Chapter 10 – Now Do You See?
I own nothing except my OCs
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The Naruto timeline isn't very clear on events, so I took liberties. If something seems out of place, you have been warned.
Hi! I'm back with an extra-long chapter for you people! First off, I have to say a few things.
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" " – human speech/writing
' ' – human thought
' ' – demon thought
" " – demon speech
-Obscuro-
He was standing in front of the tree again. Every time it has never failed to astound him.
He sat on one of its rising roots, arms at his side and eyes to the sky, watching as the never-ending expanse of clouds and color shimmered and flew around him. The sun, the light, the brightness, whatever illuminated this place never seemed to dim as the clouds passed by. Stars glimmered behind the ever-rolling mass of white, dying the clouds in a deep-bluish tinge.
He turned his head to see that the winged figure was still reading his book. Every time he was brought here, the figure only raised its domed head in acknowledgement, before going back to his book. Compelling as it may have been, he couldn't bring himself to disturb the white being, its natural calmness and aura of wisdom deterring him from even attempting to do such a thing.
So he simply sat there, watching the skies or gazing up at the swirling tree in wonder. He once tried to initiate a conversation, but either the being didn't answer, or he just lost the words to continue, as though whatever he was going to say had become meaningless in its sight.
He sat on the root, his hands tracing the twisted patterns on the wood when he heard a soft slap coming from beside him. He turned to see, in great surprise, that the being had its book closed and has moved closer to him. Unsure what to say, he simply stared in silence. Eventually, it spoke.
"It is wondrous, is it not?"
Still unable to get himself to speak, he simply nodded.
"Even one such as yourself, with the limits of your perception, can understand the marvel of this place."
He nodded again, almost mechanically, confused at the being's words. It then opened its book and flipped through the pages.
"You already know that knowledge is power, and power comes at a price. But for the company that you have provided me with these past visits, I think a little peek shall suffice…"
It stopped flipping through the book and turned it so that he could see the pages. Expecting some cryptic script or similar writings, he was surprised when he looked at two blank pages.
Blinking a few times to clear his sight only to see the empty papers in front of him, he made to ask the being if it had turned to the wrong page, before noticing something forming on the pages.
It was as though ink was seeping through them as it glided across the paper, shifting and twirling like the clouds around him. As the ink moved, he noticed that with every turn, every twist of the black liquid, an image started to appear in front of him.
Eventually, the ink settled and he gazed upon the rather realistic drawing that had manifested.
The drawing showed an old building, standing on a murky beach. The structure had a pointed roof, was flanked by two tall towers that were seemingly glued to its front sides, a large entrance and was stretched back until it split off into two opposite sections. Behind it was a conical roof that capped a smaller connected chamber, not very eye-drawing and not as tall as the towers, but still big enough to see from the front. Vines, dead trees and plants climbed out of the towers' windows, up the walls and out to the sand, tell-tale signs like fading white stones and broken statues indicated that this building possessed great beauty in the past but two things were especially eye-catching.
The first thing was the tall figure standing beside the old building. It wore a long, black hooded robe that seemed to flutter over the grey sands and blend in with the dead trees. Its hands and face were pale and thin, with cold white eyes and an expressionless visage. A halo stretched up from both sides of its head, giving it a likeness to yellow horns.
The other thing, that while less eye-catching, still shocked him was the large symbol carved above the building's arched entrance; a circle with two opposing spikes.
As he kept gazing at the haunting image, the white figure's voice rang out:
"Seek out the house of the dead. Then you shall know more."
He wanted to ask more, to ask about the robed figure, about the strange building, but he felt himself being pulled away again. As the view of tree faded from his sight, he tried to call out.
And then, there was darkness.
Naruto woke up with a gasp. Clutching the bedsheets, he looked around him in fright. But when he was greeted by the sight of his room, he calmed down.
'Just that dream again' he thought as he clambered out of the bed. 'It was different this time though, what was that house?'
The blond was awoken from his mental questioning when he smelt a pleasant odour wafting from downstairs. Looking out the window to see that the sun was already up and mostly above the treeline, he quickly changed from his sleeping clothes (they couldn't be called pyjamas) and headed downstairs. He followed the scent into the kitchen, where he saw the familiar hairstyle of Ajisai stirring some soup in a pot.
She must've heard him enter, because she turned to him and let out a little smile. "Hi Naruto, you're just in time for breakfast."
Several months after the trip to Rain Country, the new addition of Ajisai to the Forest House brought about several changes. First of all, the kitchen had more food in it than before, and much more varied than simply meat and forest plants. Now the kitchen was stocked with various snacks, bread, cheese and other store-bought goods. All thanks to the purplenette's assistance by sneaking to the village via shadow-travel with money (where did that money come from, he didn't really know or care) and buying supplies and equipment that couldn't be acquired in the forest.
Related to that was the fact that Ajisai knew how to cook as well, so they both set up a schedule for making the meals, rotating between themselves daily. Today was her day to cook, it seemed.
She poured Naruto a bowl before pouring herself one. Then they both headed to the main hall where they sat down and began to eat. Naruto hummed in content as he slurped down the broth, the taste of meat and spices warming his throat.
"Thank you Ajisai-chan, you sure know how to make good soup." She smiled at the compliment.
"You're welcome, Naruto. It's a recipe that my mother used to cook while I was in Ame. I managed to salvage it from her house and remember it by heart." She returned to her bowl and let a comfortable silence envelop them.
Another change in the mansion was that now that Naruto had someone to talk to who shared his age and his likes, the atmosphere seemed lighter. They were similar in many ways; both having troubled pasts, a love for books and knowledge, a desire to learn things regardless of their origin, as well as a like for philosophy. The house was still silent for most of the time, but occasionally soft conversations were heard from the library, discussing all manner of things.
They both finished their meals and put the bowls back in the kitchen. "What's the plan for today?" asked Ajisai.
