu countered as he shielded himself from the attack before jumping into the air and stabbing Orochimaru. Discouragingly enough, Orochimaru turned into mud before falling apart, "Here I thought Orochimaru did maintain some form of his humanity." he said dryly.
That's when Orochimaru appeared behind him stabbed him with the kusanagi, "You should have focused on tactics rather than talking." he taunted before Kingu headbutted him and pulled the sword out.
"It seems that I have gotten too reckless. No matter, I will just send you scurrying on your way before I fall apart completely." Kingu said as he pulled out a card and tossed it into the air. "Hopefully milady is fine with me borrowing one of her Guardian Force monsters." he said as green beast with horns appeared.
"Summoning Jutsu!" Orochimaru called out as he landed on the ground and summoned another giant snake.
"Ifrit, take care of both of these colded reptiles." Kingu ordered as the beast growled and tossed a giant molten rock at the two.
"Summoning Jutsu: Rashomon Gate!" as Ifrit's attack was strong enough to kill the giant snake, the Rashomon gate managed to stay intact from the heavy beating Ifrit gave it. "This is not over!" Orochimaru yelled as he sank into the ground.
"Pity, although I suppose this is my punishment for not fighting him seriously." Kingu said as he watched his wound closing up. He then turned to see Anko curled up as the curse seal started to harm her, "What might be your issue dear lady?" he asked.
"The bastard's curse mark! Even now he still hurts me!" Anko yelled as she couldn't withstand the pain.
Kingu shook his head, "Oh no, that won't do well at all. Although, perhaps you could help milady." he said as he lifted her up bridal style.
Anko gritted her teeth, "Like I'd join a witch. I already know what it's like to be backstabbed." she said as she didn't trust the clay man.
Kingu shook his head again, "My master is different, although right now is not a good time for arguments." he said as he jumped down to the ground. "Ifrit return to me!" he said as the GF returned into a card form.
"Where are you taking me?" Anko asked as Kingu continued moving.
"A special place, after all. You are officially a guest of honor once I tell milady that we've finally found one of Orochimaru's subjects. Especially one that has the potential to bring him down for good." Kingu said before casting a sleeping spell on her and disappearing into the forest.
A while later
Naruko yawned as she stared at her "teammates" who were looting the bodies of a trio of Iwa ninja. Apparently the group went after her team as they hated Konoha in general. However her blonde hair and blue eyes only made things worse as they claimed that she looked like the yondaime.
"As if I chose to be related to him. Although it's not really his fault is it? Sometimes your plans and hopes can only be achieved through help and it depends on those who you've given your trust to. Your allies can either successfully help you achieve your goal or let you down and say that you asked for the impossible." Naruko said to herself as Hikari and Satoshi returned with a heaven scroll.
"Milady." Hikari said as she kneeled and presented the scroll.
"Thank you Hikari, at least I can depend on you." Naruko said as she took the scroll. She then turned to Satoshi, "And you as well Satoshi. You know how to manage yourself and the objective without getting in the way or avoiding any confrontation." she added.
"Thank you milady." they both said before Kingu arrived.
The green haired man arrived with Anko hanging over his shoulder, "Milady, I believe I have something you may want to look over. In relations to Orochimaru to be exact." he said as he removed Anko's trenchcoat and pointed at her curse mark.
"I see, perhaps my ancestor has some knowledge on removing this." Naruko said as she stood up and revealed a few tools from a sealing scroll. "Restrain her while I work on removing it." she said as Enkidu proceeded to tire Anko's wrists and hang her from a tree branch.
Using a small earth spell, Naruko was able to summon a plot of earth to use as a step stool. After gaining more height and being able to to properly study the seal. Naruko begant to work on painfully removing the seal.
Thus waking up Anko who screamed in pain, "Let it all out Anko-chan. The pain is only temporary. Your suffering will end soon." Naruko whispered as Anko had tears streaming down her cheeks.
After nearly an hour putting up with the special jounin screaming and tears of pain. Naruko was able to rip off the seal and contain it inside a storage scroll.
"You can cut her down now. There's a small scar left behind, but in the end I was able to quarantine the curse seal." Naruko said as she handed the scroll to Satoshi.
"Very well, I will leave Mitarashi-san elsewhere for her compatriots to find." Kingu said as he lifted her up and left.
Naruko sighed as she turned towards the sight of the tower in the forest, "Let us go you two. After this I need properly study that seal." she said before the group left to continue the next stage of the exams.
TO BE CONTINUED...
A/N: Just something random that was suggested. It's just going to be four or five chapters at most. So don't worry about anything else being ignored or pushed back further.