Chapter One
The Betrayal
"Orochimaru! There's no use in hiding any longer! I know you're the one behind the disappearance of a large number of shinobi and even children in the village," Lord Third confronted Orochimaru.
Orochimaru casually turned to face his Sensei, "I saw no reason to be careful in what I was doing anymore, seeing as my desire became out of reach."
Standing next to Orochimaru was a young female child. She bore a striking resemblance to the Sannin. The one big difference; her eyes. Her left eye had a Rinnegan while the right eye was that of a snake. However, the right eye was able to activate the Sharingan. You see, this child was Orochimaru's own flesh and blood. As she stood next to her father, the Anbu accompanying the Third Hokage waited for orders to restrain Orochimaru.
"Sarutobi! You know what you need to do!" Enma exclaimed.
"I know, Enma…," he said, staring down at his long staff.
Orochimaru smirked, "Are you sure you can do it… Sarutobi-Sensei? Can you really fight your former student?"
The child looked up at her father, then over to the Hokage. She was no more than eight years old. Being so young, she didn't understand too much of her father's involvement with the Hokage other than they were master and student. Sarutobi knew he had to attack Orochimaru, but his body refused to move. Instead, he stared at the girl beside his former student with a saddened expression across his face.
He closed his eyes and sighed, "Zemaria… you are still young. Please tell me you don't plan on helping or following your father. You have a chance to become a great Shinobi."
Zemaria looked up at her father once more. He stared down at her in silence as he didn't have to say a word to her. She already knew what her decision would be; loyalty to her father.
"I-," she started.
"Before you answer, know that if you choose your father's path and betray the village, there will be no other option but to restrain you and bring you before the interrogation unit. If you choose to remain loyal to the village, I will spare you and there will be no negative consequences," Sarutobi interrupted.
She closed her mouth, took a deep breath, and said, "I choose to follow my father. He's the only one I have left since mother left the village a while ago."
The Hokage groaned in disappointment, "I see then."
After a few awkward minutes, Sarutobi ultimately could not attack either of them. Instead, Orochimaru ran right past him and down the corridor. Zemaria, hesitant at first, ran after him. Her delay in following caused her to fall behind. Sarutobi let out a long, defeated sigh; his eyes screaming in sadness over his top student's behavior. Where did he go wrong in training him?
By the time Zemaria caught up to Orochimaru, he had just been badly injured during a short encounter with Anbu Black Ops member; Kakashi Hatake. A very large snake had appeared directly next to Orochimaru. Distracted by his admiration for the creature, it opened its mouth to reveal a paper bomb attached to its tongue. As Orochimaru bled from his right side in the abdomen, he glared very intensely at Kakashi; freezing him in his tracks. Zemaria perched herself in a nearby tree and watched silently. Her father casually staggered along right past Kakashi.
Father sustained an injury. It's not like him to put his guard down like that. Zemaria thought.
She was so deep in thought that she hadn't realized Kakashi snapped himself out of Orochimaru's Genjutsu. Kakashi sensed her presence in the tree and sent a few shuriken in her direction. Two of them made direct contact with her; one cut along her left cheek while the other pierced her upper right arm. This also snapped her back to reality and realized that Kakashi launched an attack on her. She quickly left the tree and landed face to face on the ground with Kakashi only about ten feet from her.
"So, you must be Orochimaru's daughter, right?" Kakashi asked her.
Zemaria winced at the pain of the shuriken in her right arm and yanked it out, "Were you given orders to attack me like you attacked my father?" Her right arm felt numb and barely able to move.
Kakashi stared straight at her; his Sharingan eye in plain view from when Orochimaru attacked him and his Anbu mask came off. He wasn't sure if he really should fight her or not considering she was only a child. However, she wasn't just a child; she was Orochimaru's child. That right there made a huge difference. It was unknown how much experimenting she underwent while in his care. Therefore, it was unknown of what this young eight year old was really capable of. But was she an enemy or not?
