Chapter 11: A Shaping


"Necessity is the mother of invention."

-English Proverb


/Haven Quarter

/Hoseki City

/Land of Fire

Naruto

Rough hands were shaking him and every nerve in his body screamed in white-hot agony.

"Naruto, wake up boy! We have to go. Kazan, grab the bag-no, forget it! Go, child!"

Naruto felt himself being scooped in what he imagined were frail arms, but they felt more like iron clamps. He couldn't even open his eyes and his back felt like some rough giant from the fairy-tales had done nine rounds in a dueling pit, but spent most of the time just stomping on him again and again. Every muscle spasmed, every fiber of him cried out, and he felt tears wetting his face.

"Wah?"

The motion, violent and forceful, encouraged him to open his eyes and he really wished he hadn't. Chiyo had used some weird shinobi trick to throw them from a dead stop outside the shack to the very rooftops of the homes. Three stories.

How...?

But the answer was what it always was: chakra. He kept forgetting she was a badass shinobi, not just a useless medical ninja.

"Put me down granny, I'm not a cripple."

No, not anymore.

Naruto smiled to himself, then winced, spine aching like a giant man had beaten him to a pulp.

If he did that jumping thing one more time in the arms of someone, he'd paint the walls with the weak soup they'd had for lunch.

"Like hell you can boy, you can barely fight off a strong fart let alone Seiryu and half the Gutterknives. Tanaka is here for you himself, boy."

Tanaka. Torin. Uruchi. Seiryu.

"How much time do we have?"

She eyed the almost set sun, shading her eyes from the deluge of water. Monsoon season was truly upon them, today of all days. It would help as much as hurt.

"Not much, I'd say. I have no idea where the Lord Guardians are or why they don't care that there are Mist shinobi in the city as well as Gutterknives running rampant, we have to move."

Nobody even had time to respond as Seiryu, known famously among the people as the Lightning Dragon, burst out of the alleyway ahead of them.

The three of them took and Seiryu's angry shout followed them. They ran through twists and turns, ending up behind the local cathedral. Naruto felt fairly okay now, though the ache in his back and jaw was throbbing, he wasn't nauseous anymore.

He felt ready for a fight. No point running so far they ended up in an ambush, after all. Seiryu definitely wouldn't expect him to throw himself into the jaws of the enemy and maybe, with the new Lightning Mark...

"Granny, get Kaz away from here. I'll meet you by Sunshine Court, near the fountain. Go!"

And Naruto threw himself at this man who featured in several nightmares without even a second's hesitation.

Seiryu only looked up in surprise as he turned the corner and...

Naruto's booted foot took the man in the chin and didn't seem to do much other than piss him off, so he back flipped off the man's face and landed in the mud, realizing he was still shirtless.

That made two of them.

Chiyo and Kazan ducked away at a dead run and a part of him relaxed.

Serpentine and intricately scaled, the azure dragon that gave the Gutter's current champion his name stretched from the hard, muscled edges of his hip-bone and wrapped all the way around his body, terminating around his neck. The eyes of the mystical beast glimmered out of his chest like some kami-granted parasite. It was awesome.

Naruto grinned. "I was hoping I'd find you here; you and Torin and that piss-ant Uruchi."

"Just me boy, sorry to disappoint. Those others aren't far behind though."

He adjusted the massive odachi on his shoulder.

Neither spoke. They both knew what needed to happen. But Naruto couldn't resist.

"I have something I've been dying to show you asshole."

Seiryu cocked a blue eyebrow. He'd clearly dyed his whole head blue like his namesake, a ponytail stretching to his mid-back.

Like stretching an atrophied muscle, Naruto felt around inside his shattered chakra system and imagined the series of symbologies linked together that represented the Mark, one intricately woven matrix of fuinjutsu symbologies that would grant him a facsimile of a reinforcement technique, and mentally flipped the switch. If he could've seen his spine, circles of fuinjutsu were spread in a connected index straight down his back and were lit from within, like an inner storm.

Agony spread from him again, compounding on top of the still-present fire that raged through his muscles, under his skin, and he dropped to one knee screaming as tiny, molten knives prickled him over and over again, running up and down his spine in waves. He stayed knelt, a fist pressed into the mud. Rain continued to slam, nice and cool against his feverish back, and served to show him how the world had changed.

Seiryu laughed, watching him fall in agony.

"That's a great trick boy. I've always wanted to be able to fall on my ass at a moment's notice without giving a shit, too."

The odachi rose, a broken and battered thing, but more fearsome for it's age; the edge glimmering in the faint streetlight, the tinkling of rain on metal.

The rain seemed to have slowed down, not a lot, but enough to notice. A faint glow shone around him, nothing wild or intense, but it was steady, certainly nothing like the piece of fuinjutsu that made him glow blue that he'd scrapped for being useless, but the light was enough to notice above his skin in the waning dark.

The sword descended. Naruto waited.

Then slipped past it easily and was inside the man's guard in an instant, close enough to notice the widening of the man's eyes. But they hardened and Seiryu reacted, just not fast enough. Naruto mimicked their first fight and slammed the edge of his boot down on the man's instep and slipped to his right side, grabbing the arm raising to cradle his foot and put his hand on the back of the man's head, shoving it as hard as he could into a rising knee.

Wiley, Seiryu slipped a hand in-between the rising knee and his face, taking the blow, but muting the damage. Seiryu stumbled back as Naruto slipped backwards like an eel. His body tingled with energy and it felt, not quite like the reinforcements he'd used as a student back in Iron, but like something close. No extra strength, but he felt like he could run faster than he ever could before. The difference was that of running through water versus land. No resistance, smooth, gliding gracefully through the world, between raindrops almost. Naruto grinned and came in again.

