Here goes chapter four.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto cause' if I did I'd be swimming in money while yelling: "I'M RICH BITCH!"
SPOILER ALERT:
IF YOU ARE NOT UP TO DATE ON THE LATEST MANGA CHAPTERS AND DON'T WANT ANY SPOILERS THEN DON'T READ.
"Hello" character speaking.
'Hello' character thinking.
"HELLO" character yelling aloud
'HELLO' character yelling in his/her mind
Everything in bold letters will denote a supernatural creature speaking "Hello" or thinking 'Hello'.
LEGEND
PART 1, CHAPTER 4: I NOW DECLARE YOU: MASTER AND APPRENTICE!
Uchiha Sasuke sat in his usual spot with his ever present scowl, brooding about this and that. 'The past couple of weeks have been boring.' He thought. 'Where the hell is the dobe? Normally he would be around challenging me or something but he hasn't even shown up for class.' Lately he had been hearing rumors about the blonde. "He ran away." Some said, "The Hokage finally killed him." He heard from others.
His thoughts were interrupted by two of his most persistent fan girls: Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino. "Can we sit with you?" Both said at the same time.
"Hn" Was his only response and promptly ignored them in favor of brooding.
Even though Uchiha Sasuke would never admit it, his life now seemed much darker than before.
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They had finally arrived to Hokuryu town but Hiko had not noticed. Normally being as distracted as he was right now would mean death but remembering good times was worth it, at least to him.
Good times, those had been rare in his life. Ever since he had been banished from his home by the leaders of his 'clan' at the young age of fourteen his life had been a constant struggle to survive all because he had never agreed with his clan's policies, being the illegitimate son of the 'prestigious' clan leader and his mistress had not helped things at all. Every moment had seemed dark until the day he met his master. 'Man! Is that old man a pain in the ass or what?!' he thought sourly, even though a smile formed in his face 'But he gave me a reason to live and for that, I'm grateful.' He failed to stop a grimace from showing on his face when he remembered the torture/training he suffered at the hands of the 'evil old man', 'I wonder if the sadistic coot is enjoying his retirement though?' he paused. 'Naahhh! Old bastard must be bored out of his mind!'
So lost was he in memories from his past that he failed to notice the kid calling out to him until Naruto grabbed his cape.
"Hey! Mister! Pay attention we are here!"
Hiko's thoughts finally returned to the present.
"What's wrong? You seemed out of it for most of the trip."
"It's nothing kid. I was just remembering my old master, the previous Hiko Seijuro."
"And where is he?"
"Enjoying his life as a retired man in the Dragon of Heaven's Temple in Mizu no Kuni" he then asked: "Aren't you planning on returning home soon?" 'Home' Hiko had to snort at that. From what he knew of the lives that Jinchuruuki led, the villagers of Konoha should consider themselves very lucky that the kid had not drawn on the hatred and power of the demon to become a killing machine… like that poor kid in Suna.
"I will return… one day. You see I promised to someone who's very important to me that I would return! And Uzumaki Naruto always keeps his promises!"
Hiko seemed surprised at this. Normally Jinchuruuki had no one whom actually cared for them. Once more, he paid attention to Naruto just as the boy continued.
"But I can't go back yet. You see… I had a very bad experience before I left and I could feel something strange inside of me, something an awful voice that told me to kill everyone. I think it was the fur ball. But at the same time there was this other feeling telling me that I had to leave and it was even stronger! It was weird!"
Hiko thought about this and decided to keep the boy close to him for a while. He would examine the seal and try to determine if there was anything wrong with it. After all, you don't travel with a seal master for more than two years without learning anything from him. He then noticed a town guard walking towards them.
"Excuse me but you need to identify yourselves."
"I'm Hiko Seijuro. I met this caravan on my way here. They were being attacked by those bandits that you see tied up on the carts beat them up and decided to get the reward for their capture. There is a reward for them, isn't there?"
"Hiko Seijuro?! The Hiko Seijuro?!" He guard asked with wonder in his voice.
"YES my friend! I see that you've heard of me and my valiant exploits!"
