Rippling 26
Inheritors part three
A green sea of bamboo trees surrounded Sasuke. All around him, countless bamboo trees were planted on the ground with his feet littered with drying leaves. Sasuke looked around and saw three figures huddled and talking to one another. All of them were wearing white robes and emblems of six magatama surrounding the neck area covering were emblazoned on them. The three men haven't noticed them as the one whose back was turned against him suddenly let loose his killing intent.
It was so potent that Sasuke shivered in complete fear. He had never felt so scared as he was when Zabuza confronted them! This time though, he had no one else around him.
And in just a second, the one whose back was turned against simply waved his hand and beheaded the two people in front of him. Blood splattered across stone and the bamboo trees a trepid silence then happens for a few seconds and then a gentle but ominous wind swayed the top of the bamboo trees.
From the silence between Sasuke and this person, a few seconds more, and Sasuke finally heard the man. He was chuckling and it turned to full blown laughter, the man held his face with his right hand. An off putting smile escaped his lips as maniacal laughter echoed throughout the bamboo forest.
The man's huge grin was etched on the man's face as he shouted, "So this is power? This is the sole thing that I lacked that I can't become the heir of your ideas, FATHER? IS THIS WHAT YOU WERE TRYING TO HIDE FROM ME!? WHY YOU CHOSE MY FOOLISH BROTHER!?"
His screams became louder and louder as became more unhinged, he turned and reached out to Sasuke with his free hand, still giggling to himself, eyes of blood red morphing into a strange kaleidoscopic pattern.
"This nightmare, this HORRIBLE ENDLESS NIGHTMARE, FATHER, DO YOU SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE!? WHAT YOU CREATED!? IF BY KILLING ASURA, I WILL BE LEADING NINSHU TO ITS TRUE PURPOSE! THIS IS THE PATH OF NINSHU MUST TAKE! PEACE… THROUGH POWER!"
Sasuke's surroundings soon changed, it changed to a landscape of red and black, Sasuke's feet were not touching solid ground anymore but a rippling water, wooden coffins and wooden grave spots floated around him. Sasuke noticed that these coffins showed the faces of those inside them. He saw the faces of his clansmen, pale and rotting on faces, his father's eye sockets were empty as if it was desecrated and his mother's beautiful face was blemished with a blade sticking out of the forehead.
Sasuke felt sick to his stomach as well as an indescribable rage threatening to spill out. He turned around once more and the coffins were soon replaced with floating corpses, some more mutilated than the rest. Sasuke's heart started beating faster, he saw the form of Kakashi, multiple gashes on his torso and piercing hole in his head, blood still seeping from them. Naruto was beside Kakashi, right arm torn from his body, holes on his chest and abdomen and multiple cuts lining his formerly tanned skin. His expression showed that Naruto was killed in an excruciating manner. Sasuke turned his eyes away for a moment and a voice called out to him.
"Sasuke-kun…"
Sasuke turned around and saw Sakura, kneeling before him but behind him was Itachi, a sword in his hand with those deadened eyes of his sharingan, further behind was the man whose sanity slipped earlier, grinning maliciously as his hand outstretched to Itachi and both of them mumbled the same phrase, "peace through power."
And just like his parents, Itachi had swung his sword at Sakura, but this time, intent on beheading her.
Sasuke had woke up suddenly, cold sweat escaped his face as he stared at the bottom of his bed, he was breathing heavily. His heart was still beating fast. It was that nightmare again. Sasuke turned to his right and looked at the clock in his desk.
It was three in the morning. Too early to do anything conducive. Sasuke growled, these persistent nightmares always appeared every night he wanted to sleep. The amount of sleep he had lost for more than a week was enough to drive him up the wall. Thankfully, they became less and less frequent but they were becoming more and more lucid. He didn't know WHY he was having these dreams. All that he does know was how his sanity was slipping night by night until Sakura had gotten word of his problem. She had prescribed to him first, a mixture of cocktail drugs that induced a dreamless sleep, it was effective and she often came to him and induced an anesthetic jutsu to put lull him to sleep.
Deciding that staying in his room wasn't going to help, Sasuke went out of his room and into his living room, where he saw books and scrolls laid out across the room. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this, until he remembered that Sakura had been staying at his place because of this problem. She had advised that these nightmares will slowly disappear from his mind, but a person being with him would have helped him through this. He had reported to Falcon earlier about the mission and what happened, the ANBU instructor and commander had given him reprieve to adjust his mental bearings. It has been three days since they arrived and three days since Sakura moved in with him to watch over him and it had certainly helped his wellbeing as of late.
Sasuke then saw Sakura, asleep on the living room table with a book opened beside her. Her head leaning on the table surface. He noted that she was still in her home clothes and not much else. It was a little cold inside the living room and went back to his room and grabbed his blanket. He then draped it over Sakura and used one of the couch pillows to make it as comfortable for her as possible.
Sasuke stopped for a moment as he went into the kitchen, since when did he become considerate of others?
He turned and looked back at Sakura sleeping in the living room and then turned back into the kitchen. He supposed he was going to have to drink some tea to calm his nerves down.
Heating a kettle filled with water, Sasuke was careful not to disturb his guest as he prepared his tea.
He sat down beside the kitchen table and began pouring tea on his own.
Sasuke then noticed a shadow creep out of his periphery. Although at home, Sasuke was prepared. With a flick of his right hand, he had launch a kunai from his sleeve and sent it flying towards the direction he felt his stalker was hiding from.
The kunai hit the wall and Sasuke had his sharingan active.
"Come out now before I decide to ram you with something else on your head."
An empty smile was what greeted him.
It was Sai.
"What are you doing here?"
Sai answered with a smile "I was simply asked to keep an eye on you. You know my affiliation, do you not?"
Sasuke nodded, "What does Danzo want that he has to send a mole and watch over me?"
Sai then answered for him, that smile not escaping his face, "You are… A dangerous element for Danzo-sama. He thinks that you are at breaking point and that you can snap at any moment. He does not trust you completely. That is why I am here."
"And what are your objectives other than monitoring me?" Sasuke asked, aware of ANBU protocols to be multi objective based. Sai was no different considering ANBU doctrine in the village was almost universal in nature.