"Are you planning on helping Orochimaru? If your answer is yes, then I'll stop you here and now," Kakashi told her.
Blood crept down her left cheek and right upper arm from his first attack, "If it means father has more time to find a way to heal himself and cross the border, then yes. He promised me I could go with him should he ever leave the village."
Kakashi closed his eyes and sighed, "Then I have no choice but to stop you first before I stop him too." He opened his eyes again and they were filled with determination.
Changing his stance, Kakashi prepared for attack. Zemaria decided to hold off on activating her Sharingan eye. She wasn't ready to use it in battle having not enough stamina or speed; especially not a battle with an Anbu member. To start, Zemaria carefully assessed her opponent. The Sharingan was well known to have the ability to copy almost any jutsu. The first attack was made by Kakashi.
He used a Genjutsu to alter what Zemaria was actually seeing. She was pretty smart for her age and quickly figured out she was caught in a Genjutsu; however, she wasn't quick enough to react in releasing it. Because of her slow reaction, Kakashi managed to land a kick that sent her flying a good distance. She slammed against a tree and coughed up blood before sliding down and resting on her butt. Frazzled from the impact, she reflexively held her left arm against her ribs and winced at the pain surging from her spine all the way around her mid section.
"An eight year old trying to fight an Anbu. Give up. We both know how this fight will end!" Kakashi insisted.
"I won't ever give up protecting my father!" She cried through the pain of her injuries.
Kakashi frowned as she forced herself to stand. Zemaria moved her good arm in order to make hand signs with just her one hand. Kakashi gasped having not seen such a young child being able to weave hand signs with only one hand before.
"Fire Style: Fireball jutsu…," she said, still wincing from the pain.
Kakashi prepared himself. A fireball shot out from Zemaria's mouth but because of the damage she sustained from hitting the tree, it wasn't nearly as powerful as it was while she trained to learn it. As he dodged out of the way, Kakashi hurried to attack once more. He tossed several kunai in her direction. Zemaria may have gained the ability to heal faster than normal, but she was still too injured to reach her maximum speed. All she could do to avoid the kunai was to deflect them with her own.
The last kunai cut through her arm sleeve grazing her left wrist. She reflexively dropped the kunai she held in her hand. At the very last second, she managed to barely avoid a punch from Kakashi who had come dangerously close to her; too close for comfort. She may have avoided a punch, but she wasn't able to avoid having his knee jam straight into her rib cage which was in the process of trying to heal the muscle tissue surrounding it. The impact sent her flying just like the first kick had.
Once again, she slammed into a tree. This time, she felt as if she couldn't move at all. Kakashi activated his Chidori jutsu and walked over to her. The last thing he wanted to do was to use it on a child. Zemaria watched as he came close and closer. She tried hard to stand up but she only made it halfway and just stayed pressed against the tree.
"Do you give up now? This jutsu in my right hand has enough power to kill. I would prefer to not have to use it on a child, but if you insist on continuing this fight, I may not have any other choice," he said.
"I-I can't allow anyone to bring harm to… to…," she started, but had too much trouble breathing properly to finish her sentence. She simply made a pitiful attempt to toss a kunai at him.
Kakashi sighed lightly, "You're really willing to give up your own life to save that of someone who kidnapped and experimented on his own comrades and innocent children?"
Zemaria's voice was now almost inaudible, "...He raised me my whole life…"
She closed her eyes losing consciousness and slid her beaten body down the trunk of the tree. Kakashi deactivated the Chidori, paused a moment, then decided to take care of her flesh wounds before restraining her. He had wasted too much time with this distraction but he also couldn't just leave her to possibly die. After treating the wounds and securely tying her up, he proceeded to track down Orochimaru. Eventually, between the First Hokage's cells and the three-tails' healing powers Zemaria would make a full recovery. It would take time though.
After a long while trying to track down Orochimaru, Kakashi came across a huge tree he had never seen in the village before; with an opening large enough to walk right inside of. He proceeded with caution. As he made his way inside, it was too quiet for comfort. Something was up. Suddenly, without warning, he was attacked.
