Young Gaara: Hello readers! Obonso couldn't be here today, so guardianmaster4, who still doesn't own Naruto, but does own his original characters and designs, asked me to fill in.
Me: You have done well, Gaara, to take care of the disclaimer so smoothly. For that, I think we'll open with you this chapter.
Gaara: Really? Thank you, author.
Me: You are quite welcome, little one. On that note, on with the story!
Naruto: Village of Corrosion
Chapter 3: Settling in
"This seal is awful! Seriously, whoever did this should be killed stone dead, and then forcibly revived to be killed again! No wonder the poor boy is having problems! I would barely trust this seal to completely bind the biju to a jar, let alone a human being!" Sora almost screamed out, as he examined the seal, which was located on Gaara's stomach. The loudness of Sora made Gaara, who was sitting on his knees in the middle of the wooden square, which had several circular seals on it that Sora had drawn, a bit nervous. A gentle pat on the shoulder from Zeria, however, was enough to calm him down.
"I don't think it's quite that bad, but, I do agree, it's primitive at best, and flat out dangerous at worst." Kei said as he brushed a gentle hand over the seal.
"You can still fix it, thought, right?" Zeria asked in a soft voice.
"Or my name isn't Sora Uzumaki. Oh, I can fix it all right, but the boy, most likely, will sleep for a couple of days, at least. That means, then, that we might want to have his home steadying decided now, so that, when he wakes up, he can be in his new home. Seriously, even the basis of it is wrong. Who would think that an odd numbered seal was a good idea for a biju seal, and without a stabilizing layer to boot! A forced synchronized containing seal like this, while fine for sealing chakra related objects, or even small animals…to use it to seal such a being as a biju…bloody idiots!" Sora said as he stomped his right foot.
"Am I gonna be okay?" Gaara asked, fear and panic beginning to creep into his voice.
"Sora, you are scaring Gaara, and me." Zeria said, gently hugging Gaara to reassure him.
"Sorry, little one." Sora said, forcing his voice to be calm, as he walked to a nearby table to pick up a couple of scrolls, before walking back to the area of carpet which had been flipped up. "No need to worry, you will be absolutely fine, I promise you. Despite the seal being kami awful, a few things were done right. Namely, this," Sora said, pointing to a small, slightly crooked, lightning shaped marking in the middle of Gaara's stomach.
"What is that?" Gaara said, calming down, as he strained to look at his stomach to see what Sora was pointing at.
"A synchronizing agent. This part of the seal synchronizes your chakra to that of your tailed beast. I would guess, from the gourd of sand, and the more vicious voice in your head, that it is Shukaku, tanuki of sand. Synchronizing to Shukaku, while being an idiotic idea, most likely saved your life. I can't imagine this seal working at all without that little bit." As Sora said this, he opened one of the scrolls in his hands, and nodded.
"Yes, this should be fairly straight forward. Your current seal uses an odd numbered arrangement, without the proper stabilizers, instead trying to use the synchronizing agent to counter for the lack of stability. The reason you have side effects is because you cannot do that. A seal like this needs extra stability, and suppression, and control seals. I think, if we toss a Zetrion combo over the seal you have, in combination with a Helix inversion seal, creating a matrix of synchronized stability, we can eliminate all the extra outer spillage and problems." As Sora said this, a look of hungry excitement came across his face.
"In plain language, please, Sora. I don't think Gaara understood that. I barely understood it." Zeria said, a note of annoyance evident in her voice.
"Yes, yes, my apologies. Essentially, Gaara, what we will do is build upon the good of the synchronizing agent, then creating a system that enables your body, not just to be on the same wavelength as Shukaku, but to be able to properly absorb it, making it that much more natural. By doing this, in combination with some serious shields and director elements, we make it so that Shukaku can't, sort of, over flow his will into your body. You will have control over your mind, and the sand will obey you, not him." Sora said, kneeling down in front of Gaara to look him in the eyes as he did so.
"So…I won't hear his voice in my head anymore? I'll be able to sleep?" Gaara asked, a gentle note of fearful hope in his voice.
"Correct. Although, as I said, your body will, most likely, immediately knock you out, to try to have you rest from the lack of it." Sora said, nodding.
"Since you will be knocked out, though, we need to ask you. Oritsio won't mind delaying your rite of passage that we like to do, but we need to know where to put you. Ideally, we would put you with people that similar abilities, or people with your same last name, or a blood connection of some type, but I don't know that we have any people related to you, in particular, by blood, probably by ability, though. Do you have any preferences, off hand, though, of the type of person you might like to live with? We will forward your preference to Oritsio." Zeria stated.
"Can I stay with Naruto?" Gaara asked, a note of hope suddenly in his voice.
"If that is what you want, I can tell Oritsio that, certainly. Since Naruto, though, will, I think, wind up staying here, with the people of Whirlpool, it also winds up being up to-" Zeria started to say, only to be interrupted by Kei.
"I can't speak for the others, but I think it would be nice to have the boy here. The other one, Naruto, you said, we were told was a potential clansman of Whirlpool, so we were planning to petition to have him with us, I believe. If Gaara, here, is a friend of the Naruto's, then having the two of them together would be ideal." Kei said, with a nod from Sora.
