The first thing I became aware of was the sound of soft breathing to my right. It was even and drawn. It occurred to me that the person doing the breathing was probably asleep. The next thing I noticed was how warm I was. It was uncomfortably warm. I then noticed the weight of several blankets over top of me. As the feeling returned to my body, I could begin to move. My eyelids flew open and I shot into a sitting position. My sudden movement caused the breathing to my right to catch, before I heard the sound of clinking metal. Turning towards the sound revealed the huddled figure of Bree, who had chains leading from each wrist and each ankle to the wall behind her. She was staring up at me with bloodshot eyes.
"You're awake," she said flatly.
"What happened?" I croaked, suddenly very thirsty.
"You've been unconscious for three days," came her dull reply. "You had severe Chakra exhaustion."
"How?" I asked.
"I don't understand it completely," she admitted. "All I heard was that your new nature release pulled Chakra in a way that your body was not used to, and it caused Chakra to be depleted from the vital organs."
At the end of her explanation, the only door to the dimly lit room opened. In came man wearing the standard issue medical ninja uniform.
"Good," he said warmly, with a smile. "I was hoping I heard you awake. How are you feeling?"
"Confused," I said, then suddenly becoming angry. "Why is Bree chained to the wall?"
"Ah," the man said. "An unfortunate necessity. All will be explained shortly. Before anything else is done, I need to make sure you're in good health."
My Sharingan flared suddenly as my anger grew.
"Before anything else is done," my voice sounded in a sinister growl. "You will unchain my friend from this wall or I can assure you the consequences will be unpleasant."
The doctor took a reflexive step back as my killer intent hit him like a tsunami.
"Takachi stop!" Bree shouted. "I asked them to do this. So that I could stay with you. It was the only way they'd let me."
My gaze momentarily shifted to Bree to search for any signs of coercion or Genjutsu. I found none.
"If that's true than I hold no grudge," I said more calmly. "But my warning is still in effect. Unchain her now."
"U-u-of course," the doctor stammered.
He walked back out the door.
"I'm sorry you had to endure this Bree," I said softly. "It'll be over in a moment."
A moment later, the doctor, plus Sai, my mother, and an ANBU agent with her mask hanging on her belt.
"Takachi, don't threaten the doctor please," my mother chided softly.
Without a word I simply gestured to Bree. My mother sighed, defeated.
"The keys are attached to that band on your wrist," Sai said flatly. "You may release her at your leisure."
Without hesitation I threw my legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. Everyone in the room seemed to want to stop me, but they held their ground. Contrary to their clear doubt of my physical condition, I felt incredibly strong. Far more than usual. Taking three quick strides, I stooped down and began to unlock the manacles on Bree's extremities. When the last one was off, I gently grabbed her hands and lifted her off the floor. I then turned to the doctor.
"What happened to me?" I asked.
"You suffered from a very unique form of Chakra exhaustion," he explained. "Normally, when you perform a Jutsu, physical energy is pulled from every cell in your body to be molded into Chakra. But when you did it, your vital organs seemed to be excluded from this. Three days ago, when you were working on your unknown nature release, your body started pulling from your vital organs do to your exhaustion from using the Sharingan for over eight hours. And because your organs were unused to being used as a source of physical energy, they were depleted almost instantly. Your liver, both kidneys, and your heart, stopped functioning no less than a dozen times before we managed to stabilize you. This condition actually appears to run in your family. Your great uncle on your mother's side, Itachi Uchiha had the same condition, though it was caught far too late in his case. At your age though, it's correctable using a combination of Chakra conditioning and stimulants."
"So this is the reason for my lower than average Chakra levels?" I asked.
"Not on its own no," he answered. "It is a contributing factor, but your cells really do produce less physical energy than is normal in your family. There isn't much that can be done about that except for training."
"So my levels may increase after the therapy," I pressed hopefully.
"No more than twenty to forty percent," he answered.
I nodded, content with these numbers.
"My apologies for my hostile behavior," I said, before turning to Sai. "I assume you're here to give us our orders?"
Sai nodded.
"This is Shikamari," he said, gesturing to the fourth person in the room. "She will be your trainer and your guardian until you are able to pass the ANBU graduation exam."
"Honored to meet you both," Shikamari said with a slight bow of her head. "Provided everything is in order, we will be leaving immediately."
"Leaving?" I asked, raising one eyebrow and turning to look at my mother.
"Yes," she confirmed. "Your training will officially start in two days. You'll be traveling to a secret location."
"How long will we be gone?" I asked, now looking at Sai again.
"The standard ANBU training is six months," he answered. "But in your cases, having only just graduated from the academy, we've accounted for the possibility that it could take anywhere from three to seven years. Since it isn't reasonable to ask two un-expecting children to leave everything they know for seven years, we've decided that you'll spend that time in six month increments with at least two weeks spent here within any six month period. Your time in hiding will consist of training, and classified missions deemed to be within your abilities. Your time here will be considered classified until the day you both graduate. You'll arrive in secret and only immediate family will be informed of your arrival."
I took a moment to process this, as I'm sure Bree was doing the same.
"That sounds reasonable," I concluded. "When do we leave?"