Seiryu was suddenly much faster, too. Not fast enough.

Being on even footing was more than fine. He'd been at a distinct disadvantage last time they'd fought and it had gone fairly well, all things considered. All the same, Naruto gritted his teeth and strained for more speed as he watched the odachi slice sideways in a lightning-fast blow.

It caught a lock of hair, but that was it.

Naruto ducked, slipping underneath it and transitioned up into a shoulder charge that pushed both Seiryu's arms off-balance. Naruto sank into a horse stance, wide and balanced, tangling his front in with Seiryu's intentionally.

The man toppled with a shout and the odachi left his hands, backwards, as the two of them fell together.

There were shouts nearby and Naruto grimaced, struggling with the stronger man-so much stronger that he couldn't believe it. Seiryu's fist took him in the chin, lifting him entirely up and throwing him back to land in a giant puddle with a splash.

Head ringing, rattled and feeling a loose tooth, he spun back up into a crouch. Low-level pain had been thrumming through his whole body the entire fight and it emanated in waves from his spine, from the fuinjutsu Mark, and it was getting worse. The more he drew from the Mark, the more pain would accompany it. So how long did he really have with it? Disappointment warred with concern, but he dismissed that. This was something, this was something.

The fight, if you could call it that, had only been two minutes at best, but there were others coming. Would the Fuinjutsu escalate the pain the more he drew chakra from his shattered coils? Or was it static?

Only one way to find out though...

Naruto grimaced, it was now a distinct worry.

He darted past Seiryu, who tried to grab him, and plowed into another person, Uruchi as it happened to be, who was coming around the corner of a building, up from the steps leading to the courtyard below them. Tangling with the bigger boy used to be a chore, he was quick as an eel, especially with chakra, and had muscles that dwarfed Naruto's by a large margin. Adolescence did that.

But this time was different.

Naruto punched Uruchi full in the face, ignoring the deadly sword clutched in his rivals hand entirely, well not entirely, it had been knocked wide when Naruto threw the boy into the wall. Uruchi was entirely unprepared. Even unprepared, he wasn't helpless.

A counter-punch came fast and hard, flooring Naruto for the second time that day. Uruchi growled.

"You fuckin' shit. I should've killed you when I had the chance. Dun't care how you've gotten faster and faster. Bullshit is what that is. But you've gone and dun it now havent'cha?"

Naruto spit and eyed the sword clutched in Uruchi's hands. He heard more than saw Seiryu coming up from behind. Both of them were far from out. So this needed to be quick.

"You were never better than me Uruchi and you know that. It would never have worked between us."

The boy looked confused, but didn't answer, blurring into a slicing-sweep that any sane person would've gotten away from, but Naruto could match him, exceed him, speed for speed and he proved it, diving at Uruchi and halting the blade by forcing a grapple for the hilt. The blade stopped, vibrating between them as Naruto and Uruchi fought, main strength to main strength of which Naruto had the horrible realization he had none of. The two of them staggered around drunkenly. Uruchi pushed Naruto into a wall and he had to take it, the wind rushing out of him.

Lightning chakra raced through his body as he took stock, realizing he had only one option. Naruto pushed them both away and twisted, falling on purpose.

He stopped struggling.

And pulled Uruchi as hard as he could.

Falling, Naruto yanked the blade point first into the mud next to his face and powered his legs into Uruchi's chest as sent the boy sailing over him and into Seiryu who was coming from the far alleyway. The two assholes went down in a heap, cursing. Naruto started backing away towards the direction Chiyo and Kaz ran, but Seiryu was the first onto his feet, pushing Uruchi off.

Naruto had to blink when Seiryu casually killed Uruchi with a backhanded swing of his massive sword. The Uzumaki stared as rain pounded down onto the bloody body, eyes still, wide, and staring sightlessly up at the overhangs.

"Why...why would you do that?"

"He got in my way."

The casual cruelty took his breath away, but Lionel Gato's face flashed in front of his eyes and he had to wonder what the difference really had been. Before any thought could take root, he squashed it, focusing with a twinge of guilt. Uruchi hadn't been a friend, but he hadn't really been an enemy either, had he?

Torin stepped around the corner, tall, lithe, not nearly as wet as the rest draped as he was in a dark, water-proof coat, a sword clutched in one hand, a walkie-talkie in the other.

"About fuckin' time Torin, ya little shit."

"Sorry buddy, Tanaka wanted us to be thorough. There are Guardians here and some asshole from the Mist. I was trying to buy you time."

Torin cocked his head, not smiling in the least. "Is Naruto giving you trouble? He's not bad for a little shit. Tanaka was right about him. Too bad we'll never see it."

Seiryu snorted, incredulous. "Are you fucking serious Tor? Tanaka thought this shit-stain could surpass me?"

Torin winced as he saw Uruchi's body. "Really, man?"

"He was fucking it up."

Torin merely nodded. "We'll talk about it later. Kill him."

The Lightning Dragon tightened his grip on his odachi and started towards Naruto. Naruto could barely think now, the pain from the Mark had made it almost impossible. So he shut it off. Without the Mark, maybe even with it, he couldn't fight both Torin and Seiryu-especially with only one sword.

