NARUTO
Nox Noctis Ingredior
Awakening
"How is your eye, Ryoko?" Kariya asked, looking across the round table the members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were sitting around, at the only female member of the group.
The red haired bombshell groaned and propped her head on her hand. About an hour ago, she and Zabuza were permitted to leave the Hidden Mist Ninja Hospital, and rejoining the other members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, met up at the Mizukage's lounge room. The round room was situated at the front end of the building, with a balcony looking over the rest of the Village below. It was a bit of a classy room; a variety of couches surrounding a round coffee table, red drapes, and large portraits of the previous Mizukage's surrounding them, along with group pictures of all the past Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
It was quite quiet now, and the group was currently pestering Ryoko about her new eye. She was really not in the mood, looking back across at Kariya with a disgruntled look on her face. Of course, when he asked her that particular question, it was mostly concern for the fact that she only had one good view now, the other one scarred and covered by her eye patch.
"Which one," the girl gruffly replied, "the still-good-one or the one that can't be opened anymore? Well… either way, it's terrible!" She looked down at her hand and checked her nails. "I'm half blind, I can't really see anything on my left side, and now I have depth perception problems…"
"At least your…"
"DAMMIT!" Ryoko jumped in her seat and glared to her left, where she saw Tsukahara sitting right next to her. When she wheeled round on him, he gave her a raised eyebrow expression. "How long have you been sitting there?"
Raiga and Zabuza, also sitting around the table across from her, snorted when the red-head blew her cork at the Tsunami of the Hidden Mist.
"For a while now…" Zabuza replied, opening a can of soda water and taking a drink, leaning back on the couch, while his other hand was draped over his Executioner's Blade. He was covered in some bandages now, hiding scars from their recent struggle several days earlier. "You just didn't notice, Ryoko."
"Shut it, meat sack!" the kunoichi growled, "Or I'll cut you…"
"Hey, no need to get picky at me," Zabuza replied, waving his hands in front of him. "I just got out of hospital…"
"What I was just saying…" Tsukahara sighed and leant back on the armrest to his left, "at least your shining personality hasn't changed one bit."
"Bite me, Tsukahara," Ryoko snapped.
"You know, Ryoko-dear," Kariya began, putting his hands together in thought. He was wearing his flower patterned sunflower robes, and didn't look that intimidating, or serious, from the others' point of view. "It is not very lady-like for you to be acting the way you are, no matter how injured or exhausted you may be. You are one of the Great Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist; you must hold your head up high, and respect your comrades as equals. It is not very elegant of you to demean others with your insistent name calling and polluting the atmosphere with your bad temper…"
Ryoko then leant over the table and slapped him across the face, a nice loud clap echoing throughout the room. Zabuza winced and looked away after seeing the glowing red hand print now imprinted on Kariya's face.
"Sorry, it just had to be done," Ryoko exclaimed, smirking and sitting back down. "Man… that felt good. I feel much better now."
Tears in his eyes, Kariya looked back, picking up his still cold soda and pressing it against the side of his face. "Glad to be of help, ma'am…" he replied.
"HAHA! That's a good look for you Kariya!" Tsukahara laughed in his face, hitting himself on the leg in amusement. "Man! She just made you her bitch! Whoot!"
"Well, at least I'm not an egotistical oaf such as yourself, who barely has any respect for authority," Kariya replied, glaring at the orange skinned, blue haired, goggle wearing ninja sitting next to Ryoko.
"Hey, I'm proud of my work," Tsukahara exclaimed, rubbing his knuckles against his vest and looking down at his watch. "Wish I was there to help you two take care of Kisame though… it's a shame he got away. I've always wanted to have a crack at him."
"It doesn't matter, he's gone now," Raiga said, glaring towards the wall to his left, not bothering to look up at any of his comrades. "Good riddance. I always loathed that bastard."
Silence fell for now around the five sitting around the coffee table. With Zabuza just taking the occasional drink from his soda, Kariya nursing his bruised face, Tsukahara tapping his foot impatiently against the floor, Raiga brooding and Ryoko playing with her quarter full drink of the table top, they allowed the quiet of the hour float by. They really had nothing to say, save for the fact that their former leader and companion Kisame had abandoned the Hidden Mist to go start a new life. When Ryoko and Zabuza went out with a squad of Hunter Nin to bring him back, only the two members of the Ninja Swordsmen returned, both of them helping to carry the other back to the village, bloodied and cut up.
"Well, I guess that makes you the group leader now, aye…Ryoko?" Tsukahara asked, this time with surprising care etched in his voice, looking up at the young team member. "Do you think you're up to it?"
"Who cares," Ryoko replied, still sulking and playing with her drink. "Even if I am, things will still be the same."
Zabuza snorted. "Yeah… but I can't help but notice…" He looked back and over his left shoulder towards the balcony. There, he saw the last member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Hikita: Ghost of the Hidden Mist, sitting perched on the balcony railing, looking up towards the night sky high above them. He was surprisingly calm now, his sword leaning against the railings next to him. "You should be happy Hikita! With Kisame gone, you've been moved up to third strongest in the group! Congratulations!"
The man didn't say a word, and continued to look up with a stoic expression in play up at the moon, shining high above the Village Hidden in the Mist. Raiga, Ryoko, and everybody else looked over at their dreary looking comrade, a lot of them finding it a little bit weird that he wasn't saying a word, since out of all of them, he was the most talkative when it came to their group. He was practically the most ambitious of them, wanting to become the strongest of the Seven.
"What's up with sasquatch?" Tsukahara asked, making a comical reference to their friend's size.
"He must be disappointed he didn't get a chance at fighting Kisame himself," Zabuza replied, taking a drink. "He practically did so a lot when he was still around, but on the day that walking soup-ingredient was leaving… must be really upsetting for him…"
"Yes, and he always regretted it in the end," Kariya stated, looking back towards the coffee table, "always getting his head chopped off, or a limb… or even having every bone in his body broken. How irresponsible…"
"Hey Hikita," Ryoko spoke up, now looking directly at the man. "You alright?"
The Ghost of the Hidden Mist didn't say anything at first. He just continued to sit their in silence, staring up at the moon, and looking it over, even though it became slightly clouded around now. It was only about a couple minutes after Ryoko asked her question, and everybody else was giving up on trying on getting him to talk, the man spoke.
