Chapter 6
Unknown Date 34 years after the Kyuubi attack: Konoha….unknown world
"The hell are those? I don't have time for fairy tales." the boy said confused
"They aren't fairy tales boy, they are very much real, and are existential to your world's existence." Wrath said
"Why? What are they? What purpose do they serve?"
"They serve the purpose of preserving the balance."
"The balance of what?"
"Child, you have much to learn how the world works."
"I could care less about how this world works. So tell me, why should I give a damn about this "Balance" of yours?"
"Because it will be existential to not only your survival, but that sister, your beloved friend, and this entire world itself. That's why." Wrath said seriously
"I see. So explain to me what and why, in more detail, you need me to keep this "balance" of yours."
"Very well, like I said before I need you for a battle that will determine the fate of your world. When really all it is to find a new protege to guard this section of the Core. We call those protege's Enforcer's."
"The Core?"
"Ah yes, I skipped that explanation part didn't I? I'll explain this as simple as I can. You see this world, this universe, this reality, is only one of many different realities that work on different rules. For example, your reality has manifested a way to weaponize chakra as your Strength. Whereas other realities have different Strength's they utilize to defend themselves."
"Strengths? Weaponize chakra? Isn't that what it's always been?"
"Oh child you have no idea how wrong you are, yet how right you've been. Yes, for your reality chakra has always been a source of culture, power, and even life. However, in another reality Magic is the source of those exact same thing. There are even other realities with different interpretations of magic, but that's just one example. There's another reality where people can gain powers through eating strange fruits, though they gain the weakness of water whenever they try to swim. Those are but a few examples of how different Core's defend themselves or how their reality works."
The boy simply looked intrigued, and confused as Wrath listed the different types of "realities" he was learning about.
"Normally I would say I'm skeptical, but given all that's happened I don't really care. All I want to know is to learn whatever did to my sister that's all." the boy said
"I see. You don't even know what I did do you?"
"No, that's why I'm asking."
"Simple, I didn't heal her at all if that's what you're thinking. I simply reversed the time of her injuries. Think of it as reversing time on her body instead of fixing the injury itself. But you don't get to access that ability until you unlock the 5th level of my power. There are 6 levels in all, and they're all nearly impossible, especially for a human, to unlock."
The boy took this information seriously, but you wouldn't be able to tell with his reaction.
"Then bring it on. If I learn how to use this power of yours, as well as master my own, then I'll not only be able to prevent this happening to my sister again I'll be able to take revenge on the Shinobi Empire itself. I'll be able to even take revenge on that damn Uchiha as well."
"So, revenge is your motivation huh? I've seen many people take that path before, and it usually fails."
"I never said I'd do it immediately. I'm patient enough for my own goals, but right now my sister takes priority. If I'm going to wage war I'm making sure those I care about are out of the way. Maybe even find out what happened to my friends as well. I need to know if they're dead or not, and I can't do that trapped here.
"So how do you plan on returning your sister home when she herself is from another world?"
"What?"
"You don't know do you?"
"I don't know what?" the boy annoyingly to Wrath who was chuckling in between words.
"Oh this is amusing to say the least. I'd thought you would know since you have called her your sister, but this is ridiculous. You really haven't learned even when you tinkered with one of my relics."
"The hell are you talking about!?" the boy asked angrily
"Here why don't I show you?" Wrath said as his aura turned into a mirror for the boy to look through what the hell Wrath was talking about.
Meanwhile back with Shusuke and the group at the hotel
The dining hall was above average in size by normal hotel standards with the kitchen not too far off, and the lobby only a door away, the dining hall was an exceptional room. Although without proper care throughout the years it now looks like crap. However, thanks to some tidying up from everyone around they managed to at get rid of all the dust, cobwebs, and other undesirable germs off the table, floor, and chairs so that they can eat in peace, and cleanliness. There were several round tables among the dining hall that could fit about 40-50 people in total; and about half of them covered with food, plates, and utensils of the sorts. With them finally reaching a suitable destination for their purposes along with the food rations low, but decided they were going to refill tomorrow anyway they decided to go all out tonight. Since Shou and Momiji were the main cooks today with Fu as an assistant they decided to make everyone a bit happy with their choice of dinner. With only 15 pounds of meat, 2 sacks of fruits and vegetables, various spices, and some secret stashes of desert of all kind Shou decided to make a giant pot of beef stew so that everyone had something to eat. He decided for dessert to make various pies ranging from apple, blueberry, cherry; and to top it off he used his secret stash of cash to buy whip cream, ice cream, and various types of cookies that everyone was hoping to sink their teeth into.
They arranged the tables in a "U" formation with them sitting on the outside so that everyone could look each other in the eye which was important for what Shusuke had in mind. Shusuke was at the center of the "U" with Misaka to his right, and Guren to his left. Following after Misaka was Sadao, Shinji, Kimimaro, Jugo, Ling with Ranmaru on her lap, and Genyumaru. Following after Gruen was Haku, Suigetsu, Shou, Fu, Momiji, Hideki, and Katsumi with her pups on the floor behind her eating a 2 pound steak with the rest food being at the center table within the U formation. Considering that Ayano told Shusuke they'll be gone for a while they decided to eat first, and save something for them later.
"Damn it Hideki learn to chew your food!" Katsumi yelled to Hideki who was devouring his bowl of beef stew by the second
"I can't help if it I'm hungry!" Hideki replied
"Besides we never get to eat like this before. The closest we've come to this is that one time we went to that restaurant after looting that bandit camp a few months ago. Aaaah! Alright time for another refill of deliciousness!" Hideki said as he finished the last remnants of his bowl….for the fourth time
"The least you can do is slow down or wait for Shintaro-san and the rest. I'm sure they'll be hungry when they come back." Shou chided Hideki
"Yeah! I mean there's at least 5 of them including that new kid Shintaro found that'll want to eat something when they back here. Or are you going to eat the food of starving children?" Momiji said jokingly
"Oh Alright, one more bowl then I'll wait 10 minutes for them." Hideki grumbled to himself while Suigetsu commented
"You think for someone who ate 4 bowls of this stuff would be full to the max, but goes to show you that fa-" just then Hideki began to turn his head to the direction of Suigetsu before someone saved his life.
"Fairly young people have quite an appetite. Don't you agree Ling?" Sadao nervously interjected before Hideki went on a rampage
"YOSH! It's true youthfullness that leads to great hunger!" Ling said in her usual energetic cheery voice
"Well, I am a growing boy." Hideki said to himself letting a wave of relief hit Sadao full blast.
"Right, I forgot the forbidden F word" Suigetsu thought to himself
"He really needs to get over that." Guren whispered to Misaka who nodded in response
"Agreed, he's too sensitive about his weight." Misaka whispered back
"Is everyone almost done eating?" Shusuke said to everyone who nodded variously yes and no
"Hey I've been wondering something about you guys?" Genyumaru asked
"What is it?" Shusuke replied a little aggressively which Genyumaru caught
"I was just wondering how do you guys manage to eat with those masks on? It's kinda freaking me out." Genyumaru said a little taken back
"It's a genjutsu that Shintaro taught all of us. It's so that we can keep the mask on, and keep our masks on while we eat." Hideki said while eating slowly for once trying to savor the flavor of his meal
"Then why is your mouth exposed?" Genyumaru asked skeptically
"I suck at genjutsu that's why." Hideki said flatly, but also depressed
"Yeah I mean Ling has some bad chakra coil development, but not as bad as her dad's so she can at least form a basic genjutsu unlike you." Katsumi mocked
"Hey! It's not my fault I find genjutsu complicated!" Hideki yelled at Katsumi
"Why do you need to cover your faces? In front of us I mean." Haku asked
"It's not that we don't trust you guys. It's just that our reasoning is really complicated, and really it'll just make our situation a whole lot more complicated." Momiji answered "Then why don't Hiromi and Misaka wear masks then? I mean if you're trying to hide your identities don't you think you'd all wear a mask?" Guren asked
"Let's just say I'm part of an experiment along with Hiromi too." Misaka said
"That's enough bantering." Shusuke said
"We need to discuss on what we're going to do about our financial needs, our living arrangements, and whether or not we become permanent citizens here to eventually become ninjas here. Also "we" need to figure out what to do about "our" you-know-what's; everyone who needs to know about this already knows what I'm talking about." Shusuke said but Hideki was unsure.
