A/N-I just want to thank everybody for hanging in there for the first three chapters. Especially the third chapter, I know the pace was slow and the chapter dragged. But now, I feel that the board has been set and I can start moving the pieces.
*DISCLAIMER- I DON'T OWN NARUTO*- It's Kishimoto's playground, I'm just knocking kids off the monkey bars.
LAND OF HOT WATER- PORT CITY OF KOSAKIRI
Mirobu sighed heavily as his wagon rumbled its way down the road. To either side of him were two very irate females, arms crossed and facing away from him. Mirobu had just told Miyuki and Midori that they had to return to Sanctuary. He had put off telling them as long as he could, but he had been forced to when he turned east towards Kosakiri, instead of south towards Konoha. He knew how they felt, he was distraught that he couldn't go back to Konoha and visit Naruto. The other merchants had just shrugged and waved when he said he needed to leave the caravan to pick up some merchandise.
His orders aside, he knew that now was not a good time to be in Konoha anyway. When the caravan had left Konoha, Mirobu had noticed the caravan had ninja shadowing them. His family, in particular, had been under heavy scrutiny. This had never happened before, and the only explanation was meeting Naruto. Without his training, Mirobu was certain he would have never been able to glimpse the ninjas in white masks who followed all the way to Fire country's border with Land of Rivers.
He had been very anxious to return to Sanctuary and report, possibly getting some aid to Naruto if it turned out he was actually an Uzumaki. Although Mirobu wasn't certain how Ashara-sama would react, given his lingering resentment towards Konoha for failing to help prevent the Fall. The very reason the refugees from Uzushio had fled to Rice instead of Konoha was the distrust the Clan Head had had of Konoha's motives.
Looking at his wife and daughter, Mirobu sighed again. This was going to be a long trip.
LAND OF WAVE- DOCKS
Mira was walking along the docks, seemingly unaware of the many leers she was receiving as she ventured deep into the Undercuts territory. She had switched out her white leggings for a tight, tan mini skirt that was barely long enough to preserve her decency. She had also switched to heeled boots that came up to mid-calf, showing off her toned legs and well-rounded rear end as she strutted down the wharf. Mira sashayed past a group of a half dozen Undercut enforcers standing guard at a shipping warehouse entrance.
The thugs grinned at each other before quickly following after the leggy teen. "Oi Nobu, look at them legs go all the way up and make an ass out of themselves" one remarked, elbowing the brute next to him. The ruffians all laughed uproariously. "Yeah Korun, those legs would make great ear muffs!" Nobu replied, to more laughter.
Mira walked down a side street for a bit before spinning around to face the ogling brutes. She cocked out a hip, placing a hand on it while giving them a sexy smirk. "Ara ara, all you boys here to play with little old me? I'm flattered." She then placed a finger on her chin with a cute pout. "I'm not sure I can take on all four of you, though." Her words took a moment to sink in as the thugs looked at each other, noticing two were missing.
"Where's Seito and Bunta?" Korun asked. "Are these them?" a voice from above asked, just before two bodies came crashing down next to the thugs. Blood sprayed the four frozen men as they stared at the two garroted corpses. They looked up just in time to avoid a few half-heartedly thrown shuriken. "Hey, it's that guy! The redhead boss wants to kill!" Nobu cried out.
On the roof of the building next to them, was a grinning Gokuru. He turned to Mira with a small bow, and said "Ladies first." Mira did a slight mock curtsy in amusement as she unsealed her chakram blades from seals on her wrists. The circular blades had a wicked looking edge, and thin chains attached to leather bracers. Slipping the bracers on, she gave a devilish smile to the four confused and nervous men.
"Oh, you're such a gentleman, Gokuru-tan. I think maybe I can take you boys on after all." Mira laughed before rushing them. Her initial strike opened one fool's throat before they could even respond. The three survivors jumped back, struggling to get their weapons out.
Korun shouted "Nobu get the others, we'll hold them" before slashing at Mira with his katana. Gokuru let Nobu run away as he jumped down to engage the other thug. The desperate man gave a heavy overhead chop with an iron studded club. Gokuru parried it to his left with a kunai, while sliding to his right. He stepped up and delivered a roundhouse kick to the thug's ribs, sending him crashing to the opposite wall. As the ruffian sat dazed for a moment, a kunai lodged itself in his forehead.
Gokuru looked over to Mira as she danced around Korun, gracefully blocking his wild swings. "Mira hurry up! The rest will be here soon. Quit toying with him!" Gokuru ordered. Mira pouted before ducking under a vicious horizontal cut and slicing Korun from crotch to collarbone as she straightened.
Mira looked at the body at her feet. "How many times are they going to fall for the same trap? We've been doing this for days" she laughed. "Well, this should be the final holdout, I think. After we eliminate the Undercuts, then the Redwater shouldn't last much longer. After all, they did do a decent job of killing each other" Gokuru replied.
