I
"Kakuzu… try as you might, you cannot ignore us. We are Okkoto and Nago, the greedy guardians of the forests. You stumbled upon our power and with it, the strength of the Jiongu. Soon we shall summon you to the mountains in which Humans never tread, where the Boar clan resides, where you will then prove your worth to us all. For we are Gods, not summons, and our gluttonous avarice is never satiated. Be prepared…"
That was what two grizzly voices reverberated through Kakuzu's mind before he awoke in his lofty hotel room. While he wasn't particularly enthralled with the luxurious nature of the establishment he happened to get a room at, he could appreciate the aesthetic elements that surrounded him, most of all the bed that was actually large enough for him to sleep in, even though he wasn't even entirely sure he required sleep anymore. Looking at the clock next to the bed he realized it was extremely early still, the lack of radiance in the room obviously due to the sun having not yet risen. Kakuzu flexed his arms, before his eyes vaguely observed his shirtless, segmented, patchwork of a body for a moment, pondering over his previous appearance. So much had changed in so little time for the now un-killable man. His appearance, while not entirely grotesque when clothed and properly secluded, was monstrous upon further examination. He no longer bled, feelings of lust were completely absent, hunger was never a concern for him, and he no longer felt the large majority of the pain he endured.
Worst of all, had been his recurring dreams. Ever since his first night as his new and improved self, these repulsive but ancient swine kept presenting themselves to him, pestering the zombie over some ominous day yet to pass in which he would somehow prove himself worthy of being their "proliferator". Kakuzu had lived a long life already. Reaching the age of forty was well lived for a strong shinobi in the era in which they lived. And yet he had never heard of any of these supposed gods of greed. Granted Kakuzu was not by any means a religious man. In fact in nearly every account you could describe him as an individual with hardly any spiritual beliefs altogether. However he knew that they're were forces that were beyond the mortal realm and abilities, entities, and beast, whose origin predated the shinobi world. Most summons were an excellent example of this; beings that had existed within nature far before humanity was "gifted" chakra.
Kakuzu digressed from that train of thought however as there were much more pressing matters to attend to. Last night had been sim Pl e enough. No Anbu had grown suspicious of him as of yet. Right now, Kakuzu was just another of the many thousands of people who walked Konoha by streets every day, his large stature and aura of power the only thing that made him stand put in hindsight.
"I need to find the optimal moment to strike Tobirama. Although he's been appointed the second Hokage, Hashirama Senju still lives, meaning I'll have to get Tobirama alone in order to exact my revenge." the rogue ninja thought to himself.
Kakuzu was no fool. Although Hashirama had passed his prime, never fully healing from his final battle against Madara Uchiha, he was still a league above Tobirama in nearly everything except speed, and even then his reaction time using sage jutsu more than compensated for the lack of complicated space-time ninjutsu. He would have little chance against the the red clad former Hokage, let alone the two of them together if he was fighting his nemesis and the Shodaime intervened.
"There will probably be an opportunity to strike as the 2nd shinobi World War comes to a head. However catching up to a sensor like him will be nigh impossible. Perhaps I'll use this village as my base of mercenary operations until the time is right. I didn't come all this way to simply be impeded by circumstance." He reasoned to himself, hell bent on his own revenge.
After a few minute he was fully clothed, again dressed in the garb he had grown accustomed to through his travel to Fire Country. Before departing into the village once more he made sure to open his curtains, the large and expensive wall sized frame behind them being an excellent view of the village. It wasn't a particularly busy day in the village but perhaps that was because he was up earlier than most. The experienced hunter could see a lot with his eyes. Most experienced shinobi could improve their vision at least by fifty percent by focusing chakra to their eyes. Kakuzu could improve his already perfect vision by nearly one hundred and thirty five percent, allowing him to clearly make out smaller details of people or objects far away. Surveying the visible section of the scenery around the hotel, Kakuzu only observed a small number of merchants, probably arriving from the land of wind if their desert animals and sand colored caravan had any relevance to their transport. To the right of them were a couple standard looking Suna genin and a man who was probably their Sensei. The students, while not remarkable by any degree, seemed rather skilled for their age. The green eyed bounty hunter could discern that much from their stance and their overall demeanor, their rigid posture inadvertedly revealing to an experienced ninja that they were nervous about being in Konaha. One of the genin had a spiky, unruly, & hair of the darkest blues. It was styled in such a way that had a rather extreme triangular widows peak, while a small portion if his hair was pulled back into a spiky ponytail. Upon the outer limits of his narrow orbitals was what appeared to be very thin black lines, making his eyes stand out from his fair skin. His expression was that of young teen who'd already seen his fair share of death. Standing in front of the aforementioned boy was a girl no older than thirteen. She had short, grey hair and very short stature. Strangely she had no ninja tools on her person besides a small pouch, most likely used for holding chakra wire, poison, or medical items.
