Chapter 2
Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Ninja Gaiden or DOA
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I forgot to mention last chapter, I'm using Narutopedia, Ninja Gaiden Wiki and the Dead or Alive Wiki as my main references so if you aren't sure about a name, character, technique, weapon, etc. those are the places to go. This story starts about six months before the first Ninja Gaiden game on X-Box.
Last time:
"It seems we have made some interesting new friends Genjiro. Perhaps we could learn some of their ninja ways and teach them some of our own in return. I'm under the impression they will be staying with us her for some time as we don't know where their home even is or if it still exists. From what that mononoke said it sounds as if you come from another time my young friends."
"Do you know how crazy that sounds Jô?" asked Genjiro with a sweat drop.
"You do realize in this day and age the idea of ninja clans and mononokes sound ridiculous to most people of this world Genjiro?" Jô quipped back.
"Point taken." pouted Genjiro.
For better or for worse it seemed that Hyūga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto were in a different time and place. It seemed they were pilgrims in an unholy land….
The Hayabusa Sacred Wilderness
It had been two weeks since Master Ninja Hyabusa Jô and his comrade Genjiro found Naruto and Hinata. Hinata was fully recovered by this point and she and Naruto were demonstrating their taijutsu to the older ninjas by practicing on shadow clones. Naruto was using the Toad style and Hinata was using the Jūken style. The two fighting styles were radically different from one another and Jô was impressed that the two were so formidable bare handed. They also demonstrated they were excellent with kunai and shuriken.
On the other hand, neither knew a thing about swordplay other than how to counter it and they weren't particularly familiar with bows either (although Hinata seemed to have a knack for it due to her byakugan). Both veterans agreed that they could teach the basics of handling a bow but decided that anything advanced should be taught by Omitsu back at the Hayabusa village. Swords and other equipment they could teach easily though and soon Naruto and Hinata were doing sword katas with practice swords in hopes of gaining some proficiency.
Genjiro and Naruto sparred a lot. Genjiro was shocked at the sheer stamina the boy had. He could take a beating for hours and still come back for more. The elder ninja also found out that the toad style was brutal on the receiving end. Much to Genjiro's delight, Naruto was all for full contact sparring. Most students Genjiro taught wanted him to pull his punches but Naruto didn't want him to hold back at all. Even when the elder ninja used a practice sword against Naruto he found that the young Toad Sage seemed to have an endless bag of tricks involving his clones and lesser jutsus. The only thing Naruto held back was sage mode. He didn't want to seriously hurt anyone after all.
Likewise Jô found the jūken style to be astounding and unlike anything he'd faced before. The Hyūga girl was also incredibly flexible which allowed her to avoid hits and sword strikes with remarkable ease. It was almost like she was dancing to an observer. Jô always won due to experience and endurance but the fact she could keep him occupied and on the defensive sometimes was amazing for someone so young. She normally didn't use chakra in her strikes but when she did it hurt like hell.
Hinata was trying to see if it was possible to teach the veteran ninjas how to use chakra but so far it was difficult. In spite of their best efforts Jô and Genjiro were so used to focusing on spiritual and physical energy separately that combining the two was completely impossible to them.
After about a month of training they decided that Naruto and Hinata were prepared enough to try real swords. Jô wrote a letter to send back to the Hayabusa village for some basic swords and was preparing to send it by falcon when something highly unusual happened. In the night while he was on watch he detected an animal that came to the edge of the camp. When he went to investigate the animal was gone but it left behind three scrolls. 'Was it another Mononoke?' he pondered. He took the three scrolls and found they were sealed in some way and would not open. He decided to wait until morning when the others awoke.
Hinata was the first up and looked over the scrolls at Jô's behest. One had the Konoha symbol on it, one had the Hyūga clan yin-yang crest and the last had the Uzumaki swirl. She was completely shocked and woke up Naruto immediately and Genjiro in the process. Naruto soon examined the scrolls and deciphered the seals on them. While he was not a seal master he had learned enough from Jiraiya to do the basics. Actually he had a knack for sealing but sadly his training in fuinjutsu was over without any training materials.
"Apply a bit of chakra to the Hyūga crest Hinata-chan. Let's see if it opens." instructed Naruto.
Hinata agreed and channeled some chakra into the scroll. It unfurled easily then. She opened the scroll and found it was ancient. "It is a jūken scroll Naruto-kun! There are several different types here including 'Water Style." I've never heard of this type before. I wonder if I could use it since I'm a water type." she mused aloud. "This scroll was written by Hyūga Harumi! She was my great-great grandmother. I always heard she was a radical and a black sheep of the family because she altered the jūken style to her needs. I heard all her writings were destroyed."
