By Smertios
Authors Notes: The good news is that I'm updating, after God knows how long. The bad news is that I expect terrible writer's block to set in soon. I'm hitting the transition between my fully original first battle arc, and my step into cannon events (sprinkled liberally with original scenes, and maybe an original arc or two, if I find a hole I need to plug), and, given my history, I'm likely to struggle with the transition. Some stuff got cut from my outline because this arc took on a mind of its own (the original should have been done by Chapter 8), and I need to adjust the story to fit with that, and also try to make everything fit together. If a chapter doesn't appear for a month, it's because I'm having trouble writing a good transition.
I'll cut the cackle now, and get to the actual substance. Enjoy.
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Chapter Eleven: Rough TradeAnd I believed every
word was true
Yeah I swallowed every line
I believed every word
he said
And I didn't find out in time
We were betrayed,
betrayed, betrayed,
Betrayed, betrayed by rough trade lies
Betrayed by lies.
Stiff Little Fingers – Rough Trade
- - - - - - - - - - -
Orochimaru fought to keep his elated smile from showing. His plan had worked out better than he had ever imagined. Upon hearing from his agent in Akatsuki that Itachi's jinchuuriki target had emerged from hiding, he had immediately gone into action. Bringing the naïve jinchuuriki under his wing had been easier than he had ever imagined. 'Which just goes to show that one should never underestimate the power of naivety.'
The boy, unwittingly walking towards his doom, was whistling while he walked, apparently having forgotten his traumatic discovery of just a few minutes earlier. "Ne. Oshima-san?"
He forced a patronizing smile onto his face and clapped the boy on his shoulder. "Yes, Naruto?"
"Is there ramen where you live?"
'How can anyone be so focused on one thing?' The boy was shockingly focused on the noodles that so many people took for granted. Orochimaru found it very grating. "No, my boy, I'm afraid not."
The boy pouted, but immediately changed moods, and began prattling about some new jutsu he was working on. Orochimaru tuned him out; he had little interest in whatever techniques the boy was learning. After all, when he took the boy's body over, what techniques the boy had would be irrelevant. "And then, I told him, 'No, wind jutsu are way too strong to be beaten like that!'"
The boy was annoying, but that would also change when Orochimaru took over. When he had heard that the Kyuubi was within easy reach, he knew that he needed to unleash its power for himself. The power of the Nine-tails was too great for him to ignore. At first, he had planned on obtaining the Sharingan, but he had realized that by acquiring the demon-child he would be able to hunt Sharingan users with greater easy. Besides which, a morsel this easy to acquire was simply too sweet to let slide between his fingers.
Together, the two figures trudged along the path towards the border, unaware that they were not alone.
- - - - - - - - - -
The Sandaime Hokage crouched silently on a branch above them, gazing down at them with a great sense of unease. 'I had thought he had kidnapped Naruto. However, Naruto is following him along as though nothing is wrong. Is he leaving on purpose?'
Thought, however, was not something he could spare time for. The border was far away, but the closer they got to the border, the likelier it was that Orochimaru would have henchmen to back him up.
Abandoning his post, he leapt to the next branch, drawing three kunai from his holster. A moment later, the three kunai were whizzing towards the back of Naruto's kidnapper's head. Seeing that the man did not respond to the threat, Sarutobi was about to exult, but three wooden thunks informed him that his luck had not been as great as he had hoped. "Damn."
On the ground below him, a log with three kunai in it fell to the ground beside Naruto, who looked at it in shock. "Huh? Oshima-san?"
"Hello, Sensei. It's been a while, eh?" A tongue wrapped around Sarutobi's throat, holding a Kunai to it. A very familiar voice whispered in his ear, "What a pity that we couldn't meet under better circumstances."
"Oshima-sama!"
Naruto made to dash towards them, and Sarutobi took advantage of the distraction to grab the elongated tongue and throw Orochimaru towards the nearest tree. The Sannin stood up. The Hokage was surprised to see that the man had not shed his disguise. Naruto's run didn't stop when his masquerading mentor collided with the tree. Instead, his charge took him straight towards the Hokage. Rather than allow the boy to harm him, Sarutobi leapt over him.
"Naruto! Stay out of this!"
