Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto Franchise that belongs solely to Masashi Kishimoto; I do not own Heaven's lost Property, High School DxD or any other Anime I borrow themes from. The only thing I claim is my OC's and original Story Plot.
Author's Note (A/N): Hey guys I'm back and I bring with me the long awaited saga I've wanted to get to for so long. The Fire on the Mystic Island Arc has been a cornerstone and turning point for the story that I've had planned for years. It all starts here for Naruto as he hits an all time low in his life. This chapter starts out kind of dark and edgy as far as my style and tone of writing is concerned so viewer discretion is advised readers. A lot gets revealed in this chapter as it only sets up things to come in the ones to follow. You'll have a blast with this as you'll go through the same roller coaster ride that Naruto experiences in this chapter.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy.
Chapter 66
[Fire on the Mystic Island Arc]
Hōrai Island Part 1: Alone at Home
It was cold. A familiar feeling of cold that Naruto's felt once before. The familiar damp wet feeling of his clothes and the moister in the air clued Naruto into where he might be. Opening his eyes Naruto guest right as large bronze colored steel bars and walls filled with ambient light greeted Naruto's vision. Looking up Naruto groaned in pain as two giant red eyes stared back at him with nothing less than total apathy. A very low growling hum could be heard from the powerful Tailed Beast who approached the large gates keeping him imprisoned.
"So, you have returned… and in such a pathetic state as well. I wonder if you're going to make it a habit of being incapacitated after every major battle in your life?" The Nine Tails asked in a sarcastic manner which served to instantly get under Naruto's skin, but he figured now wasn't the time to get into an argument with his resident. "My life is full of drama… so I guess that's a yes." Naruto snipped back with a dosage of pessimism in his voice. The fox grunted in reservation while lying his head on his crossed arms. "What am I doing here fox? I expected to be with Lady Sōkyoku right now." Naruto mused while looking around the seal.
The Nine Tails rolled its eyes at this statement while accompanying it with a yawn. "I don't know why you'd be over there considering that little goddess of a daughter you have is unconscious. Her host conscience can't communicate with you right now. Besides… even to this day I still don't know why such a being would choose you as her host." The fox explained in contemplation which Naruto silently turned his head away at. He too wanted to know exactly why Sōkyoku would choose him. It's always been on his mind since day one.
"I don't know either, but that's not important right now. All I can remember is being knocked unconscious… what happened after that?" Naruto asked as he watched the ancient beast sigh in response. "You were transported through the use of a Transportation Circle to a new location… a place I'd never thought I'd see again." The Nine Tails stated in a more subdued manner which shocked Naruto quite a bit. He's only had one face to face conversation with his resident and it was a brief talk at that, but he didn't think the powerful beast was capable of such emotions and facial expressions. It was something about the place they were in that bothered him greatly.
"Where are we then? Is this a place you know very well?" Naruto asked with caution in his voice. If the Nine Tails was feeling melancholic about a location, then that means it must be important to it. "You'll find out soon enough boy." The giant fox stated as it retreated far away from the gates and deeper into its cage. "Wait! Don't go just yet. I have more questions." Naruto pleaded but the darkness enveloped the Tailed beast causing their conversation to end prematurely. 'Damn… what do I do now?' Naruto thought as he left the sewage catacombs and returned to the central area of his subconscious. He could see the massive world tree in the center of the valley with Sōkyoku's bird cage hanging up high in the canopy.
'It couldn't hurt to check.' Naruto thought as he took his time and traveled up the tree to the beautifully crafted bird cage. As he was dreading the small human sized door to the massive cage was locked shut. He couldn't get in and the magical darkness that surrounds the outer bars and prevents anyone from seeing what was inside the bird cage was extremely thick today. Naruto wouldn't be able to seek Sōkyoku's guidance in this matter. He was on his own. But to check everything off the list Naruto traveled to the floating islands that orbit the great tree to see if he could find Chaos's subconscious avatar but when he reached the island she usually resides on the beautiful landscape was torn up and destroyed.
In the central cathedral like ruins on the largest island Naruto could see that the entrance to the inner chambers were barricaded close. That was usually the place where Chaos's avatar would reside when he comes to visit them in their mindscape. He usually holds daily conversations with his daughters in his mind and usually before he puts them to bed for the night. They would spend upwards to over an hour conversing before their bed time and in the case with Chaos Naruto would usually play hide and seek with her which usually ended up with Naruto failing to find the little Angeloid. She knew every inch of these floating islands and she would use them to her advantage every time.
'Chaos isn't responsive either… what do I do and where are we in the real world?' Naruto anguished as he forced himself to regain consciousness.
Unknown Location – Real World
Waking up with a groan of pain Naruto's thoughts were in a chaotic cloud of haze with a pounding headache greeting him upon awakening. The room that he found himself in was very dark which didn't help with him adjusting to the very few light sources he could see outside of what he was quickly coming to realize were metal bars. 'I'm in a dungeon… I'm locked up in a prison cell!' His ambient thoughts were becoming clearer to him as time went on and as the candle light from the hanging wall fixtures outside of his cell brightened up his eyes ability to see Naruto's other senses began to kick in as well.
The floor was cobble stone and brick and happened to be both very damp with ambient condensation and naturally cold to the touch. These sensations were enough to bring him fully to awareness which helped him as he looked around his surroundings. The entire room was heavy with condensation and dew which clued Naruto into figuring out that he was both underground and, in a place, surrounded by a lot of water. If he had to make a first impression guest, he would think that above ground it had rained a lot recently with the ground above soaking up all of the rain water which would explain the conditions he was in. The multiple dripping leakages of water forming random puddles all around the room certainly helped with the credibility of his theory.
He could taste the moisture in the air as he attempted to sit up. It was in this attempt that he became aware of his next biggest predicament. A thick rusted metallic collar was placed around his neck and his hands were bound in similar chains in front of him. These clamps were connected to a central chain that hooked up into a receiver in the ceiling. With his eyes adjusted to his surroundings Naruto looked his body over only to discover that all of his clothes were missing, and he was in nothing more than his boxers and a ragged undershirt that was damaged in his fight with Gaara from earlier.
He felt naked and defenseless as he didn't even have his sandals or any accessories at all. He was stripped of everything a ninja like him could possibly use on such sort notice to escape or make his situation better. "This couldn't possibly get any worst… hey Eva are you awake… what's our plan?" Naruto whispered silently incase anyone was listening in. The cell he was in was unnaturally dark so the light that came in from the small window like cell bars wasn't much. He couldn't see if there happened to be any shadows moving around behind the door.
Naruto waited a few seconds, but he never received a response back. "Eva… are you awake? I need you." Naruto whispered with a little more force and urgency in his tone. He didn't have to wait long before he suddenly froze in realization. He couldn't feel Eva's tiny body in his hair right now. Evangeline wasn't with him. This sudden epiphany rattled Naruto's nerves and caused his heart to start racing. Looking around the small dungeon cell Naruto's heart sank to see that he was all alone.
"Girls… Iris… Chaos! Are you there?" Naruto spoke out loud this time as he looked all around him but couldn't see his daughters anywhere in sight. 'No, no, no….' Naruto chanted in his mind with anxiety building up in his heart. Scrambling to his feet he walked as fast as he could over to his cell door to get a better grasp of his situation and right before he could press his body against the door the central chain linking him to the ceiling became taunt as it reached the end of its length. A sudden bolt of electricity surged through the rustic chains electrocuting Naruto who wasn't prepared for such a response. "AAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Naruto's screams echoed throughout the hallway outside his cell door as thousands of volts of electricity coursed through his veins with unexpected potency. Crashing to the floor below him as his knees gave out in pain Naruto convulsed on the floor splashing cold water from the puddles in his cell all across his body which conducted a second charge of electricity through his body. "AAAHHHAHAAAHHAA!" Pushing against the cell door with the last remainders of his strength Naruto kicked himself backwards out of the puddle of water and back further into his cell with arcs of electricity sparking off of his body that had electrical burns scattered across it. He's never felt such a blistering amount of pain before and on such unexpected notice.
All of the unintentional noise he just made was sure to get the attention of the people responsible for putting him here and as if fate was watching his plight Naruto could now faintly hear far off in the distance what sounded like footsteps in a separate corridor. It would seem his captors were aware he was awake. This wasn't what Naruto wanted at all and now he was silently cursing at his stupidity. He should have faked being still unconscious to give himself all the time he needed to assess the situation at hand. Instead his fear and anxiety of not knowing where his family was superseded his shinobi and mafia training. Today was turning out to not really be Naruto's day at all. From fighting a homicidal Jinchūriki in full Tailed Beast mode to being kidnapped and waking up in a dungeon. It was almost like he was cursed… or received all of Chaos's bad luck accumulated over a year's worth of time. Either way it went, Naruto was in a very bad position and the one possible card still in his hand slipped away the moment he got electrocuted.
