Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian

Chapter 9: Wu to the Rescue!

Disclaimer: 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…

Sasuke was more than pissed.

Never had he felt as unfairly treated as he did now, not once in his twelve years alive.

Even when he was younger, when his parents were still alive, when his big brother was still his hero and their father's favorite son, and when the whole clan praised Itachi as their pride and joy … everything short of erecting a statue in his likeness, all of which gone after that fateful night, …

… never in his revenge-driven life had he felt so angry.

Never mind that he had just lost his dog companion Chame a moment ago during a team orientation exercise, in which the dog had growled at an unknown target in the woods and uncharacteristically ran after it alone. The team attempted to search for him, but to no avail. In the end, Sasuke grew more frustrated at each passing minute of their failure and angrily dismissed everyone so he could brood alone.

Chame had been his security blanket since he lost his family to his brother four years ago. In terms of his mental health, introducing Chame so early during his mourning had been a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because it helped him cope with the tragedy easier while learning how to make and be a friend. It was a curse because he had become depended on Chame that his pain was never completely healed.

In time like this, where he had been separated from his dog for a duration of time, he became anxious, insecure, and irritable.

"How dare them!" he muttered with spite while delivering a punch to a nearly decimated training post.

His anger rose even higher when he recalled Danzou's words from a week ago.

"Sasuke, you are the sole heir of the mighty Uchiha clan. You alone are the only true possessor of the elite and incomparable Sharingan. You are destined for greatness. It is in your blood. People of Konoha will worship the ground you walk on."

"How … by assigning me to a Genin team?" he growled as he continued venting his frustration in Training Ground 7 after his Jounin-sensei and teammates had left him.

Earlier that week, Danzou told him that the Hokage had agreed to assign him to ANBU, which was a goal and an achievement mark, indicating that he was closing in on the gap between him and his brother.

Danzou assured him if he made ANBU now and was given a chance to show the Hokage his true power, he would be promoted to Captain within a year's time, which means that he would beat the Itachi's record for the youngest to make ANBU captain by a few months.

And now, the reality that was today proved different than the vision that was yesterday.

His hopes shattered. His excitement disappointed. His frustration and discontent with Konoha grew.

"Did Danzou lie to me?" Sasuke wondered aloud. "No, that's not possible. After all, Danzou wants to get more of his men into ANBU, and what could be more valuable to him than having the ANBU captain on his side as well? He has no motive to lie."

Sasuke was still enamored with his own abilities, his confidence in his skills never waivered. This much he had learned from Danzou's unofficial ROOT training.

His arrogance grew even more since he activated his Sharingan two weeks ago.

In his mind, getting enrolled in ANBU was a mere formality to make his training and skill level officially recognized. To him, he had already met the requirement for the ranking.

"The Sandaime, however, would have plenty of motives," he continued his reasoning.

His abuse on the training post never ceased.

Yesterday, while walking down the street after spending the day adjusting to having his Sharingan activated continuously, he passed a deep-in-thought female ANBU with a sword strapped on her back. During their brief encounter, he saw her lips moving in silence. Since his Sharingan was already on, he inadvertently read her lips in passing.

"Naruto requested to be assigned to Sasuke's team so he could watch over him…."

"Why would he want to do that!?" his voice came out more as a frustrated shout than a reflection of his curiosity.

The training post finally gave way to the beatings.

He clutched his teeth and vehemently uttered the only conclusion plausible to the limited information he was given.

"So … the Sandaime wants to use his grandson to spy on me, making sure that I'm not like my brother…. Who does he think I am that I would follow his footsteps?"

While Sasuke continued venting his anger, a silver-haired ninja hidden in the shadows among the nearby tree branches watched in silence. A devious smirk appeared on his face as he pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose with his right index finger.

'Heh heh, without that annoying dog in the way, things are developing just the way he wants them to.'

…o.0.O.0.o…

"Master Wu?!" asked Asuma.

The man called 'Master Wu' appeared to be in his forties and stood about the same height as Asuma. His attire – bluish gray long rob with a Yin and Yang circle on its back – resembled that of a Taoist priest from a distant land that the two kunoichis present had only heard rumors about. He carried a regal looking sword in his left hand.

"Ha! Little Monkey, you remember me!" exclaimed Wu.

"How could I forget?" replied Asuma. His face cringed as he recalled the day he woke up with a clean shaven face. To this day, when he looked back to that prank, he still shuddered at how Wu had given him his shave with his long sword, executing a move he had just invented.

Of the two years Asuma was with the Guardian Monks, Wu had happened to chance there once. Even though this chance encounter lasted only a week, he had learned more from Wu during that week than all those two years with the Monks combined.