A piece of rubble, a damaged brick, lay on the ground near him. Sprinting, he scooped it up and chucked it right at Torin's stupid face. He didn't stick around to see the damage, but he did hear a furious storm of curses.

Naruto tucked his tail between his legs and ran.


/Haven Quarter

/Hoseki City

/Land of Fire

Chiyo

"Shh!"

Chiyo put her fingers to her lips as she led Kazan away from where that idiot boy threw himself at that brute, Seiryu. In her heart of hearts, she knew her self-maintained prohibition against revealing the extent of her skills, let alone doing so in the heart of Hoseki City and its Lord Guardians, was smart.

But watching that boy fight when she could make all this trivial with one jutsu galled her. Was she scared? Was that it? Or was the thought of revealing herself and watching Naruto recoil in horror, realizing her legacy of carnage? She knew what he'd gone through, having a bijuu sealed inside him, and she'd done that very same thing to the Kazekages son.

Monstrous.

It was part of why she ultimately had left, despite Ebizō's fierce protests, and Pakura's steadfast refusal to make her a missing-nin. Protecting Kazan gave her some leeway in feeling like she was fulfilling her strange connection to the vicious blonde-haired, violet-eyed rascal.

Which is why she stopped when she felt a powerful chakra presence approaching. Her sensory skills were rudimentary, but this was strong, her kind of strong; something none of them were quite prepared to deal with. Inside she was cursing. Outwardly relaxed, she turned to Kazan and put both old, wrinkled hands on both sides of his face. What a truly sweet boy this is; pity what his life has been like.

"Listen to me carefully Kazan. I need you to hide and do not come out until I specifically tell you that I want you out of there or if Naruto comes to get you, do you understand?"

He was quiet. "Yes." First word she'd ever gotten out of him. Huh.

Chiyo knew she would be fine no matter what came, success or failure, life or death, but these boys had worlds of life ahead of them. Kazan and Naruto must continue on, with or without her. Kazan huddled behind some iron trash receptacles at the back of the building behind her.

Good boy.

The presence was close; almost on top of them.

A man stepped from the shadowed recess of a building, two unusual swords clutched in his hands, hood pulled up. Chiyo couldn't see much of his face. But the smell of ozone was suddenly everywhere; strong, potent, like she was passing through a thunderstorm. Her fear, not for her, but for them, grew. This was a powerful Mist shinobi, the very thing Naruto had been most worried about. Was there a connection with the Butcher here? Or was he here on behalf of Gato? Would he know her grandson?

"An old lady? Really?"

The man snorted and Chiyo realized he was enormous, easily two inches taller than even Kazan who was a great big lump of a boy. Seiryu would be small compared to this beast. Dark green hair fell to his waist in a careless tumble as the man pushed back his hood revealing a rugged, cruel face with sky-blue eyes that didn't seem to fit his face. Too beautiful. Those were the worst kind of killers. Beauty shouldn't be associated with something so ugly as murder.

Her worst fears were realized when she noticed that he wore the traditional Kiri uniform, white-mask attached to his belt, bandages racing up and down both his legs and arms, and two bandaged swords clutched in both hands with some dark lump attached to his back. A backpack, maybe?

The mask at his belt had the characteristic red wave and mischievous, painted smile marking Kirigakure ASTS.

Assassination and Special Tactics Squad: the ANBU of Mist.

She could've tried talking him out of a fight, but the reality was that he most likely wasn't concerned about starting an international incident. That was simple math given that he worked for the Butcher of the Hidden Mist, the now-known legitimate Kage of Mist. That man simply didn't care about the sacrosanct nature of international statutes, not if what Naruto had told her was true and he had very little reason to mislead her about something like that.

She had to at least know who she was about to kill.

"Hm. All I see before me is yet another young man lacking respect. Color me impressed with your bravado, boy."

The man threw back his head and laughed.

"An old bitch with spunk, I see. Very well, my name is Raiga Kurosaki and it seems you are just in time."

A vein pulsed in her forehead while her body went cold. Fucking brat. Nobody was allowed to call her that! But she did recognize the name… he was strong. Extremely strong. A member of the Seven Swordsmen, a squad that had many legends attached to its name.

Best not to let him know she was remotely intimidated.

"Hey you little snot, show some respect to your elders. I'm-"

"I don't care one wit who you are, you old bitch! And I AM showing you respect. Isn't it respectful that I'm already planning a tasteful ceremony?"

The bandages on his weapons unraveled as he pulled violently, streamers of wet bandaging revealing two extremely distinctive weapons she recognized from the bingo book: The Thunder of Kirigakure.

The Kiba blades, long and straight with two sweeping hooks jutting out of the base steel, carved vicious furrowed wounds in their victims. Unpleasant. But not entirely problematic given who she was.

"...your funeral!"

Raiga was instantly in her face, swinging those legendary dual blades, but she'd been a shinobi far longer than he'd been alive. Chiyo had forgotten more about being a shinobi than this shit had ever learned.

He'd soon learn.

Smoke burst where Chiyo had stood and a grey faux-muscled faceless, featureless puppet replaced her and parried both blades by clamping down on the vicious edges without heed, stopping him in his tracks, and the Golem powered a vicious snapkick into Raiga that connected with his chest, sending him careening towards the building. The look of surprise on his face warmed her tired old bones from her position behind her puppet. A thousand, thousand tendrils of glittering chakra threads connected from each finger and gave her combat drone life.

Enough life to end Raiga's, hopefully.

