Author's Note: Here is the next chapter of Naruto of the Noh Masks. Thank you again for all your reviews and feedback. This chapter starts to reveal some of how the masks work, and hint at some of the effects they have on the wearer. I hope you all continue to enjoy the story!
Reminder: I do not own Naruto or the related IP. Original characters and story elements are mine.
A breeze blew briskly across Training Ground 7, shaking the sleepy grass with cool vigor as it raced the coming dawn. It swept the dew from leaf and blade with impunity, confident in its sovereignty over the vegetation at such an early hour. It soon reached a patch of grass that had already been stripped of dew, and showed signs of hard wear. This area of training ground had been put to use by a young, orange clad ninja, surprising the energetic wind, which normally shared these early hours with a pair dressed in green. The breeze could not be perturbed for long, and soon went in search of new adventures, leaving Naruto to shiver slightly in the cool morning air.
Naruto had been too excited to begin learning the Uzumaki jutsu they'd found in the shrine the day before to wait for team training. At the first lightening of the sky he rushed out of his apartment, barely pausing long enough to lock his door. He practically flew to the training ground, a pack holding a few items from the shrine that Kakashi had suggested he bring.
When he'd arrived in the pre-dawn light, he gently placed the pack on top of one of the training stumps to protect it from the dew-drenched grass, and drew out the scroll containing the Uzumaki taijutsu style. After spreading it out on a nearby rock for reference, he began with a brief warm-up to loosen his limbs in preparation, then moved on to attempting to copy the forms illustrated in the scroll.
His progress had been slow and frustrating. The damp grass sabotaged his footing and made the wrestle with the forms more taxing. Fortunately, he'd never adhered to the style taught in the academy, preferring an ad hoc, brawler method of fighting, so he didn't have to replace much existing muscle memory. Unfortunately, since he'd never learned a dedicated taijutsu style before, he was unsure how the forms were supposed to link together.
After over an hour of struggling, and feeling next to no progress, he'd flopped down to the wet grass, aching limbs protesting loudly. This was the position the wind had found him in, and where he now lay. Building an entirely new style from essentially nothing, with only a scroll as his guide, was more frustrating than he'd anticipated. He would need a teacher to show him how to move his body to match the descriptions in the scroll if he ever hoped to master his clan's fighting style. With any luck, his sensei's friend would be able to fill that role.
After a few more moments, Naruto pulled himself to his feet and retrieved the scroll from the rock, rolling it up as he returned it to his pack on the nearby training stump. Naruto fished out the remaining items he'd brought: three of Kichijōten's masks that he had picked out before leaving the shrine with Hinata. The first was fashioned to resemble a hawk, sharp features accentuated by fierce lines. The second mask was in the likeness of a bear that seemed to change from friendly to ferocious depending on how one looked at it. The last was the strange lizard he had seen Sakura enter into the catalog. It was nearly expressionless, but had three long horns protruding form the face, one above each eye, and one on the nose, with a wide, gaping mouth. It was this last one that Naruto decided to try on first.
He turned the mask over, looking for a strap or some other way to secure it to his face, but found nothing. Confused, he tried holding it on, but did not notice any change, other than a restriction of his vision. He lowered the mask once more and gave it a closer inspection, turning it over in his hands as he tried to figure out how it worked. After a few moments, he set the lizard mask aside, and reached for the hawk. The same procedure yielded similarly disappointing results.
"Ah c'mon!" Naruto groaned in frustration. "How are these things supposed to work?"
He plopped back down to the grass, leaning against the stump. He held the lizard mask up to the sky, watching the early morning rays play along the surface, the light and shadow animating the face so that it appeared to be alternately grinning and frowning down at him. It seemed he'd have to wait for Kakashi to help him figure these things out after all.
Thinking of his one-eyed sensei reminded Naruto that the jonin had mentioned the journal might hold some clues about how Kichijōten used her masks. He reached back to his equipment pouch to retrieve the book that had begun this whole journey. Thumbing through the pages, he came again to the image that had first caught his eye, that of Kichijōten expelling a great ball of flame at her enemies. Turning back a page, Naruto began to scan the words.
...finding the camp had been the easy part. Yoshiro had been able to sense the gathered chakra signatures from quite a distance away. His mastery of the Mind's Eye of the Kagura never ceases to amaze me. I know he hopes his little Mariko can follow in his footsteps, but the girl seems to have scant interest in the life of a shinobi.
