People talking, "Hello everyone."
People thinking, 'On a new computer woot.'
Demon/beast/other talking, "I will eat you."
Demon/beast/other thinking, 'Starts reverse moonwalking because the author feels like it.'
Jutsu/Unknown names, "Suiton: Mizudeppō no Jutsu."
'Document'
Italics can be used for certain kinds of emphasis or snide comments.
Bold can be used for forceful yelling/shouting/screaming.
Chapter Nineteen: Reunion
"Edo Tensei!"
A coffin rose from the ground within the dark room, dark purple torches barely lighting up the large throne room. Yellow slit eyes reflected the light as the coffin settled.
The lid tumbled to the ground with a thud and out stepped a young white-haired man with large round glasses. Orochimaru smirked, and the undead Kabuto bowed to the Sannin.
"Thank you for reviving me Orochimaru-sama, I apologize for getting killed. The Shiroi Oni is too fast… how did you escape Master?"
"I had to use the chakra rod Chariko gave me," Orochimaru said disappointedly, he'd boasted when the Rinnegan user gave it to him that he would never have to use it. The two of them having had entered into a partnership around half a year ago, both intent on destroying Konoha for different reasons.
The Snake Sannin had initially planned to manipulate Suna into attacking the Leaf, as well as using their Bijū in the attack. The issue was that the Bijū were disappearing at a frightening rate, in fact, he had thought they were all missing before Chariko arrived.
Chariko was Shichi within the ranks of the Seijō-ki, a group that wanted him to join him years ago. Orochimaru had wanted Shichi's eyes at the time but quickly realized that the Uchiha was way above him in strength. He'd refused to join, quickly realizing that everyone there was only apart of the group to get stronger. He had no want to become a jinchuriki, it would ruin the perfect being he had become.
'Hachi truly was the only one that was loyal to Kyū, and only because she loved him…' Orochimaru mused as he slinked up onto his throne, his yellow eyes glowing softly in the darkness.
"Master, why didn't you use the reverse summoning technique?" Kabuto inquired, pushing his glasses up and somehow making them glint. Orochimaru was sure that he was using a low-level genjutsu for that, but didn't really care.
"I was originally planning too, I summoned Manda to distract him. But Manda refused to fight the Shiroi Oni, calling him the Son of the Goddess." Orochimaru's curiosity was evident in his voice, and Kabuto's eyes widened in shock and confusion.
"The snakes are loyal to him over you?"
"It would seem that way… Just who is the Shiroi Oni… Getting any information on him has been tough. The information we have from the Bingo book is inadequate, we know no more about him than an average missing-nin who made a bit of a name for himself." Orochimaru didn't like not knowing, and Naruto bothered him deeply.
"Will he be an obstruction of our plan?"
"Possibly, once I gain the Sharingan we may have to work with Chariko again to eliminate the Shiroi Oni, as well as the remaining members of the Seijō-ki. Ichi, Go, Hachi, and Kyū are all dead." Orochimaru replied.
Both Kabuto and Orochimaru turned sharply as a bright column of flames rose by a pillar in the room. As it faded away, glowing red eyes opened.
"How is the Kyūbi Jinchuriki?" Kabuto inquired of the Rinnegan user, who only raised an eyebrow at him.
"He is progressing well… I will eventually have him entirely under my control. How are you alive?"
"Edo Tensei, a jutsu developed by the 2nd Hokage… I finished it and am planning to use it to bring back the first and second Hokage to fight Konoha." Orochimaru proclaimed with a level of pride in his voice.
"Hmm, now I am interested," Chariko replied, walking over to Kabuto who looked at him warily. Kabuto's eyes darted in fear toward his master when the Uchiha placed a hand on his head, though the Sannin was only watching in keen interest.
Chariko's eyes formed rapidly into the Rinnegan, a pulse of power unleashed around him. The next moment Kabuto found himself flying through the air before he was swallowed by something.
"What did you just do with my subordinate?" Orochimaru inquired curiously, staring in interest at the head like creature with purple ringed eyes that had appeared within the room. Purple flames lashed around the edges, and its mouth opened widely a second later.
Orochimaru's eyes widened in amazement as Kabuto walked out, entirely healthy and normal, all his features back to a human state.
"The Naraka Path allows me to restore a damaged being back to full health, I can also revive people who have died. Though that's only within a certain time frame and it takes some of my life to do it. But with your ability to bring back the dead I can bring them fully back to life." Chariko said in amusement, seeing Kabuto's shock as he found himself to be wholly alive.
Orochimaru was tempted to revive the 1st and 2nd now but knew that once Chariko revived them, they wouldn't be in his control anymore. Potentially Chariko could control them with his Sharingan, but that would be giving the Uchiha an even greater weapon to use against him should he betray him.
"Have you made your move yet?" The Sannin inquired. They had decided that Chariko would help him in creating Otogakure, as well as…
"Hai, the Tsuchikage is now under my control, I will slowly begin changing policies over the next few years."
"Good."
2 days later
Anko was stressed, and she was scared of seeing her boyfriend again… what if he didn't care about her anymore? Currently, she was riding on Naruto's back, as he had changed into a massive raven again. They were also very close to his village according to him.
"CAWWW!" Anko was startled as Naruto screeched loudly, she noticed his head was tilted down and followed his eyesight.
"Wow…" Anko breathed. Beneath them was a large village, small villagers moving around like ants through the streets beneath them. The unique brown-golden colored trees of the Land of Bears spread around, and she could see a large temple toward the back of the village.
Naruto's wings beat powerfully as he descended slowly. She could barely make out the sounds of loud cheers beneath them over the drum of wing beats. A couple of minutes later Naruto lightly dropped on an open plaza, villagers crowding all around, some screaming, some yelling in happiness.
As Anko hopped down with the Fūma clan, she noticed several teenage girls staring toward them with heart-shaped eyes. Confused, she turned and followed their eyesight.
'Oh I see, he's got a fan club too,' Anko thought in amusement, seeing the object of the teen girl's affections. Naruto had shifted back into his normal form, and she realized that he did actually look really good. The Bingo book reported him as around ten years old, but he seemed to be eighteen. His face smooth and his powerful pale eyes gazed around at everyone carefully, his long cloak fluttering behind him.
"Greetings Lord Seikage!" Anko turned to the voice, seeing a woman with white hair and many golden ornaments on her clothes and hair.
"Greetings Tsukino-san, how are you?" Naruto replied respectfully and giving a small bow.
"I am well… who are all of these with you?" She inquired, and at the same moment, Arashi walked up, pushing his purple hair out of his face.
"This is Arashi, clan head of the Fūma clan, they have joined the Hidden Spirit." Anko bowed to the white-haired woman, wanting to be respectful in her new home. She wasn't sure who the woman was, but Naruto respected them.
"I am Anko Mitarashi, ex-jounin of Konoha and a summoner of snakes," Anko stated in a respectful tone, getting a bow from the white-haired lady in return.
"Welcome all of you to the Village Hidden in Spirits, I am Tsukino and leader of the earth portion of the village." She turned to Naruto, and Anko watched in interest as she showed a symbol on her wrist before covering it with her sleeve.
"When you have time Lord Seikage, I have a matter to discuss with you." She bowed respectfully to the horned Ōtsutsuki before vanishing in a swirl of white lights.
"Follow me please," Naruto said as he walked down the main street. The many villagers moved out of his way with bows and nods of respect. Anko looked at them in annoyance, it would only be so long before they turned on their kage. They would want more power, more control.
"What seems to be the matter Mitarashi Anko?" Naruto asked, not turning to look at her. She was surprised that he'd picked up on her thoughts, but she remembered that he did have the Byakugan.
"The villagers, they look up to you. But it's only a matter of time before they turn on you, it might take a few generations, but it happened in the Leaf, and it will happen here." She spoke in disdain, eying the lovey eyed teens staring at the Seikage in annoyance.
"Hmm, you are correct Anko-san. Which is why I have a solution to that particular problem," She and Arashi rose an eyebrow in interest. Sasame, who was walking beside her cousin, wasn't paying attention.
"Two ways really… I do not directly run the civilian part of the village, Tsukino handles that and eventually, her successor will. Second, if the civilians turn against me, then I can simply retract my protection. The shinobi part of this village is not here, and as I explained already, is on the moon."
