Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian
Chapter 4: Sword Training 102
Revised – Final Version
Readers and reviewers, I'm glad you are enjoying my story so far. For those who are worried about Naruto being too powerful too quickly, fear not – the reasons that he's not really that powerful will become evident in this chapter, which I had it already named and planned out ahead of time. I also like to thank those who offered me their suggestions on what plot monotonies to avoid. While I already have the story planned out somewhat and can't always honor every suggestion, I promise to always give all of your suggestions seriously consideration.
Disclaimer: If I own Naruto, Kushina would have raised Naruto. I borrowed Narutoverse from Kishimoto and two techniques from Jin Yong. Everything else, including the explanation of how those techniques work, though, is mine.
…o.0.O.0.o…
'Someone wants to adopt me? Wait! He hasn't decided yet,' thought Naruto silently to himself as he listened in to the conversation beside him.
The aged Professor was aware of the brief miniscule movement from the now awakened boy. Though his facial expression gave nothing away, he was grinning his widest inside.
'So Naruto, you are smarter than you let on. Since you've heard my plan for getting you a family, I'll let you eavesdrop on our discussion. But you got some questions to answer regarding what happened last night.'
"Yo Pops, you there?" asked Asuma waving his hand in front of his father's stoic face.
Ignoring him, the older Sarutobi continued as if nothing happened, "Well, what do you think?"
"You know I don't see him as Kyuubi," responded the worried Jounin as he took in two long carcinogenic puffs. "I'm worried if I'm the right man for the job. Will I be able to instill qualities to make him a man of decent character? Will I be able to help him find his own nindo? Will I be able to protect him from bigots who are blinded by hatred? I don't know if I'm ready for such a big responsibility." Asuma continued to pour out his heart as Naruto listened in and Sarutobi became preoccupied in his own thoughts.
'Dammit Asuma! Why did you get that big mouth from your mother? Looks like I'll have to talk to Naruto about Kyuubi sooner than I planned. Naruto's handling this pretty well. In fact, no reactions from him. Even his breathing pattern gave nothing away. Either he's pretty good at eave dropping or… wait a minute … does he already know? Could last night really have been caused by the Nine-tails?' mulled the worried Hokage. 'Has the seal weakened?'
Despite Asuma's slip of the tongue, the fake sleeper remained unfazed, not giving away that he was already awake. While the boy was understandably upset with them for keeping Kyuubi a secret, he already got most of the shock out of his system when the transformed humanoid revealed this to him in his mindscape. At the moment his attention was captured by Asuma's emotional speech.
For an orphan born not knowing his father, hearing the beard Jounin talk about the anxieties and emotions shared by all new fathers opened his floodgates. A few years ago, Naruto swore to himself to never shed tears again. He accepted his fate and chose to stop giving his attackers the satisfaction of seeing him cry.
Hearing Asuma talking about his feelings made Naruto wondered again what his life would had been like if he was raised in a home with loving parents. His dammed up floodgate continued to rupture onto the pillow into which his face was buried. The blond was still careful not to betray any of the typical bodily movements associated with crying. He wanted to hear more of this candid conversation.
Perhaps his dream of having a family would soon be realized.
Asuma waved his hand in his father's face again in exasperation. "Dad! I'm sharing my feelings here," sounded a frustrated son. "Don't tell me you're still thinking about Kurenai!" As he said that last sentence, he inadvertently leaked out some killer intent through his frustration.
"Keep it down Asuma," commanded the calm Kage. Of course, he had already noticed a disturbance in Naruto's emotion. "We have more pressing issues on hand … right, Naruto?"
After quickly deepening his facial burial into the pillow, wiping away his tears, the aforementioned blond turned to face them. "Heh, heh," responded the sheepish child while pretending to stuff a yarn, "so you knew I was awake?" He slowly seated himself aright and stretched as he looked at the Sandaime and his son.
"Tell us what happened last night Naruto," demanded the Commander-In-Chief with all the seriousness of a leader overwatching the safety of his village.
'Two can play this game,' thought Naruto with a mental smirk, 'Let me see how I can get you to talk about my tenant first.'
"Naruto…"
"That's what I want to know old man! Where's my dessert? How did I end up here? Why is it morning already? Hurry up with your answers! I still need to play ninja with your grandson," spewed out Naruto.
