Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian
Chapter 14: Turmoil in Konoha
…o.0.O.0.o…
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…
"Let's go to that remoted training ground we discovered when we were kids."
"Why? That's too far away, and no one will find us if we get too exhausted like we usually get."
"Hmph! You're just a scary cat."
"Cat? Yuck! I'm an Inuzuka, and I'm no scary cat!"
…o.0.O.0.o…
The training ground had been decimated. The brothers had been trading blows for an hour now, taijutsu only. The brown-haired one seemed to be slightly stronger in his punches, but the jet-black-haired boy seemed to be faster and more skilled.
"Gatsuuga!"
Two funnels of destruction furrowed through the air toward the darker-haired boy. He smirked as he closed and reopened his eyes, activating his trademark red iris with two tomoe marks in them.
In the literal blink of an eye, the funnels tore through the boy whose eyes widened in shock.
"Heh heh," said the boy with two red marks on his face, "told you to take us seriously ... huh?"
His words betrayed his confusion. What appeared to be an easy knockout of his adoptive brother turned out to be a clever demonstration of well-timed kawarimi. A shattered replacement log now stood in Sasuke's place.
"Akamaru," Kiba said to his canine companion, "keep your eyes open."
No sooner had he uttered those words, he felt two hands grabbing his legs, pulling him into the ground.
"What!?" shouted the Inuzuka heir as he struggled to free the rest of his body from the head hunter jutsu. "Let me out!"
Turning his head towards a familiar whimpering, he found Akamaru in the same predicament.
"Hey Bro, what gives?" yelled Kiba, anger evident in his voice. "The moment you got me, you've won. You don't have to do that to Akamaru." Looking around, not seeing his adopted brother of four years, he panicked. "Sasuke!"
"You are not fit to be a ninja," came a voice behind Kiba. He tried to turn his head the best he could toward the direction of the voice, but being stuck in the ground severely limited his movement.
Kiba hoped that his adopted brother hadn't finally lost it completely. He and the rest of the Inuzukas had seen the steady decline in Sasuke's mental health since the death of his dog Chame over four months ago. They had offered him another nin dog in its place, but the boy declined. Sasuke's emotions were even more unstable after a mission to the waves, a C-ranked turned A-ranked.
Kiba chuckled cautiously, again hoping for the best, and said, "This isn't funny. Wait until I tell Mom on you."
Sasuke's voice continued as if he hadn't heard the last comment, "Danzou was right. Your ideologies make you weak. You can't even protect your tool properly."
"What the hell are you talking about? What ideologies? What did that old traitor say to you?"
Not getting any response from Sasuke, Kiba continued to shout, "And, Akamaru is NOT a tool! He's my friend. Look, I know you're still hurt after losing Chame...."
"Shut up! You don't know how I feel!" fumed Sasuke as he walked into Kiba's view. His Sharingan stared into Kiba's brown eyes.
The latter tried to look away, but couldn't. He was hypnotically captivated by the spinning tomoes, not to mention he was scared as hell by his Sasuke's actions and cynical remarks.
Then, suddenly, he saw blood dripping out of those red irises as another tomoe mark appeared.
"What's happening to your eyes?" Kiba asked. Despite all of Sasuke's insanity, he still cared for his adopted brother. "They're bleeding."
"They are?" cried Sasuke elatedly. He then laughed hysterically and said, "Finally, I have a fully matured Sharingan. Now, I just need to finish this last step, and the power of Mangekyou will be mine!"
Those words finally convinced Kiba that he was no longer dealing with the same boy his family adopted four years ago. This was a soul broken beyond mending.
"Great! I'm happy for you, bro!" Kiba said, sounding elated and trying his best to be agreeable to this maniac. "Let us out so we can help too."
He was doing the best he could to apply the lessons Kurenei-sensei had taught on the best way for a ninja as a hostage to talk to hostile enemies. At this point Kiba was afraid for his and Akamaru's lives.
"Help me? Hahaha," mocked the raven-haired boy. "Help ME? Ha! Don't worry. You will. By staying exactly where you are."
As he walked closer to Kiba's head, he pulled out a kunai from his weapons pouch and crouched down to grimace into Kiba's face, reveling in his fear. Akamaru's nervous whimpers seemed to make Sasuke's eyes gleam even more.
