Naruto: Archer and Loner
I'm back again with another chapter. Once again, I own neither Naruto or Bleach. Thank you all for sticking with me and being patient with my chapter uploads.
Chapter 27: Dark Plots and Power Struggles
Deep underneath Kohona a man sat on a stone throne. Before him, many men and women kneeled waiting for his orders. The man slowly stood and gazed out at the tools he controlled. He cleared his throat and his tools looked up from their kneeled positions.
"Our plans have been hindered by the Uzumaki and those who support him," he began. "The Hyuga have had their pride and honor damaged. Hiashi must be chomping at the bit to control the Uzumaki. Find ways to prod him into doing something!"
"Hai, Danzo-sama," the mindless tools shouted.
"Do nothing to anyone in the Uzumaki compound. I've wasted too many tools trying to break into it. Cease all planning on that front. The Uzumaki were always masters of the sealing arts. They would never leave a hole in their defences," Danzo ground out. "And someone explain to me how an Uzumaki hid in this village without me knowing about it! Kiski Uzumaki has been in this village for years. Yet, no one knew about him until the young Uzumaki claimed his inheritance. The Hokage didn't tell the council about him and I can find no record on him anywhere!"
"Hai, Danzo-sama," the tools shouted again.
"Bring me Kakashi," Danzo ground out. "I need information and he seems to be the only one with some for now. Dismissed." Danzo turned away and stormed towards his office. 'Where brute force didn't work, perhaps the slow knife can land the fateful blow,' he thought to himself. 'Perhaps getting at the girl Uzumaki is betrothed to will be the correct course of action.'
Across the village in the Hyuga clan compound, Hiashi Hyuga sat in his office fuming at the state of affairs. Over and over in his mind he thought about ways of usurping power from the Uzumaki boy who tarnished the Hyuga clan's honor and pride. Sitting along with him were a few of the darker members of the Hyuga clan council.
"Hiashi-sama, we must find a way to get our honor back," one member stated plainly. "The Uzumaki boy has ruined our tradition."
"I know this," Hiashi seethed out. "I have thought of any possible way of undermining the Uzumaki. Nothing I have thought of will work. I can't use my daughter against him because my father will countermand anything I do to turn her to our side. And trying to use my nephew would fail before any progress could be made. He would tell the Uzumaki just to spite me."
"We must find a way," another member said desperately. "Our way of life has been destroyed."
"I am trying to find allies to help us," Hiashi replied. "However, it is slow going because I have to tread carefully. Uzumaki has too much pull with the noble clans at the moment and he has started making inroads into the civilian council members. If I say the wrong thing to the wrong people, our plans could fail before they're able to take root."
"Very well, Hiashi-sama. We'll leave this in your hands for now. We'll keep the branch members of the council in the dark. And once we are sure of victory, we will strike," a member stated before standing and bowing to Hiashi. "We take our leave for now. Good day, Hiashi-sama."
Hiashi sat there fuming at the arrogance of the council members as they left his office. 'What a bunch of pompous fools. Once I have control of Uzumaki, I'll get rid of them all and rule the Hyuga with an iron fist. No one would dare speak out against me,' he thought to himself. 'First I must find allies. I must find people who I can use to take the fall once the dust is settled and the Uzumaki is under my control. Who can I use?'
Naruto stood in the middle of his normal training area. Standing across from him were Kiski and Zabuza.
"Naruto, since you have successfully gotten your Seele Schneider to two feet, it is time to start your kenjutsu training," Kiski began. "You will train with Zabuza until he says you are ready to learn the Uzumaki clan kenjutsu style. You are to obey everything Zabuza tells you to do. No slacking off, got it?"
"Yes, Kiski-sensei," Naruto replied. Turning to Zabuza, he bowed and said, "I am ready to begin my training, Zabuza-sensei."
Zabuza looked at Kiski who nodded and left in a shunshin. Zabuza took a scroll out and unsealed the item in it. When the smoke cleared, Naruto could see Zabuza holding a bokken. Zabuza walked over to Naruto and placed the bokken on the ground in front of him.
"I'm going to tell you right now, runt, this is not going to be easy," Zabuza began as he positioned Naruto's legs shoulder width apart. "I am going to push you until you break. You will hate me. You will curse my name. But I will turn you into a swordsman your mother would be proud of." Zabuza picked the bokken up and placed it in Naruto's hands. "You will hold the bokken at arm's length until I tell you to stop. We will see if you can last twenty minutes."
"This will be easy," Naruto stated. "It feels as light as a feather."
"You will think that for now," Zabuza began, "but I haven't activated the weight seals on it yet. I won't do that to you for now. Let's see how long you can hold that as it is."
Naruto nodded and stood there. Five minutes go by and a sheen of sweat can be seen forming on his forehead. 'Is it me or is it getting heavier,' Naruto thought to himself. 'It has only been five minutes. I can do this!' Slowly he starts feeling the strain on his shoulders and arms. The sweat that started as a sheen has turned into rivulets of sweat.
"I see you have noticed the difficulty of this task," Zabuza says, shaking Naruto out of his thoughts. "Even though it hardly weighs anything, holding it at arm's length at shoulder height will make that small piece of wood feel like it weighs tons at the end of twenty minutes. You've got ten minutes left, Naruto. You don't want to know what happens if you fail."
Naruto gulped the lump of fear down his throat. 'Focus, Naruto, focus. You can do this,' he thinks to himself. 'I really don't want to know what happens if I fail.'
