And here we have chapter XIII, which brings us past 80k words. Chapter XV was going to be 10k, but I may make it a bit longer to get us to that 100k milestone.
As usual, thanks goes to ncpfan for his help.
There's nothing else I can think to say, so let's enjoy the show, ne?
The seal rippled and glowed as his finger brushed over pink flesh. Naruto could only imagine how much of a pain in the ass it must have been to first apply the seal upon such sensitive flesh. As the glow faded and he pulled back his hand Sai looked at him quizzically.
"It's done." Claimed Naruto, much to the other boy's disbelief.
"What? Don't believe me? Try saying something, something you would have never been able to say before. I don't know what else the seal does, but you should be able to talk now. We can change everything else later."
Shooting Naruto a suspicious look, Sai complied. Taking a deep breath he tentatively spoke. "S-Shimura Danzou has been conducting business with Orochimaru." Dark eyes widened as the words spilled easily from his lips.
"You did it." He muttered. "You actually changed his seal." Sai looked at Naruto with awed wonder, as if he were gazing upon a legendary shinobi of old come back from the grave.
"I told you I could." As confident as he sounded, Naruto was relieved that it had actually worked as he had wanted it to, which meant he really had figured out- in the simplest of senses- how this seal of his worked. To think, he possessed the ability to change seals however he wished within his hand. It was actually a bit terrifying. Seals could do absolutely anything if one had proper knowledge, so how much did his seal know and how? He'd have to test the limits latter to see exactly what he could accomplish.
"And the other parts, you can change them too?"
"I can, if I know what they are. Whether I will or not, however, still has yet to be decided."
Sai nodded in acceptance. "Yes, yes, of course. You still no nothing about me, about us." He had to stop when Naruto raised a brow. "Ah, you don't even know how many bear that seal, do you? Come, let's go somewhere we can talk about this more comfortably."
"After you." Naruto gestured to the door as he stepped aside. It would seem he had not forgotten that the young man he was in the room with had recently tried to kill him.
He heard the girl's voice as Sai stepped into her view. "About time you got back, how long does it take to dispatch a single-" She froze as she saw him follow the boy down the last few steps. "Y-you didn't kill him?" She whispered in disbelief, her dispassionate frown slipping to show her shock.
Sai took a quick glance around the shop before answering, making sure no one was there to overhear what he was about to let slip from his tongue. "Shimura Danzou has been meeting Orochimaru and assisting him in the creation of Otogakure."
A sharp intake of breath was her reaction.
"It would seem a very valuable ally has wandered into our humble shop this day." Was the pale boy's way of explaining the matter. "There is much to be discussed, we'll be in the main room. Make sure no one else enters."
She gave a nod and Naruto once again found himself following Sai into unfamiliar territory.
His hand rested itself upon Mōryō's Tooth, just in case.
Behind the counter was a small room, empty save for a table with two chairs and a small bookcase, atop which rested a small potted plant. Sai didn't stop here, however, and moved towards what Naruto could only assume was a storage closet. Unlike the shop entrance and upstairs room, this door slid open to show a space completely filled with unmarked boxes.
Without pause, the boxes were slid aside just as the door had been moments before. A quick look to the floor of the closet reveled tracks and when he looked back up Sai shot him a small grin that looked far more genuine than his earlier attempts at smiling.
There was another door at the back of the closet, hinged like the first two, and the boy was quick to usher him down the stairway it opened to as he closed the doors and slid the boxes back into place.
Waiting for Sai to finish and pass, Naruto fell into step behind him, still not willing to show the boy his back after that little stunt upstairs. The pale young man seemed to understand and made no mention of it as they moved down into a large sitting room.
Tables were scattered about, some covered in books others in maps. Against one wall was a basic cooking area and posted on a different wall was a large board covered in slips of paper. Four couches circled a coffee table in the center of the room. Indicating to one of the plush blue couches, Sai proceeded to prepare drinks for the two of them. Naturally, Naruto had to decline.
"You said you needed to know the entirety of the seal's function in order to fully change it, yes?"
Naruto held up a hand to pause him. "Yes, but first I need to know who exactly it is I'm dealing with. You've mentioned a man by the name 'Shimura Danzou'. I happen to know someone by the name of Danzou, tell me about the one you know."
"Shimura Danzou was the teammate and rival of our Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and is the leader of Root, a private army that takes upon itself the village's dirty work, regardless of whether the village approves of it or not."
"I see, he wouldn't happen to have a bandaged right arm and be missing an eye, would he?" Sai stiffened at the description.
"Yes, that's him. You must have met him then."
