Dystopia Unleashed
By WhoIsThisDamnAuthor
Nine months was quite the dry spell, but I'm making up for it now.
Super Saiyan writing speed, y'all!
6k chapters are shooting out of me like a Uzi compared to the musket-like days of old.
Here's hoping I can keep up the pace.
Anyway, enjoy...
Chapter 7: Healing
My body feels so heavy...
Goku was trying desperately to stay conscious, as he walked back to his apartment. His injuries were beginning to throb continuously, and he'd lost a lot of blood. He glanced back, and saw a trail of it on the road. It dripped intermittently, like a leaky faucet, and seeped through his gi and into the dirt road. He limped on his right foot, trying to keep his balance. He'd received that calf wound on his left, so placing any weight on it was impossible. It was an effort to keep going, but he didn't want to pass out here and be a nuisance to everyone in the village. He just kept walking.
Memories flashed through his head, ancient ones. He remembered burying another fallen warrior the same way, and the fight that took place after that solemn burial. This time, though the rites happened after the big fight, and he was wounded much worse then as well. His mind still had to get used to pain again. Millennia inside that great big dragon had numbed his mind to all sensation, and reduced his immunity and threshold to such nerve impulses.
The training had made a huge difference, though. On his first day out of Shenron's clutches, Goku had been incapacitated by one blow to the back, which didn't even make a decent crater in the ground. Even Vegeta's snot was stronger than that attack. Now, he had been able to withstand a hell of a training day, a whole lot of chakra usage, and the mental torture of reliving through his memories, and wounds dealt by a whole quartet of assassins and their darting hollow blades.
Their blades... He was using one of them as a makeshift crutch to lean on when using his left leg. The blades were longer than he'd thought. They were actually short-swords for the adult assassins, but it was the perfect length for his barely-teen height. Hobbling along quite like Master Roshi, he reached his apartment complex exhausted, both physically and mentally. His wounds had stopped bleeding, but that was more due to dehydration than anything else.
He stumbled through the front porch into the hallway. He heard snoring from the room on the left. Kotonoha-baa-san was fast asleep. What is it, like two in the morning? Carefully, so as not to wake her, he tried to tiptoe up the stairs, ever so unfortunately forgetting that the muscles used most to tiptoe is the calf. On the second step, he placed weight on his foot, and the pain suddenly shot up to debilitating. Driving the sword down onto the stair, he tried to remove the source of his agony.
CRACK. The end of the sheath drove straight through the wooden stair, splintering the wood. Goku, in his pain, had underestimated his strength. The sound was like a pistol shot. Goku flinched, craning his neck back to see if the old landlady had woken up. Nothing. Just the regular snoring, like two sheets of sandpaper being rubbed against each other, came from the darkness below.
He extracted the sword from the broken wood, and ascended using its help, gingerly placing it on each step hereafter.
Back in his room, he bandaged up his wounds, using gauze from the first-aid kit that Kushina had wisely given him. One of the rare moments that I'm thanking her, huh... After he was done, he flopped down on his mattress like a dead fish, too tired to care about changing or cleaning up.
Sleep, however, was hard to come by. Even when so desperately fatigued, his mind kept bothering him. Those ten jutsus, nine, rather, were boring a hole in his brain. He was too tired to move, and in too contemplative a mood to fall asleep. The Complete Ninja Handbook lay right next to him. Using his non-injured hand, he lifted it to the light, and started studying.
I can't have Minato take the blame for what was clearly my mistake. Let's see... Body Replacement Technique, Transformation Technique, Clone Technique...
THAT'S ALL? ONLY THREE BASIC TECHNIQUES?
Kushina wants me to do the advanced stuff by tomorrow? That slave-driving devil!
He flipped through the last few pages. Katon-Gokyaku no jutsu, Raiton-Kaminari no jutsu, Suiton-Suidan no Jutsu...
These were all elemental techniques, and all prerequisites stated that the chakra needed to have a fire nature, or water nature, or lightning nature...
Or wait. What's this? Chakra nature? Fire? Lightning? Water? I haven't learnt about this yet...
He started memorizing the seals for the techniques with a frown on his could simply apply the nature part as and when Kushina taught him. While flipping through the book, a single sheet fell out of it, and landed on his stomach. Keeping the book aside, Goku lifted the page, and studied it carefully. 'Secret ninjutsu - to be learnt for tomorrow' was the title.