"What happened to her Hinata-chan? Was she punished?" Naruto asked concerned.
Hinata smiled. "Actually they attempted to throw her out of the main family and brand her with the caged bird seal. As it turned out she was so strong that she defeated all her detractors and later married the clan head I'm descended of. I always idolized her because I wanted to change the clan too. I'm sure I have much I can learn from this!" she exclaimed.
Jô stood looking over her shoulder perplexed. "I hate to say this Hinata-san but isn't this a little too convenient? Who had this scroll and why? You have a mysterious benefactor that obviously knows you or your clan at least and we have no idea at all who it is. That scroll is well preserved but it's obviously hundreds of years old."
"I have to agree with Jô, Hinata." said Genjiro suspiciously. Someone must have been observing us for some time and decided to drop off this little treasure for an unknown reason."
"Let check the other two scrolls." interjected Naruto. "I want to see what's in them."
"Go ahead Naruto-kun. I hope there are things you can learn too." said Hinata excitedly.
Naruto applied chakra to the Uzumaki swirl and like the Hyūga scroll it came open easily. Naruto immediately started reading. "It's a scroll on the 'Whirlpool style of kenjutsu and some medium to advanced fuinjutsu. This is amazing! I'm going to have to ask the various summoned animals and see if they know something. It looks like it was written by Uzumaki Kensuke. I've never heard of him."
"What about the last scroll Naruto?" asked Genjiro.
"Good question. Let's find out." said Naruto as he applied chakra to the last scroll. When it opened, two sheathed blades and several smaller scrolls fell out.
"These scrolls all look new as if someone wrote them recently." said Jô. He picked up the katana sized blade and unsheathed it. It looked pristine and had a blue tinge about it. "This is a beautiful blade. I wonder about the color though. I've never seen one quite like it."
He noticed Naruto and Hinata staring at the blade with awe in their eyes. "That's chakra metal; it's worth a fortune!" exclaimed Hinata.
"Chakra metal? I've never seen the like. Why is it so valuable?" asked Genjiro.
"It can conduct chakra." explained Naruto. "I'll show you. May I see that katana Jô?" Jô nodded and handed the blade over. Naruto took the blade over to a tree stump and slashed it. The blade made a slice in the wood like it was paper.
"Well, obviously it's a good blade to cut so cleanly." spoke Genjiro.
Hinata spoke up. "Naruto-kun, channel your wind chakra through it and show them the difference."
"Sure thing Hinata-chan." Naruto streamed wind chakra through the blade and it glowed slightly to everyone's eye. "Watch now." said Naruto as he sliced again. The blade cut the entire stump in half and the wind blade emitted from it dug a furrow in the ground and sliced a large rock in half as well.
Genjiro was slack-jawed and Jô's eyebrows were raised as high as they would go. Naruto sheathed the blade and said, "As you can see, a sword like this would be highly coveted in the Elemental Countries." He looked at the hilt of the blade. "Damn, the inscription on it says it was forged in Iron Country. No wonder it's such high quality. Here Genjiro; try it out and try putting your ki into it. Maybe it will channel that as well."
Genjiro graciously accepted the sword from Naruto and tested the weight, balance and sharpness of the sword with a few practice swings. "This blade is perfectly balanced and incredibly sharp. It was obviously created by a master sword smith." After a few swipes with it he tried channeling ki into as if he was going to do ninpo. The blade glowed faintly yellow and sliced through the hapless stump they were practicing on leaving scorch marks and the smell of ozone in the air.
"Let me guess, you were trying a lightning ninpo?" asked Naruto.
Genjiro nodded. "Yes, I was trying a minor electric shock ninpo that stuns an enemy. This katana is simply amazing!"
Jô tried it out as well using a fire ninpo with equally impressive results. The stump had been partially reduced to charcoal where it made contact. "I must say, I've never seen the like Naruto. This blade is superb. Treasure it well."
Naruto accepted the blade back from Jô and turned to Hinata. "What about that kodachi Hinata-chan? It looks perfect in size for you."
Hinata pulled the kodachi from its sheath and examined it. "It says this was made in Kiri on the hilt. This is made of chakra metal too." she said admiring the jet-black blade.
"Try it out Hinata-chan!" said Naruto excitedly.
Hinata giggled. "Very well, just for you." she replied as she tried it on what remained of the stump. It cut clean but when she added water chakra to it the blade turned the water to ice and completely shattered the remnants of the stump. "Wow! It seems this blade was made specifically for water and ice users." The others tried it out and sure enough, only water and ice worked with it.
