AN: Terribly sorry y'all, work threw me a massive curve ball and I had to head up to PA for a while. Yeah, this chapter is a little shorter I won't deny that, but that's because the next two I have planned out will have some action in them. Won't spoil anything but let's just say they'll be a little explosive.
(RANT) To the 'Guest' who left me a review, I fuckin salute you! I ain't going to justify why I made Minato into what I did, nor will I change the whole story just because you want it to be all sunshine and rainbows, the world of Naruto was too light for my tastes. Nuff said.
Agnar: Yes, he does have this great eye power, and had you read on you would have realized he had half of the full power of the eye, and that he holds only the consciousness of the kyubi. I ain't planning on nerfing him, hell far from it, in the prologue (first 8 chapters) he is ten and he has no true combat instruction. Doubt ya will ever see this though since ya left your review on the first chapter.
TheBladedKing: See this is a review I can deal with, constructive criticism. I don't disagree, I should push for a more Asian style, it's not the fact that I don't want to, its the fact of I can't. I don't really have time to sit down and research xyzabc. Everything I write here is stuff I know, not something I looked up, and if I had the time to look into stuff I would. I sure as hell won't put Isu tech in this story, at least not weapons, I mean come on, here's shinobi x, fighting shinobi y, and one of them pulls out a laser gun…. what is this Star Wars …. not gonna lie tho, that did give me an idea…
(Started 11/4/22 Finished 11/25/22)
Beta SilverStreak93242
Beta's Note – In this chapter, or in any of the chapters that have already been posted, or in future chapters, if there are any grammar or spelling mistakes, the fault lies with me for not catching them, don't blame our illustrious author! I take responsibility, and if your comments or criticisms are for grammar or spelling, those come towards me, not him, I am sure I got the majority of mistakes, but I may have missed a couple here or there. Otherwise, enjoy this chapter, and all future chapters that hopefully will be error free, if not, then that's my fault...
The smell of smoke wafted in the air as two figures stood in the middle of a burned clearing. The signs of the battle that had just taken place the day before still fresh as the embers from the scattered flames clung onto life.
"Mariner." Jiraiya said nodding to the hooded man across from him. He still didn't know what to make of the person. On one hand he was a freelance nin, meaning whatever training he had was informal and self-taught, but on the other hand he walked like someone who had been an ANBU operative, hand always near a weapon, head constantly looking for signs of danger.
"Shinobi I don't know the name of." Naruto replied as he stepped out of the shadow of the tree. He held up his hand to stop the man before he could tell him his name. "I don't really care what you call yourself, I'm here for two reasons and you might help with one of them. Besides that, I have no use for you or your masked friend." Had they not tried to kill Karin, he would have been a little more talkative to the man.
"I know killing Gato is one of your goals, and to that extent I have the same goal, but the second wouldn't have anything to do with a weapon, would it?" Jiraiya watched as the hooded man flinched slightly "Thought so…"
Naruto's hand slid closer to his holstered pistol as Jiraiya's stance shifted "I take it you want that weapon…" the tension between the two was so thick it could be cut with a knife.
"Want it? No, I want it gone." Jiraiya could see the man stop when he said those words "Whatever it is, it has killed thousands in Mizu no Kuni, and I can't allow whatever this weapon is, to continue being used on the people."
Naruto's hand fell to his side as he processed what the man before him just said. "Then we have close to the same goals, I heard about this weapon and wanted to put a stop to it before it could be used again." he looked around the still smoldering clearing. "I know that mankind as a whole will always fight, but weapons like what were used there should never see the light of day. My only goal is to ensure that mankind has the freewill to maybe one day learn from the mistakes of the past."
A chuckle escaped the lips of Jiraiya before turning into full blown laughter, 'I can't believe it, another person looking for peace.' Slowly he looked up to see a stoic man, even though the hood covered his eyes in the shadow of the sun he could feel the questioning gaze. "I came here today hoping that we could work together while here, but the more you talk the more I want to make it long term."
"My reason for being here hasn't changed, nor will it. Once me an Isu have a handle on the weapon and deal with the man responsible for its distribution, we will leave to follow other pursuits and targets based off what we find here." Naruto replied as he turned to walk away "If you want a long-term partnership, try someone else."
Jiraiya was perplexed to say the least. The way that he talked made it seem like he had the weapon he was searching for and had a greater knowledge of the Templars then he did. 'How much does this man know about that group?' he thought as Mariner left in a swirl of leaves. 'Looks like I have to get to Gato before he does, or I might not have another lead.'
