Kumogakure Ninja
Posted: 17-09-09
Updated 28-06-11
CH4: The Appearance of an Enemy
(Team Kirabi Campsite)
Naruto's hand shook as he poked the fire with a stick. ''So these guys look pretty strong, huh? I've always wanted to meet samurai.''
Yugito scoffed as usual when he said something she found stupid. ''I doubt they'd like to talk to you. They keep to themselves and they despise shinobi for taking over their job markets.''
''Who said we wanted to talk?'' Hari asked rhetorically, his onyx eyes shining in excitement and anxiety. ''We want to meet them so we can fight them.''
Kirabi chuckled, ''Ain't you two be frontin' like -''
''Please,'' his students said simultaneously. Kirabi pouted, puffing his cheeks and looking the other way childishly. ''Fine,'' he said, pulling a straight face. ''You can't afford to underestimate these guys. Stay away from the river for now. Who knows how powerful they are. If they work for the Akumu Shokō, they will know how to put up a good fight.''
Yugito got up and stalked off to her own tent, most likely to read up on more shinobi tactics and other literature.
Kirabi also stood up with a yawn, stretching his broad, muscular arms. ''You two get some sleep. I'll have some clones scout the areas and the village.''
'I can't believe I've been away from Kumo for five days already.' Naruto parted the entrance of his tent and laid down on his sleeping bag. 'It feels so weird but I'm relieved at the same time. I hardly know anything about the world outside of Kumo…' The blond stifled a yawn, 'I hope these Akumu guys are as good as they are said to be. I wonder if I could take them with the Kyūbi's help.'Naruto wondered and yawned once more before sleep took him.
…
The following morning, the blond woke up early; light shimmered into his face through the open slit in his tent. Groaning he got up and went to the river mouth nearby. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, yawning once more and stopped in his track.
Yugito was going through taijutsu katas. It was evident she had been up and training for several hours. Naruto took the time to look at her, he was a teenager after all. He had admit Yugito was beautiful, but that wasn't all that mattered to him. Her personality was unbearable as far as he was concerned, but, despite himself, he couldn't help but be a little mesmerized by her. Even sweating and with a face full of concentration, she was quite the beauty. His eyes zoned in on her bare tummy and to her hips and then to her chest and eventually her face.
''What do you want, Uzumaki?'' Yugito questioned, going through a roundhouse kick kata slowly and flawlessly.
Naruto snapped out his daze embarrassed. ''Nothing… Just getting something to drink.''
''Do as you please.'' The words of Kirabi still haunted her as Naruto turned walked away.
"At the moment, you're the strongest of the three."
'I'll show you I will be the best student you will ever have, Kirabi, whether you like it or not.'
…
Naruto walked for some time, berating himself for checking out the girl he despised so much. Hormones be damned!
'It must be the dehydration,'Naruto thought, quickening his pace. He walked through a thick patch of forest, hearing a stream of water and a faint sound. 'What's that?'
Naruto surreptitiously made his way through a few bushes, the faint sound increasingly became more discernable. It was... soothing.
Pushing aside the last remains of bushes, he saw a sight that he knew he would remain for some years to come. Emiko had been bathing in a small river mouth. Her beauty had been done much shame the bulged clothes she wore. Naruto, having never seen a naked girl before couldn't stop blushing. Emiko washes her ample breasts, hid before by the damnable kimono. She was humming serenely, her purple hair silkily on her shoulders, shining in the morning sun. Naruto's eyes wandered down to her curvy figure, landing on the patch of hair between her legs, blushing he quickly pulled back and was about to turn, when he tripped and fell down, bumping his head loudly on a tree.
Emiko hearing this jumped out of the river, slipped into her washed kimono and withdrew a dagger from it. A furious blush struck across her face.
''You pervert!'' she screamed, seeing Naruto on the floor holding his head in pain. ''How could you spy on a girl like that?''
''N- No!'' Naruto shouted, stumbling over his words, ''I - I wasn't spying on you! I'm not a pervert! I just came to get water when I tripped and then this and I- I- I'm sorry!'' The blond got on his knees, bowing his head to her as continued to endlessly apologise.