"I'm still having a hard time believing that…" Anko muttered, noticing the temple from before that they were approaching.
"You shall see shortly. Besides, I will be around to run the village for a long time, I am immortal." Naruto said simply, like being immortal wasn't that big of a deal to him.
He chuckled to himself at Anko's and Arashi's jaw drop expressions. They neared the temple, several Tenseigan Warriors stationed around it, protecting the planetary path to the moon. Anko followed after the Seikage, entering through the large arch entrance of the temple, which was at the top of a large number of stone stairs.
"I have matters to attend to here on the human world. If you will please enter into the path," Naruto spoke calmly. Anko was amazed by the room they were in, seeing the glowing greenish blue water lighting up Naruto's features in the dark room. Around them, sunlight streamed in as beams, showing the vines and flowers growing across the walls in elegant patterns, the water's surface produced light that flowed beautifully across the walls as the waves moved.
Naruto gestured forward, and one by one the Fūma clan hopped into the pond, Anko going with Arashi and Sasame. Naruto saw them through Deva's eyes as they exited out into the Planetary Path.
Deva would take the Fūma clan to their new compound, it wasn't entirely finished, but it was livable.
'I wonder how his and Anko's reunion will go…' Naruto mused, exploding into smoke before flowing out of the temple and toward Tsukino's mansion.
Gaara
The red-headed jinchuriki dodged out of the path of the flaming fireball. Rolling across the ground he flew through hand seals rapidly, unleashing several sharp blades of wind toward his sensei.
Gaara was currently in a spar with Itachi-sensei, the Initiate Training Center had finished for the day, and the two were sparring yet again. Gaara was determined to increase his other strengths, which is why his sand gourd was leaning against a tree at the edge of the training field.
Itachi's Sharingan blazed as he appeared behind Gaara, time froze for a moment before the Uchiha moved to kick the redhead. Gaara leaped and flipped in the air, shooting out a hand so that he was balancing on Itachi's extended leg.
The Jinchuriki brought a leg around rapidly, attempting to kick Itachi in the face, though the Uchiha leaned out of the way. Gaara dropped to the ground on his hands, having to flip to his feet to dodge the low kick at his arms.
Gaara twirled through the air, flipping at an angle to dodge Itachi's onslaught of strikes. Gaara brought an arm up rapidly and blocked the Uchiha's swing, immediately having to duck and dodge the kick for his chest.
Gaara dropped to his hands and swung his feet around close to the ground, making Itachi jump to avoid getting kicked. Gaara used the momentum to fling his body around and up into the air, flipping and attempting to drop kick his sensei.
Itachi's arm shot up in a claw and grabbed the redhead's ankle and immediately having to block the boy's other foot as it came for his shoulder.
Gaara's eye's narrowed as he swung his fist for Itachi's face though he disappeared a second before it connected. Gaara twisted in mid-air and landed on his feet, his pale green eye's searching for his sensei.
Leaning back suddenly he barely dodged the fist flying directly for his face, he tried to bend farther back and kick Itachi's chin, but he was already gone. Gaara immediately pushed off the ground with his hands, knowing that Itachi was behind him. His guess was correct as he dodged a kick that would have nailed him had he tried to get to his feet. Within the air, Gaara saw Itachi looking away, following his eyesight he spotted the On'nanoko on the edge of the training ground.
Gaara dropped to the ground lightly, seeing Itachi walking quickly to the On'nanoko who had her hands folded in front of her.
"Master requests you return to your house, someone wants to see you." The pale-skinned grey-haired doll informed, fading out of view a moment later.
"My apologies Gaara, I need to see what this is about," Itachi stated, getting a nod from the redhead.
"It was a good spar, you're improving greatly." Itachi complimented, the next moment disappearing in the Spirit style shunshin, a swirl of bright white lights.
Gaara walked over to his gourd, picking it up and sliding it on his back. 'I look forward to when my Spirit Seal matures, then I will no longer have to carry this thing.' He mused, running out of the training field and toward the village, intent on keeping his promise to Hanabi to take her out for Ramen.
Itachi
The black-haired Uchiha prodigy raced across the black cables strung throughout the Hidden Spirit. His Sharingan eyes darted around, taking in the other Masters, Adepts, and Initiates moving throughout the village.
He could sense the presence within his two-story home as he approached it, dropping to the street he opened the door, which had the Uchiha clan symbol painted on it. He hadn't decided if he ever wanted to recreate the Uchiha clan. He didn't want to think about his past… or Sasuke.
'Naruto said that he would offer him a place here in the Hidden Spirit, after explaining the truth behind that… night.' Itachi had given up a lot that night, his family, nearly his sanity, his relationship with his brother, and… his girlfriend. Only for the village to turn and stab him in the back, they used him without a care!
"Anko…" Itachi froze, unable to believe who was sitting on his couch. His sharp eyes rapidly took in her features, her short, spiky, violet fanned-ponytail. Her usual fitted mesh body suit that covered her from her neck down to her thighs. As always, over this, she wore a tan overcoat with a purple in-seam and a pocket on each side, along with a dark orange mini-skirt.
"Itachi-kun…" Both of them stared into each other's eyes, hundreds of emotions playing across their faces. His Sharingan faded away to coal black, both of them smiling happily, their chests constricting.
"I-I'm sorry Anko-chan… I… I didn't want to hurt you more…" Itachi said sadly, his head tilting down. The next instant he felt Anko hug him tightly, her head in his shoulder.
"I know why you did what you did Itachi-kun, and I don't blame you. I'm just so happy to see you again." Anko's voice was muffled by his shoulder, and he could feel her crying.
"I'm so happy to see you again too Anko-hime," Itachi replied softly, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend. Both of them stood in the living room, holding each other and crying in happiness.
"W-When I heard you'd joined Naruto… My mind finally became made up," Anko said warmly, holding on to her Uchiha tightly.
"One of the first things I asked Naruto was to invite you to join us, surprisingly I learned he'd already had," Itachi said happily. They separated and sat down on his couch, Anko leaning on him.
"I love you Anko-hime, it's so good to see you," Itachi whispered in her ear, making her sigh happily as she pulled him closer to her.
"I love you too Itachi-kun."
Next day
Anko, Itachi, and all of the Fūma clan, as well as Naruto, were in front of the Seikage Tree. They all stood in a large pavilion built in front of it, there were some other Spirit Nin around on the nearby buildings watching, including Rōshi.
"Anko if you will come here," Deva gestured for her to come. She reluctantly separated from Itachi's embrace and walked over. The village had been shocked when they all learned about Itachi's and Anko's relationship, Itachi having not told anyone other than Naruto. Hanabi specifically had been overjoyed, giving Anko a big hug. That was the thing about the Hidden Spirit, those that were "new" weren't viewed as being the new guy, but more as long lost relatives that have been missed badly.
Anko stopped in front of Deva, seeing the warmth in the Seikage's great purple eyes.
"Before we proceed with the Oath of Enlistment, I am going to remove your cursed seal. If you will pull down your sleeve." Deva said, smiling at the ecstatic expression on the woman's face. She immediately did so, and the Cursed Seal of Heaven on her shoulder was in clear view of everyone. On a nearby building, Yukimi frowned, knowing that the woman had to deal with the pain a lot longer than her.
Deva placed his palm on the seal and pulled. Coming with his hand was Orochimaru's soul, being pulled by his forehead out of the seal. Orochimaru's eyes were full of surprise and anger, a soundless scream coming from his mouth. Once he'd entirely pulled out the soul fragment, and everyone was able to see it, Deva absorbed Orochimaru with ease.
Everyone watched for a few minutes as the Seikage's face went through a large number of emotions in a brief amount of time. He eventually returned to his calm, turning to the recently appeared Gaara behind him.
Gaara had been given the official job of giving out the Oath of Enlistment to new members of the Hidden Spirit.
"Mitarashi Anko, you are here today to accept your Spirit Seal and swear allegiance to the Seikage, the village, and the principles this village is built on. Do you understand?" Gaara spoke, his voice containing a lot more emotion and happiness than it usually did. This was one of his favorite things, he loved being the one to accept people into the family officially.
