Wow. It has been forever and a day, hasn't it?
Urg, this chapter was so hard to type. Hm, yes, well. There's not much to say here. Enjoy!
Chapter 7
Move.
Moooooove.
Move!
Move, dammit
Okay, left one won't move. Let's try the right one.
Right pinky finger,
MOVE! NOW!
Damn.
If my finger had twitched, she would have noticed something.
Hmm. Maybe she did, but thought it was a reflex or something
If I do it again . . .
"I can't believe I'm doing this."
Eh? What is she doing?
Oooh, is she kissing me?
Wait, I would feel that, probably.
Aw, damn.
"Sitting here talking to a comatose patient. I'm the Hokage, for gods' sake! At least this way you can't stare at my breasts."
I would never . . .
Okay, I would.
"I just wish you would wake up. There are things we need to discuss! Like what you learned from the Akatsuki leader in Rain, for example."
Hm? Akatsuki in Rain?
That must be how I got so injured. But why don't I remember the fight?
"And there's something strange going on with Naruto."
Naruto? What's wrong with him?
"I've called a priest from the monastery nearby to look at him."
A priest? What would he need a priest for?
"It's a crazy idea. I don't know where it came from. But nothing else has worked."
What's wrong with him? What's wrong with him?!
"It's odd. Normally, I'd be so happy to have both you and Naruto constantly quiet. No perverted comments. No having to worry about the sanctity of the bathhouses. No shouts of 'Grandma Tsunade!'"
For sake's sake, Tsunade, tell me what's wrong with him!
"But now, of course, I've got one patient hanging on for life and one in a coma for unexplainable reasons."
I'm hanging on for life and Naruto's in a coma?
And she doesn't know why Naruto's in a coma, but she's calling a priest.
She can't mean from that monastery.
But that's the only one near here.
How can she call someone from there?! What the hell is she thinking! Doesn't she know what they've . . .
No, she doesn't.
She left before Sarutobi made that decision and didn't come back until Naruto and I dragged her back.
Shit.
Kyuubi continued to pull Naruto across the plains, slowly ascending the nearest mountain. So, Sarutobi was following them. But how had he ended up in here?
There were very few ways to get into the Shinigami's stomach. By very few, he meant less than five. One was obviously the seal that Minato had used. There were a few others, such as ancient sacrifices and a couple other obscure rites.
Maybe he was wrong. It couldn't be Sarutobi. There was simply no logical way he'd be in here. He'd died in the fight with Orochimaru, nearly four years ago. To Kyuubi's knowledge, he hadn't used the seal.
The fox shook his head. No, it couldn't be the Old Man. He continued to tug Naruto along, finally coming to rest just behind a large outcropping of rocks. The two threw themselves down, panting heavily.
"We will rest here for a few minutes," Kyuubi stated. This place was as good as any. They were up high, which limited the access that the tentacled creatures had to them. There were other things that could get them, though. They needed to find Minato and get the hell out of here.
Naruto groaned and leaned against an outcropping of rocks. "So, how do you know Slimy and Big Mama can't get us up here?"
"They can," Kyuubi snapped. "As long as we're here, they, and any other number of monsters, can find and kill us."
He shifted and settled down slightly to the right of Naruto, keeping an eye out down the slope.
Naruto complained some more. "So, what's the point of climbing up the mountain?"
"Oh, that just made it harder for them to get to us," the fox answered.
"How do you know?" Naruto asked.
Kyuubi grinned. "From the war."
"Which one?" the blond asked, blue eyes wide with curiosity.
"Didn't they teach you history in ninja school?" Kyuubi asked. His respect for human education was rapidly declining. When they got out of here, he'd give the kit a proper teaching.
Naruto grumbled. "Well, you've lived how long? You've probably fought in a lot of wars."
"Not a lot of human ones," Kyuubi answered. "Back before you little insects had infested the world, I fought in wars. Real wars. The little scuffles you get in are usually nothing."
