The three genin met their sensei outside the shed where she stood twirling a kunai between her fingers. Somethings she often did when she was irritated or just pissed in general.
Though if one heard the tone of her voice, they wouldn't think she was angry at all. "No matter how much I hate it and am trying to prevent it... our team is required to enter into the Chunin exams that are happening in 1 month. Normally none of our teams participate due to our genin teams being picked 5 months after all of the other villages, which meant that even our genin teams that had been together for a year would have less experience than the others, due to all three of you having been trained for years, you'll be entering to show the other villages that Morigakure isn't weak and such. By that I mean, since we haven't participated in years, even as a summoning house, people are starting to doubt our strength and might be planning to stage an attack on us."
Naruto in particular knew that his mom wasn't one to get angry over just that. "What else? I know you'd normally be happy for us to enter."
"The biggest problem is that it's in Konoha."
The twins were not stupid. Both knew that Naruto would have very strong feelings about that place, some good and some bad. In particular he might be happy to see his cousin Menma again.
"I see... it might be best for us to participate. It would be very beneficial towards the goal of us not looking weak. I'll go, but on one condition. Otherwise I'll trash our team during the exam." No matter the situation, Naruto never made demands, so everyone was listening.
"Before we go, you need to teach us how to use our Stigmata, and our summons. We already have enough normal combat and ninjutsu knowledge, so that's all I ask you train us in for the next month when we're not on missions."
"Fine, I'll oblige. But during missions, free time will be devoted to perfecting the basics of tai, nin, and kenjutsu." Ryoko walked over to the empty field that was close to the shed and bit her finger, making a little blood spill out before the would instantly healed. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu."
She did hand seals and slammed her hand onto the floor and a small sealing array appeared on the ground. It spread out a bit before a puff of smoke came and a long Japanese dragon appeared. It had stormy blue scales and navy blue fur running thin across its back. Its eyes slowly opened to reveal a stormy grey iris and slit pupil.
"What did you call me here for Ryoko?" The dragon had a feminine voice, revealing her to be a girl.
"Toyotama-hime, these three are going to need your help with their summons. Although it is relatively straightforward, due to the strange way they awakened their Stigmata and formed a contract, their dragons might be slumbering."
"Okay, I'll help the brats. Hey, kids. Do the hand seals for the summoning Jutsu. Your dragons should automatically come to you."
The kids complied quickly, biting their thumbs and using the Kuchiyose no Jutsu. Three puffs of smoke came simultaneously.
The smoke cleared around Otohime's dragon first. She had stormy grey reflective scales that reflected the light and sky just like water. Dark yellow fur came across her back all the way to its tail, and her eyes were golden just like Otohime's.
"Hello young master, I am Kiyohime, your personal summon." She spoke politely and looked Otohime directly in the eyes when she spoke. "I am happy to finally meet with you."
The next plume of some to clear was Zennyo's, his dragon had velvet blue scales and navy blue fur. In addition he had the same golden eyes that the twins had along with being the largest of the three.
"Hey! I'm Uwabimi, nice to meet you! Been looking forward to it for quite some time." He was very energetic and flew around Zennyo in circles while he talked.
The last smoke to clear was from Naruto's summon. His dragon had shiny black scales that could change to look white by choice. His fur was the same, but when his scales were black it was white and vice versa. When it opened its eyes, right one was teal and the left was coral red.
"Hi, my name is Ri Riu. I'm here to assist you whenever you need." Naruto marveled while watching the giant dragon in front of him. It was right in the middle of the twins in terms of size.
"Ho? Seems you've all got notably strong dragons. But it turns out I was right." Ryoko hopped off the head of Toyotama and approached the three dragons. "Show me your Stigmata marks kids."
Naruto and Otohime took off their shirts.
Otohime had a sports bra on underneath so she was comfortable, but Naruto on the other hand was kinda embarrassed due to his mother being the one that told him to do so, but his face didn't show it.
Zennyo was the only one to object. "I think our dragons are wide awake, what's the point of what you're going to do?"
"Just listen and do what I ask." Eventually he did the same as Naruto and Otohime did, taking off his shirt. All three of them had toned abs despite being only 12 or 13.
"So what is this about Kaa-chan?" Ryoko walked up to each of them and inspected the Stigmata on their left shoulders.