"The moon is very pretty tonight, isn't it?" he asked.
"What was that?" Zabuza looked up at the man, raising an eyebrow.
"He is awake…" Hikita continued speaking, turning his head and looking into the lounge room, his face overshadowed by the light of the moon, but his red eyes cutting through the shadows. "The moon speaks to me… sharing me its secrets. It says… the demon inside me is awakened…and I will soon consume this world…"
"Okay… seriously… are you okay, Hikita?" Tsukahara asked, a little bit concerned for his comrade's sanity.
"Kami, don't you know yet?" Ryoko asked, looking at the man next to her. "He's always had a screw loose, and you're noticing this now? Man, you're thick."
"The beast will fall from the heavens, and burn this world," Hikita spoke, a grin spreading across his lips, his tongue running across from one corner of his mouth to the other, licking his upper lip. "My shadow will set me free, and unleash me upon the mortal plains, where I will feastfor all eternity. On the day the prison is ripped open, darkness will fall, and the illusion of reality will die…"
"Tsk… freak," Raiga muttered, rising to his feet. Hands in his pockets, he walked around the table and left the room, waving to the others. "I'll see you guys tomorrow…"
"It's getting late," Kariya said, also getting up. "I have an early meeting to attend at dawn. Good night all…" He left, shortly followed by Tsukahara.
"I have a lesson with my student early in the morning. Chojuro really is trying hard to surpass me, although… the odds of that happening are highly unlikely," the Tsunami of the Hidden Mist said, looking back at his comrades and waving. "I'll see you guys… whenever and wherever. Call me when you're free…" He left through the still open doors, leaving the three strongest members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen left.
Zabuza and Ryoko also got to their feet, looking at Hikita with a bit of concern. Their comrade continued to stare at them, grin fading from his face. Although they weren't normally crept out about their friend's sanity, he was really on the ball tonight, not to mention his voice sounded a little bit possessed. So, giving their comrade a friendly wave and one last look of concern, the two left.
Zabuza sighed and rubbed the back of his head as he headed for the doors.
"I've had enough insanity for one day," the Demon of the Mist stated, striding past the red haired woman. "Come on, I'll buy you a drink at the bar…"
"Sure," Ryoko replied. "Wine, scotch, sake… whatever." She followed him out, and closed the door behind them, leaving Hikita sitting alone on a dark balcony, with the room dimly lit.
Frowning, the man got off of the railing. Staggering a bit when he stuck the landing, he picked up his sword and sheathed it onto his back with a loud clack. Cracking his neck, he spared one last glance up at the moon, furrowing his brow in its direction.
When he did look back at the moon though, his vision suddenly blurred, and the silhouette of what he thought was a dragon at first flashed past his eyes, a loud roar echoing in his ears. It was the sight of the single eyed beast with the ringed, tomoe-dotted pupil that had the Seven Ninja Swordsmen member gasp in terror and stagger backwards into the room, gripping the side of his head and clenching his eyes shut. He let out a gasp, and shook his mind clear, glaring back out over the village.
While he was focusing his attention on the misty village below and recovering from the sudden migraine, his ears perked to a noise behind him, and he raised an eyebrow, glancing over his right shoulder.
"I sensed you the moment I entered the room," Hikita said, furrowing his brow. "I may act insane, but I'm not paranoid…"
He looked over his shoulder, towards where the curtains on the left side of the room were. In the shadows of the red curtain, there appeared another one. This one managed to mask its presence via a cloak with a hood, which shadowed the face, and hid the person's identity completely. Of course, when the figure did appear, they went only as far out as half the shadows of the curtains, with Hikita watching the person cautiously.
"If the Mizukage wants to be rid of me, then he'll have to try a hell of a lot harder then hiring some noble assassin," Hikita said, reaching up and grabbing the handle of his sword. "You will find you won't be able to kill me so easily…"
"Why would I want to do that?" the voice of a young woman replied, surprising the Ninja Swordsman with the tone and gender. "Why would I want to kill such a remarkable ninja?"
Hikita raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?"
"Someone who can set you free," the person replied, reaching up with their visible arm and tipping the top of her hood up ever so slightly, letting in some light. When she did, she revealed a Sharingan eye hidden underneath, a black one with red tomoes. Hikita frowned.
"You are of the Uchiha Clan from Konohagakure," Hikita said. "I'd recognize an eye like that from a mile away. Although… it is a little bit different… from the others I've seen."
"…"
"It is unique," the Ghost of the Hidden Mist stated, his fingers itching at the handle. "I've never seen one like it."
"Does the moon scare you?" the figure asked, stepping out of the shadows more. Hikita's body shook and his eyes widened, visibly shocked by the question. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, as he gazed dazedly at the woman who spoke of his fear. The hooded female approached, walking into clear view in the lounge room, the two of them staring each other down. "Do you fear the illusion of your life, the madness, and the shadow of the moon… the darkness? Does it haunt your nightmares? Does it haunt you where you stand… right now?"
"Stop it…" Hikita growled, grabbing the blade of his sword. "Stay exactly where you are! I…I don't know what…y-you're talking about…"
The figure stopped, and remained where she was, staring at the man who was twice her height, but was glaring at her, and sweating bullets.
"The moon speaks with you," the figure said. "It tells you things that people are too terrified to understand. That is why you walk alone, why you long to reach the top… to free yourself from illusions, madness and shadows. Loneliness is killing you…"
The masked figured raised her head a little when a cold metal placed itself against her chin, and she looked behind her to see Hikita standing behind her. When he was standing about ten meters in front of her a split second ago, he had managed to get her back. The man was glaring dangerously at her, which was intensified by how close he had his large sword hovering right in front of her neck. The four meter Chinese Broad sword with a red cloth wrapped at the end of the handle pommel, and the blade with its jagged teeth on one side, and deadly sharp on the other, cutting edge, flashed brightly in the light, and trembled with raw power.
"What the hell do you want from me?" he asked.
