Okay little heads up here; Has anyone seen a car in wither the manga or anime of Naruto? Boats yes, but no cars or trains, therefore I'm using authors lib to make it appear as if Shinobi have never even HEARD of them.
Also, regarding the kekkei Genkai challenge, that's officially over, and I'm sorry to say it ISN'T Dead Bone Pulse (Shikotsumyaku), but due to the OBVIOUS (29!) entries asking about it, I WILL be writing a fic where he gets it...boy, wouldn't Kimmimaro be interested if he knew he had a relative left?
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Chapter seven
Naruto winced as a particularly loud noise blared through the air, he'd never imagined that life outside the Shinobi nations would be so…noisy!
'What did the old Hag call it again?' he wondered, glaring at the offending object, 'A car?'
Shrugging, the blonde fell in step slightly behind his diminutive sensei, apparently reading his book, when in actuality; he was taking in the scenery.
After passing through a rather disturbing tunnel jutsu, which Genkai refused to elaborate on, they had arrived in the middle of what appeared to be a park, empty save for the foul smelling old man who watched them leave, all the while muttering something about 'Millenium shrimp.'
Genkai had flagged down a bright orange, Naruto shivered at the colour, vehicle which he later learned was called a taxi, and they had spent the last two hours driving to to the hills outside the massive city.
They had gotten out a few minutes ago, Genkai claiming they could walk the rest of the way; Naruto was glad for that decision, the taxi had been comfortable, but his heightened sense of smell hadn't been ready for the smell of barely hidden sweat and the scent of chemicals coming from the odd little tree hanging from the rear view mirror.
Out here in the fresh air though, those same senses were in heaven.
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'Wow,' Naruto muttered, feeling the wind blow over him, 'Just...wow.'
The blondes wonder was well placed, the path to Genkai's temple was surrounded on all sides by dense forrest, and the steps were set into the side of a small mountain, and according o the diminutive master, the property stretched down to the sea shore.
Now Naruto, being a Konoha born ninja, was no stranger to forests, heck, he spent more time in them as a child than most of the other children and villagers, for reasons best left unsaid.
But these woods were different, in more ways than one; every tree, every leaf, every stone on the path before him, seemed to call ou to him silently, like a veritable orchestra of silent voices, whispering in the back of his skull.
It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, in fact, the genin felt his spine shiver slightly at the rush that seemed to fill him. Pulling down his mask and closing his eyes, the blonde genin took in a deeper breath, a genuine smile appearing on his bandaged face.
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Genkai snorted as she took in her new apprentices almost orgasmic expression, the kid looked like he was in heaven, that or on really good shit.
'Kurama had the same look on his face the first time he came here' she muttered wryly, wishing she had a camera, 'must be a fox thing.'
Clearing her throat to gain the blonde's attention, she smirked; "While I'm all for the embracment of nature, would you mind calming down before you make a mess?" she pointed at the teens crotch, "You can mess around all you want in the bathroom, just don't leave a mess."
Naruto scowled and yanked his mask back up, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like 'hag' as he stomped after his sensei, euphoric glow long gone.
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Genkai led the way to the temple, pointing out a few points of interest along the way, such as the wards set up to ward off intruders, the koi pond, the meditation chamber, before leading him into the main house.
"This wll be your room for the duration of your stay." she explained, pushing aside a screen door to reveal a modest sized room, "I don't care what you do with it so long as you keep it tidy," she said, a look of authority in her eye, "No live animals or anything that makes a mess either."
Naruto shrugged, and stepped past her, biting his thumb and spreading the blood across his storage scroll, causing the reiki master to raise an eyebrow as several weapons, scrolls and clothes appeared in a puff of smoke.
'He's certainly well organised.' she muttered, watching the blonde put away his things, FAR too neatly for a boy his age, 'But then again, living alone he'd HAVe to be.'
Muttering darkly to herself, the Reiki maater made a mental note to find a certain blonde hokage when she crossed over and introduce him to her reigun.
Naruto, towel ovr his shoulder, raised an eyebrow at the thundercloud looming behind his master and cleared his throat.
"Genkai-sensei, where's the bathroom?"
Still caught up in her own thoughts, the elderly reiki master pointed down the hallway; "Third on the right." she muttered, before returning to her thoughts.
As the blonde walked off though, she looked up suddenly, blinking in confusion and mild alarm.
'Wait...where's Yukina?'
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Whistling a small tune under his breath, towel slung over one shoulder, Naruto slid the door to the shoer oen and blinked as steam blocked his vision.