The Hayabusa ninja were stunned. They wondered if old Muramasa would know about chakra metal. From what Naruto and Hinata were describing these were rare, high quality blades but not truly 'legendary" ones. Still, even if these blades weren't on par with the Dragon Sword they were certainly very powerful in their own right. The two veterans listened with rapt attention to the stories of the samurai of Iron Country and the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist from Kiri. It seemed that the blades were indeed from legendary times. This begged the question, who left them here for Hinata and Naruto?
Naruto quickly checked the smaller scrolls that were packed in with the swords. "These are all C to B ranked jutsus of all elements Hinata-chan! This is a gold mine!" he exclaimed.
"Really? Whoever our benefactor is must be extremely generous." said Hinata. "It also means that person is dangerous though. They obviously have been observing the four of us for some time to know exactly what we needed Naruto-kun."
"I agree but there are so many summoned creatures running around here that a regular chakra signature would be easy to camouflage." explained Naruto. "Even with my sensory ninjutsu it would be difficult to detect someone skilled. I wonder if I could track down Razorback and ask him. He seems pretty knowledgeable."
"It's worth a shot Naruto-kun." she replied.
Naruto went into Sage mode and sat down, reaching out with his senses. He detected many mononoke all around and sensed the ki signatures of Jô and Genjiro. Though it wasn't clear he found that Jô was at least sannin level whereas Genjiro seemed to be on par with an elite jonin. Needless to say he was very impressed even if he was only gauging their spiritual energy. Of course, he and Hinata already knew their impromptu senseis were very powerful and worthy of respect. It was just one thing to say it and another to see it so to speak. He guessed Hinata had known all along because of her byakugan.
Speaking of Hinata, the young woman seemed to have grown in confidence by leaps and bounds over the last month. She hardly even stuttered now. Naruto hadn't ever noticed how beautiful she was or how much he liked her gentle voice or her laugh. He was amazed such a kunoichi would have such strong feelings for him. The two had spent a great deal of time talking and spending time together when they weren't training. They agreed to get to know each other better as friends and see how it went from there. Naruto was a bit shocked at how well she knew him and how little he knew about her. Rather than be discouraged about their circumstances, Hinata had looked at the situation as a new chance to learn and grow. Naruto was very impressed with her and often found his thoughts drifting to her.
Naruto focused back on the task and found nothing out of the ordinary (for a forest full of summoned creatures). His sensory ninjutsu having failed, the young Sage created about fifty shadow clones to seek out various mononoke and ask them if they knew anything about the Konoha ninja's mysterious benefactor.
It would be days before they found out anything but all the various mononoke would say is there was a 'forest guardian spirit' that had helped them out for countless generations. They felt that Naruto and Hinata were blessed by this benevolent guardian for whatever reason. Razorback himself said he believed the guardian had been there since time immemorial. For the time being it was to remain a mystery although Naruto had the distinct impression that somewhere, someone was safely hidden away laughing at their attempts to find him/her/it. On the other hand, they felt whoever was helping them deserved their eternal gratitude.
It wasn't long after that Jô received the clothing and supplies that he'd sent for from the Hayabusa Village. As it turned out, many of the kunoichis back home thought that he and Genjiro were up to something perverted when they requested kunoichi clothing. The two were at a loss when they read a particularly scathing letter from Omitsu saying they'd better have a 'good explanation when they got back.' The normally unflappable Jô was absolutely dumbstruck by the various accusations. Needless to say, Naruto thought it was hysterical. (For some odd reason Jô was particularly sadistic in his training of Naruto that day).
Naruto's clones searched throughout the forest looking for this mysterious 'Guardian" but had no luck. On the fifth day since Naruto and Hinata received the clothes from the Hayabusa village, Genjiro saw a strange sight while out hunting for lunch. A silver rabbit standing on its hind legs marched over to him with a sense of purpose. The rabbit had an eye patch, leather samurai armor and a wakizashi strapped on his side. "I am Yagyu, Dragon Ninja. I have travelled here to see this self declared 'Toad Sage' that many in this forest speak of. You will take me to him immediately." said the rabbit in a steely voice.
Genjiro stared at the rabbit mononoke "…." and wondered how a diminutive three and a half foot rabbit could sound so authoritative.
"Are you deaf human? Lead me to the self-proclaimed Sage." growled Yagyu.
After the talking boar business Genjiro figured he might as well go along with it and said, "Follow me Yagyu-san"
"That's Yagyu-sama to you Dragon Ninja." replied the rabbit.