"So it really is like that..." She took a few steps back so all three of them were in view again. "Due to you guys signing the contract without the proper equipment, what happened to you is that same that happened to the first dragon summoners. Essentially, your Stigmata took a part of your dragon's Natural Energy and is adding to it constantly so that when you release it back into your summon their power will be even more than it was at their former maximum."
"Natural Energy?" Otohime asked a question for the first time in a while.
"Yes, Natural Energy. It's something that occurs in nature and is usually imperceptible. It also allows us to separate normal animals from summoning creatures. Normal animals have exactly zero Natural Energy and this the intelligence of a normal animal. But summoning creatures have at least some and so they have intelligence. But having intelligence doesn't mean they can necessarily talk, as many summons don't have the capability of speaking human language. This is also why they are incredibly tough to kill, as when they are dealt a fatal blow, they will most likely disappear in a puff of smoke and bide time by healing their wounds via Natural energy."
"So that means?"
"You all are going to learn how to release the energy into your summon. But first you should ask and learn what your Stigmata even do."
They all branched off from each other and asked about their abilities.
With Naruto
Naruto laid down on his summon's back as he asked. "So Ri Riu, what's my Stigmata?" Naruto was prepared to be disappointed. He wasn't even sure of what his greatest desire was. It seemed obvious, but there were two things he thought of.
"You gained access to my eyes and altered them slightly. Your strongest desires were to be able to see again and when you see to be able to take it all in. My original eye's ability was to be able to see incredible distances. But when you became my contractor it changed. It turned into the ability to slow down anything you can perceive. They manifested in the Dōjutsu called the Mirugan (Watching/Seeing Eye) and Tokeigan (Clock's Eye). The Mirugan is in the left eye and increases the details of everything you see and allows you to understand each and every movement of something. The Tokeigan is in the right eye slows down anything and everything you can perceive proportional to the amount of chakra you put in. Using both at the same time is called the Jikangan, the control over the perception and speed of time. Though using each eats through chakra at an incredible rate. With your absolute zero control over they eyes at the moment, you'd only be able to handle 3 minutes before you die from having no chakra left. If both were used at the same time 1 minute 30 would be enough to kill."
Naruto breathed a sigh of both relief and concern. "Does that include anything such as Kekkei Genkai?"
"No, that estimate is considering you only use one of the two eyes."
"Will I be able to see normally without using the abilities of one of the eyes?"
"No, due to the fact that your desires were combined it limits your sight to only being used with one of the two Dōjutsu."
"With good control, would I be able to speed up time?"
"Hypothetically yes. But even if you can I advise against it. What happens is that you would end up speeding up time for only your body, and as a result you rapidly age. The changes are supposed to be gradual, but if you speed up your aging process by speeding up the time around your body you might die."
"I see... so it's more of a last ditch nothing else works measure. One last thing. If I slow down time, is it possible to choose targets?
"Yes, it would work the same way you separate yourself from the same time as them. You allow time to progress normally for that person, although this will also take up a lot of chakra."
"K, thanks." Naruto smiled softly at his dragon companion.
Same Time With Otohime
"So uh... how exactly does my Stigmata work?" Otohime paced nervously while waiting for an answer.
"Jigen Bunshin. A technique that comes from your desire to have no regrets. It allows for you to crate an invisible clone which will do what you did in an alternate timeline. To explain it simply. It's an invisible clone that executes one of the actions you chose not to do. You can use this in many ways, it also doesn't necessarily have to be an attack that it executes either. But the true power of the technique comes from the fact that you have access to alternate timelines in which you chose to do different things. If you can get the you from another timeline to cooperate you can potentially stop large events that are bad in the long run. It also means you can attack with the force you would have as an adult, via timelines that place your birth at an earlier point in time. Although it is possible to temporarily enter other timelines, time will not freeze in yours and it will seem like you just completely vanished. Because you can choose the location in which you arrive this can work like teleportation, but the chakra costs are massive for that."
"Does that mean that older version of me actually exists in another timeline and wasn't just a way for my mind to cope with the pain?"
"Yes. She will be there forever though. Unless one is a Yamanaka, or knows their techniques, there is no way to freely leave someone's mindscape after entering."