The boy whirled and glared at him with the coldest eyes that the Hokage could imagine. "What? It wasn't good enough to abandon me in prison? Leave. I don't need your so-called help!"
"Naruto, listen to me," Sarutobi saw Orochimaru slide another kunai out. "Things are not as they seem!"
Orochimaru hurled the knife, and Sarutobi slid back away from it. The Sannin followed the kunai with a punch Sarutobi barely evaded, and a kick that slammed him to the ground. He rolled off to the side, hooking a foot behind the pale man's ankle, and pulling him down.
"Like hell they aren't!" Naruto's temper was still on the rise. "I know a betrayal when I see it, old man! If leaving me to rot in prison was not bad enough, attacking the man who saved me certainly is. Kick his ass Oshima-sama!"
'He actually believes I left him in prison?' Once again, he barely avoided a back-fist to the bridge of his nose, and slid around a roundhouse. Clearly the fallen-Sannin was taking the wayward Jinchuuriki's advice to heart. It seemed very strange that the boy, who was normally fairly astute, would be fooled so easily. Especially after his "mentor" started throwing kunai around.
However, Naruto was the last of his worries. His thoughts cost him a moment, and Orochimaru slammed a knee into his gut, making stars flash before his eyes. He doubled over and pitched to the ground, coughing out a small amount of blood.
The Snake-Sannin attempted to drive a kick into his side, but Sarutobi managed to catch the foot with both hands, and sent Orochimaru whirling to the ground. As the Sannin rolled over and rose to his feet, Sarutobi took the chance to breathe deeply for a moment. Orochimaru, however, took the break in action as a chance to pitch his own case. "Don't listen to him, Naruto. He betrayed you!"
The boy nodded, grim determination lighting his eyes. When the Sannin spoke, a small flash of chakra appeared around the boy. 'That would explain it, then. Genjutsu. Damn, I'll have to fight it out or break the Genjutsu.'
The pain in his stomach was bearable again, and so he pitched to his feet. His hands flashed through a set of seals. "Kage Bunshin!"
Naruto wasn't the only shinobi in Konoha to make use of the Kage Bunshin. However, Sarutobi produced far fewer of the shadow clones, lacking the Kyuubi Vessel's extraordinary chakra capacity. The clones charged at Orochimaru with roars of anger. The Hokage, however, took the opportunity to sneak up behind the aforementioned clone user, and attempt to knock him out.
To his chagrin, the boy sidestepped his attack and tossed him over his side to land on the ground in a very undignified manner. Orochimaru, seeing his quarry under attack, dismissed the remaining clones with a few handy kicks and punches (As Sarutobi twisted in midair, he swore he saw Orochimaru stabbing his overly-long tongue straight through one of his clones), stood in between Naruto and Sarutobi. Sarutobi had not been prepared to fall, and the fall had jarred his ribs. His sight flickered, and he gasped for breath as little black particles danced in his vision.
Naruto glared at him, and Orochimaru smirked slightly. The Snake-Sannin pulled two fresh kunai and moved in for the kill. Before he could move more than a foot, he was thrown off of his feet by a flying kick. He toppled, and rolled to his feet, hurling his kunai in the direction of his attacker.
A harsh screech and a clang rang out, and the kunai clattered to the ground, sending up a small puff of dirt. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't let you kill him quite yet. We're still using him."
Uchiha Sasuke, windmill-shuriken in hand, crouched in the middle of the road with a small smirk on his face. Beside him, Hyuuga Hinata was already moving in to do what she could to help the Hokage. Orochimaru gave a gusty sigh. "More nuisances? Run away, boy, I have no use for you yet."
"Pity that. I think that I have a use for you." Sasuke's arrogant streak reared up in indignant anger at being called a nuisance. "I've had a bad week, and I really need a punching bag."
The Sannin merely laughed. "Before you fight me, maybe you had best ask you teammate how he feels about all of this. Why don't you tell them, Naruto?"
The blonde-haired jinchuuriki glared at Sasuke. "I don't care for any of this, Oshima-sama. My team abandoned me before, so I feel no need for their help now."
"We never abandoned you!"
"Bullshit! You left me to rot in that damned jail. Oshima-sama told me everything."
