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Chapter 4: The Secret
Wan Shi Tong's Library
All around the library, the groups started searching for anything useful to use against the Fire Nation, get Naruto's group back home, get updated maps, and other things. Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura were surrounded by piles of books and scrolls, searching for one little hint to get home.
"Any luck, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as he looked up from his book, which was a record of the Avatars.
"Nothing much really," Sakura replied as she put one of the medical scrolls she found interesting into her pack.
"Yo, Hinata-chan, you found anything?" Naruto asked as the Hyuuga Heiress blushed when he addressed her.
"Ano…not yet, I-I did find some waterbending techniques, but nothing that can help us go back home…" Hinata replied as she cursed herself for stuttering. "T-Though I'm sure we'll find something…"
Naruto smirked. "Yep, we will. Even if the know-it-all bastard tries to throw us out for trying to find it."
Hinata couldn't help but giggle at that, and Sakura smirked. "I'm going to go find us some more scrolls to look through…"
"Neh, you're already done reading your's, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked his pink-haired teammate.
"Not yet, but I'm almost done with the last of them. Time to get some more," Sakura replied as she walked off, leaving Naruto and Hinata alone. 'Hinata-san, make your move soon!'
Hinata gulped as she looked at the scroll. The blond genin sitting next to her scrunched his forehead in thought, and he looked at the scroll, clearly not understanding what was on it.
"Neh, neh, Hinata-chan, probably you could help me out on this," Naruto suggested as he looked at the scroll.
"Ano…um…sure, Naruto-kun," Hinata said without the stutter, but she cursed herself for the pause between her words. She walked over to where he was, and saw the scroll.
The scroll was about the Air Nomads and their culture. Naruto was having a hard time understanding why Airbending Masters were tattooed with the arrow symbol on their bodies.
"Do you get the reason, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked as Hinata slowly and nervously sat down next to him.
"…I think it shows they have mastered their element so much, that when they move their arms and legs, as well as their head, it shows how they can direct their chakra into bending the air," Hinata replied after she read over the scroll again. "Aang-kun is an Airbending Master according to this."
Naruto nodded. "I really wouldn't want to be tattooed like that though…seems too long a process and…I kind of like my hair."
Hinata couldn't help but giggle at that. "You're really smart, Hinata-chan!"
She began blushing at his praise. "…I'm really not that…"
"Yes you are!" Naruto told her as she began to blush further. "You're as smart as anyone I know, Hinata-chan! Don't downplay yourself."
"T-Thank you, N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata muttered, barely able to control her stuttering.
"Hey, Hinata-chan…can you tell me more about the Hyuuga Clan?" Naruto asked as he put his scroll down. "I promised Neji that I'd change the clan when I'm Hokage, but…I really don't know that much about it. Can't keep my promise without knowing some stuff, stuff that needs to change."
Hinata nodded. "O-Okay…"she searched her mind where to start. "W-What do you want to know about the clan?"
"Hm…how about why there is a Main and Branch clan system for one," Naruto replied as Hinata nodded.
"Ano…um…the main and branch clan system allows for a larger family unit, for one…" Hinata started as she thought back to her lessons. "The clans of Konoha have existed longer than the Village itself, before the first Hokage, the major clans-Hyuuga, Uchiha, Nara, Inuzuka, Akimichi, and Yamanaka-they divided their power throughout the clans by breaking them up into two branches, like a tree. After Shodai Hokage founded the village, the clans banded together to make it stronger. Gradually, the Main/Branch family system fell out of favor with the other clans, and they assimilated each other into one main clan." She took a breath and thought back again. "The Hyuuga, being the oldest of the Shinobi Clans kept the archaic system since…we had grown too large to be assimilated into a whole at that time."
"So…because of the size of your clan, the Main and Branch families can't become one?" Naruto asked, and Hinata nodded.
"…and things became more restrictive to the Branch, where their duty to protect the Main family was put into question by my Great Grandfather, Hianza, he was the Clan Head that instituted the caged bird seal when there was an attempted coup by a few Branch family members…" Hinata sighed sadly. "And, due to that, the Branch lost influence in Clan politics, and a rift between us formed and widened with each generation of Hyuuga."
"…that's really, really stupid," Naruto mumbled, making the Hyuuga Heiress look up at him. "Just because a few of the Branch Family members attempted a coup, that meant all of them were to blame? That's just really stupid. And because your clan is too big, assimilation back into one, united clan would be too hard?"