"You are not cleared for that kind of intelligence, Sasuke-san."
Sasuke clicked his tongue, "You can tell your superior that spying on your comrades in ANBU is a waste of manpower. I don't have to tell you about my measurement of loyalty, correct? I'm an ANBU the same as you."
Sai then countered, "Ah, that would be the case, Sasuke-san. If your brother didn't set a precedent."
Sasuke growled at that, "I can assure you that what happened to Itachi will not happen to me. But you need to hold your tongue if you can't even speak cordially without resorting to insults and topics that upset a person."
"That is not what he sees." Sai replied
"And you? What do you see me as?" Sasuke asked this testily, Sai merely tilted his head.
"I have no idea what you wish to say."
Sasuke merely turned away from Naruto's replacemet, talking to Sai was upsetting to both him and Sakura.
"I have no business with a person who can't think for himself. If I were to attack you right now, I would just dismember you. Someone who is only a void isn't worth the effort to kill. You'll be dead before coming out of this house if you try. Now go away and tell your boss that he's no threat."
Sai stopped for a moment. He had heard those words the same as before and the Uchiha's stare reminded him of something.
It was the same gaze that his former prisoner gave him, the eyes of pity.
He didn't understand. Why would they look at him as if he was worthless? What kind of person would look at him with pity?
"I remember someone saying that to me as well."
"That you're worthless and that killing you gives no meaning?"
Sai nodded with a smile.
"Yes, exactly like you said. And for the longest time, I wondered why he would say that. He continuously beat me with not even a single jutsu even if it meant that he dies if he doesn't. Yet he said to me that I was nothing and can't think of anything beyond what Danzo-sama has said to me."
"A blind sheep is easy prey, they often stray without the shepherd and his dog and the sheep is eaten by wolves without fanfare. All it takes is for that sheep to die is to be separate from its flock."
"So you're looking down on me?" Sai asked and Sasuke answered without mincing his words, "I am. You're not worth killing, you're not worth saving, you're not worth protecting, you're not worth anything. That is why you're expendable, that is why Danzo relies on your skill. Because you are nothing. A speck in his eyes, the same as I think about you. Now get lost."
Sai wordlessly left the room. Both Sasuke and his former ward all judged him in the same manner. Were Sakura and Sasuke right about him?
No. He can't question Danzo. His mind has to focus. His mission is his priority.
Sasuke looked at the clock once more, it was close to four AM. He got up to prepare breakfast.
As he laid the table with utensils, he found it peculiar now that he was preparing meals along with his guest.
It was the first time someone had been in his home other than him after the tragedy.
He looked back at the living room, looking at Sakura sleeping on her desk.
He would never show this to anybody, but Sasuke smiled a little before he began preparing breakfast for the two of them.
At Konoha's northern gate, at the break of dawn, nine people arrived with eight carrying the emblem of Konoha.
Shikamaru was holding a scroll with him when Asuma spoke, "That mission was pretty good for the team! I didn't think we'd have obtained vital information like this. But I'm glad that we did!"
Asuma stretched as Gai nodded, "Indeed. This is a breakthrough for us. Especially now that we have another member in our ranks."
Suigetsu seemed peeved at this, though, "I traded one prison to another. What's the point if I have a bigger cage than the last one?"
The three ANBU vanished as they went past the gate, no doubt about to report to their superiors before going for the Hokage.
Asuma answered, "It's because you're now a vital part of Konoha's forces. You haven't been affiliated with Kiri, right?"
"Other than my clan, no. I was sent away by my brother from Kiri to escape the purges. Orochimaru happened to be in town when the massacre started, he managed to capture me and send me to that tank you just saw."
Chouji asked, "But weren't the purges almost a decade ago? So you've been stuck there for a while?"
Suigetsu nodded with a scowl, "Sure was. About eight years to be exact. I was only fed inside that tube with jugs of electrolytes and essential stuff. So getting out meant I get to eat some normal food once again. But you guys just indentured me to this place. Not cool."
Ino then answered, "You were a prisoner to one of Konoha's greatest enemies, Suigetsu-san. There was no one trustworthy to vouch for you there. Meaning you were either left behind because Orochimaru got bored with you, or you were left behind as a plant. An inside man just for the day Orochimaru comes back to Konoha. All those possible scenarios are real. It is why we're taking you to my father's work to see if all that you said were in fact, real."
"And me being chained to your friend's shadow?" Suigetsu asked, Shikamaru answered.
"So you can't try any funny stuff. Now if you'll excuse me, we best be heading our way."
Suigetsu noted the short sword that Shikamaru was holstering to his lower back and held sideways much like his female teammate, except the sword was longer and looked like only half of a really good Daisho pair.
"So you guys also practice with the sword, huh?" Suigetsu said as they went to the T and I office.
Something moved besides Ino's periphery and saw a man standing on the roof top before disappearing.
Ino answered with a nod, "It's a necessity for some. But I still have a long way to go…"
Ino then thought about the new heights Sakura had attained since their training. It brought out her competitive self towards Sakura who has already found her place in society.
"I thought it was just the perfect skill to go with my abilities, so far. There aren't many sword users here that can match up to the skill of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist."
Suigetsu simply shrugged, "I don't expect a lot of people do. The mist integrated kenjutsu in our academies very early on aside from the basics that I know of today."
By the time they arrived and Konoha's intelligence bureau, Gai had left and mentioned to check on his own team.
"You know, I never get tired of looking at this building and giving me the creeps." Shikamaru mentioned this while Choji nodded. Ino didn't seem fazed at all.
"That's because you had never talked to the people here, you two. Ibiki-san and Anko-san are fun to talk to but you won't notice it with the way they act in front of a crowd."
"I'm sure your father has a lot to do with it, Ino." Shikamaru replied and Ino somewhat smiled at that, "Maybe. But they're a cool bunch, just you wait."
When they entered the building, they were met with a blonde haired man whose hair reached all the way to his back and tied to a ponytail and a stoic looking man with scars planted on his face. his forehead protector fashioned as a bandana.
"Ah, Ino, Yugao-san alerted me with that you were coming here with your friends. She said you had to clear someone and vouch for his legitimacy." Inoichi said this as Ino nodded.
