"Hi there" Normal Speech
"Hi There" Thought
"Hi There" Biju and techniques
"Hi There" Biju thoughts and techniques in head
Flashbacks
"Hi There" Normal speech
"Hi There" Thought
"Hi There" Biju and Techniques
"Hi There," Bijuu thought and techniques in head
Chapter 18: Raise the Flag of Revolution
In a flash of orange outside the Uzukage tower appeared none other than Kurama. Wrapped up in one of the foxes tails was a ten-year-old boy with a sour expression on his lips. The boy was removed from the tail and stumbled forward before finding a nearby trash can and throwing up into it. The boy was Dean a Devil Fruit user Kurama had discovered while on a mission. Watching the boy throw up the fox flicked a tail in mild amusement.
"You will get used to it boy; it is a regular method of transportation for occupants of Uzushio." Instructed the fox as he stuttered over to the boy like a proud peacock.
Dean removed his head from the trash can and couldn't help but look up at the massive tower that stood before him, that just happened to be painted neon orange. The tower stood out like a sore thumb as if it was a massive beacon. Behind the tower, however, was a giant mountain range that curved around an entire village. On the mountain was more than a dozen giant heads that seemed to be looking down upon the village with their gaze. When he looked up at these giant faces looking down at the village Dean couldn't help but get emotional. The expressions on the faces were that of a parent looking down on their children with a protective and loving gaze.
"Those are the leaders from a history long past, proud warriors who fought to the end to protect all those they led. Hokage's, Kazekage's, Tsuchikage's, Mizukage's and Raikage's of a past that is now but a distant memory to all those but we who live here" The fox looked up at the past Kage's with mixed emotions.
"In the future, you too shall learn of a history long forgotten, before that it is time to meet the man who shall become your leader and the man who built all this the Shodai Uzukage Uzumaki, Naruto."
With the wave of a tail, Kurama instructed Dean to follow behind, before the fox could even walk into the tower, the doors burst open, and a panicking Suzuka came running out. Fox and kunoichi almost collided with one another, but Kurama was able to step to the side dragging Dean with him.
"Where's the fire?"
"Ah I'm sorry Kurama, but we need to head to the hospital urgently. Team 7 returned from their mission in critical condition" explained the grief-stricken Suzuka. She had trained alongside team 7 and even lived in the same compound as them. During their time together the young woman had grown attached to them and they were like family to her.
"What! Quickly let us go, explain on the way" Suzuka smiled softly as she quickly darted off, Kurama running after her. A tail shot forward grabbing Dean and dragging him along for the crazy ride. As they headed off Suzuka began to explain that she had not long returned from a mission of her own to find out Team 7 was critical and currently undergoing recovery. A clone had come by to inform her that the original was back and attempting to repair the damage done. As the three ran across Uzushiogakure, it began to rain.
Uzu Hospital
In a darkened hospital room on the right-hand side sat three beds, lying in each bed starting at the window was Shiina, Odin and finally Yamato. All three were hooked up to life-saving machinery. The blinds were shut as only the smallest gap was open. Rain fell outside as the sound of its pitter-patter echoed on the hospital's room. Lightning flashed right outside followed by the explosive crackle of thunder. The only source of light to penetrate the darkened room came from the lit hallway that reflected off a fourth figure, Standing in the middle of the room with his gaze cast upon the three was Naruto.
The sage's eyes reflected worry but also pride. He was worried about their current condition, even though they would make a full recovery he couldn't help but the unease in his heart. As their teacher, they were like his children. Even though they had only been together for a short time in the broad scope of time, they had become close, as close as family.
As Naruto watched on in silence, he could hear a commotion coming his way. Bursting into the room was none other than Suzuka followed closely by Kurama and a boy he had never seen before. Kurama and Naruto both shared a knowing look as the fox entered, as they entered the room Suzuka's gaze immediately fell upon the three Genin lying unconscious in their beds. A sharp gasp escaped her tender lips as her eyes quivered watching their still forms.
"How are they?" Kurama's voice cut the tension as he approached the eternal sage, a tail resting on his friend's shoulder for comfort.
