Disclaimer: All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites.
Warnings: Mild to moderate violence, character death, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), some moderate Dumbledore bashing (he's more manipulative than evil but mostly just stubborn), and who knows what else.
AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.
Chapter 15: Climbing Ever Upwards
A few of the shinobi gave the trio sympathetic glances as they filed out of the office but the majority of them ignored the only teens amongst those that had turned in applications this time around. Satoshi nodded to those he had worked with at some point during his shinobi career, acknowledged those with friendly faces, and ignored the rest. It wasn't long before it was just the teen, his two clones, and the departmental heads remaining and Sarutobi didn't hesitate to send his AnBu guards out of the room before raising the privacy barrier.
"If I didn't know you passed your yearly assessment with flying colors just a few weeks earlier I'd be greatly concerned that you are able to pull off being three different people at the same time while in the room with dozens of trained shinobi without giving away any signs that two of you are nothing but fakes," Sarutobi muttered as he picked up his pipe so he could chew on the end as he studied Satoshi and his clones for a moment.
"I've had years of practice and I cheat, Hokage-sama," Satoshi replied without an ounce of shame. "Maybe you should be more concerned that none of the other shinobi picked up on the fact that the three of us were one and the same…?"
"Gaki," Kasai muttered with a soft laugh.
"Yes… moving on," Sarutobi urged with a chuckle of his own. "How many individuals are still in need of their seals being removed or restored?"
"Eeto… I'd say roughly twenty-eight," Satoshi replied after mentally reviewing the long list of names that Inoichi had provided him with two months earlier. "Twenty-nine if I include Shin-kun; since I have not yet been given the okay from Kanpou to remove the weaker seal from him."
"Oh, how is the young man doing? He's been up for what, three or four weeks now?"
"Five weeks and he is steadily regaining his strength even if it is far slower than he'd prefer. He's still not allowed to join the other children during the morning and afternoon training sessions but he is at least able to get up and move about the house now instead of being confined to the bed. I picked up a handful of the advanced scrolls on history, geography, math, and science from the academy to keep him occupied for the time being. Sai-kun still spends his free time with him so he doesn't get too lonely over the course of the day and Moony-oji stops by at least once every morning to challenge him to a game of Shogi."
"That he is alive and recovering at all is nothing short of amazing," Homura stated as he folded his hands into his sleeves and scrutinized Satoshi.
"What was the kid suffering from that his recovery is seen as a near miracle?" Jiraiya inquired out of curiosity.
"Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis," Shikaku supplied from where he was lazily leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. "You might recall the sickly young man that was pulled out from the underground facilities about ten months ago? Well, the medics did what they could for him but in the end he was given less than a year to live due to how far the disease had progressed."
"So the rumors that there was a medic in Konoha performing miracles were true," Jiraiya mused as he rubbed his chin with one hand and turned to study Satoshi a little more closely. "The rumors have not yet spread beyond the borders of Fire Country but it is only a matter of time before they do and when that happens, the other villages are going to start taking a closer look at Konoha. The biggest concern though is that those rumors will draw the attention of Orochimaru as he has something of an obsession with talented medics. My old teammate is still as obsessed with immortality and the ability to cure a terminal illness will spark his interest."
"Have there been any names or descriptions attached to those rumors?" Homura inquired with a frown.
"Not as of yet, so if we can keep the gaki's name under wraps we'll be able to keep Orochimaru in the dark for a while longer. I'm more concerned about rumors leaking about Satoshi-kun's ability to remove seals; especially if we manage to find a way that will allow him to remove Orochimaru's curse seals without the usual negative side affects that leave the one bearing the seal as good as dead."
"So we have him lock that knowledge away like he did with a number of other rather delicate secrets," Shikaku suggested with a negligent shrug.
"Is there a limit to how many secrets a person can seal using that spell?" Kasai asked as he swung his gaze back to the teen; the commander was well aware that magic had limits since he'd worked closely with the teen for the last five summers getting to know Satoshi's personal limits so he could train him to surpass those same limits.
"Not exactly…" Satoshi replied slowly as he drew up every memory he had of the lessons that Remus had given him on the Fidelius Charm along with everything he'd read in regards to the spell. "The spell itself is somewhat limited in what it can and can't seal away. One limitation would be in how many people are already aware of the knowledge that you want to have sealed; the higher the number of people that are aware of the information you wish to hide, the harder it is to seal that information because the magic actively seeks to block that knowledge from the minds of those who know it."
"The reason so few people are actually able to cast the spell to hide something using this method is because they don't have enough magic to block it from the minds of those that already know because they are trying to seal something that is too widely known. Most of you will recall how difficult it was for me to hide Naruto's status as the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi when compared to hiding the names of his parents. That was because seventy-five percent of the village plus a number of outside agents had known about the Kyuubi while only a handful of people knew who his parents were."
