Chapter 17
Storm before the calm
"We cannot live in the past. But we also cannot forget it. For it is the past that defines us."- Senju Tobirama, the Second Hokage
"N-nephew...?" Naruto asked in confusion and disbelieve. Did these ogres just say they were his... family?
Just his luck. First he learns he has a sister who was raised and served a sociopath. Now he finds out he's related to the ogres. What kind of a messed up family did he have?
"Yes." Mariko said, before letting the blond go of her tight embrace. "Me and Akira are your aunts and Goryō is your uncle."
"Just don't expect him to appreciate family ties." Akira said. "He is not the type to use family formalities."
"Don't speak of me as if I was made of stone, you two!" Goryō snapped, though he hid it well under his calm face. Then he looked down at Naruto. "Anyway, Naruto, welcome to our palace." The male ogre hit his staff against the floor, and the door slid open. A blinding light hit the blond at first. Naruto was certain he'd go blind. But after a few seconds, his eyes finally got adjusted. What he saw astounded him.
Naruto walked outside and stepped on the wooden balcony, overlooking a great waterfall, surrounded by thick clouds all around, and the water falling as far down as the eye could see. But the water wasn't falling out of nowhere. It was a river on a weird field. Along the river there was grass, trees bearing fruits and some kind of animals. But aside from that, it was a scorched, rocky land where, to the blonde's surprise, lightening was striking from the ground upwards.
"Welcome to our realm, Naruto." Akira said, giggling. Oh, how she came to love that look on the young man's face.
"This feels... weird." He murmured.
"Maybe to the mortals." Mariko said. "But we love it."
"Now then, Naruto, I believe it is time we started with your training." Goryō said, gesturing his nephew to follow.
After an about twenty minute long walk, Naruto noticed they were right by the edge of the waterfall. He was almost overwhelmed by how fresh the air was here. In fact, he felt even better than ever.
"The air here is clean of all war and bloodshed, Naruto. It is instantly affecting your body due to your nature." Mariko explained, preparing some tea. Her brother would not show it, but did not seem happy about this.
"Sisters, it is not the time for picnic." Goryō said, sitting on the boulder.
"He's right, y'know." Naruto responded. "If we're gonna start the training, then let's get to it, believe it."
"Whoa, hold your horses." Akira spoke. "This isn't just some 'Run 10 000 laps around the world' training regime."
Naruto was a little confused and creped out by the description- mostly creped out, as if he heard Gai-sensei.
"It is true." Goryō agreed, looking at Naruto with his eyes open. And that's when the blond noticed something about them. There were no pupils, but eight, yellow, blazing points and electricity. "This training is something on a completely different level. And it is related to your blood."
"Y-you mean my Raiju Keitai?"
"Is that what you call it?" Akira asked.
"Can we see it?" Mariko followed, only for her brother to strike with his staff real hard.
"NO!" he said with authority, causing every ogre and animal in sight to flinch. "He is not to use it until I say otherwise!"
"B-but why?" Naruto questioned. "I mean, I used it every time I was in a pinch."
"Indeed." Goryō said. "But, the fact is, naturally you should not be able to." Seeing Naruto's confusion, he followed. "Before we start your training, it is best that first you understand... who you really are, Naruto. As in, your true nature by blood."
The leader of ogres looked up the sky, where the clouds started to move strangely, until they created an image. Naruto was taken aback by what he saw.
"We, the ogres, were amongst the six strongest demons, right after The Demon King. We were feared even by our kin and the gods. We fought alongside our lord since time forgotten. We fought for blood, with violence. At least, the first part is what mortals believe in. In reality, as we are territorial beings, all we wanted was a place of our own, away from the other creatures. We wanted a place we could call home. So The Demon King promised us such. But as time passed, and the war with the gods continued, we came to realize, The Demon King would not uphold his end of a bargain. So, the leader of ogres, Wabisuke, made a deal with the gods."