Sasuke glared as his teammate, but his hurt was apparent. "He lied to you! Who are you going to believe, the guy who got us into this mess in the first place, or your teammates?"
Naruto didn't answer, but his face worked, as though he was searching for an answer in vain. Orochimaru chuckled. "It's no use. The boy has no resistance against Genjutsu. I've bent his mind to my will, and it will be some time before he breaks himself free."
"Bastard!"
Orochimaru just shrugged. Without another word, he charged Sasuke, and panic rushed through Sasuke as the pale Sannin closed the gap between them in the blink of an eye. He only had enough time to think two words before Orochimaru hit him like a market-cart hurtling down a hill. 'Oh shit.'
- - - - - - - - - - -
Naruto had never felt so content in his life. Oshima was right, and everyone else was wrong, and it was that simple. No words or actions could change that fact. Oshima-sama would kill those who had harmed him, and all would be right in the world.
"Kit! Hey, Kit! Dammit, pay attention."
'Not now! I'm busy!'
That annoying voice had been pestering him for quite some time now. However, it wasn't Oshima-sama, and so it wasn't important at all.
A great gusty sigh rushed through his head, more like a hurricane-breeze than any sigh Naruto had ever heard. "Dammit, Kit! Fight this. You're being beaten by a simple Genjutsu."
He mentally shrugged. 'And? I like it. No questions, no suffering, nobody telling me that I'm a monster. No one attacking me, no one turning on me. Everything is right for once. Why do you want to ruin that feeling for me?'
That was that, as far as he was concerned. The voice could go stuff itself. Naruto was more interested in seeing Oshima-sama kick some ass against the traitors. Already the dark-haired one was on the defensive.
Oshima-sama swung in, his foot connecting with the boy's temple, and the boy toppled. Naruto felt a thrill of exultation rush through him. There was justice in the world after all. This provoked an outraged squawk from the voice in his head. "Hello! That's your teammate, you know?"
'No. That was my teammate. Oshima-sama is my only teammate now.'
"You're disgusting, you know?"
Naruto smirked. 'Yes, but I'm winning. Now leave me alone, damn fox.'
If one could feel eyes being rolled, that was exactly what the voice (where had damn fox come from?) felt like it was doing. He ignored it and went back to watching his mentor.
The black-haired one was still on the ground, with a bruise growing at his temple. Oshima-sama was now moving purposefully towards the pretty one.
The presence at the back of Naruto's mind seemed to cackle with glee. "The pretty one, eh? I am going to have so much fun when you snap out of this."
Naruto didn't even dignify that with a response. It wasn't worth fighting with the damn fox (that phrase again! Where did it come from?). A squeak drew his attention. The pretty one had been kicked away from the old man, who had struggled to his feet to defend her. However, the old man was still weak from his injury. Oshima-sama batted him aside in a moment. He advanced towards the pretty one again. Somehow, this seemed familiar.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Yurika kicked Hinata in the back, sending her sprawling over Sasuke with a cry of shock. Naruto's vision went black, and the buzzing in his head grew so strong that he couldn't find a coherent thought. Negations filled his head; futilely attempting to dispel this surreal nightmare he had found himself within.
And then, with an audible "pop", it all went out.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Orochimaru never even had time to respond to the fist that crashed into his back, catapulting him forward ten feet. He slid to a stop, and whirled, finding himself face-to-face with something straight out of a nightmare. The guile-less young man who he had conned into coming with him had been replaced with a monster. Blue eyes had been replaced with red slits, and his posture had become closer to an animal's than to a man's. "Don't fuck with my head. Ever."
The Snake Sannin was forced to dodge as a hand ripped through the space that he had just occupied. To his frustration, the boy's chakra had taken on the aspect of claws around his hand, and one of those claws tore away the skin of his disguise. For a moment, the beast's eyes widened as he saw the pale skin that had resulted from Orochimaru's many experiments.
"Who the hell are you?"
"It is appropriate to give one's name first, when meeting someone, Kyuubi. Nevertheless, I am Orochimaru."
The beast sneered at him, pointed teeth gleaming in the light of his chakra. "I've heard of you."