"It is also why I sealed away the knowledge that Harry Potter and Aburame Satoshi are the same person instead of sealing away the knowledge that Harry Potter is alive. Too many people know I am alive and it would have potentially killed me to try and take that information from millions of people around the world. I do not believe anyone has ever tested the number of secrets one individual could seal away since the general belief is that few witches and wizards have magical cores large enough to cast the spell once let alone multiple times."
"Are there any other limitations to the spell? If so, what are they?" Homura asked after taking a moment to digest the information Satoshi had just given them.
"And how many secrets have you sealed away to date?" Inoichi inquired before Satoshi could answer Homura's questions.
"Yes, there are additional limitations to the spell; the Secret Keeper must have a magical core, the Secret Keeper must have permission to seal away any knowledge that belongs to another, and the Secret must be clear and concise," Satoshi rattled off without needing to stop and think about the answer before he turned to Inoichi to answer the blonde shinobi's question. "I have sealed a total of seventeen secrets to date."
"Would you be able to seal away the knowledge of the magical cure for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and your ability to remove seals?" Jiraiya asked as he immediately saw the merits in locking away that information.
"It would be impossible to seal that knowledge because there are far too many magicals world wide that are aware of the cure or that have access to the books that have the information and far too many people have been cured of that disease for me to realistically get their permission to seal it away. Sealing the knowledge about my ability to bypass a seal's protections in order to remove a seal physically applied to a person's body without irreparably harming the person during the process should be feasible though; providing the secret can be worded properly."
"Will you need the permission of the individuals from whom you've removed the seals before you can seal the secret?" Shikaku interjected.
"No… because I wouldn't be sealing away the knowledge that their seals have been removed; only the fact that I was the one that removed them. Unless there is a need to specifically hide the fact that an individual's seal has been removed in order to protect them; in which case I would need their permission to do so."
"I'd like for you to work with Jiraiya on coming up with the proper wording to seal away that particular skill before attempting to remove any of Orochimaru's cursed seals," Sarutobi ordered after giving the matter some thought. "That will offer you a measure of protection against any retaliation that my former student might seek when he learns that someone has found a way around the deadly and detrimental protections written into those foul curses."
"Hai, Hokage-sama."
"Now that that is out of the way, we need to get this meeting back on track," Sarutobi declared as he chewed on his pipe for a moment. "You stated that there were around thirty individuals that still needed to have one or more seals dealt with; how soon do you think you can have the seals removed or repaired?"
"I've been doing between six and ten an evening; so, roughly between three and five days."
"Good; that is far sooner than I originally anticipated you being finished. How has your training been coming along?"
"Fairly well now; though it was not easy in the beginning to form a cohesive unit with myself. Learning how to integrate my normal fighting style alongside the styles I created for each of my personas was rather difficult but once I got used to the differences it was much easier to form coordinated attacks."
"Why were you focusing on fighting alongside your alter egos when you should have been training with the two that will be entering the exams with you?" Jiraiya questioned with a frown. "Or did you not know that you needed to enter as a team?"
"Hokage-sama, does Shibi know that you are considering letting his son and heir enter the Jounin Exams with nothing but a pair of clones to back him up?" Shikaku demanded as he immediately connected the dots and arrived at the only logical conclusion for Satoshi to train alongside his AnBu personas. "Whose brilliant idea was it to let him form a team with himself anyway?"
"There are no rules against individuals entering the Jounin Exams," Sarutobi pointed out. "Doing so is not recommended in most cases but there have been times when a particularly stubborn individual has insisted on taking the exams alone for personal reasons. Four of the most notable individuals to do so were Namikaze Minato, Uzumaki Kushina, Hatake Sakumo, and Hatake Kakashi; all four of whom passed each task with flying colors despite going into the exams with a major handicap."
"All four of them also had several other things in common," Kasai added as he lifted a hand and ticked off fingers for each similarity he listed. "They were known for having large chakra reserves, were exceptionally strong shinobi, were known as prodigies (or a force of nature in Kushina's case), each of them had a unique ability (Minato his Hiraishin, Kushina her chakra chains, and the two Hatake's their white chakra), knew how to create Kage Bunshin, and at some point in their lives prior to taking the Jounin Exams all four of them spent time training with Jiraiya."
The AnBu Commander paused a moment to let that information sink in before he continued, "Satoshi-kun also has several things in common with those four; he is a known genius, he has a unique ability (his magic), he knows the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, and he has spent time training with not only Jiraiya but with three of the four above mentioned individuals. His strength when compared to the other four is subpar but he more than makes up for it with his speed and intelligence and while his chakra reserves aren't all that impressive, his magical core has been trained to compensate."
"He's also one of the most stubborn individuals I've ever met," Sarutobi grumbled in an aside that made Satoshi blush while all of the adults chuckled over the truth in that statement. "And to answer your question, Shikaku; yes, Shibi is aware that I am allowing his son to enter the Jounin Exam as a team of one."
