Disclaimer: This author does not own Naruto in any way, shape or form and this fiction piece is not written for profit. It is a freely written and distributed fic, for the purpose of both the reader (s?) and author's enjoyment.
Hello again people, this will hopefully start to grind towards some conclusive story meat, I am unsure whether or not to introduce two slightly modified characters now or later, meh now is good enough for the author, so you all can enjoy or not, as the fancy takes you.
Hope y'all enjoy, there will be scenes of violence and gore particularly in the first section, probably about three pages long, skip over if you are squeamish, though it is important to the storyline (I hope). There is also more violence towards the end.
Eh the two characters in the first bit are in Naruto, specifically the Manga at separate times, I have modified their ages and probably appearances to suit this fiction piece, I am unsure of the Canon ages, to tell the truth I do not really care either. You will not recognise the names if you do not read the Manga, reasonably recent chapters too.
-Location and date unknown-
The young boy runs through the sparse woodland, the wind whistling through the blackened, burnt trees. Those same trees made sinister shaped shadows in the afternoon light, adding to the child's hysteria. Panting, falling yet desperately scrambling on with hands and knees, the boy continues on his chosen path.
His face literally ripples with pain and shadowed intent as his body comes to a wrenching halt, the whimpering boy then turns back whence he came. His face shows an animalistic intent now, the face of a hunter, determined to bring down its prey. The eyes turn from blue-green to black as night, then back again, flickering as the boy twitches backwards and forwards.
The primal side urging him to retrace his steps, the little boy just wanting to flee, flee forever and escape the never-ending nightmare that makes his existence.
After a struggle that visibly takes its toll on him, the boy turns and flees into the night, in his original direction: away from people.
Running again, this time as much to not give in to the urges within as to get away, the boy slammed into a solid object that felt like a brick wall. He looked up to see an object of his nightmares, a teenage boy.
"No, no please, run, run now before it… ARGH" The young boy falls to the ground in pain as strange markings appear over his body, in the shape of small diamond-like chunks.
Now whimpering, the boy winces as he spasms in pain, whispering to the teenager "Please… go, go now… I cannot stop it any longer, you will be killed, please..."
The teenager looked on impassively, with a slight frown marring his features.
"No kid, I shall stay with you, whatever is coming I can and will deal with it."
The child visibly slumps, before the chunk pattern takes over half of his face and parts of the body, turning them grey as a cruel light begins to glow in his right eye, turning it a different colour. "Time… and past time… to KILL!"
Grinning maniacally, The child leaps up faster than the eye can see and smashes his arms into the older boy's torso. One arm annihilates the rib cage, grasps and tears out the heart, while the other disembowels him messily, mashing and tearing out the stomach, intestines and various other organs.
After this, the manic kid looks to the sky, blood spraying from the mutilated corpse all over his small form, as he laughs loud and long. A sick and twisted, yet oddly free and unconstrained sound it is too.
The child then proceeded to lay waste to the surrounding area, leaving blood and felled trees all over the place, before the strange marks quickly sucked back into his body. This left him to fall unconscious from the strain to his body (Ripping through trees and into a person is tiring work, after all).
The sun set on a violently rearranged area of the sparse northern woodland – the scene of a truly terrifying power rearing its ugly head.
Waking up in the morning and yawning loudly, after an unprecedented good night's rest; the boy looked around the area, gasping in horror as he did. Smashed trees, blood splattered everywhere and no sign of… the unfortunate youth who would not leave well enough alone.
"So you are finally awake eh Gaki? I must admit, it was an unexpected move, you gutting me like a baka fish, good job by the way, if my Jutsu was not active that would have been the end."
The boy looked up towards the speaker and saw a shocking sight. That same teenager stood before the child, whole and unharmed. The morning light shone upon him, a fairly normal looking guy overall, long swept back white-blonde hair, average looking face and height, red eyes.
After some mutual staring the kid blurted out "But… you should be dead mister!"
The teenager chuckled, before offering the kid his hand and his name "I'm Hidan, a Nuke-nin of the hidden mist."
The kid took the proffered hand, levering himself upright, before muttering "Juugo is the name, not a Shinobi though."
"Ok Juugo, what is with the being in the near deserted wilderness alone thing? Not to mention that awesome power you displayed earlier, you moved so damn fast and strongly."
Hidan waited patiently as the child looked around fearfully, before looking him in the eyes and stating coldly, his innocent child's voice seeming out of place
"You really should go first, but here is a bone. I am here because I am a monster, this place seemed deserted enough to let out some steam without killing anyone. How about you?"
Hidan chuckled again "Well kid I shall not deny that you are a monster (at this Juugo's eyes dropped), I am here to perfect my immortality Jutsu away from prying eyes, after that it will be time to search for the teachings of Jashim, the god that I serve."
After this little statement Juugo stared wide eyed at the odd teenager, before he said
"Immortality Jutsu, does that mean you can regrow tissue and stuff? Also who, or what is Jashim?"
