Naruto: Tenshikage

by Sarakiel

Naruto is banished to the Unknown Lands to the West of Konoha. There he forges a new path for himself, a path that will make him new friends, more enemies, and a new destiny. No Time Skips, AU, Post-Sasuke Retrieval Arc

28. Chapter 28 : Burn

Chapter 28

Burn

"Drawing ever near, my cause revealed as clear, yes I burn for you here..."

Tatsuo opened his eyes slowly, the pain from the hole in his chest unbearable. His hands crept towards it, but he could barely move. He forced himself to breathe, the fear overtaking him again and tears rolling down his cheeks. That old man. Those strange outsiders. It was them, it had to be. Tatsuo couldn't fathom what happened in the dark of the night. After those outsiders left, those who did not understand life in Blood Country, one had come back. The old man. The old demon who had moved like a phantom in the night and slaughtered everyone. Tatsuo saw it, he saw everything. His insomnia left him up every night, staring out the window at his quiet little village, praying for it all to end. But when that end had come, and he had seen it coming… He'd seen the old man in the street, his hands like flashes dealing death to everyone he ran up to. Tatsuo could not believe it. It was death, come at last, and he did not want to die. Tatsuo realized he wanted to live.

So he ran.

But death had overtaken him. The old man held him and saw the fear in his eyes. Death spoke to him.

"You are almost too cowardly for your blood to be on my hands. You disgust me and disgraced the Tenshikage's presence earlier today," the steely voice whispered to him.

Before Tatsuo could scream a hand was through his chest, hot blood flowing down his shirt, pain exploding through him.

"If you live, let people know to not dishonor the gift of Tenshikage's presence again with such cowardice and apathy." At which point Tatsuo had blacked out.

He lay there now, breathing shallow, knowing he was alive and that his life was precious to him. He would tell anyone he met, from now until the day he died. Do not display cowardice around the Tenshikage…whoever that was.

---

Calamity stood on the top of the rocks, looking eastward. A small trickle of loose sand and pebbles rolled under her feet, but she retained her footing. Fifty feet below, her master was watching her every twitch and muscle movement and she would not give him a reason to criticize her. Her eyes were the sharpest out of both teams. She spied the small cluster of buildings Naruto's clone had told them about ahead. Smoke rose from a chimney in a few of them. In truth, it didn't even qualify as a village. A few buildings – one of which was clearly a bar and another possibly a bathhouse – and a single road passing through the middle of them. There were signs of life, but nothing threatening.

Satisfied she nimbly ran down the rock formation, taking care not to slip. She landed spritely beside Hiroka and stood straight. She couldn't help but glance at N'huic who was frowning and shaking his head ever so slightly. Calamity forced herself not to get angry, knowing he was upset about something she did, even though she thought she did it flawlessly.

"What does it look like?" Sakura asked.

Calamity shrugged. "A few buildings. A few people. No army, nothing suspicious."

Naruto nodded and they all began walking in that direction. There was a sense of disquiet amongst them after the events two days ago. That village and the totally apathy of its inhabitants; as well as their conclusion on what N'huic had done. It had all left them pensive, Naruto especially. He led the way towards the cluster of buildings with a heavy heart.

Senjii's eyes kept darting left and right. The few people they saw in between the buildings didn't even glance their way. Every face displayed the same emotional deadness. It was as they'd seen in the previous village. He wondered to himself if everyone in this cursed country wished they were dead. He pointed to a pair of doors.

"That looks like a general store or at least somewhere we can get something to eat or drink." He said quietly.

Naruto nodded and strode ahead, the others following behind. N'uihc's eyes watched them go in and looked up the street to the north with a frown, before also entering the building.

Inside was indeed a sort of restaurant bar. There were five people in here. One the proprietor, a stout lady of indiscernible age; Three others clearly a trio of brothers who sat at a table and just stared into their beer, and one man asleep at a table in the corner.

The seven Tengoku warriors pushed two tables together and sat down. The owner shuffled from behind the counter with a menu. As she approached, Senjii noticed that her eyes picked up each member of the team, lingering on Nagi, Naruto and finally on N'uihc.

"Before you ask, we don't have anything on the first page of the Menu, and the shit on the second page tastes horrible." She put the menu's down in front of them and stood waiting.

Naruto looked at the menu in confusion, not recognizing anything. Hiroka coughed and pointed. "Can we have the deep fried Mountain Chicken?"

A clatter outside the store announced the arrival of a large contingent of horses. The old lady grunted and took back up the menus. She looked at N'uihc. "You break it you pay for it." Then shuffled off.

"Do you know her?" Calamity asked her master.

He shook his head. "No. But she has lived enough to know a master when she sees one." The doors opened and in strode ten men wearing red flak vests and carrying various weapons. Their uniformity suggested that this was what the military passed for in Blood Country. Their eyes immediately went to the group from Tengoku.

"You there!" The leader – a burly man in his thirties – walked over. He was clearly a man accustomed to making demands and having them followed. Senjii immediately didn't like him.

"What are you doing here?" he bellowed, his men arrayed behind him.

Naruto looked up at him, his face steely. "Eating."

The man sneered and opened his mouth to say something but paused with it open. Naruto's eyes had become slits and an aura of pure menace was flowing off of him in waves. The man wanted to say something, but seemed to be rooted in place. He stood there for what felt like minutes, Naruto drilling him with his eyes, before Naruto looked away and dismissed him "Go away."

The man wiped the sweat from his face and gasped in, finally breathing after what felt like an eternity. "Well…" Having no retort, he turned and looked at the other people in the room; the table with the three brothers was now empty, they having taken the opportunity to vacate. The man in the corner let out a big snore. That was enough to galvanize the brutish leader, who stalked in the direction instead. He kicked the legs out from under the man's chair, causing him to fall on his ass.

"You! Get up!"

The man opened his eyes and yawned, looking up at the militia leader. The warriors from Tengoku stiffened and prepared to stand up to help the man, but N'huic barked at them at barely a whisper.

"Sit."

When they relaxed their muscles, Naruto looked at N'huic inquiringly.

"Forgive me my Lord Tenshikage. But this will be instructional for my students to watch." He whispered his eyes motioning towards the man on the ground.

"We're supposed to sit here and watch that man be terrorized?" Sakura asked incredulously.

Senjii interjected. "Does that guy look worried?"

It was true. The man on the ground stood up to his full height. Sakura was amazed at how much taller he was than he had seemed before. He stood easily at seven feet tall, his coat was a dark red, his eyes hidden behind a dark pair of glasses. He had stark white hair that fell to his shoulders. He smiled at the burly leader of the militia who stood a full head shorter than him.

"Afternoon! I must have fallen out of my chair, my apologies." He adjusted his glasses.

The militia man snarled. "Who are you?! What are you doing in Blood Country?"

The tall man smiled even wider. "Is that where I am? I'm just heading east to meet up with my brother. Lost track of what country I was in a while back. It doesn't really matter does it, I mean everywhere is the same."

The militia man didn't seem to know what to make of that. "There's a toll to cross our borders. Fifty Zars. Pay it or…" He sneered again. "Or things will get ugly."

"Well now." The tall man's smile slipped away. "Is that a fact." After a few seconds of making a thoughtful face he replied. "I guess that leaves me no choice."

He reached into his jacket. The Tengoku warriors tensed up immediately.

The ten militia men all drew their weapons. Swords and daggers for the most part. One had a large hammer, another a club. The tall man grinned and pulled out a fat wallet.

Naruto, Senjii and Nagi sweatdropped. Sakura, Calamity and Hiroka slapped their own faces.

"How much was that again? Fifty?" He looked in his wallet and pulled out the notes.

The militia leader and his men all laughed raucously. "What a coward." He grabbed the notes the tall man extended to him, counting it and stuffing it in his pocket.

"The price just went up." He laughed. "We'll take it all."

The tall man never stopped smiling. He didn't stop smiling as his large left hand shot out and grabbed the militia leader's face. His grin in fact grew as he leaned in to the stunned man.

"Well now, I think you've just worn out my goodwill." He squeezed. The thug shrieked and shrieked. Naruto stood in alarm. The nine other soldiers took a step back in confusion.

It was like a watermelon being crushed. The thug's face cracked and crumpled, brain matter oozing out over the tall man's hand.

N'uihc said quietly. "Now for the lesson. Recognize danger even when it lies dormant."

The tall man let the dead thug fall at his feet and he looked over at the nine other men. They snarled and shouted. The one closest to him leapt forward swinging a large knife. The tall man grabbed the knife hand, twisted it backwards and impaled the soldier. In one rapid movement he pulled the knife straight up, splitting the soldier open from sternum to nose bridge. Blood sprouted out, threatening to bathe the tall man in it; however he managed miraculously to avoid even a drop.

Two men lunged forward with swords. He blocked with his forearms. Senjii expected that he'd have lost his hands with that crazy block. But then he heard the clink of metal and realized the man in the red coat was wearing forearm bracers beneath the coat. He stepped into the two soldiers and with a synchronized two handed blow smashed both of their windpipes.