Genjiro sighed. 'I'll never understand these mononoke.' he thought to himself. Plastering on a fake smile, Genjiro said, "Of course Yagyu-sama." while he fantasized about making some nice rabbit stew. The two travelled back to the camp in silence.
When they made it to the clearing they found Jô and Hinata sparring. Hinata now sported a light blue training gi and wore her lavender coat over it. Naruto was sitting Indian style on the ground meditating. He had a black gi and had his red and black sage coat over it.
Yagyu stared at Naruto a moment and said. "This is the so called Sage? Stand up boy and greet me with the proper respect!"
Naruto didn't budge an inch. He either didn't hear Yagyu or was ignoring the rabbit. "Very well boy. I will teach you proper respect!" The rabbit moved as a blur drawing his wakizashi in the process. The others cried out as Yagyu aimed to take Naruto's head off at the neck….only to be completely blown away by a rasengan that hit him directly in the chest. Yagyu spun wildly though the air until he collided painfully with a tree and dropped his sword. Naruto was still sitting with his arm extended as he dispelled his rasengan.
Yagyu came around moments later coughing in pain and looked up. He saw Naruto towering over him in Sage mode with a scowl on his face. "I don't know who you think you are rabbit but respect from me is earned; not given. Why did you come here and why did you attack me when I was obviously meditating? It's rather rude you know."
Yagyu groaned. "Forgive me Sage but I was sent to test you to see if you were truly worthy of the title." He coughed again. "I apologize for my trespass. Please call me Yagyu."
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, Yagyu. If you promise to do no more attempts at harming us we will see about tending your wounds. If you don't promise I will shatter your sword and with it you honor as a swordsman."
Yagyu's one eye opened wide in fright at the thought of losing his sword that now was in Naruto's hands. "I give you my solemn vow as a samurai I will not raise a hand against you or your friends." he croaked out.
Naruto smiled and released his sage mode and said, "Good! I'll carry you over to Hinata-chan and see if she can patch you up."
A few minutes later Hinata had removed the torn up chest armor from Yagyu and was using the mystic palm technique to heal his upper body. Luckily for Yagyu, Naruto used a low powered rasengan so other than some serious bruising he was alright with no broken ribs. "There we are Yagyu-san. You'll still be tender for a while but most of it is taken care of." said Hinata kindly.
"Thank up Hinata-san. You are very skilled as a healer. I am in your debt." Yagyu sat up and looked at his shredded armor. It had held but Yagyu had no doubt Naruto chose to spare him. "Naruto-sama, there have been no Sages for centuries so no one believed you were one but all doubts have been cleared from my mind. Thank you for sparing my life."
"Don't think anything of it." said Naruto. "I don't believe in killing if I can help it. Besides; the six friends of yours hiding in the underbrush surrounding us would have hated me if I killed you without mercy."
Yagyu looked around embarrassed and six large sweat-drops formed in the bushes surrounding the camp. Naruto laughed. "You all can come out now."
Various rabbits dressed as archers with bows came out into the clearing looking rather depressed. One with a bandanna asked, "How long did you know we were there Sage?"
Naruto shook his head amused. "You arrived and set up your points to shoot from ten minutes before Yagyu arrived. He was walking intentionally slow."
"Gee, I feel kind of outclassed." said a brown rabbit.
"Ditto." agreed a black one.
"Well if there is a Sage among us we must inform the Elders of our tribe. We want to avoid conflict." said another brown rabbit that was gray around the muzzle. "That was reckless Yagyu. You were supposed to challenge him to a spar."
Yagyu kneeled. "I am sorry Uncle Toru. You know I hate being ignored."
Toru rapped his nephew on the head. "You may be among our strongest but you are certainly not the wisest." Toru turned to Naruto. "Sage, I ask that you forgive my nephew's brashness. He inherited it from his mother's side."
Naruto nodded in agreement and Toru continued. "If I may ask, do you claim this forest as yours now? We do not wish to fight you and the Dragon Ninja were unaware of us mononoke so we never bothered with them."
Genjiro had a rain cloud over his head. 'Now I'm being talked down about by a bunch of rabbits. What is this world coming to?'
For his part, Jô was more curious than anything. He'd never heard of a group of rabbit mononoke and he wondered how long they'd been hidden in the Sacred Wilderness.
Hinata couldn't help herself. In spite of all her kunoichi training she wanted to yell out "Kawaii!" but kept herself in check and examined them with her byakugan. As she suspected, adorable or not they had chakra.
Naruto surprised Toru with his answer. "I'm not claiming any territory and I don't wish to disturb the balance of things in any way. I would like to count the rabbits among my friends though. What you lack in stature is more than made up in strength and speed."