Not wanting to miss an opportunity to connect with Naruto, the naïve Jounin commenced, "Well you see … wait-a-minute … you didn't remember fainting during dinner?"
"Cut the games Naruto," commanded a stern Kage.
Ignoring the Sandaime, Naruto turned Asuma and asked, "Are you really going to adopt me? I think you'll make a great father!"
"NARUTO!" shouted the Sarutobi duo with Asuma finally caught on to Naruto's game, though he could not help being happy hearing Naruto saying that.
"Okay fine! No games. But I'll show you mine, if you show me yours first," bargained the grinning blond prankster.
Both adults looked at each other puzzled, not quite sure what to make of that remark.
…o.0.O.0.o…
On the way to Naruto's apartment, the Copy-nin Kakashi came across the commotion in front of the once bustling Uchiha compound, which now reeked of blood and death. The uneasiness he stuffed away last night after his meeting with Naruto and the Hokage came back with full vengeance.
The normally unfazed ANBU captain put away his favorite pastime reading when a subordinate reported to him Itachi's massacre of his own clan. Changing his course destination, he sped toward the Hokage tower.
At the tower, the Copy-nin was greeted by Sarutobi Hiruzen's advisors and former teammates, Homura and Koharu.
"ANBU-san, please remove your mask." - and once he did - "Oh yes, Captain Hatake, what can we do for you?"
"Actually I was looking for the Sandaime. Is he here?"
"If you are here to inform him of Itachi's massacre of the Uchiha clan, we are already aware of it. The Hokage has scheduled a town meeting this afternoon to address the village of this unfortunate incident. As of now, Itachi has been declared an S-rank missing-nin in the Bingo book. He is considered ruthless and dangerous, and you are not to go after him. If you or any of your subordinates were to encounter him, you are to report back to the Hokage for further direction. Do not play hero or attempt kill or capture. Is that understood?"
"Hai."
"Dismissed."
…o.0.O.0.o…
"Did you know my parents?"
"No. What caused you to faint?"
"I passed out after trying to see how long I can hold my breath."
. . .
"Did you know my parents?"
"I found you in a baby basket outside my office door one night…. What caused you to faint?"
"I overheard that Orochimaru is eloping with Kurenai…."
. . .
"Did you know my parents?"
"I did," said an outwitted Hokage with a deep heavy sigh. "Your parents passed away. Your father had sworn me to secrecy. I'm sorry … I want to tell you, but I promised to keep this secret until you become a Chuunin. You wouldn't want me to break a promise, right Naruto?"
"Is that the truth?" asked the determined blond. The surprised expression on Asuma's face already validated the Hokage's claim to Naruto.
"It is," reassured the Sandaime. "Please believe me when I say that they loved you very much and that they didn't abandon you."
A long pause hovered over the room. Strong conflicting emotions of relief and grief, happiness and sadness, stormed through Naruto. Silence was laced with these tense emotions while Naruto processed Sarutobi's words. Surprisingly Kyuubi was not taking note of this or trying to take advantage of the seal's momentary weakness.
The aged Professor was worried about this too. To the aged Kage's relief, Naruto finally broke silence and returned the information exchange, "I didn't faint. Kyuubi invited me to meet her and trained me in sword arts."
"WHAT!?" shouted both tobacco users.
"Huh … would you rather hear me say 'Orochimaru eloped with Kurenai'?" asked Naruto, oblivious to the import of his revelation. "By the way, who are they and why did I hear their names in my sleep?"
"Uh ... that's not important right now," replied Hiruzfen, after having quickly schooled his feature back to his commanding posture. Taking a puff from his pipe, he said, "Now, tell us what happened last night."
For the next several hours, Naruto explained in detail and answered questions regarding the events that transpired in his mindscape: Kyuubi's appearance, how Uchiha Madara tricked her into attacking Konoha, her desire to train him to become a strong 'vessel,' the legend of Lonesome Hermit, and a brief overview of the Nine Stances.
By the time Naruto finished recounting, the father and son duo had consumed the clan's entire sake supply.
As Naruto recounted his mental experience, the Sandaime carefully analyzed everything the blond said.
