𝕸𝖎𝖘𝖋𝖎𝖙𝖘
Act I - Beyond The Horizon
Chapter 9 - The Best Laid Plans
Karin constantly slipped in and out of consciousness.
If she could even call it that.
In one moment, she was aware of everything around her. In the next, she was back in that endless labyrinth of horrors, escaping from that howling mass of fire and energy that rushed ahead to consume her. The moment immediately after, she cried as her chest and neck burned and things fell around her and everything just broke—
Once again, she slid into emptiness.
Right now, she was standing somewhere that could be called part of the castle of horrors that was her prison, but only barely. The entire place looked like a tsunami of fire had swallowed it whole. The stone pillars were charred by something so chaotic and horrifying that Karin felt violated simply by being in their presence. The entire castle tasted of death, of annihilation, of perversities that made her soul want to scream in agony. But most noticeable was—
"Nar—ru—to!"
Karin paused at that, before diving through the wall next to her. She came upon another corridor. This was the first floor. This was—
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Naru—to— I'm so—"
Karin didn't have legs, but she crouched.
It was a girl. A redhead, just like her. Another Uzumaki? First Naruto— her precious Blue —had turned out to be kin, and now this girl?
She reached out towards her—
I have nothing. I am nothing. And you are Me—
Karin snatched her incorporeal hands away and pushed herself as far as possible from the girl. This— this was no human. The creature smelled of chaos and abnormalities so twisted she had to fight the urge to vomit right then and there. And yet…
She hesitated.
It didn't make it any less true that the girl was dying. Her body was mained and burnt, with one of her legs now reduced to a blackened stump. The other—
"Naru— to—"
Whoever this girl was, she was closer to him. To Naruto. Maybe she was even someone he cared for.
Karin clenched her immaterial fists.
Uzumaki have a greater purpose in the World, her mother always said. Given how the woman had been used as a healing chakra reservoir by other shinobi for all her life, Karin had always believed the words to be about her healing abilities. But now, sensing this abomination in front of her, she wasn't so sure. What she did know for certain was that she wanted to let her perish. Naruto would be so much better without this twisted, perverse thing in his life. And yet—
"I'm sorry! I'm so—"
He would be sad.
And therein lay the problem. Karin wanted to care only about Naruto. About her Blue. That was logical. But she didn't care only about his health, but also his happiness. His smile. Anything that stole Blue's smile was evil, she knew that deep within her soul. With all her heart, she wanted him to be happy, to keep smiling at her with a warmth only he possessed. But letting this girl die… would kill that reality.
It's the right thing to do.
But I don't think I can do it.
She didn't want to hurt him. Knowing what he had sealed inside of him, Naruto needed every reason to keep being himself and not give into the malicious entity that resided in him. So for his sake—
Karin opened her eyes.
The image before her faded away, bringing her back to her torture chamber. Only it was… less.
The entire place looked like an earthquake had ravaged through it. The devices were all broken. The bloodsucking machine that drained her periodically made odd noises, with several cracks dotting its surface. Half the coils in the room were torn apart, and there were scorch marks on the floor too. The iron shackles tying her to the setup were loosened, and the ever-constant blockage upon her chakra was gone.
That meant—
Karin's lips twisted into a mad grin.
Four pairs of lustrous, metallic chains shot out of her back. Unlike Naruto's mother's chains of liquid gold, hers were more coarse, more grey, and had spines. Of course, they were still Adamantine Sealing Chains, but only just.
She couldn't seal anything with them. She couldn't erect barriers. She couldn't even cast ninjutsu or basic fuinjutsu with them. No, her mother had perished long before she had the chance to teach little Karin how to use them properly. But they were still chains, and chains—
Four adamantine chains slammed into the machines, pulverizing them.
—Could be used to inflict massive physical damage.
As her manacles slid to the ground, Karin resolutely stood up, no longer a captive. She was finally free.
"Alright, I need to find Blue. To do that, I'll find that girl, heal her, and get what I want to know out of her. I don't care how stupid it is, but that's the way it's gonna happen."
She expanded her prodigious senses, checking all the corridors near her for possible threats.
"Kami help anyone who gets in my way."
Brows dangerously furrowed, she stormed out the door.
"Because I'm in a very bad mood."
It had gone wrong.
It had gone wrong.