A white-hot bolt of lightning disintegrated the top of the building she'd sent Raiga into and the boom almost deafened her, except she'd put a plug of pure chakra in her ears. A glowing figure stepped out of the rubble, timbers blackened and on fire and screams punctuated his steps, rain sizzling and hissing as it hit that glowing aura.

They didn't call him the Thunder of Mist for no reason.

A finger twitched and her puppet launched itself at Raiga.

Dual-strikes sent the puppet sideways into a wall, but it recovered, bounding to its feet as she commanded it to pressure him as much as it could. Powerful as it was, it was the least important of the creations she carried with her. It would have to do. The others would give her away in a way she didn't want. Not yet anyway.

Chiyo had seen Naruto's skill with a sword, for someone his age, and this man made him look like a rank amateur as he spun both blades in a whirlwind, fending off her puppets steel hands, sparks flying. As she watched, she realized there were pieces of her precious golem flying off. The lightning chakra. It had to be. Lightning elemental chakra was this man's forte and it showed as he sheathed the Kiba blades in a coating of elemental lightning chakra, sharpening it to a singular potency.

So strong, it was able to shear steel. Her Golem wouldn't last long against that onslaught.

Chiyo substituted with her own puppet in a seamless instant, latching chakra threads from the now-lifeless Golem to the blades Raiga cared about more than anything. They froze, struggling.

And she punched him in his smug fucking face. I'll show him old!

Chiyo was cold. "I'm afraid you've very thoroughly underestimated what you've put your tiny dick in, boy."

Raiga knelt on the ground, blood dripping from his face, aura flickering. It solidified in a steady glow. Chiyo stepped closer.

Quietly, she spoke. "I'm the Honored Elder Chiyo of the White Death, the greatest puppetmaster in the world, boy, and I'm afraid the only funeral you'll be attending is your own, Raiga Kurosaki."

Her fist punched forward, faster than she'd moved before, but she had to abort as she was too close.

Left and right Kiba came, aura bright and strong and she backpedaled, dancing away, out of the reach of those very dangerous weapons. She needed to stop playing with him and end this. He was at least an A-rank threat and lightning, the kind of lightning he was wielding, was very much an issue for her Golem.

Well, this puppet at least.

Raiga kicked her in the face and it came out of nowhere. She shrugged it off and retaliated, a fist clipping his shoulder. A blade descended. Chakra flooded her body, raging to her tenketsu and she substituted with her lifeless puppet who was immediately bisected in a flurry of breaking steel, intricate machinery, and fuin-tags. Chiyo felt every one of her eighty-five years. A faint green glow surrounded her hand as she healed the deep bruise on her face.

A laugh, if nails on a chalkboard could be characterized as such, burst out of Raiga's mouth and he straightened, shoulders shrugging up and down as he cackled.

"I don't know who the hell you are, never heard of you, but an old bitch like you who can take a hit like that deserves first-rate funeral services, don't you agree?"

Balls of lightning, yellow and silver, crackling like stormy will-o-the wisps started to fill the air around them in clusters. He used no hand seals. She had no time to summon a second Golem.

How the hell?

He pointed one of the blades at her. "Perhaps I'll splurge for the fine mahogany, whaddya say?"

Point-first the blades spun then stopped as Raiga plunged both blades in the ground.

Hands flicker-quick sped through hand seals and Chiyo was torn between jumping at him or getting the hell out of the way, those electric orbs couldn't be good. Instinct warred with her concern over Kazan, who Raiga didn't know was there and was too close to the eventual blast zone, and it clouded her judgment.

Chiyo leaped into the epicenter of what promised to be a colossal lightning strike, but the promised grand technique didn't hit her or anything near her, no, it hit Raiga. From a quickly swirling storm above him, bolts shot down and struck him and did nothing except create an enormously strong aura, hard to look at, spiking around him.

In disbelief, she watched as he now crackled with unrestrained power.

Those same instincts were screaming at her to get away! Get away now!

Chakra working in overdrive she pushed off the ground backwards, cratering the ground.

It wasn't enough.

Chiyo tried to push herself into a high-speed technique, a Shunshin, simply an overcharged reinforcement technique that did it's best to mimic teleportation, but really wasn't. Even that wasn't fast enough to get her fully away as he followed her, ready.

He'd bated her in and she'd fallen for it.

His left blade took her arm at the elbow as they both exited Shunshin. She'd thrown it up in preparation to summon another Golem in front of her, but he was quicker than she'd anticipated. The other blade, hook first, swept at her face neck-level.

Am I really going to die to a stupid prick like this?

Ebizō would be so disappointed.

Emotion warred. She'd lived a good life.

Chiyo was concerned far more about Kazan and…

Naruto.

Bare-chest and skinny, looking like a wet blonde rat, he came literally flying of the slippery eaves of the building next to them, blind-siding Raiga Kurosaki with an overhead strike that, despite his unaware quarry, was easily parried. Distracted, Raiga fully turned and saw who had prevented him from killing his prey. The smile that spread across his face was easily the worst thing Chiyo had seen that day. Insanity warred with greed. Happy, Raiga was happy to find the person he'd been looking for all along.

Two other men she very much recognized came barreling up the stairs close to them, near the building whose roof Naruto had flown off of in his noble and stupid saving grace. Chiyo found herself smiling. Stupid boy. Chiyo still stood strong, despite her arm. The balance threw her off, but she was already sending healing chakra into it. Thankfully it was cauterized by the intense heat.

"Naruto, take your friend and leave. This is too much for you. And I'm done hiding."

Torin and Seiryu stopped, eyeing Raiga with something much like fear.