The Creed Reborn
Naruto closed the door and glanced around the room of the shack. In his opinion the whole meeting with the man was a waste of time, time he could have used to further his search for Gato. He heard a door open and glanced up to see Karin walk out of the makeshift lab she had been working on. "I told you to stay in bed for a few days."
"And I said I felt fine this morning before you left, at least nothing involving this stuff is heavy enough to hurt me anymore then I already am." she replied sitting the bag of tools down on the table "The only thing that hurts right now is my head…" she sighed and sat down on the side of the cot "How did the meeting with the living dead man go, was it useful?"
"About as useful as a torn sail. He gave me nothing I couldn't find on my own, nor did he offer anything other than a long-term partnership." now that he thought about it, the only thing he got from the whole meeting was that they both wanted the same thing. "The only thing I was able to confirm was that we aren't going to fight over something, since we both want the same thing."
"Odd, I figured another shinobi village would want to get their hands on the gas." Karin said as she eyed the pancake mix beside the fire place. "I think a late breakfast is in order…
"Yeah, yeah I know I didn't fix them when I got up this morning." Naruto said as he poured some water into a bowl, "Sorry, we ain't got milk, so water will have to do."
"Thats something we should bring back to the island someday, a few cows. Kinda got tired of sheep and goats after four years." the only live stock that survived the siege was goats and sheep, leaving a lot to be desired after four years. "The lab is almost ready, and as soon as Deisui comes back tonight with the last load of stuff, I can get to work on how to safely get rid of that gas."
Flipping a pancake, Naruto glanced over at her "I don't want you messing with anything until we know that the equipment we have, is usable." most of the stuff he had seen the crew bring in was second hand since new 'Modern' lab equipment was way outside of the current budget. "Maybe I should have taken him up on that offer…"
"What was that?" Karin asked as she poured herself some tea.
"I was just thinking about money, that guy offered to pay us since he thought we were freelance nins, and looking back now it might have not been the worst idea to take him up on that offer." Naruto replied putting a pancake on the plate and handing it to Karin.
The red-head's eyes gleamed as she looked down at the fluffy tan round thing on the metal plate in front of her. Rolling it up she opened her mouth and stuff the whole thing in making Naruto deadpan at the action "At least taste it…"
"Ut its o goo!" she exclaimed as she tried to chew the pancake. Tears of joy ran down her cheeks, before her face started to turn blue and she frantically reached for the cup of tea.
"And this is why we eat smaller bites…" Naruto mumbled as he handed her the cup of tea. It was almost comical for him to watch her trying to eat them.
Finally able to breath again, Karin glared at the blond. "Says you, mister slurp a cup! How anyone can eat that watered down noodle soup is beyond me." she had watched him make a cup of ramen before and suck it down, in less than twenty seconds.
"Oi! Take that back! How dare you disrespect the food of the gods!" Naruto yelled as he shot up and pointed his finger at Karin. "How can you even eat that cooked flour paste you call a pancake!?"
"Oh, it's on now!" she yelled back before tackling the blond in a playful fight. He was willingly letting her win because of her injury and she knew it.
The pair froze when the door was opened "Last shipment fe-" Deisui looked down at the pair with Karin straddling the blond as he held her by the wrists as she tried to stuff a pancake in his mouth "If I interrupted something, I can take a hike fer a minute while you two enjoy yerselves." he said with a sly grin.
"Um…" the pair said at the same time as they finally realized what position they were in. The pair weren't expecting him first thing this morning, and with how familiar his charka had become to Karin she didn't even register it approaching.
"Still waiting on an answer here…"
The Creed Reborn
Minato was staring out the window looking down over the village that he had ruled over for fourteen years. During that time there had been good times, and there had been turbulent times, happy times and sad times, and times that he just wanted to kill someone.
Today he just wanted to kill someone. Namely a short business man who the Templar order had inducted to help with the shipping of their newest weapon. Gato was a slimy man that he personally hated, but his hands were tied when it came to the man since their last shipping agent Shiro was killed nearly four years ago.
So, when the man quit sending ships to pick up Templar goods, needless to say he got quite pissed, but once more his hands were tied. So, he proposed a new plan, have a bridge built connecting Hi no Kuni and Nami no Kuni so that they could just ship the goods to Nami by cart.
The plan was going perfect until the midget 'quietly', hired some freelance nins to kill the only person in Nami who had any idea on how to build a bridge. Tazuna Aono, one of the only people in Nami who openly opposed the fledgling Templar and survived, he was also a master architect even if he was a bit of a drunk.
