Chapter 34
The Third

Land Of Earth
Hidden Alcove

Tayuya did not awake from unconsciousness with grace or ease instead the moment she woke up she loudly groaned in pain before realising her throat was completely dry and she began to cough and hack which forced her to lay on her side as she attempted to clear her throat.

"Oh! Good, you're awake." A voice said surprised.

Tayuya after she stopped coughing sat up and took stock of her surroundings and the person talking, she was in a cave which was not a surprise but what did surprise her was who was talking to her.

"Y-youuu." She managed to get one word out as Naruto walked over to her and held out a cup of water.

Tayuya snatched the cup out of his hands and drank it greedily and let out a sigh of relief after finishing it then she glared at Naruto who took a seat on a rickety wooden stool, now that Tayuya had her wits about her she took in just where she was.

It was a cave but it looked artificial the entire area was smooth and looked to be formed through a Doton Ninjutsu, two lamps were hanging down from the ceiling creating a warm glow, Tayuya was on a futon and there was also a table and three chairs along with the stool that Naruto was sitting on to her right which seemed to be the entrance as she could see light coming in from just behind Naruto it seemed like this cave was around a bend in order to better hide. To her left was what she assumed was supposed to be the kitchen but it was little better than a fire pit with slates for meat to be cooked on and a metal pot with bowels and cups.

Then her attention turned to herself and she noticed that from the neck down she was covered in bandages though she was thankfully wearing clothes it looked like she got hurt badly from the explosions which was the last thing she remembered.

"Where am I? What happened?" She asked Naruto after taking everything in, she also noticed that Naruto was different from the last time she saw him, he seemed more withdrawn and there was a look in his eye that she couldn't place.

"We're hiding out near Oninoko, I took you to a healer in the town but I think it's safer to hide out here." Naruto answered her first question easily enough as he rubbed his hands together, not because he was cold but rather like a nervous tick.

"And! What happened to my Clan!? Where's Sasame!?" She demanded answers and would have stood up if not for the fact she realised just how bad she was hurt as her arm was trembling from holding up the cup which she had in her hand.

"I'm sorry Tayuya." Naruto apologised looking at the ground as he clasped his hands together.

"No." She whispered staring blankly at him.

"NO!"

"YOU'RE LYING!"

"YOU FUCKER! WHERE'S SASAME!? WHERE'S MY SISTER!"

"LYING SACK OF SHIT!"

Tayuya shouted at him, she screamed and raged hurling abuse at Naruto who took it as stoically as a 13-year-old boy could.

But eventually, Tayuya's rage subsided and she was left panting on the futon looking down at her lap with her arms hanging limply at her sides and the white bandages covering her arms began to get splotches of red on them, her frantic movement had opened the numerous small wounds on her arms.

Naruto stood from the stool and went to a nearby bag where he got bandages and then crouched by Tayuya's side, it was telling that she didn't instantly punch him in the face and instead let him change the bandages on her arms and treat the wounds across them.

"What happened?" She asked again weakly, her voice was barely louder than a whisper.

"The Kazan leader killed Arashi, Menma tried to kill him with a suicide attack but all that did was buy you time. You were unconscious next to Sasame and she was in better shape than you..." Naruto started speaking his own voice hoarse and he stopped after explaining the initial situation.

"And then what?" Tayuya urged him on, she needed to know what happened.

"Gashadokuro managed to survive the blast and he was one the first to recover, he said that the Shiin Clan was to be killed down to the last man, a complete extermination." Naruto began again as he fixed the bandages on Tayuya's arm.

"Sasame stood up to check what was happening, the cave was a mess after the explosion with dust in the air and bodies everywhere and then the Kazan just started attacking anything that wasn't in red and Sasame was hit by shuriken, it was a fatal injury." Naruto finally said the words.

Tayuya remained scarily silent, she had a lot more questions to get answered but there was a far more important one.

"Why didn't you take her here?" Tayuya asked her voice like a blizzard.

"She was dying, I'm no Medic and she was begging me to save you. There was no time! The Kazan were closing in and what was left of the Shiin Clan were just fighting to kill as many of them as possible." Naruto spat the words out as fast as he could and his chest was heaving from saying so much in such a short space of time and he even hunched his shoulders expecting some violence either physical or vocal from the hot-headed girl.

But Tayuya couldn't say anything after she heard that nor could she hit Naruto despite her shaking fists.

