After recovering inside the cave, Naruto finally felt like he could walk enough to get to a town. His legs both felt achy and sore, but he could at least walk. Outside the cave was a tropical forest filled with palm trees and jungle fauna. It had a moist atmosphere and was always bright. The air consisted heavily of steam, earning the country it's name. It is because of the many volcanoes and hot springs in these parts that make this one of the ideal vacation spots.
Naruto thought he needed a vacation, a brief time to rest. For the past years he had done non-stop training and running that it was mentally and physically exhausting. Plus, maybe he could learn some more jutsu theory while relaxing and practice the Afterimage Flicker. His face turned to a smile while he was hacking through the thick of the tropical forest imagining all the cool vacation things to do here, like hot springs, gambling (he picked up a love for it inside the mines), and rest.
He cleared through the last bit of overgrowth and came upon a path. It was a gravel path that turned just a few meters ahead. He walked along and he looked down to see a town in the distance. It looked small, most likely wasn't a vacation town. Whatever, he could just ask for directions from here. Naruto entered the town and felt people looking at him, like in curiosity. He looked around and felt sick to his stomach.
The houses around him were basic wood and nothing else, most falling apart or just about to. Vines hung from them and plants seemed to cover them completely. The people around him looked poor, and hungry. Their faces were ghastly, despite the sun, and you could see the bones on their skin. Even the children sat there, depressed and almost unmoving. The town looked like the pinnacle of poverty, but why was it in a country known for being wealthy.
A little kid ran up to Naruto, his hand behind his back. It was a frail boy who looked just as hungry as the people around him. His hand pulled out a dull kunai and held it shakily, not in a shinobi grip. "H-Hand over your money, or food, or stuff." His voice was raspy, maybe from not enough water. Naruto didn't feel threatened, he felt bad. The kid resorted to having to rob him for basic needs, why did the people here suffer so much.
Naruto unsealed a small package of food from his scroll and handed it to the kid, who looked at it akin to a school girl looking at a new pair of clothes, in wonder and delight. The kid ran off with a smile on his face, making Naruto's feel just a bit better than he did. "Are you a tourist here?" A voice asked from behind him.
Naruto turned around to see an older man, maybe in his 50s, with a scar over his cheek. His eyes were sharp and dangerous, and his stance was of a shinobi. "Of sorts, sir. I am just passing through the Land of Steam. But, if you don't mind me asking, what happened here." The man studied his response, pulling a cigar out of his pocket and smoking it.
"The nobles here sucked this place dry of any income we earn, and barely feeds us to boot. I suggest you leave here and go to the town up North, this place isn't good for tourists." Naruto looked angry at this, hearing the situation. It was unthinkable that the leaders could deprive citizens of food and water, it was cruel. The old man motioned for him to follow, and Naruto did. He led them into one of the larger houses near the center of town, it didn't look much better than others despite it's size.
Inside was a living room-like place, with a table and 10 chairs surrounding it. In the room with them were 5 people, 4 men and a women. They all looked in poor condition. All eyes were drawn to his as he entered. "Sato, why did you bring a newcomer in here? Is he another lost tourist?" The woman asked, her eyes never leaving Naruto. "Yes, it looks like it, he said he is just wandering by the Land of Steam, so one of our guys can escort him to the capital." "Wait. Is there any way I can help you guys, your situation is bad enough as is." Naruto interjected into the conversation, getting curious and surprised looks from the people around him.
"I'm a ninja, I can help you guys. I couldn't live with myself knowing I could help you all." Naruto's little outburst gathered the attention of everyone. The man who escorted him called Sato walked in front of him, "Young boy, you aren't strong enough to help us, our leader employed shinobi from the capital to help subjugate the citizens and prevent riots. You are no match for a country." Naruto didn't even think as he responded, "Try me. I WILL help you all."
Sato sighed at this, he would get himself killed at this rate, he was only 15 at most, how could he help us. He would tell the kid what was happening, and he would run away faster than he got here. "Sit down, I'll tell you the story of these lands, and you will run away in fear afterwards, like other "shinobi" that tried to help." Naruto sat down on a chair, turning his eyes to Sato.
"The Land of Steam isn't really a shinobi country, but it trains shinobi for the purpose of policing the cities, or at least a first. The new leader of the country uses them to enact his military goals on the people, cutting food and water to transfer it to the more touristy parts of the country. And then there are the nobles, who the leader is apart of. They are all wealthy men who all share a bloodline of sorts, having shimmering gold eyes and hair making them distinct and divine-like. You can see the air around them move to make way for their presence. They all rule over these lands, and have had an iron grip over this town and many others. You can't beat them."
By the end, Naruto was shaking. But not in fear like they expected, but anger. His teeth grinded together as his eyes breifly flashed red and slitted and a malicious aura of rage hung around him. He regained his emotions and calmed back down. "Where are they, I'm going to kick their asses and free you all." It was a cocky statement, but Naruto wanted to help. Needed to help.