"You two fuckknuckles had one job: kill the kid. You couldn't hack it?"

Raiga snorted. "I figured that you Gutter-trash were overrated, but now I see that was too generous by far."

Seiryu growled, but stilled as Torin but a hand on his arm. He shook it off and stepped forward, the five of them all making a pentagon-shaped stand-off.

"Says the great Raiga Kurosaki, Thunder of Kirigakure, who can't even fuck off one wrinkled bitch?"

Both blades dropped to his sides as Raiga turned. "I'm killing you both after I'm done with this fantastic funeral. I doubt your employers would mind and besides, I really don't give a shit. I don't work for anyone here."

Chiyo materialized an ornate scroll in her now only remaining hand. Lucky the blade cauterized the wound. Chiyo smiled. This was merely an opportunity to try out some… experimental puppetry, after this was all over?

Without looking at Naruto, she spoke.

"I mean it, idiot. Grab that sweet boy and leave, flee as far as you can. To Konohagakure, methinks. I assure you they will go to the ends of this very earth to protect you Naruto."

"But-"

"Go."

Naruto realized staying would just distract her. He fetched Kazan from behind the dumpster and left, agonized indecision painted on his face.

But he went.

"Are you stupid fucks going to stand there or go after him?"

"None of you are going anywhere."

Chiyo was calm now. This was too dangerous not to use everything she had.

Raiga and Seiryu both snorted, looking at each other then back to her.

She sped through hand seals; ten, twenty, thirty, forty. Raiga merely watched. Confident or arrogant? Both assuredly, but it didn't matter. He wouldn't be able to tell her secret after this if he was dead, right?

Chiyo smiled.

Torin wasn't smiling. His eyes had widened. "That's… that's the White Death of Suna! You idiots, kill her now!"

Both Seiryu and Raiga looked amused.

This would strain her, two puppets per finger, but she'd been training to do just such a thing. A long time it had been since she'd trained seriously and the time on the road to Hoseki had been good for her. To her enemies detriment.

"White Collection: The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets."

Huge smoke clouds, one, two, then ten flashed into existence around her.

Raiga and Seiryu stopped smiling.

Oh yes, they knew who she was now.

Torin turned and ran, Raiga and Seiryu staring at him in disbelief, back down the way the two of them had come.

Good. She wanted all of them to know. She wouldn't hold back now.


/Haven Quarter

/Hoseki City

/Land of Fire

Naruto

Concussive fire, like huge thumping bass drums, beat a staccato rhythm as they moved away from where the sounds were coming from. Lightning, like a glowing trident from the heavens, crashed down behind them with the force of a hurricane, but the thunderous booms of some terrible weapons didn't stop.

Screaming started.

Naruto and Kazan, huddled together and running low to the ground, ducked behind another nameless, faceless building. Haven Quarter was more a warren or a maze than a city.

Granny Chiyo was doing… something huge behind them. She was buying time with her life.

Frustration welled up inside him, despite Naruto understanding the situation. The Mark was supposed to give me the edge so this wouldn't happen! But the truth was it wasn't enough. Naruto was a child when it came to the shinobi arts. Emotions warred. On one hand, he'd seen the amount of bullshit shinobi peddled; meddling in other countries affairs, their lack of honor, the underhanded tactics-those shinobi who claimed to be willing to aid Iron deserted them in their hour of need.

Now Iron was gone.

Did he really want to be a part of that?

"'ruto. Go?"

Kaz was right.

Naruto tapped his shoulder with the back of his knuckles, shucking the thoughts from his head. One thing at a time.

"Let's go buddy."

Together, the two runaways kept low, slinking across the alleyways always making for Sunshine Court, the place Chiyo and Naruto had settled on as the meeting place in case of separation. Sunshine Court was so named for the wide-open plaza space that never seemed to be touched by shadows. A brightly-lit happy place where families gathered to take in the sunshine. No one was there now though; storefronts dark and only the fitful flickering of lamps lit the space. If he had to guess, it was about two hundred feet by two hundred, an even square dominated by a gigantic fish statue in mid-jump.

"Huh," Naruto muttered, staring at the garrish piece.

"Wha?"

Naruto and Kaz walked to the edge of the fountain and slumped down against the rock balustrade ringing the display behind them.

"What? Oh, well I just realized that fish is a sunshine trout. Probably what this place is named after."

Kaz didn't look the least bit interested.

They were silent, listening to the splashing of the fountain and the rain slapping against the over-full pool. There was a silent whine from the lanterns ringing the courtyard and Naruto tried not to shiver, despite the warmth of the rainy deluge.

What would the two of them do when this was all over? It was the first time Naruto had ever considered it. What would they do? Where would they go? Admittedly, his first thought had been to book a ticket on an autobus head down Highway 14 from Hoseki to Konoha. As a kid, he'd told everyone who would listen, even those who really didn't want to, that he wanted to be a shinobi. That he'd leave when he was of age, which now that he thought of it, he was; ten years this October.

Happy birthday to me…

Naruto felt around in his pocket and grasped the picture that Kaz had drawn for him.

What would they do now?

Master Ouran had high hopes for him; a respected position as a premier Fuinsmith. A life of honor, a life of prestige, a life of creative work that wouldn't change the world, but it would provide a life for those in Iron. Fuinjutsu was their way or life, the safeguard against the elements, the very lifeblood of their military might.

Was. The thought was bitter, but he couldn't unthink it.