Hidan frowned slightly "Well Juugo, it basically means that while I have Chakra in my body, it cannot be destroyed, you probably didn't notice but you could not smash my heart, it simply tore in two before you dropped it.
After you fell I grabbed my organs and shoved them back in, the Chakra that is refined in them reattached them back to this body. It took me ages to find out the precise way to do it and it is still imperfect.
I cannot use Chakra to return the severed parts to the body yet; also if my head is cut off or totally smashed I will still die, but it is getting more effective, the organs' survival proves that.
As for Jashim, I found an old book detailing the old god that his worshippers can gain mystic powers relating to their Chakra pathways if they worship the god and undertake the proper rituals.
After enough of this dedicated worship and ritual, the followers of Jashim will fall to neither natural nor human causes, becoming truly immortal. I serve the god and search for his testament, scattered and hidden across the earth, for all of the commandments he passed down, so I can follow them while I recruit new followers to this nearly extinct religion."
Juugo had a pensive look on his face, as he inquired
"That sounds… fulfilling Hidan, a just goal to strive for in life."
The teen puffed out his chest and said proudly (loudly too)
"Yes, it is my life now, far more meaningful than being a mist-nin. They are the weakest, shunning and murdering their most powerful, who possess bloodline limits. That is also the reason for Jashim's followers being hunted down, their uncanny survival Jutsu was thought to be a clan based bloodline limit.
The hidden mist village and country has expended much in the way of time and resources, literally burying all traces of the mighty god, yet he shall endure, using my spirit alone if need be!"
The young boy looked up at him, with a guarded hint of happiness in his eyes, as he softly said
"I will join your cause Hidan, to follow the god Jashim, if you will give me one allowance at any required time."
Eyeing the boy, Hidan asked, "What allowance Gaki?"
"Let me hurt you when I am in my rages, so I will not hurt any other. I… cannot bear it alone, the urge to kill and main that is pulled from within me, even the Hidden Leaf nuke-nin Orochimaru could not help me, yet you can, by being…"
"A practise dummy?" Asked Hidan directly.
"Yes" Stated the young monster just as directly.
"Then I accept you into the ranks of Jashim, young convert, you will not be my underling, we will be equals, all after will be our underlings; they will follow while we pave the way for the great god Jashim!"
With that, the unlikely duo set off for paths unknown.
Current day, Wednesday afternoon, Konoha.
Naruto yawned and awoke, shivering slightly. His dream had seemed so real, as If he were an observer of the strange woodland scene. And those two people, such gore…
His mind, unable to deal with such things, shunted the information into a file marked 'do not read' for later nightmares, while Naruto got up to face the new day, two months on from where we last left him.
Reattaching his prosthetic leg, which he had learnt how to consciously detach and reattach, he jumped out of bed and into the usual morning activities. This included consuming a steaming bowl of Ramen (Haggis and Toadsdale shrooms) before he left the apartment, fresh and ready for the day ahead. Or so he thought.
The morning training with Anko had become more sporadic; she was undertaking many more missions at the moment due to Kohona's current popularity with the world.
In compensation for this, Anko had upped the severity of their training. Now, the goal was to survive two hours of intense hunting, by any means possible.
Naruto also would not know if Anko was available on any given day until he entered training area 44, which they now trained in. If Anko located and attacked him in the first hour, she was there, if not solo survival training in the deadly forest of death became the morning work out.
Luckily she was out on some mission or other, so Naruto only had to contest with the violent animals in the area, as opposed to the sadistic human. An easy choice, if there was one to make. A dangerous beast might very well kill one; a dangerous human is quite likely to, especially when hunting in her home.
After survival training there was the academy. There had been no vacancies in Genin teams as of yet for most ten-year-olds, they were assigned by age, as after twelve you must be a Genin or pick another career.
The most noted exception was Hyuga Hinata. Being the heiress of her clan, after her unexpected passing qualification her father had pressured for a spot on any team, so she could become strong faster.
Naruto was slightly lonely. The class had lost flair without his only friend to talk to. He hoped she was doing well, yet it was intensely frustrating having to endure the pointless lectures, when he had essentially already graduated.
True, he still could not cast a proper Bunshin, but Anko had already known that, she cared not for any one Jutsu, the important thing is the ability and will to persevere, this Naruto had in abundance.
After sitting down and the usual role-call, Iruka called out "Uzumaki Naruto, come down here please."
The slightly confused boy did so, noticing many of the class giving him resentful – even jealous looks. The exception was Shino, who merely gave him his usual near-imperceptible nod of the head. The silent boy had not wanted to become a Genin just yet, though was expected to next year.
Iruka informed him of an opening in an older team.
"You have been selected to fill in a spot on Morino Ibiki's team, do you accept?"
Naruto considered it; he had seen Ibiki in a bar once or twice when he had to track down a drunk Anko and attempt to get her to train. The silent man always cracked a smile at his antics, which usually got him into a Kunai dodging match with the drunken, enraged woman.