It had gone horribly—
Orochimaru shut his eyes, not having anticipated any of this. Throughout his extended lifespan, he had performed soul-devouring techniques dozens of times to change bodies, and double that number simply for the sake of experimentation. Then there were times when he had done it just to absorb more yin chakra into himself, normally by using hosts talented in genjutsu.
In every one of those instances, he had slowly devoured the victim's consciousness— their soul —until the body was akin to an empty house. Then, he'd take over their mortal flesh and morph it to look like his original body.
In hindsight, finding himself in young Naruto's seal in his mortal form, complete with chakra, should have been the first sign that things weren't what he expected. But he'd allowed his hubris to get the better of him.
And this was the result.
Minato's final legacy. Shiki Fujin. That was the root cause of everything. A seal through which nothing could escape. With the Nine-Tailed Fox removing the boy's consciousness from the equation, he had nothing left to achieve. He was trapped. He, the great Orochimaru, would forever be trapped within the seal.
Unable to gain control over Naruto's body.
Unable to communicate with the rest of the world— with Kabuto or Guren, or any of his other followers.
Unable to ever escape.
Unable to—
"Ah," the Kyuubi replied. "Dawn."
The beast's words rankled him. He was Orochimaru, the man with plans within plans within plans. To see them all fall down in a cascade of failures merely because of a simple oversight was unacceptable.
"This means nothing," he snarled. "Even if I perish, I will rise again with the aid of my Cursed Seals."
"Perhaps," the bijuu smiled. "But your memories will not transfer. The knowledge of what prevailed here will perish with your soul. Even if you rise again in the mortal plane, you will still be ignorant of the events that transpired here. And so you will try again. And again. And again."
Her red eyes gleamed.
"And that makes you my plaything."
Orochimaru had to admit. That hurt.
A lot.
But he wasn't one to give up so easily. This was, admittedly, a major drawback, and perhaps he would perish. But the seal— his Ryujin —was still on Naruto. Naruto was on the island, and Tayuya was surely dead by now. He could trust Guren and the others to keep the boy on the island until someone among them managed to resurrect him.
He still had his notes. His research. Naruto had accepted the seal. Nothing had changed. He'd rise once more and then—
"It hasn't hit you yet, has it?"
That… irked him.
He had often claimed victory in impossible situations simply by controlling the flow of battle, often through well-timed dialogue. To see his own technique used against him was vexing, to say the least.
The Kyuubi tilted her head. "Ask yourself this, my crafty little shinobi. If I knew how this would end, why did I go through the entire charade of supplying my jinchuuriki with chakra?"
That… was a legitimate question. Though in his defense, he had assumed the Kyuubi merely wanted to tear the boy's mind to shreds. To turn him into a dried husk, simply to taunt Namikaze, the man who locked it away. But—
But—
The truth hit him like a sledgehammer.
He felt his fingers hang lifelessly.
"The Five Elements Seal," he croaked. "I unsealed it."
The bijuu bared its teeth towards him.
"And now your chakra can flow through his body."
"My jinchuuriki is finally mine!" the demon laughed, her voice magnified by many folds. "And through this little experiment, I now know he can channel it without losing his mind. All thanks to the Shiki Fujin."
"A truly perfect jinchuuriki."
"Yes," it replied with relish. "And you have given him to me. Mine to twist. Mine to play with. Mine to wield. You have killed his love, and the Uzumaki spawn that remains will follow my command, for she wants her precious Naruto to live. I must thank you, shinobi. In one fell swoop, you have given me the greatest gift I could ever anticipate receiving. The shinobi world has trapped bijuu for centuries in hopes of creating the perfect weapons of mass destruction. And now…"
Her smile widened.
"Now, they have one, and its name is Naruto Uzumaki. With your Ryujin, I will forge him into a God."
She took a step closer.
"A God that obeys my every whim. A God that will use my power of Absolute Annihilation to bring about the end of the World as you know it. And it will be all thanks to you, Orochimaru of the Sannin."
Orochimaru gnashed his teeth. Sannin. Oh how he loathed the epithet given to him by Hanzo. A mockery of a name granted by the victor to the defeated.
And defeated he was.
Defeated by this entity he had thought to be a mindless beast. His arrogance had been his downfall in the end. Was this why Namikaze had stalled him instead of going for the kill? Had he always understood the hole in his plan? Was that why he had simply—
No.
That wasn't right.