'Is someone in here?' he wondered, waving a hand to try and get a clearer view of the room, blinking as a green blur came into view.
"Genkai-san, is that you?" a voice called out, just as a small, green haired, and distinctly naked young girl stepped into view.
Now normally, Naruto would have made a speculation on the girl's hair, or the paleness of her skin, or even the colour of her eyes, which were a stunning red, but as fate would have it he never got the chance as the girl let out a piercing shriek.
"PERVERT!"
The blonde blinked and promptly switched places with a broom, watching in mild horror as it was engulfed in ice, shattering against the floor.
'W-what the heck?!' he wondered, waving his arms frantically in an attempt to calm her down, which as everyone knows, only made the situation worse.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" the girl cried out, sending a veritable snowstorm towarfds the hapless blonde, who barely managed to dodge in time, wincing as a few locks of hair snapped off, frozen.
"W-WAIT!" he yelled, holding up his hands, "I'm not a burglar! I'm-!"
"My newest Baka deshi." Genkai muttered, grabbing the blonde's ear, amidst cries of protest, tossing the distraught girl the blonde's towel. "Calm down Yukina, get dressed and I'll explain the whole thing after the dimwit here freshens up."
Naruto decided to let the dimwit comment slide, as the hag HAD saved him from becoming a popsicle.
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After a quick wash and the following introduction, a thuroughly embarrased Yukina apologised for overreacting, whilst Naruto assured it was HIS fault for not checking to see if there was someone in the bathroom, though he did accept the extra bowls of rice she offered him, claiming it was the best he'd eaten otuside Konoha, until a wry comment from his sensei that it was the ONLY thing he'd eaten outside Konoha.
After lunch though, the aged master led the blonde towards the main training hall, where she eyed him carefully.
"No doubt you've covered the basics of training with your aura from the fox," she theorized, noting the blondes nod with some satisfaction, "and your academy training no doubt enabled you to gain a firm grasp of your chakra control, regardless of the imbalances caused by the seal."
She frowned at him, "But before I can see what we need to wok on, I need to know where you stand."
With that, she pushed a panell in the wall, causing it to rise up slowly. Naruto braced himself for whatever lay on the otherside, only to blink as the lights snapoped on to reveal...
'...An arcade?'
Genkai snorted at the look of disbelief on her apprentices face, "Love that first look of surprise people get when they see this place...but enough messing around."
She walked into the arcade, the machines coming to life as she passed, "Each specific game has a meaning, the janken game tests your sixth sense, the punching game measures your spiritual attack power, whilst the Karaoke machine measures your soul's spiritual strength."
Naruto nodded, trying to keep up, thumbing over his shoulder at the others, "what about that lot?"
Genkai shrugged, "They're just for fun." she eyed the blonde with a ready eye, "You'll only get one shot at this, so don't waste my time."
Naruto smirked, and headed towards the punching machine, ready to burn off some of the irritation he'd built up on the way here.
"Wait!" Genkai called out, causing him to pause, "One more thing about these games..."
Naruto froze, wondering if there was some sort of penalty involved for failing them.
"...they're 100 yen each to play." Genkai muttered, smirking as the blonde blinked in apparent confusion.
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Uchiha Sasuke watched as Kakasi taunted his male teammate. Tomo had fallen into one of the simplest traps ever, and was currently dangling upside down from a tree, cussing his head off at the smiling jounin, as he was reminded on the need to 'Look beneath the underneath.'
sasuke saw a chance and sent a flurry of Kunai at the jounin, all of which collided, much to the horror of Tomo, who let out a squak of terror, thaty mis, until the corpse changed into a log.
'SHIT!' Sasuke yelled, recognising the kawarimi and dashing away from his former position, desperate to put some distance between the no doubt approaching jounin and himself.
'Dammit! these guys are useless!' he grumbled, remembering how easily Sakura ahd been taken down as well, 'If Naruto were here we'd have had those bells faster than you could say 'ramen'...'
At the mention of his blonde partner in crime the Uchiha frowned, the cogs turning in his head, before a smirk crossed his features, a rather familiar smirk, the type of smirk that would cause ORochimaru himself to shiver.
'Hn...a little vulgar for my tastes...' he began scoping the area, 'but what the heck, he deserves it.'
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Kakashi sped through the undrgrowth, tracking down the last of his charges, the villages precious Uchiha, a small part of him wondering what to expect from the village's golden boy, the other trying to enjoy the beauty that was Icha-Icha paradise.