"Well, I think some training exercises are up first thing, then some ritual lessons, exploring the forest, and maybe sneaking through the village to see what's going on." She nodded, the schedule acceptable to her, before asking:
"Can we go hunting today? I think that will serve as a good method of exercise. Besides, I believe that you need to restock on…ritual stimuli, was it?"
The last comment made Naruto cringe a little yet evoked a feeling of pride in him at the same time. A month ago, after countless lessons and quizzes from Obscuro, the shadow-demon finally decided to allow Naruto to perform the final two levels of what he called "earthbound rituals"; adding stimuli to the circle along with speaking incantations. Nothing too complicated, only a couple of sentences and very basic stimuli, but Naruto still felt proud that he has managed to accomplish this much in nearly two years, along with his Kris fighting style and chakra studies. As Obscuro said (or rather, wrote):
"For most humans it would take much longer to learn even a basic ritual like the Clairvoyance Ritual. Your learning rate is astonishing. You are impressive, for a human."
That was one of the longest compliments the shadow-demon ever gave him. Was about to profusely thank him when Obscuro killed the mood by writing:
"I'm also surprised that you remembered my rules. By your inquisitive and impulsive nature, I had expected you to blow at least a finger off."
To ruin the mood further, a trunk popped up from the shadows. Opening it, he jumped back in disgust as the sight of fur, organs, horns and eyeballs from various animals greeted him, some in liquid-filled jars. Desensitized to gore he may be, the sight of bloody, wet body parts is still enough to cause any sane man to gag. He turned to Obscuro with a disgusted expression, only to widen his eyes in horror as he saw the message:
"We will be starting to use stimuli for our more complicated rituals from now on. Go ahead and take the eyeball just near the bear."
If he could actually see his face, Naruto would bet the house that Obscuro was grinning maniacally, teeth bare and all.
From that day onwards, Naruto had to deal with touching, rubbing and smelling animal body parts, something that still made him want to vomit all over the floor.
Shaking his head from the gory thoughts, he saw Ajisai was looking at him with a confused expression.
"I'm fine, just remembering the stuff that I had to touch" she 'ah'ed silently. "So, how do you want to do it?" She let out a small grin.
"No weapons, no chakra. First one to get knocked to the ground loses."
They both headed out to the back of the house and got into basic stances. At an unspoken signal, they moved.
As they both got within striking distance of each other, Ajisai took the initiative and attempted to strike at Naruto first. Quickly closing the gap between them she grabbed his right arm, preparing to put it into a locking hold.
Realizing her intention Naruto thrust his free arm forward, knocking away her incoming arm, and slammed his wrist into her elbow, causing her arm to bend and loosen the hold she had on his. Slipping his arm out of her hold he struck the side of her chest, knocking the breath out of her.
Knowing she was at a disadvantage this close to him in her current state, she quickly jumped back a few to gain so space to try and catch her breath. Realizing he had the upper hand at the moment Naruto rushed forward, trying to get in close while she was still recovering.
Noticing his advance, she struck out at him with her leg, striking him and causing him to stagger back, trying to ignore the pain in his shin and regain his balance. Rushing at him, she proceeded to strike at several points on his left arm, all the while trying to get a get a good hold on it so she could lock it out and then use the locked-out limb as leverage to force him to the ground.
Not wanting to let her get a hold of his arm, especially considering it was starting to go numb from all of her strikes, he thrust his palm out forward, slamming it into the center of her chest, knocking all of the wind out of her and causing her to double over, trying to get her ability to breathe back.
Once again, she tried to get distance, and once again he followed her to keep the upper hand, though this time instead of allowing her kick to set him off balance he feinted to the left. While she attempted to strike out at him on his left he suddenly jerked right, kicking out her other leg from underneath her, resulting in her falling to the ground, and subsequently, her loss.
Both of them were lightly panting, Naruto with his hands on his knees, and Ajisai wiping her forehead, trying to ignore the pain that came from the landing.
"So, lesson time?"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah, we should head back inside. You and I both know that Obscuro hates lateness."
They stretched a little bit before heading back inside and into the library. Waiting for them was the floating chalk, the small writing board and the large blackboard. Only this time a map of the Elemental Nations was drawn on the blackboard. As soon as they sat down, the chalk began writing.
"You are both on schedule. Judging by the sweat on your skin, I presume that you both finished a spar?" They both nodded.
"Very well. Good to see you not neglecting any aspect of your studies. Today we will be going a little bit into the history of the Elemental Nations before the rise of chakra. What is the story of how chakra came to be?" Ajisai raised her hand.
"The story goes that a powerful sage called the 'Sage of the Six Paths' appeared at a time of war and strife to save the people. He was the first person to ever use chakra and he bestowed chakra to the people to try and get them to live in peace. He also created the Bijuu, including the Kyuubi. But man started to wage war again, this time using chakra as a weapon."
"Correct. Seeing how both of you have read some of the history books here, let me ask you this; do any of them say anything about the time before the Sage?"
That question caused the two children to pause their attention. Indeed, in all of the books that they have read here, none of them went into detail about the world, or at least the Elemental Nations before the time of the Sage; only brief summaries and descriptions of various kingdoms that ruled here.
This time Naruto raised his hand. "Nothing much, really; only that there were several kingdoms scattered throughout the land. After the Sage gifted chakra to the people, those kingdoms collapsed due to civil war and the Warring Clans period started."
"Correct. As you have seen, thanks to all this conflict, much of the old kingdoms' history and records have been lost in the sands of time. Fortunately for you, today you shall learn about these kingdoms. For I have witnessed them in their glory, and I have seen their fall."
Naruto and Ajisai widened their eyes in awe at that revelation. "You remember them?" The young girl asked. Then a thought came to her head.
"I-if you say you remember them…just how long ago was it? How old are you?"
She asked the question that was at the foremost of both children's thoughts. If the shadow-demon has seen these kingdoms while they were still standing, then what was his age? How much had he seen?