There was a tabulated list of jutsus that didn't need chakra nature to perform at all. Goku read off the first name. Kuchiyose no jutsu, he spelled out from the script. Hmm, some sort of summoning. It doesn't say exactly what gets summoned, so maybe we have to imagine it. That's so cool! I know, I'll just summon a snack! Some cup ramen would be heavenly right now!
And the night passed by in a flash.
Shimura Danzou was both infuriated and pleased that night. On one hand, his four Root members had failed in assassinating a mere boy, with no actual ninja training at all. A godforsaken thirteen year old; who had single-handedly blown back and incapacitated three of his minions, and killed a fourth with quite the savage blow through the skull.
It wasn't like the kid hadn't gotten badly hurt; it would have been more than a miracle if he escaped unscathed. No, he was bloodied all right. And had left quite the obvious trail, all over where he was fighting. Outside the Uchiha enclosure, the main village playground, the cemetery...
But he'd done something unexpected. He had, quite respectfully, buried the corpse of his former assassin. That was unheard of, even from the most benign of shinobi. Although, the blood trail from the Uchiha compound to the grave gave a very tantalizing piece of evidence against that traitorous clan. Now, using the blood and the marks caused due to dragging the body, and adding another set of footprints leading right to the door of the enclosure, he'd staged the perfect crime.
Now that myopic Hiruzen would have to believe him. He had proof that the Uchiha had murdered a member of one of the peacekeeping forces of the village. If he spun it correctly, he could even make it appear as an outright act of rebellion, maybe even hint that they were willing to wage open war.
That was why he'd been happy, and not cut off the heads of those worthless nobodies who couldn't even kill a child. He'd graciously given them another chance, after beating them to within an inch of their lives. They had been reminded that another instance like this would not be tolerated. Fear was how Danzou stayed in control, and kept even hushed mutterings against him to a minimum.
There was just one more thing that bothered him. Why keep three alive, and gruesomely murder the fourth? Did the kid have a psychotic fit? Maybe something related to suppressed rage? No, no. I think that the boy had nothing to do with that cretin's death. It was outside interference; someone desperately wanted him alive.
The manner of the killing showed that Goku's mysterious benefactor was both strong and serious. Danzou had been pushed onto the back foot, and he couldn't do anything to the kid until this unknown factor was accounted for. Very well, stranger; I will hold back in accordance with your wishes. But the moment you slip up, I will be there with your blood on my hands as I go for the kid.
You'd better watch your back.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU? HUH? ANSWER ME!" Kushina was livid.
"I-I-I s-s-s-slipped, K-K-K..." Goku stammered.
"WHERE? HOW? YOU INCOMPETENT IDIOT!" Deep concern showed in her ultramarine blue eyes. She was grasping his left arm like a vice, threatening to cut off the blood supply forever. Her other hand, was gently caressing his wounds, checking for infection.
Minato stood a little distance off, face foreshadowed with thought. Mikoto was also standing with him, keeping a solemn countenance. Goku felt most embarrassed by that. He'd made her worry about him. That was not responsible behaviour. But, a part of him was doing cartwheels inside his mind. She is worried about me! Oh yes yes yes yes yes...
"Who did this thing to you? Tell me!" Kushina was about to hold Goku in a strangling grip and choke the answer out of him, when she saw the black short sword dangling from his waistband. Oh, my word. That's the sword the ANBU uses...
She kneeled, staring right into Goku's eyes, and asked the important question. "Where did you get that sword?"
Goku was screwed. Bad mistake, that; bringing the sword and lying about his fight...
"I'm sorry! After I dropped Mikoto off at her house..." Goku faltered. Kushina being livid was something he was used to, but her raised eyebrow at him eliminating the honorific from Mikoto's name gave him pause.
"Go. On."
"Well, four assassins happened to come attack me," Goku heard Mikoto gasp. Minato started muttering something under his breath. Kushina released his arm, only to grab both his shoulders with the same crushing grip. Her eyes were calm and collected, despite the nature of the news. She made eye contact and maintained it. After a few silent seconds, she asked again. "The sword. Where did you get it from?"
"Oh, the assassin guys had them... I took this one from the one who died. I wanted to leave it in his grave, but it looked so useful, and I thought it fit me well, and..."