"Sashiburidana...Hatake Kakashi"
Kakashi felt a shiver go up his sine at the voice and lost his page, spinning round to glare at the ANBU uniformed...
"Uchiha...Itachi" the jounin muttered, putting his book away, the missing nin chcukled darkly, his sharingan de-activated, a strange gleam in his obsidian eyes.
"Such a cold tone...Kakashi." the man muttered, stepping forwards, "Aren't you happy toi see me?"
Kakashi frowned, "What are you doing here...come to finish what you started?" he drew a kunai and held it at his side, "Come to finnish Sasuke off too?"
Itachi sighed, "It's always business with you...isn't it Kakashi?" the man sighed, running a gloved hand through his hair, "And after I came all this way...'
The Uchiha's eyes took on a strange look; it was a look Kakashi knew all too well, it was th reason he'd started wearing a mask after all, he'd also seen it on Anko's face from time toi time whenever she'd bumped itno him at ANBU headquarters, a look of HUNGER.
"Just to see you." Itachi finished, eyeing the startyled jounin like a piece of meat.
Kakashi flinched, feeling the beginings of a rash forming at the mere thought of waht the man was implying and supressed a shiver, however the momentary lapse in attention caused him to take his eyes off the missing nin, who vanished in a plume of smoke.
Cursing, the cycloptic jounin spun his head to the right, looking for the missing nin and reaching for his headband, only to shiver as a pair of arms wrapped around his neck, a pair of NAKED arms.
"That's not a kunai in my pocket." Itachi purred in the jounin's ear, blowing into it for emphasis.
That did it, Kakashi let out a girlish shriek as his homophobia kicked in, breaking out of the Uchiha's grip and heading for the hills, hackles raised and skin reddening under a rash as fierce as killer bees. So great was his desire to flee, that he failed to notice that his waist was slightly lighter than when he started.
Itachi smirked, and promptly dissapeared in a cloud of smioke, revealing a triuphant Sasuke, who was tossing the bells in the air.
"I don't know whether to feel proud or dirty." he muttered, shaking his head and grabbing the bells out of the air, "Wonder if Naruto has the same problems..."
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After an intial argument, Genkai agreed to allow Naruto to use the machines for free, THIS time only, and had sat back and watched the blonde let rip, a smile on her face.
'The boy's spiritual atack power rated a 165, that's only a little higher than Yusuke's when he first showed up," she snorted, "and he's definitely no Kuwabara, but with a spiritual awareness of 10 out of 15, he's certainly no lightweight in regards to detecting a person's aura.'
She winced as the boy's singing blasted over the speakers, the readings going off the chart.
'Better add being tone-deaf to that list...' she muttered, shaking her head, 'still, 100 points aint to shabby.'
"Right here Right now (Bang!) Buppanase Like a dangan LINER! Right here Right now (Burn!) Buttakitteku ze Get the fire! BAM!"
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Kakashi sat huddled in side the hollowed out centre of a dead tree, with nothing but his little orange book of porn to comfort him as he tried to steady his nerves. He hadn't had to worry this much since he left ANBU all those years ago, and even then he'd had to take therapy for the attacks, he still regretted walking in on Gai in the shower, the man was just a little TOO friendly for comfort.
'Come to think of it...' the jounin muttered, 'the attacks started up again shortly after someone started stealing my books.'
He growled, old confidence returning at the thought of the unknown perpetrator, and mentally promised himself that if he ever caught the bastard he'd introduce Raikiri to the bastard's balls.
Hearing the distant chiming of his alarm clock, the jounin sighed and climbed out of the hole, one part of him sad that the fun was over so soon, the other ready to pull the second part of the test on his poor charges.
Sadly for Kakashi, it just wasn't meant to be, as he found his students waiting for him at the stumps, Sakura and Tomo already pigging out, whil Sasuke leaned against a tree.
"You're late, sensei." the Uchiha muttered, not looking up, earning a wince from the jounin.
"And you all failed." the jounin replied, only to blink as Sakura and Tomo each held up a bell, the latter with his cheeks puffed out with rice.
"Sasuke-kun got them for us!" Sakura yelled out, clutching her hands together and batting her eyes at the Uchiha. Said avenger promptly ignored her as he shot a smug grin at the jounin, a grin that reminded him suspiciously of the Itachi he'dmet in the woods.
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After bodily dragging the blonde away from the stricken Karaoke machine, Genkai led him towards a roped off section of the woods, one with an aura dark enough to cause the hackles on the back of his neck to stand up.