"Actually, I've given a lot of thought to the matter over the past two months as I trained," Satoshi interjected once he shook off his embarrassment over being called stubborn by the Hokage. "There is one way that I can take the exam as part of a team made up of myself thrice over without using clones."
"What are you talking about, Gaki? How could you possibly form a team by yourself without using clones?" Jiraiya demanded while most of the other adults looked rather confused and curious.
"With magic," Satoshi quipped cheekily. "During my third year at Hogwarts, Team Kakashi and several other students were given some rare artifacts that allowed the user to travel back in time in increments of one hour with the maximum number of hours one could travel back in a single jump being forty-eight. Feeling that it would be irresponsible to leave such dangerous artifacts within the hands of untrained students who might abuse their power; team Kakashi confiscated six of the artifacts at the end of the year."
"Why is this the first time we are hearing about these artifacts?" Kasai barked in exasperation.
"Technically, they were mentioned as 'a magical method of allowing witches and wizards of being in two places at once' in our reports that we turned in at the end of that year," Satoshi hedged sheepishly; Kasai greatly disliked it when Satoshi kept secrets from him. "The reason that time turners, which is what the magicals call the devices, and their ability to send an individual backwards through time weren't mentioned specifically is because they are highly regulated devices. Upon arriving at Hogwarts at the start of my third term, I was provided with one such device to use for the duration of the year in order to accommodate my heavy class schedule."
"At the time I was given the device, I was required to give an oath not to speak of them or their function to anyone for the duration of my Hogwarts career unless given specific or implied permission by the Headmaster or the Deputy Headmistress. Kakashi, Izumo, and Kotetsu could have included mention of them in their reports but they didn't because they didn't wish there to be any risk of me compromising my oath which would have had dire consequences. I didn't actually use the device until this past year since I used Kage Bunshin to attend those classes with scheduling conflicts; I wasn't about to tell the wizards about the ability to use clones though, since we used them frequently to create alibis."
"And since you will no longer be attending said school, your career at Hogwarts could be considered over which would allow you to bring them up now," Shikaku correctly deduced. "How will the time turners be of use to you during your exam and is it possible for anyone to use these devices?"
"I can use one of them to live through the exams a total of three times. Since I am physically traveling backwards, all three versions of me would be present during the exams; which would allow me to function as my own teammates. As for your other question; anyone can be taken back in time so long as there is at least one person with a magical core to activate the device."
"Using a device such as that can't be without cost…" Inoichi began with a frown.
"Living through even one hour multiple times carries a physical cost as you are physically adding to the number of hours your body is living through within a given period of time. Living through a single day three times would be the same as living through three days; meaning you would age three days over the space of one day. A wizard's magic compensates for that over short periods of time but the affect is cumulative if they are used excessively or carelessly."
"There is a magical cost as well; since the devices draw the magic necessary to send a user back directly from the user's magical core. The amount of magic required depends on the number of hours being traveled and the number of people that are being transported; with the cost being evenly shared amongst all magicals making the trip. The reason why the devices are considered dangerous is because there is a high risk of severe magical exhaustion if the user does not give themselves enough time to rest and rebuild their magical reserves between uses."
"Have you trained with this method of reliving time over the past two months?" Kasai inquired.
"No, I've not had the magic or time to spare since I was more focused on healing Shin and removing the seals from the former members of Root."
"How many seals can you handle dealing with if you were to take a full day to deal with nothing but seals?"
"Eeto, each seal takes approximately twenty minutes to remove and I prefer to have at least ten minutes between each removal so I can rest; though I can perform up to six removals without a break before I run the risk of exhausting myself. So I could theoretically remove the seals from all twenty-eight individuals that still have them over a period of fourteen hours but that is only if I don't need to remove any alterations made to an AnBu seal since undoing the alterations takes longer because I have to leave the original seals intact."
"And how exhausted would doing so leave you?"
"Enough that I'd probably sleep for twelve to fifteen hours straight the moment I was finished."
"Which is Satoshi-speak for he'd pass out the moment he was finished removing the last seal and would not wake up until noon a day or two later," Inoichi drawled with some amusement.
"Would it be possible to use one of those time traveling devices to double the number of seals that you can remove in an hour in order to cut down the number of hours it would take you to wrap things up?" Shikaku asked after he took a moment to consider everything Satoshi revealed in regards to the devices.
"Yes, it would be possible; however, cutting the total number of hours I spend removing the seals would not reduce the amount of magic and chakra I would expend. It would, in fact, more than double the cost of magic alone since I would be expending the same amount of magic in half the amount of time in addition to what it would cost me to turn time in the first place."
"That would make using one of the devices during the Jounin Exam impractical," Kasai stated and Satoshi could practically hear the man scowling behind his mask.
"Chigau; when reliving blocks of time during the exams, the amount of magic or chakra that I would need to expend would vary between each of my personas whereas the magic and chakra that I need to use to remove a set number of seals is constant regardless of what persona I am using."