"Hai," Anko's voice was determined, stern, and she looked into the pale green eyes of the Ichibi Jinchuriki without fear. She noticed the seal proudly displayed on the redhead's right wrist, a perfect circle which had large sand dunes and a bright sun within, it was beautiful.
"Lord Seikage, if you will."
Anko turned, seeing Deva come up to her and hold out his hand. Anko immediately understood. Itachi-kun had explained in great detail the process that had been created for joining the Hidden Spirit. Itachi watched with joy in his heart as he saw Deva place his palm on Anko's wrist, he and his love were finally together once more, and he was never going to let her go.
Anko felt a slight burning before Deva removed his hand, what she saw there amazed her. It was a perfect black circle like everyone else's, but within it were two black scythes of stunning beauty, around each scythe handle was wrapped a black snake.
Anko focused back on the world as Deva walked behind her, she pulled down her large coat collar, knowing what came next. Deva smiled at Itachi, seeing the delighted smile on the man's face. Placing his palm on Anko's neck he created the mental seal from his chakra, taking the form of an 8-point star Ōtsutsuki symbol. It faded away a moment later, still present, but not visible.
Deva walked over to Itachi, letting Gaara continued the proceedings.
"Repeat after me," Anko nodded, this was the Oath of Enlistment, something Itachi-kun had created.
"I, Anko Mitarashi, solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Village Hidden in Spirits against all enemies; that I will not judge or discriminate; and that I will obey the orders of the Seikage, and the orders of the Masters appointed over me." Anko held her wrist up as she spoke, proudly displaying her loyalty to the village. Gaara actually smiled, gesturing for her to step back.
"I will get her Itachi, but if I fail… you will not die." Naruto promised as he walked away from the Uchiha getting a nod as he passed Anko.
"Fūma Arashi… before we begin with your clan, I need to ask one of your members something." Arashi was confused by Naruto's statement but nodded, curious about what it was. Everyone watched in awe as the Seikage floated off the raised podium and toward one specific member of the Fūma clan.
"Kagerō," Deva spoke as he alighted softly on the ground in front of a grotesque, hunchbacked man with buck teeth. Everyone nearby watched curiously except those of the Fūma clan.
"Yes, Seikage-sama?" The hunchback man replied, looking up into the great eyes of the Ōtsutsuki with slight fear.
"Why do you hide?"
Everyone present became extremely confused, except those of the Fūma clan that were shocked. Hanabi on a nearby roof activated her Byakugan and stared hard at the man, able to see his form ever so lightly flickering.
Kagerō sighed, "My mother did not want me to be taken advantage of in war, so she gave me a jutsu to disguise myself. That way if I were captured, then they would just kill me instead of defiling me… It's something that happened to her…" The man spoke quietly, looking down and away from the Seikage.
"Kagerō, you do not have to hide anymore. You are among family here, and we will never allow such a thing to happen to you. You do not have to take your disguise off if you do not wish, but know that there is nothing you have to hide from here." Kagerō nodded in thanks, his eyes widening as he saw a small metal rod form in Naruto's hands.
He gingerly took the rod as the Seikage handed it to him, "If you are ever in danger Kagerō, stab this into your arm and I will summon you away. I can't promise that I won't always be in danger, but I will protect you." Naruto promised, seeing a smile and happiness in the man's eyes.
The next moment his form changed drastically, shifting into an entirely different person, losing the buck teeth and hunched back.
"She's beautiful," Rei murmured, getting an agreeing nod from Hanabi who was next to her on the roof. Kagerō had changed into her true form, she had beautiful mint green hair with two bangs that came down on the sides of her face. Her eyes were a beautiful full deep blue, pupil-less and Rei was sure there was an ocean in her eyes. She wore a simple white dress with only one strap across her right shoulder. Kagerō was a stunningly beautiful woman in Hanabi's honest opinion.
Deva smiled, he was much taller than the girl, and he realized that she most likely was around fourteen years old.
"Naruto-kun, she's got a bloodline, but it's horribly mangled… I can't tell if I invented the original piece of it or Āsut-kun did, it's a mess of several." Kaguya's voice was full of concern and sadness, Naruto's left eye shifted to the Byakugan, and he peered into the chakra pathways of the girl.
"Kagerō, we will have to delay your seal. You have a bloodline, and I need to immediately fix it, as it could take your life." Naruto stated firmly, getting several surprised looks from those around him.
Naruto slammed his palm on the ground next to him, causing an identical copy of him to appear.
"I will continue with the proceedings, Arashi if you will come to the podium." The newly arrived Naruto stated, walking up beside Gaara. Arashi nodded before stepping up, though he gave Kagerō a look of concern.
"Arashi, I'm not going to harm her. Her bloodline could kill her soon if I don't fix it," The newly arrived Naruto assured, he was the Human body and had been training when he was summoned. The Initiate Training Center was out today due to the new arrival of an entire clan. Arashi nodded, trusting the Seikage, Kagerō's mother had asked him to look after the girl, and he felt very responsible for her.
"Come with me Kagerō," Naruto held out his hand, the mint-haired girl placing her own white delicate one in it. Deva manipulated gravity around the to float them both up to the balcony of his office, everyone watching until they disappeared from sight.
"Is he always like that?" Anko whispered to Itachi, who had his arms around her as they watched the rest of the proceedings.
"Pretty much… He's almost always thinking about several things at once and can randomly change focuses on a dime. He's also always constantly working to restrain his chakra, which is more powerful than all the Bijū." Anko's jaw dropped a this, turning and looking up at Itachi who was taller than her.
The Uchiha rose an eyebrow in amusement, "When he relaxes his Yōkai, unless you're used to it, you can suffocate under the pressure and even die. You see, he's not even slightly human, he has chakra similar to ours, but that's where the similarities end… He controls chakra it in its raw form, which makes it nearly impossible to use any against him, he can directly control others chakra, and redirect attacks or absorb them. His physical age by human years is around nine, though, in reality, he is over three thousand years old. He uses his shapeshifting to look eighteen, as it just helps in dealing with others." Itachi spoke quietly, though he genuinely enjoyed the utterly gobsmacked look on Anko's face.
"He's that powerful? I mean, I know he's an SS-rank nin, but really?" Anko asked in disbelief.
"That's a fraction of what he can do, it won't be much longer before even if everything on earth attacked him, he would still win easily. He doesn't like to boast and usually doesn't tell people what he can do till it's needed. Says a great deal about his character, he's only gotten more mature and serious as the village has grown."
oOoOoOo
Within Naruto's office, he'd formed a low table on the floor from wood, having the girl lie down on it. Kagerō was surprisingly calm for what was happening, but Naruto didn't really know her, so that might just be who she was.
"Before I begin, do you want anyone here?" She shook her head no, Naruto nodded.
"Okay, you have a combination of several bloodlines that don't mesh together correctly. Using this bloodline can quite possibly kill you, or not, it really depends on a lot of unstable factors." Naruto stated, one of his eyes the Rinnegan and the other the Byakugan.
"I know, I created a technique, Kagerō Ninpō: Utakata. It gives me four firefly-like chakra wings and allows me to teleport among other things. I don't use it because it consumes so much chakra that I am almost dead afterward. I can quite possibly die from it if I don't stop it exactly." Kagerō said calmly, her deep ocean blue eyes staring into Naruto's.
"I understand, I will fix your bloodline so that you can use it without the side effects," Naruto said, placing both of his hands on both sides of Kagerō's head. 'Hopefully... this won't be too painful…'
1 week later
Naruto sighed, he was currently flying low to the ground as a double helix of black and white chakra. He was on his way to the Land of Water as a favor to his mother, she wanted to see what had happened to the ironically named Kaguya clan.
He'd been very busy lately, running his village, settling in the Fūma clan. Speaking of which Kagerō was fitting in quite well, she had learned that she could use her bloodline chakra wings all the time, and usually did. She and Fū were getting along very well, both of them being able to fly from wings made of chakra. He'd had to delay placing the seal on Kagerō for a few days as Kazumi-sensei worked out a specific variation for the girl's bloodline.
Naruto chuckled to himself, they'd invited him to have a race around the inside of the moon in a couple of days, Deva had accepted the challenge.