"Your mother has already ensured both you and Bree's gear are here," Shikamari interjected. "You'll be issued ANBU gear in addition to that, so whatever personal effects that are not strictly necessary will be returned to her. Your father and Bree's mother have already been contacted and are being cleared for entry as we speak. We'll be leaving directly from this installation in exactly fifty-two minutes. We will be escorted to the edge of Konohagakure city by a team of four ANBU agents. At which point we will rendezvous with three additional squads who will escort us to the edge of Konohagakure controlled land. There we will leave the agents behind and disguise ourselves as refugees of the recent looting incidents that have been occurring as a result of the assassination of the Seventh Hokage. Any resistance we encounter will be eliminated with lethal force. Do either of you have any questions."
"When acting as refugees," I started. "Will we have a more comprehensive backstory than that?"
"You will both be given more thorough instructions on our way to non-friendly territory," Shikamari responded without skipping a beat.
"No more questions," I said, before looking at Bree expectantly.
Her face was more than enough to let me know she was in shock. I grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her in for a hug.
"It'll be okay," I told her gently. "Your mom will come see you off. We'll be trained by the best of the best. We'll be back every few months to visit. You'll be okay."
"O-okay," Bree said after a few seconds. "I can do this."
I released her from the embrace but remained holding her hand to keep her from panicking. She did not resist. A moment later, the sound of footsteps were heard outside and in came four more people. The two in front were Karin and my Father, each being guided by a fully masked ANBU agent. They each had a blank empty expression on their faces like they couldn't see. My Sharingan revealed that they were both under the effects of a Genjutsu.
"What happened to them?" I asked.
"They have both been place under a Genjutsu that prevents them from seeing or hearing, and from judging spatial dimensions," my mother explained. "It leaves their minds intact but prevents them from being able to remember any details of their trip here."
One of the ANBU agents closed the door before they both released each of their charges from the Genjutsu.
"Bree!" Karin exclaimed. "Are you alright?"
Bree ran to her mother and I tuned her out for a moment as I walked over to my parents.
"Father," I said softly. "Mother. I hope you can come to forgive me for leaving like this. I am honored by this opportunity and I'd be a fool to ignore it. Thank you for being supportive."
"You have nothing we need to forgive you for," my father said as a tear dripped down his cheek. "We are incredibly proud of you. We look forward to the next time we see you, whenever that may be."
"We love you Takachi," my mother added. "Now you have a lot of prep to do. And I know you've never been sentimental. So go get both you and Bree's gear ready, so she can have a few more minutes with her mother."
I nodded with a smile, though I wished I hadn't agreed with her. I leaned in and melted in my parents embrace for only a moment. I could no longer afford to be a child. Pulling away, I got Shikamari's attention and we quietly slipped out of the room.
"She'll be joining us shortly," I explained. "This life wasn't her choice."
"I understand," Shikamari sighed. "I have many friends who joined young. Most of them regret it. I'll do my best to make it bearable for both of you."
"Don't waste such efforts on me," I answered, clearing my still dry throat. "I can take whatever you have to dish out."
Shikamari snorted. I could tell she was skeptical of a nine year old being up to the challenge. I would just have to prove it to her.
"Where can I get some water?" I asked.
"Up ahead," she answered.
I followed my new sensei down the halls until we reach our destination, a room slightly larger than the hospital style room I'd been sleeping in. Inside were two full sets of ANBU gear. Next to those were personal effects of mine and Bree's. I immediately started sifting through mine. Finding a full canteen, I took a small drink, just enough to wet my dry, cracked throat. The only things I took of my original possessions, were the scroll written by my grandfather, the sword I received from my father, and a book that was left with a note from my mother. The note said 'Owls'.
With my items sorted, I began to remove my hospital garment and assemble my new ANBU garb. I pulled on the shirt and trousers first, followed by the armor. I found that there were eight small pockets mounted on the chest piece of the armor designed to hold miniature scrolls. There were also four additional pockets on the lower back portion of the armor designed for medium sized scrolls. It struck me as odd that they were empty before I notice a pile of scrolls laying on the floor. There were sixteen small scrolls and eight medium ones, enough to fill both Bree and I's twelve pockets.
"Storage Scrolls?" I asked curiously while gesturing.
"All the small ones are," my sensei answered. "Two of those larger ones are also. You'll need them for your gear."
I immediately discerned the purpose of the eight smaller scrolls in concert with the single large one. The small ones were called Rapid Scrolls, and would be used to replenish gear mounted on the body such as kunai or shuriken pouches, as well as for keeping smaller items that need to be more readily accessed. Each of the smaller ones could only be sealed or unsealed. Specific items could not be retrieved without emptying the entire thing. The larger one was a Survival Scroll. These scrolls could have anywhere from five, to fifty individual slots for storing individual items, but unlike the smaller ones which could be used instantly without opening them, this one had to be opened and a specific slot has to be selected before accessing the contents. My brief training on Fuinjutsu also reminded me of the gigantean battle scrolls. These scrolls were designed to store hundreds or thousands of items using a matrix that reacted to thought based summoning. All one had to do with one of those was think of the item they wanted and use a little Chakra. The complexity of these scrolls required them to be massive. I was grateful that these were not standard issue.
Inspection of the two Survival Scrolls revealed that they were rather advanced, and contained a full fifty slots. I claimed one for myself and began storing my various non-weapon items in it. For the smaller Rapid Scrolls, I rolled four of them open and made a few tiny changes to them, earning an interested stare from Shikamari.
"Where'd you learn to do that," she asked.
"My grandfather's scroll had a small section on Fuinjutsu," I admitted. "Nothing like what you'd see in an Uzumaki Seal Grimoire, but adequate for my needs."