His response to the freelance nins, sending Kakashi, one of his most trusted subordinates and his team consisting of the next generation of Templars.
It was Kae that pushed for that team to go, since Sasuke was on the team and she 'Wanted him to have real field experience.' and so long as Kakashi and his team fixed the issue he really didn't care who did it.
'At the end of the day so long as that Gato is in line with the rest of us, I don't care what happens on that island.' he mused turning back around to face the only thing he hated more than Gato right now, paperwork.
As he set the paper in front of him, he sighed, it seemed like the rest of his life was going to be the cycle of paperwork and dealing with stupid people. Picking up his pen he signed the form authorizing more funds for the ANBU to obtain more weapons, before setting it off to the side.
Right as he was about to pick up the next paper, he heard a knock at the door. "Enter." he said putting the paper in front of him down and looking up towards the door.
"I'm sorry to bother you sir, but Kakashi has sent a message directed to you." the secretary said as she entered the room and sat the scroll down on his desk. "Do you need anything else before I leave?"
"No, your free to go, thank you." he said not even sparing the woman a glance as he picked up the scroll and undid the binding.
'Made it to Nami no Kuni safely, with the help of what I thought were merchants but turned out to be privateers. I doubt they will hinder our mission here, but to be on the safe side, I was writing to notify you about the possible issue since one of them is very experienced, maybe even pre-second shinobi war.
The other reason I am writing is to inform you that we have yet to run into the nins that are here, so either they are smart and watching from the shadows or Gato was bluffing just to see how we would react.
Lastly, I wish to ask that the Gr-'
Minato finished reading the letter before lighting it on fire and tossing it in the bin beside his desk. The fact that there were still privateers sailing after the fall of Uzu was surprising to him. He had thought the Order had killed every one of the commanders of the Uzu maritime forces, so either this ship was just a fluke or it was a remnant of Uzu.
A grin formed on his face as he thought about what that could mean. 'A ship captain that has the knowledge to get us past the whirlpools and into the archive.' he pressed a button on the desk "Can you get me Team Ten's sensei and Team Nine's I have a mission for them." he didn't even wait for the response as he leaned back in his chair thinking about all the lost knowledge that was locked below the city of Uzushiro, and how he could use it to his advantage to regain his standing.
The biggest blow he had was when he lost the twins. Naruto hadn't been seen since he was last spotted in Arakawa, and knowing his bastard of a sensei he could look the rest of his life and never find Naruko.
'With the trigger and container gone I need something else.' The Croatoan gas did its' job in maintaining his position within the order, but what started out as a side project turned into a stop gap at best, until he was able to figure out something else. 'If I can gain the Lost Knowledge for the Order, I'll be set.'
A knock drew him out of his thoughts as he glanced up to see the sensei's of Team Nine and Ten walk in. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."
"You called and we answered." a man with a pointed beard replied as he flipped a lighter and lit a cigarette. Asuma Sarutobi, the son of his predecessor and one of the few Templars chosen as part of the Guardian Twelve. He wore the standard issue Konoha green flak jacket with a black semi-tight-fitting shirt. Around his waist was a sash with the kanji for fire embroidered on it, above the kanji was the Templar cross, denoting him as one of their order.
"Yos-" a swift gaze from the blond Hokage quickly shut the man up "I mean we are at your call sir." a tall man responded realizing that his usual antics were not welcome now. Maito Gai, Konoha's number one Taijutsu specialist. He had shiny black hair cut into a bowl and wore a green tight spandex suit under his flak vest which bore the red cross in its collar.
"Better…" Minato said leaning forward and placing his elbows on the desk. "It has come to my attention that a group of possible interest to our Order has surfaced. A group of privateers has been located and one of them is or could be a huge boon. You are to take your respective teams and use this as a joint training mission for them. Your objective is to meet up with Kakashi and Team Seven and get as much info on the privateers as possible before leaving to locate them. You are to capture the oldest member of the ship."
"Sounds like a lot of firepower for just a handful of lowlifes." Asuma said before shrugging "Ah who cares, whole mission sounds like a cake walk to me."
"YOSH, IF I CAN'T FI-" once more Gai was shut up by a stern glare from the blond Hokage and an audible gulp could be heard "Of course, it will be done."
"Good I expect you and your teams to complete this mission, treat it as a low c rank bandit removal for them, since only two of your genin are even privy to the existence of our Order." Minato told them as he leaned back in the chair "Dismissed."