"So that means I have a sort of adviser living in my head?"
"Just as you say."
"Do I have any other control over timelines directly?"
"No, only indirectly by informing the you of various other timelines of what will happen. But be careful doing that, in some cases certain people will be different and thus make different choices, changing their timeline from yours. You may end up accidentally accusing someone and affecting things too much."
"Wow... I, just wow..." She sat back, leaning against Kiyomi's scales.
With Zennyo
"What about my Stigmata!? What does it do!?" Zennyo couldn't contain his excitement. For his entire life he'd been waiting to see what he would get.
"Basically, you have an old geezer living inside your head." Uwabimi explained it in simple terms, but also in the worst way possible.
"What the fuck can an old geezer do!?" Zennyo kicked at the dirt in frustration.
"But this isn't any ordinary old geezer. He was my last master before you. I'll elaborate further on what he does. He was a Sage, capable of harnessing Natural Energy to use Sage Mode. In addition, he had a primary wind affinity similar to yours and mine. Due to your wanting of knowledge, your Stigmata imparted you with his knowledge and a version of him formed by collecting all of his memories and personality to create a sort of avatar. As you get stronger, he'll give you more and more of his knowledge and techniques, allowing you to probably even become a Sage. At the moment, you only have access to the memories from when he was about your age, after about a month, you'll be able to get into his early twenties, from there it will be harder to get his memories, but they will be more useful."
"So this old man was overwhelmingly strong? Does that mean I could be even stronger than he was in his prime?"
"Of course you can, once you gain about half of his memories, you'll probably be able to surpass him quickly. Remember, his knowledge is your knowledge, also meaning that once you gain access to one of his memories you can use whatever technique was in it innately."
"Holy Shit! That's incredible! So...when do I gain access to the geezers memories?"
"Only you will know. He'll talk to you in your mindscape once you're ready for his memories." Uwabimi looked towards the other dragons to see that Naruto was the only one still conversing with his summon.
A Few Minutes Later when they Regroup
Naruto had learned a lot about his Stigmata, as had the others. So when they came back together, they shared the basics of their abilities.
Naruto was up first and gave a quick summary. "I gained two separate Dōjutsu that will allow me to see whenever they are active. The first one, the Tokeigan, allows me to slow down the time of anything I can perceive, including with my Ryouton. As for the second, it's called the Mirugan and allows me to see chakra and see the movements of my opponents in slow motion. Both abilities stemming from the desire to see and take in every moment."
"As for me, Kiyohime said I can create tears in the timeline and create an invisible and undetectable clone that re-enacts a choice I made in another timeline called the Jigen Bunshin. I can also converse with my alternate selves for advice on certain things. That's just the basics, but you'll find out the rest soon enough."
"Guess I'm last. I've got the memories of a really strong geezer. As time goes on and I get stronger, I gain more and more access to his abilities and have mastery over them as if they were my own. While we were walking here, Uwabimi said that I'll gain something called Sage Mode after I unlock two thirds of his memories, that could also be sped up by only training and focusing on Sage Mode, allowing me to obtain it earlier. The geezer is also supposed to be able to further my wind affinity to incredible levels."
As Zennyo finished, each pondered the other's Stigmata. Wondering about things such as how all three could work together.
"Okay everyone, I already know all of your abilities, so let's skip any tests and just go to get our first mission scroll. We're not wasting any time with. D-Ranks, seeing as you guys are going to need all of the field experience you can get before the exams." Ryoko un summoned Toyotama, and started walking towards the Hokage's house.
"Hai, sensei." The three genin said in unison and followed their sensei to the Village Head's tower.
When they arrived, the group didn't bother to knock, and instead just entered with Ryoko leading the charge.
"Hello Ryūji, I'm going to need a B-Rank mission scroll." Still being pissed because of the whole Chunin Exam debacle, she spoke semi-informally, using his nickname when addressing him. Although she spoke like that, her face stayed neutral except for the small frown tugging at her lips.
Ryūjin sighed and picked a scroll out from one of the many drawers in his desk. "You're still pissed about that. You really should know that if it was possible I would have avoided it. The village elders said that this might be our last chance to prove our strength to opposing villages. Even I know that, and agree with them."