Toru was surprised but hid it well. "I will tell the Elders of your wishes. Thank you Sage and consider rabbits visiting the area among your allies." Toru bowed and grabbed Yagyu and forced him to bow as well. The other rabbits followed suit. Naruto and the others returned the gesture and the rabbit clan members disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Naruto put his hands behind his head and stretched. "Well, that was interesting eh, Hinata-chan? I sensed they had chakra. Did you as well?"
Hinata nodded. "Yes Naruto-kun. When I looked at them with my byakugan they all had around genin level chakra except Yagyu and Toru that were high chunin." Then she squealed "And they were so cute!"
Hinata blushed as the others chuckled at her reaction. "I guess they were really cute Hinata-chan. Still, they were dangerous even if they looked like stuffed animals. I would have hated to battle them." laughed Naruto.
That evening….
A messenger falcon arrived from the Hayabusa Village. Reading the contents of the message, Jô said grimly, "We have to head back. It seems my former brother-in-law Murai is up to something. His Shadow Ninja have been seen about and are violating our neutrality with them. We leave in the morning Genjiro. Naruto, Hinata; I can't ask you to get involved in clan affairs that may put you in danger but you are welcome to stay here and train if you wish."
"Actually, we know nothing of this region Jô-sama so Naruto-kun and I would like to accompany you if you will allow it." Hinata said sincerely. "We have already discussed this at length and would be honored if you would let us travel with you to your village. Perhaps it would provide us with clues of where we are in relation to the Elemental Countries provided they still exist."
"It could be a treacherous path. The Shadow Ninjas are led by a rogue from the Hayabusa Clan and are not to be taken lightly." said Jô.
Naruto's eyes glowed slightly in the dimming evening light. "Then it will be a chance for Hinata-chan and I to test our skills." he replied grinning ferally.
"After we've made it past them and into your village perhaps we can train with this Omitsu woman you both fear so greatly." added Hinata with humor in her voice.
Genjiro looked slightly panicked and then said "Jô and I most certainly do not fear Omitsu but we have a great deal of respect for her."
Hinata giggled. "You can't hide fear from these eyes Genjiro. You pulse is elevated and you are perspiring. At least Jô-sama hides it better."
"You are on your way to becoming a dangerous kunoichi Hinata." Jô replied dubiously before Genjiro stuck his foot in his mouth….again. But seriously, Omitsu could be scary as hell! "Alright my young friends, seeing your minds are set you may join us but since we have years of experience over you and know the territory I expect you to obey our orders if a combat situation arises."
"Hai, Jô-sama!" replied the two Konoha ninja.
Nodding in agreement, the group settled in for the night with Naruto's shadow clones pulling guard duty so they all would be well rested. In the morning the group suited up (Naruto and Hinata back in their stained combat gear with their gi's packed conveniently in scrolls) and set out for the Hayabusa village.
The group moved at a brisk pace for days. Eventually they made it to the Sea of Trees near the Hayabusa Village. Naruto and Hinata took to the trees and Hinata used her byakugan periodically to search for hostiles while Jô and Genjiro maneuvered along the practically non-existent paths with swiftness only a Master could use. It was around noon that Hinata spotted something and signaled Naruto to drop out of the canopy with her and inform the others.
She reported, "There are small groups of four to five ninjas surrounding a village about seven miles north of here. They appear to be information gathering as they are stationary and camouflaged. They are probably watching for patrol routes and schedules in and out of the village."
"Is there anything notable about the village?" asked Jô.
Hinata nodded. "It is compact and is overlooked by a fortification that has multiple dragon motifs on it. It looks very well constructed from this range."
"Your eyes are truly amazing Hinata." said Genjiro. "What you've described is The Castle of the Dragon that has looked over the Hayabusa Village for centuries. It's well hidden and ordinarily you can't even see it unless you know where to look."
Naruto sat down and used hiss sensory ninjutsu. "The closest team isn't that far away from us and they don't have a lot of ki. They're probable not that highly ranked. We should capture them and interrogate them."
"Let's look for a group that's more isolated from the others." said Jô. "We don't want them to alert the other teams. "Hinata, can you see a group that suits our purpose?"
Hinata nodded and silently shot back up into the canopy along with Naruto. They came back down ten minutes later. "There are six groups surrounding the village. The one furthest northwest past the village is hidden in a grove they couldn't signal anyone from except by radio. They seem to be having a meal and don't have a sentry." she said as she drew a map on the ground. "They are more out of the way but I believe our chances of success are high."