He got the feeling that the guy was not a prick, besides he did not stare at him with those damnably cold eyes, like most of the rest of the village was in the habit of doing. This was the clincher for the young Jinnchuriki.
"Hai, Iruka-sensei, I would be honoured to join Ibiki-sensei's team. It has been a learning experience here sensei, thanks and good luck to you."
Naruto opted for a diplomatic response for once, who knows he might have to work with/for Iruka in the future. It was best to stay polite, even though lying about his boring lessons was extremely taxing at best, torturous at the worst.
After Iruka's slightly surprised look, then also slightly warmer expression, the man told Naruto where to meet with the team, in one of the basic training areas. He decided to throw Naruto a bone, told him that Ibiki would likely be testing his limits that day, so to be sure to do his best.
Agreeing with his now former sensei, Naruto decided one lasting memory would serve for his 'dear' class-members, he sucked in a huge breath and yelled out (almost shrilly in that annoying voice of his) as he left the room
"Bye guys, hope you Baka can graduate soon!"
He sprinted across the rooftops carelessly, a method of travel he had copied from a passing Chunin a week prior. It worked, yet he easily overcorrected on landings, once he had even smashed through the roof of a building. Luckily it was an abandoned one, near his own apartment block.
Eventually reaching the area, Naruto cautiously approached, in full sight. He saw neither hide nor hair of Ibiki, a distinctively scarred man, or his potential team-mates. He was not quite dim enough to assume that he would be accepted immediately. There would be a testing of his skills and knowledge.
Rounding a corner, the boy heard decidedly deep-pitched laughter. There was a sight to horrify any eyes there as well, Naruto observed as he stealthily peered from around a tree trunk at the scene.
Two young men were lying face down in pools of dark red blood. A man with his back turned to the boy was strapping a large scroll to his back. One of the prone young men made a bubbling sound and stirred slightly, probably as a result of drowning in his own blood. The man turned around to reveal…
Morino Ibiki, in the damaged flesh, his face twisted in a macabre grin, the scars pulling and twisting his face so it seemed inhuman. He strode over to the bubbling man and said coldly
"Well Danzo, your father would be ashamed, both of my students failed to stop me from stealing the forbidden scroll of seals, despite my training. Die with honour at the least, boy!"
At this, he raised his leg to stomp the life out of the prone man. As his foot came down he heard a quiet voice "Ninpou: Chakra no Tate Jutsu!"
A blue shield covered both prone men from Ibiki, as his foot smashed into the shield it bounded upwards, compressing as it went. This hurled the big man up and away, about twenty feet. Ibiki landed on his feet (like a ninja!) and grinned again, at the boy in the tan trench coat this time.
"Well boy, you have courage, hopefully you will be a bigger challenge than those two fools. You cannot stop me though; you are just a little gaki after all. Come then!"
Not saying a word, the blonde charged directly at Ibiki. Assessing the situation, he understood that the other man would be faster, stronger and likely smarter than he. This was discounting the battle experience the man would have acquired over the years of Shinobi life.
With this evaluation, Naruto understood that to defeat this man would require swift, violent action. As he approached, Ibiki watching lazily, he performed the four seals for the Kawarimi Jutsu. Ibiki snorted in derision, this little kid thought he could win with that basic Jutsu? Yet Naruto did not stop there.
He formed the ram with one hand, his own seal, the Karana with the other. Ibiki's eyes widened; the ram seal was merely a concentration aid, yet the other was like none he had ever seen. A small icicle of fear formed along his spine, as his feet… warmed?
Naruto looked the man in the eyes, mouthed the singular word 'sorry', before yelling out
"Kitsune Kai" (Fox Release)
Morino Ibiki felt a sudden pressure, then release, as the ground rushed to meet him. Naruto had aimed a modified Kawarimi at his boots, heating them before they imploded, crushing the feet to the size of pinheads.
Naruto stopped his charge, then slowly walked up to the now prone man.
"It had to be done, though I regret crippling you, you will surrender now, or die. No threat to Konoha can be tolerated by its Shinobi, you have been warned." The boy softly said.
Ibiki managed a grin through a mask of evident pain "You pass!" Then, with a slight Poofing sound, his body disappeared. Naruto spun on his heels, only to see the young men from before, now healthy and smiling, standing next to their sensei, Morino Ibiki.
"Welcome to the team Naruto. To my left is Danzo; to the right is Yuu. They are both senior Genin, so you will have to work hard to keep up with them, though with those two Jutsu you demonstrated that side of things should be good enough.
We decided to test you in a no-win situation, facing a traitorous Jounin with no warning, who was willing to kill hostages. You passed with flying colours, crippling my Kage Bunshin quite ruthlessly.
We will now commence endurance training for the day; we will build you up to Genin status strength, soon enough you will have some muscle on that skinny carcass! Any questions?"