"What kind of training did you originally have planned for the rest of the month?" Sarutobi inquired around his pipe stem after a few minutes of reflective silence had passed.
"Pretty much the same thing I'd been doing for the past two months; sparring against myself, my friends, and my family, reading through some of the advanced scrolls in the AnBu archives, and continuing to integrate my fighting style with that of Kawarimi Twin's style. I also plan to see if Padfoot-oji has time to help me finish up a project that he had been helping me with during my last year at Hogwarts. Adding a few hours to my days shouldn't tax me too badly if I leave a day or two between each day spent turning time so as to allow my body enough time to recoup and build up a tolerance to the turning."
"Jiraiya, what do you have planned for the next four weeks?"
"I had hoped to get some research in for my next book," Jiraiya replied with a leer that had Satoshi rolling his eyes. "I also intended on doing more research on the curse seal and maybe check through some of the scrolls in the Hokage's library for more information on seals in general. Why?"
"I'd like you to prepare Satoshi-kun for the Jounin Exams the same way you prepared Minato and the others," Sarutobi revealed as he leaned back in his chair and studied his former student.
"I also suppose that if I don't agree you'll follow through on your usual threat of banning me from the bath houses along with letting all of the kunoichi in Konoha knowing I'm in town looking for research material on my next Icha-Icha novel," Jiraiya groused as he crossed his arms and scratched at the back of his left leg with his right foot while frowning at Satoshi. "It's a good thing I like the gaki enough to tolerate his company and that he's intelligent enough that training him won't be a waste of my time."
"Perfect… that will also give you time to pass along your research regarding the curse seal since Satoshi will be working with you on that anyway. Satoshi-kun, I'd like for you to make arrangements with Inoichi and Kasai for dealing with the remaining Root members before meeting with Jiraiya to plan your new training schedule for the rest of the month."
"Hai, Hokage-sama," Satoshi replied without even attempting to argue; though the fact that he'd need to rearrange his entire schedule was annoying. However, because there was a slight chance the training would increase his chances of passing the upcoming exams he'd deal with the inconvenience without a single word of complaint. "Was there anything else you needed from me?"
"No… the three of you are dismissed."
Satoshi bowed to the Hokage, made arrangements with Kasai and Inoichi to meet with them that evening to make the new plans regarding the seal removals, and set up a time to meet with Jiraiya over lunch the next day to discuss his training. Business taken care of, Satoshi dismissed his clones and took his leave.
The moment the fifteen year old was gone; Jiraiya turned to his old sensei and demanded, "Why are you so adamant about getting him through the exams? You always have a reason when it comes to these things."
"Because if he passes the Jounin Exam and if the children pass the Genin Exam this time next year, then the gaki will be responsible for training your godson for the first three years of his shinobi career," Sarutobi replied with a knowing smirk. "By giving him the edge he will need to get through the exams alone, you will end up with him feeling indebted to you for your help which will mean that he would be far less likely to protest when the time comes for you to take over Naruto-kun's training once he turns thirteen."
"I recommend that you bring up the fact that you intend to train Naruto-kun once he turns thirteen with Satoshi within the next couple of months so that he will be prepared for the day you come to take him," Kasai suggested when Jiraiya only frowned in response to the Hokage's revelation. "Satoshi-kun has grown very attached to Naruto and Naruto, in turn, absolutely adores the gaki; so you will actually need to stay in the good graces of both boys if you hope to have a snow ball's chance in hell of training a willing Naruto."
"In fact, Naruto would move heaven and earth for Satoshi. He'd also bathe the world in blood should anyone dare hurt Satoshi because Satoshi is Naruto's entire world as the boy sees Satoshi as his savior. It was Satoshi-kun that dug him out of the dumpster on his second birthday and it was Satoshi that went out of his way to bring the boy happiness back when the entire village still hated him because they saw him as the Kyuubi reborn. Naruto cares for Shibi and Shino as well but it is Satoshi that brought those two into Naruto's life and Naruto knows it."
"Don't forget that Satoshi-kun has been training and teaching the boy for years," Inoichi added, "in addition to telling the kid stories about both of his parents."
"If I was the jealous type, I'd be upset to find out that the little gaki has practically taken my place in Naruto's life," Jiraiya sighed as a measure of regret flashed across his face. "I'm far more thankful that Minato and Kushina's boy had someone who could be there for him when I couldn't though. I honestly don't know what I could possibly teach Satoshi-kun that he doesn't already know that could help him at this point but I'll come up with something before I meet with him tomorrow."
Satoshi set his pencil down and stretched out his back and neck before he glanced up at the clock to check the time. He stifled a yawn and swallowed a relived sigh over the knowledge that he'd finally finished the second of four tasks that made up Konoha's Jounin Exam; a task that was meant to test the participant's planning abilities, intelligence, and dedication. What most shinobi didn't realize was that the task started from the moment they first expressed an interest in taking the Jounin Exam and that everything they did between that moment and the day they took the written assessment was the first task of the exam.