"The fact you were on a scouting team really shows Hinata-chan." Naruto praised. She smiled in return.
"It will take about twenty extra minutes to get there." said Genjiro analyzing the basic map Hinata drew.
"Let's do this." said Jô. "We'll capture one of them quick and clean and dispose of the rest. I want you two youngsters in the trees above them. Any that escape our initial attack I want you to take out with kunai and shuriken. Make sure they're dead before they can signal anyone. Understood?" The two Konoha ninja nodded realizing that mercy wasn't an option.
As they shot through the canopy Naruto asked, "Are you going to be okay Hinata-chan? Jiraiya taught me how to kill but I don't like it at all."
"I'll be alright Naruto-kun. I've had to kill before too." she said reassuringly.
Soon they arrived at the enemy's location. The young pair watched from above as Jô cut three ninjas down effortlessly and Genjiro knocked out another. The fifth and last one tried to run but a shuriken to the throat from Hinata and a kunai to the head from Naruto made sure he stayed silent forever. Jô looked up at the younger ninjas and nodded. Hinata stayed in the canopy to remain on lookout and Naruto came down to pull the corpse back into the grove with the others. Naruto felt a bit ill pulling the bloody kunai and shuriken out of the dead shadow ninja but recovery of their particular weapons was rather vital as they had no way to replace them.
Soon the four dead shadow ninja's bodies were hidden and the captive one was still unconscious. "Are you alright Naruto?" asked Genjiro concerned. "You don't look too good."
"I will never get used to killing." Naruto simply stated.
Jô put a hand on his shoulder. "You and Hinata are too young to be completely used to killing. If you accepted it as normal I would be truly concerned. Others may tell you otherwise but as a Master Ninja I can tell you it takes years to get used to and even then taking a life isn't easy. We should discuss this along with Hinata once we are safely back in the village. Right now I need you both focused. Head back up and keep Hinata company." Naruto nodded and hopped back into the trees to relay what Jô said to Hinata.
Genjiro and Jô interrogated the Shadow Ninja and found they were looking for the whereabouts of the Dark Dragon Blade and that was all he knew. 'For what purpose?' pondered Jô. After they disposed of the last Shadow Ninja they signaled the other two to come down. "We're heading to the village covertly." explained Jô. "We can send out patrols to eliminate the remaining Shadow Ninja camps without them being any the wiser that we know why they are here. Follow Genjiro and I closely you two."
The four ninja stealthily moved low among the trees through a series of winding paths that led to a hidden entrance to the village. After slipping through the hidden passage it opened and waiting on the other side was a woman in Shrine Maiden garb that wore a Magatama on a rosary around her neck. It was glowing fiercely and she had an equally fearsome look upon her face. Around her were several Dragon ninjas with blades drawn.
Jô was a bit puzzled that anyone would be there to meet them. The entrance was a secret save to a select few. "Kureha, why have you brought our people to this hidden entrance? It is not to be revealed except in dire emergencies. Why is the Eye of the Dragon glowing so?"
"Forgive me Jô-sama but this is a dire emergency." answered the now named Kureha. "The Eye of the Dragon has been giving me visions of something from before the Age of Myth. I do not know if it is good or evil but I must investigate it before I can allow it to enter our village."
"What is it?" asked Jô commandingly.
Kureha could tell Jô was not pleased but simply pointed at Naruto. "It is contained within him."
Naruto looked like he'd been punched in the gut. Sadness filled his eyes. "Even here I am hated for what I am." he said solemnly. "I will leave Jô-sama, I don't wish to disturb your village or its people." Hinata hugged him gently to comfort him.
"By no means will you be thrown from this village." said Jô in a tone that would brook no opposition. "We will sit down and discuss this rationally. Everyone put your blades away and return to your duties." He turned to Genjiro. "Organize a hunting party and wipe out those camps Genjiro. Kureha, I and our two guests will sit down to discuss things rationally and not at sword point."
Everyone turned to their duties not being able to look Jô in the eye. Genjiro patted Naruto on the shoulder and said, "It will work out my friend."
"Kureha, lead us to the shrine where we will talk." He turned to his left. "You can join us too Ryu. Come out here my son."
Hayabusa Ryu came out of the shadows looking a little embarrassed his father spotted him so easily….
The Dragon Shrine a few minutes later….
Kureha was the last to sit down. She was directly across from Naruto. The group had been briefly introduced and it was revealed that Ryu was the heir of the Hayabusa clan and he was about twenty. Naruto and Hinata revealed they were fifteen. Ryu was highly suspicious of Naruto and didn't want him in striking range of Kureha, hence the seating arrangement. He didn't know what to think of Hinata but he assumed she was blind.