"I have." Naruto nodded. "You say his private army is called Root, what can you tell me about them?"
"They are the shadows that protect the great tree of Konoha. Each one is trained and conditioned to serve without question and they answer only to Danzou himself. They have no emotion, no thoughts that do not pertain to the mission. Compared to the average Shinobi within Konoha's employ they are far superior, having been trained like ANBU from the age of six onwards. They are, in a way, Danzou's equivalent of Hiruzen's ANBU, and serve much the same purpose."
"Earlier you claimed not to recognize me and that must have made me Root, what is it you and your…compatriots…have against the organization?"
Sai looked down at the coffee table for a few moments to gather his thoughts.
"They- They took everything from us. Our families, our identities, our very lives, and when they realized that some of us were of no use to them, they tossed us away."
Naruto's brows rose dramatically. From the way he was talking, had Sai been one of those Root operatives? This had the potential to become an extremely beneficial opportunity for him. A group of biter warriors trained for most of their lives before being tossed out, possessing seals they didn't seem too fond of and that he could remove without effort.
Naruto had mused the thought of having himself a pack, but this might be the perfect chance to make one. It was difficult for him to keep the pleased smile that threatened to form from crossing his lips. It wasn't time for that, not yet. He could revel in his victory later, when it was secured. For now, he had more to learn about those who were so spiteful towards the shadows that guarded the great tree.
As Sai had yet to volunteer any more information, it was up to Naruto to keep it flowing.
"From the way you speak of it, am I to assume that you were, at one point, part of Root?"
The pale boy nodded.
"Yes, I was, we all were. We trained for years, doing everything we could to perfect our skills, but it didn't matter. Emotional conditioning is the final step in the training process, we failed. As hard as they tried, we could not let go of the emotions that kept us human, not fully, and so we were considered failures and removed from the program."
"He was not worried about you betraying?"
"The seal was the first thing given to us, it prevents us from speaking of anything that could harm the organization or Danzou and keeps us from disobeying any of his orders."
"He has a seal that complex?"
"He had help. Orochimaru of the Sannin is not renowned for his sealing knowledge but his genius easily makes up for what he does not know. He had been at one time the rival to Namikaze Minato, who is well known to be one of the greatest seal masters in generations. Orochimaru no doubt picked some of it up just being around our Yondaime Hokage."
"Even so, to be able to stop you from disobeying someone, I can't help but wonder how it functions."
"You can't tell?"
Naruto shook his head. "The seal on my arm tells me nothing. I simply think about what I want and it changes the seal accordingly." He looked down at his covered arm. "I don't even know what it's called or who it was who placed it upon me."
"Something that advanced would have had to come from someone at least as skilled with seals as the Yondaime himself, but I'm not sure even his knowledge would have been enough to create such a thing. It is, however, a very powerful gift, one both you and I should be thankful for."
A small smile split Naruto's lips. Of course the boy was still focused on changing his seal, who would want to be bound to someone they hated?
"Well spoken. So, if the seal keeps you loyal, why would he throw you out?"
"For the good of Konoha." Sai grudgingly admitted. "We cannot fit into Root due to our emotions and the way they affect our thoughts during missions, but we are all trained as shinobi despite having civilian status. Should there be an invasion or other such crisis, we would be able to help protect evacuating civilians and assist Konoha's forces."
Naruto's respect for the old man increased greatly hearing that. Others may have disposed of failures, but to have found such a use for them was impressive. They didn't seem too pleased by it, if Sai's words were anything to go by, but even they had to admit it was probably the best way for Danzou to make use of the shinobi he had trained.
"A sound idea, but you do not seem happy about it."
"I'm-we're not. We were trained for more than protecting civilians in the case of an emergency. Some of us have done a decent job readjusting into society, but many of us have not. We shouldn't be here, hiding, waiting, we should be doing something. Covert ops, delivery of sensitive material, tipping the balance between factions, anything would be welcome at this point."
"Anything?" Something about the way he said it made Sai pause. After a moment he met Naruto's eyes and nodded in the affirmative.
"Anything, we can't continue like this."
"Including letting me change your seals from Danzou to myself?" Sai stared at him in shock.
"He has no further use for you, I do. If you need purpose so much you can serve me as you would have him."
"I- I need a moment, please excuse me." Sai stopped part way to the stairs, turning back to the man who had offered him the closest thing he would ever manage to get to the purpose he was created for. "Do you mind if I speak about your offer to Mai? She is in the same position as myself."
Naruto waved him off with a casual flick of his wrist. "Do as you will, my offer extends to all of you. Should it end up being one or a hundred, I shall be pleased."
