Chapter 15
Yotsuki & Bofu
Land of Lightning
Yotsuki Clan Main Outpost
Samui was brought before A the Leader of the Clan and B the right hand, she was taken into Outposts the main office which she had never been in before usually the Slave Ninja never entered the main building because that was where everyone and everything important was.
"So Dee says you have some information for me?" A was sat on Dee's usual seat not that Samui knew that.
Dee was the current leader of the outpost and he was a lazy man who preferred sleeping to carrying out his duties but he was a strong Ninja and it was that strength that allowed him to rise high up in the ranks of the Yotsuki Clan, he was standing to the left of A.
On A's left, however, was his partner the second strongest man in the Clan Killer Bee he was just as big as his brother and had multiple swords sheathed across his back and wore a white armour that Samui had never seen before.
"Y-yes I do A-Sama," Samui tripped over her words due to nervousness.
"On my mission to scout and observe the Daimyo's Samurai forces, I was engaged by two members of the Ginkaku Clan who chased me with intent to kill." Samui regained her composure and reported though with one big omission.
"I see. Were these two Scum waiting for you? Or did they just stumble across you as you were returning?" A asked as he leaned against the desk covering his mouth with his crossed hands.
"I believe that they were waiting for me, I was passing through a barren area that was away from any major road. I was running to return when they attacked me with intent to kill." Samui reported flatly.
A did not respond right away instead he seemed to ponder what he had just been told, behind him Dee shifted nervously while the Killer Bee was just writing in a small notebook that he had not put down since Samui had entered the room.
"There are only two options for this situation; either you made a mistake and got followed or the Ginkaku knew about your mission beforehand and wanted you dead so you couldn't report on the Samurai." A said aloud getting a nod from Dee.
"As far as I know, I was not seen by anyone on my way there or during my observations. The Samurai were moving large amounts of weapons and men south towards the border but I could not find out why, when I infiltrated the camp, not even the Samurai leading the operation knew why he was doing it." Samui defended herself from the unspoken accusation.
"Hmph! Got some attitude within you under that ice." A commented almost smiling as if she amused him.
"Samui! A-Sama I'm sorry for her disrespect I will make sure she does not speak that way again." Dee cut in giving Samui a nasty glare.
"It's alright Dee, she has to defend herself because if she made a mistake in the mission that means execution." A waved him off, it was well known the leader of the Yotsuki did not like failure.
Dee fell back in line and A still looked amused by her.
"You survived against 2 Ninja of the Ginkaku Clan and returned with important information. I think this service requires a reward." A spoke to her again watching her reaction.
"There's only one reward I want," Samui said looking down at her chest meaningfully.
"Sorry I do not free one of our Non-Clan Ninja without knowing they are completely loyal to the Yotsuki." A said knowing exactly what she meant.
"But I can reward you in a different way, Samui you shall be moved up into the 2nd tier and be trained properly by one of my men." He said instead rewarding her with an increase in rank and responsibility.
The Slave Ninja of the Yotsuki were actually organized into 3 different ranks or tiers, the 3rd where at the bottom the most undertrained and often sent on missions that would end up with them dead, the 2nd tier were Ninja who had proven their loyalty or skill and as such were actually trained more formally in the Ninja Arts and also given mission which they had a greater chance of surviving. The 1st tier were the Slave Ninja who had been battle-hardened and had a proven record of success these Slave Ninja were taken as apprentices and eventually once they completed enough missions and pledge their life to the Yotsuki they would be freed from the Slave Seal and be accepted as a husband or wife to a branch member of the Clan.
It was a rare but sought after thing to be moved up as every step meant more freedom, more luxury and more strength so many of the Slave Ninja in the Yotsuki saw it as the only thing they could do to escape being fodder and be accepted as equals which was the best fate for them though they would still be tied to the Yotsuki and have to serve them until the day they died.
"I thank you for the generous reward." Samui said bowing her head.
"You can leave now, we must prepare for our journey to meet the Bofu Clan." A dismissed her.
Samui stood up bowed to each man then walked over to the door in order to leave but the sound of A's voice stopped her.
"You may accompany us as part of our entourage however as a bonus for good service, we leave in 2 hours." A said as she put her hand on the handle.
"Of course A-Sama." She said not turning around in order to hide the smirk on her face.
It would have been suspicious if she had asked to join the trip as her reward so instead she asked for something impossible and received a major reward which would grant her more freedom while also getting to join the entourage, it was a risky gamble but it had paid off and now she was in an even better position to help Naruto.
Samui left the room and made a beeline to the meeting point with Naruto, he had appeared last night and told her a meeting spot before going back to wherever he was hiding within the compound.
The meeting place was just a small indent in the mountain that was between the wall and one of the stone buildings it was a bit of a squeeze but Samui entered the private little cove and found Naruto was already there and he was also painting Fuinjutsu onto scrolls and muttering to himself.