One soldier made a quick handsign and released a fireball towards the man. Naruto jerked when he saw that. It was a jutsu not very unlike that of the signature jutsu of the Uchiha clan. Similar, but much weaker. The tall man didn't even try to block it. The fire died inches from his smiling face. He thrust his hands forward, keeping his fingers rigid. It penetrated the soldier's chest up to his thumb. In another brutal and fast movement, he'd snapped and ripped out some arteries and at least two ribs.

That soldier was dead before he hit the floor. The others turned to run, but the tall man in the red coat did not let up, slaughtering them all before they made the door.

All in all the entire fight lasted maybe thirty seconds. When it was over, and the last soldier gasped his last breath, you could hear a pin drop in the store. The team from Tengoku watched in stunned silence as the tall man in the red coat took a napkin off the table and wiped blood and brains off his hands.

He glanced over at them and made a face. "I'm really sorry about all that. Some people just don't know when to stop."

N'uihc seemed to nod in agreement. The tall man sighed and looked over to the owner who shrugged.

"More will be by later." She said without much care. "You'd all best be off."

The tall man in red nodded, bending down and retrieving the fifty Zars from the dead soldier and tossing the money onto the table. "For your trouble." He told the lady. He bent down and picked up a bag, slung it over his shoulder and nodding to the Tengoku crew walked silently out of the store.

"What the hell?" Senjii said quietly.

"That was brutal!" Nagi exclaimed.

"Ah, but did you understand the lesson." N'uihc asked his student.

Naruto stood up. "First appearances can be deceiving." He turned to his friends. "That guy gave off no killing intent at all. Anytime during that fight."

Senjii shook his head. "Not only that, how did he stop that fireball?"

Sakura made an exasperated sound. "What does it matter now? We don't want to be here when more soldiers show up. We need to get to the capital and I personally don't want to fight the entire country to get there."

With a nod to the old lady who sat down and lit a cigarette, they made their own exit from the store.

---

An hour later on the road north a voice called out to them.

"Hey!" It was the tall man in red, coming along a connecting road towards them. "Do you guys know which direction is the capital of this country?"

Sakura planted her feet and took a defensive stance immediately. The other girls and boys all doing the same. All except Naruto and N'uihc.

Naruto spoke first. "That was…" he friends watched him, his face unreadable.

"That was kick-ass!" he exclaimed, holding his fist in the air. "You're awesome!"

The man in red scratched behind his head. "Aw. Damn. Well I mean I didn't have a choice you know? Some people can be unreasonable."

Naruto extended his hand and the man in red strode forward to take it in a handshake. They both grinned.

"My name is Naruto." Naruto said happily to the confusion of his friends.

"I'm Lash." The man in red replied beaming.

They shook for a second and then released and stepped back.

"Naruto…I feel like I've heard that name before." He glanced around at the others and took in their headbands. "Wait a minute…" his eyes narrowed.

"Isn't that a type of eel?" He exclaimed, pointing at Naruto and letting out a big laugh. Naruto laughed along with him. "I think it is!"

They clasped arms over each others shoulder and laughed a bit more. The faces of the others fell. What was Naruto doing?

"We're heading to the Capital ourselves. But we're not sure where it is either." He said wiping away tears.

Lash frowned. "Ah well. No sense in both of us being lost. I'll go that way and you guys go that way, and one of us is bound to find it!" he seemed to think that was funny as well and laughed walking off, waving to them.

When he was out of earshot, Senjii turned on Naruto.

"What the hell was that?!" he bellowed.

Naruto stopped laughing and his face got serious.

"Now we know his name is Lash, and that he's going to the Capital as well. Also he's impervious to chakra attacks. I was pumping chakra into my hands trying to break his fist. He didn't even feel it."

Naruto cracked his knuckles and motioned for them to continue along the path they were going.

N'uihc nodded. He'd underestimated his Tenshikage. There was a cleverness that the boy kept hidden. N'uihc would not make that mistake again.

---

As they crested the hill, they spotted a dust cloud approaching from further down the road. Calamity shielded her eyes from the sun, squinting. N'huic clucked and tapped her on her head.

"Why do you shield your eyes woman? Is nature's light hurting your delicate senses?" He clapped his hands over her eyes. "Let's do this without the sun then. Tell me what you see now."

"Nothing master." Calamity grunted through gritted teeth.

"Of course not. You are an earthworm without the sun and without light. You see nothing." He moved his hands. "However, even an earthworm can detect a threat. Keep your eyes closed and tell me what is ahead."

Calamity sighed and concentrated, letting her instincts take over, feeling forward...

Her eyes snapped open. "An army!? Maybe three hundred men?"

N'huic nodded. "Yes. That is adequate." He motioned to the stunned others and Naruto.

"Forgive my interruption of your quest to teach my apprentice Lord Tenshikage. You may proceed."

Naruto looked around. They were in an open plain, the roadway had nowhere to hide either to the left or the right. Scraggly rocks, small solitary hills and open ground was all that surrounded them for miles. He supposed he could Hiraishin everyone to a place of safety, but in which direction? Maybe he could transform his clones into some kind rock formation and wait for them to pass by? Or perhaps...?

He stopped himself. Why should they run? Three hundred men was a lot, but they'd faced worse odds before. The memory of the woman and children burning to death in the village, and his own anger started to simmer. Maybe they should teach the soldiers in this country a lesson.

"We continue going," he said to the others. "If they get in our way we'll go through them."

Senjii and Nagi nodded in approval and moved to follow him. Calamity and Hiroka exchanged a look and also followed. Saruka frowned and watched Naruto's face. As she walked her mind was processing, wondering if all these battles were changing her friend for the better of the worse.

Half an hour later the thundering noise grew closer and closer. Naruto glanced back at his friends. They all stood casually to the untrained eye, but he saw the readiness in their stances. He turned back as a battalion of riders came into view. The leader was a heavyset man who may not have ever learned the value of a bath. Their blood red tunics were stained with dust and wear from the road. They pulled up short of the group, their sheer numbers dictating it took them a full minute to come to a complete stop.

"You there!" The leader motioned to N'huic. "What is your business here?" he sneered.

N'huic motioned to Naruto. "You may direct your questions to my Lord Tenshikage."

The man looked at the boy he'd ignored before. Naruto stared at him expressionless.

"Well?" The man snarled. Leaning forward.

Naruto looked at the guy, and his men who were all smiling viciously. He cocked his head to the side. "No matter what I say, you want to kill us," he said quietly.

The man laughed and pulled out a sword. "You must be a seer." He opened his mouth to say something else but was unable to because his head had been removed from his body. Naruto had Hiraishin'd on top of the man's horse and pulled his head from his shoulders. The other soldiers stopped laughing instantly and just stared.

Naruto held the head high, gripping the greasy hair. "Leave now and you will live another day!" He offered the two hundred and ninety nine soldiers left. Only seven were smart enough to take the offer.

The one's nearest to Naruto howled and launched their horses towards him, swinging wildly with their swords. Naruto back-flipped high into the air then disappeared, standing back by his friends.

Senjii grinned. "That was sooo not subtle." He bent at the knees and leaned forward, his hands crossing his body to his Kodachi swords in their scabbards. To the soldiers he also disappeared. To the other warriors though, they saw him move incredibly fast, his swords out and slashing. He was atop the horses, running in a straight line down the middle, cutting limbs and necks at a breakneck speed.

While Senjii cut a swath down the middle. Calamity ran at Sakura who held her hands low for her to step into. Using her chakra infused strength she launched Calamity high into the air. Calamity rapid fired on the way up and on her way down, loosing close to fifty arrows, all of which found a home in someone's eye socket.

Nagi worked left melted into the shadows in the ground. Leaping from one to the other, smashing faces and breaking bones. Hiroka worked right, her deadly scarf flashing everywhere. Naruto flashed to the back of the group of soldiers and boxed them in. The soldiers put up as much fight at they could, but not a single hit was made on a member of the team from Tengoku.

N'huic watched impassively for the duration of the fight, his eyes taking everything in.

It took five minutes.

At the end of it, most of the soldiers were dead or dying. The lucky ones just unconscious. Senjii let out a hard breath. "Well that was a workout."

Sakura was panting slightly. "God damnit Naruto! Was that necessary?!"

He looked at her, his eyes hard. "If they passed us, they would have found someone else to torment and kill." He surveyed the carnage. "I'd rather kill a thousand murderers than let a single innocent person die again."

They collected themselves, Calamity was out pulling arrows from bodies, Hiroka folding her cloth back, Senjii wiping his blades. Nagi looked to N'huic. "What do you think Master?"

N'huic cocked his head. "About what? Weeds must be pulled. You seem to have worked up a sweat doing some basic gardening. Perhaps your fitness is not where it should be." He pointed to the next hill miles away. "You will carry me on your shoulders to that hill." N'huic leapt into the air and landed feet first on Nagi's shoulders. Nagi almost buckled but he knew that to do so would result in further 'training'. He gritted his teeth and stepped forward, walking down the road towards the hill.

