So here is the rewritten second chapter of Konoha's Phantom.
I don't own Naruto or Assassin's Creed.
Konoha's Phantom.
Ch.2 The Blade.
-Forest Compound, two years later-
"Come on boy, your objective is to try to kill me with your blade, not to wait till I die of old age." Said Samuel as he slowly walked through the shadowy forest.
The old man did not have to wait long as Naruto leapt from a branch above aiming to stab the old man in the back of the neck, only to have Samuel grab him midair and throw him away. Naruto landed in a crouch and dropped a smoke pellet obscuring everything around him.
"Good, good! Use all your tools to increase your advantage over your opponent. But do not get too cocky" said Samuel as he stepped back and used his cane to trip Naruto as the boy lunged at the old man. The boy landed on his face, but quickly tried to turn over and get up only to feel Samuel's cane push him back down.
"You have improved a great deal since you stumbled into my once decaying home, and you have continued to improve and make me proud. Your progress will only improve with experience." Said Samuel looking down at his once pristine white robes to find a bright red line going across his abdomen. "It seems congratulations are in order, you finally landed a hit on me, apprentice, I do believe I promised you your own wrist blade rather than that practice one you currently have, and another weapon of your own choosing." Said the old man as he let Naruto get up.
"Thank you, Mentor, my skills are thanks to your training, I hate to think where I would be if I didn't find you. Probably still weak and being led on by my teachers at the academy." Said Naruto removing his hood to reveal a somewhat tamed head of red hair.
"Yes, how goes the academy, does anyone suspect that it is a shadow clone going most days instead of you?"
"The class is to be expected mentor, more civilian based than what should be taught. Though I do think the Nara suspects something but is too lazy to say anything as he probably thinks it would be too troublesome."
"Sounds like a typical Nara, laziness runs in the blood of that clan, but be careful as they are known to be absurdly smart." Said Samuel taking out a cloth and attempted to wipe away the mark left by the practice blade though was not totally successful.
"The Uchiha Twins are hiding something, though I don't know what."
"The Uchihas have always been secretive, I would assume that the last loyal Uchiha would be no different. Now let us go get your rewards."
"Yes Mentor." Said Naruto as he followed Samuel towards the village, though he had something on his mind. "Mentor, do our robes have to be white?"
"No, your robes could be any color you wanted, but the assassins of old wore all white and so do I."
"So I could have my robes be a darker color?"
"HA! You are so much like your mother. She had the same exact question and after that conversation she quickly changed her robes to a very dark crimson color."
"They were?"
"Yes, people thought her name was from her red hair, but really her name 'The Red Death' was from her robes."
This line of questioning led to Samuel telling Naruto more stories about his mother during her younger years.
-Higurashi Weapons shop-
Naruto walked into one of the only shops that didn't throw him out or over price him on simple goods. He stopped as soon as he saw the walls lined with different weapons and he was stunned at the diversity. Though his attention was suddenly drawn to a man that resembled more of a bear.
"Hello Samuel, it's been a long time." Said the man in a low but deep voice.
"Yes, it has Kizu, the last time I was here was around seven years ago."
"Well, it's good to see you again old man, what can I help you with?"
"I'm here to get young Naruto his wrist blades and another weapon he desires." Said the old man taking a seat in a nearby chair.
"Hmmm… young man, do you have an idea what weapon you would like?"
"Kind of, but I'm still unsure."
"TENTEN!" yelled the man making Naruto jump slightly.
Naruto heard a door open and a girl around his age appear from behind a shelf.
"Yes dad?"
"Take this boy around and see what weapon compliments him." said Kizu.
"Ok. Please follow me, do you have any idea what you would want?" asked Tenten.
The two went further into the store talking about what Naruto would want or what would work best for him.
"So you took another apprentice, and the son of your former apprentice."
"I had no intention at first, but he pretty much stumbled onto the gravesite of his mother. The seal on her grave sent him to me, and he has been under my care since then."
"Does Hiruzen know?"
"No, but he will soon."
"Ok, so will the boy be needing regular blades or something else?"
"One normal blade and pivot blade." Said Samuel.
"Left or right?"
"Left."
"Anything else?"
"Whatever weapon he chooses."
"Well how have you been old man?"
"Even though I'm older than the old monkey, I've felt better than I have in years."
(Naruto)
Naruto followed the panda themed girl and was pretty much shoved a chair in the far corner of the store.
"So what do you think you would want?" asked Tenten.
"I don't know, something small to medium. I don't want a large or long weapon."
"Bladed?"
"Yes."
"Single or dual edge?"
"Single would be preferred."
Tenten vanished behind a shelf for a few minutes and came back with a few weapons that ranged from Kunai to long daggers to short swords. Naruto picked up a few but nothing really felt right in his hand. Tenten ferried weapons back and forth getting a little more frustrated each trip.
She finally came back with what looked like an axe, though it was smaller and strangely enough the blade looked like a version of the assassin's symbol.
Naruto picked the weapon up and immediately felt a connection with the weapon. "I believe I'll take this one, Ms. Higurashi."
