The Pathless Sage
A/R: I am glad you guys liked my Cliffhanger. It was rather funny to see some of the reactions :P.
The Zaraki poll is still up, go vote.
I really don't know what to say. Life is busy, updates are short and sparse, what can we do? It's life!
On with the story!
"The vault isn't full of scrolls. It dumps all of the information in the mind of the recipient without any heed for what kind of information is being shared or whether the vessel's mind is being overloaded. It is a dangerous method, but the Uzumaki life force is more than enough to counter act most of the damage done," Mifune explained. He would have explained the mechanics further, but he just felt a few hundred, rather strong presences approaching.
"Be careful," Kakashi said, also noticing the hostile presences. It was rather hard for someone like him, a man that had lived through a war, to not notice so many people leaking so much killer intent. "There is too many of them for us. The Gennin, hang back. This is beyond your ability."
As if to illustrate that point, a Jounin, judging by appearance, with the badge of Kumogakure across his forehead stepped over the unconscious form of Naruto and proceeded to knock out all of the Gennin. The Jounin from Konoha watched in morbid curiousity, not moving since their students didn't have any mortal wounds inflicted upon them. It was safer for them to be passed out during all of this nonsense, anyway.
"Well, to what do we owe the pleasure?" Kisame said, hoisting his large sword over his shoulder. He knew there was no way they were getting out of this without a conflict, but hoped that having a member of the Roku Kyoshu would even out the playing field a bit.
"Give us the blonde boy, and we will be on our way. All we want are the secrets of the Uzumaki clan and that is all, there is no need for us to cause problems between our villages," the first Jounin warned. He looked to be the leader of the group, standing ahead of everyone else and holding up his head like he was important. "Besides, there is no way that the four of you can take on three hundred Jounin."
"I'm afraid we can't do that," came Kakashi's lazy drawl. He drew a kunai and lifted up his forehead protector, revealing his transplanted eye to the world. "The boy is too important to the village to be given over to the Land of Lightning."
Normally, Kakashi wouldn't be stupid enough to risk the life of three Jounin and several Gennin of the village over a single Gennin, but he knew Naruto was special. Not only did he say he possessed a Doujutsu, which he was willing to bet was true, but he was also the possessor of the Kyubi. Going by reputation alone, Kumo was the best place for Jinchuriki like Naruto, but that was because they were trained to control their beasts perfectly. Three perfectly controlled beasts, including the two strongest, in the same village would not be a good thing for world peace.
"Oh drop it," Mifune said, drawing the sword he had slung over his back. It looked more like a very large nodachi than a Samurai's Katana. "There are only five people here that are even above Mid Jounin level. The rest of them are cannon fodder at best." He looked over to the Konoha shinobi. "You guys deal with the five elites, and let me worry about the crowd."
Hearing that, five figures detached themselves from the rest of the convoy. They looked to be over average build and average height, with non descript faces and wearing standard Jounin uniform for Kumogakure. However, judging from the aura they were exuding, they wouldn't be pushovers.
"Alright then, let's get this party started," Mifune said, dropping his stoic persona and grinning like a madman. He crouched and, before any of the shinobi could even bat an eyelid, he was off like a bullet.
At that moment in time, many of the Jounin nearly wet their pants. They felt, more than sensed, an immense Chakra signature just pop into their radar out of nowhere. Some of the more inexperienced members thought that one of the Tailed Beasts had somehow been unleashed in their midst, but further investigation proved that there wasn't any malice in the air. Just pure joy.
Kakashi looked at the other fair haired man, and it confirmed his suspicions. Mifune didn't have the same amount of Chakra as a civilian ... he was just damn good at hiding that massive amount of Chakra.
"Addition," Mifune said, slicing through the Chakra constructs, resembling katanas, that he had made to trap one of the Jounin. He promptly exploded in a shower of blood and gore. Mifune moved onto his next prey, as if taking down elite shinobi in less than a heartbeat was a normal occurance for him.
"Incredible... those are Jounin level shinobi, whether or not they have the experience some of us have. And that man is just slicing through them like he's slicing through butter," Kakashi said in awe. It had been a long, long time since he had seen someone massacre trained shinobi in such a manner. Not since his teacher, Minato Namikaze, slaughtered the Iwa army in the Third Great War had he seen a complete demolition of such level.
"It's scary," Kurenai agreed with a nod. She was watching her opponent with a keen eye, but most of her attention was drawn to the man that was now surrounded by heaps of Jounin. "I definitely wouldn't go within a hundred miles of him if it was a war."
"We got you surrounded now, old man!" Apparently, someone had misjudged Mifune's age. He just looked at the shinobi around him, boring into them with his calculating gaze.
"Infinite Sword Wave," at the wave of a hand, a ring of swords appeared around Mifune at chest height. He sliced through their hilts, horizontally. The cut, though it went through the sword handles, made the katanas fly towards his enemies at high speeds. Twenty shinobi, dead in one move. That one move cost a lot of Chakra though.
"That explains why he is called Mifune of the Infinite Swords," Kakashi said, shuddering at the display. Making swords out of thin air and Chakra alone was a scary ability.