He leaned back and stared up at the 'sky.' Although, if they were really in the stomach of the Shinigami, he supposed that would just be the lining of the stomach. And, all the creepies that were after them were . . . stomach bile. Kyuubi snickered. He aimed to give Kagami some indigestion before their stay was up.
"But, the war I'm speaking of is the last one your species encountered, called the Third Great Ninja War," Kyuubi explained. "Your dad and I fought in it together."
Naruto perked up. "Really?"
Kyuubi sighed. "Don't tell me you want to hear some old war stories."
Naruto just grinned. "Come on, Kyuubi. You gotta have some good ones. Tell me how my dad got the name 'Yellow Flash.'"
"What no one ever told you?" he asked, somewhat surprised. "I would have thought there was a whole chapter on the great Fourth Hokage in the Academy."
"Well, it might have been on one of the days I couldn't go," Naruto answered. "Sometimes the teachers would get me out of the room and then take the rest of the class somewhere else. They probably didn't want the demon vessel hearing about the Yondaime."
"Iruka-sensei put a stop to that when I got into his class, but by then we'd covered all of the history," Naruto explained. "I guess I just missed it."
"So, how did Namikaze Minato become the Yellow Flash?" Kyuubi asked. "It actually started with his grandfather, Akihito."
"Well, tell me!" Minato demanded. The fourteen-year-old folded his arms and glared at the elderly man, who was grinning and chuckling.
Namikaze Akihito shook his head and pulled up a weed, grunting with the effort. "Tell you what, exactly? Here, help me weed."
Minato flopped down on the ground next to his grandfather and started to pull weeds up. "Come on, Grandpa," he whined. "I've been reading up on the family texts in the library. You said we have a kekkai genkai, but through my studies I haven't found a common trait."
"What would you identify as a common trait?" Akihito asked. He grabbed his hand-held spade and dug out the roots of one very deep-set weed.
"Well, like the Sharingan or the Byakugan," Minato answered. He spun and glared at Kyuubi. "Hey, you help, too."
With a sigh, Kyuubi sat down in the dirt, carefully avoiding the patches of mud. They'd had torrential rains during the past week. Akihito had joked that the gods were angry with the small 'family,' since it seemed that the storms centered only on the valley where the Namikaze house was. Unfortunately the rain had nearly drowned the plants, while giving the weeds plenty of nourishment. So, they were in the garden, ruthlessly massacring the weeds. The fox reached out and plucked a small weed out of the ground, tossing it on the ever-growing pile.
"So, you want to know about the Namikaze kekkai genkai," Akihito murmured. "Well, I can tell you it isn't like most kekkai genkais."
"How do you mean?" Minato asked. He wrapped both hands around a particularly stubborn weed and yanked.
"Most bloodline traits are static," Akihito explained. "Meaning that they are the same generation to generation and person to person. The Sharingan always has the same powers among all the Uchiha. Ours is dynamic."
Minato frowned, digging both heels into the ground and using it as leverage to uproot the weed. "So, ours—" He grunted, falling back onto his butt as the weed gave up. "—changes?"
"That's right," Akihito answered.
"So, how's it a kekkai genkai?" Minato wondered. He crawled over to the line of lettuce heads and started poking around, looking for more weeds.
The old man chuckled. "It's rather complicated," he admitted. "But, it is based off of each ninja's primary elemental chakra."
Understanding lit the teen's face. "Oh, so we have a kekkai genkai that . . . what, exactly? I'm still confused."
"Well, our kekkai genkai combines with the elemental chakra to allow us to, in effect, bend the laws of nature," he answered. As Minato contemplated the meaning of this—and life—Akihito stood and brushed his hands off on his pants.
"Bend the laws of nature?" Minato wondered. Kyuubi had to admit, he was intrigued.
Elder Namikaze smiled. "Follow me. I'll show you."
Minato threw Kyuubi a huge, excited grin and leaped up to follow his grandfather. "What are you gonna do, Grandpa?"
Kyuubi trailed a little bit behind them. "He won't tell you, Minato. Right, Akihito?"
