I do not own Naruto. Speaking/Thoughts
Zale sat in a sadden chair (It's that thing that are carried on two to four people's shoulders, and carries royal people or those of importance) completely bored. Kurumi and Satsuki were next to him pressed tightly to his body that was due to Kurumi who despite the extra room in the chair found it much more comfortable to use Zale as a body pillow.
When he had said that he was planning on continuing his travels he didn't mean that he wanted a parade following him around everywhere he went. "You know Gomu I thought that I would be traveling with my group of nine; not a parade that draws too much attention to me." Zale said slightly annoyed. He couldn't leave the sadden chair without being followed everywhere he went.
"I apologize, Great Emperor, but it was decided that it would be better to come in with bang to the shrines, and some villages that surround them." Gomu said stroking his beard; the staff he now carried was now gone, because he no longer had a free arm to carry it in. "There are thirteen shrines as well as several villages that have been known to worship you."
"How long will it be before I can start traveling on my own again?" Zale asked his leg shaking.
"We could quite possible wrap up all the visits in six months if we keep up this brisk pace." Gomu said causing Zale to sigh audibly. "Great Emperor we're going to be coming up on a rather popular village that has a great tourist attraction of your statue that is said to grant wishes to those that pray to you."
"Do you have any explanation for that?" Satsuki asked. It seemed that whenever something out of the ordinary would happen Zale would have an explanation that easily disproved the supposed supernatural phenomena.
"Probably a remnant of my powers combines with the chakra that humans nowadays produce." Zale said. "I should probably go for a walk just to get ready."
"Oh not today, no today you belong to me and Satsuki." Kurumi said pulling the curtain closed blocking them from view from the others.
*Chrome*
Chrome, Gaara, and Kira who had just come back from researching the village ahead of them made their way to the sedan chair that they knew Zale to be seated at. Oddly enough Gomu wasn't discussing things with Zale like he usually was, and all the curtains were closed. "What do you think he's doing in there?" Kira whispered to Chrome.
"Well from the red face on Gaara who can probably hear everything that's going on in there I could take a few shots." Chrome said sarcastically. "You call him."
"No way, you call him." Kira said taking a step back.
"Let's compromise, Gaara calls him." Chrome said turning to see the red head had taken off with a fury. It was understandable it was apparently fox mating season, and Kurumi was very scary when she got interrupted. "Damn, should have thought of that." He turned to Kira to see he too had run off. "God damn it, alright just need to tell him."
"Tell me what?" Zale asked his head poking out between the curtains sweaty and slightly flushed.
"T-there's waterfall ninja in the next town and one of them seems to be their Jinchuriki, we think that it would be best to try and recruit her." Chrome said and Zale nodded.
"We'll talk about it later, right now I'm busy." Zale said his voice suddenly strained. A feminine hand reached out from the curtain and pulled him back into the sedan chair that now rested on the ground.
"That was Satsuki's hand." Chrome said. 'Lucky bastard, seeing that happening reminds me why I follow him.'
It was slow moving to the village, but they eventually got there, and they got set up in the shrine that surrounded a statue of Zale in his old form. Apparently the legend went that when you needed something and wished for it more than anything else if you came and prayed with an offering then you'll be granted your wish.
"People, I regret to inform you that the Great Emperor will not be able to join us today." Gomu said his voice echoing though out the great hall that occupied the shrine. This news seemed to disappoint the people that had come to see him. "He will be here tomorrow, and we regret to have wasted your time, but rest assured that he will be here."
After this most left in disappointment those that didn't only hung around for a brief moment before taking off. "Hey Chrome is there anything going on between you and Aria?" Kira asked over the radio. He, Chrome, and Gaara were at the shrine's entrance in case anyone was going to try something. It was a question that had bothered him for a while.
"Do you really need to ask that?" Chrome asked shaking his head.
"I would also like to know." Gaara said.
"Look alive guys, someone's coming through." Chrome said changing the subject right away. Through the large doorway came a girl with green hair and dark skin. "Hey, that's the waterfall Jinchuriki, and she's going to the statue."
"Should we capture her?" Gaara asked.
"No stand by and let's see what she does. I'm sure that if their Jinchuriki were to suddenly disappear then they'll investigate, and killing a bunch of waterfall ninja isn't on my 'to do list'." Chrome said his eyes scanning Fu as she walked through the shrine, up the stairs, and to the pedestal that the statue sat upon. "What does she have in her arms?" Fu kneeled down clapping her hands together in prayer. "I can't believe it where does a Jinchuriki from the waterfall village learn about this place?"