Naruto didn't even want to think of what Mifune would say. How could he be a samurai when there was no more samurai? No, that wasn't the path. The Seifuku-sha flashed into his mind; psychotic yellow Sharingan flaring, burning, destroying, killing everyone.

Naruto wanted him dead like he wanted oxygen. He needed it. Had to have it. But as he was now, that would be forever out of reach. The power to contend with the greatest Samurai in history, the power to stalemate Kage, to overcome and kill the King of Bijuu; the Nine-tailed Fox. Hashirama Senju had done it, a hundred and fifty years ago, had taken on the greatest Uchiha to walk the earth and the Nine-tails both.

So was that the play? Konoha? Become a shinobi? Hopefully learn enough to do what he needed?

Naruto looked at Kazan, treated so poorly for something out of his control. In this city, run by the Daimyo, who in turn was supported by the Hokage, lay corruption like a botfly burrowed into sick skin.

She had so much power and yet people struggled to eat, struggled to keep a roof over their heads, struggled, struggled, struggled. So many were snatched away by opium, by flesh traders like Shin and En Oyashiro, and to top it all there were Mist Shinobi in the streets, openly!

How could someone so powerful, be so blind-except by intention?

Naruto was torn. His grip on his sword, heavy now, tightened.

Scraping disturbed the strange peace of the Sunshine Court.

Kazan scrambled to his feet and Naruto followed, slower, hope blooming in his chest.

The wide chest of Seiryu the Lightning Dragon, covered in cuts, bruises, and deep slices, turned the corner before Naruto saw all of him. The odachi, a huge notched blade rough with scratches, had been carving sparks into the ground. That was the sound they'd heard. Naruto had hoped that he'd see the grey hairs of someone he'd come to view as a weird kind of family. The kind you pick. But she was dead. That was the only explanation for why Seiryu was still alive. Naruto was starting to revise that opinion as he realized Seiryu was out of breath and wild-eyed.

Clearly, he'd run from something that truly terrified him.

Naruto grinned. Chiyo wasn't dead. Not until he saw her body lifeless still for a day and a week would he believe it!

"Where is she?"

Seiryu came to a stop, looking stiff. Awkward. "Where is who?"

Naruto snarled and Seiryu grinned, though it looked like it was a struggle.

"Heh, she's getting her shit pushed in by that Kurosaki fellow."

Seiryu was leaning on his blade. "Boy, you shouldn't concern yourself with her. That old bat will be fine. I would worry about you and that potato next to you."

Seiryu dragged the blade up and licked the blood off the edge, eyes widening and pupils dilating. He began a slow walk towards Naruto. "You know, Torin told me Tanaka believed you could surpass me in strength and skill. Heh. What a load of shit. But then I got to thinking…"

The walk became a run. Naruto backed up, holding an arm against Kazan's immense form. "You can't surpass anyone if you're dead."

Naruto felt his face tighten and he swept his blade in a circle, clearing it of water then raised it in a straight-on guard position.

"Congratulations. You've now got my full attention!"

What the fuck is wrong with…?

Seiryu charged, blade dragging and sending up sparks. Naruto shoved Kaz out of the way as the blade came around in a zoning sweep that nearly took off both their heads.

A tingling hum spread through his body, emanating from the Mark, quickly followed by low-level pain that started escalating immediately. I guess it needs… time to relax?

But it gave him what he needed.

The next strike of the huge blade was almost telegraphed, but Naruto remembered he couldn't contest in brute force, so as the blade came down he altered his own strike to send the odachi wide; caressing the back edge of Seiryu's weapon with his. Naruto turned, slipping aside, and slid past Seiryu, almost delicately striking, tip first, at the man's thigh. A line of blood appeared through a cut in the man's thick pants, the edge of Naruto's blade parting the fibers like butter.

Seiryu's angry grunt was music to his ears.

The voices of all the people who ever taught him swordplay, Mifune, Yojimbra, Taza… even Torin and Tanaka, was humming through him, instinctual now.

The next series of exchanges saw a dense thicket of sword cuts press the clearly tired Seiryu, more notches in his blade appearing as Naruto cut at the older man. Like hacking at a tree, he attempted to simply batter the Gutterknife down with sheer ferocity.

Seiryu swept his blade, knocking the last strike wide and Naruto had to reset his stance.

Naruto came in again, sensing weakness, testing Seiryu's defenses with a high cut, transitioning low, feinting right then backpedaling to continue probing. Seiryu met each strike, the sparks lighting up their small area, but each strike was laborious. The sword was huge after all. The two circled each other. Seiryu looked disbelieving; confused rather than angry. Naruto was trying to hold onto his focus as the pain from the Mark was steadily increasing.

I need to end this quickly.

Attention like a blade, Naruto honed in on his strategy and executed. He threw himself at Seiryu like a wild animal, blade a humming blur as he came at him from all possible directions, straining for every iota of speed. One cut finally broke through the tight defenses; slice opening on Seiryu's shoulder, then another on his chest, across the face of the dragon, then another on his back as they spun together, the rain dancing around them.

Spinning again, so quickly he almost became dizzy, he hammered the odachi as it struggled to keep up; middle strike blocked, but Naruto flowed into a side sweep, aborting it at the last second and knocked Seiryu's blade wide as he put all the force he could muster into a forward knee.

Seiryu blocked the knee, turning his body sideways to take it on his thigh.

Naruto was within grappling distance. His brain was screaming at him. Naruto kept forgetting they were not remotely on the same page with main strength.

Mistake!

And it was.