"I am just like you… alone… unwanted… longing for peace," the woman replied, turning a bit so she was side on with the swordsmen, his sword still hovering just inches from her. "I need your help…"
Hikita stayed quiet, still glaring down at the Sharingan woman, taking her in. He looked her up and down, trying to drink her in, but found it difficult since she was cloaked, hooded and masked quiet cleverly. Heck, he couldn't even see her face through the shadows of her hood.
"I'm listening…"
End Flashback…
The Land of Fire…
Several Miles closer to the coast…
The two members of Akatsuki, who had earlier picked up on the trail of Orochimaru, was still marching slowly towards the lowlands, crossing vast valleys and passing through thickets of forests. The slightly taller of the two, designated Yahiko, lead, while his partner Konan walked on behind him. Winds and distance didn't hamper their progress, as they took their time getting to their destination.
While they were trekking along a long, winding road through a clear, open valley, surrounded by rice fields, a stranger up ahead caught their eyes. A second glance had them see that it wasn't just one stranger, but two, a pair of cloaked figures heading towards them. As they drew closer and closer to one another, Yahiko and Konan saw that the two figures, though different sizes, wore the same, light brown samurai coats, but with hoods.
The one on the left that the two Akatsuki could see was short, about half their height, and wearing a full, light brown cloak with red linings. Though much of his body was covered by the cloak, the hood area let in some light to his face, where visible was a head of unkempt grey hair, and a stitch-like scar running from under his left eye all the way down his cheek. He also had pink eyes, and a rather vacant expression on his face; a very dull expression. What was also visible was a large black, staff like pole he carried on his back with two, bladed hooks on each end, with a green flower on the larger hook end.
The one on the right was much taller then his companion, dressed in blue and grey camo pants, combat sandals with shin guards, with the rest of his outfit concealed by the samurai cloak with the hood over his head. Much of his face was over shadowed, except the jaw line, with a large scar shaped like an X on his chin, and the Hidden Mist headband hung around his neck, with a gash across the symbol. The last thing that was visible was a five foot Chinese broadsword on his back.
The two members of Akatsuki kept on walking towards the other two strangers, neither of them making a move to provoke the other party, but all the same glaring at each other. Eventually Yahiko and Konan walked right past the other two, with the Akatsuki pair being dwarfed by the much taller figure, who was about a third taller then the two.
When the two strangers passed, they stopped behind the two S-Rank Missing Ninja, who also paused in their journey when they sensed them stop. The taller of the two strangers glanced behind him, a frown etched on his face.
"Beware of the moon," the tall figure spoke, glaring back at the pair. "It may shine like a beacon of hope, but it is a lure in the darkness; the darkness that still walks this earth…"
Konan glanced back, furrowing her brow at the missing ninja. She continued to stare at them, until they started moving on, the blue haired member of Akatsuki watching as they walked away. Eventually when they were disappearing over the next hill, she turned to Yahiko, who was waiting for her to finish in her analysis.
"Well?"
"Missing Ninja, both of them I believe are from Kirigakure," Konan stated.
"I see," Yahiko replied, nodding his head. "Let's keep moving…"
They continued walking, choosing to not have a confrontation with the two strangers, as it would waste precious time and energy. Instead, they chose to focus on their goal ahead, although were unable to fully dispense of the words the tall stranger passed on to them.
"Beware of the moon… the darkness still walks this earth… hmm?" Konan thought.
The island of the Land of Whirlpools…
The Beach…
There were many times when Naruto suddenly jumped into a fray that wasn't normally his to deal with. However, as soon as he jumped into this one, he was met with incredible vigilance and, quite possibly, great intent. The boy grabbed the edge of his dish hat as he dodged left, right, and pivoted around the two Kumogakure Genin dancing around him. Karui and Omoi, immediately after spotting the Nightwalker enter the battlefield, changed targets, and leaving their spent opponents in the sand, went on to fight Naruto, supporting their teammate.
Samui was watching from a distance, analyzing how Naruto moved as Karui and Omoi double-teamed him, with Sakura, Ino and Lee also watching from the sidelines. They were pretty winded from their fights, but had only just broken a sweat, and had not in the least been fighting at full strength. They rested for now, and waited and watched, ready to jump in if Naruto needed any help.
However, it didn't look like he needed help at all as he breezed through Karui and Omoi's attacks. He ducked under a slash attempted by Karui on his left, crouching low, where he was met by another attack made by Omoi, coming in on his right and aiming low. Moving quickly, he leapt off the ground so that his body was horizontal to the sand, both hands grabbing the incoming blade and he hopped over it, swinging to his right and roundhouse kicking the Kumo Genin in the head, using his momentum for strength. He effectively sent the boy tumbling across the sand hills, and also knocked the lollipop out of his mouth.
Landing cleanly, Naruto rose to his feet, but then came under the attention of Karui, who had effectively overshot him with her attack. She spun around and lunged at him in a stabbing motion with her blade. However, just as her blade was an inch from his shoulder, the blond Konoha Genin back-stepped and lent, the blade passing right by him. He quickly reached up and grabbed the sword by the handle, twisting the girl's wrists as he spun around. He got her in an effective arm lock where if he twisted anymore, he would snap her arms at the elbow, but instead, side-kicked her, sending the girl flying as well.
Karui tumbled across the sand to a stop, where she slowly staggered to her feet, bruised up, and effectively had the wind knocked out of her. She glared up through bared teeth at the scarf wearing, masked boy, finding him just standing where he was, her katana in hand.
Omoi was also back on his feet, well… crouching anyway. He picked up his sand covered lollipop and seethed.
"That was strawberry… my favorite!" He growled, throwing it to the ground. "That bastard is going to pay!" He formed a number of hand seals and glared at his target, but just as he was about to finish, the blond suddenly disappeared in a blur motion, and in a blink of an eye, the Nightwalker appeared in front of him in a flash, running motion. Karui, who was about twenty meters away from Omoi, was shocked at the speed displayed, and looked towards her partner just in time to see him receive a clean punch straight across his face, and sent flying again.
While Omoi was sent tumbling across the sands again, Naruto straightened up from his lightning fast charge, and tossed Karui's sword towards her, not even bothering to look. The sword landed in front of the red haired girl, who looked between it, and her opponent.
At that same time, Samui came charging in, kunai drawn and held between two hands, and her arms ablaze with electricity.
