I do not own Naruto. Speaking/Thoughts
Sasame insisted that Kagero wasn't in the right state of mind when they returned to base, and so they fed her Zale watching as she ate. It was almost unholy the way Kagero ate and ate the food all of them thinking that she would puke it all up, but somehow she kept it all in her stomach that was bulging with the amount of food that she had already consumed.
Finally when she seemed like she would burst Zale had them stop bringing in food. "Tell me Kagero why did you attack my team?" Zale asked. Gaara knowing he wouldn't be able to lie to him didn't, and for now Zale would leave Sasame on his friend list while Kagero was still undetermined.
"O-Orochimaru made us; he told us that if we brought your team to him then he would let us go even Arashi." Kagero said shyly her skin taking a more flesh tone.
"Why did you help them Sasame?" Zale asked.
"They said that Orochimaru only wanted to talk, and nothing else. Was that a lie?" Sasame asked looking at Kagero who looked ashamed then nodded. "What about Arashi, is he okay?"
"We haven't seen him for months, the only thing that we have to go on is Orochimaru's word, and now I'm not sure that he's such an honest man." Kagero said not daring to look up, but she had to know. "Are you really him, the fabled Great Emperor who was the first savior of the world when it went to chaos the first time?"
"Yes, yes I am." Zale said seemingly uninterested by the question since he had been asked hundreds of times each by different people. "Tell me what Orochimaru did to you; start from the beginning."
"It was okay at first he did what he promised giving us food and clothing even teaching us something every so often. Then people began disappearing just one or two Orochimaru told us that they were selected for special training with some of his subordinates, and that they were going to show up in a few days. They never showed up in fact more and more people started disappearing most of them we didn't know, but then Arashi disappeared and we got nervous."
"He gave us just enough food so we wouldn't starve to death; we were so hungry that we couldn't focus on anything but surviving. Eventually we finally remembered Arashi, and Orochimaru told us to go after your team and we could go." Kagero finished looking ashamed of her actions. "It was foolish of us to go had we just hung on for some more time you would have come, and we wouldn't have suffered."
"It doesn't matter what happened before now you're here, and you're on my side. Now tell me where Orochimaru's base is, and I'll head out this time with Chrome, Kira, Aria, and Isaribi." Zale said knowing that taking Gaara who was currently injured would only slow them down. If need be then Kira could incinerate the place at a moment's notice. "This time I'm going on this mission."
"Great Emperor what will you do with me?" Kagero asked tears in her eyes.
"Even if you were an enemy before now that you're willing to do what I say then I'll put my trust in you, if you break that trust then you'll pay." Zale said walking out the door closing it behind him. "Chrome get the others, and get the location of Orochimaru's base from Sasame we're going to try this again, this time no lunch."
"Yes sir." Chrome said grabbing his equipment the others quickly doing the same. After a few minutes they were ready a map to Orochimaru's base in the hands of Zale. "We're ready to go when you are."
"Gomu, cancel all the meetings I have today no excuses." Zale said walking past the man who nodded silently. The four of them leapt through the forest quickly and silently their eyes narrowed in determination not leaving a trace behind them. 'I have such a bad feeling that if we were to leave Orochimaru alone bad things are going to happen even now I'm sure that he's up to something.'
"Is there anything that you think we should know?" Chrome asked seeing the contemplative gaze that Zale had.
"No, it's just the feelings of an old soul." Zale said pulling himself out of his thoughts, and picking up the pace. They leapt through the trees not once stopping to rest until they came to the opening in the ground that would lead to Orochimaru's underground base, and hopefully the snake himself.
"Well look what the snake dragged in." Orochimaru said making them all spin on their heels looking at him. "You even brought one of my old experiments, how are you doing Isaribi." She showed visible fear of the man taking a step back. "I heard that you abandoned Konoha, but I had no idea that you had your own followers."
"They're more Manipulators like me; if you have any smarts at all then you'll surrender now." Zale said with a calm even voice.
"Tell me boy, have you ever heard the story of the Great Emperor?" Orochimaru asked, and Zale remained silent deciding he wanted to see where he was going with this. "It is said by a certain group of followers that he was a great man that pulled the world from chaos, and brought life back to the earth until he was stricken down. Still, I know the true way he pulled the world from chaos. He was a fearless and ruthless leader that took over the world with an iron fist, he was a true genius. He was also a Manipulator just like you."
"Where are you going with this?" Zale asked wondering why Orochimaru was so interested in his past.
"If one were to have that kind of power on their side they would be an unstoppable force, he would be a one man army that could be sent to destroy an army within seconds." Kabuto said with a smug smirk adjusting his glasses. "All we need is him to destroy Konoha, and anyone that stands before us."