They looked up at the sound of running feet. About twenty feet away was a large group of heavily armed gangsters. The crowd parted to admit a short man, who was heavily muscled despite his small height. All the hair on his head had apparently migrated south to his big, bushy beard. He carried a wicking looking axe. "You two have been making life very hard on me and my boys. That's going to end today. You made the mistake of pulling your little stunt right next to our headquarters, and now you're going to pay for it. In fact, the little girl there is going to be paying us back for days" the leader finished lecherously.
The two Uzumaki looked on curiously as the stout man pulled out a signal flare and fired it into the air. "I've got a bad feeling about this, blow it Gokuru!" Mira cried. Gokuru put his hands in a seal. The gangsters started to charge when explosive tags erupted under their feet, killing most of them.
A cloaked figure shot out of the smoke cloud, discarding his smoldering cloak. He had a black uniform with a white sash that came over his left shoulder and wrapped around his abdomen. Black shinobi pants ended wrapped in red bandages above standard shinobi sandals. He was dark-skinned with a Kumogakure hitai-ate that had a slash through the village symbol.
"Shit! A nuke-nin!" Gokuru cursed. He started to run through hand signs but the missing ninja finished his attack first. An arc of lightning ran forward from the nuke-nin's fist toward Gokuru, forcing him and Mira to dive away. Mira shot forward, hoping to catch the man off guard with her blades. Her opponent bobbed and weaved her initial slashes long enough to draw two kunai. Holding them in a reverse grip, he was able to start parrying and blocking her chakram.
"Fuuton: Gale Palm" Gokuru cried out, thrusting his palm at the nuke-nin. The vortex that rushed forward only damaged a stack of crates as the intended target jumped back, sticking to the wall behind him with chakra. As the nuke-nin started forming hand signs, Mira snapped her hands forward throwing her chakram at him. The nuke-nin abandoned his attack and flipped forward over the blades, landing a jump kick into Mira's chest. Mira flew backwards, chakram blades dragged along after by their chains, to slam hard against the wall behind her.
Before the missing ninja could capitalize on his attack, Gokuru unsealed his katana and ran forward. He sliced at the space in between Mira and her attacker. "Fuuton: Dust Wind" Gokuru cried, creating a mini-cyclone in front of Mira. A D-ranked jutsu, it didn't do much damage but it was quick. It swept up dirt and debris in the area, blocking the missing-nin's vision long enough for Mira to recover. Gokuru spun just in time to block a sword strike that would've taken his head off. Gokuru pushed the sword wielding thug back and disemboweled him.
This took just long enough for the nuke-nin to get to Gokuru and slash at his neck with a kunai. Gokuru managed to parry the lethal strike into a painful cut on his left shoulder. "Mira, mop up the trash!" Gokuru yelled before striking out at the nuke-nin. He didn't get a reply, but the screams coming from behind him were enough. His split attention earned him a hard knee strike to the stomach. Instinctively, Gokuru rolled off the knee and to the side as a fist holding a kunai whooshed by his head.
Sparing a quick glance, Gokuru could see Mira finishing off the last two gangsters. He then pressed his attack, slashing and slicing from multiple angles to keep the nuke-nin's attention squarely on his blade. Finally, the jutsu he had been waiting for appeared. "Suiton: Water Whips" Mira declared as tendrils of water ensnared the nuke-nin long enough for Gokuru to run him through. Panting, Gokuru checked on Mira who was favoring her ribs. The sound of boots on wood heralded the arrival of the last of the Redwater Teeth.
A tall, lean man sneered at the legless body of the Undercut leader. "Hah! You two did me a favor there" he sneered, pointing at the corpse. "But, I'm still going to have to gut you for all the grief you've given me. Especially forcing me to ally with that bearded bastard. Kill 'em!" He ordered.
Gokuru groaned as he started some hand signs, Mira doing the same next to him. "Fuuton: Great Breakthrough" "Suiton: Giant Vortex" The two techniques combined creating a violent tornado of water that plowed into the center of the oncoming mob. Gokuru and Mia took a moment to recover. Suddenly, Mira spotted a pair of crossbowmen that had been placed in the back to provide support. At the last second, she pushed Gokuru out of the way of an oncoming quarrel. Unfortunately, the next one lodged itself in her shoulder. The two Uzumakis crouched to leap back up to the rooftops to gain a breather.
As they leapt, Gokuru threw a kunai at the crossbowmen with an explosive tag attached, hoping for some luck. When the screams ended they peeked over the roof's edge, relieved to see only lifeless bodies. They were breathing heavily after using such a powerful jutsu combination. "Well… that could have gone better" Gokuru said simply, getting a dirty look from Mira. "This is your fault! If you hadn't had to be a hero, not to mention tell people you were an Uzumaki, we could have had time to get some back up. Finished this in one night. This was only supposed to be a scouting mission when Ashara-sama sent us here!" She grit her teeth and ripped out the quarrel in her shoulder.
