WARNING: This story contains; Graphic Violence, Foul Language, and Possible Lemons
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Naruto or the contents of Naruto, I only own my own original ideas
Chapter 4
"I'm a little worried about Naru-chan" A purple haired jonin commented idly as she walked down the street "He's been pretty moody lately"
"Yeah, you think he'd be happy to have all his free time back" Her traveling companion replied with a thoughtful look.
After the genin graduation things for the young avatar had returned the same routine as before he was forced to attend the academy. Though lately his fellow followers of Jashin had noticed a down turn in his usually bubbly mood. There had been a few pretty crazy theories thrown around but no one had anything solid.
"You think he's gonna be okay?" Anko's fellow interrogator asked.
"Yeah, no idea what's wrong but he'll bounce back" She stated with full confidence.
"Can't you, I don't know, pray to your goddess or something" The follower of Jashin shook her head to the negative.
"That's not how it works" Anko explained before she was stopped in her tracks by the sounds of a commotion.
Loud screams could be heard fast approaching. It wasn't long before a large crowd of civilians came rushing by them in sheer panic. Right behind them was an angrily screaming body, completely engulfed in flames.
"I'll show you who isn't real ya fucks! Stop running so I punch you in your stupid face!"
"You think that was Naruto?" The unnamed and frankly unimportant side character asked Anko, though it was fairly obvious.
He had the common decency to look sheepish when Anko gave him a stupid look. Though as she looked back towards the quickly disappearing chaos, she had to wonder what had her favorite blond all up in a tizzy. Just then a squad of Anbu came rushing overhead, racing across the roof tops.
"Welp the Hokage is gonna love this" Anko whispered to herself under her breath.
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Sarutobi sat taking heavy drags from his pipe, reclined in his extremely comfy 'Hokage Chair'. Naruto sat smoldering, both literally and figuratively, across from him scowling off to the side.
"Given the circumstances I feel rather than ask I will offer you two options" The aged leader offered.
Only silence met him as Naruto made no move to reply, truthfully no one was sure he was even breathing. Sighing heavily, releasing a sizable cloud of smoke, the 'God of Shinobi' pressed on.
"A fairly simple C-Rank has come across my desk and I feel it a good opportunity to cut a genin team's teeth with" He began to explain "Alternatively-"
"Nah I'll take the C-Rank Gramps" The grey haired boy quickly interjected.
Instead of questioning the haste of the decision, though it was hardly a decision with only one option laid out, the Hokage proceeded unimpeded.
"Very well" Sarutobi reclined, laying out a mission scroll, as Team Seven and Anko entered the room "You will be required to escort the client back to his home country of wave and provide security, mostly from bandits"
While the two genin from Team Seven were paying rapt attention to the mission briefing the jonin were hardly paying attention. Kakashi reading his book with an eye smile, and Anko twirling a senbon. Naruto might as well have been in his own little word, grumbling under his breath.
The door opened again to show the 'client', though he could hardly be called that in his current state.
"I'm Tazuna an' I'm a shupa bridge builda!" The self-proclaimed Tazuna drunkenly slurred.
Anko just rolled her eyes while Kakashi completely ignored his proclamation before turning to his genin.
"Go pack supplies for a two-week field mission" He instructed before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
Sasuke torn his incredulous gaze for Tazuna and exited the office like a semi-normal person. Sakura was quick to follow, not wanting to be anywhere near the overly inebriated old man.
"Are you sure these kids are-" The citizen of wave began a question.
"Yes yes, kids and concerns what ever old man" Anko waved off before leaping into a forward roll, scooping up Naruto, and smashing threw the window right behind the Hokage's desk.
"Wha-" The old man under the influence stutter in indignation.
"Well with that matter concluded I would say you have about two hours before your escorts will be ready and at the east gate" The other aged male stated calmly, dismissing the floundering civilian Infront of him.
Tazuna gapped for a few moments longer before wisely dismissing himself.