"…that's what my father told me," Hinata replied as the blond genin sighed, and then he smirked.
"Well, that stupid ancient system is going to be thrown out as soon as I become Hokage and you become Clan Head!" Naruto told her, jumping up and down. "Don't you think it's time for your clan to enter the modern era?"
"…yes…yes I do," Hinata replied with much thought. "Our clan is weakening itself with the Main/Branch family system…so we need to abolish it."
"That 'a girl! It'll be so awesome!" Naruto cheered as Hinata gave him a shy smile, her cheeks reddening. '…she really looks cute when she blushes…' His eyes widened after he thought that.
From behind a bookcase, Sakura giggled at the sight as she looked through one of the 'holes' she made by pulling out the books and scrolls. 'Finally, Naruto's dense, but I can see he's starting to look at her differently…'
At another end of the library, Kakashi had put his book back in its satchel, and looked through a few scrolls. There were quite a few of them about different types of chakras, chi, and other energies that he had looked at, but so far, no jutsus. He had found quite a lot of scrolls about bending, and found it interesting how chakra could be manipulated to bend the elements to a user's will without using hand seals.
'Interesting…' Kakashi thought as he looked at an Earthbending scroll. 'The most powerful Earthbenders can learn to manipulate the minerals in refined metals such as iron, steel, gold, and bronze, yet it is harder due to the minerals being spread out….'
His ears tweaked and he looked around to the flapping of large wings that disappeared into another hall. Kakashi's eye shifted, looking around, and then it focused back on the scroll he was reading.
'It seems out esteemed host is checking to see if we keep our promise…this could be trouble,' Kakashi thought to himself as his eye watched one of the knowledge seekers walked by with a scroll in it's mouth.
He smirked and then continued to read the scroll on Earthbending, learning about Avatar Kiyoshi, how she had combined Fire, Earth, and Airbending to dislodge Kiyoshi Island from the mainland. Such a feat was on the levels of the strongest Hokages, which was impressive.
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Great Desert outside the Library
Toph, Appa, and Pakkun sat in the shade of the library spire where it was cool. The sun was taking a harsh toll on the flying bison, due to the fact it was more adaptable to the freezing weather of the mountains and the poles. And the tiny pug hated the heat since made his fur sticky.
"So…you like, flying?" Toph asked Appa, who growled and scratched his head. "Of course, I'm more comfortable here on the ground where I can see, I don't see the way you do, I feel the vibrations in the ground with my feet, but like Kakashi said…" she grabbed a handful of sand. "…this sand is so loose and shifty, it makes everything look fuzzy…not that there's anything wrong with fuzzy!"
"There better not," Pakkun added with Appa's growl. "Because I'd have to bite you if it was!"
Toph chuckled nervously at that, and then tightened the hold her arms had on her legs. She looked up at the spire with her blind eyes, waiting for her friends to return.
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Wan Shi Tong's Library
In another part of the halls of the Library, Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Yamato were either sitting down near a bookcase and reading, leaning against a bookcase reading, or sitting at the desk. Around a pile of books and scrolls, Zei read like a kid in an candy store, and Momo chirped in his weird language to Aang. One of the spirit collectors placed a book into an empty slot on a bookcase, and Aang and Yamato watched.
Aang was looking through a picture book of legendary creatures, and his face lit up at a picture of a turtle-like creature. "Hey, look at these weird lion-turtle things!"
"Ah…I've seen weirder," Sokka commented as he pulled out an book and placed it in his pack.
Katara walked over. "Did you know in a previous life you were left handed?"
"I always knew I was special," Aang said with a chuckle and he looked to Yamato. "So what are ANBU anyway?"
"Special tactical enforcement for Ninja Villages, as well as investigators, hunter ninja that seek out traitors to either kill or incapacitate them, interrogators, shadow soldiers, and a number of other things," Yamato replied with a smile, reading another scroll about the creatures of this reality. "Some even pose as 'double agents' when sent to villages that might betray the others. All major villages have an ANBU unit, and even some of the minors."
"So what can you do?" Katara asked as the ANBU captain gave a nod and smirk.
