AN: I do not own original Naruto characters and jutsu. They belong to the main man, Masashi Kishimoto. But, Saphiro Kimza and other created characters and jutsu do belong to me. Please enjoy my fic.
Naruto: Kimza Chronicles:
Chapter 18: Saphiro's Hidden Legacy
A few days had passed since the battle with Yatzu. Saphiro was finally relieved of the belief that Genzo was stronger than him. Genzo was his friend. There was no need to be afraid of him. Instead, he had worse problems. He found himself having nightmares of Ezekiel's attempt of destroying Konoha almost every night. It quickly became one of his worst fears. He would wake up dripping heavily with sweat and out of breath. He would sometimes have a continuation of the dream where he and Ezekiel would end up battling each other. It would always end with Ezekiel plunging a kunai into his chest. He would be woken up by either Kaede or Art afterwards. They would tell him that he was having a bad dream. They wanted to know what was frightening him so much. He wanted to tell his friends about what was happening to him. But then again, he was better off not telling them. If he told them, he knew they might try to protect him. In the end Ezekiel could kill them for standing in his way. In order to keep his friends safe, Saphiro had to keep his mouth shut. For now, he'll just tell them he was having nightmares about Genzo's sudden increase in power. Or at least until he knew that Ezekiel was finally taken care of.
After a few more days of constant travel, the group finally made it to the Village Hidden Within The Canyon. Actually, they were near the canyon where the village was cradled inside. Noboru knew that in order for them to enter the village, they would have to climb down the canyon's walls.
"We have to climb down," Noboru explained, "As part of your ninja training; we'll use our chakra to climb the walls of this canyon. But don't try to fall. You'll fall at least 200 feet into your doom. So, pair up with someone."
Of course, Genzo and Rosetta were a team. Kaede and Saphiro paired up, and Oro and Art were a team. Noboru was alone. He had the abilities needed to work alone. He looked at the group of young shinobi and nodded.
"Okay," he said, "We are ready to go." As he turned around, Saphiro walked over to him and cocked his head to the side.
"I know the Vortex Jutsu," Saphiro said, "Why can't I use that jutsu to transport us there?"
Noboru turned around and pointed to the canyon, "That canyon is so dark you can't see the bottom," he explained, "If you use your jutsu to transport us there, you might miss the village. We might be miles from our destination. From here, all we have to do his climb straight down."
Saphiro nodded. He realized that his jutsu wasn't sharpened enough to do such.
Noboru smiled at the group, "Let's go," he said, concentrating chakra to his hands and legs. He slowly placed his feet on the canyon's walls and climbed down, "And remember: You have to have an even flow of chakra on both of your arms and legs. If one limb is short of chakra, you could fall. And if possible, use any jutsu you know to save yourself or your partner."
The group nodded and started their long climb down the steep slope of the canyon. Following Noboru down the slope a few seconds after him.
A few minutes had passed since the group started going down the slope leading to the Canyon Village. So far, no one in the group fell. Saphiro was doing the best so far. He had perfect chakra control. Second, surprisingly, was Art. After a while, Noboru decided to see how far they had left to go. He grabbed a rock and let it go, listening for a noise. After 21 seconds he finally heard a faint crashing noise. It sounded like the rock fell through a roof.
"We're getting closer," Noboru said, looking up at the others, "But even so; do not let your guard down. As far as I'm concerned, that could've been another object on the slope. Continue to keep your chakra flow stable."
The group nodded, indicating they understood. As they continued their descending, Kaede suddenly slipped on a loose rock, she quickly lost her footing and fell. She rapidly passed the group.
"HELP ME!" Kaede shouted in fear.
"Kaede!" Saphiro shouted, making hand signs. He stood on the slope vertically and opened up his palm, "Ninja Art: Vortex Jutsu!" he yelled frantically.
A vortex instantly appeared below Kaede and swallowed her up. She soon reappeared above Saphiro through another vortex. Saphiro grabbed her and gently pressed her against the wall of rock.
"Kaede," he shuddered, "Don't frighten me like that. I could've lost you."
