wow Twenty Chapters, I didn't think I'd get this far but here we are, okay, so, I might have been burned from the last Chapter for not making things clear and poor word choice.
Also I decided to go wayyy off rails until the first part of Anti thesis is over, sue me once this is over I'll give you the proper canon stuff for the second half of Anti thesis and everything from then on
Most everything seems in order except for some grammar and a handful of error stuff, god I suck at that. I can't wait for the Phantom arc though, we still have the Festival arc and a lot of work to do before the Naruto war arc even starts, though I might have the war fighting be in the background while Fairy tale stuff wraps up.
For Kurumu and Moka's development, it's a bit different since both Naruto and Tsukune are here and holding that group together if that makes sense, maybe an equalizer is a better word?, it's a lot more balanced out compared to everyone on Tsukune's case in canon at least that's what my 2019 story notes say.
Anyway, the Manga website I was using to brush up on Rosario-Vampire had horrible translations since it was the fan english subs from way back when so that's funny.
listening to Nujabes while reading Naruto and Mizore stuff, I got my appreciation for 2000s Lo-fi back while slowly falling apart from this virus, man that was a long time ago... Did you guys know there was a middle school equivalent of Yokai Academy? It's mentioned in passing but there you go
story's a mess but this arc, I wanna tell this story and get over with it, we'll have the whole normal Rosario vampire stuff afterwards
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Sakura mused, standing completely alone in a clearing, the Full moon had given her enough visibility to check the letter her Slug had brought back.
Her original team already managed to easily convince the jinchuriki to head to Konoha with them after sharing Jiraiya's intel about her Village's traitorous actions towards her and Rock lee's magnetic personality seemed to put the girl at ease.
Fū seemed like a nice girl and Sakura smiled, actually looking forward to meeting up with her in Konoha when this was all over.
Maybe she could ask her what the life of a jinchuriki was like and confirm something about Naruto...
Though with those thoughts aside, what was bothering her now was who Tsunade was going to send to rendezvous with her before confronting Sasuke.
"S-Sakura-chan! Is that you?" a familiar voice caused the Haruno girl to perk up, seeing Shizune, outfitted with a Kunoichi battle armor.
She jump down with a strange pale-skinned Konoha Shinobi that Sakura had never seen before
Though her heart nearly stopped seeing the person next to the Pale-skinned Shinobi, Itachi Uchiha gave her an emotionless gaze.
"What's going on? W-Why is he here?" Sakura nervously spoke, never taking her eyes off the Uchiha, Shizune waved her hands.
"O-Oh, that's classified, Lady Tsunade will inform you once we're done here but he's on our side!" Shizune cheerfully spoke, placing her hand on the formerly rogue Uchiha's shoulder.
Itachi glancing at her caused the Medic-nin to laugh nervously and awkwardly removed her hand.
"Sorry, I haven't been on a mission like this in years…" Shizune muttered, Sakura blinked looking at Sai instead
"And him?"
"He's our backup, there are more reinforcements on their way…Lady Tsunade's new Root Shinobis." Shizune hesitated to say.
It was still strange to think Tsunade decided to open up Root to perform new dangerous roles and even include a handful of Root units in her expanding honor guard squad, it did make the black-haired Kunoichi a bit worried, they were essentially emotionless Shock troops for Konoha now.
even some in the Anbu were feeling sidelined by them but then again who was she to go against Tsunade's orders like this?
"Where's my little brother?" Itachi finally spoke with a flat tone, causing Sakura to stiffen
"W-Well I had two of my teammate's shadow his team's trail, it looks like they entered some creepy temple nearby…" Sakura calmly informed, trying not to sound terrified at the fact an insanely powerful rogue Shinobi was in front of her and the butcher of Sasuke's clan no less
"W-we're not gonna kill him, though…" Sakura lightly tried to glare at the Uchiha who seemingly ignored her and walked past them.
"I agree, we won't…but the faster we move the faster I can speak to him…" He muttered, causing Shizune to frown, recalling how she even ended up on this mission with the Rouge Uchiha.
Itachi had just finished killing off the Hyuga Elders within just an hour and Hinata managed to ease tensions with the Branch members once it was all over, which was no easy feat for either of them to pull off so quickly.
Now there was still some bad blood given the Branch members were enslaved for so long but a thinly veiled threat from Tsunade's Root Anbu and large power-sharing concessions from Hinata managed to defuse the situation…Neji would be in for a surprise once he got home with just how fast things had changed.
Immediately receiving the report from Sakura about Sasuke's location, Tsunade was true to her word informing Itachi and sending the same Root squad as back up along with Shizune herself being their second Medic.
"We should wait for the other Root units to catch up…" Sai spoke up, causing Itachi to stare at him before nodding.
"As long as they're here by Sunrise"
Shizune nervously looked between the two
"Should we make camp then?"
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
"Dude, did you see that shit? That was a fucking strike!" A random student picked up a second bowling ball and went off again.
"Crazy murderer shit aside this Academy is freaking sweet sometimes.'' The Student's friend had brought a small pizza box to the table and sat down with his friends, one of them snapped his fingers, recalling something he had heard.
"Oh dude, I know a guy who saw what happened with the shopping street attack with the hybrid assholes. He said he saw Tsukune Aono from the Newspaper Club get impaled but he took off after that…"
"I just think it's crazy this shit is even happening? This person just takes out the two hybrid dumbasses that attacked the marketplace, slips away and no one sees shit."
"They killed a few doctors too.."
"Man, shit here is so fucked…"
Naruto watched the interaction from his own seat on the next lane over. hearing that murderer comment made him frown though the Shinobi actually managed to ignore it.
He was on a date, and it would really kill the mood if he was all gloomy suddenly. Instead, he was casually watching Mizore glare at the pins in front of her.
Narrowing her eyes and playing with her lollipop, she took a deep breath and rolled the heavy ball.
The Pins all fell one after the other while Mizore look on as the single one pin was wobbling and stayed there standing
"I was close though! you saw that Naruto-kun?"
Naruto hummed looking at the strange animation playing on the screen above them, trying to see how he could keep his lead now that Mizore was really catching up to him.
"Oh, are you doing anything tomorrow?" Mizore asked with a light blush, the Shinobi blinked and glanced over to her
"Training Tsukune again, then probably catching up on Ms. Ririko's class too..." Naruto replied though Mizore sighed
"Yeah I figured." the girl twirled her fingers trying to come up with something to somewhat salvage this.
"Do you think I could watch you guys train?" Mizore softly asked causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow
"But why? You'll have to wake up way earlier to join us." Naruto answered while the Yuki-onna went over to sit down.
"Yeah I don't care about that, I just…wanna see how Shinobis fight really…" She replied with a low voice though Naruto heard her and nodded.
"Sensei said you're an exception to everything.… Yeah I guess you can come" Naruto then went to pick up a ball.
"So did Senpai tell you about the Club kinda splitting up?" She spoke with a frown while Naruto glanced at her with a curious look and went for his turn
"Splitting up?"
"Right so…now that the Committee has enough members and is getting its footing back…" Mizore trailed off with slight concern given the information she now knew
"Senpai just wants You and Tsukune-san to help him work with the Committee only sharing information about these hybrid guys…we're all apparently gonna have to work overtime on the paper too, this stuff is huge…"
The Uzumaki took that in and frowned, he had a feeling this Counter-Antithesis work for the Headmaster was now gonna start chewing up a majority of his time.
"What about everyone else?" He asked
"Yeah, He wants Moka-chan, Kurumu-chan, Yukari-chan and me to look for clues on this crazy vigilante killer, apparently we're gonna go interview the nurse tomorrow before homeroom, you know…that one that managed to escape." Mizore's words hung in the air while the Shinobi tensed up as he let go of the bowling ball, the strange animation on the small tv caught both of their attention.
"How did you miss that?" Mizore asked with genuine curiosity, ignoring the cheers and chatting of the establishment.
Despite Naruto never having played this game, she watched him hit near-perfect strikes all the time assuming it was just his Shinobi training but as the game went on, it really began to show how new he was still.
But to completely just miss a shot?
"Y-You distracted me!" Naruto retorted, masking his worries now.
"You can throw your Ninja stuff perfectly but can't aim a bowling ball?" She gave him an amused grin while the Shinobi scoffed and smiled back, out of the corner of his eye he noticed a few students sharing drinks and shooting darts on a board not too far from the bowling lanes.