The changes I made, caused the small scrolls to become Swap Scrolls, allowing one item to be exchanged for another. I marked my sword and tanto to be exchanged for my ANBU cloak, so that I wouldn't have to remove it for battle. I then marked my entire ANBU outfit, excluding the scrolls, so that they would be exchanged for a set of civilian clothing and a small back pack. The scrolls would be moved from the pockets on the armor to the small bag. Trying to seal a scroll inside another scroll, generally creates far more problems than is worth it. I tested the scroll for my cloak and swords first. The cloak seamlessly popped in and out of existence opposite the weapons mounted on my back. Next I tested the disguise scroll. Like with the first one, it worked flawlessly, allowing me to seamlessly switch between my ANBU attire and a civilian one. Leaving my armor and cloak on, I finished sealing my kunai refills in the other six Rapid Scrolls that I claimed for myself, and tucked all my scrolls, including the three empty, medium ones into their designated pockets.
Turning to the second set of gear, and the small pile of Bree's belongings, I searched for items I knew she would want. I included her art book and a set of pencils, before I began packing her survival items into the scroll as well. I marked all her gear with the same marks I used for my scrolls but I needed her to finish the sealing so I went back to my mask. I had expected an animal to be carved out of the mask, but instead it was blank. Holding it up to show Shikamari, I gave her a quizzical look.
"They all start out blank," she said. "The animal shape is chosen by the owner, and the colors appear due to their Chakra patterns. If you focus on a shape and pour your Chakra into it, it will complete itself. Once the face is done, put it on your face and it will mold itself to fit without straps."
I considered what shape I wanted for a moment, before remembering my interest in owls. I imagined the shape and focused my Chakra. The mask suddenly became warm and the front face began to contort like clay being molded. The end result was an owl like face with two purple lines crossing each eye hole. I then placed it on my face. I felt the warm material again start to change its shape, and after a moment, it no longer had to be held in place. Strangely enough, the mask was extremely comfortable, seemingly allowing my breaths to pass right through it. Bree walked in a moment after I finished my mask.
"I'm ready," she said with a small smile.
"I grabbed the only items I could think of for you," I said, smiling back at her. "Your book and some pencils, as well as those strange kunai."
"Kunai?" she asked. "Did they have a fire pattern on them?
"Yes," I confirmed.
"They were my fathers," she explained. "They react to his transformations, changing their shape to match."
"Sounds like they'll be a good addition to your arsenal," I said. "Now start putting your gear on. I have some scrolls to finish setting up."
Over the next few minutes, I repeated my previous process to allow Bree to alter her outfit as well. Once my work was done, I handed Bree her mask.
"Think of a shape and focus your Chakra," I commanded. "Then put it over your face."
She thought for a moment, then I saw her Chakra pour into the mask. After a moment, I recognized the shape of a relatively passive Oni with two horns on the forehead and toothed mouth closed. It had a flowing blue stripe that seemed to have no pattern for its path, making the mask look far less intimidating. She then placed the mask over her face as I had. Her breathing caught as the mask reshaped and startled her. After the mask finished we both stood up and faced our sensei in our full gear.
"Ready?" Shikamari asked.
"Ready," we confirmed in unison.
I took Bree's hand and led her out the door. Our new instructor joined us and began to lead us down the labyrinth of corridors that I realized must have been part of an underground complex. My theory was confirmed a moment later when we began to ascend a tall flight of spiral stairs. Atop the stairs was a small landing where four fully geared ANBU agents awaited us.
"Six minutes until departure Commander," a large male agent reported. "No adversaries detected on the route."
"Thank you Hitotsu," Shikamari answered. "Inform the forward team that we'll be leaving now."
"Yes ma'am," he answered.
The big man produced a Shadow Clone, which then immediately dispelled itself. In ten seconds he looked back at Shikamari.
"Confirmed," he said. "They are ready."
"Move out," she commanded.
They headed for the door at a brisk pace, while Bree and I followed close behind. I expected to see sunlight through the door, but there was only the pale light of the moon. We exited out into a narrow alleyway, and immediately took to the rooftops. We kept a fast pace, reaching the gate within ten minutes. There we found twelve additional ANBU agents hiding in the branches. Without a word between the two teams, we changed course and headed for the border. If it wasn't for my Sharingan, I never would have known the ANBU were in formation around us.
While we dashed through the trees, our sensei gave us our cover story. I would be called Kogi, and Bree would be called Gya. Shikamari herself would be called Issil. We were former citizens of the town of Frida, seeking shelter after bandits destroyed our home. We were given various mannerisms to practice, as well as a list of vocabulary to avoid using. We spent the last hour of hour journey being quizzed by Shikamari. She would ask us a question or start a conversation, and we would be expected to respond according to what she taught us. Once we had a grasp on our identities, she started asking us tactical questions. 'What if you're talking and haven't let anything slip, but the other person seems to be preparing for an attack?" Bree and I answered to the best of our knowledge, and accepted guidance where it was needed.
It took us nearly until dawn to reach the Konohagakure border. I could see the beginnings of light forming on the horizon as we left the tree line. As planned, Shikamari changed into a set of civilian clothing, while Bree and I activated our scrolls. With our disguises and our stories in order, we set off on the day long trip to our destination. As the sun rose into the sky, indicating morning, Bree and I practiced theoretical battle strategies played out for us by Shikamari. By noon, we were over half way finished with the trip. Unfortunately, that was also when we encountered our first problem.