"Right, then, I will let Oritsio know that you have a preference for the Whirlpool quarter, and that they are open to it. On that note, Sora, you said you could fix this now. How long do you think it will take to-" Zeria would find that she got interrupted fairly often in the Whirlpool quarter, especially in the presence of several Uzumaki. As she was trying to ask Sora how long it would take him to get the new seals on Gaara, suddenly, the door to the library was pushed open, and a young girl all but ran into the room, directly to Sora.
"Dad! Where have you been? I've been waiting for you! You said you were going to show me some cool seals!" She was a girl with dark reddish hair, which matched Sora's. To further show the similarities between them, she, too, wore a pair of thick half moon glasses, and a robe. The resemblance was even more evident by her voice, which had that almost yelling quality to it that Sora's seemed to have.
"Karin! How many times have I told you to knock before you enter the library?" Sora said scornfully as he knelt down to rub Karin's head.
"So, are we going to practice seals, or what?! Come on, dad!" Karin said, rubbing out the wrinkle in her hair and trying to drag Sora from the room.
"Karin, let me go." Sora said, as he pulled his daughter's hand from his wrist.
"You promised, though!" Karin screamed, her face turning red.
"Karin, sweetie, your father has-" Kei began, trying to calm his niece, only for Karin to interrupt as she noticed the shirtless Gaara in the middle of the wooden square.
"Oh, dad, is this our cousin who you said would be coming to live with us? Why didn't you tell me he was here?" Karin said, walking over to Gaara.
"Welcome to the family!" Karin said excitedly as she hugged Gaara, making him blush as he tried to stutter out that he wasn't her cousin, but couldn't get the words out.
"Karin, let the boy go, he is not your cousin, but a boy who has come here, seeking help for a problem with a seal placed on him. Sorry for making you wait, I did promise to show you some seals, but, the village needed me to do help the boy. I can show you some seals later." Sora said.
Upon realizing that she was hugging a total stranger, Karin released Gaara, but, still angry, turned to her father.
"Why can't I stay here to watch you work, then? I never get to see you working." Karin said, looking her father in the eyes above her glasses. A look of shock, instantly, came over Sora's face, and he nodded, before turning to Gaara.
"Gaara, how would you feel about Karin watching me fix your seal? It would be a great experience for her to witness a seal alteration of this type. Since it is your seal operation, though, I leave it to you to make the determination." Sora said, earning a look from Kei, who opened his mouth to say that would not be appropriate, but was cut off by Gaara. Gaara, who, though still dazed from being hugged by the red-headed Karin, was able to speak, just then.
"It's fine, I don't mind. As long as you fix me, please." Gaara said.
"Yay!" Karin shouted out as she ran back to Gaara to wrap him in another hug, earning her another blush from him. "Thank you Mr. Gaara, I promise not to get in the way!" Karin spoke in Gaara's ear, and, despite whispering, still seemed to come off almost as if she was yelling.
"On that note, then, Gaara, prepare yourself. We agreed on a Zetrion combo, as well as a Helix inversion seal. Won't be a problem, but I will need to take a moment to prepare the seals. You can put your shirt back on for the moment." Sora said, walking to a small table with a chair, as Gaara reached outside the wooden square for his shirt. It was then that Sora revealed to Gaara an amazing aspect of his library.
With a short high pitched whistle as he sat down, one of the light orbs from the sealing came down directly in front of Sora, floating above the table in front of him. "Get me the Uzumori codex, volumes 2 and 4, as well as the treaty, done by Slithex, on seal containment, please." Sora spoke aloud. Instantly, the ball of light flew directly up to the ceiling in the center of the room, and then to a shelf on the top of the North wall, where, to Gaara's amazement, 3 small arms and hands emerged from it, gently taking a scroll each from a book shelf. The hands, then, withdrew into the orb, taking the scrolls with them, causing the orb to expand in size, before the orb returned to Sora. Floating in front of Sora, the three arms emerged from the orb again, placing the scrolls neatly in front of him.
"Thank you." Sora said, nodding. Its job done, the orb darted off, back to its previous location, where it remained, hovering, as it had before, as if nothing had happened.
"That was amazing!" Gaara said as he stared at where the orb had returned to. Sora was too busy opening the three scrolls and jotting down notes to have heard Gaara, so it was Karin, who was trying to stare over her father's shoulder, who answered.
"It's just a light orb. What's so special about that? They're everywhere around here, and a basic creation. Haven't you seen a light orb before?" Karin asked Gaara curiously. Before Gaara could answer, Kei opened his mouth to speak, wanting to be heard.
"Karin, you shouldn't talk that way to people. If Gaara asked that, he clearly hasn't seen one. He's also, though, a new arrival, only getting here, what, 3 hours ago, not even?" Kei asked, looking at Zeria, who nodded.
.
"They look nice." Gaara said as he turned in a circle, noting the different orbs around the room. "What else do they do?" He asked.
"Several things. Acting as retrievers of scrolls, and lighting, is what we use them for, but they can also act as messengers, general carriers of stuff, and quite a few other things. My favorite use, though, is that they can be charged with jutsu and techniques, but they only really have enough to power 1 low level jutsu. A group of them, though, could sustain a higher level genjutsu." Kei said.