"Yes sir! Wow! Hiko Seijuro! I did not expect to meet a living legend like yourself, you know?"
As the butt-kissing, ego-aggrandizing and utterly useless talk was happening Naruto could not help to wonder if this Hiko guy was actually as good as he heard the people, first in the caravan and now the guards, say that he was. But now that he actually thought of the way he had put the bandits down in a couple of swings he came to the realization that Hiko wasn't just big talk.
"What about the boy?" The guard asked.
Hiko looked down at Naruto and felt the trepidation that came to the kid. If he identified himself here, it would not take Konoha very long to learn of his whereabouts. He would help the boy, for now. "He is my traveling companion and assisted me in bringing these criminals to justice."
"Really now, and he is such a young child." The guard turned to look at Naruto "You must be something special boy. For the Battosai to allow anyone to travel with him is truly an honor." (Battosai master of the art of drawing the sword from its scabard)
Naruto blushed at the compliment, scratched his cheek and gave an uncharacteristically meek thank you to the guard.
Soon another guard that had been checking on the bandit gang joined them. "Seems like you got all of them Hiko-sama. These guys had been giving us trouble for months but thanks to you the road is now safe."
"What about the reward?" Hiko asked.
"I've already sent word to the police station inside of town. Just go there and claim it."
"Thank you, kind sir." Hiko said. "Now boy come with me."
Naruto was at a loss for what to do in this situation but upon seeing Hiko already at the town gate decided to follow him.
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Naruto found himself standing before Hiko in a forest area inside of town, they had claimed their reward and the man had been kind enough to split it in two with him. He told the swords man the whole story, that weird feeling that told him to trust the older man was just as strong if not stronger as it had been the time he had met him. Now he wondered what they were doing here. The silence was worrying him until Hiko decided to talk.
"Now boy, do you know where in your body the containment seal is placed on?"
"No sir…" Naruto answered "But I think it's in my stomach, if felt as if it was burning when that… happened back in Konoha."
"It makes sense I guess." Hiko replied. "Ok, take off your jacket and shirt, concentrate your chakra and we'll see if it's there."
Naruto did as instructed and after a few seconds the seal appeared in his navel.
Hiko let a low whistle of appreciation flow from his mouth as he stared at the seal. "Wow! That has to be the most complicated seal I have seen in my life. Man! Minato was a true genius."
"Minato?" Naruto asked.
"Ah! It was the Fourth Hokage's name. I traveled with him for nearly two years before the start of the Third Great Ninja War… before his appointment as Hokage." He motioned Naruto to put on his clothes. 'What kind of jutsu did he use? This seal is not enough to contain the full power of the Kyubi. Where is the rest of it?'
"You met the Yondaime?!" Naruto asked with his shirt stuck on his head.
"Yes, and I learned a lot of things about seals from him. As a matter of fact, I think I'll study your seal a little more and try to learn more about Fuinjutsu (seal arts)."
"Wow, so you must be really good if you traveled with the Yondaime!"
Hiko's response was nothing short of childish. "Excuse me! But I'm famous because who I am and what I have done not because of whom I've been associated with in the past!"
Naruto looked sheepish as he apologized. "Sorry, it's just that he's been my hero all my life and it's my goal to surpass him and be called the greatest ninja and Hokage of all time."
"Hmmm, he is a high benchmark alright. After all, he's been the only man to ever defeat me in battle." Then he took a thinking pose. "About the seal, from what I saw, it's set up to allow a constant influx of the bijuu's chakra t be mixed with yours, increasing your own reserves and stamina over time. However, it should be impossible for the creature to transmit its thoughts or instincts to you. There has to be something else at work."
"Anyways, I'm hungry kid, let's head into town and find something to eat. I'll pay." Hiko immediately felt he was going to regret having invited the kid to eat.
"Wahoo! Ramen!"
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They had claimed the reward at the town's police station and had it split in two. Naruto had never had so much money in his pocket as he did right now but all of this was completely forgotten once they reached the Ramen booth.