The footsteps grew closer as Naruto scooted across the floor back to the back wall where he was resting earlier. His body couldn't move much after that surge of electricity, so he decided to bide his time. Naruto had a few seconds at best to try another plan, so he attempted to mold his chakra but immediately realized that was a terrible decision as archaic seals lit up along the surface of his collar which also sent another jolt of electricity into him which Naruto nearly blacked out from as he let out a soundless scream of pain. Naruto was completely breathless when he heard the cell door creak open causing him to look up on instinct. "I see your awake young man… did you enjoy the wake-up call?" A very familiar voice spoke which made Naruto's skin crawl. "Kyōra…" Naruto choked as he saw the powerful demon enter his cell. His feminine features didn't fool the blond haired Uzumaki in the slightest when it comes to his evil intentions.
"Why did you take me here… where is here?" Naruto questioned as he noticed two other guards were in the room with them. It were two different creatures that were very similar yet different from each other. The one on the left was a very tall and lanky creature with green skin and reptilian like features. It had a rust colored shield and club in its hand and a low whispered rattle like hum emanating from the creature. The one next to it looked similar in the fact it had a humanoid torso and was standing upright. The monster had a hyena like face and a large spear in his hand. He couldn't identify what species of demon they were but just off of first appearances alone he could tell they weren't that powerful. Physically maybe… but not Yōki wise. "Oh, wouldn't you like to know…" Kyōra chuckled in amusement while grabbing Naruto's chin. The blond haired Uzumaki wrinkled his face in disgust. "This is home sweet home boy… a place you will feel really welcomed in." Kyōra mused as he admired Naruto's face who was trying his hardest to pull away from the powerful man's hand.
"Anywhere you are, is not a welcoming place… now tell me where my daughters are! What did you do with them?" Naruto raged as he bared his teeth at Kyōra who smiled a cruel smile in retaliation. "Oh… don't worry about those little brats of yours. They are being handled by some very important people interested in them. You'll never see them again so focus on the here and now." Kyōra taunted with his cruel smile stretching further across his face one he saw the hot-blooded fury searing into Naruto's eyes. The young 12-year-old boy was seething at the mouth with rage clear in his eyes that Kyōra was salivating at.
"WHERE ARE THEY!?" Naruto roared as he jumped to his feet and tried to lunge at Kyōra, but his two guards came to life and smashed their two weapons into Naruto's stomach. The sound of more than one of Naruto's ribs cracking was heard in the cell as Naruto coughed up a pool of blood that splashed and dripped down his chest. "Grrrrrrr…" Naruto groaned in excruciating pain as ragged coughs assaulted his blood coated throat. "You are such an unruly young man… you will quickly learn that you have no power here boy. You are surrounded on all sides by Yōkai and monsters all itching to kill you. Your children aren't your concern anymore. They were never your children to begin with, you pathetic little human." Kyōra snapped back as he backhanded Naruto across the face with such strength that a sickening crack was heard as a cracked tooth flew out of his mouth.
"You ba…st…ard…" Naruto choked in pain as Kyōra reached out and placed his hand on Naruto's restraints. "I'm going to make you hate me boy. You have such delicious chakra and power humming beneath the surface of your body. Your power will revive us and restore my siblings to our original strength." Kyōra revealed as he surged his demonic crimson colored lightning into Naruto's chains lightning up Naruto's world if the gut wrenching screams was anything to go by. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Naruto's body went limp once Kyōra released his chains with the demon laughing in a patronizing manner. "You now belong to the Four War Gods and that mark on your back I gave you so many years ago will insure you never leave this island again." Kyōra declared as he turned to leave the cell with a panting Naruto whose entire body was red in coloration due to how hot his body had become. The amount of electricity coursing through his veins was enough to put an elephant down.
Naruto faintly made a mental note of the fact Kyōra mentioned they were on an island. It would explain the theory he had earlier about the noticeable amount of moisture hanging around in this dungeon area. They were surrounded by the sea. "Brusk, Dokk, entertain our honored guest a little bit. Show him our hospitality." Kyōra ordered as he left the cell and grinned a dark smile when he heard Naruto's pained screams reverberating off the walls.
1 Hour Later - Mindscape
Numbness… his body was in so much pain that he couldn't feel any sensations anymore. "You're back here again… I know I told you we'd be seeing each other a lot more frequently in the future but this is ridiculous." The Nine Tails sarcastically stated with a roll of his eyes. Naruto's mental avatar was laying down in front of his cage with bruises all across his body that was meant to reflect what was happening to him in reality. "Not now Nine Tails… not now." Naruto mumbled from a busted lip. He really didn't want to hear the harsh sadistic sarcasm from his resident. He was in no condition mentally and especially physically to uphold a civil banter with his Tailed Beast.
"No time like the present…" The fox purred with his razor-sharp teeth gleaming in the dull light of the sewer tunnel their mindscape depicted. Naruto would have groaned in aggravation, but he could barely even manage that as an inaudible sigh escaped his lips that were only a few inches above the water level in the room. "You know ever since I started my residency here at this facility I've monitored you closely and I've come up with a startling diagnosis." The powerful Nine Tailed Fox spoke with sarcasm dripping from his voice. The fox's booming voice wasn't helping the headache Naruto was feeling but he opened his eyes to glare at the fox who had an amused look on his face that unnerved Naruto for some reason. "Oh… I didn't know you were a doctor… tell me doc what's the prognosis." Naruto growled out with a bit of snark in his voice. He wasn't in the mood to be patronized in his lowest hour.
"Oh… I am a doctor alright, and I've diagnosed you as being nothing more than a DAMN WEAKLING! ROOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRR!" The Nine Tails responded with his sarcastic tone quickly disappearing and transitioning into unbound rage as the massive beast unleashed a deafening roar that flung Naruto's already limp and defenseless body across the large cavernous room. The beast was seething as it glared at Naruto's broken form who clumsily scrambled to his feet in a combination of pain and rage. Naruto screamed to the top of his lungs a wail of pent up rage and frustration.
"WELL THEN WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT ME TO DO ABOUT IT GOD DAMMIT!" Naruto roared with such anger that his face was beat red with all of the blood rushing beneath the surface of his skin. "I'm trapped! I can't use my chakra and I have no idea where my family is. My daughters could be getting tortured the same way I was or worst for all I know and I'm powerless to stop it!" Naruto wailed as tiny painfilled tears fell from his eyes as he let his frustrations vent. Those two guards beat him to within an inch of his life for well over an hour straight without rest. In the real world he was in a pool of his own blood with several broken bones scattered all across his body. Right now, he's in the worst condition of his entire life.
"And what are you going to sit here and do about it? Bitch and complain like a defenseless weakling! Are you not an Uzumaki? Do you not have any fight in you? When we first met you said you're more powerful than I give you credit for… were those all pathetic human lies that your species love to tell to make themselves feel better?" The fox growled as it tore into Naruto with vulgar language and scathing remarks he wasn't used to dishing out or receiving. The fox had a way with words that Naruto never knew about… but it also got his mind thinking.
"You're not what I was expecting you to be…" Naruto choked out as he held some of the tears that wanted to fall back. He didn't want to admit it out loud but the words the fox spoke hurt him deeply. He managed to cut him in his pride as a male and as a father. The fox narrowed his eyes at the display Naruto was projecting. "… I expected you to hate my guts or refuse to talk to me… I expected you to take over my body the second you got a chance… I expected a lot of things from you, but I never expected you to be so talkative to me and so willing to say such things to me with such a clear ulterior motive in mind. You're nothing like what I'd expected you to be… I expected more hatred from you." Naruto spoke as the tears he was holding in silently fell. He felt so powerless and helpless. He was at an all time low in his life.
The great fox before him growled as he stood up on his paws. "HOW DARE YOU! I AM HATE INCARNET! I AM HATRED!" The Nine Tailed Fox roared as he blasted Naruto with such a potent dosage of killing intent that Naruto's real heart legitimately stopped beating for a painful second with the ambient lights in the sewer flickering out for the same duration of time. Naruto's mental avatar collapsed to the ground in response to this as he stared up at the Nine Tails with true fear in his breathless body. "Make no mistake boy! I hate you! I've watched you for a long time now and up until recently you've turned out to be a big disappointment. But if there is one thing I hate more than you, is arrogant little bugs like those demons dragging my Jinchūriki through the dirt. I am all powerful and my Jinchūriki will reflect my status. Yet all I have before me is a sad excuse of a child and a so-called father. A real father wouldn't be giving up so easily, especially not one who bares the name Uzumaki on his shoulders… and not in such a sacred place as this. SO, GET UP!" The Nine Tails roared as Naruto's heart started beating once again.
The fox watched as Naruto's shoulders shook from what appeared to be his crying. He was about to roar at Naruto once again before the young boy opened his mouth and roared to the top of his lungs. This wasn't a wail of pain… he was venting out all of his anger, anguish, frustration, and damaged feelings. He was purging himself of everything he was feeling up until this point. When he finished he was left breathless and sucking in huge intakes of air but when he looked up into the great fox's eyes the massive Tailed Beast was shocked to see an untamable fire in Naruto's eyes. Getting to his feet and pushing out his chest in subconscious pride and defiance Naruto stared directly into the fox's eyes.