"If it wasn't for you, I would've been," Kaede happily sobbed, "Thank you." She looked up and her eyes sparkled with a shine which was unfamiliar to Saphiro. She pressed her lips against Saphiro's and they stood still on the slope for a moment. Kaede slowly opened up Saphiro's mouth with her own. She started snaking her warm, wet, succulent tongue into his mouth when she was interrupted by Noboru coughing. She broke apart from her man and started blushing.
"I'm sorry Noboru," she said.
"Have romantic moments later," he said, "This isn't quite the place. Besides, we still have a mission to accomplish." He started his descent on the slope again. The others quickly followed.
"Wow Kaede," Saphiro said surprised, "What was with the kiss? Never did that one before."
"I'm sorry," Kaede apologized, "I just felt an eruption of compassion and intimacy inside of me. And I wanted to give some to you."
"It's okay," Saphiro reassured, "It was actually enjoyable. Just warn me before you want to play tongue wrestling again."
Kaede nodded, "Okay," she said, "I will."
Art shook his head, "You guys are weird," he said, "Kissing on a slope? Who does that?"
"Don't worry Art," Kaede giggled, "You'll experience it one day. If you ever find a girlfriend to settle down with."
"No way!" Art exclaimed, "Art Uzuba is a bachelor forever!"
"Suit yourself," Saphiro snickered, "But you're missing out on a nice life with a soul mate."
After a few minutes, the group got to the base of the canyon. What they found next was amazing. Before them laid the ruins of a village that was almost as large as Konoha! Saphiro stepped up to the village and stared at a sign near the gate of the village. The gate was open.
"This is it!" Saphiro exclaimed, "This is the Canyon Village! We're finally here!"
"Took long enough," Genzo sighed, "Now, let's get those files of Ezekiel and Renji. This place is a wreck. I want to leave as quickly as possible." He started to walk into the village when Noboru stopped him.
"We can't go anywhere in this place alone," Noboru said, "This is what we'll do. I'll contact the other team and find out their location. Then, we'll meet at the gate of the village and make a plan. And then and only then, will we head into the village."
"Then what are you waiting for?" Rosetta asked, "Contact the other team."
Noboru pulled out a walkie-talkie and tuned it on, "Hello?" he said, "Hello? This is Team Noboru. We are currently at the gate of the Canyon Village. What is your location? Hello? Hello? Hello? Is anyone there?"
The only response from the walkie-talkie was static. It soon turned off all together.
"What's going on?" Art asked, "Why isn't anybody answering."
Oro looked up into the sky above the canyon, "It must be because we are in a walled area," he said, "This is a canyon after all."
"And I don't think they're in the village," Kaede included, "If so, we would hear some sounds."
"What should we do?" Saphiro asked.
"Well," Noboru said, "We should continue into the village without them. Most likely, they're either close to the canyon or they're climbing down. This is what we're going to do. I'm going to stay here and keep an eye out for the other group. You will go into the village and start to look for the files of Ezekiel and Renji. Now go. I'll stay here and meet up with you as soon as the other group comes."
"Right!" The group said in unison. They left Noboru to start looking for the files of Saphiro's relatives. Noboru turned around to scan the area for Team 23, Team 24, and Masato.
As the group traveled through the ruins of the village, Genzo, Rosetta, and Oro suddenly stopped. Saphiro, Kaede, and Art turned around and stared at their rival team.
"What's wrong with you three?" Saphiro asked, "What's with the sudden halt?"
"We've decided to go our own way," Genzo said, "You can have half of the village. We'll have the other half. We can make a little competition out of it. What do you say Kimza?"
Saphiro's green eyes jolted with a need for competition, "You can count on it!" he said smiling, "You three are going to be tied with us in mission ranking when we're finished with this mission. Plus, you're going to be staring at the first Jonin of Teams 22 through 26!"
Genzo stifled a chuckle at Saphiro's outburst, "I wouldn't count on it," he laughed, "We are going to find the best data about Renji and Ezekiel. Let's go." Genzo and his teammates soon walked away into another part of the village.