After she asked the question though, no reply came. A few seconds later, the chalk began writing again, albeit slower and more hesitantly than before.
"Truthfully, if you would consider my 'birth' as the first time I entered this world, then I do not know my 'age'. Time is a concept I perceive differently than you mortals. A few years may pass as a few fleeting minutes, or an hour can seem like decades. Also, I do not even remember the circumstances of my 'birth', nor the year when I 'awoke' – gaining individual thought.
In short, I do not know exactly how long I have roamed this earth, but based on what I have seen…I would say that I have done so for several centuries at least, maybe even a thousand years."
…
…
…
This left the two kids gaping in wonder and awe at their teacher. A thousand years? That…was amazing! What sights he must have seen! What events he must have been witness to! But most importantly…what knowledge did he attain! A thousand years' worth of knowledge…the thought made Naruto salivate a little.
They were quickly shaken out of their stupor with flicks to their foreheads. They quickly snapped to attention as more writing appeared, this time on the large blackboard.
"Indeed, before the time of the Sage, many kingdoms inhabited the world, on this continent and further. The kingdoms were numerous, each with their own history and culture. But three kingdoms stood out from the rest, more influential and powerful than any others, that some might have even called them empires.
The first kingdom was called Kemet-Babilim. The oldest of them all, it was nicknamed 'The Beating Heart of the Desert', for its territory was composed of mainly desert lands and sandy dunes. Humans there were survivors, learning how to survive the harsh conditions, beating and controlling the desert, lest they died of thirst among the dunes. Grand palaces for the rulers and nobles were carved from the desert rock, tales and depictions of their gods adorning the walls. The high language, the one written by priests and scribes, seemed to possess a will of their own, for it was made of pictograms and drawings, and when arranged all together they would seem to radiate power. Even the tombs were magnificent, sometimes even more so than the palaces themselves. It was here that the art of human rituals first came to be. Most of Wind Country resides in its former territory.
The second kingdom was called Kyoku-Tō. This kingdom was based in what is now Fire Country, stretching from the east of Earth Country to Lightning Country. The culture and language were very similar to yours, only with no chakra and a more varied palate of traditions. Ninja did exist back then, only they relied on actual stealth and subtlety rather than flashy jutsu. Your Kris daggers Naruto came from a vassal kingdom to Kyoku-Tō called Java. While it did fall like the rest of the kingdoms, its culture and influence was so strong that it remained among the people to this very day.
The third and final kingdom was called Occidens. It was the youngest of them, yet in terms of area, it was the largest kingdom of them all. It was the most technologically advanced of the three, a beacon for science, philosophy and mathematics. What they were good at however, was conquering. Their armies were massive; all soldiers trained as tightly built legions. They expanded their territory from simple farming plains to encompass nearly a quarter of the known world at the time. So much so that it was officially deemed an empire. You would have been fascinated by its cities, especially by the capital city of Rome. White marble buildings supported by ornate pillars flanking the paved, cobblestone roads, massive fortresses standing tall above any foe that wished to challenge them. Schools and libraries, sanctuaries of knowledge held the collective records of hundreds of scholars, both Roman and foreign. The Latin language you use in rituals Naruto, originated in Rome."
Throughout Obscuro's lesson, Naruto and Ajisai were furiously scribbling away in their notebooks (Ajisai had requested one as well). As they kept writing, dozens of questions were floating around in their heads, eager to pop out and be asked for the sake of knowledge.
Eventually, Obscuro moved the chalk to the small writing board. "Now, any questions?"
The two nearly jumped out of their seats and raised their hands, although not making a single peep. One of Obscuro's pet peeves it seemed, were interruptions and fast-paced talking. The shadow-demon pointed the chalk to Ajisai.
"What languages did the other two kingdoms speak?"
"Kemet-Babilim had a wide assortment of languages, but the ones used in state affairs – the 'official' ones - were Akkadian and Kemetian. The other ones included Sumerian, Hebrew, Persian and other local dialects."
This time Naruto was given the chance to speak. "You said that Kyoku-Tō spoke a language very similar to our own. Did they use rituals?"
"Yes, they did have a ritual system of their own, but with the rise of chakra it has transformed into fuinjutsu. I know what you are going to ask and the answer is that I taught you how to use the Latin system for two reasons: One, the Latin ritual system was the most efficient and orderly of all the systems, so much so that Kemet-Babilim adopted some of its traits. The second reason is what I told you when we first met. Latin is a dead language, both to written and spoken. So if anyone should listen in to your conversations or steal your ritual notes; they will not be able to understand any of them."
Ajisai's turn now. "If the Occidenians had such an impressive army, then how did they fall?"
Obscuro's answer? "Civil war and a certain Event."
Ajisai asked that the shadow-demon elaborate, but she received a simple "That is for later" and dropped it.
"Was anything left of the other kingdoms after the Sage died?" asked Naruto.
"Yes" wrote Obscuro "Ruins and remnants mainly. I said that that is for later, but I will tell you this; after that Event, most of the people in the other kingdoms either died, became wanderers and found their way here, or closed themselves off in small hidden villages (not ninja Hidden Villages)."
Ajisai went to ask more, but Obscuro quickly wrote "That is enough for today. But I can sense that you both wish to learn more."
Out of the shadowed corners of the library, a large thick tome popped out, floating towards the two. Its cover was black and three symbols were drawn on it; a laurel wreath with a katana pierced through it and a rainbow-winged, dark-blue beetle under them.
"This is a record I have written myself in Latin about the Three Kingdoms. Come back from your hunt with good bounty and this shall be your reward. But I want you to use the Ritual of Eagle's Sight (ワシの視力の儀式 – Washi no Shiryoku no Gishiki) for this hunt. That is all."
At the mentioning of that specific ritual, Naruto cringed. While not as disgusting as some of the other rituals he had read about or had been taught, the stimulus used for it was a bit more upsetting for him than the rest. But to get that big, juicy book, it was worth it.