Kaguya had to stop teaching at the Initiate Training Center for a few days as Human was out on a mission. He'd taken Hanabi and Kawata with him for the assignment, as Hanabi had wanted to come with her father and wanted her friend to go as well.
Naruto focused back on the world zipping by him as he approached the Land of Water, he didn't know anything about the Kaguya clan. They quite possibly had been entirely wiped out in the bloodline wars many years ago.
It was only a few minutes later that Kiri came into view of his Byakugan, slowing down Naruto lowered closer to the ground, hiding within the mist. He needed to find any survivors, and perhaps offer them a place in the Hidden Spirit. His mother was very interested in the clan that had inherited her Bone Release.
"Naruto-kun, remind me to begin teaching you how to use the bloodlines," Kaguya remarked, getting a nod from her son as he formed together outside of the border of Kiri. His pale pupil-less eyes scanning across the land for any signatures that were similar to the Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse) signature.
Human
Hanabi and Kawata were whispering to each other as they rode on Naruto, who'd shape-shifted into a large sparrow. Even though Isaribi and Rei weren't there, they were still using the mental network to talk to each other. The system didn't have to just be used for missions and serious matters after all. The Initiates often used the mental parts to talk to each other, sometimes during class… Which didn't always work out well as teachers would usually notice.
'You know your dad's really weird Hanabi-chan?' Rei pointed out, having just heard a story from Hanabi about a time her dad had dodged questions… again, Hanabi just shrugged. Her father loved not giving straight answers to her questions and, saying that it helped her if she tried to figure it out herself.
'Sometimes, but dad is only trying to help me and make things more interesting, we are one day going to be shinobi, and he once said, "A life of taking other lives does not leave much to be desired."' Hanabi explained, her long brown hair whipping around her face. 'It's one of the reasons I want to become a medic, so I can save the lives of as many people as possible. I don't want to lose any of my friends if I can help it.'
'And it doesn't bother you that those skills you want to learn will be applied to ending lives as well?' Rei asked curiously, and Kawata stared at Hanabi's face in the real world, wondering what her response would be.
'Almost everyone dies Rei-chan, some peoples deaths are only delayed or hastened with their actions in life.' Hanabi's reply sounded like she was quoting someone. Rei, Isaribi, and especially Kawata could tell she wasn't happy with that fact.
'That is quite a cold truth, a sad but true fact. I'm sure that is one of the first things taught in any ninja training program.' Isaribi chipped in, currently practicing her water manipulation by a lake while talking to her friends.
'Some villages, like Kumo and Iwa, have that kind of system; but other villages sugar coat the life of a shinobi; they don't address killing in their academies because they don't want to turn people away from the ninja life, especially in times like these.' Human Naruto had keyed into the mental conversation wavelength they were talking on and had been for some time, just listening. There was a permission system of sorts developed by Kazumi a few months after the mental network was created. People kept appearing in mental conversations and just listening in. Now only Naruto and a few others could just burst their way into a mental 'chat room.'
'Times like what?' Three of the girls asked at the same time, Kawata just listened. The doll-like girl didn't talk much, and it wasn't because she was shy, but because she just didn't have much to say.
'Since the last Great Ninja War all of the major villagers have undergone disarmament processes; in times of peace, high caliber defenses are no longer necessary, so they are dismantled and reintegrated into the masses, as peacetimes dictate.' Naruto explained, remembering some of the lessons he had with Itachi-sensei and Kazumi-sensei. Both had worked hard to train him in the ways of the world, and with the help of his Rinnegan Beetles, he was really able to see it first hand. His summons almost everywhere, spying on just about everyone. It's why he was able to find Tsunade so quickly and now headed directly for her.
'I understand that,' Isaribi replied, it made sense, there wasn't as much demand for ninja, but the village leaders still needed a supply.
'I don't?' Rei stated, getting an agreement from Hanabi.
'With villages not producing ninja of a high standard… They require more low-level ones to bridge the gap that was left due to the disarmament, just in case of an attack.' Naruto continued on, he'd had to study these things extensively when they were deciding the policies for their own village. He needed the Hidden Spirit to support him in the war against his clan eventually, but he also wanted the village to be able to survive and not crumble from the inside.
'Attack from whom?' Hanabi inquired curiously.
"Human's are paranoid Hanabi-chan, Shinobi even more so because they have power. In their minds, there is always a threat of attack from anyone, which is why ninja are still trained even in peacetimes like these. On the flip-side, this is an excellent opportunity for bounty hunters and mercenaries as the need for skilled and efficient killers increases. It's cheaper to hire a mercenary to do a job then it is to wait for a ninja to be trained enough to do it. The elemental nations are all puppets to this design." Hanabi picked up on the annoyed but also sad tone in her father's voice.
'And that's what we're doing right dad? We're trying to break that design by taking jobs that mercenaries would, and doing it more peacefully… right?' Hanabi questioned, trying to understand.
'It's an attempt to fix that Hanabi-hime, there are some jobs mercenaries would take that I am not okay with Spirit Nin taking. Human's naturally are creatures of war, they crave power. The world peace that many humans desire is a fictional concept, and cannot truly exist. It may be acquired for a short amount of time, but humans will eventually fall back into war. It's an endless cycle, many bad things come with long-term peace, and the only way to fix them is by war.' Naruto explained, and Hanabi nodded in real life, not fully understanding but trusting her father.
'But you are attempting to create peace in a small area? Only for those that truly desire it.' Isaribi inquired curiously, Rei also listening intently.
'Hai, and if someone from our village decides to go against the peace that we have created, for whatever reason… Then they are free to leave, though I will remove their seal and specific memories.'
'None of our friends are going to leave… right?' Hanabi asked hopefully.
'Like with most things in life Hanabi, nothing is a certainty; but I certainly hope not.' The mood was somber as everyone thought about what Naruto had said, Isaribi and Rei eventually disappeared from the mental connections after saying goodbye.
'Hanabi-hime, Kawata-chan, we are approaching our destination.' Naruto informed the two girls, getting two mental nods in return. He could see the Sannin traveling on the road a few miles ahead. Next to her was a woman with black hair and carrying a pig.
'You will be coming with me Tsunade, you have the potential to do good, and you need a kick to realize that.' Naruto thought, tilting his wings slightly to begin his descent toward the Sannin.
Naruto
It had taken him a bit, but Naruto had eventually found a Kaguya within Kiri. But what he had found disgusted him, it made him want to flatten the entire village.
Looking through walls and deep underground, Naruto found a young teen with the Dead Bone Pulse bloodline. The teen was in a cell and restrained by a straight jacket. He was staring blankly at a wall in the dark in a dank and disgusting cell.
'Why is he down there?' Naruto was already phasing through the ground as he rapidly sank toward the level of the cell. A moment later he walked through the wall of the room, his pale eyes focused entirely on the shoulder length white-haired boy. He had pale skin, vivid green eyes, masculine facial features, and two scarlet dots on his forehead.
"Hello," Naruto spoke calmly, but the boy still jumped violently out of his straw bed, crashing into the wall and looking at him with extreme fear.
"W-Who are you!?" The boy cried, and Naruto could visibly see him trying to break the straight jacket. He noticed the Kaguya's distinct lack of chakra, seeing that it was sealed away. Appearing in front of the boy in an instant he absorbed the seal that was placed on the base of the kid's throat.
"M-My… my chakra…" He murmured, looking up with less fear toward Naruto.
"My name is Naruto Ōtsutsuki, I am here to help you if you wish." The next moment the straight jacket on the boy shredded to bits, revealing the boy's malnourished and bare chest.
"I-I am Kimimaro… Kaguya. I would like to escape, but I have nowhere to go…" He spoke frankly, popping his arms loudly as he moved them around.
"Why are you locked up here Kimimaro?" Naruto inquired, his mind connecting with the boys, it wouldn't do if Kimimaro lied to him after all.
"My clan was… naturally very violent, but a-after the war I was the only one left, only a few years old. I was put in an orphanage, and I stayed there until I was 11 years old." Kimimaro paused, coughing as he tried to clear his throat.
"I was attacked by bullies and accidentally killed them with my clan's bone bloodline. The village decided I was too dangerous, so they locked me up here… and forgot about me." Kimimaro stated plainly and near emotionlessly.