In any case, once Yoshiro had led us to the camp, Aina and I discussed how best to engage the target. Ideally, we wanted to avoid most of the underlings and lure Kagemura to us, but we all knew he was far too paranoid to stray far from the perceived safety of his little army. We thought to wait until a hour or two before dawn, when the sentries would be at their least attentive, and use Aina's Earth Release to infiltrate the perimeter, but Yoshiro informed us about several other signatures clustered together near the center of the camp. These signatures belonged to a group of young captives, which I confirmed with Washi-kun. Aimi's face darkened at the report. She knew well Kagemura's reputation.
It seemed like I would get to try my new mask out earlier than I'd thought. I was nervous about trying it so soon after finishing the seals. I hadn't even had a chance to test it yet, and it was the first time I had made a mask based on a being as potent as Kuzunoha. Still, I knew I would need all of her power I could get, and likely several of my lesser masks as well...
Naruto paused in his reading. Kichijōten mentioned she'd had to finish the seals before she could use the mask. He had no idea what she had done, but if it involved fuinjutsu, then maybe it worked like the seals he and Hinata had found in the shrine.
Naruto picked up the lizard mask once more, looking closely to locate any hint of a seal. However, even with the strengthening sunlight, he could find no trace. The lacquered paint was smooth and hard across the surface, and the inside was similarly unblemished. Something tickled at the back of his mind, but he couldn't quite grasp it. The feeling difficult to describe; it was like gossamer moonlight on his skin, leaving the echo of the sun's warmth impressed on his mind, without any perceptible heat of its own. Though he could see no indication, the longer he looked, the more certain he became that the mask indeed housed a sleeping power, just beneath the surface.
Hesitantly, he moved the mask back into place, holding it against his skin. The smooth interior was cool, though it warmed quickly from his own body temperature. Naruto slowly gathered the smallest spark of chakra he could into his palm, before pushing it timidly into the mask.
Naruto knew immediately that it had worked. His vision was the first thing he noticed. It was disorienting enough that his brain refused to process what had happened. The world spun as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. Even sitting, he lurched forward, closing his eyes against the unfamiliar assault. The grass beneath him and now clutched tightly in his fists provided something he could anchor himself to as he struggled with the new sensation.
With his eyes closed, he could begin to sort out the other feelings activating the mask had brought. The mask itself adhered to his face like a second skin. The fit was comfortable and natural enough that he could hardly notice it was there. He was almost certain that, were he to move the muscles of his face, the mask would reflect even the smallest twitch.
He eventually sorted out that some of what he was experiencing was an extreme enhancement of his sense of touch. The grass was cool and wet beneath his fingers. He could feel the tiny edges on each blade, the slight temperature change from his touch. He could tell when the breeze picked up before it reached his face because he could feel the grass begin to move to the subtlest disturbance in the air. He knew without looking there was a ladybug crawling through the grass to the left of his hand, each footfall landing like a galloping horse.
Slowly, tentatively, Naruto tried reopening his eyes. He stopped at the barest slit, as the sensation threatened to overwhelm him again. After a moment, he realized he could see all around him all at once. He could see the training stump behind his back as well as the ground in front of him, though he noticed the expanded view was greater horizontally than vertically.
Is this how Hinata sees things? No wonder she looks about ready to faint all the time!
Naruto had to admit, though, as he got more used to it, being able to see nearly all around him at once would be a terrific boon to a ninja. It would definitely take some patience and practice becoming accustomed to it, though. He couldn't afford to spend several minutes reorienting himself to his new world view if he wanted to use the mask in a fight.
Naruto slowly got to his feet, finally managing to open his eyes fully, though it cost him a couple stumbles before he succeeded in righting himself and remember which way was front. He studied the area around him, an odd experience when his head didn't move, and tried to understand his expanded field of view. The slightest movement seemed to catch his eye, and his enhanced sense of touch combined to give him a nearly complete image of everything within the training ground.
After a few minutes of practicing with his new senses, he felt a slow, rhythmic thumping from the ground beneath him. He almost instantly recognized it as footsteps, through he didn't understand how he knew this. As he waited for the owner to appear, he unknowingly settled into absolute stillness.
In a few moments, Sasuke walked onto the field, revealed to be the source of the footsteps. Naruto almost shouted an insult to the Uchiha, but his normal competitiveness seemed to be swallowed up by calm patience, and he was content to let his teammate make the first greeting.
Sasuke made no such address, which didn't surprise Naruto, but nor did he seem to notice the bright-orange clad ninja, which did surprise him. Sasuke scanned the field as he approached the training stumps, obviously seeing Naruto's pack and the evidence of his early arrival, but his eyes seemed to sweep right over the blond. A puzzled look crossed Sasuke's face, mirrored by one of Naruto's own.