So Naruto and Ajisai went up to their room to prepare for a hunt. Yes, their room. The night after Ajisai's first official meeting with Obscuro, Ajisai had opted to remain in Naruto's room as her sleeping quarters. When Naruto pointed out that she had said it was improper for a girl to sleep with a boy, she merely pointed out:
"We have already done so twice without any unpleasant incidents, so I see no reason why should we stop. Also I um…I don't like sleeping alone."
That last part was said while she turned away for him so that he wouldn't see the slight blush on her cheeks. The Uzumaki's rational, yet innocent (in that regard) mind reasoned that the request was fine, so he indulged her.
They entered the room and Naruto pulled out from under the bed his battle outfit. Apart from a slight change in size, it wasn't different than usual. Donning it, he took a few scrolls, equipped his Kris and turned to Ajisai.
She stood near the desk, wearing her grey kimono-shirt, with leather armguards and leg guards. Attached to her brown-orange sash were a ninja pouch, filled with kunai and shuriken and several sealing scrolls. She wore lavender pants with another small pouch attached to her right leg. From one of the desk drawers she pulled out two large kunai, about two inches longer than a usual one.
"Are you ready?" asked Naruto. She nodded. "Good. Let's get the ritual over with and go hunting."
They headed back downstairs and into the kitchen. From a large cupboard under what was presumably a sink, Naruto pulled out a large trunk and opened it. It was the ingredient trunk that Obscuro gave to him, and it still grossed the blond out.
Nevertheless, he steeled himself and pulled out a small vial. Inside the vial was a preserving liquid with a small, yellow eye. On it was written the word "Eagle".
After putting the trunk back, they re-entered the main hall and Naruto started drawing on the floor with chalk. Thanks to his many hours of gruelling practice, within ten seconds a circle was drawn out.
It was big enough for him to sit in with additional room. The shape matrix was a pentagram, with a triangular symbol core. On two of the circles were drawn an eye and the kanji for 'human'. The final core was empty.
Naruto sat down in the center of the circle facing the empty core. He pulled out the eye from the vial, all the while trying not to throw it away in disgust, and set it on the core. Once doing so, he drew one of his Kris and cut his palm. Closing his eyes and placing the bloody palm onto the circle, he pushed some of his life-force into it and chanted:
"Aquila autem spiritus, dona mihi visus.
Nec hostes fugere sinite praedam celare." (1)
The circle lit up in blue sparks before turning yellow. As it did so, Naruto's eyes started to feel like they were burning. But having been used to the pain that was experienced from a ritual, he didn't budge.
All the while, Ajisai sat on an armchair, staring at the blond with fascination in her eyes. She had seen Naruto perform rituals several times beforehand, yet it had never ceased to amaze her each time. What was just as fascinating was the stoic expression Naruto maintained through the ritual, even though his eyes were closed. That was one of the things she found fascinating in Naruto; even after several months living with him and conversing with him, she couldn't really figure out what he was thinking.
A few seconds later, the glow died down and a faint eagle's cry was heard. Looking closer, she saw that the eagle eye had now shrivelled and turned to dust. Naruto stood up, dusted himself, and opened his eyes. Ajisai nearly flinched at what she saw.
Instead of their regular sky-blue color, his irises had turned a dark shade of yellow, with small tints of brown ringing the pupil.
He looked around him, as though he was seeing everything for the first time, and then took a step forward. Then another. And another. And another…
…and he fumbled over his feet and nearly fell.
After managing to stand upright again, Naruto looked at her with a sheepish smile while rubbing his head. "Sorry if that seemed weird, it's just kind of hard to see with these eyes. Everything looks closer now." She blinked, waking her out of the slight daze she had just experienced.
"N-no, it's fine. Do you need time to adjust?" He shook his head in reply.
"No. This ritual only lasts for four hours, so it's best that we get going quickly. The sun might go down."
Nodding again, she stood up and walked to his side. After he managed to focus his sight, Naruto motioned to her and they both headed out.
The clearing outside the house hadn't changed over the past two years, although a few new trees did start to grow on the far side. The sun was in its afternoon position, providing a clear view of the forest around them. The weather was pleasant, especially for the winter.
Naruto narrowed his eyes to try and see if there were any ANBU nearby. Thanks to Obscuro, who after Ajisai's decision to stay added an illusion layer to the ritual matrix around the house, he didn't have to worry about any Konoha ninja seeing her or him leaving the house. Still, best be careful.
Giving her a silent nod, they went around to the back of the house where there were no ANBU, took a look at the trees, and dashed off.
They headed deeper and deeper into the forest, with not a word spoken between them. Ajisai looked at the ground for any tracks, while Naruto, using his temporarily-enhanced eyesight, tried to spot any prey that lurked in the dense brown and green of the forest.
They kept at it for over an hour, until they came across a male deer drinking from a small stream. It didn't look very old, as its horns weren't very big. Nevertheless, it looked like a good catch.
Looking to Ajisai, he pointed at her, as though asking 'Do you want to have a go?' She nodded in response as she pulled out a small scroll and silently crept over to the deer, careful not to step on any twigs.
After closing in on it yet still maintaining a good distance, she quickly whipped open the small scroll and swept it in an arc in front of her. Almost immediately, with a silent poof, a small barrage of kunai and shuriken shot out of the scroll and hit the deer in the flanks and legs, one even getting into its eye. The deer moaned in pain before she drew one of her long kunai, dashed in and jabbed it in the neck.
After seeing what Naruto did with the scroll back in Rain Country, Ajisai had asked from Obscuro to acquire sealing scrolls and various ninja tools. Entranced by the idea of fuinjutsu and recalling a memory of an Ame-nin using the same technique, she had adopted the art of Buki-Fuinjutsu (2), where she would store various ninja tools in her scrolls and release them in a barrage. After acquiring the tools and scrolls, she began practicing relentlessly day after day, and it was there that both she and Naruto discovered that she could learn things at an astonishing rate; so much so that now she could not only properly aim at her target's weak points, but also utilize shurikenjutsu to slightly curve and change the trajectory of her projectiles.