"Thank you, Nine Tails… thank you." Naruto said with the utmost humility and sincerity in his voice than he's ever shown to anyone in his life. This left the great beast surprised as Naruto spoke more. "It would seem that I've been losing my way much more these days than I originally thought. I've got a lot of work ahead of me if I don't want to appear as a disappointment in your eyes." Naruto vented as the fox found himself unable to speak as the fire in Naruto's eyes grew more and more.
"I don't give up, I don't back down, and I never go back on my word. Because that's my nindo… my ninja way ya know! Believe it!" Naruto declared with a base in his voice that wasn't there before. The great fox was left speechless as his eyes widened in recognition and shock at the last line Naruto spoke in particular. "I've got work to do… but thank you Nine Tails… you're right. We will be seeing more of each other in the future." Naruto said as he began to fade from his mindscape. The last thing the ancient beast saw was Naruto's eyes burning with passion and determination that he's never displayed before.
Left alone to his solitude within the seal the Nine Tailed Fox blinked a few times before a chuckle escaped his lips which soon turned into barking laughter from the ancient beast. "Kushina… that brat of yours was starting to worry me… We didn't go through so much pain and suffering on that night just for me to be stuck with your disappointment of an offspring. He's stepping forward on the right foot now." The Nine Tails purred out to himself before retreating into the darkness of his cage.
Unknown Location – Real World
'This isn't how it's going to end. I'm not some property for those demons to own as they please.' Naruto thought as he opened his eyes to the real world. "You haven't put me down like a dog just yet." Naruto gurgled out through his broken blood-filled jaw. Struggling to his feet Naruto almost collapsed under his own dead weight but he kept his footing by powering himself on a mental image of his daughters and Eva. 'I'm coming girls…'
Getting to his feet Naruto wrapped his hands around the chain that was attaching his collar to the ceiling anchor above him. He could feel a weak jolt of electricity coursing through the object, but he paid it no mind since his body was so numb from the pain he was in that no amount of electricity would phase him now. Naruto pushed through his pain as he lifted himself clear off the ground with raw power coursing through his broken arm and cracked ribs. He dead lifted himself off the ground despite his injuries as he climbed all the way to the ceiling with his blood dripping from his many cuts and gashes. The dried-up puddle of blood that was on the ground below him was revived by the new dosage he was leaking out, but Naruto ignored it in favor of gripping the anchor in the ceiling. "You're coming out whether you like it or not." Using his unbroken arm Naruto started to yank on the anchor in the ceiling with every ounce of strength he had. His visible and toned muscles rippled and flexed out in exertion and outrage as all of his most prominent veins in his vascular system became pronounced on the surface of his skin.
"Come out!" Naruto yelled as he ripped the anchor from the ceiling sending him crashing to the stone floor below. The loose bricks and stone from the ceiling fell all across his aching body cracking and breaking a few more of his brittle and bruised ribs but Naruto paid them no mind and immediately picked up the closest stone and began smashing it against his rusted collar. After many repeated attempts the clearly old piece of metal shattered from the hard stone. Ripping the broken collar off of him Naruto felt his chakra return to him in a warming surge that overtook his body and left him pleasantly breathless.
'I'm back…' Naruto mentally declared as he discovered that a lot of his chakra that he wasted from fighting Gaara had returned to him along with a portion of his own artificially created Yōki that his body naturally produces from being bonded with Eva for the vast majority of his life. It doesn't match the same potency that Eva's real Yōki gives him when the partners sync up in battle but Naruto's own personal Yōki was still very potent and powerful for being produced by a human body.
"I need to get out of here now." Naruto mused as he placed his hand on his broken arm and popped his shoulder back into place before freezing the entire appendage to help the broken bones mend. Applying a thin layer of frost across his torso Naruto tended to his battered ribs to support them as well. After tending to all of his injuries to the best of his limited abilities Naruto walked up to the steel door and rested his body against it. He was the furthest thing from 100% but he was trying his best.
Naruto wanted to start messing with the door to find a way out, but his swollen eye widened painfully in surprise when his blood dripped onto the door and trailed off into the lock causing a familiar looking sealing array to light up across the surface of the door. A spiral shaped sealing array formed around the lock on the door before a soft click was heard. 'A blood locking seal… and my blood unlocked a door in a dungeon? How?' Naruto was completely baffled by how such a situation could play out like this, but he would store this information away for later. 'The Nine Tails said that I bare the name Uzumaki on my shoulders… and that we are in a sacred place. What does that mean? What am I missing right now?' Naruto thought as just the memory of his very recent conversation with the Nine Tails was enough to make him tear up again, but he forced himself to remain strong. 'These are all clues that I need to figure out… it all means something and I'm simply missing some pieces to the bigger puzzle.'
"Shadow Clone Jutsu." Naruto whispered as two clones spawned in next to him. He already gave the clones mental commands to scout the corridors around his cell to find the best possible exit and his family. Leaving the cell, the two clones stuck to the shadows and disappeared like true ninja's in the darkness. They didn't make a sound as they began scouting. Leaving his cell Naruto clung to the ceiling and the shadows himself as he traveled silently down the corridor. He passed by many cell doors and looked inside each of them but with each door he passed his heart sank further and further since all of them were empty with no signs of any of the girls. 'Where are they… are they being held in a separate cell block?' Naruto questioned as his eyes roamed every nook and cranny of the facility he was in.
Naruto would have theorized further but a cold sweat broke out across his body. One out of the two shadow clones he had sent out ran into the last person he'd ever imagine meeting. It was the Mummy that he's crossed paths with many times over the years. The dark creature discovered his shadow clone and destroyed it in moments. 'They're onto me… the girls are in more danger now!' Naruto panicked as his other clone popped moments later after it discovered an exit to the outside world that it preemptively opened for Naruto in advance. "Body Flicker Jutsu!" Naruto intoned as he disappeared from the ceiling in a thin cloud of smoke. A barely visible blur could be seen flying through the hallways as multiple pairs of footsteps could be heard in the background by Naruto who reached the exit his clone discovered and slipped out of the facility into the outside world.
The fresh air was a commodity that Naruto would never take for granted again. "I need to find them… but… oh my god." Naruto was contemplating where he could find his daughters when he looked up into the sky and saw five massive floating islands orbiting around the land he was on. 'Floating islands in the real world? How is that even possible. I thought they only existed in my mindscape just because of my imagination.' Never before has Naruto been as baffled as he was now considering the situation he's in. These floating islands were quite huge. Nowhere near as big as the actual island they were on which Naruto could estimate to be quite massive in size but the fact anything of the caliber the size these islands appeared to be that were flying in the sky was absurd to Naruto's mind. It was something out of a fairy tale. "Unbelievable." Naruto mumbled silently through his frost covered jaw. Most of his body was covered in frost since he didn't know any proper healing Jutsu.
Naruto was speechless as he looked around the beautiful lush plains and rolling hills surrounding him. He's never seen such a picturesque location before in his life. Turning around to face the direction he came from Naruto saw a small inconspicuous rusted steel door. The steel door behind him was inset into the side of a cliff which helped reinforce the notion Naruto was having earlier that they were in a bunker underground. "I need to go… but the girls…" Naruto was in an internal conflict with himself since he couldn't check on the entire facility, so he couldn't be sure if his family was still inside of the dungeon. On the other hand, if he went back in their he was sure to either be caught or killed. It was late in the evening with the sun setting over the horizon that was passing behind one of the floating islands casting a beautiful and vibrant shadow over the island.
'I'll come back for you girls… I promise.' Naruto thought as he let a tear fall from his eye. He felt a void in his heart about this decision, but it had to be done. He was no good to anyone if he were caught or killed. Walking over to the steel door Naruto placed his hand on a rock near the door that was out of sight and channeled his chakra into the rock. "Fūinjutsu: Resonance Beacon." This was a basic seal he's learned from the Scroll of Seals many months ago. He's never had a reason to use it before, but Naruto figured now was as good a time as any. A tiny barely visible symbol printed itself onto the surface of the rock that was in black ink which made it blend in perfectly with everything around it. 'I'm coming back…' Naruto resolved as he disappeared from the area as fast as he could. He was nowhere near moving as fast as he could which was understandable since his body was in such bad shape.
The blond haired Genin traveled well into the night with the sounds of groups of search parties scouring the forest looking for him. Looking over the horizon Naruto could see two massive mountains on the northernmost end of the island with the mountain on his left-hand side being the taller of the two and a small mountain range separating it from the smaller second one on the right. The entire mountain formation was massive, and it stretched around the back half of the entire island which Naruto was beginning to realize was crescent shaped. The massive floating islands continued to orbit around the centralized island during the entire time Naruto was fast traveling through the forest. The islands were moving in a clockwise formation which Naruto found to be quite interesting as Naruto could see large crystallized cores sticking out the bottom of the islands that gave off a very faint ambient glow that reflected the growing moonlight onto the rest of the island.
'My lungs are burning… I've been running for the last three hours and I've been erasing my tracks the whole way through. But I see lights… it looks like a small little village.' Naruto monologues to himself within the privacy of his own mind as he traveled through yet another stream that he used to wash his scent clean and with a simple application of Yōki he was able to evaporate the water built up on his body so that there would be no obvious trails of wet ground or footsteps to follow. He was putting every ounce of his Shinobi training to use. That just so happened to be the sixth river he passed through which indicated to him that the island was heavily encroached by the open sea and that their must be dozens of inlets and rivers traveling into the mainland of the island.