"Yes, dad. We managed to free one of Orochimaru's alleged prisoners without the cursed seal. He's apparently a member of the Hozuki Clan from Kiri and we think he might be a good fit for our forces."
Ino motioned for Suigetsu who then walked up to Ino's father and to the scarred man.
"We usually set free POW when we get them, but I can see Yugao's reasoning to keep you here." The man said as he held his chin as he looked down on Suigetsu with his stoic and discerning eyes.
Suigetsu looked at the scarred man and a chill ran up his spine.
"Ibiki, I think this conversation should be addressed somewhere, don't you think?" Inoichi asked the man and Ibiki nodded.
"I'll have a room arranged. Just need to get rid of the cigarette butts and the poker set. I swear, Anko is such a slob when it comes to upkeep. We don't have the budget for personal janitors in this place."
Inoichi laughed a little as Suigetsu looked a little troubled, was he going to be interrogated? Maybe he should have made a run for it after their raid. No one would have noticed!
The older blonde man looked at Suigetsu's almost concealed expression and assured the boy, "Don't worry, this is standard clearance for all shinobi, we will question you with your time on Orochimaru's hands and maybe we can glean more information than we use against that man."
Suigetsu let out sigh as Ibiki replied, "Now where's the fun in that?"
"Oh, Ibiki-sensei, you and your mind games!" Ino laughed, all the while Shikamaru and Chouji starred at Ino with eyes bulging out of their heads.
"IBIKI-SENSEI!?"
Both of them shouted
Ino asked like it was the easiest thing in the world, "What?"
Ibiki chuckled a little, a sinister smile forming on his lips, "What? Didn't think this bag of bones didn't have it in him to teach kids these days? You rookies wound me."
"Actually, the whole department has been helping my daughter, Shikamaru, Chouji, we take turns in teaching our member on the intelligence network."
Shikamaru and Chouji were staring at Ino intently especially Shikamaru who was more intense than his bestfriend.
"So all that stuff you said about you being jealous of what was on my plate was..." left eye twitching at the abdsurdity of it all.
Ino replied with a grin and shouting a bit excitedly, "A common ruse!"
"YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Both Shikamaru and Chouji shouted once again at the same time.
"Well, I guess it was inevitable at this point. We had her train at the hospital at one point and listen to the neuroscience division there and glean on some stuff to get her up to speed in our place and have her learn just the basics of healing techniques." Inoichi mentioned and was a little sheepish. Ibiki smirked. That had been an interesting watch seeing Inoichi's daughter gather information as part of her initiation brought a certain air of pride that their work was valued even to the next generation. The fact that the Nara boy was none the wiser was quite a satisfying way of knowing Ino's diligence and capability to become part of their department.
"Just because you're familiar with someone, kid, doesn't make it seem that she'll stay the same. And it was that familiarity that she used to have you all fooled." Ibiki replied, he didn't like to gloat, but this one made it seem like he was damn proud of their newest member.
Asuma laughed out loud at this as he said to his students, "Sorry, boys, I knew what she was getting into and didn't want to have to break a promise to Ibiki with this, seemed like an amusing way to go about in fooling you two."
Shikamaru looked at their sensei as if he grew a second head.
"I'm not surprised that you knew, but did we have to be guinea pigs for that?"
Ibiki's smirk was widening at this, "Of course, you know the old saying about where you keep your friends and enemies."
Shikamaru sighed at this, "Well, at least she can cut with the stress crap she's been complaining every time we meet. Seriously, I never even noticed."
"You weren't supposed to, kid. If you did, Ino wouldn't have been a good agent."
Ibiki then turned to Inoichi as he said, "Enough of messing with them. I've received word from Hokage-sama about a certain someone's agent being placed in your daughter's circle."
Inoichi scowled at this, "So you have. Is he monitoring one of Ino's friends?"
"My conjecture is that he's monitoring not just one person."
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at this, "If it is what I think it is, then I've got enough suspicion on who they might be looking to keep on a short leash."
Ibiki sighed and said, "No more out of your mouth, Shikamaru. It's why I had Ino conceal whatever it is what she was really set out to do. She's there to provide counter-intelligence against our potential little spy. Or at least, that's her new objective this time."
Asuma then continued, "You should let them do their work Shikamaru, what you are expected to learn isn't the intelligence division's workings. You are expected to work with what they provide. Sometimes you should let your comrades do the work so that you can take it easier."
"If I wanted to take it easy, I wouldn't have went with dad's plan to work at the administration building in his division."
"And we don't need anyone to meddle with that work. Your work is yours, ours is ours. Shikamaru, I understand why you were willing to take part of your father's work, just as much as I want to with mine. We're expected to work not just together, but also as a well oiled machine. Konoha's military runs on the inter-dependency of all the divisions here in the village. We're not just soldiers, Shikamaru, we're all under the employ of the village, it needs to be run smoothly in order to maintain our status in the world. A house divided cannot stand. Surviving is our most important goal. Just as we are now recovering from the tragedies that had set our village back, it's our goal to be able to survive the coming times ahead." It was Ino who answered this time, her smile was replaced with a frown.,
Ino understood her place now, she held no hesitation to her beliefs, her survival counts on the village running at maximum productivity, especially from its shinobi.
Shikamaru seemed to have accepted this, his bestfriend Chouji, understood what Ino was willing to do.
"We understand." Chouji answered and Shikamaru nodded.
"Let's go, Chouji, at least let us help you if you need anything."
Ino smiled at her two teammates and friends, "I'll keep that in mind, Shikamaru, I'll let you know when."
Eastern Sea, a town island twenty kilometers away from Uzushio:
Naruto and Jiraiya had arrived at this island leaving the small cargo ship behind as they dropped off their earned supplies from Nadeshiko village. Naruto looked around and noticed that the port town was lively compared to the previous towns that he had been in. He then looked at his sensei and Jiraiya answered, "This is Wadatsumi port. It used to be an outpost for shinobi from Uzushio. Many of the refugees of the country after the second war came from this port, it was a site of a massacre that would pale in comparison to that of the main island. Konoha had fought tooth and nail to reclaim this port back then. But seeing as Uzushio was destroyed, they had let merchants take over this town and hired shinobi from our country to serve as protection from time to time against pirates. This is the nearest island that all ships can come close as far as Hi no Kuni is concerned."