He watched as they bowed their heads slightly and exited the room. The wheels were in motion and in a short period of time, he would have what he wanted. There was no way some relic from a bygone past could get away from three of the strongest Jonin the Order had to offer.
The Creed Reborn
Once more Naruto was sitting in a tree overlooking the post office for Nami, he had arrived around noon after dealing with Deisui and the situation he and Karin had found themselves in.
Just like yesterday there were guards all over the grounds, but unlike yesterday there was an air of paranoia about them as they went about their duties. 'I guess they didn't like the fight in the hills yesterday.'
"Highly doubt any of those monkeys liked a fight that went beyond anything that they themselves could have done."
'Nice to see your awake, I figured you would be passed out well into next week.' Naruto told the fox. 'What, were you hoping for some more action?'
"As if, and besides I haven't gone back to sleep yet since I woke up yesterday. The events that happen around you make for some of the best entertainment I've had in a millennium. At least since the rest of the monkeys started to learn about charka." the fox replied surprising the hooded blonde.
'Color me impressed, a whole twenty-four hours of the slumbering fox being awake. Has to be a new record…' Naruto replied with the utmost sarcasm 'Are you-' He stopped mid-sentence and watched as a lone figure walked down the road towards the post office. 'That better not be who I think it is!'
"Kit, if that isn't him, he must have a twin brother that also reads that smut." even though he could only see through the eyes of Naruto, even he could remember the only ANBU that ever stopped the mobs that came after his container.
'Fuck! The one man I had hoped to never see again!' it took everything in his power to not shout in frustration. 'How the fuck did that bastard Kakashi get here?!'
He knew the son of White Fang from his time spent in the village, not only was he an avid supporter of his father, who trained him, he was the ANBU commander. He was also the one that 'saved' him every time from the mobs.
Everyone outside of the building noticed the man casually walking up the road towards them. Many of them sneered at the site of a man so brazenly approaching them, one of the thugs leaning against the side of the building stood upright and unsheathed his katana. "Oi, ya lost one eye?" the thug yelled out tapping the jagged blade on his shoulder.
Kakashi didn't even pay the man any mind as he kept walking towards them, making the rest of them bristle even more at the disrespect he was showing them. "I'm talking to you, ya white-haired fucker." he said walking towards the man as he flipped another page in his book.
A short-perverted giggle could be heard by all the people around him "To think that Tomoko was that flexible…" he crouched down never taking his eye off the little book in his hand as a sword sailed over his head. Launching himself back up, his knee met the chin of the offending thug sending him sailing back towards his friends. "You little minx, don't tease him like that."
Helping their comrade up as he held his broken jaw, all of them glaring at the nin. "Kill this fucker!" one of them said as they all drew their weapons. The closest one of them took off running towards the silver-haired man, intent on gutting the man in front of him.
The spine of an orange book met his face mid stride "If you had waited for a second, I could have finished that scene and given you a swift death." In a flash of speed Kakashi was in front of the man as he caught his book in one hand and lifted the man up by his neck with the other. "Now I'll have to wait to find out what happened next, and my generosity will have to wait for the next message I send to your boss." he told the man as arcs of lighting slowly fried the man in his hand.
Dropping the body, he turned and put his book in his supply pouch as he looked over the remaining fifteen or so thugs that surrounded him. Pulling out a kunai and spinning it in his free hand he disappeared from their sight as one of them screamed out in pain, blood spraying out from the missing leg, painting the ground crimson.
One of them looked to the side just in time for his face to be crushed by the severed leg, the force snapping his neck and sending him flying into another.
In a burst of speed Kakashi appeared behind the stumbling man and stabbed him in the back of the head with his kunai. Blood dripped from the tip of it as the man's mouth was forced open by the blade.
At this point a few of the smarter thugs realized there was no hope for them against a shinobi and tried to turn tail and run. Key word being tried. "Going somewhere?" Kakashi said once more appearing in front of them.
"We don't wanna fight you, spare us please!" one of the men said as he dropped his weapon and got down on his knees.
"Spare you?" Kakashi asked as he tapped the blood-soaked kunai on his chin in thought "Okay!" he said happily. The man was going to say something else to him before his vision went dark as a kunai planted itself in his eye the remaining eye watched as he ran through hand seals "I said I was going to spare you; I didn't say from what though…Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
The smell of roasted flesh and screams filled the air, as almost all of the men were caught in the fireball. Those that survived watched in horror as their friends were roasted alive, unable to do anything against the shinobi in front of them.
