Chapter 6
The mission for the Yuki
Land Of Water
Yuki Clan Compound
Naruto was brought out of the ice room which he realised was the place where they killed people after getting a good look at one of the blocks and noticing there was a person in there frozen in time forever. He was walking under his own power and wasn't gagged or blindfolded though his hands were still tied up.
The rest of the compound however was lovely there was a garden filled with various winter flowers along with obvious ambush spots and defensive positions that all Ninja Clan compounds had built-in.
'I bet there's a lot of people keeping an eye on me right now, probably to take me out with Senbon like how they caught me.' Naruto thought as he trotted behind Yuki Byakko who was leading him down a wooden hall, Byakuya was right behind him as well so he was trapped between the two of them.
"Ah! Here we are." Byakko said and slid open a paper panel door revealing a meeting room or at least that's what Naruto assumed it was due to the similarities between it and the ones he saw back home.
"Please take a seat." Byakko said Naruto knew it was an order, however.
Naruto sat down cross-legged while Byakko sat on a cushion in front of him and Byakuya sat behind him keeping watch.
"Now I imagine you do not know about the situation in our fair home but I will explain, as of right now there are 5 Clans which are regarded as the strongest, Our Yuki Clan, the Kaguya, Hozuki and the Terumii who stand at the top of all other Clans in this land." Byakko began his explanation while Naruto sat listening curiously.
"There is a delicate balance of power here, the Kaguya and Hozuki are aggressive and often attack other Clans while we and the Terumi are often the peacekeepers and keep them in check however recently the Terumi has been becoming more defensive and less involved in holding back the barbarians at the gates and we are left alone the Kaguya have seized the opportunity and allied with a band of thugs that call themselves the Hoshigaki Clan, and are now raiding our lands." He spat the last part out but Naruto was fully enraptured, this was nothing like the Land of Whirlpools since the Uzumaki Clan were literally the only Ninja Clan in the land.
"Now comes your part young Naruto, your mission is extremely simple, you shall go to the Kaguya compound and steal a specific scroll from them." Byakko finally informed Naruto.
"What kind of scroll?" He butted in curiously.
Byakuya let out an angry noise after that interjection and Naruto felt him move like he was about to hit him in the back of the head again, but Byakko stared and the movement stopped.
"A scroll that contained the secrets of the Kaguya Clan, I am assuming there will be something in the scroll which could break the Hozuki's alliance with them or at the very least have some secret we could use against them." Byakko explained calmly like nothing happened while Byakuya was angry behind him.
"Of course, you will not be going alone, one of my grandsons shall accompany you, Byakuya here is one of our most skilled Ninja and it will be his duty to create a distraction for you and keep an eye on you so you don't run away." Byakko informed Naruto.
Byakko began to cough and he turned away from Naruto with a sleeve covering his mouth.
"Grandfather." Byakuya sounded concerned and even moved from his position to attempt to assist the old man.
"Enough! It is a cough, I am not some frail old man." Byakko said sternly waving at his grandson and turning to look back at Naruto.
"I have had 4 sons and 2 daughters and raised two grandsons, do you know why that is?" Byakko questioned Naruto.
"Erh? No?" Naruto answered honestly confused.
"The life of a Ninja is short and brutal all of my children are dead and all I have is my grandsons, each of them raised to be the best of the Yuki Clan do you understand what that means." Byakko seemed not to really be talking to Naruto.
"This world is brutal and cruel and only those with power can protect their family, we are blessed with a Kekkei Genkai and even then it is not enough sometimes, so Naruto if you betray my grandsons I will personally hunt you down." Byakko finished his point with a threat and even released some Chakra which manifested as a cold burst.
"Understood." Naruto said with a gulp.
"Nowhere is a map of their compound we obtained during a skirmish." Byakko told him and pulled out a decent sized scroll and unfurled it on the ground in front of him, Byakuya sat next to his grandfather so they were both facing him.
The drawing of said compound was a bit amateur in Naruto's opinion but he could clearly see that it was very simple and not at all like the Yuki Clan's compound.
"Is this really a Ninja Clan's compound?" Naruto couldn't help but ask, it was extremely simple and laid out in a very obvious way.
"Indeed it is, the Kaguya are little more than violent bandits bound together by blood and occasionally one of them is a true monster with that Kekkei Genkai of theirs and unfortunately due to their breeding habits one such monster has been born in this generation." Byakko said grimly.
"You will go here." He pointed at one point of the map which did look like some sort of storage/treasury room.
"The Clan Head's room is right next to it so you will have to be very careful." Byakko warned him.
"It's not the Head you have to worry about though, it's his son who is the monster born with the Shikotsumyaku, he is only 15 but easily one of the strongest Ninja in the Land of Water which is why if you come across him, surrender or run if you fight you'll die and be of no use to anyone." Byakuya interrupted here and looked at Naruto his eyes were deadly serious.