'I would have done the same thing.' She realised if she were put in that situation she would have begged Naruto to flee with Sasame and leave her to die.

Naruto looked up and saw Tayuya's pupils go extremely small like pinpricks and then she swayed and Naruto knew she had fainted.

He caught her before she could fall and hurt herself even more and gently lay her back down on the futon before throwing the covers over her again to keep her warm, there was no door for the cave after all.

'That went better? Worse? I don't know what I expected.' He lamented as he finished fixing the bandages on her arms.

He sighed heavily and reflected on what happened 3 days ago, Tayuya had been completely out of it and it took her 3 entire days to wake up and then she fainted right after hearing what happened.

"I can't blame her for that." Naruto muttered as he brushed a stray lock of her pinkish hair out of her eyes, she was very still with only the slight raising and lowering of her chest showing that she was alive and breathing.

Naruto stood up and after checking the cave in it of paranoia he set up some food for later, he had finally managed to steal some instant ramen from a passing trade caravan which he noted avoided Oninoko entirely taking a long way around to get south but Naruto had spotted it and of course, being a Ninja stealing from civilian merchants was something even the worst of Ninja could do.

He went around the corner and went to the entrance of the cave which was covered in a pale rock coloured sheet that he was using to conceal his and Tayuya's hiding place from the Kazan who were out in force, even with the losses from the final battle with the Shiin they had even more manpower and Naruto had counted hundreds of patrols passing through this area north of Oninoko alone.

'They're looking for any Shiin survivors but I think the only ones left are the injured ones I saw in the camp and the noncombatants who aren't a threat anyway but I doubt the Kazan will care.' Naruto thought as he shifted the sheet ever so slightly so he could see outside.

The cave they were in was one he found earlier and it probably used to be a smugglers den of some kind, it was high up and hard to spot even without him concealing it further with the sheet ever since seeing the battle he felt constantly on edge, he wasn't sleeping easy he kept waking up throughout the night at every little noise and then it was hard to get back to sleep when every one of his senses was screaming 'Danger' at him.

After seeing the coast was clear Naruto left the cave and walked across the side of the cliff sticking to it with his Chakra his destination was a completely different cave on the same part of the mountain, whoever created these tunnels was thorough and smart since there were fake caves along with hidden passages, the one where he and Tayuya were staying was one he checked from top to bottom and he was satisfied that it was safe and had no hidden passages.

He entered another cave covered by a sheet and this one was not as homely as the one Tayuya was currently sleeping inside, this one was barren and the only thing of note was the tied up and unconscious man who was laying on a slab of stone like a table.

It was the same Kazan Ninja who Naruto had beaten into unconsciousness when he went to help the Shiin Clan, the man was still in that same state unconscious and not aware of his surroundings. It was not that he didn't wake up but that he couldn't wake up.

Uzumaki Fuinjutsu was feared for a reason and no one wished to be subject to the Clans' speciality, Naruto had placed a relatively simple Seal on the man which would keep him asleep and dreaming, in truth it was a rather useless Fuinjutsu in combat as it could not counteract adrenaline or concentrated bursts of Chakra and as such it could only be truly used when an enemy was already beaten and this was an age where killing enemies was the norm and accepted practice taking hostages or prisoners was only used when information was needed.

For Naruto however it was extremely important, he could not take a Kekkei Genkai from a long-dead corpse and as such he had to keep them alive since there was a time limit to using the Chimera Jutsu on a dead body to gain the power hidden within the blood.

"Should I do it now?" Naruto asked himself as he walked over to the man.

The Yoton was not his preferred Kekkei Genkai within the Land of Earth but beggars could not be choosers and Naruto considered himself lucky that he managed to even grab someone with a Kekkei Genkai at all.

"I should just get it over with, a few days being sick and then I can get out of this country.

Besides he had heard rumours of the Tsuchi Clan in the north on the move and he did not want to be around when Jinton no Ohnoki was atomising everything within his sight, there were very few people in the world who could fight against the current leader of the Tsuchi Clan especially one as old and experienced as Ohnoki.

'If he's suddenly making a move after years of silence then he must be planning something huge.' Naruto thought with a trickle of sweat going down his neck at the thought of fighting someone like that.

"All right I'll get it over with now!" Naruto decided instantly, that he could recover alongside Tayuya and then they could both run from the Land of Earth, well that was if Tayuya wanted to travel with him someone responsible for her sisters' death.