Gokuru took out a roll of bandages and started working on her wound. "You're right, Mira. I'm sorry. At least Ashara-sama let us take care of these scum, and we're still alive. Maybe there's even a decent bounty for the nuke-nin!" Mira just stood up grumbling. "Yeah maybe. Get his head, and let's go." Gokuru hopped down to retrieve the nuke-nin's head. After sealing it away, they walked off to return to the inn.
KONOHA- 2 MONTHS LATER- AKIMICHI COMPOUND
Naruto had his hands on his knees, panting from sparring with Choza Akimichi. Genma-sensei had brought Naruto to meet Choza, Genma's genin sensei, after he had realized that Naruto had the mentality of a frontline brawler from their taijutsu spars. So Genma had figured that the Akimichi grappling style might help him. He planned to take Naruto to the Inuzuka Compound next, now that Tsume had found out about the Tora incident. She had had Naruto clean the entire kennels for two weeks as penance, then let it go.
Choza was hoping that Naruto's eagerness to learn, along with his freakish stamina, would push his son Choji to further his own training. Choza liked Shikamaru, and appreciated the Nara boy becoming his son's first real friend, but he remembered having to motivate Shikaku when they were younger. Choji isn't as assertive as Choza is, and Ino isn't into training as much as her father was at that age. Which worried Choza as he looked to Choji, who was sitting off to the side recovering from his earlier sparring.
"Alright Naruto, let's break for lunch, and then we'll get back to ninjutsu training. I expect you to have that D-ranked Suiton jutsu down by the end of the week." Genma called out before walking over the lunch that Chiyumi had been nice enough to lay out under the shade of a nearby tree. Naruto had been a little reluctant at first when he had recognized where he was being taken by Genma, but the Akimichis had convinced him they hadn't felt insulted by his earlier outburst.
After lunch, Genma and Naruto thanked the Akimichis before heading back to training ground nine. As they walked through the village, Genma studied Naruto out of the corner of his eye. Naruto's demeanor was more relaxed and confident since he had met first Naruto. Genma appreciated how hard Naruto worked; he was a capable pupil, very driven and goal oriented. However Genma did have to hold Naruto's wandering attention throughout his lessons, and keep him focused whenever Naruto felt he was improving too slowly.
Once they reached the training ground, Genma laid out the new training schedule he was going to give Naruto until he joined the Academy. Mornings would be exercise and taijutsu. Mid-day would be weapons practice, and afternoons would be chakra control and ninjutsu, finishing the day with more conditioning. Genma had learned very early on that Naruto could and would train all day, so he pushed Naruto hard with 8 or 9, sometimes 10 hour days of training. He made sure that Naruto took his one rest day a week seriously, so he wouldn't injure his growing body.
Genma at times felt like his old teammate Guy had rubbed off on him, but Genma wouldn't have considered this kind of training regimen for any other kid Naruto's age. Genma was determined to use the healing boost that Naruto received from his tenant to the fullest. He had been surprised with how quickly Naruto had picked up the Transformation and Substitution techniques, although he was having trouble with the Clone technique.
"Tomorrow, we'll head to the Inuzuka's compound, they and the Akimichis seem to be the ones who will help you the most since you favor taijutsu at the moment. I think Tsume-sama even has a son your age, and it is good to build relationships with the clans, Mr. Future Hokage" Genma smirked, before his face drew into a frown. "The Uchihas would've been perfect to improve your ninjutsu skills, but relations between them and the village are pretty bad right now. Not to mention how arrogant they can be… but anyway, I'm getting off track. Start your cool down exercises, and then we're done for today."
After training was finished, Naruto decided to try going by the Yamanaka flower shop to see if he could help Ino with something. She had sparked an interest in gardening within Naruto after they had started to become friends. Sometimes he could earn a potted plant or other supplies by helping around the shop. Plus, he liked chatting with the perky blonde girl. He always took the long way to pass by the Hyuuga Compound just in case he might run into Hinata, or be able to get some news of her from Cho or Po. But when he walked by, all he could see were two guards he didn't recognize. He just shrugged and walked off to the Yamanaka's.
MEANWHILE- SANCTUARY- ASHARA'S OFFICE
Ashara had gathered four of his more powerful ninjas: Poyu, Yokino, Hidoki, and Ryuusuke. He was always amazed when he saw Poyu. 7' tall and 275 lbs., he had hands big enough and strong enough to crush a man's skull. But he also had the temperament of a shy, virginal shrine maiden… Except… except that one time. All Uzumaki have a temper, it runs in the blood. All have a temper, but each Uzumaki has a differing length of fuse to that temper. Most were short-fused and spout off at any little thing, but blow through their anger just as quickly. A few have long fuses and when they are finally angered, it is a sight to see. The longer the fuse, the worse the explosion.
