Title: The Everlasting Sins
Rating: Rated T.
Pairings: Canon pairings for Naruto, along with slight NaruHina near the very end of the story.
Genre: Adventure.
Summary: A sin lasts forever, even if other things do not. Naruto's debilitating disease doesn't, nor does his hatred. His past, however, forever continues to follow him. Smart, powerful Naruto. Rewritten in collaboration with The Sin of Justice, the original author.
Regarding Q&A: Any questions regarding the story can be asked via PM or review to either me or The Sin of Justice.
Beta: N/A—Help wanted.
Warnings: Language, violence, and moderate blood/gore.
Category: Naruto and Fullmetal Alchemist crossover.
Uploaded: April 15th, 2013
Key:
"Normal dialogue."
Thoughts—for everyone, including Bijū.
/Mental conversations./
Please note that Bijū cannot "speak" unless their host is inside of the seal, and please enjoy the story!
(Section Break)
"Let's head to our new temporary home then, shall we?" Edward asked cheerfully, stacking up all of the boxes he had made from anything that he didn't feel like remaking. "You have your belongings, don't you?"
"Yeah," Naruto replied, standing up and coughing. "Are you sure it's okay for me to travel in this condition? Especially since it's raining..."
"Rain doesn't make you sick," Edward replied, stacking the boxes. "That's just a wives' tale, something mothers tell their children when they want their kid to do something. I'm not sure if you've had much experience with those, though."
Naruto shook his head. "Kurama is going to wake up soon, I think. He's been really tired since we came here."
"It's to be expected," Ed sighed. "Kurama's chakra was being sucked when I was doing the treatment. It was involuntarily, of course, since your body automatically tries using chakra to heal your injuries. That's an Uzumaki trait right there, by the way. Yours, of course, was like an energy-sucker on your body, but Kurama's more potent chakra wasn't being sucked like your own. I ended up having to constantly push Kurama's chakra out of the way of trying to heal your body to its original state. It caused no side effects for you, but Kurama was probably dead tired after I finished. I'm surprised he hasn't woken up already, though. Perhaps it's because his chakra can't regenerate since the seal is restricting him."
"Kurama did mention that the only chakra he got was the leftover chakra that lingered in the air after Natsuki did techniques." Naruto shrugged. "Either way, he's stirring more than before."
"No problems with that, I guess," the alchemist replied, making a quick cart appear out of the ground below the boxes. "Let's go, then. I can sense Konoha ninja about a day away from here. No doubt they're more cautious than normal this time, though. I can also sense ninja in the port town. I'm not aware what they're doing here, though. It could be more Konoha ninja, but I'm not sure. Their chakra was suppressed to that of a civilian until they arrived, so I didn't catch them."
"How can you sense chakra?" Naruto asked, stepping out of the door. "I don't recall you saying you were a ninja, or even a sensor-type civilian."
"Kid, by all rights here, I am a civilian," Edward laughed. "I have normal, civilian-level chakra. I am identical to any other non-ninja out there."
"How do you sense it, then?" the Jinchūriki pressed.
"Magic," Edward replied dryly. "You can learn it too. I'm not making you into a ninja, I'm—probably, mind you—making you into an alchemist. Ninja are overrated anyway. I'd say throwing shuriken requires more unnecessary effort than throwing a knife."
The smaller blonde frowned but nodded, walking towards the boat that the older blonde kept on the far side of the island. "Where are we going, anyway?"
"Nami no Kuni, the Land of the Waves," Edward answered, hoisting his stuff into the boat, which teetered. "It's currently heading towards a road that doesn't look too aspiring, since one of the shipping companies has its eyes on them. After a while, they won't be able to afford ninja, so we can practice without any suspicion from places closer to ninja villages."
"But I thought the Land of the Waves bordered Hi no Kuni, the Land of Fire?" Naruto said, confused.
"Yes, but the Hidden Leaf Village, Konohagakure—the ninja center of the Land of Fire—is in the middle of the of the country. That means they can't sense us even with the strongest sensor-type in the world unless they get a mission that comes near Nami no Kuni." Edward grinned mischievously. "We're fine. Besides, this means we can stock up on the way there. I haven't really any food, you know."
"You have money, though, right?" the demon container inquired, looking doubtful.
"Nope!"
Naruto sighed. The sight of the older's grin did nothing to help soothe him.
(Section Break)
"The ninja that were a day out of Uzushiogakure, the Land of the Whirlpools, are in the port town now, same with the ninja that was already there," Edward suddenly announced as they sat down for a rest. "They're chakra is all bunched together—it's too far to see clearly—but I can definitely tell that they're not fighting each other. Their chakra would be fluctuating. Konoha is still searching."
"They won't find me though, right?" Naruto asked. "Minato doesn't know about you outside of the mission report."