"Come to think of it, why are Suna trade imports still coming into this village when the two of them are so close to all-out war, let alone shinobi exports." Kakuzu mused to himself, before turning his attention to the third squad mate on the street below.
It was a lean but muscular young man, no doubt honed by taijustu, that seemed rather powerful to Kakuzu at first glance. He wore what was basically a sleeveless tan haori with a ruggedly torn him upon the arm openings and bottom sewings. With no shirt underneath, he wore his Sunagakure headband loosely around his neck, his strong and cut abdomen openly being shown to the dozens of Konaha women interested in foreign men. Upon his left arm a large sabre tooth shaped scarification, no doubt the result of some tribute to a summons of some kind.
His stance, unlike the others, stank of bravado and excessive masculinity, traits potentially unbecoming of a ninja.
Lastly his eyes gazed to their sensei. Finally, a face Kakuzu knew well.
This was none other than The Hidden Sand's secret weapon, Shamon himself. A genuinely ugly man, a dragon tattoo covering the entirety of the upper right side of his face and eye, yes, this was definitely him. The man who many acredit the militarization of puppets to and consider the greatest puppeteer of the era. His larger stature and rather dumb appearance made him look like just another brutish jonin. But Kakuzu knew better. Soon this man would be the new Kazekage no doubt, and when he did, Suna would crawl from a fledgling nation to one that would put pressure on even Konaha on the western front.
Kakuzu made a mental note to not underestimate him should he ever face him in battle. It wasn't so much that he'd thought he'd lose with his new found power. Kakuzu was just easily angered by heavily defensive and genius intellect shinobi who would no doubt fight a long and drawn out battle.
'I've stood here gazing long enough. Time to check Konoha's village bounty list. They ought to have a few well rewarding targets that I can - What the Hell!?'
Kakuzu was abruptly pulled from his thoughts as a whitish, ghost like arm phased it's way slowly through his inn wall, sluggishly revealing a child like wraith.
"OoOooo, Zombie-san I have come for your sooouullll-"
"Knock it off kid, I know you're still alive. Interesting Kekkei Genkai though." Kakuzu told Dan, who instantly dropped his Reika no Jutsu (1) with a childish grumpy face.
"Wow Zombie, you're such a bummer! Any way here I am again, ready to be you're apprentice in the art of the ninja!" the boy remarked vividly, each high note of the squeaky voice causing the bounty hunter to inwardly cringe.
"Firstly you are intruding into my room, now you demand training from a complete stranger. I could have killed you for this."
"Okay sure, maybe that was rude, but I did manage to sneak up on you almost undetected! With training I'll be able to become completely undetectable just like the Tsuchikage!" Dan beamed.
"Why not just wait your turn to enter the academy like everyone else. You're Kekkei Genkai is rather unique, and you're potential is decent at the very least. Besides, there is little time for me to be here."
Dan sat on the bed within the luxury hotel room for awhile thoughtfully before continuing the conversation.
"Because I want to help people sooner! I don't want to watch anyone else around me die. I'll protect the village, even if I have to go around the villages normal methods!" The boy chimed back with the same neatly irrevocable smile upon his pale face.
Kakuzu had to admit, the boy was extremely intelligent for a child his age. And if what he said was even half true about developing something similar to the Second Tsuchikage's mastery over his camouflage technique then he'd be a dangerous shinobi in the future.
'I can't believe I'm seriously contemplating this.' Kakuzu thought, slowing turning his eyes back toward Dan before speaking.
"So you'll protect the village no matter what? Fine I'm in."
"That's right! I promise I won't let you down! Please! Please!-"
"Kid I-"
"PLEASEEEE!"
"DAN SHUT UP BEFORE I KILL YOU. I SAID YES!" Kakuzu yelled loudly, as if the three knocks on the wall from the occupants next door weren't enough to tell.
Dan sat there blankly for a few seconds before a lewd look appeared on his face.
"No wayyy, Zombie and Ghost just like I said! Thanks Zombie-sensei! Do you already have a mission for us to do?" Dan excitedly pestered, getting a groan from Kakuzu.
"Not yet, but u suppose you can accompany me toward Konaha bounty office. We'll pick a lower level target first, something that you could help with. Not to say you can't get killed." he remarked to the child- no, his student before him. All the boy did was nod this time, seeing Kakuzu was being serious.
