Journey of a Ronin Ninja
Chapter 8
In the Elemental Countries
-
Seven figures stood in a cave with an ugly statue, a wall hanging in the back with nine gems placed in it started to shine bright red from the middle gem and an evil aura leaked through the cave notifying the caves contents that something was happening.
"It seems that the Kyuubi no Kitsune has shown it self after all." Stated a man shrouded in a black almost unnoticeable colored cloak.
"Do you want us to go after it Leader-Sama?" a man with a giant wrapped blade that hung over his shoulder.
"Not yet; it seems that the little jinchuriki has wandered to my old country and is probably hidden rather well. I have just recently arrived from visiting my old home land and was beaten due to a minor misconception, I underestimated an opponent. We'll go later, but for now, take the two tailed jinchuriki and bring her here alive; I want to see if my thoughts are correct on a minor detail." He said with a low hiss.
"Should one of us go to Konoha and find out if Itachi's little brother has gotten wind of this yet? He might set out on a journey to kill him and screw up our whole entire scheme!" remarked the man with a spiral like face with a hole in it.
"Hmm, maybe, send one of my underling squads to spy on him and the rest of Konoha, if they begin to move, then either they can our one of you can go and kill him, leave the village standing though." The leader of the group stated before disappearing into the cave.
-
Konoha
-
A few select group members of the council were sitting in an unauthorized meeting when a member of Roots burst in and handed Danzo a letter; right after reading the letter he burnt it over a candle and let the ashes fall from his palm and scatter into the wind. He stood up and ignored Hiashi as he chuckled grasping everyone's attention.
"What is the meaning of this Danzo-San" Hiashi asked hotly.
Only three words left his mouth for his explanation, "We've found him!" soon the whole room was cheering and started talking about plans for his death.
Or so the council thought. Not knowing where Naruto had journeyed off to, they automatically thought that he had traveled to Iwa where the signal of the Kyuubi's chakra was emitting from the strongest, not knowing that they would loose a few hunters on the way there and back. After about a week and a half or so, the council decided to call of the search and go back to planning a new and dangerous plot to gain a stead fast alliance with Suna.
--
Three weeks since combat ended and Naruto was tired as a dog, not from accidentally using an ability that could have killed him, not from battle it self but from the boredom of sitting in the medical wards of the castle were Nene had made sure he didn't leave from or he would be met with a punch to the back of his head. A week ago he had waken up from the battle and was in a lot of pain and could barely move, and was put down as critical in nurse Nene's book and was forced to stay in the room for a week after he woke before he could walk around the castle.
As he walked out of the castle he thought about a few things, one was finding a village he could call his own, another was if he should reside on the ocean front, or should it be inland incase of a naval battle early on.
He walked down the path and towards the stables and groomed Ni-Yabureme as he put a few things together. After an hour or so of doing so he left the stables and went in search of Satake and then to find Hideyoshi. Walking back to the castle he was met by Magoichi and Sakon who were talking about their lives while being ronins.
"So you are leaving now Naruto?" Magoichi spoke up as he saw him coming towards the castle.
"Yeah, I have to get going and try to find a village I can call my home ya know?" Naruto replied as he stopped and looked at the two men for a moment.
"Well if your leaving now, don't forget to talk with Hideyoshi first. Other than that…nothing I can say except for have a safe and fruitful journey my young friend." Sakon said as he stuck out his hand towards Naruto who took it almost immediately and nodded.
"Take care you two, and don't let Nene go of fighting alone, she almost got shot last time, good thing I was there huh?" and then Naruto looked at Magoichi and said, "You remember to keep on keeping on, got that? 'cause if you don't I will come back and kick your ass!" afterwards he smiled and shook Magoichi's hand.
"I already have some other things to do, I am now serving Hideyoshi all the way…I'll make sure that Nene is safe, don't you worry about that, hehe!" he laughed out.
"Magoichi, you're a pervert." Naruto said blandly and then laughed for a moment. "You remind me of my old sensei you know that? I guess that all grown men are perverts huh?" Naruto chuckled as he walked off. "See ya later." and with that he left into the castle.
Naruto walked towards the war chambers and passed Nene on the way and stopped to say thanks. "Hey Nene, I just want to say thanks for before, with the medical stuff; I don't know of anything besides naked women could keep both a pair of drunk men away from the medical wing, thanks."
"That's nothing, you should have seen them when we got back from Yamazaki, they were both already plastered by then, and wanted you to wake up and make you drink in celebration; both of those two are imbeciles when it comes to alcohol. It is my way of saying thanks for the aid back on the battle field as well…I was a meanie wasn't I?" she explained.