Naruto watched as Kakashi ripped his way through the remaining mercs, before walking towards the barricaded door of the post office. Even if Neihay survived this he wouldn't tell the blond anything, because to him there would be a bigger demon in Nami.
"Kit, maybe we should take that man up on his offer and work with him, we both know that it would take you, Karin and the drunk to take that man on." the fox told him "I have a feeling that he could be on par with Deisui, if not surpass him."
Turning away and launching himself from the branch he was on, Naruto glanced back at the building as an explosion rocked the area. 'Maybe your right…' Naruto replied as he focused on getting away from the area unseen by Kakashi.
The Creed Reborn
The pullies on the schooner creaked as it lifted the heavy wooden dingy. Deisui reminded himself that he needed to check over them again to make sure the water hadn't rotted them.
"Welcome back sir!" one of the sailors said as he held a hand out for the older man to take. Even with his sea legs, the rocking of the hanging dingy was nearly enough for any experienced sailor to take a plunge into the deep.
"Aye. Good to be ere." he replied taking the outstretched hand and pulling himself up on the deck. He looked around at all the people getting ready to depart once more. "How long till we're ready to hoist the anchor?"
"Give us ten or less." the sailor told him as he turned and started to walk off to finish his own duties.
Ten minutes, he had ten minutes to hope and pray they don't run into one of Gato's patrol ships. Sure, they could easily fend off an attack, but if they had to, it would tip him off that there was trouble brewing in his waters. If he didn't know already.
Walking up to the wheel he lifted a bottle of sake out of a crate and pulled the cork out, he needed a drink after dealing with the hyperactive Uzumakis. He looked to his side as one of the crew walked up and rested his foot on the rails. "Have ya got nothin else ta do lad?"
"No sir, as the Standing Officer I've finished my job early this morn." he replied, taking a puff from a pipe. "Been wanting to bend yer ear fer some time now."
"Bout?" Deisui asked watching the smoke float off into the clear blue sky.
"Humor me for a sec," Deisui raised an eyebrow showing that he was indeed listening "How come those kids are the one leadin the ship, when you have decades of experience over 'em?"
Deisui had expected this question to come up at some point in time. "Truth be told, because them kids, as ya call 'em, are the future of the land we call home. Like it er not the land of Uzu only responds to an Uzumaki, and there's something bout those two that separate 'em from the rest of the clan." he looked back towards the distant shore, "They'll be legends in their lifetime."
"Yeah, but that still doesn't tell me why we should follow 'em. Don't get me wrong, I like 'em, but Naruto is still young and lacks experience, and Karin, while smart, doesn't understand the way the world works."
"Sawada, right?" Deisui got a nod from the man as he as glanced over at the man, "Let me ask you a question. Why was their clan so feared?"
"Wasn't it their seals?" Sawada asked, as a man that was born in Hi no Kuni, he had heard stories from his parents of the Uzumaki and their seals. He followed Itachi out of the slaver's complex, and he was saved by the man beside him. When both of them told him to listen to the blond and his 'not' girlfriend, needless to say he was confused as to why.
Shaking his head, Deisui looked around the ship "Ask any of the people on 'ere who were raised on Uzu, each one will tell ya a different answer. Some will say their seals, some will say longevity, others will tell ya bout the branches of the clan, an why each of 'em were feared." he locked eyes with the man beside him "But I'll tell ya what I think, they were feared because they were loyal."
"What do you mean by that?" the confused Officer ask.
"Just that. Those two might be younger, they might not have as much experience doing certain things, but they would burn this world to the ground to protect what they cared about." he heard the chain of the anchor lock into place as he peered over the deck "That was what made them one of the most feared clans, the inborn trait to protect."
Putting the cork back in the bottle he sat it down and placed both hands on the wheel "Half Sail! Let's cut through them waves!" he spared one last look at the coast as he thought about the pair on its shores.
The Creed Reborn
It was late at night when Naruto returned to the Post Office. It had been nearly twelve hours since Kakashi had killed everyone here, meaning it would be pure luck if he found anything on Gato. Holding a cloth over his face he slowly entered the busted doors of the building, the stench of blood and burnt flesh only being staved off by the cloth.
Looking around the moonlit room, Naruto could see that it had indeed been ransacked like he had thought. Papers scattered everywhere, draws pulled out, and if the still smoldering trash can was any indication, everything on Gato was burned.
'What were you searching for Inu?' Naruto asked himself as he shifted the papers hoping that something in there would give him something on Gato. He whipped around and extended his hidden blade when he heard something shift in the building.
