Good Evening… It's currently been a short 6 hours since I published the last chapter, and while normally I wouldn't start on a new chapter quite this early, I wasn't able to sleep, and after the 4th hour of staring at the ceiling, I decided to up and make something of my life, so here I am. Thanks to you few guys out there that took the time to review, I really do appreciate it. Anyways, onto the newest chapter of 'Immortalized'!
Chapter 7
Shadows Protecting the Light
There was a lot you could learn about someone by the way that they fought. The way that one throws their fists, which advantages they will and won't use, the weapons they choose to employ, and the strategies that they employ all give a great deal on insight into not only that person's character, but also their philosophy and mindset.
This saying, however true it may have been, absolutely went double for those who chose to use swords as one of the baselines for their own personal fighting style. If one were to sit and not just watch, but truly observe a battle between two Kenjutsu masters, they would be awestruck by the sheer tenacity alone of the combat. When two masters of the blade meet, their joining and crossing of blades is often referred to and seen as a dance between the two combatants, their blades ebbing and flowing with each other, each one performing a give and take, and the moment both rapid, and fluid.
It was truly a masterpiece to behold, if one were privileged enough to watch them meet, that is, if the battle itself wasn't decided within the first few strikes. Conversely though, the longer the meeting between the two swordsmen went on, the danger of it also went up as each opponent would be more and more willing to 'pull out all the stops' and go for the more dangerous maneuvers. This was both a boon and a disappointment for any spectator, as some of the sheer movements that would be made are absolutely astounding, but they were also more likely to bring a quick and decisive end to the dance, almost as if the music they had been flowing to had been cut, the record being smashed.
However, none of these thoughts were farther from Lynx's mind as he desperately parried, dodged, and counterstroke against the blade of his captain, the ever elusive Cat-masked ANBU, who he had come to realize was a world class Kenjutsu expert. It seemed to matter little how much he trained, or how much he fought against her, for every single time they would engage in a fight, she had walked away the victor. That isn't to say that Lynx was a slouch, he was just simply out classed when it came to strict Kenjutsu.
He had proven multiple times that when all the restrictions placed upon him were released, that he could be a brilliant tactician that rivaled that of Hatake Kakashi himself, and combined with his already massive and versatile Ninjutsu arsenal and the simple fact that with his mastery of the Kage Bunshin he was a literal one-man army, Lynx was truly a one man army. Unfortunately none of that particularly mattered at the moment, as for the last several 'spars' (if he could call them that, after having slowly and painfully limped away after more than one of their sessions) his captain had ordered him to use nothing but his Kenjutsu and Taijutsu, effectively handicapping a great deal to the point of being crippled.
However, Lynx had been no slouch in learning and adapting his Kenjutsu style, and his preferred style of Taijutsu, while mostly aimed around the benefit of his various speed enhancing techniques, was still good in a pinch. He knew what Cat had been trying to do though, and he appreciated it to an extent. However, after nearly two years of being in the ANBU Corps, during which time he had spent every other day when he wasn't out of the village on assignment being brutalized by his Captain, he was beginning to tire of it.
As Lynx dropped his weight, by now easily slipping under Cat's outstretched katana, he leaned back before bringing his right hand up hard and fast, striking the back of Cat's elbow, and knocking her sword out of her hand, sending it spinning into the air. Grinning beneath his mask, Lynx brought his sword to bear, spinning on his heel after righting himself, and bringing his blade around in a feinting shoulder strike, before reversing the blade and moving it towards her throat.
As she had been disarmed and without a weapon, Lynx was caught off guard when his captain brought her hand upwards in a flash, deflecting the intruding blade with a flick of her wrist, before firmly planting her foot into his solar plexus, at the same time as she rotated her over and around his wrist, grabbing it and slamming it down as the rest of his body attempted to fly away. The resulting torque dislocated the man's wrist and forced him to let go of his blade, the fallen Kaze no Karitoriki clattering to the ground as Cat released his hand, caught her sword and brought its point to bear on the fallen man's neck.