"CUT THE CRAP! You are sure that this is the exact sword you found on your attacker's person?" Kushina interrupted Goku's explanation.
"Yes, Kushina," he replied, "It was his sword. He used it to attack me. Now, can we get back to training? I..."
"We have to go to the Sandaime with this. We have to ask about this outrageous attempt on your life." Minato had finally decided to step up and speak.
"Yes. I'm formally putting your training on hold until we find out who's behind this," Kushina added, and Mikoto nodded in agreement.
Goku wasn't surprised. He had come to realize that attempts on someone's life weren't simply overlooked because the bad guys were beaten up. That wasn't how it worked here. His Eminence (Or was it His Honour?) was responsible for the peace here, not Goku himself. The Earth's Special Z Forces don't exist here, doofus... I'm not the final authority on the law, and I definitely don't count for anything compared to His Excellency.
They turned and launched off, sprinting in that screwed-up way. Who the hell runs with their hands behind their freaking back all the time? He had tried that once before, and had fallen flat on his face after a couple of staggering steps. Goku merely shook his head, and followed. The bandages were done properly. He could move his legs and right arm as if they didn't exist.
What they didn't take away, though, was the pain. This probably was another training exercise from the great evil genius. Kushina, you fiend! This was directly related to her telling him the basic field-soldier drill in the beginning. A Konoha fighter, or shinobi as they were called, was part of military personnel. Which meant certain rules of discipline had to be followed. She had also briefly touched on the concept of three-man cells. The efficient number required to complete almost any type of mission.
While traversing the rooftops between the training grounds and HQ, Goku noticed Minato veer off to the right, stopping off at a standalone apartment, and knocking on the door. He sped up, gritting his teeth to fend off the sharp pains in his thighs, and asked Kushina, "Who is Minato calling upon, this early? Won't the person throw a tantrum right on his face?"
Kushina merely smiled. "I see your bad attitude towards getting up early hasn't still been beaten out yet. Interesting..." her grin cracked open further when she saw Goku gulp. "Anyway, he's gone there to personally call one of the village's great medical ninja to help you recover faster. It's quite the coincidence that you mentioned the word 'tantrum', though..."
Goku gulped again. "Does that mean... this person... actually throws temper tantrums?" how old is he? Six? Seven?
Kushina nodded, using her palms to clear theparapet of one rooftop, before taking a running jump over to the next one. "This person is known far and wide for her tantrums. Although, she is the village's best. Her name is Tsunade. You might want to remember that."
Tsunade, huh? It's quite the pretty name...
"Oh yeah!" Goku remembered why he'd wanted to talk to Kushina in the first place. "I learned the ten jutsus you asked me to..."
Kushina skidded to a halt some distance away from HQ. "How...How did you learn ten?" She gave him an astounded look. "I thought there were only three basic techniques in the book I gave you, and Minato said he didn't teach you a thing..." Goku ran a hand through his hair, enjoying the moment. Any chance to see Kushina flustered was worth its weight in gold.
Figure of speech, people. Chances don't have mass...
Unless it's a fat chance... Heh heh.
*WHOCK!*
apologises for this author's continuing bad puns and pathetic jokes. He has been sedated. With a baseball bat.
"Yeah! I tried out a couple of stuff Minato's been showing me over the last couple of days..." Goku smiled sheepishly. As if he didn't realize how much he was bragging. "I got the Rasengan to work, and in my guidebook, someone had hidden a secret page..."
Kushina was already strangling her dumbfuck of a boyfriend in her imagination. It wouldn't be long before she actually did it, though... "What was on the page, GOKU?" she added an ominous tone to her voice, right at the end. So ominous, in fact, that Goku took an involuntary gulp, despite him completing the assignment.
"There were a few techniques on that... Something called summoning, one called Shadow clone jutsu..."
Mother of God. Has Minato lost his mind? Why would he give a mere child forbidden ninjutsu?
I'm going to rip that piece of crap a new...
"Let's go!" Mikoto was back, urging them on. "This is not news that we should be keeping from the Hokage-sama any longer than we have to. Come on!"
Kushina nodded, and took a running jump over to the HQ building. Goku followed suit. "This discussion of ours," Kushina shot a look at the boy. "It isn't over, get it?"