Emiko, flushed and the red tinge on her cheeks increased. ''Whatever, as long as you didn't see anything, it's fine-,'' she caught Naruto's guilty look, ''You did! You were spying on me, you little pervert!''
Naruto jumped back, landing in a crouch. ''No! I wasn't- well, I wasn't doing it on purpose! I just- it just happened! I'm not a pervert, really!'' he shouted once more, his hands up in a defensive manner. ''I'd never do that to you!''
Emiko's blush increased, she was obviously embarrassed. And who could blame her? A boy, three years younger than her, had seen her naked. Something no one had ever done. ''Well don't do it again! If you tell anyone about this, I'll kill you!''
The threat would never in her wildest dreams actually accumulate to anything but Naruto went with it, not wanting to exacerbate her ire.
''Y- Yeah, sure!'' Naruto agreed easily, he was barely holding back on a nosebleed as it was. ''Do you need anything?'' he asked politely, yet awkwardly.
''Just go!''
''OK!'' Naruto complied, turning around and making his way out of that patch of the forest.
-ooo-
Naruto had a hard time getting his mind straight. He was getting his ass kicked by Hari at the moment. Hari ducked under his sloppy right hook and delivered a sharp roundhouse kick to the blonde's face, sending him stumbling and eventually forcing him to fall back.
''What's up with you today?'' Hari asked, quite annoyed at the lack of attention. ''You're never this easy to beat.''
''Uhuh,'' Naruto rambled absentmindedly. ''It's nothing.''
''He's seen a girl naked for the first time in his life and he can't get it out of his perverted little mind.'' Yugito revealed, leaning against a tree nearby, reading a shinobi literature handbook.
''W- What?'' Naruto demanded, the blush returning in full furry.
Hari looked at his friend with an curious expression and then turned to Yugito. ''Who?''
Yugito pushed a page further, ''That Emiko girl.''
''You were spying on me?'' Naruto demanded angrily. ''I knew you were a pain in the ass, but what's up with spying on your own teammates?''
''For your information,'' Yugito said coldly, ''I wasn't spying on you. She screamed when she spotted you and I obviously had to see what was going on in case we were under attack.''
"Sure.'' Naruto glared at her briefly and then turned to Hari and explained. ''I was getting water and I accidentally walked in on her, I wasn't spying on her.''
''Ahuh," Hari said vaguely, clearly not interested.
''Where's Kirabi?'' Naruto asked his friend, who snapped out his daydream.
''Don't know, probably out scouting the area.''
''He's in the town centre getting information out of villagers,'' Yugito pushed another page in her book. ''He said he'd be back in a couple of hours.''
Naruto shrugged. ''More time for sparring then, I guess.''
-ooo-
Kirabi sat on a rooftop in the village, looking down on his notepad. The villagers had been very cooperative; he had to thank his two male pupils for that. A good meal had done the village good but they were still scared, and if he didn't blame them. The Akumu Shokō were looking for something in the area, according to his intel. Kungo, the town's new spokesman, had said there was a legend surrounding the great river of the Fishermen Islands.
Kirai took one more glance at his notepad and read:
Many years ago, two great warriors hailing from equally powerful clans dueled to the death in the land that was once known as Sun Country before it was annex by Lightning Country shortly after the civil war. Tōshirō no Shirōi, a battle monk of the north was the head of a clan of charitable monks skilled in ice techniques whom were accused of challenging the Daimyō's power. The other legendary figure was Yamaken Kuma, a samurai of the east whose clan excelled in earth jutsu and sought the favour of their deity, Bhumi the Goddess of Earth. When a civil war broke out, the Daimyō hired the Yamaken Clan in order to fight the rebels whom sided with Shirōi Clan. Eventually after years of fighting, the bloodshed and loss of life was too high and thus Yamaken Kuma and Tōshirō no Shirōi decided to end it all with one last duel, the victor's clan would remain and the loser would lose both his life as would his clan be honour bound to the country. The battle lasted three days and destroyed the landscape, revamping it completely. With Kuma's Shinken the Keikōku Kizamu the land was carved with deep trenches, and these trenches were filled with ice with the power of Tōshirō's Hiryū Shikōn. When the ice melted, the water further pushed and separated the lands and thus created the Fishermen Island.