Kiba gulped and began to sweat. He knew there was no hiding his distrust and caution anymore. The talking game was over.
"I'll make this easy for you, for old time's sake," Sasuke cunningly said as he dangled that kunai in front of Kiba's eyes. "I'll let you decide who goes first. You, or the pup."
"Why, Sasuke? Why?" whimpered Kiba.
- Flashback -
(Four years ago, Sasuke 8, few days after he was dual-adopted by Tsume and Danzou)
"As one of my agents has already explained to you, this adoption is a front for training you in the secret arts of ROOT."
"I understand, Danzou-sama." Sasuke was already told that it was Danzou-sama in private and Danzou in public. "I was promised power to kill my brother and avenge my family."
"Um. You will become powerful under my tutelage," replied Danzou with his ever stoic face, "but I'm afraid that Sarutobi may undermine my efforts to help you."
"The Sandaime? Why would he do such a thing? Itachi is a criminal deserving nothing but death. Perhaps I should have an audience with him and ..."
"No," Danzou pacified the rest of those thoughts and changed tactics. "What I meant was, he was too weak to prevent Tsume from adopting you. Her soft ways will be your undoing."
Sasuke scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, waiting for Danzou to continue.
Danzou stated, "Ever since Sarutobi became the Sandaime, Konoha became weak. Instead of beating back our enemies, removing those threats to peace, he hid behind the veil of treaties and compromises and the facade of international trade and prosperity.
"Our ninjas became weak. Instead of training to their maximum capacity to do missions by themselves, they were taught the fallacy of teamwork, sometimes placing team safety above the success of the mission. It became worse after the Yondaime, who carried the same ideology as the Sandaime. In contrast, ROOT agents mostly work solo, and if a team is needed, they make any sacrifice necessary to complete their mission."
"But," Sasuke argued, "Tsume-san said teamwork and finding someone precious to protect are what make one strong."
"Heh heh. Foolishness. Ninjas are tools, and like all tools, are designed to perform without emotions. You'll see in time."
(Four months ago, Sasuke 12, a few days after finding the maimed body of Chame)
"DANZOU!" Sasuke shouted, entering ROOT's the underground entrance.
Two ROOT agents appeared next to Sasuke with kunais pointing at the boy's fatal points. "Silence, you maggot! You will show respect to Danzou-sama," one of them said.
Using speed none of them thought possible and had never seen from him, the twelve-year-old stole the kunais out of their hands and stabbed both of them in the shoulders.
Sasuke was aiming for their heart and would have been on target had they not reacted fast enough. Determined not to be surprised again, the two masked ROOTs reached for their katanas and....
"Stop! Let him in."
"Danzou-sama just saved you from a good butt-kicking," the other ROOT agent whispered, with his hand still on the katana. "Get in there. And, remember: any more disrespect from you, we'll end you."
"Hn!" Sasuke, paying them no mind, pushed his way through them and entered the room at the end of the pathway.
"Sasuke-kun, something wrong?"
Not bothering to address the man with bandage wrapped around his body, the boy said with clinched teeth, "Did you have anything to do with what happened to my dog?"
"What could possibly happen to him? Didn't you leave him with the Inuzukas like you always do when you visit?" replied the warhawk.
"I ... No ..." replied Sasuke, shaking his head dejected. "He went missing a few days ago, and today I found his remains." Soon his anger blazed again, and he seethed, "So, did you or didn't you? Don't lie to me, or...."
He didn't get to finish his sentence when Danzou suddenly closed the distance between them with agility not seemingly possible for someone walking with a cane. "Or what?"
Sasuke flinched when the man suddenly appeared a few breaths in front of his face, but he didn't back down. He didn't even blink. Chame was his only true friend. His family. As he looked at the ROOT leader, he finished his sentence by saying, "Or I'll kill you."
Danzou punched him in the gut, sending him flying into the wall across the room. "You may be the strongest in your age group. You may even be as good as your brother when he was your age. But, emotions have made you weak and foolish, just like I've warned you from the beginning. Now, leave before I kill you."