"It could be a coincidence." Gaara said. "If I had heard of a place that could grant wishes in the town that I was in I would definitely give it a try. She's praying, but do we let her leave?"
"If she came today then she'll come tomorrow, and then we'll ask Zale what to do about it. What happened to Zale anyway?" Chrome asked.
"The way I heard it he had severe dehydration." Kira said with a dirty laugh. "Alright she's leaving, and no one else is coming in, so let's get to bed." The three of them disappeared making Fu shiver seeing that the people watching her were gone.
The next day Zale stretched getting ready to go on stage. "Is the Jinchuriki out there?" Zale asked turning to Chrome who nodded. "Alright then let's give them a show." All of the lights went off turning the crowd silent feeling a great wind push them back. Zale's wings extended and he flew up to his statue standing at the feet of it. The spot light turned on him, and one of his wings twitched proving their authenticity. "I am the Great Emperor, and I thank you all for believing in me."
There was a roar and when they quieted down Zale continued. He spoke confidently, and with purpose each word flowing over every person in the crowd. If you were to listen closely you could hear that what he talked about actually meant little to nothing, but he spoke with such passion that you couldn't help but think that it was important.
"Thank you all for coming today, I thank you all for your support in me." Zale said with a smile. "If there is anyone that would like to come and talk to me please feel free." Zale's wings retracted and he stepped off the podium answering the crowd. What he didn't expect was for Fu to come up to him herself smiling brightly, but there was an underlying hatred for those around her.
Zale remembered Fu, when he was still in the leaf village it was debated whether or not to marry him and Fu to help with village bonds, and now that she could see him up close she seemed surprised seeing him in a position of such high power when only a few months before they were in similar situations. "Great Emperor?" she asked clearly confused.
"Yes, but I would assume that the questions you have can't be answered with the little time that we have right now. Would it be possible for you to escape those that are with you for a few hours?" Zale asked in a kind way and Fu nodded vigorously gulping audibly. "Show up later in the woods just outside of the village, but for now just smile and shake my hand." They shook hands and Fu walked off.
Later when night had fallen and darkness enveloped the village Zale stood alone in a large clearing. The others had wanted to come with him, but he thought that Fu would feel much less intelligent if it was a one on one meeting, but he was supposed to check in with them in two hours or else they would start searching. A few minutes later Fu showed up gulping loudly when she saw him. "Your real name is Naruto right?" Fu asked and Zale decided to keep her knowledge limited to that, so he nodded. "Then as one Jinchuriki to another then I demand that you take me with you!"
This shocked Zale, he hadn't expected things to be this easy for him especially with the luck that he usually had. Still he couldn't let her believe that he owed her anything if he did then she would think that he was obligated to help her instead of her being obligated to help him.
"We're both Jinchuriki which means we share the same burden, it's we're like family, and from every book that I've ever read you need to stick with family." Fu said threateningly a hand on her hip.
"Family." Zale said the word leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. "We're both Jinchuriki a sacrifice for the good of others a scapegoat for our villages to push around, neither of us ever knew true family. I remember by parents vividly, but they were no family. They sold me, and never looked back." Zale's words caused Fu to flinch at how hard they sounded.
"That just enforces my point; we're the same, so we've got to stick together like a family." Fu said slamming one fist into another. "Now since we're a family we do each other favors, so as my first favor as your new sister I want you to remove this seal." She pointed to a seal on her neck that was sloppily made at best.
Zale was confused by how things were going, but he decided that it wasn't worth trying to figure out. "You seem to have an interesting idea on what I have to do with you, but the truth is that I don't have to do anything. I asked you out here out of curiosity, but you've proven yourself to be more trouble than you were worth." Zale turned only to be forced to dodge several kunai thrown by waterfall ninja. "Was this your insurance plan?"
"No, I had no idea!" Fu exclaimed forced to dodge kunai.
"You ungrateful demon, you try to abandon your village, and you're going to pay for it when you get back home." an unnamed ninja said making a hand deal that Zale had never seen before and Fu fell to the ground screaming in pain nearly pulling out her own hair. "Now you're going to come with us, the village could use another weapon like you."
Before Zale could kill them a long tail like structure made from metal ripped the ninja as well as three others apart leaving just him, Fu, and whoever the tail belonged to. "Ooo things just got really interesting." Zale said with a shake of his head. "Then again I guess that's not always a good thing."