The battle left both warriors waning on the line of death. Kumo chose to meet his end in the river and took his beloved sword to the grave. Tōshirō, whom had managed to extend his life another few days returned to his home and told his clan to uproot and leave the country under the pretense he lost. Tōshirō then wrote a letter to the elders of Kuma's clan and told them Kuma had lost their duel, and his life in the process, thus they decided to uproot as well and leave.
Upon his last day, Tōshirō waded into the newly created river and allowed his body to sink to the depths of the river as he took his blade with him, in respect to his fallen rival whom he had promised to continue to fight in the life hereafter.
Due to the chakra residue left behind by the Shinken, fish found it easy to reproduce and thus the populous gained incredible riches in their trade.
To this day it is believed the Keikōku Kizamu and Hiryū Shikōn still residue deep within the river.
''Quite the story,'' Kirabi noted out loud. 'I wonder if that's what Akumu Shokō are after. The legendary swords of Tōshirō no Shiroi and Yamaken Takeshi.'
Kirabi pocketed the notepad in his pouch located on his right hip and Shunshined away.
(TL: Hiryū Shikōn translates to 'ice dragon fang' & Keikōku Kizamu translates to 'canyon carver'.)
-ooo-
''So, you think there are some legendary swords in the river?'' Hari asked skeptically, to which Naruto and Yugito nodded. They were sitting around a camp fire, each on a small log, it was late at night. ''How do we know they're telling the truth. Even if this legend is true, how do they know the other villages aren't located on the real island where the swords were left.''
Kirabi rubbed his chin, scratching his goatee. ''You make a good point, but it would explain why this one village out of ten is directly under Kumo's protection? The others are just as much a part of the country but as far as we know they never had a direct relationship with our village.''
''But what's to say those swords weren't dragged away by the water?'' Hari asked.
''They're here,'' Naruto said confidently.
''And how would you know that?'' Yugito challenged. ''What evidence do you have to support that statement?''
''My gut's telling me they're here.''
Yugito gave him one of her patented scoffs. ''Oh, so your gut is telling you the swords are here? Then it must be true.'' The sarcasm was dripping from her voice.
Naruto glared at her. ''I don't care whether you believe me or not, but look at the facts.''
''What facts?'' Kirabi asked.
''Those samurai guys are here and they're working for two renown shinobi and they've been here for over a month. Don't you think that's got to mean something? Why else would they still be here if they had nothing to go on? ''
Hari nodded in agreement. ''I think Naruto's on to something here.''
''Of course you would think that,'' Yugito said coldly, to which Kirabi frowned.
''What's that supposed to mean, Nii?'' Hari replied testily, glaring at the blond kunochi. ''Unless you've got a better theory, I suggest you shut up and listen, instead of shooting down everything we say.''
''Unless you'd like to waste my time more with fantasies and gut feelings, I'll go and train." With that, Yugito turned and walked away from the camp, hidden in thick patches of bushes and made her way into the forest.
''She really is a pain in ass,'' Naruto said, glaring at her retreating figure. ''I don't know what her problem is.''
Kirabi stood up and yawned. ''I'm going to catch some sleep, you two go can scout, just don't go near the river.''
''Got it,'' Naruto said, standing up. ''See you here in an hour?'' he asked Hari who nodded and jumped after the blond did, in a different direction.
-ooo-
Yugito grunted, shaking her bleeding hand in pain. She had been punching the tree in front of her, to hone her taijutsu skills. In her frustration, she had thrown a sloppy bunch that broke her wrist. She looked down at her hand, the effects of the two tailed cat already taking effect. The splinters popped out, the blood dried and the skin tissue reconstructed itself.
''Freak, you'll never amount to anything!''
She shook her head. She swore out loud and crouched at the river bank and laid her right hand in the cool, soothing river water. She had ignored Kirabi's prior order to not come close to the river but at the moment she didn't care, this place soothed her. She felt at ease here, for a reason she could not explain, even if she wanted to.
''Take your demonic hell spawn of a daughter and get out!''