"Ah, well, he might," Ed admitted, grimacing. "I was right outside Iwagakure, the Hidden Rock Village, at the time of the Third Shinobi War. I was a 'refugee' once I left when the war got bad. However, Suna ninja were searching through the refugee camps for shinobi trying to escape—cowards, basically. I think that could have also pertained to Sunagakure, the Village Hidden in the Sand, doing so awful during the war. Konohagakure, being in an alliance of sorts with Suna, helped out when the main band of Suna ninja searching the camps was attacked by several Iwagakure ANBU who were assigned to help keep the refugees safe after Iwagakure became a war zone." Edward sighed. "The ANBU didn't leave, though, and attacked again. A large battle occurred in the camp I had to decided to travel with; safety in numbers, you know. I don't fancy being interrogated by Kirigakure—the Hidden Mist Village—or Kumogakure—the Hidden Cloud Village—ninja if I were to travel by myself. In any case, the crossfire that Konohagakure's team was outputting was very bad. Many civilians were getting hurt. I think a few died, too. Either way, I wouldn't exactly let people die. The site became a small war before it became much larger. It slowly expanded and became another place that the main forces were attacking in. I watched the entire time. I think I accidentally let myself be seen, though. Your father, the Hokage, found me."
Naruto listened as he set up the camp. Disguised as a merchant's makeshift home for the night, the plan was to not seem like a random immortalised blonde and the Yondaime Hokage's son.
The alchemist laid his head in his hand after the blanket was laid out. "He was very suspicious. Very nearly took me into custody, in fact. I think I proved too much trouble, though, and he ordered someone to kill me. They tried, of course. However, one of the Sunagakure ninja—one of the very last, in fact—recognised me from their childhood. They asked for my name, so I answered truthfully. I think they nearly died of shock," Edward chuckled. "They told the Hokage. At that point, they used one of their Yamanaka ninja to search through my memories. The Yamanaka nodded when the Hokage inquired if what the Sunagakure ninja asked, but more Iwagakure and some Kumogakure forces came and interrupted them. The slaughter was incredible. The blood could be smelled from miles away." He chuckled bitterly. "I ended up having to injure some ninja to leave. I'm not going to be in the middle of a war again. After that, I traveled to the ruins of Uzu."
Edward glanced towards Naruto, who had collapsed in the tent halfway through his story. At least he knows I'm not out to betray him. Without Kurama's constant reassurance, I'm not sure how stable his decision-making is.
Ed yawned and shook his head. I guess I'll go to sleep, too. If anything happens, at least neither of us will die.
(Section Break)
"Nothing?" Ao asked. Yuki shook her head.
"Damn," Natsu cursed, sighing. "The only thing I could find out was that every month or so a large influx of people come and buy supplies for the month due to new stock arriving. It'd be very easy to slip in at that time."
"I suppose it's something," Ao murmured. "Good job, Natsu."
Natsu shrugged lightly, still a bit sad. "We can stay here a few more days. After that, we'll investigate Uzushiogakure's ruins."
"You bet," Yuki muttered, glancing uneasily in the direction of the port. "It's unfortunate we're not sure if he's gone yet."
"He's gone, alright," a voice hissed, causing all three of them to jump and pull out their weapons, then relax slightly.
"Damn it, Orochimaru, you scared me again," Ao sighed, filing away his weapon. "Seriously, man, stop doing that!"
"My apologies," Orochimaru replied, smirking. "I just checked the island. Information gathering through people is not as much of my forte as investigating the environment does. He's not there, nor is there much trace of him."
"So we can head over there?" Yuki inquired, tilting her head. "I just hope that there are no traps."
"None as far as I could tell," Orochimaru responded. "Shall we go right now?"
"Sounds good to me," Natsu answered, stretching her arms. "C'mon, team."
"You're not the leader of this team, Natsu," Yuki huffed.
"I'm not so sure about that," Natsu replied playfully. "In any case, let's go investigate."
(Section Break)
They're on Uzushiogakure now, Edward thought. No going back there anymore, I guess.
Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, Ed looked over at the sleeping kid. "Awake yet, Kurama?" he murmured softly.
/Shut up,/ the Kyūbi replied, moaning. /We're not on Uzu now, are we?/
"Nope," the alchemist responded, yawning again. "We're about a third through the Land of Fire. We're heading to the Land of the Waves."
/Isn't that another island?/ Kurama asked.
"Yeah," Ed confirmed, nodding. "Four more days and I can start making a new place to live until it's time to move again. It's also remote enough to train without issue."
/That's good, I suppose. If we're not going to be disturbed, I can easily gather more chakra. Besides, my chakra's jailor is becoming a ninja, so gathering leftover chakra of mine that has accidentally mingled with hers will make it very easy for me to gain my power back more quickly./ The fox blinked lazily. /I'm too tired still. I'll be fine in a couple more days./
"That's good, I suppose," Edward replied, mimicking Kurama. "Get to sleep. Next time you wake up, we'll probably be there.
The Kyūbi made a small hum of agreement before re-adjusting himself and dozing off.
(Section Break)
"See that?" Edward asked, pointing to the island through the fog. "That's the Land of the Waves. Not all of it is inhabited, so we can find somewhere to build underground before anyone even sees us."
After a few long minutes, the two of them stepped upon shore. Nobody looked their way and nobody noticed them. "Which way?" Naruto asked.
"Into town first, I think," Ed replied, looking down the long path. "There's a plaza that way, it seems."
Walking into the town was very odd for Naruto. Everyone was a little bit downtrodden and nervous. Did someone get killed? he wondered.
