AN: How are yall doing today, me I'm fucking tired. Work has me running round like a damn chicken and what do I get to show for it… a paycheck… kinda hard to spend my fun money when I cant even get time off to spend it ya feel me. This chapter is kinda all over the place and for that I'm sorry, but I swear all of this is needed build the characters, kinda, sorta...or maybe I just hate em all…
MOVING ON
Naruko Uzumaki Darkness: More of a filler then anything wasn't planning on it takeing a whole chapter. As for when Naruto learns of about Naruko ya know I asked myself that when I was writing this, then I realized, wait this is just the prologue and we ain't even hit the time when Naruto or anyone really is a genin, so I'll just leave that question unanswered for now.
Zoran Dawn-Eclipse: If ya want...eh you'll find out just enjoy the chapter and trust me there will be a time when Minato get throttled. Personally feel this chapter is a bit lacking but for my own sanity I had to post it.
(Started 9/27/22 Finished 10/6/22)
The Creed Reborn
A pair of hooded figures were crouched down a rooftop overlooking the piers. "I think this should do." the taller one said looking down and the boarded up warehouse.
"Looks like a place to get tetanus you sure we can't just check into one of the seedier hotels or something, at least there I could lay on a real bed…" the shorter of the two replied his golden eye scanning the surroundings. "Shit never mind, we need to get off the roof quick there's a militia patrol coming."
The pair slid off the roof on the opposite side hopping that the small group of people that was coming from the inner parts of town didn't see them. The last thing the pair of them needed was a run in with the local law.
Soft footsteps were heard as the shorter one touched down into the back ally. He watched as his companion landed beside him not even making a sound when he jumped. "You really have to teach me how to move as quiet as you do Itachi."
"I'll teach you how to be quiet as soon as you tell me how you found me back at bandit camp, Naruto." Itachi's reply was Naruto tapping his eye patch "Figured you'd say your mysterious Dōjutsu, we need to figure out what it is."
"Even the precursors didn't understand it, at least that's what Aether said." Naruto replied before the pair darted towards the warehouse "I didn't feel like questioning it since I had a shit night and all, but she said it was the only known human mutation."
The pair found a locked doorway and Itachi bent down and placed a L shaped paperclip in the door knob. "Mind putting a little pressure on that…" Naruto quickly placed a couple of fingers on the paperclip "Thanks. Kind of hard to pick a lock with only one hand."
"No problem."
"That doesn't make sense, you make it sound like these precursors weren't even human. And if one is, or was, alive then that doesn't make them precursors does it?" Itachi said while forcing another tumbler up.
"From what I understand everyone of them is dead," Naruto heard a click and the pressure he was putting on the door knob forced it open. "I mean its kind of hard to be alive after how ever many thousands of years that any of the Isu are alive."
"But if this Aether wasn't alive, then how did you talk to her?" Itachi asked he had been wondering about this since him and Karin first brought up the Isu.
"To be honest I don't understand the details like Karin would, she was the one who was able to read the writing on the screen." Naruto said as he followed Itachi into the warehouse. "My best guess is that she was a ghost because she was partly transparent, I mean how else would she be alive?"
"Well you are more of an expert then me on them. I'm still having trouble even believing they exist."
"They exist, as much as I wish they didn't…" Naruto said to him closing the door and locking it behind him. "From what I read on them in the bunker nearly each generation of both Templar and Assassin fought each other to the death for control over the precursor artifacts. Objects that at the time and maybe even now are are unrivaled in power." he thought back to the Apple of Eden, The Observitory, and the Spear of Leonidas. Each with their own power, but in the wrong hands all equally as dangerous.
"Worry about locating those sights later kit, get to the bunker first. Hell they might even have a map of the locations of the Precursor sights." Kyūbi said pulling the blond out of his own thoughts.
'Yeah, your right, once Karin gets back with someone to take us to Uzu I can get them to swing down to the bunker after they drop them off.'
"Sounds to me like the objects that Kumo has from the Sage." Itachi mumbled once more pulling the blond out of a conversation "Then if they are so dangerous why didn't the Assassin Brotherhood destroy them?"
"I doubt it was that simple, these are objects that fly in the face of Kami, so maybe hiding or sealing them was the best they could do." the pair finally got a good look at their base of operations till either Karin found a charter ship or they had to find another way to Uzu. "Um Itachi is it just me or does there look to be a path free of dust by the door?"
"I wasn't the only one to see that then." Itachi said looking at the floor. There was dust all over the place layered so thick in some places that it almost looked like gray snow, except for a path leading into the warehouse. "People have been through here."
"I was afraid you'd say that…" Naruto said walking up to the door way into the next room. His eyes
scanning the darkened room.
It looked like any other warehouse, crates stacked high, barrels on skids, and pallets of buckets full of who knows what. The only thing that stood out was the amount of dust on everything.
Naruto glanced over at Itachi and nodded to him, before stepping out into the warehouse proper. There was a trail for him to follow easily enough since whoever had been there traveled the same way multiple times.
That or there was a lot of people who traveled it.
"Trail ends by that shipping container over there." Itachi said activating his sharingan to see better. "But it also leads from it to another section of the warehouse."
