Chapter Fourteen - Chunin Exams V
"Sir, stop!"
Hiruzen looked back when he was grabbed by Cat, preventing him from charging the barrier. "What, Cat?!"
"Sir," she grabbed a rock and tossed it at the barrier only for it to cause a small explosion and get launched to the side. "We can't enter until we get the barrier down."
"This is an Uzumaki Fuinjutsu technique! There is nothing we have currently without looking into the First's wife's notes!"
Before they could continue, they felt a large number of presences coming to their spot from various areas around the Forest of Death. Shortly, Genin teams were arriving one after the other and were looking at the Hokage and his Anbu with interest. Most of the foreign teams looked on with varying degrees of suspicion, assuming possible sabotage by the village, but none would outright call that out. The Konoha-nin, however, were concerned.
"Hokage-sama, what are you doing here," Hinata asked as she arrived with her team.
Hiruzen looked around at the gathered foreign shinobi, especially the teams with their village's Jinchuuriki. "There is an emergency happening in the exam. I want the teams who have collected both scrolls to approach my Anbu Rat and they will take down your names and you will be moved on to the next part of the exam. However, for those who have yet to do so, I want you to approach Spider and she will take you to the center where we will hold a new second part for you to get the chance to enter the next part of the exam."
"Hokage-sama!"
Hiruzen stopped when he heard Sakura's voice, turning to see her running from the forest to the right along the barrier. She is holding Sasuke, who is limping and scared with wide Sharingan eyes. But Naruto was not there. "Where is Naruto?!"
"He stayed back! He is facing Orochimaru by himself!"
"How-"
"He activated the third tail," Sasuke whispered out loud. "He activated the third tail and is fighting Orochimaru. He told us to run. Why did he do that? Why did he protect us?"
Hiruzen eyed the boy as he whispered to himself, nodding to Cat to approach them. "Cat will take you to the center to patch you up. And Sasuke… Naruto still cares for you and Sakura. He protected you because he cared."
"Sir!"
Hiruzen turned when he heard the shout from Cat and he saw the barrier starting to crack and shatter before ultimately failing. "I'm going!"
Deer and Horse followed after their Hokage as the only Anbu not having to take care of the gathered Genin. They ran for the center of the barrier where they could feel a withering chakra signature, one that Hiruzen recognized as his former student. But he didn't feel Naruto's.
Landing in the clearing, they were surprised by the shape it was left in but for Hiruzen that ended when he saw the two bodies. "Naruto!"
The old Hokage sprinted to the blonde teen's side and he gasped when he found the boy pale and bloodied from the hole in his chest. His eyes stared up lifelessly, bright blue now a pale steel with a glossy sheen. However, along his torso and neck are burning red swirls similar to the Uzumaki symbol.
Looking around, Hiruzen noted that while the barrier had broken apart the seal array is still activated and glowing a dark orange. The blood on the ground is slowly being absorbed into the seal.
"Sir?"
"Quiet!" Hiruzen shouted at his Anbu before looking over the blonde.
To still be feeding the array means he still has to be alive, or at least able to be resurrected to life. But why is he like this? Looking over at his student, he noted the surprise and identical hole in his own chest. A suicide seal? Is that why their fatalities are the same?
"The Grand Scheme Array," an aged voice spoke, spooking the Anbu and Hokage.
The three men turn to face the new presence and are surprised to see an aged man walking toward them with three white skeletonized figures of varying forms. The old man had long gray hair with a bushy mustache over his top lip, and dark eyes watching them with a narrowed gaze. He wears a long black robe with a slightly shorter haori with black designs along the bottom, and a white scarf around his neck. A white sash is around his waist with a katana jutting out from underneath.
"Who are you and why are you here," Hiruzen questioned while preparing his aged body for a fight.
"My name is Ginrei Kuchiki, Captain of the First Division of Uzushiogakure, specializing in the protection of the Uzumaki Prince and his family estate in the capital," the man answered as he continued to approach until he was fifteen feet away. "I am here to assist the call of help from our Prince, which should be done in a timely manner before the seal runs out of blood to function."
Hiruzen looked at the seal before looking back at the man. "Just you, not your…companions."
Ginrei nodded his head and motioned to the three figures before approaching. He kneeled in front of the boy he considered another grandson and searched over the swirl markings. "The Et Tu, an advanced form of the array."
"Et Tu? What does it do?"
"In an ancient language, Et Tu translates into 'And You' and it is the name given to the array because of its function. Any person to have taken a hostile action against the seal user will ultimately face the same injury. The death of the user will also lead to the death of the enemy."