He felt, more than saw, Seiryu twist desperately and grab Naruto's small frame in a bear hug, his heavily-scarred and muscled forearm snaking under Naruto's chin, taking prime position against his throat. Seiryu dropped to the ground, tightened himself like a vice-grip. Naruto was on top and quickly losing air.

Seiryu meant to kill him.

He couldn't take him in blade work, so he used his only remaining advantage... The pain of the Mark was echoing the agony in his lungs; burning for air, burning for oxygen that he couldn't take as he choked.

Naruto slammed his fist into what he could reach of Seiryu, rocking back and forth as he was on the cobble-stone, rocks digging into his back, but unfelt as his very life seeped away and consumed everything he was. The Uzumaki clutched and dug with his long nails, catching and bleeding him, in various places, but nothing would budge the absolute focus that Seiryu had on his death by strangulation.

Was this how Lionel Gato felt?

His vision narrowed and Naruto spent all his remaining energy on attempting to buck as hard as he could, to throw off the deathgrip even a little bit.

Nothing. Seiryu absorbed it like he was a kitten struggling against a lion, which Naruto very much was.

Then, miraculously, Seiryu let go as his vision faded to just pinpricks.

Naruto watched, disbelieving, coughing and choking and gasping as Kazan floored Seiryu with another punch, his massive ham-fists thunking into flesh like a hammer; over and over again. Kazan was screaming, he couldn't tell what it was, but Seiryu was curled up and taking kicks and punishment that would've practically killed Naruto outright. Naruto found it very easy to forget how unbelievably massive his friend was from time to time.

It was very clear now.

"Ka-a-z!"

Horror welled up in him as he watched Seiryu uncoil and catch the shin that was rocketing towards his face, curled as he was on the ground. Seiryu grinned through bloody teeth as he yanked with main strength. Kazan fell backward with a yelp. This amount of violence from Kazan was more than Naruto ever thought his gentle friend was capable of. There would be no second wind for someone so opposed to violence in every form.

Naruto couldn't speak, his throat felt almost crushed, but if he could've he would've been screaming right along with Seiryu.

Utterly drained, mind numbed with the pain from the Mark, Naruto drew even more; suckling at the bottomless well of reserves he knew he had. The agony almost whited his mind, but it was no more painful than watching in slow-motion as Seiryu staggered to his feet, somehow clutching his sword reversed point down, and having a front-row seat to the terror in his friends eyes.

Kaguya's voice spoke in his head; unintelligible but pleased. Something, something bargain struck. Anything for his friend. Anything.

Chakra drained from him in a blazing rush; more than he'd ever felt taken from him before, everything, all at once. It felt like someone, something else was spinning a technique inside his body. A technique of immense power.

Rain splashed and Naruto moved faster than he'd ever moved before. The Mark burned.

Seiryu stared disbelieving as something dense; a power that had an immense presence entered the world from his hand. A small, glowing red, almost crystalline longknife materialized, held in Naruto's hands, as it plunged through the face of his tattooed dragon.

"Y-yo-ou fu-ckin-, you fu-uckin' sh-shit." Blood dribbled from the left side of Seiryu's mouth.

The odachi clanged to the ground, hands numbed and grasping together around the razor-edge of the weapon that spitted him. The smell of burning flesh wafted sickly sweet as Seiryu's hands smoldered where they touched the impossible creation.

Like a deflated balloon, chakra drained and he was almost empty, almost dead from the cost. The red… thing vanished, shattering like glass.

Naruto felt like he was dying too, wallowing in the sheer agony of the Mark and the cost of the technique. It seemed fitting, for what he'd almost lost.

Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he felt rather than heard Kaguya laughing.

His Mark shut down and his mind was his own again; no painful noise. Naruto watched Seiryu collapse to his knees, water streaming from his body in sheets, then onto his face, sending water over them both.

Kaz was crying behind him from where he'd fallen.

Boneless, Naruto groped for the sword on the ground near Seiryu's body. He clutched his sword. Every time it seemed the blade was all he had, except...

What the hell had that been?

Was that something Kaguya did?

The plaza was silent again save for the heaving sobs of Kaz. Guilt welled up inside him. If he'd been… what? Faster, stronger, better, all of it then Kazan wouldn't have had to do the one thing he never ever wanted. Peace was all the boy had ever known; the only choice life had ever given him. Naruto imagined it was one thing that gave him comfort at night, that despite what people saw of him or thought of him, that this choice defined him, made him something more than just a simpleton.

Naruto felt like crying.

This all felt like a giant failure somehow.

Footsteps sounded behind them, three sets judging by the echoes.

Chiyo?

No. She wouldn't lead anybody to them. But Naruto found all of a sudden that he didn't particularly care who these new people were. He turned to face the archways anyway.

Tanaka the Lion, still larger-than-life and dressed head to toe in now-drenched leather armor, almost obscured the two thin men behind him. His former trainer's eyes took in the whole square, not stopping for a second until they locked with Naruto's eyes.

Naruto didn't look away. Tanaka nodded and…

He blinked. Tanaka smiled at him. The three men stopped a half-dozen feet from the two boys and dead body of the Hero of Hoseki Gutter.

"Naruto." Tanaka started. "It seems I was right about you. Master Shin will be pleased."

Numb, Naruto just stared at his one-time horrifying looming specter of an Arenamaster.

"W-what?"

"Just tell me how you did it. I suspected from the beginning that you suffered a malaise that prevented contact with your chakra-that or general ineptitude with control."

Tanaka shook his head.

"I found rather quickly that wasn't the case. So… you fixed it?"