Though he didn't see it, Sai gave Naruto a quick nod before starting his ascent.
It was not long before his return.
Standing silently to the side of the couch Naruto was sitting in, Sai quickly fell to his knee.
"I cannot yet speak for the others, but if you free us from him we are yours to command."
Naruto didn't even try to stop the large grin that devoured his face.
"Then from this day forth, you are mine."
Deep, calming breaths were doing nothing to abate his anger. Arms crossed over his chest, he looked down at his seed as she fidgeted before under his wrathful gaze.
"You…did…what?" He hissed through clenched teeth, straining every fiber of his will to keep from yelling.
"N-not me," She claimed. "It was him, he claimed that I was his enemy and so was our clan." The look on his face said that he didn't believe her for a second.
"That so?" Came his growl. "So you mean to tell me he just decided to make an enemy out of our clan on a whim?"
"He killed aunt Tatsuki!"
"We don't know that, we don't know anything about what happened." He paused before he had a chance to lose control. Gods above, had he really raised a child that couldn't stop and think? They were of the Yamanaka for fuck's sake, the mind was everything to them.
"Even if he did," Inoichi continued. "And even if we consider it retribution for what I did to him, he has made no further move against us. For all intents and purposes, we had a ceasefire, a neutrality distrustful as it may have been. Now, that has been broken, and by my old child."
He shook his head mournfully.
"I had hoped to keep this from happening by stopping the others from going against him, but it would seem I should have focused upon you."
"I wasn't trying to make him an enemy." She claimed, ashamed to be standing before her father and admitting her mistakes. "I wasn't even trying to interact with him."
Inoichi paused for a moment. Finally, he commanded "Explain".
"I had noticed that Hinata had been interacting with him," Her father drew a sharp breath when she mentioned the former Hyuuga heiress. Sweet merciful gods above, he prayed desperately that she had not somehow also dragged the Hyuuga clan into this mess. Uzumaki was bad enough, but the Hyuuga would turn them to dust without effort and without any chance to make amends.
"I couldn't stand someone trying to be friendly to that monster," She continued, offput when her father growled at what she had called the boy. "So I tried to convince her to stay away from him during lunch."
"And?"
"He- he didn't like that." She gave a shiver at the memory of him crouched on the academy roof, peering down upon her like a predator waiting to pounce upon prey. "He claimed that she was under his protection and that I was to leave her alone." Inoichi's fists clenched. He had no doubt figured out where this was going.
"I asked him if the Uzumaki had joined with the Hyuuga and he said that the clans had nothing to do with it." She stopped, hesitant to tell her father of her next words.
"You brought her up, didn't you?"
"I-I did." Ino nodded, never meeting her father's gaze. "He got angry and told me not to talk about things I knew nothing about. He said the matter was between you, auntie, and himself."
Inoichi nodded, it was a truth he wished more of his own clan could comprehend. If he wasn't; so busy trying to keep them from doing something stupid he might have the chance to actually speak with the boy and sort the mess out. Or he would have, had his daughter not driven the young man to start this feud between clans.
"Indeed it is, continue."
"He then told me it had nothing to do with the matter at hand. Hinata was under his protection and that was final." Having thought about her words the whole way home in order to make her father see that it wasn't as bad as it seemed, she knew that it was even worse than she had previously believed. She took a deep breath and pressed forward. "I said that if she was under his protection then she was an enemy to the Yamanaka. I had hoped he would back off."
Inoichi scoffed. The last time he had spoken to the Sandaime he learned that Naruto was a proud boy, even when he had nothing for him to be proud of.
"That was foolish and shameful," He admonished. "As a Yamanaka you should have been able to see that he is a proud creature, trying to intimidate him into backing off by threatening someone he claimed to be protecting would do nothing but spur him on. Not only that, but you also threatened a Hyuuga, he would have gained quick allies with them if they wished for retribution."
"I know, I didn't think out my words properly. He responded by asking if the clan had declared him an enemy."
"And how did you respond?"
"I told him that he wasn't, not yet. He asked me if I had declared him an enemy. I remembered then what you had been teaching me about clan law, so I froze. I knew I needed to consult with you about something like this first, but he didn't like my hesitation." She admitted. "I think he was insulted that I could not answer."
Well, at least she wasn't completely hopeless as a Yamanaka. Someone as prideful as Naruto would indeed be insulted by such.
"As he should have been. It meant you didn't have the strength to back up your words and that you hadn't taken things seriously enough to know what was going on before you opened your mouth. I would be insulted too. I take it this was the moment he declared us his enemy?" His daughter nodded.
"At least the Hyuuga haven't been pulled into this, having the Uzumaki as our enemy is bad enough."