Anko placed one hand on Asuma's shoulder and asked, "You know this clown?" Her previous proprieties towards the foreign dignitary expired along with her short fuse. She looked up and down the stranger with her critical eyes, unsure why an ordinary-looking man would be given the reverence of the title "Master."

"Master Wu may not look like much," Asuma informed her and everyone else listening in, "but he is the Headmaster of WuDang School of martial arts, which in another part of the world, is recognized for producing the some of the best Kung Fu fighters around. He could easily kill the three of us Jounins before my dad had a chance to get out of his chair to stop him."

To Yuugao, the female ANBU among them, Sarutobi, the "god of the shinobi" and one who had mastered all jutsus in Konoha, was arguably the strongest and the most powerful ninja alive.

'For Asuma to use his father as a measuring stick for this person's skills…. Could this stranger be that powerful? I wonder what he had taught Asuma and who will win if the Sandaime had to fight him.'

The WuDang Headmaster shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, not really caring how his skills were measured by his junior. In his peripheral vision he noticed how the talking pair interacted and concluded that there was something going on between the two.

"Does the young monkey still remember the things I've taught him, or has he forgotten them since he's been dipping his tail in red bean paste?" he asked, smirking at his pun and the quick glance that past between the two.

Yuugao let out an uneasy laughter, one that could have easily been a guffaw if she had not heard Asuma's claim of this comedian-wannabe's skills. Though it was not a hardy laughter, it was her first laugh in some time. Ever since she had learned about Naruto's promise to some unknown person – whom she hoped was not Itachi – that he would watch over Sasuke, she had been too worried about her student to do something as relaxing as laughing at a joke.

Yuugao gave Wu a second look. Being someone who favored swords herself, she found the stranger's ancient-looking sword mesmerizing. In fact, she felt that the weapon was too ornate to be taken seriously; however, she knew better than to judge a sword by its sheath.

Anko, on the other hand, did not find Wu's remark funny. It was not because she took offense to Wu's pun, but it was because his comment hit a subject that had been sore with her lately; namely, she was not getting any from Asuma. Granted, talking with Yuugao about it yesterday had let off some of her steam, but she still had plenty of that to blow.

She smirked as a plan formulated in her mind. 'Suma-kun, you're about to learn the consequences of ignoring my needs.'

While her beau stuttered to articulate a response to Wu's blunt remark, she replied for him, "Well, you don't have to worry about it too much. Whatever the little monkey has forgotten, he's been recalling them in abundance the past week. And if his tail doesn't find its way back to red bean paste soon, he will be spending the rest of his life recalling your teachings sans tail."

This time Sarutobi joined in laughter. His had been a long day, taxing on his mind and emotions, especially after just been briefed by Wu regarding the 'Guardian of Two Nines' Prophecy. He could always count on Anko and Asuma to provide him the much needed comedy relief.

While he recalled his meeting with Wu, he wondered, 'Why does everything have to be so complicated when it comes to Naruto?'

"The reason I called you three to this meeting," Sarutobi prefaced, addressing the three Leaf Jounins before him, "is because of Master Wu. Apparently he has business with someone you three have in common."

"Naruto!?" exclaimed the said blond's three senseis simultaneously. Of course, having been the receiving end of Naruto's pranks many times over, they were not surprised that he got in trouble again. What surprised them was that their charge-in-common had the time, the opportunity, or even the motive to pull a prank on a stranger, a foreign dignitary no less.

Asuma looked at Wu and bowed. "Master Wu, I'm deeply sorry on his behalf. I'm his father by adoption. For the trouble he caused you, you're welcome to administer whatever punishment you feel just, and I'll add on to it once you're done. I will also make sure that he compensates you for the damages to your valuables from his allowance."

The bearded Jounin had long stopped bailing Naruto out of trouble that he had gotten himself in. Since he had started to let his adopted son bear up the consequences of his actions, Asuma found Naruto's pranks tamer and less frequent.

"Well, that's good to know," stated Wu, "but he hasn't done anything to warrant punishment, at least, none that I'm aware of. Hm, apparently, he gets in trouble a lot?"

If they had been listening to him carefully, they would have detected a glee in his voice as he asked that question. 'Looks like the Nine Stances manuscript has selected another prankster like me.'

Asuma rolled his eyes and shook his head in despair while sighing, "You have no idea what I go through."

A faint smile appeared on Wu's face as he recalled what havoc he had caused his parents when he was Naruto's age.

Steering the conversation back to the subject at hand, the voice behind the Hokage desk announced, "Master Wu wants to take Naruto with him."

"No!" Yuugao shouted before her two friends had a chance to respond. She had no doubt that the love birds echoed her sentiments.