"They'll be fine I've done what I can to stabilise them and repairing what needs to be repaired immediately." The sage shared a look with his friend that seemed to express a thousand different emotions between them. Naruto moved his gaze casting it to Shiina by the window as she lay on her back.
"Shiina is suffering from a mild internal damage, with damage to her back and mild chakra exhaustion. I've taken care of the scar tissue and stitched the flesh back together, and it will heal up nicely. Her right arm was in shambles, the bones shattered, but I've repaired the damage, and with a little rest they will be as good as new. In time she will be up and running within a few weeks." The sage watched as his prime student attended to the young girl, gently stroking her hair tenderly. As Suzuka attended to Shiina, Naruto moved his gaze to Odin, laying beside him in the bed were his twin swords.
"Regarding physical injuries his chest was almost cut open, only an inch away from hitting his heart, the impact broke one of his ribs. That's just the superficial injuries. He damaged his nervous system using a technique he was not ready to use. His body couldn't handle the pressure and tore itself apart in the process. I had to rebuild the nerve system in his arms from scratch as they were fried. Add to the fact he is suffering from severe chakra exhaustion, if he had continued to force his reserves he would be dead." The youngest of the three was incredibly stubborn and reckless, and he burnt through his chakra reserves at an alarming rate and had been teetering between he brink of life and death when Naruto retrieved him. The moment they returned the sage had to feed Odin chakra to bring him out of the red.
"Odin should recover in a month or two. Yamato is the worst off of them all. Half a dozen broken ribs, both of his arms were unrecognisable; I had to cut them off at the stump and grow new ones due to the intensive damage that was done to them. If that wasn't enough, the fool utilised the eight gates. He may have gotten away with using the first and second with minimal damage, but he opened four. His entire chakra circulatory system was a mess; it looked like it had been burnt. His muscles were nothing but charred flesh, and his entire skeleton structure cracked. The amount of pressure exerted onto his body should have left him in such a state he would be using a wheelchair for the rest of his life. If I hadn't done anything that is. I had to recreate the cells in his body giving them new life in order to reconstruct everything. The boy was in a death like a state, his heart even stopped beating for a minute, and his soul nearly crossed on to the afterlife. I had to pull it back and force it to return to his body." Yamato was a complete mess when Naruto started working on him, and the boy had died for a good minute before coming back. The fire user had pushed himself to the death. If it had been anyone else trying to heal him, then he most likely would be dead. Only Naruto had the capabilities of healing the amount of damage the boy had done to himself.
"Reminds me of a knuckleheaded orange wearing ninja I once knew" The fox snuck a peak in Naruto's direction, remember long ago that the immortal had once been just as reckless as his students back in the day. Summoning shadow clones and rushing head-on, using an incomplete Rasengan, tearing his own body apart and exhausting his chakra reserves to such a point that if the fox had not transferred his own, the knucklehead would have died. Almost every battle Naruto had fought in the past had ended up with him recovering in hospital. The fox had lost track the number of times he had to keep the knucklehead from dying.
Naruto snorted in amusement; it figures the wily old fox would remember how bull-headed he had been in the past. Looking back now, if he could go back in time, he would beat some sense into his younger self, but that was in the past. The sage filed old memories away and looked down at the young boy by Kurama's side who was staring at Naruto's horns in fascination.
"Who is this?"
"The kid is Dean; I met him on that mission you gave me. The meat bag took away my fun and killed the disguised marines. Get this he's a devil fruit user with an ability similar to the Kaguya clans Shikotsumyaki." The fox used a tail to push Den forward into Naruto's path.
"Oh?" Naruto was genuinely surprised to hear this. He hadn't expected Kurama to run into a devil fruit user, nor that said devil fruit user was s young boy capable of killing a small group of marines.
"Ah, hi" the bone wielder gave an awkward smile and wave. He felt out of place, especially considering he was standing in front of the village's leader. During the ride over after the one called Suzuka had relayed the situation to Kurama, the fox had explained a few things to Dean. In the presence of someone who had the power to not only contend with Kurama but beat him in straight-up combat. What was worse was the fact there existed eight other beings whose strength may not rival Kurama's but were frightening existences in their rights. Even if all nine went up against Naruto, they would still lose, this was something that not only scared Dean, but filled him with excitement. He secretly hoped one day he would be just as strong.