Naruto cracked a wry smile and they all walked along the road to the capital. Sakura looked at his back with a troubled expression on her face. Her friend was changing, but definitely not for the better.

---

"Daddy! Daddy!" The little princess ran excitedly to greet her father. His customary sneer and scowl disappeared seeing his daughter in her fancy dress. A smile creased his face when he realized it was filthy. he reached for her and picked her up in a swift motion.

"Now where have you been playing?" he dusted off her knees much to her delight. "You're a big girl now! Your fifth birthday is next week and you are supposed to be able to stay clean missy!"

She giggled. "I was hiding in the big room."

"The throne room?" He shook his head with a smile. "I told you to stop doing that. Daddy does work in there, and you should be at your studies. Where is your nanny?"

Just then a flustered woman came scampering in. "Your...your Majesty." She panted out of breath. "I'm sorry, she got away from me."

His eyes flashed in annoyance at her, but his smile never left his face. "I see you're unable to keep up with my daughter. Should we find someone more capable?"

"Hee hee Dadddyyyy!" The girl said leaning back in her dad's arms. "Don't be a meanie!" She laughed and broke free running out the room, the nanny bowing shakily to the King and chasing after her.

A figure stepped from the shadows. "You're daughter is...precocious."

The Blood King turned and sneered at the man. The King wore a military dress suit that was to the untrained eye very formal and might have made him look pompous. But a soldier would see the expandable seams, and sewn in compartments in the shins and forearms, and realized this was a warrior's uniform. The King's ebony skin stood in sharp contrast to the red suit, a single scar running from his left ear down his neck the only imperfection on his otherwise alabaster face.

"Yes. And if you ever speak of her again..." A flame crackled in the King's eyes, the threat clear.

The man held up his hands, "I meant nothing by it."

"Has Danzo given more thought to my terms?" the Blood King asked, stalking to the table laden with fruit and meats.

"I just sent my messenger to him yesterday, I do not expect a response for several days." The man said quietly.

"I see... So 'Scorpion' is it?" The King looked the emissary from Konoha over. "What do you think Danzo's response is going to be?"

Scorpion looked straight into the King's eyes. "Emperor Danzo is likely to accept your offer of an alliance, but may require allegiance as well."

The Blood King waved his hand in annoyance. "Bah. Those games are beyond Danzo." He popped a cherry into his mouth. "With my alliance his reach will be far enough encircling the Land of Wind for us to make a move into that territory. There are riches in the desert if one knows how to look."

Scorpion nodded. "Yes. We have already annexed the Land of Birds, the Land of Rivers and the remaining territories in between us and Wind."

The King laughed. "Danzo's ambition is limitless. I am no fool, he will seek to subjugate my kingdom as well once my usefulness has ended. I can play his political games too, we shall see who survives the game in the end."

He looked out the window at the setting sun, watching a bird soar through the air and land in the communications tower. "What of the Lands to the West?"

"What of them?" Scorpion asked.

"Their comes word of a new hidden village in that part of the world. The village hidden in the Heavens." He eyed his guest, curious to what his reaction would be.

"We know of it. It is currently of no concern to us." Scorpion said dismissively.

"I see. I hear the Tenshikage can destroy a village with a single wave of his hand. And his fingers have already reached into Konoha and taught Danzo a small lesson." A wicked sneer adorned the face of the King.

"There was an... event... that was dealt with." Scorpion conceded.

The King grinned and looked away. "When does your brother arrive? I've heard rumors about your clan, and I'm curious to see a spa between you and some of my more... talented soldiers."

"He is already on his wa..."

Just then a messenger burst into the room. "Sire! We have word from a patrol near Erdogan Village! It has been wiped out! Only one survivor has been found so far. A squadron is bringing him to the palace as we speak."

The King growled. "My soldiers are brutal, but know not to have done something like this. Someone is playing with fire invading my territory." He cast his eyes at Scorpion who shook his head and raised his hands defensively again, indicating it wasn't him.

"When the survivor arrives bring him to me!"

---

Tengoku

Yoshi lifted the heavenstone brick and placed it carefully on top the short wall he'd already constructed. He sighed in contentment as the object fused with the one below, forming a solid block. He'd rejected offers to use a few Naruto clones that had been left behind for anything the council required. This was his science and he wanted to see it through until the end. Of course, he wasn't about to build the entire remote village by himself, he just wanted to prove that a building could appear and disappear. And its contents remain safe until it re-appeared as well. He'd just build a small hut, and then conduct his experiment.

The soft breeze blew against his shirt his lab coat lay discarded fluttering like wings behind him. This was indeed the ideal life of a scientist! So engrossed in his work was he, that he did not notice a small group of riders until they almost ran over him.

Three men on horseback, looking surly and beat down by the elements. Yoshi frowned, this was a serious distraction from his work.

"Hey you!" the man to the left shouted at him. "What you doin' way out here?"

Yoshi glanced at the heavyset man, and began a train of thought wondering if there was a factory somewhere that mass produced this type of individual; a large brutish ignorant fighter. He supposed it was possible... maybe a school of some sort. A school for scoundrels. He smiled slightly envisioning what the curriculum for such an institution might be.

So far into his train of thought was he that he did not notice the shadow behind him as a fourth man clobbered him on the head. The men searched his pockets and took what looked valuable.

"You know, he looks pretty well off. I bet we can ransom him to some family member," one of them said.

"That's a great idea. Throw him on the pack horse and let's take him with us until he wakes up," the leader said.

They rode in good spirits towards the dark forest a few miles away.

Not half an hour had gone by before another group of men confronted the robbers.

"Hey! What do you have there?" one of the new arrivals shouted.

"Our meal ticket. What are you goin to do about it?" A short grin and the new arrivals pulled out battle axes and launched themselves at the less armed robbers. Two out of four died, the other two escaping. And so Yoshi changed hands, still on the packhorse unconscious, being led behind the new thugs.

"When he wakes up, we'll see who he is and how we can get rich off him," one of them said as they rode into the forest.

"Yea. Maybe he's a Prince or something. Look at those weird robes!" The man was cut off from saying more because it is anatomically impossible to speak with an arrow in ones windpipe. The other battle axe robbers met similar fates, being riddled by arrows from men hidden in the trees.

When the last man was dead, the archers approached the pack horse and the still unconscious Yoshi. "Did you hear that? This is a Prince! He must be worth a fortune!"

"Grab him, let's take him back to the Lair."

---

Jiraiya landed on the ground with a solid thud.

"...I've gotta watch my weight..." he whispered to no one in particular. He stretched then walked over the crest towards where Yoshi should have been. The mad scientist never showed up for dinner, so after drawing the short straw, Jiraiya was the one sent to bring him back home tonight.

He topped the hill and saw the area that Yoshi was preparing for the pilot village, but there was no sign of the scientist. As he got closer he saw tracks on the ground heading north. He bent down and took a closer look.

"Looks like someone took him..." he murmured quietly feeling the tracks of a horse that was heavier than when it entered the clearing. He stood up and his eyes peered into the darkness, north. He considered going for help, but it seemed to just be four men, probably bandits.

Though what they hoped to gain by kidnapping Yoshi was beyond him. He leapt in the direction he saw the tracks going off in, hoping to catch up.

---

Blood Country

They sat quietly around a fire. Hiroka had grabbed Senjii and walked away a bit from the others for some privacy. The others did their best to pretend they didn't see them, trying to ignore their conversation. Calamity and Sakura were not trying very hard though, every now and then casting furtive glances in that direction.

Nagi lay back snoring, exhausted from carrying N'huic on his shoulders all afternoon. N'huic himself was sitting in a meditative pose, but his eyes were alert, watching his Tenshikage. Naruto's face was a storm of emotions. Never before had he leapt into battle with the sole purpose of killing someone. Or many someones. It was a... shift. Not one that Naruto felt comfortable with. But how can he protect anyone if he wasn't willing to kill to do so?

"There once was a ruler who hired my ancestor." N'huic began saying. Senjii and Hiroka stopped talking and looked to the old assassin. They came back closer and sat down watching him, waiting for him to continue. Naruto looked at him curiously.

"This ruler was young, but wise. But he was faced with a formidable foe who had declared war on his country. There would have been destruction of his farmlands, his people would have been slaughtered. He sought the assistance of Sinanju, the sun source of martial arts and the greatest name in the land, in stopping his enemy."

"My ancestor, a true master of Sinanju, asked the ruler what he meant by stop. Did he want his enemy dead?" he looked at his charges. "Never accept a contract without knowing the scope of your mission."

"The ruler said he did not. He was a man of peace, and did not wish to harm anyone, he just wanted to protect his people. My Ancestor sought further clarification. 'I am a Master of Sinanju.' He said gloriously to the ruler. 'I can break this man's legs, his arms. But if his mind is on the destruction of you and yours, Sinanju will not prevent this. A choice must be made. Hire me or not. Kill him or not. There is no room for maybe.'"