From the shadows came a hunched over figure that seemed to be a ball with a metal tail coming out of the back. What made it more intimidating were the robes that it wore, Zale knew that those that wore those types of robes were associated with Itachi who he really didn't get along with. "Hey sis." Zale said and Fu turned to him. "I'll tell you what help me with this, and we'll talk about you joining my army."
"Alright." Fu said turning and getting into her fighting stance.
"We don't have time for this they're expecting us." the hunched over figure said in a gruff voice. "Deidera."
Zale spun around too late to avoid the explosion throwing him and Fu into the air leaving them unable to dodge the needles covered in some kind of sedative knocking them out.
Hours later Zale awoke stuck in some kind of shell. "What?" Zale asked turning around only to have his face stuck in green hair. "What the heck?" Zale sat straight up only to hit his head on the roof of whatever they were in. "Fu wake up." She groaned loudly just rolling over, Zale tapped the roof looking around. "What the hell?"
"Hey Sasori you said that the sedative you gave them would knock them out for hours, one of them is already awake." The second voice most likely Deidera said patting their roof making Zale think they were in some kind of moving cage.
"I'll prick them again." Sasori said flicking what Zale assumed to be a senbon.
Zale scowled looking around he suspected it to be some kind of clay, but he didn't know anything about its composition meaning he wouldn't be able to manipulate it. He formed a hand seal in order to help himself form chakra focusing hard.
"Yeah just let me check to make sure." Deidera said a hole opening up in the clay his regular eye peering through. "What the hell, these brats aren't in there." Suddenly Deidera felt a finger poke his eye. "God damn it!"
Suddenly Zale busted through the roof seeing that they were stuck in a clay bird. Fu was in his arm his free arm in a hand sign that he was unable to break. "I can't release it." Zale said his fingers twitching as he forced his hand to move. "I can't move."
"There was a mild paralysis agent in that sedative that I gave you." Sasori said. "Your movements won't be nearly as easy, and you'll never be able to handle the two of us, even if you could if you have to protect that girl there's no chance."
"I'll manage." Zale said falling to the ground. Sasori seemed to scowl before his cloak ripped revealing his entire horrifying body. "I've never seen something like that before." Zale forced more movement trying to make it wear off, but it seemed as if he was stuck in this position for a while.
A gauntlet on Sasori's arm opened up launching a volley of spikes that Zale blocked with a wall of earth. His instincts kicked in and Zale forced an air dome around him blocking a few dozen spiders from exploding. "Well that's impressive." Deidera said his eyebrows rising. "Let's see how you handle me up close and personal!"
Deidera ran at Zale, but Zale managed to stay away by launching himself off the ground with a pillar of earth slamming him against a tree in a painful way, Fu groaning again. Deidera seemed confused seeing this, even more confused that Zale was somehow able to move himself out of the way so quickly without being able to catch himself before hitting the tree. "Why is he still capable of preforming jutsu?"
"I don't know, maybe he can cast them handless." Sasori said with a sigh of annoyance. "Alright then since he can't fight close range this must be my fight." Sasori's horrific shell crawled over only for a spike to penetrate it forcing a body to leap away from it. "Where did that come from?"
"I knew that it wasn't your real body." Zale said with a smirk. "I may not be able to move, but I'm not going to lose to idiots like you." Zale launched forward shocking Sasori tackling him to the ground. "What the heck, that was wood." Zale looked around for a real body somewhere, but he was forced to jump away from Sasori's mechanical tail. "You're a puppet master that was wearing puppet armor, that's a new one."
"Don't forget about me." Deidera said launching up from the ground and wrapping his arms around Zale. "This is one of my most destructive techniques." The Deidera started to expand seemingly inflating with air. "It shouldn't kill a Jinchuriki at this level with your amazing healing factors, but it'll definitely hurt."
"Ah!" Zale screamed dropping Fu to the ground. Deidera's clay clone exploded tossing Fu's body, but not leaving a body for them to take.
"It was a shadow clone!" Deidera said too late to avoid the kunai that gashed his mechanical eye. "My eye couldn't tell the difference because it was a solid clone, but when did he switch out." Deidera froze when Zale had poked him in the eye it had been a split second before he busted out. "They never left the bird, Sasori!"
Sasori didn't react in time to avoid a heavy metal spike that cracked his face. Deidera scowled the clay bird shell exploding, but there was nothing in it to destroy. "Where are they?" Sasori asked looking around to find no one. "There!"
Zale flipped out of the bushes expertly Fu still in his arms. "I was just biding time, I recognized the poison's effects, I woke up hours before I busted out. It took me a while, but I managed to force out the infected blood." Zale said with a grin. "Let me tell you guys, you might have given me a run for my money if I was fifty years older and you were twice as smart, and there were three of you, but not now."