Sasuke struggled to get up from the ground and made his way out. He paused when he heard Danzou said, "Use your brain, gaki. If I wanted your dog dead, would I have waited until after you became attached to it?"
Sasuke started to move, only to pause again as Danzou said, "Go! Once you severed yourself from your emotions, come back and finish your training."
(Two months ago, Sasuke almost 13, the Wave Country mission)
During the final battle with Zabuza and Haku on the bridge, Kakashi fought the Demon Mist, Sasuke battled with the fake hunter-nin, and Anko and Sakura guarded their drunkard client Tazuna.
At first the two males of Team 7 were holding their own against their opponents, with Sasuke having a slight edge against Haku; however, that changed when Haku activated his Kekkei Genkei, ice manipulation, and raised a dome of mirrors encasing the Uchiha.
"No! Sasuke-kun!" shouted the concerned pink-haired Genin as she and her apprenticeship sensei heard several series of painful groans. Even though the mist was blocking their view, Sakura knew whose voice she was hearing.
Sakura had definitely come a long way these few months under Anko's torture ... er, tutelage. But, since Naruto, the other Rookie-of-the-Year, was not there to "compete" for her affections and the fact that they had performed many D-ranked missions together, her feelings for her crush had deepened. Perhaps not love, though it felt that way at times, but certainly closer to love than to the school girl crush they had started as.
"Stay with me, Pinky," ordered Anko, placing her hand on the Genin's shoulder. "He'll be okay. Believe me. Sasuke started some serious training when he was eight. Training no one else knew about. Trust me." She gently gave Sakura's shoulder a squeeze.
However, underneath all her calmness, Anko was frustrated that she had allowed the showboat Uchiha to talk her into letting him fight Haku alone. Even worse was why all of the sudden, she had decided to follow operation protocol, namely to have another Jounin guard the client when two or more were available.
Fifteen minutes of one-sided intense grunting that climaxed in an agonizing shout and then silence had even the level-headed Special Jounin worried.
"Okay, Pinky, I'm going in to check on Emo-gaki. Stay with the client."
Sakura feared the worst as her knees buckled under the weight of her emotional distress. She buried her face into her hands and let the tears flow freely.
"I'm sorry about your friend," Tazuna said, startling Sakura who hastily wiped away her tears. "All you need to do is stay with me, right?"
Seeing a nod, the bridge builder continued, "If you want, I'll go with you so you can go see the boy too."
"Thank you!" said Sakura as she quickly jumped to her feet and grabbed Tazuna's hand, dragging him with her as she ran into the mist.
In the midst of her emotional turmoil, the normally intelligent Sakura forgot two facts: One, Zabuza the originator of the Mist Jutsu could sense her and Tazuna's movement in the mist; and two, Zabuza was hired to kill Tazuna, not Konoha nins.
Thus, when she finally sensed Zabuza closing in for the kill, she did the only thing she knew to save the bridge builder. She jumped in front of the attack.
...
A dejected Team 7 entered the gates of Konoha. Even the normally smirking Anko put on a long face and walked with slumped shoulders. She hadn't said a word on their trip home. Sasuke had been broodier than usual, and Kakashi had gone through three Icha-Icha's.
"Sasuke-kun!" shouted a platinum-blonde running towards the gate to greet her crush. "How was your first C-rank mission?"
Ino was the last person anyone on the team wanted to see.
Oblivious to their sullen faces, the girl continued as her "Sasuke-kun" ignored her - no alarms there - and walked pass her, "I bet it was really cool! Huh? Where's Forehead?"
No response.
"Huh? Sasuke-kun?" Ino asked again, running after them. Another silence worried her. She looked at the team leader and asked, "Kakashi-sensei?"
Anko walked next to her and replied solemnly, "She died protecting the client."
"Killed?" Ino brought a hand over her mouth. "No."
She stood rooted to the spot for only Kami knew how long.
...
The funeral service for Haruno Sakura was a quiet affair. The Hokage had granted her an honorable funeral worthy of a brave ninja died in line of duty. She was young; thus, very few in the village knew her.
Those that did, showed up, including all those who had graduated the Academy with her, even those who had become civilians after failing to pass their Jounin-senseis' Genin test.