"Is this a good idea?" Kaede asked, "We may be attacked by Ezekiel and killed if we're alone. He is after you Saphiro."
"Don't worry," Saphiro laughed, "Ezekiel is trapped inside the Sealing Vortex. There is no way he's getting out. We might as well worry about finding the data we need about my father and Ezekiel."
"I don't know dawg," said Art, "Kaede is kind of right about this, Kimmy. You said that Ezekiel was a stronger ninja than you. What if he escaped?"
Saphiro turned to his comrades in anger, "There is no way Ezekiel escaped," he growled, "In fact, I'll show you. I'm heading off alone. And if I'm dead when you found me, Ezekiel is out. But unless so, it's not true." He turned around and waved to his friends. He then walked away.
"Saphiro is so damn arrogant," Kaede sighed, "What if Ezekiel is out? Why is he always like this?"
Art shrugged his shoulders, "He's your boyfriend," he said, "You should know him better than I do," he turned away from Kaede and pointed towards a hospital, "Maybe we should look for some data of Ezekiel and Renji in there."
"Good idea Art! There should be a file of everyone who lived in this village in there! Let's go!"
Art gave Kaede a thumbs up, "Let's do it!" he agreed. Then he and Kaede went to the hospital. Once they were inside, they quickly went to the file cabinet behind the registration counter.
"Found anything yet Art?" Kaede asked.
Art looked up from the file cabinet and shook his head, "No," he said, "Maybe if we look in the 'K' section, we might find something useful."
Kaede nodded and continued to look through the cabinet. She quickly found the 'K' section. Luckily, most of the 'K' section was composed of two clans, the Kimza Clan and the Kuguari Clan. Kaede pulled out every Kimza file and skimmed through it.
Hm, she thought, let's see. Iru Kimza. Nugau Kimza. Lai Kimza. Hanyu Kimza. Zurko Kimza. Toshiya Kimza. Aha! Ezekiel Kimza and Renji Kimza! Kaede pulled out the two files and raised them high to show Art.
"You found them!" Art exclaimed, "Sweet! You're the greatest Kaede!" He walked to her and kneeled down.
"Look at this Art," Kaede requested, "In this certain year, Renji was 19 while Ezekiel was 22. This was recorded 25 years ago. So Ezekiel is either 46 or 47. Renji would've been either 43 or 44, but he's dead. But, that isn't important. Here is what's weird; this also said that Ezekiel had an unnatural amount of chakra. It was bluish-purple?" She stared at Art in worry.
"Bluish-purple chakra?" asked Art, "How in the hell did Ezekiel had purple chakra?"
"What about Lord Naruto?" Kaede continued, "Whenever he goes into his Kyuubi form; his chakra turns red. So, Ezekiel must have…."
Art's eyes opened wide, "We gotta tell Kimmy!" he shouted, "Now!" But as the two Chunin stood up, a weird burst of energy swept through the hospital. It knocked Kaede and Art off their feet and smashed them into a wall. Art was instantly knocked out, but Kaede was still conscious. She opened her eyes and saw someone. The person looked like Genzo.
"Who….are…you…." Kaede gasped as she slipped into unconsciousness.
Genzo didn't say anything. He just slowly moved his hand to her face as she closed her weary eyes….
Meanwhile, Saphiro was walking through the Canyon Village; trying to find some hint of the Kimza Clan. As he was wandering, he stared at a fairly large building in the center of the village. He looked at a sign near its still open gate and read it.
"Hm," he said, "It says 'The Kimza Compound" Saphiro's eyes opened up wide, "This is my clan's former home! I know there should be some data on my father and Ezekiel here!" He quickly ran into the compound.
What he saw next was disturbing to him. He was that the Kimza Compound was in the worst condition in the entire village. Nearly everything in the compound was destroyed. Many skeletons of former Canyon Village residents were present. Only about 1/8th of the compound was intact. What were intact were mostly the building's northern and western walls. Saphiro glared furiously at the sight of the wreckage.