He could see what looked to be a lakeside old village that was built halfway into the water with many of the homes on the docks themselves. All of the buildings were constructed out of wood panels and other softer materials and about 90% of the entire town was in an advanced state of decay and ruin. It was a sad sight for Naruto to see but one he's familiar with. In the back corner of the lakeside village was a cottage with candle light illuminating the sod and pine straw roof of the building and peering out from the open windows. It was the only building with light in it that Naruto could see and feeling desperate but also being mindful to sense any noticeable negative killing intent from the building Naruto silently made his way up to the building as to where he was now within hearing range allowing him to hear what appeared to be the voices of a bunch of children. 'Kids… and a few of them were girls… did Iris, Chaos, and Eva make it here?' Naruto thought as the tiniest spark of desperate hope ignited within his heart. Earlier he was in nothing more than his boxers and undershirt but after regaining his chakra he opened up one of his storage seals tattooed onto his body and pulled out a simple pair of pajamas he had stashed away for occasions when he's on a mission. It was a white shirt with the red Uzumaki spiral imprinted on the back in a large decal and two smaller spirals on each shoulder sleeve. On the front was the decal of ocean waves towards the bottom of the shirt. This was one of Naruto's most favorite shirts in his wardrobe and to accompany this was a simple pair of black shorts. He didn't have much stocked up in his storage seals, so this was the best he could do. The only other clothing he had was multiple copies of generic shirt and pants combos along with sweaters and jackets. It was all extremely basic in design and function.
Naruto crouched down low and scouted the area around the cottage to see if there were any traps laying around and seeing none reassured Naruto that the area was safe. Moving to the door Naruto had to stop to reapply another layer of frost to his body. The amount of pain he was in was unbearable since he couldn't properly heal his body and the Nine Tails was only healing him at a slow rate. Probably out of spite in Naruto's own opinion.
Peeking into the building via the window Naruto could see several children all in cloaks hiding most of their features. Naruto could tell that at least a few of them were female while the rest were male. In total there where six of them. Reaching for the door Naruto knocked softly… he didn't want to disturb the children inside by accident. The commotion from inside the hut immediately went quite the second Naruto knocked on the door which worried him greatly as this wasn't the response he wanted. After a few moments of silence Naruto knocked again. "Hello, I know you don't know me… but I'm lost and need help." Naruto called out as politely as possible. They were children from the looks of it after all.
The shuffling of feet were heard from inside the hut along with extremely hushed whispers which was to be expected but didn't bode well for Naruto. "Hello. May I speak with you all. I mean you no harm at all." Naruto spoke as he continued to knock softly on the door. Without a response Naruto was left with no choice but to enter the cottage. He couldn't sense any other lifeforms within a square mile of him so the only ones he could talk to where the children before him. He needed their help.
Pushing the door in gently Naruto slipped into the small little home only to notice that the candle lights were blown out casting the entire one-story building into darkness. Only the light from the moon in the sky was providing any sort of illumination and it was because of that very reason that Naruto's experienced and well-trained eyes caught the sight of a tiny glint of fast moving light. 6 years' worth of formal training kicked in for Naruto as he locked the offenders arm into an arm bar that like water Naruto then flowed into arm drag takedown. The blade of a small knife was the culprit that Naruto disarmed from the person who he quickly learned was a girl based on the size and feel of her wrist and the fact she let out a squeak of pain.
This act set everything into motion as the loud commotion drew in the other occupants of the room. "Wait stop! I'm not here to hurt any of you!" Naruto shouted out as he pocketed the knife in seconds before he ducked under a large two by four plank of wood, from what he quickly deduced was a boy. An identical piece of wood came in from his opposite side with the accompanied shout of "Let Asagi go you jerk!" Jumping into the air Naruto pivoted on what he now knew to be Asagi's wrist with a grimace of pain from his jostled ribcage and quickly landed on the floor without letting the girl's wrist go. "Stop all of you." Naruto commanded as a light layer of frost shot off from Naruto's body and froze the assailants attacking him to the floor in one fell swoop.
"Ice?" Confusion was evident in the young children's minds as Naruto looked around the room and notice the other three children huddled up in the corner scared out of their mind. "I'm not here to hurt you all… I need help, I'm lost and hurt. My family was taken from me by these powerful men. I just want them back." Naruto said as he once again grimaced in pain. Slowly collapsing to his knees Naruto took in labored breaths as his ribs pushed up against his lungs. The Nine Tails was taking its sweet time in healing him.
"How can we trust you!?" The girl named Asagi countered as she attempted to move but found that she couldn't. "You can't off of my words alone which is why I ask that you use your heart to sense my intentions. All I want to do is find my family… I'll do anything to see them safe and sound again." Naruto said in absolute sincerity as he painfully prostrated himself before the children in the room. Bending down low until his forehead was touching the ground Naruto left himself defenseless as the frost around the three children who attacked him faded away. He wouldn't gain their help if he acted in any hostile manner to them. They needed to feel like they were in control of the situation in order for them to feel safe, so Naruto would do just that. He would give them control and place his fate in their hands. He didn't care what he had to do. Nothing was going to stop him from finding his family.
He could tell his actions stunned the small little rag tag group of children if the silence was anything to go by. In moments Naruto heard the shuffling of a smaller lighter pair of feet from the corner of the room. This seemed to get the others attention as they voiced their concerns. "Ai, get back. He could be dangerous!" The pair of feet stopped in front of him as a small hand patted him on his shoulder. Looking up with a tiny tremor of painful difficulty Naruto's eyes widened in shock as he came face to face with a small cute girl with indigo blue hair in a messy bun on top of her head tied by a band of beautiful pearls and innocent sea green eyes. She had peachy colored skin in the exact same skin tone as his and for clothes she had on a simple if not a little worn out pink dress with a small ribbon at the back and she was barefooted. Around her neck she wore an equally beautiful necklace of beads and pearls that had a coral conch shell hanging down to her chest in the center. But the thing that caught Naruto's complete and undivided attention the most was the child's ears. They weren't human. Her ears were blue aquatic fin like appendages most commonly found on many fish species which immediately clued Naruto into the fact that this child and possibly all of them weren't human.
"I believe you." Ai said with a heartwarming and innocent smile that infected Naruto and made him feel an inkling of hope for the future. The notion of finding his family got brighter with just this girl's smile. "My name is Ai… what's yours?" The aquatic girl asked as she kneeled down to Naruto's level who painfully and slowly got into the seiza position by sitting on his tucked in legs. It was a style of sitting he rarely used in his entire life, but it was a traditional style he learned from Hinata over the years.
Naruto felt his spirit was being warmed by this young girls' innocence who couldn't have been much younger than his own two daughters. Ai looked to be 4 or 5 years old while Iris and Chaos were soon to be 7. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. It's a pleasure to meet you Ai." Naruto replied back in a soft voice reserved for children. He felt like he was talking to his own daughters. The pleasant atmosphere being created by his introduction to Ai was immediately broken the moment the word Uzumaki came out of his mouth as the other five children had looks of absolute shock on their faces. Even Ai slowly adopted a look of surprise on her face while Naruto was left in an uncomfortable position. 'Was it something I said. Was it my name?' Naruto thought in caution as he didn't want to be attacked by these children. He would never hurt them, but he was more so afraid of the fact he'd collapse before being able to properly subdue them again.
"Did I say something wrong?" Naruto cautiously probed as the oldest looking child among them who Naruto properly identified as Asagi who was the girl that attacked him spoke up. "You said your last name was Uzumaki right?" Asagi questioned as Naruto took a look at her. Asagi was small and skinny for a girl of her apparent age who Naruto would estimate to be either 10 or 11 years old. Even with her very small stature from what Naruto's keen eyes could deduce was from malnourishment and poor living conditions he could tell she was still the tallest and slightly biggest of the group present. She has blue hair that she keeps in a ponytail, as well as pointed ears that Naruto's curiosity took acute note of. She also has beautiful golden eyes that held within them a level of maturity and sadly enough stress that the others in the group lacked. To finish off her appearance she also shared in having pale, peachy skin that matched Naruto's own perfectly. For clothing Asagi was wearing a brownish-gold 'dress' that is tied around the waist with normal rope. Under this, she seems to wear a brown under-dress or something of that sort, which sticks out below the dress an inch or so. She is barefoot, and around her neck she wears a beaded necklace. The necklace has a pattern of three beads followed by a violet triangular rock or pendant, and this pattern is repeated all along the necklace.
"Yes… is that a bad thing?" Naruto questioned as he saw the disbelieve well up in the girl's eyes. "The Uzumaki are all gone… and you don't have their signature red hair." Asagi replied which alarmed Naruto who was slowly leaning back in distress. "The Uzumaki were a clan… and they had red hair?" Naruto inquired as his mind instantly wandered to the image of Karin who he's acquainted with. He didn't know why but his instincts were pointing him to the red headed girl like a beacon. The indescribable air of familiarity and comfort he felt around the girl was something he could never quite put his finger on. He remembered the fact that he could sense her from the moment she showed up in the village. He didn't officially meet her face to face until he saved her in the Forest of Death and he was only in the room with her for the Written Exam.