"You…" Naruto tried to say before the pair heard something coming from the other side of the warehouse. They didn't even need to say anything to each other as they quietly melted into the shadows.
"I'm telling ya Kito, that last haul had so many hot bitches in it I had to sample a few of them!" another voice laughed.
"Yaji, if cap heard ya say that he would kill ya. You know as well as I do that spoiled merch doesn't sell as well." a second voice said.
"Ah lay off em Kazia, we both know you have sampled more then a few. Besides ain't like the Diamyo gave cap a permit, so who cares if we have some fun with em before we ship em out." a third voice said.
"You idiots know that slavery was outlawed in Hi no Kuni years ago, only Tsuchi no Kuni still hands hands out permits. Well either way I ain't going to take the fall for you two idiots when cap or any of the clients catch ya."
Naruto finally got to see them from the shadow he was standing in. There was seven people walking down the path towards the crate. Three of them were armed with katanas with rough looking faces and equally rough clothes. The other four were bound an gag, all of them were young females with barely anything on other then rags.
"Kit calm down before you do anything stupid!" Kyūbi roared at the blond. "If you think you can take them before they either kill the girls or scatter, your dead wrong. Maybe the monkey could but you are not fast enough."
Naruto knew there wasn't anything he could do yet, but that didn't stop his blood from boiling at the site of the borderline lifeless husks that the slavers dragged along.
"OI GANJU OPEN UP!" the lead slaver yelled kicking the crate.
Naruto watched as the front of the crate opened and the seven people walked into it. From the angle he was at he couldn't see what was on the other side of the crate door. He waited till the door closed before stepping out of the shadows, eyes never leaving the door.
"There had been reports of people missing for years here, but each time we sent teams they tuned up nothing." Itachi said stepping out as well. "Guess we know why now. Come on lets get out of here before they come back, we can find another place to hold up at."
"You can do that I'm stopping this…" Naruto said before trying to walk away, he was held in place by an arm that grabbed his shoulder. "You won't stop me you know."
"I understand your pissed, but there is nothing we can do. We don't know how many are in there, we have no idea where any of them are at, and even if we did what would you do with all of the captured people?"
"I DON'T KNOW!" Naruto loudly whispered back to Itachi "What I do know is that there are people in there with their freedoms stolen from them and I have a chance to let them have their freedoms back."
"Our fight is against your father, not some pirates turned slavers."
Naruto stared back at the door before shrugging off Itachi's hand. "Wrong its against the Templars, and personally after what happened to Karin anyone else who wants to enslave or subjugate the will of others." after saying his piece Naruto started walking towards the crate.
"If you feel that strongly about this, the least I could do is make sure you ain't killed pulling this stupid stunt." Itachi said following the younger impulsive blond. "But If we are doing this we do it my way. If you can't follow my commands I will tie you up and leave with you kicking. Are we clear?"
"Crystal…"
The Creed Reborn
Karin stared at the eyes of the man in front of her. It wasn't until his eyes turned into a pinwheel that she felt above civilian charka come from the man. Everything was wrong here, when she scanned the port the first time there wasn't anyone in town who even had charka levels near what she felt coming off the man now.
"Ya heard me ya old coot! The everyone in town knows yer a Chiha, and you know most of the dam keeps round here side with Kiri on their purge. Its only thanks to me ya ain't at the bottom of the drink yet!" Gretty yelled at the man.
"Oh an I suppose you yelling at me like this is keepin me safe huh?! Hell maybe I want to be at the bottom!" the elderly Uchiha yelled back at her. "If I was down there maybe I could see her again, maybe I could say I'm sorry, but no here I am still dealing with yer dumbass!"
"We both know your wife wouldn't want ya water logged corpse."
"What the fuck would ya know about what my dead wife would want eh ya old bat?!"
"I know fer a fact that my mom died waiting on the man she loved to come back from a war she knew was over! Who's to say yer wife soul ain't waiting on her man to come back from a war that has long past!?" Gretty yelled not even paying attention to the fact that the yelling was drawing a bit of a crowd both from the patrons and the staff.
"Rot in hell ya old bat, what I do is none of your god dam concern!"
"ENOUGH!" Karin finally yelled. "The arguing is getting us nowhere. If the only person who can do it is a grouchy old Uchiha I would rather find another person."
"Come gain little girl…" at this point the Uchiha's anger had shifted from Gretty to her, and the pressure that come with it. "Yer more then welcome to find another person, hell I'd prefer it, but the second ya get close to the island the whirlpools will suck ya up."
"Then if you know that much then why not guide us?! Its just me an two others…" Karin said trying reverse physiology on the man in the off chance that he might bite.
The man dropped his anger and stared down at the ground. "Cuz its better for me to stay away."
"Because you might find her body, or because you never went to find her?" Karin said to him "Bandits killed my mom, and I couldn't bury her so Naru burned the building to the ground. When I can, even if its a hundred years from now, I am going back and giving her a proper burial."
"What does it matter. I ain't goin back that's that." he turned around an started walking towards the door grabbing another bottle of sake off of one of the other patrons tables.
"Well that went over like a bad squall…" Gretty said "Sorry kid I guess he ain't so willing after all, dam old coot."