"Don't you think everyone should be here for this? I mean what if Shintaro finds out about this?"
"Yeah, I've seen him mad, and it ain't pretty. As much as I hate to admit he can be pretty damn scary when he wants to." Katsumi agreed
"It would be rude for us not to wait on such an important matter like this with Shintaro-san, and Ayano-san. Shou said
"You know it's just gonna be a pain in the ass when he finds out about this right?" Sadao said lazily
"Indeed, Shintaro-san tends to….overeact sometimes when your the source of whatever trouble surfaces." Shinji said emotionlessly
"Yeah, your not just doing this out of jealousy for him are you?" Momiji teased
"I wouldn't put it pass him." Guren joked
"Yeah, you and Shintaro do hate each other a lot." Fu said bluntly
"Understatement of the year right there." Sadao chipped in
"Shusuke does love it when he's in charge, or at least acts like it." Kimimaro said stoically
"Yeah no kidding." Katsumi said
"I've been here for barely half a year, and I already know for a fact you despise him to the point you would do this." Genyumaru said
"I think he's just want's to act like the leader just like Shintaro always does." Suigetsu joked
"I think Shusuke just want's to keep Shintaro out of the loop like he does with us most of the time." Jugo said
"Agreed." Shou and Momiji said unison
"Hey, leave Shuske-kun alone! He knows what he's doing right Shusuke-kun?" Misaka asked
"I already know the dobe's standpoint along with Ayano's so here's what I think." Shusuke said almost ignoring everyone there by the way he spoke
"He just ignored us...dick." they all collectively thought except for Misaka
"We should "not" show anyone including "them" our "true" identities. It'll only make things harder for us, and the last thing we need is attention. As far as our money concerns go I propose two options: 1. We can all find jobs around the village to pay for our needs. 2. We can become full-fledged citizens, and become ninjas for Konoha despite the complications it would bring. Although the first one would probably go a lot smoother, I still prefer to vote on option two."
"As far as what we do with our you-know-what's we'll discuss that at a later time when we can discuss this among ourselves where we can speak freely. Those who have joined us along the way can decide for themselves whether or not to stay with us or ask Konoha to take them back to their vill-"
"Hell no! Like hell I'm going back to that cesspool of a village!" Suigetsu yelled
"I agree, though not to that extreme. None of us would be here if it weren't for you guys helping us. Before I met you guys I had no purpose for living,, and now I have found a new purpose in living. I appreciate your concern, but I will be staying with you people even if it means the end for me." Haku said
"What Icicles and Shark boy said I'm sticking with you guys." Guren said
"I'd be dead weren't it not for you guys. I still need to find my clan, but I've taken into account that they might be dead. That doesn't mean I've given up, but in order to do that I need to get stronger; I can't do that on my own, and the sparring matches I have with Ling are sure to improve my skills. So I'm staying with you guys to the bitter end or until I find my clan whichever comes first." Genyumaru said with a cocky smile
"I always wanted friends that cared about me, and I've never gotten that back in Taki except maybe for Shibuki. I'm sure he misses me, but I wasn't going to be a weapon for that place forever just for his sake. I don't care where we live, long as I'm with you guys I'm happy." Fu said with misty eyes
"Shintaro-san saved me from a suicidal run against all of Kiri, I would probably be dead right now so in order repay that debt I have devoted my life to this group."
"Wherever Shintaro goes I go." Jugo said firmly
Ranmaru would've replied, but he just giggled loudly.
"I guess that settles that huh Shusuke-kun." Misaka said
"It would seem so. So then now onto a different matter we need to discuss on whether or not we as a whole become ninjas for this village. The majority of us are competent enough to be genin, but that will probably take some convincing. What about you guys?" Shusuke asked everyone
"If we do become ninjas here we are risking showing who we are due some of our….family fighting styles along with someone's bloodline ability that'll sure to raise some questions." Shou said looking at Shusuke
"I would say the same if some other people didn't have to hide their actual eyes." Shusuke said back at Shou who glared at him
"Anyways back to the matter at hand. It's true that we're capable of genin, but if we don't choose to become ninja's what else are we capable of? Body guards, or bounty hunters maybe?" Momiji inquired
"You got a point there Momo-chan. I mean we only have skills that apply to either to survival or fighting situations; what else can we offer to Konoha besides being the world's youngest bounty hunters?" Ling said half-jokingly
"Do we subject our youthfullness to minor jobs around the village or do we apply ourselves to the ninja lifestyle?" Ling said
"What about when we actually return to our village? Do you think our parent's will appreciate the fact that we've been doing chores rather than furthering our skills? I mean I'm aware of the risks of exposing our abilities to Konoha, but how else are we going to get stronger? We can't keep sparring with each other for the next 12 years, reading our family scrolls, and hope for the best. I don't know about you guys, but I want to impress my clan when we go back." Katsumi said with her arms crossed
"Not to mention what'll happen if one of our pursuers finds us here. Especially him….what do we do if he finds us here? Do we tell the Hokage?" Hideki asked innocently
"If we do turn to the Hokage that'll mean more questions, more questions lead to more problems, more problems will lead to more trouble, and more trouble is something we don't need. Get the idea?" Shusuke replied coldly
"Got it." Hideki replied begrudgingly
"Well what do we do if we run into your guy's you-know-what's? If we're going to be here for 12 years we're bound to run into them. We can't flat out ignore them because that's impossible, and if we get too involved with their lives it could screw up their future's along with ours." Misaka said
"The dobe said that won't happen. Remember this village isn't like our own; things are different, they will act different, in fact they might even end up dead at some point." Shusuke said which got the attention of the original group shocked at this revelation
"B-but we have an idea of what happens later on because of the stories, lessons, and even history books. We even know about the-"
"That's enough Hideki!" Shusuke yelled at Hideki
"It's a hard pill to swallow, but you need to accept that possibility. Which is why we need to make a decision on these things." Shusuke said
"Agreed, but there was no need to be harsh on Hideki, Shusuke." Shou said
"Hn." Shusuke grunted
"Does everyone have an idea on what they want to do or not?" Shusuke said to everyone which got a varied collection of grunts, yes's, and nod's
"Then we'll get right down to the decision making. The first 3 choices will involve everyone here the rest will only apply to the original group. Does everyone understand?" Shusuke asked impatiently again receiving a various collection of confirmation
"Good. All in favor in becoming permanent citizens here at least for the time being raise their hands. All opposed keep em down." Shusuke said with his hand raised in the air.