Akihito laughed as Minato fumed, folding his arms and pouting. "Fine, but hurry up. I wanna see!"
"Will you act your age instead of your sandal size," Akihito teased.
Minato looked down at his feet. They were sheathed in the traditional ninja sandals, but looked more like snowshoes. He pulled one up and pulled the edge back, looking at the size printed on the inside. "They're the same!"
Kyuubi laughed and gave Minato a kick in the stomach. The young teenager toppled over, totally unbalanced. He fell into the mud with a flail of limbs and large feet. Kyuubi and Akihito howled with laughter as Minato pulled himself up.
"Don't worry," Akihito snickered. "You'll grow into them."
"Eventually," Kyuubi added, and that sent them into more fits of mirth.
Minato huffed. "Will you just show me, Grandpa?"
"Patience," Kyuubi snorted. "Is a virtue."
The blond folded his arms and stared at them, giving the two his best intimidating ninja glare. He was already a Chuunin, but found it hard to be threatening to the two people who meant most to him.
"I think my bunny slippers just ran for cover!" Kyuubi grinned.
"Alright, alright," Akihito interceded before Kyuubi and Minato could get into a real fight. "Simmer down, boys. I'll show you."
Minato perked up, forgetting his ire in anticipation of seeing his family's kekkai genkai in action. Akihito closed his eyes and brought his hands up, drawing out and molding his chakra. "Alright, Minato, attack me."
"What?" The teen looked positively terrified at the thought of harming his grandfather.
"Don't worry," Akihito chuckled. "Just throw some kunai and shuriken; you won't hit me."
Minato grimaced and pulled a few weapons out of his pouch. "Are you sure?"
Akihito glared at him, and Minato chucked the kunai half-heartedly at the old man. They were batted away easily and Akihito's glare intensified. "Is that how you attack an enemy?"
"No," Minato muttered. "But—"
"No 'buts,' child," he snapped. "You expect to be a good ninja with attacks like that? That was pathetic! When your superior gives you an order, you follow it!"
"I don't want to hurt you!" Minato protested.
"Do you trust me?"
"Yes," Minato answered.
"If you trust me," Akihito said slowly. "Trust that I will not be hurt. Attack me!"
Minato whipped out shuriken and threw them, the sharp metal whirling through the air. Akihito didn't budge a muscle as they sped at him. Minato and Kyuubi tensed, a thousand images of spraying blood and dead grandfathers flashing in their eyes. But, despite the true aim, they did not strike. Akihito, though he didn't move his feet, seemed to bend out of the way for every kunai and shuriken.
Akihito's very body contorted and melted, so he slid around the weapons. The second after the weapons passed him, the old man's body reformed. He dusted his clothes off and grinned at the two staring teenagers.
"You see," he began. "My primary elemental chakra is water. I have developed the ability through our kekkai genkai make my body as liquid and bendable as water. Each member of our family has used it differently, if yours were water, you would certainly develop something distant from mine."
Kyuubi shook his head. "That's one hell of a bloodline you inherited, Minato."
"Wait, here," Akihito commanded. He disappeared into the house and came back a few minutes carrying two small slips of rough-looking paper. "These are made from bark from the oldest trees in Konoha. If you channel a bit of chakra into them, they'll tell you what your elemental chakra is."
Minato's eyes lit up and he snatched one of them out of his grandfather's hands. Kyuubi just chuckled. "I already know mine."
"Humor me."
Kyuubi put a little bit of his real chakra into the paper and it exploded in flames. "Cool," Minato chimed. He turned his attention to the bit of bark in his hands. Moments later, it crumpled.
Akihito laughed. "Well, yours is lightning. I'm not surprised."
"So, my bloodline trait is linked to my elemental chakra?" Naruto asked, eyes lighting. "Man, that's so cool!"
Kyuubi snickered; Naruto's eyes lit up the exact same way Minato's eyes had. "Yeah, that's the idea," he acknowledged.
Naruto's brow furrowed. "Okay, how did my dad use it?"