"Be on guard you two," Shikamari said. "We are being followed. Do not forget, anyone who learns we are ninja cannot be allowed to recount their story."
We both nodded in answer.
"If we must fight," I whispered to Bree. "I want you to be ready to transform. You could probably handle bandits by yourself in that form, but if we're attacked by Shinobi, you'll need that form just to survive."
"Okay," she answered in the same hushed tone. "I'll be ready."
Moments later, we heard the sound of hooves following close behind. Less than a minute later we could hear voices.
"Hey there you three," one of them called out.
In order to avoid suspicion, we stopped and turned to look as six men on horses, rode up to us.
"What are you guys doing traveling without guards?" the same man asked with what I assumed to be an attempt at a charming smile.
"My sister's town was attacked by looters," Shikamari started. "She asked me to bring her kids the next town over so they can be safe. We'd welcome the company if you gentlemen are also traveling in this direction."
I stopped to admire my sensei's ability to fabricate such genuine answers to questions, but only for a moment. My attention was immediately pulled back to the six men, three of whom were staring intently at Bree, who cowered behind me slightly in response.
"Unfortunately not ma'am," the man said. "We're taking a different road up ahead. You guys would be wise to come with us. This road's crawling with all kinds of trash."
"We appreciate that," Shikamari answered. "But we're expected by days end and we'll be missed if we detour. I'll be careful in avoiding any danger."
"I really think you guys should listen to my friend here," one of the other men said as he jumped down from his mount. "He's been known to speak good sense once in a while."
The man began to approach us in a menacing stroll. The second he reached for the sword at his side, I started to reach for my scrolls. The only thing that stopped me was a subtle hand gesture from Shikamari. It was at that moment that I noticed six slowly crawling lines of shadow reaching out from where she stood. The man in front who was approaching us had already been caught, but hadn't noticed yet as his movement was being allowed. As soon as the last shadow reached its target, I released my breath.
"Gentlemen," my sensei said. "You have made a fatal mistake."
As she spoke, her hand reached into her bag and retrieved a pair of kunai.
"Sensei," I said, making her stop. "Wait. I have a better idea."
"Which would be?" she asked.
Instead of speaking my answer aloud, I simply activated my Sharingan and stepped to where she could see it.
"Do you think you can do it on all six of them?" she asked, mildly surprised.
"Yes," I said flatly. "But even if I didn't, would it matter? You could just kill them if it doesn't work."
Shikamari made an expression that said 'fair enough', before making a gesture to show I had her permission. I turned to the men with my Sharingan flashing. One by one, I caught them with eye contact until I had them all synchronized to my will. When I finished the last one, I began to weave a simple but powerful Genjutsu. My Sharingan reflected in each of their eyes momentarily while I altered their brains to conform to my wishes. When I finished, their eyes returned to normal, and they were lifted from their stupor.
"We really ought to get moving if we want to reach your destination before sunset," the man on the ground said."
"What did you do to them?" Bree asked.
"They believe that we hired them as guards for our journey," I said with a chuckle.
I watched as the shadows keeping each of them pinned retreated back to their master.
"Not bad," Shikamari said. "They could prove useful. And we're much less likely to get attacked now. Plus we have horses. This should cut some time off our journey. You do know we'll still have to kill them though."
"I figured as much," I answered with an indifferent shrug. "I was hoping to use them for more practice. My Genjutsu could use some work. This trick was effective, but it lacks elegance and used an incredible amount of my already dwindling Chakra."
"We'll see," she answered me with a smile. "Perhaps I'll let you keep one of them."
"That doesn't seem right," Bree said softly. "These may not be good men, but they don't deserve to be toyed with."
"Wrong," I said harshly before staring right at one of the three who had been staring at her. "What do you do for a living?"
"I capture or buy young girls from struggling villages and sell them to the highest bidder," the man said emotionlessly but without hesitation.
"And do you ever sample your merchandise?" I growled.
"Only on special occasions," he answered in the same tone as before.
"These men deserve far worse," I said darkly. "If they suffered every day for the rest of their lives, it still wouldn't be enough. I will make each one of these men wish they had never been born."
I could see tears welling in Bree's eyes as she stared angrily at the men she'd just protected. I decided to let her anger simmer by not bringing her comfort. There was a lesson to be learned here. These men were the vilest, most repulsive creatures ever born form human beings, but that didn't mean they couldn't be useful. I would practice my Genjutsu on them. I would use it to rewrite their minds so thoroughly that they could no longer remember anything about themselves. Then I would decide what to do with them.
With a mental command, one of the still mounted men jumped down and then back up onto a horse with one of the others. The man on the ground then did the same, leaving two horses unburdened. I carefully made eye contact with each of the horses as well, adding them to my Genjutsu and allowing me to command them more effectively.
"Excellent work Takachi," Shikamari praised as she mounted one of the two horses. "Let's get going."
I took a small jump and landed on the second horse. I held out a hand to Bree who took it and clambered onto the horse behind me.
"I think you're right," she whispered. "But I'm scared of what torturing them might do to you."
"Don't worry about me," I said soothingly. "I know how to keep myself sane."