Naruto eyed the young man giving him a once over. Beneath the sage's powerful gaze Dean couldn't help but feel intimidated. It was like those eyes were piercing deep into his very soul.
"Suzuka I hate to pry you away but would you please attend to young Dean and show him around. Once these three awake I will have you brought over immediately." requested the sage of his grief-stricken girlfriend. Having her show Dean around would not only keep her occupied but also her mind distracted from focusing on the condition of the three injured Genin.
The young woman wiped her tears and allowed a gentle smile to appear on her charming features. Following the instructions of her leader, Suzuka took Dean by the arm and departed from the hospital with him. While she wanted to be at the side of her friends, she also had duties to perform. She knew Naruto would keep his word and let her know when the awoke, so, for now, she would follow his orders and show their newest arrival around. The moment Suzuka left the two chakra beings shared a look.
"Lock it down" with those words Kurama quickly departed. The moment the fox was gone Naruto took a deep breath and called out to the man hiding in the room.
"Show yourself." his tone was domineering as he released his powerful aura. He was not impressed with someone not only sneaking into the village but also daring to lurk in the same room as his injured pupils.
A chuckle was heard behind the sage as out of the shadows a tall figure stepped forward. Lightning flashed by the window illuminating the man. He was cloaked in a hooded green robe that revealed only his face; his age was unable to be determined. A widow peak stuck out from beneath the hood and an eye-catching red tattoo down the left side of his face, this was accompanied by a grin that looked plastered on.
"Pleased to meet your acquaintance Otsutsuki, Hagoromo or should I call you Uzumaki, Naruto." The man had his hands folded over in front of him, the shadows blanketing him.
"Monkey D. Dragon, what brings the feared revolutionary to my Village." Naruto didn't even look at the man as he approached not even as he stood beside him on the left. Naruto wasn't surprised the man was addressed him by his alter ego nor his name. The kage was currently in his true appearance having reverted to it when he returned to the island. He felt no need to hide his appearance from his people, nor did he fear that Dragon had seen his true form. Naruto wasn't afraid of Dragon and vice versa. The two powerful men didn't even share a look, both casting their gaze onto the three children resting in their beds.
"How long have you known I was here?"
"Since the beginning" was the sage's response. He had sensed Dragon sneaking into Uzu and when he snuck into the room just moments before the others arrived. The look Kurama and he had shared when the fox walked in was regarding the extra person in the room that wasn't Dean. Kurama had detected Dragon immediately on arrival. Naruto had sent Suzuka and Dean out not just to keep her distracted but so he could confront Dragon without them present. With the two gone the Sage had then instructed Kurama to lock down the village, not only to keep Dragon from escaping but to see if anyone else had managed to make their way in.
"They took quite the beating" Dragon's eyes followed the three young children as they lay unaware of his presence. Their ages were only a few years older than his son.
"They will live. You didn't answer the question, why are you here?" Naruto pressed the question finally turning his head to look at the revolutionary. He held out his right hand, and his Shakujo staff appeared the nine rings jingling as they moved from the sudden action. Naruto slammed the end of the staff to the floor and put the pressure on Dragon; he wanted answers.
"Now, now is that any way to treat a friend? Is this what I get for the present I brought you?" Dragon held up his hands in a defensive position, his grin remaining firmly in place.
"While the file and location of the laboratory were appreciated, I have my doubts regarding why you did it. And don't say it was out of the goodness of your heart. Your not the only one with a spy network and I did a little digging myself." The sage's expression didn't relax as he tightened his grip on his staff. After the file had landed in his lap and he attacked the base, the sage did a little digging of his own to find out just who would want him to find the laboratory and why. With his extensive network of clones, it didn't take long, the only one whom Naruto had shared the information with was Kurama his most trusted advisor.
"It turns out the weapons being developed there were being primarily made to be used to go to war with the Yonko and the Revolutionary army. Now that at first didn't tell me much, but then I dug into what records were left over. After I sunk the island, I had someone go back and retrieve everything they could." After he had sunk the island and returned home, Naruto had contacted Gyuki and Isobu sending them both on a retrieval mission to extract whatever they could salvage from the island.