"Da …" Asuma started to say, but changed his words to reflect the formalities of a ninja to his Kage. "I mean Hokage-sama, do you really think this is necessary? Don't you think he's already progressing very nicely under us three's tutelage? Besides us, he has other unconventional training methods, too."

Sarutobi understood his son was referring to what they had kept secret from everyone, namely, Naruto's mindscape training with Kyuubi.

"Before you three draw your own conclusions, listen to what Master Wu has to say," said Sarutobi, his eyes glancing at the three, pausing briefly on theirs to let them know that this was an order.

"Hai." The three Jounins relented and bowed their heads in submission. When they raised their heads, theirs eyes were on the Taoist swordsman.

"Master Wu," prompted Sarutobi, "please explain to them why you've made such a request."

Wu began his narrative.

"Four years ago, two important manuscripts were stolen from the Monastery of Ancient Manuscripts, the Nine Yangs of Qi and the Nine Lonesome Sword Stances. Alone, each contains the most powerful martial art known to man, one in the branch of sword art and the other in the branch of Qi cultivation."

"Qi?" Yuugao inquired.

"Simply put," replied Sarutobi, "it's the energy within all things found in nature."

"As I was saying," Wu continued, slightly annoyed that he was interrupted. In his part of the world, he was one of the few given the highest reverence. Few had the galls to be rude to him, and even fewer were spared to live and tell about it. "Mastering only one of them would put you in a class where few are able to hold their own against you. If you master them together, however, no one would be your match. Should you then be chosen by the manuscripts as their Guardian, becoming the Guardian of the Two Nines, you would be given the power to destine the world's fate for the next two hundred years."

Sensing that Wu had come to a pausing point in his explanation, Anko asked, "Guardian of the Two Nines? What does this have to do with Naruto?"

"Currently there are separate guardians for each manuscript," explained Wu. "I'm the Guardian for the Nine Stances, and Master Wong, the Grand Master Abbot of the Monastery of Ancient Manuscripts, is the Guardian for the other. It is a rare occurrence to have one become the Guardian for both manuscripts. The prophecy states, 'Every ten-thousand moons rises one guardian over two nines. Behind him bowed Nine Qis and Nine Swords. Before him bowed fate and destiny.' Master Wong and I believe that Naruto has been chosen to be the prophesied Guardian."

Seeing the puzzled faces on Anko and Yuugao, Sarutobi interjected, "Though the boy is unaware of the significance behind it all, he has in possession the two manuscripts."

Anko looked at Asuma beside her and noticed a lack of expression on his face. She concluded in silence, 'He knew already.'

"Who were the ones that stole the manuscripts and how did Naruto end up with them?" Yuugao asked the Sandaime, her suspicion radar going haywire.

'Four years ago ….' Her gut told her that this was connected to the Itachi and the Massacre somehow. 'The timeline is just too conveniently close together.'

Sarutobi with all his years as the Hokage heard the wheels cranking in Yuugao's head and steered the conversation away from the forbidden path.

"That's immaterial now. The point now is that Naruto has the highly coveted manuscripts and he'll be targeted by extremely powerful enemies. Ones even more powerful than the village can handle."

"Dad!" exclaimed Asuma, shocked at what his father seemed to be suggesting. "You're not saying that we banish Naruto because his presence here will endanger the village, are you!?"

"No, not banishment," stated the Sandaime adamantly. With a sigh he said, "Look, I know you all will miss him, and so will I, but frankly I think he is at a plateau and has grown as much as he could under us while in the security of this villlage. He'll need time for practice and for his body to mature. But what he needs most of all is field experience. Considering the difficult path in front of him, he'll need all the help he can get, especially one of Master Wu's caliber."

Wu made some uneasy gestures to express his awkwardness at being praised. He stated, "Heheh, I'm sure you all have been doing a great job with him, but if it is his destiny to be the Guardian of the Two Nines, he'll need the training that only the current Guardians can offer."

He paused for them to absorb his compliments and offered them their consolation, "It is my understanding that he is expected to return for the Chuunin Exam, which is only six months away. Master Wong and I won't be able to get him near a fraction of the proficiency of where a Guardian needs to be by then, but it will be enough time to teach what he needs to do to reach his own potential himself."

Just when Wu was about to outline to them the things he planned to teach Naruto, the Asuma clone disappeared, leaving behind a cloud of smoke.

"What was that?" asked Wu with a worried face. 'My Guardian sense tells me something big is happening with Naruto. I'm sure Master Wong's much more acute radar is going berserk.'

"Asuma was simply using a Kage Bushin," Sarutobi explained. "The real Asuma is doing Qi training with Naruto."