At my urging, the horses all started down the road in our previous direction of travel. We all stayed quiet for the next hour. We would occasionally see a traveler, but there were no more incidents. The Genjutsu I placed the men and horses under did not require a constant flow of Chakra as it was more similar to brainwashing. Instead of keeping them under the illusion, I created thoughts and memories for them. It wasn't so thorough that they wouldn't eventually break free, and it certainly never would have worked on Shinobi, but it would keep them under my control for a few more hours at least.
"We're almost there," Shikamari told us. "Only another kilometer or so."
"That's a relief," Bree said, adjusting uncomfortably in the saddle. "I don't care for horse riding."
I laughed softly but said nothing. We'd covered the remaining three hours of the journey in only one thanks to the horses. After a moment more on the road, Shikamari stopped us and veered off into the tree line. The horses followed without question thanks to my conditioning. A little more than half a kilometer into the forest, we found a small concrete building with a metal door. It was old, easily over 30 years. Shikamari stopped and dismounted her horse, then instructed Bree and I to do the same.
"This was one of Orochimaru's old hideouts," she explained. "We have since removed its contents and converted it into a safe house for the ANBU. Only the three of us, Director Sai, and the current Hokage know of its exact location. We will be safe here."
"I hope it's less dreary than when it still belonged to Orochimaru," I muttered.
"Lights have been added and the rooms have been reasonably furnished," she answered plainly. "I think you'll find this to be a livable space. Now, I think it's time to deal with our uninvited guests."
"Perhaps," I said. "This did used to essentially be a prison though. I'm sure we could find a place to keep them."
"Do you intend to use them to better yourself?" she asked.
"I do," came my reply.
"Very well," she said. "Bring them inside. Release the horses, but ensure that they never go back to where they came from."
It struck me as odd that she wanted me to release them instead of killing them, but I then noticed that she said that while looking at Bree. It was for Bree's benefit, not the horses. As requested I made a small adjustment to the horses mental conditioning that allowed them to leave, but never return where they came from. I slightly coveted their newfound freedom, but at the same time I reveled in the power that I had to grant it. At the conclusion of the Jutsu, I gasped as a stabbing pain shot through my abdomen. My Sharingan flickered out of existence and my vision darkened around the edges. Just when I thought I would pass out like before, the pain subsided and my vision returned to me. Bree had come to me as soon as I gasped and tried to speak to me. It came out garbled to me however, my hearing sounding like my ears were filled with mud.
"Are you okay?" she asked, me being able to properly hear it for the first time.
"Better now," I grunted as I returned to a standing position. "Too many Genjutsu."
"You should be more careful," she scolded.
"I'm okay now," I said. "Let's go in."
The six men had already dismounted and were awaiting my instruction as their horses walked off into the forest. Bree and I walked through the door after Shikamari. The six prisoners followed me in, unable to resist their brainwashing. As promised, the hallways were well lit and revealed a multitude of doors along each corridor.
"Where can we find a prison cell of some kind?" I asked.
"That's where we're going," Shikamari answered.
We followed for a few minutes before reaching a large chamber that was more dimly lit than the others. Inside were dozens of cells all under the control of a panel at the top where we were. My sensei flipped six switches and six of the cells opened with a buzz. I directed the six men to climb down the ladder into the pit and enter their respective cells.
"Well," I said. "That's done."
"Indeed," Shikamari said. "I can give you more lessons in a few days. In the meantime, the two of you should get some rest."
"How long will the provisions last?" I asked
"This safe house was designed to house up to three-hundred ANBU for up to five years," she explained. "The provisions will likely outlast us."
"Why so much?" Bree asked in amazement.
"The ANBU created this place twenty-five years ago to serve as a top secret forward base in case of subsequent invasion," Shikamari explained. "The fear was that due to the war, other countries might decide that we would be weakened enough to overwhelm. The chance of this happening with the Kage Alliance was miniscule, but nevertheless present. But as predicted, no attack ever came. And the base was never used."
"That makes sense I guess," Bree replied.
"Turned out to be useful after all," I added.
Shikamari nodded and led us out of the prison area. Several corridors later, we reached a massive chamber. This room was some kind of training area. On the far side of the room were three open doors. Climbing down the stairs to the training floor revealed just how huge it really was. The ceiling was twenty-five meters over our heads, and the floor was over one-hundred meters on each side.
"Your rooms are through those doors at the end," Shikamari said. "You guys are free to explore, but don't get lost. No printed maps were ever made so if you wander off, it would be wise to make a mental note of your path."
"Can we make our own map?" I asked.
"You may," she answered. "But don't let it leave the compound."
I nodded and started towards the rooms at the other side of the training field. The ceiling was completely unsupported, making me question what techniques were used to strengthen the materials. It took almost two minutes at my leisurely pace to reach the doors. I only gave my choice in room a passing thought before entering the door on the left. The inside of the room was just as exaggeratedly large as the indoor training field. It would have actually been easier to compare it to a moderate house. Even though Shikamari had referred to it as a room, it actually contained several rooms as well as a central living area. The furnishings were modest but comfortable.
"If I'd known we'd have this much space," I heard Bree's voice in the doorway. "I'd have been less frugal with my packing."
"I think I might have too," I agreed. "But I'm exhausted. I don't know about you, but I'm going to sleep."
"Can I sleep in here?" she asked timidly.
"Sure," I yawned. "It's not as though we're short on space."
"Thanks."
I sauntered into the room with the large empty bed in it, removed my armor, and collapsed. Rolling over onto my back. I stared at the ceiling. The bed bounced next to me as Bree did the same.
"Good night," I slurred as my vision darkened.