The deer fell to the ground, blood slowly pouring out of the spots where her weapons hit. Pulling out her kunai, Ajisai quickly wiped it on the grass and recollected the tools that she had thrown. She knew that while they could get as much money as they wanted thanks to Obscuro, she thought that if she, an underage girl, would be seen frequently buying ninja tools, someone would be bound to notice; especially if they didn't find her on any village records. So it would be best to recycle and maintain her tools.
After sealing the tools and the deer into scrolls, her cheeks slightly reddened when she saw Naruto give her a thumbs-up with a small smile on his face. For some odd reason she found out that she liked being complimented by the blond; even said compliment was a silent one.
She quickly went to Naruto's side when he gestured to what seemed like a path in the forest. Moving closer and bending down, she saw the deer's footprints arriving from that path. Since it was a male, then that meant there were females nearby. She dashed after the tracks, with Naruto following her.
After what seemed like half an hour, judging by the faint movement of the sun from under the trees, the two still saw no signs of any deer that might have been there. He looked to Ajisai to ask her if there were any more tracks, when he remembered something that he forgot to ask her yesterday.
"Did anything happen in the village lately?" The purple-haired girl lifted her chin with a thoughtful expression for a few seconds before replying.
"Hmm…no, there was nothing of any particular interest. Mainly the boosting of security around clan homes after the…you know."
What she was talking about of course, was the massacre of the Uchiha Clan. Around a month and a half ago, according to what Ajisai heard at least, Itachi Uchiha slaughtered everyone in his clan in one night, except his mother Mikoto and little brother Sasuke. He then fled the village and was listed as a missing-nin.
This was a shocker to all of the residents of the Forest House. For Ajisai, it was the fact that someone who could slaughter a whole clan in one night was out there, doing who-knows-what, that made her rather nervous, although she didn't show it much. For Naruto, it didn't make any sense for Itachi, the person who seemed to care for his family more than anything else, to kill them all just like that, although the fact that he spared his mother and brother did show some of it.
Obscuro, well…he knew something. "I had expected this to happen sooner" he wrote. Exactly what did the shadow-demon mean by that? He didn't 'say'.
"Oh" Naruto muttered. "Did any of the villagers seem tense today?"
"No more than they should be, especially after the massacre of such a powerful clan. Although…" she then cupped her chin and scrunched her nose in thought.
"They did seem rather eager about something; it's like there's this festival or event that's going to happen soon. I heard them whispering to one another with gleeful expressions." She turned to Naruto. "Do you know of anything like a festival or event that might be happening soon?"
Naruto scratched the side of his head as he tried to remember any celebration or festival that might occur in the next week or so, but nothing came to mind. He just shook his head.
Suddenly, he snapped to attention as his ears picked up the sound of twigs snapping coming from the far left of them. Ajisai must have heard it too, since her body tensed and her eyes narrowed. A faint grunting sound came from the trees, with the occasional squeal.
Naruto smirked as he realized what their next kill would be: wild boar! He liked them. Not only did they bring good meat, but they provided a small challenge to keep his skills up. Ritualist he may be, he didn't deny the usefulness of a prepared body.
Motioning Ajisai to follow him while taking the leading, he quickly pulled out a Kris while quietly dashing through the thick green, getting closer to the grunting. When the grunting and squealing became clear, he peeked through a bush and saw it. A clearing was laid out in front of him, as well as a shaking animal.
It was a boar alright. It wasn't particularly big, not even half the size of the papa boar that he had hunted once. It had dirty black-and-brown skin, large hooves and a tail with a hairy tip. It was currently trying to uproot a small yet pretty-looking plant, probably for dinner. The thing that was different about it was the size of the two horns that protruded from its snout; each horn was probably the size of the snout itself, and the tips looked sharper than normal.
'Time for a distraction then' he thought 'come to think of it, I haven't used this in a while.'
Making a Tiger hand sign with his hands, he whispered "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu". Two identical clones, with weapons and all, appeared with a poof of smoke at each side. He waited for the boar to start pulling the plant again before motioning to them to attack. When the boar did pull, they dashed forward.
Each of them drew a Kris and tried to stab the boar in the gut on snout. But the boar must've heard their footsteps, because it let go of the plant and charged the nearest clone. Said clone managed to slash the boar's snout, but the boar had already charged at him and hit him, making him go poof.
The second clone took advantage of the boar's enraged state and moved to stab it in the flank, or at least slash a leg. He landed a deep stab in its right flank, but the boar violently shook him off and rammed him in the chest, causing him to dispel as well.
It was here that the real Naruto, with a Kris in hand, moved forward as fast as he could; taking advantage of the large gash that was weakening the beast, slid on the ground and slashed it in its two front legs. The boar squealed in pain and then fell on its side. With no hesitation, Naruto got up and dashed back to the boar, where he stabbed it hard in the neck. It let out a strangled grunt and twitched a little, before going silent.
Pulling out the dagger and wiping it on the grass, the young Uzumaki sealed the carcass in a scroll. He looked back to the bush he jumped out of and saw Ajisai jog towards him, in her eyes a small hint of...worry?
"Are you alright?" She asked, her eyes looking over him to check for any injuries.
"I'm fine, just a little roughed up from that slide." She looked at him for a few more seconds, before seemingly accepting his assessment.
"What now?" She asked. Naruto looked up at the sky. Since it was winter, the sun would be setting sooner than normal and sure enough, he could see it slowly approaching the horizon. There was still time left, though.
"I think that we should try looking for birds or small animals. They should be out now since the big predators are most likely going to turn in because it's dark."
"I saw a nest over by that bush. Want to try?" She asked. Naruto nodded and followed her. After reaching the aforementioned bush, he used his "eagle eyes" to zoom in on the treetops. Sure enough, a small nest was resting on a branch, with a blackbird sleeping in it. Didn't seem to hold any eggs though.