"Huh?" whispered Yuugao and Anko as they shared a puzzled look, feeling they had been kept in the dark about their shared student. They looked at their village leader, then Wu, for explanation and saw Wu's already sober face darkened.

"What!?" exclaimed the swordsman while looking at the spot where the previous clone occupied in disgust. "Naruto's a jinchuuriki, and ASUMA is training him how to channel Qi?"

Wu frowned for a second, and then his eyes widened. "Kuzo! He probably told him to empty his head."

By now, Wu was pacing back and forth in the Hokage office, trying to think of a solution to the possible mess Asuma and Naruto might have created.

"He told me that was what needed to be done," replied Sarutobi carefully as he too pondered the possible implications, quite worried that some harm would befall Naruto.

"You monkey brain!" shouted Wu at the absent Asuma, too preoccupied to hear the Sandaime's words. At that point he did not care that his comment could have been misconstrued as an insult directed at the Hokage.

"Doesn't he know that it's impossible for a jinchuuriki to truly empty his mind while his bijuu remains sealed in him?! The only way for him to complete the training Asuma prescribed is to rid the bijuu from his mindscape by either killing it or merging with it."

Before Wu could continue expressing his displeasure or explain what he meant, a blast of the malicious chakra that had not been felt in the Elemental Nations for twelve years washed over them.

Whispered curses echoed in the room.

Wasting no time for explanations, Sarutobi leapt out of the balcony and took off on the rooftops. The rest followed his lead towards the direction of the Sarutobi compound.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Naruto could feel his life force slowly being choked out of him. He did the only thing he knew to do, though he had no hopes of succeeding. He molded even more chakra, giving it his all.

Unlike the previous time when he molded chakra outside the cage, Naruto found himself enclosed in a purple-hued chakra. An unfathomable amount of power surged through his body. And unlike before, part of this power felt unnatural and foreign.

With eyes widened at the possible implications of his actions, he struggled even harder under Kyuubi's choking grip and managed to whimper, "What … have … I … done?"

He stared at Kyuubi with disbelief, his eyes filled with tears of sadness and regret. He could not fathom why the woman before him would do such a thing.

This mutinous action of his prisoner was the last thing Naruto had expected. The demon – whom he addressed as 'sensei' knew him intimately since he was an newborn, introduced him to Kung Fu, healed his wounds, and provided him companionship at times when he was alone – was in many ways a mother to him, and one with whom he had the strongest emotional bond amongst the females in his life.

'Has she been lying to me from the beginning?' He felt betrayed and began to doubt everything good he used to believe about the Demon Fox – including her claim to innocence and her being tricked by someone who should have been dead. 'After all, she's a bijuu, the mythological bloodlust force of nature. All she wanted from the start was to gain my trust so she could take over my body and finish her rampage against Konoha.'

Of course, Kyuubi was aware of her charge's thoughts. Her smirk never left her face as she reflected how successfully she was executing her plans.

If he was going to die, he was going to go down fighting – consequences be damned. Kyuubi must not escape, even if it meant sacrificing himself. The twelve-year-old, already mature beyond his years, knew what he must do next.

Fond memories flooded his mind as he made firm his resolve.

"Naruto, come back here with my pipe!"

"No way, Jiji. Not until you've agreed to let me legally change my name to Sarutobi."

"I've told you that it will be easier this way for you to reclaim your heritage when you've become a Chuunin."

…

"Yo Gaki, do you think your dad likes me?"

"Anko-sensei, don't you mean, 'Why hasn't he proposed yet?'?"

…

"Dad, why do you find Anko-sensei attractive?"

"You'll understand when you get older."

"If you like her so much, why haven't you proposed yet?"

"Soon, son, soon."

…

"Naruto, is there something you're not telling me?"

"What do you mean Yuugao-sensei?"

"Like, how are you able to master Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and the sword art I've shown you so quickly?"

"I guess you're a better sensei than you thought."

…

"Konohamaru, I'm taking the Genin Exam today. If I pass, I'll become a Genin!"

"Wow, nii-san! Does that mean you'll be getting all those cool missions?"

"Yep!"

"Nii-san, do your best!"

A tear drop rolled down his face. Though the whole realism in his mindscape stemmed from the unreality of his imagination, the sadness in his heart was unmistakable.

Closing his eyes, he stopped struggling against Kyuubi's choking grip and resigned to his fate as a jinchuuriki – the tragedy of human sacrifice. A satisfying grin graced his face. He felt serene, carefree, and unburdened. His death would ensure the death of the Nine-Tails and the safety of everyone precious to him.

'I will protect everyone.'