Poyu has an incredible amount of patience, and is very forgiving. A long, incredibly slow burning fuse. He never took any slight to heart long enough for it to matter. His fuse never stayed lit long enough to ignite. Except once. Except one terrible, horrific time when the gods themselves must have trembled. On that day, Poyu proved a concrete truth of the world. Don't. Fuck. With an Uzumaki.
Ashara shook himself out of his introspection, and concentrated on the matters at hand. "I have called you four here because I believe it is time to begin contacting other villages and testing the waters for alliances" Ashara said before turning to Poyu. "Poyu I want you to take Yokino, and head to Takigakure. I think you can establish good relations with their new leader Shibuki, due to your gentle nature. I believe they also recently acquired a new jinchuuriki, see if you can verify that. Here are your mission parameters, take care of yourselves and check in regularly. Dismissed" Ashara said, handing Poyu a scroll. Both he and Yokino bowed and silently left.
Ashara turned to Ryuusuke. "Before I issue any orders, I have to ask. Is the hatchet buried between you two?" Hidoki spoke up quickly. "Yes Ashara-sama. We are pretty much back to the same before Ryuu-kun left for his mission." Ashara was gratified to hear Hidoki call his apprentice by Ryuusuke's old affectionate nickname. "Good, you two were one of the most in sync partnerships in the village once. This is an important mission and that synergy will be welcome. If you succeed, we may be able to find an ally in Sunagakure." Ashara paused to let that sink in. "So does that mean you're ordering Dark Tides, Ashara-sensei? So soon?" Ryuusuke asked, surprised.
Ashara scowled "Well apparently, Gokuru's little slip about his heritage brought a bit too much scrutiny to Wave. We're going to abandon our plans there for at least a couple years. There was a new type of hunter, one we haven't seen before, working for Iwa. Gokuru and Mira barely managed to finish their mission and get out before Iwa and Kumo hunters swarmed the area. There were also a pair of Kusagakure hunters sniffing around. Kusa is trying to get in Iwa's good graces, so they're hostile to us as well. Kusa may be allied with Konoha, but they double deal with everyone, and will sell us out in a heartbeat. I want the trail from Wave to grow as cold as possible, before we move in the region again. Meanwhile, we might as well aim for relations with the only Great Village to not attack us or betray us."
Ryuusuke nodded "It will take some time to gain enough influence with Suna for them to accept an envoy from us, especially with the construction setbacks with Himitsu. I still haven't been able to create that seal for the underwater access of ships. Dark Tides will delay my research." Ashara mulled this over before stating firmly "We need to put things in motion. We have been able to hide here in Rice, but with Sanctuary's and the Namikaze's economic successes, too much attention will be brought upon us soon. Wheels are turning all over, we must move fast or be crushed beneath them."
"Don't worry, Ashara-sama, we'll get it done." Hidoki stated firmly. "We'll just have to make Suna listen to us, whether we have our hidden village completed or not." Ryuusuke smiled at her conviction and resolved to not let his people down.
Ashara grinned as well, before handing them each a mission scroll. "Take care then, and do your best to resolve this quickly. Be advised there is a substantial sum of money allocated to you both. You can use it for bribes or equipment, whatever you need, but be on the lookout for any valuable land you can get. Timber and mineral heavy areas to improve Himitsu's progress are vital. This will be your secondary mission, but we also need more land to build outposts for Rip Tide to operate out of safely as well. More information nodes, so that our agents don't have to travel as far to relay sensitive information." Ashara said gravely.
Both Ryuusuke and Hidoki nodded at the mention of the Uzumaki's spy network. Meticulously built over the last decade and a half, Rip Tide's relentless expansion and acquisition of new contacts meant that the trained agents were forced to oversee larger and larger areas. Sensitive information could be valuable for only a short time, and thus had to processed and delivered quickly. The training for a Rip Tide agent was at least a year and a half, but the net of contacts was growing much more quickly than new agents could be trained, much less recruited and vetted.
Ryuusuke and Hidoki marched out to pack for their mission. Ashara turned to stare out his bay window at the sprawling village of Sanctuary. The mention of Rip Tide brought the report on Konoha to the forefront of Ashara's mind. He had been procrastinating about dealing with the information Mirobu had given him, but he knew he could put it off no longer. He needed to send a ninja to assess the situation and avoid the white masked shinobi that had taken two of his contacts, and had almost taken Mirobu, one of his best analysts in Rip Tide.
The decision troubled him, but he tried to rationalize it. He told himself that the Uzumaki weren't feared anymore, and that the Leaf should not feel threatened by an Uzumaki "wanderer". Finally, irritated by his own vacillating, Ashara came to a decision. "Well, this could be a chance for him to make amends, and to prove he can keep his mouth shut when needed" Ashara thought.
Gokuru had remained firmly in the doghouse after the Wave debacle, more so in Mira's case than Ashara's though. He had been coming by the Clan Head's office regularly recently, hoping to find a way back into Ashara's good graces (also hoping for another Wave mission so he could see Kajumi). Ashara hoped that Gokuru had gotten his Hero complex satisfied, since he knew that Gokuru corresponded with this Kajumi girl regularly. Ashara planned for Gokuru to pave the way for Kennosuke-kun, whom Ashara intended to appoint Ambassador to the Leaf, while his brother worked on Suna.