More than two-thirds of those showing an interest in earning the rank of Jounin never made it to the written portion of the first task because they failed to think things through far enough in advance.
Since Satoshi was not openly taking the Jounin Exam as an individual (unlike Minato, Kushina, Sakumo, and Kakashi had), he had been required to take three written exams (one as himself and one for each of his alter egos). Since most of the judges were aware of this, they'd made certain that all three exams were completely different; meaning that Satoshi's written test was far more extensive than any other participant's test and covered a far wider range of material. The sixteen year old wasn't going to complain though; taking the same test three times would have been far more annoying for him. He was still glad that that portion of the exam was complete.
"Are you finished, Aburame-san?" Shirakumo Hayama (the Jounin that was administering his exam) inquired as he glanced up from the book he was reading.
"Hai."
"Then you are free to go. Once your test has been graded; you will be given information regarding the task that is set to start on the ninth of this month or in the event that you've failed to pass the written exam, notification that you will have to apply again next year for another opportunity to take the Jounin Exam."
Satoshi nodded and slipped out of his chair before softly bidding the older shinobi a good day and taking his leave. The teen also ignored the part about him failing any portion of the written exam; his AnBu training, his time Outside, and his eidetic memory made taking written tests child's play for the teen. He'd barely stepped outside of the academy (which is where the written assessments were administered) when Neko (the kunoichi on his AnBu squad) appeared in front of him in a swirl of smoke. He'd didn't even get an opportunity to greet her before she handed him a sealed scroll, informed him that it was a missive for him from the Hokage, and disappeared in a second swirl of smoke.
Once he stopped staring at the place where his teammate had been standing just seconds earlier, Satoshi unlocked the seal on the scroll by smearing a bit of blood across it and unrolled the scroll just enough to read through the first three lines. His heart seized in his chest the moment he realized what the scroll contained and he Shunshined to the Hokage's Tower, coming to a stop just beside the secretary's desk; his abrupt appearance startling the Chuunin functioning as the Hokage's secretary for the day.
"I need to speak with the…" Satoshi began only to get cut off by the Chuunin once the older teen got over his shock and realized who was standing there.
"Go right in; the Sandaime is expecting you, Aburame-san."
Satoshi stared at the Chuunin and frowned behind his jacket for ten seconds before he shook himself and headed towards the door, taking a split second to announce his presence with a sharp knock before he opened the door and stepped inside the room. He was a bit startled to find what could be considered a war council being held at a table in the middle of the normally open room. Seated at the table were the Sandaime, Jiraiya, Akimichi Torifu, Nara Shikaku, Mitokado Homura, Umeboshi Nigiri, Yamanaka Inoichi, and oddly enough his father.
Tightening his hand around the scroll in his hand, Satoshi stepped deeper into the office as all eight adults turned to look at him at the sound of the door snapping shut behind him. Sarutobi gestured for him to join them at the table even as the Hokage activated the privacy barrier to seal the room from would be eavesdroppers.
"You're here a little earlier than we originally anticipated but it's not a big deal," Sarutobi stated as Satoshi slid into a seat as directed. "I'm certain that you have a wealth of questions and concerns regarding the mission you've been assigned as your third task in the Jounin Exam but if you'll allow us to explain first, I'm certain most of your questions will be answered."
"I'm listening," Satoshi offered softly as he tilted his head to one side and he tucked the scroll into his pocket.
"The third task of the Jounin Exams is designed to test a shinobi's skills in the field on an actual mission. Each team is assigned a mission based upon the areas of expertise of the individuals that make up the team; one of the reasons why we conduct interviews during the first task is to gather information as we can select or create an appropriate mission. The missions are intended to challenge the applicants and give them an opportunity to utilize their skills to the fullest."
"In addition to challenging you with the mission we put together for you," Torifu continued solemnly, "we wanted to give you a measure of closure for the deaths of Toriichi Kumade and his teammates. The fact that you witnessed their deaths through the eyes of your swarm gives you an advantage since you can use your memory of the incident as a starting point for your investigation."
"The ranking of the mission is a bit higher than what we usually assign as an exam task," Shikaku interjected once the AnBu Commander finished. "However, we feel that your extensive training as a member of the AnBu Corps in addition to your magical training will give you an edge that most normal participants of the exam won't have; seeing as how most shinobi invited to join the AnBu have already taken and passed the Jounin Exams except in special circumstances (such as those that revolved around your invitation)."
"The parameters of the mission are open ended enough to allow you to abort the mission in the event that your position has been compromised. Aborting the mission to avoid death or capture will not be considered an automatic fail for the third task as long as you accomplished at least one of your mission objectives," Homura added on the heels of the perpetually lazy clan head. "Also, because the mission is of a higher rank than those the other teams were assigned; we are providing you with far more information than we normally would while the other teams will be required to do far more research in order to prepare for their missions."