Knowing that he had now was of knowing it, Cat smiled behind her porcelain mask, fully allowing the ear splitting grin to take over his visage. The fourteen year old Agent had been steadily improving at an alarming rate in almost all aspects of the Ninja, lacking only in Genjutsu to the point that she doubted that he would ever be able to cast anything other than a C-Rank Technique. While she knew that the younger blonde could greatly appreciate his alarming growth to his liberal use of Kage Bunshin, his tenacity was also something that wasn't to be scoffed at. You could look at his outlook on her training as a prime example of this, as no matter how many times she beat him down, broke his bones, shattered his libs, or just generally cut him up during their 'spars', she knew Lynx would be at Training Field Beta the day after, despite the shape he was in.
Additionally, Lynx also boasted a currently one-hundred-percent mission success rate, with minor casualties having been suffered only a small number of times. Yes, all in all even cat had to admit that he was a truly impressive ANBU agent, having only been in the program two years and ascending to the position that he was in was something that had been unheard of since the days of Uchiha Itachi. There were many reasons that Cat had chosen to make him her Lieutenant nearly a year ago, but one of the largest was the young man's drive that even she could see was barely concealed behind his mask.
This did nothing to mention the sheer potential that the young man possessed. He room for growth was massive, and the teen seemed to take to the ninja arts akin to a fish taking to water. All of these thoughts flashed through the ANBU Captain's mind as she flicked the blood from her katana before sheathing her blade, turning her back on her Lieutenant and walking away, disappearing in a rapid shunshin.
As Lynx slowly picked himself up, he knew he was being watched by several members of ANBU, if their somewhat familiar chakra signatures were anything to go off of. While he was no sensor, even he could pick up people this close in proximity to his own massive chakra. What he didn't know though, was that the few watching him were some of the other Captains of the other divisions in the Corps, and he was clueless to the fact that Cat had been looking for a replacement.
No, all Lynx knew for sure was that his wrist needed to be reset, and that he was in a hell of a lot of pain for it being this early in the morning. He sighed softly to himself, before retrieving his fallen katana and returning it to the sheathe on his back. At least he didn't have any missions planned for the next couple days so he could attempt to recuperate before his next beat dow-training. He meant training.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the stack of paperwork laid out in front of him, idly wondering just exactly how much trouble he could possibly get in by burning it all to a crisp. It wouldn't take much, not even a second thought. The Professor could simply flick his fingers and in the small flash of a fire jutsu, it would all be gone. The old man sighed, staying his hand, for now. The paperwork was a necessary evil that was in place to help run the village, and while he hated it with almost every fiber of his being, he was mature enough to restrain himself.
Looking over to the duo standing in front of him Sarutobi steeled himself, his visage taking on that of a hardened warrior, that of a straight commander, rotating his chair to face the three man cell that was keeling in front of him, their animal masked faces bowed respectfully towards the ground. Hiruzen smiled briefly, instantly recognizing the young man on bowed on the far left, his mop of unruly dull blonde hair being a dead giveaway for one as attentive as the Hokage.
Returning his thoughts to the matter at hand, the old Hokage addressed the three ANBU agents in the room, allowing them to stand at full height as he began his briefing. "Lynx, Tiger, Boar, you three have been gathered based off of your specific qualities that will be essential to this mission. Recently, a team of Jounin that was operating within the Land of Fire stumbled upon what appears to be one of the bases of my old student, Orochimaru. As it is highly unlikely that he is still in the vicinity, your team's mission is to infiltrate the facility, and retrieve any documents or envoys of interest that remain. This is to include personnel that may have been left behind. Lynx has operational command, and you are to leave promptly. I expect a full debrief upon completion." The man raised his head after ensuring that Lynx had gleaned all the information he need to from the folder containing all they had learned of the outpost, before burning it with a fire jutsu between his fingertips.
"As always, if you are captured or killed, the Leaf will immediately disavow you from the ANBU Corps, and while an effort will be made to retrieve you, we will not expend undue resources. Any questions?" The Hokage paused for a brief second, making sure to catch the eye of each member of the team, linger on the cold blue eyes of Lynx for a moment before speaking once more, rising and turning his back to the three men, grasping his hands firmly behind his back. "Dismissed!"
The three man cell immediately phased out of the office, each vanishing in their own form of shunshin, before reappearing in the central command area of the ANBU headquarters.