The fire crackled, and they sat silently listening as N'huic sighed and shook his head. "The ruler stood proud in his way. 'I will not ask one man to kill another. ' He told the Master of Sinanju. 'I thank you for your time oh Glorious one.'. My ancestor of course was showered with jewels just for gifting the ruler with his presence and council."

"Within a month the lands were invaded and the people of that country massacred. The ruler was brought before the victor and a crowd of many. He was made to kneel on a platform and chained for a fortnight to suffer the indignities that one would not bestow on a dog."

"My ancestor, in his wisdom visited the ruler as he knelt in chains. 'Do your convictions still abide?' he asked the ruler. 'I would offer you a favor due to your past respect of Sinanju. I would kill this warlord and his inner circle.' The ruler looked up with a blood streaked face. His body had been broken, but his will had not. 'I regret the deaths of my people. But they are gone now. Only I remain and it would accomplish nothing killing anyone. There is no one left to protect. I would ask one thing of the great Master of Sinanju. Allow me to die with dignity. I accept my fate but will not give them the satisfaction of reducing me.'"

"My ancestor saw the bravery in the former ruler's face. He was no longer a king of a land, yet he was regal in his thoughts. He granted the man's favor, for that is what it was, a favor granted between two men. He took the man's body and buried it himself. This of course was a great honor, to be buried personally by the Master of Sinanju."

N'huic stretched and yawned. "This story is handed down from Master to Master. It teaches one simple lesson." He looked at Naruto. "Conviction."

"You choose your path. It may fail you. But you must stand by your choice. Even if it costs you everything."

---

Lands North of Tengoku

Yoshi came awake with a yawn, his eyes blinking and focusing on his surroundings. He was in a forest camp, clearly.

"I'm tied to a tree I think," he said with wonder in his voice. He looked up, it was an oak tree, very sturdy, decidedly old.

The men around him he did not recognize, not that they were taking him on. There were at least two hundred men here, and none were looking in his direction. Cheers and jeers were all being directed towards a makeshift circle in a clearing. In it were two men circling each other. One was enormous, he was big as a house, covered in matted hair and snarling. Yoshi was almost sure he was half bear, perhaps grizzly.

The other man was slightly smaller, but still very large. His bare chest had a few scars, but the muscles that stretched as he moved were an indication to Yoshi, and to any other trained fighter, that this was the man to beat. He wore a rope as a headband that flowed behind him and his fists and shins were taped up.

"Muay Thai," he said, while musing, Remarkable. It always amazed him how martial arts transcended region. Why in Tengoku alone he'd met people who practiced art from almost every corner of the world. So why not a Muay Thai fighter in the middle of the jungle?

"Wait a second..." Yoshi exclaimed. "Why am I here?"

A man near to him turned and laughed. "You're awake your majesty. We'll get to you and your ransom shortly. This is going to be good!" he turned back to the fight. "Rip him apart Baloo!"

Yoshi noticed that the majority of the crowd seemed to be cheering for the Baloo person, who he gathered from their looks was the giant bear guy. He appraised the situation for a few seconds.

"So the smaller guy wins, the crowd looks like it's betting money. It turns ugly. The Thai fighter kills the first rush of people around him...hmm... I'm still tied to a tree."

"Not if I can help it." Jiraiya said quietly from behind the tree. He cut Yoshi's ropes and the scientist looked around gratefully, rubbing his wrists. He nodded his head and smiled at Jiraiya, who motioned for him to escape back into the woods.

Yoshi smiled and shook his head, pointing down towards the smaller fighter. He turned and they both watched as the fight started in earnest.

The big bruiser swung wildly with his huge meaty hands, grabbing for the Thai fighter.

"Apa!" the man shouted and kneed the larger man in the face. The brute stumbled backwards but remained on his feet. The Thai fighter launched a series of punches that brought the man to one knee. Then a barrage of impossibly fast kicks to the left side of the man's head. It was generous even to call it a fight.

"We should rescue him," Yoshi said to Jiraiya.

"Who? The big bear guy? Why?" Jiraiya asked bewildered.

"No. The Muay Thai fighter. He's a kind person and a strong fighter. Would be a good addition to Tengoku Yoshi thinks."

Jiraiya watched as the Thai fighter decimated the larger man. "Kind!?"

"Look at his eyes," Yoshi said quietly.

Jiraiya did. Despite the ferocity of the attack, there was no animosity, no blood lust. It was a happy peaceful face. This was a man who enjoyed his martial art for the sake of the art itself.

"Maybe you're right. How can we talk to him though? We need to escape from here." Jiraiya said thoughtfully.

"Yoshi has a plan!" Yoshi declared and jumped up. He landed on the man he'd spoken to earlier, stepping on his head. Yoshi ran from head to head, leaping towards the battle which seemed to be concluded with Baloo collapsing in a heap. Yoshi leapt into the ring just as the outlaws started to get riled up. They stopped stunned though seeing their prisoner appear before them, decidedly not a prisoner anymore.

"Hi! My name is Yoshi. What's yours?" Yoshi said with a smile, extending his hand.

The Muay Thai fighter smiled from ear to ear, so wide his eyes looks closed. "Apatai Hochai! Pleased to meet you!"

"Where are you going from here? Want to come with us?" Yoshi asked still smiling, oblivious to the men rushing forward to grab him.

"Apa! You are generous! Apa is just wandering, making a living." The Thai fighter kicked a man who lunged in with a sword. The man's teeth caved in and flew back into a group of five who caught him but fell down themselves. "I must collect my winnings here first, and then maybe Apa can go with you!"

Yoshi smiled and nodded. "I will wait for you by that big oak tree!" Yoshi turned and kicked a man in the face, pivoted, spun and kicked him again in the chest with his other leg. He then leapt high into the air, and ran back towards Jiraiya who stood mouth open.

"This? This is your plan?!" Half of the bandits were coming for them, the others were rushing to kill Apatai. Jiraiya grumbled and dodged a thrown dagger.

"Yoshi's plan worked! Now just to beat these bandits." Yoshi slid his right foot back and raised his hands slightly. Jiraiya smirked. He remembered the demonstration spa between Yoshi and Mabry not that long ago. The mad scientist was a master at Savate. These bandits were in for a show.

---

5 minutes later

"Apatai, I'd like you to meet my friend Jiraiya." Yoshi said, gesturing towards the Sannin. Jiraiya stretched out his hand to shake the Muay Thai fighter's. They stood a little way apart from the oak tree. The area filled with groans and cries of pain, as every bandit lay writhing on the forest floor.

"Pleased to meet you!" Apatai chimed in, beaming. Up close he was built like a solid wall. Jiraiya once again looked at his face, and saw real warmth and honesty there. This was indeed a good man.

"So Yoshi invited you to come with us. Do you have anywhere else to go?" Jiraiya asked, smiling at the fighter.

"No. Apatai has been wandering for a while. My niece and I train and travel." With that a young girl no older than thirteen jumped down from the oak tree and landed next to them softly. Jiraiya was startled. She had made no sound. Blonde but curvaceous, she moved like with a feline quality that spoke of some level of skill.

"This is my niece Mui Hochai." Apatai smiled at her and them. She was friendly, shaking their hands as well.

"So, let me tell you a little about where we come from while we walk..."

---

Blood Country

Senjii wiped the sweat from his brow, surveying the terrain. They'd stayed off the main road since the confrontation with that squadron. The trees in this area weren't green, but a dark brown, with branches full of thorns. The ground beneath their feet was hot. According to the map Calamity had brought along, they were skirting the eastern edge of Blood Country's border with the Lava fields. A mighty river roared somewhere to the east of them. Senjii longed to see it and maybe take a bath in it, but Calamity warned them that the map noted the river was poisoned with sulfur.

They were about two days from the capital. The old capital of Blood Country used to be on the West Coast. But the new capital was close to the eastern border. The hills there were rich with gold and diamonds, and the new King wanted to be as close as possible to the source of his wealth.

"Look." Senjii spun at the sound of Calamity's voice, no more than a whisper.

"A caravan ahead, on fire." They approached cautiously. A ring of about ten large wagons were smoldering, smoke raising into the air, but the battle for them was long over. Arrows and blood littered the ground. No bodies were around though.

"Looks like a raid." Calamity said angrily. There were chests opened and smashed, obviously searched for valuables. Dresses were scattered, decrying the existence of women in the caravan.

"Where are the bodies?" Hiroka asked aloud.

N'huic pointed to the ground. "Tracks lead to that hill."

The group from Tengoku walked around the wagon and saw a small figure on the hill. As they got closer they realized it was a boy only a few years younger than themselves. His left arm hung limp at his side, blood caked on his forehead and neck. He moved with a limp, but he moved with purpose. He was dragging a wrapped body into a hole that was freshly dug. He saw them approaching and rested the body down and picked up a short sword.