"This dark forest is home to a variety of fell beasts and monsters that have managed to avoid humans for countless generations, the only reason they are permitted to stay here is that they've been here longer than me, and thus have a better understanding of the environment." genkai explained, smirking, "That and the fact that they're all to weak to do any harm to anyone but a rank novice, even in my current condition I'm more than a match for them."
She nodded towards the woods, "Those that have survived it call it the cursed forest, I find it quite quaint, and a good way to ward of annoying salesmen."
Naruto snorted and cracked his neck joints, "Lemme guess, you want me to go in there?"
Genkai nodded, "See that tree?" she aslked, pointing to an impressively tall tree at the end of the forest, "Reach that tree to finnish the exercise, I'll time you."
The blonde smirked and dashed forwards, leaping from tree branch to tree branch in his attempt to clear the course as fast as possible. Or rather he was, until Genkai used his head as a springboard.
"Quit messing around and meet me at the tree." She chastised, dashing through the forest, "Don't keep me waiting too long."
She smirked as the blondes curses followed in her wake.
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Naruto growled under his breath, so far he'd encountered giant, man eating plants, a butt-ugly head with arms, and enough slimy things to pout the kunoichi from his graduating class into shock. Needless to say the blonde was not amused, and this showed in the level of killing intent leaking out of him, which had scared off all the other wildlife in the immediate vicinity, that and his brutal slaughtering of a hapless anaconda, who had the misfortune of looking at him the wrong way at the wrong time.
'I swear,' he growled through clenched teeth, 'if I see so much as one more bug or snake or low level demon grunt I'm torching this place!'
Abruptly, he tilted his head to the side to avoid a black blurr, before nailing it to a tree with a well aimed Kunbai, revealingit to be the biggest bat he'd ever seen.
"Great, first bugs, then snakes, and now flying rats." he muttered, retrieving his kunai, "I just LOVE this place..."
"Then why don't you stay a while?"
Whirling around in surpprise and hurling his Kunai at the voice, the blonde blinked at the odd sight before him. Hanging upside down from a tree branch curtesy of a set of painfull looking talons was what appeared to be a giant bat with the head of a man, the hair swept to the sides and the most ridiculous bow around his neck.
"Who the heck are you?" he muttered, blinking at the sight, his fox senses on high alert for some reason, the freak smelled of old blood.
The creature chittered creepily, "So rude, tresspassing in my domain, hurting my servants..." it bared it's fangs, "I think you should stay for dinner!"
Naruto bristled and held a kunai in front of him protectively, "Gee...what's on the menu, fried rat?"
"No...YOU!"
The creature swooped down, mouth wide anbd ready to take a bite out of the blonde, only to back step in mid air, wings flapping as the blonde dissapeared in a puff of smoke.
"Where'd he go?!"
"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!"
The bat master shrieked and flapped his wings to avoid a fireball that could have deepfried a rhino, glaring at his would be target accusingly.
"HEY! YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!"
Naruto sweatdropepd, eyeing the freak cautiously, "Uh...that WAS my intention." he muttered, wondering just hw messed up this freak was, "What, you thought I'd just sit still and be eaten?"
The bat master hissed, landing on another branch and watching as the blonde dissapeared into the undergrowth, a small smile growing on his pointed face.
"Brat...if you think you can escape from me by using the shadows...YOU'RE SADLY MISTAKEN!"
The freak leapt from his perch, letting off a high pitched salvo of ultrasonic waves, which actually caused some of it's smaller minions to fall out of the air. Naruto, caught in the blast as well, stumbled in mid leap and fell from his tree, landing on the ground badly.
"GOTCHA!" the demon shrieked, before swoping in, fangs bared, and latching onto the blonde's shoulder like a leech.
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Naruto's world shook, completely off-centre. He cursded as he realised that his enhanced sense of hearing had caused the damage to his inner ear to be amplified to the point he was completely deaf. He twitched as he felt blood run down the side of hsi cheek, the result of his ruptured ear drums, and glared at the ugly little parasite that was the cause of his discomfort.
"D-damn freak..." he hissed, grabbing hold of the demon's hair, "Get off!"
The bat master merely dug his claws into the blonde's midriff, causing him to grunt in pain as the talons pierced the skin, and resumed feeding with increased gusto.
Naruto grunted and tried to grab a kunai from his holster, only to curse as it had become dislodged in the scuffle, and lay a foot from his boby, out of reach with the demon laying over him.
'Dammit...' he cursed, feelign light-headed,' so this is how it goes.'