'Did Kyuubi transform into a seductive beauty to corrupt the mind of an impressionable boy or to seduce him into liberate her? Regardless of the reason, I wish I was there to see how shapely her curves are...
'Wasn't Madara supposed to have been killed by the Shodaime. If the Demon Fox was going to fabricate an excuse to merely gain Naruto's trust, she would have used a more plausible person as the perpetrator. Her claim to have been tricked by Madara was too far-fetching to be ignored….
'I've never heard of the Lonesome Hermit. Maybe my student Jiraiya, a hermit himself, has heard of him during his travels…. Naruto's choice of words describing the Nine Lonesome Sword Stances made him sound like an experienced sword welder. His use of advanced medical terminology describing certain human anatomy further proved that Kyuubi did train Naruto, though her reasons for doing so sound too innocent to me.'
Asuma too was having a similar mental mulling.
'Um, a foxy beauty? I wonder how she compares to the angelic body of Kurenai. Dammit! I'm not a pervert. Gotta keep focused….
'Madara? Isn't he the founder of the Uchiha clan? I'll asked Dad later….
'An invincible hermit? Sounds like a tall tale to me…. Nine stances only? Ha! I bet my nephew can make up more stances in his sleep…. Now back to the foxy beauty. I bet Lady Kyuubi is a feisty one!'
The twenty-three year old Sarutobi was very easy for his friends to characterize. A chain smoker, yes. A procrastinating slacker, yes. But a pervert? Well … yes, but very few knew him as such. In fact, even fewer knew the real reason he left in a training mission was related to the 'accident' with his female teammate Kurenai.
- Flashback –
That 'accident' happened one night as Asuma was returning home from a bachelors party with Kakashi. As they passed Konoha's premiere hot spring, they overheard Konoha's three most desirable kunoichis Kurenai, Anko, and Yuugao discussing which men they would like to bed. Curiosity and inebriation got the better of them as they dared each other into henging as civilian women and entering the bath house.
Their plan was to put in few good words for themselves and better their chances in scoring a date with one of the Ice Queen Trio of Konoha. As their henged selves joined the kunoichis in the water, the silver-haired nervous drunk slipped on a wet rock and bumped Asuma in the back.
At the time, Asuma was struggling to maintain eye contact while talking to Kurenai and Anko. Talking to the curvy genjutsu specialist and the exotic snake mistress without getting caught eye-feasting on their heavenly naked bodies was quite a struggle. His quickened heart-beats and his inebriation added to the difficulties of maintaining his henge.
The bump from Kakashi pushed Asuma into a full frontal embrace with Kurenai.
Since Kakashi and Asuma used mere henges, the anatomical differences between the two hugging nudes became immediately detectable upon contact. In effort to separate himself from the awkward but pleasant position and escape with Kakashi before the three notorious pervert bashers caught on to their act or dispelled their henges, the bearded drunk accidentally grabbed one of Kurenai's soft ample frontal mounds and batted an extended part of his lower body against the silky slender leg of the sadistic snake mistress.
That was a dead giveaway that one of the new arrivals was a male under henge. Actually, Kurenai detected that both were under henge.
Before Kurenai dispelled their henges, Kakashi quickly performed a Kawarimi no Jutsu, switching their bodies with logs, for their escape.
"Get out of here you sick freaks!" shouted Kurenai behind their shrinking silhouettes, though she secretly enjoyed their accidental hug. The drunken perverts were both very fortunate that to this day, none of the Konoha's top three pervert bashers knew it was them that day.
What the escaping duo missed, and the Hokage caught in his crystal ball surveillance, was Anko's words to the other two kunoichis after they escaped. "Damn! Is that what I think it is that banged against my leg? We definitely have to add whoever he is to our 'To Bed' list."
- End Flashback –
Since that event, Asuma was unable to look at his female teammate the same way again. Perverted images of her and Anko invaded his dreams. Soon, his uneasiness drove rifts in team dynamics and jeopardized the team's mission completions.
When Asuma saw an opportunity to take on a long solo mission away from the village, he jumped, only to return two years later. His perverted dreams of the two kunoichis had lessened in frequency, but then again, he had not seen either of them in a long time.
While Asuma was reminiscing, Naruto concluded recapping the events in his mindscape by saying, "And I have been taught the old hermit's Nine Stances."