"What happened to him?" Karin asked as she watched the man walk out the door. "I know you said his wife was on the island but there has to be more to the story then that."
"Kid I'll be honest with ya, I think I told ya too much. I ain't seen that man this mad since I was a girl. My ma told me he was Konoha nin before he was a cappin but I never believed it till now." Gretty turned an walked away "Come back tomorrow an he might be in a more talkative mood, till then go find yer brother and a good hotel."
Hanging her head Karin started walking towards the door. She had no right to bring up someones dead loved one, it was no different then if someone she didn't know brought up her mom.
She tried to pinpoint the old mans charka but now it was back to before, with only Naruto and Itachi being the only people in town who had any sizable amount of charka. Walking out the door she looked around in a vain attempt to see if she could see the man, not finding anyone on the streets that even remotely looked like him.
'Guess I'll come back tomorrow like Gretty said.' she thought before heading in the direction she felt her companions.
Her senses told her she was being watched as she walked down the street, but she couldn't see anyone and the people she could see all were going about their lives. Rubbing the ring of the kunai she tried to keep her wits about her as she changed course and led her shadow away from her companions.
Walking out of the shadows a gray hair man watched as she looked around trying to locate him. He might have been drunk, but there was something even a drunk shinobi could do and that was blend in.
The Creed Reborn
Itachi felt around the edges of the crate trying to either locate a trap or a way to open the hidden door without tipping off the people within. Each board he ran his fingers over was like the last one, covered in dust and unchanging.
'Found you.' he found the one board that wasn't wood but painted a wooden color and gently pressed on it. Under it was a rope the one that held the door shut. "Naruto come cut this." he didn't even hear the hidden blade extend as he watched the blond cleanly cut the rope.
With the tightness keeping the door closed the pair watched as it slowly slid open the well oiled wheels making next to no sound as it moved. Itachi motioned for Naruto to follow him as they entered the hideout.
Once they crossed the threshold the air around them changed from one of musty dust, to one of body odor and urine, the stench almost made Naruto want to gag. Holding his jacket sleeve in front of his nose to stem the smell he looked down the stairway that went deeper into the base. At the bottom of the stairs there was a man sitting in a chair lightly snoring.
Naruto watched as Itachi moved like a ghost down the stairs, each step taken left no sound even on the stone stairs. He was about to move until Itachi held his hand up and stopped him before pointing to the man in at the bottom.
Smoothly Itachi pulled a kunai out of his pouch and plunged it into the back of the neck of the sleeping guard. His eyes shooting open at the pain and mouth moved but no sound came from it.
Finally getting a motion from Itachi to come on down the stairs Naruto tried to follow in his footsteps, but his footfalls still left the ever so slight sound of walking in the air.
Reaching the bottom Naruto quietly followed Itachi in and out of shadows. With each step taken the smells grew stronger and the sounds of people did with it.
He stopped cold as a man walked out a bathroom doorway just in front of them. Itachi had already made it to another shadow. Focusing his eye Naruto saw Itachi move his hand across his neck while facing the blond.
Gently stepping out of the shadow Naruto grabbed the man and extended the blade plunging it into his heart before quietly dragging him back into the shadows. Unlike last time at the bandit camp it was easier for him to move the body.
Sitting down the body he crept up to Itachi and once more the pair were on the move down the tunnel. Up ahead was a door that was slightly ajar allowing some of the light from the inside to filter out.
Looking in from the crack Itachi motioned for Naruto to move past him. Inside was the three people they had saw up top before they entered. He couldn't deal with them the way they were now so he begrudgingly decided to bypass them and clear out the rest of the complex.
Each offshoot on the side of the underground base lead to either more tunnels, rooms or storage areas. There was no way this place was built by the crew that currently occupied it meaning it was an old smugglers den, back when the port was in its prime.
He caught up to Naruto who was stock still and staring at something around a doorway leading into another room. Standing up and leaning over to see, his eyes widened slightly as well. There was prison cells lining both walls each with people either bound or laying motionless on the floor.
"Itachi, can you do me a favor. Can you get these people out of here…" Naruto said to him before standing up.
"I told you if we…" it was at this point Itachi saw Naruto's sole eye it was no longer blue, but red and slit. He knew that both him and his sister held the Kyūbi in them, everyone in Konoha knew that, but not once had he ever heard of either channeling its charka.
"I don't care about orders, all of these fucks are going to die for this!" Naruto replied turning back to the doorway they had just left, he was sure he had heard voices coming from it.
"Calm down, are you an assassin or are you a man with a death wish?" Itachi told him grabbing his shoulder "If you are an assassin use your head an think this through, I don't know a single ANBU who can't channel his anger into fixing a problem. So use your anger and think of ways that you can fix whats in front of you without causing everyone in here to come chasing after us."
"Kit he's right, just like I told you when you wanted to just jump head first you need to calm down. Look if you had attacked when you wanted to a little while ago you would have lost the chance to find everyone else here. Now the question is what will you loose if you attack now, that's simple you loose the best shot you have at getting these people out safely."
'But these slavers their animals, they locked these people up like they were cattle and left them here.' Naruto had his fist so tightly balled up that blood was slowly seeping through his fingers. 'You want me to let them live after what they done?!'