Twenty minutes later, the Kumo elites were still standing in front of the Konoha elites, but there was a difference this time. There was no back up for the Kumo Jounin. Two hundred and ninety five Jounin lay dead around them while a bloodied Mifune panted among them, still holding his nodachi in both hands. His blonde hair was matted, sweat poured from him, and he was panting like a dog, but he wore a satisfied smirk.
"Well, that takes care of the small fry," Mifune said, taking a step towards the Konoha Jounin, but he fell face first next to the unconscious Naruto, falling into darkness himself. Apparently, even one of the Roku Kyoshu got tired after killing that many Jounin.
The Konoha and Kumo Jounin took that as a signal to start fighting. Kurenai and Kakashi took on an opponent each, while Kisame ended up with three of them, including the leader.
Their battle, however, was interrupted a while later, when they heard an incredulous shout echo through the air.
-TT-
Naruto awoke to the sound of battle and the unconscious face of Mifune. He stood up quickly not knowing what was going on. Looking around, he saw all of the Gennin passed out on the floor and the Jounin barely holding up against what looked to be hordes of Kumo Jounin.
"What the hell is going on here?" Naruto screamed.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the teachers were only taking on five ninja, not an entire horde. The majority of the ninja were on the floor, already dead from several sword wounds. They did, however, look rather tired and ... bored? What was boring about a nice fight against someone of your own ability?
"Seriously, what is going on here?" Naruto asked. He started walking towards Kisame who, despite fighting three times as many enemies as his fellow Konoha elites, looked to be the freshest of the lot. It truly was a testament as to why he was branded as an S Rank ninja.
"Long story short, we got ambushed by an army of Kumo Jounin, Mifune took care of the small fry then passed out from exhaustion." Kakashi explained, in his patented bored tone. No matter what happened, Kakashi always seemed bored. "Let us take care of this, then we will head back."
"What about Mifune?" Naruto asked, watching the teachers fight against the enemy shinobi.
"He can do whatever he wants. I really doubt a wild animal could kill him, and the likelihood of a ninja attacking him after all of that is rather low." Kakashi said.
"Alight then, let's get rid of these idiotic Kumo lot," Naruto said, moving into a rough Taijutsu stance.
-TT-
"So you are telling me you were tricked, met a Roku Kyoshu, got ambushed by an army of Jounin, watched the Jounin get slaughtered by single man and returned with a Gennin learning about secret techniques of a long dead clan?" Sarutobi asked. All of the ninja in his presence, consisting of Kisame Hoshigaki, Kurenai Yuhi, Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Zaraki Kenpachi, Hinata Hyuga, Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, Zabuza Momochi and Haku Yuki nodded. The Third just rubbed his temple. "I really am too old for this shit."
Before the Sandaime could comment on the situation, a member of ANBU Shunshinned into the room. "Apologies for the interruption, Sandaime-sama, but the Honoured Council has asked for an emergency meeting to be help immediately. They have also asked for Naruto Uzumaki, Zabuza Momochi and Haku Yuki to attend the meeting," the ANBU stated in a monotonous voice.
"I see, we will be there shortly," Sandaime said. The masked ninja nodded, and left the room in the same fashion that he had entered. The Hokage turned towards the others present in the room. "Well, what's done is done. Naruto, Zabuza and Haku, come with me to the meeting. We will discuss Zabuza and Haku's fates there or afterwards. The others, you can go back to your normal duties. Well done on a mission accomplished."
Everyone, other than the Hokage, Naruto, Zabuza and Haku left the room. "Okay, before we go anywhere, I would like to warn you. The council, especially the civilian side, are a rowdy and greedy lot. I hope you are prepared for what is to come."
The others nodded towards the elderly, yet powerful, man. They followed him out of the office and into a dimly lit room with two tables. The Hokage sat at the head of the first table, sat aside for the Hokage and the shinobi side of the council, while the ninja that came in with the Hokage stood in a nervous line in front of the entire council. As the door closed with an audible crack, Naruto noticed some of the civilians giving Haku an almost lecherous stare.
"Alright, what is this meeting about?" The Hokage asked, without any sign of the massive amount of irritation that he was feeling. The council meetings he was called to were often foolish, repetitive and had almost no purpose behind them other than to just annoy him. At least, that was what he thought. He didn't have a single shred of doubt in his mind, this was going to be a long, long night for him.
"We are here to discuss the fate of Naruto Uzumaki, and the two missing nin that he has brought into the village," called one rotund individual. He looked to be an average merchant, and how he got into the Konoha High Council, Naruto had no idea. The power of money and stupidity of politics, he supposed. "We received word of the fact that Naruto Uzumaki attempted to betray his comrades in a mission. We propose that he be executed for treason against the village."
Naruto and Sarutobi mentally shook their heads, while Zabuza and Haku wondered why the council were so hostile towards the young blonde. "They really are trying to find an excuse to kill me. God knows what it's going to take to get away from these vultures."