'Okay!' Hiko thought sitting in his stool inside of a ramen bar while watching Naruto happily slurping the broth and noodles 'There is no fucking way the two are not related! He swallows this stuff just like he did!' he then turned to his own, his appetite gone from watching the gross spectacle the kid was making. He noticed something now "What the…! TWENTY BOWLS?! How the hell did you put away twenty bowls of ramen?! IN UNDER THREE MINUTES?!"
Hiko's face connected with the ground one more time when he heard Naruto's answer.
"Practice?"
"PRACTICE?! YOU DON'T PRACTICE EATING THIS STUFF!" Screamed our favorite swordsman as several big sweat drops formed on his face.
Now Naruto put his last bowl away and decided to ask what he had been thinking on asking ever since they arrived in town.
"Hiko-san? Sir? You think it would be possible for me to learn this Hi-mitsu-something from you?" And with the question he pulled out one of his greatest weapons: the puppy-eyes no jutsu!
"It's 'Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu' and I doubt it. It requires many years of dedication to truly master. It's not only that, there is also a rule: Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu should never become attached to any form of government, it should be free to strike at any foe and in any place where the people are in danger." Hiko continued "You said that your dream is to become Hokage, didn't you?" At Naruto's nod he said. "If that came to pass the ancient kenjutsu would become attached to Konoha and such power would be wielded by its government to strike at other nations. It cannot be allowed." Naruto looked crestfallen at the answer but said nothing. Hiko continued in his mind 'But I guess it's time for that tradition to be broken once again.' He was frowning now 'It's just as my master said, I have started getting this feeling that soon more than one Hiten Mitsurugi master will be needed.' He looked down at Naruto. 'Besides, he is a good kid, after he comes to understand the style's true power he will never consider teaching the art to anyone who's not worthy.'
"But I think it might be time for the tradition to change a little. If you pass my test, that is." Hiko was smirking now in a manner that reminded Naruto of Sasuke.
Naruto's eyes took on a strange shine now. 'He's challenging me!'
"You'll see Ero-rurouni! There is nothing that can stop me! Uzumaki Naruto never backs down from a challenge! Dattebayo!"
"We'll see about that! Yellow Rat!" Hiko said out loud but in his mind he already had the conclusion of this test played out. 'He shows that he has the will to do master it. This will be fun!'
Hiko paid for their food and they left to begin the test that would determine if Naruto was worthy of the Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu apprenticeship.
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It was late at night. They had returned to the same spot in the forest for it was isolated and it insured there would be no interruptions. After six hours of the most grueling exercises Naruto had ever done he now laid in a heap, beaten, tired, breathing heard and dirty all over.
'Man that was hard! But I did it! I went through with it!'
"Well done boy! You really are a cut above the others I have tested. No one else has lasted as long as you did." Hiko said from the darkness. 'He's already proven that he meets all of the requirements but I want to have some fun before I tell him that.' He continued "Now there is one final test and it's the most important of them!"
"And... what... is it?" Naruto managed to ask through his labored breath.
Hiko pulled out a photo camera and held it to Naruto. His face had a lecherous grin and a reddish tint on it. "You must go to the bathhouse early in the morning and take no less than ten pictures of beautiful young ladies as they bathe! He he he!"
"YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT?!" Naruto yelled, his weariness forgotten "What's the point of doing that?!"
Hiko stammered searching for a somewhat appropriate answer. "It will… uh… teach you stealth, yeah that's it! Stealth!"
"Whatever! Just give me the damn camera Ero-rurouni! But when I come back you better be ready to teach me!" With that said he reached for the camera and pocketed it. He prepared a tent and got ready to sleep for the night.
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On top of a mountain, on an undisclosed location somewhere else in the continent, a non human figure could be seen staring at the land below. Dark clouds had gathered and covered the moon. Soon it was raining but the creature did not seem bothered by this and its face showed no emotion. However, its eyes revealed a mind hard at work. The being remained in the same position for a long time, until a new figure, a human looking one, appeared behind him and bowed.
"My lord, we have attained information pertaining the whereabouts of the Fox." The man said.
"What is it?" It asked.
"Reports indicate that it suddenly showed up some 10 years ago near one of the ninja villages located in Hi no Kuni. If reports are to be believed… it was defeated by the leader of the Konoha ninja, the Yondaime Hokage."