If Mirobu's assumptions were correct, then the Uzumaki could possibly gain some significant leverage within Konoha. Especially if the construction on Himitsu could be completed in time. Then, the Leaf would have to answer for what happened (or didn't happen, in regards to reinforcements) during the Fall. Smiling to himself, Ashara told his secretary to summon Gokuru. "With Suna at our side, and the Leaf in our pocket, we could take great strides towards our revenge on the Coalition. The tides of fate are turning, the Uzumaki will rise again."
KONOHA- INUZUKA COMPOUND- AUGUST
Naruto and Kiba were locked in a heated spar, as Genma and Tsume observed. Kiba had instantly taken to the exuberant blonde when they were introduced. However his innate alpha tendencies, so long suppressed under his domineering mother and sister, had flared up so that he had wanted to be the "top dog" in his friendship with Naruto. This had planted the seeds of a friendly rivalry growing between the two. Of course Naruto proved to be just as stubborn, his pride not allowing him to be second to Kiba.
Naruto had filled out quite well after months of proper nutrition (guided by the iron hand of Chohiku) and regular training with Genma-sensei. Chohiku had changed his eating habits, even strong arming Teuchi to make Naruto eat vegetable dishes before he could have ramen. Between her and Genma, Naruto finally had access to fresh food, and a stable diet. At the expense of a few bullied grocers, of course.
Genma's intense training also had pushed Naruto's already impressive stamina and chakra reserves even higher. He had gotten a better hold over his chakra to a degree, allowing Genma to start introducing more ninjutsu training. Naruto even had an impressive growth spurt, standing a hair taller than Kiba now. All in all the scrawny, starved street urchin had been replaced by a promising youth who was definitely ready to take the Academy by storm in a couple months.
Naruto had even formed some deep friendships with Ino, Kiba, Hinata, Choji, and Shikamaru. Hinata had been allowed much more freedom, now that her mother Hyoko was pregnant with another possible heir. This meant that she could come out in the afternoons more regularly, and meet up with the group forming among the clan heirs. Ino loved having another girl around since she most often had been socializing with Choji and Shikamaru previously. Unfortunately (at least from Naruto's perspective) that also meant that Ko was around a lot more, and relations remained frosty between the two.
Genma had really taken to his first apprentice, and had taken it upon himself to get Naruto an education in the skills necessary for an aspiring Hokage. Naruto's training sessions after his morning workouts were just as often in diplomacy, strategic thinking, differing customs between nations and clans, matters of law, even etiquette, as often training physical skills. Naruto had proved to be an apt student, much to Genma's surprise, soaking up his teachings like a sponge. As long as Genma (or the other tutors Genma brought by) could keep Naruto's attention, he proceeded at a quick pace.
Genma had been surprised until he found out that Naruto had been forced to learn most life skills on his own, even teaching himself to read and write. Genma was proud of his pupil and was actually going to miss the blonde boy when he went to the Academy. Not to mention Naruto kept him entertained with his pranks, since they now featured a lot less graffiti and public destruction, and became more focused on certain civilians who shunned the jinchuuriki.
Genma had also recently realized that Naruto had begun creating a taijutsu style all his own instinctively, after regularly practicing with the Akimichi's grappling styles and the Inuzuka's striking styles. He was looking forward to when Naruto could handle working with his Guy Maito, Konoha's foremost taijutsu expert.
LAND OF WATER- SUMMONING ISLAND
Kennosuke had journeyed to the Summoning Island, looking for a Mantis to seal the Summoning contract. He was accompanied by the twins Kuruken and Kurusen, or Ken and Sen for short. The small party had made camp on a rocky plateau that overlooked a huge, heavily forested valley. Said valley was teeming with animals of unimaginable size and strength.
They had been on this island for several months, and although they had encountered a few Mantises, none had allowed themselves to be captured. Either they fought to the death or escaped. All the while many other species were trying to turn the Uzumakis into lunch. Kennosuke remained cool and unflappable, but the twins were nearing their breaking point. Especially after a rather dangerous attack by a gigantic Moth. Snakes or Spiders were one thing, but being eaten by a Moth was just insulting.
The Uzumaki hunting party had also been tremendously surprised to find they weren't the only people here. A small group of extremely brave (or foolish) scientists had set up a lab here, claiming to study the summoning animals for shinobi from the Land of Dreams. Kennosuke had his doubts about them, but he had decided to investigate them after resolving his Mantis contract situation. The twins were wary of them too, something about the whole thing didn't sit well with the Uzumakis. Especially because they had never heard of Land of Dreams ninja, or the Land of Dreams itself for that matter.