"Call Me Tenten, and you sure picked a strange weapon, though who am I to judge. That little ax is called a tomahawk, mainly used in close quarters by itself or alongside a short blade. I'm not too sure were my father acquired it, but it's been in the store for a long time." Said Tenten grabbing the belt that came with the tomahawk.
"Thank you." said Naruto putting on the belt and sheathing the tomahawk. It felt natural to have it by his side even though he had absolutely no idea how to wield the weapon.
The two walked back to the counter to see two bracers along with a couple of other weapons atop said counter.
"So, you picked up that old relic, I wondered where it went." Said Samuel looking at the tomahawk hanging on Naruto's right hip.
"It was given to my father by one of your old compatriots, it's been sitting on a shelf for far too many years." Said Kizu.
"What's so special about this weapon mentor?" asked Naruto.
"I'll tell you later, but now it's time to test out your wrist blades, here put them on." Said Samuel picking up the bracers and handing them over to Naruto.
"Mentor, this one is different than the other, why is that?"
"I will tell you in a moment, put that one on your left wrist."
Naruto put the simple plain leather wrist bracers on and flicked out the blades that hid underneath.
Tenten was up in Naruto's personal space within a second gushing about the weapons.
"Dad, can I have some of these?" She asked with stars in her eyes.
Samuel looked at Kizu who was staring back at him. The two stared at each other in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes until Samuel broke it.
"She is welcome to join if she wants to, but that is up to her."
"No, at least not for a few years."
"That is fine, at that point in time I will most likely be too old to do much of anything, or no longer be around. I am sorry young lady but these are the weapons of our order, one that your family has supported for many decades, but I am afraid you cannot wield them." said Samuel looking at a dejected Tenten.
"Awww."
"Now Naruto, you were asking why your left blade is different. Well, it is called a pivot blade, as you can use it normally or, the blade can pivot and you can use it as a knife or in conjunction with another larger weapon, say your tomahawk. Now go on and grab everything else on the counter and let us go, there are a few new things I need to teach you." said Samuel as he slowly got up from the chair and handed Kizu the money he was owed.
"Yes mentor, bye Tenten, Mr. Higurashi." Said Naruto as he picked up the box of assorted weapons and walked out of the shop.
"Goodbye Kizu, hopefully I'll still be kicking the next time you see me."
"I hope so old man, I hope so." Said Kizu as the elderly assassin exited the store.
The big man's attention was immediately on his daughter who looked beyond confused. "Dad?"
"Tenten, there are many things that I have neglected to tell you about our family, and I believe it is time to tell you as I thought that that old organization was long disbanded."
"Ok?"
-Outside the village-
"Mentor?" asked Naruto as he looked at the box of weapons in his hands.
"Yes young Naruto." Stated as he knew that Naruto would not have forgotten what had been said a little while ago.
"When you saw my weapon, you seemed to recognize it, why is that?" Samuel stopped walking and looked at Naruto.
"Well, that is a complicated story, so I will start at the beginning. But, I won't tell the story here as it is too long and I'm way to old to just stand here and talk for hours, I'll tell you when we get back to compound. On the other hand do you have any other questions?"
"Why did you buy these weapons? We have all these at the compound." Asked Naruto and Samuel chuckled which confused Naruto.
"All those weapons are old, crumbling, and decaying. I will not have you killed due to poor equipment and-" The old man turned his head towards a large tree and shifted his cane a little bit. "I would advise you show yourself, it is not wise to spy on us." Naruto was instantly on guard as an Anbu in a blank mask jumped out of the trees and charged at the old man with a tipless tanto.
Samuel whipped his cane at the assailant causing the shaft of the cane to break away from the handle to reveal a straight double edged sword.
The Anbu batted the shaft away and blocked the sword, only to feel a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down to see the old man's arm retracting revealing a blade protruding from underneath his wrist.
That was all the Anbu saw as he collapsed dead on the ground.
Samuel groaned as he cleaned the blood from his blade and retracted it. "I am getting too old for this shit. Could you help an old man out and get the rest of my cane?" asked the old man as he started to search the now dead mystery person.
Naruto nodded and went off to search for the part that was knocked away by the Anbu.
"Now let us see who you are." Said Samuel as he rolled the dead body over and removed the mask. What he saw did not really surprise him as he stared at the pale face of a young boy not too much older than Naruto. What did surprise him was that said Anbu combusted into blue fire. Once the body was nothing but ash, there was nothing left other than the mask in Samuel's hand and the sword lying not too far away.
Naruto walked up to Samuel and handed him the missing part of his cane.
"Change of plans boy, we're going to see an old friend."
"Who is it Mentor?"
"Someone you know quite well, the Third Hokage."
"Grandfather?"
"Yes, Hiruzen has much explaining to do, and we can have our conversation in his office, now let's go." Said Samuel leading Naruto towards the Hokage's tower.