"Bet I can beat you at the dartboard thing."
"Sure, you can…"
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Anxious was the best word that could describe Naruto's feelings right now as he exited Mizore's dorm in the earlier morning, he barely managed to slip a clone in his place without the Yuki-onna noticing and it was almost dead quiet outside her dorm.
He quickly was able to change into his little new Vigilante uniform, along with Haku's mask and the black cloak the Headmaster provided him with.
Finding out what had happened earlier in the night… Mizore, Kurumu, and Yukari were all going to interview an Antithesis target…his target, the one he screwed up and let getaway.
Once he got this done, Naruto would have to meet up with his clone and somehow switch places without Mizore noticing and before Tsukune's training especially now that she wanted to tag along to this session
It was a really stressful and dangerous game he was playing now but the mission timetable in his head was clear that it was doable, just a bit tricky.
He couldn't let Mako meet up with the others and have that interview, the description of his attire could easily get Mizore and the rest to suspect something, the thought of the Newspaper Club finding this out made him extremely worried.
Thankfully the Headmaster was being helpful after his first failure at the Hospital and just made Naruto's job a lot easier, Mako's dorm number was written down on a piece of paper.
Strangely enough, it was in the complete opposite direction of where Mizore's dorm would be located, good for his mission though.
This time Mako wouldn't and couldn't get away, the Uzumaki would make sure to use everything in his arsenal to get this done as fast as possible even if he made some noise and he'd be able to get out of there before anyone would notice.
Naruto looked at his cloth wrapped around his wrist to see a small seal on it, Jiraiya wasn't kidding when he pointed out how good Yūgao was with Logistics and her Novice experience with Fuinjutsu.
She had shown him how best to always have his Shinobi weapons and tools at hand when he couldn't go out in his full Chunin Uniform and equipment, truthfully always keeping Kunais in his Academy sleeves was getting annoying with how uncomfortable he'd make him, throughout the day and having to hide them from staff.
He sighed and held up a hand seal, his body turning transparent again as he stuck to the shadows and quickly dashed away.
It was two in the morning, not many students would be up right now so sneaking around wasn't going to be too hard though just as he reached the dorm building block of his target, he paused hearing a muffled voice.
"That's all I could really gather on how he looked, it's definitely a guy and with a weird-looking mask he was wearing too."
"I'm telling you it makes no fucking sense though, he just showed up out of nowhere, killing Saizou and those two…" a male voice clearly spoke causing Naruto to stiffen as he held up his Jutsu.
"Yeah but that's what the higher-ups wanted too…my failures are at least somewhat excusable, I didn't expect to be ambushed like that, he's a really dangerous monster and a real problem now" Mako adjusted her glasses as she spoke.
"You're pretty lucky that you still have some use for them…Midou-san…but I guess we're both in hot water now with the Higher-ups..." She mused before a slow genuine smile appeared on her face.
Naruto blinked, realizing she wasn't alone, and instead decided to listen in on the conversation while keeping himself out of sight by the stairway, still transparent.
"I know we fucked up attacking the Newspaper Club but shit…Now He wants me to start ordering bigger attacks just like that?" Midou spoke while the girl shrugged
"All of their attention is on the 'Vigilante', granted he took care of Saizou, Hanako and Hisao for us…but that was something we had to deal with…now some of the new guys are scared to stay with us because of this bastard." She replied as Midou frowned and folded his arms
"Yeah all the new guys Saizou brought with us are starting to have second thoughts about our cause…and you're gonna be meeting up with the Newspaper Club for an interview too?…"
"More attention on the 'Vigilante' is less attention on us, they can focus on their little murder case and we'll backstab all those Newspaper Club assholes once their usefulness runs out…" She smirked, Naruto still holding his Jutsu grit his teeth hearing that.
"Most of the guys following us are gonna be working under you now, got it? We have the old Academy train station as a headquarters for you."
Midou sighed in frustration and rubbed his eyes, the Hybrid knew the place she was talking about, it was deep into the hills and woods off Academy ground.
before the Headmaster was able to get some buses to replace the old system and it was in a complete state of disrepair, still it was something useful.
Naruto, hearing this, took note of the location and made sure he'd inform the Headmaster later.
"Fuck, fine, just keep me informed about the Viligate asshole…and be careful" the Hybrid Monster replied, Mako's glasses glistered under the street light outside her dorm.
"Are you worried about me?" She tried to tease, leaning her back against the wall with her arms folded, Midou shook his head, turning away from her
"I just don't want you to get yourself killed, especially like that, alright? It ain't a good way to go." The Older Hybrid monster actually grabbed a pack of cigarettes from his jacket
"Well, Kira-san said I'm off the bloody punishment so long as I spread the word about this 'Vigilante' bastard…" Mako frowned watching Midou lighting one as he nodded in relief
"Good, so as long as we make up for our failures then we'll both be fine…I'll see you around then, Mako-chan." He softly spoke before walking away.
"Ugh…you have to get off that stuff, it's pretty unattractive!" Mako called out while Midou only smiled and waved her off.
Naruto's eyes caught Midou passing by his hiding spot under the staircase, for a brief second the male Hybrid monster shivered before continuing his way out of the girl's dorm section.
The Transparent Shinobi focused his chakra on his cloth seal and with a small poof a rusty knife appeared on his hand, he took a deep breath and left his hiding spot.
"I really have to talk to Mizuki-san about selling those cancer sticks to him…Midou-san should really know better by now." She spat out, watching her friend puff away and disappear from her view
"Ah, well, I still have a history test tomorrow."
Naruto positioned the knife on his now glowing palm and held the blade with his fingers just as the girl opened the door to her dorm, he closed one eye and aimed his palm at the girls back
"Fūton: Reppūshō!"
A whizzing Rusty knife flew out of Naruto's palm, it was faster than Mako could even blink and its piercing power was increased due to the Wind Chakra flowing through the weapon.
"Gah!"
The speeding knife quite literally went through her abdomen, Mako groaned as a lot of blood spattered on the opened door in front of her and fell to the ground.
Naruto took out a second knife, dispelling his Jutsu while the wounded girl cried out in pain, holding her stomach. The Uzumaki only had minutes to make sure he finished the job this time.
Mako spat out blood as she grit her teeth, trying to look at where the weapon had come from, she paled seeing the same masked figure suddenly become visible in front of her.
"M-Midou-san! H-help!" She tried to call out to her friend one more time. Though the Uzumaki quickly grabbed a fistful of her hair, Mako was still heavily bleeding and weakly tried to struggle as she was dragged into the dorm.
"N-No! Stop!…p-please I don't-!" Those were the last words that came out of her mouth as another knife plunged into her jugular and with a small gasp from her, the life faded from her eyes.
Thirty seconds, that was all the time from leaving his hiding spot to Mako's death.
he paused and let her lifeless body hit the floor
Thud*
Naruto felt his heartbeat begin to speed up again looking at the bloody mess, the adrenaline of his sudden offensive attack leaving him.
"That's him…that's the murderer, the Kyuubi brat…" Naruto flinched, hearing his old childhood label echo his mind, the same voice as those villagers.
"S-She shouldn't have made me kill those doctors…She was the one who joined those bastards, they're attacking innocent students and they tried to kill Tsukune, Mizore-chan and…" he trailed off, trying to rationalize his actions to himself not even realizing he was talking out loud
Glancing at his surroundings, the Uzumaki saw a photo on a nearby desk, where Mako would do her homework.
It was a slightly younger Mako with two similar people, a younger boy, and an older woman, they were both standing next to her as she held her diploma with the biggest grins on their faces.
"Good luck at Yokai Academy big sis!"
"We'll always be here for you!"
Almost instinctively Naruto looked at her lifeless light blue eyes and her body laid unmoving on the floor.
"Fuck…" Naruto's voice cracked, his eyes watered.
"Fuck…Fuck…" he cursed again, his hands still covered with her blood
"A-Ah did you girls hear that yelling, too?"
"Y-Yeah, it's fucking three in the morning, what the hell was that screaming? S-Should we call someone?"
Naruto froze hearing that Mako's neighbors had woken up from the yelling and noise
he collected his weapons before turning transparent again
"Natsuki, go get the committee guards at the gate, Yuri, go with her, Iris and I are gonna check it out."
The Uzumaki quietly dashed through the door and took the dormitory's rooftops to escape, the last thing he could see under him was a brown-haired girl peeking her head into the dorm before letting out a scream seeing the corpse and gore.