"We can't dock on the island itself?" Naruto asked and Jiraiya shook his head.
"We can't. the island is surrounded by a natural defense filled with whirlpools. That and Uzushio was armed to the teeth with defense seals that activated these whirlpools in the first place. It makes you think of the manpower required to have destroyed an emerging world power like Uzushio."
"So how are we going to cross it? We walk to Uzu?" Naruto asked, Jiraiya grinned.
"That's where the fun begins." Jiraiya mentioned as he holds a paper with a seal in his hands.
"This is a one off seal that directly sends me to the island on its shores. Your mother provided me this seal as a keepsake to this day as an entry pass for me to Uzu."
Naruto raised an eyebrow at this and asked, "Where's mine then?"
Jiraiya then said, "Loving as your mother is, kid, she wasn't exactly about to let you off easy. She had left a letter for me a few days before she died that if ever there was a chance that she wouldn't make it, she had given this seal to me to serve as your trial to enter the village. She had planned on doing this on her own. But in a weird sense, she sensed her impending death one day and handed over this task to me if ever her premonition came to pass. She's a thoughtful parent, kid. Same as your father."
Naruto looked out on the other side of the island. From a far off distance, he could see a tall mountain behind the sea. Its silhouette was imprinted on his mind. It must be Uzushio.
He looked back to his godfather who was grinning as he disappeared in cloud of smoke as the seal activated.
Naruto had his eyebrows raised in surprise as he turned back to that far and away island that he could see with his eyes.
The trial had begun.
Naruto walked to the other side of the island and sat down on the beach there as he stared on to the island of her mother's birthplace. He thought of walking there but he didn't know if he could make such a perilous journey. He had never thought to use his water walking exercise to cross over the seas. He hadn't had enough experience to maintain his footing for a very long time on the water's surface and the turbulent tides of the whirlpools would undoubtedly hamper his control even further.
He then had an idea of using his experiment and unsealed the wooden board from one of his scrolls.
It was still an experiment. The past few days yielded him no results when he tried to revise the sealing matrix to steadily increasing and more complicated patterns to his seals. He didn't exactly know what the effect was and he was letting his clones do the experiment work. He's made progress, but he didn't know just how far it could take him.
'Oh well, I guess when you have to bite the Kunai, you're going to have to bite hard.'
Naruto unsealed his work, the wooden board now adorned with multiple seals as he solemnly looked at his mother's former home. He took a deep breath and reviewed the seals he applied, rewriting old seals as he did so, his arm moving automatically as he erased old seal matrices and cores and writing them with new ones. The process was long and tedious but Naruto did not even stop for a moment.
Once he was finished, Naruto stood up and put away his ink and brush as well as grabbing a pair of goggles from his bag. Jiraiya had brought him a pair early on when he thought that he couldn't stop Naruto from pursuing this experiment. He wore the pair to cover his eyes and got on his board. In response, the seals glowed. Naruto's feet were now glued to the board itself, looking him there as if he was performing his tree climbing exercise. Naruto felt his heart racing as he remained there, he crouched a little as if he was bracing for impact, and the blonde finally pumped more chakra to the seal.
Naruto could hear and feel the rumbling and vibrations to his feet and the wind whistling and growling quick.
It was then that he felt a powerful and angry howling of the winds beneath his feet.
WOOSH!
Naruto took of from the beach like a rocket. The rush of the wind was quick and instantaneous as Naruto accelerated further and further until he began to tilt upwards, taking off from the sea that he glided on and into the air and a streak of wind leaving behind him visible to the naked eye.
Naruto was ecstatic! His grin was from ear to ear as he flew upwards! the view of the sea below him getting wider and wider as he reached the towards the clouds. He had surpassed the dense clouds above and Naruto stopped for a moment to feel the air for himself his jutsu slowing down as he did so. He took in a deep breath as he spiraled down below, spinning and performing a downward roll with the board the winds following his every movement.
Naruto kept his eye to where he was supposed to go, the spinning that he performed earlier not distracting him from his direction. He was already halfway in just a few minutes. He grabbed the board beneath his feet with his right hand to get his bearings and to reposition himself and righted his course. He bore down further, increasing his speed and he could faintly hear whistling as he sped up in the air. Below, he could see the whirpools swirling and there were so many of them! It was more than he anticipated but they could not harm him no matter what they could do. He was getting nearer and nearer to his target destination and Naruto eased on skimming to the water surface as he passed through the eddies behind him. Then, Naruto noticed something.
He was not stopping fast enough!
Over at the coast, he could see Jiraiya casually waiting for him under the shade of a palm tree. The man stood up as he saw his apprentice cheat his way to the trial and noticed that the boy was not stopping. Jiraiya's eyes widened as Naruto was now screaming as the board hit the surface of the calmer side of the sea and the blonde splashing water all around as he was heading to the coast. By the time he made it to the shallower parts, Naruto stumbled on the waters, rolling on to the sea in a wipe out as he skidded on the beach face first.
Through his muffled voice covered by the sand, Naruto raised his hand and said, "I'M WORKING ON IT!"
Jiraiya had to clap at his student's ingenuity. Kushina probably never expected her son to cheese the test so perfectly.
Well, almost perfectly.
The ruins of Uzushiogakure:
Rubble, everything there was only rubble. There was no mystical library of legends of the fabled Uzumaki clan, nothing was in there, only rubble, dust and a destroyed building of what could have been the said library of legends.
Yakushi Kabuto looked up, the only remaining things that would have told him of this once magnificent establishment were stone columns and collapsed wooden floorboards. The man looked beside him, one was a redhead whose hair reached to her upper back and wore a pair of glasses and a plain long sleeve shirt and a pair of short shorts with her legs covered up by thigh high leather leg bracers and sandals. This was Uzumaki Karin, a child that Orochimaru had abducted from Grass Country after killing the girl's mother. She was supplanted by the man himself to act as another one of his agents during the Chuunin exam and was a candidate to be given the cursed seal but circumstances had delayed that plan earlier and that Orochimaru had not yet tested mixing her blood with the enzymes of his next companion.