"What do you mean?" asked Asuma. "I bet it was just a good dream you had. And the Kyuubi as a beautiful woman? Didn't you know that she killed off half of the village's ninja, including the Fourth Hokage? And besides, aren't you a little too young to be looking at woman like that?"
"Hey, she may have killed a lot of people, but it's not her fault. Didn't you hear me? She was tricked," defended the blond.
"I don't believe you," Asuma taunted.
"Fine! I'll show you!" the blond shouted back as he kicked off his coverings and jumped out of bed.
Without the calmness and mental clarity that Yang afforded him in his mindscape, the whiskered blond was left with a mind and all the unrestrained emotions of an eight-year-old deprived of affection or acknowledgement. He easily let his emotions get the best of him.
Granted, his mind had undergone dramatic upgrades from spending time learning and answering questions from the Nine-tailed fox. He had spent an equivalent of two months time with a bijuu many times smarter than he, discussing the Kung Fu of sword art and pressure points, going through analogies explaining complex ideas into everyday language.
Still, deep down, he was an orphaned boy desperately wanting to show off and seek attention; thus, he was eager to show off.
"Confident now, aren't we?" continued Asuma with a taunting smirk. "Can't wait to get your first beating from your adoptive father before my dad finalizes the papers?"
"So you're really going to adopt me?" asked the hopeful blond with glistering reflective cerulean blue eyes.
…o.0.O.0.o…
Naruto was quite frustrated with himself right now. He and Asuma had just begun sparring using wooden sticks as swords. They were doing touch-only sparring. No jutsus or chakra-enhancing blows were allowed. The spiky-haired blond had started this sparring fully confident of his victory. However he soon discovered himself issuing commands his arms and legs couldn't execute.
'My arms and legs are not strong or fast enough to execute all the right counter moves. I bet they think I made the whole thing up.'
At this moment Naruto stepped into Asuma's offense few inches from his chest. He wanted to thrust the wooden stick upward toward Asuma's heart, but Asuma landed a faster palm strike on Naruto's chest, knocking him backwards.
'If this was in my mindscape, my sword would have been waiting for his incoming palm and injuring his hand. He wouldn't have a counter for it as he wouldn't be able to retreat in time. Instead of an easy victory, I'm sitting on my rear and holding my chest in pain. I wonder what Kyuubi would think seeing how I can't even land a strike against Asuma.'
Inside the sealed cage, in the center of Naruto's mindscape labyrinth, laid the snoring Nine-tailed Demon Fox in her full bestial glory. Kyuubi at the moment was in deep slumber. Suppressing her demonic chakra within herself and compressing her gargantuan size into a small-framed humanoid for an equivalence of two months tired even the most powerful of the tailed beasts. In addition to the energy used to constrict herself, she had to use triple that amount to channel Qi for that long duration.
She would need two months, or twelve real-world hours, to recover from her exhaustion.
Asuma was beside himself. A part of him wanted to be proud of his soon-to-be adopted son in showing a few brilliant moves while sparring, but another part wanted to beat the disrespect out of this boisterous child.
He knew Naruto's disrespect was his way of crying out for attention, seeking acknowledgement. The bearded Jounin could not and would not fault the lonely orphan for that. If he was to be honest with himself, the energetically loud and rambunctious voice of the blond grew on him; though, it still rubbed him the wrong way.
Focusing his thoughts back to the one-sided spar, Asuma concluded to himself, 'This kid's sword movements are too good to be random lucky swings. Each stab and thrust is the perfect counter of my move, though I'm faster. But if he has my speed and strength, I won't have lasted three seconds with him. Give him ten years to grow and train, and there won't be many who can put up a challenge against him.'
Pausing a moment, the bearded combatant asked himself, 'How is this possible? It must be true that Kyuubi trained him in his mindscape. But why would a bloodlusting demon do so? Could it simply be so that Naruto could carry out her revenge against Madara?'
Sarutobi watched on with all the decorum of a Kage. His experienced body trained in self discipline betrayed nothing of the pot of emotions inside him. Of course he was amused and even fascinated by this unknown sword art. True, Naruto was losing quite miserably, but the lethal efficiency of the Nine Stances was still evident, even in his dismal application of them.