How in the hell could someone do so much damage to a village like this? he asked himself, I knew Ezekiel was strong; but this powerful! I know now that Genzo is no match for him! I gotta try to keep my composure. There's nothing of analyzing here. Perhaps the Nurmakage's manor has something.
Once Saphiro entered the Nurmakage's manor, he was surprised. The manor was completely unharmed. He would've thought that Ezekiel would've destroyed this place first. As he looked through the oval office of the manor, he found a photo of Ezekiel, Renji, and a third man. The three were on a lake together. Unlike the current Ezekiel, this Ezekiel had brown hair and green eyes instead of flaming hair and red eyes, just like Renji and the older man. The older man's eyes were a dimmer green and most of hair was gray. Saphiro felt tears run down his cheeks as he stared at the photo. He saw that Renji and Ezekiel were younger than they looked in the dream. They looked like they were in their teens. Saphiro picked up the photo and put it in a backpack he was wearing.
I hope my father thinks this is the right decision, Saphiro thought as he turned around. As he continued to search, he found a note on the Nurmakage's table. He picked it up and looked at it. Before he could actually read it, an explosion occurred a few feet away from the compound. Saphiro rushed outside and looked around.
"Kaede! Art!" he shouted, "Genzo! Rosetta! Oro! Noboru!" As he looked around, his gaze shifted to the left to see that a strange purple aura surrounded his body. He felt his body get tired as he slumped to the ground. As he set his face on the ground, he thought this was some sort of trick.
"Rosetta," he moaned, "Wait until I get…my…hands…on…"
Saphiro quickly awake from the aura's effects. He got up from the ground and looked around. He was back in Konoha. But the village was different. The village was a wreck! He stared around and saw a man standing on a roof. The man looked familiar. In fact, Saphiro knew who he was.
"Ezekiel," Saphiro growled, "Why are you here? I thought that you wanted to kill me!"
"Why kill you in a village you don't care about," Ezekiel laughed, "When I can attack your heart!" He dug into his pocket and pulled some slips of paper. He then threw them towards Saphiro.
Saphiro dodged the paper and stared at Ezekiel. He started laughing hard, "Paper?" he chuckled, "You tried to kill me with paper?"
Ezekiel just shook his head, "Look behind you," he said, head still shaking.
Saphiro looked behind him and saw that the slips of paper were on fire, "Oh no!" he shouted, "Paper bombs!" The bombs exploded without another spare second. Saphiro was engulfed in flames. He fell to the ground to extinguish the flames. He got up and stared at Ezekiel.
Ezekiel laughed at Saphiro's actions, "You were a more powerful opponent the last time we fought," he said, "What happened to your power. In fact, I'm going to show you our clan's powerful Kekkei Genkai!" He closed his eyes and started making hand signs.
"I know this is a dream!" Saphiro shouted, "I gotta wake up!" Suddenly, his vision turned black as he fell to the ground…
Saphiro woke up again to see that Genzo was standing over him. Saphiro sighed in relief and stood up.
"Are you okay?" Genzo asked, "You fainted a few seconds ago. Good thing I was here."
"Thanks Genzo," Saphiro gasped, "I think I was wrong. Ezekiel could be around here somewhere. We gotta stay together."
"Don't worry Saphiro," Genzo replied, "We'll get Ezekiel."
Saphiro stepped back in shock. Then his eyes flashed with anger, "Genzo hasn't called me Saphiro in 5 years," he said angrily, "He calls me Kimza! So, if aren't Genzo, who are you?"
'Genzo' clapped his hands, "You figured out," he chuckled, "I was going to assassinate you, but fighting you head on will be more interesting." Genzo then turned into a burst of smoke. After the smoke cleared, Genzo was actually Ezekiel using a Transformation Jutsu.
"Ezekiel?" Saphiro asked shock, "I trapped you inside of the Sealing Vortex! How did you escape?"
Ezekiel tapped his head with his index finger, "A Kimza elite knows all about the Vortexes of his clan," he said, "All I had to do was find out what kind of seal you used. Unfortunately for you, it was a novice seal. I broke out of it 10 minutes after you trapped me."