Afterwhich others were being slowly followed by everyone there with the exception of Shou, Genyumaru, Haku, and Ranmaru (who kept raising them up and down, but was ignored due to his age)
"If you're not joining because of your clan Genyumaru-kun you know you can just ask the Hokage to accept your clan into the village." Ling said
"It's not that I just don't think my clan will accept being part of any hidden village after what Kiri did. They might even become nomadic after this even more so than before, but I'll still join with them regardless of what they choose." Genyumaru said sincerely
"I really don't want to say this Genyumaru; but have you thought about what happens when you find your clan, and it turns out they're…." Misaka said afraid to say the next word
"Dead? Yeah, I have thought about that….and I refuse to believe it! My people are strong, and they'll survive anything that comes their way! However, that may have been my stubborn head thinking, since then Shintaro has convinced me otherwise….if it does turn out they're dead I'll have to focus on avenging them, and I won't rest otherwise. After that I'll need to restore my clan to it's former glory by producing heirs, and it'll have to be someone with a strong fighting spirit to keep the spirit of my clan alive." Genyumaru said seriously
"Along with someone who can handle that mug of yours Mr. Muscles." Guren teased
"Yeah, good luck finding a girl that'll give you the time and day just to talk. With that attitude you're lucky if girls don't run for the hills because of some giant wanting to impregnate any girl that'll put up a fight." Katsumi deadpanned which gave Genyumaru several tick marks on his head with every comment
"What they mean is Genyumaru-kun is that you can't just do that to a girl. She should be willing and would do it out of love for you, not because you demand it. If it does turn out that you are sadly the last member of your clan no one will care about it unless maybe if you join Konoha who might give you funds for your clan should you prove worthy enough. But someone so young as you shouldn't be worried about things like this at least not without proof of your clan's demise which I hope is not the case." Ling said out of concern
"Thank you Ling for that. I guess I got a little carried away with the whole bravado thing." Genyumaru said
"Also don't listen to them about your looks most girls don't tend to care about how their man looks, rather they care about how they treat them with love and care." Ling said
"Ooooooh is a certain girl trying to give a hint to a certain boy perhaps?" Guren teased again making Genyumaru flustered a bit, and Ling blush crimson red all over her face
"N-no I-I d-didn't mean it like that i-it was just some friendly advice that's all! Right just some youthfull, friendly, womanly advice." Ling said trying to defend herself
"Whatever you say Ling." Guren said unconvinced smiling to herself leaving Ling a blushing mess
"I appreciate the advice then Ling," Genyumaru said to Ling smiling all smug like when really he was trying to play it off
"Hmpf!" Ling pouted while smacking Genyumaru hard on the arm now with him rubbing it for comfort
"You're welcome. You know what I mean don't you Ran-kun?" Ling said in a playful tone to the toddler in her lap who simply giggled in response
"Well it's majority rules so we'll become citizens of Konoha until we decide to move on or something else comes up. We'll have to think of fake names given that our real surnames will raise suspicion." Shusuke said
"Onto the next issue. Do we or do we not become ninja's for Konoha? All in favor raise your hands; All opposed keep em down like last time." Shusuke said while he raised his own hand. Again everyone slowly began to raise their hands this time with everyone in agreement
"Good that was easier than I thought. Now onto next matter: Should we tell the Hokage of our….pursuirs? You know what to do." Shusuke said while keeping his hand down this time.
This decision, unlike the others, was pretty split with Katsumi, Genyumaru, Guren, Shinji, Sadao, Suigetsu, and Fu agreeing with Shusuke keeping their hands down while Misaka suprisingly disagreed with Shusuke along with Shou, Momiji, Ling, Haku, Hideki, Jugo, and Kimimaro also choosing to speak their troubles with the Hokage
"S-sorry Shusuke-kun I j-just think it'll make him think twice about finding us if the village is aware about someone trying to find us." Misaka said nervously with her head down
"I could care less if you agree with me or not. All I care about is your decision on the matter. I don't need you blindly following me like some lost pet. You have your own opinion, stated your reasons why, and stuck with it. It's things like that gain my respect like that." Shusuke said dismissively
"Oh, ok." Misaka said thinking that she should do this more often
"I agree don't we just make it harder on ourselves if we keep everything a secret from them? Why don't we just tell them a little bit about our situation? You know a lie that has enough truth to it?" Jugo said honestly while Sadao put his two cents in.
"There's no doubt Shintaro talked to the Hokage about us. How much I don't know, but what I do know is that he's not stupid enough to tell them everything about us, and who we are. He's too smart for that, and besides until he comes back we can't decide-"
"Decide on what?" a familiar voice said entering the dining hall
"Seee!? I told you they would eat without us Niichan! That's why I wanted to get here faster!" another familiar voice said entering with him
"Geeez thanks guys for saving us something to eat." a female voice said sarcastically
"Honoka-neesan be nice. They probably waited a long time for us." a young female voice said while everyone collectively thought the same thing.
"But we didn't." they all thought
"It's about time you got back here dobe you're just in time for something important." Shusuke said
"And that would be what exactly?" Shintaro said walking into the light along with everyone else who left.
"We were talking about whether or not we….Hey who's the redhead, and the other girl with her acting as her crutch apparently?" Katsumi asked wondering who the two strangers are
"Are we taking in homeless people now?" Guren asked sarcastically
"sigh….Look to make a looong story short this is Kushina Uzumaki. She's mother of the new kid I was gonna bring in, but he's not gonna stay with us for long. Just until Kushina gets her strength back from getting out her coma, and the girl holding her up is Shizune she's just a student for Tsunade of the Sannin helping out just in case she collapses or something." Shintaro explained
"So I take it these are your friends then Shintaro?" Kushina asked
"Yeah, though I wouldn't go that far, more like a distant dysfunctional family really." Shintaro deadpanned
"We decided since we were low on food as it is, and we made it to Konoha we thought we might as well go all out in celebration for making it this far. Tonight we're having beef stew for dinner with a various sorts of pies with whip cream on top, ice cream, and various cookies for dessert." Shou said with pride pointing to the food .
"Smells good suprisingly; so at least I know that Shou and Momiji cooked the food which is a good thing, but I don't remember cookies, ice cream, nor whip cream in our stocks. Care to explain?" Shintaro said with his arms crossed
"Well since this was a special day I decided to go shopping earlier using my own cash to buy those delectable treats." Shou said as he bit into a chocolate chip cookie
"Umm….did that cookie just disappear in his mask?" Naruto asked confused at the sight of a masked Shou eating a cookie without even taking it off
"It's a genjutsu that I taught them Naruto." Shintaro explained "Genjutsu?" Naruto asked still confused
"I know he's a kid, but has he really not heard of that at least."
"sigh….Think of it like magic before your very eyes!" Shintaro said in an obvious fake whimsical voice that still somehow managed to charm the blonde boy
"Magic!? That's awesome! Do you know any other tricks?" Naruto asked excitedly childish
"Naruto-kun sweetie, it's not really magic it's more like illusions or tricks." Kushina said trying to calm her son down
"Illu-wha?" Naruto asked him mom looking at her funny who sweatdropped at her son's misunderstanding
"And this is why it's fun to mess with him."
"Basically really advanced magic." Shintaro said trying to keep up the facade "and as a matter of fact I do know a couple of tricks if you're interested." Shintaro said straightening up
"Since when do you do magic tricks dobe?" Shusuke said unconvinced while everyone else was curious how this was gonna play out
"Since…. oh I don't know….none of your kami-damned business teme! Besides these are more like intelligence tests for him." Shintaro said to Shusuke
"Intelli-wha?" Naruto asked confused
"This is too easy." Shintaro thought to himself
"Basically I'm gonna see how smart you are. I also want to see if you can figure out how I'm doing these tricks." Shintaro explained
"I'm not expecting much given you just turned five today so I'll do some really simple tricks ok?" Shintaro finished
"Ok." Naruto said
"Alright first one's a bit easy." Shintaro said as he raised his hands in front of Naruto
"Oh man this is gonna be good! Dinner and a show? Wonder how this is gonna go." Guren said as she turned her seat around to watch the "spectacle" that was about the happen
"Ok watch close as I remove my own thumb from my hand." Shintaro said in an almost whimsical voice
"One….Two….Three!" Shintaro said as "removed" his thumb from his hand though the others weren't convinced that even Naruto was that stupid
"He's really not going to fall for that is he?" the group thought as a whole
"Whoa! Your thumb is totally missing Shintaro how'd you do-"
"Aaaaaaaah! Niichan your thumb it's gone! Hold on! I'll prep you for surgery!" Hiromi said as she grabbed Shintaro, and threw him on the floor with ease like some ragdoll
"Now just give your hand, and I'll save your thumb niichan!" Hiromi said trying to pry open Shintaro's hand
"Wait Wait Wait Wait Wait! Sis my thumb is fine see-Ack!" Shintaro said as he tried to show Hiromi his hand, but evidently broke the said "missing" thumb instead of "saving" it
"Oh Kami my thumb! Ah man it hurts!" Shintaro said wailing in pain on the ground with everyone thinking the same thing
"I did not see that coming….but it's sure as hell funny." they thought as they tried to hold in their laughter
"Hey check it out Hiromi his thumb grew back!" Naruto said pointing at Shintaro's hand
"Gasp! You're right Naruto his thumb somehow grew back!" Hiromi said all stargazed, but was also confused why it didn't look normal.