The three of them were currently traveling along the valley's mountainous rim, when Kennosuke suddenly stopped dead. He shaded his eyes as he peered at a large dust cloud that had abruptly erupted. He spotted what seemed to be a supremely powerful Mantis, larger than any other he had hunted so far. He watched, awestruck, as it defended its territory from a mammoth Centipede. He was instantly determined to make that Mantis his first summon, and ventured into the valley to find it.
Problem was the Mantis found him first, before he could set up any containment or trap seals. The Mantis burst from the tree line slashing at the hunting party who dove to the ground just in time. The attack felled many trees, creating an impromptu clearing. Kennosuke yelled out "Suiton: Piercing Water Bullets" and spat oblong, spiraling gobs of water out of his mouth. The watery spheres managed to push the Mantis back, but could not pierce it's thick carapace. Kennosuke immediately ordered Ken and Sen to withdraw and protect the Mantis summoning scroll.
The Mantis was still injured from his battle with the Centipede, so Kennosuke thought this was the best opportunity he was going to get. He needed to dominate the Mantis without killing or maiming it. He spun his staff expertly, as the giant Mantis swiped at him. Left, right, left, left, right, left, right, right, the strikes just kept hammering down on Kennosuke. He dove backward into the thick jungle foliage to gain some space. Concentrating his chakra through the seals on his staff, he activated one of the most powerful jutsus stored within.
"Suiton: Water Chains" Kennosuke cried. The giant Mantis' limbs were ensnared by heavy, thick chains of water. "Finally" Kennosuke said in relief, "throw me the summoning scroll" he cried to the twins. "Watch out Kennosuke-sama!" The Mantis had responded to its imprisonment by putting all its strength into one stab at the one who dared to conquer it. Amazingly, the claw was able to shoot forward towards the Uzumaki hunting party. Kennosuke realized that if he dodged, one of the twins would probably be skewered. He swung his staff up just in time to parry the claw above him, but the massive pressure of the claw's strike sent him flying backwards. Shakily he got to his feet, standing his ground before the imposing insect.
Surprising Ken and Sen, Kennosuke smiled and bowed deeply to his foe. "You are truly a worthy adversary, and I pledge to you that I will respect your strength for as I long as I draw breath" Kennosuke stated, before assuming an offensive stance. "However, I do not intend to lose to you!" Kennosuke cried as he stuck his staff in the earth at his feet. He desperately blurred through hand signs, while activating a seal on his staff that transported sea water from the seal he had placed underwater on the island's shoreline to power his jutsu. "Suiton: Water Dragon!" The giant water construct reared up and smashed against the Mantis pinning it to the rocky cliff behind it. Before the giant insect could recover, Kennosuke had jumped up onto its head, sticking to its carapace with chakra at eyelevel. He jabbed the iron ring of his staff an inch away from its eye. "Yield" came the steely demand.
MEANWHILE- KONOHA ACADEMY- NOVEMBER
Naruto stood at the entrance to the Ninja Academy, with a giddy smile. Genma put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, smiling down at him. "Well gaki, the Hokage had to pull some strings, but the Academy will allow you to enroll late and become an official student here. I don't think that you'll be too far behind though, what with an awesome sensei like me" Genma said, smiling and giving a thumb's up. "But anyway, do your best and try hard. I'm sure you'll do great. You've really grown from that little shrimp who couldn't throw a punch when I first met you" Genma chided, ignoring Naruto's responding indignant squawk.
"Now Naruto-kun, I'm proud of the effort you've put into our training. You've taken the first steps to becoming a fine shinobi. I'm also quite interested in that taijutsu style you've started developing while sparring with the Inuzukas and the Akimichis" Genma said warmly. Naruto looked up in wonder at his sensei when he called him "Naruto-kun" for the first time. He became sheepish at the mention of his new taijutsu style. "It's no style Genma-sensei, I just take what works, and what feels right. I just… react. I don't know how else to say it, really" Naruto admitted.
Genma laughed "and that's how styles are created Naruto-kun. Anyway, I'm going to return to my normal duties now that you're enrolling in the Academy. But, I want you to know that I'll be here if you ever need help. If you can't find me, just ask Hokage-sama, and he'll make sure I find you, ok?" Genma said. "Now, off you go Naruto-kun, make me proud and do your best!" Genma encouraged, giving Naruto a little push.
Surprisingly, Tsume had been the one to take it upon herself to outfit Naruto for the Academy. After he had shown up at a training session with Kiba in an orange jumpsuit eyesore, she had immediately grabbed him by the collar and dragged Naruto to a shinobi outfitting shop. Naruto had ended up with a tan vest with fur lined arm holes over a burnt orange shirt with a black Uzumaki swirl on the front, black cargo shorts, and black shinobi sandals. This was the best she could wrangle out of him, as he had been adamant about the green goggles adorning his forehead, for whatever reason.