Namikaze had tried to stall him. But he hadn't come to see Naruto. He hadn't come to protect his son from the big, bad Kyuubi or the shinobi baying for his blood. Was it his unwavering confidence that Naruto would be safe from him?
That couldn't be right either. Imprint of his consciousness nor not, the boy would retain the memories of anything he experienced within. Namikaze had to know his son could be scarred for life. He had to. And yet—
And yet, he hadn't acted.
But why?
It made no sense. If he hadn't acted, the only thing he could've been doing at the time would be—
Orochimaru's eyes widened.
"I see," he smiled, feeling a strange calmness overtaking him.
He never wanted to kill me. He never tried to protect the boy. All he wanted to do was look at—
"The Ryujin."
How poetic.
"What of it?" the demon rumbled, utterly failing to hide its curiosity.
"Minato Namikaze, the fourth Hokage. Remember him, oh Great Fox? The man who put you inside this prison and threw away the key?"
He chuckled as he heard unsettling rumblings from the beast. Clearly, there was a lot of repressed anger in the Kyuubi when it came to the blond-haired youth who got the better of it. Perhaps he could pull one over on it?
If I'm going out, I may as well do it in style.
Jiraiya's face suddenly came to mind.
Just like old times.
"You see, Kyuubi, Namikaze is currently trying to deconstruct the Ryujin. Not an absolutely terrible idea, but a bit boring if you ask me. Still, tell me this. What happens if the Ryujin becomes integrated into the Shiki Fujin? Would you still be in control, or would you merely be treated like a battery for the Ryujin as it forges the God you so greatly desire?"
"You…" Its gravelly voice was like hearing boulders grinding against one another.
"You were right, in the end. I will perish here. No matter what I do, I cannot leave the Seal. But believe me, Great Fox, I have no intention to… shall I say, go gently into that good night?"
The Kyuubi growled.
"I, or at least this version of me, will serve a greater purpose. I will join my creation. I will become a part of it. My memories, my knowledge, my experiences… everything that I am, everything I have dreamed to be, will all become one with the Ryujin's matrix. I will become the Ryujin."
Orochimaru grinned, raising his hands outward.
"So no. In that sense, I will not die. I will simply be reborn. Sooner or later, another 'Me' will resurface from one of my Cursed Seals. And when he does, when I do, Naruto will be there with a far more advanced, far more interesting Ryujin. This new 'Me' will capture him and regain control of my improved Ryujin. What can stop me then?"
With a vicious howl, the Kyuubi sent nine tails of corrosive chakra charging towards him.
Orochimaru grinned. It was almost too easy.
And then, he popped.
"Ugh, what a mess!"
Karin stared at the fallen redhead. Though at the moment, she looked less human and more monster, what with the way a pair of horns erupted from her temples. Her skin had a dark greyish tinge to it, and she suspected it wasn't just a creepy suntan. Strange blurry shadows lay beneath her skin, and the girl— if she could even be called that —was seconds away from losing consciousness. Her chakra was at an all-time low, and chaos permeated her very being. Given the state of her injuries, she'd die of blood loss within the hour.
"At least you dealt with everything else in this place," Karin sighed. "I could sense your energy from all the way down in the dungeon. I don't suppose you left anyone alive?"
The redhead stirred. Her eyes slowly blinked, and Karin assumed that was the best she could reply.
"You… this is all your fault, you know. He wouldn't be happy without you, so now I have to heal you because I don't want to hurt him and— oh, I should just let you fade away! Or maybe cut you down, you twisted little thing."
A pair of chains erupted out of her back.
"But Naruto wouldn't like that."
The demented girl's eyes cracked open at the mention of his name. "Who… you…"
"Just shut up!" Karin snapped. "Stay there, and don't die." She knew she was being petulant, but she didn't really care at this point. The pair of chains rose next to her, ready to pierce through the girl's heart.
"Tempting," she murmured, "but no. Stand down."
The chains immediately obeyed.
"You're a confusing girl," Karin commented, crouching near her. "A monster in human form, but you care for Naruto. And I think I remember you. You were part of the group that captured me. Maybe you even work for Orochimaru, and as long as you stay alive, Naruto will be in danger. Either from your boss or from your… chaos."
Karin bit her lip. "I should kill you. I really should. But since that's not an option…"
She pulled back her left sleeve, revealing the pale flesh of her left arm.