"Even if he would side with you he's long dead, what's the point of this?" Zale asked getting a worse and worse feeling.
"For a very long time in the ninja world, Naruto, the line between life and death has been blurred so much that it's easy for an old soul to crossover." Orochimaru said laughing a menacing laugh before he performed a few hand signs. "Summoning Jutsu: Reanimation!"
The earth started to shake violently as a casket rose from the earth inch by menacing inch a visible dark aura rose from the ground with the casket leaving them breathing heavily. "I can't breathe." Zale said falling to his knees coughing violently.
"Is it too much boy; to be in the presence of such a great warrior?" Orochimaru asked laughing.
"AH!" Zale screamed feeling an intense pain. His soul was being separated from his body, and it really hurt. "AH!" There was another pull on his soul this one felt like a hand made from fire had plunged into his gut, again it pulled eliciting another scream. The world shifted, but he fought to stay in the body trying desperately to hold on, a final tug pulled him away dropping the body on the ground like a cheap suit.
"I'm not surprised he was unable to handle the pressure." Orochimaru said with a click of his tongue seemingly in disappointed. "Now let's see him!" The coffin lid feel away revealing darkness until a foot stepped out of the coffin a ring of dirt kicked up when it hit the ground. A menacing figure stood tall and proud with all of the power of someone that had seen countless wars.
It was Zale the same armor that had looked comical on Naruto's body looked just as intimidating as it should have been. His hair was slightly pale as well as his skin, but that didn't make him look less like a killer. Glowing yellow eyes examined them all holding Naruto's body, and before any of them could make another move Orochimaru stuck a talisman attached to a kunai into his neck.
"H-how is this possible?" Zale asked looking at his hands through his yellow eyes blinking.
"There's a cult some place close to here that had an artifact with enough of your DNA on it, so that I was able to use a technique that would bring you back, nothing really." Orochimaru practically gushed waving it off. "Now kill them right now."
Zale felt his body twist and contort out of his own control as he leapt forward at them slamming his fist on the ground on impact creating a large crater that they barely escaped. "What the hell is Zale doing?" Kira asked Isaribi under his arm.
"I've only ever heard rumors about this jutsu, it can raise the dead, and now Orochimaru's brought Zale back." Chrome answered dodging away from the barrage of spears.
"How is that possible, Zale was in Naruto's body?" Isaribi said.
"There was nothing anchoring him there, the jutsu forced him out and now he's sealed in his old body." Aria said. "We can't beat him like this we need to get away from here."
"She's right we need to fall back for now!" Chrome ordered them back grabbing Naruto's body on the way.
Zale was about to chase after them when Orochimaru stopped him. "Don't worry about them there is nothing they can do now not even a biju could stop you, and now your own our side come we can discuss strategies over a nice dinner."
Later
"What did you say happened to Zale, how the hell is that even possible. A human shouldn't be allowed to have a jutsu that allows you to bring back the dead, especially a white snake like Orochimaru!" Kurumi said angrily not having heard of the phrase don't shoot the messenger. Chrome had told her, and now he was suffering for that.
"I'm not sure; I swear we'll get him back." Chrome said, but her soul piercing eyes brought the truth out of him. "I'm just not sure how yet."
"That doesn't make me feel any better!" Kurumi yelled her tail waving back and forth her ears violently wiggling. If she wasn't giving off a demon aura Chrome might have thought it as funny.
"Kurumi shut up." Satsuki said, and she clenched her lips. "It's not their faults what happened, and screaming at them isn't going to make the situation any better.
"Well it makes me feel better." Kurumi said sighing. "We need to know what this jutsu is to reverse it."
"Hmm a jutsu that brings back the dead." Gomu said stroking his beard. "I remember something of the sort from my youth, but I won't be sure until I check the libraries." Gomu didn't seem to be speaking to any of them, but they followed him as he slowly made his way to the library going into the area that let off a darker aura than the rest. He pulled a book from the shelve opening to a marked page. "Yes indeed."
"What is it?" Kurumi asked poking her head over his shoulder trying to look at the book.
"Oh Ms. Kurumi." Gomu said surprised to see her as well as the rest of them. "Yes you see the technique allows one to raise the dead, in theory there are no limitations to the technique as long as you have the required amount of DNA, they must have been the ones that broke in a few weeks ago, and taken an old weapon. The cells of a Manipulator are incredibly versatile, and never truly die it seems even after millions of years, there must have been enough of Great Emperor's old cells to activate the jutsu."
"Still Zale wasn't dead, why would Orochimaru be able to summon him?" Kurumi asked.