A large hulking boy for his age, orange hair wildly at the back and combed combined with a large cloak and only a pair of black pants, this was Tenbin no Jugo, a man who willingly gave himself up to Orochimaru in the hopes to cure the man of his rage urges. He was placed initially under the care of Kimimaro but upon the boy's death, Jugo was imprisoned and his urges were kept in check by his solitude. Only through Orochimaru and Kabuto's special serum that he injects Jugo with now were able to contain his urges. The past several months had resorted him and his master to mass produce the cursed seal to artificially increase their assets for war. While many had still gone insane, some remained quite lucid enough. Orochimaru was livid that his best guards were bested by Konoha's genin. GENIN!
Not even Chuunin or above! They were killed by mere genin!
Kabuto was disappointed at this. He had never thought that Orochimaru's elite were that weak to be defeated by ninja who were only recognized as such mere MONTHS before they were elected to participate in the Chuunin exams.
Clearly, there was something in Konoha that neither he nor Orochimaru anticipated.
"Begin looking." Kabuto demanded and the two began scrounging throughout the destroyed library. The reason why Karin was here was to serve as not only their sensor, but also to be the one who would be the key to unlocking whatever secret was here. Orochimaru had sent him out here on this mission to look for a cure for his affliction. The Shiki Fuujin was a persistent problem that limited Orochimaru's use of jutsu. Only jutsu that can be used without seals were his only options and that irked the snake man despite his already formidable repertoire of techniques. The said sealing method, based on further research that Orochimaru concluded was that it was a lost sealing art of the Uzumaki clan. The said art was a terrifying technique that called forth the essence of the death god that sealed away both user and target. It was more akin to a curse or a kinjutsu rather than a mere fuinjutsu. Orochimaru reasoned, that all jutsu comes with weaknesses and it included the Shiki Fuujin. There were no absolutes, merely revisions. That was why they were here in Uzushiogakure. And the trip was a total pain in the neck to make. So whatever was in Uzushio, it had better be worth it.
A sudden startle had brought Kabuto out of his thoughts when he heard Karin yelp a little.
Kabuto went to her as Karin's senses were invaded by this new sensation.
"Someone's here in the island. T-This person has already made to the beach without even my sensor abilities noticing!"
Kabuto clicked his tongue at this, a jikuukan based ninjutsu? That was the only explanation on how someone could bypass Karin's long range sensing!
And another yelp from Karin escaped as he said this, the girl replied, "Someone came from the air and landed here and he's fast, and that chakra is huge!"
Kabuti then saod to his subordinates "We will retreat for now and do reconnaissance. A shinobi who can do jikuukan ninjutsu cannot be taken lightly ever."
Case and point, the Yondaime Hokage.
But still, the question remained. Who would be interested in the ruins of a dead clan apart from them?
Kabuto had to look at his options then there. They would have to lay low and discover just who this person was.
The three were immediately dispersed. Kabuto had ordered Karin to point where these two dangerous people were. She pointed to the east and said the precise distance of about three kilometres from where they were. Kabuto then ordered the duo to stick close to him as they were in the canopy above to hide and look for their target.
Before they got close, Kabuto then handed over Jugo a small vial of a serum. The giant of a man then took the whole thing down as if it was routine and the effects were immediate as the man turned docile. The effects of this suppressing serum were only for a few hours, as Kabuto noted but it was enough to not give away their direction and hopefully not engage with the two.
Kabuto stopped when he finally got a glimpse of his targets
'Of all the rotten luck!'
There on the forest floor and on the way to the village was Uzumaki Naruto, a low to intermediate threat to Oto and Jiraiya, a high ranking threat that people would think twice to square off.
Kabuto motioned for his subordinates to keep quiet and the duo nodded. They looked down and saw the sedate pace that the two were going off to all the while talking to each other.
"I still can't believe that you managed to cheat your way out of Kushina's trial. But I guess I can overlook that, you got here of your own merit after all even though the way you did it is unexpected."
"Well, you didn't even say what I had to do other than cross the damn ocean to get here, ero-sennin. So no points on lecturing me on what's fair." Naruto replied
"Ah, you have a point about that." Jiraiya laughed a little at that.
"Still though, what's the purpose of travelling all the way here to this place? There's nothing here. You said the village was ransacked and burned to the ground." Naruto mentioned as they were about to approach the ruins.
Jiraiya's smile turned into a frown as they walked, "Your mother never fully got over the fact that her village was destroyed. There was something inside her that wanted to pass on her knowledge and skills as a fuinjutsu specialist. She was proud to be an Uzumaki, she always did say that she loved her parents dearly and the destruction of Uzu broke her heart too much. This place serves as her reminder of what she had lost."
And finally, they had reached it. The destroyed walls of Uzushio and inside were the ruins. Debris and rubble of rocks, decaying wood and tattered fabrics. Many of the dead here had decomposed so long ago that only bones were left. They were not even buried. There was no time. The sacking of the village was complete and the place was completely devoid of life.
This silence that surrounded them was deafening to Naruto's ears.
'Naruto, this is the aftermath of hatred and fear. Where not even a single blade of grass can grow.'
Naruto looked down and felt the earth beneath him, the whole village was devoid of life. The earth was scorched, nothing was left. Naruto felt empty.
"A reminder of what mom lost." Naruto murmured those words as he then turned to Jiraiya.
"Was there anything here that was noteworthy for the Uzumaki?"
Jiraiya gave a nod, "There was, if there was ever a clan that kept its records on its seals, they were the Uzumaki. Their method of fuinjutsu reflects their character and so variations existed and the clan decided to archive those discoveries into their scrolls and stored in their legendary library. Said to be the very quintessential part of the village. The Five powers wanted this knowledge but in their overzealous desire to conquer the land, they inadvertently destroyed the library and along with it, the records of their most famous discoveries."
Naruto and Jiraiya stopped at the area where the library should have been. Naruto then looked around, he could only see rubble, stone debris and dust, rotten wood collapsed inside and scrolls were unreadable and torn to bits, decayed by the elements.
'All this destruction just for the lust for power.'