Everything went blank.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Outside in the real world, watching Naruto sit unmoving under the small waterfall was about as exciting as watching grass grow.

Leaning against a tree on a small cliff a decent distance from Naruto, Asuma watched over his adopted son. He had wisely chosen to keep his distance during this stage of Qi training. If he got any closer than where he ended up at, there was a possibility that Naruto could sense his presence and chakra signature, thus become distracted and break his mental concentration.

Asuma remembered all too well his own inability, frustration, and embarrassment to get in touch with his own Qi and the natural energy surrounding him.

"Asuma."

Having been preoccupied by thoughts of Naruto and startled by the sudden interruption, the bearded Jounin was about to spin around with a kick aimed at what should be the intruder's left temple when he calmed down after his mind focused on his surroundings again. Four years of watching over his shoulders, guarding Naruto from Danzou's spies, kept Asuma on edge.

"Easy. It's me," said a same familiar voice.

"Kakashi!?" asked Asuma once he got a look at the new arrival. "What are you doing here?"

"Why? I can't check on my own student?" asked Kakashi with a shrug. "Besides, when I noticed that both of 'you' at the Academy were clones, I had to find out what was going on."

"I guess as his Jounin-sensei, you have a right to know." Asuma turned his eyes back towards Naruto and fell silent for a moment as he tried to come up with a good summary of everything Naruto knew … or at least everything the boy had allowed him to know about.

"Well?" Kakashi urged his hesitant friend, smiling beneath his mask. "Go on, brag to me about this boy of yours."

Asuma sighed and shook his head. "Honestly, I don't really know the full extent of his true abilities. With me, Anko, and Dad, Naruto normally doesn't put up any pretense to mask who he is and what his true skills are, but we've never really push him to go all out either."

Kakashi could sense that Asuma was being intentionally vague. All I got from that dialogue was that you don't really know how skilled he truly is. "Uh, why don't you just tell me what you're allowed to divulge so I'll at least have something to go by?"

"Didn't you get a good assessment of him when you sparred with your team a while ago?"

Kakashi shook his head. He could tell that his friend was stalling. "Please, Asuma."

After letting out a heavy sigh, Asuma disclosed, "Ever since he was adopted as a Sarutobi four years ago, he's been pushing himself to the limit every single day. His training was divided into four sections. I was given the physical conditioning and taijutsu. Anko took agility and reflexes, Yuugao taught him the Uzumaki clan techniques" – at that, Kakashi's lone visible eyebrow raised – "and Dad taught him seals and chakra theories."

"Oh, is that all?" asked the silver-haired ninja. "Aren't you forgetting summoning, elemental manipulation, and genjutsu?"

Asuma let out an uneasy chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head with his right hand. "Actually this wasn't our idea at all. It was Naruto's. He had his reasons."

Kakashi gave Asuma one of those looks that prompted Asuma to continue.

Asuma sighed and said, "My dad told him that he would learn the identity of his biological parents once he made Chuunin."

That answer only spawned more questions for Kakashi to ask, but his inquisition was interrupted by the energy spike coming from Naruto's direction.

After about two hours' time, Asuma finally detected a spike of energy coming from his adopted son.

'Could this be it? Finally, a breakthrough? No, something is not right here.'

"What's happening Asuma?" asked Kakashi.

"I'm not sure," replied his friend. "Let me find out." I hope it's Naruto's Qi.

He was not sure of what Naruto's Qi would feel like, especially since his adopted son was a special case, one with a bijuu sealed within. Closing his own eyes, he sent out a chakra pulse towards that energy, in hopes that it would respond much like how he remembered Qi responded when he was with the Guardian Monks.

Instead of feeling a slow and steady pull on his chakra, he felt a violent, sinister wave of energy slamming against his chakra field.

Quickly he opened his eyes, trying to register what had just happened, while failing miserably to shake off the feeling of doom forming in the depth of his being.

He looked towards Kakashi, searching his lone visible eye, looking for anything to draw solace on. Within seconds, the same camaraderie that he felt with Kakashi when they had teamed up in missions past came back as strong as it was six years ago since their last mission together.

And, like acting a role out of their missions' playbook, they nodded at each other and leapt towards the origination of the malicious energy.

As they got closer to Naruto, the image of a cloak of red chakra bubbling forth from the drenched boy slowly came to view. Their skins too gradually felt the corrosive effect of the sinister energy. The burning in their lungs intensified with each breath and every advancement.

They landed as close to the waterfall as safety permitted. An expression of indescribable agony appeared on Asuma's face as the obvious conclusion dawned on him.

Kakashi watched the agony spread across the face of the only true friend he had had since the loss of Obito and the disappearance of Rin, and there was nothing he could do to help.