"Yes dude. They were really famous and powerful. They all pretty much had red hair and powerful chakra." A boy said. He had a fairly unique appearance in the fact he had a twin that looked just like him. The boy had two toned hair with the majority of it situated on top being orange which was a major bonus point in Naruto book while the bottom half was a dark green. The boy had sharp facial features with two small triangular shaped tribal markings on his cheeks that reminded him of Kiba and the Inuzuka Clan. His eyes were a light goldened amber color that was similar to orange which Naruto also thought was pretty cool. He also had pointed non-human ears like the rest of the children. For clothing he was wearing a simple dark blue shirt that was tied around his waist with a simple belt. "The names Dai by the way." The boy introduced with a flamboyant and nonchalant tone with his twin brother introducing himself. "The names Roku." Roku was an exact carbon copy of his twin with the only difference between them being Roku had predominantly green hair like the meaning of his name with a secondary shade of orange which was the exact opposite of his brother. The only other difference was that Roku's blue shirt was of a lighter shade.
"I'm an orphan since birth… I never knew my parents. I also didn't know the Uzumaki were a clan." Naruto revealed as his eyes took on a slight down casted look since he didn't like bringing up his status as an orphan too much. Till this day he still secretly yearns to know of his parents and what they were like. But most importantly he just wishes to know if they loved him. It was all he really wanted to know. 'There's a lot I don't know about my own life. Things that I suspect Shoko's known all along. It would explain all of her weird behavior around me since the day we met.' Naruto theorized in his mind. Shoko's always kept a certain amount of mental and emotional distance from his despite how close they truly are. She knows a lot of things and Naruto has always known this fact. He didn't know what they were, but he did know that they caused the woman a lot of emotional pain. Pain that always swelled to the surface whenever she either looked or thought of him. "I'm sorry to hear that… we're all orphans too. Our parents were killed by the Four War Gods over the years one by one." Asagi explained which shocked and angered Naruto greatly. His blood boiled over at the thought of such barbaric actions orchestrated by a group so small. It was completely despicable.
Naruto nodded his head in sympathy to Asagi's words as he mulled over what to ask next. "I want to hear so much about the Uzumaki Clan. All my life I never took stock in the significance of my last name. But for now, I have to put that on the back burner. Right now, I need to know where we are. I was kidnapped by the Four War Gods just a little while ago before I managed to escape them. They placed a mark on my back many years ago when I was six. They warned me that they would come for me one day." Naruto explained which captured the interest of the kids around him, so they decided to answer him in return. "Well it looks like that one day happens to be today." Roku smartly said with pessimistic sarcasm lacing his words. Despite the stressful and dire situation Naruto was in he couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the boy's sense of humor. It was refreshing, and just the medicine Naruto needed to get him by in his troubled hour.
"You're on Hōrai Island which is also known as the Land of Whirlpools to some in the outside world. It is the ancestral home and birthplace of the Uzumaki Clan who ruled this land as its patriarch and founder." Another of the children spoke. It was the last of the girls in the group and she had an air of depression and mystery around her. She had a rather apathetic and blank facial expression which worried Naruto a bit for her mental state. The words she spoke were spoken in a dead and monotonous tone which lacked any inflection or spark of life. She had olive green colored hair which Naruto though was both pretty and fairly unique that was styled into two ponytails that hung low and sat on each of her shoulders tied with tan orange bands. She also has bangs that stop just above her eyebrows which hid most of her forehead. Her eyes were also the same shade of olive green while her unique trait came in the form of two small premature red horns sticking out behind her bands on each side of her head. The girl had on a green tunic dress that was only a few shades lighter than her actual eyes which in Naruto's mind made him mentally declare her as the 'Green Girl' because of her physical appearance.
"Hōrai Island… and the Land of Whirlpools… I didn't know this place existed. We didn't learn about this in the academy." Naruto mumbled as a pit of unknown anxiety formed in his stomach. This was apart of the worlds history, yet it was not covered in the ninja academy. 'WAIT! This is what the Nine Tails has been alluding too. We are in the sacred ancestral home of the Uzumaki Clan… my clan. This is why it was being so hard on me. Kyōra also mentioned the same thing about this place being home. Did he mean that in reference to me or do the Four War Gods have ties to the Uzumaki Clan? Kyōra also has red hair… but could that just be a coincidence?' Naruto theorized and rationalized in his mind as it came to an epiphany. The Nine Tailed Fox's words rang true within his mind as he finally put the pieces of the puzzle together. Even though so many questions were answered it only brought up a hundred more. The others looked at him with varying degrees of pity as they could see he was going through a trial of crisis. "Thank you for telling me all this… I have so many questions in my life now that I want answered." Naruto said as he looked towards the girl who continued to have the same blank facial expression. "My name is Moegi if you were wondering." Moegi introduced which garnered an involuntary smile to come to Naruto's face. "That's quite the coincidence, I have a surrogate younger sister who also is named Moegi. She even has noticeable pigtails like you." Naruto said with a small cheerful smile in place to brighten up the mood and break the ice with everyone present. His tactic worked since Moegi cracked a very small almost invisible smile at this information.
"Uhm… excuse me…" A skittish voice interrupted which brought Naruto to the last of the children. The child which couldn't have been older than 9 was unique and different from his fellow orphaned siblings. He was dark skinned which Naruto hasn't run into too many of considering those with that skin tone usually reside in the Land of Lightning. The boy had dark skin and violet colored hair that contrasted greatly against his golden brown colored eyes that shinned with innocence as well as shyness and indecisiveness. His special characteristic was that he had a pair of what appeared to be goat horns coming out of his skull in a similar manner to Moegi who had red horns in the same spot. For clothes the boy was wearing an ash grey colored tunic shirt that was tied at the waist by a simple rope. On both shoulders of the tunic are two black stripes side-by-side. Like the other children he was barefooted.
"Ugh… speak up Shion. Don't be so shy." Asagi snapped at the now named Shion which gave Naruto an insight to the dynamics of this little group and on a side note it gave him insight to Shion's personality. When Naruto acknowledged Shion, he spoke with uncertainty but sincerity in his voice. "You said you were separated from your family… and your very hurt. Who are they?" Shion asked. "My family huh…" Naruto whispered as a sad but happy smile came to his face. "You may not believe it but I'm actually a father…" Naruto began which as he expected got the reaction he was expecting.
"You're pulling our leg, right? Do you honestly expect us to believe you're a father? You're our age." Roku challenged with a skeptical look which Naruto chuckled in response too. "I know its hard to believe… but here look at this." Naruto offered as he summoned a family album from one of his personal sealing tattoos on his arm. He always keeps a copy of some of his most precious souvenirs and personal items on him in case something happens to his apartment. Opening it up Naruto turned to a picture that had him alongside Iris and Chaos with Evangeline sticking out of his hair.
"Wow they're cute." Dai commented while Roku whistled. Naruto raised his eye brow with a pointed look towards the boys that caused them to have sheepish expressions on their faces. "They're so pretty." Ai commented with an innocent air about her while Naruto noticed Shion had a tiny innocent yet equally infatuated blush on his face like the other boys. "There's something different about them… I don't know what it is though." Asagi commented while looked into Iris's crystal blue eyes in the picture. 'They're able to tell they're not human. It must be a supernatural thing. The same way Aria reacts to Iris and Chaos are the same way their reacting.' Naruto noted as he decided to confirm Asagi's assumptions. "They aren't human if that's what you're suspecting. The both of them are celestial beings." Naruto confirmed which was a shocker to the kids since they themselves have never really seen higher beings before.
"That's so cool… are you a Fox Yōkai? Your whisker marks are so cute." Ai commented which warmed Naruto's heart as he ruffled her hair in appreciation. "No, I'm human but I have a rather close relationship with a certain fox… other than that I've been bonded to Eva the fairy in the picture for so long that I can produce Yōki on my own." Naruto explained while demonstrating this fact by creating a small bubble of water in the palm of his hand that was made from his Yōki.
"That's crazy… we're all half demons so we can produce both chakra and Yōki too. Although we don't really know how to use it much. Especially our chakra." Asagi commented which was insightful to Naruto as he's never met a half demon before. The only person he could think of that was similar to these children would be Aria but she's not a demon. As a witch she is a human with deep ancestral ties to the supernatural realm that allows her to produce and manipulate supernatural abilities which classifies her as a border being. They tend to be discriminated against by both supernatural creatures and humans because of their ancestry. Naruto knew the same could be said for these Half – Demons.
"Well it looks like we have a lot more in common than I first thought… I just want to find my family. We were fighting in a major battle to defend our village from an invasion. During that time, I was so angry at my girls because they had lied to me about something very important concerning the enemy we were fighting. I was so angry that for a brief moment I gave into my demonic aura and hurt my daughter… I know deep down that Iris will forgive me, but I can never forgive myself for what I've done until I can properly apologize face to face. I didn't get a chance at reconciliation with them before those demons showed up and kidnapped us." Naruto explained as small tears slowly fell down his face in shame. What he did was unforgivable, and he was not going to let this go until he could speak to Iris about it.
