Explanation of the ages
As the victorious warriors left the bridge, something crawled out of one of the far banks. Scorched and exhausted, but alive, a ghoul hauled itself out of the water like a primeval fish's first attempt on land. Rolling over and letting fresh air enter its lungs, and expelling great amounts of water, it disappeared into the thick shadows of the forest.
Later at Tazuna's house
Tsunami was hard at work getting refreshments for the bellegared fighters, who some, mostly the genin, staggered in like they nearly died. As the fighters and Tazuna sat down at the table, she poured each of them tea, and put refreshments in the center. Most of them, Naruto needed to be reminded, bowed in thanks for her hard work.
"This is some good tea, Tazuna. It's good to see society still puts a high value on good tea." Oda mused, giving the architect a bow of respect.
"Thank you. It wasn't easy to get though. Not since Gato came into town." Tazuna said, spitting venom at the name of his nemesis.
"I do wish we only had to deal with a scoundrel." Oda sighed.
"Unfortunately, that isn't the case. And my cute little genin here will have to get used to the unexpected happening on missions, since missions rarely go as expected." Kakashi replied, a bit of sarcasm dipping in at the "cute little genin" part.
"Who are you calling cute!?" Naruto yelled, offended.
"Clearly not you." Inari snarkely replied.
"Watch it kid, or I'll punt you to the moon!" Naruto roared.
"Naruto, enough! He's just a kid who doesn't know any better!" Sakura chided her teammate.
"As much as I want to agree with both the loser and the brat, Kakashi's right. As ninja, we'll need to get used to missions going wrong like this. After all, this is the life we chose." Sasuke replied logically.
"Bit of a fatalistic view of the world I must say, but we all have paths before us, and we have to choose." Oda answered, looking at the boy and observing him.
"I feel we are getting off topic, Oda-san. You did say you were willing to answer Kakashi-san's questions?" Tazuna asked.
"Yes. Don't pull your punches with me. I am ready and willing to give you an honest answer. I doubt I could get an untruthful one past a man of your expertise and experience anyway." Oda answered, looking at the single eyed Jōnin the entire time.
Kakashi raised his one visible eyebrow. "Alright then, I'll start with something simple. Exactly who and what are you?" The cycloptic scarecrow asked.
"My name is Oda Shang, King of the Kingdom of Seaheart. And, despite what I may appear, I am human. Of an exceedingly ancient breed, but human nonetheless." Oda answered simply.
"You have got to be kidding me! You pulled that massive bat monster forcibly up like it was nothing!" Naruto yelled, slamming his hands on the table.
"It might have looked easy, but I hope I don't have to deal with too many more of those. Doing that is killer on the lower back." Oda explained.
"What is this 'Seaheart' place, Oda-san?" The scarecrow Jōnin asked.
"In your current geography and naming, I believe it's called The Mountain of Death." Oda answered, waiting for the reactions.
"The Mountain of Death!?" Sakura called out in shock.
"Apparently, our traps and defenses work shockingly well long after we were put in stasis." Oda said, a hint of surprise in his voice.
"What kind of defenses are we talking about?" Tazuna asked.
"Magic rune traps, physical traps, portals to summon monsters across the realms, simple things like that. I assume you all have similar kinds of passive defenses these days." Oda answered.
"Not to that extent." Sasuke admitted.
"Next question. What was that strange power you used?" Kakashi questioned.
"By strange power I assume you mean my magic abilities? Strange power isn't very specific." Oda asked in kind.
"Magic? Hm. There's no such thing." Sasuke replied dismissively.
Oda gave a smirk before swirling his left hand around. As he did that, a strange bluish wind began to form in the room, causing a sudden shock from everyone there. Then with some simple movements of the fingers, the "wind" was formed into a blue chain coming out of his wrist. Then as if with but a single thought, the chain shot across the table and wrapped Sasuke up.
"Explain to me how I did that then?" Oda asked.
"That… that wasn't chakra. What even was that…?" Sakura said, completely shocked by the display.
"That is magic. It is the energy from both realms and beings beyond this realm that flow passively into our world. We can't produce magic, like your chakra. It merely can be, I guess you would say, borrowed for various purposes." Oda explained.
"Before you continue your explanation, can you please release my genin from your… restraints?" The one-eyed shinobi requested.
"Of course." Oda answered, and the chains seemed to melt away into nothing.
"Can you teach me how to do that!?" Naruto asked.
"Do you have two decades for me to train you?" Oda asked back.
"There is no way it'll take that long!" Naruto shot back at him.
"As someone who took two decades out of my one hundred year life to learn that, I can attest to it." Oda answered, sighing at how fiery the young genin was.
"One hundred years?!" The other occupants of the room asked in disbelief.
"I know, it's embarrassing. Becoming king at the youthful age of one hundred. I truly wonder just what my ancestors are thinking of me right now." Oda said with a sigh, though not for reasons the others in the room can't get.
