CHAPTER EIGHTEEN – Present day, human world, Land of the Waves
(this chapter has gruesome imagery in it; I apologize for any vomiting you experience)
Kyuubi paced back and forth in her office. She'd been waiting for about six hours now to receive word from the messenger she'd sent off to find out exactly what was being planned. She knew good and well that Kenzo was on the move, that he planned something in league with Orochimaru and Akatsuki, but did he truly plan on giving the ancient artifact to the snake nin? It didn't make sense at all. Kenzo, I've always known you; you've never had any redeeming qualities, but you've also never enjoyed serving other beings. Why would you be the servant to Orochimaru? She could not comprehend such a thing.
A rapping was heard on the door. "Enter," she rasped. The messenger took two steps into the honorable lady's office and knelt.
"My lady!" he announced. He waited for her to stand in front of him and he held the scroll above. "This is only the most important information from the land of waves!"
"You swear this is untouched?"
"My lady! I haven't even looked at it!"
She nodded, excusing him from her office. Opening the scroll she sat down and read the information presented. The words were from Yondaime.
My dearest, sorry for having departed from the village; I put you in charge because you can keep order. I had to keep tabs on my son because I've had bad feelings about this deal I made. Predictably, although I dare not reveal this to my son for threat of breaking cover and ruining his secrecy, Orochimaru has been posing as the governor and as you suspected, Kenzo is his "higher allegiance." I'm keeping tabs on their movements and I'll report back to you. If I do not report back in three days, you know what to do; bring this info up before the committee of elders and make the preparations for war.
P.S. Do NOT break this news to anyone. I do NOT want a panic or a leak. And DON'T TELL NARUTO! This message will self-destruct in twenty seconds.
Your lover, Arashi Uzumaki, Yondaime of Konohagakure
She set the message in her metal trashcan and scooted it aside. Seconds later, a small poof was heard followed by a plume of smoke. Two anbu swarmed in with swords drawn; she sent them away with a wave. She shook her head and took a drink of blood from her glass. Damn you, Arashi, why do you have to take matters into your own hands!...? She still could not believe that Kenzo served under the snake nin. It defied all logic she held about him.
Many miles away, a slightly nervous figure stood leaning against a tree, fidgeting with her fingers. Hinata waited for Naruto to return. She had dreaded this step in her advancement; she, now a fox demon from Kenzo's blood, would have to eat human flesh at least every so often for the rest of her life. She adapted to her new senses, even her psychic abilities he helped her with. This, however, the task of killing and eating people, she did not desire.
"Oi! Hinata-chan!"
She looked up; dragging behind him a bound and gagged prisoner, walked Naruto. His fox ears and tails no longer hidden by genjutsu, his reddish eyes showing and fangs no longer sheathed by illusion, he seemed dramatically different from the gentle-looking boy she knew. The prisoner had been largely unharmed, but she knew, he would not remain that status for much longer.
He grabbed the man's hair and threw him in front of Hinata. "Hinata-chan, this man is a killer; he murdered his friend during a dispute," Naruto explained, "he deserves the fate you're about to give him."
"B...But...but Nar...Naruto-kun..." she stammered. "I don't...don't wanna kill him.."
"It's no different from an assassination mission."
"B...But..."
He rolled his eyes. "Would you rather massacre him willfully, or involuntarily murder and eat an innocent family because you were hungry and they were the first in your sight?"
"I don't want to eat people!" she finally shouted.
"You have no choice," he reminded, standing his ground. "If you don't eat him now, your hunger will kick in. You'll eat a person inevitably. I'm offering you the chance to choose who you want to eat as opposed to your emotions choosing it for you."
She hesitatingly approached the kneeling man and took his cheeks comfortingly in her hands. She soon began to cry, just like the man was already bawling. "I...I...I'm ter...rribly sorry..." she closed her eyes. "Please...forgive me..."
With a sudden twist she snapped his neck.
Naruto grinned as she cried tears for the man she just slayed. "Good job, Hinata. I know that was hard, but you'll have to keep your hunger away to stay in control." He wiped his brow. "Now flay and eat him."
