The Legend of A Master
DISCLAIMER – I DO NOT OWN POKEMON OR NARUTO, THEY BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.
Chapter 7 - The Viridian Samurai
DREAMSCAPE
"Go fulfil the purpose you strive for"
"You are destined for great things"
"You can do anything you set your mind to"
"I believe in you my son"
"You can do it, Arion"
"No Matter What Other People say always remember..."
"We love you son."
DREAM ENDS
His eyes open and he is calm for a change, but it was still pretty early in the morning. Nightmares had become more and more uncommon to him as he had grown older, but the new environment along with the emotion high from the send-off by the Oak's might have made him a little more unhinged than usual.
Training and working out were always solid options when he was feeling this way so he made his way to the Pokemon Centre facilities. As the heavy sandbag shook, Arion took the time to really concentrate and get a good sweat going.
"Wow you're really pounding away and working that punching bag, that's some good technique." rang out a slightly foreign accent.
He stopped his pummeling to see a blonde 16-year-old girl taking a drink out of her water bottle. She had long hair and black hair accessories. It was obvious that she had been working out as well, from the glistening sweat on her skin to the soaked gym clothes, you could tell that this girl kept in shape. She had a Gabite at her side who was obviously very protective of his trainer.
"Thank you"
"Cynthia"
"Arion Tokugawa"
"Not to be nosey but you're not from around here are you?"
"Um no, I am from this region"
"Um I'm not judging you, but it is obvious that you are not from the Kanto region." The blonde girl raised an eyebrow at that as the boy casually towelled off the sweat from his face and forearms.
"And how did you arrive at that conclusion?" The boy stared blankly at her.
"You appear to be an experienced enough trainer to know it is important to keep in peak physical form along with your Pokemon. It helps you bond and understand the exertion they go through. The Pokemon by your side is a Gabite, native to the mountainous regions of Sinnoh, primarily Mount Coronet. Your facial structure is not common in this region, as well as your eye colour. You speak in a slightly accented voice, judging from thickness and modulation I would guess Sinnoh but not in an urban area rather a town of sorts. That narrows down my options to mostly three and I go with Celestic town, due to the traditional ruin style hair accessories you choose."
Her mouth hung open in an expression that amused him greatly. It was quite comical, to say the least when she regained her faculties.
"How did you know that?" He shrugged nonchalantly unwinding his wraps.
"Simple observation is all." She whistled impressed.
"You would make a hell of a detective and a really good boyfriend" He raised an eyebrow at that.
"A good boyfriend?"
"Yeah, girls like it when a man is attentive to their wants and needs," she said matter-of-factly. He chuckled humorlessly at that...
"If I ever met a girl who knew everything about me and still liked me, I would be surprised," he said as he hefted his Gym bag up as her eye crinkled in question. Eon having just woken up bounded into the room and onto his shoulder. His unique silver fur glinted giving him an ethereal appearance. Her single exposed eye widened at the Shiny Eevee...
"He's your's?" she asked gently reaching out to stroke his fur. Eon was cautious but allowed the stranger to pet him.
"Yeah. He's my starter, got him yesterday..."
"He's remarkable," Eon started purring under her ministrations. Arion was surprised Eon was usually hostile towards strangers.
He was alerted immediately to the sound of crashing glass. Raising an eyebrow he grabbed his Dark blue hoodie and clipped on his belt to his waist.
"You can't take these pokemon" a very familiar boy with a pokemon league expo hat and a recently restored Pikachu on his shoulder said standing in front of Nurse Joy who had fallen down.
"They belong to someone else," He said stomping his foot.
Ash Ketchum.
He turned his attention to the more serious problem at hand. Those familiar R's were disturbing, his eyes narrowed at the two grunts. He stepped forward once they started to move.
"Ekans use bite"
"Koffing... Sludge attack"
In a flash, Variearies was released stretching his wings out. The fire-lizard easily deflected it with his wing.
"Variearies, Flame thrower"
"GAh"
It was a white-hot flame that burned both Ekans and Arbok to a crisp.
The Team Rocket members, Jessie and James, stood frozen in fear along with their talking Meowth.
"What is that kid?" Jessie asking trembling.
"I don't know Jessie," James said in fear.