"That's because it DIDN'T leave my hand in the first place!" Shintaro yelled while he tried to put his very misplaced thumb back into it's upright position
"Ow, ow, ow….aaaand it's back in place." Shintaro said in relief
"Well, on the bright side I know how smart Hiromi is."
"sigh….Note to self "never" do that again" Shintaro said as he got back up
"I don't know I found it pretty entertaining." Shusuke said smiling under his mask.
"Yeah you would you damn bastard. Fine if you're sooo interested in my tricks watch as I pull an animal out of thin air. Bet you anything I can at least surprise you," Shintaro said to Shusuke unconvinced
"Alright you're on dobe if you catch me off guard I'll be on babysitting duty for the rest of the week. However, when you lose you got to clean all of the hotel rooms spotless." Shusuke said grinning underneath his mostly covered bandaged face.
"Pull animals out thin air, yeah right." Shusuke thought to himself
"You got a deal teme!" Shintaro said laughing evilly
"Shintaro-kun what about your tests for Naruto?" Ayano asked
"Good point….actually I think now's a good time to show Naruto one of my other skills, and I can introduce Naruto, and everyone else to someone else close to me that's help me get out of rough situations." Shintaro said
"Shintaro-kun please don't do anything too rash." Ayano said in a pleading voice "Don't you worry Ayano-chan. Everything will be fine." Shintaro said winking at Ayano who blushed furiously
"Ooooh this'll even be better than before, and the best part is there's a bet going on!" Guren said excitedly
"Alright here goes nothing….Venom….Viper why don't you say hello to the teme." Shintaro said looking at Shusuke with an evil eye smile while Shusuke looked confused at what he meant. That is until he felt something slithering up his leg and spine until he felt his movement constricted suddenly unable to move.
"What the hell!" Shusuke said trying to get out of whatever was holding him until he heard hissing which froze him solid
"Well what do we have here Sssisster?" a voice said next to his ear
"Seems our Master wants us to say hello to this young man Brother. Why he even seems a bit scared of us….why do you think that is Brother?" a female voice said on the other side of the first voice
"Well let'ss not be rude to the boy, and introduce oursselvess then. Hello my name is Venom a personal servant to Lord SSShintaro. It'sss a pleassure to meet you young man." Venom said to Shusuke face to face with his venom dripping from his fangs staring at him with his golden yellow eyes that had vertical slits
"And my name is Viper. Excuse my brother's poor manners, and his manner of speech; he has a hard time keeping his fangs to himself." Viper said while scooting herself next to her brother
"Dear Sssisster do you have to be ssso cruel with your wordsss? It'sss not my fault I talk like thisss I'm jussst born this way." Venom said mocking hurt
"Venom, Viper that's enough you can come back now. I think the teme just wet his pants hehehe." Shintaro said with his arm stretched out
"As you wish Master." the snake siblings said in unison as they retreated from Shusuke and slithered to Shintaro wrapping themselves around him.
However, they did it in a more friendly manner unlike with Shusuke not constricting his movements as Venom wrapped himself on Shintaro's torso in a clockwise with his head on Shintaro's left side, and Viper doing the same only counterclockwise on his right side. Both snakes had a tattoo underneath their heads. Venom was a 5 ft. long 1 ft. wide 6 lb. pure black as night black mamba with a white skull tattoo on his head. He also had a connecting white spinal cord tattoo on his upper body all the way down to his tail.
Viper was unsurprisingly a snow white pit viper ranging in at 6 ft. long 1 ft. wide 6 lbs. She had cold blood red eyes that could stare down any man dead in his tracks (yeah she has an attitude). She had black flames tattooed all over her body from her head all the way down to her tail.
"Viper you shouldn't be too hard on your brother. I know you're just teasing, and it may seem he doesn't care; but that doesn't mean you should make fun of him freely you both know what it's like to be treated by your….quirks." Shintaro said in a mild lecturing voice
"I know Master I was just trying to have some fun." Viper said with her head down.
"Hey no need to get so down. I just wanted to make sure you understand that's all." Shintaro said rubbing Viper's head with his finger
"I knew I smelled a snake somewhere, but Venom? Viper? Kinda generic names for snakes don't ya think?" Katsumi said looking at the two snakes wrapped around Shintaro who quickly jumped off Shintaro and instantly wrapped themselve around Katsumi's limbs so quick she didn't have time to react making everyone jump back to watch the two snakes intimidate the girl.
"You best be on your best behaviour in front of Master Shintaro missy. Otherwise you can kiss your body movements goodbye." Viper said with her fangs clearly out right next to her neck
"What my sssisster meansss iss that ssshe doesssn't apreciate you taunting the namesss our Massster gave ussss when we were mere hatchlingsss fresssh out of the egg. Our fellow sssnake brethren tosssed usss asside to ward off predatorsss; we would've died weren't for Massster Ssshintaro who killed off the predatorsss, and took us in dessspite our unique dissssabilitiesss." Venom said with his, for lack of a better term, venom dripping freely from his fangs onto the floor
"Ok! OK! I was just asking! Now get off me already!" Katsumi yelled which got the attention of her pups who were about to come to her rescue, but stopped due to the look Viper gave them making them shiver in fear
"Tomoko! Tomoki! Stay!" Katsumi ordered her pups who barely barked in confirmation
"Good choice missy don't want any unnecessary casualties now do we?" Viper said menacingly
"That's enough you two." Shintaro said loud enough for them to hear and in a tone that only required one answer
"Yes, Master." they said while again slithering back to their master
"Alright you two I think it's time you cooled off. Time for both of you to go home for now." Shintaro said looking down at the snake siblings
"Our apologies Master Shintaro we'll return back now." Viper said before the two disappeared in a puff of smoke
"I swear, sometimes those two take their gratitude too far." Shintaro said facepalming himself
"But on the bright side I don't get to clean jackshit! While "you" get babysitting duty for the rest of the week! Hehehehehehe" Shintaro said laughing and pointing at Shusuke who was giving off a dangerous aura
"Awww what's the matter? Did the big bad Shusuke get scared?" Shintaro said in a mocking tone
"Hardly, I'm just pissed at myself for not noticing them sooner." Shusuke said in a dark tone
"That wasn't very nice Shintaro-kun. You know Shusuke doesn't like being surprised like that especially with snakes." Ayano said chiding Shintaro
"Hey, he wanted me to catch him off guard, and that's exactly what I did." Shintaro said to Ayano
"Hey, niichan since when did you have snakes as pets?" Hiromi said creeped out by the fact that her brother has her 2nd most hated animal at his beck and call
"Before you Hiromi, and that's all I'll say for now." Shintaro said in a neutral tone
"If I may say something." Shizune said out of nowhere
"Yes, what is it?" Sintaro replied "Do you have a summoning contract with the snakes, and if so how are you able to summon them since it requires a large amount of chakra?" Shizune asked trying to learn more about him
"No, I don't have a summoning contract with any animal species actually." Shintaro said answering her question
"Then how do you explain them puffing away to their "home?" How do you even summon them without a contract?" Kushina asked skeptically
"Simple with this." Shintaro said pulling up his shirt over his head making Ayano blush like mad before fainting on the ground making a loud thud
"What was that thud? I can't see anything." Shintaro said trying to remove his jacket and shirt at the same time
"Don't worry about it. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Still though why are you stripping in front of everyone?" Guren asked trying to hide her own blush
" asked a question, and I intend to give her an answer to the best of my ability." Shintaro said as he finally removed his shirt and jacket revealing his well-toned naked torso that had a black inked tribal wolf tattoo on his right shoulder, with a golden locket hanging from his neck, a blood red tattoo with the kanji for "Wrath" straight on his heart, and something on his back
"This is what I use to summon Venom and Viper." Shintaro said as he showed Kushina his back which had a seal. It was 5 in. in diameter tattooed on his upper back/neck area in the shape of two snakes swirling in a spiral meeting in the center. It had three spirals, on the top, the lower left, and the lower right outskirts in a triangle with infinity symbols in between the spirals
"T-that's a Uzumaki design sealing technique!" Kushina said in disbelief
"Uh….yeah I know that considering I studied it for months and months straight to study, practice, and master it to perfection. It's a teleporting/contract hybrid seal that I came up with on my own. I'm sort of a specialist when it comes to these things, and I'm trying to get better than I already am."