"Remember, this town is heading down an unfortunate path that will probably take effect within the next couple years. This is the stage where people are noticing that prices are going up and their salaries are going down, plus I can feel something else going on. They're likely realising the reality of the situation right now," Edward informed.
Naruto nodded in understanding. "You said we're going somewhere outside of the main village?"
"Yes, and I believe it's best to do that now before anyone remembers us," the alchemist replied, looking around. "This way."
The young blonde tore his eyes away from a woman who was sighing as she glanced at the small amount of money in her hand and looking longingly at a necklace towards Ed, who was pointing to the east side of the island. "Once we're there," the older one of the two said, "I'll make the entrance first and we can move our things inside. After that, I want you to observe what I'm doing and see if you can discern anything from my movements, calculations, et cetera."
"I understand," Naruto nodded, "but I don't know anything about alchemy."
"That's the point, isn't it?" Edward grinned. "I want to see if you can figure anything out just by observation. If I repeat doing something in a particular fashion and how that may help me and the like. Just because you know nothing of alchemy doesn't mean your mind doesn't instinctively pick up on body language, which includes movements when performing alchemy. It's just a matter of processing it."
Naruto nodded his head again, but made no further comments. I wonder if he's just trying to keep me occupied.
/He has a point, kid,/ Kurama mumbled, voice laden with sleep. Naruto jumped slightly, causing Edward to look back at him.
"Kurama awake?" Ed asked, laughing at Naruto's surprised expression.
"Seems so," he replied, sighing.
/In any case, he has a point, Naruto./ The Kyūbi yawned. /Are we at the Land of the Waves yet?/
/Yes,/ Naruto answered, his heartbeat and speech patterns normal again. /We're going towards a location to build a new temporary home./
/Another underground one, Edward?/ the Kyūbi inquired. Naruto could feel the fox's attention shift towards the alchemist.
"Yup. It's easier and you get caught less, don't you know," Edward responded, tilting his head back as they walked. "Besides, we need a lot of room."
/I heard you had an interesting method that you use when you acknowledge students,/ Kurama said, changing the subject a bit. /Do you need the room for that?/
"No, actually," Ed replied. "I send my could-be students somewhere entirely different for that. We need the room in case the kid here actually passes that test when he fully recovers, which should be fairly soon, maybe in a week."
/You send them somewhere?/
"Yeah. And I think Naruto's getting a little fed up with you talking through his head to me," Edward said with a grin.
/My Jinchūriki can deal with it,/ Kurama muttered, slinking back from Naruto's consciousness. /Carry on./
Naruto sighed.
(Section Break)
"Well, I guess you weren't wrong," Yuki sighed, looking over at the snake-like man. "Do we know the exact location he was staying in? Perhaps there's something there."
"Just checked there," Ao murmured, walking over to them. "Shall we take a break?"
"Sounds good to me," Natsu inputted. "There's some shade a little bit to the east."
The group of four walked towards the east before sitting down in the cool shade of a pillar that had fallen onto a building. "I do have to wonder why nobody's over come here before," Orochimaru muttered, looking around. "There could have been valuable information here, plus it was the Lord Hokage's wife's birthplace."
"No favouritism, maybe?" Yuki suggested. "But that wouldn't explain the information part."
"It's probably nothing," Ao said. "In any case, did anyone find anything?"
"I found a couple of writings, but it was in the main part of the buildings and was just part of what appeared to be a museum," Natsu replied, scratching his head. "The only other stuff was completely illegible."
"I found a disturbance in the ground near where the hideout was supposed to be, but there wasn't anything I could do with it. It was facing the port, though, so it's safely assumed that the Lord Hokage's son and the other one went to the town nearby before going somewhere," Yuki volunteered. "And you, Ao?"
"Only that there were a few wheel tracks near the dock. They were probably transporting their items, or in the worst case scenario, the man was carrying the Lord Hokage's son away," Ao replied. "Captain?"
Orochimaru chuckled. "I took the liberty of going into where the hideout should have been before Ao did. Everything was put back like the ground was completely natural. The only problem was that the ground was a bit less dense than the other ground around it, so I would expect that if the man is indeed a ninja, he is a doton—earth—user."
"Not a whole lot, then," Ao summarised. "We'll search through the town once again and ask everyone in the town if they recognise him."
"Sounds good," Yuki replied, nodding her head.
(Section Break)
"Notice anything?" Edward asked, standing back up and brushing dust off of his clothes.
"As long as you touch the earth, whether it be the ground or the wall or anything, you can use alchemy," Naruto concluded, walking around and inspecting what was done. He ran his hand over the smooth walls. "It's almost like your hollowing out the earth."
"Close," Ed replied. "Look again. Feel it before and after I transmute it."
Naruto nodded, running his arm over the wall. It was smooth. Rapping a knuckle against it, he could hear a slightly audible clunk as his bone hit the stone. "Go ahead."
The alchemist clapped his hands together and touched the wall right next to him. Naruto watched in wonder once more as an electric blue light raced across the surface and hit the spot where he had just been feeling. A small cube where he had been receded into the wall. "Inspect it now," he commanded.
Naruto felt the wall once more. It was still just as smooth, as if it had been worn down by the ocean. He hit his hand against it again and heard a deeper clunk than before. "What the..." Naruto mumbled. He could hear the Kyūbi snickering so lightly he could mistake it as breathing. "It's denser than before. So alchemy doesn't just make the substance vanish."