There were not, so off they went. Naruto kept up with the others admirably, which surprised them to no end. After a few hours Ibiki determined that the boy already had the required stamina to perform missions. They tested his strength, which was not huge, yet a Chibi Tate with no seals, used to overbalance his grappling opponent quickly turned the tables.
He demonstrated his techniques, including his solid, yet very prone and lifeless looking clone. He told them about learning new techniques, Anko's hell training (insert sympathetic shudders here), and her advice on always using your own creations, it is tailor made personally for you after all.
The boy would not usually give away so much of his life and personal techniques to strangers, but they looked at him with admiration and happiness, not hatred and fear like the villagers and some random Shinobi would.
Also they were now his team-mates, trusted with his life and vice-versa on missions. It was only fair that he let them know what he could and could not do in a sticky situation. Perhaps the first time that Naruto set his feelings aside and did his duty was that day.
Authors note: Danzo is the son of the manga Danzo and looks like a younger, fitter him. Yuu is shown in the Anime episode 68, talking to Ibiki during the invasion. He is the one with the Hiatiae cloth covering all his hair, with the exception of a pineapple like sprout in the back. I have borrowed his face and basically Oc'ed the rest.
They sparred for a while, Naruto saw that the two older boys had a good grasp of all the basic fighting styles and Jutsu, with special emphasis on tactics. Knowing when and where to Kawarimi for example is often the deciding factor in all subsequent manoeuvres.
He showed them also at that time his idea for a new fighting style, called the Seppeku fist (suicidal fist, or is it Hari Kari? Meh, Seppeku will do for now), based off absorbing physical attacks then attacking while the opponent was off balance.
They made some improvements to his style; it needed speed overall to pull off the various flips, twists and grapples required to shift the weight of others to an advantageous position. Plus that makes it easier to dodge attacks, which would often be necessary for some particular attacks (like the famous Hyuga Taijutsu style: Juken.)
All in all, an inspiring new day, without the influence of the academy to dull its glow.
Being unable to find Hinata in the late afternoon, Naruto simply went home, to his Ramen, shower and bed.
The young boy could be seen early the next morning, hurrying towards the Hokage tower, after rushing though his morning necessities (even eating Ramen!) It was time to receive his first real mission!
He met with his team, Ibiki and the boys gave sim slight nods before they all headed off to the briefing room. They entered to see the Hokage himself in the centre seat of a curving table, various officials clustered around the same table.
He greeted Naruto, who responded with an enthusiastic "Ojii-san!" then gave them their mission for the day, a D-rank with the goal of doing the shopping for various special-Jounin. Many were currently too busy with the influx of missions to do their own shopping so to the Genin received the responsibility.
Naruto, showing uncommon manners, thanked the Third for the mission, before speeding off, dragging his team along. Truth to tell, the boy was a tad anxious about trying to purchase items from different stores, most shop-keepers hated him and would not offer him their wares, for any price.
Some of the greedy simply overcharged the boy, those were his largest fear, they could not exceed their budget to acquire the required items. It turned out that with Ibiki, Danzo and Yuu most people were wary, yet polite and reasonably helpful to the young Jinnchuriki.
Nobody wanted to incur the wrath of the kind, yet firm Third Hokage, who was well known for liking the boy and looking out for his welfare. Being cruel to him while alone was one thing, when the village muscle, the Shinobi, supported him; it became another thing entirely.
This was the largest reason that no angry mobs had ever formed to 'drive out the demon'; they were disbanded from the get-go by the Hokage and the majority of the Shinobi populace, who could put aside personal feelings to do what they were ordered. After all, a sharp tool is the best kind, yet one must be wary that it never turns in one's hands, Shinobi could easily stage a rebellion, with horrifying casualties no matter the result.
They finished the simple mission in two hours, so delivered all of the items to the various Jounin's homes themselves. Naruto had two such deliveries to make, one Hatake Kakashi and a familiar name, Mitarashi Anko.
He decided to get Anko's delivery done first, it would be a good form of training, getting to the tower in the centre of the forest with the various bulky bags. He managed the feat, though not without some scratches and a close call with a giant snake "I swear Hebi-sensei summons those things to hunt me periodically, cruel woman she is."
There was nobody home, so he dumped off her bags in the mail slot (fortunately it was large, to accommodate such packages), before carefully leaving her home in the Forest Of Death.
He went to the address of this Kakashi person, a nice housing area that housed several small clans and many families of reasonable political influence or wealth.
Upon knocking loudly on the door and having it subsequently open, Naruto saw a shocking sight, which prompted him to blurt out
"Whitey, why are you at home, should you not be looking after Hinata-chan?"
The sight in question, a tall man with a shock of pure-white hair gave a blank one eyed look (the left eye being covered by his Hiatiae) and said "What?"
Naruto looked closer and realised that this man, while resembling the ANBU member he had dubbed 'Whitey' was not one and the same. The first big difference was the coverage of one eye, secondly being the lessening of lines on his face. Finally this man did not have the same look of patient energy that Whitey did; his face reflected tired boredom and incomprehension with the current situation.