The two subordinate members looked to the de-facto leader of their newly minted task force, as he addressed them for the first time, "We leave in fifteen minutes. Prepare for close combat and personnel capture, if there are any I want them alive and in good condition. Pack light, pack fast. South gate on my previous mark…move!" Lynx watched as his team vanished off to gather their own respective gear, before rushing off to obtain his own. Lynx was no stranger to the burden of leadership, having been in the position a decent amount of times ever since his promotion to Lieutenant of the Seventh Division within ANBU, however, this would be the first time he was the lead agent on the raid of such a high profile target.
For his team though, he would be the picture of confidence. It simply wouldn't do to be the lone, unconfident leader. Plus, Lynx knew that Boar himself was actually a Captain himself, so why he had been granted operational command over his superior officer, he had no idea. Unfortunately, he had no time to lament on it, as he had just arrived at the gate, moments late joined by the aforementioned captain, and seconds after that, Tiger.
Nodding to his team, Lynx jumped into the trees, speeding off due south, his team hot on his heels.
The three-man task force arrived at the entrance to a large cave system in the south western region of Fire Country, near the border with River Country. Seeing as how the base was a part of such a complex system, it was no wonder that it had remained unseen until now, even being in fire country.
Dropping to the ground below the tree he was currently in, Lynx was soon joined by Boar and Tiger, and upon relaying to them their instructions, the three seemed to vanish as they moved akin to snakes in the grass towards the entrance of the cave complex, slipping inside unseen, and unheard. They hadn't made it too far into the system before they discovered the true entrance to the compound, in the form of a small, circular door on the far side of one of the walls. As Lynx moved to disable the various seals that had crisscrossed over the hatch, his two team mates covered his approach.
It was somewhat well known in the ANBU Corps that Lynx was quite adept with the lost art of Fuuinjutsu, and it was speculated within the higher echelons that he had long surpassed even Jiraiya in the art. As the two men watched their team leader work, precisely and in silence, they were reminded of the reason he had been placed on his team.
The way that the current ANBU lineup worked, was that each member of the team served a particular role. For example, if the mission parameters were more suited for heavy combat, a group of combat and Ninjutsu specialists would be sent over a team of capture and interrogation proficient agents. For this particular raid, the team consisted of Lynx, the seal expert and close-to-mid combat specialist, in addition to Tiger, the infiltration and intelligence gathering expert, who would know what to look for as they moved through the base, and finally, the team was rounded out by Boar, who as a captain, was proficient in all areas to a certain extent, but in this case serve primarily for prisoner capture and interrogation.
Lynx finished writing out the kanji he had been working on, before lightly pressing the paper into the center of the doorway, watching as the seal he had written briefly flashed a dull blue, followed by the door opening, the many security and defense seals the littered the entranced now nullified. Signaling to the other two members of his raid group, Lynx stepped inside the compound.
However, for all his training, Lynx was only slightly surprised that the inside of the complex was built like a maze, with corridors and tunnels spiraling off in several directions. Signaling once again to his teammates, Lynx quickly formed a massive group of Kage Bunshin, them all immediately rushing off in separate directions, as the team of three stepped into the shadows, waiting for the reconnaissance group that had just been sent out to return.
They didn't have to wait for long, as within seven minutes of the Kage Bunshin's disappearance, all of them had been dispelled, and Lynx now knew the correct path to follow to the main facility, and as far as he could tell, there weren't very many combatants in the hall, if at all. Only four of his clones had been forcefully dispelled after reaching what he perceived as the main chamber, the rest of the clones dispelling on their own after reaching nothing of value, or hitting a dead end in the compound.
In response, the three agents quickly made their way down the long halls of the facility, before coming up to the door that led to the main area. The team stacked up on it, with Tiger and Boar on either side, Lynx standing center on the ceiling a few feet back. After assuming that they had already been discovered by way of Lynx's destroyed clones, the team opted for the shock-and-awe approach. Boar and Tiger, after slapping a pair of enhanced explosive tags on the door, jumped back and took cover, looking on in mild satisfaction as the doors were blown inwards, and the team idly watched as a massive hail of kunai and shuriken peppered the area where the door had once stood.