Haku, Neji and Hinata are sitting in the living room of the house when Zabuza walks in carrying what looks to be a dirt ball.
"Zabuza-sama, what is that," Haku asks politely.
"Oh, this? This is Naruto," Zabuza replies cheekily. "He just had his first day of kenjutsu training with me."
"You didn't kill him, did you," Haku asks fearfully.
"No. I ran him into the ground. I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did," Zabuza replied. "Well, I'm off to throw the dirtball into the hot springs. Maybe that will wake him up. I'm kinda proud. He only puked 3 times today. I must be losing my touch." Zabuza turns and walks down the hall leaving a shocked duo (Neji and Hinata) and a grinning Haku behind.
"He isn't serious, is he Haku," Neji asks.
"Zabuza-sama is very serious when it comes to training," Haku replies. "When he first trained me, I puked eight times the first day he trained me."
"Is Naruto-kun going to be alright," Hinata asks meekly.
"He will be fine. He will hate Zabuza-sama for the training, but he'll be grateful for it later," Haku says with a wide smile.
Zabuza sat in the hot spring keeping an eye on Naruto as he soaked in the warm waters. 'That runt sure surprised me today,' Zabuza thinks to himself. 'I wonder just how far I will be able to push him.' Suddenly Zabuza is pulled out of his thoughts as he feels a heavy presence in front of him. He opens his eyes and sees Naruto standing before him.
"You have done well, Zabuza. You have started training the boy like you promised. Keep pushing him. Push him until he BREAKS. We will rebuild him until his body becomes a worthy vessel for me," a guttural voice whispers. "Remember to train him and I won't have to kill you. Remember to push him and Haku will live for now. Do you understand?"
Zabuza nods slowly. "Who am I speaking to? Is it the Kyubi or the other entity in Naruto," Zabuza asks.
"You will do well to remember my name, Zabuza. It is Ywach. Do not forget it. And do not talk to me in that disrespectful manner again! Otherwise your punishment will be swift and lasting," Ywach growls out. "Goodbye for now, Zabuza. The boy is starting to wake. Speak to no one about our conversation." Naruto's eyes close and he falls bonelessly into the water. Zabuza stands up and grabs Naruto before his head slips under the water.
'This is going to get harder and harder to deal with,' Zabuza thinks to himself as he hauls Naruto's limp body out of the water. 'I have to listen to an entity who can and will wipe me from existence if I refuse. I'm in a no-win situation. The only plus side to this is Haku is getting the life she deserves.' Zabuza places Naruto into a bathrobe and after getting himself dressed, carries Naruto to his room and places him in bed. 'May Kami forgive me for listening to an entity as powerful as he is.'
Kakashi made his way through the dark corridors deep under Kohona towards Danzo's office. His mind racing at why he had been called so soon. He didn't have any new information to share. He hadn't interacted with Uzumaki since he revealed his burden to his teammates. 'Maybe that is why Danzo-sama has called me. He wants me to use the Uchiha against the Uzumaki. Use Sasuke's hatred of all things Naruto,' Kakashi thought to himself as he walked into Danzo's office and kneeled in front of his desk.
"Rise, Kakashi," Danzo says from behind his desk. "We have much to discuss and little time to do so."
Kakashi stands and nods to Danzo. "Why did you call for me, Danzo-sama," Kakashi asks. "I have had no interaction with Uzumaki since the day he revealed his secret to his teammates."
"I know this, Kakashi," Danzo replies. "I wanted to meet with you to discuss other ways we could use to undermine the Uzumaki."
"Well, one idea I had was using Sasuke against the Uzumaki," Kakashi began. "He hates anything and everything about Naruto."
"That is something we can do in the future," Danzo replies. "Sasuke is too unstable at this moment for that to be very effective. Perhaps after the Chunin exams that plan could be implemented. For now, work with your team. See if you can gain Uzumaki's confidence. Show him something his teachers who live with him haven't shown him. Nothing too powerful. Perhaps show him summons. If we can find out what summon clan he is compatible with, we might be able to gain power over him that way."
"Very well, Danzo-sama," Kakashi replied. "I will try my best to do what you ask. Should I try and curb Sasuke's hatred at Naruto for now?"
"Yes. However, don't allow them to become friendly," Danzo ordered. "You are dismissed." Kakashi turned and left the office leaving Danzo alone. 'To think it was so easy to corrupt Kakashi. I didn't even have to use Shisui's eye to do it. I just played on the jealousy that was there. Kakashi was always jealous of Kushina and the time she spent with Minato. Hiruzen really dropped the ball with Kakashi. After Minato died and Kakashi jumped back into Anbu, it was easy to turn him to my way of thinking,' Danzo thought to himself. 'Manipulating people is so much easier when I don't have to use Shisui's eye. Plus, it keeps it in reserve in case of emergency.'
And done! Another chapter done. Yes, it might be confusing how I'm writing out Hiashi and Kakashi. However, Hiashi comes across as someone who is power hungry. Even getting slapped down the way he was in previous chapters wouldn't keep him down for long. He may have been knocked onto his back foot temporarily, but he'd find a way to come back. As for Kakashi, I could see someone like Danzo manipulating him when he was at his weakest emotionally. He looked at Minato as a father (More so after his father's suicide). So someone like Danzo who ate manipulation for every meal, could find a way to manipulate Kakashi without resorting to using the cheating eye (Honestly talk about an OP eye there. 'Let me rewrite this person's whole being. Turn them from peace-loving into a war-monger). As always, reviews are always welcome and thank you for being patient.