"Then why my team, there are plenty of other genin Squads?" It was less of a question, than a statement.
"You know why. You're team is the only genin team that can win almost all stages guaranteed. Think of it like this, we need at least two overwhelming victories, and not just any of our teams can do that. Even if I disagreed with the village elders, all of the faction heads voted in favor of sending you guys, so I wouldn't have room to dispute their all against one vote."
"Fine, hand us the scroll and we'll be on our way." She reached out her left hand to grab the scroll, and when he handed it to her, she walked out with her genin, saying nothing else.
The team got out of the office and followed Ryoko to the location on the mission scroll. She briefed them along the way. "The mission is to escort a blade smith back to The Land of Iron. He is the great grandson of the man responsible for creating one of the 7 Ninja Swords of the Mist, the Kiba to be exact. Officially, we are not ninja, we are now a professional artisan, her son, and two apprentices. All Shinobi gear we have will be sealed away in a scroll we will all keep in our hidden pockets."
"Seriously?" Zennyo got a nod back from Ryoko, showing her seriousness. "Ugh, this sucks. What's the point in becoming a Shinobi, just so that you aren't one."
"Idiot. It's in the job description. People aren't supposed to know we're ninja half the time for assassination missions." His sister hit him on the back of the head. Making him stagger forward a bit.
"Be quiet please, we are approaching the client, and it would be best if he though of us as capable Shinobi rather than irresponsible little kids." Naruto walked with his left hand resting on his katana, showing through his cloak. A position that showed he was always on guard and ready for a fight.
Eventually, the twins got their shit together before the group reached their client. "Hello, I'm Sengo Masamune, are you the ones guarding me." A silent nod was all he got from Ryoko. "Looks like my family is worthless to them or something, to send little kids."
Sengo was of average height, standing at 161 cm, and had spiky brown hair. His eyes were an especially deep blue, not that it was abnormal for a Masamune. He wore a black tank top that exposed his lean, but muscled arms and grey pants. Around his head was a bandanna that allowed his hair through.
They weren't sure if it was the way he carried himself, or the way he talked, maybe it was both, but he seemed like a spoiled brat who only knew the sheltering of his family from the oitside world.
Naruto stepped forward to dispute the client's claim and calm him. "I can assure you that we aren't normal kids. We should be able to protect you very well, as for our sensei. She is the strongest Jonin in the village, so if we are unable to do anything, she should be able to." Just like how his mother talked to people in a higher position than her, he didn't lower himself and be polite, but strayed away from being rude to him.
"I guess your team should suffice." He turned his back to them promptly and went to the large, horse drawn, wooden cart where all of his smithing things were.
Ryoko walked up next to the cart and pulled out a few sets of colorful clothes. "Put these on, wearing Shinobi gear won't do you any good in an undercover mission. And here are your scroll." After throwing the clothes, she took out three scrolls and threw them as well.
The three got dressed and looked completely different.
Naruto now wore tan Capri pants and normal black Shinobi sandals. As for his shirt, it was a black kimono top with Japanese dragons and clouds in the Sumi-e style.
Otohime had changed into a teal haori with blue waves embroidered at the hem. In place of pants, she wore a skirt that came up to her midsection over her haori. As a finishing touch, her hair was done up in a bun held together by a pair of oriental kanzashi hair sticks.
Zennyo now had the same type of kimono top that Naruto had on, except his was grey with a full red moon embroidered on the back.
But Ryoko seemed the most different. Unlike her normally revealing clothing, she now wore a traditional black kimono with purple flower embroidery. Her hair was in a bun with a braid around it, held together by the same type of kanzashi hair sticks found in Otohime's hair. In addition, she carried an oriental battle fan as an accessory and weapon. All in all, she gave off the appearance of a cold beauty, especially with the emotional expression she had on.
"Let's go." Ryoko hopped into the coach next to the cart which was also horse drawn. She sat down elegantly, as both Otohime and Zennyo jumped in with her.
"Come on N, come in." Zennyo waves N in, but he refused.
"I'll go in the cart, someone needs to be close to him." With that, he jumped up into the cart and sat across from Sengo.
The group sought off on their first mission with little preparation, as almost none was needed. All of the food and clothes were already in the cart, and most other things were so trivial that they didn't need them.