"What was your dad's most famous jutsu?"
"Rasengan."
Kyuubi barely resisted the urge to facepalm. "The Rasengan you know was barely finished by the time he died. That wouldn't have earned him the same kind of fear and respect as his other infamous technique."
Naruto scratched his head and pouted. He really didn't know that much about the Yondaime. He knew he was the fourth Hokage, and that he had invented the Rasengan. He was supposedly the greatest ninja of all time. He was called the Yellow Flash, and he was a hero from the war. Beyond that . . .
"Come on, kit," Kyuubi snarled. "You lived with the man for weeks. How can you not know anything about him? Here, I'll give you a hint. Think about the kunai he gave you."
"That wasn't the . . ." Naruto trailed off. He had been about to say That wasn't the Fourth, that was my dad. Instead, he just focused on the kunai. When his dad had come to save him, when he'd thrown the weird kunai, what had he said?
It's also called the Flying Thunder God Technique because I use the seal as a lightning rod of sorts. I hone in on it and can transport myself to any seal instantly.
"Lighting rod!" Naruto exclaimed. "He transports himself from seal to seal, using it like a lightning rod!"
Kyuubi reached out and patted him on the top of the head. "Good job!"
Naruto batted his hand away. Kyuubi just laughed and threw them both behind his head. "Yeah, that's how your dad used his kekkai genkai. Like a lightning rod."
"So, how do you think I can use it?" Naruto asked excitedly.
"I dunno," Kyuubi shrugged. "It's up to you. Your heritage is much harder to tap into and control, but in turn it can be far more powerful, and impossible to copy."
Naruto's mind was running wild with the possibilities. "Wow."
"Yep, you have one heck of a birthright, little one," Kyuubi murmured.
"Hey, Kyuubi," Naruto asked, suddenly hesitant. "You mention an old man a lot, my dad's grandfather."
"Akihito," the fox reminisced. "He was a rare one, that's for sure. He and I would team up against Minato all the time. We'd make him do the dishes, run to the store, or just drive him up the wall with teasing. He was a fun old man."
Naruto bit his lip, envy shooting through him. The way Kyuubi spoke of them, his father and great-grandfather, it sounded like the three had been a family. He almost didn't hear when Kyuubi kept talking.
"Yeah, it would be even better when your mom was around. Oh, the fun we'd have with Minato! He was never the kind to tease or joke like that. He'd occasionally get in a witty comment or two, but mostly, he was just nice and kind. He'd take it all with a smile, never complaining, just blushing sometimes. That was before he fell in love with her though." Kyuubi made a face. "Then I had to leave the room for fear I'd get a cavity. They were just so sweet together."
Naruto opened his mouth, intending to ask Kyuubi about his mom, but was cut off. The scream echoed through the silence of the Death Goddess' stomach. Both of them sat straight up.
"What was that?" Naruto asked, preparing for whatever was coming after them next.
"More like, who was that?" Kyuubi asked, eyes scanning in all direction.
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked as he clambered to his feet.
"That scream," Kyuubi snapped as the two of them began to scramble down the slope. "Was human."
"So, the Fifth Hokage wants to see one of us."
The priests gathered in the courtyard shifted uneasily. They did not ask why; their leader would tell them soon enough.
"She apparently needs help with one of her ninjas. She believes this particular . . . person is in need of some spiritual guidance."
The leader fell silent, simply staring down at the piece of paper in his hands. The others began to be restless, but he did not respond. He was thinking of the possibilities of this encounter.How he'd looked forward to meeting this individual.
"Bishamon?" a brave, lesser priest called out. "Who is it that requires our help?"
Bishamon smiled. "Uzumaki Naruto."
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So, that's all for this chapter. I have big plans for Naruto's kekkai genkai, and the priest. I haven't decided whether or not Akihito is going to be alive in the 'real world' or not. He's so much fun, but I can't figure how he wasn't there for Naruto.
Well, review, please! I'm very sorry about the eternal wait. It won't be so long next time, I promise!