"Once you're healed, you and I are going to save Naruto. Then you'll help us get out of this place for good. Do we have a deal?"
The girl slowly nodded her head.
One of her chains grazed across her arm at her silent command, causing fresh blood to ooze out. Wincing, Karin held it close to the redhead's mouth.
The girl seemed confused.
"Come on, suck my blood. It'll heal you."
Her disgusted expression hid nothing about what she thought of that plan.
Karin twitched an eyebrow. "Limited time offer, bitch."
Sighing, the girl began to drink, causing Karin to shudder a bit. Not because she was afraid of blood less— hell, she'd been constantly drained of her blood for the past two years. It was just that, well, letting someone drink it off of her just felt icky.
…
Karin giggled.
For the first time in ages, she felt like a little girl again.
As a Perfect Sage, feeling shifts in the energies around him was second nature to Minato. Karin's exit removed the faint traces of yin chakra around her, as well as the yang he had poured into her to allow her escape. And now— now Naruto—
He was gone too.
Minato paused, cautiously parsing through the ramifications of what he'd just felt. Had Orochimaru murdered his son's imprint? He may not have liked the man, but the Sannin had to know that doing so would accomplish nothing. At best, it would be a horrible experience for Naruto— absolutely insidious as it occurred, but little more than lingering traces of trauma once he was awake.
Besides, Naruto had been channeling bijuu chakra. There was no way Orochimaru could have defeated the Kyuubi in its very place of power.
And yet, Naruto's imprint no longer registered.
But why?
"We don't have much time, husband. I need you to concentrate."
Not-Kushina's tone was soft, almost melodic in its soft, whispered syncopations. Her voice didn't sound angry or impatient or irritated, but rather dangerous.
"Time," she continued, her eyes never leaving the Seal before them, "is not on my side."
Minato felt like he was missing something. "Your side?"
"So long as the Ryujin seal exists, it's not on anyone's side, least of all mine."
Orochimaru's seal. The Ryujin. That was the root cause of everything. An independent fuinjutsu matrix that channeled the powers of the Kyuubi's chakra through the safety net of the Shiki Fujin in order to create something else entirely.
But what was it? And why did Orochimaru's seal agitate the Eight-Trigrams enough to manifest through Kushina like that?
No, not through Kushina, he reminded himself. She looks like her, behaves like her, but her purpose is the Seal's.
"I felt Naruto disintegrating," he cautiously admitted, pausing his work. Between his analytical abilities and her natural talent, the two made quick progress with the deconstruction process. There were still far, far away from anything substantial, but all good things took time.
Time they didn't have.
"His disintegration means something has changed. He should wake up soon." Not-Kushina's face broke out into a gentle smile. "Naruto," she breathed, her pleasant voice not changing in the slightest, much like her expression. "My baby boy. My Warden. Both as mother and Seal, I fear for him. I want him to become a happy person. I also want him utterly destroyed."
Minato felt whiplash from the differing goals. "Why? Kushina, I understand. But since when does a seal, a simple function of fuinjutsu, start developing its own motives?"
Her kind demeanor dissolved into a gobsmacked look, and then into gut-busting laughter.
But it wasn't typical laughter. Not from the kind of amusement one felt from hearing a hilarious joke. No, this was a laugh of anger. The kind that one only let out when they heard something so infuriating they couldn't help but release their pure, unadulterated rage as laughter, lest they lash out like a wild beast.
"Do you really not realize what you have done, shinobi?"
Minato clenched his jaws. "Enlighten me."
Not-Kushina leaned forward, her tone seeping with malice as her bright violet eyes bore into him. "Power has a purpose."
The words were spoken with such emphasis, such terrible conviction, that Minato gave no response. Some statements were made to be simply listened to, and this was one of them. He didn't know why she— it —was imparting this knowledge, but something told him it was more important than he could ever realize.
"There is a reason why the bijuu exist in this world. A cause. A purpose. By sealing the Nine-Tails away using the authority of a God, you upset that purpose. In the absence of the Kyuubi, things best left forgotten will come into the light. Nameless nightmares and forgotten Gods who should stay in their realms will descend upon your world. All because of your blind arrogance."
"That's a lie," Minato confidently crossed his arms. "The Uzumaki designed the Eight-Trigrams Seal to cut the bijuu away from the world. To seal them into people and make the world a safer place. Other nations have done it too. Why is what I did any different?"