The figure became pensive at that last bit of news.
The man continued "Based on this information I believe the best course of action would be to head to Konoha and gather as much information as we can."
"Good. Is there anything else?"
"Yes my lord, what do you want us to do regarding the Uchiha?" Disgust was apparent in the servant's voice.
"The remaining children of Tengu are not of my concern but if they try to interfere, or anyone else for that matter, we will destroy them!" Declared the creature as lightning and thunder pierced the darkened skies revealing a monstrous looking creature. When the light receded, only a red light glow that encompassed all of its inhuman eyes could be seen.
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The sunrays of the early morning found our young hero sneaking around the ladies side of the bathhouse with some very angry thoughts going through his head. 'Damn that Ero-rurouni for forcing me to do this!' He continued his mental rant 'If he wants to look at naked women why doesn't he come and do this himself?!' As soon as he had a good view he started taking pictures.
It was then that he noticed her, a blonde woman whom he guessed was about twenty five years old a weird seal on her forehead and the most absolutely huge set of knockers he had seen in his young life. With her sat another beautiful brunette lady a little younger than her and the weirdest of the trio, a pig. Naruto felt a little blood coming out of his nose and soon realized why Hiko-teme liked this.
He kept taking pictures of the scene and soon had enough for the successful completion of the 'test'. Too bad he did not notice all the noise that he made caught the attention of the blonde woman. He had just turned to leave his hiding spot when he heard a voice from behind.
"And just what were you doing, boy?" The lady looked at him with curiosity for a moment "Do I know you? You look kind of familiar." It was the blonde woman and she looked scary, as if the doors to hell itself were in her eyes.
"Uh… taking pictures? Everyone looks the same?" Naruto had to mentally slap himself. 'That was not the smartest thing to say. Oh Shit! All of the women are right behind her and they looked abso-fucking-lutely pissed' And so, Naruto's instinct of self preservation finally kicked in deciding in a few nanoseconds that it was better to run for his life "He he he… bye!"
"Come back here you little pervert!" Yelled most of the women as they gave chase momentarily forgetting that they were mostly naked.
An hour later our Naruto was sitting with his back to a tree, breathing hard and looking at Hiko disgustedly. Hiko for his part was going over the pictures his face flushed and full of glee. He came to a stop when he noticed the photo of the blonde woman who had given the boy so much grief 'Ah hell! I should have known that she'd be here! They just opened a new casino in town!'
"You took a picture of her?" Hiko asked.
"Her?" Looked at the picture and felt the blood rushing to his face. "Who's she anyways?" The young boy asked with genuine curiosity.
"Forget about it!" He continued "I've decided to take you on as my servant… err… apprentice boy!"
"Really?! That's awesome! When does the training start?! Tell me! Tell me!" A very excited Naruto asked.
"We…" Hiko started responding but had to stop when he heard a huge commotion coming towards them. It was then that he looked at the woman leading the mob. 'Oh shit, it's Tsunade-hime!'
"THERE HE IS! LET'S GET THAT LITTLE PERVERT!" The women yelled as they came, along with several town guards, into the forest clearing.
"Naruto?" asked Hiko in a deceptively calm tone "What happened in town?"
"Uh… That crazy blonde lady chased me and… uh… she destroyed a lot of buildings with her freakish strength." Said a now thoroughly scared Naruto.
"Ok… and Naruto? RUN!"
And so, it was the first time that the newly appointed master and apprentice duo were run out of town out of fear for their lives. To the misfortune of our young hero, it would not be the last time.
"DAMN YOU ERO-SENSEI!" Naruto screamed the phrase he would soon become very familiar with.
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A few hours later the chase had been given up and the mob had to return to town. Some of the guards were in a state of disbelief when one of them recognized Hiko Seijuro as one of the peeping toms.
"Man! Can you believe that the Battosai is a pervert?!" One of the guards asked in general.
Tsunade's ears perked up at this "The Battosai? Hiko Seijuro?"