Yugito gasped in pain, having applied a heavy pressure on her wounded hand as she cleaned it from blood stains. 'What is happening to me? Why are these memories coming up?'
''Get her! Kill the mother if you must!''
Yugito held her head in pain. Memories prior to her arrival at Kumo crashed into her mind unrelentingly like a tsunami.
''So you have chosen to die with your child, then so be it, Harumi!''
A horrible feminine scream.
Yugito couldn't breathe… Did the scream come from her or was it her imagination?
''St- Stay away! W- What did you do to kaa-chan?''
A cold hand reaching out for her.
A child's cry. An inhuman roar. The screams of hundreds.
''It has gone berserk! Take the children and run!''
''Harumi's demon spawn has lost it! Run for your lives!''
A sudden touch.
''Yugito!''
''Ahh!'' Yugito screamed, twisting the hand on her shoulder and dropping whoever had touched her. She held the blade in her hand to Naruto's throat. ''Y- You!'' she hissed in an accusing tone, ''What are you doing here?''
Naruto gulped, gently pushing the hand with a kunai in it from his throat. ''I heard some noises… I thought you were in trouble. What are you doing here? We're not allowed to be here.''
Yugito swallowed thickly, standing up and sliding the blade in her holster. ''Nothing,'' she said in her impassive tone, ''I'll be along in a moment… Just give me a minute.''
''Are you alright?'' Naruto, despite his dislike for her couldn't just leave her like this, she was his teammate even if they didn't' get along most of the team.
Yugito looked into his concerned eyes, his blue hues softened with sincere concern for her well being. ''I said I needed a moment,'' she snapped at him aggressively. ''Just leave me alone, I don't need an idiot around me to distract me!''
Naruto's features changed into that of an indignant annoyance. ''Fine,'' he snapped back, ''See if I care next time you're holding your head and screaming like someone's chopping off you-''
Yugito sharply slapped him across the face, her vibrant blue eyes flickering to blue flames with slits in them. ''Get out of here,'' she said coldly.
Naruto said nothing and turned around and taking to the trees, leaving Yugito behind to mentally assure herself it was best that way.
'This burden is mine to bear. He has his own and I cannot allow him to handle mine too.'
…
Naruto held his stinging cheek, his face in a frown. He wasn't angry with her, he was just surprised. Why was she in so much pain? What happened to her that made her so cold, so dispassionate and impassive? 'I wonder what made her scream so loudly. Maybe Kirabi knows what happened to her.'
…
Hari jumped from tree to tree. He sensed something in front of him, it felt like several presences. He stopped on a tree branch and closed his eyes, concentrating on the sound of the environment. 'W- What is this sensation? Am I feeling these people's presence? I can sense something! Am I a sensory type ninja?'the genin wondered. 'I bet Kirabi-sensei knows more about this.'
Hari looked down from the branch and spotted some foot prints. He jumped down from the tree and crouched to examine the prints. 'Heavy foot prints, eight different sets… they must be heavily armoured and they went that way.'
Hari created a clone and took to the trees, jumping to the direction the prints were heading to. Meanwhile, his clone ran back to the camp, to call Kirabi and his team.
…
Naruto sat on a log by the fire, poking it with a stick he picked up. He was deep in thought, thinking about Yugito and the pain he had seen her in. A rustle called his attention and he looked up to see Yugito, her eyes were slightly puffy.
He said nothing.
''I apologize for striking you,'' Yugito said with a monotone voice. ''I should've known better than attacking a member of my team and Kumogakure. If you wish to report me to the shinobi council, I will-''
''Just cut that shit out,'' Naruto snapped at her. ''Why are you having such a hard time being normal? Why can't you just let go of those bullshit regulations and protocols?''
Yugito sat down on the log opposite of her blond teammate and picked up a stick and began poking it into the fire too. They let the awkwardness pass by in silence; neither spoke a word. Naruto looked at the blonde girl staring into the fire.
He swallowed his pride. ''You know-''
Naruto and Yugito jumped up. They heard someone running towards them. Hari appeared out of the bushes. He was cut, bruised and had a long slash across his chest, which was bleeding.