"No I didn't say that, I said safety first murder them all later." Kyūbi told him "Now do me a favor and let me have my charka back, I don't have much in the first place."
Taking a deep breath Naruto released his anger and with it the charka of Kyūbi. Sensing the return to calmness Itachi let go of his shoulder and stepped back to see what the blond would do next.
"Stay your hand from the innocent, hide in plain sight, never compromise the brotherhood… these are tenets we live by… wisdom is required to discern the truth from the irony in each tenet." Naruto mumbled trying to look back on the knowledge he gained from the bunker.
"What are you talking about?" Itachi asked hearing what Naruto was saying.
"It was the creed or code that the people I look to lived by, when summed up it is plainly said Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted." An idea struck him "Itachi how long do you think we have before someone finds the bodies?"
"Honestly I couldn't tell you, that's assuming they haven't been found yet. Why do you ask?"
"I have an idea, a really stupid idea but it might work. I need to head back an hide them better, can you try an signal Karin for me since I don't know how to flex my charka." Naruto said quietly walking back towards the entrance. "You'll know the signal to start the rescue…"
'I hope you know what your doing Naruto because I'm lost now.' Itachi thought silently disappearing into the shadows.
The Creed Reborn
Her head whipped around once more trying to locate the eyes that were upon her. At this point it was nearly nighttime and the streets that were just filled with people was starting to become quiet. She had went in a giant loop trying to see which charka was the one following her, but each time she got close to figuring it out the person disappeared.
Once more her head whipped but this time it wasn't in the direction she felt eyes, but in the direction of Naruto and Itachi. The darkness she had felt inside of Naruto multiple times becoming the main feeling she got from the blond. It was a such a pit of darkness that it threatened to swallow all the light coming from the blond.
"No...no no!" Karin mumbled as she took off running in the direction of her friend. For such a dark and malicious charka to come to the forefront of the normally calm blond worried her, no it terrified her bvc. Through the alleys, around the corners, under carts and tables, the red head ran. Her mind forgetting the about the eyes that were following her.
Reaching the old port section of town she stopped an caught her breath, the charka had receded and in its place was a charka pulse almost as if to signal her. Walking through the rows of warehouses she looked around trying to figure out which one the pair had went into.
Finally stopping at one of the more run down ones she looked at its great big doors. "They are in there?" she mumbled as she tried to find a way in. Both the front and side doors were locked and she didn't have the knowledge on how to pick them.
It was then that she noticed a piece of side wall that had fallen leaving a small hole big enough for her to crawl through.
Sitting her bag on the ground she tried to crawl into the hole only to have her leg grabbed and pulled roughly out. "Ya trying to get yerself killed lass?" a gruff voice said as the arm holding her lifted her upside down to face the owner. "Only people in there are ones that are either dead to the world or just dead."
Finally seeing the owner of the voice Karin saw that it was the grumpy Uchiha that she had parted ways with not even an hour ago. Even this close to him he was only had a very slight amount more charka then a civilian. "No, my companions are in there mister Uchiha." Karin said as he snorted at the mister part "And if you don't mind putting me down I'm going in there to help them."
"Kid I figured you were a sensor the second ya started looking around for me back outside the bar. Even you should be able to tell what all is down there, its nothing but a pit of vipers and if yer friends are down there then their dead anyways."
Kicking at his wrist with her free leg Karin forced the man to free her. Landing on the ground she pulled out her only kunai and held it in a half defensive stance "One is a person who saved my life, he killed a chunin ranked missing nin and I owe him everything I have now. The other turned a blind eye and let us go when Naru was being hunted by Konoha, only to have his whole clan, YOUR CLAN, killed for even questioning Konoha! I won't let you stop me…"
"Lass I broke all ties with my clan back when I left the shinobi force, everyone of them was such a fuckin prick the world would have been better off without them." the old man said "The only family I needed I lost."
"You might have lost your family, but I refuse to loose my family!" Karin yelled back "I refuse to let the person I love fall into a pit of darkness when I could have been there to keep him grounded in the light!"
He looked down at the redhead and saw a fire in her eyes he had not seen since the first shinobi war. The will of fire, or in her case the will of water, flowed through this child in front of him.
"Heh, dam Uzu, and your will of water. You can either be someone who changes with the times, or you can be the force that crushes everything beneath your dark depths." the Uchiha said looking down at her before taking another drink of the bottle in his hand. "If your going to go, I won't stop you but know this I ain't gonna help ya either."
"I didn't expect help…" Karin said turning to enter the hole once more before turning and grabbing her bag and pulling it in.
Inside the warehouse she had to cover her mouth to stop a cough from giving herself away. Sitting her bag down she pushed it into the shadows and took off running trying to find the ladder or tunnel or whatever in order to get to the pulsing charka below her.
Finally finding a crate with a hidden door Karin stepped inside, once more covering her mouth, this time to prevent herself from puking at the stench. Looking down she saw no one but she knew this was the place she needed to go.
"Psst...Karin over here!" she heard as Naruto stepped out of the shadows at the bottom, over his shoulder was her rifle and ammo pouch.