She took his back, hoping to hit her blind side. However, just as she lunged in a stabbing motion, the blonde's body became faded and he stepped backwards, passing right through a shocked Kumo Genin. Samui stumbled forward, but then spun around, seeing Naruto standing several paces back from where he stood seconds before.
Gritting her teeth, the blond girl rounded on him again, lightning crackling from her kunai and she lunged, slashing out at him. Naruto backed up in quick paces, which made him appear to faze in and out of focus, as he avoided every attack made by the girl. Samui eventually came in with a spinning roundhouse kick, but Naruto managed to block it with ease, and caught her leg. He kicked out at her other foot, throwing her off balance and having her hang suspended in the air. Shocked, she was about to receive an effective counter when Naruto pulled her in and, with his right fist hooked over and straight down, hitting her clean in the stomach and into the sand. The blow resounded with a loud thud and a small shockwave, which created a small crater in the sand where Samui now laid, dazed and wide-eyed.
Looking up, Naruto saw Omoi and Karui back on their feet and charging at him with their katanas in hand, circling round one another as they ran in progressive fashion, attempting to throw off his gaze. The blond furrowed his brow and made a quick calculation, before picking up Samui by the leg and began swinging her. After doing that several times, he then threw her straight into Omoi, who was thrown off his feet as his companion was thrown straight at him. In an incredible domino effect, Karui was hit full on by both Omoi and Samui flying through the air, and the three of them were effectively thrown a good twenty feet from where they previously were, crashing on top of one another.
Taking his chance Naruto charged at them as they slowly got back to their feet, staggering and helping each other up. From Naruto's perspective, they formed a perfect row right in front of him and, as soon as he was in range, and with excellent timing, he brought up his right fist and, still charging full speed, thumped his right fist and punched Omoi right in the face. Since he was first in line, Naruto effectively then followed through with the punch and hit Karui and Samui straight afterwards, basically clothes lining or hooking all three at once and sending them knocking them off their feet, with the blond Konoha shinobi skidding to a stop.
All three of them fell to the ground one after the other, knocked senseless from the triple blow.
Forming just one hand seal, pressing thumb against an upside-down palm, Naruto then thrust his fist into the ground, looking up.
"Ninja Art: Earth Encampment Wall!" he shouted, a few seconds later, a large pillar of rock jutting out of the ground behind Omoi, Karui and Samui, the three of them now really struggling back to their feet, once again formed in a perfect row right in front of Naruto, since they landed that way again, and now he was on the other side of it.
As soon as the small wall of rock formed behind the three, and they were getting back their bearings, wondering what the heck was going on, Naruto reached over and drew a crossbow. With the length of a standard assault rifle, scoped with crosshairs and loaded, Naruto took a one-handed grip with it and aimed at all three of them, firing a second later. The high powered bow shot straight through the three and threw them up against the wall, pinning them one on top of the other, with Omoi at the back and squashed by Samui, with Karui at the front.
Naruto easily avoided killing the three, and instead, aimed for their clothes instead, pinning them by the scruff of the shoulder and neck area, and nailing them against the rock. Since it was a long arrow, it managed to keep all of them in check.
"SHIT! I can't move!" Karui growled. Angrily, she reached up and attempted to pull the bow from the wall, but couldn't. Just as the three of them began struggling to free themselves, Naruto appeared right next to them, pressing his foot up against the wall and glaring down at them.
The three members of Team Samui looked up at the masked figure, a little bit terrified and a little bit awe struck. As they were staring, Naruto brought up his cross bow and with the empty, firing end, tapped the arrow that was sticking them to the rock face. The moment he did so, a paper tag unraveled from around the feather end of the arrow and fell, revealing to be a paper bomb, which really shocked the three of them.
"Firstly, the arrow is buried two feet into the rock face, so you can't pull it out," Naruto stated, watching as their expressions turned from worried, to even more terrified. "Secondly, any attempts to remove the arrow will cause it to explode. Thirdly, rip your clothes, and you will be topless, if you can feel it, I've also pierced your bra strings." The blond said with a rather amused voice as he gestured to both Samui and Karui, who blushed fiercely at his statement. "Oh… and forth, the paper tags will only detonate on my command so…" Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out another paper bomb and, spreading it out in his hand, slapped it against Karui's protective head band, "don't move…"
"You bastard!" Karui shouted at him.
"That's one thing I've been called!" Naruto replied, holstering his crossbow on his back, and placing his hands on his hips, smirking down at the three through his mask.
"Genius…" Omoi exclaimed, his terror being replaced by admiration.
"Wow… that's a first…" the blond exclaimed. "Thanks…"
"Yo…Nightwalker…" Naruto turned at his alias being raised. When he did, he immediately recognized Killer Bee, the Jinchuriki of the Hachibi walking towards him, and alongside him, a rather puffed out Anko. Their fight had lasted to the end of Naruto's, and when he saw his students incapacitated against the earth wall, he knew it was all over, and Killer Bee called it off with the Snake Mistress of Konohagakure. And now…
Nightwalker and Jinchuriki faced each other down, with Naruto standing in front of the downed Team Samui, with Sakura, Ino, Lee and a recently recovered Isaribi, joining him at his side, and Killer Bee on the other hand, with Anko waiting patiently to his left. The two seemed to glare at each other, with Naruto even going so far as to remove his mask and lower his scarf, revealing a slightly sweating face.
As soon as he was unmasked, Killer Bee approached, and Naruto met him at the middle, one glaring up, and the other, down.
"Nightwalker Naruto… hmm…" Killer Bee thought, rubbing his chin as he looked down at the boy. He then grinned and did his characteristic hand gesture, sunglasses flashing in the sun. "Hey, what a killer name! It dishes out the pain!"
"Yeah, I love the name, it gives me fame!" Naruto rapped along. "The Nightwalker, yo!"
"And Killer Bee, fool!"
"Dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed, and bumped fists with the Eight Tails Jinchuriki.
Everyone who was standing around the pair fell over anime-style, feet in the air. Killer Bee's students, who couldn't really move or do anything, just stared oddly at them with sweat-drops on their heads.
"So what's been jumpin' on your side, Naruto?" Killer Bee asked with a grin. "What's brought yah all the way out here?"