She pinned him with an unreadable gaze. "Fuinjutsu commands the Ways of the World, shinobi. The Eight-Trigrams was created to keep the bijuu away while tethering it to reality through the jinchuuriki. But you, in your infinite arrogance, used the power of a divine authority— the Shinigami —to remove it from reality itself. You upset the established Order of the World simply because you thought you could."
"You're wrong," Minato murmured, his tone apologetic. "I did it because I saw no other choice. The Kyuubi was destroying my village. As Hokage, I did my duty." He didn't so much as flinch from the killing intent directed his way. "If there is some part of my Kushina within you, then I have to believe you understand my reasons."
"Your duty?" she spat, her tone frigid. "You consider my Creation your duty. Then tell me, shinobi, do you even know what I am?"
Minato remained silent.
"I am the Eight-Trigrams Seal. I am also the Shiki-Fujin. I stand here with memories and impressions from Kushina Uzumaki as she lived and breathed. But above all, I am an abomination. A rule upon the World that counters and disrupts other rules. An anomaly that should not exist."
He narrowed his eyes. "Even if I were to believe you, this is the first I've heard of this. The Nine-Tails was sealed away fourteen years ago, with me in it, yet this is the first time we're speaking."
Not-Kushina shot him an unimpressed look.
"Well?"
"And why do you think that is, shinobi?"
The answer, surprisingly, came to him rather quickly, as if he'd always known it deep down. In the fourteen years since its conception, this was the first time the Eight-Trigrams Seal had gotten agitated by an intruder. And he wasn't talking about Orochimaru of the Sannin.
"The Ryujin," he croaked.
It was always about the Ryujin. A complex seal that fed upon bijuu chakra to accomplish its own ends, it was constantly drilling into the Eight-Trigrams Seal in an attempt to assimilate it into itself. It was a customized, utterly selfish growth machine that cared for nothing— not the World nor anyone in it —but its own Host.
A Seal made for Orochimaru, by Orochimaru. A reflection of his maddening brilliance.
Minato felt the urge to palm his face.
"I am such an idiot."
"I agree." The sudden voice sent shivers down his spine. Minato spun around, a kunai instantly appearing in his hand as he heard the Sannin's voice coming from behind him—
—And paused.
Orochimaru just stood there, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "It is heartwarming to see someone of your prowess finally recognizing my brilliance, Namikaze."
"Orochi—"
"Husband," Kushina snapped, attracting his attention once more. "I implore you. I know you care for your child, our child, but the Seal must be broken. The Ryujin must be stopped. The Kyuubi must be set free."
Minato ruefully smiled. "Sorry, but unlocking the Seal will unleash the Kyuubi and kill my son. I've already damned my soul to save him once. I won't let him die now. No matter the cost."
"I agree," Orochimaru proclaimed.
Minato looked towards him. "You do?"
"But of course I do, Namikaze. It is the nature of every establishment to stay in power. That thing knows the potential of my Ryujin, and is naturally afraid of it. It is only natural that it would try to shut it down as quickly as possible."
"This has nothing to do with you, Orochimaru," Kushina snarled. There was a strange unnaturalness in her voice, like metal grating on glass. "You cannot leave this place. You're condemned to perish here."
Orochimaru chuckled. "Clearly that is not Kushina Uzumaki. Anyone who knows me knows better than to try and intimidate me."
"Minato…" He found his attention captured by the form of his wife once more. "You— please understand. This chance, it may never come again. You have to—"
"No," he sharply exhaled. "You may be right. I may be making a mistake. Hell, I'm standing next to Orochimaru and not fighting, so it's obviously a mistake." He saw the Sannin roll his eyes. "But a future without my son alive isn't one I'm willing to accept."
Silence overtook the trio.
"I see," she finally replied. "And you will not reconsider?"
"No."
"Then know this, Minato Namikaze. Whatever happens from now on, it's on your head. In giving your precious village a savior, you have instead released upon them their worst nightmare in the flesh."
Wha—
"I—" Minato stared at her, perplexed. "How can Naruto be a nightmare? I don't understand."
"Do not worry." Adamantine chains erupted from her back a second time, as a malicious smile spread across a pleasant, familiar face it had no business being on. "In time, you will."
Editor: Solo Starfish, the best goddamn starfish the world has ever seen.
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