Naruto ran towards the entrance, eager to prove himself and be worthy of Genma-sensei's teachings. "This is it! This is where I start to become Hokage! Watch out jiji, I'm coming for ya, dattebayo!" Naruto thought ecstatically.
That excitement waned over the next few months as Naruto quickly became bored with the pace of the classes. Genma-sensei had gone over most of the subject matter they were learning already. Not to mention the teachers treated Naruto like he didn't exist. Ignoring him for the most part, and insulting and degrading him if they deigned to notice him. Naruto just tuned out most of the time, daydreaming about becoming Hokage.
Which the teachers exploited by calling on him when his attention was obviously elsewhere, then deriding in him when he didn't know what the question was. They would purposefully not repeat the question and go straight to mocking him. This gained him a reputation of being somewhat of a moron. The staff were hoping that he would just get the hint and quit, but it just made him all the more determined.
Weeks passed and the weather was at its coldest, spring soon to come. Naruto was trudging to school, since he had skipped too many days recently, and if he accumulated too many absences, he'd be thrown out. The path to being a shinobi lay through the Academy, so he had to put up with it, for now. Picking his head up when he passed through the gate, he noticed Hinata off to the side, obviously waiting for someone.
The one thing that made the Academy bearable was Naruto's friends, so Naruto decided to wander over and wait with her. When she saw him approaching, she started getting redder and redder. "Huh, I wonder if Hinata is sick?" thought Naruto idly. "Ne, Hinata what's up? You waiting for someone?" Naruto called out. Hinata ducked her head down before nodding quickly. "H-Hai, Naruto-kun. I-I was waiting for you" she said quietly. Naruto was pleasantly surprised. "For me? What can I do for you?" he asked. "W-Well, d-do you re-remember when you f-fought those b-bullies for m-me?" she replied. Naruto was confused, since joining his tight circle of friends Hinata had been stuttering less and less, mostly due to Ino and Naruto boosting her confidence. He thought this relapse meant that those bullies had found her again and finished what they had started before.
"Did they mess with you again? I'll teach them to mess with my friends! Where are they?" Naruto declared, fists clenched as he looked around for possible targets. "N-No! No Naruto-kun, t-that's n-not what I-I meant." Blushing like mad, she bent down to pick up a wrapped package that Naruto hadn't noticed sitting behind her.
"I-I felt s-so bad when t-they tore your s-scarf, and I w-wanted to say th-thank you for h-helping me, s-so here." Hinata thrust the package at Naruto while looking anywhere but at his face. Naruto took the brown paper bundle, intrigued. When Hinata still refused to meet his eyes, he shrugged and ripped it open. As the paper fell away, Naruto's jaw dropped in shock. There in his hands was the scarf Miyuki had gave him, repaired, the pieces reattached with red and orange yarn.
Naruto was struck speechless and his hands tightened around the scarf as tears threatened to fall. Hinata finally looked up at Naruto face and immediately misinterpreted the look on his face. Thinking she had done something wrong she started to apologize, but was cut off by Naruto wrapping her up in a bone crushing hug, whispering "thank you" over and over. The still-shy girl's brain shorted out at the close contact, and she fainted.
It took Naruto a second before he realized Hinata was out cold. When her fainting spells around him had started about a month ago, Naruto had been very worried. His friends assured him it was nothing to be concerned about, and he had always felt they were very amused about something. Used to it now he just shrugged, picking up Hinata and carrying her into class.
KAWA PASS SEA CHANNEL- OFF THE WEST COAST OF THE TEA PENINSULA
Ryuusuke was standing at the prow of Tatsuya's flagship, the Dusky Rose, basking in the thrill of the hunt. Sea spray misted his smiling face as his eyes remained locked on the hulking cargo ship lumbering ahead. Tatsuya's daughters' ships, the Fury and the Fortune, raced along on either side tacking out to flank their prize as the Rose chased her. Ryuusuke had engraved seals along the keels of the three ships while in dry dock. The seals were part of his work with Himitsu's underwater entrance. The seals allowed the ships to ride higher in the water, lessening resistance. They also funneled the energy of the water being displaced at the bow to gather at the stern and reverse direction, effectively creating perpetual motion that propelled the ships forward. The seals could be controlled by an engraved wood handle next to the helm, acting like a throttle. These were undoubtedly the fastest ships afloat anywhere.
They had made great use of this speed to capture prize ships up and down the Kawa Pass. The Freebooter's Pact had called all the buccaneers of the Sakuru Sea together, and the effects of their raids were felt deeply in the countries of Tea, Rivers, Sakura, Sea, and Nature. Nature, Sakura, and Sea countries were the southern island nations neighboring the Tea peninsula. These countries had long been in Tea's shadow, and paid tithes to be protected by Tea and its merchant-marine navy. The Freebooter's still mostly left Wind and Fire ships alone… for now.