This all flashed through the boy's head in the time it took for him to bow and hurriedly say
"Gomen mister, you look quite a lot like someone I know, who is on guard duty for Hyuga Hinata at this time. I am supposed to bring these groceries to Kakashi, do you know him?"
"In that case, I am Kakashi, yo!" Stated the lazy looking man.
Naruto gave him the shopping, which he took in one hand to make sure he kept firm grip on a small, orange and pink book in his other hand. The book in question had an odd picture on the front cover, a man chasing a fleeing green haired woman.
Kakashi noted Naruto's gaze and chuckled "You like the Icha Icha Paradise series neh?"
To which Naruto responded, slightly curiously "Never heard of them, looks interesting though."
"Keep an eye out for them later on then, they are readable by eighteen you know? Well I am off Ja Ne!"
With that Kakashi stashed the bags inside the dwelling, an average family sized home, closed the door and left, via disappearing in a poof of smoke.
Naruto, vowing to learn the 'poof' Jutsu's secret also left the scene, going back to his new team for training.
Meanwhile Kakashi searched out his father, the famous White Fang of Konoha. He found him exactly where the gaki had said, maintaining a secret watch on Hyuga Hinata, who was with her own new team planting potatoes in a field for their own daily mission.
"Yo, father whats happening?" Kakashi asked quietly as he alighted next to his father on the large tree, which was ideal for their spying purpose.
"Not much son, why, is something wrong?"
"No. Not at all, it is just that I met a Genin gaki who called me 'Whitey' while he delivered my groceries. He then apologised and told me where to find this Whitey. I had to see if it was you, the feared White Fang of Konoha, reduced to mere Whitey!"
The man sighed; it looked like the gaki's nickname was going to stick. A pity, he mused as he started to explain how he met Naruto, while still keeping a watchful eye on the Hyuga heiress.
Kakashi had a quiet laugh at his father's expense. The little gaki did not even know of the White Fang! Still, the nickname was a fitting one; he would have to remember it for the next time he was on a mission with the senior ANBU member.
After his team and their training was finished, Naruto actually succeeded in finding Hinata.
She was sitting atop a building opposite from the Hyuga estate, brooding. He landed almost silently next to her, his training with Ibiki and the team was beginning to pay off. It mostly consisted of stealth and tactics exercises, stealth Naruto was good at, but had a tendency to land too loudly after leaping a good distance. Strategy – well, training was definitely needed.
"Yo Hinata." He said calmly.
She took one wide-eyed look at the dirty blonde boy before bursting into tears and flinging herself at his tan trenchcoat.
Hugging the sobbing girl, Naruto, though perplexed still managed to say
"There, there Hinata-chan, what is wrong?
"Na-naruto, they are going to s-send me back to the a-academy, I c-cant stand it, new Jutsu take me too long to master, according to my baka Sensei!"
After calming the girl down she managed to better explain her situation. The Jounin sensei of the group, Maharaji Conjenko was a man after her father's heart. Cold and ruthless. He insisted that Hinata thoroughly learn one new elemental Jutsu each week, starting with fire elemental basics.
She was capable of moulding her Chakra to the water element and to an extent earth, but not Lightning or Fire at all, making those based Jutsu impractical at best to attempt.
Her Sensei had told her she was off the team until she could use one of each basic Katon (fire) Doton (earth) and Suiton Jutsu. Raiton Jutsu were not required, as few in Konoha even knew any.
She knew it would be impossible to learn those Katon and Doton techniques, hence her current state.
"Hmm, ok Hinata-chan (this time Hinata blushes, noticing the familiar chan) I have the perfect solution. We fake the Jutsu that you are unable to perform with Genjutsu, you are good with those right?" Naruto was excited with his idea, you could tell by the shine in his blue eyes.
"Well… yes Naruto…-kun ("Ano sa ano sa Hinata, no need to use the kun term!") I can use Genjutsu, but I do not know one to simulate an elemental Jutsu…"
Naruto frowned for a second, then brightened again "So we make a new one up, Genjutsu uses Chakra to befuddle the senses right? (Hai). So we just create an illusionary world in which the victim sees you using a particular technique, you can just perform a Suiton so you look the place afterwards."
Naruto flashed his cheeky grin at Hinata, who finally looked happier.
"Ok Naruto-k… Naruto, we will do it!" Stated Hinata firmly
(And no comments on my suggestive wording please, you sick minded people, just remember they are ten at this moment. Ten years old damnation, not teenagers at all. Just being Shinobi does not automatically let them do all the stupid things adults can and do try.)
Hinata was slightly happier, she could merely tell her stern, uptight father that she had to do some training before going back into the active team, as the missions were going to get harder.
This was not untrue, her team was a senior team, used to C and occasinally B-rank missions, which was a good part of the reason her Sensei valued elemental Jutsu, they are good situational Jutsu for defeating bandit groups and the like.