"In return for a place of our own, Wabisuke and the ogres would help the gods defeat demons' lord once and for all. And so, in secret, they passed down their knowledge onto the man who defeated The Demon King- The Sage of Six Paths. After the Great Exile, the ogres were given their realm. Wabisuke became the god and sat amongst the others."
"A demon... turned into a... god?" Naruto was having a hard time believing it.
"You must know that unlike mortals, the immortals, gods and demons alike, are physically more different then you believe. Mortals were sculptured from clay, which then turned flesh and came to live. The immortals are, however, made of a more the primordial stuff."
"Excuse me?"
"To put it simply, nephew..." Mariko decided to answer the question. "...we immortals are very similar to the tailed beasts. The gods are elemental beings. The elements manifested into a humanoid form and given life and sentience."
"Demons, on the other hand, are the incarnation of the events- or more accurately, the energy unleashed within the said event, such as destruction and death." Akira explained the other part.
Naruto just sat there, making faces, trying to grasp the whole theory. "That's... complicated..." he admitted.
"But don't think we are immortal because of that, Naruto." Goryō surprised the blond. "Despite we're being called immortals since humanity first came to be, we can die. Even mortals can kill us. Though only one mortal managed to teach us of that." His voice sounded grim, which did not escape Naruto's perceptiveness.
"Who? Who could've killed a demon or a god?"
"I... do not wish to speak of that." The male ogre said, hardly hiding his pain. "But to take him down, a group was needed. Only three survived the battle. And they were made gods. One of them was Raijin, son of Wabisuke and our brother. The other two were Fuujin and a mortal. Raijin ruled with intimidation, yet was just. He only came down to Mortal Realm when hunting the most wicked of beings- human or demon. Things changed when Raijin saw her."
"Her who?" Naruto asked.
"Ubume. A beautiful woman of pure heart and gentle nature. Her charisma enchanted my brother to the point he came to your world for her. He spent a long time with her. I've never seen Raijin suppressing his anger for anyone. Even father feared his wrath, which caused the mortals to think of him as a separate being called Raiju."
"Wow... Sounds... like he really changed for one woman." Naruto chuckled. "Did they live happily until she died?"
A grim silence fell. Mariko was the first to speak. "No. She died two years later."
"W-what? How?!"
"Childbirth..." Akira answered, with sorrow in her voice. And continued with more pain, "Ubume was so happy when she found out she was pregnant. And Raijin was so excited he could barely control himself. The nine months of her pregnancy were the only period when Raijin was not so dead serious."
"Unfortunately... she did not have the strength to live after she delivered." Mariko finished. "She barely managed to name her child."
"Raijin was again furious. Out of grieve and sorrow- mad for his immortality." Goryō continued. "So, not wanting to suffer the pain of loss again, big brother distanced himself from his child, yet watched his offspring growing, maturing, falling in love, fighting, having children..."
"The kid was great... the great asura." Akira smiled. "He was great."
Naruto gave all three the look. "So.. dad's name was Asura?" his eyebrow nearly rose into his hair.
"No." Goryō said, beginning the explanation. "The asura is a half- mortal, half- immortal. And Minato, for that was his name, was the last known asura. And this is where the part of your training begins." He stood up and made his way towards the nearest tree. "The asura, being half- immortal, has the strengths of its immortal parent, but due to the other parent being mortal, those strengths are limited to mortal limits."
Naruto was now in deep thoughts. Seeing he had a bit of problem understanding it, Mariko coughed. "It means that your father had some of his father's powers. But because he was half- mortal, they were greatly limited. Otherwise, his body would not be able to endure such power."
"Oh, I get it!" the blond cheered.
"Right." The male ogre sweat- dropped. "Therefore, the asura appear to have no access to their immortal part. But it is a mistake. They can tap into that power in a way which appears no different than a genetic ability. Your raiju keitai in your case, Naruto." He pointed at the blond, whose eyes widened at the information. Naruto looked down at his hands, while his uncle continued. "in your case, young asura, this ability is not just some power boost, but an actual ability to change your nature. While your mortal body is still the limitation for you, the power enhances it to super human levels, which makes you a dangerous being despite your obvious mortality."