"Who made them?" Gaara asked.
"It was a team effort in their creation." Zoria began. "What you will find as you stay here, Gaara, is that we do many things as a group. Whatever it is you wind up doing in the future, you will wind up working with others. Although most of us have individual efforts, oftentimes we come together, brining the best of whatever type of craft or field of study together, sometimes, to do a special project, or to work together for a couple of months." As Zeria said this, a smile began to grace her features.
"Not true. It was we, Uzumaki, who finished the orbs and got them working!" Karin said with a smirk.
"Karin, come on, you know that we-" Kei started
"Yes, yes, you always say everything is as a team. Can't deny it, though. You even told me, it was dad's first time at one of the conferences with the other seal masters, and no one could figure out how to make the orbs work, till dad came up with the answer! That's why he's the best seal master in the village!" Karin said, a look of tremendous pride on her face.
"He made the orbs?" Gaara said with shock as he turned to Sora, who finally looked up from his scrolls with a nod.
"No, I did not make the orbs. I merely assisted the other masters. We were told to make a more efficient and less singular light source. A seal master from the Ozomori family came up with the design, with the others coming up with the functions and seals. The trouble was that the orbs tended to burn out within a few hours. All I did was spot the problem with the energy containment part of the seals, and adjusted it, adding a sort of mode seal that enabled them to recharge when inactive." Sora said, with the tone of voice one might use to talk about why two plus two equaled four. As he finished, he turned to Karin.
"Karin, please stop telling people that I was the one who invented the orbs. I ironed out one problem, it wasn't that big of a deal." Sora said, giving Karin a stern look, who responded in her typical fashion.
"But you did invent them! Without you, they wouldn't even work!" Karin said, raising her voice a bit as she added, "you are my dad, the greatest seal master of our village!" With a sigh, Sora stood up from his desk and walked over to Karin, placing his hand firmly on her head and ruffling her hair. With a groan, Karin reached up and tried to remove his hand from her head, but found herself unable to. As Karin struggled to try to move Sora's hand from her head, Kei and Zeria could not help but to laugh. The laughter proved infectious, as Gaara, too, found himself laughing.
"Dad! Cut it out!" Karin yelled as she continued to try to remove her dad's hand, before she smirked and ducked her head down, causing Sora to yelp as he fell sideways, laughing himself as he stood up.
"Why do you always mess up my hair like that? Now I look like a porcupine." Karin asked Sora as she looked up at him, while trying to smooth the random sticky up parts of her hair.
"Oh, come on, you look good as a porcupine, my little hedgehog." Sora said as he chuckled.
"Meanie!" Karin yelled, giving her father a sour face. It was about this time that Zeria decided to cut in.
"If you are finished playing with your daughter Sora, I would like to get Gaara's seal fixed. Not that you and your porcupine aren't fun to watch, but, we do want to let Gaara get some rest." Zeria said, looking at Sora, and deliberately ignoring the death glare she received from Karin as she called her a porcupine.
"Yes, we best. Gaara, I'll need you to remove your shirt. I am ready, I think, all things prepared mentally, to set up your new seal." Gaara nodded as he walked back into square with the seals all around it, throwing his shirt to the side as he did so, Sora and Karin following him.
"Are you ready, Gaara?" Sora asked as he walked around so that he stood in front of Gaara. Gaara felt nervous, but was confident enough to say a quick yes as he resumed his previous position, knees bent beneath him..
"Good, then, let us get this done. Don't worry, this will be painless, I swear to you." With that, Sora clapped his hands together and closed his eyes. As the sound of his hands clapping echoed throughout the room, Sora's hands began to glow a windy blue. Gaara became more nervous, feeling his heart beginning to hammer in his chest, as a small breeze, even, seemed to emanate from Sora. Snapping his eyes open, Sora separated his hands and held them up before him, allowing Gaara to see that the palms of Sora's hands were covered in markings of all shapes and sizes. The markings seemed almost randomly placed on his hands, but the patterns seemed beautiful to Gaara. Gaara had no more time to think, though, as Sora slapped his hands on the wood, just in front of Gaara's bended knees.
"Herikkusu Hanten: Kemono Sutabiraiza Shiru! (Helix Inversion: Beast Stabilizer Seal!)" Sora said. The tone of his voice, Gaara realized as he felt, more than saw, as a circle of markings exploded from Sora's hands, closing in on his stomach, was very different. Previously, ti had sounded to Gaara as if the man was on the verge of yelling with every word. With those words, though, Gaara realized that Sora hadn't been yelling at all. His voice, simply, had a vibration to it that was unusual. When Gaara heard Sora speak the name of the seal as he slapped his hands down, his voice sounded a lot more natural. It made Gaara realize just why Sora, this man who seemed so angry and focused on seals, was so good, and so passionate about his work. Sealing, Gaara realized, and calling out the names of them as they worked was, to Sora, what speaking normally was to everyone else. It was the way he was most comfortable communicating. Gaara had just a moment to realize this, though, before the the world went foggy and he collapsed forward, the world fading around him. He just had a quick moment to feel the strong arms that caught him and whispered "have a good rest", as he was laid down on the soft carpet around the wooden square.