Naruto promised to work on the Jutsu the next day with Hinata, both in the morning and afternoon, before he saw her to the estate.
They arrived at the front gate to see a disgruntled head of house waiting for one of them in particular. Huyga Hiashi frowned down upon his daughter, after giving Naruto a flat look and slight nod of the head, which Naruto returned with the serious, grave look only a child can pull off
"Where have you been daughter? I heard that you were kicked out of your team this day, yet you did not come home. If not for Uzumaki here I would have sent a search party out to locate you. At this point he gave Naruto another flat look, warning him not to spill the beans about the ANBU guard, the boy was only too happy to comply and stay silent.
Hinata was plucking up her courage to talk reasonably to her father when the air became noticeably colder, as if a miasma was floating about the afternoon air. All three people present, plus the two Hyuga branch member Guards, turned as one towards the setting sun.
Its dying rays silhouetted a solitary figure – of pure evil origin. The unknown person raised its arms, with a murmur of "Sen'eijashu", multiple snakes burst out of his sleeves, heading for the party.
Hiashi began to spin, in preparation for a Kaiten (Heavenly Spin), as Naruto moulded Chakra for a Tate, yet neither was fast enough. The two Shinobi, along with the Guards were slammed violently into the solid wall ringing the estate, snakes biting, chomping and tearing as they went.
Hinata had been caught by a thin, long mobile snake, which began to wrap around her with the intent of trapping the girl. She thought fast though and sent the Snake (as well as the other offending hebis) into a minor Genjutsu to stop its movement from fear induced paralysis.
Spinning away from the snake, Hinata formed quick handseals in the proper order, cast a Water bullet Jutsu straight at the source of the now vanished Snakes, which had 'poofed' away once she had cast her mind-snaring technique.
The figure did not move to dodge or block, simply letting the compressed water slam into its upper torso and head, tearing away clothing and flesh alike. The clearing vapour in the air revealed a man standing in the same position, with deathly-white skin and slitted pupils for eyes.
He smiled sadistically and said, in 'American' for added effect "Nice shot, Hinata-chan."
Hinata took one step back, managing to cry out "Orochimaru!" At the top of her lungs.
The man, still smiling said "Yes, that is my name. Are you ready to feel what all Shinobi eventually do? Are you ready to die Hinata-chan?"
Before the girl could react the man was right in front of her, seemingly in the blink of an eye. He sank his fist into her stomach, as she doubled up in pain an unyielding knee smashed into her jaw, shattering the entire thing and driving her mouth plate and several teeth up into the brain.
Orochimaru, the legendary Sennin himself grabbed a sack out of fat air and quickly threw the now unmoving Hinata into it, before turning to leave.
He glanced at the blue ethereal barrier preventing his escape, before turning back to see a small boy, both hands outstretched, forming the massive entrapping Chakra no Tate.
"You… Will not… have my friend!" He spat out, along with a rather large quantity of blood, the wall around the estate truly had been unyielding before he had made contact with it.
The Hebi-sennin looked annoyed for a moment, before frowning and giving a short laugh.
"Stupid gaki, do you think this crude attempt of a Jutsu can even delay one of the legendary Sannin? Not to mention, I am by far the strongest Sennin. Watch and despair, child."
With that the Hebi contemptuously waved his free hand (the other being occupied with the sack), a lace of visible green Chakra blossomed outwards, striking and shattering the Tate.
Orochimaru wasted no time, disappearing off into the night as the boy staggered on his feet; a Jutsu being unmade like that creates a backlash of energy back into the caster.
Some more Hyuga guards came out of the compound cautiously, looking the area over. Upon seeing a barely standing Naruto, with no sigh of the Head or the heiress, they flitted over to the boy.
"Naruto-san (he was now on good terms with the Branch family guards, after he saved the well-liked heiress previously), what happened?"
"Naruto tiredly looked over at the Hyuga, before gesturing towards the damaged wall
"Hiashi and two guards were smashed into the wall by this Orochimaru guy, he took Hinata as well, I tried to stop him…
He went south."
Naruto and two Hyuga firmed their resolve and took off after the treacherous hebi. The others stayed to warn the Hokage and look after the injured.
While hebi-hunting, the Hyuga told Naruto how Orochimaru was once one of the most talented leaf-nin, that he had betrayed the ideal of the village (all for one, one for all, etc), killing innocents for experiments to become immortal.
He was currently an S-rank missing-nin, as dangerous as any Hokage in battle. It was said that only the other two of the legendary Sannin could match him in a fight.
Naruto made a quick, desperate plan "Ok guys, you circle around the flanks, I will attack directly, spewing my Tates, hopefully he will be slowed down enough for you to grab Hinata and flee. Once you see him defend, go in silently.
This is almost suicidal, you clan will not blame you if you back out now, so what is your answer boys?"