It was clear from his movements that he was in pain. It was also clear he didn't know how to hold a sword properly. He positioned himself between them and a small pile of bodies, swaying, barely standing upright.

"We won't hurt you." Naruto said stepping forward, hand raised. "Are you the only one left?"

The boy looked at Naruto quietly for a few seconds. "Yes. Are you bandits?"

Naruto shook his head. "You need some help, I have a medical ninja with me. She can help fix you."

The boy looked at the group and nodded to himself. He lowered his sword and let out a breath of air. "Thank you. I...I am OK. Let me just finish here. Please." He turned without waiting and struggled to pick up the body he was moving before with one arm. he managed to grab a corner and drag it gently into the hold properly.

The boys and girls teams moved forward to help the boy but N'huic put his hands out stopping them. "Do not dare interfere in this. Let him honor his people."

They stood there and watched as the boy put the bodies, seven of them, into the large hole he'd dug. Then as he covered the hole. There was one body left that he moved slowly with to a deeper, smaller hole. He lowered that one in with even more care, stumbling and falling. Several times the girls or the boys wanted to go help him, but N'huic hit them with a fierce look, freezing them in place. He himself stared intently at the boy, watching him bury the dead.

When the single hole was filled back in. The boy pushed and pulled a medium sized stone on top the grave. By the time he sat down at the foot of the grave, the sun had set. They'd watched him work for hours. They walked up to him, Sakura kneeling and examining his arm and head.

"This arm is broken in three places. Your head has a gash, you probably have a concussion." The boy winced.

"Check my ribs too please. It's hard to breathe." Sakura pulled aside his shirt and revealed a large purplish bruise on his left side.

"Your family?" Hiroka asked him, pointing to the graves.

He shook his head. "No. I did not know them. I am an orphan. They picked me up two days ago."

Senjii was startled. "But. if you didn't know them, why all this?"

The boy shrugged. "They didn't have to pick me up. This is a harsh world. They fed me." He nodded towards the single grave."The mother was the one who insisted they stop and pick me up at the side of the road. She made me the first real food I'd had in months. She deserved better than this end."

N'huic strode to the mother's grave. "A woman's place is taking care of those around them. That is their job. She did hers with honor then." He looked at the boy.

"How did you get hurt?" he asked.

Sakura was wrapping a bandage tight around the boys head.

"I jumped on this big guy who was setting the wagon I was in on fire. He threw me off and ran over me with his horse. I woke up when it was all over." Sakura was now touching his arm gingerly.

"I'll have to set these bones. Sorry but this will hurt," she said compassionately. She motioned for Calamity and Hiroka to come hold him down. The boy to his credit did not resist, he did let out a cry though when she snapped his bones back into place with a loud crack.

N'huic nodded as though he'd seen enough. He approached Naruto. "My Lord Tenshikage, I would like a word with you."

They walked apart from the others a short distance.

"Do you recall my price for training your friends My Lord?" N'huic spoke very formally and seriously.

Naruto nodded. "A favor. I owe you one favor."

"Yes. Him," he said, pointing to the boy.

"What?" Naruto sputtered incredulously.

"Yes. It is clear that as an orphan he has nowhere to go. He also is obviously a novice at any form of martial arts. But most of all it is most clear he has the fires of Sinanju burning in him. He has much honor and bravery. With that and a clean slate, I have chosen him as the successor to the Sun Source of Sinanju." N'huic turned and rubbed his cheek.

"Perhaps his ancestors were once from my village and one of the former Masters bedded one of the women. It would explain his level of born honor." N'huic walked off, satisfied that the conversation was over.

"Boy," he spoke directly to the boy as he stood up, his arm wrapped tightly to his body."What is your name?"

"Kenichi, sir."

"Do not call me sir. Call me Master."

---

Capital of Blood Country

"Hey brother!" Lash called out, gasping Scorpion's arm. "It's been a while."

Scorpion scowled, his face not showing any pleasure at all at seeing his brother. The resemblance between them was uncanny. They were fraternal twins, not identical but close enough that their relation was clear. Where Scorpion wore all black gear with red accents, Lash's red coat was taken off to reveal black gear with green accents.

"Yes, yes it has. I wouldn't have called you at all, but Emperor Danzo needs the best ninja on his team, and unfortunately, that includes your wayward ass."

Lash grinned widely, "Aw brother, you're upset with me. Whatever shall I do about that?"

"Why is there blood on your sleeve?" Scorpion asked suddenly, noticing an infinitesimally small drop of brown dried blood.

Lash scratched at it, "Got into a bar fight. Oh. Did you by any chance call for about six strong fighters and one Master Class? Or is our host expecting such a party?"

Scorpion shook his head. "No. Why? Did you kill them?"

They walked in sync from the courtyard to the long corridor that would lead to the inner throne room. The evening dusk cast strange shadows along the walls, and the menacing brothers looked more like part of the night than flesh and blood humans.

"No. But they were asking about the capital. One old man, three young men or teens, three girls. All move as if they have serious training. The old man, I'd not want to fight. He gives off a... vibe. Like death himself walking."

Scorpion snorted. "I've never known you to be afraid of anyone."

Lash shook his head. "Afraid? No. Smart. Always remember, there is always going to be someone stronger than you."

"Well, I don't think we have to worry about some old man and his apprentices," Scorpion said dismissively.

"There was one kid. Mid teens maybe. All white. When he shook my hand, I felt it. It was... odd... but I'm sure I felt chakra coming from him."

Scorpion stopped in his tracks. "You... felt Chakra? But your entire talent is immunity to chakra! You wouldn't feel it if Madara Uchiha himself set you on fire!"

"I know. It was alarming. I'd watch out for that kid too. His name was Nabuko... or Caruso... something like that," Lash said, scratching his chin in thought.

Scorpion's face went ashen pale. He looked at his brother's back as he kept walking forward trying to remember the name. But Scorpion already knew who it was, who it had to be.

"Naruto?"

"Yes!" Lash exclaimed. "That's it!"

He turned back to look at his brother. "So you DO know them?"

Scorpion swore, and picked up the pace, heading to talk to the King. He muttered to himself, "I sent that message to Danzo-sama too soon. Damnit."

---

Konoha

ROOT Hidden Bunker

Danzo sat in shadow, behind a new setup that had no less than ten individual layers of unrelated security designed to detect, identify, stop and kill any would be assassins. Or people that annoyed him too much. After the unsuccessful (or partially successful depending on how you look at it) attempt on his life by the false-faced Maito Gai, the Emperor of Earth and Fire had entered into a whole new level of paranoia.

Until his new tower was finished, which he had already decided to rechristen as the Kotei Tower rather than as the new Hokage Tower, he was spending all his time and running his new empire from the secure location of his former ROOT headquarters. The only ones allowed a direct face-to-face audience any more were his ROOT agents, the ones that he could kill quite easily thanks to the network of seals he'd put on them. And even then only in circumstances such as now, when he was behind so many layers of security that not even all the previous Hokages working together could reach him unscathed.

There were exactly five exceptions to this. Four of them were Danzo's personal guard and part of the many layers of security around him at all times. The fifth was Orochimaru. He was not about to let that snake out of his sight for longer than absolutely necessary.

At present, Danzo was dealing with matters of state, or considering present company as well as the conversation it may as well be called what it is; matters of war. While the now faceless Emperor was hidden behind his fuinjutsu-laced screens and chakra walls at one end of the room, at the center of the room was a large triangular table, with one side dedicated solely to the side where Danzo was seated behind his protections and the others angling away from him in order of importance. Orochimaru was sat at the 'tip' of the table, the better for Danzo to keep an eye on him.

"Scorpion reports that he has begun negotiations with Shisho, King of Blood Country. He has yet to make any true headway in his secondary mission parameters, but his primary mission as emissary to Blood Country in order to establish trading and financial ties with them is proceeding as intended. He foresees no complications at this time."

"Good," Danzo acknowledged.

"Sir," the ROOT agent bowed and sat down.

"Kukuku," Orochimaru laughed, as he did at the end of every report thus far. Everybody ignored him, and they were only able to do so because with the exception of him and the Emperor, everybody here was a ROOT agent. The new 'Council' of Konoha as it were.

"Finances."

"Mission requests have gone down, but to offset this we have upgraded a percentage of formerly D-Rank missions to C-Rank, and increased taxes on all traded goods between villages. The programs regarding hunting for bounties and foreign nukenin have bolstered things for a time, but we are looking at another six months before we'll even begin to see enough profits to make up for the lost work from fewer foreign and corporate mission requests. As a direct result of this, the treasury is at one third of what it was at this time last year. Sir." The agent making the report bowed briefly and then resumed his seat.

"Kukuku," Orochimaru chuckled.

"Recruiting," Danzo ordered the next matter on the agenda.