She knelt, and struggled with the man's shirt. Naruto took initiative by tearing it off forcefully. Hinata transformed her hands into her fox demon claws. The blonde nin looked down approvingly at what he saw occur. After a few seconds the blood and meaty tissue drowned out the thoughts of pity and sorrow in her mind. It tasted to her as sweeter than anything she'd ever had. Seeing her feast on the man's corpse made him hungry, but since this happened to be her first human feasting, he dared not interfere. She finished faster than he expected her to, wiping blood off her face and then licking her fingers clean.
"I know that was a terrible experience, Hinata," he consoled her, "but it was necessary. Now we can go back to the village."
She shivered, that familiar scared look on her face, betraying her nervousness. "I...Naruto-kun...I...I..."
He gently caressed her face. "Yes, Hinata-chan?"
"I..." she felt dirty to be saying what was on her mind. "I'm...still hungry."
His eyes widened. He was not expecting this turn of events. "I...guess I could round up another prisoners."
She wiped blood off the skeleton, and licked her fingertips. "I...this feels wrong...but I can't..."
He waved his hands softly. "I understand."
Several minutes later, Naruto stood watching over Hinata, decided to contact his mother. ; Mother, ; he telepathically said, ; I just introduced Hinata to human flesh like she'll have to eat from now on. ;
; How is she doing? ; Kyuubi predictably responded.
; I...I expected her to be hungry at first, but not like this at all. ;
Kyuubi became concerned. ; Explain, "like this." ;
; Six humans in the past five minutes. I think she's finally almost full. ;
Kyuubi scratched her head. ; If she's still hungry after this one, I authorize you to forcefully stop her from eating. ;
; I'll keep you informed. ; He went back to Hinata.
Hinata stood up, and cleaned her face off. "How are you?" Naruto inquired.
"I'm...I'm done. I'm full, Naruto-kun."
He hugged her. "That...wasn't that bad, was it?"
"I...I feel...feel wrong...and dirty...like...like I've sinned against...my family..."
He kissed her, tasting the blood on her lips. Then he ran his tongue across her cheek to get the excess blood. "That feeling will go away in time," he reassured her. "You'll have to eat human flesh at least once a week from now on."
"Naruto, I..."
"Hmm?"
Naruto, I love you. "Naruto, I..." she coughed. "I think we should get back now." She silently cursed her inability to speak.
"Yeah." He smiled as he ran his hand through her hair. They both reestablished their genjutsu.
For the next few days, Naruto and his crew eliminated several dozen people from the unwritten list of potential shinobi. Leaving only the best applicants, they made sure to thin the ranks to only those who could actually make it past academy student level. Inari caught on surprisingly quickly, and having shinobi his own age (namely Otowano, who had improved from academy student to jounin in a matter of only two years since discovering his chakra) aided him. Every one of the ninja being trained, and their Konoha trainers suspected absolutely nothing of the overall plan. Yondaime spied on Orochimaru and his higher allegiance, as far as Kyuubi knew, and keeping that secret wasn't something she enjoyed doing but she knew her son would overreact if he found out the truth. Hinata managed her hunger well after awhile; learning to preempt her hunger wasn't easy but she managed with Naruto's help.
Orochimaru, in his governor disguise, walked through the streets of the land of waves. He kept an eye on the team from Konohagakure while Akatsuki kept moving on towards their goal. He knew of the opportunity that the artifact presented; the power of the Earth would be his. No force known to exist could stand against him with the aura on his side. However, the young jounin and his team posed a direct threat to his plans; he dared not trust keeping tabs on them to a lesser-qualified shinobi. Only he, the mighty leader of Akatsuki, did he entrust that task.
Oh, how pitiful, Naruto-kun, he thought as he watched the blonde give an outdoor instruction to a group of fishermen. You actually think this matters. If the situation weren't so important, I'd find this funny.
Far from the village, a large group of Akatsuki foot soldiers scoured a cavesite.
"Kozumo!" One cried. "Do you see anything?"
The shinobi crossed the rickety bridge and peered into the chamber with his torch. He smiled as he lifted a box from the rocks. "I've found the first half!"
After throwing the half of the stone to his comrades, an invisible force blasted him off the bridge and he plummeted to his death. His allies paid no attention.
"Let's get this back to lord Orochimaru!" They began spelunking out of the cave.
"So, they've found it at last," Yondaime whispered to himself as he stood outside the cave listening in. "I'd better get back to my son before my ancestor shows up; that prick can't be far behind." Stealthily he evacuated.