Her Genin peers and their senseis lamented the loss of someone who had just embarked on a journey of service to her village. Someone whose Will of Fire had burnt brightly. They too were reminded the sobering truth that life was short as ninjas and that it could very well be their time to meet their Maker tomorrow.
Hokage performed the funeral proceedings, and as part of his service talk, he announced that the bridge in the Waves was named "Sakura Crossings" in honor of her sacrifice.
The only person noticeably missing was Sasuke.
...
"Danzou-sama, I'm ready to finish my training."
"I see. Sasuke-kun, do you pledge your allegiance to ROOT and willingly submit to our Death Seal of Secrecy?"
"Hai!"
"Then, let's begin."
- End Flashback -
"What? Can't make up your mind? You are weak. But your death will make me powerful."
Two short cries of desperation and two separate sounds of kunai penetrating flesh and skull were heard, followed by the cackle of menacing laughter.
…o.0.O.0.o…
(Konoha: In Another Secluded Area)
A silver-haired speck-wearing med-nin performed a set of hand seals to link up with his master at a remote location.
It had been four months since he made his last report, which included the great energy release at a location somewhat outside the village. He didn't have much information at the time to report, but he felt the incident was something of interest to his master, even if it was at a great risk to himself and his cover eluding the ANBUs that swarmed around the village.
What his master wanted to know was the cause of that energy outburst, was it linked to Kyuubi, and how was it pacified.
Now, after a few months of research, he hoped this report would be more useful to his master.
At the remote location, a visage of the med-nin appeared before a man wearing an orange mask and a black cloak with red clouds.
"Kabuto-kun, report!" he commanded.
"Hai, Madara-sama. You were right about it having something to do with Naruto," Kabuto began. "Sarutobi has been very secretive about what really happened that day. He's made no written record of the incident. Apparently, only those who were there that day knows the exact details. Unfortunately going after those people right now would blow my covers."
"So," Madara sneered, "you came just for a visit?"
"Um, no, my lord," Kabuto quickly replied, "I was able to gather that around that time there was a visiting foreign dignitary that was seen roaming freely around the village and in and out of the hospital."
"Hospital?" Madara's interest perked. "That's your backyard. Surely you were able to find something more useful."
"You're correct, my lord. It was through the patient records that I was able to confirm that it was indeed Naruto-kun that caused the energy spike."
"HE caused it?" Madara touched his chin. "You sure it was him and not the Nine-Tails?"
"His patient record shows a severe physical exhaustion and nearly depleted of chakra." Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "He was unconscious for three days. In fact, the report from the rounds made the morning he woke up states he couldn't even mold chakra."
"Still, that doesn't mean it wasn't Kyuubi though," Madara whispered more or less to himself. Turning his attention back to the good little tool he'd raised, he asked, "Was there anything else to report?"
"There's something Orochimaru's planning with Danzou. Apparently, the old warhawk has agreed to holding off his ROOT agents in the upcoming Suna-Oto invasion if Orochimaru would use his research to fix his damaged arm and eye."
"Um," Madara mumbled, having something else on his mind. "What about Sasuke-kun?"
"As you've predicted, the boy was all downhills after I took care of his dog."
"Execellent!" It was good to know one of his projects going as planned. "Now, back to Naruto...."
"Madara-sama," Kabuto interrupted, "I'm afraid I'll be interrupted soon. Someone set off my traps, but before I go, just one last thing about Naruto-kun. He went on a training trip with that mysterious foreign dignitary ....."
Kabuto was unable to finish his report and had to end the jutsu or risk blowing his cover. He knew he would have to answer to Madara for leaving him an incomplete report, but it couldn't be helped.
He opened his eyes to the greetings of Ibiki and two other ANBU interrogators. He adjusted his glasses and smoothly asked, "Who are you and why are you intruding?"
"I am Morino Ibiki," the said man answered. "I would like you to come with me and my companions for a visit to the ANBU headquarters. We have some questions concerning your whereabouts four months ago."
"Four months ago? I don't even remember what I had for breakfast this morning, and you expect me to remember some random day four months ago?"
"Heh heh," Ibiki did his version of a laugh, humored by his naivete, "don't worry, we can help you remember."
"What if I say no?" Kabuto asked while adjusting his specks.
"I think it's best you do, unless you got something to hide."