Jô said calmly. "Tell me what visions you have seen Kureha and we will try to make sense of it. I have interacted with Naruto for some time and I find it difficult to believe he is evil as you say."
The shrine maiden shook her head. "I never said I was certain he was evil but that my visions said I must determine if what he contains is good or evil Jô-sama."
"Contains? Explain yourself Kureha." commanded Jô.
"It would be easier if I explained it, Jô-sama." interjected Naruto. Jô nodded in assent.
Naruto explained, "I am the container of the nine-tailed fox, Kyūbi no Kitsune. His name is Kurama and he is a tailed beast. He was sealed in me on the day of my birth to prevent him from destroying my home village of Konoha. Many viewed me as a demon in human form because I contained the fox but I have always sought to prove them wrong by doing good things. Kyū- I mean Kurama is full of hate and malice and is not happy about being imprisoned within me. People like me who contain tailed beasts are called jinchūriki and generally are hated for what we contain and are viewed as weapons to be used by our villages."
Kureha gasped, "K-Kurama? The greatest of the spirit beasts? How?"
Ryu looked more disturbed at Kureha's reaction than Naruto's explanation. "Kureha…?" he asked seeing her shocked expression.
Kureha stood up. "Forgive me but I must retrieve one of the ancient texts we have stored. All of you please wait here." she said as she departed rapidly.
"Were you intending to share this information with me Naruto?" asked Jô.
"I planned to eventually Jô-sama but I have had such a stigma all my life that I was afraid to. I didn't mean to deceive you…."
Jô frowned. "Then these Sage powers of yours actually come from the fox? I didn't sense any evil. I felt harmony when you used those powers."
Naruto shook his head. "No, my Sage powers are drawn from nature around me. The fox's powers are beyond my ability to control fully. I never use them unless there is absolutely no other choice."
Jô was about to comment when Kureha came back in toting a huge, ancient looking scroll. When she sat it down with a 'thump' a cloud of dust rose from it. "Sorry it took so long. It has been in storage a long time." she said.
Everyone fanned the dust away from their noses and eyes. "What is in this scroll?" asked Ryu curiously.
"This scroll," she said as she unrolled it, "is said to contain stories from before the Age of Myth and the emergence of the Dark Dragon. I remember the tale of the nine spirit beasts and Lord Kurama was the greatest and wisest of them. Let me find the passages and I will read them."
The others sat in silence as they waited. It took Kureha a few minutes before she pointed out a particular passage. "Nine spirit beasts were created to help maintain balance in the world but were corrupted and used by humans craving power. They were controlled and used as weapons against others. In the end all were sealed away and destroyed causing a cataclysm save the strongest and wisest who was a nine tailed kitsune Lord Kurama. It is said that he was clever and tricky and was able to avoid the fate of his brethren as a result. No one knows where Lord Kurama went or if he will return."
"This was before the Dark Dragon?" asked Ryu incredulously.
Kureha nodded. "Yes. It is said the cataclysm caused by the destruction of the spirit beasts caused an imbalance and the Dark Dragon emerged as a result. Perhaps if the spirit beasts had been left alone order would have been maintained the Evil Deities would not have come into this world."
"Naruto asked, "I'm sorry but who are these Evil Deities?"
"The Dark Dragon and the Evil Deities are the enemies of the Heavenly Dragons and the Dragon Clan of ninjas since time immemorial." Kureha explained. "It is our sacred duty to keep them and their Fiend armies locked away from the world to this day."
Naruto and Hinata reflected on this for a while until Kureha asked, "Now, how is it Lord Kurama vanished and then showed up in you in modern times?"
Hinata and Naruto related how they ended up in this era and were found by Jô and Genjiro. They explained Akatsuki were gathering the tailed beasts to create a weapon and that the reason they never captured Kurama was he travelled with them to this era. To say Kureha and Ryu were shocked was an understatement.
"So these Akatsuki tried to make a weapon with the eight spirit beasts they captured and it backfired causing masses of destruction." Jô surmised. "It also set mankind's technology back several centuries because you had things like radios back then and it took centuries for civilization to catch up to the level you were at. If I hadn't seen the things you can do with chakra and all of your interactions with various mononokes I would have said this was science fiction."
"So what do we do?" asked Naruto. "From your scrolls Kurama originally wasn't a bad guy but he's been so twisted and filled with hate by humans that all he has left is malice."
"Perhaps there is a way to contact him and explain the situation. Lord Kurama would make a great ally in keeping the peace." stated Kureha.