Naruto smiled up at his old time friend from far away, but then that expression fell and he frowned, remembering the situation he had suddenly come to realize.
"Problems…" he answered.
Forty-Five Minutes later…
Naruto had taken the liberty of telling, not only the temporarily formed members of Team 7 for this mission, but also the members of Team Samui, the entire situation of what their mission was here, as well as the trouble slowly approaching them. He told them only the most important things, Akatsuki, the Curse Mark, and Orochimaru. But of course, he was careful to leave out other parts of his life that he considered sensitive and censored, and when he was done, perhaps the only people that were able to fully comprehend his story was Killer Bee, Anko and Sakura… while the others just seemed to stare at him.
"So we'd better get a move on," Anko stated, putting her hands in her pockets and glancing over at Killer Bee. "If you have alternative plans with my student, I'm afraid I have to apologize. We have to postpone our fight…"
"Nah, that's cool," Killer Bee replied. "Our mission was to find and draw out the Nightwalker from the team of ninja traveling here, and have been ordered to assist him if necessary. If you need our help, bro…"
"I'm fine with that," Naruto replied, before looking around at Team Samui, whom he had helped back to their feet. They were still pretty agitated at being squashed together and pinned up against the wall on top of each other, and didn't seem like they were willing to cooperate at this point. However, Naruto knew better. "Do you guys want to help out? I mean… if you're not too sore about…"
"I'm alright with it," Omoi stated, being the more reasonable one, while Samui just stood quietly behind him, hands on hips. "We still have a mission to complete anyway."
"I don't mind either," Samui said, but looked away when she said that, not too proud of speaking to the one who kicked their butts at the moment. Not to mention she couldn't really take her eyes off of the young teen. "Never knew the Nightwalker was such a looker…" She blushed a little at that thought.
Naruto nodded and looked over at Karui, who was looking away from him with her arms crossed.
"What about you?"
"Do whatever the hell you want…I don't care…"
Killer Bee smiled and gave Naruto the thumbs up. "You have got your answers my friend. Let's hurry and have this day end!"
"Great…" Naruto exclaimed, glancing over at his sensei. "How should we do this?"
"Well, I believe the best course of action is to pair off when we reach the village… or what is left of it," Anko said, rubbing her chin in thought. She looked around at the restless bunch of Genin, with her Team exchanging rather dirty looks with the other three Kumo Nin. Apparently, tensions from the fight beforehand were still high, and she figured that in order to enforce god behavior and teamwork amongst them, they will have to work together. Apparently, the only ones who were really happy with working together were Naruto, herself, Killer Bee, and apparently Lee, who was standing where he was, smiling. Isaribi, who was standing by and listening in quietly, didn't really have much of a roll to play in ninja business.
"Okay then," Anko began, pointing at each one of her students. "Team 7 will work in collaboration with Team Samui. When we arrive at Uzushiogakure, we will split up to search the ruins, and we will do so in pairs in order to watch the other person's back. Here's how it will work: I will partner up with… you!"
"Me?" Omoi asked, pointing at him.
"Yes, you…" Anko then glanced over at her pink haired student. "Sakura, you will partner up with… umm… you girl," she said, pointing at Isaribi. The girl blinked and pointed at herself, with the Snake Mistress studying the rather peculiar girl. "Hey, Naruto… who is this girl?"
"Oh, sorry," Naruto exclaimed, chuckling and rubbing the back of his head, before gesturing to the purple haired teen. "This is Isaribi, the girl I met back in the village. I've asked her to come along with me if that's okay…" Isaribi blushed bashfully and bowed towards everyone else around her.
"It's… nice to meet you," she exclaimed.
"Okay, Isaribi," Anko exclaimed, smiling. "I like that name. Anyway, you will be partnered with Sakura here," she continued, while gesturing to her student again, who seemed compliant with the plan so far. "Let's see… Killer Bee, you will search Uzushiogakure with Rock Lee," she said, glancing towards the fuzzy-browed Genin. The boy grinned and waved in his characteristic manner, with Killer Bee nodding back politely. "Umm… Ino… you will go with…umm…"
"I'll go with you, sensei," Ino said, with Anko raising an eyebrow.
"Umm… not exactly what I was planning. I was hoping that maybe you could go with Karui," the Jonin Instructor replied, pointing towards the red-haired girl. However, after seeing the two remaining members of Team Samui glaring rather unpleasantly at Ino, Anko reconsidered her verdict. "But… in light of certain circumstances, so that we don't have any unnecessary deaths on this mission…" She then pointed at Naruto. "You will be teamed up with Samui and Karui, while Ino will come with me…"
"You have got to be kidding me!" Karui nearly shouted, looking at the spiky haired blond standing at the sidelines. "With him?" Sakura sighed and rubbed her forehead, wondering how this was going to unfold later on. Omoi chuckled where he knelt at the thought of somebody else dealing with Karui's bad temper, suppressing his laughter so that he didn't draw any attention to himself. Killer Bee also chuckled, becoming aware of the predicament that was unfolding.
"We have to put up with it, my students!" Killer Bee stated, smiling down at them. "Let's keep it cool, right?"
"Yes, sensei…" the three of them replied, although Karui was still relatively unhappy. Samui on the other hand, wasn't fussed at all. In fact, she was rather pleased, but hid this fact behind her stoic expression.
Forming up, and gathering their things, the members of Team 7 mingled with the members of Team Samui, and together, headed on for Uzushiogakure. They left the beach behind them in their wake and headed into the forests surrounding the island, following a direct route for its center, where they would find the ruins of the old Hidden Village. But it would not be an easy trek.
With Killer Bee and Anko in the leader, they pushed through undergrowths and climbed old staircases into the hills and mountains. If it wasn't for the large variety of flora and fauna, the insects and all that, the Team had to also put up with each other. Sakura and Ino hung out with each other for most of the hike, trying to keep away from Karui and Samui, what with the whole fighting and stuff. However, with some encouragement from a rather disgruntled Naruto on the journey, they began trying to speak with the two. It was quite awkward for all of them. Lee, however, was getting along quite well with Omoi, both of them learning a bit from each other about training hard and thinking smart. Isaribi hung out mostly with Naruto, finding comfort in his understanding and kindness.