"It is good to be k-" Before Orochimaru could finish his sentence, the Kyuubi jumped to attack, sweeping his legs out from under him.
"I don't care. Now, I just want to kill you."
Again, the claws tore within an inch of his head, and the beast's foot impacted into his shoulder. Orochimaru, not wanting to damage his new body, quickly sent snakes from his sleeves, forcing the boy backwards, and wrapping around him. "Ku, ku, ku. You shouldn't interrupt. Now, come along quietly, or I end the lives of your teammates."
"Bite me."
"In a moment. For the moment, I need your word that you will come quietly."
The boy's face contorted into disgust, and the fire in the red eyes grew. "I think not."
In a wash of red energy, the snakes were blown away from the boy, and he dove straight at Orochimaru. 'It does not appear that I can bring him along quietly this time. An expeditious retreat may be in order.'
Before the boy's attack was complete, Orochimaru jumped up to a branch. Before the boy could whirl around and attack again, he extended his neck outwards like the striking snake he was. In a second, his fangs sunk into the boy's neck, and his Curse Seal was implanted. "Enjoy my gift, boy. If you survive it, you will know true power, and all shall fear you."
The boy's face contorted in pain, and he collapsed to the ground, screaming and clutching at his neck. 'That's strange. I've never seen that response before. If only I could bring him with me and observe further. Oh well. I shall know soon enough.'
Without another word, he disappeared from the trees and began the long run back to his homeland. In the clearing, a scream rang out, as the boy continued to writhe on the ground. "Naruto-kun!"
- - - - - - - - - -
Naruto's head had never hurt so much before in his life. The pain seemed to almost echo, growing and bouncing about as soon as he became aware of it. He whimpered, and squirmed. His neck flared with pain, and a hand tilted his head up, pushing something against his lips. A steaming hot liquid was poured down his throat, and the pain in his head lessened.
After a few minutes of no pain, he risked cracking his eyes open. He was in a hospital of some sort. On his left, a machine was keeping track of his vital signs, and on his right, Hinata was sitting, her face a study in worry. "H-Hinata. What? Where?"
"We are in the Hospital in the Capitol. H-Hokage-Sama brought you back here after your battle with Orochimaru."
Memory flowed back into Naruto's head. "What did he do to me? One minute I was fine, and the next, my neck felt like someone had lit it on fire."
"The Hokage called it a Curse Seal. He bit your neck, and a m-mark appeared there. He wouldn't say anything else."
Naruto nodded, and felt at his neck. Indeed, the source of his pain was a small, bumpy section on the back of his neck. "Did he say what it does?"
She shook her head, averting her eyes. However, before she could say more, another voice boomed from the doorway. "No, but if your teammate will give us a moment of privacy, I shall."
Sarutobi stood, in full official attire, in the doorway, his face a study in compassion and stern disappointment (an odd combination, and one that Naruto was sure he would not like to see again). Hinata, who flushed bright red upon hearing the Hokage speak, hurried from the room without another word.
The Sandaime crossed the room and sat down beside Naruto's hospital bed. "I am afraid that I must begin this particular explanation by boring you with history."
Naruto managed a weak smile around the pain from his neck. "As you may know, there are three ninjas in Konohagakure who are considered to be above and beyond all other shinobi in the country, excepting the Hokage. These three shinobi are known as the Sannin. Our current Sannin are Jiraiya, the Toad Sannin, Tsunade, the Slug Sannin, and Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin."
Naruto felt like he had been punched in the gut. "Wait. You mean that bastard was a Sannin!"
The Hokage sighed. "Indeed, my boy, he was indeed. Although Orochimaru has been made a nukenin, his title will not pass on until a new Snake Sannin is named."
"So why not just name one now, and be done with it?"
"It isn't that simple." Sarutobi's face twitched a bit, as he suppressed a smile. "As much as I wish that the rules of Konoha could be dealt with in as cavalier a manner as you deal with them, there are traditions that must be followed. The title of Sannin is only passed on every 50 years. The new Sannin will not be named for another eight years."
The Kyuubi's container nodded his understanding. "Alright, so, this Orochimaru bastard is a Sannin. What does that have to do with what he did to me?"