The blonde thought he could hear the roars of his adoptive parent as the youko rammed against the bars of the cage, but even those died down as he stared up at the canopy.
'After surviving in that hellhole for so many years...I get taken out by an overgrown flying rat...' he aughed mockingly, 'wonderfull.'
Unbidden, the memories surfaced, as if to further mock the blonde's current situation.
"MONSTER!"
"Why don't you just die?!"
"Go back to hell where you came from!"
'Hn, guess you get your wish, bastards.' the blonde muttered, a growl forming in the back of his throat.
'Can't have you running away can we?'
'Look...it's THE kid...'
'Hn...would've been better if he just died.'
Naruto's growl deepened, causing his lip o curl in anger, 'bstards...always looking down their noses at me...never giving me a chance...just who do they think they are?!'
'Would have done us all a favour if he just died.'
'Damn demon, I should kill it.'
The blonde dug his hand into the soil under him, feeling a strange surge of energy fill his veins, beneath him, the roots of the trees seemed to hum as he glared down at the shocked demon.
"GET THE FUCK OFF ME!!!!"
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Genkai looked up sharply at the sudden surge of power that filled the air, before bliniking as a massive tree shot upwards, growing at an incredible pace untill it was as tall as a small skyscraper, the branches spreading out to loom over the forest.
'Well now...' she muttered, gazing up at the top, an impressed look on her face, 'I wasn't expecting THAT.'
Abruptly, the battered corpse of the bat master fell from the topmost branches of the tree, looking like he'd been clubbed to beath by a troll, sliding down the branches to land on the canopy below.
"I hate my life." he whimpered, gazing at the setting sun, "Maybe I should've been like cousin vlad and set up camp in a castle."
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Naruto awoke to the sight of a hardwood ceiling, blinking in surprise as it became clear that his healing factor had repaired the damage to his hearing.
"Don't try to sit up," Genkai's voice warned, the aged master leaning over him, "you lost at least a pint of blood there, I wouldn't expect you to be up again for at least two days, even with your obvious healing capabilities."
Naruto blinked owlishly at the woman, then looked up as Yukina tilted his head slightly, holding a bowl to his lips.
"Drink this," the Koorime said gently, "it'll help sped up the healing process."
Naruto, nose reeling from the foul smelling broth, did as he was told, forcing the mixture down and trying not to choke on his own tongue.
"Water.." he croaked, desperate to clear the taste from his mouth, and a glass was pressed to his lip, the clear liquid within washing away the last traces of the brew.
"You really surprised me kid." Genkai muttered, causing the blonde to look up, "To think I'd bump into TWO plant masters in my lifetime..." she pushed the screen door open to reveal the distant image of the massive tree now looming over the cursed forest, "That's quite a feat you pulled back there."
Naruto blinked at the giant tree in the distance, not quite compehending what the woman was saying.
"Wait...I did that?"
Genkai frowned, "You mean you've never done it before?"
Naruto gave her a look, "Don't you think I'd have mentioned it before?" he frowned, "Besides, the only other person with a power like that would be..."
"The Shodai Hokage," Genkai cut in, "I know, I've read up on him, seeing as Sarutobi was his student." She snorted,staring out at the tree, "Old fart idolizes the guy, though if what you just did is an example of his powers, I can see why."
Naruto blinked, 'the scroll of seals lists Mokuton as an inherited Kekkei Genkai that only Shodai Hokage could perform; not even the Nidaime, his brother, could use it, though he was well professed in suiton jutsu.'
He eyed the tree in the middle of the forest critically, 'For me to be able to use Mokuton...I think old man Sarutobi and I need to have a few words.'
"Anyway," Genkai cut in, "training's out until you're better." she smiled down at him, a glint of amusement in her eyes, "So get better fast, dimwit."
Naruto snorted and feebly gave the woman the finger, "That anyway to talk to an invalid you old hag?"
Genkai simply walked off, shooting him an amused glare over her shoulder, Yukina following behind her.
"Get your rest, You'll need it."
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Well there we go, and as you can see, Naruto's Kekkei Genkai is quite the dark horse eh?
R&R!!!!
Next time on Cry of the Youko
(Intro music starts)
Naruto: Damn old man, keeping something big like this as secret! When I get my ahnds on him I'll-!
Genkai: Focus on your training dimwit!
Naruto: What the-?! Watch where you aim that finger!
Genkai: HAAAA!
Next time on Cry of the Youko: Training regimen from hell!
Naruto: That old hag's trying ta kill me!
(Music ends)