Naruto's breathing was still irregular as he finally figured he was far away enough deep into the surrounding woods and stood under a dead tree.
The full moon still illuminated the small clearing as he took off Haku's hunter-nin mask.
"Gack!" Naruto first gagged before vomiting on the grass under him, closing his eyes he forced back the tears and took a few deep breaths.
It took some time for him to get his nerves under control, trying to push all of that out of his mind.
"I don't think I can keep doing this…" he bit his lower lip, almost feeling himself about to retch again.
Still shaky, he didn't know what to do next before realizing he still had to switch places back with his clone, completely pretending that this didn't happen.
…going back to class with his friends and with a smile on his face.
How the hell could he just pretend he didn't do this?
He killed four students now, Saizou, Hisao, Hanako, and now Mako, all of them Hybrid monsters that were hostile to the Academy.
That was his justification for his actions in his head, the fact they had planned or actually attacked his friends in the Newspaper Club and the Academy, so it was all okay right?
"Protecting my precious people…like that, Haku?" Naruto gulped, looking at the mask in his hands now, the white part now stained with the blood on his hands.
He gripped the mask, the two thin curved eyeholes looking at him…he felt it gazing back at him, judging his earlier actions, his eyes flashing purple then blood-red slits took their place as he grit his teeth.
"It's okay, it's all just my line of work."
Naruto then sighed but before heading in the direction of the Academy, he had one more message to leave for the Students as he did with Saizou, making a single hand seal
A Shadow clone looking equally sick appeared next to him
"B-Boss?" it saluted as Naruto handed him a storage scroll
"Leave the message on the Hospital, make sure no one sees you, alright? After that go to the old creep and tell him about their hideout" Naruto ordered, the Clone gave a hesitant nod before jumping away into the treelines in the Hospital's direction.
Now he had to get changed before switching back with his clone and hopefully Mizore was still asleep and he still had time.
Keeping his emotions in check was getting harder and harder now.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
"Tree…climbing, one foot up and just keep walking, controlling your Chakra as you go…"
Tsukune, in his usual gym attire, was looking at the tree in front of him and had Naruto's words repeat in his head.
He had somehow already gotten through the slog fest of a mentally draining week all while trying to adjust his new sleeping schedule to fit his new training. That week really sucked though.
Tsukune could still recall having to constantly eat those disgusting Chakra pills or 'mud balls' as Naruto called them, somehow he managed a small fever he picked up during the week and trained through it, much to Moka's and Kurumu's worry.
Naruto even convinced Yūgao to assist him a bit with the start of his training…that being complete control of his Chakra by doing tree climbing.
"This is so stupid," he commented, placing his foot on the tree and slowly trying to place his next step
"I swear if I break my neck doing this…" Tsukune muttered, glancing behind him and doing his best to keep his focus just as his two Shinobi superiors had taught him already.
Yūgao and Naruto completely ignored him, instead, the two were facing each other down from the pond while Mizore looked intensely between the two from some distance.
Mizore wanted to see a real Shinobi spar so she asked, it took a while for Naruto to actually convince Yūgao to play along but finally here they were.
Both blades unsheathed, the Anbu woman tilted her head, looking at Naruto's Kenjutsu stance, she almost wanted to smile, noticing there were almost no openings in his defensive stance now. He had really come a long way.
The Yuki-onna's breath was visible as she stood on the far end of the pond under the cover of a tree. It was still early in the morning but that didn't bother her in the slightest. She just really wanted to see this spar.
In a flash it was Naruto that suddenly moved first.
Yūgao quickly blocked Naruto's strike with her own blade and the blond's breath hitched as he just about had time to dodge a Kunai strike from a random Yūgao clone that appeared behind him.
Mizore blinked in surprise as Naruto's body became transparent and he seemingly disappeared. She began watching how Yūgao was forced into a passive stance, blocking random strikes from every direction despite Naruto being hidden.
Mizore couldn't even really see the Uzumaki at all from where she was watching the spar but the sparks from the blades slashing at each other indicated that Yūgao vaguely knew Naruto's location.
Hearing the whizzing blade nearly reach her again, Yūgao easily blocked it
"Hayate-kun tried that trick during our first spar…" She actually couldn't stop herself from grinning at the nostalgia before snapping out of it feeling Naruto's Chakra being poured into his blade thanks to her sensory abilities and began to focus on the faded energy.
"Ow! Fuck!" Tsukune cursed, falling and landing on his side, he rolled on the grass and let out a groan into the ground
"I hit my ass!" He yelped.
"You get back up there and try again!" Yūgao called out in a rather harsh tone, as she suddenly felt a presence charge her from behind.
Time slowed down for the Anbu woman as her Shinobi reflexes kicked in and caused her to just about block another of Naruto's slashes, even managed to parry the surprised Uzumaki and caused his blade to fly off, impaling itself into the ground.
Her small victory was quickly cut short, when Naruto, now fully visible, charged back with only a glowing Kunai in hand
"Left…slash, dodge…right hook, is he finally starting to put his own spin on CQC?" Yūgao suddenly gasped as Naruto finally got an opening and placed his foot behind hers, he managed to push her on the ground with an open palm while slowly slipping her blade from her grasp.
"Now onto Taijutsu…" the Anbu mused, failing to sweep Naruto with a low kick.
"This isn't the CQC I taught you…" Yūgao spoke up in the same flat tone, she usually went into during these spars
The Uzumaki gave a goofy smile
"If I don't know what my next attack is gonna be, how is my enemy gonna know!? "
Yūgao actually frowned at that, suddenly rushing the Shinobi.
"I know Shinobis are supposed to be fast but…wow…" Mizore thought as her eyes were having trouble keeping up with Yūgao's speed now
"Don't rely on just impulse and unpredictability either!" Yūgao reminded, causing Naruto to now get into a defensive stance.
"How high do I have to be again?!" Tsukune shouted, feeling the branch he was on failing to support his weight, though he was proud at how high he got up, he was beginning to regret this.
"As High as you can!" Naruto called out, blocking a punch from Yūgao
"And Mark your progress with the Kunai we gave you!" Yūgao added as she caught a kick from her student.
The Two Shinobis then pulled back into their stances, Yūgao noticed Naruto's posture suddenly relaxed and she quickly went through several hand seals, aiming her Ninjutsu at him.
"Katon: Nezumi Kedama…" She exhaled a few decent-sized fireballs with a small flaming trail, the Yuki-onna watching the exchange, cringed seeing a fire-based attack like that.
Naruto cursed as he somehow managed to avoid most of them, the Uzumaki threw himself on the ground to avoid the small fireballs and quickly got up in time to pull off a substitution jutsu just as a larger fireball made contact with him.
Mizore gasped in horror as a small explosion hit, her worries were washed away when Naruto jumped out of the smoke with his palms out, just as Naruto was going to finish his jutsu, Yūgao held up her finger.
"We're done…"
Naruto stopped mid-motion and nearly lost his balance as Mizore watched in confusion
"Your Kenjutsu looks like it's up to speed again so we can finally start on minor Genjutsu soon, especially since we more or less fixed the Chakra control issue..." Yūgao explained while Naruto winced, he was gonna start working on his weakest Shinobi skill soon.
"Can I come down now?!" Tsukune called out, hugging the large tree trunk as the branch under him creaked, Yūgao then motioned for Naruto to go only for him to fold his arms
"I'm not helping you down! You have to come down yourself the same way you got up!" Naruto shouted back, walking over to him
"You can use fire?" Mizore then spoke up causing the Anbu woman to blink, she nearly forgot the girl decided to tag along this time, Yūgao relaxed though, trying to understand the Yuki-onna's full intentions instead.
"Most Shinobis from Konoha can, it's a common element…" She casually replied, Mizore paused
"O-Oh, the Crazy killer used fire twice…on Saizou and at the Hospital." The Teen girl muttered as she recalled the details Gin had given the entire Club, Yūgao raised an eyebrow, Mizore didn't seem to be accusing the Anbu woman but she could easily see the worry on the Yuki-onna's face.
"Yes, they did…I'm already looking into that for you too."
Mizore perked up.
"You…huh?"
Yūgao went over to pick up both Naruto's blade and her own while glancing at Naruto from across the pond as the blond tried to guide Tsukune down the tree.