''Hari!'' Naruto ran to his team member and caught him as he fell down, ''What are you doing -''
''In trouble,'' the clone wheezed out, before he slowly turned cold and disappeared with a poof!
Naruto looked to Yugito.
''Get Kirabi and followed my chakra signature!'' Naruto shouted, running into the direction Hari came from.
-ooo-
(Twenty Minutes Earlier)
Hari saw the group of samurai group, four were carrying nets with undistinguishable items in them and another four were walking to each side of the carriers, their hands on their hilts. He crouched; looking at them through his small binoculars he had hanging around his neck. They were all nervous, he noticed, as they walked into a clearing. The carriers were sweating and Hari doubted it was because of the heavy load they had in the chest. They seemed quite capable in his mind. Hari jumped out of the tree with a chakra boost and landed in front of the band of samurais.
''Hello there,'' he greeted with a cocky grin, ''Mind if I ask what's in the in box?'' The guarding samurais quickly drew their blades and rushed at him.
Hari drew three senbon from his holster and threw them with deadly accuracy at the first attacker, who came in with his katana raised above his head for a decapitating stroke. He fell to the ground, his eyes rolling back.
The spiky haired genin ducked under a swipe of a katana and delivered a crushing right palm strike to another samurai's nose, instantly breaking it, and followed up with his left fist swung to the man's right cheek, sending him flying and landing in a heap, unconscious. The third samurai attempted a stab at his face, which Hari barely managed to dodge without more than horizontal a cut under his left eye. He paid the offender back and then some with an elbow in the eye and a jump-knee to the face, which crushed the samurai's jaw and nose and knocked him out instantly. The last samurai charged with a battle cry, but it took only a punch the face and a roundhouse kick to the side of his head to knock him out.
''Now that was so unnecessary,'' Hari took a relaxed stance. ''Any of going to do something stupid like that?''
The samurai's shook their head and dropped the chest between them and ran away. Hari approached the chest to examine it when something in the back of his mind alerted him not to. Hari drew back just as the chest exploded, prompting Hari to go through a series of back flips and land in a sloppy crouch, digging his fingers into the ground to stop him from sliding back too far as smoke emanated from the chest.
''What the…''
A figure stepped out of the smoke.
''Greetings,'' said the man in front of him. The newcomer seemed not a day over thirty, dressed in a snow white kimono and a black haori with the kanji for ''Inner Darkness'' embroided on the back. Under the man's right eye was a kanji tattoo in blue ink, spelling out ''Ice Radical.'' He had a blade with a white hilt in a white scabbard strapped over his right shoulder. His skin was pale and smooth, and the man had eerily glowing, yellow slit eyes and his face was set in an menacing grin and he radiated killing intent and power. ''My name is Satoru and I am your messenger.''
''Messenger?'' Hari repeated.'
Satoru looked him in the eyes, grinning as the world went quiet for Hari. All he could hear was his heart beating as Satoru mouthed the words, ''Shikumi no Jutsu.''
Hari tried to move, he mentally screamed demands for his body to move as Satoru neared him slowly, his pale hand reaching for the hilt of his sword. It was if he couldn't move, as if this was all just a dream, as if the man in front him was not there. His sensory skills were suddenly dull. He was horrified but he could barely move his fingers, let alone his arms and legs.
Then it hit him.
Graphic images of his own death flood through his mind. His mutilated body, ripped to shreds. His arm cut off and his head decapitated. He gasped, he needed to breathe! Hari closed his eyes, shutting them tightly and bit the inside of his cheek so hard the pain shocked him. To his surprise he regained power of his right arm and with what little movement available to him reached for a kunai and stabbed himself in his tight.
Hari regained control over his body not a second too late.
(Jutsu: Shikumi no Jutsu - Death Viewing Technique!)
Hari jumped to the sky the second Satoru had unsheathed his sword and slashed it horizontally, muttering, ''Eirō.'' The split second jump wasn't good enough to completely avoid the technique. The tip of his right boot had been encased in ice and it was spreading. He quickly took of the boot and threw it at Satoru, who merely sheathed his sword with a click, causing the boot encased in ice to burst into a thousand pieces.