"What have I done?" Asuma managed to whisper, his thoughts slowly sorting through the turmoil in his heart as memories flooded his mind.

"Naruto, let's take the day off today."

"But why, Dad? Do you have a mission later or something?"

"No son, let's go get you some new cloth. You're outgrowing the ones you have already." A smile appeared on his face.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and said, "Heh heh, sorry Dad, the way I'm growing you'll be broke in no time."

Asuma reached out to ruffle the hair of his adopted son and pulled him closer. "Not to worry. Your Dad knows the Hokage personally."

…

"Hey Naruto, what did you do with my cigarettes?"

"I thought you told me you're going to quit," rebutted Naruto with an air of self-righteousness.

"And I did, but I still need to keep my appearance. I put them in my mouth, but I don' smoke them. They're more like a charm and a prop now. Hurry, hand them over before I head out to my mission."

…

"Naruto, today is your Genin Exam, which I'm sure you'll pass with flying colors," said Asuma as he inspected the boy's attire and weapon pouch.

"I certainly hope so. I'll do my best, Dad; I won't let you down. You'll be there for the graduation, won't you?"

"Of course, wouldn't miss it for the world."

Asuma's momentary loss of concentration caused his clone in the Hokage office to disperse.

Just when he was about to create another clone and disperse it so that the clone that was sent with Tenten to the Hokage Towers would receive the information on the latest development with Naruto, his mind spaced out for a second and his eyes flashed with a light of new understanding as his mind caught up to the effect of the memory transfer from the dispersed clone.

"Thank Kami, help is coming," sighed Asuma in relief, confident that they should arrive shortly. "And Master Wu is here? What does he want?"

"Well, apparently I'm here to save your son's hide," answered a voice from behind. Wu had snuck up to Asuma and Kakashi undetected.

'Who is this Master Wu?' mused Kakashi.

"Hey!" shouted a startled Jounin who was still midair from the freight. His knuckleknives were positioned on his hands for battle. "I warned you about this when we first met. Don't ever sneak up on a shinobi! I could have killed you if I were not expecting your arrival."

'I doubt that, my friend. I don't think even with us working together are we a match against him,' thought Kakashi, continuing his observations in silence.

"Hm … wrong, Monkey Brain," retorted Wu with a smirk. "Don't bother thinking up a comeback. If my memory serves me, you weren't good at them."

Asuma ignored Wu's insults and asked, "Where are the others?"

The Taoist Headmaster went ahead of Sarutobi once he got close enough to sense the malicious chakra emitting from this direction. For four years he searched four corners for the prophesied Guardian of the Two Nines. He was so used to travel on his own and in a much faster pace than he was going that his impatience got the better of him.

"Oh … worrying about your Red Bean Paste, huh?" mocked Wu. "It seems like she's been neglected lately. Better take care of it soon, or she'll make good on her threat on your manhood."

Even though this was a serious situation, Wu resorted to his comedian ways. Like the shinobis in this part of the world, the pugilists of his released their tension through their diversions, which differed from one individual to another.

Besides, there was nothing Wu could do to help Naruto until Sarutobi arrived. While he himself could probably suppress the volatile chakra himself, he had no knowledge of seals and needed help examining and possibly repairing Naruto's seal.

"Yeah, you better listen to him," came the approaching voice of one sexually frustrated female.

Asuma gulped. Last time when Anko had to be satisfied after this long of a dry spell, he had ended up bedbound for days.

On the side, Wu asked Kakashi, "You must be the Copy-nin, Sharingan Wielder Kakashi. Your fame precedes you."

"And you are ...?" asked the Copy-nin.

"… wondering if you are related in any way to an Uchiha. If you are…." Wu left his sentence unspoken, but his right hand readying itself on the hilt of his sword gave away his intent. During his four-year journey searching for the Prophesied Guardian, he had learned that the ones responsible for the stolen manuscripts, the ones with red spinning wheel eyes, were Uchihas. Since then, he had developed a distrust against them.

Though Kakashi was irate that his own question was ignored, he could not let that Uchiha comment slide. It always irked him when people disgraced Obito's memory by assuming that he got his Sharingan because he was part Uchiha.

"No. I. Am. Not."

Kakashi wanted to say more, but Wu had his attention turned back to the arriving party.

'Who the hell does he think he is?' mused Kakashi, quite annoyed at being ignored. 'Is this how Gai felt all those times I ignored him?'

"Hey, Yuugao, Copy Cat's here too!" shouted Anko with her head halfway turned towards the back once she had a chance to catch a breath from her overexertion, never taking her eyes off the manifestation of the chakra waves that flapped about as they emanated from the boy soaked under the waterfall.