'I got her killed after all.' He thought darkly going back to those few moments when he was with Sasame and the knocked out Tayuya.

Naruto went through a familiar set of Hand Signs that were extremely simple Ox-Horse-Hare and then when he was finished with the sequence he placed his hand on the Kazan Ninjas' bleeding stomach.

"Chimera Jutsu." Naruto intoned and the Kinjutsu activated like it always did, black Fuinjutsu completely covered his hand and then spread onto the knocked out man and began to snake over his body like worms penetrating deeply into his body and more importantly his Chakra Coils.

The process was quicker than last time as he had gotten used to the Jutsu by now and of course, he could feel as the Kazan's Chakra was drained from his body and taken into Naruto's where it was forced within Naruto's Chakra Coils and made to submit to him.

Naruto had gotten a lot of practice with integrating foreign Chakra to the point where he didn't need to actively meditate in order to make it happen.

So he had his eyes shut and while the Chimera Jutsu acted automatically he could concentrate on actively absorbing the foreign Chakra right away instead of waiting for the Jutsu to end first.

There was one nagging thought for Naruto, however, 'There's no pain, usually, I'd be on my knees in agony by now does that mean my body has got used to it?'

'What did Hiruko say about what would happen when I started getting more this is my third and it feels different.' Naruto thought as the Jutsu continued.

The relative time for the Chimera Jutsu to finish varied based on a lot of variables, some were within Naruto's ability to control and others were not but after around 10 minutes the Jutsu ended and Naruto opened his eyes feeling strange, it didn't feel bad but it wasn't a good feeling either.

'What the hell is going on?' He asked himself as he patted his own stomach around were his own Chakra Coils were, he had managed to absorb a large amount of the Yoton Chakra but not all of it so later he would have to meditate and finish it off.

After disposing of the Kazan's body by burning it Naruto quickly returned to the cave and found Tayuya was exactly the way he left her though she seemed calmer now almost having a smile on her face, it was slight but it was there.

'What should I do now.' He wondered.

Then Naruto's stomach grumbled loudly and completely cut off whatever else he was thinking about.

"I'll make some ramen." Naruto mumbled holding his stomach.

"That's why I'm feeling so strange." Naruto incorrectly concluded.

As he went to grab some of the instant ramen his legs gave out underneath him and he collapsed to the ground as pain lanced from his stomach and spread out to his limbs then a harsh stabbing pain erupted from behind his eyes.

"Argh!" He couldn't even scream in pain as his body got stiff and all the air left his lungs.

'Remember Naruto, When you take more Kekkei Genkai within yourself the chance of rejection also increases and even if you are successful the pain will increase as your body has to adjust to more foreign Chakra and DNA. The human body is not meant to hold 5 Kekkei Genkai Naruto, even if you can theoretically always exercise caution.' Hiruko's words came back to him as black began to consume his vision, the last thing Naruto saw before he blacked out from the pain was Tayuya sleeping in the futon.

Another Time
Another Place

Tayuya woke up groaning as the sun hit her right in the eyes.

"No~." She complained and turned over in her bed to avoid the light that brought her out of sleep.

"Wake up Tayuya!" And then the demon came and smacked her in the face with a pillow and Tayuya bolted up.

"SASAME!" She shouted at her sister who was standing there with a grin on her face.

"Come on sleepyhead, Grandpa wants us to practice with him today." She said cheerfully as she threw the pillow in her hand back on her own bed.

"What?" Tayuya was confused didn't Grandpa die during the first attack?

Tayuya sat up fully and looked around, she was in her and Sasame's room in the Shiin Clan Compound, she could see the trees swaying gently in the breeze outside as well as the daily sounds of a household waking up for the day along with of course the playing of musical instruments.

"Right I forgot." Tayuya said getting out of bed and looking at Sasame again who after getting her sister up walked over to her harp and picked it up and went to leave the room.

"Don't forget your flute." Sasame reminded before she left the room.

"I know!" Tayuya said to her before she left.

Despite going through her normal routine in the morning, like having a quick shower and brushing her teeth and hair along with getting dressed and sliding her flute into her Ninja Tool pouch she still felt odd like she was missing something but the moment she stepped out of her room and smelt breakfast she forgot all about it.