"Okay… that pretty much answered my initial questions," Satoshi ventured once it was clear that no one else was going to add anything further. "I will admit that I didn't even read the full details of the mission before coming directly here after being handed the scroll. I was more than a little disturbed when I read that I was being sent into Kirigakure; if only because of my connection to Kumade and the bad blood between myself and the Kiri Genin I faced when I participated in Suna's Chuunin Exams as part of Team Twelve when I was eight."
"You can turn the mission down, if you don't think you can handle it alone," Shibi quietly pointed out. "No one will think any less of you or be disappointed if you have any doubts and a more traditional mission can be arranged so that you can still participate in the Exams."
"Arigatou, tousan," Satoshi replied as he flashed his father a small grateful smile that was just the slightest bit sad. "I'm not going to turn it down though. It won't be too hard for me to blend in with the locals because of my water affinity and my ability to change my appearance both through jutsu and spells. My biggest worry is going to be curbing my desire to get revenge on the one who killed Kumade once I find out who killed him and his teammates; since assassinating the one or ones responsible for taking out Konoha's AnBu team would be far too suspicious."
"Since you are accepting the mission, shall we get down to business?" Sarutobi asked as Jiraiya passed Satoshi a thick folder. "That folder contains everything we know about the current situation in Mizu no Kuni and Kirigakure…"
Satoshi spent over three hours sequestered in the Hokage's office going over everything contained inside of the folder Jiraiya had given him, covering his mission objectives, studying the geography of Water Country and the various options available for getting to the island nation without getting caught, and putting together a rough plan of action. It was an informative meeting and Satoshi left it feeling just a touch more confident about his ability to pull off the mission though he still felt uncomfortable with the idea of going into a potentially hostile situation all alone (his alter egos not counting as support even if they were listed as part of his team).
That the eight adults in that meeting with him had all believed he could pull off the mission and trusted him not to end up drawing Konoha into a war with Kiri was humbling; especially knowing that his father supported his acceptance of the risky mission and was just as confident that he could pull it off.
The first thing Satoshi did after he left the meeting, was Shunshin to his quarters in the AnBu Facility, henge into Arashi, and head to the AnBu Jutsu Library in order to check out a couple of scrolls containing the instructions for some of Kiri's more common water jutsu so that he could better fit in while he was in Mizu no Kuni. He probably wouldn't master the new jutsu before he left for Water Country but not at least knowing the names and hand seals for those jutsu would make him stick out like a sore thumb.
The second thing he did was hunt down Fred and George Weasley and ask them if they had any new field products that they needed to have tested and if they were willing to sell him a few Portable Swamps, some Wild-Fire Whiz-Bangs, and any Decoy Detonators that they had available. He left their new apartment several thousand ryō lighter with a bag filled to the brim with his purchases as well as a second bag stuffed with an assortment of untested products and a cheap camera that had been given to him free of charge in exchange for testing the products and recording the results (hence the camera). A final stop netted him a couple dozen extra rolls of film, enough food to feed a family of four for a month, and a case of single use flares.
The rest of the afternoon was spent training with the children, though his mind was mainly focused on his preparations for the up coming mission. It was as he was escorting the children back to their respective homes after eating supper at the Hyuuga Estate that Satoshi realized that he'd have already had his second day of classes if he'd returned to Hogwarts for his sixth year instead of testing out two years early and withdrawing his name. He wasn't quite certain how he felt about that and wondered how his missing friends would handle the school year. At least he knew he could easily keep in touch with his friends through Dobby and if they ended up in some kind of trouble, then they could easily contact him through the elf and he could get to England fairly quickly if needed.
The four days immediately following the meeting regarding his mission were spent entirely with the children as he worked with them on their training and prepared them for his absence. Shino, Naruto, and Hinata were long used to him leaving for long term missions and they took the news that he'd be gone for an entire month in stride. Torune, Shin, and Sai on the other hand were less certain though and greeted the news with mixed feelings; the largest of which was a fear of abandonment. That was not unexpected though due to how thoroughly Satoshi had inserted himself into their lives since he'd taken responsibility for their training). To help them get through the month of separation, Satoshi made arrangements with Gai to work with Sai and Torune on their taijutsu and Remus to continue Shin's academic lessons.
On the eighth, Satoshi gave the children the day off to do whatever they wanted while he finished gathering and packing his supplies. Later that afternoon, Satoshi treated his two brothers, his two quasi-wards, and his cousin to an early supper at Ichiraku's Ramen Stand and spent the rest of the evening telling stories and playing games with the five boys. Once the children were in bed, he spent another hour playing Shogi with his father as they talked about the latest rumors flying about the village and avoided all mention of Satoshi's upcoming mission.
The possibility that that night could well be the last night father and son ever saw one another hung in the air between them; unacknowledged verbally, if not mentally by both man and teen. It was a real enough possibility that it prompted Satoshi to hug his father goodnight and pass along a verbal affirmation of how much he loved him while Shibi reminded Satoshi that he loved him in return and that he was proud of him.