This was her chance to escape, but she knew she had to tell him everything lest he try to tackle this challenge without all the facts.
"Um, Tou-san?"
"Yes, Ino?" His voice conveyed the weariness he felt at the moment. She hopped this might make it better.
"The Uzumaki aren't our enemies, it's just Naruto." He shook his head.
"It doesn't matter, as an Uzumaki any feud he has is a feud of his clan."
"Well, that's just it. Right before he declared us his enemy, he renounced his clan name."
It made it worse.
Inoichi tensed immediately, going completely stiff.
"A-are you absolutely sure that's what he did?" His face had gone pale and there was a trembling in his hands.
"Y-yes daddy."
Inoichi took a seat and stared out at space for a few moments before meeting her eyes.
"Then there is nothing holding him back."
Even a day later he couldn't help the small grin resting upon his lips. He may not have many yet, but it was a start, his start. No longer was he relying upon the name of his clan or the political influence they held, but rather he had started to create his own.
Yes, he was currently a small fish floundering within shallow water and bringing unwanted attention to it, but he would make himself one of the great sharks that lived within the dark of Konoha's political sea. Then again, why stop at Konoha? Sai had given him approximate numbers and with that many he may be able to start expanding far sooner than he had thought possible. Of course, it would also mean expanding far too soon. He would need to establish a solid foundation before his tower could start piercing the sky.
Mai was tending to the shop today as Sai notified as many ex-agents as he could find. With just two of them there was little he could do, but that would change in time. He'd just have to be patient.
From his usual perch Naruto could see Hinata through the windows. She had switch seats, moving to sit by the window closest to him and keeping the Yamanaka heiress within her sights at all times. And while the blonde may have glanced in Hinata's direction a handful of times, she had made no move to approach and shown no signs of hostility.
No doubt her father told her how foolish she was to go after a Hyuuga; the results could have been catastrophic for her clan.
Turning his attention to the form of his teacher as the man stood up from his desk, ready to start today's lessons, he was mildly surprised when the door to the classroom opened and someone else entered.
The black hair looked familiar, but the defeated slump was not. It took a moment for Naruto to place him.
'Uchiha…Sasuke.'
So it would seem another Uchiha had managed to survive. Curious. He had to wonder exactly how much the young man actually knew.
But, more importantly, he had to wonder-
'What might your relationship to Mikoto be?'
"Naruto!" She called as she entered their usual training ground. The young man was quick to cease his practice with his chakra chains and make his way over to her.
"Yes, Yugao-Sensei?" She had to admit, she really liked the sound of that. Maybe when she was satisfied with her career in ANBU she could take on a team before her retirement. She still had yet to become an ANBU captain yet, though, so that was still quite a ways off, assuming that she managed to live that long. She was a Kunoichi, after all. She had a much shorter life expectancy than a civilian woman.
"I have heard of your recent…issues…with the Yamanaka clan. I trust I do not need to tell you how foolish that was?"
"You do not, Yugao-Sensei. I am aware of my mistakes."
She gave a sharp nod. "Good. Now, we've been focusing on improving your abilities with chakra chains through the use of various chakra exercises, but I think it prudent to teach you some more skills that you can put to use immediately now that you have enemies within the village."
"Of course, what will we be doing first?"
"I've noticed you have a blade. Am I right to assume you have no formal training with it?"
"That is correct, I only recently obtained it."
"Understandable, may I see it?" Without another word he unsheathed the blade and surrendered it to her waiting hand. She spent a moment running a quizzical eye over it before handing it back.
"An interesting blade, does it have a name?" Anyone who cared for a blade named it if the blacksmith hadn't already. Some names made no sense, given for purely sentimental reasons or because they sounded cool, but others could reveal a lot about the blade or the one who had so lovingly crafted it.
"This," He smiled fondly down at his gift. "Is Mōryō's Tooth."
'M-Mōryō's Tooth!'
"As in the Mōryō's Tooth?" It may not have been as famous as the Kusanagi, but it was a well-known blade. How could he have possibly gotten his hands on such a thing? There were people who would give anything for such an infamous blade, it was sure to attract attention in the future.
"The very same." He confirmed.
"How on earth did you manage to get it?"
"That, Sensei," He smirked. "Is a secret."
It had been a long time since his old rival had looked so pleased with himself.
He could have gone with it being longer.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked across his desk to the elderly man sitting across it. Of course, if Danzou was old then so was he, and Sarutobi was not old- he was vintage.
The bandaged, vintage shinobi said nothing, just smirking at him and waiting for the Kage to speak first.