Jiraiya watched his apprentice who looked around. This library before him used to be so big and grand. He had remembered in his youth when Sarutobi Hiruzen served as an envoy, he had brought his students along with him and each learned much from the library that they found. The wonderful place of discovery was here. And Hiruzen was smiling all along at his students as he went about his business with the clan head at that time. It was probably why the three of them new a thing or two about Fuinjutsu but Jiriaya was the only one who took it more seriously than his teammates.
They were about to head to the center of the city where the Uzumaki clan used to reside in when Jiraiya noticed something inside. Underneath the rubble, there was a silver protrusion that was seen at the tip of the rubble. The silvery color seemed untouched by the elements. Naruto then noticed it too and began dusting off the object. He was about to pull the object out when he felt that the object was heavy by nature. Naruto began digging his way below and as he dug further, the object seemed to be getting bigger and bigger until it reached towards the floor. This wasn't just an object, it was a silver statue. Naruto looked up and noticed that the statue was at least two feet taller than him. Naruto dusted himself off as Jiriaya followed after him and looked at the statue.
In detail, the statue was nothing more than an image of a mirror reflecting back the one that was in front of it. Naruto's image was soon distorted as it was replaced by a seal at face level as Naruto recognized the seal.
"A blood seal?" Naruto asked and Jiraiya came to the same conclusion as well.
"I guess it's like the seal with the Iwagami, then. Care to try, kid?"
Naruto nodded, he was curious as to where it led. Naruto cut his finger with his kunai and then smeared the blood on the mirror as he touched it. The seal inside glowed a brilliant red and the mirror began unraveling itself as it spirals out. Naruto and Jiraiya then saw a hallway inside, the floor was white with dark blue walls, the white floor seemed to glow as it went forward. Jiraiya looked at his apprentice with worry and asked, "Prepare yourself."
Naruto gave a nod, "I know."
Once inside, the duo began their trek forward. From the outside world. Three figures had arrived and saw what had happened.
Kabuto figured out that this encounter can help with Orochimaru's affliction,
'This may be my chance if we can look into the Shiku Fuujin!'
Kabuto and the others entered inside, intent on discovering whatever it is that can help their lord.
Inside, Naruto and Jiraiya were making headway as they finally managed to exit the hall and into a small room. In that room were multiple scrolls and all nearly placed on a single bookshelf. But what caught their surprise was a fully intact skeleton out in front, a scroll in its hands wearing plated armor common in Jiraiya's time. Jiraiya grabbed the scroll and examined it before he yanked it from the skeleton that seemed to crumple to the floor as Jiraiya unfurled it and began reading its contents
"What is it?" Naruto asked and Jiraiya solemnly handed the scroll to his apprentice
"Looks like this is all that's left of the legendary archives of the Uzumaki clan. This was all that they could salvage."
'My descendant
I am in the last days of my life. This scroll is all that I have left in my possession and behind me, the last legacy of our clan. It is not much and I am deeply remorseful that this is all that I could save. In this last moments of my life, my only solace is that out enemies have not found that which they seek. But I tell you, it exists! The weapon that will bring the five villages to its knees where not even their jinchuuriki is safe! We have longed for the day that this weapon be our only hope to survive but no, this weapon is what brought us to our knees, power meant for destruction. Behind this shelf is the true legacy of the Uzumaki, behind me is Minamoto no Banbutsu (Gathering of All Creation)! As I am sure that you are Uzumaki, take it! Take it and use it or destroy it! Know that our legacy shall either live on or die with you! Let it be known that our sacrifice shall not be in vain!'
Naruto looked at the bookshelf and then at the scroll in his hands, the boy was quick to notice a seal written at the very end of the scroll. The seal was small enough that Jiraiya and he could notice. But he noticed that the man was silent when describing Minamoto no Banbutsu. Naruto wanted to ask but he kept quiet as well. Another secret not meant for everyone had just exposed itself directly to Naruto. The blonde took a deep breath bit his finger once again and smeared blood to the small seal and soon the stone wall behind the shelf started to shift. Jiraiya grabbed the scroll from his apprentice's hands as they walked inside.
The small hallway changed color from white to red and when the two had managed to walk to the other side, they saw a large dais in front of them with a flight of stairs leading to the top. Naruto gulped as he went up, wordlessly acknowledging the fact that he now had something that could forever change his life. Behind him, Jiraiya stood by at the door. As Naruto had reached for the very top, he saw at the very center of the dais was a short sword held on by rope and multiple paper seals hanging on each rope, the short sword was still in its sheath with the ropes interlocking each other at the very blade indicating of its seal to indicate that no one was allowed to touch it. Naruto stood in trepidation as his hand slowly made its way towards the hilt of the blade. Once he had a grip of its handle. The seals written on the paper glowed softly in color and all dissolved at the same time. Naruto noticed that the rope began to loosen and dissolve as well.
He was now left with only the Wakizashi in his hands, the blade stored within its saya made of sturdy wood and leather colored a deep red. The tsuba was a mixture of black and red as the handle had red threads interlocking each other. As Naruto raised the short sword, four scrolls had immediately popped up below him all had kanji written in them.
'Muin (Void Seal)'
'Mu no Houko (Spear of the Void)'
'Takamagahara (Plain of High Heaven)'
'Minamoto no Banbutsu'
"Ero-sennin..."
Jiraiya turned to his apprentice as the blonde continued, "What have we gotten ourselves into?"
Jiraiya answered, "Nothing good."
At the other room, Kabuto began looking at each of the scrolls laden on the shelf and began to unfurl them one by one, the other two were also there as well and each of his subordinates began to look for as well.
"Found it!" Karin shouted as Kabuto was quick to look for Karin and found the scroll they were looking for with the title written as Shiki Fuujin.
Kabuto smiled as he wrapped the scroll up and stood up, "We got what we came for..."
"Kabuto! You bastard!" A familiar voice stops him in his tracks as he saw Naruto behind him growling at the man who had just littered the the scrolls on the floor. Kabuto remained cool under pressure as Jiraiya was scowling as well.
"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked and noticed the scroll in his hands. Jiraiya had already suspected what it was.
"You're looking for a way to reverse the effects that Sarutobi-sensei did to Orochimaru, aren't you?"