Kakashi looked around but didn't see any enemy in sight. Where did the attack come from? Another attack was made. Soon, the enemy revealed himself. He had been some sort of mist before taking shape into a human. What was going on? Was it a jutsu? The man let Kakashi in on how he attacked him. His clan was special; they could take the form of mist. In order to help stabilize the ability, Orochimaru offered to help the clan.
There was another person involved with helping Orochimaru; a member of Root, the sector of the Anbu Black Ops under the direct control of Danzō Shimura. This Foundation Anbu used wood style Ninjutsu known only to have been used by the first Hokage, Hashirama Senju. Kakashi had crossed paths with him once before in the past.
"Kinoe?" Kakashi asked. "What are you doing here?"
"This is my mission. Lord Orochimaru plans to come here in order to escape past the border," he told him.
Kakashi was baffled, "Why would you help Orochimaru? What do you gain from this?"
Kinoe attacked Kakashi with his wood style, "That's not something you need to know or worry about. I only carry out the missions I've been given."
The Iburi clan leader, Gotta left Kakashi up to Kinoe; who was mistaken for being Yukimi's brother. Yukimi's brother had been taken off by Orochimaru 'for the sake of the clan's survival' several years prior. While all of this was taking place, Orochimaru was slowly and painfully making his way to the Iburi clan's secret base. Zemaria was also slowly regaining consciousness after having been passed out for well over three hours. A few battles, mixed emotions, and rash decisions took place at the Iburi base between Gotta, Kinoe, and Kakashi.
Yukimi decided to whisk her 'brother' away to a secret spot she would always go to. Since the clan's unique ability wasn't fully stable, they were not able to be outside. If there was even a slight breeze, they had the unfortunate chance of changing into mist and being unable to change back into a human form should the breeze get near them. It was dangerous living and thus they had to live underground and away from the outside world. But Yukimi longed to see what that outside was like. She changed into a mist and without hesitation, took over Kinoe's body.
She took him to where she heard sounds and festivities from a small nearby village. It was so exciting and overwhelming that she didn't know what to do or try first. After a few minutes, she decided it was safe to come out of Kinoe's body and be her own body again. They went through the village together. She took over different people to try foods she'd never tasted before.
Back at the clan's base, Kakashi engaged in a battle with Gotta after it was soon realized Yukimi was gone. Gotta gained the upper hand by taking over Kakashi's body and using a very deadly jutsu to immobilize him. He gave him a choice; die there or give up and leave. Kakashi refused to give up. He managed to release himself from the jutsu and expel Gotta from his body. In the end, Kakashi pulled a fast one on him by luring him outside into the open.
At just the right moment, Gotta turned into mist and a breeze picked up. Unable to return to normal, he was fatally affected. Once his body did return, he was struck by Kakashi's Chidori. He lay on the ground, dying. But he had one last thing to say to Kakashi. With this knew information, Kakashi quickly tracked down Yukimi. He explained to Kinoe how important it was for her to return to the clan's base. Kinoe did not want to endanger his dear Yukimi; just like how it was when he was in Orochimaru's lab test tube.
Overhearing what Kakashi had said, Yukimi left on her own to protect her clan. What Kakashi said was, Gotta disclosed how Yukimi was the only one who was useful to Orochimaru. Only the youngest of the clan could be effective with their power to him. No one else would do. Both Kinoe and Kakashi rushed back to the base in order to protect Yukimi and also set a trap for Orochimaru. By now, Zemaria had fully regained consciousness, though still sluggish from her fight, she did manage to use her Doku no Tsuru to break free from her restraints and make her way in the direction she had seen her father headed.
Father, where are you? She thought as she forced herself along.
By the time Yukimi reached the base, every member of the Iburi clan had been killed. At the far back of the entrance, Orochimaru was sucking the life out of the remaining members. Yukimi stood horrified at the sight.
"Ugh. Disgusting! These won't do at all," said Orochimaru.