Goku nodded agreement. I don't know what possessed you to give Goku forbidden, dangerous techniques to study, but, Minato, you've got another thing coming of you think you can get away with this. They all entered through the side entrance. The village didn't know much about the new guy, and making a grand appearance wasn't the wisest thing to do.
Goku winced at the last landing. His foot had slipped on the rough floor, and his wound had opened up again. Blood soaked through the white of his bandages. He stumbled forward, and almost fell on his face. He limped over to the steps, and started climbing with his face scrunched up like a paper ball. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder, gently but firmly holding him in place. He looked up through teary eyes, and saw Mikoto, with a concerned, slightly guilty expression on her face.
"You stay here, Goku," she said comfortingly," The Hokage doesn't need to actually see your wounds. He'll believe Minato and Kushina. You're obviously hurt badly. Come." She led him back down, and sat with him on the lowest step.
"Let's wait here for Minato and Tsunade to arrive..."
Goku nodded.
They both gazed over the landscape in front of them. The HQ building was in the rear side of the village, and there was a natural slope to the ground from there to the main gates. Thus, from the HQ, one could see the entire village laid out like a three dimensional map. The streets were laid out in a radial pattern, and they all ended at a ring road. The Uchiha enclosure lay in a district of its own, separated from the main village by a little distance. Development was beginning in the gap, but it still would be years before the Uchiha clan actually merged into the village properly.
Goku studied the sword he'd acquired. It was deep black, and the sheath had no decorations on it. It was almost straight, with a small curve imperceptible to most eyes. It had a grip like a katana, which was all black as well. Closer examination of the blade showed a perfectly concealed pinhole, probably from where the wax inside the hollow blade-mould had been drained off. Despite its interior being nothing but air, the sword was perfectly balanced, and very strongly built. It was a masterpiece.
It's beautiful... Goku mused. I should train with this. It'll serve well as my weapon until I grow taller, and maybe even after that.
I'm going to be a swordsman. After Trunks and Gohan. Who'd have thought that? You can't just write this stuff...
"Let me see," Mikoto held out her hand for the sword. Goku gave her only the sheath. He wanted to hold it, to try it out. Gripping the strangely light blade with his left hand, he swung it sideways, like a slash. As he completed the stroke, he tried another one. A downward cut, straight through. He imagined an enemy being sliced right into half with this. His complete body splitting into two almost symmetrical halves, falling down on both sides of his blade in a shower of blood and visceral...
OH GOD. He turned slightly green as he tried to hold his breakfast of slightly soured milk and leftover cup ramen down. I really can't handle this... Just the thought of slicing someone up like that horrifies me...I'm going to have to train insanely hard to get over this inconvenient gag reflex if I'm going to be any good as a swordsman.
However, the hollow in the sword felt somehow... empty. (DUH) Incomplete, to be precise. Maybe if I just add something to fill it... Concentrating, he molded some chakra and used the tenketsu in his palms to flow some of it into the sword. The sword suddenly dropped to the ground. Goku was surprised. His arm hurt like crazy, and his biceps were bulging. He couldn't budge it. It had become extremely heavy.
Cursing, he heaved again, with all his remaining strength. His tendons were rigid from the stress, and he felt the blade give a little. Suddenly, his strength left as another wave of pain arose from his recently reopened thigh wound. He dropped it, and it fell onto the paved street with a very heavy thud. Grimacing, he bit back a wild expletive as he saw Mikoto looking at him.
"You just used chakra, didn't you?" She had a stern expression on her face. "It wasn't a small amount, either. I could perform at least three taxing techniques with the crazy-ass load of chakra you poured into that thing,"
"Crazy-ass load?" Goku was surprised. "I don't even use half that much for a rasengan," he said, eyebrows rising.
Mikoto shook her head. "I've seen your rasengan. Granted, you put in more than twice the amount Minato usually uses, but the sheer bulk you used now was much, much larger," she said, concern darkening her soft features. Goku suddenly realized his face was flushed. Can't I even talk to her normally now? But he knew it was not because of that. He raised his hand to his forehead. It felt a little warm. Hmm... A fever? Just how exhausted am I?
Mikoto saw him check his forehead, and quickly placed her palm on his head as well. He was burning up with fever. It was a wonder that he was lucid right now. She'd chosen intermediate medical ninjutsu as one of her courses in the Chuunin academic programme. She knew that most patients with their body temperature as high as this were delirious, and usually kept flitting in and out of consciousness. Forget chakra molding; they weren't even capable of raising their hands to their mouths to feed themselves.