"Are you ok?" she asked him hopping that the charka didn't have any lasting effects on the boy she loved.
"Yeah I kind of lost it for a second. If Itachi wasn't here I would have caused another issue like back when I found you, I take that back we are going to cause another issue." Naruto said holding out her rifle to her. "Tell me how many people do you feel down here?"
Closing her eyes she spread her senses out around her. "I can't tell you how many people, it would be easier for me to tell you how many people are not bunched up…" Karin opened her eyes to a grinning blond.
"Perfect. Now here's how we are going to do this…" Naruto said, both unaware of the eyes that was seeing everything they were doing.
The Creed Reborn
Naruko was sitting at her desk in her room, her lamp on as she looked over the blueprints of the hidden blade. She had been trying to figure out how in the world someone made something like this. Each part was so small that even modern smiting wouldn't be able to even come close to being able to recreate the gears and springs needed.
It was truly a masterpiece of another time.
Pulling out a child's toy she had bought she pulled the handle and watched as the scissor like action extended the claw and closed it. Turning around she aimed at a sock on the floor and once more gripped the mechanism forcing it to extend and firmly grip the sock. (1)
Pulling it back she gently tugged on the captured cotton making it stretch but not come out of the grip of the toy. Letting the mechanism go she watched as the sock fell and the claw retracted.
Placing the toy on the underside of her arm she once more pulled it and watched as the claw extend past her hand.
'Hmm too far…' she mused placing the toy on her desk. She pulled out a rolled up ruler and measured from her elbow to wrist. 'seven inches…' taking a spare piece of paper she wrote the number down. She measured once more from her wrist to the tips of her fingers and wrote the number down.
'Now the question is how to make it work, the concept is easy enough but I cant go around just holding a blade there needs to be a lock of some kind…' pulling a piece of paper she started running down the list of ideas of ideas for the release and locking mechanism.
Automatically ruling out the self retracting system the blue prints showed she started trying to figure out the best way to hide a blade like that on herself. The most obvious idea was a spring loaded system like what the hidden blade used, but then there was the locking issue, and then even if it was locked what if she needed to grab something during a fight?
So many issues to figure out, each time she answered one of the issues she had on hand two or more issues cropped up from the answer she had.
'This is giving me a headache…' she thought setting the pen down, barely on the table, and rubbing her temples.
Sitting down her arms she watched as the pen she had just been working with fell and landed in the thick carpet of her room. Bending down to pick the pen back up she had an idea raising the pen up to her knees she let it go again, once more it stuck into the carpet.
Grabbing it once more she quickly jotted the idea down.
'What is the action itself isn't spring loaded, but the lock is the only part spring loaded!' ideas on design and uses started to flood her head.
"Naruko! Dinner is ready!" she heard her mom yell.
"Okay I'll be right there!" she grabbed her papers and quickly sealed them away before placing the scroll back into its holster. She knew she needed to find a place to hide the scrolls, but with her mother being the way she was right now she knew there wasn't anywhere she could have hidden it.
Bounding down the stairs she turned into the kitchen and stopped cold. Standing beside her mother was Minato pulling plates out of the cabinet.
"How was school today kiddo?" he asked finally seeing Naruko standing in the hallway.
It was at that point she felt an overwhelming anger, an unbridled rage that boiled within. Every fiber of her being was screaming at her to attack the man in front of her. Grabbing the door frame she snapped the wood like it was a wet twig.
She felt her arms restrained by someone and quickly tried to free herself from the grip of the unknown assailant. "Calm yourself kiddo…" she heard someone whisper into her ear. The voice only grating on her nerves even more.
Finally seeing herself in the reflection of the open cabinet glass she saw that her eyes were red slits. She had no clue how to channel the Kyūbi's charka but here she was using it.
Closing her eyes she took a few calming breaths, her mind thinking of calming happy. 'Right now you don't stand a chance against him Naruko, but once you do you can rip him to shreds…' but no matter how much she tried to calm herself the demonic charka still coursed through her veins.
'I see, even this far apart Naruto still has some control over the Kyūbi and the charka Naruko carries. My only question is how did he learn how to control the beast.' Minato thought as he restrained Naruko 'I don't know who the anger is directed at, but even this much charka takes almost everything I have to restrain her.'
As qucikly as the anger came it left leaving a tired and sore Naruko. She had never felt the power that the charka carried, the pure unrefined power of a demon. Knowing this charka belonged to the Kyūbi also meant that using it had to be dangerous to herself. If not those around her, those she didn't want to kill.
"You okay sweety? You had me worried there." even pinned to the floor by Minato she could still move her head enough to see that her mom wasn't as worried as she acted, in fact she had a wild look in her eye as she gently caressed the handle of a kitchen knife.
Walking towards her Naruko's eyes widened as the green apron her mom wore seemed to take on a life of its own as it gently swayed side to side. It acted like the seal on a barely contained demon, a real demon, a demon that had insanely sweet eyes.
"She's fine love, just Naruto over training again with ANBU teams. I guess one of them manged to rile him up more then necessary." Minato said. His words seeming to calm the redheaded demon standing before them.