"Well, go ahead and come on out, shitheads! I ain't got all fuckin' day!" A feminine voice perforated the darkness of the complex, and the Konoha team began quickly signing to each other in preparation for the contact with the enemy. In seconds, it had been decided that Lynx, as the combat specialist, would distract and deal with the enemy, allowing Boar and Tiger to slip past and continue on with the mission. "Jesus fucking Christ, I know you're there, stop being a fuckin' pus-" the woman started before a single kunai pierced the darkness, heading towards her, its aim based entirely off of the sound of her voice.
As the enemy combatant easily sidestepped the lone kunai, smirking at the stupidity of such an attack, she was caught off guard as it was suddenly replaced with the five-foot-four form of what she assumed was a young man, if his somewhat muscled frame was anything to go by as he appeared next to him, throwing a spinning kick that managed to connect with her solar plexus, sending her to the other side of the room.
Lynx fell into his tried and true Hachidori (Hummingbird) stance, a kunai easily falling into his right hand in a reverse grip, as he appraised his female opponent. It was hard for him to fully see in the low lighting, but the woman was dressed in what appeared to be a gray battle dress, with black compression shorts and a matching top underneath, held together at her waist by a large, purple rope that served as a belt. She was also wearing some sort of headband that covered the top of her head, slipping her long red hair down either side of her head with a small tuft stuck down the center, lying flat on her nose. Hell, Lynx may have even thought the woman was cute, had she not been trying to kill him and his team.
By the time he had finished his appraisal of his opponent, the woman had already gotten to her feet, screaming something about being one of her Orochimaru-Sama's elite, left in charge of the facility as they pulled out, but if he was being honest with himself, Lynx couldn't have cared less about her name, rank or whatever. That was Moreno Ibiki's job to find out, and he would ensure he was able to.
Forming some Kage Bunshin which quickly jumped into the shadows of the large room, Lynx rushed forward, in a serpentine fashion across the center of the room, intent on taking down the woman before she could deal any form of massive damage that might compromise his mission. As he appeared on the woman's left, he launched the kunai at her throat, overloading the chakra in his feet to launch him over her in a twisting half flip, forming the seals for, and calling out a Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu as he did so, his singular kunai changing into over thirty as he landed on the far side of the redhead, a fuuma shuriken already in hand and flying towards her.
The redhead, focused intently on dodging the multitude of kunai that had quickly come to rain on her from one side, nearly missed the large windmill shuriken that would have caught her square in the shoulder blades had she not thrown herself forwards into a shoulder roll at nearly the last second, before widening her eyes in abject anger, and shock as the bladed weapon curved back towards her, causing her to leap to the side to avoid being split in two. Unfortunately, as it passed her, she cursed once more as she saw the attached smoke bomb, which promptly exploded, covering the room in a thick mask of black smoke.
Lynx smiled grimly to himself, as he moved seamlessly through the room, noting with satisfaction as the other members of his team passed through the room, getting by as he continued to deal with his lone opponent. He sighed to himself as he created more Kage Bunshin, sending them out in multiple directions, their instructions already ingrained in their minds as he moved towards the woman who had by now regained her footing and was cursing him with a mouth that would make a sailor blush. Had he not been under strict orders to take as many alive as he was able, this woman would have already been eliminated. He was a sharp and precise blade, and mistakes were not tolerated, though, so he stayed his hand, instead ushering forth a small wind jutsu that cleared the smoke, allowing the woman to focus on him once again.
"Alright you son of a bitch, now you've really pissed me off." The redhead glowered, while Lynx merely tilted his head to the side, before vanishing in a shunshin, appearing in front of the young woman who he had gauged to be at about a high chunin level. The woman's face contorted into one of shock, yet again, a look that the masked ANBU operative had begun to think was quite befitting of her, as before she knew what had happened, his right arm had flown up, a small, concentrated Rasengan forming in the small of his hand before he slammed it into the flute she had been constantly attempting to raise to her lips.