Saphiro stepped back, "So why didn't you try to kill me when I escaped? You know where I live!"
Ezekiel turned away from his nephew, "I wanted to kill you on the soil of our clan's home," Ezekiel kneeled down and put his hand into the lifeless dirt on the street, "I wanted you to know about your clan before you died."
"And let me guess," Saphiro continued, "Those dreams I had were all genjutsu, wasn't it?"
Ezekiel turned back to Saphiro, "Yes," he said, "It's a jutsu only I know. It's called the Memory Placement Jutsu. I can make you have memories you never knew you had before. And I can make you have dreams. Even when you're awake. I can put myself in your dreams to torture you. Then, I can kill you. In your dreams and in real life. But, I haven't mastered the dream/reality death part yet. Besides, me and my friend rather fight you head on."
"Your friend?" Saphiro asked, "Who the heck is your friend?"
"I forgot we haven't met," Ezekiel laughed, "I destroyed this village for a reason. I have a friend who never leaves me." He pulled up his red shirt to reveal a sealing mark on his stomach. It was kind of similar to the seal that kept the Kyuubi sealed inside of Naruto. Saphiro stepped back.
"Who is your 'friend'?" Saphiro asked, half frightened-half curious.
"He is known as Bukarok," Ezekiel laughed, "He is the wasp demon of the Kuguari Clan's signature summons creatures. He was the strongest of them all. But, he was also a traitor. I freed him from an 80-year slumber to aid me in my quest for power. I'm sure you want to meet him."
"Actually," Saphiro said, "To tell the truth, I do."
Ezekiel laughed, "Okay then." Ezekiel then made a hand sign foreign to Saphiro. Suddenly, Ezekiel arched forwards and his chakra fiercely engulfed his body. Then, a giant wasp, perhaps as tall as 35 feet tall, appeared behind him. The wasp was fiercely radiating a deep, purple chakra. The wasp was purple and red. It had red eyes and yellow antennae with red markings. It's wings were 3 times the length of it's body. Ezekiel's natural blue chakra finally ran out and the purple chakra covered his body. He smiled grimly, "He may not be one of the nine Bijuu, but he has a surprising amount of power."
That's why Ezekiel's eyes and hair is in that state, Saphiro thought, I'm betting every Kimza had brown hair and green eyes. Just like my father and that old man. But, this Bukarok transformed Ezekiel's eyes and hair. But, why is my hair brown and blonde?
"I can't really summon him," Ezekiel laughed, his blue chakra returning and the purple demon chakra disappearing, "That was just a chakra charge, revealing his image. In order to initiate the summoning, I had to wait for 10 years after I previously summoned him. Now that more than 10 years has passed I can summon him. But, Bukarok can be destroyed. He can be destroyed by the power of a Kuguari Clan descendant. The Kimza Clan are the descendants of the Kuguari Clan. You are the only person left in this world who can stop Bukarok."
"Why are you telling me this?" Saphiro asked, "Now that you told me that, I'm going to stop you at all costs!"
"You wish!" Ezekiel laughed, "Your friends are all disposed of. They won't be able to help you. I'm going to kill you, summon Bukarok, and make this world kneel before me! I'm not going to use one ounce of Bukarok's chakra on you. I'm going to kill you only using my abilities. And there is nothing you can do."
Saphiro smirked at Ezekiel's statement, "I'm going to rip a new face for you." He chuckled, "And I'm going to make you pay for hurting my friends."
Ezekiel cracked his knuckles, "Show me your powers. Boy of Sacred Blood."
AN: The next chapter is going to be sweet! Saphiro and Ezekiel fight all out in the next chapter. Can Saphiro defeat Ezekiel knowing that no one will be able to help him? Can he defeat Ezekiel knowing the world's fate rest on his shoulders? What jutsu can Ezekiel use other the ones previously revealed? And what is a Child of Sacred Blood? Find out in chapter 19 of Kimza Chronicles! See you around!