"From what you've told me; the Great Emperor was dead he simply took over a new body. The jutsu must have yanked the soul from his new body and then placed it in the old that will never whither or decay. Now he has to follow Orochimaru's orders against his will."
"There's got to be a way to release the jutsu." Chrome said.
"There are a series of hand signs that would release the Great Emperor's soul from the body, but unfortunately there would be no guarantee that it would return to this shell of a body." Gomu said tapping the body that was breathing without a soul. "The reason that the Great Emperor wasn't sent to the next world is most likely because the death god did not exist back then."
"I can confirm that, my sister's only a hundred years older than me, and I haven't been around nearly along as Zale." Kurumi said nodding. "Zale didn't fade out of existence because he refused to die unlike the others who accepted death, but if his soul is released then there's no way that big sis will overlook him. She would definitely snatch up his soul."
"So we need to find a way to seal Zale's soul in this body again, is there a sealing jutsu that can seal a soul into a body?" Chrome asked his mind turning over every book he had ever read on sealing.
"I believe that the leaf village has one, but I doubt they would give it to us, and it requires the death of the user, so I suppose that it won't be useful." Gomu said allowing his eye to drift closed.
"Then why even bring it up?!" Satsuki asked losing her patience with the old man who looked like he was sleeping. "You better not be sleeping old man, or I'm smacking those wrinkles off your face!"
"Patience young one, all will come with time." Gomu said getting that faraway look in his eyes again, and they were forced to follow him once again to a different section of the library where he unrolled a scroll looking over the contents. "Yes just as I thought, it is called Death's Hand, it should be capable of sealing the soul back into this body, and anchor it there to keep Orochimaru from re-summoning him."
"This is too intricate; I would need weeks of practice to even make a few correct symbols." Chrome said looking at the paper over Gomu's shoulder trying to decipher the complex symbols.
"No, but I should be capable of doing it." Gomu said.
"No offence Gomu, but if you were out there with us we would be hard pressed to keep you safe, we might be better off going at it by ourselves." For this rude comment Kira received a sharp crack over the head from Gomu's staff. "That really hurt you crotchety old man!"
"Calm down Kira." Isaribi said nursing his wound.
"You have no respect; I am not just an old man. I have trained with some of the best, and am an experienced fighter."
"Even if that's true, you're a little past your glory years old man, OUCH!" Kira earned himself another hit over the head nursed by Isaribi. "What the heck did you do that for?"
"If you weren't such an idiot then you wouldn't get hit." Isaribi said no sympathy for him after the second hit. "I'm sure that you're very well trained Gomu, but when was the last time you were in a fight?"
"At least you were respectful about it although I will admit that it has been a while since I last had a good old fashion fight these old bones still have some movement left in them. I'll need a few hours to prepare the seal."
"You'll have to make do with one; Orochimaru's definitely not going to stick around too much longer to eliminate us, he'll probably move out as soon as he gets everything ready." Chrome said, and Gomu nodded Chrome following him as to help prepare the seal as quickly as possible.
An hour later they were flying across the forest Naruto's body carried by Kira and Gaara; Gomu stood behind the body on his arm were intricately drawn seals that would allow them to recapture Zale's soul, and keep it anchored to the new body. "Is this going to work?" Kira asked.
"Four amateur Manipulators with one relatively injured, an old man, a girl with fish mutations, a demon with almost no power, and a little bit of chakra against the strongest Manipulator to have ever existed with his original body at the peak of physical health, I'm sure that we'll stand a great chance." Aria said sarcastically, in an effort of humor.
"Hey, I'm still plenty helpful with the demon chakra that I have!" Kurumi said angrily.
"The only joke you ever made, and it's so dark." Isaribi said with a laugh the others agreeing. "How are we with the strategy?"
"Well we only need to get Zale within the trap we'll set up, but if it'll work is anyone's guess. As for Orochimaru, well we're going to have to deal with one thing at a time." Chrome said with a shake of his head. "Satsuki, do you really think we can use that seal on your neck as a base?"
"I'm sure of it, and since the chakra is drawn from Orochimaru it'll drain him the more we use it." (Just to clear up questions the people on this team are Chrome, Gaara, Kira, Aria, Kurumi, Satsuki, and Gomu, but the dialogue is going to be unbalanced) Satsuki said scratching her neck. "I just wish we had more time to plan this out, it's a sketchy plan at best."
"Says the one that's not supposed to fight." Kira said dodging the rock that Isaribi had thrown at him.
They arrived just in time to seal Zale with Orochimaru and Kabuto ready to leave. "Oh my, what a bother you all are. Why would you even bring that dead weight with you?" Orochimaru asked seemingly confused by the still unconscious boy on their shoulders. "There's literally no advantage of having him brought along, it even puts him in danger."