"Yes ma'am that was him alright!" answered the same guard that had received our dynamic duo at the town gate the day before.
A vein began throbbing on Tsunade's head. "How come most of the good guys in this world are perverts?" Indeed not even her beloved Dan had been beyond such behavior. "I swear if I see another pervert I'll just put him in orbit!"
A few days away on the road to Hokuryu town Jiraiya sneezed and a feeling of dread came to him.
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After three days of travel Jiraiya had finally reached Hokuryu and was looking forward to a shower and a warm bed to sleep in.
Just as he was checking in into a hotel he noticed two women in bath robes and a pig heading in the direction of the hot springs. He immediately recognized the person he was looking for.
"Tsunade!" he said out loud.
"Jiraiya? What are you doing here?" She asked.
"Who would have guessed that finding you would be this easy?"
"Huh?" was her intelligent reply.
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A few hours later, after Jiraiya had gotten setup at the hotel and cleaned himself up, the two Sannin found themselves drinking sake and remembering the good old days. Shizune had decided to leave the two alone in favor of the hot springs.
"So… tell me Jiraiya, what are you doing here?"
"Nothing escapes you, huh?" Jiraiya sounded amused "Alright! I'll go straight to the point!" he paused for dramatic effect "We need you to come back to Konoha permanently."
"I'm not going back Jiraiya. There are too many bad memories on that place."
"Well then! I don't think you'll be interested in knowing that a certain blonde haired boy with whisker marks on his cheeks and a powerful demon sealed within him, someone that is blood related to you by the way, decided to run away from the village." 'That should have caught her attention.' He paused to look at her widened eyes and continued. "I guess I'll just finish my sake spend the night in town and head on my merry way to Konoha in the morning. Then the council will place an 'execute on sight' order on the boys head because the Hokage did not have enough allies in the council to put a stop to that discussion." Jiraiya's voice was dripping sarcasm as he said this.
"WHAT?!" Ooh! He had her now!
Jiraiya turned serious now. "I've been chosen as the Godaime, Tsunade. Because of his position as an ex-Hokage and head of the Sarutobi clan sensei has an assured spot in the council and you do too. You are the last living relative of the Shodaime Hokage after all. And with both of you are in the council I will have enough support to shoot down any measure the opposition might try to implement."
Tsunade nodded and Jiraiya was happy to notice some of the fire, which had been lost years ago, return to the eyes of his childhood love.
"Meet us at the gate at nine tomorrow morning Jiraiya. Cause' I'm going back to Konoha and head are going to roll." She said with a determination she had not felt in years. She got off the bar stool and headed towards the door.
For his part Jiraiya only nodded and decided to control his perverted tendencies for a while lest his head be one of those to roll.
Suddenly she stopped cold 'BLONDE! WHISKER MARKS! IT WAS THAT PERVERTED KID!'
"JIRAIYA! He was in town three days ago! He was with the Battosai!" She exclaimed startling Jiraiya.
"Three days ago?! Is he still here?!" He asked.
"No! They were being perverted and we chased them out of town until we lost track of them!" Tsunade said exasperatedly as she brought her hands to her head trying to sooth the coming headache.
"Damn it! I should have brought an Inuzuka with me! We might have been able to track him!" He then bit his thumb and summoned a small frog and immediatly sent it to Konoha with a message to get a tracking team before the last vestiges of the boy's presence in town disappeared.
After he did this he thought about what else Tsunade had told him.
"Wait a minute! You said Battosai, right?!" Tsunade nodded in response and it made Jiraiya smile. This only served to confuse her.
"What's with the smile?" She asked in a flat tone.
"Nothing, it's just that... maybe not everything is lost." He replied.
He motioned for her to sit down again and started telling her of his former pupil's travels and adventures with a man named Hiko Seijuro, a man better known as the Battosai.
A/N
Whew… that was an even longer chapter!
Anyways, I hope you guys like it! And remember: I live for the reviews!
Next chapter:
The training in Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu begins,
Tsunade returns home a let the rumble begin!
Chapter 5: And Watch People's Heads A' Roll!
Feel free to post any criticism (constructive) or suggestions.
Thank you for reading!