Chapter 3
Naruko concentrated on her newest experiment. Her arachnids were doing well and she wanted to to combine their traits into a single geni of spider. She had been crossbreeding and adapting her changes through her collective. Each insect had becomer stronger and more effective. However the biggest change was the focus they all seem to have for her. Each of her collective was self aware enough to understand a basic concept with an instinct they now all shared. Protect the hive-mind and more specific the 'mother'. She had been shocked when her collective had designated her in such a role.
Her as they believed themselves children were aware she was their creator and protector. She was the being that fed and nurtured there betterment and care. Though not to the human understanding they had this concept. Something she was aware as the collective had begun to guard her. Though there was no active threat, they knew of the bigger humans in masks watching their mother. They knew of predators when they were around.
The mother was precious. She was the creator and had an attack happened the village would have been shocked at the mass attack on the would be attacker. The spider and scorpion that stayed hidden in her clothes with lethal venoms or the hornets nest that she had smuggled into her apartment that would attack in mass to a threat to her person. Naruko was if not the most protected one of the most next to the hokage.
Had anyway walked in now they would have seen the girl concentrating her hand over a nest of spider eggs. The cocooned mass focused on with a frightening intensity. Her filtering energy in invisible strands of chakra through the next generation. There birth would be a while away as she held it off with the power she now had. She would have this generation be her greatest one yet. There progenitors had been the best she had and she would improve it further.
Though she was unaware of her playing god, Naruko did so with the desire to help not gain. Something that separated her from Ororchimaru though there was plenty of similarities in there desires. To grow, to become ever stronger without the chains of humanities qualms and hang-ups. Without the taboo's the rest of humanity carried on themselves.
Feeling that she had done as best as she could without stressing the new life she stopped and smiled contentley. When it was finished she would begin to finally start her own desire of adapting her body. Naruko was aware enough of social norms to know she would need these changes to not be visible to the public eye to avoid scrutiny and disgust. However she wouldn't let that stop her from becoming more than she was. She had done well to keep her secret to herself and she had not touched a single kikai insect.
The Aburame clans as she had learned from her network were very interested in where these new insects had come from and how it happened. She would not be a case study for them nor would she allow others to take her hard work for themselves. Standing up and stretching her body she called up the picture of her surroundings via her hive-mind. Now able to access with a bit of concentration instead of minutes or hours of work and no longer needing to be intensley concentrating. Naruko saw the two masked ninja, the anbu watching her. She recognized bull and sparrow. Her regular's for the week keeping an eye on her.
Though she had gathered quite a bit of knowledge including ways to train and a variety of knowledge. Some meant to be village secrets and some quite mundane, Naruko hadn't learned of her own secret till her body had begun to adapt to the natural chakra she constantley filtered. She had adapted the ability to sense negative emotions from this practive. The moment she first began to feel the new ability she had nearly passed out from the sheer malicous intent she felt from her own body. It was shocking how much hatred radiated from within her that she herself wasn't feeling.
Unsure of what to do after overcoming her shock, Naruko sat down on her couch. She thought long and hard about the situation Naruko decided to consult the hokage on the matter. She wouldn't reveal her hive-mind or other abilities besiders her new aquired empathy. Hopefully he would be able to clarify the matter for her or at the least point her in the right direction. With that in mind she dressed appropriatley in a par of shorts and childs t-shirt depicted her favored swirling pattern. Taking a minute more to lock her apartment up she smiled as the sun shined down at her. It was mid summer and while the heat during the day could be scorching in the country named fire. However a light breeze turned a hot day to a pleasently warm one.
As she she headed down the main road tot he high tower that her adopted grandfather worked Naruko kept her hive-mind working in full force. Gathering her a steady image of her surrounding and the local gossip. Tokoyama had been caught by his wife recently in a affair that had been going on for years. Naruko had known about it from the beginning month. Shaking her head as she heard the percieved quiet whispering of the peple she passed she almost stopped as she heard a particular voice's words.
" That demonic child, walking through the streets like she was some everyday kid. It's so insulting." The voice belonging to a Toshi Kyoto. A baker viewing her from his window inside his house whispered to his wife. Continueing on without reacting and thankful she wasn't in rnage to feel his emotions she continued on her way. She had discovered that she could only feel negative emotions from within a given ten feet around her as she walked through the crowd Naruko was not willing to push it till she got better answers on what was going on with this ability.
More so though she wanted to know why such dark and hateful emotions continued to come from within her. It left her feelng almost physically ill as if she tried to feel it out with her new ability. Rather she tried to ignore it as much as possible. Much of her concentration was on the the whispered sentence. She'd heard many a slur on her person and character despite not being anything but polite and kind to the population of Konoha. Se felt like every word against her was a peice of a puzzle she was slowing putting together. She needed only a few more pieces and she would know what all the issue's of her childhood were about.