"They're somewhere on Hōrai Island. There are a lot of ruins and underground bunkers from the old village. Some of those bunkers have dungeons in them. We've been put in them a few times over the years." Moegi spoke with her monotone voice while pointing out a healed over bruise on her collar bone. Seeing the nasty injuries that the girl had which Naruto quickly realized that all of them had even little Ai made Naruto's blood boil. To beat and torture children was savage and barbaric. Naruto tried to imagine these children going through what he just escaped from and his mind immediately turned away from that notion. It was to horrific for him to picture.
"Because we're half demons they especially showed us no mercy and took pleasure in hurting us. If your children are here they're in danger as well." Moegi warned as Naruto clenched his fist in silent rage. He couldn't fathom his precious children going through what he did. He'd slaughter those demons if that were the case. He already planned too based on the fact they've also hurt these children. The Four War Gods had to die.
"I need to heal up… after that I'm going to go find my family before its to late." Naruto spoke since even though he wanted to go look for them immediately he knew deep down that if he attempted anything in the condition he was in right now it would only end in disaster. He would be doing more harm than good for his children, not to mention himself.
"I can heal you… I fix my cuts all the time." Ai volunteered as she opened her mouth and began to sing. The melody that came from the little girls mouth instantly had Naruto in a trance he couldn't break free from. It was the strangest yet most mesmerizing sound he's ever heard. Naruto blankly noticed Ai summoning a small trail of water imbued with her fledgling Yōki that she washed over his body. Naruto could feel his body beginning to heal as a soothing feeling flooded his beaten and bruised body. It only lasted for a few minutes and when it ended Naruto's hazy mind regained clarity. Ai was sprawled out in his lap resting peacefully with her Yōki reserves depleted. All of his injuries weren't healed in the end but some of them were. The small child's low Yōki reserves were no where near enough to heal someone with reserves the size of Naruto.
"Thank you… that helped me more than you know." Naruto thanked while rubbing Ai's head. He could still feel many of his injuries bothering him greatly, but he wasn't going to voice them and undermine the kind gesture Ai did for him. He would make due with what was given to him. "What was that song just now?" Naruto questioned as he's never felt something so pervasive before. The others had a look of understanding on their faces as Asagi offered to explain. "Ai is a Mermaid and can hypnotize people with a song only her victims can hear. She also has magical abilities that allow her to control water and heal people with them." This explanation was extremely fascinating to Naruto as he looked down at the little child in wonder. There were so many creatures out in the world that he had to learn about. The books and scrolls that he collected from that secret shack many months ago had a vast array of information on creatures from all kinds of mythologies. He never had time to go over everything and Shikamaru himself buried his nose in his entire collection every day since then.
It would look like that would have to change. He wanted to know everything there was to know about the supernatural realm that intertwine so secretly with his own. "May I stay here the night and resume my search in the morning?" Naruto asked as he was going to need a place to sleep. He also needed to speak with the Nine Tails and ask it to help speed up his healing factor. He would need to be at 100 percent before he even attempted to rescue his family. Anything less and he would be outright killed or recaptured. "Yes, you can. But this isn't our usual hideout. We'll take you to the ruins of the old Hidden Whirlpool Village. The ruins have a lot of warding and spells still intact that keeps the Four War Gods from entering or lingering around the area for long. It is one of the only places on the entire island they don't like to stay around." Asagi explained to which Naruto expressed his gratitude in. The small group of children left the cottage by the lake and traveled inland for about half an hour before happening across a vast landscape of ruins that used to be the great Hidden Whirlpool Village. The village itself wasn't that large in size and was most definitely smaller by square mile in comparison to the Hidden Leaf Village but for an island village the place was still quite on the large side.
The group traveled through the ruins for a few minutes before entering what Naruto theorized to be the administration building or some form of royal palace building that mimics the Hokage Administration building in the Leaf. Navigating the maze of decayed and broken hallways the group entered a room that Naruto noticed was heavily lived in which gave proof to the fact this is their usual residence. "This looks like a bedroom for someone." Naruto noted to which he received an answer. "This was the room for the princess of the Hidden Whirlpool Village. We don't know her name, but our parents did. There are other refugees on the island, but our different cells agreed to separate and stay hidden. We aren't hunted often but the Four War Gods sometimes allow their demon servants to hunt us down and bring us to the dungeons for torture sessions. So, to ensure that the entire population isn't caught we all split up and rotate hideouts every few weeks." Asagi answered as she watched Naruto walk over to a dresser and open it. Inside was a beautiful maroon colored hair brush that looked aged but in relatively good condition. On the back was a stylized "K" as the only defining mark.
When Naruto picked it up his whole body froze as the air left his lungs. The others noticed this and with concern rushed over to him. "Naruto you're crying!" Shion exclaimed in shock which drew Naruto's attention to his face. He could feel tears falling freely without restraint down his face in uncontrollable waves. "I don't know why I'm crying… whoever had this brush must have had some beautiful hair." Naruto commented with an unknown source of sadness in his voice as he noticed a left-over strand of beautiful red hair that looked like it hadn't dried up or aged a day.
"Come on let's get to bed. You can bunk with Ai and me if you want. I don't mind you being a boy." Asagi pulled as she brought Naruto over to her sleeping mat. She had already placed the tiny girl down who was fast asleep. She trusted Naruto now after getting to know him. Her demonic instincts were calm and at peace when around him. She couldn't sense an ounce of ill intent from the blond-haired boy. She also didn't mind him being a boy. She's bunked with Dai, Roku, and especially Shion since he's very shy and afraid of most noises in the night. She had no aversion to sharing any physical contact with boys since it's only been her and her small group for as long as she could remember. Such nitpicks, and quirks were eliminated a long time ago after all that they've been through. Sharing physical contact and warmth was therapeutic for the group of orphans and helped them all keep in mind the close bond of love that they all share. It was the only form of hope that they had. It also didn't go without saying that Asagi was a very tomboyish girl at heart, so she wasn't as easily flustered by the opposite sex as a regular girl would be.
"You all have shown me such kindness. I can't thank you enough." Naruto groveled as his earlier tears now fell for the gratitude he felt towards the orphans who he felt so at home and peace with. He's always felt a special form of familiarity and comfort being around orphans and homeless individuals. The culture and world that they live in compared to the rest of the world was one Naruto thrived and felt at home in. He gained his appreciation and understanding on what bonds and true close nit relationships are by growing up in the foster care system and later living on his own as a street orphan. It was one of the reasons why he felt so betrayed and hurt by his family and in particular Iris for lying to him and keeping such an important secret about an enemy from him. His whole concept and understanding on loyalty and bonds came from how he was raised. Iris broke that understanding with him, but he also recognizes that he was completely in the wrong for how he handled it. He had so much he wanted to talk to his children about when he rescued them.
"Don't mention it. You'll need all of your strength if you're to rescue your family. Besides us orphans got to stick together." Dai lazily commented but it was clear to see the care that was shining behind his eyes. He felt strongly about this notion which Naruto respected deeply as he too felt the exact same. This love lit a fire in Naruto's eyes that the others could see. "I'm not just going to rescue my children. I'm going to beat the Four War Gods and free all of you from your suffering. You won't be their slaves anymore. Once I'm finished I'll take you all in and you can be my family. I've adopted two children already so why stop there. I have no problem adopting six more. I'm a legal adult in my village since I'm a shinobi. I can get you all in." Naruto said which left speechless looks on the others faces.
Never before has someone offered them such a chance to start over. It quickly drove them all to tears. Even Asagi who was the toughest of them all. "You'd do that for us? You barely know us." Moegi announced. Naruto shrugged his shoulders in response. "You barely know me and yet you've done more for me than most that I could say who are in your position would do. I promise I'll free you all and give you a life worth living… and I don't care how long it takes or even if I have to die to achieve it. You all are now my precious people and I'll show you my bond. I never go back on my word because that is my nindo, my ninja way. Believe it!" Naruto announced as the group of half demon orphans openly cried with warmth and hope in their hearts for the first time of their entire life. This moment would be something they'd never forget for as long as they lived.
Naruto was happy to see hope and happiness return to the children in front of him, but he didn't expect all of them to pick up their sleeping mats and placed them over Asagi's. Everyone huddled up around Naruto who at some point had Ai nestled into his chest. "We'd love to take you up on your offer of taking us in, just don't expect me to be calling you dad dude." Dai smartly joked with the others joining in on the festivities. "You can call me whatever you like. I've spent more of my life as a father and adult than I ever did as a child. So, the only thing that I know how to do is nurture and raise children and people. It's all I'm really good at that doesn't involve fighting or destruction as a shinobi." Naruto mumbled with a melancholic undertone as his identity as a father and paternal figure in the lives of his children was the most important aspect of his existence. It was the one aspect of himself that he had complete and unwavering pride and happiness in.