Goku wasn't even close to delirious. He was molding chakra like a pro after two days of training, and wasn't even the least worried that he should have passed out by now. He glanced at Mikoto, and her plainly worried face. She suddenly took his right arm in her hands. "Here, let me help with that." Goku saw her as she unwound the bandage, and gasped at the wound inside. She observed the damage with a critical, trained eye, and took a breath.
Suddenly, his arm was covered with a greenish glow. Goku shivered as he experienced the extremely weird sensations associated with healing. A process that usually took weeks was being fast-forwarded into the space of nearly a minute. Torn muscle fibre was rejoined, the tendons were reconnected, and the cracked bone was knitted back. Also, like a magic wand, his skin suddenly stretched, and covered his gaping gash.
The green light faded slowly, and then it was gone. Goku was amazed. The chakra flows he'd witnessed were no simple task. Intricate patterns were created from chakra extruded into tiny thread-like flows. There were successive such mosaics of patterns, and each performed a particular function. One part initiated cell growth, another directed that cell growth to where it was needed, and yet another held the whole tissue together in its eventual final shape until the two growing torn or broken edges rejoined seamlessly.
This couldn't be done to the entire wound at once. Separate parts had to be singled out, like the odd tendon here, the muscle there, and broken nerves in another place. Separate patterned flows had to be made, closed off into units, and then placed precisely on the injured area. Layer by layer, Mikoto had reconstructed Goku's entire arm. Nobody had advised her to take Int. Med. Ninjutsu. It was a topic only taken by those aspiring to be strong medical geniuses, or become professional civilian doctors.
She'd taken it for the sheer challenge the course presented. And now she was very happy that that knowledge was being used to help her friend in a time of need. She wiped large drops of sweat from her forehead, and smiled at Goku. "That's all I can do, I'm afraid," she said apologetically. "The other wounds are beyond my skill level by far."
Goku wasn't listening. He was looking at her with tears in his eyes. "You did that... very, very hard thing... for me," his voice was filled with gratitude. He held her hands in his own. "Thank you," was all he could say before beaming a wide teary smile that seemed to split his face. Mikoto couldn't help but smile too. They held those impossibly wide grins for a moment more, and would have kept them on for a further hour, if a certain Namikaze Minato hadn't cleared his throat loudly.
"A-hem,"
There was a blond woman standing next to Minato. She had long hair tied back in a single ponytail, held by a red rubber ring. Whatever couldn't go back framed her face in a pretty way. There were bags under her eyes; Minato had probably waked her up. Goku gulped. He'd forgotten how early in the morning his training began. Just because his senseis were awake didn't mean the rest of the village was.
She seemed more sulky than angry, though. She had a pout to her lips that made her look younger than she actually was. She's probably in her early thirties, I guess... Goku had the good sense to not say that out loud. "Are you Tsunade-san?" Goku ventured, as politely as he could.
She nodded, grimacing. She gave him a perfunctory look-over, and simply said, "Remove those bandages." Goku complied, slowly removing the white cloth from his thighs, abdomen and calf. "Now sit back..." She motioned for him to lean back on the step. As soon as his back touched the vertical part of the stone step, she brought her palms over his calf in a smooth, practised motion. The same green light glowed around his entire lower body, covering all his leg wounds at once.
The next few seconds were a crazed blur of pain, healing and chakra. Goku couldn't keep his eyes from blurring with tears as innumerable patterns overlapped and seemed to place themselves onto his wounds, like they were homing onto them. The torn parts didn't seem to reknit. They simply melted together, and voila, it was done.
Goku heaved a huge breath he didn't realize he was holding. Tsunade simply moved over to the next area, not even glancing up at Goku's face. Another blitzkrieg ten seconds later, it was complete. Goku tested his limbs, and stretched his abs. They were perfect. His body had broken a sweat, and it had caused the fever to break as well.
He was well and truly healed.
"Thanks a lot!" he said to the still pouting lady. "You owe me one, kiddo," Goku wasn't sure whether she was talking to him or Minato. She simply turned a full 180 and walked away. Not much in the social sciences, huh? His eyes drifted over to Minato. He was smiling as well. Mikoto was standing to his left, holding his shoulder in support. After a healing like that, bedrest was recommended. But this was an exceptional case, anyway.