The two Stoic Hyuga merely nodded, punishment not withstanding, they would protect the clan secrets and the heiress with equal determination.
They found Orochimaru after they left the village behind, in a shadow-filled clearing. He was conferring with an ear piece, arranging a pick-up, apparently he had planned to flee to the North, not south side of the village, before being forced that way by Naruto's time consuming Chakra noTate.
They proceeded with their plan, a desperate manoeuvre it was indeed.
Naruto jumped out after giving the others a chance to get in position, launching a literal Tate wave as he went. The boy did get smarter this time though, he condensed as much Chakra into the waves as possible, making them harder to unravel with that odd green lace technique.
Orochimaru merely grinned "A resilient one eh? But really, that slow, weak Jutsu is pathetic, learn some more worthy ones if you can, if not just DIE!"
With that he shot forward, going straight through the Tate's, a blue aura surrounding his body for protection. The boy was simply no match for a Shinobi of such power and experience, even for delaying purposes.
The Sennin slammed his hands together on Naruto's one ear and skull before knocking the boy away with a spring-kick. He then blurred out of existence so quickly that he easily caught and killed the two Hyuga guardsmen. They died with screams on their lips, as well as multiple snakes tearing their way down their esophaguses.
"Fools, time to go then. I can hardly believe that child used such an interesting Jutsu though, he might be worth collecting later on, when I come for the Uchiha."
With that the hebi-sennin departed the scene, still muttering to nobody in particular.
"Pant, pant… Damn hebi-nutter, I am glad that manoeuvre worked well." Mumbled a still slightly stunned Naruto as he staggered to his feet.
As the boy was kicked away, he desperately formed handseals to a Jutsu he had always failed using, concentrated then performed a silent Kawarimi, replacing his trapped friend.
After hearing the thuds of the Hyuga hit the ground, he made a wild guess and used another Kawarimi on one of the Hyuga from within the sack, then there was success!
The hebi had moved off with the sack, unaware of the boy's subterfuge. That same boy managed to get Hinata over his shoulders, piggyback style and carted her back to Konoha.
The blonde wept as he went, for the two Hyuga guards who had not deserved to die in that manner. Lamentably the life of a Shinobi is fast paced and often violent, as the saying goes 'He who lives by the sword dies by the sword.'
Running blindly in the failing light, tripping and barely recovering due to the unaccustomed weight on his back, talking to Hinata all the while reassuringly, Naruto made it back to Konoha, specifically the hospital.
Bursting through the doors, Naruto knew the staff would not listen to or aid him unless he shifted the focus to another, quickly too. Hinata had not responded at all, he was unsure how badly injured she was.
"Hey, need some help here, the Hyuga heiress has been badly wounded!"
'That did the trick', thought the boy as a nurse gently took Hinata and placed her onto an emergency stretcher. They asked him to wait when he attempted to follow them down the hall, not wanting to cause a delay Naruto obeyed.
About one anxious hour later Naruto saw some of the Hyuga main family come out from the hall, with their branch member guards of course. He sprang up and said worriedly
"Hey, how is everyone? I did not stop to check on Hiashi…-sama (deciding to err on the side of caution, Naruto used the hated suffix) or the guards when I ran after that damn hebi."
One of the small party, an old woman who was likely a respected Hyuga elder, responded to the boy, she was known to be especially fond of Hinata.
"Greetings Naruto-san (A large sign of respect from one so arrogant), your bravery is admirable in these sad times, we have cause to thank you yet again for saving our Heiress and clan secrets from that village traitor.
Hiashi is doing well, he will suffer no lasting damage, and the guards will be all right in a few weeks as well. Hinata though was badly injured and suffered severe brain trauma.
She is in a coma at the moment, the doctor tells us she will likely not wake up, nor last beyond the morning. Please do not blame yourself for this (as she noticed his now clenched fists) you did all that could be done and more than any other could."
The rest of the party moved on as Naruto spoke with the elder. He asked her softly as he looked down at the ground
"Can I see Hinata p-please?"
The elder gave an affirmative grunt and nod, all that Naruto needed to rocket down the hall and softly step inside her room.
The girl was merely lying there, as if sleeping off a long day's training. Naruto took a seat by her bed and took her hand, tears leaking out of his normally Stoic eyes.
"Hinata… you were my first friend, I will always remember that you above all others were kind to me at all times. Thankyou Hinata, these words can never convey my gratitude."
The Jinnchuriki, merely an innocent boy who had this day had to deal with death for the first time, stayed in the room and held Hinata's hand all night. She passed on around an hour before the new day dawned.
Her funeral was held a week later, a private affair in the Hyuga compound. The only two non-Hyuga present were the Hokage and one Uzumaki Naruto. It was a beautiful ceremony, a fitting way to say goodbye to a precious person.
Naruto would remember two things for the future, first: never trust a Nuke-nin, second: friendship is important, protecting those friends is the most important thing of all.