Kabuto not wanting to blow his cover, one as a spy for Orochimaru and ultimately a spy for Madara, finally said, "Very well. Lead the way. But I must warn you, I'm a med-nin with ties in the hospital. It's in your best interest not to mistreat me."
"Don't worry. I know about your ties. If you have nothing to hide, I won't keep you."
…o.0.O.0.o…
(Mt. WuDang)
"Good-bye, Master Wu," Naruto whispered before turning towards the exiting path, not knowing when or if he would ever see the WuDang Headmaster again.
Naruto wasn't sure how long the descent from Mt. WuDang was going to take, but judging from temperamental wind and the ice patches along the narrow roadside, it would be a LONG and troublesome journey down.
Although the journey would no doubt present itself interesting, filled with more of WuDang's breathtaking scenery and amazing daredevil displays by the avion creatures, all in themselves quite fulfilling to Naruto, the boy was more intrigued by whom Wu had arranged to wait for him at the foot of the mountain.
Thus, with mixed feelings, he commenced his journey on the path exiting Mt. WuDang. As his feet treaded carefully on the narrow icy path, leaning his body against the rock wall on the right while tiptoeing to avoid falling to his death, he tried to keep his mind elsewhere to prevent acrophobia from developing.
He had been away from Konoha for four months now, and he didn't think he'd accomplished a whole lot. Sure, he'd learned how to channel the limited amount of Qi he had into his sword attacks and how to use kinesthetics in combat, both of which he had seen prove of their usefulness.
The battle with Chen, for one. Had it not been for those training, he would have been easily defeated. Although he'd won, he knew that victory wasn't a fair assessment of his skills. Of course, he'd fought and won fair and square, but he knew Chen was holding back and easing him into it, much like how Kyuubi had done when she trained him in his mindscape. Had that actually been Chen fighting to his full as if fighting a real fight with an enemy, Naruto had no delusions of who the victor would have been.
'Kyuubi ...' It had been a while since he thought of contacting her. 'Maybe I'll try contacting her again before the day's over.'
While he was grateful to what Master Wu had "taught" him, all in all, he felt these four months had been somewhat of a waste. He didn't feel like he'd learned anything lethal or worthwhile to add to his repertoire as a combat-nin. He hadn't learned any killer sword stances from Wu, or have him correct or improve any of the ones he already learned from Yuugao-sensei. And, all because of that kowtow tradition.
'Master Wu ....'
Naruto didn't believe he would ever be able to decipher him. Even though there was much of Master Wu Naruto didn't understand, one thing he was certain: He did not tell him to travel this lengthy journey for naught. If Naruto had learned anything about Wu, he was certain that this was some sort of training.
'What kind of training, though?'
He wasn't sure, but whatever it was, he was planning on making the most of it.
'Perhaps I'm supposed to learn new things on this trip. Maybe he hid KungFu manuscripts along the road for me to find.'
As useful as Qi and kinesthetics were, they didn't suit his personality or his fighting style. He favored the explosive, high impact jutsus. Granted, his jutsus were not subtle or stealthy, but they were highly effective and allowed him to better flaunt ... er, demonstrate ... why he would become the best Hokage ever.
However, he'd never gotten the chance to do so. Shortly after Team 7 was formed, he had lost access to his chakra, and a few days later, been assigned to this "training mission." Sasuke, on the other hand, would have had plenty of opportunities to showcase what he had been learning from ROOT and the Inuzukas, no doubt justifying being labeled the "Pride and Joy" by the villagers and Council alike.
The Chuunin Exam. Yes, he would prove to them there that he had not ridden Jiji's coattail to tie in Rookie of the Year with their precious Uchiha. His lot in Konoha had improved drastically since Asuma adopted him, or at least that was how it appeared, but Naruto knew deep down many still viewed him as the Nine-Tailed Fox herself. The accident during his fight with Kisame wasn't going to help his cause either.
As he thought about home, he couldn't help but wonder how the rest of his friends were. He was certain they had gotten stronger.
'I can't wait to fight them.'
That brought a smile to his face.
And, of course, he hadn't forgotten Jiji's promise to tell him who his biological parents were once he made Chuunin.
'Konoha....'
He couldn't wait to get home.