With Naruto, Oritsio, and Zerio
"So, Naruto, everything is in order. Sorry that this took so long, but paperwork, the enemy of all leaders. Expect a bit of a delivery from the village in the next day or so. When Obonso has given his reports, he will give the scroll containing what he was able to clear out of your stuff from back where you were taken. Any final questions before Zerio takes you to your new home?" Oritsio asked, a smile on his face as he looked at Naruto, whose mind was still spinning, who was sitting in a chair in front of the desk, Zerio on his right hand side.
"I understand, believe it! I just….this place…the moon…a family.." The sheer shock of everything he had learned was making it difficult for Naruto to think clearly. He didn't know what he was feeling. All this time he had had family who were alive. He wasn't alone in this world. Part of him still doubted this could be real.
"It can be overwhelming. Worry not, though. Those in the Whirlpool quarter are nice people, and your uncles and cousin will love you. Once you have settled in for a few days, your lessons in the ninja arts will begin. Zerio will tell you, on the way to being taken to your relatives, of what we like to do as the first major lesson." Oritsio said, a slight shimmer to his eyes, as he added "I think you will find, if you were lonely before, you won't be that way anymore. On that note, though, my apologies, but I do expect another group soon. If you pass Kisame on the stairs, tell him the door is open, please." Oritsio said, as he nodded towards the door. With a gentle hand on Naruto's shoulder by Zerio, Naruto stood up, and, before either Oritsio or Zerio could react, had run over and thrown his arms around Oritsio.
"Thank you, old-man. Thank you." Naruto said, a tearful note to his voice. Though Naruto could not see it, as Oritsio patted him on the back, Zerio and Oritsio shared a sad smile.
"You are very welcome, my boy. You are very welcome. Now, though, yes, please, go and meet your family. They will be over the Earth to see you." Oritsio said, as he returned the hug, before gently pushing Naruto back and onto his feet, rubbing his head as he did so. With a nod, Zerio took Naruto's hand and lead him from Oritsio's office, closing the door as he did so.
As they began the walk down the stairs, Zerio bent over slightly to give Naruto a chance to climb onto his back, only for Naruto to shake his head.
"No." Naruto said, a happy look on his face. "I want to walk. You have been very nice, but, I kinda need to stretch my legs a bit." Naruto said sheepishly as he rubbed his face with his right hand.
"Indeed. It is good to stretch your legs. Come now, then, follow me. Just back down these stairs, and I can take you out of the arrival center. As I said when my sister wasted some of her energy, we are really not far from the Whirlpool quarter, so, when we get to the main front doors of this place, a simple Shunshin, or Body Flicker, will have us at the home of your family in no time." Zerio said, returning the smile Naruto was giving him. As they were about to start back down the stairs, though, they caught sight of someone in a black cloak, hood down, coming up the stairs with a small girl on his back, and a rather bony, to Naruto, looking boy, who was holding onto his right hand. What struck Naruto most, though, about the group, as they approached Naruto and Zerio, was that the man in the cloak, who had his hood down, had light blue skin with dark blue hair seemed to have slits on his face. As Naruto turned to ask Zerio who the man was, Zerio surprised him by walking to meet the man.
"Kisame! Hello!" Zerio said, a subtle happiness to his voice. The man smiled, revealing a set of very pointy teeth.
"Zerio, hi. Didn't expect to see you here. Check in take longer than it was supposed to for the boy over there?" Kisame asked Zerio, who snorted slightly.
"I should be asking you that question. My sister wound up taking the other from this arrival to have a seal adjustment, but I heard the lightning strike that deposited these two," here Zerio gestured to the girl on his shoulders and the boy who was holding Kisame's right hand "right when I was taking the boy into this place. Even with the delay we had, you should have been almost right behind us. What kept you, besides-" Zerio began, a note of humor to his voice, only to be cut off by Kisame.
"Finish that sentence, and you'll have to explain to your sister why you have gills on your face." Kisame said, a snarl to his voice. The girl on his back giggled at this, and the boy holding Kisame's hand smiled slightly. Instantly, Zerio got it.
"Oh, I see. So, what'd you do, jump out of a pool to scare them? Why must you scare the kids like that?" Zerio asked Kisame incredulously. Before Kisame could rebuke this statement, the boy holding Kisame's hand grunted, which made Zerio realize he had forgotten something.
"Forgive me, boy, I do apologize. Kisame, who did you wind up collecting from that lightning strike? My sister and I wound up meeting Naruto, over here," Zerio said, with a backwards nod to Naruto, who stepped up to stand just behind him, "and the boy from Suna with the troubled seal, Gaara."
"Oh, how rude of you. Yes, this one," Kisame said, with a nod to his right, "is Kimmimaro Kaguya. The lady on my back is Haku Yuki." As Kisame said this, he kneeled down, allowing Haku to climb down from his back, and step in front of him to the left.
"Well, welcome, both of you. Naruto, most likely these two will be some of your classmates, at the academy. Why don't you greet them?" Zerio said to Naruto, who nodded and stepped up to Haku first, hand out stretched.
"Naruto Uzumaki, believe it! Nice to meet you." Naruto said, shaking Haku's hand as she nervously extended it.