Eventually, the group made it over the barrier of hills and forests dividing inland from the lowlands, and once they reached an open clearing overlooking the central valleys below, Team 7 and Team Samui were presented with a breathtaking view of the Land of Eddies. From the top of the high hillside they had climbed, they saw the ruins of Uzushiogakure nestled in the valley below, nature already starting to take back the lands where the buildings still stood. But they didn't stand around long enough to admire the view; they knew they had to keep moving.
Immediately after spotting the village, the group headed down, and after crossing the rivers surroundings the village, entered through its ruined gates. The moment Team 7 entered the village, they saw it bared a similar resemblance to Konohagakure, only the buildings were more tube shaped, and had the same swirly symbols everywhere they went. It was also a bit smaller, and didn't have the same defensive walls around it like Konohagakure. Instead, it relied on the terrain and the ocean to defend its borders, and they were sure that it was hard for foreign ninja to enter Uzushiogakure back when it was still alive, because it was their home turf, and the people had the advantage.
But time had aged it significantly, and now it was but a ghost town.
As soon as they were through, Anko and Killer Bee coordinated their students as planned, and they all split up, heading into the ruins in every possible direction.
The next couple of hours were spent searching the ruined landscape and buildings for any sign of libraries, or ruins that held significant information in regards to the techniques used by the people decades before. Sakura and Isaribi searched through the buildings close to the center of the town, with the purple haired girl also searching the cannels for any secret passageways, while the pink haired Genin overturned every rock from every door way. The signs of war were scattered everywhere, rusty kunai, the occasional skeleton, pieces of explosive tags, and other unusual bladed weapons lying around.
Killer Bee and Lee fanned out street by street, moving from one house to the other. They found themselves searching a lot of cafes and apartment blocks, and were quite unfortunate when they came across more skeletons, as well as the remains of rooms that supported whole families. Anko and Ino did the same, but mostly searched the basements and stuff for anything of value to them, since the best way to find old scrolls was to look in the storage areas.
Naruto on the other hand, accompanied by Samui and Karui, headed straight for the Kage building. Instincts told him better, and he was on the trail the moment he set his eyes on the biggest building among the ruins that had the most damage. When they arrived at the staircase leading up to the Kage Tower, the group of three noticed that the entire right side of the building was caved in, and that there were huge holes dotting the walls, allowing them to see inside lounge rooms, offices and more. Even the Kage's room was completely visible, and didn't look really safe to try to get to.
Leaving the outside world, Naruto, Samui and Karui went inside, and finding the nearest staircase, headed to the levels below.
Three flights down, and the three Genin were in the catacombs at a T-junction leading out of the stair shaft. Naruto stood in the middle, looking left and right, with Karui and Samui behind him, looking around at the cracks in the walls, and the thick tree roots that held them in place.
Karui frowned and looked over at Naruto's back, as the masked boy went about, placing his hand against the walls and checking their composition.
"So? Where next, genius?" Karui mockingly asked.
Naruto ignored her for the most part, and crouched to the floor, placing his finger against its surface. He extended his senses briefly and nodded his head, getting to his feet. He pointed to their left.
"There's a cave-in about one kilometer in that direction…" Naruto stated. "On the other side there's a passageway that leads out." He then turned around and pointed right. "This leads to the heart of Uzushiogakure, and there are no obstructions…so I say we go that way."
Karui huffed and went on ahead, with Naruto following close behind. Samui went alongside Naruto, and they began following their teammate as she aimlessly walked along. It wasn't as dark as it was supposed to be, mostly for the fact that strange fungal formations were growing along the walls and tree roots. Mushrooms that glowed in the dark lit their way, and the three couldn't help but awe at the beauty there was down here, even though it was just a tunnel.
"What makes you think there's something down here?" Samui asked, not bothering to look at the Genin leading the way. Naruto glanced over at her, blinking in response. "We're supposed to be looking for a sealing key, correct; one that locks and unlocks any seal? If so, why are we looking through these tunnels?"
"It is said that Uzushiogakure still has many of its secrets hidden in its walls and beneath its soil," Naruto replied. "My people specialized in fuinjutsu, and it is for this reason we are searching these tunnels."
"But why exactly?" Samui asked again, this time looking in the blonde's direction.
"Think back to when we were looking down at the ruins of this village from the top of that hill," Naruto said, looking ahead of him. He gave Samui a few seconds to think about it and remember, before he began to speak again. "The whole of Uzushiogakure was constructed in a perfect circle in the middle of the valley, with the main river that flowed through cutting across the middle of the village in an S like Shape, like the divider between the Yin and Yang symbol." Samui blinked and looked at him in surprise, with Karui also looking over her shoulder at the boy as he explained what he saw. They had also noticed this. "This entire place is ruins now, a lot of the buildings can't really be distinguished anymore. But if you were to reconstruct it, every single building in this village, all aligned to form an engraving of a massive seal, a Fuinjutsu unlike any other that spanned for kilometers…"
"But… if Uzushiogakure was constructed as a giant seal…" Samui began deconstructing. "Then what is it for? Is it some kind of… security system… or… are they keeping something huge sealed up…"
"Yeah," Naruto replied. "Whatever it is they sealed underneath this village, it must be incredibly important… and powerful to. These tunnels form a second seal underneath the village itself; a back up seal in case the one on the surface was destroyed. It was done so in order to keep whatever it was they sealed at the heart of Uzushiogakure safe and accessible…"
"Accessible to who?" Samui asked.
"To us."
They kept on walking; passing by a few more skeletons, as well as some overhanging roots and vines they had to navigate through. However, after about half an hour of exploring the tunnel systems underneath the city, Naruto spotted something up ahead, but Karui, at the front of the group, didn't.
In the long corridor, when the girl stepped forward, her foot sunk when it landed on a loose tile, and the moment she hit the pressure switch, there was a loud whooshing sound and suddenly, bamboo spikes shot out of the walls on all sides. Naruto reacted quickly and leapt forward. Using the Flash Step Technique, he grabbed not only Samui, but Karui as well, and in a blink of an eye, sprinted about hundred meters in just a split second, skidding to a stop at the next curve in the tunnel, just in time to look back and watch the walls of bamboo spears crisscross and impale the walls.