Eventually Hiruzen caved with a sigh.
"What is it, Danzou? What has you so damn pleased?"
"Well, you happen to know I like to sit in the park, do you not?"
"Yes, at the table we used to play at, what of it?"
"I met a most curious opponent recently. He happens to remind me of myself, actually." He gave a slight chuckle at the end.
"And please tell me how this is any of my concern, Danzou. I don't care who it is you play board games with in your spare time, though for men our age it's usually grandchildren."
"Oh, I was simply under the impression that you were rather close to his family. Then again, he recently renounced his clan name, didn't he?"
Hiruzen froze. No, there was no way he was talking about Naruto. If Danzou had managed to sink his claws into the boy- a shiver tore its way through the aged Kage's body. Such could not be allowed to happen.
"What are you up to Danzou, what are you trying to accomplish using Naruto?"
"At the moment? Nothing at all." For some strange reason Hiruzen wasn't inclined to believe the man.
"And so you decided to come tell me that why? Naruto can make his own decisions and it's not illegal for the two of you to meet."
"Of that I am quite aware. But to think you would hide him from me." Danzou shook his head. "Shame on you, Hiruzen, he's just like me. You should have introduced us."
"That's exactly what I was trying to avoid. One of you is more than enough, I do not need a second."
"You speak as if I was trying to change him, he was already like me when we first met. You'd have two of us regardless of if we had ever met."
"I had hoped to delay it long enough to resume my retirement."
"Fair enough." Conceded Danzou.
"Now, was that all you came here to do, Danzou, let me know that you had met young Naruto?"
"Of course not, I came to tell you you've lost him."
Hiruzen shot Danzou a dirty look.
"And how do you figure that?"
"Because he doesn't trust you anymore."
"That's nothing new." Scoffed Hiruzen. "I lost it weeks ago. But that doesn't mean I can't regain it."
Danzou's grin split his face.
"Not when I'm the one he goes to for advice you can't."
Danzou left his office, still grinning in a manner that made Hiruzen wonder if the veteran Shinobi needed help. He couldn't blame him though. Naruto's trust was hard to obtain, especially these days. And, while it might not mean much at the moment, both he and Danzou knew exactly how much that trust would be worth in the future.
It would be enough to completely tip the balance.
Hiruzen only prayed it would be in the right direction.
Could he be any more goddamn proud of the boy? Gods above he hoped not, because this didn't seem like it would end anytime soon. It felt like just yesterday that he watched the boy take his first life and now he was taking on an entire clan by himself.
It was almost enough to move him to tears.
It would probably move the Yamanaka to tears, too, but that was for completely different reasons. He'd have to keep a closer eye out on the boy now, not to help him with whatever his plans were, but to make sure it was covered up properly.
The thought of what he might have to cover up almost made him giddy with excitement.
Mutilated corpses? Fires? Kidnappings? Political sabotage? Maybe he'd end a few careers or break up some relationships. He could find some way to revoke their clan status within the elemental courts, or turn all the other clans against them. Maybe he'd just stick to harmless pranks, but that wasn't much fun.
Oh, there were just so many ways that the boy could hurt them, the possibilities were so deliciously endless.
And that was to say nothing about how Kushina would react when she learned that the Yamanaka were the enemies of her son. She'd be pissed about him revoking his name, of course, but she'd probably take that out on the Yamanaka too.
This could prove to be so entertaining that he may not read his Icha Icha as much as he usually did. In fact, speaking of Icha Icha, what if he did something like that? Kakashi couldn't help but giggle perversely at the thought.
Naruto could somehow marry the Yamanaka heiress, or seduce clanmembers, maybe he could even have a child with Yamanka blood. Ooh, how sweet a revenge that would prove to be.
Then again, Naruto could have done this knowing that Inoichi would do his best to keep his clan in line and might not have any real intention of doing anything. Just because someone was your enemy didn't mean you had to attack.
It may not have been nearly as fun, but it was valid.
Still, Kakashi hoped that wasn't the case. The heiress had challenged him, it wouldn't do if the only repercussion of her actions was some hostility between the Yamanaka clan and a ten year-old boy.
If Naruto didn't do anything, he might. Naruto might not like it, but he was unlikely to learn if Kakashi had been doing things to make the Mindwalkers tense and paranoid. It could be fun, so long as he didn't push too far. The last thing he wanted was to drive the clan to lash out at him before he was prepared to take them.
No, it was probably better to just lay and wait for now. Either Naruto would act or an opportunity to act on his behalf would surface.
After all, any enemy of Naruto was an enemy of Hatake Kakashi.
And thus ends chapter XIII.