"You see I first ran into Venom and Viper years ago abandoned like they said to ward off a hunting falcon pack, needless to say I had falcon for dinner that day. Both are from Ryūchi Cave where all summoning snakes reside, but were cast out due to their "deformities" according to Manda the boss snake of Ryūchi Cave. Venom was born or hatched I should say with an overabundance of venom in his system causing him to constantly "drool" his venom out of his fangs to the point where it's affected his speech henceforth why he slurs with his "S's". Viper was hatched with an unusual white skin that gave her away to most predators, and all the other hatchlings except for Venom that is made fun of her for it which led to her to fend for herself. "
"The two were considered outcasts, and so were banished to the Land of fire to fend for themselves. When I found them they wanted to thank me by being my personal summoning animals, but since they were banished they are unable to make a proper contract. However, I found a way around that with my own creation. What this seal does is basically teleport them to any location with this symbol on it (he points to the spiraling snakes in the center), but it needs my blood to activate it. So with merely a thought I can summon them from the dimension I put them in, which is full of nutrients in the air similar to Ryūchi Cave that'll make them into their "normal" sizes, with some blood; and depending on how much blood I put into the seal will determine the length that they stay. They've been useful in recon, and sneak attacks, or when I need to stock up on venom to poison someone I politely as Venom for some of his. So does that answer your question ?" Shintaro said turning to Kushina
"All except for how you managed to come across one of my clan's sealing technique." Kushina said
"I guess you have your father to thank for that. I didn't ask for your clan's top secret sealing techniques I only asked if he had any seals that I could use to summon them, and he did under the deal that I tell no one else how to perform it." Shintaro explained
"Dad actually….you know what never mind it sounds like something he would do. Actually now that I think about it that seal of yours reminds me of my husbands Flying Thunder God technique." Kushina said comparing the two
"Only his required his chakra to work while mine requires my blood something more easily attainable/stealable, and the farther the seal is between the two the more chakra he had to use even it was slightly more; whereas mine you could literally put a seal halfway across the world, and only use the bare minimum usage of chakra. I'm currently working on a way to place the seal like the 4th Hokage did with merely his hands, or even his trademark tri-tip kunai; but I can only currently place the seal on inorganic material like metal, wood, etc. The only exception is the tattoo on my back made from special ink that I bought from an old man on the road. My seal has it's ups and downs, and I can only do so much with this seal until I meet an actual sealing master to improve my skills. Until then I'll have to rely on only on the books and scrolls I find along my journey." Shintaro said with determination
"Still though that's amazing for someone of your age to develop such an advanced seal like that. You're a prodigy when it comes to these seals, and you should be proud of it." Kushina said smiling very warmly and motherly like which made Shintaro wide eyed bringing him back to a memory from his past.
He was only a child, well a younger child at least maybe 4 at this point, and it was bright making the figure in front of Shintaro just a shadow; however he could still see the warm smile that was given to him for usage of an advance seal even though it was by accident. He was in his father's room reading a scroll trying to see why his father constantly read it over and over. He apparently managed to solve it, and when he applied some chakra to it a golden locket in the shape of a circle about the size of his fist appeared on top of the seal with a note written on top of it.
The same warm smile that he saw everytime he saw her, everytime he did something for her….for his mother. When his mother heard the noise of something crashing with her son's surprised screaming coming from her husband's room she dashed to see what was wrong. But when she came in she didn't expect to see the scroll her husband spent days and nights trying to figure out how to open it, and her son being the one to do it. At first she was worried when she confirmed the crashing sound to be glass, but was relieved her son wasn't hurt and can go about praising her son for accomplishing such a feat.
"I can't believe my son's a prodigy! Oh I'm so proud of you!" Shintaro's mother said her son kneeling down, and rubbing his head gently back and forth
"T-thank you mommy." Shintaro said shyly with his head shuffling his feet
"What's wrong Taro-kun?" His mother asked concern
"sniff I-I'm s-scared of w-what daddy will say. I-I took it from daddy's desk w-when I wasn't supposed to. I-I j-just wanted to see what daddy had in his desk. I didn't mean to-" the young Shintaro said with tears, but was interrupted by a new voice that entered the room
"Didn't mean to what?" a familiar voice both to Shintaro and his mother
"D-D-Daddy!?" Shintaro said shaking all over nervous of what his father might say
"Surprise! I made it just in time from to find out what my lovely wife wanted to say to me." Shintaro's father said completely ignorant of his son's shaking
"Dear, while I am glad you made it back from your mission for the announcement I had, I would appreciate it if you would pay attention to your surroundings." Shintaro's mother said in a sweet voice with a dark aura surrounding her making her husband nervous beyond comprehension
"Uh….Hime? D-did I do something wrong? Because whatever I did I'll fix it right away I swear! Ehehehehehe." Shintaro's father said laughing nervously sweating like a pig
"Oh no she's mad! But about what? Let's see, I made it time, I'm back in one piece, I brought home a souvenir, I even bought some groceries so my precious Hime wouldn't have to go shopping. What could she be mad at?"
"Sigh...Sometimes I forget how dense he could be."
"Why don't you take a look?" Shintaro's mother said shifting her eyes to her son and husband back and forth leading her husband to take a look at what she meant.
What he saw was his son shaking like a leaf with his head down doing his best not to make eye contact; next he saw the scroll that he slaved day and night for trying to unlock it's contents for his wife yet somehow his son managed to do what he couldn't. He picked up the locket inspecting it to make sure it wasn't damaged, and saw the scroll now emptied of it's contents turning his head to his son who was still nervously shaking in front of him .
"Did you do this?" Shintaro's father said calmly showing his son the lockett
"Y-Yes, d-daddy." the young Shintaro said sniffing
"You know this was something I was working on for a while, and yet I couldn't open it for the longest time. I also had this inside my personal desk. Want to explain why you went into my desk?" Shintaro's father said in a neutral voice
"I-I'm s-s-sorry daddy I j-just w-wanted to see what was in there. Y-you kept working on it all the time s-so I thought maybe if I t-tried to open it y-you would play with me more, b-but I broke the scroll a-and the picture of you, mom, and me. I-I'm sorry daddy please don't be mad at me." Shintaro said now letting his tears flow freely expecting his father to lash out at him, but was surprised to receive a hug from his father along with his signature grin.
"Why would I be mad at you? If anything I should thanking you." Shintaro's father said
"Huh?" Shintaro replied wiping his face
"I've been trying to open that stupid seal for weeks now, and yet my son found a way to do something I couldn't; and because of that I get to find out my son is a genius when it comes to seals if anything I'm proud of you Shintaro, and you should be too." Shintaro's father said ruffling Shintaro's hair as his genuine laughter began to fade out along with the memory bringing Shintaro back to present time unconsciously shedding a single tear in his left eye.
"Niichan?" Hiromi asked concerned about her brother who quickly realized why and wiped it away quickly
"Shintaro are you ok? Did I say something wrong?" Kushina asked worried as she looked at Shintaro who took the locket hanging from his neck opening it staring at it's contents in a nostalgic manner.