He sensed Yukimi's presence and turned around. They stared at each other a moment. Then he slowly approached her and smiled. "You must be the one I was looking for," he said with a slight chuckle in his voice.
As he got closer, Kakashi and Kinoe made it inside the base. Kinoe acted on instinct to try and protect Yukimi. He wasn't fast enough. Orochimaru already managed to grab her and disappeared. The pair, left standing in the base and surrounded by the dead clan members, frantically looked around to find which way they could go. Suddenly, the misty spirits of the clan swept up and blew away in order to show them where they needed to go.
"This way!" Kinoe pointed to where the mist went off to.
Kakashi nodded, "Right. Let's go!"
They ran in the direction they were being guided to but came to an abrupt halt as Zemaria appeared in front of them. She was clearly exhausted and in pain still from her fight earlier. There was no way she would be able to stop not just Kakashi, but also Kinoe in her current condition.
Kakashi was stunned, "How did you manage to escape my restraints?"
Kinoe looked at him confused, "You know her?"
He nodded, "We fought earlier. She's Orochimaru's daughter. But there's no way she should even be conscious right now."
"I won't allow you to go any further…," she said, but lacked the confidence to back that claim up.
"Don't kid yourself! You're in no condition to pick a fight again; especially against not one but two Anbu this time!" Kakashi exclaimed and removed a kunai from his pouch.
"I-," was all she could manage to say before the lingering pain of her injuries forced her to her knees.
Kinoe and Kakashi relaxed slightly. She was at her limit now. After forcing herself to find Orochimaru and her injuries only healed about ten percent, she had over exerted herself. Kakashi safely decided to leave her be and not waste time. They hurried along to find Orochimaru and Yukimi.
"They're both behind that wall," he said.
Kakashi nodded, "Alright then, let's save Yukimi." He activated his Chidori and busted through the wall.
It was too little too late though. Orochimaru and Yukimi were laying on the ground in two different areas. Both were unconscious. Kinoe made an approach toward Yukimi. Kakashi cautiously walked over to Orochimaru. Out of nowhere, thorned vines jolted right at either of them. On instinct, Kakashi sliced the closest ones to him. He heard a violent cough and realized it was from Zemaria. There was blood trickling from her mouth over her lips.
Kakashi gasped in shock. Orochimaru slowly lifted his body up and staggered to his feet. He saw how injured his child had become while trying to help him in his escape. Zemaria took a few steps forward before being frozen in place. She was just barely conscious now.
"Zemaria, you unfortunately will no longer be able to come with me. Your injured body will only slow me down," Orochimaru simply said to her and disappeared into the ground below their feet.
"Father…," she uttered.
"Kinoe! Use your wood style to restrain her. We'll be able to focus on saving Yukimi that way," Kakashi instructed him.
Kinoe nodded and used wood style to restrain Zemaria's arms, legs, and torso. Then they both went over to Yukimi's body. Saddened by being unable to save her, Kinoe decided to plant a tree for her. Witnessing this, the spirits of the clan merged her body with the tree sapling, made it grow big and strong, and then used their energy to revive her. In the end, Kakashi, Yukimi, and Kinoe stood at a three way crossroad. Kakashi told them he would tell the Hokage and the council Orochimaru managed to get away. He wouldn't tell them about coming into contact with a Foundation member nor was there any such clan as the Iburi. He also had, cradled in his arms, a very beaten up unconscious Zemaria.
"Zemaria is the only one I came into contact with while in pursuit of Orochimaru," he explained to the council and Hokage. "She relentlessly made attempts to attack and stop me from reaching him."
"Mm… I see then," Sarutobi said, disappointed by her actions.
By now, Zemaria was conscious but she was on her knees, eyes covered, and hands restrained behind her back. Danzō had a scheming look in his eyes. The council elders were concerned by how influential Orochimaru was to this young child, unsure what to do with her. It would most certainly anger the people of the village to act in haste to sentence her to prison or death.