"Haku Yuki. Nice to meet you, Naruto." Haku said, in a slightly quiet voice. For some reason she did not know, Naruto was making her feel shy. Naruto, though, was oblivious to the small blush that was beginning on Haku's face as he stepped to his left to shake hands with Kimmimaro, who nodded as he said his name to Naruto. Before Kisame could say another word to Zerio, though, a familiar voice, to Zerio and Kisame, was heard.
"I can hear you all talking. As nice as it is that you all are getting along, and for the little ones to meet, we do want to have them with their homes this evening. Please, Kisame, come in." Oritsio's voice said, catching Zerio and Kisame off guard as they turned to see the door to Oritsio's office open, Oritsio standing at the door with a sly smile on his face. Haku and Kimmimaro, like Naruto, found that they were creeped out somewhat by Oritsio's eyes, and slightly moved behind Kisame.
"Sorry, leader. We were just on the way in. Zerio, see you tomorrow evening, and don't forget the cards this time. I'll see you soon, little Naruto," Kisame said with a nod as he lead Haku and Kimmimaro past Naruto and Zerio, "at the academy in a week." With that, and a nod from Oritsio, Kisame entered the office with Haku and Kimmimaro. As Oritsio went back to his office, closing the door as he did so, he gave Naruto and Zerio a little wink. As Naruto and Zerio started walking again, back down the stairs, Zerio, almost as if he could guess what Naruto was thinking, spoke.
"That was Kisame Hoshigaki, but you will know him as Kisame-sensei before the next week is up. At the academy, he teaches some of the courses on water jutsus, and especially swordsmanship. To answer your other question, yes, those were gills, even if he doesn't like to call them that. Kisame has a very special gift with water." Zerio said with a slight chuckle.
"You wanna get under his skin a bit, though, call him Shark-sensei. Despite how he appears underneath the rough exterior, he's a nice guy, even if he is terrible at playing cards." Zerio said, a smile on his face, which Naruto echoed.
"Fish-sensei is cool." Naruto said, beginning to understand what it truly meant to live in a place of many different peoples.
As they quietly walked down the large staircase, and passed the desk at the bottom of it, another question occurred to Naruto.
"Mr. Zerio?" Naruto said as he followed Zerio to the right as they left the staircase. "What did the old man mean by the first lesson? " As Zerio spoke his answer, he lead Naruto down a left hand turn in the corridor, allowing Naruto to see a wide open arch in front of them, at the end of a long, straight, hall.
"Only that, as you might have guessed, we take unity and companionship quite seriously. One of the ways we do that, though, is with a summon contract. Do you know anything of summoning, Naruto?" Zerio asked as they walked towards the doors.
"Summoning? Like, taking something out of a scroll?" Naruto asked with curiosity.
"No, no, Naruto. That is a part of sealing, a totally different type of thing. Bringing something out of a scroll is unsealing an object that is sealed inside of it. Sort of like can happen, say, to others who have biju sealed within them, if the seal is done poorly. No, summoning, is the act of bringing forth a being, usually of an animal species, that you have a connection to. These summon creatures aid you in battle, yes, but they are your friends as well. Once you have encountered one, you sign an agreement which allows you to bring them forth. Do you understand?" Zerio asked.
"I think so…wait, you said a poor seal could result in…is that why Gaara was taken to have it fixed? Is that going to happen to me?" Naruto asked, fear creeping into his voice as he imagined a huge 9-tailed fox ripping its way out of him.
"No! Naruto, calm down." Zerio said, as he stopped walking and turned to Naruto, placing his hands on Naruto's shoulders. "No, that will not happen to you. Gaara was having trouble, but, realize, if a biju seal is going to break, it will do so immediately, mostly. You are most likely in no danger from it, though I imagine your uncle, one of our Sealmasters, will want to exam it to be sure. Gaara will be fine, though." As Zerio said this, he looked deeply into Naruto eyes and brushed his hands on the back of the boys head. With a nod of understanding, which Zerio returned, releasing Naruto's shoulders and head, Zerio stood up and went back to leading the way.
"So, yes, a summon is meant to be your partner, your friend, and your teacher. Thus, we believe that you should begin summoning early. However, and this is where we feel quite sorry for those on the Earth, we do not simply have you pick a contract based on what summons just happen to fall near you. So many people on that world do not get the chance to summon, to know that sort of companionship, because the summon scrolls are hoarded, and not spread openly. No, we do not simply have you sign a summon scroll and send you on your way, that would be silly. Rather, we have the summons choose you, based on how you, as a personate, at your very core, resonate with them" As Zerio said this, they reached the end of the hall, where a man in a set of black pants, shoes, and a short sleeve shirt sat, a sheet of paper and a pen in front of him, at a desk. He had short blonde hair, in a bowl cut, and brown eyes.
"Heading to this one's new home then, Zerio?" The man asked as Naruto and Zerio approached the desk, to which Zerio replied in the affirmative.
"Name of the boy please, and where he is going?" The man requested. Zerio gave Naruto a little nudge on the head, and Naruto understood.
"Naruto Uzumaki. I was told I was going to Whirlpool quarter." Naruto said, a slightly dreamy note to his voice.
"Right." The man said, writing down Naruto's name and future location on the piece of paper on the desk. With a nod, Zerio walked through the arch, followed by Naruto, who heard the man at the desk call back to him "Welcome home."