On the other side of the room he was in, looked to be a white blood-stained door. Slowly pulling it open he was greeted to the sight of a man pinned to the wall with kunais. His hands, arms, legs, and feet all had kunais buried up to the handle holding him to the wall. His chest had been stripped bare and the Templar Cross burned into him.
"Damn it…" Naruto mumbled looking at the body, it was the one man that would have something he could use on Gato, Neihay. Naruto turned to walk away knowing the man was dead.
A throaty blood-soaked croak made him stop in his tracks. "Help… Me…." he could barely make out the words. He turned to face the hanging man; Naruto could faintly see him opening his mouth as he tried to talk again.
"Gato, where is he?" Naruto asked walking up to the man, this was going to be his only chance to get something on the man.
"Box….four-" Neihay lightly coughed as blood trailed down the side of his mouth. "three…"
"Box four-three? Like Post Box Forty-three?" Naruto asked trying to figure out what the man was talking about. His response was the cough of blood and an ever so slight nod "Thank you." Naruto flexed his wrist and silently extended his blade. "May you rest in peace among the seas of eternity." he smoothly slid the blade across the neck of the already dying man ending his suffering.
Turning away Naruto walked out of the room and back towards the front of the post office. He looked up at the door frame and saw Jiraiya leaning against the door frame "Isu said you were near, guess you were watching to see if Gato would show up."
"Between Gato and you." Jiraiya said pushing off the frame "Damn mess here isn't it?"
Nodding his head Naruto had to agree it was the worst scene he had seen in his life. He walked past the man and into the main part of the building. "That bastard Kakashi, no Inu, did a number on this place." with Jiraiya behind him he missed the mild look of surprise at the mention of Kakashi's old ANBU code name.
Filing the added info away for later he watched as the hooded man walked up to the locked post boxes and started to look at the numbers "So what's your play now Mariner?" Jiraiya asked as Naruto pulled out some lock picks and started working on the lock of box forty-three.
"Simple, the same as before." Naruto felt the tumblers of the lock bind up as he put pressure on the bar "Kill the one shipping the weapon, all while trying to find a way to get rid of it, but the science part of stuff isn't my forte." the pair heard an audible click as Naruto unlocked the box. "I'm kinda glad I didn't have to go searching for you."
"Have you reconsidered my offer?" Jiraiya asked as he watched the blond stuff the contents of the box into a leather bag. The longer he was around Mariner the more impressed he was with the man.
Slinging the bag over his shoulder Naruto turned and looked towards him "To a degree you could say, with that masked perv on the loose here, having someone in your corner might be the difference between dying and making it off this rock."
If Jiraiya wasn't standing so close to the man, he wouldn't have felt the slight flex of his charka, he was sure it was a signal to his partner to head on back to wherever they called home. He was slightly surprised his partner could even function after the broken ribs. "So how do you want this little note swap to go? Right now, you hold the cards since I don't even know what this weapon is."
"Meet me in the morning, along the western coast of the island there is a fishing hut. You'll know which one because I'll be outside beside a small fire."
Jiraiya watched with tired eyes as Mariner left in a swirl of leaves, and with every leaf that fell another question was brought to the forefront of his mind. How did this man know so much about Kakashi? Who taught him? How did he stay hidden from him for this long?
He was hoping that some of his questions would be answered tomorrow. He did say in the morning, right? Who's to say that the morning didn't mean pre-dawn with a couple of charka seals and a lot of waiting, that would count as morning, right?
(With Naruto)
Naruto arrived back at the hut and quickly walked inside. He heard someone coughing almost as soon as he opened the door. The coughing meant two things, one Karin was indeed in the hut, and two she might be coming down with something because of the broken rib.
He walked over and undid his cloak before gently placing it around her. "You ok?" he asked already knowing that she wasn't. He pulled out his last vile of herbal pain killer and handed it to her.
Nodding her head in thanks she accepted the vial and knocked it back. Just like every other time she had taken it, the stuff tasted like swamp tar, but in a few minutes the pain killer would kick in and she would feel better. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Just cold and feels like my chest is full of water."
Placing a hand on her neck Naruto could feel her body temp raising. "If I didn't know any better, I would say she is getting sick." he couldn't argue with that statement, the question then became what it was she was getting sick with.
'I'm glad she was able to sense the office from here, I would have hated to have her travel in this condition.' he replied as he walked away and filled a pot full of water for tea. "Can you do me a favor please, lay down and rest while I make you some tea." he heard a slight shuffle from behind him as she got up and moved towards her bed.