"Well goodnight dad." Asagi joked as she tenderly yet teasingly kissed Naruto on the cheek. She was just on the other side of Ai who was squeezed in between her and Naruto with the others all bunched up around them with little space left. Naruto blushed bashfully and humbly at the teasing gesture of his new friend/daughter figure. Asagi only happened to be a year or two younger than him, but as he looked deep passed her eyes into her very soul he could see it. She was just a scared child with a load of stress and responsibility weighing down on her shoulders. She was the leader and caretaker of this ragtag cell of children and she takes all of their problems on her shoulders to complete. She reminded Naruto of himself. A child with too many adult like responsibilities piled on to them before they were ever meant to be ready, but like him Asagi has persevered over the years which has earned her his everlasting respect. Orphans should stick together and now that they were unofficially his children he would go to hell and back for them no matter the cost.
Being a father and parent was his greatest quality and achievement and it brought him the power to achieve everything he's ever done in his lifetime. He wears that badge with pride just like his headband and he would protect these children with everything he had until his dying breath. "Good night everyone. We've got a lot to do in the morning." Naruto said softly as he pulled Ai closer to his chest and subsequently Asagi as well who despite her age like the others was very small due to malnourishment. He planned to work with the Nine Tails so that he could be fully healed by tomorrow. His broken ribs were still present and many of his more serious bruises and lacerations were still a grave issue. The most Ai's healing managed to do was permanently fix his broken jaw and heal the swelling in his busted eye and facial muscles. His face looked brand new while the vast majority of his body was still in shambles. He would need to be 100% for what was to come. "Good night." The others replied in their own various ways of addressing him. The love and acceptance that they were already showing him after such a short amount of time wrapped Naruto in a blanket of warmth that helped lull him off into a quicker sleep than he usually gets.
'I'm going to protect them… all of them and then I'm coming for you girls. I will never give up until you're all safe and sound. Believe it.' Naruto's lingering thoughts rang out with the utmost conviction his burning heart could give off.
The Synapse - The Dimension of the Fallen Angels
Minos was in a fairly bad mood. His mysterious and enigmatic master had contacted him recently to urge him in recapturing Chaos. The Nexus Chaos Crystal that resided within Chaos's core was a very important artifact that his master coveted greatly. The being needed it to not only free himself from his inescapable prison but to also permanently track down to original owner and source of the crystal itself. The crystal was implanted within Chaos's Pandora Reactor when she was built, and it is responsible for giving Chaos her immense power and potential power.
The Harpies recently reported to him about their encounter with Chaos in a remote hidden earth in a frontier dimension hidden away from the rest of the multiverse. The fragment of the Chaos Crystal that they had in their possession led them to that backwater planet. Minos however was very disturbed by the fact that a human boy was able to hold off his two advanced Angeloid's single handedly for a short period of time. The power they reported he had was concerning to the powerful Fallen Angel who was more incensed at the fact an older man managed to block their powerful attacks. But what had the feathers of Minos's black wings ruffled was the fact his Harpies were defeated by a small little girl who was exuding God Tier Aura.
Chaos was under the protection of some very interesting and powerful beings who Minos wasn't expecting to find. Finding out that the energy source the humans were using was Chakra was also something that peaked Minos's interest as he was used to seeing it in some of the Yōkai species he's come across but not in humans. Of course, he knew that there were some dimensions out there that had human races with Chakra related abilities but he himself never took the time to research or visit one. Another big problem he was facing was his own superior and leader Azazel the Governor General of the Grigori and Synapse. The immensely powerful Fallen Angel despite his lax and even irresponsible personality was not a being to be trifled with and not someone Minos wanted to cross. While Azazel didn't interfere much in the day to day functions of the Synapse he still had a powerful presence in the small pocket dimension where he had many research labs set up to conduct his ever-prevalent research on magical blessed artifacts called Sacred Gears that are given to human beings at birth by an immensely powerful deity most commonly known as the God of the Bible.
While Azazel often left Minos to his devices in managing the Angeloid project it didn't mean the leader of the Fallen Angel's didn't do routine checkups on the stray angel who has his own nefarious agenda to attend to. Azazel wanted to know why Minos was devoting so much of their dwindling resources to an unknown mission in locating one of his scrapped Angeloid assets. Azazel was incredibly angry with Minos once he found out he destroyed Chaos years ago. She was their ace and was a very valuable asset in the ongoing great war with the Three Biblical Factions. At this point in time the war was in its early years with the forces of the Devils led by the Four Great Satan's and the Angelic faction led by the God of the Bible all fighting for dominance with death tolls racking up on each side.
Chaos's "death" was a major blow to their war effort. By now due to the fact that time flows differently for them in the Synapse and the dimensions it's connected to the war was heating up with death claiming the forces on all sides of the conflict. Azazel was growing weary of all the death and destruction. His research into the Sacred Gears were not necessarily for military gain as he wanted to protect God's blessed individuals from being caught up in the crossfire of the bloody conflict. Of course, he has managed to create artificial Sacred Gears for use in the war, but anything to do with prolonging the war was always seen as distasteful to the incredibly powerful Fallen Angel. On the other hand, Minos spearheading the Angeloid project is the type of action that is meant to prolong the war by creating powerful killing machines strong enough to contend with the stronger Angels and High-Class Devils. Such an act is warmongering at best and has put Minos under Azazel's piercing microscope for an extended period of time. It only got worse when Minos couldn't properly provide his leader with a suitable explanation for his side endeavors.
As it stood now, Minos needed to retrieve Chaos so that he could extract the Nexus Chaos Crystal from her body and deliver it to his secret master. It never told him its name and he wasn't sure what its plans where, but Minos would never dare question it one he ended up on the receiving end of a sliver of its all-encompassing power. Right then and there he gained a new fear for a being that was infinitely more powerful than the healthy fear he had for his leader in Azazel. The only friend Minos had in the Synapse was his fellow warmongering supporter who was a powerful Fallen Angel named Kokabiel. He was a war loving and nearly psychotic Fallen Angel who prospered in the war and never wanted it to end. He too wasn't someone Azazel trusted to much despite the fact Kokabiel helped create the Grigori as one of its co-founders and higher ups.
Minos was brought out of his inner turmoil by a red magic circle that appeared in his private throne room. The magic circle had a flower like design which notified the powerful Fallen Angel as to who was coming. In moments Lilith appeared with her dark foreboding aura proceeding her. "Hello Minos... I've got great news for you." The little fairy stated to Minos who raised one of his slender blonde eyebrows. "Oh... I've not really been having a great time these days... what good new do you bring?" The sadistic dark angel inquired as he watched the tiny fairy float around his private chambers on her special Yata Mirror. "My minions have captured your wayward Angeloid and the family she's been staying with." Lilith revealed with her cruel smile that grew once she saw the dark angel jump out of his chair in exuberance. "You have! Where are my harpies?" Minos asked as this was good news indeed. He could complete his master's will and get Azazel off his back at the same time.
"Your servants are on their way to my base as we speak and as for the family and Chaos they are currently being transported to my stronghold in the human realm. Once I retrieve the Aqua Stone from Neo's daughter I'll turn over the Angeloid to you as per our agreement." Lilith spoke as Minos started to pace around his room. "No, I need the girl now. Send my Angeloids to retrieve her. I can't afford to wait on your own plans." Minos spoke in a raised voice that caused a dark look to cross Lilith's face. "Don't presume to order me around you little crow. Don't forget who you're talking to." The little fairy growled as Mino's stopped in his tracks. She was right he reminded himself. Lilith was leagues above him and could fight either Azazel or Michael the Archangel and Seraphim of the Angels on a more equal footing. Her rival and former queen of the Fairy Domain, Neo Genesis - Evangeline Dapplefrost was an incredibly powerful demon whose power was boosted to the levels of a God by the Aqua Stone sealed within her that actually transformed her into a Demon God. She was the leader of the Fairy Domain who under her guidance stayed both neutral and out of the great war. Neo focused on humanitarian efforts and supporting those unfortunately caught in the crossfire of the war. Her kind often came in after battles and terraformed the battle-damaged lands with their powers over the seasons and elements to restore the lands to their former beauty. Because of her immense power as an actual God Level being the three Factions respected or rather avoided involving the Fairies in the war as it would unnecessarily add another faction to the war that no one wanted to fight against. The Fairies were important creatures vital to the balance of worlds with magical affinities as they helped bring the seasons to those worlds and helped protect the lands. No one wanted them destroyed as that would have catastrophic consequences for everyone involved. It also went without saying that with Neo's immense power, if she attacked any of the factions in retaliation the damage she could cause singlehandedly could weaken them so significantly that one of the other factions could capitalize on this and destroy them.