He pointed to where the nest was. Ajisai nodded, moved to a good position along the tree and tree-walked a little bit (her chakra control wasn't that good yet) before pulling out some shuriken and throwing them at the nest. One of them hit the bird dead-on before it even had a chance to chirp, and the rest toppled the nest to the ground.
They kept going like this for another hour and a half, tracking and hunting small mammals and birds using Naruto's enhanced sight. After managing to get 4 more birds and 3 squirrels (fast little rodents), Naruto could feel the effects of the ritual slowly starting to fade.
"We should head back now. Luckily for us, I know this path." Ajisai said nothing as she followed him in the direction of the house. But as they kept moving forward, a morbid feeling crept into Naruto's gut. Like something was warning him of a nearby threat.
Trying to shake his head off the feeling, he kept moving forward when he noticed two things:
One, they were getting close to the house.
Two, a loud clamouring of voices came from ahead, moving towards said house.
His old paranoia from his village days creeping in, he dashed a little faster as he saw the outline of the house against the setting sun's rays, as faint as they were (and with his eagle sight).
They had reached the back of the house when he had noticed again that the voices were getting louder, and they weren't just voices.
They were human shouts and hollers.
He pulled Ajisai's arm and dragged her with him, jumping on the wall and into a window. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he tried to figure out what room they were in when he found himself and his companion whisked in a swirl of shadows to another room, this one with a window facing the main clearing. He took a look at the window and his eyes widened with shock and fear.
Arriving from the trees was a mob made out of several dozens of Leaf villagers, each of them holding a torch or a sharp object. There were even some ninjas in the group, recognizing them by their flak jackets. But what sent a small bead of sweat down his forehead was the look and emotions in their eyes, courtesy of his fading eagle sight.
Hatred. Anger. Even some sick joy.
Although he hadn't actually encountered any villagers since the night Obscuro took him in, his old fears and faint memories started to resurface. His breathing became hard and fast-paced; he stumbled backwards and might have kept doing so were it not for Ajisai grasping him by the shoulders and the familiar sensation of Obscuro's shadows swirling around him.
He felt a familiar flick to his forehead that shook him out of his fear-induced stupor. He turned to seem the familiar board with the following words written on them:
"Close your eyes. Breathe in and out. Calm yourself. You are safe." Ajisai kept rubbing his shoulders, calming him down. He took deep breaths and opened his eyes again.
"H-how did they f-find me?" His tone had a slight waver to it, although his face maintained some composure. Ajisai didn't know how to reply, so she kept trying to calm the blond down. Thankfully, Obscuro replied.
"This is just an assumption, but do you remember when I told you there was another group watching you along with the ANBU?" Naruto nodded, afraid to speak more.
"It is most likely that this group was trying to harm you, and they have decided to strike now by rallying the people to strike out against you as muscle." Naruto gulped as he recalled that conversation.
"Do not worry though, the circle will protect us and kill any foolish enough to try and cross it. But my question to you Naruto is this: what do you want done?"
It might have been because it was in a moment of panic, or maybe because of the sound of Obscuro's shadows, but as Naruto looked at the mob approaching the house, he remembered their stares, the pain, and especially the names that they called him.
"Demon!"
"Monster!"
"Scum!"
Just when he had found a home, a place where he was safe in, they were going to try and take it away? No. Never. They had to stop. He then spoke in a hushed, cracked tone.
"Stop them. I don't care how, just stop them. I don't want them to try and hurt me or Ajisai ever again!"
Obscuro just wrote back "As you wish" and the board disappeared.
Naruto kept looking out the window, unconsciously grasping Ajisai's hand. While a myriad of thoughts kept swimming in his head, for some incredibly odd reason one thought in particular stood out.
'I'm going to have nightmares because of this, aren't I?'
-Obscuro-
Watari was a merchant that worked in Konoha for 30 years. He settled down here from a small farming village, grew a successful jewellery business, and even got married. Soon enough, they were expecting a child.
But then the Kyuubi came.
He still remembered how its demonic roars echoed throughout the village, how building that stood tall for decades crumbled under its tails, and especially the screams from his fellow villagers and the beast crushed them or devoured them whole.
Including his wife and unborn child.
He had managed to survive by hiding under the rubble of his former house until the beast was led away from the village. He wept for hours at the graves of his two beloved. He grew red with rage as he heard what had happened to the Kyuubi.
Sealed into a newborn, bearing fox-like marks on its cheeks, no doubt sign of the demon's influence.
He promised to avenge his dead wife and child, no matter the cost.
Watari tried to rid the world of it many times, but the Hokage's ninja always stopped, sometimes before he could even try. He stewed at this indignity; couldn't they see it was poisoning their minds? He couldn't even actually say anything because of the Hokage's S-Class law.
About two years ago, the demon brat seemed to have disappeared. No one saw him in the village, apart from the occasional whisper or rumour.
But tonight he finally had his change. He had heard from friends of his, who had also lost family and friends to the demon, that it was living in the forest in a large house. So they rallied together their fellow men, even enlisting the help of a few chunin. Tonight would be the night.
He would be remembered by all, and he would finally avenge his dead wife.
So there he stood, holding a pitchfork and a torch, along with his fellow villagers, in front of the demon's house. It fit it perfectly; decrepit, broken and miserable. Just like how they wanted it to turn out.
Eventually one of his friends called out:
"Come out here, demon! You have nowhere to hide! If you do come out, we'll make this quick!"
However nothing came out. Too frightened to show its face? That's just fine. They'll drag it out if they have to.
But just as he took a step forward, the front door creaked open loudly. Out stepped someone that he didn't recognize.
It was a teenager, leaning towards his late years, with spiky black hair and dark skin. He wore black bandages over his arms and a black cloak over his legs. A red-and black bandana adorned his forehead. He looked like someone from the shore villages, but three things set Watari on edge as the teen approached:
One, his yellow eyes seemed to flicker with black and red, giving them an unnatural tone.