As he sat the tea pot down by the fire, he couldn't help but think about everything that went on today. He couldn't shake the feeling that this whole situation was about to get much worse, be it Karin getting sick, something with Gato, that Nin he was meeting in the morning, or something he had yet to figure out.
The Creed Reborn
Jiraiya arrived hours before sunrise as he took up a position in the trees a little way from the hut. He was sure this was the hut Mariner had told him about since the man in question was standing outside, his hands next to a small fire.
Naruko was sitting beside him, he knew this a bit of a risk since last time the pair were in the same area together, she had the worst blackout he had ever witnessed from her. He had told her last night that if she went off like that again, he would sideline her until they left Nami because too much was riding on this.
Naruko shift slightly as she looked towards the hooded man, something about the man made her edgy. Almost like there was something calling to her as she sat there, begging her to come closer.
The pair watched as he reached up and messed with something under his hood. Even from the distance they were at from him they could tell he was looking around under the hood.
The hair on the back of Jiraiya's neck stood on end as the man peered in their direction his hooded eyes lingering longer then everywhere else, he had looked.
Naruto could see the pair in the distance as he replaced his eye patch. They arrived well before dawn just like he thought they would, something he himself would do. "You both might as well come down and get warm, no sense in sitting in a tree till dawn." he said loudly enough for the pair to hear him.
He tossed a few sticks on the fire as the crunching of sand and shells made him focus on the pair as the man walked into the light of the fire. He could make out the shape of his partner beside him but his shadow from the fire blocked her face.
"How did you know we were here already, did Isu tell you?" Jiraiya asked trying to figure out how they were spotted.
Shaking his head Naruto replied "No, I figured you would show up early. Isu is asleep inside and thanks to her" he pointed towards the figure beside him "isn't really able to do much at the moment."
Holding his hand out to stop Naruko before she could say anything "We are sorry about that, at the time we thought you were Konoha ANBU and she just reacted under that assumption."
"I understand that, and we reacted the same when she was outside the warehouse." Naruto replied picking up the pot he had sitting beside the fire "Hungry? Figured we could swap notes over some food, might help ease us into this."
"I won't deny we could use some food, right Hirumi?"
"Sure…" they could both tell by the tone in her voice something was off. 'Why do I feel such contempt towards him?' she thought following him in. In many instances over the past few years, her mood would swing randomly, and she would feel feelings that would have nothing to do with what was going on around her.
Sitting the pot on the small table inside, the pair watched as he pulled out a knife and cut some green stuff up in it. Naruko's mind started to run as she watched him do this. It reminded her of some of the books she had read, books that only she could read.
"Is that, how do you say it, herbverst?" she asked as he closed the pot.
His hood managed to hide the surprise on his face at the fact that she knew what it was, even if she couldn't say it right. "Yeah, it's a cheap sailors rat-" he finally caught a glimpse of the girl without her mask. Her blue eyes and facial features make him stop and wonder if he had met her before. "ion. Might not taste the best, but it's filling at least."
'I thought her eyes were red last time we met? Not only that, if it wasn't for her hair being black, I would almost call her an older version of Naruko, but that's impossible…' he figured sometime in his life, he would see his sister again, since he had to go back to Konoha to kill his father, but to see someone that looked so much like her here, honestly surprised him.
Grabbing a few wooden bowls and some pewter spoons he placed them down on the table and watched as the pair took a seat. Opening the pot again he finished breaking up the small chunks of erbswurst with a spoon before scooping some into the bowls and serving it.
Taking a small bite, Naruto sat down on the chair and watched as the pair slowly poked at the bowl of paste. "It's edible, I swear." he joked taking another bite before sitting down the bowl and pulled out his bag.
Jiraiya, being a spymaster had eaten just about everything that could be called food. Erbwurst was on the lowest end of his list, as far as food went. There were only three things lower on that list, ration bars, chocolate and Ma's cooking.
"I haven't looked through these yet, so I don't know what it was Neihay had on Gato." Naruto said placing the bound stack of papers on the table. "Before we do go through these, I want to know what it is that you want out of this, besides the destruction of the weapon and Gato."
Jiraiya chuckled slightly at the sight of Naruko happily eating the erbswurst before turning back and facing the hooded man. "There is a group of people that Gato is a part of, this-"
"Group is hell bent on control of the world through the shadows." Naruto finished surprising the man before him "I know of the group. Hell, I know its leader." he took another bite of his soup before continuing "Why is it that you want to find the Templars?"
At the mention of the word Templar the room felt like it dropped a few degrees in temperature. Naruto glanced over and saw Hirumi's left eye had turned red and barely contained rage showed on her face.