"Anko, you don't have to shout. I'm right next to you," replied the ANBU sword user. Her eyes too were fixed on Naruto. Both had taken soldier pills and sped pass their Commander-In-Chief once Wu flew pass them; they had wanted to test their speed against his, only to be embarrassed by how outclassed they were.

Once Sarutobi got there, Wu made eye contact with him and asked, "Do you know anything about Naruto's seal and how to repair it?"

"Of course, I'm the sensei of the person who taught the Yondaime, the creator of said seal," replied Sarutobi with pride. "But I don't think there's anything wrong with the seal. I think whatever fixing we need to do, we need to do so in his mindscape. I can get in, but not while Kyuubi's chakra rages wildly."

"Alright, then, let's hurry," said Wu. "I can suppress Kyuubi's chakra for a few minutes while you get in and do what you need to do, but remember five minutes tops."

Sarutobi gave the WuXia master a confirmatory nod.

Wu continued, "While I take care of this waterfall, please issue whatever orders necessary to insure the safety of your village. Also please instruct at least one person how to wake you from Naruto's mindscape, just in case."

Once he finished his words, he unsheathed his sword, employed the art of levitation, and air walked above the body of water that separated the shore from the waterfall. When he reached Naruto, he channeled Qi into his sword, and before returning it back into its sheath, he stabbed it into a wall behind the waterfall at a spot directly above Naruto.

Meanwhile Sarutobi had just finished showing the Sharingan-activated Kakashi the hand seals to break the Mind Walking Technique and giving orders to Yuugao and Anko, telling them to make preparations against a possible Kyuubi attack. Then, he told Asuma to secure the area so there would be any intruders or Danzou-spies during this time. Finally, he turned his head towards the waterfall and saw a sight he had never imagined possible.

The spot where Wu's sword had stabbed crumbled under the exertion of Qi. What began as a hairline of a fracture in the rocks beneath the waterfall quickly expanded into a canyon that ran as far back into the land behind the falls as the eye could see. The waterfall was no more as its water was diverted into the changed topography.

'That must be the power of Seitou,' thought Sarutobi, "the Sword of the Guardian of the Nine Stances.'

Actually, what Sarutobi saw was the evident demonstration of the power of Qi. No one had yet unlocked the power of Seitou, or had the need to.

Seitou offered no mystical power, unlike other legendary swords, at least none that Wu knew of. However, he did know that it was unparalleled in sharpness and hardness and had never encountered a weapon it could not cut through. The length of its blade extended from the tip of the sword to the butt of the hilt and was made from a special metal especially conductive to Qi and chakra. Legend had it that the special metal was formed by the gods in the clouds and then forged into a sword by the demons in the fiery furnace of a volcano.

Its sheath was made from jade, which was said to have been carved by the Lonesome Hermit himself while inventing the Nine Stances. According to folklores, jade had the ability to store the essence – Qi, chakra signature, and memory – of its owners. As the sheath was passed through successive owners, what started out as a lightly hued green jade deepened its shade. Now the sheath in Wu's hand gave off a navy blue hue, reflecting the beauty of its age and the power of its previous masters.

Emitting Qi from his every pore to shield himself from the damaging effect of the vile chakra, Wu crossed his legs into a sitting lotus and positioned himself behind Naruto. Then, he held up his index and middle fingers together, channeled Qi to them, and in a mere second sealed twenty pressure points on Naruto. On the back of the twelve-year-old, twenty tiny energy glows flashed behind the trail of Wu's hand movement.

Those pressure points and the sequence in which they were pressed helped to funnel the Qi he was about to infuse into the convulsing blond.

Wu's arms and hands gestured several Kung Fu maneuvers to circulate and amplify Qi throughout his body in preparation for an extensive output. Once he was ready, he eased his palms onto Naruto's back and infused Qi into him.

Qi - the essence of life, the ether of energy, the mother of matter – flowed into Naruto and twirled around his brain, calming the erratic synaptic pulses; his heart, easing the palpitations; his lungs, opening mucus-latten bronchioles; his liver, arresting excessive bile secretion; his kidneys, enhancing toxin removal; and his navel, impeding the escape of the bijuu sealed within.

Once the chakra flare had been suppressed, Sarutobi ran across the pool with Kakashi trailing him to assist breaking the Mind Walk Technique if need be. They leapt onto the rock on which Naruto and Wu were seated. While standing and after confirming the integrity of the seal on his grandson's navel, Sarutobi rapidly formed the required hand seals for the Mind Walk Technique, and then placed his right hand on Naruto's head.