"I see, well, you are no longer alone Kimimaro," Naruto held up his arm, and several spikes of bones slid out of it, making the Kaguya's eyes widen in disbelief.
"How… I… I thought I was the last one," He murmured, looking in awe at the bones.
"In a way you are, your clan inherited the Dead Bone Pulse from mine. I will explain more in detail another time perhaps, but I need to know, what do you want Kimimaro?" Naruto asked, using his chakra to shatter the lock on the cell door, causing it to open slowly.
"I-I want peace…"
"That I think… is what everyone wants; in one form or another. I would like to offer you a place in my village, a place where no one is judged for their differences or history." Naruto said, offering his hand to the Kaguya. He was giving the boy a choice, he could accept his offer or walk out the cell door and escape. If he chooses the escape option, then Naruto would make sure that he made it out of the village and could fend for himself.
They both stared at each other for several moments, Kimimaro clearly thinking through his options.
"Please tell me more about your village…" Kimimaro said carefully, he froze as he felt something in his mind, an opening, a passageway of sorts. The next moment dozens of memories flowed through. He could see a village, a village that had hundreds of children learning, playing together. Some of the children were radically different from each other, one being covered in scales, another having only white eyes. He saw a giant ram creature playing with the children, many of them climbing up on top of it and trying to run from it's tentacles while laughing.
Kimimaro stumbled backward as the memories stopped, not only from the rush but from his lack of strength. He began to feel light-headed, wobbling in place. Naruto caught the boy as he began to fall, keeping him from crashing into the wall.
"S-sorry… but… I would like to j… join…" Kimimaro said shakily and coughing, his head pounding. He rarely did any physical activity in his cell, not expecting to ever leave it.
"Very well Kimimaro, I am going to bring you there, and you can eat and sleep. Once you are feeling better we will talk," The Kaguya nodded slowly, his eyes closing as his body shut down on him. Naruto was somewhat confused as to why the boy was so weak but guessed that he might very well be sick. The cell was a grungy and dank place, spider webs in several areas with little to no light.
Naruto formed a chakra rod before carefully inserting it into Kimimaro's arm, and he disappeared a second later in a puff of smoke. Naruto's Byakugan began to scan everywhere around him, he was tempted… oh so tempted to burn this village. They threw a child in jail for merely being different, he had thought that the newest Mizukage was different, but apparently not.
Naruto sighed, calming himself down before bursting into smoke and rising through the ground rapidly.
oOoOoOo
"Again!"
He charged in fast, throwing a hard right hook. His opponent easily dodged out of the way, slamming her own right fist into his side. He crashed to the ground, wheezing painfully from the strike.
"You are a disgrace, with your skills I can't gauge my own and improve! You are incapable of learning anything from failing constantly. I only agreed to this because I thought it would help me improve. But I've obviously gotten so much stronger than you, that you can't keep up! I've wasted enough time on you, leave now!" He'd gotten to his feet by now, glaring at her hatefully, and her eyes narrowed in return.
"I said," He was to slow, unable to dodge her attack, "LEAVE!"
She slammed her palm into his chest, and he knew it was an almost fatal attack point from the Gentle Fist, it was clear by how much pain he was in. He flew several yards through the air before crashing to the ground, he barely heard her huff in annoyance.
"You better be out of my training ground before I return with a new partner, Uchiha! Or I'll try the new technique I learned on you!" Hinata Hyūga, arrogant princess of the clan, spun on her heel before vanishing inside the Hyūga compound next to the training field. Sasuke groaned as he got to his feet, his black and blue colored hair covered in dirt.
He strained as he got to his feet, he'd been humiliated by the Hyūga heiress again… Sasuke knew that he looked terrible, his regular appearance ruined, his face an assortment of colors. Blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth, flowing slowly over the bruised skin covering his body.
Sasuke sighed, wincing from the pain of such a simple action. He couldn't beat Hinata, and this had been his final attempt. Limping painfully he made his way toward the exit of the Hyūga land.
He knew why he kept coming back, even though he lost to Hinata every time. He'd tried to tell himself it was because he was going to prove he was better than her, but he knew that she was better than him. No, he kept coming back because every time she beat him to a paste, he felt… clearer. He could think, it didn't feel like things were weighing down on him. He had come to realize that the Uchiha were arrogant, that he was being belittled and having everything handed to him.
'I just naturally assume that everyone is beneath me, it took Hinata who shouldn't have been able to beat me in my mind, beating me to make me see the flaws in that thinking.' Sasuke left the compound, heading toward the hospital once more to get healed.
oOoOoOo
One blonde Sannin was on edge, she could sense an enormous power near her. But she couldn't precisely locate it, and it was bothering her. Both she and her assistant and student were on guard in case of an attack.
Tsunade and Shizune had left one of the many villages within the Land of Fire, heading toward another on the opposite side. The debt collectors had caught up with her again, and she was forced to bail.
The two of them walked down the dirt road between the large trees that covered the Land of Fire, their eyes darting around constantly.
"Lady Tsunade," They immediately looked toward the voice. Their eyes widened in shock as they found three people directly ahead of them, none of them having been there just a second before. Tsunade tightened her fist, preparing to fight.
The oldest one in front of them had ashen skin, one eye the Byakugan with the other being purple and ringed, as well as trimmed eyebrows. He had long shaggy white hair with a bandaged bang on the right side of his face, he wore a large white cloak with black under clothing. The most distinctive feature were the six horns coming from the sides of his head, three on each side and lined up above his ears. Attached to his back was a giant red scythe with three blades. 'He looks extremely similar to the Shiroi Oni's description in the Bingo book, but he's much older.'
On the Shiroi Oni's left was a young girl, who looked to be four or five years old. She wore a white cloak with golden lining over an olive green kimono. She had long brown hair, some of it falling over her right eye and hiding it. Her one visible eye was pale and pupil-less.
On the right was another young girl with long wavy grey hair, she had pale skin and emotionless pale blue eyes. She also wore a white cloak with golden lining.
"What are you doing here…" Tsunade questioned warily, prepared to fight if need be. She knew who she was facing, and from the reports, rumors, and statements in the Bingo Book, he could supposedly kill her instantly.
"I've come to offer you a deal," He replied calmly, his one Byakugan eye return to his Rinnegan.
"What kind of deal?" Tsunade questioned suspiciously.
"I assume you know who I am, you are, after all, preparing to pummel me into the ground," Naruto remarked calmly, though Tsunade didn't react to him noticing the chakra build up in her arms and legs.
The Seikage sighed, wondering if this would go over as well as he wanted it too.
"I have created my own village, and I wish for you to be the head medic there." Human immediately knew that this was not going to end well…
"No."
Naruto was about to respond and attempt to get the woman to hear him out when his daughter spoke up.
"You aren't even letting dad talk! How can you refuse when you don't even know anything about our village!" Hanabi yelled, staring angrily at the legendary blonde.
Tsunade's attention was fully drawn to the girl, and she realized who she was. The secret of the Hyūga head's daughter being kidnapped by the Shiroi Oni had finally broken, the clan no longer able to cover it up. She'd heard about it a few months ago, and she realized that this girl was Hanabi.
"I'm not joining you… among other reasons, your 'dad' is an SS-rank Nin, and I don't trust him at all." Tsunade retorted flatly, she was hoping that they could get out of this situation without a fight.
"I know about you, Itachi-sensei taught us about all the Sannin. I know why you left the Leaf, you didn't like the memories! You're weak!" Hanabi declared, her voice full of anger and her Byakugan activating. Naruto rose an eyebrow at his daughter's actions but decided to see how this would play out. Kawata just watched quietly, prepared to defend her mistress if she was in danger.
"How dare you brat!" Tsunade yelled in reply, pissed off by the girl's insult. Shizune was just watching the whole proceeding in shock, her teacher was stupidly getting into a fight with a young girl. Said girl's dad an SS-rank nin standing right there.
"Hanabi," Naruto spoke quietly, but his voice clear. The young girl immediately stopped, her Byakugan deactivating.
The Ōtsutsuki clan head sighed, turning back to the Sannin. "Allow us to start over. I am Naruto Ōtsutsuki-Kaminoki and the leader of a new village of one year. I don't mean either of you any harm, I only wish to talk."