Two, his grin was very off-putting, almost…predatorial.
Three, his body seemed to be emitting a black mist, rising from his body and gathering at his feet as he walked towards them. (3)
He stopped, still close enough to the house to enter it should he decide to retreat. The teen then spoke, in a youthful yet raspy voice that seemed to echo through the clearing:
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
For a moment, no soul spoke. One of the villagers, whose name Watari didn't remember stepped forward and said:
"There is a demon in this house. We are doing our duty to the world by ridding it from existence, so move." The teen just cocked his head, still grinning.
"Oh? A demon you say? I suppose you mean that nice Naruto boy that's staying here with me. How foolish you all are. Pathetic humans."
'Humans'?
The villager snarled and vehemently screamed "NO! It is a demon! A demon in human skin! It killed our friends, our families, our children! It has to DIE!"
The teen still kept grinning, not a word coming out of his mouth. Annoyed by his attitude, the villager walked towards the teen.
(Black Butler OST – The Dark Crow Smiles, from 0:00 to 1:21 ONLY)
"Fine, if you won't move, you demon-lover, we'll just have to – AAAAAUUUUGGGHHHHH!"
The villager screamed in sheer agony as a black…thing burst out of the ground and bisected him, leaving his halves bleeding on the ground. The teen was still grinning, although his eyes seemed to take on a darker glint and the grin became sadistic.
"It seems you intend to attack my home. For that offense, I shall ask you one question…"
A cold wind blew throughout the clearing as the torches started to flicker. The shadows on the ground seemed to twist around and even rise up. Just like that mist.
A monstrous presence seemed to envelop the area. Some of the villagers dropped whatever it is they held and started whimpering in fright.
The teenager raised an arm and the shadows started to move more wildly, more violently than before.
"…how do you wish to die?"
Then, there was darkness.
The screams that followed seemed to reach hell itself.
-Obscuro-
Hiruzen Sarutobi was enjoying his favorite pastime: NOT doing paperwork, smoking his pipe and reading his Icha-Icha novel.
'Oh Hikari, I didn't know you could bend that way…' he thought as he let out a little giggle.
He was about to turn to the next page when Cat the purple-haired ANBU appeared in front of him, bowing down.
"Hokage-sama, there is a disturbance happening at the western forest." A bit annoyed at having his private time interrupted, he asked in a slightly miffed tone "What disturbance?"
"A large group of villagers seemed to be marching into the forest, all carrying torches and assorted objects." This brought a tinge of fear to Hiruzen's heart. No, it couldn't be…
"They seemed to be headed to where Naruto Uzumaki's newest residence lies." Cat said in a stoic, yet slightly panicked tone.
He looked to her with a gaze that was a mix of frightened and angry.
"Why didn't you and the rest of the squad stop them!?"
"Sir, the rest of the squad is out on missions and assignments. All of them signed by your hand."
That statement made Hiruzen search his head. 'I distinctly remember that I removed any mission requests to any of Naruto's guard. A mission signed by me? Then that would mean…' The Hokage's eyes narrowed in a furious expression and he roared:
"Danzo, you fool!" He turned to Cat and ordered her "Take me there now!"
The ANBU grabbed the Hokage's arm and shunshin-ed out of the office. They dashed through the trees; all the while Hiruzen prayed in his head that Minato's son was alive. As they moved though, he could hear faint whooshing sounds and anguished screams coming from ahead.
They arrived at the house within two minutes, by then any screams were silenced. But the sight that they were greeted to horrified the old man to the core.
(Naruto OST – Ritual)
Blood. The entire clearing was smeared in blood, and he could swear that a few puddles were formed. Bodies of villagers, all torn up and mauled lay and even swam in the puddles of blood, presumably their own. Some had gaping holes through their chests, other beheaded, dismembered or bisected; the rest had large gashes sporting them. A few corpses were impaled on some broken branches, eerily set up to mimic an old execution technique. What was more disturbing though was that the expressions on all of the villagers' faces (the ones that still had them) were twisted into one of absolute terror.
Hiruzen still tried to process the whole nightmarish scene in his mind when he felt his ANBU nudge him. He looked at the house itself and saw Naruto standing here, looking a little shocked with a black-haired teenager grasping his shoulder. Mentally sighing in relief he called out to the boy.
"Naruto! What happened here?" The boy shook himself and looked at him, although the expression on his whiskered face became grimmer.
"Now do you see, Hokage-san? Why should I protect a village that wants to kill me? That tries to take away what is mine?" Shocked by Naruto's reply, he couldn't form the proper word to keep speaking. Thankfully, Cat managed to speak.
"Please, Naruto-kun" she asked again in a gentler tone "what happened here? Did they do anything to you?"
Naruto's gaze softened a bit and shook his head. "They tried to kill me. They failed."
Hiruzen managed to regain his senses. He stepped forward to speak to the blond when he focused on the teenager that was at Naruto's side.
"Who are you? Did you do this?" he asked in a commanding tone, befit of the Hokage. The teen turned his head to meet gazes and smirked a bit.
"In reverse order Hokage-san, I eliminated a threat to my home and as for who I am…I am what you and this village have failed to be."
The reply echoed in Hiruzen's head, a guilty feeling welling up in him. He opened his mouth to demand more of the teen when he got cut off by him.
"Let this be a warning to you, to anyone from Konoha or anyone who tries to harm us. Should anyone try to intrude on this ground…they will die, and their blood shall water the earth like rain."
As he spoke those words, the ground around the house lit up in a bright-red glow. Red sparks danced in a ring and across the ground as the air smelt of flame. Looking up to the sky, he gaped again; a large, star-like symbol floated above the house, ringed by shapes and strange squiggles.
The floating circle started to dim after a few seconds, but as Hiruzen lowered his head back to Naruto, he saw him and the teen entering the house, but not before the blond gave him a look that stung his heart:
It was a look of disappointment.