She felt the pressure on her back increase slightly as he bent down beside her ear. "Remember I am both your salvation and your damnation. I hold the key that keeps her sane, or unlocks her mind. You decide how you wish this family to be…" his word echoing making her panic even more then when she was under the influence of the Kyūbi.
She couldn't move her mind still trying to make up its mind what to do. She didn't even register her father standing up, she was still trying to process the words when he offered her a hand up, she watched as if out of body when she took the hand and his smile bore itself into her mind.
The smile of a man who needed to die…
The Creed Reborn
Hearing a loud crack boom Itachi stopped sending out pulses. He knew that was the signal to start he rescue operation. He waited for the guard to come running out and soon he started to hear footsteps coming his way. Still in the shadows he stabbed the running guard in the chest as he came out of the cell block doorway.
"Sorry, I don't have time…" he mumbled as he watched the body fall into the hall where he was standing. Stepping over the body he looked around at all the people that were in there, some were as young as Naruto and Karin, others were as old as his mother was.
Running over to the first cell he peered within many of the people there wouldn't have been able to last much longer "Wheres the key to the doors?!" he quickly asked them. His response was a shaky point to the wall by the door.
Grabbing the key off the wall he ran back to the door as he heard another loud bang from the hall. "I'm going to get you all out, those that can walk help those that need it. DO NOT leave this room until everyone is out. Do you understand?"
He got nods from the people inside and he unlocked the door, each cell had maybe ten people in it. Mostly females, but there was the occasional male here and there, all severely malnourished.
He reached the last cell, but this one was different then the rest. Inside was a lone teenage girl hands and feet bound, blindfold over her eyes and a gag in her mouth. Her head had been shaved and her feet cut. If it wasn't for the slow rising of her chest he would have assumed she was dead.
Bending down he moved the girls gag from out of her mouth. "Do...your...wor..st...you...shit stains…" her voice was strained and parched.
"I'm not here to hurt you." Itachi said gently as he cut the ropes binding her. Out of everyone he had seen here, she was the worst off. 'Why did they do this to her?'
He unclipped his ANBU cloak and placed it over her "Who...the fuck...are…you.." she asked.
"Someone here to help." he placed his arm under her and attempted to pick her up "Sorry it wont be the most comfortable ride, I lost an arm recently an I cant carry you like a bride." he said jokingly.
She felt him pick her up and placed her as gently as he could on his shoulders. Weakly she raised her hand and felt that he was indeed missing an arm "Fuckin...saved...by a...one...armed… cripple…" he heard he say before what little body strength she had gave out on her.
Walking back out of the cell he looked around at all of the people who were looking to him for guidance, malnourished, weak, sick each one of them all shared something, hope. There was a glimmer in their eyes that had not been there when he entered the room.
"Follow me closely anyone who still has the strength to fight take up the rear and watch for anyone coming up on us, as soon as we leave this room be ready for anything!" Itachi yelled as he walked through the crowd.
Stepping into the hall once more he heard a third shot from deeper down. He hopped that both Naruto and Karin were doing well with whatever hair brained idea the blond had. He knew that any issues he faced would be dealt with swiftly, there was no match between an ANBU and a pirate. Those two had no formal training but even without training it sounded like they were giving these slavers a solid run for their money.
His only job was getting these people back to the entrance before more of them came.
The Creed Reborn
(Minutes Before)
Karin was sitting in the shadows her flintlock rifle resting on her knee stock held firmly into her shoulder. She understood how to use this weapon thanks to the Isu archives, but knowing how to use it and actually using it were two very different things.
When she had first tried to aim with it her body couldn't hold it up long enough for her to get a stable shot, and with this being an accuracy over speed deal she couldn't just rush the shot. Naruto was counting on her, just like Itachi was waiting for the signal to get those people out of here.
The front bead of the rifle sight was lined up with a man sitting around a table playing cards with someone she couldn't see through the crack of the door. Pulling the set trigger, she placed her finger on the firing trigger. Her heart was racing, she had never killed before and at this range there was no way she could miss.
She could faintly see Naruto standing off to the side of door his hidden blade was already out ready to stab the next person that came through the door after she shot.
She thought back to his words to her, 'Remember no matter what your only job is to worry about yourself, if at any point you get overwhelmed link up with Itachi and get out of here. I'll meet up with you after I finish.' she had silently told herself she would stand beside Naruto no matter what.
"Breath in…" she whispered sucking in air before slowly letting it go. Feeling her lungs devoid of air she gently squeezed the trigger.
Crack boom.
The hall was ever so briefly lit up as the slug left the bore of the rifle. Smoke from the black powder filling the area blocking her sight as she took off running down the hall deeper into the base.
'As soon as you fire don't reload, just run and find another spot to hide before reloading.' Naruto's instructions running through her head.
Naruto watched her run off down the hall like he had told her, there was confusion in the room as the two other people in there frantically tried to understand what had happened.
"FROM THE HALL!" It didn't take long for one of them to realize that whatever had killed their partner came from the hallway. The door flew open and unknowingly mimicking Itachi Naruto stabbed the man from the side plunging it deep into his lungs. The force of the blow coupled with the forward motion of Naruto sent the man into the door frame.