"Standard ROOT training has been implemented at the new military academies in both Konoha and Iwa. The most promising recruits will undoubtedly be those that will experience the full nine years of training, given that the recruitment age has been lowered from six to three, which fits in with our intentions of moving on the Western Country in six years time as the genin from the aforementioned class will have had at least a month's experience by current projections. The current class of academy graduates will be assigned according to the standard three-man cell format, and is to be the last of such. Graduation and Jounin Assignments are scheduled for the end of next month. This will increase our fighting force with an additional one hundred and fifty individual ninja, potentially thirty teams of inexperienced recruits. Recent promotions have ensured that we are indeed able to provide a Jounin Instructor for each of these teams. In three months time, we will know which ones are worth their salt, and which can be used as cannon fodder. Sir." The agent bowed and sat back down.

"Kukuku," Orochimaru laughed.

"Foreign Relations," Danzo growled, struggling with his anger at his 'ally'.

"We are in a state of Cold War with 80 percent of our border neighbors, the only exceptions being Suna, with which we still have a… political alliance with on paper, Tea Country, which we have a non-aggression pact and trading partnership with – they provide us with the majority of our black market merchandise, and Wave Country and the Moon Kingdom Alliance, with whom we are in a state of open war. Of those that we demanded annexation, we have just received the last of the rejection notices the day before yesterday. Full details of foreign military activity have been submitted in the previous report on Intelligence. Sir." Bow and sit.

"Kukuku."

"How does this affect our plans for Takigakure, Hoshigakure and Amegakure?" Danzo asked.

"Due to increased tensions, civilian trade has dried up with our border countries, as such our normal routes of infiltration have been cut off. There is no incoming Intelligence from Ame, and Taki has closed its borders so we are blind to any preparations they have been making in regards to coming conflicts. Hoshi has restarted a program that it abandoned ten years ago, and reports suggest that even their genin will be able to handle a full regiment, for those that survive the program that is."

"Sir," another agent stood as the previous sat down. "Against Taki, based on past skirmishes and tactics seen, we have prepared a number of strategies in dealing with a full frontal assault. We will be ready for the attack scheduled in three months time. Hoshi, we are still constructing fallback tactics and strategies, but it has been suggested that we ensure we have a numerical superiority before facing them, again we will be ready for them in three months time. Against Ame, however, without either better Intelligence, or other advantages, the lack of resources has delayed our siege engine by an additional six months past the scheduled attack."

"Kukuku."

"… Orochimaru," Danzo growled.

"Oh, is it my turn already?" the Snake Sannin responded with mock surprise.

"What progress have you made? Where are the soldiers you promised?" Danzo demanded.

"You mean the cannon fodder?" Orochimaru openly mocked him. "Why, right here," he held up a brick of what appeared to be clay or putty.

"You dare…!" Danzo's rage was so great he couldn't speak.

Orochimaru just smiled that creepy smile of his, tore off a piece of the putty, poured some blood from a handy vial onto it, channeled chakra into the piece, and then threw it over the table to the open space between them and Danzo's throne. Before Danzo could trigger the security measures he'd put in place specifically for Orochimaru he noticed what was happening to the piece of putty and stopped. It first of all began to bulge and expand, first spreading in a wide puddle on the floor, and then growing up on itself similar to how a mud clone sometimes manifested. Except this clearly wasn't a clone, first for the fact that the amount of chakra Orochimaru had used hadn't even been a percentage needed for using the technique, and second while human shaped the construct looked nothing like Orochimaru.

Of course by human shaped, that meant it had two arms, two legs, a torso and a head. Beyond that, it was more like one of the demons of old, or some kind of mud monster from an old movie. It remained stationary after fully forming, or at least stopped getting bigger, at eight feet tall and four feet wide at the slimmest point, they all figured it large enough, and it was only because nothing else happened that nobody immediately attacked and that Danzo didn't finish what he'd first started by activating the anti-snake security measures. When it continued to just stand there, and with Orochimaru just sitting there with that creepy smile on his face, the enshrouded leader of Fire, Earth and Grass finally lost his patience.

"What is it?" he demanded.

"I call it a Hohei, a foot soldier, cannon fodder. Kabuto suggested Gihei, dummy soldier, but you asked for numbers more than skilled warriors. This," he held up the brick of putty, "is my answer to such a request. One brick of this size will guarantee you no less than one hundred such soldiers as what you see behind me."

"What can it do?"

Orochimaru shrugged, his pale skin stretching inhumanly around his wide smile. "Not much I'm afraid. As I said, you wanted numbers of brute force, not skilled agents. They follow the orders of the one that provides the blood and chakra to them. In terms of strength, the current batch is only, at best, high C-Class, very low B-Class for the better ones. The next batch will be a solid B-Class through and through. They can't use jutsu, but they do make for excellent physical combatants."

"Whose blood was used for this one?" one of the ROOT agents, the one responsible for the Counter-Intelligence report actually, asked.

"Why, Danzo-dono's, of course," Orchimaru replied, his reptilian yellow eyes staring right through the barriers between him and the Emperor.

"Centipede," Danzo ordered, and the masked guard instantly appeared before the golem. "Attack," he ordered the Hohei, and it immediately lurched into motion, moving with surprising quickness given its bulk.

Centipede, however, was elite and S-Class, so could easily dodge its swinging fists and rudimentary taijutsu attacks. He counter attacked, knocking the soldier back a step, but it showed no signs that it had even felt the hit and there was no lasting physical damage.

"So far, I am not impressed," Danzo remarked.

"Kukuku, I did say they cannot use jutsu, did I not?" the pale skinned ninja repeated. "Therefore, to make up for this… lacking, I incorporated other ways for them to use their limited pool of chakra, which is set to a finite amount and would expire after only twenty four hours anyway. They can regenerate and reshape their bodies."

"Hm," Danzo mumbled. "Use weapons," he ordered the Hohei while signaling Centipede to continue defending.

The monstrosity paused for only a moment as its right hand flowed together and then began to extend to a point, while its left hand became a large sphere from which several spikes emerged. It resumed its assault with a slightly increased range and greater speed. When Centipede pulled his kunai and blocked the 'blade hand', to everyone's surprise, save maybe Orochimaru's, sparks flew at the point of contact. The 'blade' didn't look remotely sharp enough, let alone made from metal to cause that kind of impact. Its mace hand came up faster than expected and smashed through the log Centipede had replaced with, one with an explosive tag already primed on it.

The blast was small, considering they were indoors, but the amount of force would be enough to knock an ordinary ninja off their feet, maybe break some bones and cause some minor burns. When the dust settled from the blast, the Hohei was already moving through it, no sign of any visible damage to it at all as it headed straight for where Centipede had hidden himself.

"As I said, not very intelligent, and very straight forward, but effective cannon fodder," Orochimaru explained. "They also don't have true senses, merely tracking the chakra in the air, and perhaps the vibrations through the ground, but with such simple brains they don't get overwhelmed by sensory input or silly little things like pain. They are given a target and they track it down and kill it and then they just stop until given a new target. Until they run out of chakra that is."

Whether it was intentional or not, Orochimaru had timed his speech exactly so that as he spoke that last statement, the mud-like monster froze in place and then began a rapid decomposition, falling to pieces and then those pieces shrunk until it had reverted back to the same wad of putty that the Snake Sannin had initially tossed aside.

"I only put in enough chakra for a few minutes," he continued, "But I'm certain that was demonstration enough, yes?"

"One hundred soldiers just from that, you say?" Danzo confirmed, and though they couldn't see the gesture, they all knew he was referring to the brick of putty in the white skinned man's hand.

"Give or take," Orochimaru shrugged. "Although, I should warn you that you should only give this to your A-Class soldiers, as the chakra requirements for even one Hohei are… exorbitant."

"That would be expected," Danzo commented.

"To use Hohei of this amount," he hefted the brick as example, "to its full potential, the amount of chakra required would be on the level of creating shadow clones capable of performing one B-Class ninjutsu each and still be able to fight without dispelling. That would be one hundred shadow clones, at the least."

Everyone at the table stiffened, as the Snake Sannin was dangerously close to mentioning the one man that should never be mentioned in the Emperor's presence. As it was, Danzo merely acknowledged the limitation of this new weapon, but acknowledged that indeed it was a weapon worth having.

"Very well, you have our thanks for your efforts in this, Orochimaru. The next batch, as you call it, will be ready in time for use in our coordinated border attack?"

"Kukuku, but of course," Orochimaru laughed. "By that time, we should have enough prepared to have a block three times this size available for every jounin of Konoha."

"You will, of course, continue to improve on them?"

"Kukuku!"

Danzo sighed and rubbed his head in annoyance. Not that anyone could see the action, thankfully. He hated having to deal with someone so unpredictable, but he couldn't argue with the result that's for sure. "Very well then. You will train my loyal forces in using this new weapon. Also you will cease with the Cursed Seal applications effective immediately. If I deem such power to be worth it, then it will need to be… redesigned to suit my purposes. That will be all for now. Dismissed."