"You little brat." Sasori said pulling out a scroll. "I destroyed an entire nation with these puppets, you won't stand a chance. Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets!"
"You had to use tools; funny I did it on my own." Zale said with a laugh. "Heads up!" He threw Fu toward the army of puppets forcing Sasori to hesitate for a moment. This was enough time for Fu to drop away and reveal a log covered in explosive tags. "That'll take care of some of the puppets."
"Don't be too sure." Sasori said every single one of his puppets still intact. "I can't tell what kind of fighter you are, but it'll be easier to keep you at bay like this." The puppets launched forward at Zale forcing him to evade each weapon and technique they used. 'This kind of instinct can't be taught; it had to be earned, so how does a kid have it?'
Several puppets broke into pieces leaving only ninety seven for Zale to destroy. "God damn it I'm getting nowhere." Zale said with a scowl pulling out a fresh pair of kunai as the old ones had dulled. "Deidera!" he screamed throwing the kunai at two of Deidera's creations forcing them to explode. "I can't fight like this." Zale dropped Fu once again to destroy two puppets before catching her again.
"That's it I'm pulling out my strongest puppet!" Sasori said angrily pulling out another summoning scroll. Out of it came a giant puppet. "You and this one have similar abilities, but his are far more powerful. It's the third and so far most powerful Kazekage, he can control Iron sand making it into any weapon he needs."
Zale was forced to avoid several giant hunks of iron falling down on him. "I can't waste time on this; I need to take him out." Zale said getting ready to use a very powerful technique. "Fire Style: Raging Phoenix Jutsu!" Zale took a deep breath ready to unleash the raging inferno only for a single puppet to make him hesitate; giving Sasori enough time to cut him across his arm knocking him back a few feet. "Ouch, that really hurt."
"All I needed was a cut, normally the poison I soak my weapons in would kill a healthy person within three days, but it will take at least double that time to kill a Jinchuriki, so we'll have more than enough time to extract the demon." Sasori said. "It'll eat away at muscle, in a few more minutes you'll pass out."
"Seems like a pretty slow acting poison." Zale said spinning a very sharp kunai in his hand and cutting off his left arm leaving it to quiver on the ground. "I can regenerate almost anything, even my body in theory as long as my head is kept alive."
"I've got to admit that you really want to win." Sasori said with a smile.
"Sasori we're not here to make friends!" Deidera yelled angrily.
"I know, but it's respectable." Sasori said. "Alright then let's play this out man to puppet. It's too bad Naruto in a different time we could have been friends."
"Maybe, maybe." Zale said with a laugh. The earth opened up and swallowed Fu moving her, so that Zale could fight with his newly regenerated arm. "Alright let's do this!" Zale leapt up into the air destroying puppet after puppet and avoiding iron weapon after iron weapon. Deidera hadn't been able to join the fight because Fu had just popped out of the ground and was now keeping him busy.
Sasori scowled watching Zale slowly but surely advance through the wall of puppets. "I still question how you are able to fight so proficiently, most seasoned shinobi wouldn't be able to do what you have done so far. Maybe the demon has taken over you, and you are using your experience to fight." Sasori said. "I don't think I've ever fought someone like you, when you die at the demon removal I'll be sure to make you into a puppet, so you don't die forever."
"What an idiot!" Zale yelled forming a red sphere. "Rasengan!" Zale yelled the sphere blasting through the puppets blocking him even the iron that the Kazekage puppet used. Sasori's puppet body was shattered to pieces. "He's finally dead." Zale panted wiping the blood from his forehead. "Now to check on that puppet I saw earlier."
Zale searched among the puppets for a few minutes before he found the puppet with the unmistakable Uchiha eyes. "I knew it." Zale said turning the head to look at him. It was Mikoto Uchiha with a few chips on her face and missing a toe, but otherwise fine. "How did you find this one Sasori?"
"And here I was hoping that you actually believed that I was dead." Sasori said his head turning. He had one arm, a torso, and a leg in the current body he inhabited. "I had a hand in the Uchiha Massacre, I took that one as a souvenir."
"Do you know who this is?" Zale asked walking over to the puppet.
"No, but Itachi looked at that one with a particular type of lust." Sasori said sitting up.
"Bring this one back." Zale said kneeling down in front of Sasori's body.
"I can't reverse the death of someone." Sasori said.
"You're a smart person." Zale said holding the body up to Sasori.
"You're right, there is a jutsu that could bring this woman back, but why should I do it for you, we're enemies, remember?"