"This is screwed up man!" the Human cried out slowly taking his steps down the tree, Tsukune was even feeling a bit of motion sickness due to not being used to the action.
"The Headmaster wants me to check up on this case too…" She started, noticing the sunlight began to peek through the trees as she went for her Gym Bag and Sword sheaths, the School day was finally about to start.
"The person who killed that Student on the overpass was using a flammable substance, same thing in the Hospital, my attacks come purely from Chakra just like all Shinobis, I'm just at a loss with this as you all are." Yūgao smoothly lied while keeping her eyes on Naruto and Tsukune talking about something.
"O-Oh…wait, S-So you're helping us?" Mizore asked as Yūgao nonchalantly waved her off, taking out a small flask of water.
"I already gave the report of everything I personally found to that Ruby girl who handed it off to your Club leader, I also made a copy of them and handed it to the Public Safety Committee as well, though I can't always be at the Academy so this stuff is all on your Club and the Committee," Yūgao explained, the Yuki-onna only blinked, having more questions than answers.
Though the urge to yawn finally overtook her, noticing Naruto and Tsukune approach them
"And we got thirty minutes to shower, get changed, and get our stuff for class…that's what you get for not being prepared today…Go!" Naruto ordered, Tsukune paused before giving a slow nod and taking off in a sprint towards his dorm, to use every second he had left.
Mizore smiled, watching her brown-haired friend disappear from her sight, and turned to see Naruto collecting his training equipment, scrolls, Kunais and Shurkiens all of it.
"Hey…I'm gonna freshen up back at my place and then head out with Kurumu for the interview with the nurse lady, I'll see you in homeroom, alright?" She brought up with a light blush, suddenly hugging the Shinobi on his side.
Naruto tensed up slightly from the sudden contact and hesitated to smile, he ruffled her hair as Mizore held him a bit tighter
After several seconds she finally let go and grabbed her bag before leaving the clearing and leaving the two Shinobis alone.
As soon as she was out of sight, Yūgao exhaled.
"Did you pull it off?" She suddenly asked, Naruto looked away
"Y-Yeah, she's already dead…" he answered while Yūgao glanced at him
"Good…I know you let her get away the first time and frankly, you're lucky you managed to take her out before rumors could spread like wildfire and that she had to lay low after the Hospital affair…" Yūgao trailed off noticing the troubled look on Naruto's face
"Are you alright, Naruto?" She questioned with genuine concern as the Whiskered Shinobi blinked and sighed
"I-I'm fine" He shifted uncomfortably as he spoke, Yūgao narrowed her eyes at her student's direction, she had seen that face on her own Genin teammates early in their first C-rank missions and their first kills.
"Again, just don't overthink it," Yūgao stated while Naruto frowned, Mako's photo on her desk flashed in his mind along with the screams of the two-hybrid Monsters in the hospital
"Did...they have to die though?" He muttered though the Anbu woman heard him.
"Would you rather they hurt Mizore-san or any of your other friends? remember they've already tried to kill your friends in the Newspaper Club without a second thought. They clearly have a burning hatred for all things purebred." Yūgao once again reminded him, folding her arms under her chest before turning to face him.
"I know you're not that type of person…to go around killing like that but it's your job here. You'll be doing things like this back in Konoha as well, this is just a Shinobi mission like any other." She softly spoke.
Naruto repressed the urge to scowl, remembering what Mako said about backstabbing the Newspaper Club.
"Right…" the Uzumaki had a sour look on his face as he placed his hands in his pockets.
"Ah, Right, I forgot to bring up that I'll be on another mission for a week or so…" Yūgao trailed off, causing Naruto to perk up
"Another one?"
The Anbu woman nodded
"Yeah, it's in another country, a city called Hong-Kong, now just keep doing your job and stay out of trouble as best you can, alright?" Yūgao informed as Naruto simply shrugged
"Yeah, yeah."
His mind still couldn't leave those troubling thoughts
"I…should get to class." he awkwardly muttered, grabbing his things and moving in the direction of his dorm, he still needed to shower and get his class supplies.
Yūgao couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt hit her watching him leave, her face softened as the Uzumaki slowly left her view.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Tsukune yawned, finally out of his gym attire and looking over his arms, he grinned slightly wondering what it'd be like once he was more fit and muscular.
Still, there were bruises and bandages still on him from his…first transformation, with a sigh, Tsukune was really hoping everything Yukari told him about Chakra holding back this ghoul-like form of his was true.
"Tsukune-kun! There you are!" a blue blur flew past most students as Kurumu threw herself on the poor teen.
"Ack! Not again!"
"Did everything go well with Naruto-kun?" Moka softly asked while Tsukune did his best keeping Kurumu at arm's length
"Y-Yeah, I'm just learning some basic stuff right now, He's making me climb trees for Chakra control and making me spar with his clones for Taijutsu." He continued and Kurumu finally let him go
"Honestly, it's kinda embarrassing I keep getting my ass handed to me by one clone." He flatly thought to himself before folding his arms.
"I really don't know how the hell he has enough energy to wake up that early and still have enough for class," Tsukune added with another yawn, turning over to Moka
"Ah, We couldn't find the Nurse for an interview, she never freaking showed up!" She stated while the Vampiress placed a finger on her lips
"She could've just been at the hospital…I know they can have graveyard shifts…" Moka brought up and Kurumu shrugged
"Yeah we'll go check it out after the Club session, I guess."
"Have you guys seen Yukari-chan too?" Moka said looking around for the small witch as Kurumu scoffed and walked past her to get to her first class
"Washboard? Who the hell car-" Kurumu was cut off completely when she stepped in a small pothole that suddenly appeared on the ground
"Oof!" The Succubus fell forward and landed on her face.
"Ow! What the fuck!?"
"Get fucked, Cowtits!" Yukari smugly yelled down from an Academy rooftop while Moka pouted at the small witch looking down at them
"Yukari-chan! What did we say about you cursing like that!"
Kurumu finally recovered from her fall, glaring up at Yukari
"You better start running, washboard!" She growled before speeding into the Academy building
"Oh crap!" The Small witch quickly dashed down the stairs and took off to another Academy building.
"Ah! Moka-chan, You're looking as beautiful as ever this morning!"
The familiar voice caused Moka to shiver and Tsukune rolled his eyes before turning around to greet Gin approaching them, though the Werewolf's smile fell, taking out a small folder for Moka
"U-uh, S-Senpai, what's going on?" Moka questioned, while Tsukune looked slightly concerned
"The Interview is canceled…" He started as Moka and Tsukune looked at the photos in the folder in disgust
"Mako was found dead in her own dorm this morning, it was a mess, they already cleaned up the place and took her body to the hospital for the post mortem…but Keito from the Committee is gonna fill you guys in on what happened."
Moka felt sick, even looking a little pale now, it might have been at another dorm building but the fact something like that happened so close to her own dorm and after what happened in the Hospital.
Tsukune clenched his teeth, seeing her look so fearful now.
"Man, Why isn't the Headmaster doing anything about this?! We're students, we shouldn't have to deal with this!" He ranted and Gin nodded
"We shouldn't…but the Monster world just has a different set of rules. I guess we deal with our own problems… at the very least the Committee finally has enough members to start patrolling the Academy and the Dormitory full-time." The Upperclassman explained, before running his hand through his hand with a sigh
"But if I'm being honest, the Headmaster should step in already…I think all he's gonna do is make an announcement about curfews and stuff like that, anyway, all of you guys are gonna meet up with Keito in the hospital later, classes are gonna be cut today because of this." Gin waved off his two Club Members before walking in another direction.
Tsukune noticed Moka was still shaken by the entire thing.
"Hey, it'll be alright…we'll expose this bastard together and things will go back to normal…" Tsukune tried to reassure, Moka's face broke into a small grin as her green eyes examined Tsukune and she grabbed his hand.
"Yeah, Tsukune-kun, we'll get through this…" Moka then hummed before noticing there were no bandages on his neck
"Could I have some blo-"
"Thought you could run away huh! Washboard, today is the day you pay for your crimes!"
"Moka-chan, help!"
Both Tsukune and Moka paused hearing that and gave a simultaneous sigh.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Naruto exhaled walking back to his dorm alone, carrying most of his supplies in a handful of storage scrolls, truthfully he just wanted to shower and get this day over with.
Lying and acting was never his strong suit but now it seemed like he was having to do this almost every day, he really didn't know how much longer he'd be able to keep up this facade.