"Alright, we leave now then." the gruff voice summarized as he opened the door to the room and headed into the hall, a certain white haired boy in tow.
(Thirty Minutes Later - Konoha Bounty Office)
"Unzari Inuzuka, A-rank nukenin of Konoha. Fled from his home and abandoned his clansmen after stealing their most sacred and powerful artefact - the Tenseiga. Highly skilled in kenjutsu and taijustu, most notably the Wolf Fang Fist. Fled to Hill Country where he is believed to be operating alone as a hunter bin for hire."
"I thought you said we were gonna take down an easy target…"
"Is the future hokage scared of a challenge?" Kukuzu chuckled out, irritating his new pupil.
"Of course not Zombie! I was just getting some...clarification hahahaa…"
"Right" Kukuzu grinned inwardly before ripping the bouty poster from one of the various ones posted on the most wanted list while Dan still humorously puffed out his chest.
A few leaf shinobi and free lancers had looked at the odd pairing questionably. Afterall, it wasn't every day you saw a stark white headed child and a cloaked figure who stood six and a half feet tall in the Land of Fire. None dared to say anything though after seeing Kukuzu head straight to the most wanted list. Only a powerful shinobi would confidently review many of the postings as expertly as he did.
"So how am I going to be able to help you here sensei? I can sneak up on people sure, but I remember hearing something about this guy. Most people think he's the strongest Inuzuka ever."
"I have to admit, I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable. Yes, he's made quite the named for himself. I guess greed got to him at one point or another. Or maybe it was the fame. You're going to help by serving as a distraction. When in your ghost form you're utterly intangible. However you are able to affect the chakra flow of others, enter in their body, and maybe even damage their soul. I'll use you to draw him out. That's when I'll come in and use some of my most powerful techniques to finish him off before he can think of any escape plans." Dan simply nodded in response, before noticing something.
"Hey wait a second, how'd you know everything that my spirit technique does!?"
"I can read minds completely in a close proximity."
"REALLY!?" Dan gasped.
"No you idiot. You dropped you're personal notebook when you sat on the bed in the inn. I glanced through it on the way here." Kakuzu chuckled mockingly, before tossing Dan the book.
"A good shinobi doesn't leave a trace." Kakuzu lectured, feeling slightly out of place in the teaching role. All his life he'd simply been directed, not taught. He was often unleashed upon his enemies, not sent to fight with valor or purpose.
"Hai Zombie Sensei! Well what are we waiting for? Let's do this." Dan said fervently.
"We'll have to pick up some supplies and tools first for the trip. Remember, he's hiding near Yumegakure (2) after all." Kakuzu stated as he began to walk back out into Konaha streets to the nearest ninja tool shop.
Today began an interesting journey, perhaps for the both of them.
ALRIGHT GUYS THAT'S IT FOR NOW. NEXT CHAPTER SHOULD BE HERE IN 10 DAYS OF THIS ORIGINAL UPLOAD, WHERE KAKUZU AND DAN WILL COMPLETE THEIR FIRST BOUNTY MISSION. Dan being an orphan in the founding ages of the Village has little documentation, so no one else I'm the village will have a problem with a temporary resident leaving with him. I also made Dan's technique a little different and potentially more powerful.i felt making it a Kekkei Genkai of unknown origin also aids in the lore of Naruto. One thing that always bothered me was that wity the massive Naruto world, the only kekkei genkai that really made a difference were those that derived from Kaguya/Hagaromo. All of the genocide in the Land of Water and the blood purge and we didn't see anyone with unique Kekkei Genkai besides a dang Mizukage, (who was probably the weakest of the 5 to be honest). Ill be providing more explanations for kekkei genkai in this fanfiction that i feel give a more comprehensive and lore friendly me what you guys think about the subtle hints at other animes in this fanfic. I'll be lightly incorporating concepts and particular items that aren't too OP into the naruto landscape where they fit appropriately.
Until Next time! LEAVE REVEIWS.
Jutsu/Terminology List
(1): Reika no Jutsu - Kekkei Genkai related technique unlocked in childhood by the orphaned Dan. Allows the user to transmit his soul to others bodies, transform the users body into a spiritual form, to project themselves to the Astral plane, as well as damage another chakra or spiritual essence. Potentially S-Rank technique.
(2): Yumegakure - The Land Hidden by Hills is a smaller country located directly east of the land of fire. It's shinobi forces are limited as mercenaries and the prcaticioners of the deadly Kougan style of martial arts still reign largely supreme.