Still until she had more information she contiued on with her current pursuits while being amused that she exactley where the anbu where that followed her around. They believed themselves hidden from her when she could see and hear them through her networked mind. She continued to hide her amusement as she passed to member of the Aburame clan that had been all over konoha as of late. The usually relcusive clan had members searching throughout the village for the source of the changes in the local wildlife. She inwardley felt amused that she was almost pranking them. Here they were looking for the source when it walks right by the unaware pursuers everday.
Making her way to the entrance of the tower she walked up the long winding staricase leading tot he top of the tower. Passing by the ninja and civilains working there most nodded or greeted her as she passed as she was a regular visitor to there hokage. It was well known that Hiruzen Sarutobi had a soft spot for the young Uzumaki. Making it tot he top floor she was waved towards the the main office door by the hokage's secretary. Knowing the child had carte blanch to visit whenever she pleased. She couldn't stop the smile that appeared on her face as the young girl waved at her with a big smile of her own. Naruko politley knocked on the door before opening it when she heard a gruff but gentle voice tellig her to come in.
Almost skipping into the office as she was always happy to see her grandfather figure she came opun the sight of the tired but happy looking old man sitting behind his desk the smell of his pipe tobacco clinging to the air as the smoke lazily drifted out the open window. Hiruzen grinned and straightened his back, supressing the grimace as his spine shifted straight with a pop. Still he always happy to see the young lady. Hiruzen sat asaide the paperwork he'd been working on and standing up filled his arms with a bundle of energy as he received a hug. It never failed to make his day better to see the oung lady he had such high hopes for.
Sitting back down as Naruko sat in the chair in front of his desk her last growth spurt finally allowing her to view over his desk. Something that delighted both of the people in the office. Hiruzen took a moment to observe the young Uzumaki. Clearly her face favored her father with the angular jaw and the eyes. The blue eyes shined witht he same intelligent gaze of her father Minato. ALways oberving and analysing everything she saw. However the warm smile was all Kushina. She had also inherited the innate kind aura both her parents seem to exhude. Hiruzen knew when became older that warmth would also inspire confidence in those around her. Though leadership could be learned some people were born to lead.
With a enjoyable thought in his mind the Hokage smiled before taking a last puff from from his pipe and sat it aside to give the young girl his full attention. "How are you today Naruko?" with a touch of the grandfatherly affection he felt for her.
"Im alright jiji, however I came here becuse I need your help with something if you don't mind?" Naruko said with a tilt of her head in question.
Feeling surprisingly happy that she would come to him for advice the old man nodded for her to go head with her question. " I've developed the ability to feel people's emotions. Actually just the negative ones." Naruko wathced as his face changed to a interested expression. She knew he'd always enjoyed new things to look into. The professor definitley lived up to his title.
"Interesting, so you only feel negative emotions? How far can sense it and how do you sense the emotion?" He asked for to clarify what he needed to know. " Well it's like I can tell where the person is and how strong the emotion is. Hate is really easy to tell, fear is a little harder but from I can tell its like what you feel for when sensing chakra from your lecture back at the orphanage that time you described sensing chakra." She explained as she despite being mature for her age still couldnt help swinging her legs in the chair.
Hiruzen sat back and thought of just how useful such an ability could be. Unlike chakra which could be hidden be various techniques there wasn't anything he knew of that hid a persons emotions from other people. It would be impossible to sneak up on Naruko if she could develop the ability with any hostile intent. A warm feeling crept its way into him at the thought of her being safer. " We'll have to see about training the abilty to its full potential. Such a way to sense other people is quite a blessing." Though he could also tell the downsides he had no wish to dishearten Naruko. More over he was sure she had already figured out a few of the negative sides of her abilty.
Deciding to test if out through trial and error Hiruzen had Naruko tell each emotion he felt as he generated a spectrum of feelings. As she had said he found that positive emotions didn't register to her and all the negative including to his surprise sadness were immedialtey picked up on. After a hour of it and Naruko felt he was comfortable enough her sensing emotions, she decided it was time to drop the bigger questions she had.
" Jiji, its not just other people I can sense. I can feel an enormous rage from within me. It's so hateful that when I first felt it I was almost physically ill. Its not me feeling it but its coming from me." She could see him stiffen and regard her intently as she told him about what she felt. "You know what's causing it don't you?" Hiruzen sighed and wondered how he was going to go about this. She was far younger than he imagined she would be and he was still far to old to be having to deal with this.
"Naruko there's something I need to tell you. Something I hadn't planned to far a few years yet." He sighed as she looked him in the eye. He hadn't wanted to do this ever but he knew he would eventually have to tell her. "When you were born..."