"Everything. You, see, my boy, Orochimaru attained his Sannin status because of his creativity. He was a renowned researcher and jutsu technician. Indeed, he was powerful, but there were many in Konoha with more strength, skill, and experience. Orochimaru was selected because of his wits, which were unmatched. His invented jutsu and nin-tools, however, were not enough for him. He began to experiment on people."
Here, Sarutobi paused, his eyes shining with sorrow, as though he was responsible for these experimentations. "We did not know, at first. He had moved into a nearby laboratory that we had captured during some border skirmishes, ostensibly because he wanted more space. However, when one of his students returned from his laboratory nearly dead and marked with a strange sign on her neck, we learned the full extent of his experimentation."
Naruto felt bile rise up towards his mouth. "You mean… That this curse seal thing…"
"Is the product of years of Orochimaru's experimentation on how to optimize the human body? Yes. Orochimaru had somehow come across a subject that inspired the curse seal, and, after some experimentation achieved a flawed version of the Curse Seal."
"So what does it do?"
Sarutobi sensed that Naruto was excited by the concept of having his body optimized, and moved quickly to quash the boy's enthusiasm. "It grants large amounts of uncontrolled power at the cost of its user's physical and mental well-being. Orochimaru's student was forced to seal away the Curse Seal before it ate her sanity whole, and to this day she still does battle with the corrupting influence of the Seal."
Naruto's face fell, and he collapsed back onto his bed. He remained silent for a moment, the information fully sinking in. "Is there any way to get rid of it?"
"As I said, it can be sealed away, but the seal cannot be held without the will of the host. I have already completed the sealing process, but you will have to ensure that you do not allow your resolve to falter." The Hokage looked grave for a moment. "In a normal shinobi, allowing the Curse Seal to activate costs them their mind. In your case, with your tenant, the outcome could become far grimmer."
Naruto blanched. "Wonderful… Just what I needed."
"If it is any comfort, Kit, I have no particular desire to have you go mad, either. You wouldn't be nearly as amusing if you were insane."
'Well isn't that just sweet of you.'
The Sandaime spared him one more look of sympathy before his face hardened. "Now. There is something else I want to talk to you about."
Naruto had received scoldings often enough in his life to recognize that one was about to be given to him. He ducked his head so as not to have to meet The Hokage's eyes. "Time to face the music, Kit."
"You are aware of the fact that by leaving jail with Orochimaru, you were technically deserting, correct?"
Naruto sucked in breath. Deserting was a serious charge, for Shinobi. Because of the damage that so many Nukenin had done in the past, any Nukenin, even a runaway Genin, could theoretically face execution. Sarutobi was pulling no punches.
He looked up at the old man, hoping to see a joke in his eyes, but Sarutobi's face was blank, and his eyes were as hard as steel. The man, seeing that he had attained Naruto's full attention, continued, "I am aware that you were under duress in the form of a Genjutsu, reinforced with a believable untruth. However, the seriousness of your actions must still be taken into account."
"I-I thought that you had left me behind. After the Kyuubi…"
His voice trailed off, and he felt hot tears pooling behind his eyes. He angrily swiped at them, refusing to surrender to either shame or guilt. Sarutobi gave him another hard look. "Indeed. That is exactly what I wanted to bring up. I have no intention of accusing you of deserting. However, I am troubled by your belief that we had left you behind."
"As you should know, by now, Naruto, Konoha's Genin Teams are designed with teamwork in mind. From the moment we begin training our teams, we teach them to trust one another with their lives and the lives of their loved ones. We teach them that their team is their second family, and their teacher another parent." Sarutobi paused in his lecture to insure that Naruto was paying full attention. "For you to leave your team shows that you lack the trust you need to have in your teammates."
Naruto swallowed hard, forcing the lump in his throat aside, and feebly protested, "I do trust them. It's just that the Kyuubi. I thought they hated me again. I hated me again. And then Oshima-sama…"
Sarutobi, seeing that his words were having some effect on Naruto, lightened up slightly. "I am glad to hear that. I know that, in your place, it is not easy to trust another. However, it is not me that you need to tell this. It is your teammates who now believe that you do not trust them, and it is they who need your apology."