"Declined," the room erupted into uproar. The ensuing shouting match took almost ten minutes to calm down, but an even louder shout by their leader did the job perfectly. "Naruto's reasons for interfering with the mission was perfectly justified and perhaps saved the lives of some of our most promising ninja."
"We demand to know how the De-brat saved any of the village's ninja," shouted the same man. He was so tantalisingly close to breaking the law that Hiruzen had unconsciously started to thumb a kunai in his hidden pocket.
"Those are military matters that the civilian council has no business in interfering," the Sandaime's voice rand with finality. "So, is that all you wanted to bother me about today?"
"In that case, we demand to know why two missing nin were allowed into the village," it seemed like the porky merchant was the spokesperson for the civilian side of the council, for he was doing all of the direct talking.
"One missing nin, actually," Naruto corrected, raising his hand as if asking for permission to talk. However, he didn't wait for anyone to acknowledge his request before speaking. "Haku Yuki is not listed in the Bingo Book as a missing nin. She was just trained by a missing nin."
"Fine, we demand to know why there is a missing nin among us." The spokesperson concluded.
"Who does that stupid, fat pig think he is? Demanding to know things from his superiors," a voice in Naruto's head rang. It had been a while since he had heard the bloodthirsty voice of his surrogate elder brother speak to him. "You should kill the impudent bastard for even trying to do something like that."
"Now, now Kurama-nii, no need to start thinking such bloodthirsty thoughts," Naruto mentally chastised the beast, almost as if he was acting as the older brother. "Think about happy things instead, like ponies. And stay quiet, I don't want to be spacing out in a council meeting." Kurama stopped talking for the time being, but did not cut the mental link.
"It is because Zabuza Momochi has asked for asylum within our village, since his village is in the middle of the civil war," Naruto answered. "And that is perfectly legal, as long as the Hokage deems the ninja trustworthy, it doesn't matter if they are a missing ninja or not. So, there is no need for you to whinge about it." The last comment about whinging earned him a few more glares from the civilian side and a few snickers from the shinobi side.
"Who are you to tell us what is legal and what isn't, you Demo- brat!" The spokesperson was almost foaming at the mouth with rage.
"It's true," Shikaku Nara confirmed. He was always the voice of reason, and being the Jounin Commander, he was effectively the second highest ranked ninja in the village. "The rule has existed since the reign of the Nidaime, and has always been honoured if the situation came up."
That silenced worries about Zabuza. Most of them were more than happy to gain another powerful Jounin, though some of the civilians still gave him a distrustful glare or two. This, however, brought them to more pressing and irritating issues.
"What's next, or is that all?" Hiruzen asked. He could almost feel the headaches and migraines creeping up on him, and something told him that he was going to regret asking that question.
"It is about Naruto Uzumaki's newly found bloodline limit," the portly man said, while grinning triumphantly. Naruto shuddered at the accusing look the old man was giving him. "Oh shit, this is not going to go well."
A/R: CUUUT! Not as big of a cliffy as the last one, but still a cliffhanger nonetheless. I decided that I was going to do more of them, since mindscrewing readers is fun.
=*=*=*Personal Opinion Rant=*=*=*=
Due to popular demand, the rants are back. And this time, it is something that is a legitimate concern. The subject this time around, the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Setting aside the fact that it is utterly overpowered, since you can kill someone by just looking at them or break their mind (really, cmon? Everlasting black flames? If that wasn't enough, unbreakable Genjutsu that breaks your mind? And then and invincible shield that pwns entire mountains at full strength?), what my problem with it is the way it is activated.
Itachi's Mangekyo activates when his friend, Shisui dies. His activates from the grief of losing a friend. Okay, fair enough reason for your powers to activate, only if it was followed through. The reasons for Shisui's Mangekyo activating were never said, and neither were Madara's and his brother's.
Okay, everything fine so far. Itachi tells Sasuke that killing his best friend would activate Mangekyo. Nothing wrong with that, except that it is REALLY twisted.
Then, Sasuke goes and activates his Mangekyo when his brother dies. Fair enough, still no problems, since he could have seen Itachi as his best friend.
Now then, you ask, where is my problem? KAKASHI'S MANGEKYO! Explain it to me, why did his Mangekyo activate when it did? Obito's death? THEN WHY DID IT NOT ACTIVATE IN THE SIXTEEN YEARS KAKASHI HAD THE SHARINGAN? Not fully matured? Not enough grief? Kakashi's Sharingan was three tomoe at the start of the series, so the maturing process wasn't the problem. Not enough grief? Then how did he suddenly have enough in the timeskip? He didn't suddenly make another best friend and kill them.
What I don't get, is WHAT THE HELL IS THE DEFINITE WAY OF ACTIVATING THE MANGEKYO? Like, seriously, the Mangekyo just appears whenever the plot needs it. And that isn't even mentioning the complete OPness of the moves. It's like saying "You don't have Sharingan? You ain't real ninja!". Like seriously, DAFUQ?
=*=*=*Personal Opinion Rant End =*=*=
Again, you were warned, so if you read without wanting to, too bad. If you do like my rants, let me know what you thought about this one.