Naruto looked at the other two men; one bald, wearing a sash with the…

Naruto swallowed. It was the symbol of the Daimyo's court.

Tanaka cleared his throat. Naruto looked back at Tanaka.

"Uh, yes. I fixed it."

Tanaka gave a pleased sound in the back of his throat and stepped closer, swallowing Naruto's vision. They locked eyes again. He couldn't look away from that fierce gaze.

"I had a special feeling about you, Naruto. I taught you what I could and always hoped for more time. Regardless," he looked behind him at the two men who started to look impatient.

"Regardless, I want you to promise me you'll continue this path." Tanaka swallowed Naruto's small hands with his own, squeezing them not ungently. Naruto felt like everything he'd ever known was turned on its head.

He felt tears prickling at his eyes.

Quietly, Tanaka leaned in. "Remember, shinobi endure. This was a test, but you have more in front of you. Endure. Do you understand? This is not the end for you. When the time comes, boy, don't seem too eager. You'll understand later. Just nod."

Naruto nodded, trembling, confused, and grateful.

Tanaka straightened and stepped aside.

The man who stepped forward seemed oddly familiar.

"Naruto? I am Gekko Hayate, an… interested party, and this is Chiriku, a Lord Guardian of Hoseki City. We are here for you, for your own safety and that of others involved."

Naruto attempted to be polite and bowed, but his back spasmed and he had to rest his hands on his knees. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad, right? A safe place to rest?

"Um, it is nice to meet you both. Is this the part where you take us somewhere safe?"

Chiriku stepped forward. "Are you aware of what the Lord Guardians do, Naruto?"

Stones shifted above them, some falling crackling to the ground, and Naruto darted a glance up, realizing there were people moving above them. Naruto swept the plaza with his gaze and was uncomfortable to find more moving from different directions. Not Bakkushan, not Gato's thugs, no, these were more men and women dressed uniformly in the garb of the Royal Guard and the sashes of the Lords Guardian.

Kaz continued to sob.

Naruto had a bad feeling about this. "Uh, you deal with chakra related stuff? Or something like that? Right?"

Tanaka simply stared impassively. It was Hayate who looked confused and worried. He turned to the hawk-faced Lord Guardian. Chiriku? Chiriku held up a hand without looking back at Hayate. His face went blank. Naruto watched the byplay and his palms started to sweat. Not that he could really tell with how drenched everything was, including him.

Chiriku took another step forward. "Do you know the name Lionel Gato, Naruto?"

The people, the Royal Guards and other Guardians, moved in like a net closing on an unaware fish. Hands were drifting to weapons as Naruto's eyes darted from one to another.

Lionel? What could they possibly want…?

Wild thoughts were running through his head which was spinning with horrible imaginings. They were here to… what, hold him accountable for killing Gato's asshole son?

He had deserved to die!

A voice, a face, that place inside. Bright, loud, sensuous, psychotic, she was screaming, a bouncing echoing voice that careened across the depths of his being; sound in a cathedral. Rage was rising, rapidly replacing the tired, achiness that filled his body. She made him an echo chamber: bouncing, bouncing, bouncing. Amplifying.

Rage. White-hot.

The Mark lit again; a fiery knife plunging into his spine, his mind. An explosive tag went off in his mind and he didn't know what the hell he was doing, a part of him knew this would have serious consequences, but he had the blade in his hand, unknowingly.

Outside him, there was shouting.

Hayate was facing Chiriku, hands up, talking slowly, calmly. Tanaka had backed away, against the shadowed eaves of a nearby building watching everything. The Royal Guard charged.

Shouting resolved and mixed with Kazan's sobs.

Hadn't Naruto promised he'd keep him safe? That they'd be free? What was a life lived from jail? Dare he let himself be caged again? They wanted to, what? Lock him up?

No. NEVER!

She agreed, purring in his head. There was almost no chakra left in him though. The Mark screamed; his limbs moved slowly, nonresponsive.

"Put the weapon DOWN! Last warning!"

Chiriku seemed not the least bit alarmed, arguing calmly with Hayate.

What last warning? There wasn't a first!

But Naruto spun away from them, moving as those through molasses, giving himself space.

Maybe there had been?

Was this something he wanted to do? Did he have a choice?

Endure. Didn't Tanaka say shinobi endured?

This was one other test and he'd pass if it killed him. Naruto fed himself the last of his chakra, lightning filling his veins in a trickle, and felt the roar in his chest as he charged Chiriku. Hayate, though, was between him and his quarry. Lightning, the lightning that was Naruto, struck with two slashes in quick succession. Both missed. What had been facing away from him was now in front of him, a gatekeeper.

He locked eyes with Gekko Hayate; Naruto had imagined him an average-looking man, thin like a blade, but that impression shattered like a genjutsu. The air suddenly felt heavier; dangerous, chakra-filled. A blade materialized in the man's hands and then he lost track of it. Illusion swirling as everything disappeared but Hayate. Chiriku simply watched the scene play out.

Naruto didn't even see the flat of the blade, drawn and striking faster than he could process, that slammed into his temple and put him out.

Kazan continued to cry and the rain continued to fall.


A/N: I've had a lot of time on my hands. Hope you folks enjoy the double-post. Random side note-I've had a lot of people view the first chapter and then fall off the wagon so to speak, should I revise it? Or do you just have to stick with this story to have fun with it? Any thoughts are welcome!

Next chapter is the end of the first part of this story and the beginning of our next big section! Not long now!

Cheers.