Ginrei looked over at Orochimaru. "It is effective, but a special seal had been incorporated into the array for the Enforcer Divisions base to be alerted whenever it was used. This was for the purpose that if someone had to use the array, it was because they were in danger in the first place and needed help. And we can teleport to that seal on the array."
Hiruzen is quiet as he watched the man pull out his katana and walk over to Orochimaru's body. He held his hand up to the Anbu when he heard them pull out their ninjato.
"The only way to bring back Naruto is to disrupt any single seal in the array, but to make sure you do not do more than that or the seal will fail and the space-time bubble will fade and this will be a permanent outcome. If done correctly, it will reverse the attacks given when the array was activated for both victims," Ginrei glanced when he saw one of his companions approach a seal near the Snake Sannin with their own katana out. "Now."
The skeletal man ran his foot over a seal and everyone watched as the seal slowly faded and with it so did the wounds affecting Naruto and Orochimaru. The blonde began breathing but began seizing nearly immediately, his eyes rolling back.
"Naruto," Hiruzen dropped to hold the boy through the seizure.
Ginrei watched as the Sannin's eyes snapped open and he shot up, but he had his katana in full motion already and with a fluid swing he had cut the head off of the man's shoulders. The head dropped and the body slumped forward, sitting upright.
Ginrei turned and approached Naruto as he slowly stopped shaking, his eyes still straining as far back as possible, and crouched down. "He will be fine, he will need to rest as the Biju transformation has injured him heavily."
Hiruzen held the boy close, tears running down his aged face. "This is my fault. I should have known Orochimaru would try something during this exam. It is perfect for him with all of the village Jinchuuriki here."
"Not even you can be all-knowing, Hokage-san." Ginrei stood up and looked around.
Naruto had a lot of control, surprisingly, for activating the Biju's transformation that would normally make any person fall into a battlelust of destruction. It truly stood to tell that the blonde had something to focus on and it was very important if he didn't slip once. It is a miracle as it is likely the only reason they were able to get Orochimaru without the destruction of the Forest and those within.
"He's progressing very well," Ginrei commented to himself.
Four Days Later
Where am I?
…
Is this limbo? Surely can't be Heaven.
Just enjoy the relaxation, kit, you deserve it.
Kurama, is that you?
No, it's Santa Claus.
Ha ha ha, funny, but where are we?"
Your consciousness is damaged due to the strain of being in the third tail form and the death-state from the Grand Scheme Array. Because of all of that, you don't have a metaphysical realm to go to so you are in nothing where you can heal without feeling the pain.
Oh. How long have I been out? I'm guessing that because I can think again, Ginrei-jiji or Unohana-san came?
Whoever came, they helped you out of the Et Tu and are recovering. I don't know how long it's been.
A rumble shook Naruto even though he floated in the air, and he felt his vision slowly come back.
Seems that someone is getting impatient and are waking you up.
Naruto's eyes opened slowly to see Kurama looking at him. He is floating at head level for the Biju and other than the darkness below and the light above he had no orientation for where he was. He tried to open his mouth to speak but couldn't utter a sound.
Continue speaking from your mind, kit. You're not completely healed yet.
Naruto nodded his head and rubbed his throat. I hope I didn't damage anything. It would suck being unable to speak anymore. Why is someone waking me up?
Because they think you are healed externally and therefore should handle waking up. Kyuubi's eyes burned orange as the world tumbled again and he sighed. Mortals believe they know when things are the correct time, even if it means damaging someone further.
Any possibility to ignore them?
Sadly not, soon you will awaken and you will feel like shit.
Naruto seemed to have sighed but without there being any noise in this place it was hard to tell. Thank you for doing what you could so far, I will take it easier if I can. I'm not sure if we passed the exam or not but at this point, I faced a Sannin through surprise and tricks I feel good no matter what.
There was a final rumble that shook them both and Kurama watched as Naruto began fading from the immaterial world. They were unable to give their goodbyes before the boy finally disappeared, leaving Kurama alone. See you later, kit.
Naruto opened his eyes but quickly closed them at how bright the room he is in is, almost as if he was surrounded by white. Almost immediately, he felt a headache begin building in his temples and he exhaled slowly to relax.
"You're finally awake."
I swear to the Sage that I will kill them if they continue talking.
"That is not how you should act, Uzumaki-sama."
Naruto's eyes opened and tried to find the woman that spoke through the overwhelmingly white world. He found her, the only thing he can make out is the black robe and black hair tied in a loose braid in front of her body. This woman is one of his tutors, specifically on the customs and traditions of every country around the world. Retsu Unohana.
"When did you get here, Retsu-baasan?"