"On the dot. What's it do, then?" Ed inquired with feigned ignorance, tilting his head. He waited for the minute Naruto thought about it.
"I'm no expert in science, but I think you're just pushing it back into the rest of the same material. You're combining them, putting them in the same space. You're spreading it out, though, because putting all of it in the same amount of space would make the entire thing just not work." Naruto looked over at the blonde. "I'm right, aren't I?"
"Pretty much. You're pretty perceptive for never reading an alchemy textbook." Ed sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm going to finish up the first few rooms. It's evening now and I'm tired from traveling all day."
"You mean the entrance is already safe?" the Jinchūriki asked, confused. "What do you do?"
"I take some of the material I 'pushed back' and pull it forth again to cover the entrance. If I make it imperfect enough, it looks natural." Edward yawned once. "Go grab my things from the entrance, will you? I really need to make a library."
"A library, too?"
"Where else would I keep all the knowledge I've accumulated?" Edward asked, humouring him. "I'm not some type of alien with an infinite memory. I forget things, too. I have to write them down somewhere, you know."
Naruto just shook his head. "Never mind," he mumbled, going over to the entrance.
"Be cautious—it's very heavy," Edward joked. Except it actually is. That stone wagon is an entire room.
(Section Break)
"All done," Edward said suddenly, interrupting Naruto's reading.
"It's only been three days or so, though," the blonde murmured. "Everything's complete, then? Furniture, too?"
"I'm not doing my own home half-assedly, kid," the alchemist laughed. "You bored to death yet?"
"Not really," Naruto replied, shrugging. "Kurama's pretty bored, though."
"I can imagine. Sitting in a human's mind for this long with nothing to do must get pretty boring. At least I've never been sealed away," Ed responded. "I'm going to get you to do some pretty average rehabilitation exercises, by the way. Your physical health is worse than a starving kid on the streets."
"Excuse me for having had a disease that limits everything I could ever do," Naruto huffed. "I can still read, right?"
"For now, yes. Since you don't know any alchemy, I'll make my test a bit easier for you. Mind you, that doesn't mean I'm going easy on you, it just means the survival aspect won't kill you as easily."
"Survival aspect?" Naruto asked. "You're probably going to dump me on a deserted island that has giant tigers or something, aren't you?"
"You're surprisingly good at guessing." The immortalised man grinned viciously. "Precisely. For now, though, let's make sure you won't die from tripping over a pebble."
Naruto's eye twitched, especially as his tenant laughed.
(Section Break)
"Your stance is off," Edward called out. "Move your left foot more to the right and make sure to center it. Your right arm is too high and your left too low. Your neck is turned farther than necessary and will cause it to be more easily targeted by throwing projectiles. Your fingers are clenched too tight and your wrists aren't bent enough."
Naruto bit his lip in agitation and tried to move accordingly. "Better?" he ground out.
"Yeah, pretty much," Ed grinned. "Alright then, it's been a week since we've come here. I need to do some diagnostics, but you seem perfectly fine. You recovered faster than I anticipated. I was accounting for the Uzumaki longevity and healing factors to be inaccurate, especially since most records in Uzushiogakure have been destroyed."
"So I actually owe something to my mother, then?" Naruto muttered.
Edward's grin fell a little. "You probably would have died before you were eight if it hadn't been for half of your genes being from her. At least be a little bit more grateful. Your hatred is rather annoying, even if I did the same thing for a while."
Same thing? "Yeah, yeah. You want to check up on me right now, or?"
"Sounds fine to me. Go sit down in the infirmary I made."
Naruto walked out of the massive room full of equipment against the walls. /I hope you're aware that during your time on the island, I will not be helping you./
Naruto paused for a second, his mouth opening ever-so-slightly, before continuing like nothing had happened. /I know, Kurama. This is my test, I suppose, isn't it?/
/Yes, it is,/ the Kyūbi replied. /However, in the most dire of situations, I will not allow you to die. If you die, I will die with you. Of course, I will be reborn back into the world eventually, but I'd rather not have to meet with the Shinigami—Death God—again. He's not the nicest to the Bijū./
Naruto didn't reply but instead continued towards the other side of the underground hiding place.
(Section Break)
"You're physically fine. A bit under average in height, but nothing can be done about that currently," Edward murmured, glancing over his notes. "Overall, so long as you don't get a critical injury, you'll be alright."
"Is that really a good thing?" Naruto sighed. "Anyway, when's the training going to begin?"
"Tomorrow. There's also a riddle you need to figure out while you're on the island," Ed replied. "Figure out the meaning of the riddle and don't die, that's the only thing you need to do."
Naruto nodded and began walking out the door. "In the morning, then?"
The alchemist nodded. "There's food in the kitchen. See you in the morning, kid."
(Section Break)
Naruto sighed. Day twenty and I still don't get it.