"How we doing today fellas?" Naruto said raising his other hand to the last guy in the room. Once more black smoke filled the area as Naruto's own hidden gun snapped the mans head back.
Retracting his blade Naruto watched as the last of the life left from the first mans eyes, bubbling blood leaking from his side. Turning and running back down the hall in the direction Karin had run he could hear the sounds of confusion from almost every hall way he passed.
He saw Karin up ahead using a door knob as a rifle rest as she filled the flint pan with the last need powder before cocking the hammer once more. "SET!" he heard her yell before passing by her.
Pulling the set trigger once more she waited until a target showed up in her sights. It didn't take long for an unsuspecting man run around the corner from the hall in front of her.
She pulled the trigger and sent the slug once more down the barrel. The force of the impact lifted the running man off his feet as the ball slammed into his back. His followers seeing this took cover before one of them poked his head out and saw Karin running down the hall away from them.
"THERE SHE IS!" she heard one of them yell her senor telling her that there was four more behind her. She felt Naruto was ahead of her standing in one of the doorways.
Naruto watched Karin run in front of him, the aim was to lead the slavers as far as they could from Itachi. Releasing his blades he crouched low and prepared himself to shoot out into the crowd that was chasing her.
The first guy in the posse saw movement out of the corner of his eye and had just enough time to lock eyes with Naruto with his golden and blue eye before he was lifted off the ground by a hooded cannonball. One blade in the side of his gut the other just under his arm.
Rolling away from the now grounded body Naruto watched in slow motion as one of the blades tried to dissect him. Rotating his arm up he deflected the blow and raised his free hand. Two shots became one as both Karin and Naruto fired at their respective targets. Naruto's target was the one he just parried the sword strike from, Karin's the was the one beside him trying to stab the blond with his katana.
Glancing over his should he grinned at Karin as they both took off running back down the hall. Karin was leading with Naruto coming up quickly behind her.
"Hows your ammo?!" Naruto yelled matching her speed as they ran.
"Twelve...rounds left!" Karin replied breathlessly.
"Next door way duck in and reload!" he didn't even wait for her response as he changed course and took off back down the way they had came. They didn't want to out pace their pursuers after all.
Grabbing the door fame she used her momentum to swing herself into the darkened room. It was during this motion she felt wire touching her ankle, and time seemed to slow down as the wire got taunter. Eyes widened as she felt it give way.
Two glimmers could be seen faintly as the senbon launchers released their darts sending the darts towards the doorway. One sinking itself into the hand guard of her rifle the other in her shoulder. Her adrenaline so high that her mind didn't even register the pain until looked down at it.
She stopped dead and dropped her rifle, the burning sensation coursing through her shoulder an into her arm was more then just the pain from the small metal dart. It meant one thing, poison. Shakily she reached up and grabbed the dart before roughly pulling it out. She had no idea what kind of poison it was, but any kind at this point was deadly.
Bending down and picking up her rifle once more she leaned it against the wall. 'I have a job to do…' she reached around and pulled out a paper cartridge before biting the top off.
'I have a job…' she poured the powder out and pushed the lead ball down until it sat snugly at the end of the bore.
"I have a…job…" taking the ram rod out from under the barrel she pressed the ball down until it sat against the black powder.
"I have … a…job…"sitting down she lifted the rifle as best she could with her one arm and rested it on knee and reached for one more powder packet.
"I can't…let…him…." her vision was getting blurry as she saw Naruto fighting down the hall. Shakily pouring the powder in the pan she reached up an cocked the hammer.
"I…I…" raising he stock to her should she pulled the set trigger and took aim. Her vision swimming as she tried to tell who was who in the crowd of people.
Crack boom.
She watched as one of the people in front of her fell. Her body felt heavy as she fell over on her side, poison finally taking full effect on her. Never hearing the sounds of someone yelling her name, never seeing someone take off running towards her.
"KARIN!"
The Creed Reborn
The sound of a pencil scratching on paper could be heard in the room, it was late at night and Naruko was staring down at a notebook, one that she had decided to make her log. It was a decision she did not make lightly because it was going to be her only form of salvation for the foreseeable future.
'Day 1 Date September 7th
How long until I break, this is a question I have come to ask myself time and time again since by brother left.
Growing up in the Namikaze family I never really thought much of it, why I was placed on a pedestal while Naruto was shunned. I was happy, I had a father that loved me, a mother I could count on, and a brother that was never around and to me that was a perfect family. Had training given to me by mom, sealing arts, Uzumaki style tai and kenjutsu, and some of our clan history. My father Minato Namikaze gave me pointers on how to train better, encouraging words, and someone I could vent to.
IT WAS ALL A LIE.
All it took was one day, one action from Naruto for the world to come crashing down like a castle of glass.
I should hate him, I should want to rip him apart, but there is something else I need to do before I could hate him.
Thank him…
He opened my eyes to the way this world is. He showed me through actions that my fath, no Minato, is not the saint our class history books have him portrayed. He is a monster, a monster that is in control of the strongest military in the country.
My mother is just as guilty, she is so brainwashed by that man she doesn't even see the harm it is causing me...no not just me, the harm that it has caused her children. When she did finally realize her errors, Minato came along an shattered her already broken mind to the point where I have no clue if I will ever see her again.'