As he did so, her flute shattered, and she screamed at him before he noticed some form of marking begin to appear over her entire body. 'Alright. Well I suppose that's enough of that can't have this get too out of hand', Lynx thought to himself, as he pulsed his chakra, sending the signal to his clones to spring their trap, right as the redheaded woman found herself dead center of the room, and now unable to move. The feline masked man cocked his head once more to the side, and if the subordinate of the snake Sannin had been able to see under the mask she was positive she would look upon a knowing smirk, as a large sealing array lit up around the floor of the room, before Lynx himself made a few discrete hand seals, slamming his palm into the ground, calling out "Uzumaki shīru gijutsu: Itsuwari no hikari no hanten hashira (Uzumaki Sealing Technique: Inverted Pillars of False Light!)". As his hand hit the ground and the woman was now trapped, she nervously looked around her, and desperately attempted to call upon her chakra, only to pale as the warmth that was permeated her core was found to be empty. Before she had a chance to dwell on it though, five pillars made of a blue energy descending from the ceiling around her, forming a vague pentagram around her, a multitude of lines and various kanji appearing in between all of them, intertwining and connecting them together before she could feel her consciousness itself slipping from her, as she crumpled to the floor in a heap, her mind effectively sealed off from her body, placing her into a state similar to being comatose, only with a live and active mind with an unresponsive body. Lynx waited for several seconds, ensuring that his opponent was incapacitated, before he approached her fallen form, activating the sealing matric he had on his left breast. In a small puff of smoke that was like a signature to any summoning jutsu, a large scroll appeared on the ground, and after a few short movements and some quick writing, Lynx sealed the unconscious woman inside of it, before resealing the scroll itself into his chest, before standing and running down the hall after his comrades, making a small force of Kage Bunshin to finish surveying the room as he made his exit.The three members of the raid force knelt in front of their Hokage, all of their heads bowed out of their complete respect for their leader. The old Hokage had had them there for several minutes, simply looking through the folder that had been presented to him, which encompassed all of the actions the team had taken while they were on assignment. If he was being honest with himself, the old man was pleased, quite pleased with how things had gone, for it was on raids like these where things could very quickly go sideways, and it wasn't unheard of for entire teams of Agents to fall in their pursuit.
However, this particular mission had gone splendidly, and had almost no problems, even ending in the capture of one of Orochimaru's personal guards, if the girl's ramblings were to be believed. He made a mental note to seek out Ibiki later on and see what he had gleaned from the woman, who he was currently working over and interrogating right now. Yes, overall he was quite pleased as even though he had given operational command to a less senior agent, the Lieutenant had performed remarkably well under the circumstances, leading his team with precision and professionalism.
The old Hokage turned around slowly, before raising his head to let it rest in the cradle created by his two hands under his chin, speaking softly, but with nothing less than the absolute authority that belonged to his position. "Tiger, you are dismissed, inform Cat that she may enter on your way out. Lynx, Boar, stand and take your positions at the side." With a clipped and gruff 'Hokage-Sama' both men moved out of the way, as Cat entered the room following Tiger's departure.
Cat moved with a purpose in the Hokage's Office, standing strong and tall with every bit of poise and prestige her rank and status carried. She moved to stand dead center at the Hokage's desk, saluting, before standing off to the side of the desk, falling into a modified stance on the position of attention, before addressing Lynx, who had come to attention himself up the entry of his captain. "Sou-Taichou Lynx. You stand here today not only to be recognized by your servitude to Konohagakure, but to be officially recognized in your new title. Front and center."
At this, Lynx moved to the middle of the room, still not quite comprehending what was happening. He had known that his Captain had been on her way out of the ANBU Corps, but he was blissfully unaware that her chosen replacement was him. As he moved to the center of the room and knelt in front of his Captain, he was still slightly bewildered as Cat resumed speaking. "Boar Taichou, do you vouch for the fidelity and abilities of Lynx, giving your blood bound word that he is not only qualified, but justly represented for the position of Taichou?"
Stepping forward, the large burly man raised his palm to his chest in a stone fist, speaking gruffly, yet no less solemn, "I, Boar, having seen firsthand the fidelity and abilities of Lynx, do recommended him for Taichou in the ANBU Corps, to rank as such and command his division." Having said his part, Boar stepped back, returning to attention, as the Hokage continued to look on silently, appraising the ceremony with an expert eye, as Cat stepped forward once again, this time with her right hang glowing a dull crimson color, the flames dancing upon her fingertips.