"I see." Naruto said shortly digesting the information.
"You will approach from the east side while Byakuya will do the same from the west and he shall set off a distraction which will allow you to infiltrate and get what we require." Byakko said explaining the basics.
"You will go together and split once the compound comes into sight, I hope you are good at stealth if you get caught then they will kill you and of course, you have no affiliation to us so it will never be traced back." Byakko said with a glint in his eyes.
"Yeah I get it, I'm expendable so I am better off doing everything you ask." Naruto said blithely, if there was one thing he was growing very tired of it was the sheer callousness of the world he now found himself in.
"You!" Byakuya took offence to that statement and stood up and pointed at Naruto.
"Grandfather! I can easily accomplish this mission alone, There is no need to send me with this Clanless mercenary!" He said loudly.
"Byakuya. I have told you time and again to use everything available to you in order to accomplish your mission, this is one of those times Naruto here will be assisting you to increase our chance of success." Byakko explained with a tone of warning in his voice.
"But." He tried to argue with his elder.
"Enough, I have my mind is made and my order is given continuing this childishness will only disgrace yourself in my eyes." Byakko put his foot down and ended the argument then and there.
"Tell me are you prepared Naruto?" Byakko asked him while Byakuya stormed out of the room.
"Yeah, better now than later." Naruto replied.
"Very well you shall leave within the hour." Byakko decided and then he moved faster than Naruto could see and appeared behind him and sliced his bonds holding his hands together.
"Remember this well Naruto if you come back without my grandson then you will not leave this island alive." Byakko warned him as Naruto rubbed his sore wrists.
"I understand you don't need to threaten me all the time, I've accepted so I'll do your mission." Naruto complained.
"Haha." Byakko let out a short laugh before coughing again.
"Are you alright?" Naruto asked the old man as he wiped his mouth.
"Yes, I am a lucky man to reach such an age where things such as these are taken seriously." He commented to Naruto.
Byakko was, of course, referring to the fact that he was a living Grandfather only the strongest Ninja made it to that age but with age comes weakness even Ninja and not even Chakra could hold that back.
"Well, at least you have two grandsons." Naruto said awkwardly.
"Yes, Indeed I do." His eyes flashed again but this time Naruto could tell it was not directed at him.
"Well, what do I do now for an hour?" Naruto asked hoping to get the powerful old man's eyes away from murder.
"You are being watched at all times, I suggest you simply find a spot in the gardens and wait." Byakko offered before walking off leaving him alone.
"Not even a room huh." Naruto said with a shrug but he followed the old man's advice and walked out into the garden.
It was beautiful and well maintained and Naruto did not doubt that this was where that paralytic poison was grown from a plant in this garden, so Naruto found an obtrusive spot in the garden and sat there to meditate on everything that happened to him so far.
'This journey has been a disaster ever since I stepped foot onto the continent and the reason why is becoming very clear.' Naruto reflected on what had happened so far.
'I have no allies, no friends and no support everyone else here is part of a Clan and now I am being forced into working for a Clan but if I do this mission well maybe I can finally have allies and maybe even a home base to come back to.' Naruto decided that he would see the mission through fully and properly after seeing everything.
He could just run after getting the scroll which would make enemies of the Yuki Clan or even switch sides and warn the Kaguya Clan but according to what he knew and what Byakko had said they were little more than trained bandits, powerful but brutal without any intention to be competent in anything but combat.
'This is going to be a long mission.' Naruto sighed and looked at the sky, it was now more than ever that he was happy with how brutal and merciless his training with Arashi and Hiruko has been.
1 Hour Later
"Come on Foreigner get up." Byakuya said to a dozing Naruto.
"Huh. Naruto said dumbly wiping some drool from his mouth.
"How can you call yourself a Ninja when you sleep like that in enemy territory." Byakuya berated him more.
"But it's not enemy territory, right now we're allies and even under the protection of your Clan Head as long as I follow his rules." Naruto rightly pointed out as he stood up.
Naruto noticed that Byakuya now had two Tanto on his back hanging over his left shoulder. "You look ready for war."
"The Great War might be over but every Clan is still fighting each other." Byakuya said grimly.
"We're leaving now, I hope you have some of your Father's talent." That was all Byajuya said before disappearing in a Shunshin but Naruto was right behind him as they went over the stone walls of the Yuki compound and took off into the forest.
"The Kaguya compound is on another island to our north-west but they have smaller outposts on the way but since their idiots, those should be easy to sneak around the Kaguya only care about Ninjutsu and Taijutsu so they neglect everything else." Byakuya explained grudgingly as they hopped from tree to tree.