"No matter Lord Orochimaru, would you like me to take care of them?" Kabuto asked taking out his medical scalpels ready to fight.
"No need, I want to see Zale here in battle with more worthy opponents, those that he slaughtered inside weren't exactly up to par. Maybe we'll get to see his full potential against Manipulators." Orochimaru said almost gleeful at the opportunity of seeing his new toy at fighting. "Kill them all, and don't hold back."
"Kurumi, Satsuki, Gomu." Zale said his fists tightening trying to resist the seal's power, but it seemed that Orochimaru's seal was stronger than his resistance.
"Don't worry they're not who they seem to be, but that raven haired girl seem familiar to me as well." Orochimaru said tapping his chin.
Chrome growled cracking his knuckles as the iron sand rose from the ground surrounding him. Gaara did the same drawing the sand from his back as best as he could in his still healing state. Aria uncorked the gourd she had brought with her filled with water colder than the surrounding area. "Don't let them get out of here, or we'll never find them again." Chrome said.
The three of them ran forward forming a triangle formation Gaara taking point with Aria on the left and Chrome on the right. "Split, now!" Chrome yelled, and they diverged from the triangle leaving his eyebrow arched.
Gaara got behind him a tidal wave of sand pushing Zale forward, nearly knocking him off of his feet, but without missing a beat he pulled himself out of the sand his eyes blinking trying to clear themselves of the dust. Chrome took this opportunity to surround himself in iron sand and launching forward turning his body into a meteor covered in blades. "That was a good tactic." Zale said forcing the sand to solidify in his hands trapping Chrome in a ball of metal.
Zale pushed the ball forcing it about six feet under almost like a coffin. Aria took his distraction as an opportunity soaking him in the water that she had brought with her. "What was the point of that?" Zale asked looking at his water soaked self.
Aria's eyes narrowed forcing the water to solidify into ice trapping Zale.
"How much more do we need?" Kurumi asked impatiently. Although she did enjoy watching them fight she would like it more when Zale wasn't under the control of Orochimaru.
"Give me a few minutes, Chrome only gave me a crash course and Gomu isn't any help here." Kira said cutting the seal on Satsuki's neck open to activate the curse seal drawing out Orochimaru's evil chakra. "Alright Gomu we're ready to go, are they ready with the formation?"
"No not yet, Zale keeps avoiding being trapped, we need him in the right place." Gomu said analyzing the field. "Kurumi, could you take on a fox shape to aid them in the fight?"
"Maybe, but it would just be a basic form." Kurumi said. She closed her eyes drawing out the demon chakra that flooded her senses overpowering her human body to near kage level power. Unlike Jinchuriki when they used demon chakra she knew exactly how to control it, and she naturally produced it meaning her body wouldn't be destroyed by using it.
Kurumi went down on all fours a tail sprouting from her end. Her nails sharpened, and she launched forward forcing Zale to catch her, his form scraping about ten feet across the ground. "Kurumi." Zale said blinking and shaking his head, but it seemed that the hold of Orochimaru's seal was too strong.
Zale took each vicious hit holding back as much as he could, but his instincts forced him to block a few and hit her when he could. "Right there!" Gomu yelled and Kurumi felt the seal activate.
Perhaps the best part about it was that Kabuto and Orochimaru didn't even know that they were helping the plan. Their positioning allowed for them to draw on even more of Orochimaru's chakra to make the seal more powerful.
"What is this seal lord Orochimaru?" Kabuto asked seeing a circle form around him and Orochimaru forcibly drawing on their chakra sucking it into the lines that had formed out of the ground.
"It's a seal meant to hold an opponent in place, many ninja prefer this technique because unlike most it doesn't require a set up beyond a few marks on the ninja, certain positioning, and enough chakra to fuel the seal. It seems they've modified it so that it'll draw on my chakra and it seems that the girl over there is the actually Sasuke Uchiha." Orochimaru said recognizing the seal on Satsuki's neck.
"What do they hope to accomplish? Even if they were to completely destroy him, he'll only regenerate." Kabuto said seemingly confused. They weren't going crazy or trying to fight since there was no point in fighting, the seal would hold them and Zale in place as long as it was active.
"That's a good question." Orochimaru said tilting his head.
Gomu hand now covered with hundreds of different seals phased through Naruto's body coming out intangible on the other side. It stretched out the few feet between Zale's body and Naruto's easily reaching into the body pulling back on the soul that was fighting to stay in place with the help of Orochimaru's seal. "Ah!" Zale screamed in intense pain. It was the second type in the past eight hours his soul had been pulled forcibly from a body. "AHHHH!"