"Naruto?" She said as he hadn't even noticed her arrive.
"Oh! Samui!" He said as his head snapped up to look at her.
"Good you're here, I think I've worked something out." He said happily and grabbed her arm and gestured for her to sit down.
"I can't get rid of that Seal but I can restrain it, with these modifications I think I can overlay another Seal which will stop that one from being used to hurt you." He explained cheerfully.
"What!" Samui was shocked, she had never expected something like this from him.
"Come on! Show me the Seal!" He ordered her.
"Urhg!" Samui didn't sound happy but she pulled her top down just enough to reveal the Seal that was placed on her collar bone.
"Right! Don't move no matter what, if I make a mistake with this..." Naruto warned trailing off looking right into her eyes.
"I understand." Samui was no stranger to the pain she would endure it silently like a rock.
Naruto's brush felt ticklish across her skin which was something she wasn't used to but she was a Ninja who prided herself on her self control as such she did not flinch or move while Naruto worked away.
It was a longer process than she expected, probably around 10-15 minutes of staying very still while Naruto drew complex patterns around her seal.
"Done." He announced then he went through a short sequence of Hand Signs before placing his palm over the seal.
"Fuinjutsu: Kaizo!" He said and Samui felt a pulse of Chakra go from his palm into her Seal which began to burn but even with that pain Samui did not flinch and after a few seconds it went away and Naruto removed his palm.
Samui looked down and saw Naruto's seal which was glowing blue and completely surrounded the Yotsuki's Tsuki Fuin, the glow faded as the Naruto's seal twisted and entwined itself in the Slave Seal and eventually it disappeared completely.
"That's a good sign, my Fuinjutsu has managed to modify theirs without triggering any safety mechanisms." Naruto muttered as he watched everything.
"Do you feel any different?" He asked her.
Samui took stock of herself and she felt fine in fact it felt like her Chakra wasn't as restrained as before and it felt like there was a weight lifted ever so slightly off of her shoulders.
"No, in fact, I feel better." Samui answered surprised.
"That means it worked, I know that this Seal restricts your physical attributes as well as your Chakra so I wanted to lift those as well as disabling the sequence which could be used to kill you though as a tradeoff they can still shock you with it." Naruto revealed scratching his head in embarrassment at his own Fuinjutsu inadequacy.
"Sorry I couldn't do more..." Naruto tried to apologise but he was cut off.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She repeated as she hugged him tightly.
"Oh, erh." Naruto was at a loss at what to do but settled on hugging her back despite his face being bright red, he had only ever been hugged by family before.
They stayed like that for a few minutes until Samui regained control of herself and then when she did and realised what she has done.
"Eh!" She squeaked and pulled away suddenly with a huge blush on her face.
"You're welcome." Naruto said also very red.
"Ahem." Samui coughed and tried to force her blush away with the sheer force of will.
"I've been promoted to a 2nd Tier Slave which means I can move around more freely, the Clan Head A has told me to accompany him to meet with the Bofu Clan." Samui decided to turn to the topic of business matters so to speak.
"That's fantastic news." Naruto said, he had expected to go alone which would have been difficult but if Samui was there for support then he'd have an easier time breaking in and stealing the Ninjutsu scrolls along with trying to get a member with the Ranton Kekkei Genkai.
"So how are we going to do this?" Samui asked him.
'Oh! She's expecting an actual plan, so far I've just made it up as I went along.' Naruto thought sweating.
"How would you do it?" Naruto answered the question with another question.
"Well if it was me..." Samui began to talk about how she would pull this kind of thing and Naruto just nodded and agreed while taking mental notes.
'I'll lie and say that this was my plan as well.' Naruto thought as he made notes about Samui's plan.
4 Hours Later
Land of Lighting
Bofu Clan Land
The Yotsuki contingent consisted of around 20 Ninja including the Slave Ninja which numbered 10 it was clear to everyone that the Slave Ninja were to act as a rearguard and sacrifice their lives in the case that the meeting went bad.
Samui was among those 10 and she noticed that most of the Slave Ninja were tier 1 and a step away from freedom she was the only 2nd tier in the number and she stood out as a result which meant every move she made would be watched.
She was however given new clothes and she was far more covered up than before which was little better than a frazzled grey kimono, now she had navy pants, sandals and a large white shirt and a dark storm-grey coloured jacket that had the Yotsuki symbol on the back, she was even given new pouches with new equipment that was a lot better than the blunted ones she was given earlier.
'Lucky for me and Naruto I just have to play the part of loyal Ninja.' Samui thought feeling the stares of the others.
They had entered the Bofu Clan's territory an hour ago and had been shadowed by their scouts ever since, though after an hour of navigating more difficult terrain as they climbed up the side of a mountain to reach where the Bofu Clan resided. Naruto had so far been undetected by both Clans of Ninja though with the infiltration method they were using they would probably not get caught.