"Sir!" the ROOT agents all stood and bowed, while Orochimaru's smile merely shrunk half an inch on either side while he continued laughing, though the tone had changed somewhat.

The purpose of the room completed for the day, the lights were turned out and darkness swallowed every corner of it as the occupants departed. Moments after the last movements had finally ceased, a shape formed in the shadows. It was impossible to see, of course, given that there was no longer any light in the room to show it, but it was there. For the longest time, the shape just stood there, not really waiting or doing anything, just… existing. And then, suddenly, without any sound, and with no light to show it, the shape moved.

It 'walked', noiselessly, to the door and seemed to walk into its own shadow, save that everything was shadow at the moment. After it walked into its own shadow, the shape vanished from the room as though it had never been there in the first place.

At the exact same moment, in a hidden bunker that none but a handful even knew existed, Shikamaru slowly opened his eyes as his Shadow rejoined with him from the errand he'd sent it on. The technique was on the extreme side of chakra intensive, he could only hold it for a few minutes at a time, a 'few minutes' being over 60 in this case, but it had proved as invaluable as the ability to shadow walk. In classic terms, it was a form of astral projection, but that was hardly an accurate description of what he did when he sent his Shadow out and used it as his silent eyes and ears throughout Konoha.

Unfortunately, this time it had brought back disturbing news. Very disturbing news.

He needed to check with Ino and the rest of the NA, see what they knew about this "Coordinated Border Attack" Danzo was talking about happening in three months time. Even with those… Hohei of Orochimaru's, the Hokage couldn't possibly be thinking of trying to acquire more territory already, could he? After the failed siege on Wave and previous conflicts, their attack force was not prepared for yet another open battle, especially not on multiple fronts! To attack more territories and try to hold them as occupied opened them up to counter attack by the other nations! It was insane!

Of course, the thought that Danzo was insane was old news as far as Shikamaru was concerned, but he wasn't stupid. He needed to think this over, but first, before he could settle down into his thinking pose, he needed more information. Eyes flashing black, he stood to his feet and faded back into the shadows around him, concentrating on one specific location. When next he opened his eyes to the light, he was in the Safe House, the one place inside Konoha's walls where it was still safe for Naruto's Army to meet, the one place Danzo would never even imagine looking for them, even as paranoid as he was.

He stepped forth and put his hand on the central spiral, a piece of fuinjutsu that Kakashi had prepared for them before he'd gone on the run, it looked like a standard orange colored 'Uzushio' spiral, but when one applied chakra to the center and spoke a pre-chosen selection of words, all those that bore the receiving seal, usually as a tattoo, sometimes as a mark on a piece of paper, those words automatically appeared in the matching coded kanji. Even as he said the words, Shikamaru observed how the words appeared as darkened shadows on the back of his hand.

"Meeting. Tonight. Urgent. Shadow," he whispered as he channeled chakra into the seal.

They'd each finally gotten around to choosing *accurate* code names for themselves, and part of the security of the seal is that the message would not be sent unless they spoke their codename at the end, and even then only if the codename matched with their chakra signature. Shikamaru was, obviously, Shadow. Ino was Ghost, Choji was Chrysalis, and Kurenai was Rose-Red. Believe it or not, everybody chose their own codename.

Confident the message would be delivered, Shikamaru settled down to wait, his hands already moving to the standard pose he put them into when he began to think strategy. He had several hours until midnight, and that would be the soonest that any of them would arrive, though the meeting wouldn't actually begin until nearly three in the morning. Still, he had a puzzle or two to occupy him until then, the most urgent being what Danzo was up to by opening Konoha up to outside attack.

---

Wave Country

Anko and Iruka arrived in the middle of the night via windstream. The stream didn't end in Wave village, it went past it all the way out to sea. Anko disrupted the air with a chakra burst and they fell the hundred feet or so to the ground. They both broke their falls with their own jutsu. Iruka pumped chakra into his feet and spine, landing standing, cratering the ground but unharmed. He looked around and saw that Anko was waiting on him

The two of them had worked out a way of communicating recently, with him having lost his tongue. They just seemed to... know... what the other was saying. The training they'd done in Tengoku had been secret. Mostly. The island was too small to keep much secret for long. The samurai Tenchi had found them and offered some advice. Advice that Iruka was taking to heart.

His plan was simple. He was a Konoha ninja. The fires of the leaf would not be put out by Danzo or anyone else. He and Anko would be a team that bit at the heels of Danzo. A deadly viper that struck when least expected. He would find a way to kill the so called Emperor of the East and reclaim his home. To do so though, he wanted one more person for their team. That person was here, in Wave.

"So that was a flashy entrance," a voice said from the shadows. "I mean falling from the sky, that's a new one."

Anko's hand flicked to her waistband and a handful of shuriken came up, ready to fly towards the threat.

The figure stepped out from the shadows and into the light.

"Anko, it's good to see you," Asuma said, the flare from his lit cigarette illuminating his face.

"Asuma! You are the man we came to see," Anko said, approaching him. Iruka nodded and smiled. Asuma nodded back.

"I know. We got a message a few days ago that you'd be coming from Tenchi in Tengoku. Along with a stone that allows us to 'talk' directly with Tengoku." He inhaled sharply.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"We are from Konoha Asuma. It is our home. We will take it back." Anko replied. Iruka just stood there stoically, letting Anko talk.

"How? With what army?" Asuma said, studying the two of them. They looked different. Harder.

"The three of us. Not an army, a viper. A small team with nothing to lose that can bite at their heels and strike when least expected. A shadow of the coming storm."

Asuma looked from one to the other. "Konoha is my family's legacy. My time here in wave has allowed me to recover, but like you I yearn for my home. Do you have a plan?"

Iruka grinned and Anko responded. "We have many."

---

Blood Country

"He dares!"

The Blood King threw his cup at the far wall, red wine dripping down the stone face. Lash and Scorpion stood off to the side, while a few palace guards and a villager stood facing the King.

"Tell me. Tell me again what he said!" With spittle on his lips, the King looked almost insane with his anger. The cowering villager nervously repeated his words.

"He said do not dishonor the gift of the Tenshikage's presence again with – with cowardice." The man managed to stutter out.

"And this was an old man travelling with them."

"Yes your Majesty."

"GahhhH!" The King drew his sword and fire engulfed it. He swung and lopped the head off the villager in one swift movement.

"That's gonna leave a mark," Lash uttered under his breath.

"And you! You had him in your grasp and did not think to kill him!" the King bellowed at Lash. He took one step forward with his flaming sword in his hands only to have Lash also step forward and the flame die down immediately. He looked stunned at his blade, long enough to break the murderous rage he was in.

Lash shrugged. "Well I had no idea who he was. But now that I do, let me give you the rundown of who you're facing."

"Wait!" the Blood King said. "I want my special guards here for this." Within a few minutes, the required men and women were assembled. There were five of them that the king referred to as his special guard. He surveyed them with great pride. It had taken him a while to collect all of them. They were his trump card. Loyal as could be – and he certainly paid them enough – they used to be a wandering band of mercenaries before he took them in. And with their special skills...

"Tell them." He waved to Lash.

"OK. Firstly, the old man. I'd say that whoever fights him is likely dead. He is master class. Possibly beyond it even."

"Then the three boys. Naruto, obviously, is the Tenshikage. That means he's powerful. There have been stories, but those are probably exaggerated; stories about him wiping out villages with a single blow, for example. I can testify though that his chakra is massive. Enough for me to feel it."

"There was an older boy who carried with him a black sash on his waist and twin kodachi. Dark hair, maybe eighteen? I'm not sure."

"That is probably Senjii, the Dark Blade." One of the special guard chimed in. He was short, but then everyone was short compared to Lash. Standing at around five feet three inches, the man fingered a katana tied to his waist. "That one, is mine."

"OK then." Lash continued. "Then there was a dark skinned boy, medium length hair. Looked like a younger version of him." Lash pointed to a burnt portrait that hung in the throne room. The edges of the tapestry were black and singed. Shisho kept it in that room as a source of pride, showing his dominance over the once king. Now, he burst from his throne again and stared at the picture.

"Has the past come back to haunt me now?" he muttered.

"If he is related to the old king," another guard said with a sneer. "Then it will be a pleasure to complete what you started so many years ago and end that bloodline, Majesty." A thin reed of a man, he boasted scars across his face that would make a strong man wince.

"It is of no concern. I want them all dead. Continue," the King directed Lash.

"Then there are the girls. All pretty cute," Lash said with a grin. "One had pink hair, another favored using crossbows, and the last one wore a long red sash."

"Well then," the twin female guards chimed in with matching evil grins. "We shall take the pretty girls and make them less... pretty." They spoke in unison, which creeped Lash out a bit.

Scorpion spoke up. "They are coming here, to the Capital. Probably looking for you, your Majesty. Would you like the assistance of the Emperor?"