Naruto continued his musing as he traveled the path descending WuDang, oblivious to the fact that he had just past through one of the layers of thick clouds hiding the said named school.
…o.0.O.0.o…
The first day turned out to be very taxing for the blond, who was currently resting in a cave, lying on his back next to a fire and gazing out at the stars in the clear night sky. The cave was above several cloud layers, so Naruto was enjoying this view better than the view he used to get on top of the Hokage Monument back home.
Being exhausted was still such a foreign feeling to him since he had never had to deal with this when he had access to Kyuubi's immense amount of chakra and its healing power.
He had found none of the manuscripts he'd hoped for. No traps set up to test or to sharpen his skills and awareness of his surroundings - at this rate he would probably end up too complacent for Anko-sensei's taste. And nearly nothing out of the ordinary. True, he did scale a good portion - though he'd barely scratched the surface - of the narrow and treacherous path, but he had expected the journey would be hard. No surprise there. The only thing remotely interesting was his successful hunt of a mountain goat which would provide him food for days.
The goat must have been a rare breed, able to live off the scanty wild berries and enduring the harsh elements accompanying such a high altitude. Naruto had been wondering about food, and spotting the animal was a godsend. He remembered crouching in wait, watching the animal feasting on wild plants as he got ready a kunai from his pouch. The goat never stood a chance.
Actually, if his thoughts hadn't turned towards the goat and how it was surviving in such an unforgiving environment, he would have missed how he too was faring quite well in the harsh elements. He suspected that it had something to do with Qi's presence inside his body.
That reminded him the daily Qi exercises he had to do.
Naruto reluctantly willed himself to sit up from his relaxed position and positioned his worn out legs into a sitting lotus, hands resting on his knees.
Meditation, and how to do so correctly, was something else he had gotten out of that Qi Mastery manuscript.
Unlike what Asuma had told him, namely to empty his mind of everything, the Qi Mastery manuscript told him to accept everything and refuse nothing. A very contradicting approach indeed, but one that suited his two-souled predicament as a Jinchuuriki, a soul with another sealed within.
Besides, he needed to visit Kyuubi again. He hoped that this dual-nature meditation would yield a better result of reaching Kyuubi than his previous attempt.
Closing his eyes, he allowed his mind to settle and soon felt the surreal sensation of being disconnected from his surroundings. Once the transition completed, his eyes opened to the familiar sewer that his mindscape depicted.
Naruto's mindscape remained exactly as he remembered it during his brief visit after learning in the hospital about Kyuubi's Qi-suppressed state.
No pulsing chakra glow. No eerie trace of demonic killer intent. And of course, no taunting words that Naruto had somehow grown to miss.
He sloshed through the knee-high water towards the only light source. Reaching it, he took time to examine more carefully the effect of the drastic approach Wu had used to save his life and the lives of everyone else around. While he had accepted its necessity and no longer hated the Taoist Headmaster for severing Kyuubi from him, he still regretted the fact that he'd had no choice in the matter, much like everything else in his life.
"Kyuubi," he gingerly said standing outside the cage while his eyes stole glances at the intriguing pattern of the Ying and Yang symbol draped over the cage.
"... if you can hear me," he continued, unsure how she would respond after everything that had happened to her, especially when he knew how wounded her pride would be after being bested by yet another human.
Although intellectually he knew she had a bigger role in landing herself in this mess, like a child still finding his way in the world, his fragile self-esteem still caused him to fear that ultimately everything wrong was somehow his fault.
No, Naruto didn't forget that it was Kyuubi's fault for goading him to losing control - something he still didn't understand the reasons for - and, had he not let go his grudge against Wu, he doubted he would worry about Kyuubi's feelings.
"Kyuubi, I know you can hear me," Naruto tried again. He wanted to say "Thank you" for trying to help when Kisame endangered his life, letting bygones be bygones, but he knew she would deny trying to save him, probably citing that she was doing what she could to protect herself when her pathetic excuse of a vessel had failed to do so.
He received no vocal response, which was not surprising, considering the Qi suppression. But, why was there no muted chakra flairs either, something he knew she was capable of from her failed attempts?
Her silence was disheartening and frustrating at the same time. Here, he was trying to put the past behind them, only to have his efforts spat on and thrown back to his face.