"He's a monster for sure" The talking Meowth chipped in his own two cents.
He raised his hand once more funnelling just a little aura in his voice to make it resound...
"Variearies, Flame burst" and that was all it took to send them flying into the air in fear.
Ash was staring in awe at the hot flames that scorched the tiles clearly looking at his hooded figure in some sort of admiration. Ash clearly did not recognize him with the hood up.
"How did you do that?!"
"Well I really didn't do anything, Variearies here is the one who did all the work".
"Thank you for helping us" Nurse Joy smiled and bowed. He nodded and returned Variearies as his eyes caught sight of a hawk circling the Pokemon Centre from the glass roof. Not a pokemon but a messenger Hawk. A mission from Konohagakure, which implied...
He raised an eyebrow. Why now? He had already been discharged from the squad. If something had happened, that the Hokage believed that Sasuke had to be called back then it should be pretty serious. He had to get his gear, after all, he had an ANBU mission again.
As his thoughts followed this train, he failed to notice the impressed look the Blonde woman from the Gym was shooting him.
"Arion Tokugawa... Just how interesting can you get?"
2 HOURS LATER
IN THE HOKAGE'S OFFICE
"Ah Ryu, It seems you did see the messenger hawk after all" Sarutobi said breezily.
In front of him, a single ANBU stood. He was in standard ANBU gear complete with the insignia of the association and was wearing a dragon mask. His raven hair framed his masked face and a single Chokuto was strapped to his back.
"Hai, Hokage-sama"
Sarutobi took another long drag from his pipe producing a stack of papers, the thing that stood out the most about it was the SS ranked written on the top in bold letters.
"Assassination again?" Hiruzen shook his head. Ryu raised an eyebrow though nobody could see it through his mask.
"Then what is it?"
"A retrieval mission"
"Of whom?"
"Hanabi Hyuuga"
If Ryu's head whipped out any faster he would have suffered massive whiplash. This was rare, Ryu never lost his composure. The Fire shadow briefly wondered if he was okay.
"So do you accept..., huh" he was greeted by a gust of blowing wind and the stack of papers signed with hastily scribbled initials. A dry chuckle escaped the old leader's mouth.
"I'll take that as a Yes" Stamping the paper with the approved seal.
Of course, he had sent other teams sent out but the sheer number of cloud shinobi was large. He would need an ace to get the job done.
And with Ryu, he had an ace in the hole.
WITH RYU -
"Faster" as he leapt through branches. "Faster Uchiha C'mon"
And there they were on the edge of his vision, just a little bit more and he would catch up.
"Give back my imouto now!" Ryu froze at that, Hinata was here?
"Oh boys, it seems this one has a more developed one to top that off she's unsealed, well two is always better than one I say," a section of the cloud shinobi broke off to fight the girl.
"You shouldn't have come alone girl, we'll make you regret it and maybe we'll even have a little fun with you befor..." The words died in his mouth as he suddenly fell. A direct Jyuuken strike to the heart. Hinata looked impassive.
"Give me back my imouto and I may just leave you all alive"
Hesitating a little, the Kumo shinobi drew their weapons and charged forward as a collective group. They were maybe high genin or low chunin level though one was definitely a Jonin.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes behind his mask. Even though Hinata could handle most of them one on one, she would have trouble if they used numbers. A quick scan and her panting told him that she was low on chakra too.
As Hinata readied herself for another technique, he decided to intervene.
"Hakkeshou Kaiten [Eight Divination Palms of the Hand, Heavenly Spin]"
"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu [Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique]"
The first 3 shinobi bounced off the chakra wall while the other 4 hastily jumped back to avoid the incoming fireballs. The leaf shunshin made his appearance in front of them.
"Make some space between us Hinata..." He leapt forward revealing his presence and protecting the younger girl.
"S-ANBU-san..."
"Surrender the girl and I may let you live,"
The Kumo shinobi tensed looking at the insignia on his arm confirming he was an ANBU and this was not a ruse.
"Che… I thought we stalled the teams they sent after us already, how did this guy get past all the teams"
Ryu didn't wait to see what the nin would do next, he took the opportunity to show off a little. With a burst of speed, almost like he had teleported he was behind one of them he knocked her out with a knife hand.