Naruto shook his head. "I can contact him in my mindscape but we don't get along at all. I think if we asked for his help he would simply feel we were trying to use him like others have before. To be honest I hated the fox with a passion because of the awful times I had growing up because he was sealed in me. Now I kind of feel bad about it since he's been a victim as much as I have."
"Perhaps you should go into your mindscape and try to reason with him Naruto-kun." said Hinata. "This situation changes everything for us as well as him."
"I'll try Hinata-chan." said Naruto as he settled into a meditative stance.
Naruto's mindscape….
The sewers that Naruto was so familiar with seemed to have a higher water level than usual. Naruto sighed and wondered how this would turn out. He really felt bad about the whole situation and figured the fox would be furious when Naruto told him what had happened. He wasn't even sure the fox would believe him. Instinctively following the paths towards Kurama's cell he entered the room he'd faced the fox in before so many times and promised himself he would not argue with the fox.
As he came into the room he saw Kurama in all his glory with hind nine tails twitching about agitatedly. Naruto said "Kurama…."
"You have no right to use that name human!" roared Kurama angrily. "All my brothers and sisters are dead because of you humans! I heard everything because of that jewel around the shrine maiden's neck!" he howled in anger. "I knew I couldn't feel their presence anymore and wondered why." Kurama turned to glare out Naruto. "Are you happy now?"
That's when Naruto noticed it. Kurama's eyes were full of tears. "The water level….it's because of your tears isn't it?" It was more of a statement than a question.
"All I wanted was to get revenge against you humans for what you did to me." Kurama paced back and forth angrily. "Now we are in a different time and place. The very ones I wanted to destroy are long dead. The fools destroyed themselves! Now I don't even have revenge to cling to. There's nothing left for me now…." he said with sorrow filling every word.
"You have me." said Naruto quietly.
"What of it? You're just an idiot human." replied Kurama in a cynical tone.
Naruto sat upon the water. "You and I and Hinata-chan are all that's left of our era. We're myths to modern people. Don't you think we could stop fighting and try just this once to get along? I'm so tired of conflict. Like you said, everyone you wanted to get revenge on is dead. Can't you let go of your hatred? As much as I hate to admit it, we've both lost everything. Even if you and I never become friends could we at least try to be allies? We have nothing to gain by hating each other now."
Kurama cocked his head to one side. "Let me think about it. I can't refute what you're saying and I too am tired of conflict. Come back in a few days and we will talk. I need to clear my head."
"Alright. I'll think about things too –and please call me Naruto. Maybe someday you'll allow me to use your name too." Naruto vanished from his mindscape leaving Kurama alone to think.
'Maybe the kid is right. We've lost everything so what is the point in us fighting? Maybe we can figure out about what ended our world if we work together.' thought the ancient fox. He closed his exhausted eyes to sleep.
Naruto opened his eyes. He saw the others watching him. "How did it go Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata concerned.
"Kurama heard everything we said because of the Eye of the Dragon." explained Naruto. "He was very upset. We talked for a little while and I asked him to be my ally. He said he would think about it. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain by cooperating. Maybe if we become allies someday we could eventually become friends. I hope that's not just wishful thinking on my part."
"It sounds like you two have a very complicated relationship." said Jô.
"He just found out his family is dead. He needs time to think." Naruto explained. "I'm going to contact him again in a few days. Maybe we can work something out. I used to think the fox was evil incarnate but seeing his reaction to the situation I don't think that anymore."
Jô nodded satisfied with Naruto's answer. "I see no reason why Hinata and Naruto shouldn't be able to stay in the village. I have judged them trustworthy and they have nowhere else to go. As our Shrine Maiden what is your verdict Kureha?"
Kureha bowed to Naruto and Hinata. "I humbly welcome you to the Hayabusa village Naruto-san and Hinata-san. Please accept my apology for my initial rudeness but as I am a guardian of this village I had to be sure."
"Thank you all." said Hinata as she and Naruto bowed in return. "We will be sure to follow the rules of the Hayabusa village and not cause any trouble. Please consider us your allies Jô-sama. If you need our help all you have to do is ask."
"Excellent. Let's find you two a place to stay for the night. I look forward to your help in the future." Jô stated with an approving smile.
POSTSCRIPT:
Well, it seems enough people are interested to continue things though it will be slow at updating. There will be more on the whole "Forest Guardian" mystery later. It is much more than just a way for the Konoha ninja to get free items.
My depiction of Kurama is going to be a little different than most but hopefully it will go over okay. Right now the fox is kind of numb and emotionally devastated so he's less lively than usual. Blue out. 8/18/14