Lilith wanted to be Queen and rule the Fairy Domain, but Neo was Queen and had no intentions of giving up her peaceful reign to another fairy who didn't share her peaceful views. It was that fatal decision that lead to her and her family's death and Evangeline being transported to Naruto's dimension to escape Lilith's persecution. Minos took a deep breath as he controlled his outburst in front of his estranged ally and partner. Minos partnered with the dangerous Fairy long ago to secure himself a powerful ally in his back pocket to use in the future. If Lilith got her hands on the Aqua Stone from Neo that was granted to the deceased queen by a powerful Dragon, then it would turn Lilith into a Demon God just like the former Queen. If his mysterious master got his hands on the Nexus Chaos Crystal, then Minos couldn't even fathom what it would turn the mysterious being into. The Fallen Angel was surrounded by powerful forces who all had their own dangerous agendas in mind while he was their lackey stuck in the middle doing their dirty work. It infuriated the arrogant Fallen Angel, but he knew he couldn't do anything about it. He was a powerful angelic being in his own right but even between him and his staunch ally and friend Kokabiel, the psychotic Fallen Angel was the stronger of the two despite the fact both had five pairs of angelic wings. To put the nail in the coffin Minos while powerful was far from a match for the leaders of the Grigori who were Azazel their leader and the top commanders in Shemhazai and Baraqiel.
"I'm sorry. Just hurry with the retrieval of Chaos. I need the little brat back so that I can do some extracting of my own." Minos spat out as he forced out a horrible apology. Lilith never expected a decent one from the arrogant Fallen Angel so she simple smirked a devious smile while rolling her eyes at the blond-haired man. "It makes no difference to me what your urgency is. If you want, you can come down to the human realm and take the little girl yourself. I'm just simply here to inform you of something your pathetic lackies should have been able to do themselves." Lilith said as she summoned her magic circle to teleport herself away. Ignoring the jab at his Harpies Minos nodded. "Fine... I'll come join you and retrieve Chaos myself. I'll be there soon. I just have some last-minute things to do." Minos agreed as he saw Lilith shrug her tiny shoulders from her resting place on top of the floating gold mirror. "Suit yourself little bird." The powerful demoness spoke as she disappeared into her teleportation circle.
Left alone to his solitude Minos gritted his teeth in frustration at dealing with the powerful fairy. Cracking the corner of his desk in a fit of rage Minos exhaled a calming breath. "I hate that vile creature." Minos spat as he gathered himself together and tended to last minute chores. He had to keep up appearances with Azazel so that his leader would stay off his back.
'Just wait you little brat. Your master is coming to punish you real soon.' Minos thought to himself with a sadistic laugh to raise his self-esteem. He had many sick thoughts on how he was going to torture Chaos after extracting the crystal from her body. She would survive barely and become a pitiful shell of her former self. Just barely alive to live the rest of her life as his plaything. Just thinking of that potential future raised Minos's mood significantly as he anticipated traveling to the human realm.
Land of Fire – Eastern Region: Town of Bristol Cove
This was a relatively remote area of the Land of Fire with a large fishing town named Bristol Cove being the only stop for miles around. It along with South Fork Town which has seen its own fair share of problems in the past are two of the largest import cities for the Land of Fire who trades and conducts maritime business with other nations through the use of sea trading. A mile outside of the important town which in the distant future would become much more important and see its own action two interesting individuals could be seen in a makeshift camp deep within the beautiful forest the country is known for. "Itachi… nature's calling. I'll be back." Kisame spoke as the giant swordsmen left the campsite for the privacy of the forest around them. The traitorous Uchiha was left to his silence until a small plume of white smoke caught his attention. Turning to the disturbance Itachi saw a small green messenger toad appear on the long next to him.
"A message from Master Jiraiya…?" Itachi mumbled as the toad unfurled its tongue and presented a small scroll for the Uchiha to read. Taking the scroll Itachi unrolled it and quickly read its contents with the normally stoic and expressionless young man's face contorting into a visage of anger. His Sharingan came to life and began to spin as he finished the message. Writing a quick reply Itachi handed the scroll back to the toad who nodded and disappeared the same way he appeared.
A minute later Kisame returned with an exaggerated expression of relief on his face. "That felt good. Ready to hit the sack?" The shark themed man asked his favorite partner who abruptly stood up without warning. "Kisame I have a personal errand to run. I'll return in a few days." Itachi informed in his monotone voice which startled his partner. "Hey, you can't just up and leave me on such short notice. What's so important?" Kisame questioned to which his only response was Itachi walking away into the night. "Jerk… he could have at least answered me." Kisame grumbled as he eyed Itachi's retreating form. Right before he fazed out of existence by turning into a flock of crows Kisame caught a glimpse of a dull red glow from Itachi's back that was in the form of four red lines. "What in the world is that?" The legendary ninja mumbled in curiosity.
"I guess I don't have to tell leader about this… it looked like he was going to fight someone. The least he could have done was take me along." Kisame complained as he put the fire out in the camp and went into a light sleep that Shinobi of his caliber learn to do. 'Be safe partner… not that you'd need to of course. Hehehehe.' Kisame joked as he went to sleep. Even a shinobi of his caliber didn't notice a small plant like creature with a two-tone face on the other side of the clearing watching him.
"Lord Pain would find this interesting…" It spoke with a cheerful and lighthearted tone while a different voice from the same being that was far darker in tone complimented that statement. "Obito would like to know about this as well."
To be continued...
[Fire on the Mystic Island Arc]
Jutsu Library
1.) Shadow Clone Jutsu - A Jutsu invented by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. The technique was created to be used to spy on an enemy without fear of going in person. The Jutsu works by splitting the chakra of the user evenly in two which makes the clone have half of the user's chakra. By creating multiple clones, the fraction in which you have to split your chakra becomes larger. The clones can think independently of one another and can use any technique that the original can use as long as they have enough chakra to use it. A clone can feel pain and can even bleed but it will be dispelled if it is hit hard enough. The unique ability of the Jutsu is that during the clones' entire life span it is recording everything that its five senses experiences and upon dispelling all of that information is transferred back to the caster of the Jutsu. Because of this training or learning something new that would take an extended amount of time can be cut down to a fraction of the time depending on the number of clones you use. Because you have multiple people learning the same thing at the same time and having all of that knowledge compiled into one person it can speed up the time it takes to learn something.
2.) Body Flicker Jutsu - A high speed ninja technique that allows the user to travel at high speeds in microburst. Usually the technique is accompanied by a special effect that masks the movement of the user.
3.) Fūinjutsu: Resonance Beacon - A special technique that allows the user to place down a seal that acts as a beacon that the user can always sense and locate no matter the distance. The seal gives off a very distinct but undetectable chakra frequency that transmits itself over the distance of its location to its user. The seal itself is extremely small and virtually unnoticeable especially on certain surfaces were its black ink can blend in perfectly with its background. Unknown to many but this is one of many seals that make of the vast sealing array formula that creates the Legendary Flying Thunder God Jutsu.
Author's Note (A/N): So how was that everyone? The start was on the darker side in comparison to my usual tone. Naruto's torture scene while not exactly long was explained away and graphic enough that I wanted to give forewarning. For others it might not phase them and personally for me it doesn't concern me one bit but since it's a shift from my usual tone I thought it warranted me mentioning it.
The chapter starts off with Naruto having a conversation with the Nine Tails where he finds out that Iris and Chaos both are unresponsive to him and that he will need to get his answers in the real world. Kurama also hints at have knowledge on where they are. Naruto wakes up in the real world only to find out he is locked up in a dungeon. His neck is shackled to the ceiling with an electrified chain that he soon suffers from. Kyōra enters the cell and intimidates Naruto who loses his composure. He is savagely beaten and electrified for over an hour straight which sends him into unconsciousness. He has another conversation with Kurama which last longer and ends up being more profound as he talks sense into Naruto who is beyond broken and frustrated with his circumstances. The scene ends with Kurama reminiscing about Kushina. What can all of that mean?
Naruto with newfound confidence breaks out of his prison cell but alerts the demons to his escape after his shadow clone runs into the Mummy of all characters. Naruto escapes the dungeon to the outside world where he discovers actual floating islands. What's the deal with those? After promising to come back for his family he flees into the night while erasing his tracks. He eventually meets a group of orphans who turn out to be half demons who after a misunderstanding reveal to him the fact that they are on the ancestral island and homeland of the Uzumaki clan. This of course raises many questions for Naruto who learns quite a bit about the group of children and the Uzumaki. The group of children get the chance to learn about Naruto with him gaining the same opportunity. It ends with Naruto promising to free them from the grip of the Four War Gods and taking them in to adopt them.
After a very long time we see what our evil Fallen Angel is up to. Minos is stressing himself out over not finding Chaos, but good news from Lilith was just the pick-me-up that the sadistic dark angel needed to get back on his feet. His mysterious master wants the purple crystal inside of Chaos that we've seen light up a few times. Why does his master want it and what he is trying to escape from? So much lore is added with that segment as we explore some world building that if you're familiar with High School Dxd you should be more than familiar with as this story is a crossover with that world even if it isn't always noticeable. With Minos now on his way to take Chaos away what will the unsuspecting Naruto do in order to save his precious daughter whose in even more danger than what Naruto could even begin to fathom.
Itachi and Kisame get a cameo as well where he receives a message from Jiraiya that has him off on his own personal mission with Zetsu being the only witness.
What do you guys think of this chapter and everything it had to offer? Let me know in the reviews.
Next Chapter: Chapter 67 (Hōrai Island: Part 2) – We Greive, and We Grow
That's the end of Chapter 66 I sincerely hoped you enjoyed it.
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Published: 6/15/2018