"Do you, Lynx, swear to uphold the ideals and values of the ANBU, leading this division with distinction and loyalty, accepting nothing but victory, choosing to tread in the shadows that even the ANBU themselves fear to walk, leading as an impenetrable force and an unstoppable barrier?" Lynx, hearing his verbal que, remained kneeling, but raised his masked head, making eye contact with his captain of over two years, as he spoke. "Upon my honor as a defender of the Leaf, I pledge my heart and soul in their defense." He finished, standing to his full height, and performing a crisp right-face, revealing his left shoulder to his Captain, his ANBU tattoo on full display.
Cat stepped forward, before bringing her flame coated hand to the blondes shoulder, wincing behind her mask at the sound and sensation of burning flesh, as all the members of the room watched on as Lynx's ANBU Tattoo changed from that of a basic recruit to that of a captain, the scarring flesh a testament to his will and dedication. All three members of the ANBU Corps faced towards their Hokage, forming the hard clenched fist in their right hand before rising it to cover their hearts.
The Hokage nodded once, simply and effectively dismissing his two ANBU captains, and watching in satisfaction as they vanished in their own respective shunshins, before addressing the former captain Cat. "Yugao, I think you made the right choice in your successor." He mused, before turning to puff on his signature wooden pipe, watching out of the corner of his eye as the purple haired woman slowly reached her hand up to the porcelain mask that had been her face for the last several years, removing it and placing it on the Hokage's desk, allowing a small, wry smile to grace her features.
"Yes, Hokage-Sama, I believe he will do just fine."
The blonde haired man walked through the streets of Konoha, dressed in what used to be his usual ninja garb. It felt almost alien to him now, after having worn the uniform of the black ops division for over three years. It was odd, he thought to himself as he trudged along one of the many side streets of his village, that he had while he considered the village his home, he had spent most of his life away from it, from his early life training with the Toda Sage, Jiraiya, to even his time spent in ANBU, when he was often gone on missions.
Yet, he considered the village his home, though he was rarely there. He mused that his view would likely change once he eventually leave the Corps, but that wasn't likely to be anytime soon, if he had his way. He genuinely enjoyed being in ANBU, and upon his promotion to Captain he had begun to appreciate it even more. It was actually in part because of his association with the program that he was able to do what he had planned today.
Yes, today he was on a mission, though it was more of an off the record type deal, he mused to himself as he walked towards training ground 44, aptly nicknamed "The Forest of Death" by its denizens and more especially, by the woman who had made the training grounds her home. He had no doubt that seeing Anko again for the first time in several years would turn out to be confrontational, but he figured he could quell her anger rather quickly with his reason for being there.
Over the last few months, the young blonde man had become a true master of Fuuinjutsu, reaching heights in the lost art that even the renowned seal master Jiraiya couldn't hope to achieve in this lifetime. It was during his studies, and while looking over various recovered notebooks from several of Orochimaru's bases, that he had finally figured out the way to relieve Konoha's own resident snake mistress of her curse mark.
He had even done an experiment of his own, testing his theory and method by removing the curse mark of the Sound Kunoichi, Tayuya, who he had captured nearly a year ago during one of his final tests to become a captain. It had been an ordeal, and the woman had been less than cooperative, especially after she realized just who in fact he was, but nevertheless, he had managed to remove the cured mark from her body.
This had all been about a month ago, he would have gone and met with his old sensei sooner, but he wanted to be sure that there would be no negative lasting effects from the forced removal of something that had been a part of the kunoichi for so many years. As stone hearted as he had become (one had to be if they were going to survive in the ANBU), he still had a soft spot for Anko, as she was one of the first friends he had ever made in Konoha who had made time for him, instead of the shunning he had been used to when he was younger.
Lynx, no-Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto he reminded himself, was pulled out of his thoughts by the kunai that sailed past his cheek, slicing it open as the purple haired Kunoichi in question appeared behind him, holding him close to her with her offending knife pointed at his throat. "Well, look who finally decides to come say 'hello' after all these years! And after all I did for you, too!" Anko mock pouted, releasing the blonde from her grasp as she brought her hand up to her forehead, acting in mock hurt at the situation.