He sat up silently and took his makeshift weapon (a stick he whittled into a point using a sharp rock) to go find something to go eat for breakfast. After several minutes of walking, he found the river he discovered for the first time on the third day. Going up to the water's edge, he watched the fish swim gracefully for a minute or two before slowly drawing back his spear and throwing it into the water, catching a fish by its backside and making the water stain a light pink. He bit his lip and said a quick, silent "thanks" before prying the fish off of his spear and going back to his camp to cook it. All is one, one is all. It means that everything is just one but one is everything as well. They're the same, aren't they? What would be all?
He sighed, watching the fish sizzle over the fire. He turned it slowly, watching it brown slowly. The steam became to come off and he removed the stick from over the fire, sliding the food off of the spit-roast and onto his hands. He hissed as the heat hit his delicate skin, then quickly peeled the food off of the bones and ate it, savouring the fishy flavour that he'd really rather have spices or something for. Naruto buried the skeleton and leftovers into the ground, then stood up and looked around. That thing hadn't shown up yet, so he wasn't safe. Was he ever safe, though, he had to wonder.
He didn't have to wait long for an inhuman growl and a masked monster to jump towards him. Barely dodging, a bit of his hair flew away and he spotted a weapon—a sharp knife. Damn it, he thought, cursing. Biting his lip, he readjusted the spear he hadn't dared let go of. This is the first time he's used anything other than just a club. He stepped back a few steps, watching with careful eyes. The monster itself looked vaguely human but the decorated mask and hunched over position gave it away, not to mention the beastly sounds ripping out of its throat. This feels like a set-up, this whole island.
Glancing around quickly, he spotted an escape route. Looking towards the monster once more, he made a quick dash away. He could feel the yellow eyes of the beast on him as it began to follow, running faster and faster. He could almost feel its breath upon him from here. Naruto couldn't bring himself to look back at the thing, so he took it upon himself just to run as fast as he could until the thing disappeared. It didn't leave, though. After five minutes of running, his heat was pumping faster than it ever had in his life and his veins felt like they were going to burst. His muscles hurt like they were being torn apart by a blade and his legs felt like sand that was being poured into a container. His breath was coming in short, ragged gasps and eventually, after a long stretch of running and running and running, he felt his ankle twist under him.
He fell.
Nearly screaming out in pain, he quickly turned himself over and grasped his spear tighter. He half-wished he had sharpened it more as his wide eyes landed on the creature, which wasn't even winded. He bit the side of his cheek harshly to keep from crying out in fear. He raised the spear into a battle position and tried to adjust his leg into the least painful way possible. The monster closed in and was barely a foot from his face. He could hear its slow breaths. And then it turned away.
What...?
He waited for five minutes, his breath baited. It hadn't returned. Slowly as possible, he got up and leaned against a tree. The Jinchūriki began hobbling his way back, pain flowing through his body.
(Section Break)
All is one, one is all.
I guess it makes sense.
Naruto sighed as he fell asleep on the thirtieth night.
(Section Break)
"I'm glad you were able to figure it out," Edward said cheerfully. "Hopefully the monster didn't scare you too much. From what I could tell, though, it did."
"What do you mean, 'from what you could tell?'" Naruto asked, a small bit of irritation flaring up inside of him.
"As in I was the monster, of course," Ed replied, grinning. "Fortunately for you, you can't really stay mad at me. Besides, when your life was truly in danger, I stopped. That and, of course, Kurama told you something misleading at my request."
The blonde stayed quiet for a few seconds before saying bluntly, "I can't believe you."
"See? You're not furious, at least. Besides," the alchemist responded, turning serious, "you passed. That means that, on the condition that you confront your family eventually and follow the rules I told you, I will teach you and our fuzzy little friend the lost art of alchemy and its many forms."
/I can't use alchemy,/ Kurama grunted. /What do you want me to do with it?/
"The knowledge of how it works. Chances are, Kurama, that you'll encounter someone else in your prolonged lifetime who can use alchemy. I mean, I'll likely have more students in the future. If they try to use it to subdue you, at least you can know its ins and outs," Edward explained.
/I suppose that's acceptable,/ the Kyūbi replied, sounding almost thoughtful.
"Of course it is," Ed snorted. "Well then, a day of rest for you, and then we may start."
Naruto nodded and headed to his room. Once inside of the stone walls, he jumped onto his bed and landed face-first, laughing happily into his pillow. /Did you see that, Kyūbi?/
/Yeah, I saw it. Good job./
He giggled again.
(Section Break)
"Someone says they saw him," Natsu whispered excitedly to Yuki. "He said to come with the rest of our team."
"Are you sure it's not a trap?" Yuki asked cautiously. "Did you mention a team when speaking to him?"
"Yes," Natsu replied. "C'mon, let's find Ao and the captain."
"If you insist."
(Section Break)
"I will teach you for the next two and a half years the basic fundamentals of alchemy," Edward said over a breakfast of coffee and toast (that had a side of pills for the younger of the two). "After that, I would like to test you on your overall fluency with the art. After that, we will see how this will progress."
"Two a half years?" Naruto inquired. "That's a while."
"Well, yes, for a human life," Ed responded. "However, it will past fast once you look back on it."
"I somehow doubt that it will past by quickly as it happens," Naruto muttered dryly.
His response was a grin and a few words: "Let's get started, then. You can thank me again later."
(Section Break)
"No, Natsuki, like this," Kushina said, pulling her daughter's hand back. "Your wrist is too bent. You'll hurt yourself."