Satoshi was up and dressed before the sun the next morning to give himself enough time to double check his supplies and equipment and spend several minutes removing each and every one of the Kikaichu clinging to him that did not belong to his swarm. Next he took a moment to create a pair of concrete clones and had them henge into his alter egos so he wouldn't forget to have them show up later. He then grabbed an orange to eat on his way to the main gates where all of the shinobi taking part in the second task of the Jounin Exam were gathering, his clones cheerfully bounding along at his side.
Satoshi was not the first person to arrive at the gates but he was one of the first ones to show up and he stood silently off to one side eating his orange while his clones set about their self appointed tasks of annoying the other would-be Jounin as they turned up in groups of twos and threes. Their behavior was highly amusing to the diminutive teen; though you wouldn't know it by looking at him. At exactly seven o'clock, the Hokage arrived with the panel of Exam Judges (which was comprised of several long time Jounin and several department heads) to send them off.
"This morning marks the start of the third task of this year's Jounin Exam," Sarutobi intoned dramatically as the various shinobi (and two clones) that had passed the first two tasks gave him their complete attention. "You will have exactly thirty days in which to complete your assigned mission and return to Konoha. If you have not returned by sunset on the eighth of October, then we will assume that your mission has failed and that you have either been captured or killed in the line of duty. I wish each of you good luck and pray that I will see you again in thirty days regardless of whether or not your mission was completed successfully."
The gathered teams scattered and disappeared into the forest surrounding the village walls without further ado; except Satoshi and his two clones who all took a moment to bow to the Hokage and the judges before they set off at a ground eating lope towards the eastern road. It wasn't long until he was completely out of sight of the village and he sent out half his swarm to search the immediate area for anyone following him while he summoned a damselfly about the size of an eagle with a message tube strapped to its back.
Once he was certain there would be no witnesses, he recalled his entire swarm, dispelled his two clones, gave the damselfly its orders, and took out his wand. A moment's concentration was all he needed to initiate the animagus transformation that Sirius had helped him finish mastering during the month leading up to the second task of the Jounin Exam before he quickly tucked his wand back into his pocket. Two minutes later, where Aburame Satoshi had been standing there was now a rather delicate looking, smaller than average great pondhawk dragonfly.
At a whopping fifty millimeters in length, he was well short of two inches and rather small for the species of dragonfly he represented (a direct reflection of his shorter than average height). His body was mostly green in color with two pairs of delicate black lace-like wings that jutted out to either side of him. His eyes were slightly rectangular in shape (that was reminiscent of the rectangular sunglasses he typically wore to hide his eyes), solid black in color, multifaceted (giving the appearance that his eyes were actually all colors of the rainbow), and stood out sharply against his emerald body.
In addition to his body coloring matching his human eye color exactly and his eyes being the wrong shape, the only other identifying marking on his body were the five pencil thin diagonal black lines that ran across the bottom of his thorax representing the scars he'd gotten when he faced the Nibi's Jinchuuriki during his first attempt at taking the Chuunin Exams in Kumogakure. The rest of his scars were far too small or insignificant to cross over or in places that made them hard to see; like how the scars on his back had been integrated into the lace pattern of his wings.
Satoshi took a moment to let the disorientation of the transformation pass before he gave his wings a few experimental flaps. He then turned to the now one hundred times larger damselfly (that could easily eat him in a flash if it so wanted) and flew up into the message cylinder that was strapped onto the back of the larger insect. The damselfly waited just long enough for him to get settled before it launched itself up into the air and set a course for Kirigakure.
While he could easily fly himself to Kiri in his animagus form, it would take him far too long and leave him far too tired and sore because he was still unused to his alternate form. He probably could have used the Nimbus Two Thousand Broom that Kakashi had given to him for his twelfth birthday to travel to Mizu no Kuni as an alternative but Satoshi had wanted to put his new animagus form through its paces and he felt obligated to use this opportunity to work with his dragonfly summonses so they didn't feel neglected due to the fact that he called on the scorpions far more often.
To pass the time while he was flown to Kiri, Satoshi practiced coordinating his two pairs of wings and his six legs in order to get used to moving in his new form and therefore appearing far more natural. He took turns between hovering inside of the message tube and walking up and down the length of the tube; he even spent time hanging upside down from the top of the tube in order to get used to using the tiny claws on the tips of his feet.
Halfway through the first day's flight, Satoshi grew tired and slept until he felt the damselfly land; at which point he crawled out of the cylinder, changed back into his human self, and set up camp after using Mushi Yose to gather a small meal for the summons that was playing passenger plane for him. He then made himself a light supper before creating a couple of clones to stand watch while he stretched out stiff and sore muscles before taking another short nap to deal with the mild exhaustion he'd incurred from holding his animagus for such an extended period of time when he'd only just recently mastered the transformation with Padfoot's help.