Finally his frustration overcame all other emotions, giving way to anger. He shouted, "Fine! Be that way!" Doing an abrupt 180, he walked away from the cage.
He stopped when his prankster mind kicked in and a stain-eating expression spread across his face.
Schooling his feature to hold off his mischievous grin until later, he turned to cast an all-too-innocent glance at the cage while saying, "You must've gotten used to getting bitch slapped by humans that you don't know what to say when you aren't. Do you want me to give you the usual before you respond, Kyu-chan?"
Naruto unleashed his smirk when that variation from Anko-sensei's typical training/torture insults got the desired effect.
The Ying and Yang drapery-looking suppressor pulsed as the cage underneath it shook violently for thirty minutes, rocking everything in the mindscape. Despite all of Kyuubi's might, the drape remained unyielding. In the end, the commotion pacified, and the dreadful silence returned.
But, at least Naruto had gotten a response from her. He knew that once he got his foot in, it wouldn't be long before they patched things up, which Naruto had been looking forward to, since he couldn't stand how this awkwardness between them had been eating at him.
Picking himself up from the wet ground, he stood and took one last look at the cage before he severed the transcendental connection and returned to the real world. Although he knew he wanted to ponder more about the Qi suppressor, he was too damn tired from the battle with Chen and the grueling physical exertion of the first day to think about it or anything else.
Sleep quickly claimed him. Outside the cave, an icy blizzard hailed mercilessly.
…o.0.O.0.o…
Day Two turned out to be nothing like Day One.
Naruto woke up early as planned, hoping to get an early start, but finding himself starring at the cave opening buried in ice and snow.
"That must have been from last night," he said to himself.
He drew his sword to hack at the ice in fury. His efforts were valiant, but had very little effect on the compressed solid. If only he had access to his chakra, he could have blown the damnable ice away with some explosive tags or a katon or doton jutsu.
"Dammit!" Naruto vented his frustration.
He took a few steps back and retreated into the lotus position, holding his sword horizontally in front of his forehead with his two hands. He slowly sought out the full concentrate of his Qi, feeling its warmth and calm igniting his center radiating a little by little until it enveloped his whole. He then felt and winced in pain as he was hit by the anticipated sudden collapse, condensing the energy back to its origin, and finally shooting forth from there in nine separate streams of intense power randomly tearing through every part of his body, making him quiver uncontrollably in agony.
The pain was worse than the day before when he had channeled Qi before wielding a stream of Qi blades from his sword to meet Chen's. The number of the streams of energy, however, remained the same: nine. Their intensity and power was exponentially greater, and much harder to control. Much much harder.
Beads of sweat poured from Naruto's forehead. The surrounding cold elements made his much hotter body steam.
Naruto wanted to hold on as long as it takes to control the streams and channel Qi properly. He feared the consequences of blasting Qi when it had not been properly channeled. Unfortunately, the intensity continued to climb until Naruto could hold on no longer and had to release the pressure within for fear that he might explode.
Quickly his hands resumed the same samurai hold he'd used when he used this move to counter Chen's. Allowing Qi to erupt in climax and untamed, he flung it forward with his downward sword hack.
KABOOM!
The boulder-like ice that blocked the cave shattered into million droplets of water vapor while Naruto crashed into the wall of rocks behind.
His last thoughts before he fell unconscious were, 'Wu's Qi Manual says there's supposed one stream of energy and a lasting feeling of euphoria. Why was mine painful and why were there nine of them?'
…o.0.O.0.o…
Day Three found Naruto awaken to its morning greeting. The boy used his hand to shield off the brightness as he gingerly moved his bruised body.
The cave was in shambles. Naruto's uncontrolled release not only obliterated the behemoth ice block that used to barricade the entrance, but also carved nine thick channels into the walls that branched out randomly from center of impact, where the blockage had been. The crushed and crumbled rocks scattered below the nine channels.
Looking around the damage he'd caused, Naruto was surprised that the only injury he sustained was a blotch of bruise on his back where it'd impacted the wall he was thrown into.
Retrieving his sword from the ground, he secured it and walked out of the cave.
The day was still early.