The Hokage lowered his head and sighed. How could this have happened? Just what killed them? But most importantly, was this his fault? Was this the true sign that he had failed Minato and Kushina?
'I should have foreseen this .I would have prevented any casualties, from both sides' he thought solemnly as he gazed at the stars. They seemed to be tainted red, as though the blood rained down from the heavens themselves
'But I cannot change the past. If Danzo did plan this, then no doubt he has already learned about the outcome of this massacre and reported it to the council. If I couldn't protect Naruto then, I will try and do so now. I will speak to him tomorrow morning about this.'
He turned to Cat and nodded. She then grabbed him by the arm and shunshin-ed him back to the office. If they had both stuck around, they would have notice that there was a lot less wet blood on the ground than when they arrived.
-Obscuro-
It (he now, actually) cracked his neck as he recovered from this latest…exercise. He didn't think at first to use something like this, and even when he had, the thought somewhat repulsed him. Having only used this power once (twice now) in the past few decades, the sensation that came from wearing this form was somewhat strange, but no matter.
The child had asked to be rid of those fleshbags, those disgusting examples of human trash, and so he did. The exercise was just a bonus. Oh, such wonderful screams…
Speaking of said child, he turned his gaze to the couch where he saw the girl holding the boy, a soft expression on her face, letting his head rest on her shoulder while he choked up. Seeing this made him remember the reason why he had accepted her and allowed her to stay in this house.
HShe could become the support, the pillar of sanity to him that he could never be. He didn't know such emotions like sadness and caring. He would just let the boy sink in that mental abyss. But not now.
Well, not yet at least…
Deciding that it was time to do something about this situation, he cleared his throat. By then the children had calmed down somewhat, yet they still held onto each other.
"As you can see, the villagers have grown bold. While I have supreme confidence in the defence of this house, I believe it is best that we head out of this village for a short while, at least until the flames of discord have dulled."
He looked downwards and cupped his chin in thought. Where to? The desert? No, it was too soon. The white ruins? No, too soon as well. How about the…? No, definitely not. Maybe a livelier place?
He was still reviewing possible locations in his head when he heard the boy speak up. His tone was still cracked, but he seemed a lot calmer now.
"U-um, I think I know a place that we can go to. O-or at least look for." That caused him to raise an eyebrow under his forehead-cloth. He gestured for him to continue.
"W-well, I had a vision again before I woke up today, but this time it was different…"
As the boy kept talking, he could feel his frustration, confusion and curiousness well up and rise. The winged figure speaking to him? A "house of the dead"? "You shall know more"? What on earth could this possibly mean?
What was even more frustrating was the fact that all of those descriptions, all of those words – they seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't find out WHY!
Deciding to see the problem head on, he masked his confusion and calmly asked: "If you would give me permission, may I see this vision?"
At the children's confused looks, he elaborated. "One of my many supreme abilities is that I have the power to read minds by touch. If you would allow me, I shall look at this vision myself and deduce where this 'house' might be found."
The children glanced at each other for a few seconds and nodded. He stepped forward and knelt down in front of Naruto.
"This will not hurt at all. Just close your eyes and focus on the vision." The boy nodded before doing just that. He reached up to his little forehead and touched it.
Instantly, he saw the world dissolve around him, back into the familiar primordial shadow from whence he came. Strangely, he remained in human form. Oh well, maybe it's because he has never done this as a human.
The shadows soon morphed into shapes and a light filled his vision. After rubbing his eyes, he saw himself sitting by the boy, gazing out into the massive clouds that whirled around him. His instincts screamed at him, warning him of danger. Yet his curiosity overwhelmed anything else. He had to know more.
Eventually, his gaze fell on the figure that the boy had described multiple times. As he gazed upon its visage, a primal feeling started to arise in him, although for the life of him he couldn't remember what.
The being closed the book and conversed with the boy just as he had told. When the image in the book formed, he took a good long look at it, trying to discern any landmarks from his memory.
Suddenly, as his eyes passed along the murky shore, he remembered where he had seen such a beach. Snapping his fingers, he looked up from the book and was about to leave when something impossible happened.
The white being turned to him, and looked at him.
How!? This was impossible. This wasn't the actual vision! It was just a playback, a memory! He could feel the being staring at him, a pressure slowly forming. In that moment, something happened that he had thought was not possible for him to do; he panicked.
He quickly dispelled the memory, finding himself standing in the familiar main hall of his human abode. Looking at the children's eyes, he saw a small hint of shock pass through their eyes. He was breathing heavily, a small bead of sweat rolling down his arm.
Fixing his composure, he spoke to the two in a calm tone, letting a hint of eagerness seep into his words.
"Well, that was a very interesting vision. I shall review it again in the future. Fortunately, I have managed to discern the approximate location of this "house of the dead". Pack your things and get a good rest, for we leave tomorrow at dawn.
We are going to Water Country."
-Obscuro-
Tada!
Like I said, extra-long chapter. I think I have managed to do well in regards of balancing Naruto that he wouldn't be OP (yet).
The Three Kingdoms I have mentioned are based off the real world's old kingdoms and empires. Kemet-Babilim for Middle East/North Africa, Kyoku-To for the Far East, and Occidens for…well, it's obvious.
What will happen in Water Country? You shall know in time…
Would you like me to work on Chapter 11 or Chapter 3 for my Mugenjin of Judgment story?
Could someone draw up some fanart for this fic? Like Naruto, Ajisai and Obscuro all together in the library? Or at least the symbols and circles I have described? I would really appreciate it!
Read and Review. Review. REEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVIIIIIIEEEEEEWWWWWW!
(1) Spirit of the eagle, grant me your sight.
Let no foe escape me, let no prey hide from me.
(2) Means "Weapon-Sealing Arts". It's the name I gave to what both Ajisai and Tenten use.
(3) Picture Angra Mainyu/Avenger from Fate/Stay Night, but with the aforementioned descriptions and no tattoos.