"No they're going to seal that brat with another powerful being." Orochimaru said with a hiss. He started expunging every bit of chakra he had, Kabuto doing the same.
"What the hell are they doing?" Kira asked watching the lines on the ground shudder and break up.
"They're trying to overload the seal with chakra; it's not going to hold. Gomu hurry up!" Chrome yelled unable to rewrite the seal to hold all the chakra flooding it.
"Only a few more seconds." Gomu said pulling as hard as he could until Zale was finally free.
"NO!" Orochimaru yelled forcing out more chakra, and he knocked Gomu off his feet.
"My arm!" Gomu said feeling it chop off releasing Zale's soul, but it was no longer anchored to his old body leaving him to the mercy of the death god.
*Zale*
Zale opened his eyes looking around, he was nowhere. All around him was darkness, but he felt as if he could see for miles. "Zale you have just died." the Shinigami or Kurumi's sister said in a low gravelly voice that sounded more male than female. "You've managed to escape my hold for millions of years, you are a being even older than I, yet you stand here at my mercy."
She was a ghastly sight to Zale, something that he had thought only existed in the nightmares of children, but there she stood. Her skin was a pale purple, large eyes, horns protruding from the forehead, sharp teeth, and somehow she spoke through a katana held in her teeth.
"I'm not ready to die." Zale said standing straight in his original form.
"It doesn't matter." Shin said pulling the katana out of her teeth. "Prepare yourself, for you finally die today Zale."
"I'm not going to die." Zale said that single thought running through his head as he clenched his fist. Shin swung the katana down the middle of his skull. A few minutes passed in complete silence before Zale opened his eyes ready to see the flaming gates of hell.
That wasn't what he saw; instead it was the Shinigami standing above him holding the katana. "Accept your fate Zale, and fade." Shin said.
"No." Zale said his mind putting the pieces together slowly. "I get it now, I'm out of your jurisdiction. Even gods have to have some kind of rules, and I bet that one of them is that you can't touch a soul that's out of your time range."
"How foolish, what do you think happened to the rest of the souls from your time?" Shin asked trying to maintain power.
"We didn't believe in gods of any kind back then, maybe that's what gives you power which is why Kurumi didn't become a god. Back then everyone was weak, so when they died even the souls that stuck around faded. I didn't want to, so I didn't and my will power held me on for all those years." Zale said nodding his head crossing his arms. "So you can't touch me, and I can go back to the real world right?"
"You're a very smart boy." Shin said shrinking down to look like a human. She was tall, with pale skin, snow white hair, large breasts, long sexy legs, wide hips, large breasts, and wearing a robe that clung to her body as if she was just drenched in water. She leaned into him giving his a good view of her cleavage. "I've always been interested in you, so how's about a deal."
"I'm listening." Zale said bravely.
"How's about you don't go back, and we use each other in a very fun way for the rest of eternity." Shin said stroking the side of his face.
"Sorry I'm dating your sister." Zale said.
"Right answer." Shin said with a laugh. "Alright you're free to go, but remember if you ever hurt my sister." Her face morphed to the nightmare it was earlier making Zale jump. "Of course when you die again you're all mine."
Zale felt himself return to reality, sitting straight up in Naruto's body. "Zale is that you?" Kurumi asked him.
"Yeah it's me." Zale said padding himself down to just get used to the body. "Holy shit that really hurt." Zale shuddered remembering the pain of being wrenched from his body. "Gomu are you okay?"
"I lost my arm, but it's a small price to pay." Gomu said. It was bandaged up now, but it was gone making Zale feel bad for that.
"How did you get away from Orochimaru?" Zale asked.
"It wasn't easy, but he had lost a lot of chakra, so we managed." Chrome said rubbing his shoulder. "It's nice to have you back."
"Really good to be back." Zale said hugging Kurumi and Satsuki.
"Don't ever get taken over by a creepy snake guy again!" Satsuki said.
"I'm going to promise that." Zale said with a laugh. "What happened to Arashi did we ever find him?"
"The Impure Reincarnation technique requires a sacrifice, unfortunately the sacrifice was Arashi." Gomu said. "I feel terrible for Sasame, but with helping Kagero recover it doesn't seem like she'll have too much time to grieve."
"My grievances." Zale said slowly standing up. "I hope she's okay."
"I'm sure she will be, but Great Emperor will you be continuing your journey, or will you stay here with us." Gomu asked.
"Well, you said that there are others worshipping me at different bases. It would probably best if we visited them just up the faith." Zale said the others agreeing with him.