Naruto continued his journey. Only an hour into it, after passing through another layer of clouds, he came to a full stop. He stared in confusion at the sign before him that read "Dead End." It had been staked by the edge of the path he had been traveling, a path that had now come to an abrupt end.
"What the heck!?" shouted Naruto, "Is this some kind of joke?" He stretched his Qi kinesthesia to see if Wu was around. He even sent some Qi to his ears, hoping against hope to hear Wu's snickers and him showing another path after saying it was all a joke. But, in the end, he knew it was no joke. "Great," the blond said with a sigh as he peered over the edge. His vision took him down the steep drop of ice and rocks to a luscious patch of vegetation below, WAY below. He gulped and said, "Now what?"
He spent the next hour retracing his steps, desperately looking for another path he hoped he had missed, only to return to the same spot, leering at the sign, now his limbs much tired than before.
"If only I could use chakra again," grunted Naruto in frustration, "at least I'll be able to stick to the slope climbing down." He hated feeling this way about his current predicament, about Wu, but it couldn't be helped. "If nothing else, with Kyuubi's healing power, I can always let go and test this dumb luck of mine that Asuma always complained about when we played Go."
He was in midst of another depressing thought when he heard a low booming voice in his head.
Let go. Trust yourself.
"What?! I'll kill myself," Naruto answered absentmindedly as if he was answering someone standing behind him. Once it dawned on him that he should have been alone or that there could be someone there to rescue him, he looked around frantically as he tightened his grips on the rock crevices and said, "Who's there? If you can hear me, sir, help!"
Surrender yourself to Qi.
"What!? I must be hearing things, going mad, talking to myself ...." the thirteen-year-old sputtered as he realized there was not supposed to hear any voice inside his head other than Kyuubi's, and even that bordered the blurry boundary of insanity. THAT deep bellowing voice certainly did not sound like his prisoner.
Don't fight it.
"SHUT UP ... you don't exist ... LEAVE ME ALONE!" the blond ranted as he turned to slid his back against the rocky. He now sat on the narrow pathway with his legs dangling in the unfathomably high altitude, an one degree separation from heaven and hell. Literally.
'Could there be something or someone else inside me besides the Furball?' He waited for that voice to resonate in his mind again. He wanted, no, needed, answers.
But the only thing Naruto heard was the howling of the arctic wind carrying occasional bird cries from a nearby mountain peak.
"Trust myself ... let go ... surrender to Qi," Naruto repeated to himself as if it was a riddle of sorts waiting to be solved.
Then he took out a piece of the goat that he had cooked last night, and after carefully unwrapping its packaging, he took his time chewing each bite appreciatively, savoring its juicy gamey flavors, as if it was his last meal.
Once that was done, he rolled up the wrapping as compact as he could and, watching with great interest, dropped it off the edge of the narrow path into the oblivion below. He watched it bounced off the rocky slope several times until it was too small for him to see and too far for his Qi to detect.
He sat there for a few more minutes and finally reached the only conclusion possible.
"Oh, why the hell not?" mused Naruto to himself, as he put on his best bravado smirk and dived head first into the arms of Kami.
…o.0.O.0.o…
A/N: Naruto is not going to learn to fly. Actually, I'm not sure if he would survive. I guess you'll just have to find out :D
Author's Rant: Does anyone feels like the last couple of manga chapters lacking? I'm frustrated with Kishibakamoto for two reasons:
1. Naruto. What's with that boy? C'mon! Someone almost died for you while professing her love, and after the battle, you didn't even pay her a visit?
2. Sakura. I think I speak for most when I say I didn't like the pre-shippuuden (PS) fangirl Sakura. But after-shippuuden (AS), I thought she was okay. At times, when Kishibaka hinted that she actually has feelings for Naruto, wow, great! But the recent chapter with her shedding tears when asked "What's Sasuke to you?" C'mon! What was that? At best, her feelings for Sasuke PS was an one-sided crush, which wasn't even returned. They didn't even go on a date, and now, three years later, after she's matured somewhat, for Kishibaka to still depict her this way ... is just stupid. It's like he just want to fit Sakura into this stupid fangirl mode. In fact I bet if someone asks Ino in the manga "What's Sasuke to you?" Kishibaka would make her respond the same way. Dumb.