It seemed there was more to the story here then he first expected.
"Hirumi enough! Focus or we will get nowhere!" Jiraiya yelled trying to contain the situation before she had a repeat of the other day.
The cocking of a hammer and glint of steel caught his eye. "Don't even try-" coughing filled the room as Naruto shot up.
"I told you to stay in bed! You're in no condition to move around yet." Naruto told Karin as she held her pistol to the girl's head.
"Little hard to sleep when your lun-" Karin tried to say before coughing again "Lungs feel waterlogged and all this dark charka being flung about."
Jiraiya's eyes widened as he finally got a good look at the girl behind his student. Unlike the last time they had met she wasn't wearing her cloak, and even in the feint lamp light he could see the red hair, a shade that he had only seen in one other family. "Uzumaki…" he mumbled, like someone flipped another switch he felt eyes lock on him. "I used to be very familiar with your clan, your secret is safe with me." even though he had said that his mind went straight to the black-haired girl beside him.
Naruto was skeptical but he would take the man's word on that as he walked over and placed a hand on the coughing Karin. "Lay back down and I'll bring you something warm to drink." she nodded and slowly walked back into the shadows towards her bed.
"I'm sorry…" Karin heard as she sat back down on her cot. Naruko knew she had been told countless times she was one of the last Uzumaki, and here she was trying to wrap her head around the fact that the girl she had attacked was related to her.
"What's done is done." she managed to say before the cough came back "This won't kill me."
"No, but your lack of rest might." Naruto told her handing her a cup full of warm tea "Try and get some rest while the pain killer is still working."
Nodding Karin began to drink the tea, its warming effects soothing her mind as she sipped it. She watched as Naruto returned to the table with the pair and sat back down in his seat.
A chuckle escaped from Jiraiya as he thought back on how he was impressed with the sensor "That explains why it was useless to even use charka seals with her. Isu is from the sensor branch of the clan, if that is even her first name."
"It is to you." Naruto responded "She is also the smartest person I know. If anyone can get rid of the weapon it's her."
"You make it seem like this weapon is something that I haven't seen before." Jiraiya had seen many odd and dangerous weapons over the course of his life, and while each was dangerous, once you found a way to counter the weapon, it was easy to contend with.
A can was set on the table, to be exact, a can of fruit. "This is part of the weapon you seek." he could tell from the looks he was receiving from the pair, at best they thought he was joking.
Naruko couldn't take it anymore "Pshh and I'm the god of the moon, you expect us to believe a can of fruit is the sca-"
"Puncture the can and find out…" Karin said before taking another sip of her tea, the light of the lamp barely showing her features in the shadows "None of us in this room would live to see daylight. An odorless, co-" her coughing overtook her as she tried to continue. "Colorless, gas that you'll never know was in the air until you're a raving lunatic." the sound of her taking a sip of tea was the only thing audible in the room "And once its run its course, you die."
"Is that even possible? I thought poisons had to have either color or smell?" Naruko asked her sensei, her knowledge of poisons was limited but from what she understood, both from the toads and Jiraiya, no poison was perfect.
He picked up the can, and realized quickly there was nothing in it, adding a little bit of merit to the story. "It's not impossible, just extremely hard to create and impossible to mass produce, but after hearing about it, I can think of one person who is both twisted enough and smart enough to pull it off." there was a certain snake in the world who was both crazy enough to go playing god and smart enough to figure out a way to mass produce it.
Pulling out a leather-bound book Naruto opened it and flipped through its pages before landing on a hand drawn picture of Minato Namikaze at the top. "You got a name so I can add it to the list?" he asked drawing a small line down to another box.
Now he had a bargaining chip to hold over Mariner's head. "I might if you're willing to help us out further down the line, hell who knows I might have a lot of names."
AN: Figured I'll leave it there, its right at about 8200 words but if I didn't leave it there I would spill over into the something that needs to happen next chapter. An no Naruto and Naruko still have no clue that they are in the same room together, don't worry they will figure it out in time. Ain't really got a whole lot to say at the end of this one other than still looking at names for the twins Dōjutsu. All I ask is that ya please leave a review telling me how I did, fuckin flamers didn't help this go round with writing. Hell if you have ideas for the story, or just something you'd like to see leave a review or drop me a PM it might be something I hadn't thought of yet.
Musōgen: 1
Sight of Truth: 1
Perception of God: 1
Veil Peircer: 1
Eye of Kami: 1
An if anyone can translate them, please do, I don't trust the googles.