Naruko placed her pencil down and leaned back in her chair an looked up at the darkness of the ceiling above her. Her emotions all over the place. Sitting back up right she reread what she had wrote before continuing.
'Emotions, I wonder why it is that we have them. Do we have them because Kami willed it, or do we have them for some reason that even Kami herself doesn't even understand?
It's just like when I was younger, my mom use to tell me stories of the war and I would feel sorry for the people, I would feel sorry for her. She went through so much and I thought if anyone was indestructible, both mentally and physically, it would be her. She was nearly kidnapped, blown up, stabbed, and fought the Kyūbi minutes after giving birth to me and Naruto.
Now all there is left of her is a shell.
I will play your game, I will listen to your orders, and I will try to hold on as long as I can, until the day that I can get away from this hell...or until the day I finally end it all.
I refuse to break...'
Sitting her pencil down she closes her newly started journal. It would become her new outlet, her only outlet.
Sealing the book away she turned off the light and laid down her mind finally able to release all of its mental frustrations. Closing her eyes she slowly drifted off to sleep the one place she would be able to be her true self.
The Creed Reborn
Where was this. There was a tunnel, a dimly lit one, the walls were rock and the wooden beams aged but sturdy. There was a loud crack boom the drew the attention of the person. Turning in the tunnel to watch in slow motion as the a red head slumped over.
'Where am I?'
"KARIN!" once more the person turned to look at the voice who yelled. The hooded figure had a glowing eye under the hood as he turned his back on his opponent trying to run to the side of his fallen comrade.
But the mans opponent was faster and was able to strike out cutting the back of the leg of the running man. His leg unable to hold the weight of his body fell to the floor. His sole glowing eye looked up at the fallen red head, before trying to flip over and face his attacker.
Raising his hand like he was trying to activate something the only sound in the tunnels was a deafening click.
The person watched in horror as the blade fell upon the hooded figure puncturing his chest and pinning him to the floor. They watched as the life from his eye faded a once glowing golden eye slowly dimming as the heart beat its last times.
Then time froze.
'Who is that?'
"KARIN!" the figure once more yelled but this time facing his opponent as he blocked a sword strike with a blade that ejected from his wrist.
'I know that blade…'
He forced his way through the strong armed defense of the man before trying to stab him with the extended blade, once more the man was faster and stepped back out the way of the hooded man forcing him to overextend.
Blood sprayed on the ceiling of the tunnels as as sword came up and cut the chest of the man. His hood falling from his head showing a head of spiky blond. In a flash the sword came back down cutting at an opposite angel from the first cut.
Their eyes locked, or it seemed like they did as the last of the life faded once more from the now blue and gold eyes. Blood soaked into the hard ground as the man stabbed him once more through the chest.
'NARUTO!' the figure reached out trying to grab the blond before it. Then there was silence.
"KARIN!" the once more hooded Naruto yelled glancing over at the fallen girl. He side stepped a swing and extend his blade once more.
Unable to block the now extending blade the man shifted his wieght so the blade would only slice into his arm and not the chest. A pained grunt exited his mouth as the blade entered into his sword arm. With his free hand he reached up and grabbed the hand of Naruto before angling the sword up and pulling Naruto into it.
'I can't…'
The sword entered his gut as Naruto puked up blood. Using all the strength he could muster he raised his hand once more and another blade extended itself. With wide eyes the man looked at his impending doom as the blade entered his eye socket and buried itself into his brain.
Naruto watched as the mans grip on his hand fell and he turned around to look once more at the girl before falling over himself. Each breath he took was followed by blood as his punctured lungs filled with the red liquid.
'No more… I can't watch him die…'
"KARIN!"
Time and time again the person watched as Naruto tried and failed to reach the girl laying in the hall. Each time was different from the last, but each one lead to the same conclusion.
His death.
'Make it stop!'
The Creed Reborn
One blue and one gold eye shot open as the owner shot up out of the bed. 'It was just a dream, it was just a dream…" Naruko repeated to herself over and over again as she tried to calm her breathing.
Throwing her blankets to the side she got up and walked to the bathroom hopping that splashing some water on her face would bring her out of the nightmare she had just had. There was no way her brother was in a fight, no way that he would could die.
Cutting the water one she cupped her hands and splashed handfuls of water on her face. Reaching for the towel to dry her face off she winced as pain shot through her right eye for a split second.
Drying her face off she looked up at the mirror in front of her. A pair of blue eyes stared back, her right more bloodshot then the left.
AN: Hope yall enjoyed it since I wasn't able to meet the 10k mark like what I wanted, but if I added more I would have broken the cliffhangers, ya know all of the ones I placed in here…Anyway I will give your props if you can figure stuff out from this chapter, I mean there's quite a few things going on sure, and if you figure any of it out leave me a review.
I know I said this back in chapter 3 but I swear the prologue is almost over yall. Then its nothing but smooth sailing from there.
1. Some might remember these things but look up Extendable Arm Grabber Toys to get an idea
Just because someone is going to ask and I forgot I decided to make a list of ages at the bottom.
Naruto/Naruko/Karin 10
Kushina/Minato 35
Itachi 15
(REDACTED) 13