"I can manipulate wood, remember?" Yamato replied as he did a few hand signs, and placed his hand on the ground. Suddenly, a table literally grew out of the smooth surface of the floor, which the ANBU captain placed his scrolls on. "That was Mokuton: Taku no Jutsu-Wood Release: Table no Jutsu."
"Can you teach me how to do that?" Aang asked enthusiastically.
"Sorry, it's sort of a bloodline trait since I have Shodai's DNA in me," Yamato replied as Sokka past Zei, who was pulling out books and putting them in a pile in his arms.
The young Water Tribe warrior pulled out a scroll, unraveled it and put it in his pack gingerly. He then walked out of the row of bookcases, and saw a burnt piece of paper underneath a glass case. Sokka walked over to it and looked at the characters on it.
"Hm…the darkest day in Fire Nation history," Sokka started as he put his hand to his chin. "It's got a date at the top but it doesn't say anything else."
He used his machete to jimmy the glass cover off of the burnt piece of paper. He put his machete back in it's pack and rolled the paper up, placing it into his pack. Aang, Katara, Zei, and Yamato walked out of the bookcase aisle and noticed Sokka running for an aisle near them.
"Sokka, where are you going?" Aang asked as the older boy passed him.
"I want to find out what happened to the Fire Nation on its darkest day. It could be promising," Sokka replied and he looked at the ANBU Captain. "Better use that 'radio' thing to get the others back here."
Yamato nodded and pressed a button on the earpiece. "Yamato to Team 7, Sokka may have found something. Converge on my signal."
Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, and Kakashi met up with Yamato, Aang, Katara, Zei, Momo, and Sokka, and the young Water Tribe warrior led them to where the Fire Nation information was. Underneath a massive dark red flag with the Fire Nation symbol on it, the Water Tribe warrior led them into the room.
"You sure there's something good in there, Sokka?" Naruto asked as they walked in and looked around.
The light peered through, illuminating the room. Where bookcases with knowledge were, there were instead piles of ash. It was a sad sight to say the least, not just because Sokka probably never would be able to find out the information he needed, but because of the knowledge that was lost forever.
"Firebenders!" Aang gasped as he looked around.
"They destroyed everything having to do with the Fire Nation," Katara added as Hinata bent down and searched through the ash.
"I...can see why Wan Shi Tong-sama distrusts humans…seeing how they ruined his most prized possessions, the stuff he loved," Hinata said as she sifted through the ash.
"…yeah…" Naruto muttered as he looked around. 'I know you are loving this bastard fox.'
More than you know. Take that slave driver!
"That's so unfair! Just when I think I'm one step ahead of the Fire Nation it turns out they beat us hear a long time ago!" Sokka yelled as he sank to his knees in defeat. Suddenly, a spirit fox appeared behind them. "I need to know what happened on the darkest day."
"Sokka, that might not be the best idea," Kakashi warned him as the fox stood on its hind legs and whined like a hungry dog.
Sokka turned around and looked at the fox. "Hello, weird little fox guy…" The fox spirit turned around and used its nose to point away from the Fire Nation information.
"Seems it's trying to assist you," Zei said as the fox pointed.
"Sure…I guess I'll follow you," Sokka told the fox as his eyes shifted.
"Thanks little buddy!" Naruto exclaimed as he rubbed the fox's head and it coed at the attention.
They all ran behind the young fox across the library, passing bookcases about the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Air Nomads, and other various scrolls and tomes. The green light of the lanterns illuminated their path as they ran past the railings towards a massive circular door that looked like the sun in the sky. The group stopped as the young gray spirit fox crawled into an opening under the door. As soon as it did that, the door started opening, rolling slowly to the left.
As the door opened wider, the young gray fox was sitting there waiting, giving a little impatient whine. The group slowly walked into the room, which was a massive dome. The fox led them to a raised cylindrical stone with a leaver next to it, and the fox pushed it down. Suddenly, projection of the stars appeared on the ceiling as two metal supports with a sun and moon on them rotated. Everyone gasped at the wonder, and the projected stars reflected onto their clothing.
"Man…this is cool…" Naruto said softly as his blue eyes widened at the planetarium.
"Yeah…" the rest of the group's teenagers added as Zei's eyes and mouth widened.
"This room is a true marvel…a mechanical wonder…" Zei told them, his voice filled with wonder as he put his hands on his face. "It's a planetarium that shows the heavens…moving!"