"I wonder how much paperwork Naruto will bring to my desk this time?" Sarutobi mused to himself before a cruel smile made itself across his face "I suppose that old war hawk has his uses"
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Two hours and fifteen minutes later had our, now hung over, bridge builder staggering his way to the gate with his ninja escorts already there. Kakashi was go over his genin's supplies, handing them useful thing they missed from a storage scroll, as well as giving them a small list of tips and tricks for the mission. Anko was standing in the shade of a tree munching on dango.
"You're late" Sasuke said over his shoulders, finishing up repacking his supplies.
"Late" Tazuna sputtered "How can I be late if I'm the client and that freaky bandaged kid isn't even here yet"
His outrage was ignored as his escorts began to walk away for him. His indignant retort was cut off when he caught sight of Naruto lightly snoozing on Anko's shoulders, his head buried in her hair. Tazuna gapped at him with incomprehension before shaking his head and quickly catching up.
They had only traveled a short distance out side the village gate before the head ache afflicted architect made a concern known.
"I know you guys are ninja, but arnt you a lil to laid back?" He piped up to Kakashi, who predictably wasn't watching where he was walking.
"Chill it gramps" Anko answered him instead "You got two jonins with you and if we get into a sticky situation, we also got Naru-kun"
She pointed her thump up at the sleeping boy as if he was the answer to any trouble they may encounter. The oldest member of the group looked up owlishly at the small boy with a searching gaze.
"I don't understand what the short stack is gonna do" He challenged before a chill went up his spine.
Turning to his right he came face to face with the intense and shadowed gaze of the copy-nin, burrowing into him.
"Naru-chan doesn't like to be called short" The one-eyed jonin spoke gravely.
Turning back to face forward he caught Naruto's lone sapphire eye, partially overtaken by a baleful amethyst glow.
"Right" Tazuna felt a drop of sweat roll down his neck.
Like storm clouds parting, the atmosphere made a sharp turn back to its previously cheery state. The shadow disappearing for Kakashi's face and his signature eye-smile back in full force.
The silence that followed in the wake of the strange occurrence persisted for the next few hours of the trek until they ninja and their client approached a section of road with a puddle off to the side. Jashin's avatar perked his head up as if a voice had called for his attention. He patted his rides head to signal her to let him down, to which she complied, before slowly falling back to the rear of the diamond-esque formation the ninja had lazily formed around Tazuna. Sasuke quirked an eyebrow at the odd behavior before shrugging it off as the jonin made no move to acknowledge it.
It wasn't long after they pasted the small pool of moister before two ninjas sprung their trap. Initial rushing to ensnare the sensei of Team Seven but found their chain wrapping around the smaller of the grey-haired ninja, Naruto having been standing between the them and their first target. Not letting the deviation to the plan throw them off they pulled the blade chain tight around the unfazed looking Naruto. With a sharp tug from the two diminutive ninja the length of sharp metal cut into his pale grey flesh.
"One down" The first began before his part finished "Five to go"
A chuckle from in between them immediately drew their attention.
"I think you need to revise that body count" Naruto chuckled; a vicious smile spreading across his face.
The two ninjas, identified by the slash through their head bands as missing-nin, attempted again to shred their prey again. To their dismay no matter how hard they tried they simply couldn't get the chain to cut any father threw the boy. Having to quickly adapt to the situation they released the mechanism connecting them to the chain and began to leap away.
Unfortunately for them, Kakashi was one of Konoha's best and Anko was fearsome in her own right. Faster than anyone could catch the two leaf jonin had the assailants unconscious and restrained.
"Pfft, little shits were pretty cocky to attack us" Anko sneered down at the two enemy ninjas.
"Um" Tazuna piped up "Shouldn't you be more worried about your student?"
They both looked back to him with questioning gazes.
"Why?" Anko looked puzzled.
"He's not my student" Kakashi waved off before dragging the two bound missing-nin back over to the rest of Team Seven.
The aged man felt alarm at their dismissal of a wounded comrade before he turned his head to look at Naruto and his heart dropped. He had shaken off the chain and was now next to Sasuke, engaged in an inane conversation. He still had a small trail of blood running out of his mouth and slightly bloodied, torn clothing. All the evidence of his previous wounds was still there but the wounds themselves were nowhere to be seen.