Natsuki adjusted, feeling the sword in her hands. "Did Dad say if he'd be home for dinner tonight?"
"Yes, honey," her mother replied before prying the blade out of her hands. "Your godfather's coming for dinner, apparently."
"Godfather?" Natsuki inquired, blinking. "I have a godfather?"
"You and N-naruto both do," Kushina replied, but Natsuki noticed the slight hitch in her voice. "Jiraiya, one of the three Legendary Sannin."
"J-jiraiya?" the girl spluttered, eyes wide. "You mean Dad's teacher?"
"Yes," Kushina laughed. "He's quite a pervert, though."
Natsuki shivered. "I'm glad Dad's not like that."
"So am I," the red-haired replied, tone sarcastic. Natsuki giggled.
"Anyway, Mom, how's my kenjutsu?" the ten-year-old asked.
"Pretty good for someone just beginning," her mother answered cheerfully. "I'm glad I can finally teach my style to someone—well, my one-sword style, anyway—even if I'm not a ninja anymore."
"I'm glad too! It's hard but it's great!"
Kushina smiled.
(Section Break)
"What's wrong, Minato?"
"Naruto," the Hokage sighed. "He left Konoha."
"Left Konoha?" Jiraiya asked, completely serious. "Then the Kyūbi's soul and consciousness did, too?"
"Exactly, but that isn't the main concern at the moment," Minato replied. "You see, the description I was given by Kakashi of the man Naruto's chakra signature was near matches the description of an immortal man I met during the Third Shinobi War. He was near one of the battle sites that had started at a refugee camp for Iwa."
"Immortal? As in, he can't be killed or he lives forever?"
"Both, I believe," the Yondaime said sardonically, turning his head to the side slightly and putting his elbows up on the desk in his office. "All I know is that he practiced an odd type of technique—perhaps a bloodline?—that was similar to doton but could do much more than doton by itself could."
"A bloodline-like doton technique?" Jiraiya murmured, thoughtful. "What else could it do?"
"From what the report said, he displayed little diversity in power. It is preformed using a bright blue light, however, that much is clear."
Jiraiya stood silent for a moment, then sighed. "This all sounds familiar, but I'm not sure. I'll look into it when I leave the village, but I don't know how much I can find out."
"That's fine. There was also something else I needed to discuss with you, but that can be done with the rest of my family present. It's almost dinner time, you know." Minato smiled at his former teacher. "Shall we, Jiraiya?"
"Sure, thanks," the Sannin grinned.
(Section Break)
"Alright, we're all here," Natsu announced, leading his team. "What'd you see?"
The man in question (an ordinary looking civilian) shushed them and looked around suspiciously before turning around and going inside of the building behind him—Natsu assumed it was his house—and beckoning them in. The group of four entered cautiously. "What's up?"
"That thing comes here once a month around the flux of traders to buy things, usually non-perishables and coffee beans," the civilian whispered quietly, sitting down at the table. "Care for some tea?"
"No, it's quite alright," Ao replied. "Please continue. Why do you call him a thing?"
The man swallowed nervously and nodded. "T-there was one time I was going out during the night to pick up some milk for my daughter about a year ago. I heard a noise and carefully went to go see what it was. I saw something...mutilated, I guess, that had obviously been murdered. The smell of blood wasn't there for some reason, but I saw a glint of yellow in the corner. I looked a bit further and saw a metal human-shaped thing turn back into what I had recognised as the golden-haired man who comes once a month."
Orochimaru looked curious. "He can turn into a metal-shaped humanoid?"
"Yes, but that wasn't it, though," the man murmured, licking his lips. "There was a blast of fire and the entire body just burned to ash. It came out of nowhere. There was no flux in his movement—it just happened. I quickly left after that."
"Perhaps he is a ninja, Captain?" Yuki suggested, listening. "With a mixture of a doton and a katon affinity—earth and fire, you know?"
"Perhaps," Orochimaru replied after a few long seconds. "Is that everything?"
"Y-yeah, that's all," the civilian replied. "Please leave. I'd rather not be seen with Konoha ninja in my home."
"Of course. Thank you for your time," Ao said gratefully, standing up from her own seat and heading towards the door. Once outside, Yuki glanced about nervously.
"Should we return to Konohagakure immediately? I'm not sure there's much other information here," Yuki murmured.
"The information wasn't particularly alarming, save for the fact that the man with the Lord Hokage's son is with a murderer who could be a ninja," Orochimaru replied. "We can start returning, however."
"Sounds good to me," Ao said.
(Section Break)
"I'm home!" Minato called, pulling off his coat and putting it near the door. "Jiraiya is with me."
"Welcome home," Kushina called back, coming into the room with a dinner pan in her hands. "Welcome, Jiraiya."
"Pleasure to be here," Jiraiya responded, smiling. "What's for dinner?"
"Barbeque," Kushina replied. "Was it very busy in the office, Minato?"
"Quite, sorry for coming home a bit late," the Hokage apologised. "It smells delicious in here."
"Thanks, but you're still getting less than normal," Kushina replied huffily, sticking her tongue out. "Go wash up and sit at the dinner table."
"Sure, sure," Minato laughed.