He said no more, and left the room. As the door began to swing shut, Hinata and Sasuke walked into the room, the former blushing bright red, and the latter scowling with more intensity than normal. Naruto gave them a nod in greeting, and said nothing. He knew that his face was burning with shame, and that only increased his embarrassment.
His teammates plopped down into two seats on either side of him, silent. Moments passed in silence as Hinata fidgeted with her thumbs and Sasuke's glare grew darker. Naruto felt the dual weights of guilt and fear settling upon his shoulders. Finally, when Naruto felt he could take no more of the silent torture, Sasuke snapped.
"Dammit, moron! That was-"
"I know. I'm sorry."
Naruto's voice was choked with emotion. Sasuke looked away from Naruto, not wanting to share in his friend's emotional turmoil. "Just, y'know. Don't do it again, or I'll beat the shit out of you. We'll beat the shit out of you. Right, Hinata?"
"W-well… M-maybe w-we-"
Sasuke smirked at her discomfiture. "We'll take that as a yes."
Again, they lapsed into silence. This time, however, the silence was not tinged with the acrid stench of discomfort, but rather with the warm scent of companionship. Naruto reclined on his bed, relieved by his teammates' quick acceptance of his apologies.
Naruto did not know if it was minutes later, or an hour, when Hinata's voice, without a stutter, interrupted his thoughts. "Naruto-kun. You are our teammate, right?"
He bit back a mischievous denial. "Yes."
When he turned his head to look at her, she was staring at him intensely, her lavender eyes burning a hole in him where they stared. Her usual flush was missing, and her hands were steady in her lap. For a moment, he wondered if an infiltrator had replaced his shy teammate. However, when she saw that he was looking at her, some of her normal red tint returned.
"Then… Then we need to trust one another." She paused here, searching for words. Her mouth opened and closed twice, before she spoke again. "I want you to make a promise to us."
Sasuke's head, which had been dipping towards his chest (Naruto wasn't sure how anyone could actually fall asleep in one of the uncomfortable chairs that the hospital provided), had perked up in interest. However, the dark-haired boy said nothing. Naruto, realizing that Hinata was waiting for a reply, nodded for her to continue.
"I… I want you to promise that you will never assume that we have turned against you, and that you will always let us explain ourselves to you before you jump to conclusions. In exchange, we promise that no matter what you do, we will always be your friends."
Naruto said nothing, not wanting to give away the strong surge of emotion that welled up in his stomach. The warmth of friendship, and the enveloping comfort of mutual trust brought a new kind of tears to his eyes. 'Is this what it's like to have a family?'
"Yeah. I can promise you that."
No more words were spoken. They were unnecessary for the three Genin. After a time, Naruto drifted into the land of sleep. As he was slowly melting into oblivion, he almost swore he heard Sasuke say, "And the next time you decide you want a tattoo, bring me along with you."
A few hours later, Hatake Kakashi stuck his head into Naruto's room whilst searching for his wayward students. Unsurprisingly, his whole team was in the room. All three were asleep, Sasuke's head leaning against his chest as he snored gently (Kakashi made a mental note to tease him about this fact later), Hinata, leaning against the wall where she sat beside Naruto's head, and Naruto on the bed, the broadest grin Kakashi had ever seen stretching across his face. He smiled, the fabric of his masking stretching slightly, and briskly walked out of the room.
'It looks like they didn't need me after all. Naruto, you have no idea how lucky you are to get a chance to apologize.'
He quashed that last train of thought, knowing that his own mistakes and demons belonged firmly in his past, and affixed an even brighter smile to his obscured face. 'It may take the worst kind of scum to turn their backs on their teammates, but it takes a true hero to seek to make amends.'
- - - - - - - - -
Author's Notes: Well there you go. The "Court Intrigue" Arc is over. We have a couple transition chapters ahead of us, and then we go right into the Wave Country Arc. Looking forward to it? I'm hoping to keep my output up (I think that I have 10,000 words published over the last two weeks, which is a big step up from none for months on end) throughout the rest of the summer, and, depending on my course-load at college, through college. I hope you enjoyed the (very belated) Chapter 11 of Seeking a Center. Look forward to Chapter 12: Can't Forgive some time in the next two weeks, after Chapter 2 of Year of the Stone comes out.