Kabuto merely adjusted his glasses and answered, "Now why would I tell you that?"
Kabuto was quick on the draw and held in his hand a syringe, the right hand of Orochimaru then threw the needle straight at Jugo who shouted in pain as the liquid within its chamber was directly injected to Jirobo. It was true, they had developed a drug that can suppress Jugo's affinity with the abilities of the cursed seal. Jugo's affliction was very much involved with medical ninjutsu as it did with something else. But be that as it may, they also perfected a serum that can accelerate the enzyme's working properties and make Jugo susceptible to his rage.
He could not handle jiraiya in his current state and Naruto being with the toad sage severely put him on a disadvantage even though he had Jugo. But he could not guarantee to match up with Jiraiya of all people. So he had to make a hasty decision, sacrifice his underlings for his escape.
"AaAaRgh! K-Kabutoooo, what did you-"
"You have served your purpose well Jugo, goodbye." Kabuto then dashed out.
"Ninpo: Gamaguchi Shibari (Nnija art: Toad Mouth Bind)!" The walls of the said enclosure turned into a meat like substance and raced its way to Kabuto who was quick enough to escape. They were suddenly surprised when the giant of a man began transforming as his body convulsed from the quick, unstable and painful transformation taking place.
Beside him Karin was shaking in fear, Kabuto had just left them to die. Jugo was shaking on the ground and his skin shifted to the brown hide that cursed seal users were known for. Ten spiky appendages appeared on his back as it looked like syringe needles and his hands morphed with his left foremarm turning into an axe and then the other turning into a claw. His face was changing into a monstrous and almost unrecognizable form with his irises turning yellow and his sclera turning black.
Jugo roared in his rampage and his first victim on his sight was Karin.
Karin could not move, her body being bound by the guts of the toad by Jiraiya. Juugo, however was breaking loose from his binding.
All the while, Jiraiya watched as a familiar feeling entered him. What this boy was experiencing felt like an unstable state of...
"Ero-sennin! Release the jutsu! I'm driving him outside!" Naruto said as he performed the shadow clone jutsu and another clone popped beside him.
Naruto prepared his rasengan and doubled his chakra ouput, larger and larger and larger. The orb that was the size of the palm of his hand usually was now about twice the size of his head!
"Way ahead of you kid!" Jiraiya said and quickly dispelled the jutsu as Naruto charged at Juugo.
"Oodama Rasengan (Big Ball Spiraling Sphere)!" Naruto blasted Jugo away with the orb as it made contact sending him spiraling outside and crashing throughout the ruined streets of Uzushiogakure.
"Wait Naruto, we need to prepare a sealing jutsu, that boy has nature chakra flowing through him but it's unstable and frankly dangerous! We need to prepare a seal immediately if just to contain the boy's rage state! I'll be able to expel that nature chakra once we can subdue him!"
"What will work?" Naruto asked and Jiraiya answered, "Something like Fuja Hoin (Evil Sealing Method)!"
As if on cue the sword in Naruto's hand complied.
Inside Naruto's mind, the sealing method came to him in a flash, the blade inside the saya configured the necessary seals within and Naruto withdrew the sword.
Naruto then walked outside but not before kneeling beside Karin and asked, "You alright?"
Karin gave a wordless nod.
"Good, stay with my sensei, We'll keep you safe. Your name?"
"Uzumaki Karin."
Naruto grinned, "Looks like we're not all extinct after all!"
Naruto then ran outside as he stored the saya to his pouch, the wakizashi in his hand.
When Naruto got outside he was suddenly surprised when the claw had managed to grab him by the waist, not enough time to perform a substitute, Naruto was suddenly thrown around and smashed to one of he old stone pillars and then smashed on the ground twice before being thrown to the center of the ruined village.
Naruto got up, flinching as he bled through the forehead and mouth as well as multiple scratched and abrasions on his arms and legs. Good thing the vest kept most of his vital organs intact and absorbed some of the shock but it hurt like a son of a bitch.
Jugo dashed at him again, his speed surprised the blonde as wisps of chakra were coming out of the ten needle like appendages on his back. Jugo drew his arm blade at Naruto and the blonde immediately ducked by the telegraphed swipe. The blonde dashed forward in two steps and turned around as he blocked the arm blade with his wakizashi but Naruto was thrown away by the man's monstrous strength.
'This bastard is stupidly strong! Is this what sage mode is going to be?' Naruto asked to himself as he was planted back first into a stone wall and embedding himself there.
Jugo's left arm then turned into a different shape, now it looked like a giant claw with horns on the back, it actually looked like the same needle like protusions on his back. Naruto was not waiting to whatever else it could do.
"Kage Bunshin no jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)" Naruto shouted as four replicas took his place, with a quick substitution, Naruto managed to avoid most of the damage when Jugo planted that giant hand towards him.
The blonde then shouted as he held up a hand sign, "Eat this, you son of a bitch! Bunshin Daibakuha (Great Exploding Clone)!"
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Jugo was literally blown away as he was sent on the opposite side of the ruins. This allowed Naruto some breathing room. The blonde began formulating a plan in his head while Jugo was nowhere in sight.
Naruto performed a Rasengan with his right hand and performed Tenrin with another holding the sword between his teeth. If he was going to make it out alve, he was going to outpace that damn freak!
"Ura Tenrin Kazahana" Naruto mumbled as the winds howled to life around him, absorbing the rotating energy made by the Rasengan. Quickly, he made three more clones with him as the ones he conjured earlier all exploded.
They all dashed in unison as they approached Jugo on different sides in quick and lightning fast speeds. Jugo grinned manically and transformed once more as the ten needle like protrusions on his back changed larger with the caliber growing and growing. Jugo then unleashed an all around attack made up of chakra, blasting anything around him. All three Naruto's dodged perfectly with some being a narrow hit, the clones managed to stay corporeal enough as one managed to slip through the gaps of the beam attacks and with his free hand, one of the clones activated Kuukanzangeki and managed to cut two of the canons. The rest followed another had managed to cut down three more to the right leaving Jugo open on his right side. Jugo was about to adjust his beam attacks when another Naruto landed a Rasengan from above pinning Jugo down and then the real making a swipe to the man's right shoulder with his wakizashi.