Tsunade was clearly suspicious and didn't trust him at all, and he couldn't blame her. He was a criminal all around the Elemental Nations, but he needed her to listen to him.
"I know you said no, but I wish you would reconsider joining me. One of my good friends has an illness that I cannot cure, and one of my newest students has a similar one." Naruto added on suddenly, getting the information from Deva who'd been looking at Kimimaro with Kazumi.
Tsunade decided she might as well as hear the Shiroi Oni out, she wasn't really keen on finding out if she could beat the shinobi.
"And how exactly do you think you are going to make this worth my time and effort? Why would I leave the Leaf and join you?" Tsunade asked, honestly curious to hear his response.
"Well, first of all, you do not really have any real loyalty to the Hidden Leaf. You use your rights as a Sannin to travel anywhere within the Land of Fire except Konoha…" Naruto remarked, noticing the grimace on the blonde woman's face.
"Besides that, I would be willing to pay off all your outstanding debts." Tsunade immediately snorted, disbelief evident on her face.
"Yeah right! You have any idea how much debt I have to my name? There is no way you could ever pay that all off." Tsunade sneered, and Naruto noticed from the corner of his eye, his daughter shaking.
"Shut up!" Hanabi yelled, glaring at Tsunade and drawing the sannin's attention to her once more.
"You're gonna come back with us! I will not let Itachi-sensei die just cause you don't believe us! Our village is a family, we all care about each other, we all look out for each other without judgment!" Hanabi yelled, stalking forward toward the Sannin.
"Itachi-sensei and Anko-chan are happy, and I don't want that to end just because you won't come to heal him! I don't want Itachi-sensei to die!" Hanabi declared, Naruto smiled at his daughter, proud of her.
"Sucks, life isn't fair." Tsunade deadpanned, not at all impressed or intimidated by the Hyūga. She was definitely wary of the Shiroi Oni, but the girl was not a threat to her.
'Tou-san… can you do your eye thing? Can you show her home?' Hanabi asked, knowing that she'd somewhat messed up by blowing up again. Naruto just smiled, proud of his daughter for standing up and trying to help Itachi and Anko.
'Hai, one moment though,' Naruto replied, his daughter backing up beside him once more.
"You may be right Lady Tsunade, I might not be able to pay off all your debts. In that case, I would be willing to offer you a place to hide from everyone that's hunting you for their money within my village. You would be able to set up a medical training course for my ninja like you wanted to do in the Hidden Leaf, but were denied." Naruto knew he hit a sore spot when Tsunade's pupils contracted, she was good at not showing any weakness, but he saw it.
"I still refuse," Tsunade insisted, on the edge of attacking him, regardless of how powerful he was.
"I would at least like you to see what you are refusing…" Tsunade looked directly at the Shiroi Oni's face, wanting to see what his expression was. By the time her mind had processed it, it was too late. Human's left eye was the Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Tsukuyomi."
Tsunade blinked several times before her vision cleared, finding herself in the middle of a street, several brownstone buildings on each side of her. She twisted around, trying to rapidly figure out where she was.
"Calm thyself Tsunade, I'm not attacking you." Tsunade whirled toward the voice, finding Naruto standing calmly in front of her, both his eyes pale and pupil-less.
"I simply wish to show you my village, as I did Mitarashi Anko sometime ago," Naruto said, turning and walking down the street. Tsunade tried to break the genjutsu by flaring her chakra, but it had no effect. She decided to follow after him, there wasn't anything else she could do.
oOoOoOo
"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune yelled as the blonde suddenly collapsed to her knees, breathing heavily. Her sensei had been looking at the Shiroi Oni when she froze before collapsing.
"I-I…" Tsunade stammered, trying to get to her feet as Shizune fussed over her, the raven-haired apprentice also drew senbon, about to throw them at Naruto.
"Stop Shizune… just stop…" Tsunade took several deep breaths before standing up, staring at the impassive face of the Seikage, his daughter and Kawata next to him. She'd been within Naruto's Genjutsu world for the last three days, and he'd shown her everything that he'd created, explaining how his village worked.
She remembered a part of their conversation, one of their last ones in the Genjutsu world. She'd been put off with how much Naruto knew about her life, how she had lost her love Dan, and Nawaki…
She'd attacked him, angry at him for bringing such things up. Of course, she'd had no effect on him physically, it being a Genjutsu world after all.
"What would you know about loss?!" She'd yelled in anger, attempting to punch him and instead going right through him and hitting a building, shattering it.
"I grew up in Suna with my adoptive parents… They tried to hide me and my differences from others, wanting to protect me from harm. One day it got out, and a few weeks later several villagers came to our home. I watched my parents die before me, unable to do anything! My real father was able to comfort me somewhat during those days, not able to fully connect with me. I was hated and scorned by the villagers in Suna, Shinobi and villagers alike trying to kill me near constantly." He'd said, emotion seeping into parts of his speech. He hadn't moved once as she tried to flatten him with a wall she'd ripped out of a building.
"I know what it is like to lose loved ones, and it's not an easy thing. But you are holding onto the pain, not dealing with it, not letting it go!" Naruto said, walking through the wall of a building she'd chucked at him. She knew that she couldn't hurt him here, knew that he was in complete control, but she didn't care.
"Stop," Tsunade froze immediately, unable to move as Naruto walked in front of her.
"The pain of their passing doesn't ease if you can't accept and move on, neither of those whom you loved would have wanted you to remember them like this. They'd have wanted you to live your life to the fullest so that when you do die… you will be able to meet your loved ones with a smile, tell them that you did everything you wanted to in life, instead of shedding tears of sadness and sorrow." Tsunade stopped trying to move, Naruto's words worming into her head and heart.
"I will not force you to join me Tsunade, I do have people in my village that need medical help, and I believed from what Itachi told me that you might want to join us. I wanted you to be fully aware of what my offer entailed before you decided… My daughter also wants you to join, she looks up to you as an idol of strength when she learned about you. She will never admit it, but she would die to get a chance to train under you so that she could use that knowledge to help as many people as she could." Naruto sighed, allowing Tsunade to move again. The blonde Sannin was staring at the ground, thinking about everything he was saying.
"I will give you twenty-four hours to decided Tsunade, if you wish to leave the Genjutsu before then, then just say you refuse, and I will drop it after erasing your memories of us ever meeting." With that the Seikage had faded out of view, she'd then sat down on a crushed building and spent an entire day thinking it through.
Tsunade was pulled out of her recollection as Hanabi spoke up, "I'm sorry for getting upset Lady Tsunade," The brown-haired girl said respectfully, giving a bow to her.
Tsunade stared at them for a few moments before sighing, "Shizune, stand down, we are going with them."
"What?!"
"I'm tired of running, Naruto is right… I've wasted too much of my life away… Refusing his offer would be one of the dumbest things I have ever done, he is offering me a second chance at my life with no strings attached. I'd be an idiot to refuse, and what would I even do if I did? Go on and waste more money? Keep running from tax collectors and waste my life away? I'm done, and I'm taking Naruto up on his offer. Besides I would like to teach Hanabi as well, she has a commendable dream." Tsunade said, completely serious.
Naruto smiled softly, Kawata next to him being completely still and quiet like she had the entire time. Hanabi, on the other hand, leaped up and down in excitement.
"I'm gonna learn to smash holes in the ground, ha!" Hanabi cheered as she punched the air, making Naruto chuckle and a smiling Tsunade burst out laughing.
"I look forward to teaching you how to do so," Tsunade said, smiling. She and Shizune were shocked as Hanabi ran over before leaping up, and hug tackling Tsunade in mid-air.
Tsunade's expression clearly displayed her disbelief and shock as Hanabi hugged her happily, yelling her excitement that she was joining the family.
Shizune was still frozen in shock when Tsunade set Hanabi down, turning to her assistant and student.
"What about you Shizune? I know that Naruto didn't show you everything he showed me… I want you to know that I'm okay with you taking a different path if you wish," Tsunade said kindly, Naruto had pointed out how loyal and loving her assistant was too her. Willing to follow her around on her pointless travels and look after her, keeping her from making horrible decisions.