"They had quite a substantial amount of files on you Dragon. The World Government must truly fear you if the whole point of Operation Second Birth was not only to gather and produce second generation devil fruit users but to control them to create an unstoppable army to be used against you, Dragon the Revolutionary.." It had taken a lot of digging for Naruto to find this out. He had invaded the minds of countless scientists and high-level marines for this information. But through effort, he had managed to lay his hands on it. It didn't help that Dragon's signature matched the same one he sensed that stormy day that vanished as quickly as it appeared. Knowing this he was able to connect the dots.
"I may have had ulterior motives in destroying those weapons for the good of my cause, however that alone didn't fuel my actions. The evil conducted by the Government on those children had to stop. I could have attempted to siege the island myself, but I lack power. The Revolutionaries would have been wiped out in our attempt. So I had to rely on a higher power, and my gut told me to seek you out, with that I snuck in under the storm and laid that file for your charming secretary. You're quite lucky having a beauty like her at your side" Dragon's grin grew in size when he brought up Naruto's secretary, it seemed even he thought she was quite fetching.
"Don't get any ideas." Naruto glared daggers at the man who dared to even place his woman in his eyes. The killer intent in Naruto's gaze made Dragon laugh at the man's actions and wave a hand in surrender.
"I have no intentions of chasing your partner. But perhaps it is time we address the purpose of my visit. I want Uzushiogakure no Sato to become a part of the Revolutionary Army. To integrate and become one with us. To join under my command. Only I shall give orders to you and your shinobi." Dragon turned to face Naruto with a serious gaze reflecting in his white hues. The revolutionary was one hundred percent serious, not only did it reflect in his gaze but the way he stood. Dragon had not personally witnessed Naruto's might, but from the poster that had been released regarding his alter ego, the revolutionary knew he had to ally with the man. Dragon had begun to gather information by talking to the island's Uzu was allied with to get a better grasp of the situation. He had become aware of the surprising strength of its shinobi, and he wanted that strength for the revolutionaries.
"And why pray tell should we join with you?" The offer hadn't surprised Naruto; he had an inkling that the man wanted to ally with Uzu.
"We both want the same thing. While we each had different methods, we ultimately want the same thing, the World Government's collapse. If we join hands with one another, we can accomplish this. YOU need my help" Dragon emphasised hit point trying to pressure Naruto. In his eyes, while Uzushiogakure was powerful it didn't have the power to stand up to the World Government, yet. But if Uzu joined with his revolutionaries in a few short years they could change that.
Dragon's words made Naruto snort in amusement, "You underestimate my people and I. Uzu shall not become a part of your military organisation! We do not need your charity nor will the Shinobi of Uzushio ever follow your commands, they obey only my orders" The sage refuted the man's words as he swung his staff out creating a gust of wind that knocked Dragon back. Uzu would never fall under the command of an outsider only one of its people.
"Uzushiogakure no Sato rose on its own and will stand on its own! However…" Naruto trailed off as he lowered his staff pointing the rings towards Dragon. The rings jingled as the staff swayed back and forth. "Uzu is willing to ally with the revolutionaries. Uzu will be its entity, only lending a hand when we see fit. The shinobi of Uzu will not be under your command, nor your revolutionaries undermine. Now leave you've intruded long enough."
Dragon's grin faded at the stubborn actions of the Uzukage. He hadn't expected him to refuse outright the offer to join under the revolutionaries banner, but at least he managed to become allies with the rising village. Dragon stepped back and as he did lightning flashed blindly behind him followed by the loud booming of thunder. As the flash of light vanished so did Dragon as he was no longer in the room. Naruto expanded his senses over the entire island, but he was unable to find a trace of the man as if he had vanished.
"He is a slippery one. Hmph underestimating my Uzushiogakure no Sato, just you wait in nine years time I will make you eat those words." Naruto threw his staff out to the side, and it dissolved vanishing into thin air. His gaze returned to his fallen disciples watching and waiting for them to awake.