Before either genin had time to think too much on this, they were joined by their pink-haired teammate. Sakura stepped into the training ground, still rubbing sleep from her eyes. As soon as she saw Sasuke, she brightened considerably and let out a friendly call.
"Sasuke-kun! Good morning! It looks like we're the first ones here, again."
Sasuke gave his usual taciturn grunt in reply, though it seemed more out of habit due to his distraction, "Naruto's been here already."
At the kunoichi's look of confusion, Sasuke merely pointed at the pack on top of one of the training posts. The two approached the stump, passing within a few feet of where Naruto stood.
"Maybe he went back to the village for breakfast?"
Sasuke again only grunted in reply. Something seemed off, but he couldn't place his finger on what. His instincts warned him to stay on guard, however, especially after what had happened the day of the team assignments. He refused to let Naruto get the drop on him again.
Sakura could feel her teammates tension, and nervously scanned the field for signs of trouble. Surely nothing serious could have happened to Naruto, right? They were still within the village boundaries, so it was safe. Unless enemy ninja had infiltrated the village. But why would they attack Naruto? Maybe he had seen them while he was training, so they had no choice but to...silence him. She was slowly working herself into a panic. Sure, Naruto was annoying, and she wished he would leave her alone, but she didn't want anything...bad to happen to him. He was still her teammate, after all.
Naruto stood, shaking with repressed laughter. Somehow, he remained undetected by his teammates, though he was close enough to touch them. His prankster mind was alight with the possibilities this discovery enabled. Finally, he could take it no longer, and collapsed to the grass, rolling with laughter. His mirth doubled when his teammates jumped at the sudden sound, their souls briefly leaving their bodies. The fear was short-lived, replaced by irritated annoyance on the part of the Uchiha, and shame-fueled rage on the part of the Haruno.
"Na-ru-to!" Sakura's fists clenched tighter as she approached the wheezing Uzumaki, murder in her eyes.
Sensing his impending demise, Naruto tried to reign in his laughter, with little success, "N-now S-sakura, hehe, I didn't do any-anything! You both walked right passed me!"
Through tear-blurred vision, Naruto saw Sakura pause. With a final gasp for his starving lungs, he pushed himself to his feet, ribs aching. He moved the mask to the right side of his head where it remained as if held on by a strap. His vision returned to normal as he wiped the tears from his eyes. The motion drew his teammates' attention to his new accessory.
"Isn't that one of those masks from the shrine?" Sakura questioned, her curiosity overcoming her anger.
"Yeah, pretty cool, huh? It lets me see all around, even behind me, and it let me know when you guys were coming."
Sasuke had a calculating look in his eye, "Is that how you were able to hide from us?"
Naruto shrugged, "I think so? I'm not actually sure how that happened. I was just standing here and you two waled right passed me."
"Show me."
Naruto preened under the attention he was receiving, and wanted to push it as far as he could.
"So, jerk," he gloated, "finally ready to admit how awesome I am?"
The Uchiha heir glared, but it was Sakura who responded to the blond's taunt.
"Naruto, stop being rude to Sasuke-kun!
Naruto was hurt that Sakura once again took their dark-haired teammate's side, but hid the pain behind his normal mask of bravado. Before he could respond, however, the voice of their sensei broke in.
"I'd like to see the technique, too, Naruto," Kakashi placed a hand on the blond's head, "if you don't mind."
"Kakashi-sensei!" the orange-clad ninja spun, pointing an accusatory finger. "You're late!"
The jonin waved his hand in front of his face, "Mah, only a little. I wanted to tell you what my friend said about your taijutsu training."
The promise of help learning his family's taijutsu immediately erased all of Kakashi's transgressions in Naruto's book, and he stared at his teacher with wide eyes.
"What did he say, what did he say?"
"Calm down, Naruto," Kakashi held up his hands again to settle the vibrating blond. "He said he would be happy to help if you let him see the scroll you found-"
"YATTA!" Naruto's joyful jump was cut short by his sensei's next words.
"But I will only allow you to meet with him under three conditions," he held up his fingers to illustrate. "First," one digit went down, "you will mee with him at Training Ground 9 at 0400 every day you are in the village until he deems you proficient enough to train on your own, no complaints."
Naruto's excitement waned at the early hour, but he quickly nodded, bolstering his determination.
"Two," another finger retreated, "you will abide by any demands he may place on you, with the exception of altering your appearance in any way."
Naruto was puzzled at the strange caveat, and the first niggling of worry wormed its way into his expression.
"And Three," Kakashi's eye and tone turned deadly serious, "if you ever utter the word 'youth' while undergoing this training, I will personally throw you off the Hokage Mountain."