"Arrived with Kuchiki-san when we noticed the Grand Scheme seal go off," she responded and sat in the chair next to the blonde's bed after waving the medic-nin away. "You had us worried when the Et Tu sub-seal was also activated."
"I was worried about who I was facing," Naruto muttered as he slowly adjusted to the world. "Where is Ginrei-jiisan?"
"Talking to your Hokage, and meeting the new Uzumaki girl in your home. Just Kuchiki-san and I have been screened by your Hokage to stay but we sent the First Division Visored back home. Until we return, Division Three Captain Kyoraku-san will be handling affairs for the day."
"Ah," Naruto nodded his head.
Division One guards him and his family, as well as his estate and the capital, and is led by Captain Ginrei Kuchiki and Lieutenant Retau Unohana. Division Three, however, manages foreign visitors and ambassadors and maintains the hospitality and safety of both the civilians and the visiting people. It is led by Captain Shunsui Kyoraku and Lieutenant Nanao Ise, Kyoraku's niece.
"Drink some water, Uzumaki-sama," Retsu held out a cup of water as she noticed the discomfort the young adult was in.
"Thank you," Naruto accepted the cup and took small gulps.
"Good to see you up, Uzumaki-sama."
Naruto looked up to see Ginrei and Hiruzen walk into the room, leaving three Anbu stationed outside the door. Ginrei looked calm and by his posture, Naruto could see that so long as he was in Konoha he will be strictly professional. Hiruzen, however, looked relieved and was giving the blonde a hug as soon as he was within reach.
"I'm so relieved you're fine now," Hiruzen told him before pulling away. "You've been out for four days."
"Did I pass the exam? And what happened to Orochimaru?"
"Your team had both scrolls by the time I established a new second exam so you passed," Hiruzen answered the first question before looking at Ginrei for the man to answer the next one.
"I arrived with three Visored and we secured your body. We deactivated the seal and finished off Orochimaru before he could escape." Ginrei looked into Naruto's eyes with a fraction of a narrowed gaze. "Do not do something risky like that again. Do you understand, Uzumaki-sama?"
Naruto gulped and nodded his head in the affirmative. He may technically be the Prince of Uzushiogakure, but he had a healthy amount of respect and fear for Ginrei and Retsu. "I understand, I would not have used it if it wasn't necessary."
"Going against Orochimaru of the Sannin does count as necessary," Hiruzen pointed out before looking at Naruto. "But next time you exhaust all means of getting away before you put your life at risk like that or I will keep you as a Genin for the entirety of your tenure as a Konohagakure shinobi."
Naruto grumbled as, with a glance, he noticed all three older men and woman looking at him intently. "Alright, I get it. If I was out for four days, what happens now? What about the third exam?"
Hiruzen nodded his head. "Quite a few teams had survived and passed the second exam, which is unsurprising since it was cut short due to Orochimaru arriving. There will be a preliminary exam being taken tomorrow morning, which you must attend if you wish to continue the Chunin Exams."
"I'll be fine," Naruto answered hastily at the look he was getting. "Kurama is doing what he can but I am sure that after tonight we will be fine."
Not entirely.
They don't need to know that.
Woah
iamshinydragonmist: No, it looks similar in what it does but it is different in the way it acts. Hidan's jashin symbol requires his and his target's blood which the Grand Scheme Array does not. The Grand Scheme Array creates a barrier and seals itself from the outside world, and creates a bubble within space and time so that the rules of reality can be bent to the seal master's desires.
SPark681: Much appreciated I felt like leaving off on a cliffhanger of sorts for the Thanksgiving break. It also allowed me time to understand what I will be doing after the Exams.
zx20000006: Not really many secrets. The older people know he is a Jinchuuriki, the law was only to prevent children around Naruto's age and younger from knowing about it but because how that went to shit it isn't much to really spoil as if it is some big secret. Iruka was more concerned for the safety of Naruto rather than anything else, but he had a moment where he understood Naruto's desire to be the one to tell people what he contained. The parentage reveal was more because he was too shocked to actually prevent it. Juno is a mysterious case but that's for another time.
PraetorXyn: I never said or hinted to that not happening, the fact that Uzushio is being rebuilt is for a reason. Naruto has a desire for that to be his home, but he still holds love for Konoha even a little bit because it is what his father and mother gave their lives for, and he loves Hiruzen and the Ichiraku family. Idk I don't see any stories where they get much love and when they do the stories kinda discontinue within the first few chapters. I've seen plenty of Samui or Yugito in crossovers though. I can understand your reasoning though.
midnightscar17: Thank you I hope the chapter is worth it :D