Though now that he even had time to himself like this, he couldn't help but wonder how this other self of his was coming and going, there was no pattern and it sure as hell wasn't a hallucination like he wanted to dismiss it as.
"But nothing's happened…it's not like it's a pattern now." Naruto mused, trying to ease his nerves and noticing the door was unlocked.
The Uzumaki blinked before entering his own dorm.
The only thing he could hear was the wall clock ticking away though everything looked completely clean and neatly put away.
His breath suddenly hitched, on reflex, he blocked a strike to the face, a crashing sound was heard as he was suddenly blindsided by a poof of smoke right in front of him and fell on the ground
"Aha! Gaki, you've gotten better, good to know you really weren't slacking off here!" the familiar voice spoke, Naruto rubbed the bridge of his nose in slight annoyance instead as Jiraiya presented himself in his own Shinobi attire
"Maybe he didn't tri-"
Beep*
Beep*
Beep*
"Uh…Gaki?"
With a frustrated groan, Naruto ignored the Toad sage and grabbed a kitchen chair, going for the beeping smoke alarm
"Any type of smoke triggers the freaking alarm! And Sensei…hates this thing too but nooo, it's mandatory that all dorms have this thing." The Uzumaki grumbled, looking for how to turn the device off.
"Oh…R-Right" The Older Toad sage looked sheepish, though after a few seconds the beeping continued as Naruto finally had enough
"Fucking thing…won't shut up!" Naruto yanked the device off the ceiling and threw it on the ground
"There!" He spat as Jiraiya looked on with slight amusement.
A few seconds of silence went by before a troubled look appeared on Naruto's face
"What are you doing here, Ero-sennin?" Naruto finally questioned, there were so many feelings running through him, a part of him really was happy to see the Toad sage but on the other hand…he was cut off from all information in Konoha for a time and he didn't know why Jiraiya and Tsunade would do such a thing.
Jiraiya folded his arms and sighed
"Right…Gaki, we have to talk about Konoha."
The blond narrowed his eyes as Jiraiya walked past him and raided Yūgao's alcohol stash, glancing at the clock, he should be going to class right now but instead, Jiraiya was here and this took priority over his studies right now
"How come you guys haven't even answered my letters? It's been months…" Naruto didn't even face the Sennin while Jiraiya sat down on the Kitchen table with a shot in hand, another poof of smoke appeared and a single scroll unraveled itself on the table
"Well…we've been busy dealing with Akatsuki ourselves." Naruto raised an eyebrow and sat down with him, looking over the scroll
"Congratulations on making Chunin by the way."
"Genin Uzumaki Naruto…M.I.A…last seen on the border of Hi no Kuni and Kaze no Kuni…" Naruto blinked several times looking at a photo of himself in his old orange Genin tracksuit, glancing at the date that was just a few weeks ago
"I…what is this?" he asked in a low voice not believing his own eyes Jiraiya quickly finished his drink
"Ah, Okay, Don't freak out on me alright, Gaki? hear me out first." He started though Naruto simply glared at him, pointing at the open scroll
"Hear you out? Are you freaking serious?! What the hell is this, Ero-sennin?!"
Jiraiya returned his glare with one of his own, having a serious look on his face made Naruto a bit nervous and gulp.
"Just listen to me…Akatsuki is a far bigger threat now, we recently found out that an Akatsuki member was actually behind the Kyuubi attack." Jiraiya started once again, rubbing his chin,
Naruto's eyes widened hearing that.
"it's a long story and it's so screwed up that we don't even know all the details, from what my Contact in Akatsuki told us, this member claims to be Madara Uchiha, a man that was able to match the First Hokage and if legends are to be believed Madara Uchiha really did control the Kyuubi during his battle at the valley of the end." Jiraiya tried to reassure his confused and anxious blond student with a smile
"Sorry for the History lesson, brat I know you hate that stuff and probably get enough of it here…but now it's even more important you stay here for as long as need be, this man got through the Fourth Hokage that night and if he is to be Madara Uchiha, then he can stand his ground against the First Hokage." Jiraiya continued, Naruto stayed completely quiet trying to see it from their view.
"Anyway, Tsunade-hime and I falsely labeled you as M.I.A so we ruin any chance of them finding you and have them sink resources and time trying to find you back while leaving Konoha alone, it really has been working though!" He pointed out while Naruto shook his head
"But I'm not a damn traitor!" he scowled at him and stood up from his seat.
Jiraiya nonchalantly nodded and poured himself another shot, ignoring his student's outburst
"I know…but this isn't really about you or the village…" The Toad sage spoke with a stern voice causing Naruto to keep glaring at him.
"if you were captured it would break Tsunade-hime's heart and I wouldn't be able to live with myself for very long, your friends in the village would be devastated and your friends here…" He trailed off while Naruto's turned grim with these new passing thoughts.
"I read your letters even if I didn't have the time to send anything back, your girlfriend would lose it if you just left her…now imagine if you were killed."
The Shinobi grit his teeth again. someone was strong enough to get past the Fourth Hokage and control the Kyuubi, along with that Akatsuki leader with the Rinnegan.
"She's a Yuki-onna right? You got good taste, Gaki, they're extremely loyal to their lover and their family, most don't ever try to find another partner once they're bonded even if their lover dies." Jiraiya brought up, recalling his time spent with Mikogami, learning about Monsters and their cultures.
Naruto's shoulders slumped, his mind wandering about the idea of rushing head first back to Konoha, getting captured and killed…he still hated the fact he was in hiding but what all his friends at the Academy and Konoha would go through would be even worse, he couldn't even begin to wonder what Mizore would do if that happened.
"O-Okay but that doesn't explain why cut me off from the Toads, I still wanna become a sage too!" Naruto tried to change the subject
The Sennin nodded, taking note of how different this dorm looked like to most places in Konoha
"Yeah sorry about that…you'll get to that soon, really Tsunade-hime ordered me not to tell you this much because we didn't want you running back to Konoha yourself and doing something rash but I trust you're way more responsible now being a Chunin…" Jiraiya then trailed off, glancing at a Calendar on the wall
"Tell you what, once you're on break, you can drop by with Ma and Pa every day to extensively work on perfecting Sage mode but no leaving Mount Myōboku, got it?"
Naruto wanted to protest and really wanted to be angry with the Toad sage keeping all of this from him but he couldn't find it in him to really be that mad.
Out of all the storm of emotions running through him, there was only really mental exhaustion from all this new information and only hated the situation he was in even more now.
"Someone stronger than the Fourth Hokage and could control the Kyuubi?" the blond shuddered at the thought, on top of that Akatsuki's leader still had this powerful Dojutsu from some legendary sage.
He'd just have to stay even more content here, at least till his Sage mode training was done and after that?...who knows, maybe he had to start making plans of his own even if it went against Tsunade's
Pushing those thoughts aside, he recalled what was on his mind, coming into his dorm and his killing of Mako in the morning.
"Oh, Ero-sennin, do you think you could double-check my seal for me? The old creep said something about side effects but I haven't felt anything!" Naruto finally spoke up, Jiraiya blinked hearing that before downing his second shot and nodding
"Yeah, of course."
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
"Why the hell does this Academy have a morgue anyway?" Kurumu questioned with genuine concern.
Mizore walked next to her and shrugged it off, opening the Hospital door for her friends.
"Yeah, it is kinda weird…but we still just have to check on with the Committee," she replied as Yukari shivered
"I don't know about this, it's too scary…do you think I can just stay in the waiting room?" She asked, though no one answered her question
Moka and Tsukune were oddly silent as they were the ones who had seen the pictures of the dead nurse. Usually Kurumu would've taken the opportunity to tease the young witch but she herself felt uneasy about the whole thing.
"Naruto's pretty lucky he took the day off again…it's really not fair sometimes" Tsukune muttered under his breath, it would've been a bit more reassuring if they all had the blond friend with him but apparently he was busy with his Shinobi stuff for the day.
Mizore frowned hearing that but shook it off, instead of glancing at a worn-out Doctor sitting in the waiting room
"I swear it's weird, it feels like I just woke up from a three-month nap…all I remember is Nurse Yakomaru asking for my help during a night shift…" One of the Doctors spoke as another nurse handed him a glass of water.
"I still can't believe she's dead though…"
Something else caught Mizore's eye, it was a janitor cleaning graffiti on the wall, marked in red with the same red cloud under it.