''Formidable,'' Satoru said in his slick voice, his handsome features graced with a devilish smile. ''I can tell you have great potential, such a shame let it go to waste.''
''Am I supposed to say 'thank you' now?'' Hari withdrew three senbon in each hand. ''I'll guess I'll have to disappoint you. Shinobi don't make time for pleasantries.''
''Yes,'' Satoru said in a reflective manner. ''So uncivilized.''
Hari masked his panic with a confident grin. ''What do you want from me? This was obviously a trap. You allowed me to sense your men so you could take me or someone else on my team out, didn't you?''
Satoru shook his head. ''Not really,'' he said evenly, ''We were planning to lure one of you in, but we certainly did not allow you to sense our chakra. These men you fought are amongst the weakest men under my command, they have no talent in chakra manipulation. How you sensed them, I do not know. Perhaps you are of those sensory type shinobi.''
''Aha.'' Hari didn't know what else to say, perhaps he would have been happy if it weren't for the fact he had just walked into an enemy trap and his opponent seemed confident in being able to beat him rather easily. Hari swallowed thickly. 'I hope my clone reached Kirabi-sensei by now!'
''I'm afraid I must end this little confrontation. After all, a message must be delivered on time and must be served swiftly.''
With an instant he disappeared and reappeared in front of Hari. The slash of silver was so fast Hari couldn't even see it. Looking down to his chest as Satoru sheathed his sword, he saw a deep gash on his chest and ice spreading from it.
''Hatsugoori.''
Hari couldn't breathe, he felt so cold.
He quickly lost the power to struggle against the rapidly spreading ice as it completely encased him.
-ooo-
Naruto jumped from tree branch to tree branch, channeling chakra to his legs to rocket him in the sky with each leap as he practically flew through the forest, barely able to see where he was going. 'Where is he?'The frustrating confusion built up in his thoughts. As if someone read his mind, an enormous chakra signature that rivaled his own called out to him.
'There!' Naruto leaped out of his tree, flying thirty feet in the air when he saw an ice block lying in a clearing. ''Hari!'' Naruto landed with a powerful skid on the ground and ran to his friend. ''No!'' he screamed, looking into the horrified face of his friend encased in ice. ''Hari!''
Hot tears streamed down his cheeks as he slammed his fist on the black of ice. ''No! Come on, HARI!'' The pain of losing his friend was so great he did not notice he was beating his right hand raw and bloody on the unbreakable block of ice. The broken knuckle could compare to the pain he felt in his heart.
''HARI!''
Author's Notes
This story was written before the Raikage's name was revealed to be 'A' and before it was revealed that 'A' was more an alias/nickname, thus his real name is unknown. Because of this, I went ahead and referred to him as 'Raiden' in future chapters, it roughly translates to 'Lightning and Thunder', rather appropriate if I may say so.
Don't forget to review!
Author's Notes
This story was written before the Raikage's name was revealed to be 'A' and before it was revealed that 'A' was more an alias/nickname, thus his real name is unknown. Because of this, I went ahead and referred to him as 'Raiden' in future chapters, it roughly translates to 'Lightning and Thunder', rather appropriate if I may say so.
Don't forget to review!
…
Jutsu Used:
(Jutsu: Shikumi no Jutsu - Death Viewing Technique!) - ? rank, supplementary, short range. By utilizing a strong killer intent and focusing it on the desired target, one can make his opponent's brain create images his own death, leading most victims to believe they saw a glimpse of the future.
(Jutsu: Eirō - Life Imprisonment!) - ? rank, offensive, short to mid range. An unknown offensive technique used by the warrior Satoru. With a swift stroke, a wave of ice chakra is cast over the opponent, encasing him or her in ice. The ice will instantly encase any part of the body in nearly unbreakable ice.
(Jutsu: Hatsugoori - Fist Ice of Winter!) – ? rank, offensive, short to mid range. Another unknown offensive technique used by Satoru. Similar to the Eirō technique, it requires a draw from the blade to lash out ice chakra to encase the enemy in ice. However, unlike Eirō, Hatsugoori does not only encase with ice where it is hit, it spreads over the entire body immediately. The Hatsugoori is, unlike Eirō, only temporarily of effect.