"So, you say I change nature." Naruto interrupted. "Is it as if I was changing my wind affinity for another element?"
"Not quite." Akira said. "Like we explained earlier, the gods are the 'embodiment of the elements', to make it simple. Thus asura's power to access that immortal nature, appear similar to senjutsu."
"Senjutsu?" Naruto questioned. But quickly a thought crossed his mind. "I think I heard that somewhere before..." he wondered.
"Ye have, Naruto-boy." An elderly voice caught his attention. Naruto looked around to find Fukasaku leaping and stopping next to Goryō. "Allow me to explain. As you know, in ninjutsu, you use chakra, which is a mixture of physical energy and spiritual energy, which are your inner energies. When it comes to senjutsu, you add the nature energy, the energy from your surroundings, into the mixture, creating a more potent kind of chakra, used for senjutsu."
"Asura's ability is similar to senjutsu." Mariko started. "But, there are differences. Senjutsu requires that the sage finds a balance between his inner energies and natural energy, otherwise fails to achieve sage mode or risks turning into a statue. The asura, due to being born with the affinity to natural energy, don't need to mind that risk."
"However, while senjutsu chakra replenishes at the rapid rate, in comparison to normal chakra, asura's chakra is in a extremely concentrated form. So the asura needs to have a high level chakra control. Otherwise, you will waste all that power even sooner than even an average jonin. Asura chakra also recovers quicker than ninja's, but not as fast as sage's."
"One last difference you need to be aware of, Naruto." Goryō said. "Your unleashed form also has a two limits. For one, time limit. I can't really say how long your form can stay active, as it depends on individuals endurance and willpower, but if you keep your unleashed form up for too long, you will be disintegrated by your power alone. Your mortal body can only endure so little. But the fact you're also a jinchuriki accelerates your regeneration to extreme levels."
"What's the other limit?" Naruto asked bluntly, as if not afraid.
"Anger, in your case." The blonde's uncle said. "Surely I need I explain to you why's that a risk, but the asura , in their unleashed form, are more easy to fall into anger. Just like the forces of nature, they're untamed and wild. So you need to learn how to keep your mind focused."
Naruto allowed it all to sink in. after a while, he face palmed. "Give me a break! This is gonna be a headache! I suck at things like these!"
"Maybe not." Mariko smiled. "You see, your father was a 1st generation asura. You are a 2nd generation asura. Normally, you wouldn't be able to even access the unleashed form, only have superior strength, more aggressive attitude and a monstrous chakra. And your offspring would be mortal. In short, the asura line does not last more then two generations."
Akira decided to finish for her sister. "However, there were circumstances- your grandfather coming down to Mortal Realm that night-..." she clearly meant the night the Nine-tails attack the village, "... your nature is rather that of the 1st generation. But, considering brother Rai did something to you then, you must be even superior."
"One of which is what I can tell you now." Goryō said, stabbing his staff through the tree. "Your raiju keitai is yet to mature. And only when it matures can we say what our eldest sibling has done to you. Now..."
The second he shut his eyes, he disappeared. Naruto thought he blinked, but he knew he did not. Then he got hit in the side of his face and sent flying into the river.
"Let the training begin." The ogre smiled sadistically, baring his fangs at the blond.
This... was going to be hell.
To be continued...
A.N.: Sorry for the delay guys. Author's block, if you had it, then you know what pain it is. If you don't, then keep your comments on the update schedule to yourself. Anyway, I know there was rather NO action what-so-ever, but you can't really expect it in every single chapter. Otherwise, you can hardly learn about the world. Plus, now we have some more insight on the immortal races. And Naruto is the acquaintance of a demigod. So, next time will be training or Pain attack? Take a guess and remember to review. But if you're a hater,... HOW ABOUT YOU FIRST WRITE A FIC OF YOUR OWN BEFORE SAYIN' STUFF LIKE 'STUPID THIS, STUPID THAT' Mr. I-Wrote-Nothing-So-I-Can-Write-Hater-Stuff-All-I-Like! Seriously. Well, cya.