Tayuya went down and saw the usual people in the main hall who were having breakfast, each with their own small table sat properly upon cushions, their leader Shiin was old fashioned and traditional and as such everyone had to do things the old way even if it took longer.

"Ah Tayuya finally ready." A warm old voice said and Tayuya looked to the head of the hall where a white-haired man sat calmly in a green kimono and a classical Shamisen at his side.

"Sorry for being late Granpa." She responded automatically and bowed slightly.

"Enough of that, sit down you and Sasame are playing with me today." He said and gestured for her to sit next to him opposite Sasame who was already eating carefully with chopsticks.

Tayuya sat down and began to eat as well after a small 'Itadakimasu'.

As she was eating she looked around at the room and saw Kotohime and Kagero sitting together eating while exchanging small talk while her father was talking with their foremost Medic-Nin Sora who was the Clan Heads' wife.

Arashi was sitting with his own small squad of students/admirers including the blonde Menma who was smiling at something Arashi said to him.

And then her gaze went to the man on her left Shiin XIV the fourteenth of their Clan to take the leadership role, he was also the longest-serving in the position since most Ninja died young but he was the strongest Ninja in the Shiin Clan ever produced and had guided the Clan to survive the Great War with only minimal losses.

Everyone called him Grandpa even when not all the people within the Clan held his blood directly but he was everyone's Grandfather and he looked after everyone within the Clan as if they were his own Grandchildren.

Then Tayuya's eyes went to the one person she wouldn't mind getting killed Takeshi who was Shiin's only surviving grandson from his eldest son, he was also a complete lush who loved whores and not being a Ninja, if he wasn't the Clan Heads grandson he would have been exiled or at least that's what Tayuya wished to happen to him.

This was home for Tayuya being surrounded by her Clan eating peacefully while someone played gentle music which mixed in with the talking and the natural sounds of the forest they lived in.

Breakfast went quickly so quick in fact that Tayuya never even realised how she got to suddenly sitting in front of Shiin alongside Sasame in their ancestral Temple pagoda which was an open one with 4 pillars holding up the temple-like roof, which was situated next to the lake where their Koi was housed.

Shiin was gently plucking his Shamisen and created a soothing melody which Sasame followed with her own careful plucks of the harp and it was up to Tayuya to represent woodwind instruments.

She brought her flute up to her lips and joined in the harmony that was being created by the 3 Ninja. There was a certain irony to the situation as if the Shiin Clan abandoned the Ninja Arts completely and purely dedicated themselves to music then they would not have been wiped out.

'Why couldn't we have just been musicians and played for Daimyo's then maybe we wouldn't have been attacked.' Tayuya thought as she played, then she realised what she said and her eyes snapped open.

That thought broke Tayuya's concentration and she stopped playing which drew surprised gazes from Sasame and Shiin.

"Are you okay Tayuya?" Shiin asked gently while Sasame looked on concerned.

"What!?" Tayuya stared at him and she got a distinct feeling that something was wrong.

"I guess, but something feels wrong." She admitted looking at the flute in her hand.

"Wrong? What could be wrong on a beautiful day like this, the sun is shining, the birds are singing and the Land of Grass is at peace." Shiin said reassuringly gesturing to the scenery around them.

It was beautiful and peaceful but even so, Tayuya could not help but feel that something was wrong and that she was missing something.

The sky seemed to darken in response to her mood Tayuya looked over the trees and she could see black thunderclouds on the horizon.

"Don't worry Tayuya, everything will be fine." Shiin said gently as he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah Don't worry Nee-Chan I'll be here as well." Sasame said encouragingly.

Tayuya wished she could believe those words as she looked at the oncoming storm.

AN:

Here we are Chapter 34 hope you all enjoyed it.

So that last scene was obviously a dream but it does give a glimpse into Tayuya's life pre exodus from the Land of Grass, I am hoping to show more of what the Shiin Clan used to be rather than what was shown and how they were destroyed.

I don't know if I am going back to the chapter a weekday pace I had before but I am going to try and do it anyway, if it's not a chapter a day I will be aiming for 1 every 2 days.

Also, I did sort the whole no notifications thing, in the end, I just switched the Email address for my account and that seems to have done it as I am getting Emails to that account about things being posted as well like favourites.

Translations:

Jinton no Ohnoki=Ohnoki of the Dust Release

Kinjutsu=Forbidden Technique