After a few minutes, the entire family (minus one and plus another) was sitting down. "So, Jiraiya, why are you here?" Kushina inquired, munching on a piece of beef.
"Minato called me back for discussing a bunch of different things," Jiraiya replied airily, eating his own food. "What was it you wanted to say, Minato?"
"Ahh, just that I wanted to do some research about him with you. And no, not that kind," he added quickly, seeing Jiraiya's questioning yet perverted gaze. "There's a couple of things about him that I think we can figure out if we work hard enough at it."
"That sounds fine," Jiraiya replied. "Is that alright with you, Kushina?"
"What, the fact that my husband spends more time working than with me? Yeah, it sounds fine," she answered innocently, throwing a piece of meat at Minato. "Seriously, please stop overworking yourself."
"I'm fine, Kushina," Minato assured. "This is important."
"You say that every day," she sighed. "Natsuki's dying to meet her godfather, by the way, Jiraiya."
"Godfather?" Jiraiya blinked. "What's that mean?"
Minato chuckled weakly. "Your her godfather. I probably forgot to tell you, didn't I?"
Jiraiya tried to fumble for a memory but got nothing. "Stupid student," he mumbled.
"It's not my fault you wanted to leave the village so soon!" Minato replied indignantly.
"I had to get back to my spy network," Jiraiya muttered. "In any case, hello there, Natsuki."
"Hello," she murmured, poking her food.
She's fairly quiet, isn't she? Jiraiya thought. A thousand ryō she's not.
(If Jiraiya had been a betting man, he would have gained a thousand more ryō that day.)
(Section Break)
Minato led Jiraiya into the library/study after dinner. "There's a seal over here that has the more restricted books," Minato said, walking over to a book. "I hope Natsuki wasn't too eccentric for you."
"She acts like Kushina," Jiraiya replied, though Minato thought there was a small bit of happiness in his voice. "In any case, do I know the seal?"
"Yes, it's just a simple sealing and concealing seal," the Yondaime replied. "Let's see, channel just a bit of chakra..."
Minato pressed his fingers against the wall and there was a small hiss as the seal absorbed his chakra. As the wall near it began to fade, he looked inside and pulled out a small sealing scroll, then walked over the desk and unrolled it before biting his thumb and sliding some blood across the seal. Several books and reading scrolls fell out. "These are the books in my library that contain information regarding immortality and the legends surrounding things related to it," the Hokage said, pulling two books aside and resealing the rest for the moment. "I also have some personal information regarding him, but nothing that I haven't already told you."
"I see," Jiraiya mumbled, picking up one of the books. "Let's see how much we can get out of these."
Minato nodded in agreement and picked up the other before going to sit at the small table in the corner of the room. Around midnight that night, Jiraiya finally put his book down. Minato followed soon after.
"From what you said, this book has something relating to him," Jiraiya started. "The Sin That Lasts Forever, huh?"
"Is that what he's referred to there?" the Hokage asked. "Mine doesn't refer to a name, but it says he was responsible for some major catastrophes, including the unleashing of the Jūbi."
"The Jūbi?" Jiraiya wondered, amazed. "I wonder if he's somehow linked to the Sage of Six Paths."
"I'm not sure, but it also said he was responsible for the Promised Day."
"That legend about a mass wipeout that happened?" Jiraiya queried, surprised. "If I remember correctly from the Book of Myths, all the other countries fell soon after for very similar reasons and then the Jūbi was released not too soon afterwards..."
"Each of the legends describes a man with golden hair and yellow eyes being at the center of it," Minato said quietly. "If he is truly immortal, could that be the man who's with my son?"
"Even if he is, does the book mention if he released the Jūbi or anything else?"
"It doesn't exactly mention it, no, but he appeared to be the cause. After that, the Sage of Six Paths fought with it, sealing the Jūbi's consciousness into the moon and splitting it up into the nine Bijū."
Jiraiya frowned. "Any ideas about why he'd want Naruto?"
"I'm not sure," the Yondaime replied, "but there is the myth of a lost art that uses a blue, electrical light in the Book of Myths. It said that the lost art was a part of the countries that were here before the Jūbi supposedly destroyed everything. If that man was truly alive then, do you think he's trying to teach Naruto that art?"
"It's very plausible," Jiraiya reasoned. "You said your team from the port town near Uzushiogakure would be returning soon?"
"Yes, within tomorrow," Minato confirmed. "We'll wait till then, then. If you find out anything more, guessing or not, I'd like to know. We can't really retrieve Naruto without sending out several units of ANBU, and with the tensions that are currently arising with Iwa—I'm sure it won't escalate, though—we can't afford to send that many out. Besides, Naruto went there on what appeared to be his own choice. I doubt he'd come willingly."
Jiraiya made a small noise of agreement. "Call me when the team returns. We'll talk then."
Minato nodded. "Goodnight, Jiraiya."
"'Night, Minato."
(Section Break)
Minato sat in his office, waiting for the moment his receptionist told him his information-gathering team had returned. He neednt wait long.
"Lord Hokage, Lord Orochimaru and his team have returned from their mission," Tsuki told him, knocking on the door.
"Ah, thank you, Tsuki. Please, send them in," Minato replied. "Also, please send someone to retrieve Jiraiya of the Sannin from the bathhouses."