Goku bent down, hesitantly trying to lift the sword off the ground. He curled his fingers around the hilt, and sword flew straight up as he lost control of it for the second time. He was expecting it to weigh a ton. But, after he stopped holding it, the chakra inside it probably seeped out and returned the blade to its normal, super-light form. All three of them looked upwards, watching as the sword became a black speck in the sky.
Mikoto gave a small strangled shriek. Goku looked at her, only to notice what was in her hands. The sheath. The sword had now become a deadly arrow that would kill anyone it landed upon. Goku snatched the sheath from Mikoto's transfixed hands, and sprinted forward. He caught up with the sword's forward motion in no time and was quickly overtaking it, when he realized that something was different. He was faster now, much faster. He was leaping over longer distances with less effort than before. His arms felt strangely stronger, and more agile.
Oh yeah... Saiyan regeneration! Goku remembered the Saiyan race's ability to get stronger every time they recovered from a deadly wound. He could sense the immediate improvement in speed. He sidestepped a particularly tall building, and sprinted down the main road. Looking up, he saw the black speck slowly resolving into the sword it was. Putting all his effort into cutting left, he took a sharp turn at full speed, quite like a car, and ran down an alley.
Alternating steps between buildings opposite to each other in the alley, he gained both height and horizontal distance. He was now merely a few feet from the landing site. Taking another superhuman leap, he jumped right off the roof of the building, and held out the sheath in front of him. The sword was growing in size quite fast now. It was going to come dangerously close to the ground in just a couple of seconds.
He jumped clear off a roof, and over the wide street below. He wasn't aiming to clear it. The sword dropped at a crazy speed, right into the sheath. It was a moment of pure swag. He felt the thunk as the sword slipped in, the impact of the guard of the sword hitting the rim of the sheath jarring his entire arm. He spun in the air, rolling to land squarely on his feet, in a kneeling position.
That...felt...AWESOME!
The village was just starting to wake up, people getting out of their houses, mothers and grandmothers stepping out to do their grocery shopping for the day, men both young and old raising the metal shutters of their shops... It was the perfect morning, and this warm-up was the perfect start to the day. Goku drew a few stares, but he didn't mind. He was healed, and the entire rest of the day had opened up for him.
He got up, and started his run back. From the market central, it usually took him twenty five seconds of parkour at his best, with a few chance open windows and alleys, to reach the HQ building. He knew immediately, though, that he was faster by far this time. Vegeta was proved right yet again. Goku was never happier about his Saiyan origins.
Instead of training, I should simply get beaten up and have Mikoto heal me... He mused. A smile crept up on his face, even imagining that scenario. Jumping over an entire roof, he skipped it entirely. He marvelled at the crazy increase in his physical abilities. He usually landed in the middle of that one, and took another step. A few adjustments needed to be made to his route the next time to account for this greater speed. Maybe some more time running down on the streets, a few larger, more ambitious jumps, and what else. Maybe he could refine Minato's kunai Instant Transmission with him now.
Taking his last sprint down the main boulevard of the village, he skidded to a halt in front of HQ. Seventeen seconds. Whoa. Tsunade had already left, and Minato and Kushina were heading up the side stairs, and into the building. Goku yelled out to them to wait up, and bounced up the stairs on light feet, taking them four at a time, sometimes even five.
"You seem... faster," Minato was the first to comment. Mikoto nodded in agreement.
"That's the thing. Where I come from, we have this special ability," Goku hadn't told them that he was a Saiyan. Despite his entire backstory being revealed, he had still kept this one secret to himself. He also hadn't mentioned that he used a different, currently depleted form of energy to fuel his attacks. That would come later. He had only known these guys for four days now. "When we recover from any injury, we get stronger. The more mortal the wounds, the stronger we get on recovery."
Minato gave a shrug. "I'm not even surprised at that anymore. You have some crazy skills there..."
"But that doesn't mean you simply get hurt like that," Mikoto added, her voice full of concern. She seemed happy that he was better. Her eyes were full of relief.
They had reached the main corridor. The Hokage's room was right in front of them. They could hear sounds of discussion from behind it. Kushina was already in there. Goku was happy that he didn't have to sit through the first few boring minutes, as they simply repeated the story. He usually arrived at the last minute, to save the day, or in this case, bring the important evidence as proof of their tale.