Naruto almost laughed at the final condition, but the impulse was murdered by his sensei's look and flash of killing intent. With wide eyes and pale face, he nodded, dumbly.
The dark feeling dissipated instantly, as Kakashi smiled down at him and ruffled his hair, "Good," he responded in his normal lazy, but light-hearted, tone. "Now, let's see that technique you used to hide from your teammates."
A quick salute and Naruto pulled the mask back down over his face, returning his senses to their augmented state, "This lets me see all the way around, even behind me!"
"Interesting," Kakashi mused. "Sasuke, Sakura, please go stand over there," he indicated a place behind Naruto, then looked back to the blond, "without turning around, tell me what hand sign they are each making."
Naruto did as instructed, successfully identifying the hand signs his teammates made, even when his sensei told them to begin cycling through them. After a couple of minutes of moving them around the training field to gauge the range and extent of Naruto's vision, Kakashi brought them back together near the stumps.
"Alright, time to see your hiding technique, Naruto."
The genin chuckled nervously, still unsure how he had done that in the first place. He tried channeling his chakra again, like Hinata had taught him, but he couldn't tell if it had worked. The expectant looks from the rest of his team showed him it had not. Thinking back to before Sasuke had arrived, Naruto attempted to pinpoint what had triggered the technique. He remembered an enveloping feeling of calm and patience, so he tried to slow his breathing. He imagined he was being chased by the academy instructors as on the day he painted the Hokage Monument, and focused on when he had hidden behind his camouflage cloth. He stilled himself, even tried to make his breathing shallow and smooth so as not to betray his location. He could reach that state of stillness for only a moment, which had been enough to allow his pursuers to pass him by, but a shocked gasp from Sakura caught his attention, and broke his tenuous focus.
To his teammates, Naruto had briefly faded from view, blending into the background so perfectly as to render himself practically invisible. Sakura's sudden intake of breath had caused Naruto to snap back into visibility. The kunoichi looked to her fellow genin and her sensei to confirm that they had seen it as well, and saw Kakashi adjusting his forehead protector over the hidden half of his face. The twinkle in his eye confirmed that he had seen Naruto vanish too.
Naruto moved the mask back to the side of his head, "Did it work?"
Kakashi nodded, "But it was only for a moment. It seems like you need to work on your concentration." He turned to his other two students, "any guesses on how it works?"
All three genin stood, thoughtful, for a few moments, before Sakura finally spoke up.
"I didn't see any hand signs," she began, "so it has to be a technique stored in the mask itself."
"Since it was made by the Uzumaki, and you said they were known for their sealing techniques, it is probably from a seal somewhere on the mask," Sasuke added. He, too, was getting caught up in the mystery of the jutsu.
Naruto nodded, "Kichijōten said something about seals in her journal, but I didn't see any on the masks."
Kakashi tapped his chin with one long finger, "It's possible the seals are hidden on the front of the mask. They could have been carved or burned into the wood, then inked, and covered with the lacquer to protect and conceal them, though I have no idea how that could have been accomplished without the seals becoming distorted, or what seals were used." He was grateful to Kushina for sharing what little she knew of Kichijōten's methods, but he couldn't explain much to his genin at this time. Besides, it was good for them to think he was coming up with this all on his own.
Naruto's mind began to spin with the possibilities as he absently touched his pouch where the journal lay. He was pulled from his musings when he realizes his sensei was still speaking.
"I think it's about time you get some practice using that mask in a combat simulation. Sasuke, Sakura, I want you two to spar with Naruto while he wears the mask. Come at him both at once, from as many different angles as you can. Naruto, I want you to practice keeping track of multiple targets in your expanded vision and try to get that fading technique working more reliably. If you can avoid capture by your teammates for a reasonable amount of time, we'll head over to the shrine to continue our mission."
Naruto felt a cold chill crawl up his spine, as if someone had walked over his grave. He turned slowly to see his teammates, each with a ghoulish smile on their faces. Sakura cracked her knuckles menacingly. The promise of pain for his earlier prank hung unspoken in the air. Sweat began to pour from Naruto's brow.
"Oh, and Naruto," Kakashi drove one final nail in the Last Uzumaki's coffin, "no shadow clones."
The terrified screams quickly fading into the distance were drowned out by the shouts of rage following. Kakashi chuckled to himself, pulling out his favorite orange book. Kushina, you would be proud of how Naruto is taking to the Uzumaki Legacy. He gazed up at the Hokage Mountain in the distance, thinking of one face particularly. He may even surpass you one day, sensei.