"Good night," Bree answered as the last vestiges of my hearing vanished.
Unlike the last time I woke up, I got all my senses back at once. I found myself instantly alert. The sound of savage shrieking sounded next to me on the bed. I dove off the bed and activated my Sharingan. Bree had halfway transformed into her monstrous form. I couldn't see the natural energy plaguing her body, but I could see her Chakra darken and surge with power. Without hesitation, I leapt on an arching trajectory and landed over top my friend. Getting onto my knees and gripping what was left of her collar with both hands, I pulled her face in range of mine and blasted her with the strongest Genjutsu I could muster. Instantly, her convulsions ceased and her body began to transform back into itself.
"Do you have this?" I heard the voice of my Sensei in the door.
"Yes," I said, panting. "Thank you for not interfering."
Shikamari said nothing else as she walked out of my area. A moment later, Bree was completely back to normal.
"Did I…?" she asked, unable to finish her question.
"Yeah," I said rolling off her and onto the bed. "But it's fine."
She sat up and I noticed just how damaged her shirt was. The tattered remnants left the bare skin of her back exposed. I averted my enhanced vision.
"You might want to grab a new shirt," I said. "I think I'm gonna sleep some more. That was abrupt."
"It's fine," she answered. "I can get one later. I'm tired too."
I felt her pull a blanket from the foot of the bed over herself.
"Besides," she added. "It doesn't really matter. We're a team. If we never saw each other naked, I'd be surprised."
I looked over at her, searching for signs of jest. I found none. It also occurred to me that yet another near death experience just happened, and yet we just lay back down like nothing happened. Despite my desire for sleep however, my suddenly wide awake body solidly prevented that from happening. My eyes opened again, followed by my Sharingan activating.
"I can't sleep," I said as I turned to look at Bree.
Her eyes were still wide open.
"Me either," she agreed. "Train?"
"Sure," I said. "How long did we sleep?"
"It feels like a long time," she said. "I don't really know though."
We both sat up and stretched. I tried my best to avoid looking in her direction as her shredded shirt really left nothing to the imagination. I stood and walked over to the dresser in the corner of the room. Inside I found a variety of clothing, including some of the sleeveless ANBU shirts. I tossed one to Bree. She caught it and replaced her damaged one with it.
I checked my Chakra levels to try and get an indication of how long we'd slept. As far as I could tell, I was completely back at full strength, so it had to have been at least eight hours. I decided to leave my armor off as I was planning on practicing my new elemental release. With Bree more modestly dressed, we walked out into the massive chamber that was our training field. Each of us found some space and began working on personal projects. Bree was working on her earth release, while I started on my own nature ability.
Again, I started by creating the little green ball. Then I changed its shape. First I made a needle. Then I tried to make it into a flat square. I then made it into a shuriken. Controlling the shape was incredibly taxing, both Chakra wise and focus wise. While I still had plenty of Chakra, if I had to learn this in increments of forty minutes a day, it would take decades. I had to find a way to make this take less Chakra, or get more Chakra for myself. I decided to think on the issue while I worked on my Lightning Release.
My lightning Release was a far more rewarding focus. While my Chakra levels were mediocre at best, my Chakra control allowed me to perform Lightning Jutsu without too much issue. I still had yet to start learning the Chidori, but I could feel that I was almost ready to try it. Bree became momentarily distracted from her Earth Release when I summoned a lightning bolt that shot up into the ceiling, leaving a charred hole in the chiseled rock.
"I thought you were working on your new element," she called as she approached.
"I was," came my response. "I've hit a snag."
"Which is?" she inquired.
"It still takes too much Chakra to maintain the shapes," I explained. "I just tried to do the same thing as before, and it sucked down a tenth of my Chakra in two minutes. I could never maintain that."
"So what are you going to do?" she pressed her questioning.
"I'm going to think," I said with a shrug. "Until I come up with a solution, this ability is more likely to exhaust or kill me, rather than provide me an asset."
"What part takes too much Chakra?" she asked, suddenly more excited.
I opened my mouth to answer her but then closed it again. It took me a moment to figure out where the drain came from.
"The creation of a construct does take a lot," I started. "But that is only needed one time. Keeping the construct from fizzling out of existence is a different matter. It drains my Chakra at rates you would only expect from Jonin level abilities."
"So how can you make it not need Chakra to maintain?" she asked.
"I'm not sure," came my answer. "But that narrows my focus a bit. Thanks."
We stayed out for another hour, Bree practicing her earth, while I eventually changed over to work on my fire. When we saw Shikamari exit her room on the far right, we both stopped and started to head in her direction.
"Your pets need some attention," she told me as I walked up. "You should probably feed them or they'll die."
Bree grimaced at the use of the word, "pets," but otherwise said nothing.
"I'll bring some rations to them in a moment," I said. "What did you need?"
"Just came to check on you guys," she answered. "I didn't expect you guys to be back at it this soon."
"We're fine," I said "I just ran into a problem with my new nature."
"What kind of problem?" our sensei asked. "Maybe I can help."
I focused my Chakra and caused the little green ball to appear.
"It's no wonder you had Chakra deprivation," Shikamari said, a shocked expression on her face. "How long can you maintain that?"
"Not long," I answered as I let the ball disappear again. "Speaking of which, I thought I was supposed to get stimulants to help treat my condition."