"Are you kidding? Someone has to look after you; otherwise, you aren't gonna get any work done!" Shizune stated firmly after she got over her shock, she hadn't been apart of the Genjutsu world. So to her, her sensei had suddenly completely changed her opinion in a few moments. "As long as you are okay with me coming…" Shizune added nervously.
"That's completely fine by me. If you hop on, we will go." As Naruto spoke he backed up, Kawata moving a bit away as well. His form began to rapidly change and turn black, in a few seconds he was a giant black sparrow. Hanabi and Kawata were quick to comply, Hanabi jumping onto Naruto's bird head though Tsunade and Shizune were far more skeptical.
"Come on, I don't bite, it's perfectly safe. I'll even slow down so you don't faint from the gravitational force you'd normally feel." Both Med Nins shared a look before leaping onto Naruto's back. A few moments later Naruto beat his wings hard and lifted off into the air, beginning the trip to the Land of Bears.
"Tell me more about Itachi?" Tsunade inquired, one of the things Naruto wanted her to join for was to heal the Uchiha.
"He has some sort of long-term disease, it will cut his life short and is making him go slowly blind, which using his Mangekyo also does. He takes medication for it, but it's slowly killing him," Naruto replied, his voice sounding somewhat disembodied. Hanabi was staring at the land as it flew past them from her spot on her fathers head, sitting nearby was Kawata
"Who are you?" Shizune asked the silent grey-haired girl.
"I am Kawata, Hanabi's personal servant and an On'nanoko,"
"Personal servant? On'nanoko?" The raven-haired medic asked in confusion, Kawata's emotionless stare somewhat unsettling.
"Kawata-chan is a puppet, but she's her own person and my friend. She was made my servant by Toneri-sensei." Hanabi replied, not realizing that her explanation didn't really make sense.
"She's a puppet? Then who is controlling her?" Tsunade asked in confusion, looking at the pale-blue eyed girl.
"The Tenseigan, an object of extreme power that my brother created three thousand years ago. The Tenseigan is a hive mind made up of hundreds of puppets, each of the puppets has their own individualism but don't usually act on it, Kawata here was encouraged by my daughter to embrace her individualism, and they became friends." Naruto explained, one pale eye looking back at the people on his back.
"Wow..." Shizune murmured, getting an agreeing nod from her sensei
"So, where are we headed to now?" Tsunade asked curiously.
"I'm taking us back to my village before leaving again. Don't worry too much though… I'll explain everything when you get to my office in the village." Naruto replied, now having his large bird head facing forward.
"Wait… How are you going to explain if you are leaving immediately after?" Shizune asked in confusion, unsure if he'd just spoken wrong or…
"Dads got multiple bodies, he's actually in the Land of Water I think..." Hanabi looked up at the sky, assuming that adorable thinking look children do.
"Dad has a lot to deal with as Seikage of the Hidden Spirit, his Rinnegan lets him control multiple bodies at the same time. He told me that a leaders place is out on the battlefield, not being protected at a desk… but that taking care of your people's everyday needs is also important." The brown-haired Hyūga-Ōtsutsuki said, able to sense her father smiling.
"I am the Human body, for I am in charge of the Human path of the Rinnegan. The Deva body is back in the village… currently dealing with taking care of a new initiate. The real me is in the Land of Water at the moment… My mother taught me a technique to split my mind into multiple parts, so while I am Naruto, I am separate from the original while still in the same mind." Naruto explained, knowing he'd just confused them by their expressions.
"How is that even humanly possible? The mind shouldn't be capable of something like that," Tsunade exclaimed in confusion.
"I'm not even slightly human if that explains it. I am part Kaminoki and part Ōtsutsuki…" Naruto replied, trailing off.
"What does that mean? What is a Ōtsutsuki and Kaminoki?" Shizune inquired, guessing that both were some sort of alien race, Naruto looked similar to humans, besides the horns that is.
"Dad's dad is a giant tree!" Hanabi exclaimed excitedly, getting utterly confused looks from the two medics.
"I am sorry to interrupt, but I've been spotted," Naruto informed, his one Byakugan eye trained on the people beneath them. 'Four people…two male, two female… they are Leaf village ANBU, two with purple hair, one with silver and one with brown.' Naruto analyzed.
"Who is it?" Tsunade asked, peering over the edge of Naruto's wings.
"Leaf ANBU, they're following us," Hanabi said seriously, her one visible eye staring off at nothing though the veins around her eyes were pulsed.
"We will have to lose them; otherwise they'll be able to determine where we're headed and I do not want Konoha shinobi knocking on my door any time soon." Hanabi immediately channeled chakra to her feet, knowing what her father was about to. Tsunade and Shizune were not prepared as the Seikage's wings suddenly became covered in fire.
"Fenikkusu no honō no tsubasa (Flaming Wings of the Phoenix)" Naruto murmured as he beat his wings hard, the flames fanning out majorly as they dropped toward the ANBU.
"Look out!" The ANBU with brown hair yelled, doing a 180 and leaping away from the massive blanket of flames dropping from the sky. His three teammates also turned, barely escaping the fire.
"That was close… It's gone now… Did anyone make out the people on the bird?" The silver-haired ANBU inquired, annoyed that they couldn't follow the bird, which he was pretty sure was the Shiroi Oni. Not only was the bird not visible, but a large amount of the forest in front of them was on fire, they would have to put it out or risk a massive forest fire.
"Two young girls, and two older ones, I could be mistaken, but I thought I saw Tsunade's trademark attire one on of them." One of the ANBU replied, already finishing seals for a water jutsu that they aimed at the roaring fire, the Captain froze.
"That's not good, we need to report to the Hokage ASAP," He ordered. They all nodded before stepping up their efforts to stop the fire, not needing a giant forest fire if possible, it was a dry day too.
Elsewhere a small horned beetle buzzed through a forest in the Land of Water, its purple ringed eyes darting around trying to find its target. It had been created by its master to find the 6-tail host, and it along with 300 other beetles were searching.
The beetle's attention was drawn to it's left as a large tree went flying past it. Naruto's attention was immediately drawn to it's specific view as it focused in on it's target, a battered 6-tails host, the chakra of Saiken-chan clearly flowing through him.
Original Naruto changed course on a dime, heading straight toward the location the beetle was transmitting to him. Naruto's helix strands twirled around each other rapidly as he approached the location of the 6-tail host.
Utakata
A while before
The brown-haired jinchuriki was cursing his luck, again. Kiri hunter-nin had found him once more, and he had been forced to run from his cave, and he'd just fully set up too.
'They all just stopped… their chakra is gone, did they die or are they masking it?' Utakata thought, suddenly no longer able to sense the six hunter shinobi that had been hot on his tail.
Utakata ran for the next half hour, unwilling to believe that he was in the clear. He eventually did stop in a clearing, taking a short breather as he focused on his senses, trying to find anyone pursuing him.
He was in a misty clearing, a usual occurrence within the Land of Water. The trees were full and bowled, casting even deeper shadows in conjunction with the mist.
"You have been a tough person to find…" Utakata whirled toward the voice, unable to see or sense anything in the shadows. He pulled out his pipe, readying it.
"I'll make this quick," Utakata leaped back as shadow tendrils shot out of the darkness. As soon as he landed he realized that he couldn't move, he could feel and see shadows climbing up his body.
"I'm glad that I copied Kyū's jutsu; otherwise this would be much harder." Utakata strained against the shadows, finding himself utterly unable to move.
A second later a man stepped out of the shadows, solid darkness seemed to follow him, wisps of it rising and falling across his form. He wore a large black cloak and hood, everything in fact on the man was entirely black. His face not at all visible, and he seemed to emanate darkness itself.
He raised his hands before sliding off his hood, his face coming into view. He had black hair which was tied into a short, high-top ponytail. He also has a goatee and dark-green markings underneath his eyes. His ears were also pierced, and there were three scars from the top right of his face to the bottom left, looking like claws were sliced across his face.
"W-Who are you! What do you want with me?!" Utakata strained to talk, shadow tendrils wrapping around his chest and throat. He could feel his Bijū's anger rising as he was unable to escape the man's shadows.