"Only sometimes, most of the time you were annoying!" Naruto said humorously as he was hit over the head by her incoming fist. "Anyways, I need to speak to Hideyoshi about some compensation for the battle, I need to leave as soon as possible to meet my goals in life, I also have to find Satake as well, you seen him around lately?" Naruto stated/asked.
"He went to the training grounds this morning and hasn't come back yet so that is where I would look for him. See ya later Naruto, this is not the last time we will meet!" she said in a bubbly way and then walked off.
Again Naruto walked towards the war room and this time got to the room and found that only Hideyoshi was in the room and asked him about the money for helping at Yamazaki. After a long talk about not attacking each other if they could help it, Naruto walked out of the room leaving a sobbing feudal lord and a bag of money, walking down towards the training grounds, and all the way to them people could hear the cries of Hideyoshi over the loss of five thousand gold.
-
Giro Satake was meditating as Naruto walked towards him and then stopped as the man pulled his blade out and turn to face him. "So you're up and about huh?" seeing a nod he continued, "We're leaving soon right? I hate this place…it get annoying with two or three drunks talking about sexual escapades and one of them being the lord of the Toyotomi…Yuck!" he stated while sticking his tongue out and shaking his head slightly at the thoughts that came to him.
"Yeah, I said my farewells and promises not to attack the Toyotomi and our gold although that took the longest part by the way, half is for you for helping me out if you want it now?" Naruto said as if it was an everyday thing.
"You're going to give me a half cut of your profits?!" Satake asked as Naruto questioningly nodded. "You are aware I have to serve you as it is the way of my honor right?" Naruto shook his head and walked towards the training dummies and pulled out his double blades and sliced the target in three.
"I don't like the idea of slaves just because I aided you in a battle to regain your freedom, but if you must then I order you to help me on my escapade and then your free; how about it?" Naruto explained while putting his blades back on his back and then sticking a hand out towards Satake.
"And just what is this escapade of which you speak?" Satake asked.
"Building a home that I can call home, and the annihilation of one country of which I have been shunned from for nothing what so ever." Naruto hastily said as he waited for the hand shake.
"What did they do to make you leave?" Satake asked again.
"The country enticed an old colleague for power and tried to kill me twice for his families 'Ultimate' power, since I brought him back to my first home village even though they wanted him back…they tried to kill me for 'Trying' to kill the asshole. That village has earned my wrath." Naruto explained while trying not to accidentally tap into Kyuubi's chakra at the mentioning of the two things he wanted to destroy.
"So to get rid of two evils you will raise an army and wipe them out huh?" Satake asked.
"I will give those who are innocent a chance to flee, but the others who don't or support them will not be so lucky." Naruto said as he waited for the answer.
"Fine then, I will aid you…but only until that is over, and then I will leave to start my clan again and have a chance to see grandchildren." Satake said as he shook Naruto's hand.
"Good, then I can tell you one thing." Naruto said as they walked toward the stables.
"What's that?" Satake asked.
"You're free. If you think that you wont get your chance to revive your clan in this mission and the next that come after, then leave and bring your clan back and teach them to carry on honor and loyalty." Naruto explained as he brought his horse and Satake's out of the stables.
"You know I could say that know and leave with my money right?" he asked with a blank tone.
"Yes but you won't… I can sense that." Naruto said as he got on his horse and waited for Satake to join before leaving.
"You are a trusting kid, I like you, your what a true lord should do to his underlings and officers." Satake said as he got on his horse and trotted forward with Naruto towards the gates and towards the south eastern part of Japan.
-
Two weeks later
-
Naruto and Satake were traveling from village to village looking for both crime to crush for extra gold, but also support and men to follow them and only succeeded in gaining about five hundred gold and three men to aid them.
One was a man in his twenties that went by the name Kamiizumi Nabutsuna, a samurai with a spear and a kodachi and wore brown armored pads on his shoulders and had small antlers sticking out of his helmet. He was about 6'3" and rode on a white horse that was slower than Naruto's horse but about the same as Satake's.
The other two men were ordinary men with standard katanas. They rode brown horses and were a lot slower than Naruto's and were slower than the other's as well. They weren't much of a party but they were still there to aid Naruto and Satake.
-
One week later
-
A village with a bunch of crime and bandits were eliminated by the group of five and gained ten others on their journey to find a new land to call home; all of them had their originals destroyed in the battles and had nothing else to do so they jumped on their horses and rode along with the others.
The group of thirteen had listened to Naruto's and Satake's tale of woe and had joined them agreeing with Satake that a true lord should not just rule because he could and do so with an iron fist and no feelings towards his underlings, and that was what they believed Naruto was.