"Fuinjutsu: Fuja Hoin (Sealing Arts: Evil Sealing method)!"
Jugo screamed and writhed in pain as Naruto's sealing took effect the brown skin receded from his entire body, the hide vanished into nothingness as Jugo continued to scream until finally, he had returned to his human form, completely unconscious.
It was then that Jiraiya had come out, now in sage mode as he saw his apprentice standing before the unconscious form of Jugo.
"Ah, Naruto-chan, you got him?" Fukasaku asked, Naruto turned to his right and saw his sensei and his two elder toads sitting on his shoulders.
"Yeah."
"Hard to believe that we would find a member of the Tenbin clan to exist to this day."
"Tenbin clan?" Naruto asked.
"It's from where Jugo came from." A voice of a girl interrupted them.
From the ruined library behind them stood Karin, the red head girl then approached the two at the front as she stood in front of Jugo.
"The Tenbin clan was made up of people who were sensitive to natural energy. However, due to their bodies being natural recipients, the amount of natural energy that enters them differ and imprecise most of the time, leading to an imbalance within their reserves and affecting their mental state as well." Shima said this as Jiraiya touched the boy's back and could feel the natural energy imbalance.
"They were wiped out soon after. Their clan was deemed far to dangerous to live. Their sturdy bodies made them incredibly hard to kill. Many shinobi fell on the night of their extermination."
Naruto sighed at this, "Is it just me? Or am I attracting a lot of these 'last of their clan' types? I could swear my fucking luck can be the worst sometimes."
Jiraiya then siphoned some of the natural energy out of the boy's body as he let go a part of his.
"There that should stabilize this boy's chakra for a while. But we may have to perform another sealing just to suppress the boy's ability to absorb natural energy."
Naruto then asked the old pervert, "You have one in mind?"
Jiraiya nodded, "Yeah, Kudan Tetsuin (Nine Fold Steel Sealing method)"
"Funny you should say that, ero-sennin."
Jiraiya turned to his apprentice as he pointed to his newly acquired weapon, "This thing just taught me a sealing method that I didn't even know earlier. The Fuja Hoin, if I can remember, requires time and a bit of my blood to do. But this thing just made me do the seal immediately when the blade touched him."
"No... So the rumors were true..."
Fukasaku mentioned, surprised that Naruto and Jiraiya managed to find out the Uzumaki's fabled weapon. Shima was less than composed about their current predicament, "Naruto-chan, that's a dangerous weapon to have in your hands! That's the fabled Minamoto no Banbutsu! We thought it was just rumors but..."
"To know of its existence is danger in itself. This is bad. Naruto-chan You should hide that sword immediately, that sword has the ability to create and unlock all seals!" Fukasaku said to the boy
Naruto was surprised at that, "What?"
"Minamoto no Banbutsu is as its name suggests! It's a collection of all sealing methods present in its creation, amalgamated and forged from a special ore found only here in Uzushio. It then collects all forms of new sealing methods and records these into the sword to reproduce later or to breakdown to create the perfect unsealing method. The reason why Uzushio was destroyed was that it can know what type of seal a jinchuuriki has and in seconds, create an unsealing method that will unleash the tailed beast in its vicinity."
Naruto immediately dropped the sword and in panic looked at the seal in his stomach. Jiraiya did so as well and noted that the Hakke no Fuin Shiki was intact.
"It's not dangerous to the wielder but to its victim. The Minamoto no Banbutsu is controllable but its mere implication throughout the ninja world is what sought out the destruction of Uzushio in the first place. Naruto-chan, if you can, never use that blade if you can help it. Especially not in front of those of Iwa, Kiri and Kumo." Shima commented.
"We have a lot to report on, do we?" Naruto mentioned with a sigh, Jiraiya did so as well.
"I almost forgot, how do we get back?" Naruto asked and Jiraiya had him covered.
"Don't worry, your mother left us with instruction on how to get out of this place. She mentioned a secret passageway to a calm belt area that leads directly to Wadatsumi port."
"Well, let's start sealing up the big guy's ability to absorb natural energy and get back to the port town. No use crying over spilled milk and all. But what should we do about them?"
Naruto pointed to Karin and Jugo after the sealing.
"We can report them to Konoha and have them come as POWs, you know. They can have the necessary information that we can glean on, and with Kabuto with them, we can track down Orochimaru faster."
Naruto then turned to Karin, "You okay with that? I can't guarantee you guys will be treated well when we get back, but I guess that's better than being left here to die by that bastard Kabuto."
Karin nodded her head, grateful for the blonde's mercy towards them, "Thanks, I didn't think I would be able to live and see the next day when I was with Jugo."
Naruto shrugged, "No sweat, I hate what I saw earlier when Kabuto used you and your teammate like pawns. Asshole will get what's coming to him one of these days."
Western Border, Fire country:
Another week has passed and on the last day of the week of the Taki Shinobi's visit, no envoy came.
"Strange... The envoy should have been here two hours ago. If they don't come then the supplies will be left to waste and we'll have to transfer them to another border." One of the Konoha Chuunin mentioned as Shino adjusted his glasses.
By the end of Konoha's border, Shino stood on his own. Something was wrong, he could feel it in his bones.
As Shino stood there for a few minutes more, no sign of Taki shinobi was in sight. Alarm bells were ringing in Shino's head. And it was then that one of his hive colony began acting agitated. It was the scent of a female bug that had let out its pheromones to let them know something.
"I need to find her."
To be continued...
Jutsu/Equipment Corner:
Minamoto no Banbutsu (Gathering of All Creation) The penultimate weapon made by the great seal masters and sword smiths in all of Uzushio, it is made by a special brand of metal, with its ore fed with chakra for a long time and absorbed to a fine degree that it will never chip or break. Within this sword is all of the recorded seals in the history of Uzushio from its founding up until its demise. In a way, this IS Uzushio's mystical library that has captured the hearts and minds of people all over the elemental nations. The mere existence of this sword puts in jeopardy the world powers for its ability to make the jinchuuriki system completely useless and has contributed to Uzushio's demise.
Muin-?
Mu no Houko- ?
Takamagahara- ?