"One hundred years old!? How are you not a wrinkled old fossil like Old Man Third!? Or dead!?" Naruto yelled, before a slap from Sakura hit him in the back of the head.
"Naruto, show some respect for your elders!" Sakura snapped out at her knuckleheaded teammate.
"Elder!? He looks as old as Kakashi sensei!" Naruto yelled, earning him another slap upside the back of his head from Sakura.
"Naruto…!" Sakura growled out warningly, giving her blonde teammate one last chance to stop being rude.
"Just quit while you're behind, loser. We can't have you losing what little brain cells you have." Sasuke replied with a small, playful smirk.
"I feel like I'm missing something here." Oda asked, confused.
"Don't worry about it. This is just the way those three show they care about each other." Kakashi replied, waving off Oda's confusion.
"No not that, my age." Oda corrected.
"I don't know what time period you come from, but a hundred years old is not young here in these nations." Kakashi replied.
"The best math I can do at this point is at least a thousand years before this current time. Probably pushing close to two thousand at my best guess. Never was the best at ages though. Nearly flunked that class." Oda said.
"How are you not a pile of bones and dust then?" Naruto asked.
Sakura raised her hand at this, but Kakashi grabbed it and lowered it. "No, no. That's actually a good point." Kakashi told his kunoichi student.
"Oh thank the gods." Naruto sighed in relief at avoiding brain damage from his pink crush.
"You three have an odd way of showing affection, you know that." Oda muttered.
"Showing affection?" Sasuke asked in a deadpan.
"Making a LOT of assumptions right now…" Naruto replied, grumbling.
"Regardless of your questionable social skills, I can easily answer the boy's question. Least I could do for his help with the terrorgheist." Oda answered.
"At least someone gives me some credit around here." Naruto grumbled as Sakura placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"A Terrorgheist? Is that what that thing was…?" Sakura asked in confusion.
"Indeed. Nasty pieces of work, those are. The raised corpses of a likely now ancient bat species the size of dragons. In life, their great cries will paralyze a man and warhorse cold with fright. In death, they turn into eldritch blasts of soul tearing power." Oda explained mournfully, the description horrifying the others.
"Before I ask another question, I need you to answer how you are still… living after all of this supposed time." Kakashi reminded Oda.
"Long ago, our ancestors were able to figure out that time, as in the phenomenon, has its own traces of eldritch power that can be manipulated. After thousands of years of careful and all-consuming research, they found that you can make capsules with an intricate set of different magics, combined with trace elements of this time magic, and can keep something, or someone, inside it as they were till they are released." Oda explained, and looking around, it's clear he didn't explain it to everyone's satisfaction.
"So, what they shoved you in a magic box and now you're here?" Naruto asked, unconvinced.
"Bit more complicated than that, and I apologize in advance, the time before my stasis was chaotic, and I don't have all of the details as well as I wish I did. Regardless, I will explain it as well as I can." Oda said with a sigh.
"We understand. I for one am the last to say anything against someone with incomplete details." Tazuna sighed, lamenting his previous actions.
"Do I need to make more refreshments?" Tsunami asked.
"That would be lovely, my dear. You are too kind." Oda answered with a warm smile, making Tsunami blush a bit as she left to make more tea.
"Please continue explaining while we wait, Oda-san." Kakashi told the redheaded man.
"With my pleasure. We were under a naval invasion. I ordered that everyone except volunteer forces head to the stasis chambers. My fiancée, Drordottr, led the charge with the volunteers, despite my pleas. I tried finding our newly born boy Odion, but in the chaos I failed. I was forced to go into the stasis chamber… and past that I don't know." Oda said, starting to get feelings about it again.
Sakura looked at him with nothing but sympathy. Naruto started to tear up. Even Sasuke looked sympathetic to Oda's plight.
"I am so sorry you had to go through that…" Sakura told him.
"Thank you my dear. Thank you." Oda answered, holding back a wave of emotions.
"Nobody should have to go through something like that…" Naruto replied sadly, trying to dry his tears.
"Life is full of tragedy. The gods made that on purpose. Without it, we don't understand the good things we do have in life or appreciate them." Oda answered, looking down at his cup of tea.
Kakashi nodded at this. "Well said, Oda-san…" He told the tall redhead.
"Sounds like you know my pain, Kakashi-san." Oda said to the gray-haired scarecrow.
"All too well, I'm afraid…" Kakashi replied sympathetically.
"Was that a sufficient answer?" Oda asked.
"Yes, and I feel like I don't need to ask you anymore. Instead, I feel I need to ask something of you." Kakashi told the older man.
"What do you require of me?" Oda asked.
"We require your help with dealing with the rest of these vampires. This is, unfortunately, the kind of threat none of us have had any experience with before." Kakashi reluctantly admitted.
"Of course I will. Even though I am not the most martially inclined individual, I refuse to let these gravebound horrors continue with their depredations any further." Oda sternly answered, mustering up some level of courage for his part.
"We're happy to have you on board!" Naruto yelled in joy, smiling as Kakashi and Oda got up and shook hands on it.