Naruto grinned, it had been awhile since he had seen his old sensei, and he had to say, he missed her antics. That was part of the whole reason he was doing this in the first place. He could have simply taught one of the more adept at Fuuinjutsu members of his division and sent them in his place, but Anko was important to him, and he absolutely wanted to be sure that nothing went awry. "Hey Anko, long time no see?" He laughed lightheartedly at the older woman still acting out how hurt she was at his lack of contact, but he knew that she was aware of the constraints of being in the ANBU Corps, so he didn't even bother to explain it, he was always in favor of the direct approach, anyways.
So, he said the one thing that any girl wants to hear, that is, as long as the girl happened to have a cursed seal on the side of her neck that she wanted to desperately be rid of for the last several years. "I've figured out how to remove the curse seal."
Later on, Naruto would wish he had brought a camera with him, for the look that the snake mistress gave him was priceless. All noise seemed to stop in the small clearing that they were in, as Anko immediately ceased her eccentric motions, stopping mid step to stare at the younger blonde. She walked up to him, slowly and deliberately, stopping only when the two were face to face, her face searching his for any sign of ill intent, before asking slowly, "Really?"
"Really."
Naruto opened the door, and before he even had to say anything, Anko walked inside and looked around, taking stock of her surroundings. The room she and the blonde were in was plain, to say the least. It was a simple square room, with a light fixture in the center ceiling, and no windows, or even any furniture present. As the purplette looked over her shoulder at her old student closing the door, she was slightly startled to see that it fit seamlessly into the wall, giving the illusion that the room had no exit. However, the room wasn't dreary or anything like one might expect, actually being a nice warm temperature, and had it been furnished, it could even have been cozy.
"Alright, here we go… Uhh Anko?" Naruto started, looking away from her, and though he tried to hide it, she was able to make out the blush that was forming on his face quite easily. "I need you to take your shirt off. I need the room to write out everything." The blonde finished, looking up at her somewhat sheepishly as Anko merely gave a small grin, before shrugging off her signature trench coat, before bringing her hands low, and grabbing the hem of her fishnet shirt, pulling it up an over her head, exposing her very sizeable bust to Naruto, who had the decency to try and look away, though it was more of an honorable effort than nothing else.
Shaking his head to clear his mind, Naruto quickly created four Kage Bunshin who scattered to the four corners of the room, each one beginning to write out the vast and complex array of seals that would quickly cover the floor, as the original one began to write out the seals required on the body of Anko herself. The brush he was using was found to be quite ticklish to the Tokubetsu Jounin, especially when he began to paint over the front of her body and around her erect nipples. It also took a great deal of concentration for the blonde to focus entirely on his work, and not to spend too much time ogling the admittedly gorgeous body of the snake mistress.
Before long, all the seals had been completed, and after laying out a nearby scroll, the young ANBU Captain was ready to begin, and did so in earnest after a small warning and apology to Anko. He raised his hand over her curse seal, and briefly his hand flashed a dark blue, the flames dancing along his fingertips colliding into a bright yellow as he grabbed the air over her seal akin to grabbing a doorknob, turning it as if to open.
This is when things became difficult, for as the seal was opened, it began to fight back, and the dark whispers of Orochimaru himself filled the room, as Anko began to convulse in pain from the experience. Doing his best to ignore her, Naruto began channeling his own chakra into the seal, boosting the already overpowering matrix that cascaded all around the floor of the room. Soon, there was a dark flash of light, and then an orange energy pierced the skin on Anko's shoulder, flowing out of the center of the seal and floating in the air, before Naruto was able to bring his other hand over, swiftly writing out the kanji to several more seals in the air with a chakra laces finger, his words and characters lingering for a small second in the air before vanishing. After he finished writing out all of the seals in the air, the energy itself began to slowly seep across the room and flow into the scroll that had been laid out, sealing its vile power away.
This process repeated for around four hours, long after which Anko had passed out from the pain, but eventually all of the orange energy that had been forcefully implanted into the snake summoner had been extracted and sealed into the scroll. Naruto, after finishing the sealing, and checking the status of the older kunoichi and verifying that not only was she ok, but that the seal itself had vanished, turned to the scroll containing the essence of Orochimaru, and without a second thought, burnt it to dust with a small Katon jutsu. Looking back to Anko, he quickly re-dressed her, but not before taking a second to appreciate her figure. He then lifted her into his arms, bridal style, and through deft use shunshin arrived at his house, walking up to his large bed, gently laying Anko upon it, before he walked back down the stairs, barely making it to the couch before passing out himself.