"No mercy for the bitch!"
"Man I really don't get paid enough for this shit." she heard the man mutter, desperately trying to scrub off the writing, at this point the rest of the Newspaper Club noticed it and collectively felt even more uneasy
"We might as well paint over it, it's really not gonna come off like this." another complained.
The Newspaper Club continued on their way, still feeling that tension in the air.
With a sigh, Moka stepped into the elevator first followed by the rest
"Bottom floor, right?" She added, pushing the button as the rest of the group silently rode the elevator down.
Several sounds went by until the elevator opened up again, to reveal Keito casually leaning against a wall waiting for them.
The morgue's lighting was pretty dim and it looked a bit like it was in a state of disrepair as well.
Torn wallpaper and trash all over the place.
"It's about time." She growled as the group collectively straightened themselves out, she glanced at each before noticing a missing member
"Where's the blondie?" Ketio asked with a hint of animosity, recalling how easy the Shinobi took her out before.
"A-Ah, Senpai had something else for Naruto and he couldn't come!" Moka lied, trying to cover up for her blond friend.
"Whatever, just follow me, and let's get this over with, faster we do this faster you can get out of my sight." The Spider woman spoke with a shrug and began to walk down the hall.
"What's…up with this place?" Tsukune questioned, feeling extremely creeped out while Keito didn't even bother to look at them.
"This place barely gets used because no one expects this many fucking deaths in a single school year and none of the janitors wanna come down here cause it's creepy, now follow me." She bluntly explained, walking down the hallway and pushing through a metal door.
Her face looked troubled along with several other Committee members all standing in the empty room, only a single hospital bed with a white blanket was present with a light looking over it.
"Keito-sama! Why do we have to be here again? It's freezing! Can we at least get sweaters?" a familiar red-haired girl on a chair, shivered, rubbing her arms in a vain attempt to keep herself warm, next to her was a steel bo-staff.
"You're literally a walking corpse, how the hell can you be cold?" Another Committee member spoke up causing the girl to glare at him from across the room
"Yeah but I ain't a rotting corpse like that!" She retorted pointing her staff at the Hospital bed
"Deshiko! Banri! Do you want another round in the sandpit again once we're done here?" Keito threatened with a light glare causing both members to wisely shut up.
One Committee member saluted Keito as she was presented with another folder and motioned for the Newspaper Club to move out of the room.
"This is everything, we could get, if you noticed on the way here, there was that graffiti on the wall…I originally thought I had a suspect in mind but that he already had an alibi proven by a Club Leader." She sighed, recalling her failed accusation of a student with a baseball cap only to be dismissed by another tall student with dark hair and brown eyes.
There was something definitely off about the latter student but Keito couldn't place her finger on it.
"Anyway, it turns out Mako Yakumaru was actually a member of Antithesis, we went through her room and found plans for controlling and attacking Hospital staff with her powers, the date of her foiled attack was actually gonna happen the day the Vigilante killed those two Hybrid monsters and Doctors," Ketio explained.
Each member of the Newspaper Club went through the folder each looking at the copies of Mako's handwriting about her hatred for purebred monsters and planned attack.
Tsukune rubbed the back of his head, it was extremely detailed and quite scary
"She even had the staff's schedule here to maximize casualties when she attacked" He mused before shaking his head.
"There's clearly a connection there, but I'm too busy with patrols and recruiting to figure it out so you're all doing this…" Ketio finished.
The group all fell quiet for a few seconds trying to process this
Kaboom*
The Room rumbled slightly and Keito narrowed her eyes at the ceiling
"W-What was that?" Yukari yelled, the new Leader of the Committee opened the door to the Morgue.
"On your feet! All you up the stairs now!" Keito ordered as the Committee members all stood at attention
"Come on you idiots, we signed up for this! Let's go!" Deshiko yelled, holding her staff behind her head and running out of the room
The new Committee members all flinched before staggering out of the room and up the stairs, the Newspaper Club all shared a collective glance before following.
Chaos was the best word that could be described on the Hospital's first floor as the entrance to the Hospital was now in rubble
"W-Wait, please we can talk about this!"
a large barbed spike instantly killed a nurse, stabbing her stomach.
"A great day to put these Purebred shits in their place, huh Midou-san?"
Midou's look was completely uncaring watching his comrade kill another staff member
A large number of Hybrid Monsters flooded the place and continued their assault on the staff.
Bodies already littered the floor as some staff began to barricade some rooms to protect the injured and themselves.
"The Purebred isn't so high and mighty anymore, is he?" A Hybrid monster growled, using its alien-like claws to rip through one of the janitors.
"Don't forget the one hiding under the desk." Midou nonchalantly commented as Moroha cheerfully used his scythe-like arms to pierce through the reception desk, stabbing and killing the hiding nurse under it.
"Haha! How many did you guys get already? I counted four! " An Anti-thesis member gleefully said, she began to bang on one of the locked hospital doors. A frightful nurse cowered as the door eventually collapsed due to the blunt and heavy strikes
"P-Please don't hurt the sick and i-injured!"
Midou walked over and took notice of how similar she looked to Mako before giving a slow nod to the female Hybrid monster who smirked.
"I hope you made your peace already!"
Midou's gaze turned towards the writing on the wall and ignored the screams of the poor nurse.
He chuckled before running his hand through his short blond hair.
"This guy thinks he's really funny, doesn't he?" He asked, his eyes turned slightly crazed before, anger flooded him and his blood boiled at the mockery of Mako's death.
"You fucking hybrid trash, you won't get away with this!" Keito cried out as the Committee members already began to attack the Hybrid monsters, already in their own monster form and attacking an unlucky Anti-thesis member.
"Shit these guys aren't a fucking joke!" Deshiko yelled, using her steel staff to block a slash for her, thankfully for her a pale skinny Monster used it's sharp claws to stab through the Hybrid monster attacking her
"Thanks Banri!"
The Committee was actually beginning to repel them and the Newspaper Club finally reached the first floor
The group paled seeing the bodies and blood everywhere, though both Tsukune and Moka gasped looking at Midou
"M-Moka-chan, it's…him!" He couldn't find the right words, remembering what this bastard had tried to do to the girl he loved.
Kurumu growled, extending her nails along with Mizore already in her monster form, Yukari stood behind Moka not really wanting to look at the scene.
Midou simply looked emotionless once again, as if not even angry, just bored and took out another cigarette
"Sleeper cells should be attacking from inside…now," he thought with a small grin.
Kaboom*
Another explosion rang out above them as a hole appeared on the ceiling, Doctor fell through all mangled and bloodied, several more Hybrid Monsters jumped down through the hole and joined their comrades.
"They're coming out of the fucking walls, man!" A Committee Member cried out, as two Hybrid Monsters quickly cut through him, killing him instantly.
"Ack!"
Ketio looked livid now, seeing her own members being killed and turned back to the remaining Newspaper Club members, More specifically Moka and Tsukune
"Now would be a good time to show us the Monsters who took out Kuyō-sama!" She barked, causing both of them to stiffen while Moka quickly snapped back to her senses.
"T-Tsukune-kun!"
The brown-haired teen nodded and went for her Rosario.
With a small plink, the familiar oppressive energy returned.
"Well, this is…new." Moka looked at the scene with disgust and anger.
The Hybrid attackers all stopped to glare at her and Tsukune.
"Midou-san wasn't lying, This bitch really is a Vampire…"
Moka glared back at them, hearing that word, and cracked her knuckles
"You're going to regret what you just said…"
The Anti-thesis members all paused before using their numbers to rush the Vampiress who smirked in response and got into her stance.
Tsukune on the other hand cursed, grabbing the terrified Yukari and running back down the stairs, Naruto had already taught him when it was important to fight and when it was better to retreat.
He could hear the bones of the Hybrid Monsters cracking and their cries of pain as Moka continued her attacks.
Yukari actually clung on to Tsukune and her wand prepared to defend herself if she had to.
Midou stood way behind the rest of the Hybrid Monsters, took a drag of his cigarette, and still kept that emotionless gaze on the Newspaper club
"The Newspaper Club is gonna be more troublesome, I think I'll tell him that we should make them a focal point of our attacks now…" Midou mused watching Mizore actually freeze a hybrid monster, she felt the sudden urge to jump away, and as she did a scythe-like arm just managed to cut her collarbone
"Gah!" Mizore cursed, holding her shoulder seeing her sweater ripped, blood gushed out staining her clothes, the pain was pretty bad and she was forced to kneel, trying to hold it with her hand, Moroha looked extremely pleased with himself and held up his scythe arm prepared to finish the job.