The leader was instantly alerted and pressed a kunai to the captive's neck drawing blood, Hinata's eyes narrowed as the veins on her face were even more prominent. It was obvious she was struggling to suppress her rage.
"If you want her alive, drop the weapons and let us pass!" He said quietly his presence was enormous. Ryu narrowed his eyes...
This Jonin was far too calm and collected not to be threatened by just his mask. The cloud Jonin pressed the blade deeper drawing a steady stream of blood.
"I know for a fact that you are not going to kill the girl just for a transplant. That's a huge waste of energy, time and resources judging from the number of troops you brought here. However, your blade is far too close to the jugular vein for that to be advisable if you are going to cover the distance back to Kumo. Does the Raikage know you're threatening the survival of a potential bloodline to his Village"
In a moment that was too short to be hesitation but just long enough to be rehearsed the leader quietly smirked and said in a steady voice...
"I really don't care about what the Raikage can do, I am a strong shinobi, I can take care of myself."
Too bad Ryu was an expert at body language and muscle movement, he pressed his advantage.
"Oh, my friend you may have to stop lying. I can see right through you" And there it was the three tomoe Sharingan spinning not visible through his ANBU mask. The enemy shinobi took a slight step back in fear feeling heavier somehow. Ryu rushed forward as he unleashed a combination of punches and kicks.
To be honest it was impressive that he held onto his captive for as long as he did. Tossing the bundle on his shoulder to a nearby subordinate who Hinata immediately engaged, He finally drew a weapon and started to fight seriously. The elite ANBU member dodged and bent under his strikes gracefully.
Growing frustrated, the cloud Jonin tried to swing faster. Finally, when he thought that he was open, the Kumo shinobi brought the blade down in a downwards slice that was met swiftly by a pitch-black blade that appeared in sparks of blue.
"Are you going to surrender now?" Sasuke asked just as Hinata scored a decisive strike. The cloud ninja being forced to drop his captive, Ryu immediately shunshined a shadow clone in time to catch her.
Picking up Hanabi, he checked her pulse. She was still under a genjutsu but she was fine. His objective achieved, he teleported back to Hinata who had just dispatched one of the ninjas and placed the sleeping girl in her hands. Seeing this Hinata deactivated her Byakugan altogether in favour of releasing Hanabi from the genjutsu.
"Keep a little distance Hinata"
Hinata was confused at the voice in her head but nonetheless obeyed. He ran through hand seals...
"Genjutsu - Yakan kyōfu no iryūjon [Art of Genjutsu - Illusion of Nightly horrors]"
"This is…"
"Sharingan?!"
"It was him they sent?!"
"The new legend in their ranks they call him…"
"They sent The Last Phantom behind us"
It was all over in an instant. The screams of the ninja pierced the silence of the early morning. They were tied and sealed in a stasis scroll soon enough. He turned to see Hinata with a newly conscious Hanabi who groggily rubbed her eyes. The four-year-old was mostly unaware but still considerably shaken. She cuddled closer into the warmth of her older sister feeling far safer than before.
Kneeling in front of the young child he cast a quick medical analysis jutsu and deemed her okay. Motioning to the older sibling, Hinata nodded and carefully got on the older boy's back. Carrying both of them was a little difficult, but he immediately broke out into a sprint.
BACK AT KONOHAGAKURE
"Mission complete, Hokage-sama"
The stasis scroll in front of him was proof enough to the aged shinobi.
"Excellent work Ryu," Hiruzen said taking a drag from his pipe as he handed off the scroll to another ANBU operative. "Take that to T&I."
"Any problems on the mission?" Hiruzen enquired.
"No, I had plenty of help," Ryu said shaking his head. The Hokage was confused at this statement, Help?
"What do you mean? I didn't send any help and according to the reports, the teams were all stalled" He was honestly puzzled.
"Oh I found plenty of help on the way" the former ANBU captain chuckled.
"You know, honestly I was disappointed when you resigned from the ANBU, you were my best after Kakashi and your father"
"I... have things that I need to do"
"So then why..." he asked putting his hands underneath his chin.