-Hokage's Office.-
Hiruzen sat behind his desk with a tired look over his face. He had been Hokage for far too long and was relieved when Minato had taken over, but when the boy died he took over again as no one was able and he would be damned before he let Danzo take over. Currently there were no viable options for his replacement as many were too young and the other two on his mind were not in the village.
He felt his age, but he was still the God of Shinobi for a reason. He could still put Jiraiya in his place if needed but where as he could do it easily ten years, he would struggle to do it now. Hiruzen was sitting behind a stack of paperwork when he heard a knock at his door.
"Enter"
The door opened and in walked in a person he had not seen in years along with another smaller person that he couldn't recognize as the person's hood was up.
"Samuel, this is a surprise, what has it been, fifteen years?" asked Hiruzen.
"Maybe a bit longer, you seem to look older and a bit more beat down than the last time I saw you." said Samuel gaining a questioning look from Naruto.
"And you have become ancient and feeble since last I saw you." retorted Hiruzen.
There was a silence for a while until both elderly men started laughing.
"It has been far too long you old monkey, how have you been, paperwork still kicking your ass?" asked Samuel as he sat down in a chair close to the desk.
"It has been many tiring years, but I am fine. What about you, you old hermit? Last I heard, you were content on being the last of your creed." Said Hiruzen as he pulled a bottle of sake and two glasses from a cabinet.
"I indeed was content in being the last, but this young man stumbled upon our old crypt and was sent to me via the security seals covering the place. He will take over once I pass on. Now, unfortunately I did not come here to catch up but to warn you that your old teammate is up to his old shenanigans." Said Samuel as he placed the blank mask and the sword on the desk.
"So, Danzo has started his operations again. This while troublesome, does not surprise me. Is this the only thing left?"
"Only things left of our assailant as their body went up in flames. I expect it to be the handywork of a Deadman's seal." Said the older man of the two.
"Unfortunate." Said Hiruzen as he lit his pipe.
"Indeed, I remember how bad Danzo used to be, and if anything he would have gotten worse as the years went by. If you need any help in the matter, do not hesitate to call upon me to assist you."
"I will keep that in mind. Now, why don't you tell me why you waited until now to tell me that you had taken young Naruto under your wing?"
"I suppose I could have told you, but you probably would have taken him out of my care."
"That would have been a possibility, but seeing how he has developed, I suppose I should be glad that you did not tell me. But enough of what we cannot change. Have you told him everything?"
"Not yet, I was about to tell him about myself and more about the creed. Though we were delayed by your old friend's operative."
"What have you told him?"
"The basic history and tenants of our creed. Also he knows about his mother."
"And what about-"
"No, that will be your responsibility."
"Naruto, tell me, would you care to stay for a while for me to tell you secrets I should have told you long ago?"
"Yes, grandfather." Said Naruto lowering his hood showing his long red hair kept in a low ponytail, to the old man he looked like a younger version of his father, yet not as flaky.
"You look so much like your father, yet you have your mother's hair."
"So you knew my father?"
"Indeed, he was my successor."
Naruto was silent at this revelation for a minute until he spoke up. "That explains a lot actually. Why else would he seal the Nine Tailed Fox inside me, the man was not willing to sacrifice another's child when he himself didn't want to use his own. Though in the end he doomed me to this life. Probably didn't expect the villagers to turn on me." Both elderly men were shocked at his words to the point where Samuel dropped his glass, which shattered on the ground. Hiruzen was taking it a little better than Samuel, but not by much.
"While I am surprised you already know of your burden, how did you figure it out?" asked the old shadow.
"One of the Villagers mouthed off about that secret during one of the yearly fox hunts years ago. Though I never saw him again after an Anbu with a dog mask nabbed him a few seconds after he spilled the beans so to speak."
"I have a question Hiruzen, how did the boy's secret get out to the populace?"
"One of the civilian council members leaked the information to the villagers, by then I tried the best I could to run damage control but it was not enough. I personally executed the council member and enacted a law that made it a death sentence to speak of your secret to anyone of the younger generation in hope you would have a normal life. Possibly have some friends, but the villagers still ostracized you and hunted you like an animal. I have executed and imprisoned many for their crimes against you. They seem to have gotten the message now, but they still treat you as an outcast. For my failures I ask that you forgive me."
Naruto stared at the old man who had bowed his head and sighed.
"You are forgiven grandfather, I hold no ill will towards you or the villagers, but that doesn't mean I will forgive them." said Naruto smiling at the relieved face of the old shadow.
"Thankyou Naruto, now I believe you have some more questions?"
"Yes, though since we are in probably one of the most secure offices in the village, could we possibly have that discussion Mentor?"
Samuel chuckled, when Naruto wanted something, he would get it one way or another. "Sure, we can have that talk I promised you, and since Hiruzen already knows this story he can jump in and remind me of anything I have forgotten."
The three didn't leave the office for a few hours after that.
-END-
Well here is the chapter I have stalled on for a bit, next will be another chapter of An Old Age Jedi, but after that chapter I will probably not post until around next June as I will be away from civilization for a while. Anyways tell me what you think of this updated chapter. Later.
25Oct22