Letting out a sigh of relief, he lowered both girls to their feet, who were all pretty much shocked at the sudden pick-up experience. It made the situation more humorous then serious because their hair was all messed up now from the unexpected teleportation, and they themselves felt quite a bit dizzy.
"A lot of the old traps in these tunnels still work, so we'd better be careful," Naruto explained, letting the two wide-eyed girls kneeling on the floor to rest. He sat himself down on the nearest rock and waited for them to regain their senses. "Gotta keep our eyes open…"
"Uhh…ugh…thanks… thanks a lot," Karui said in a low voice, shaking her head clear and fixing up her hair, not to mention dusting herself down. She glared up at the blond as he stared at the two with that vacant expression hidden behind his mask. The red haired Kumo Genin frowned and looked away, unable to take his stare. "I guess I should apologize…"
"Don't worry about it," Naruto said, adjusting his sandals. "We're a team; we watch each other's backs."
Karui felt a bit guilty, since this well-meaning boy was just trying to help and be friendly to her. She realized that she had been treating him a bit unfairly. This showed her that this boy could take as much punishment as he wanted, and not return or forward it to anyone. All anger and hatred seemed to stop at him, as he didn't want to try hurting anyone else's feelings at all, no matter how much he himself was hurt. Karui stayed silent the rest of the time, while Samui next to her, collapsed against the wall and sighed out loud.
"What a rush," the girl murmured, glancing down at Naruto still sitting patiently on his rock. "You're really fast… how'd you do that?"
"A secret technique," Naruto replied. "Nobody else can use it but my family."
"I mean, one moment we were walking along, and the next thing I know, we suddenly jumped about a hundred meters down the corridor to avoid being impaled! How the heck did you know the trap was there?" Samui asked. Naruto smiled and nodded towards a heap of skeletons pilled up against the wall where the bamboo trap was.
"A lot of clues are left lying about," Naruto exclaimed. "Kind of obvious…"
"Yeah, I guess," Samui replied with a smile.
The three of them rested for a bit, sitting where they landed from their near-death escape, and using this time to talk. Samui and Naruto exchanged some questions and answers, whereas Karui remained quiet, looking back and forth between the two Genin accompanying her in these catacombs, while in the meantime, attempting to clear her head a little. When they were done talking and catching their breath, they all got up again and continued on. The labyrinth of tunnels took them another half-an-hour to navigate, with Naruto making sure to check his compass to make sure they were heading in the right direction.
A couple more traps they had to avoid was another spear trap, a pit, and the boulder, which sent the three on a merry chase around the catacombs till it stopped when it crashed into a thicket of tree roots. But after swinging left and right around more tunnels, the three eventually made it to the center of the village.
It wasn't exactly what they expected. In fact, the center of the village underneath its surface was significantly bigger then they thought. A huge dome like chamber stretching for a diameter of about 500 meters lay in front of them. It was something out of an ancient stone temple, massive arches supporting a ceiling with massive root systems, and a number of engravings etched all along the surrounding pillars and walls. It was dark and dreary, water dripping down from the roots, with fungus strewn all over the place. It was incredibly surprising to find such a lush growth of plant life, especially in this area with no sun. Flowers and even butterflies congregated around the area, fluttering by the beams of light falling from the ceiling five stories up.
Naruto, Samui and Karui awed the spectacle, with the two Kumo Ninja looking towards the Konoha Genin for answers.
"Don't look at me, I'm just as shocked as you are," he exclaimed.
"But what's in here?" Karui asked.
"Something big…" Naruto replied, eyes falling to the middle of the room. It was when he looked towards the very center of the room; he saw what looked to be a bundle of gauze hanging suspended above the floor from the ceiling. He first thought it was a huge bag of laundry, but when the three of them walked into the room and got closer, they saw to their surprise, a coffin strung by sealing tape and tags, hanging from the ceiling. It was covered in symbols, and on further inspection of the room, they saw that the walls, pillars and support beams were almost completely covered in sealing tags as well; thousands of them. Most of them encompassed the floor space surrounding the coffin bundled in the strips of paper. The sight was very discomforting for the three of them.
"Is this… what the village is keeping secret beneath it?" Samui asked.
"Most definitely," Naruto nodded his head. "But what is it?"
"The first Kage of this village, a demon, or something far more powerful…" Karui suggested, shrugging. "It's weird… it makes me feel… strange…"
"We'll just have to see," Naruto replied, looking up and around them, walking forward a bit more. Karui and Samui followed, the three of them taking the time to examine the tags pasted here and there all around the room.
"From the looks of it," Samui said, crouching down on the floor and tapping at one of the tags. "Every single modern day fuinjutsu seal is covering every inch of this chamber. Not just Kumogakure sealing jutsus, but Konohagakure, Sunagakure, Kirigakure…"
"Every single seal formed throughout history," Karui said, looking around them and towards the sealing. "Even ones I've never seen before."
"I've never seen so many seals concentrated at one point. What about that?" Naruto asked, pointing towards the coffin hanging in front of them.
"It's giving off so much life energy," Karui pointed out, blinking as she looked at it and examined its surroundings. "The seal formed by the village above ground must be so damaged that chakra is able to leak out of that thing…"
"Which explains why there is so much plant life growing down here," Naruto said, moving forward again.
He was only about to get half way towards the center of the room when he was suddenly pushed back by an unexpected force. He staggered back, blinking in surprise. Karui and Samui jogged up to his side, and watched as he raised his hand and pressed it towards the air space. A current of blue electricity coursed over his hand and zapped him with a loud clap of energy, forcing him back.
"I think we've found the limit," Naruto pointedly said.
"That's a strong barrier," Karui commented, also placing her hand against the invisible wall and having it thrown back, fingers going numb from electricity.
"A specialty of Uzushiogakure," Naruto stated with a smirk. "It's impenetrable."
"Then how are we going to find out what's in there?" Samui asked.
Naruto backed up a little, having the two beside him back up as well and he looked towards the ground. Where they stood, he saw a large sealing tag imprinted on the floor and spread out, dotted by other tags. From analyzing it, he saw that it was a summoning scroll of some sort, but the ink lines on it extended outwards and over the stone floor and tags surrounding it. He crouched down to analyze it, and so did Samui and Karui, both of them running their fingers over it. It was a platform sealing tag, a primary one used as the basis of the entire seal, as the three of them could tell as far as they could see, stretched throughout the entire room.