"Of course, Lord Hokage," she replied, opening the door and letting the team come in before closing it with a small bow.
"Welcome back. Everything went well, I hope?" Minato inquired.
"It went as well as it could, Lord Hokage," Orochimaru responded. "Information was scarce. Near the end, we did find out something interesting as well as on the ruins of Uzushiogakure."
"Jiraiya is coming here as well to help me figure out this man's identity," Minato interrupted. "He'll be here in just a moment."
Orochimaru nodded. After about thirty seconds, a running Jiraiya hopped in through the window. "Sorry for being late, someone got mad at me," he chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.
"It's fine, Jiraiya. Please continue, Orochimaru."
After a (really) lengthy summary and discussion, Minato finally nodded, taking in the information. "Thank you, all of you. You're dismissed until Friday."
They all nodded gratefully and left the room. Jiraiya looked nervously towards Minato. "That sounds like a lost art, now doesn't it? Especially the part with the wall and the metal..."
"I'm still disturbed he killed someone for what appeared to be no good reason," Minato muttered disgustedly. "In any case, it did."
"Unfortunately, there's still nothing we can really do about it, is there?" Jiraiya murmured, sitting down. "This seems like a lot of work for something we can't even fix."
"Naruto will return eventually, I think," Minato responded. "Though I have a feeling it won't be out of the kindness of his heart."
"At least I still have the key for the seal and he can't unleash the Kyūbi's soul into the world," Jiraiya mumbled. "I'm not sure how well that would work with its chakra sealed away, though."
"Jiraiya, that's it!" Minato exclaimed suddenly. "He'll come back for the Kyūbi's chakra!"
"The Kyūbi... Of course," Jiraiya said. "The Kyūbi's probably the reason behind this."
"But it could also be the solution," Minato theorised. "Jiraiya, would you mind staying in the village for a couple years? I think Natsuki could use your help in a lot of aspects, especially training."
Jiraiya shrugged. "I can spare about two years, yeah. Nothing's been going on lately, though I may need to leave occasionally to check up on things. Good luck with the paperwork, by the way."
Minato groaned.
(Section Break)
THIS CONCLUDES THE PROLOGUE. A TWO-AND-A-HALF YEAR-LONG TIME SKIP WILL NOW OCCUR AND NARUTO CANON WILL BE MORE PROMINENT. Thanks for sticking around so long!
In response to Guest: Edward has had troubles with his own family, don't you know? Naruto ran away specifically because of his family (his village is mostly second) neglecting him because of his disease. Edward sees Naruto as running away from his problems and agrees to teach Naruto on the condition that Naruto will go back and actually not be a stupid-head and run away from his problems. So while yes, it is a plot device, it isn't just so Naruto eventually "goes back to Konohagakure and sees his errors and forgives everyone and everyone's happy again yay" thing.
In response to the other Guest: It's fine if you review anonymously, just know that if you just say something like "oh okay" I wouldn't respond. If it's a compliment or advice or something else I probably will. I don't think so—they have a whole tutorial for the new combat system and everything else is mostly the same. Plus you still get the emotes if you miss an event like Easter. I didn't go on last Easter but I still have the new emotes like "bunny hop," so I think that's how it works. Not sure, though. Either way, it's a lot of fun! (Not to mention that you get free items every day, although you need to a member for most of them...) Though, I heard that Jagex is planning on making RuneScape have its own holidays. As in, there wasn't an Easter event this year... But there was these things called "Guthixian Butterflies" that would level up your lowest skill. I got all my skills to at least level 40 because of it. :)
In response to redkama: Well, there's nothing you can say that will change my mind of how I write. I apologise if it sounds rude to say, but your review—so far kinda of a late down ungodly slow paced in to much time spent on other people—is downright mean to say and I honestly found it offensive. It is my story (although it does have TSOJ's influence) and there is purpose behind every section I write. It is not meaningless drabble. Please respect this and do not comment so informally in the future if you so choose to continue reading this.
In response to Peter Kim: Of course not :p Alkahestry is similar to your definition, I think; I never finished FMA's official canon so I'm not entirely sure the canon definition, but I'm sure it's out there somewhere. Edward can use pretty much everything due to his little error which will be explained later. Edward knows of Madara. In fact, (hint hint), he's even knows him on a slightly more intimate basis than some others due to...reasons...
Feedback was mixed last chapter. Sad to say, but it was kind of disappointing to know that the overall plot is unappealing to some people. I suppose the summary doesn't really help it—it's not much of a "summary" more of an attention-grabber, after all. The 80+ reviews help it out a lot, I think. There's over 13k views and around 200 favourites/follows, so... :)?
In any case, I apologise for the chapter being a week late. Real life stuff came up and I couldn't do Molten, so I went and finished that up on Monday so I could have this out by Sunday (maybe Monday, I'm not actually sure!).
Well, thank you for reading! If you review, virtual cookies. If not, that's fine too. As long as you like the story, everything's all good!
Shameless advertising: If you're a fan of Fullmetal Alchemist and Harry Potter crossovers, I have a story called Molten up. It's a bit drabble-y. I also have a Naruto one-shot called A Way to Win, if anyone's interested.