Meanwhile deep in the surrounding forest
Panting and heaving as the ghoul looped and ran down deep crypt tunnels, it finally arrived at its home. A cavernous mausoleum crypt deep underground, it was a wide stone plated area with great pillars and the remains of ancient statues. All around him ghouls, wolves, bats and other horrors shuffled and scurried. It then made its way towards a large raised stone dias, with great steps to reach it. Around it lurked other vampires of a similar breed to the one on the bridge, gray skinned humans, further great bat like monsters, and other horrors. He however was stopped by a ghoulish looking humanoid, being grabbed by the neck and hoisted into the air.
"Just what do you think you're doing, wretch? Attempting to approach the Master without permission…!" The creatures growled out, showing off a mouth full of sharp teeth with extended fangs.
"I need to… speak with the Master… Bridge… Failed…" It choked and wheezed pitifully in its larger counterpart's grip.
"You failed!? Give me one reason why I shouldn't snap your pathetic neck like a twig for-" The monstrous creature roared in fury only for a voice that cut through the darkness like a red hot blade through cheese to silence it.
"Because you would greatly displease me." A surprisingly regal voice said from a great gloom at the back of the chamber.
Looking towards the voice, the ghoulish humanoid gently let down the ghoul and bowed to address the voice. "My apologies, Master…" The creature replied submissively.
Letting down the ghoul with shocking gingerness, the wretched creature caught its breath before continuing to ascend the stone steps. It finally reached there. An unnatural gloom at the deepest part of the cavern lay before him. Other vampires and several female slaves in rags stood outside that gloom. Slowly a single volcanic red eye appeared in that gloom.
"Come closer, my child. Tell me what happened." A guttural, yet surprisingly comforting voice ordered him.
"Forgive me, Lord Targos." The ghoul whimpered.
"It is quite alright. Now what exactly happened?" Targos asked.
"Your glorious son Devinos led a hunt upon the chattel building the bridge, as per our alliance, my lord… But they were killed…" The ghoul whimpered and nervously said, causing the eye to rise, as if Targos stood up.
"How was a pack of ghouls, a Terrorgheist, and one of my own blood not sufficient to handle some measley shinobi and pathetic chattel?" Targos asked, trying to hold back his distaste of this failure.
"S-Seaheart…" Was all it could whimper out after looking into his master's red eye of rage.
A deep growl reverberated across the crypts punctuated with a deep, eternal rage. A clawed foot stepped out on the bent, muscular leg of a strigoi, only far larger. Slowly walking out, Targos' frame, easily four to five feet taller and significantly thicker, strode out in a smooth, measured gait. His hands devolved even further than his kin, halfway morphed into bat winged like appendages. Large, necrotic black quills shot out of his back and neck like a mane on a lion.
Yet his face and head, despite his body, morphe into a shockingly more regal, almost human-like appearance. One could even call it beautiful, in a savage and beastily way. The left side of his face and shoulders were covered by a thick, black cloak with no eyehole. Said good eye looked down upon the ghoul.
"Did you say Seaheart?" He growled.
"Yes my lord… Their king no less." It whimpered.
"For thousands of years that coward hides from me. Afraid to face the consequences of his actions." He growled, no longer paying attention to the ghoul, and looked out at his "Kingdom".
"He did that to you, father?" One of the lesser strigoi asked.
"When I was but a whelp, he killed many of our kind, and forced upon me the unjust injuries that this cloak covers. Yet he didn't have the balls to finish me. Those men of Seaheart never do. They sit high upon their mountain, feasting on their riches, and looking down upon those who they view as lesser." Targos mused, remembering everything from long ago.
"What shall we do about this, father?" Another asked, curious at where their great progenitor was going.
"I will have more than just my long overdue revenge. We will show these modern humans that Seaheart can't save them, shinobi can't save them, NO ONE can save them! They will learn their true place in the order of things! They are our cattle, our sheep, our food! Nothing more! Nothing less! When we are done with this village, the world and the gods above will tremble before our rightful place! We will forge Strygos anew!" Targos roared before the cavern's occupants.
The degenerate, troglodyte occupants roared and howled in glee. Targos looked over the assembly and smiled, letting his thick and monstrous fangs finally show.
"Before I am through with you Oda Shang, you will see everything your people have fought for crumble to dust. And you with it." Targos said, before letting out a guttural chuckle.
I will admit that ghoul was supposed to crawl out of the water last chapter, but it was late when we were done, and we was tired so I forgot. Oh well, we live and learn. Hope everyone is enjoying this insanity so far, cause it sure is fun to write. A word from my cowriter.
Uzumaki Ricky- Salutations, true shinobi fanatics! Uzumaki Ricky here, back again with MHG! Man, this was a really good chapter! Not only that, but now things are about to get REALLY juicy! Stay tuned for more and be on the lookout for Shy Fox Chronicles tomorrow! Aloha!
I hope you shinobi fans have a good day. See you next time.