The night time cycle of the planetarium ended and shifted back to day. The sun 'beam' soared over the blue background of the dome.
"This is beautiful, but how is it helpful?" Sokka asked as Kakashi walked over to the cylindrical stone structure in the middle of the room.
"You should check this out, Sokka," Kakashi replied as the group walked over to the rocky cylinder.
"Maybe these dials represent dates and times…" Katara added as she looked at the top of the cylinder. There were four rings with symbols on them, and two golden 'rulers', and finally the symbol of Yin and Yang in the middle of the three circles. "Sokka, try entering that date from the parchment you took."
"Yeah, let's see how this thing works!" Naruto cheered as the young Water Tribe warrior shushed them both.
"Katara, Naruto, not in front of the fox," Sokka told them in a loud whisper, leaning forward with his hand in front of his face. "He's with the owl…"
The young gray fox's ears and tail lowered, as if it was hurt by Sokka's comment about it. It whined, and Hinata and Sakura walked over to it and scratched it behind its ears.
"Sokka-kun, he risked everything to show us, so why can't we trust him?" Hinata asked as the young Water Tribe warrior carefully and stealth fully took a corner of the burnt piece of paper out and glanced at it.
"Yeah, don't be such a baka, Sokka," Sakura told him as he turned the outer ring of the timetable cylinder.
The inner rings all shifted to align the outer ring's data. Each symbol in the inner rings stopped as they matched the symbol on the outer ring underneath the two golden rulers. When the rotation stopped, the young water tribe warrior pushed the lever forward, starting the cycle of the planetarium again
The sun symbol moved to what would be west in the room, starting the night time cycle as the moon rose.
"Wow…got to hand it to you Sokka; you pick the best mini-vacations for sure!" Aang exclaimed in awe as the planetarium night-time cycle kept shifting.
The daytime cycle started as the sun rose, and all of a sudden, the entire planetarium seemed to shut down. Everyone looked around, looking for the cause.
"Hey, what happened to the sun?" Katara asked as she looked at the walls.
"Great…" Naruto and Aang said at the same time. "You must have broken it." The young Avatar muttered as his eyes narrowed.
"…it was so cool too, this really sucks," Naruto added with a sigh.
"Wait…it's not broken," Sokka started as he looked up to where the two beams that the sun and moon crossed. The moon was over the sun symbol. "The sun is behind the moon, it's a solar eclipse! It's literally the darkest day in Fire Nation history! Now I get it, something horrible happened on that day, I don't know what yet, but I do know why; Firebenders loose their bending during a solar eclipse!" He exclaimed grabbing onto Aang and accidentally tossing him back. "Sorry!"
"Interesting…" Kakashi stated as he looked at the eclipse.
"That makes sense. I mean, think of the lunar eclipse at the North Pole did to the waterbenders…" Katara added as she walked forward to where Aang, the young water tribe warrior, and Naruto were standing. "This is huge…"
The fox came walking up next, with Sakura and Hinata at its sides. It looked down at the ground as if it were sad. "Told you we could trust him," Sakura stated as she glared at Sokka.
The fox sat, and then went up to its hind legs and begged. Sokka sighed with a smirk. "Fine, you earned it."
He tossed a piece of seal jerky towards the fox's mouth, and he caught it. Naruto bent down and patted it on the head. "You really helped out, little buddy," he said as the fox ran away cheerily.
Hinata smiled at the scene, the blond jinchuuriki seemed to have taken a liking to the young fox. It was sort of cute…and made her like him even more.
"Now what do we do next?" Sakura asked as the group went into a circle to find out the next move.
"We got to get this information to the Earth King at Ba Sing Se, we'll wait for the next eclipse then we'll invade the Fire Nation when their helpless! The Fire Lord is going down!" Sokka cheered as Kakashi shook his head.
"It won't be that easy, Sokka," Kakashi started as a massive shadow loomed over them. It was Wan Shi Tong.
"Mortals are so predictable…" Wan Shi Tong stated as he moved behind them. "…and such terrible liars."
Sokka gulped as they all turned around and faced the great owl. "You betrayed my trust, from the beginning you intended to use this knowledge for evil purposes!" Wan Shi Tong continued, his voice rising with each step.
"You don't understand!" Sokka cried as the Owl kept stepping forward. "If anyone's evil, it's the Fire Nation, you saw what they did to your library, they're destructive and dangerous; we need this information!"