As Naruto and Zerio left the building, Naruto found himself on the street and was, finally, able to really look at the village. It was, Naruto realized, not at all a small place. Turning his head in all directions, he could see many huge buildings, which seemed to have 20 or more levels. He was also able to see that the building they had just left, the check in station, was one of the tallest, such that Naruto found he could not quite see the top of it. It wasn't just, though, that the city was huge, but it was also full of strange and interesting looking people. The area around the check in station was bustling with many people walking to and fro. Many of them had rather odd, to Naruto, looking appearances, being of all heights, widths, even colors. He thought, for a second, he caught a glimpse of a woman with greenish skin. Similarly, around him, there was a large number of different types of animals and beings that walked among the people. Eagles, rabbits, dogs, and so many more. The sound of laughter was heard, as was the sound of several lightning strikes. Looking directly up, he realized that, as he could from the balcony in Oritsio's office, he could see the stars above him, streaked, as the lightning struck, with bolts of lightning going in all directions. For the first time, he realized the sheer scale of the village, and just how many people, at least, must call it home. He also realized, as Zerio touched his left shoulder, that he had stopped walking.
"This is not the ideal place to look at the village, Naruto. Truth be told, though you got somewhat of a view on Lord Oritsio's balcony, it's not the ideal place to see it. I don't know, really, that there is one ideal place to see a view of it all. There's a good place to shunshin from, that would land us at the gates of the Whirlpool quarter, about a block away. Come." Zerio said, taking Naruto's left hand and leading him along.
"I've never seen so many people, or such tall buildings," said Naruto," how many people live here?"
"At any one moment, counting the number of people seeded throughout the Earth as White and Neutral Knights…oh…I'd say…maybe about 100,000, give or take about 2,000. With another few thousand in smaller hubs around the Moon, as well as in a few other places. All in, total number of people from the village that are alive right now, probably about 150,000, or so, and more every year. All the outcasts, and their descendants, over the 850 years this place has stood. Plus the descendants and family of the five main families that created this place." Zerio said, as he lead Naruto down the street, to a place the road became a four way intersection. At the intersection, they turned right, and Naruto was able to see a park in front of them, which had a large circle in the center. Zerio seemed to be leading Naruto towards the circle. It was then that he realized something.
"Wait…you mentioned that everyone has a summon, and that the summons choose the people. How can a summon choose a person?" Naruto asked, as they entered the circle.
"A very special process is used. I am not so good at explaining it, but, you wind up signing a master scroll, and then your mind, your past, your present, and even your future, in a way, are laid out for all to see. All the summons will see you for that moment, and the one which sees the most of itself inside you, becomes your group. You are summoned to their realm, where you meet and see that species. After that, you are sent back here, a summon contract made between you and them. All this takes place at one of our most important places, a massive building with over 2000 rooms that we call the Hall of Summons. When you have your contract, you gain access to a room where the users of the same contract, present and past, work and have worked, leaving scrolls and their collected wisdom. You will also have access to a sort of communal area. With some frequency, groups of people with different types of summons will work together to come up with a combination technique, compare notes, solve shared problems, the like. Some of the best summon related techniques come from those group experiments. Before you ask, by the way, there are over 300 known summon species. New ones are uncovered every so often, when one of the more specific summons finds a summoner they like for the first time. Last new summon was uncovered 4 years ago, actually. The founder who laid out the plans for it made sure the building was enormous, since he had no real idea how many summons there might be. Now, though, time to get you home."
With that, Zerio surprised Naruto by lifting him up and stepping into the center of the circle. Making a single hand seal behind Naruto's back, Zerio calmly stated "Gurasu No Sutairu: Bodifurikkā (Grass Style: Body Flicker)". With that, three strands of grass seemed to jump into the air in front of Naruto, where they hung suspended in the air for a moment, before Naruto felt himself pulled inward, and the world changed around him.
Suddenly, Naruto found himself in front of a castle looking structure. Despite it not being large, by castle standards, Naruto found that there was something about the castle that he liked. As Zerio put him down, he noticed the spirals on the towers. Why he felt so drawn to them, he did not know, but as he looked at the Whirlpool spirals on the three towers, he felt, inexplicably, as if, somehow, he had seen them before, even though he was pretty sure that he never had. So entranced was he in looking at the Whirlpool symbols, that he did not notice Zerio walk over the doors to the castle pull the doorbell. It was only as he heard the doors open that he realized any time at all had passed. The person who answered the door, unexpectedly to both Zerio and Naruto, was, in fact, Zeria
"Brother, good, you are here. I was just on my way out. Gaara is resting, Sora was able to fix his seal rather nicely." Zeria said.
"Good, as we hoped. I assume you took his recommendation, as per protocol?" Zerio asked his sister.
"Yes, yes, I made sure to get his recommendation. Actually, he wanted to stay here, with the Uzumaki. I was just leaving, after putting Gaara in a spare bedroom here. Sora expects him to be unconscious for three days, most likely." Zeria said, with a nod.
"Not unexpected, considering the alteration Sora would have needed to do. Hallucinations and insomnia, never a good thing as side effects go. Oh, yes, Oritsio decided that Naruto should be placed here. Again, not unexpected, and I agree completely with having Naruto be with the other Uzumaki. Speaking of which, Naruto, are you ready?" Zerio turned to Naruto as he asked.