More pressingly, however, Sarutobi was shaking with fright at the dire implications of Kyuubi communicating with her vessel. As the Hokage, he would use the self-sacrificing Shinigami seal if necessary, but could his conscience bare the weighty guilt of sealing the demon in another child who would no doubt experience the same village treatment Naruto received? How could he claim the unfortunate newborn from its parents and make it into a jinchuuriki?
Surly no one who knew how Naruto was treated would willingly offer their child for this; not even Minato, should he be given a second chance.
Despite knowing the overwhelming odds against him winning this sparring match, Naruto's fighting spirit did not waver. He remembered the beautiful humanoid's words, "The trick to mastering the Nine Stances is to use it against a superior opponent. The better your opponent is, the more of the Nine Stances' power you unleash."
Naruto dug deep within the strength of his character and the essence of his yet unknown heritage.
After his training with Kyuubi and his vow to avenge for his tenant, he resolved to not give up any more. No longer would he run away from mobs. No longer would he plead for mercy in the hands of his opponents. No longer would he be weak. Suddenly, the real-time equivalent of two months of memory he acquired in his mindscape flashed before his eyes.
- Flashback –
"Oh yeah? I'll prove you wrong! I won't fail because I'm going to be the Hokage one day and get the village to respect me just like they do the old man," announced Naruto with a fierce determined stare.
"Fine. I'll let you try," said the caged beauty with a feigned nonchalance. She opened the manuscript and read, "The Swordsman's Four Decrees: A swordsman is his sword. A sword is its wielder. A swordsman and his sword are one. A swordsman and his sword are none."
. . .
"You've got to learn about the theories of sword art first. No matter how you practice sword stances in your mindscape, you still can't condition your physical body. What I can teach you in here is the theory of sword art. To finish your training, you'll need to practice like hell once you return to the real world."
"Well, hurry up with your theories! I want to go back and train hard so no one will look down on me again!" declared the boy with a renewed determination beaming through his cerulean blue eyes.
. . .
The beautiful caged humanoid continued, "There are two types of sword masters: Those who carry a sword and those who don't. Sword carriers weld their swords like weapons, or tools in combat. The non-carriers move their swords like they move their arms or legs. Sword masters of the highest caliber do not carry their swords; they wear them like they wear their shoes. Their swords are part of their persons and extension of their beings."
"So that's what 'being one with the sword' means. What about the first two of the four Decrees: how I can be the sword and how the sword can be me?" asked Naruto.
"You'll learn to feel that way when you physically train with your sword in the real world," answered the faux beauty. "Oneness with the sword will get you far, but to be truly as great as the Lonesome Hermit, the last of his decrees says you and your sword must become none or invisible," continued her lecture.
. . .
After answering several rounds of Kyuubi's probing questions, Naruto concluded, "So the highest form of sword art is to become none; in other words, to do it without using any stances."
"That's correct." Kyuubi lectured, "Any layman can pick up a sword and swing wildly to give most of the experienced sword masters a hard time because the layman doesn't use any stances that a sword master would recognize to counter. A layman's sword swings are irrational and unpredictable and thus has the initial upper hand against a trained opponent. But swings of a layman are soon defeated because they lack variations and done without strategic purpose. However, imagine if those wild swings have countless variations and are well-placed against the opponent, aimed at any part of his body when injured could end his life. Not only would the opponent be forced to only defend once the wild swings start, he would eventually be defeated."
. . .
"Just so you know… The Four Decrees work equally effective in all areas of martial arts and jutsus," continued Kyuubi. "In a battle, any ninja can be defeated if you know ahead of time what jutsus they use and how to counter them. You'll become difficult to defeat, almost impossible, if you constantly remain unpredictable and use jutsus that are lethal and powerful enough to force your opponent to always be on the defense."
- End Flashback –
With a renewed determination, the eight-year-old boy tightened his sword grip and swung his sword, arching down and around in full circle, back to be joined in full grip with his other hand.
With both hands, Naruto held the sword in front in anticipation. He called out, "Asuma, I know you can beat me because my body is not strong or fast enough to effectively use the moves of the Nine Stances. So instead of continuing this pointless spar, why didn't you use this opportunity to train me instead, like Kyuubi-sensei did when she sparred with me?"
Asuma was taken aback by Naruto's assertive request. However, he was not given an opportunity to respond.