The area they were in was anathema to the concept of flat, the entire area was stone hills and they had been ascending up to a mountain for an hour now, the air was getting thin and everyone in the Yotsuki party was panting a little due to the lack of oxygen.
Eventually, they came to a staircase carved into the rock and followed that and the shadows that were watching them increased a hundred-fold.
"Halt! Yotsuki!" A Ninja high above called down to them as they reached a wooden gate carved with depictions of storms and lightning.
"I am A Head of the Yotsuki Clan, I am here on invitation from your Leader." A shouted and his voice echoed loudly even with the wind.
There was a tense beat of silence after the shout and the Yotsuki prepared for the worst, for an ambush and for Ninjutsu to fall down on them.
But the worst did not come to occur as the wooden doors opened and revealed a full battalion of Bofu Clan Ninja with their leader Darui at the head.
He was a lazy looking man with the typical dark skin of the Land of Lightning's people, with dark shaggy white hair and black eyes he looked like an intimidating man, he also had a huge cleaver-like blade in one hand at the ready.
"A." He greeted calmly in a lackadaisical tone.
"Darui." A roughly greeted back.
"Welcome to our home, please be on your best behaviour while you visit." Darui sounded pleasant but to be a Ninja was to look underneath the underneath and everyone present knew just what he was saying, don't do anything shifty or you'll be killed.
"Of course, we Yotsuki are the height of gracious guests." A said back and walked forward fearlessly and left his guards scrambling after him.
"I see that you are." Darui commented dryly standing to the side then walking side by side with the taller man.
"Follow them closely and be on guard, we are at a disadvantage here in enemy territory." The leader of the Slave Ninja present said, he was a tall dark-skinned man in the same vein as A and Darui.
They moved as one through the gates and entered into the Bofu Clan's domain, it was well kept and there were lakes on the left-hand side while the right was a sheer drop with waterfalls so the rocks were slippery and deadly.
There was a stone bridge over this entire area and Samui could see a lot of Bofu Ninja some were on guard but others were younger and obviously being trained by others to stand on the lakes and waterfalls.
The Yotsuki were led to a grand temple looking building, its base was made of stone but the rest was made of wood to Samui it looked very impractical to be made of wood so high up in the mountains, the mountain itself continued higher but it seemed the Bofu Clan were content in living on this plateau between 2 mountains.
"Please follow me to your quarters." A Bofu Ninja said to their leader who almost said no but a look from Killer Bee made him agree.
"The meeting is to be attended by Darui-Sama and A-Sama alone." The Ninja informed them.
"Very well." He swallowed his objections and followed the Ninja.
They were led to stone barracks and all 10 of them were given their own rooms Samui was surprised to find it better than the Yotsuki barracks.
Her room had an actual bed with sheets along with a fire that was already lit and even a desk and chair.
"Samui, we are to be alert at all times and we have been ordered by Killer Bee-Sama to meet with A-Sama after the meeting has been concluded." Her squad leader informed her coldly, he made it clear that he did not like her.
"Understood I shall do so." She acknowledged and even bowed her head slightly to show submission.
He nodded and left so Samui shut the door behind him and then checked every inch of the room before sitting at the chair and pulling a scroll from her coat and placing it on the floor and giving it some space.
"It's fine now." She whispered and in response to those words the scroll burst into smoke to reveal Naruto who had used the Henge Jutsu to become a scroll and hide in her Chakra signature since his was being suppressed, Naruto would never have thought to do that since he was used to just physically breaking into places like a thief.
"Thanks, Samui." He kept his voice low as well and looked around.
"I can't believe it was that easy." Naruto said surprised.
"Don't be too surprised Naruto, this was the easy part now the hard part begins." Samui said reminding him.
"Yeah, I know." Naruto agreed.
"You'll have to be very careful, the Bofu are on high alert and if they spot you then there will be chaos." Samui told him.
"I am always careful," Naruto claimed with a smile.
"Even so." Samui grabbed him by the shoulders. "This is hostile territory and you are just one Ninja no matter how skilled you are you cannot stand up to the might of 2 of the strongest Clans in the Land of Lightning." She told him again.
"I promise you Samui, I'll be careful." He promised her getting a small smile.
"I hope you will be." Samui said softly.
"Don't worry too much I have done this before, so it will be fine." Naruto told her.
If only Naruto knew that he shouldn't be saying things like that because more often than not the opposite comes true.
AN:
Here you all are chapter 15 hope you enjoyed it.
Not much to say about this one just mostly set up for what is to come along with some lore and world-building, also this is something I wanted to show about this AU that people who were once friends are now bitter enemies due to the tribalistic politics of being a Ninja Clan, in Canon Darui was A's most trusted right hand, here they are cautious allies who are planning to betray each other at the right time for their respective Clans to get an advantage over the other.
Translations:
Fuinjutsu: Kaizo=Sealing Technique: Modified
Tsuki Fuin=Moon Seal
Henge Jutsu=Transformation Technique