…o.0.O.0.o…

In Naruto's mindscape, Sarutobi's visage appeared standing in a blank space of emptiness that was normally Kyuubi's sewer.

He was not one that frequented Naruto's mindscape. This marked only his third. However infrequent his visits were, he had never felt as foreign and as unwanted as he did now. He had hoped for Naruto's presence, definitely expected at least Kyuubi's, but he got nothing.

Nothing but vast emptiness.

He tried to yell for Naruto, but nothing came out. He tried snapping his fingers, anything to make a sound, and again got nothing. Feeling frustrated and useless, he was just about to terminate the jutsu when he heard voices. Every syllable boomed at him from all directions.

Wu's voice said, "Kyuubi, this is as far as you're going to get. Your ambition stops with me."

A feminine voice which Sarutobi guessed belonged to Kyuubi said, "Who the hell are you and how come I can hear you in here? Don't tell me you are a Qi master?"

"By all means, no," replied Wu's voice, "but my limited Qi cultivation ought to be enough to delay you until the Old Monkey fix the seal."

"Hahaha," sounded a sultry laughter that would put Kurenai's to shame. "The seal does not need fixing. My vessel breached the seal when he entered into my cage on his own accord."

Upon hearing his grandson's stupidity, Sarutobi wanted to gasp and curse, and would have, if not for the vacuum state of nothingness that prevented him from so doing.

This left Sarutobi to wonder why it was possible for him to hear them and yet unable to see them. He reasoned that they were communicating with their Qi, and that perhaps it was too late to save Naruto, if neither his grandson nor Kyuubi were visibly present in the mindscape.

"No matter," replied Wu's voice. Although the response sounded calm and nonchalant, Sarutobi could tell based on his brief encounter of Wu that he was convincing himself of the only acceptable outcome of this episode.

"Hmph, you arrogant human," came Kyuubi's voice, "you don't even know what is happening, much less how to or IF you want to stop it."

"I've felt your energy," came the reply, "and I didn't detect any malicious intent in your actions."

"What did that Old Prune give you to smoke in his pipe, huh? Don't you know that I'm the evil incarnate Kyuubi no Kitsune?"

"Of course you are, and you're also emitting this motherly aura all around you. You've tried to camouflage it with your bijuu chakra, but you can't disguise your Qi."

'What the hell does that supposed to mean?' thought Sarutobi. 'Does this mean …?' His thoughts were interrupted by their dialogue. This time, he noticed that the mood turned much lighter.

"Well, aren't you a clever bastard?"

"Heh, heh. Yeah, that's what my students have said behind my back, especially after I've gotten them good on a prank."

"So, you're a prankster like Naruto, huh?" sounded the sultry voice. However, Sarutobi noticed the next words were uttered by the bijuu's untransformed savage voice. "GET OUT of here! Let me spend my last moments of existence in peace."

"No. I … will … NOT … let … you … merge … with … Naruto."

Sarutobi concluded that either Wu deliberately wanted to make his point or that he was readying himself for something strenuous. Then he heard Kyuubi's voice.

"Ha! There's nothing you can do about it. This is my choice to make."

"Merging with him will hinder him from fulfilling his true potential."

Kyuubi's angry voice shook Sarutobi's footing and brought him down to his knees. "I'm the most powerful bijuu that ever came into existence. And since I'm sealed in him, I AM his true potential."

Wu's voice was still calm. "He is the prophesied Guardian of Two Nines, the dual guardian of those two manuscripts in your possession. However if you merge yourself with him, he will most likely be rejected by the spirit of their former masters…."

"Ha! The spirit of their former masters," came Kyuubi's response, "the Guardian of the Two Nines. Ha! Those haughty fools of old and their child's play that they called Kung Fu …. How does any of that compare to my awesomeness and the infinity power that is my chakra?"

Wu's voice came unrestraint, making obvious his displeasure. "Enough! You are not to insult the former Guardians. I had wanted to make nice, but you spit in my face. No more. I'm going to forcefully end this charade now!"

Suddenly Sarutobi heard words addressed to him.

"Get out, NOW, Old Monkey! I'm going to suppress her Qi!"

Then, Sarutobi released the Mind Walking Technique and returned to the real world. There he saw sitting behind Naruto a much older Wu, his once-coal-dark hair grayed and his fortyish face wrinkled. A pillar of white thick steam ascended from Wu's head.

…o.0.O.0.o…

A/N: My thanks to my beta, KyLewin, for pointing out my mistakes.

Seitou - the name of the sword for the Guardian of the Nine Stances - literally means "holy sword."

Don't forget to leave a review. Also, please check out my other story, Naruto: A Different Beginning. Thanks!