"Naruto, hold that thought! The three of us need to sit down and talk some more," interrupted the aged Kage, "but right now we have an important village meeting to attend to. You might want to come along."
"What's this about Dad?" asked his not-even-winded son.
"We have a village-wide Town Hall Meeting scheduled," answered the Hokage with an emotionless expression, "There's an important announcement I have to make."
…o.0.O.0.o…
(Elsewhere)
Sitting in the lotus position with his trusty sword resting by his right side, the skilled sword master slowly sipped his tea. Surrounding him were the calligraphy of the kanji for four cornerstones of the WuXia community written onto each of the walls: Justice, Loyalty, Truth, and Honor. On each of the walls hung 40 lit candles, separated equally into four rows. A total of 160 candles lit the room and acted as its only light source.
He finished his tea and set his cup down. With both hands, he grabbed the cloth before him on the table and tied it around his head, across his eyes, blindfolded himself in the process.
His right hand grabbed his sword as he leapt into action from his sitting lotus. As his body twisted in midair in the direction of his legs uncrossing from their lotus, he unsheathed his sword and swung it around the room at the candles lined up against the four walls, enhancing the execution and extending the reach of his movement with Qi. The sword traveled through air, pointed to every candle in the room, and extinguished every one of them just as quickly. Four complete revolutions later, he landed back into a sitting lotus on the spot where he had been before his performance. The room went dark, save the single flame on the tip of his sword.
With another leap into the air, twisting in the direction opposite of his last, he used the same sword technique and relit each candle, all 160 of them, re-sheathed his sword, and landed back into a sitting lotus.
One hundred sixty candles this time. That was forty more than what he was able to do a year ago. Eventually he hoped to be able to handle two hundred candles with this move, all while extinguishing and re-igniting them all during one leap.
Sensing one of his disciples' footsteps approaching, he removed his blindfold and leapt into the air and landed in a crouching position, upside-down on the ceiling, using chakra to hold his place. When his disciple entered into his room with the goal of handing him an important message from Master Wong and met disappointment, Wu snickered silently at the boy's plight. Frustrated, the boy left his master's room, hastily going to the next. Master Wu landed on the ground silently and followed him.
'This will be so much fun to steal that message from him and then threaten to discipline him for losing such an important document.'
Stealing the message from his disciple was not hard. In his prankster mind, it was as easy as stealing candy from a baby. Wu, with the message scroll now in hand, let the unfortunate disciple continue his search. He read, "Master Wong of the Monastery of Ancient Manuscripts would like your audience concerning the prophecy of the Guardian of the Two Nines."
'Guardian of the Two Nines!?'
Wu, the guardian for one of the two Nines, the Nine Lonesome Sword Stances, was the Headmaster of WuDang. Surprisingly, WuDang was a school of martial arts with no background history with the Nine Stances. Instead, the school focused on Kung Fu derived from Nine Yangs of Qi, which its founder Zhang San-Feng was highly influenced by. Zhang San-Feng was the legendary Kung Fu master who invented the world-renown Tai Chi methods of cultivating Qi, overcoming tough opponents with gentle techniques, and wielding the sword with nearly no defensive weaknesses.
Though Wu had become the guardian for the famed sword technique, the Nine Stances, he was more of a fist fighter than a sword fighter. Wu became a direct disciple of the late and then aged Zhang, and his fighting style was greatly influenced by him.
How Wu came to be the Guardian of the Nine Stances was a tall-tale in itself. For the longest time everyone in the WuXia community expected Master Wong of the Monastery, who was already the Guardian of the Nine Yangs by then, to become a dual guardian to the Nine Stances, ergo, the long-awaited Guardian of the Two Nines. Partly due to Wong's noble and benevolent character, partly due to how many schools of martial arts owed Wong favors or were recipients of his kindness, and partly due to Wong's own unmatched Kung Fu skills, very few dared to challenge him for the guardianship of either Nine.
One notable challenger was a ninja known as the Masked Shadow. Their battle was one for the history. Kung Fu verses ninjutsu. Qi verses chakra. Skills verses bloodline limit. Nine Yangs verses the Sharingan. Wong and the Masked Shadow battled evenly nonstop for three days and three nights. In the end, Wong's self-replenishing Qi outlasted his opponent's supply of chakra. Masked Shadow fled before Wong dealt him the finishing blow. They had not met again since then.