"No, it's just you're not the first person to say that to me like that. It just that you've brought me back to better times that's all….times that I should honestly forget if I am move on with my life." Shintaro said as he closed the locket letting it hang from his neck once again as began to walk out of the dining hall with his clothes.
"I'm not hungry right now. As it is I still have more work to do before I finally get some sleep. Whatever you guys wanted to discuss you can either wait till I come back or better yet wait for tomorrow morning. I suggest you guys get some rest, we have to somewhere to be tomorrow morning." Shintaro said as he put his shirt and vest back on his chest
" please don't feel you're responsible for this if anything I should thank you for reminding me of my work." Shintaro said as he was at the door.
Just then Kushina had a idea popped into her head, and decided to bring it up.
"You're an Uzumaki aren't you? Or at least have Uzumaki blood in you." Kushina said bringing the entire room to an eeire deathlike silence
"What brought you to that conclusion?" Shintaro said in a neutral tone
"Honestly, I had my suspicions when-" Kushina said before she could say anything else when Shintaro interrupted her
"I take that back. If you have something to say about that subject then I would appreciate it if you and I would talk somewhere more private at a later time." Shintaro said as left the room Kushina standing on her own following Shintaro out the door
"He's definitely up to something, and avoided my question. He's an Uzumaki I'm sure of it. That seal of his is only usable by an Uzumaki, he said he did it himself. He may have made changes to it, but the basic foundation is based on Uzumaki designs no doubt. I know Shintaro is hiding something, and it has to do with my family."
"Mi- I mean Kushina-san should you really be walking on your own now?" Shizune asked Kushina
"It's fine Shizune I can walk on my own now. You should get something to eat with the rest of kids." Kushina said as she continued to walk before she felt a tug on her clothing. Turning to see the source it was Hiromi her face plunged ino her dress starting to cry
"Ms. Uzumaki , p-please don't….don't make niichan sad again. H-he's been t-through a lot of pain, a-and h-he had to do it alone for most of his life. He sniff hides it so one knows about it, but I see it….a lot of it….especially when he tries to make me feel better when I'm sad he feels sad the most, and even though I can't see it I know he is smiling underneath his mask whenever he takes my sadness away. P-please sniff don't make big" but she was interupted by Kushina kneeling down and hugging her gently
"Damn it, I made things worse by asking too many questions...again. Sigh...everyone has their secrets, and I shouldn't pry into everyone's lives. Especially for someone who has helped me so much."
"Sorry about that Hiromi; I guess my big mouth made things worse again. I didn't mean to make you or Shintaro feel that way especially with everything he's done for me; I'll go talk to Shintaro at another time when he's ready. Does that sound good to you?" Kushina said letting Hiromi wipe away her tears
"sniff ok….I'm not hungry too I'm gonna go find-grooooooowl-eep!" Hiromi said blushing while holding her stomach
"I think your stomach disagrees with you. Come on let's get something to eat before the food get's cold then we can go find your brother. How does that sound?" Kushina said standing up
"O-ok" Hiromi said shyly shuffling towards herself towards the table before everyone decided to leave.
"Burp! Oh man I am stuffed! Well, time for me to hit the sack I'm tired as can be." Hideki said as he got up from his chair
"If you're going to retire for the night then put your dishes away." Shou said as he took a bite out of one of the pies he made
"Yeah, clean up after yourself ya damn slob." Katusmi said tossing a piece of meat to her pups.
"Hey, are you gonna spend the rest of the night here or what? The same goes for you Shizune." Guren asked the two women
"If it doesn't bother you kids, and if you have enough room; then yes I will be spending the night here until I have my house back so my son and I can move in." Kushina said.
"We have more than enough room for you and your son. It's not that big of a deal to us anyways. Though it is kinda weird having an adult stay with us, we're used to only have kids around so it's kind of a new experience. Where do you think they could sleep Shusuke-kun?" Misaka said
"They could sleep in room 8A. It's on the first floor down to the right at the end of the hallway. It has a King sized bed, and a fold-able couch so it'll be more than enough room for you and your son. I searched the manager's office for all of the room's key. Here's the key to your room." Shusuke said as he got up from his chair leaving the key on the table
"Thank you for your consideration….Shusuke was it?" Kushina asked Shusuke only nodding
"I'm going to set up the usual traps around here. It'll take me about an hour or two so don't follow me." Shusuke said to the group of kids before he left the room
"I'm going to turn in for the night as well. Ranmaru-kun is getting tired so I'm going to put him to bed." Ling said getting up as she rocked a tired Ranmaru to sleep
"You have infants with you as well?" Shizune asked looking at Ling which apparently brought the room to another death like silence only this one was filled with sorrow
"We….Shintaro may not have told you, but….there were more of us at the beginning." Misaka said solemnly
"Our original group consisted of 26 children no adults to watch us because of the fear of spreading the plague to other lands. Haku-san, Genyumaru-san, Fu-chan, Guren-san, Suigetsu-kun, Karin-chan, Honoka-san, Ranmaru-kun, Jugo-san, and Kimimaro-san are all that we have come across on our journey to find a home. Before them we lost some of our friends….all of which were very close to Shintaro in merely the first year of our journey….and it was our fault because of it." Shou said in a regretful tone
"We were scared, stubborn, and ignored Shintaro's orders when he was the only one who knew how to keep us alive, and it cost us his friends and one of our youngest members….a baby girl." Momiji said as she clenched her fist in anger of their past actions
"Shintaro….had a hard time after most of the losses, but after...after we lost her….we were afraid of how Shintaro would act, but….other than the huge fight Shintaro gave to try and save her he just….shut down. It took 3 days of total unresponsiveness from Shintaro for him to just get up and only say."
"Let's go. I still have to keep the rest of you alive. Now let's go." in this eerie dead tone without even looking at us before walking off to a inn that we stayed at for 5 months….that kept us alive, fed, and more importantly safe." Momiji said in a sorrowful tone
"In all honesty I wouldn't be surprised in Shintaro hated each of us, the original of us anyways. I don't think he's laughed, smiled, or even felt happy genuinely since then….the only reason why I'm telling you this is so that you'll understand why Shintaro hardly trusts anyone, but for some reason he took in other's like us. At first I didn't see the point of bringing in new people I thought they would just slow us down, make us more obvious to find, but Shintaro wouldn't have it any other way. Don't get me wrong I'm glad we brought you guys along now, but back then I wasn't so sure." Momiji said explaining herself as she stoop up from the table
"As you can see we've been through a lot especially Shintaro who kept us alive this entire time even though he had no reason too. Please keep this in mind the next time you speak with him ." Shou said as he also got up with his sister
"I'm going to retire for the night as well. Katsumi, Haku, Jugo, Guren don't forget you have cleaning duty tonight. Just make sure you at least wash the dishes and throw the food out when everyone's done eating." Shou said as walked out the room with his sister
Katsumi groaned in compliance
"Very well then." Haku said
"I'll be happy to help." Jugo said
"Aw man, this is gonna cut into my beauty sleep isn't it?"