"I am Nara Ensui…" The man spoke calmly, beginning to go through hand seals. Utakata's eyes widened as he recognized those exact seals… the pain that had followed.
"NO!" Ensui leaped back, disappearing into the shadows as Utakata release a large amount of chakra, sending trees flying and shattering the shadows binding him.
Utakata didn't see the large black tendril that slammed into him, sending him flying into a tree and breaking it, continuing on into yet another tree.
"GRAHHHH!" The light-grey wispy chakra surrounding Utakata began to solidify, sticking to Utakata's skin and dripping. His eyes disappeared, and his mouth became much larger, strands of the grey material attaching his top and bottom lips.
Utakata dodged out of the way of a shadow tendril at high speed, seeing several spikes ahead of him he reared back, a large grey sphere forming in front of his mouth. The orb flew forward into the sharp shadow spikes, obliterating them.
A barrage of shadow tendrils darted out toward the enraged jinchuriki, attempting to latch on to him. Utakata was able to overpower the strength of many of them, but there were just too many.
Utakata began to be pulled down before another tail grew behind him, adding to the two other fat grey ones behind him. All the tendrils faded away as the Jinchuriki overpowered them, in that instant Ensui appeared out of the shadows behind him.
The Nara slammed his palm into the pack of Utakata's head, applying a Yōkai suppressant seal that he had designed himself. The grey humanoid creature that Utakata had turned into fell to it's knees, screeching loudly as the grey matter receded into Utakata's stomach.
A few moments later the Jinchuriki collapsed to the ground on his face, completely passed out. Ensui smirked slightly before walking toward the Jinchuriki, intent on taking him to a safer place before using the Tērubīsuto jokyo gijutsu (Tailed Beast Removal Technique) to move the beast into himself.
Ensui froze as he felt constricting pain, unable to move, his eyes darted around frantically. His sharp mind analyzing everything rapidly, 'Troublesome…'
"Shiroi Oni, I didn't plan on you being here," Ensui stated as calmly as he could, his guess was proved correct as a man cloaked in white with a white hood appeared in his vision. The Shiroi's arm was outstretched toward him, his hand in a gripping position.
"You obviously know who I am, but who are you?" Naruto inquired, prepared to kill the man instantly should he try anything. His pale Byakugan was scanning the man constantly, looking for any danger.
"Ensui Nara… also known as Roku, the sixth member of the Seijō-ki," Ensui said calmly. He had planned to never meet the Shiroi Oni, knowing that the boy who killed their members was way stronger than him, and could easily kill him. 'This is the end I suppose, the chances of him letting me go are non-existent.'
"I see," Naruto ripped the man's chakra out, staring at the man as he toppled to the ground in a heap. 'He had a bloodline mother, but I do not recognize it.'
Kaguya turned her attention to Naruto's main body, seeing the chakra signature that Naruto was staring at. "It's the Shadow Release, I thought it had gone extinct, it's a bloodline the Nara's have. I really had thought it had all died out, amazing that someone would still have it so many years later." Kaguya mused, Naruto having already moved to the side of the unconscious Jinchuriki.
'He's okay, though he's got chakra exhaustion and strain, all the Yōkai in him was suddenly forced to retreat, and that's not good for someone's pathways.' Naruto mused, a black rod forming in his palm, he slid it into the Jinchuriki's arm.
A moment later they both disappeared in two puffs of smoke, leaving the Nara to be eaten by animals.
Next day
Tsunade groaned as she sat up, having had a late night staying up and looking at the 6-tails host. He should wake up today, and she still needed to examine Itachi and Kimimaro today.
"Uhg…" She groaned, getting out of her new bed. Naruto had given her a prebuilt 3-story house, and Shizune had gotten the one right next to her.
"Now where is Tonton?"
END CHAPTER - 12,462 words
There is a 3 year time skip next chapter, many things happen between now and then. But they aren't specifically crucial to the story, I am also going to begin writing the story that tracks what happens in those three years from the Initiates and Adepts point of view.
Also be aware that from this point on, there is really nothing on earth that is stopping Naruto. He is the weapon to defend Earth and Earth can not control him, he will still need to go around and collect some last parts of his father's power and gain the Kyūbi's chakra, but other than that… spoilers
The new story will be called Spirit Nin Chronicles and most likely is already on the website, please go give it a read. I had so much I wanted to include in this story that I realized it was just too much, so I decided to form it into multiple stories instead. BE AWARE: Future chapters will be more based around the story moving forward and less on the family aspect, that part of the Spirit Village family is what the Spirit Nin Chronicles will be based around, in which I will have Adepts go out and complete missions, etc. Naruto will still be in that story, he just won't be the main character, and it will more be based around Hanabi. By the time you're reading this I've written a few chapters, 20 and beyond, that will have references to things that happen in SNC.
By the time this chapter is posted, I've most likely already begun two other stories in this universe.
Enter Nakada Uzumaki and Spirit Nin Chronicles, I also have some other ideas, but I don't know what my progress will be on those at the time.
Ephemeral Mayfly: A story following Kagerō's life from being born up to when she joins the Spirit Village, showing the development of her Kekkei Genkai and the loss of her parents. Living in the Fūma clan and a story of the civil war that happens in the Land of Rice Paddies.
I'd also like to create a story around Takai Uzumaki, perhaps him going on to eventually recreate the Uzumaki clan, we will see…
I am open to other storyline ideas, or even if some authors would like to write stories in my universe, up to you. I would love to sit down and talk about it if anyone is interested, PM me :D
Answers to reviews:
Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Thank you and I am sorry this chapter took so very long to come out with. This will be the last COTK chapter for a while until I get a good outline of SNC, as I want them to match up as flawlessly as possible. I know you have already found SNC as you posted the first review, thank you for that by the way. Thank you for all of your support, it's helped me to get back into writing even with the school pressure.
Zaralann: I honestly don't know how to answer that. Most people get mad when Orochimaru is killed cause they seem to think he was like the only good villain or something.
Skfff: Glad you enjoyed the chapter, and we shall see about the village shall we? It's definitely going to have some struggles. Nothing is perfect and I have no desire to write a perfect village.
Doomqwer: Glad you liked that little interaction, and I am glad you enjoyed the parts with Nakada, even though he didn't. What are your thoughts on the parts about Anko in this chapter? I hope you enjoyed the uhh, surprise/plot twist?
StrikerTheFallen: Danka danka, hope you enjoyed. Sorry for it being really freaking late.
Shapeshifter340: Soon as possible is right, glad you enjoy it.
Link: Thank you for the compliments, and I think you misunderstood. The actual physical delete key on my keyboard was malfunctioning and I couldn't use it. Which meant that I could make 0 mistakes in writing because I couldn't delete, (Yes I know about other ways that are a pain) so I couldn't write.
Henrypotter152: School sucks man, really does. Lots and lots of stupid work for the sake of work and lazy teachers who make you watch videos cause they are too lazy to teach themselves. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, check out SNC on my profile.
Naruto: You got it, boss!
Xirons20: I am answering all of your reviews together and then google translating it for you, so I am sorry if there are any errors. I'm happy to hear that you liked the beginning of the story. I really did try to give this story a solid base to stand on, and things to build on later. Yes, the bijū will work with Naruto peacefully, as he is their uncle and honestly, way more powerful than them. At the chapter you left this they could beat him, but with his parents help the Bijū would be crushed. Yes, Minato is the son of Madara, this whole aspect of the story was from… attempt three of my writing, in fact, Nakada himself is just the Naruto from attempt three remade into this story with some changes. The whole backstory for Minato and Madara can be found in "Enter Nakada Uzumaki" on my profile. Thank you for your great compliments about Naruto's reunion with his parents. Your comment about other worlds is very acute, and you might be on to something, but spoilers. Keep reading if you want to see Naruto build his village. Your comment about him training is spot on, but I didn't want him to have all the advantages. I wanted you as a reader to be on edge about how he will come out of the situations. As to creating anything, yeah possibly, but the issue is it's made of chakra, so it could be absorbed by those that can.
MawaMage: Thank you! I really am trying my best to take already known characters and breathe a new life into them, which is my main goal with SNC, though I'm having a few difficulties with the actual plot, but yeah. Sorry for the long delay.
And that's all folks!
*Play looney toons outro*