He was awake again a few hours later and spent an hour going over the plans he'd made for when he finally arrived in Water Country before collecting another bunch of mosquitoes for the damselfly to eat when it woke up. A brief jaunt up into the sky on his broom while wearing a Disillusionment Charm allowed him to form a rough estimate of how far they'd traveled over the course of the first day and work out a rough idea of how much longer it would take them to reach the sea and from there to the islands that made up Water Country.
Shortly after he dropped back down to earth, his ride woke up and stretched before happily falling to the fresh meal Satoshi had provided him. A quick confirmation that the damselfly was recovered enough to continue the journey saw Satoshi dismiss his clones and return to his animagus form. As he settled back into the message tube, Satoshi felt slightly more confident in his new form. His second day of travel would pass in the same way as his first.
They took a short break when they reached the coast around noon and then continued on to the nearest island; which happened to be the former country of Uzu no Kuni where the ruins of Uzushiogakure no Sato could be found. Satoshi stood on the cliff overlooking Kushina's first home as the sun set that evening and took several photos of the sad yet beautiful view so he could share it with Naruto. That night would see Satoshi taking his first extended flight in his animagus form while a pair of his clones flew his broom alongside of him to provide light (one of them holding a flare while the other flew the broom) and protection as he explored the ruins.
As they flew, Satoshi and his clones found an old Uzushio hitai-ate sticking out from amidst the rubble when the light from the flare glinted off of the metal plate. The headband cloth had long since disintegrated and the metal itself showed signs of rusting but it was otherwise in fairly good condition considering how long it must have been sitting out exposed to the elements. Satoshi, thinking it would make a neat memento for Naruto, collected the forehead protector along with a relatively undamaged piece of marble tile from one of the nearby buildings and sealed them away in a scroll so he could clean them up for his honorary brother later.
The next day, the damselfly turned south and crossed the ocean to Sawa no Kuni, which was the small peninsula country that butted up against the southern arm of Hi no Kuni to the northeast. They made their way to the eastern most tip of the small country and headed out to the outer islands that made up Mizu no Kuni; the small swampy peninsula being the closest landmass to the water bound country and therefore the most logical place to cross the open sea to avoid the need to fly straight over the water for an entire day.
The damselfly dropped down to land the moment they reached the first island so that Satoshi could return to his human form as he sent his Kikaichu out to hunt down any rumors in the small family homesteads that dotted the tiny island. He also summoned Dobby and had the elf take his first report back to the Hokage to let the old man know he'd reached Water Country (two and a half days earlier than projected).
Before sending the elf back on his way, Satoshi ordered him not to come to him unless he called for him except in the event of an emergency and only if he was alone. This was for both the elf and Satoshi's protection because if the elf was seen, then he would be attacked (due to his rather odd appearance) and his rather loud form of travel (by ninja standards) would attract unwanted attention to Satoshi's position.
The sixteen year old then set up a well hidden and protected camp using magic as from this point out using chakra would draw too much attention. Before lying down to sleep that night, Satoshi dismissed the damselfly after thanking him for his help; he'd be completely on his own from that point forward.
Translations: Japanese to English
Eeto – let me see
Gaki – brat
Hai – yes
Kirigakure (Kiri) – Hidden Mist Village
Kumogakure (Kumo) – Hidden Cloud Village
Mizu no Kuni – Water Country
Mushi Yose no Jutsu – Insect Gathering Technique
Sawa no Kuni – Swamp Country (not to be confused with Marsh Country)
Taka – hawk (AnBu code name of Toriichi Kumade)
Uzu no Kuni – Whirlpool Country
Uzushiogakure (Uzushio) – Hidden Whirlpool Village
Notes:
Giant Pondhawk (Erythemis Vesiculosa): a species of dragonfly native to the Americas that is usually between 55 and 65 millimeters in length.
*Sawa no Kuni – Swamp Country's exact location has not yet been revealed in the manga or the anime to date as far as I can tell and so I took creative license to place it above Tea Country on the arm that branches off of Fire Country instead of giving that little unmarked portion of the man to Water Country. My reasoning? I can't see the Fire Daimyou or the Hokage allowing the Water Daimyou or the Mizukage to get a foothold on the mainland in order to keep a buffer between Fire and Water due to the rather blood-thirsty history of Kiri.
AN: Yeah, I'm late again… this was supposed to have been uploaded yesterday but I lost track of time while I was doing some research for another story of mine and completely forgot about updating. I also needed to run through the chapter with a fine toothed comb in order to make certain that the flow of the story and overall plot-line are right where they were supposed to be at this point.
Anyway, I'll try not to get so wrapped up that I forget to update again but I make no promises. On the plus side, I have not gotten sick again yet (knock on wood) and my daughter is mostly over her cold so it doesn't look like we'll be playing tag with that particular bug this time. So, you can expect the next chapter to be posted on time in about four days. ~ Jenn