"Why were you so determined to save her?" He asked curiously. The Dragon masked shinobi chuckled humorlessly,
"I know the heiress of the Hyuuga clan and she told me something once"
"And what was that?"
"Family always comes first". He said as he swirled away.
Hiruzen looked at the space where the boy once stood and swivelled his chair taking in the beautiful first rays of the sun.
"This generation will be strong, the will of fire runs deep in their veins"
VIRIDIAN FOREST
That mission had put a serious damper on Sasuke's schedule. He had heard of recent 'attacks' in the forest so he had a sword slung on his back as a precaution.
"We don't have any time to lose," He told them sternly.
His starter looked on in agreement, but his newest addition looked at him like he was crazy and squawked in protest. His Pidgeotto, Storm was breathing hard. The training weights were still taking some getting used to. Sasuke checked his own, maybe he could add another unit in the next town.
"You'll see the difference soon enough Storm, but since you insist we'll take a break," He said taking off the weights so their muscles could recuperate.
He himself took a meditative pose and started deep breathing to circulate and control his chakra better. He was expanding it steadily, Varieries who was along with Raijin. His ears heard a sound as his eyes snapped open.
"So we're not alone anymore are we?" An imperceptible nod from everyone.
"Come out now..." He closed his eyes and unsheathed his katana...
"Scyther".
As if cued the telltale green blur sprung out of the foliage, his scythes bared, a frighteningly calculative look in his eye. The mantis eyed the human's sword.
"This will be interesting"
They met in a clash as they shifted their weights around. His eyes read the movement as he ducked and took a sweep that was immediately avoided by mild usage of his wings.
"Let's kick this up a notch" as he poured lightning chakra into the blade. Scyther's eyes lit up in excitement. His claws took on a metallic sheen as he dashed to meet the boy blow for blow.
"Metal Claw? At the Scyther stage?" he smirked. As they repeatedly clashed, Scyther found that he was enjoying himself immensely. This trainer was strong, kind and a good fighter himself. Scyther had always respected people like him.
"I yield..."
"You want to come with me?" Scyther nodded sharply.
"What's your name?"
"Senshi"
"Thank you for your trust, I will not betray you"
"I know you won't Master"
3 HOURS LATER
"19,997...19,998...19,999...20,000! and I'm done" he sprawled out on the grass for a break after his push-ups. They were close to Pewter and had to get ready for the Gym battle that awaited them. Raijin and Senshi were sparring while Variearies was giving Storm some tips on how to fly more efficiently. He just stared up at the sky. It was a Saturday...
"I wonder what Naruto and Hinata are doing right about now..."
BACK IN KONOHAGAKURE NO SATO
"Ugh, what am I doing wrong?!" as his new wind style technique destabilized in his hand. Even with trying his level best to keep the chakra flow steady, it was difficult to focus on the output and control at the same time.
He heard something splash near him as Hinata neatly glided on the water her eyes closed, the water was starting to accumulate around her. The water practically shimmered around her highlighting her beautiful features, the blonde Jinchuuriki was mesmerized...
"Wait a minute... Beautiful?" He thought to himself.
"When did I start calling Hinata-chan beautiful?"
"Naruto-kun?" her soft voice brought him out of his musings.
"Uh-huh Hinata-chan, What is it?"
"Do you want me to help you Naruto-kun?"
"Huh?" he goggled dumbly.
"I know you won't be satisfied if you don't get this jutsu down" she tilted her head cutely. He blushed at the adorableness of the action.
"Ye-Yeah Hinata-chan I would love that a lot." He said scratching his head. She frowned, raising her hand and touching his cheek tracing the birthmarks permanently etched on there.
"What's wrong Naruto-kun? Why are you stuttering ?" she said getting close to his face. His breathing was harsh at the close proximity of their faces.
"It's nothing Hinata-chan. I promise" he harshly breathed out. She frowned at the secrecy but didn't push it.
"Come on Naruto-kun, I'll help you," as she walked away. He got his breathing under control.
"Why am I feeling this way?" He thought to himself, before going after her.
BACK WITH ARION
"I think we're here," He said out loud as he took in the stone-like surroundings.
"Pewter city..."
"My first gym badge is finally in sight"
Signing Off,
The Aura Phoenix.