Naruto found himself feeling very nervous as he walked over to Zerio. All he could say, as he nodded slightly, was a whispered "Believe it." With a smile that Zeria echoed, Zerio took Naruto's hand and entered the castle, following Zeria, who was in the lead. Although Naruto tried to turn his head, in order to examine the beauty of the patterns in the entry area, he was unable to full take it before he found himself taken to a door at the end of right hand turn.
"Time, Naruto, to meet your uncles, and your cousin." Zeria said, as she knocked on the door, hearing an almost screaming shouting voice say "Enter", in response, and doing so.
As Naruto entered Sora's library, he was taken aback, as Gaara had been, not just by the beauty of the place, but in the otherworldly quality it had. The way she shelved seemed to float in mid air, and the sheer size of the place, it astounded Naruto. It reminded Naruto of the other worldly quality the stars above the village seemed to have. Not for the first time, he wondered if this was all a dream. He had little time, though, to ponder this, though, as a short man, only maybe an inch or two taller than himself, wearing a long sleeve white robe and brown sandals, approached them. As Naruto saw him approach, he also noticed that, at one of the small tables, a tall looking man and a girl were sitting, looking over some scrolls intently.
"Zeria? I thought you were headed out. Who is th…" Kei began, only to realize, as he looked at Naruto, just who he was.
"Who are you?" Naruto asked Kei, to which Kei smiled.
"Was your mother, Kushina Uzumaki, boy?" Kei asked, his voice going slightly quiet.
"That's what I was told, yes." Naruto said. At this, Kei smiled. It was a bigger smile than Naruto thought such a small man should be able to give, but, as he looked at Kei, he sensed something familiar about the man, though he could not immediately place it. After a moment of just staring, the small man called out.
"Sora, come here, if you want to meet our nephew." Kei said in a loud, clear voice. At the mention of his name Sora started, and stood up, walking quickly to where Kei stood, Karin trailing behind him. As he looked down to Naruto, he smiled.
"Have you ever seen a picture of your mother?" Sora asked Naruto, his voice slightly faint, but an air of joy apparent in it. The screaming quality to his, somehow, seemed to accentuate the joy, somehow, in his voice.
"No." Naruto responded, as he looked between Sora and Kei.
"Well," Sora spoke, reaching down to touch Naruto on the chin and turn his head to the right "I can see the resemblance. You have her cheekbones, and your eyes, though not exactly the same color, are undeniably similar.
"I do?" Naruto said, with some shock, and some tears beginning to form in his eyes.
"He also, I think, has her voice, somewhat. Not the pitch, I mean, but just…they sound similar, you know?" Kei put in as he began to walk around Naruto.
"Agreed, although I can't seem to put my finger on quite why. Definitely though, no doubt, he is her son." Sora said, a slightly teary note to his voice.
"You two knew my mother?" Naruto asked, still not getting it. To this, Sora and Kei could not help but chuckle. Before they could answer though, Karin, keen not to be ignored, spoke.
"You dolt! Auntie Kushina is your mom, so what do you think that makes my dad and uncle?" Karin said, a slight scowl to her voice as she approached Naruto.
"Karin! Be nice to your cousin, especially since he'll be living with us." Sora said, removing his hand from Naruto's cheek. Finally, at this, Naruto understood.
"Wait…you two are…and you are.."Naruto started to say as he looked from Kei to Sora to Karin, but had a hard time getting the words out as tears began to flow from his eyes. At this, Sora and Kei knelt down and embraced Naruto between them.
"Yes, my boy. Yes. I am Sora Uzumaki, and this is Kei Uzumaki." Sora whispered into Naruto's ear.
"Your mother was my older sister, and Sora's younger sister." Kei whispered, tears forming in his own eyes as he embraced Naruto.
"And I, blockhead, am your cousin. Welcome to the family." Karin said, a note of agitation, but mostly a note welcome in her voice.
Finally, Naruto could hold the tears back no longer, and began to cry freely. Until that moment, he had not truly believed anything was real about this. He had been taken from his home, told there was a place of safety for him, found himself on a village on the moon, and told he had a family, all in the span of a few hours. It was all too much to bear, and so hard to believe, but, as he felt himself hugged between his uncles, as well as Karin, who came over to rub his head, he felt, for the first time in his life, that everything would be okay, and that he was home. As if reading his mind, Zerio spoke.
"Welcome home, Naruto." Zerio said, tears in his own eyes at the touching scene before him.
End of Chapter
Young Gaara: *is asleep on a bed in the corner*
Me: Well, since Young Gaara is asleep, it falls to me to do the out tro. I do apologize for this being slightly later than I meant to. I really had a hard time getting the end of it to sound as I wanted it to, and, truth be told, I am still not entirely pleased with it, but, it got where I wanted it to, and I hope you liked it. In terms of updates, as a rule, I am intending to try for 2 a month. Not necessarily every 2 weeks, as some chapters, like this, cause me to struggle a bit more, but, 2 a month is what I am aiming for. Thank you for all of the positive support and reviews. I know it sounds sappy, but, reading the reviews, getting feedback, and seeing how many of you favorite follow this story, it really makes me feel so happy.