All the members of Tazuna's security detail rallied together, with Anko and Kakashi hushedly discussing about the recent attack.
"Hey I'ma take these two and go make good use of them" Naruto spoke to his comrades, grabbing the bound ninja and hoisting them over his shoulder with surprising strength "I'll catch up later"
Anko just nodded mutely before taking point of the formation and started walking without a second glance. Kakashi silenced his client's question with assurance that Naruto would catch up at some point and gently prodded him to start walking. Tazuna was caught off by the whole situation but began walking all the same. He had heard that ninjas were strange but this really took the cake. Seeing the small pink haired genin eyeing where they had left her teammate in curiosity but also thinly veiled fear did little to ease his mind. He decided it was better not to know and continued on his trip back to his home.
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In a small section of the forest the agonized screams of two men could be heard. A large radius around the noise was complete devoid of wild life, even the flora seemed to lean away form the epicenter of the tortured yells. The clearing where the men where was a ghastly sight. Their limbs torn form their bodies and their blood used to draw the symbol of Jashin in the dirt. An arm lay at every vertex that crossed over the outer circle, a leg in the gaps formed by the bisectors and the curve of the circle, and the two barely alive men and the remain limbs on the circumcenter.
It was a grizzly and occultish display but this was just the preparation for Naruto's ritual. Begin to chant in a maddening language he raised his hands out to his sides. The sunlight dimmed over head and the color seemed to drain for the surroundings. Mostly threw his chant, purple flames lit up in his upturned palms as the symbol similarly began to glow an impossible black. With a final crescendo to his voice the flames leapt to consume the men in a raging vortex of fire. The torment yowls of the mortals brought a satisfied smile to the young avatar.
The amethyst inferno warped to a shade of midnight black before subsiding to reveal the goddess Jashin in all her glory, seated on a throne of crystal bone. A smile on her face as she stood and made a few steps forward before Naruto rocketed into her.
"I missed you too Naru-kun" She said, looking down to him hugging her waist.
Words failed the incarnation of suffering as he looked up into her eyes with unshed tears.
"Shush, shush Naru-kun it's okay" She soothed "I am here now"
Naruto nuzzled his face into her dress and basked in her presence. This had been the source of his foul mood of late. Though Jashin was always with him, her weak grip on this world insured that she was never more than a Spector. Seen and heard only by her avatar but never able to truly interact with the mortal world. For all his new power, he was still mostly a human child though that would continue to change.
Even now he had fundamentally changed. As Jashin gained more hold and power in the materium so too did Naruto become more of an otherworldly existence.
"Come now Naru-kun, don't you want to know what new heights your powers have reached" The goddess verbally nudged to divert form the dreary atmosphere.
Naruto predictable unlatched from the goddess and began to run around the clearing, waving his arms as if to shoot fireballs or lightning. Jashin chuckled at his antics, finding the whole thing to be unbearably cute.
"Come Naru-kun, let me tell you" She motioned for him to come to her side once more.
Quickly making his way over, practically teleporting, she bent down to whisper in his ear. As the words eldritch words squirmed threw the ear and into Naruto's mind his eyes dilated to inhuman proportions. New understanding of the divine plains formed in his soul as his very being aligned close to its purpose as the embodiment of a goddess power.
"Wow" He breathed out in awe as Jashin finished and straightened back up.
"Indeed" She giggled "But my hold on this place is tenuous at best, so before I am force to return to my plain let us take this moment to bask in each other's physical presence"
"Yeah!" Naruto cheered "Let's play some games!"
The sounds of laughter and unearthly giggles carried on the wind, in stark contradiction to the eerie and unnerving surrounds.
AN:
Please review and comment as all CONSTRUCTIVE criticism will be taken under advice.
Hoi Hoi I'm a psycho and these are my ravings!
I wanted this to be out last weekend but whateves. More updates hopefully by next weekend.
If anyone actually reads this and wants to be my beta reader hit me up.
Stay crazy!