"Uzumaki-Sama!" Kamiizumi Nabutsuna yelled out to Naruto as they were traveling towards the south east, "Every army has a color for their people to recognize each other so what will ours be?" he asked as the unit came to a slow trot.
"First of all stop calling me Uzumaki-Sama, it makes me feel old and powerful, and I am not either. And second of all…either green uniforms or brown, no one to my knowledge has either color do they Satake?" Naruto asked his first officer.
"No one that I have heard of, except for Date Masamune, I think he wears green and black; brown is only worn by either ronins or bandits or is it yellow that bandits wear now, I don't really know now." He replied a little flustered at his little knowledge about the question he tried to answer.
"Why not orange sir?" another man asked as the group came to a town.
"For one my enemies from my old home will look for that color thinking that I am an idiot to wear that color now, and two, it will make covert missions harder for us to accomplish." Naruto answered as the men got off their horses and walked them towards the stables which were conveniently placed near the gates of the village.
The group walked towards the inn, entered and waited for a service maid or man to come to their aid when Naruto realized the one of the towns' men walking in to the room to aid them.
"Do my eyes play tricks on me?!" the man started as he took a closer look at Naruto. "It is, you have returned! Oh lucky day! Your rooms are free tonight young savior and please don't say no to my invitation, as it would be only paying you back for helping my granddaughter!" the man said with a bow.
"Normally I would say no, but if you insist, then let my group stay for free and I will pay for my own bed, I cannot let you fall into debt just because I aided you once or twice." Naruto said while rubbing his neck.
"But young master!...very well then, you're group can stay for free and I will accept your gift if you really and truly want it?" the old man said again.
"I do. It would not be right to just live off of debts owed to one another." Naruto relied as his men moved towards the stairs as the maidens came to show them the way to their rooms.
"I will also pay for my own room old inn owner, it does not do just to take it if he does not take the offer; besides my honor would be tarnished if I did that." Satake said as he took some gold out and placed it on the counter along with Naruto.
"Very well then, have a good night young savior." The old man said before he went to the back room and sat down on a mat and drank some tea.
As the duo walked up stairs, Satake asked Naruto a question, "Young savior huh? What did you do to earn that name?"
"Nothing other than fend a bandit army off with Shima Sakon's help along with a few villagers and some tactics. They wanted me to stay here but I needed to move on and so I did, but I accidentally moved North West instead of south east and met Hideyoshi." Naruto explained as he entered the room that had four bed placements in the room.
"Why don't you set up an army here? It has steppes and a forest for expansion, it could be a step in the right direction, and plus if I am right about this, the ocean would be about twenty or thirty miles away you could set up a naval fleet and an out post to protect it. If what you say is true, then you need ships to get there and back don't you?" Satake asked as he placed his sword down and removed his armor and walked off to take a bath.
'Maybe, but to do this then we would have to scout the whole area and cut down many trees and make small out posts to protect workers. Kyuubi are you awake?'
"It has been a while huh brat?" the demoness asked. "What, have you made up your mind yet?"
'You mean to tell me that you haven't been going through my thoughts?' Naruto asked her.
"Nope, to many hidden thoughts about a certain kunoichi for my to take for awhile." She replied.
'I have decided about attacking the villages, but first I need to know if my plans for this area would work.' He told her about the plans for a few bases that were with in a few miles of each other.
"That would work, I think if you could get the villagers here to co-operate which would be to hard since you are their savior and all; but tell me when you plan to attack the villages?" Kyuubi asked with excitement in her voice.
'I have decided to attack Oto at least, and if Konoha does anything to piss me off I will attack them, off course letting the innocent escape. But for now just Oto.' Naruto said as he felt a lot of pressure fall off his shoulders and dissipate.
-
End Chapter
-
Long time no read eh? Been bored to the point where not even making fun of midgets made me laugh anymore, my mother hogging the computer, not being able to use the internet due to weather complications, and writers block…these are the reasons why I didn't update sooner.
Sorry for the shortness, but then again I have had writers block for a while and this will help me get over it. Working on the next chapters for BK, my new story I Will Return which is about…well go read it and find out. It also seems that the sequel for COTTJ will out soon as well, just can't get away from it. Please overlook the grammatical errors, my word program doesn't like to make sure anything is correct when I upload so…
Weapon votes:
Bo-staff:
Takagi and nekode:
Pistol: 2
A chain with two morning stars (A spiked ball and chain, they used them in the medieval era in Europe and Korea I think):
I am throwing in Hanzo's scythe and chain as well because it is light weight and small: 1
Exploding knives: 2
Toothpick: 1
Nothing has changed with the votes, and I don't mind it at all, but to those out there…see ya next time!