Mizore shut her eyes but nothing came.
"I really have great timing don't I?" Moka nonchalantly spoke as She kicked the Hybrid monster's abdomen and sent him flying into the Hospital entrance's rubble.
"Moroha…we did our part, it's time to withdraw while we still can." Midou casually spoke, the groaning Hybrid monster nodded
"S-She hits fucking hard." he spat out blood before gathering himself and staggering away.
Midou shook his head and watched his underling run into the nearby woods, before dashing with him in the direction of the abandoned train station.
Most of the Hybrid monsters noticed Midou's now retreating form and the ones still fighting the Committee and the Newspaper Club began to run away
"S-Should we pursue?" Deshiko asked as Keito glared at her
"We're outnumbered and I feel like we'd be walking into an Ambush, we're staying right now and securing the area."
Keito took notice of how Kurumu was doing her best to take care of Mizore before running off to find a nurse to help her friend
"You see how much of a threat these fuckers are now?" She said, looking at Moka, Tsukune and Yukari, Keito once more sighed before going over to assess the damages and casualties
Mizore held back the urge to cry out in pain again as Moka kneeled down next to her.
"Till we can get that fixed, don't try to move much." She glared looking at the bloodied wound as Mizore frantically nodded.
"Kami, I wish Nii-san was here…" Yukari whispered under her breath, seeing Mizore finally get treated by a doctor and a nurse.
Tsukune managed to hear her and nodded in agreement, almost wanting to hurl seeing all the bodies.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
"I'm serious, Gaki, she's really strong now, like a Mini-Tsunade with a dash of Might Gai!" Jiraiya spoke of his teammate's pink-haired student as Naruto had at least asked about how his friends were doing in Konoha
"She's a freaking Jounin now…" the Uzumaki huffed, placing his hands on the back of his head and leaning back on his chair, he really couldn't believe he had spent the whole day with Jiraiya just being caught up with Konoha.
Though it was completely worth missing a day's worth of classes just for this.
There was a compromise Jiraiya made with him, to be updated on what his friends were doing while he accepted this little fake 'M.I.A' status and having to stay in the Academy.
"Yeah, you remember that Hyuga girl too?"
Naruto blinked remembering Hinata and the fact Hanabi was actually here in this world
"Y-Yeah what about her?"
"She's the new clan head of the Hyuga clan and plans to unite the two houses, I already managed to remove the cage bird seal off your friend Neji." Jiraiya smirked, Naruto's ocean blue eyes blinked twice at that.
"Wait, really? Hinata? The always fainting, stuttering Hinata?" Naruto pressed as Jiraiya chuckle
"Yeah, her, though I'm pretty sure this new Clan head position is gonna really force her to get some confidence and fast, they sent Hanabi here so there would be no real problem with her new position. Tsunade-hime is hoping Anko and Kakashi can break her arrogance and…personal issues." The Toad Sage explained, Naruto was still lost in his own thoughts
"Wow…good for her!" He smiled, a part of him wished he could congratulate her in person but at the moment that wouldn't be possible.
Jiraiya sniffed, before glancing at the clock and cursing
"Shit, sorry Gaki, we gotta cut this short now." The Toad Sage spoke as Naruto frowned
"W-Why? what's going on?"
Jiraiya sighed
"I only have one day here and actually I still gotta meet up with Kakashi and Anko to pick up blueprints …I need to be back at the village as soon as possible, you'll have to show me the new Rasengan next time, brat ." The White-haired man said, Naruto actually held his finger hearing that
"Hold on, wait! I got something about that."
Naruto smirked, walking over to his gym bag trying to get something, Jiraiya looked a bit interested and after a few seconds…
"Found it!" He cried out, holding a storage scroll and an odd-looking bulky camcorder
"Kakashi-sensei decided to record me doing it for the first time when we were training, and Yūgao-sensei told me to make notes about my improvements, here!" Naruto cheerfully handed the Toad Sage the two devices
"Ah, Gaki, Good to know you're still as resourceful as ever." Jiraiya complemented, he stretched himself and walked towards the door.
Taking a deep breath Jiraiya stared at his student for a few seconds.
"He really is starting to grow up, Minato…"
"But when is gonna next time?" Naruto asked and Jiraiya shrugged, scratching his cheek
"Maybe during the festival, Tsunade-hime said she was gonna drop by too, so heads up on that…"
Naruto stiffened slightly, recalling how he was starting to slack on his classes in favor of his missions with Yūgao and training.
"O-okay, Okay…and my seal?" Naruto questioned with a look of worry once again flashing on his face.
"Kid, it looks perfectly fine to me, I literally compared it with the Fourth Hokage's notes in front of you and went over it five times, there's no breaches, no side effects, nothing, not even a small crack" Jiraiya stated, causing Naruto's look to flatten.
Maybe it would've been a better idea to actually go into detail about what he was seeing.
"These hallucinations could be just stressing too… about Konoha and all…when Tsunade-hime drops by, I'll make sure a member of the Yamanaka clan can check it out just to be safe, I'm not really an expert in that field, Gaki" Jiraiya finished with a shrug.
Naruto fell quiet as a puff of smoke then appeared in front of him where Jiraiya stood and the Uzumaki now stood alone again.
The Shinobi glanced at the clock seeing Classes were over and he sighed, instead, he was gonna just watch TV and get his mind off everything, glancing at his storage scrolls a part of him really wanted another drink.
"Ah screw it!" Naruto grinned, going for the scroll with Anko's gift in it.
A knock on his door broke him out of his thoughts as he held the bottle in hand and was about to remove the cap, setting it down he strode over to open it up, peeking his head out he was greeted by a familiar black-haired teen
"Naruto-san, the Headmaster has a summons for you." Ruby stood in front of the blond with a small grin.
"Oh? Ruby, What's up?" the Uzumaki spoke quietly as Ruby's grin fell into a frown
"T-he Hospital was just attacked by Anti-thesis…and there were… a lot of casualties this time, Mizore-san was injured during the attack as well she's recovering there right now."
Naruto's eyes widened then gritting his teeth, he stepped through and slammed the door behind him before taking off for the Hospital and not even batting an eye at the Older Witch.
"N-Naruto-san, you still have to meet with the Headmaster!" She cried out following after him
The Uzumaki completely ignored her and just kept running.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Naruto slowed down slightly, watching Committee members patrolling and trying to clean up the rubble to the main entrance to the Hospital, he grew even more nervous recalling his clone's memories earlier that day.
"We're just clearing this stuff out while Keito-sama tries to get everything under control?" a red-haired Committee member spoke up, holding her metal staff behind her head
"Yeah it'd be nice if you could actually help." One of them scoffed.
"Hey, it's the Uzumaki kid…" he spoke up and paused taking notice of the blond while picking up some rubble to clear out the entrance
"Dude, Your club members are on the fourth floor, in Room 4-D. One of them got hit but She'll be alright," Deshiko informed, Naruto gave her a hesitant nod and walked past the group.
There was still some dried bloodstains on the floor, some of the lights were knocked out, a wall was completely collapsed with a large hole still on the ceiling
"Kami, what did I miss?" He frowned, continuing to make his way up the stairs
"Just look at her! Don't you think they used way too much?" Kurumu grumbled folding her arms under her chest, Yukari laughed nervously watching Mizore smile looking at the ceiling.
"I-I mean as long as she's okay and the Doctors probably know best…" She tried to argue.
"Yeah I'm just glad she's at least awake, they said she'll basically be up and running by tomorrow…freaking Yuki-onna recovery." Kurumu sighed, taking notice of Naruto at the doorway, the look on his face was of complete fear as he stepped inside, the Succubus huffed
"Finally! Where the hell were you?" She spoke up gathering her things.
"I…Shinobi stuff" Naruto glanced at Mizore's bed, she continued to smile while occasionally moving her uninjured arm.
"Mizore-chan!" The Uzumaki nearly tripped trying to rush over to her side.
"Yeah, she's fine now and they're gonna let her out once she's not all screwed up from the morphine," Kurumu spoke then turned over to Yukari.