Minato turned the handle. He motioned to follow. Goku glanced at Mikoto. She looked at him as well, and gave a smile. Goku was grateful to Tsunade for healing him, but the only healing he remembered was Mikoto's initial one on his hand. It was a beautiful gesture on her part. One he would never forget.
Someday I'll return the favour, Mikoto. Definitely.
Before Minato got the chance to open the door, it crashed open from the inside. As he was holding on to the handle, Minato flew into the room, and directly into his girlfriend, who was standing behind it. There was a nice thump as the couple landed in a compromising position. That wasn't too bad, until they held that position, for much longer than necessary. Mikoto and Goku averted their eyes, blushing. The Hokage, being the perverted geezer that he was, looked on with merely a raised eyebrow.
The two then realized where they were. Disentangling themselves from each other, they jumped up, and took a shaky step back, blazing red shades painted on both faces. Kushina shook it off, and suddenly started towards the door, again. "Come on. Let's just go."
Minato hesitated. "But..." Kushina whirled around. "It's not about that, okay?" she wasn't blushing anymore. "I just can't see that old fart's face again-ttebane..."
She rushed out of the room rather angrily. The remaining three shinobi turned to look at their leader, who didn't say anything. He simply rested his chin on the backs of his hands, with his elbows on his desk. He hid his eyes behind his large Kage hat, and said nothing.
Minato realized that Kushina had just had some sort of disagreement with the Sandaime. "Come on, Goku, Mikoto." He motioned towards where Kushina had just rushed off to. "We need to find her, and talk. The Sandaime-sama isn't going to tell us anything new. Let's split up and search for her."
They headed out of the door, Goku closing it behind him. "Later, Your Highness..."
And they were gone.
Hiruzen Sarutobi simply sat there, his chin on his hands, contemplating what had just happened. How despicably he'd behaved with someone who had simply approached him out of concern for somebody's life. How he'd remained as silent as a stone as she ranted on about the serious injuries he'd suffered, about how four assassins from his own ANBU corps had attacked the child. How they had one of their katanas as proof.
Oh he hater himself right now. Hated the fact that he was allowing himself to be coerced into doing this. It wasn't an excuse, but Shimura Danzo had quite the broadsword hanging over his neck at the moment. He had 'requested' that the boy and everyone involved with him be kept in the dark about the real organizer of the attack. He had asked for complete silence on the matter. Otherwise, he would use the circumstantial evidence he had to completely turn the village against the Uchiha.
The blood trail from the enclosure to the playground and to the cemetery, the dead ANBU agent, the fingerprints of the new kid all over the body, and his close association with Uchiha Mikoto just days after his sudden, appearance into the village, with no backstory and no credentials...
Oh, it was bad. Danzo had gotten himself some insane, earth-moving leverage. And it was going to give free rein to plan more such dastardly acts against the boy, and Hiruzen would have to agree to them for fear of a civil war breaking out in the crucial time of peace and rebuilding after the disastrous Second Shinobi war. He was being forced to abandon Goku to his fate, and drop him in Danzo's vile hands for the sake of the village. It wasn't even much of a decision, really; the village's integrity always came first. But he didn't have to like the choice he was making, or rather being forced to make.
Goku, I'm really sorry for placing you under the radar. But you must understand that I am being held hostage because of my responsibilities. It shouldn't have happened, and I have no excuse for my actions. Perhaps it is time for me to step down as the Hokage. But Minato isn't ready yet, and Danzo would simply convince the elders of that. So, he'd assume the post if I vacated it. That simply isn't an acceptable outcome. So, please forgive me, Goku, for I'm bound by my own weakness.
I only wish you the best, and hope you survive everything until I wrestle control back from that vile man.
He looked down at the files again, at the three Genins he was handing over to Minato in another three days. Let us simply hold still, and pray for the best. A quite un-Hokage like thought, but then Shimura Danzo was no ordinary mastermind.
Take care of him, Minato...
This is going so well right now...
Ideas are flowing very nicely, and I think this is shaping up to be quite the epic-length story it will eventually be.
I'm going to keep riding this surge until it runs dry.
Working on the next chapter already, as I upload this.
By the way, thanks for all the reviews. It helps to know what you guys think.
Cheers.