Removing those damn seals was taxing.
Naruto awoke from his dreams with a start, something was off about where he was. Opening his eyes, he glanced around his room, but was unable to discern anything out of the ordinary about his bedroom, so he went to sit up, but was stopped by the small mumble that he heard slightly to his left, and the weight on his chest, and that's when it came back to him…
The young Uzumaki heir walked upstairs to check on the newest addition to his house, opening the door to his bedroom and finding Anko looking at herself in the mirror which stopped him in his tracks, his reason for walking up the stairs completely forgotten. It wasn't that Anko was looking in the mirror that caught him off guard, it was that she wasn't wearing a shirt, and was facing him with her head turned over her shoulder, examining the small patch of skin on her neck where her curse seal used to sit. Now though, it was blank, and the only evidence that it was ever there was the slightly lighter patch of skin that would soon fade into the same color the rest of her skin was. To say Anko was ecstatic was an understatement, gone were the constant voices in her head, gone were the random spasms of pain that would hit her at random times, they were all gone. She could finally think clearly again, and there was only one person to thank for that, one person, who if by the awkward silence that filled the room, was no in the same place as her, and privately, too. The snake mistress, for all her forethought, in her moment of elation could only think of one way to thank him.
Slowly turning her head, she made contact with the dumbfounded Uzumaki, walking softly towards him, making sure to put a sway into her hips as she closed with him. As she stepped closer, the young man in question backed away in unconscious, uncertain, steps until he hit the large bed that adorned the center of the room, which Anko took advantage of, closing the rest of the distance on him, and pulling him into a hug, pressing her breasts into his chest.
"Good morning, Hero" She greeted softly into his ear as she pushed him back onto the bed, starting to notice the slightly more primal look in Naruto's eyes as he visibly struggled not to give into his inhibitions.
She'd break him of that before long.
Naruto was pulled from his thoughts on the night before by the purple haired Jounin that was laying across his chest lifting her head to give him a sly grin, before she leaned up and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "Well, good morning again, Mr. Hero." Anko teased at him as she softly raked her fingers across the man's toned chest. "And how did you like your reward for a job well done?" She asked with a laugh.
The blond haired Jinchuriki had the decency to scratch the back of his head in mock embarrassment, trying not to show just how much he had enjoyed it last night. Chuckling, Naruto gazed down at the woman sharing his bed, before responding. "I had a good time, Anko." He paused, trying to choose his next words carefully, before deciding against it and going for a direct approach, like he usually did. "Anko… I'm not trying to ditch out on you, but I have to get to headquarters today. I spent a lot of time working on the removal of the seal and I have to report to the Hokage that it was a success. I don't have time to play games this morning." He managed to get out, keeping his cool despite the very gorgeous and very naked kunoichi curled around him.
He moved to get out of the bed, but was stopped when he felt Anko's delicate fingers wrap around his length, below the covers. Snapping his head over to her, he could only close his eyes and enjoy the sensations he was receiving under the snake mistress's expert touch on his manhood. "Aw, really? Because it looks to me like this guy doesn't really want to leave all that bad…" Anko trailed off, watching the blondes face contort in pleasure as her hand masterfully stroked him. It wasn't long before Naruto let out a low, almost primal growl, before rolling over on top of Anko, beginning ministrations of his own.
He supposed he could be a few minutes late.
Alright, so I am changing things up a bit from canon, most specifically, there will be NO chunin exams. I always felt it was a kind of lame way to go about getting promoted, and I didn't like the whole concept of it being used an exhibition/tournament to get clientele or some shit like that. The invasion of Suna/Oto will still be happening, it will just play out a little bit differently, and will take place on a later date. As of now, all the people in Naruto's original class are somewhere in the ballpark of 15 years old, having graduated to become Genin at 13. Field promotions are much more likely in my universe, and it is the most common way to rank up. This is in part to get rid of the whole concept that these 10 or 11 children who are no more than 14-16 years old, are completely wrecking all these battle hardened men who are strong as fuck. Anyways…
That's all I got. Out.