"You are," she confirmed as she tossed me a small plastic bottle. "You haven't needed them yet because the doctors at the village gave you a huge slow release dose already. That's why you've been so energized."
"I see," same my frowning reply. "But what are your thoughts on my nature?"
"Well," she said with a thoughtful expression. "The Chakra you're using has an inherent stability for sure. Otherwise it wouldn't maintain a solid form. It would seem that it only needs the tiniest push and it would hold its shape on its own. Can you change its shape at all?"
"Almost infinitely," I answered. "But it doesn't help me if I can't keep it active."
"Actually," she started. "I think your ability to change its shape is the key. That's the only thing that lacks complete stability. If you find a way to remove the constructs ability to change shape, you'll remove its last instability. Sounds like you need to invent a whole new technique. I'll get you a book."
"Thank you Sensei," I said. "I should go take care of our guests."
She nodded and walked away as usual, leaving me with only Bree and my thoughts.
"Was that helpful?" my friend asked. "Her advice?"
"Immensely," I answered. "I just have to figure out how."
With a shrug, she went back over to where she had been working on making what looked like a small house using only her Jutsu. Had I not been so preoccupied with my thoughts, I would have taken a moment to be impressed. As it was, I walked out of the massive underground chamber and retraced my steps back to the prison where the six men were. Before I was even close to the other large room, I could hear them screaming through the bars of their cells. Arriving in the room, I leapt down to the floor of the pit, ignoring the ladder. Their screams ended immediately.
"You didn't think I forgot about you," I said menacingly with my Sharingan flaring. "On the contrary, you are all very important to me."
"What the hell is this you little brat?" one of them shouted.
"Let us out and we'll let you die quickly," another added.
I raised my hands and they again became silent.
"You all have two choices," I said. "You can sit in those cells and starve. After which I'll leave your corpses to rot. Or, you can agree to submit yourselves to full mental reconditioning, and become my servants. I'll be back in one hour with food. If you refuse my generous offer of servitude, I will leave it here where I stand and you'll never see me again. If you accept, you will be fed, and tomorrow your conditioning begins. Your choice gentlemen."
Without another word, or even acknowledging their resumed cries of panic or their threats, I leapt back up to the level above and left the prison.
"Why ask them to submit?" came the voice of Shikamari out of the shadows. "Genjutsu does not require a voluntary victim."
"I don't intend to control them with Genjutsu," I explained. "My intention is to rewrite their minds with Genjutsu over several days. Their minds will be forever lost in a sea of memories and ideas placed there by me."
"I see," came her only reply.
I half expected her to object to my dark intentions, but she actually seemed impressed. As we walked, my sensei presented me with an old leather bound book entitled, "Secrets of the Hands."
"What's this?" I asked, accepting the book and inspecting its cover.
"That is a book on hand seals and Chakra control," she answered. "It will give you all the information you need to create a Jutsu. Though it may take you several years to successfully master its secrets."
"Thank you sensei," I said appreciatively.
She made an acknowledging sound but said nothing. Flipping the book open, I skimmed through the first few pages with my Sharingan. While I could perceive the writing itself faster than with my normal eyes, my mind could only ingest so much information at once. I found my sensei's words about the process potentially taking years to be fairly close to accurate. A few more moments of skimming later, I noticed that my sensei had led me to an unfamiliar hallway. At the end of the long corridor, was another large room, though it lacked the high ceilings of the prison or the training field. The room's purpose became obvious to me when I saw the many columns and aisles of shelves running up and down the room. At least two-hundred scrolls sat upon each of them.
"Wow," I breathed, wide eyed and otherwise speechless.
"Yeah," Shikamari said. "I discovered that five year thing might have been a slight downplay. Then I remembered that the team set to work on this project was given five years to prepare it, and a budget of three billion yen. I'm pretty sure that they ran out of things to do after the first year. The rest of the funds had to have gone into this insanity."
"I can see that," came my reply, still shocked.
"The rations section is over there," she added, pointing to a line of shelves along the left hand wall. "If you can call them rations."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked looking up at her.
"Just grab a scroll and you'll see," she said, shaking her head disapprovingly.
I curiously approached the line of shelves and retrieved one of hundreds of scrolls. Placing it on the floor and unrolling it, I found that the seals were more similar to Survival Scrolls. I didn't feel the need to unravel it all the way to see how many slots it had, but I could tell that it was likely comparable, to my own scroll. Placing my hand on one of the seals, I allowed a tiny amount of Chakra to pour into the cloth. With a pop and a puff of smoke, a bowl of gourmet ramen appeared. From the steam rising from it, I could tell that not only was it still hot, it was freshly made. I looked over at my sensei with a confused expression, and she shrugged her shoulders. Turning back to the food, I retrieved the chopsticks next to the bowl and took a curious bite. It was just as good as it looked.
"All these scrolls cannot possibly contain gourmet food," I said through a mouthful of noodles, suddenly realizing how hungry I was.
"I checked six before I gave up thinking that," Shikamari answered with a laugh.
I was in disbelief. Finally finishing the bowl, it took every ounce of willpower not to pop open another seal. I rolled the scroll back up and tucked it under my arm with the book my sensei had given me. I decided I would bring Bree breakfast.
"I'm going to go feed Bree," I said. "Then I'm going to go taunt my pets with food."
Shikamari nodded. We exited the storeroom together and headed back down the hallway. Shikamari turned off into one of the passages to the left while I continued on towards the training field. Upon arriving I was greeted by a huge tremor and an impressive site. Bree had completely recreated the exterior of the Hokage mansion out of stone, serving to accentuate just how large the underground chamber really was.