"I don't wanna leave Tsukune-kun alone with Scary Moka for too long, let's go," Kurumu whispered, slinging her bag over her shoulder as Yukari nodded
"U-Uh, Nii-san, I should tell you the doctors gave her a lot of morphine…like a lot." Yukari tried to inform though Naruto seemingly didn't hear her, The small witch then shrugged following Kurumu.
"Naruto-kun…that's you right?" She turned her head over as Naruto took note of her bandages on her right collarbone, it was vague but Naruto could still see some light blood stains and cursed himself for not being there.
"Y-Yeah! Mizore-chan, what happened?" Naruto tried to ask while the Yuki-onna snickered, using her free arm to try and shush the Shinobi.
"Just kiss me…once and kiss me twice…" She ever so slightly slurred her words trying to sing as Naruto managed to catch her hand from falling on the steel bed frame
"Then kiss me once again, it's been…a long long time."
Naruto slightly narrowed his eyes, noticing the empty small bottles next to her on a tray along with a few syringes
"Wow, they really used way too much."
Without a word, a single Shadow clone appeared next to him.
"Go get some ice cream from her place, the special one." He ordered as the clone gave a mock salute and jumped through the window.
"Words can wait until…some other day." She tried to continue tilting her head, not even feeling the pain of her wound anymore, just staring at the ceiling feeling only a vague exhaustion and total numbness.
"Uzumaki Naruto?" a familiar voice caused Naruto perk up as Keito leaned against the doorway to the infirmary room
Naruto gulped slightly remembering his first encounter with her.
"Y-yes?"
Keito sighed, folding her arms and approaching him.
"For your Newspaper this week, the suspect that led the attack is a third year student by the name of Kusabi Midou…short blond hair, black eyes…keep that description for me, I got the whole thing being written up too, you guys should get the full details on later today..."
The Committee member didn't manage to notice a brief scowl on Naruto's face, he clenched his fist and made a mental note about Midou.
"Naruto-kun…look at meee" Mizore whined trying to reach him. The Uzumaki flinched, turning back.
"H-Hey, don't move so much! You're still really hurt!" Naruto managed to get her to lay back down, Keito looked on at how worried the blond was and just how much he seemed to care for the Yuki-onna's well being
"Right…you have a good day, Uzumaki-san, tell your friends to not bother me for the weekend," Keito muttered, leaving the room.
"Oh, it's sleepy I think I'm gonna just…sleep" Mizore spoke up as Naruto sighed, hoping his clone would be back soon.
Several more minutes went by until Ruby finally caught up with the blond and just as she entered the room, Naruto's clone had returned
"Naruto-san, the Headmaster still needs to speak to you."
He gave a slow nod before opening the window for the clone
"I'll go but I won't leave her alone right now, can you just watch her? I'll have a clone here to give her some herbal ice cream from her village, her Kaa-san said it always speeds up a Yuki-onna's recovery" Naruto requested as Ruby blinked glancing at the Yuki-onna already lightly snoring and fast asleep.
"Of course!"
The Uzumaki gave a sigh of relief before making his way back to the Academy and to the Headmaster's office.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Naruto slowly opened the door, oddly looking stoic this time, he did his best to keep his anger in check about the entire situation with the Newspaper Club.
"Ah, it's good to see you, Uzumaki," the Headmaster greeted him as the man stood over his desk, though he looked just as stoic as the Shinobi was.
"What did you need?" Scratching his whiskered cheek, though, despite his question, Naruto knew damn well what the Headmaster was going to ask.
"It's time we finally deal with these Hybrid insurgents as a threat to the Academy, thank you for informing me where they're hiding out…" He spoke softly, walking towards the open window with his robes gently swaying.
"Their last attack was the final straw. Twenty-one deaths with forty injured most of them being highly skilled medical staff…and we haven't even finished counting all of them…your…friend, Shirayuki-san was also injured in the attack as you saw." His glowing eyes glanced at the Shinobi who folded his arms, lightly glaring at the man
"I'm going to that train station then?" Naruto concluded with a low voice, fully knowing what would be ahead of him now.
"Yes, do this and I will make sure you are rewarded most handsomely" He eerily grinned, walking back to his desk, placing a scroll and an office file on it.
Naruto blinked and felt his heart skip, reading the Kanji on the scroll
"His Heritage?' What the hell does that mean? unless…is it…mine?" Naruto frowned, feeling anxious at the thought of finding out about his parents.
Though moving his eyes to the file only made him more confused
"The Kotsubo-Shirayuki incident…" Naruto felt uncomfortable just recalling how Mizore acted before and finding out what type of person Kotsubo really was.
"...I'll get these after they're all dead?" Naruto asked with a low voice as the Headmaster nodded
"Kill them all with the utmost prejudice now, you already saw how far their hatred for Purebred Monsters go and how many people they're willing to kill. Don't let any of them escape, use everything at your disposal and disregard the Shinobi tool usage rule we once had." He ordered.
The Uzumaki for a brief second felt hesitation upon realizing how bloody it would be and how many deaths would be on him.
Though…remembering Mizore's situation and how close Tsukune came to dying in the attack just the week prior, the dead staff members in the Hospital…
He clenched his fists.
"Consider it done" Naruto stated with a hardened glare
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
"The Eternal Thompson gunner"
"Still wandering through the night"
"Now it's ten years later but he still keeps up the fight"
Yūgao turned down the knob on her car's radio, still keeping her eyes on the road not wanting to ruin her new vehicle with reckless driving.
She had finally purchased one as soon as she got her license to drive and fixed all of her paperwork in this world, officially she was now a citizen of Japan along with the rest of the Konoha Shinobi here.
The Anbu woman treated herself well with the money, the Headmaster had paid her, a purple convertible that matched her hair and she fell in love with the thing
It was already dusk though as She exhaled, seeing a large mansion ahead of her
"Showtime" Yūgao mentally prepared herself by parking her vehicle in front of the place.
Removing her sunglasses, she held her breath seeing a man with short black hair, and took note of the facial hair on his face.
"Just like the Headmaster said…this guy really does look like a mob boss…" She mused, she vaguely recalled her early days in Anbu, dealing with Konoha's crime syndicates under the Sanadime and Yondaime
"Fei-hong?" She spoke up with no hesitation while walking up the stairs, extending her hand as the man nodded and shook her hand.
"Good to know, that old man has some reliable and punctual people with him…come in, dinner's getting cold."
"What about the information? The Headmaster really wants to know more about the rogue weapons." She questioned as the man waved her off
"That can wait till after dinner now, the rest of the family is dying to meet you."
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
End
Now I ask that you do not neck me, I must inform you that killing most of Anti-thesis doesn't change much later on, Kira and Hokuto are still coming once the main bulk of this is over and Naruto is on his own, sorry this about to get depressing in coming Chapters but it'll bounce right back and Naruto will get over the self-destructive habits he's building up here
Guest bro, thanks for that Youtuber dude, it really fixed up my little plot holes with the small Uzumaki clan coming up with Sasuke and Orochimaru of all people, probably not too deep with them but yeah, some small Uzumaki clan stuff for Naruto too involving Karin.
Maybe I'll bring them back as Edo-tensei, or I might not, hell maybe I'll make Naruto an Edo-tensei, nah lmao but that would be interesting I literally do not know though, I killed off Saizou, Mako and next is Midou and Moroha.
Most everything those Characters can do will be filled up by Konoha Characters later down the line, special ones too
In case I die In real life or something I have a deadman's switch to upload the full outline of story plans and the skeleton of Chapter 22.
That reminds me, thoughts on giving Tsukune a bat-related summoning contract? Not as big as let's say the toads but something on the same scale as Kakashi's dogs to track, it would be nice to see that and Ko interact but it's up to you guys, that would be as far as what I would give Tsukune Shinobi related stuff, his own summonings
Last thing, Interesting fact, Fei-hong's summoning ability is actually directly based on Kishimoto's summoning stuff in Naruto, which I just thought was cool to note. It seems so weird to think these two mangas existed when they did, side by side and now we're on Boruto, alien invasion and Kyuubi nuclear science or something and the creator of RV did some new gothic manga or something, I don't keep up on with either.
Now I gotta go back to lifting heavy because my state removed Tank units so I got thrown into the Infantry and I'm not up to speed with my PT, *free shrugs* but it'll be months before I can write again around august, so I decided to speed up and throw a double chapter with a cliffhanger. Sorry for the long note, a lot of stuff changed really fast, story itself is 12k words.