"Yes." Everyone answered
"You don't have be jerks about it." Guren mumbled to herself
"Good night everyone." the twins said
"Yawn I'm tired too it's late anyways I'm gonna bed too. What about you Suigetsu?" Fu asked the boy
"Yeah, I don't really have an appetite anyways anymore besides you're right it's like 9:00 or 10:00 by now which is late for us seeing as we're always in bed by 8:00. Man, I hate schedules." Suigetsu complained
"I'll escort you two to your room then. You two are sharing a room with me until we get our living arrangements settled." Kimimaro said leaving the table
"Awww man I wanted my own room! Why do I have share one with "you" of all people." Suigetsu grumbled to Kimimaro
"Because you're not old enough yet, and in case of an intruder I'll be there." Kimimaro said flatly ignoring Suigetsu's grumbling
"Do I have to share a bed with him?" Fu asked for reasons not to be discussed publicly
"No, you don't have to share a bed because the room we have has 2 beds and a small couch that I'll be sleeping on while you two get the beds." Kimimaro said
"Hey! I've gotten better ya know!" Suigetsu yelled at Fu
"Whatever….bed wetter! hehehehehe" Fu laughed as she ran to her room with a smile on her face
"Hey! Get back here! I told you not to call me that ya damn moss head!" Suigetsu yelled as he chased after Fu
"sigh I swear those two are always fighting." Kimimaro said rubbing his forehead as he began to follow the two children out of the room
"Is anyone else heading for bed because I'm sure as hell am. That match with Ling earlier really took a number on me. Yaaaawn G'night." Genyumaru said
"Hey, Naruto. It's Naruto right?" Genyumaru said looking at the blonde boy
"Y-yeah?" Naruto said startled at the giant of a kid
"You in the academy yet or whatever you Konoha people have?" Genyumaru asked
"Y-yes and n-no I've only been to the academy for maybe a month, and that's only watching them through the window because they didn't want me going to the academy for some reason. I mean sure I sneaked in a couple of times just to see what it was like, but they kicked me out most of the time. But the old man helped me out so I can actually go there now like I have been the last few weeks. My first real day at the academy as a student is actually tomorrow. To be honest I was hoping i-if you would take me there mom." Naruto said slightly embarrassed
"Of course! I don't care I have to crawl my way there! I'd be glad to take you there is what I mean ya know? 'Dammit!' Anyways let's get something to eat so we could go to bed too. It's late as it is. Go on I'll catch up." Kushina said as she watched her son speed to the table to find a meal
"Oh, by the way Genyumaru was it?" Kushina asked as turned to his direction
"Yup. that's me Genyumaru Yama of the Yama Clan." Genyumaru said with pride
"The Yama Clan?! I thought they were a warrior clan like the Kaguya clan. What are you doing here?" Kushina asked surprised
"Long story short Kiri went on a bloodline hunt, well massacre is more accurate, that caused my clan to run for safety, but I didn't make it. Also were not as thick headed or bloodthirsty as the Kaguya clan was; if it it means survival for our clan we'll do whats necessary even if it means temporarily leaving our home. Actually we have more refugees I guess you'd call them with us from Kiri. Suigetsu was the kid with the white hair chasing after Fu the girl with green hair he's actually part of the Hozuki clan, a clan that can turn their entire body into water at will….which was why Fu was calling him that. He has trouble controlling it going to sleep, but other than that he's fine. They (pointing to the original group) found him "training" by himself after escaping some Kiri ninja with his big brother, Mangetsu I think his name was, to be and I quote "The best kami-damned swordsmen in Kiri-no the whole world." Genyumaru deadpanned as he rolled his eyes
"Anyways we found him "training" ,and I use the term loosely, by himself in the woods thinking about an offer he got from this weird dude that some of the other guys met. Oro-oreo? I don't know, all they said it was some weird pale pasty guy who had long black hair, weird yellow eyes, had purple make-up on his eyes, and had a creepy slimy voice to boot. I never met the dude, but I wouldn't feel comfortable accepting anything from that guy." Genyumaru said as he shivered thinking about the man.
"You kids met Orochimaru!" Kushina said as she paled at the thought of any one of these kids meeting that man if one could call him that
"Well, like I said I never met the guy. Only Guren, Suigetsu, Kimimaro, and Jugo have seen him in person. Shintaro seem's to know a lot about him as well, but he knows everything." Genyumaru said with his fingers
"Why? Is he like bad news or something?" Genyumaru asked confused
"More than that he's a damn monster….but i'll explain later." Kushina said as she turned her eyes to her son
"Ok?" Genyumaru said as he shrugged
"Whatever, I'm hitting the sack. If you want more info talk to Sadao or Shinji." Genyumaru said as he left the room pointing to two kids playing Shogi
'Alright just calm down. Don't worry Naruto about any of this; not after all that's happened today. I guess I'll have to find this Shinji or Sadao if I want to learn anything, but I'll worry about that tomorrow when I can talk to Hiruzen about this. For now just enjoy every moment you can with Naruto, both mine and Minato's son….Minato, I wish you were here.' Kushina thought to herself
"Misaka, you need to get to the roof as the lookout it's your shift tonight for the next 3 hours." Sadao said as he laid back in his chair
"What! Why? We're in Konoha for crying out loud! Who's gonna attack us here?" Misaka complained
"Do you really need an answer for that?" Shinji said in a monotone voice making Misaka jerk back a bit
"Do you really think he's crazy enough to even try and catch us now?" Misaka said a bit trying to feign confidence
"Do you think he's sane enough to not?" Shinji said again in his monotone voice
"Besides think of it like this you might run into Shusuke setting up the traps up there, might need your-"
"On my way!" Misaka said speeding off leaving a trail of dust in her wake.
"...help. Well, that was easy." Sadao said
"Did you expect anything else?" Shinji deadpanned
"Excuse me, but I didn't get your names either." Kushina said as she walked to the two boys
"Name's Sadao, and the giant coat with glasses is Shinji." Sadao said lazily pointing to Shinji with his head down in his arms almost sleeping
"Excuse his rudeness he's like this all the time." Shinji said in a lightly polite voice
"Like how you're emotionless when it comes to everything?" Sadao retorted
"I am responsible for making decisions that affect us as a whole. Emotion clouds judgement. Clouded judgement leads to disaster. Therefore emotion is irrelevant, and unnecessary when it comes to making decisions. I see no reason to involve something as trivial when it comes to decision making only logic. The only thing that matters is the mission, and how it's performed with efficiency." Shinji said emotionless as he always does according to Sadao
"This kid could end up like Danzo if he's not careful." Kushina thought to herself
"If that's the case then why do constantly check up on Fu, Kimimaro, and Jugo? Last time I checked you always find the time to talk to them." Sadao asked
"Comrades with something interesting to say that's all." Shinji said as he pushed his glasses up.
"Fu has interesting stuff to say?" Sadao ask sarcastically
"I should correct myself. I meant her….companion." Shinji said carefully
"You know it's not healthy for someone to think like that. Especially for someone of your age; that kind of thinking will change you as a person. I actually know someone who thinks like that, and the only thing he's concerned with is making Konoha the most powerful Hidden Village among the 5 Great Nations no matter the cost even if that cost is his own sense of morals, humanity, and common sense." Kushina said as she sneered thinking of the man who fit that description.
"A noble cause, but selfish as well. I fail to see the connection seeing as I don't want any more of us to die before we go home." Shinji said flatly.
"Pardon me for asking you this, but are you here because you wanted to talk to us or did you want to find out more about us in general? I heard what Genyumaru said." Sadao asked Kushina picking his head up to look at her
"Both actually, but can we talk after dinner when I put my son to bed?" Kushina asked to which they both nodded
"Thank you it'll only take so long, I don't plan on making you kids wait too long I want Naruto in bed as soon as possible since it's so late, and since his first day at the academy is tomorrow I don't want him late ya know? Damn it! sigh I'll talk to you guys later." Kushina said as went to go sit next to her son waiting for her so they could eat.
Sadao and Shinji were Shintaro's handpicked "advisors" when it came to deciding just about everything important regarding the group. From the destination, to the routes they took, proper food ration splits, battle strategies, watch duties, etc….
Sadao was chosen due to his abnormally high IQ, and his ability to think of multiple strategies that Shintaro wouldn't even consider. Despite his laziness, carefree attitude, and constant complaining that everything is a pain in the ass he's actually a well-respected member of the group….at least to Shintaro anyways.
Shinji was also chosen by Shintaro for keeping a cool head no matter the situation, and because of his logical thinking that has managed to save lives over a dozen times….though sometimes his logical mindset can both be a blessing to him and a curse to others. He's been on and off when agreeing to pick up "unnecessary liabilities" according to Shinji whenever they would come across someone that would gain Shintaro interests.