"This is the second time I've been surprised today," I said as I approached, trying, and failing, to tear my eyes away from the stone masterpiece. "I got you breakfast."
I held a hand out to present the food scroll to my friend as I continued to study the detailed construction.
"Thanks I'm starving," she answered, snatching the scroll away. "What's in this?"
I finally managed to look away long enough to see Bree studying the various sealing slots on the scroll.
"Just open one and find out," I encouraged.
With a shrug, she placed the scroll on the ground, as I had done only a few minutes before, and placed a hand over top of it. With a familiar flash of my friend's Chakra, a puff of smoke, and a small pop, a bowl of something that looked like eggs rice and meat appeared. From the look on Bree's face, it wasn't hard for me to figure out she'd been expecting rations.
"What the…" she said, her voice trailing off.
I smirked at her as she looked up at me.
"Are you gonna eat that or not?" I asked. "Cause I'm still a bit hungry."
My jab snapped her out of her stupor, and she began eating excitedly.
"Is all the food like this?" she asked through a mouthful of food.
"As far as we found," I answered with a nod.
Without speaking the rest of the time, she finished the bowl and leaned back on her arms.
"That was good," she said. "Why is there hot food inside scrolls?"
"We don't know either," I answered. "But the storeroom has hundreds, if not thousands of scrolls just like this one."
Bree shook her head in disbelief.
"Does this have an interior?" I asked, gesturing at the massive stone building.
"Not yet," she admitted. "I've only seen the outside."
"Well don't let me stop you," I said, taking a step back. "This is only going to improve your skill."
Bree nodded appreciatively and went back to her work of tweaking and sculpting. I watched her Chakra flow carefully to see how her control was doing, but stopped after I noticed that she was almost perfectly efficient. I resigned to watching her work until I remembered the book under my arm. Placing it in front of me and opening it, I started to read the book that would unlock the secrets of my new element. It started out with some basic charts and explanations of how Chakra flows, and how it can be influenced. Next came the hand seals. An introductory explanation of the general effect that hand seals had on Chakra flow revealed nothing new to me. I'd seen most of these effects by watching other people use Jutsu with my Sharingan active. But the ability to use the same hand seal for different purposes confused me, so I kept reading. Almost a half hour later, I'd finished the first section of the first chapter. I had acquired more knowledge than I'd been expecting and decided to take a break.
"I'm going to bring food to those men," I called to Bree.
She didn't respond but I knew she'd heard me by the motion she made with her hand. I got up and trotted back towards the prison. I arrived almost perfectly at the hour mark.
"I hope you've all come to a decision," I said as I leapt to the floor. "What'll it be gentlemen?"
"We accept," all but one said.
"What about you," I asked, approaching the man's cage.
"Screw you," he said.
"Suit yourself," I said. "You can't change your mind later."
I placed the food scroll on the floor and retrieved five bowls of assorted foods that I cared too little about to inspect. The men appeared grateful though I knew they would definitely bite the hand feeding them if given the opportunity.
"Wise decision for you five," I said. "Your friend will not be so fortunate. After he dies from starvation or dehydration, I'll come move the body so you don't have to suffer from his misfortune. Oh, and if anyone feeds him, I'll make sure that person dies in more pain than any of you have ever felt in your lives."
I didn't wait to hear their replies. Leaping out of the pit and walking out of the room, I made my way back to the storeroom to see what other resources I could find. Entering the massive shelved area, I began to walk up and down the aisles, scanning each scroll. I stopped when I found shelves that seemed to have weapons in their scrolls. I found scrolls filled with kunai, shuriken, senbon, and a few other less common throwing weapons. I grabbed a scroll that said kunai and opened it. I placed it on the floor, and activated one of its seals. A stack of about fifty kunai appeared with the standard pop and smoke. I reactivated the seal and allowed the weapons to re-enter the scroll. After rolling it back up, I tucked it under my arm and kept looking. I stopped briefly at a scroll containing explosive tags, but dismissed them due to the lack of stealthy options for them. Finding nothing else of immediate interest, I headed back to the training field. Bree was sitting on top of her monstrous construction, panting, as I entered.
"Hey!" she called excitedly. "I did an interior. I don't know how accurate it is since I've never seen it."
"Let's take a look," I called back. "I have some books I want to read. Maybe it'll be a nice change of scenery."
"You're always reading," she pouted, leaping down from the structure.
"I have to invent a Jutsu," I justified. "Come read with me."
She didn't answer but continued hopping down and then fell into step beside me as I headed for my room.
"What book?" she asked.
"The one my mother gave to me about Owls," I said.
"What about owls?" she asked, reminding me that I hadn't told her about them.
"I've been searching for a summoning contract," I started. "Owls apparently have the ability to teach a version of Sage Mode, and I plan to find where they've been hiding. My mother searched through the restricted section of the library for me."
"I see," she answered. "But why someone so elusive? Don't the toads and snakes also teach it?"
"They do," I admitted. "But the toads would never teach an Uchiha. And I don't trust the snakes. I'm sure I could look else ware, but this seemed like a worthwhile challenge."
She laughed when I said, "challenge."
"Okay," she agreed. "I'll read with you. Maybe they'll teach me too."
We headed into the house Bree constructed, found a place to get to work, and started studying.