"Because you know that you've lost, what will living with the Akatsuki give you? From what I heard I know you don't get along very well without Deidera, besides if you don't do it then I'll kill you anyway." Zale said with a smirk.
"You're a good negotiator." Sasori said preforming several one handed seals his hands suddenly filled with blue chakra. He pressed his wooden hand against the wooden chest of the Mikoto puppet. For a minute Zale saw what must have been the most peaceful death there was, Sasori actually smiled not smirked but smiled.
Perhaps because Sasori had once lost his parents and he was happy to give someone else theirs or maybe it was because he had a secret plan to capture Zale, but in the end he seemed happy. "Will you do me a favor kid?" Sasori asked and Zale was listening. "There are two puppets in the sand, they're of my parents bury them with me."
"I'll try." Zale said and Sasori's eyes creaked closed. "Hey Fu have you taken care of Deidera yet?"
"The damn idiot ran, but who's that woman?" Fu asked noticing the warm body in Zale's arms.
"The mother of someone very close to me." Zale said adjusting her.
"Ooo, is it your girlfriend's mom?" Fu teased only to flinch at the glare she received from Zale. "Alright, sorry I read that it's common for siblings to tease each other."
"It doesn't matter." Zale said leaping off into the trees. "By the way call me Zale from now on."
"Alright." Fu said.
They moved at a slow pace because of how exhausted Zale was, and for a reason Zale didn't understand Fu was somehow able to keep moving as if she wasn't exhausted. "Did you even fight that Akatsuki guy, or did you just let him run away?" Zale asked.
"Oh stop complaining; if you're so tired then just give me the lady." Fu said offering her help to carry Mikoto, but as she expected Zale refused his pride not allowing him to take the easy way out. "Won't your team be worried about you; you were gone for a few hours."
"I'm sure there will be some people freaking out, but it's nothing I can't take care of." Zale said with a shake of his head. In another hour they were back in the temple where Kurumi and Satsuki were playing cards. "Were you two waiting for me?"
"Of course not, but the bedroom's being cleaned." Satsuki said picking up another card. "You win again."
"There was no chance that I wouldn't have won." Kurumi said bored. "Who's that on you back Zale?"
Satsuki finally looked up, and gasped seeing the woman on Zale's back. "Is that?" Satsuki asked unable to even finish her sentence from the shock, so Zale just nodded. "But how did you, she's breathing, Itachi killed her, he made me watch. I watched them bury her."
"He did, but Sasori replaced her body with a double, and made her into a puppet. I forced him to use a technique that would bring her back." Zale said gently lowering her into Satsuki's arms. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to pass out now." Zale fell backwards spread out like a star snoring lightly.
"Uh, sorry to introduce myself this way, but Zale said to ask for Gomu about this." Fu showed the seal and Kurumi nodded leading her to the old man who spent the next few hours removing the seal. "Thanks old man."
"I'm not that old." Gomu muttered as she hopped out of the room.
Zale woke up numerous hours later finding the arm he had regenerated bandaged up, and his arm attached to some machine that must have been doing something. "Seems like you're awake." Kurumi said flipping a page in her book. "You gave everyone quite the scare, fighting off two ninja while pumped full of a paralytic agent that cut off access to your demon chakra. I bet you talked big about how many countries you destroyed."
"Just a little." Zale said unplugging the machine causing the noise it made to die off. "How's Satsuki and her mom."
"Oh Satsuki and Mikoto are fine, but you might not be." Kurumi said and when she saw Zale's questioning eyes she decided it would be best to give him fair warning. "Well Mikoto was very interested to know who her daughter had fallen in love with, and when she got everything she could and of me and Satsuki she thought it would be better to get it straight from the horse's mouth. She wants to interrogate … I mean speak to you."
"Please I've probably killed more, and seen countless more wars." Zale said standing from the bed unwrapping the bandages.
"Hell hath no wrath like woman." Kurumi said in a melodic voice, but Zale opened the door anyway only to be hit with a very strong presence.
"So this is my future son in law." Mikoto said in a sickeningly sweet voice. "What are you doing out of bed, you've sustained countless injuries in that battle you should be resting."
"No I'm fine." Zale said taking a step back.
"Nonsense, now we'll get you re-bandaged, and then you and I can have a nice long talk about why you shouldn't ever hurt my daughter." Mikoto said pulling out a large role of bandages.
"Should have listened to Kurumi?" Zale asked.
"Should have listened to Kurumi." Mikoto and Kurumi said as Kurumi flipped a page in her book.