"You didn't expect I'd be able to keep up did you?" Naruto asked him cheekily.
"Shut it and pay attention." Byakuya said annoyed.
'This is fun talking with someone my age who isn't family.' Naruto thought as they made their way to their chosen destination.
They reached the end of the Yuki Clan's island and from there they had to run on the water across the choppy waters of the Land of Water.
"Usually the waters are calm around here but due to the seasons changing it's gotten rather dangerous to travel the normal way between the islands." Byakuya explained to Naruto as they made their way across the water.
"It was calm when I came here." Naruto commented.
"That was because you came by sea, it's different when you have seawater flowing between multiple islands." Byakuya said.
"Oh, that makes sense." Naruto believed him easily enough.
"Kaguya outpost ahead." Byakuya pointed out.
Naruto also saw it and frankly, it was pathetic compared to the fortress that the Senju Clan had when he was going through the Land of Fire. It was little more than a raised piece of stone with a fire burning on it.
"That is not an outpost, that's a campfire." Naruto said in shock.
"The Kaguya are genuinely barbarians, when we say it we do not mean it as an insult but as an actual description." Byakuya told him seriously.
"So do we just walk around it?" Naruto asked him.
"Pretty much, move slow and keep low that is usually enough for them." Byakuya admitted with a nod.
"Right." Naruto found himself disappointed with the Kaguya it was almost too easy.
The duo easily made their way around the various campfires and Naruto took note of the Kaguya Clansmen and women, they were dressed mainly in white robes and all had two red dots placed just above their eyes and nose along with old school hairstyles that looked straight out of the history scrolls the Uzumaki had.
It wasn't a long trip to reach the central island in fact within around 15 minutes they arrived on the shore of the island and headed on land until they caught sight of the spiked wooden walls it was made with a strange pale kind of wood that Naruto had ever seen before.
Byakuya stopped first and crouched down near a tree in the shadows and Naruto followed suit, he could hear the clamour of celebrating people and Naruto could smell the cooking meat and even the cheap booze they were using to get drunk.
"What are they celebrating?" Naruto asked Byakuya.
"Who knows, these barbarians will celebrate any small victory." Byakuya answered quickly and evasively arousing Naruto's suspicion that he knew exactly why.
"I've never seen wood like that before." Naruto commented changing the subject so that Byakuya would relax.
"It's not wood it's bone, Created with Ninjutsu from the greatest threat in that Clan." Byakuya answered shocking Naruto as he got a closer look and realised the sharpened spikes were just the ends of the bone like on a rib, in fact, the entire thing looked enclosed in a giant rib cage.
"So what's the plan now?" Naruto was now suddenly very eager to get this over and done with.
"You go on the east side, we know there is an opening there from an attack by the Hoshigaki Family, I shall approach from the west and create a minor distraction so you can slip in unnoticed." Byakuya explained.
"Right." Naruto got the feeling that he wasn't being told something.
"Let's move out." Byakuya said suddenly and Naruto realised he was very anxious now.
"What's going on?" Naruto demanded an answer now.
"Grh you!" Byakuya near growled at him.
"Fine, our Clan is launching a fake attack as a distraction after we left they have been instructed to wait half an hour before faking an attack in order to empty the fortress." Byakuya revealed.
"Why would you lie about that, seems like a smart idea to me." Naruto replied confused.
"You are an outside not a member of our Clan that is why." Byakuya was getting angry now and Naruto knew better than to push.
"Fine, I'm going." Naruto said and he jumped up into a tree and headed to his infiltration point.
"Good luck, you'll need it." Byakuya said as he left and that made Naruto's bad feeling intensify because Naruto knew that he had actually meant that one.
'There's something more going on here and it's probably gonna get me killed.' Naruto thought morosely as he made his way around the compound.
Eventually, he found the hole in the wall, it was small and covered by a bush but Naruto could squeeze through it if he tried.
"The Yuki are Attacking!" A voice rang out through the entire compound.
"Fantastic!" Another voice boomed out and Naruto heard the clatter and stamping of feet as the Kaguya Clan abandoned their party.
Naruto could feel the mass of Chakra that was the Kaguya Clan move out into the forest, he imagined that the Yuki Clan would be waiting for them on the shore in order to take advantage of a large amount of water for their Hyoton Ninjutsu.
"Just get in and out Naruto." He told himself rubbing his head as he got under the wall and into the compound proper.
"In and out." He continued to mutter.
AN:
Chapter 6 is done hope you all enjoyed it, honestly, this and Bleach Shining Star Remix are the two things I'm working the most on at the moment, it's actually really fun, out of all the Naruto stories I've thought about I think this one has the best idea behind it even when I started with Naruto the Red.
Well anyway please look forward to the next one, updates also may slow down as work is getting busier and I find myself having less time for everything.