"It looks like it was written yesterday," Samui said, rubbing her fingers together after running them across the tag and attempting to read the writing on it. "A blood seal, which is required to release whatever it is that is being held in that coffin."
"The key hole is placed conveniently outside of the barrier," Karui also pointed out, smirking. "That means, we are meant to release whatever is in there!"
"Are we? Or is it meant to remain locked up in there?" Samui asked.
"Let's give it a try," Karui said, biting her thumb and drawing blood. Imprinting the blood pattern on her hands, she positioned herself directly over the seal and slapped both hands down. "Seal Release!"
The moment she said that…
Nothing happened. The red haired girl remained kneeling where she was in front of Naruto and Samui, glaring down at the seal she placed her hands on. Eye twitching, she formed another seal and slapped her hands down again, but with no results. She continued doing so till she was frantically attempting to unlock the seal, with Samui looking at the girl with an exhausted look on her face, finding her efforts quite embarrassing.
"Umm…Karui…" Naruto spoke, trying to stop her from embarrassing herself or wore herself out.
"Shut up! I'm trying to open it!" Karui shouted back, slapping her hands down on the seal two…three more times. "GOD DAMMIT!"
"Hold on a second," Naruto stood and walked forward, taking the girl by the shoulder. Karui stopped whatever she was doing and rose to her feet, with the Konoha Genin walking her back. "I think… only a direct descendant of the clan can open it…"
"And you are?" Karui asked, raising an eyebrow at the blond.
"My mum was a part of the Uzumaki clan, the clan that founded this village…" Naruto stated, smiling and raising his hand to his lips. "If that is true, then I can just do this." Biting his thumb, and writing the seal, he slapped his hands together then, kneeling down, slammed both hands onto the seal.
The moment he did that, the hidden seals activated and fanned out from his palms and spread. They continued to spread further and further, covering the entire space of the floor, and even the walls of the chamber. Unbeknownst to the three Genin, as they watched in awe and interest as the seals filled the room, also began filling the chambers. Within a matter of seconds, the seals and black marks starting from Naruto's handprint, had spread out throughout the entire labyrinth of tunnels, and as soon as they stopped, they flash of blue light began emitting off of every mark. The blue light spread from the starting and end points, and pet, before the entire village sized seal erupted in a pure blue aura.
All this light and energy then began to concentrate at the coffin suspended above the ground, and Naruto, Samui and Karui watched in shock as a visible, blue chakra began wafting off of it. Following it, orange chakra began flying off, whipping around like a hurricane, twisting and enveloping the coffin. Then, as the energy gathered, the tags began to burn, and one after the other, the burnt, ash remains of the tags fell to the ground, one after the other, until all that was supporting the coffin, was the strips of paper holding it up.
Within seconds, the coffin burst open and exploded, a cloud of smoke bellowing outwards in every direction, surrounding and enveloping Naruto, Samui and Karui, and nearly knocking them over with the shockwave that followed. Moments later, it all ended.
The light faded, leaving nothing but the tags on the floor and the smoke in the air.
Coughing and retching on the smoke, Samui and Karui waved it away and looked up, having fallen to their knees to stop themselves from being blasted away by the force of the shockwave.
"What the hell was that?" Karui asked.
"I don't know, but something happened," Samui replied, looking up and through the mist of smoke still hugging the ground and air. Naruto waved the smoke away from his face where he knelt and stood up, walking forward and attempting to see clear to where the coffin was.
Arriving at the edge of the barrier, the blond reached out, and his hand passed straight through the space where it was supposed to be. He smiled, figuring that was on obstacle out of the way. But then, returning his attention to the coffin space, he found that all that was left of it were the used of seal strips dangling from the ceiling and waving in the breeze, and the result of unlocking the seal, was still masked by a wall of smoke.
Eventually, the smoke began to part, and soon enough, Naruto, Karui and Samui were beginning to get a clearer view of the very center of the chamber.
What emerged from the white smoke and out of the darkness, was something or someone, kneeling in the center of the room, head bowed, and surrounded by an aura of purple energy. Amidst the silence and as the purple glow of chakra faded from around the figure, Naruto was finally able to see what it was that was sealed inside of that coffin.
He found much to his shock, which plainly showed on his face, as well as his embarrassment, that there was a naked person kneeling in the middle of the room. Not just naked person, but a girl.
A woman around her late twenties emerged from out of the smoke, kneeling on the stone cold floor, but obviously not at all bothered by it. She was completely naked, aside from a strange necklace she wore around her neck. The necklace was made up of black beads around her neck, with six red magatama hanging at the front. She was Caucasian, with unblemished, perfect, smooth skin, and was in remarkably excellent shape. From her position on the floor, it was unknown what her height was, but Naruto estimated her to be around Anko or Tsunade's height, with an ass and breast size comparable to his two senseis.
As the smoke cleared even more, he saw that she had short red hair a little bit longer then Shizune's, spiky and unkempt, with most of it covering her ears. Aside from human ears which she was supposed to have, she also, most shockingly, had two orange, furry, fox like ears protruding out of her hair, which seemed to twitch and move with her movements.
The person straightened up a little from her slumped over position on the floor, and survey the area from where she sat. She then turned towards the very first person she could see, which was a still stunned Naruto Uzumaki, standing some distance from her. From where he could see, the blond noted significant details on her face. A fair, angelic like complexion, with a perfect nose and framed face. Furthermore, what added to her appearance were the two, light purple eyes she had, with rings, staring at her onlookers.
Another pair of Rinnegan eyes gazed at Naruto, shining in the shadows, and unwavering.
Naruto gulped as he stared.
"W-Where…where am I?" the woman spoke up, a breathtaking voice filling Naruto's ears. "Who are you?"
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author's Note: Yo! I've finished two in two days? Not exactly my record, but, I just really wanted to get to the next chapter. But still, this plays an important role in the story, and coming up soon, the Chunnin Exams! If you want to check out some of my art for this fic, you can find the deviant art link in my FF profile.
P.S Please review...