The people inside all looked at him in surprise and shock that he would still try to help. "Kid, shinobi patrol these areas, you won't get past one of them, nonetheless a full legion. We appreciate the offer, but we don't want you to die in our place."
Naruto shook it off as he stood up and started to walk away, "I am going to free this town now, whether I live or not. I'm going to fight them. Where are they."
"Down the road to the right is where they all congregate, but don't go. In fact, avoid that place." The woman pleaded. She couldn't bare an outsider get killed trying to help. Naruto didn't listen as he walked out of the door. Naruto let his anger flow out in waves as he walked down the street, letting out bursts of Ki that scared away anyone near. Shinobi detected it and rushed out, and Naruto found himself surrounded by at least 100 shinobi.
"Boy! Stop or we have no choice but to kill you!" The supposed leader sounded off. Instead, Naruto did a few hand signs, "Scorch Release: Desert Sun." A sun the size of a house formed above his head and began to wither and dry the environment around them, killing and burning those too close. He managed to get 5 of them with the attack and let the technique drop.
He closed his eyes and sighed, feeling his chakra. He felt the familiar electric pulse return to his body that energized his completely. "Afterimage Flicker" The world move in slow motion around Naruto and he saw the various swords and projectiles aimed at him, but he dodged them all. He started to run through people, delivering punches and kicks that broke bones. He slugged a guy in the face, separating his head from his body.
Naruto grabbed a kunai and began to slash throats and tendons, aiming for fatal strikes. After a minute, almost 90 of them dropped to the ground, dead or too injured to get up. Naruto had to cancel the technique because of strain, but he was feeling better now. He then flew through more hand signs as the men around him were stunned in shock.
"Scorch Release: Ten Fiery Eyes." Ten small suns formed and each sook out a target, all landing except for 3 because they dodged. The men who dodged moved at jonin level speeds at least, compared to the others who were genin level at best.
That's when he heard a cry of pain behind him and looked back. The leader of all of them had a little girl in his hands with a kunai at her neck. Naruto was about to attack before he spoke, "Resist capture and I kill this girl and anyone near here." Naruto froze, and bowed his head in shame. Ninja came from behind him and placed a chakra suppressing seal on his forehead, cutting out his chakra supply from him. They began to beat and kick him, until Naruto passed out.
Naruto eventually wakes up by a bucket of water splashed on him. He opens his eyes in a panic, to come face to face with 20 people sitting at a lavish table. Bowls of fruits, meats, and other expensive dishes were abundant, and they smelled delicious. He felt cold steel at his neck as a kunai was placed there, by the same man who took the girl hostage. In front of him, the people all looked divine, like royalty. They all had golden hair that almost glowed in the light and golden eyes that almost made him bow down in servitude from a glance. They were hypnotic eyes that made him feel like a lesser human being than them, or not human at all.
"You have caused much trouble recently, killing a battalion of our shinobi." One of the royals spoke. His voice was silky smooth and had charisma and finality to it. "Unfortunately for you, we can't forgive something like this. Well, young boy, you have earned yourself an event we haven't done in years. In 10 days from now, we will host a public execution, with you as the main event. Throw him in the cell for now, feel free to do what you want to him."
Naruto was about to speak before a piece of metal latched around his mouth, silencing him. Only muffles could be heard. It felt like a muzzle of sorts, blocking out his voice. His hands were cuffed in a cold metal, as were his legs. He tried to struggle, but he ended up receiving a kick to the guts, knocking the wind out of him.
Naruto tried even harder to resist, but continuous punches and kicks left him spitting blood into his "muzzle" and it flowing back into his mouth. He stopped resisting as they carried him and body flickered away, appearing in another outpost of sorts. The door was opened and he was guided to a cell room, but there were no prisoners. He was the only one here. He was shoved in a cell and strung to the wall, his hands tied above him and his legs tied beneath him. The shinobi each got a few good punches in before leaving, laughing a bit.
The cell around him was a bland grey, but wires were abundant overhead. There was a window, but since he was tied to the wall he couldn't even see it. What was the point of it then. The bars in his cell looked to be made of a steel of sorts, make sense since he is so close to the Land of Earth. He looked left and saw something in the corner of his cell, it was a decaying corpse.
Naruto began to struggle, but it was fruitless. He couldn't even move his arms, nonetheless break the metal around them. He tried to draw Kyubi chakra or anything, but the seal cut it off completely. He sank back into the cuffs and panted a bit, the muzzle making it difficult to breath. Is this where it ended, did he really die right now. Naruto didn't have an answer as he felt the chains start to heat up.
He looked up and saw the metal increasingly getting more and more red. Pretty soon, Naruto began to scream from his hands being burned by metal. The searing pain even reached beyond the muzzle. Ther guards in the room above were using a few fire jutsu to heat the metal, gaining the precious screams of the prisoner from below that satiated their bloodlust. They all left, but the machine was still on, the heat still present. The only thing heard that night was the muffled screams of Naruto.
...
Sorry for the short chapter, but the little "arc" of sorts will span multiple chapters and this was just a build up. Hope you enjoyed this and have a good rest of your day.