Hr realised the ease that Orochimaru had dealt with him was from not using his Jutsu in the traditional fashion of the Shinobi. They had started off weaker than many, including the deadly samurai; Ninja eventually won through with stealth and trickery, not brute force.
Of course, brute force can help, yet must be used wisely, simply throwing up a wall of Chakra in front of an enemy has no subtlety, that strategy is doomed to failure. To survive, and learn from Hinatas death, Naruto would need to become smarter than your average hebi.
His team members noticed the change, the boy became much more focussed on the strategy side of things, ho also was faster in exploitation. If he saw a gap in the defences of either Danzo or Yuu, he would unflinchingly attack, with an increasing array of offensive skills.
His favourite Jutsu was the Tate of course, as well as the Seppeku fist for a combat style, yet he accepted that until they were refined the experience of others would have to be used for serious fighting, in the terms of Jutsu and style.
After the three Genin sparred for a while, Naruto holding his own competently with the two older boys, Ibiki decided on a training 'mission.'
A fairly simple mission, capture the opposing Shinobi without permanently damaging him. Simple yes, easy oh no, because the substitute for an opposing Shinobi happened to be none other than Morino Ibiki.
After a shaky start, the three were soon working together, Naruto playing the supportive role of 'shield caster' while the two other attacked. When his shield was in danger of breaking and Ibiki disabling his team mate, he would Kawarimi with Ibiki, saving the Genin from danger.
Ibiki was impressed with their teamwork, he eventually allowed Naruto to box him in with multiple Tate's, stating that by this point in home territory, reinforcements would have arrived, making the mission a success.
"Listen up boys, the most important aspect of being a Konoha Shinobi is simple – we help and support each other. It is great to have one powerful Shinobi who can take on almost any two opponents, but for a village you need good teamwork. That is why Konoha is the richest, most popular village in all the countries.
Look after your comrades, the Shinobi on a mission are almost always more important than mission failure or success. You can never accept 'I completed the mission, yet my men all died.' Listen and learn well, if you find yourself and your team in an untenable situation retreat!
It is not a crime, it will very likely save lives and that is vital for Shinobi, our life expectancy is lower than that of a doctor for plague victims. That is all for today, go and do whatever it is you all do to relax."
After this speech, the Genin did just that. Ibiki watched them leaving the area, the older loudly and boisterously, Naruto quietly, he stealthily disappeared form view as soon as he moved.
Ibiki thought to himself 'hmm, the kid took the death of his friend hard, yet he is progressing well and he does not seem to have any repressed anger, merely determination to not see a friend leave again. At least he will not be focussed on revenge, as I hear that stupid Uchiha is.'
Naruto found a secluded area and used his Chakra no Tate's against each other, pushing as much Chakra into them as he dared to. After that it was smashing various body parts into trees, to see which moves did more damage to the tree and less to him.
His accelerated healing did not allow him to heal from any wound, or regenerate limbs, as his aching left leg-stump and missing ear persistently reminded. Finding the best ways to tackle and fight others without enduring crippling injury was a necessity.
There was also far less risk in trying things on his team, then practising the movement, force and overall speed on unmoving objects. The boy generally trained until the sun was no more, before limping home, aching all over for Ramen and sleep.
This was dual-purpose, the more training he got the stronger he would become, also exhaustion equals less in the way of dreams. The blonde would dream about his best friend leaving this life, the sounds of the dying Hyuga and still darker thoughts and impulses, previously locked somewhere in his body and only now beginning to float to the surface.
-End of chapter, time for a little rant-
The 'American' bit refers to the filler ep of Naruto, 'chubby paradise'. When the fat man speaks English for a few words, it is said by some random person "Wow he can speak American.
I believe this is a huge liberty on the behalf of either the translators or the episode maker there. It is the English language; America does not even have its own dialect of English damnit!
Just wanted to point out that little thing that sticks in my mind.
Well there we are people, this is chapter 6 biting the dust, decided to start the 'real' chapters now, with what I believe the true life of a Shinobi entails, death. Dealing with it and meting it out to others, that is. Many fictions I have read have Naruto starting to crack under pressure, or having to deal with majority of pressure, from villager hate.
Do not get me wrong, I know many hate him, but in the Canon there is no huge indicators of high physical abuse, although it is entirely possible, the creator seemed to want to focus more on his mental struggle than physical, with intolerance. I tried to duplicate the spirit of this with this story, let me know how I am doing neh?
I am still undecided on a pairing; it is either Naru/Anko now, or simply a non-pairing fiction. If I am feeling lazy it will likely be a non-pairing, both for originality (I have read few Naruto fics that pass muster with no pairings/romance) and because it is simply easier to write.
Erm, that is around what I wanted to convey at this moment, please ask away if you have a question, comment, constructive criticism, etc, I listen to all replies and messages carefully.
That is all for now, hopefully next chapter will be out inside another week, I have a reasonable amount of time ATM. Good day/night Sir/Mademoiselle (such an odd, old style word that is too) reader.