"You think you're the first person to think their war is justified? Countless others before you have come here seeking weapons or battle strategies!" Wan Shi Tong continued, if he had teeth he would be bearing them now in rage.
"We had no choice, please, we're just trying to protect the people we love!" Aang told him as Naruto growled.
"Bastard! If you know everything about why we're here, you know the condition of the war outside, correct?" Naruto yelled, making the great owl glare at him.
"Casualties are mounting on the thousands on each side, already the Fire Nation has committed genocide on Aang's people," Kakashi stated. "This information could end the killing, and probably lead to peace."
Wan Shi Tong thought of Kakashi and Naruto's words. "No, now I have to protect what I love."
He spread his massive wings, and began kicking up a windstorm. With each flap of his wings, the entire library shuddered and shook. Wan Shi Tong kept flapping his arms at an furious pace.
"What are you doing?" Aang asked as the owl kept pumping his wings.
"I'm taking my knowledge back; no one will ever abuse it again!" Wan Shi Tong replied with anger in his voice as sand began to seep into the planetarium with each pump of his wings.
"He's sinking the building; we got to get out of here!" Katara told everyone and the all nodded an affirmative.
"No kidding!" Sakura added as the giant owl stopped pumping his wings.
"I'm afraid I can't allow that," Wan Shi Tong told them as his neck started growing, as if it was a spring, and he lifted his head. "You already know too much."
The giant…owl thing screeched in attack as he used his beak to try to smash Naruto and Aang. Everyone leapt out of the way, and the ninja began running. Everyone ran out of the planetarium and Wan Shi Tong turned on a dime and began to follow the ninja. Zei looked comically as he tried to carry all the books he found in his arms as he ran.
"Nerd-san, drop that weight if you want to live!" Naruto ordered as he looked back.
"N-No! This information is priceless, I won't let go of it!" Zei told the blond jinchuuriki, who cursed underneath his breath at the Professor's stubbornness.
Momo glided as everyone ran across the library near the cross-shaped causeways and bookcases. Wan Shi Tong gave a birdlike roar as he followed the group out at an increasing speed, his neck long like a snake ready to strike.
"We need to split up," Kakashi told everyone looking back as he used his chakra to enhance his speed. "Naruto, Aang, Sokka, Hinata, you're with me. Yamato, you lead Katara, Sakura, and Zei away, and make sure the professor's safe since he's the only non combatant."
"Understood!" Team 7, Hinata, and Aang's group replied, and when they reached a corner they all split up as the silver haired copy ninja ordered.
Wan Shi Tong stopped and looked around, his freakily large neck twisting to see where they were running. "Splitting up won't save you!"
With that, he took off after Yamato's group, flapping his wings to give him more speed.
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Wan Shi Tong's Library Exterior, Great Desert
Where the shade used to be, Appa, Pakkun, and Toph were in the open sun after hours of resting. The blind Earthbending Master and the little talking ninja pug were in the only shade-the Flying Bison's, waiting for their friends to return. The spire started shaking, and then began to slowly sink, and Appa roared at both of them.
"I already told you, I don't want to snuggle," Toph told Appa again, before the gigantic bison stood up making her fall onto the sand. She then turned around and felt the vibrations and heard the rumble. "Library sinking…library sinking!"
She ran over and thrusts her hands into the rock bricks of the library in an attempt to stop it from sinking. She gritted her teeth as the spire sank another six inches after she had thrust her hands deep into the rock. The sand was proving to be too soft for her to keep the spire from sinking, and her feet sank into the sand.
Toph took her hands out of the rocky surface of the library, leapt into the air then she slammed her palm into the sand, as if she was using the Kuchiyose (Summoning) jutsu. All five of her fingers penetrated the sand, looking like claws and she twisted. Instantly, the sand was turned into solid rock. Then she thrust her fists back into the library spire, slowing its decent.
She groaned as she tried to stop the massive structure from sinking. She wouldn't give up, she wouldn't abandon her friends. Toph then recalled what Naruto had said while they were riding 'I never give up, that's my nindo (way of the ninja)!', and she smiled to herself.
'Well, I think that'll be my 'nindo' too…I won't give up guys!' Toph thought to herself as she tightened her stance, and tried to lift the library up. 'I won't give up!'
To Be Continued…