It took major convincing from both Shintaro and Sadao to prove to a skeptical Shinji that these "liabilities" could prove useful to them along with not just ignoring them to their fates.
Sadao was the same age as the original group which was mostly 10, and one of few people to actually listen to what Shintaro had said in the beginning like Shinji. He had dirty blonde, almost sand like colored hair tied back into a spiky ponytail that hung to the back of his neck, his eyes were emerald green that always looked either tired or bored often both.
He had ,like the others, something to cover his face which wasn't a mask at all instead it was a dark blood red sash wrapped around his face that doubled as a scarf, he wore light mesh armor for his chest covered by a beige vest with red edges that was opened all the time and cut mid length, he wore dark blue ninja pants that stopped above his ankles, he had black sandals on his feet, he had a ninja pouch on his right leg tied with bandages.
Sadao was no doubt the laziest kid in existence, at least according to Shintaro anyways. Still though Sadao was a valuable member when it came to making important decisions, he always either agreed or countered with something better in mind when Shintaro was deciding their next move whenever they had to move to somewhere else.
Shinji however, was no doubt a most….mysterious individual seeing as the only thing he ever wore was a simple hooded trench coat that covered him from head to toe with a high collar hiding most of his face leaving only his sunglasses on his face exposed, and besides that the only thing you ever saw of him was his black hair that was spiky from front to back.
Shinji like to be alone most of the time only really talking to Kimimaro since he didn't quite fit in well at first like Haku or Guren did, and Fu since….well she shared an interest in bugs like Shinji did; not to mention she had a giant bug living inside of her that also peeked his interests about her. Shinji and Sadao were both so similar and yet so different at the same time; both had the best interests of the group as a whole, but Sadao prefered to keep things at a safe slower pace rather than Shinji who preferred to move things along a bit quicker and more calculated with his logic. There were times when Sadao and Shinji didn't get along, but that was when they were conducting business; other than that they regularly played Shogi with each other trying to best each other seeing it was the only pass time they had in common.
It was 30 minutes after everyone had eaten so Katsumi, Guren, Jugo, and Haku were washing the dishes before they would eventually go to sleep as well wondering where Shintaro ventured off to not having returning from wherever he was. Now Kushina, after putting Naruto to sleep, was talking to the two boys about anything she could think of at the moment as they themselves were trying to settle things on their own.
"So Ms. Uzumaki was it? Are you sure that's what you want to be called?" Shinji asked Kushina for confirmation
"Yeah, I don't mind at all makes me feel more normal ya know? Dammit! 'Ughhhhhh I got to get that under control otherwise Naruto might pick it up, and I don't want him getting made fun of because of my speech patterns.' sigh….I swear I need to get a hold on that." Kushina said to herself
"We don't mind the way you speak rather we only care what you say to us." Shinji said in his monotone voice
"Ok then lets get down to business. First off we decided as a whole that we are going to be citizens of Konoha in hopes of becoming ninja purely so that we could 1: Meet our financial needs, 2: Improve our skills so that we could defend ourselves against anyone stupid enough to try and attack us when we're in here. Even though we're in a hidden village there are people that will be after us no matter the cost, but that is a matter to discuss with the Hokage and Council. Lastly we're joining because we want to gain your village's trust in order to peacefully coexist as long as we're here." Sadao said neutrally keeping a straight face though one could hardly tell with the sash covering his face.
"We have no interest in betraying your village in the near or far future for petty means. Such as giving information to other villages for better protection, money, or even if it's to save ourselves. We made our choice long ago that this village would be our new home until we could return to our own. Also this is the best location in the even our village….doesn't recover from the virus that has infected our village. We should also mention that any help you do or don't offer won't be accepted for both our own privacy, and your health. Whenever we tried to bring in someone out of our village to help cure us they ended up infected as well, and whenever we sent samples to them their village it would be wiped out in a matter of days if not weeks so don't bother." Shinji said in a monotone voice without emotion
"If there's one thing we should make clear it's this: Our loyalty is to our own people meaning our friends that we started with, and the new ones that me made along the way. Also when we become ninja to this village you'll have our loyalty till the day we die or until the 12 years have gone by. You have my word on that and everyone else's word on this: We will live here till it is time to leave or we die before then." Sadao said with extreme seriousness looking Kushina straight in the eyes with an expression of"I'm deadly serious" to which she returned with an "I'll take you up on that" look in her eyes
"I see you're no ordinary children. Alright then I usually don't get so serious since I heard it does bad things for your skin, but I'll make an exception for now. I can see why you kids have made it so far with as little….forgive me, casualties as possible. You have a fire in your eyes equal to that of our Will of Fire, in fact you two remind me of some people I know. 'It's almost scary in fact, like they're related or something.' Still, I can understand your reasons for wanting to become ninja, but the council may not be as lenient as I am. They are going to need more than your word on this matter they are going to need evidence especially those three. If anything those three are going to be your biggest problem if you're going through with this plan. I can tell that you mean what you say, but from what I heard Shintaro said none of you, at least the original group he said, were interested in being ninja for Konoha." Kushina said making Sadao and Shinji raise an eyebrow turn to each other and nod in unison
"I see, he probably was going off the decision we made before we entered the Land of Fire. At first we were unsure whether or not to go through with his so it was decided until the next meeting that we would say that we weren't interested in becoming ninjas for Konoha. I doubt Shintaro is aware of what we decided when it came to-"
"Came to what exactly?" a familiar voice said walking into the light
"He really has a habit of coming at the worst time possible." Kushina thought to herself
"I see you've returned from….whatever it is you did. Where'd you go exactly anyways?" Sadao said turning to him
"I was out scouting the village for some things. I've found them, and actually brought one of them with me. The other is something I'll have to do at a later time. So like I said before when I came in earlier, What the hell were you guys discussing when I was away?" Shintaro said crossing his arms expecting an answer
"We were discussing and finally chose to become ninjas for Konoha while you were away. Shusuke had said that he knew yours, Ayano's, and Hiromi's viewpoint on the matter, and said that Karin and Honoka's doesn't matter since they tagged along only to temporarily join the village until her clan decides her fate." Shinji replied to Shintaro who took a few moments of silence for him to process that information.
It was very clear after these moments of silence that Shintaro decided to respond to this information by clenching his fist tightly, and punching a hole straight through the wall beam startling everyone nearby plus the fact that he didn't even know was there was not knowledge known to him.
"I am going to have...a few words with the teme the next time I see that damn face of his…. (he takes a deep breath), I swear the second I'm gone he thinks he's the next big thing. In the mean time while I was out I decided to bring someone who I know you'll be interested in seeing in . You're welcome by the way, it wasn't easy what with those bastards needing to learn to be less paranoid."
"(He rubs his temple's thoroughly) Look I'm tired as hell, I've had a long day, and I still have shit to do in the morning so I'll just deal with this tomorrow you guys can fill me in later. See you then." Shintaro said as he yawned walking back towards the door before talking to someone who was waiting outside the door
"You can go in now if you want though it seems kinda pointless to leave at this point. I suggest you get in there before she goes to bed with her son…. who she hasn't seen in years. So unless you get in there now, and talk to your friend or all that work I put it in will have been for nothing." Shintaro said looking at someone before walking out the door making Kushina confused as to who Shintaro was talking about
"Well, I guess it's high time I go to bed too. It's been a pain in the ass staying up this late, but necessary for our group's needs; so who do you think has come to visit you ?" Sadao said confused making Kushina shrug also in confusion
"You got me I don't have a clue who would visit me at this hour ya know? Dammit!" Kushina yelled annoyed at herself
"I see you still have a way words don't you Kushina?" a new voice said walking into the light making Kushina wide eyed at the person who came to visit her
"It's you…." Kushina said softly unable to believe the sight she saw before her very eyes.