Shisho laughed. "So that I would owe Danzo a favor? I don't think so. My Crimson Guards here can handle this. But, I'll tell you what. If they make it past them," He motioned to the sneering mercenaries, "Then yes, I will accept Danzo's, and yours, help. Let that be the start of our accord."

He looked out the window at the red setting sun, which seemed to set the land itself on fire.

"Let them come."

---

OMAKE! By Joshua the Evil Guy!

Blood Country

"Hm, yes, this will do," N'uihc stated all of a sudden as the group came to a cliff overlooking a valley. The road continued on down into the valley, but taking a rather winding path that was part of a gentle slope down into it before going up the other side after a fair distance.

"What will do, master?" Nagi asked, wincing after he'd said it, regretting asking immediately.

"Pardon the interruption, my Lord Tenshikage," N'uihc bowed briefly to Naruto, before continuing. "I must continue instructing my pupils. Miracles take dedication, yes? So, you," he pointed at Nagi, "will perform moves one through twenty as you make your way down the long trail." He shifted his pointing finger to the long winding road that went down in a gentle slope, but was about three miles to cover a half mile of distance. "Woman, you will run the same distance, and then climb like the monkey you pretend to be back to this point until the worm finally finishes crawling to join us."

"Join us?" Sakura asked, confused at the abrupt attitude from the once kind old man.

N'uihc smiled, and then stepped off the cliff.

Naruto and Senjii both smiled and laughed at the shocked looks on Sakura and Hiroka's faces. Then Senjii actually back flipped off the cliff, still laughing, while Naruto walked up to it, saying to them, "Come on Sakura. See you two at the bottom!" He jumped and was free falling for a few seconds before a wind blast cushioned his fall enough for him to land and easily ninja-jump the rest of the way down the cliff to the valley below.

A 'Doh!' look crossed the girls expressions before they turned back and shared sympathetic looks with their teammates and likewise made their way rapidly down the cliff as well.

"… I hate him," Nagi and Calamity both said together. She started running, and he started performing Capoeira patterns one through twenty, progressing down the road slower than the running Calamity. By the time she made it to the base of the cliff, he'd only made it a half mile down the road, so N'uihc sent her the fast way back up the cliff, and then running back down the long way again. By the time Nagi finally made it, she'd run the same path nearly two dozen times! Both were dripping sweat as they made came for the night in the middle of the valley.

Next Day

"Yes, this will do fine," N'uihc stopped in the middle of the dead field they were cutting across.

Nagi and Calamity groaned, a feeling of foreboding filling them at those words from their teacher. The others just did their best to hide their smirks and moved off to the side to rest while their teammates trained. Naruto and Senjii actually settled down to accomplish some of their own training (Naruto Senjutsu training, Senjii with his twin kodachi).

"Your jumping is atrocious! You are like a flea that has had all its legs torn off! And you have throwing arm of a woman, which is not surprising, and it is my burden to teach you so that you may throw adequately," he said to Nagi and Calamity in turn.

"Perform the (*Please Come Up With Special Technique Name*) on the dirt of this… place," N'uihc scrunched his face in disgust. "Ten rows of fifty. If you are still sloppy, you will merely do it all again, but on uglier dirt than this."

Saving his complaints for when it would do him some good, Nagi silently got to work, spinning on his heel, then flipping to spin on his hands, faster and faster, until he flipped again while still spinning and launched himself into the air, leg fully extended and in a flash it was pointed down at the ground, the spinning giving greater force to the attack. His foot was buried up past the ankle and came loose easily. He moved on to making his next hole in the ground.

"Throw these as high in the air as you can, and make sure they land in the flea's holes," N'uihc handed her a bag of dried sunflower seeds. Being dried out as they were, they probably couldn't grow anymore, but were a good travelling snack. They also were very light and prone to getting blown away by the wind, making Calamity's task more difficult by far.

They only spent a couple hours in the field, and at the end of the brief break, Nagi was burying his leg up past the knee, having to spin himself free to pull it loose, while Calamity had managed to hit four hundred and forty-four out of the five hundred holes, to which N'uihc had much criticism.

After Parting With Lash

"Faster, lazy swine," N'uihc snapped at Nagi who he was standing on the shoulders of. They were already up to a light sprint, literally running circles around the group as they strolled along at a steady pace. To further occupy himself from the boredom of travel, N'uihc had taken to throwing sunflower seeds, and sometimes small stones, at Calamity, berating her when she couldn't or didn't catch them and throw them back at him, mocking her more when she inevitably missed him. It was on how wide a margin that determined how vicious such mocking would get.

Lava Fields

"YOU! ARE! INSANE!" Nagi screamed at N'uihc as the young black man 'danced' his way across the flowing river of molten rock, the 'plates' of cooled lava rock his only chance of safety, thrown into his path by Calamity, who was throwing them as fast as she possibly could as the moment Nagi pressed down on one, it instantly submerged and was melted away. Thankfully Naruto and Senjii were helpfully providing her with plenty of 'ammunition', the former by using his wind to pull out and rapidly cool a pillar of lava, the latter by cutting said pillar up into throwable plates with his twin kodachi.

A Few Days Later

"HOW THE HELL IS THIS TRAINING?!" Calamity screamed amidst the hornet swarm N'uihc had literally thrown her into. The objective, he'd calmly told her in reply to her outraged scream, was to dodge the stings of the insects, and use her arrows to shoot the wings off all of them without killing them.

"HE'S INSANE! SAVE US!" Nagi screamed to his laughing teammates, who were struggling not to go rolling down the hill from laughing too hard. His objective was the same as Calamity's, only he had to use his fists and feet while using Capoeira instead of arrows. They felt being able to do it at all to even one should have qualified them for Daitenshi status, but according to N'uihc that was nothing, less than nothing, it was luck. Doing it to every insect they met, then it was merely adequate.

N'uihc was depressed for the rest of the day at seeing his students fail so much in front of his Lord Tenshikage. Calamity and Nagi were silent, every part of them swollen until nightfall when Sakura could finally treat all the stings they'd each received.

After Meeting Kenichi

"Uh, master?" Calamity whispered, half afraid of being killed, but more afraid of being punished with more insane training. "Is there anything that you'd like us to do?"

"Hm?" N'uihc looked over at her from where he'd been observing Kenichi walk alongside Naruto. "No."

Calamity blinked, surprised at not being insulted as was usual. She shared the look with Nagi, who pointed it right back at her. They were passing out of the mountains, and were now crossing a series of deep valleys where the only way through was a series of bridges. Even for a ninja and trained warriors, it was a treacherous crossing. They both had feared being made to do something crazy, like shoot the eggs out of eagle nests, or walk only on the rope-hand-holds of the bridges while doing constant flips and spins, or something even crazier. But no, their master just kept his eye on his newly claimed apprentice, paying them hardly any mind at all!

By the passing of the second bridge, they both began to feel restless and a little paranoid too. There is no way that he would let them off so easy, he was just trying get them to drop their guard. And what was so fascinating about the younger boy anyway? Not like there was anything special or talented about him, even they could see that at a glance!

Finally, neither of them could take it anymore and decided that they would continue training despite not having been told to do anything. At the very least, they hoped it would stave off the inevitable insults and derisive comments for a while longer. Or, maybe it would draw his attention away from the talentless orphan long enough to berate and belittle them…

At the middle point of the third bridge they were passing, Nagi suddenly hurled himself over the side, barely managing to hook his foot onto the rope handhold and using the brief grip to flip himself around under the bridge. He began to practice all of his more aerial moves, never stopping for an instant, flipping over and over above their heads, and then falling and catching and twisting himself down and around the sides and bottom of the bridge.

At the same moment, Calamity started walking with her eyes closed. Considering that they were walking on wooden plank rope bridges, with the wind blowing and now Nagi throwing it every which way, a normal person would have been clung tight to the handholds and only moving forward one step at a time after a lot of swaying about. Even an experienced and well balanced individual, such as every one of the Tengoku warriors would need to at least watch their step so they wouldn't step into the open space between planks. Calamity, however, continued walking as normal, her hand not even on the handholds, and stepped surely and soundly, feeling the movement and pattern and position of each step and putting her feet in the appropriate spots.

Kenichi, the only normal one amongst the group, just stared in wide-eyed wonder, and no small amount of horror as Nagi's 'training' made the bridge almost untenable!

---

Author:

Thank you everyone for the reviews :) I've a new mission, and that's to get to 10,000 reviews. I'm waayyy off. At this rate, it should only take another...mm...5-7 years maybe? lol

I found my Beta (Joshua the Evil Guy) so that's good news. We're cooking up a nice surprise. and by we, i really mean HE :D. it's exciting stuff so stay tuned.

I'm always on the lookout for a funny Omake to include, so if you feel like, please feel free to send me one.

I know Naruto is taking a darker turn, but he's come to a point where life isn't all fun and games and Ramen. It can be harsh. So we see in the next few chapters how he handles it. If it changes him or if he adapts! Don't despair, this won't become a Dark!Naruto story. It's just growth.

See you again soon.