So, in general, yes, sorry to delay. Respond and Reply, as you have been doing, please. I am always eager for feedback, and welcome criticism. I am still looking for a beta, as well, so if any of you would know someone, or perhaps desire to do so, do pm me, or respond in review to this chapter.
I promised an omake, and I deliver on my promises, so it is after this note. With that, next time on Naruto: Village of Corrosion, we skip forward about two weeks, and enter the Hall of Summons. What summons will Naruto, Gaara, Kimmimaro, and Haku obtain as their own? Why do I feel the need to add questions to the out tro? One of those questions will be answered in the next chapter. Take care all, Ja Ne.
Omake: A Sharky Arrival
With Haku and Kimmimaro
As Naruto and Gaara would tell you, traveling by Obonso's lightning felt rather odd, and was an interesting experience. So too would Kimmimaro and Haku tell you of travelling by lightning. It was an interesting experience, and they were amazed that it could be done at all. So, they were slightly out of breath when the lightning deposited them in a metallic enclosed circle
"That was…unexpected." Kimmimaro said, as he leaned back against the wiring of the metal circle they were in. Haku, still a bit shaken by the ordeal with her parents, could only nod as she looked around. As she did so, she saw that there was a small path leading out of the circle and that, next to it, had a large pool looking area. The surface of water, she noticed, had a bluish weed near the surface.
"Wh-where are we?" Haku, finally able to speak, wondered aloud.
"Why should I know? Couldn't be any worse than where we taken from, though. I saw we wait, someone will probably come and get-" Kimmimaro said, only to be interrupted by a loud sound.
"RLaaaar!" Kimmimaro and Haku stared at each other as the noise, which had a guttural quality to it, was heard.
"Wh-what is" Haku started to ask, only for a much louder noise to be heard.
"RLAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!" With that, in a performance that shocked Haku and Kimmimaro quite badly, what Haku had thought was a weed suddenly jumped out of the pool, revealing what seemed to Kimmimaro as some sort of shark-human hybrid, wearing a black cloak with no hood.
"Shark!" Kimmimaro shouted, wide eyed and afraid, a look Haku echoed. Before either could scream for help, though, the figure walked up to the metal circle and responded with a laugh.
"Hahaha! The look on the faces of you two. Wow, that was so worth it. Sorry to scare you, but I just couldn't resist." Kisame said as he showed his teeth in a shaky smile. It was, surprisingly, Haku who regained her senses first.
"Kimmimaro, why is that fish talking to us?" She asked, still feeling her heart hammering in her chest. That proved to be the wrong thing to say, though, as Kisame responded.
"Fish? Fish? FISH?! I AM NOT A FISH!" As Kisame screamed, he had a look of such clear anguish that, in combination with his gills and scary looking appearance, caused Haku and Kimmimaro, so recently afraid, to burst out laughing.
"Stop laughing at me! I am Kisame, and I am here to check you two in, so you can live in peace in this village. Please, seriously, stop laughing." Kisame said, at first sounding angry, but then sounding sincere. It took almost 20 seconds, but, eventually, Haku and Kimmimaro calmed down.
"Where are we?" Kimmimaro asked, to which Kisame scowled.
"Did the person who sent you here not tell you? This is the Village of Corrosion, where all those persecuted and attacked band together to live in peace. Kinda boring, some of the time, but, a really nice place. Now, please, I want to get you two checked in, so, seriously. What was the name of the man in the black cloak who sent you here?" Kisame said, a note of pleading in his voice.
"Obonso Raigo, he said his name was." Kimmimaro answered.
"Right, good. Obonso then. And, as per the rules, I also need to know your names." Kisame said as he ran a hand through his hair, enjoying the feeling of his wet hair.
"I'm H-Haku. Haku Yuki." Haku said, nervousness entering her voice.
"And I am Kimmimaro Kaguya." Kimmimaro said.
"Excellent. Well, on that note, come, follow me. You have wasted enough time calling me a fish, which I am not, so we are already running late. Let's get a move on." Kimmimaro said, beginning to turn around as he motioned Kimmimaro and Haku to follow him.
"You have gills, though, so you must be a fish, right? Or, at least a shark."Kimmimaro said, as he and Haku began to follow Kisame.
"They are not gills! They are lung slits that enable me to breathe underwater at will, but they are not gills." Kisame said, irritation clear in his voice.
"But, that's the definition of-" Kimmimaro began, only to be cut off by Kisame.
"They are not gills, and please stop calling them that. They are on my body, so I decide what to call them, and they aren't gills. Now, please, follow me." Kisame said, in a tone of voice that made Kimmimaro realize Kisame meant business. With that, Kisame, followed by Haku and Kimmimaro proceeded into the check-in station.
End of Omake
Me: Final author's note: I do wanan know, if possible, what you guys thought of this omake. If you guys were not fans, it's not a problem, but if you did like them, I can certainly do more, if I feel one fits in a chapter. If you guys do like them, though, I have some ideas, say, for alternate takes on scenes that would lend themselves to jokes. They wouldn't all be as this was, an extra scene of the story. Anyway, yeah, Read and Review, and until next time, take care. Ja Ne.