Despite everyone's urging for Wong to fulfill the prophecy, Wong himself never wanted the dual guardianship. It was not in his character to be greedy or power hungry. However, to fulfill his honorable duty, he would have accepted the position should the manuscript for the Nine Stances chose him for the position, but alas, that was not meant to be. Wong was very happy when he detected the manuscript's aura gravitated toward Wu, and in essence chosing him to be its Guardian.
Wu's chanced meeting with the manuscript was all due to a prank – the first and only, so far, in the history of the Monastery – he was trying to pull on the monks during his one time visit with his master Zhang San-Feng. He later found out from reading the manuscript that the previous guardians of the Nine Stances, including their creator the Lonesome Hermit, were all pranksters at heart. To learn the Nine Stances, one must be a prankster at heart. Nine Stances played off the creativity of their user and the user's ability to read and react to the opponent's anticipated movement. Thus, Wu was the ideal candidate as the Guardian of the Nine Stances, whereas Wong was not.
It had been a while since the last time the two masters met.
'Hehehe, that means I get to see Wong again. His monks and he need to loosen up a bit. Another prank is in order, and I have plenty of time to think of a good one, too. But first thing's first …'
The urgency of Wong's message told him that it was time to get serious. Wu's fun-seeking spirit was slightly dampened by the fact that his prank would have to be somewhat abridged from what he had originally planned. He called out to his disciple, "Chen, I'm right here."
Startled, but very relieved to have found his master, he snapped his head towards the direction of Wu's voice.
"I see that you have a message scroll from Master Wong of the Monastery of Ancient Manuscripts." Wu said with a straight face while pointing to the small fake scroll that he had used to switch with the real one. "Let's head back to the Great Hall where all disciples must be gathering. You'll get the honor of reading its content aloud."
Seeing a genuine smile on Chen's face along with a sincere thankful nod, Wu almost felt bad continuing his prank. Almost.
In the Great Hall, the disciples of the WuDang School gathered in anticipation of an announcement of great importance. They had all been made aware by the receiver of the pigeon that the bird carrier was the faster one of the Monastery and that meant an urgent message from Master Wong to Master Wu.
Quite a few of the WuDang disciples were friends with a few of the Monastery monks. By the look on their faces, one could tell that they were worried for the safety and well being of their comrades. Those who had no acquaintances in the Monastery were worried for another reason – if a powerful enough threat existed that could cause alarm for their allies in the Monastery, then the threat must be a formidable one that they too would need to be on guard against.
All the disciples were relieved to see their master enter the Great Hall with their fellow apprentice brother, Chen, in tow.
"Since many of you are aware that we've received an urgent message from Master Wong, let's have the message read by our very own and the newest addition to our school, Apprentice Chen."
Some of the senior apprentices silently snickered when they heard the playful tone in their master's introduction. They put on their best straight face while eagerly anticipating the prank their master had in store for Chen.
Throat clearing …
"I, Master Wong, have sensed through my overabundant Qi that a chronic bed-wetter recently enrolled in your school."
… a brief pause and an audible gulp …
"Please be advised that you'll need to have extra fresh sheeting on hand."
… some snickers in the background …
"You'll probably want to keep this message a secret so your enemies won't use this weakness of his in combat."
Those who snickered were struggling to hold in their laughter.
"Master Wu," Chen the new addition into the WuDang school said with a naive worrisome face, "I'm sorry my weak bladder worried you and Master Wong."
Soon all the students completely lost control and burst into laughter.
Even Wu himself gave in to laughter as well. Soon, his laughter would fade though when he would have to explain to his students what the real message said and why he would be visiting the Monastery for a month. However, right now he treasured these moments of innocence when his disciples could still be kids, not having to worry about the bad guys in the horizon.
A/N: What do you think of this chapter?
Who do you think is really to blame for the Uchiha Massacre?
What would you say if I made Sarutobi responsible for all of it – including the death of civilians living and children in Uchiha compound? – keep in mind that was manga Madara's unverified declaration to Sasuke.
Thanks! And I reply to ALL reviews!
Next…. Chapter 5: Truth of the Uchiha Massacre!