The first stage of Dark Tides had been to gather the pirates of the Sakuru together, then improve their armaments. The second stage had been implemented when the Namikaze family, along with the many merchant families with whom they dealt, had banded together to form the Free Market Merchant Alliance. A long winded name, the organization was usually just called the Free Market or Market. The purpose of the Market was to provide a challenger to the vastly powerful Elemental Merchants Guild, which held sway in Wind, Rivers, Fire, Sakura, Nature, Wave, and Sea countries. It just so happened to have its headquarters in politically neutral Tea.
This directly challenged the group that controlled the flow of goods and money in the entire southern half of the Elemental Nations. The goal of this elaborate plan was to give the Uzumaki's the economic influence they would need to pressure their smaller neighbors into allying with them while compelling the Wind daimyo to heavily favor Sunagakure once more, as long as Suna aided them of course. The next step was to attack and gut the fleets of the Guild and Tea. This plan would impoverish the Market's rivals, steal their influence, and gain control of the waters around Sanctuary and Himitsugakure in one fell swoop. Not to mention making the clan hideously wealthy off the prize money and increased trade. Toshi had been rather proud of it.
But right now, Ryuusuke was just focused on the hunt. The merchant ship was heading for a misty cloudbank rolling off the coast. If they slipped into that, they may escape. Ryuusuke snarled before shouting "More speed! We must get them before the fog does!" During the quiet times in between raiding ships, he worried about the thrill he got while pirating. This was supposed to be a mission, but he couldn't deny that he enjoyed certain aspects of the pirate life. The challenge of hunting down merchant ships being one of them. He enjoyed challenges, that's why fuinjutsu so enthralled him, since it offered endless challenges. And endless possibilities.
The call of a horn from the Fury sounded as she jibed from the left side of the merchant vessel to cut across its stern close enough to attack its rudder. The Fury unleashed a broadside from its cannon that destroyed the rudder and shredded the captain's cabin. Adrift, the ship quickly struck its colors, signaling its surrender. Ryuusuke could just barely make out the name of the ship above the ruined cabin, the Kono. Cheers could be heard from the three ships as the Kono was flying the flag of the Elemental Merchants Guild, which meant a fat haul for everyone. The Fury and the Fortune cut sail to come alongside the merchant vessel, throwing grappling hooks to bring the ships tight together.
Pirate boarding parties started swarming hastily set gang planks and even swung down from the rigging to claim their prize. Ryuusuke was a little disappointed, he had hoped for at least a token resistance. A contest of some sort. A meaty hand appeared on his shoulder as Tatsuya read his mood. "Ah, my friend, it is always good to claim a prize. But what is gold without glory, hmm?" Tatsuya smirked as Ryuusuke blushed a bit at being read so easily. "You may be in the wrong line of work, my dear Ryuusuke. Pirate-hunting, perhaps? I could hear your blood singing all the way from the quarterdeck" Tatsuya chided as he surveyed the prize his family had taken.
"No offense Kaizoku-ou, but I know where I belong. Doesn't mean I wouldn't turn down a decent challenge while I'm stuck out here with you sea rats." Ryuusuke shot back as he turned to his friend. "If I have to endure any more of your poetry without being able to kill someone-"Ryuusuke was cut off as chests on the foredeck at the front of their captured prey exploded, killing many pirates. Hidden cannon ports sprang open both port and starboard, unloading full broadsides into the Fury and the Fortune. Merchant-marines shouted battle cries as they sprang forth from their concealment to engage the pirates hand-to-hand.
"You just had to say it didn't you? You just had to jinx it" Tatsuya groused as he began shouting orders to his crew. When Ryuusuke made to run off, Tatsuya stopped him with a hand planted on his chest. "If anything happens to either of my daughters, you and I are going to have words later" Tatsuya growled with a steely gaze boring into Ryuusuke. Ryuusuke just nodded grimly before leaving to check on their supposed prey.
As Ryuusuke jumped from the Dusky Rose to the merchant ship, he felt a familiar form come up beside him. Looking over to Hidoki, he quickly issued terse orders. "Search and suppress all hostiles, find and secure all weapons and the main magazine, hide your shinobi skills unless necessary, then we aid the wounded." Hidoki just nodded as she drew her sabre, getting ready as troops rushed the two of them.
When the Kono fired its cannon, it had signaled ships waiting in the fog. Eight Tea naval vessels plus a pirate ship named the Lusty Wench, came gliding out towards the entangled quartet of ships. "Starboard bow ahoy!" cried a man in the Fortune's rigging. Kochume looked up, then spun around to bring a spyglass to her eye. She cursed when she saw nine ships bearing down on them. She ran to the poop deck at the very back of her ship and shouted across the water to the Fury. "Maora-nee sama! Ships incoming! It's a trap!" she warned her sister.
A tall, busty young woman with short, spiky slate-grey hair, one eye a piercing blue, the other covered by an eyepatch turned angrily from the marine attacking her. She absently blocked a sword strike then cut the offending marine down with her cutlass while staring at the incoming ships with a snarling visage. "Chu-chan! Break off and circle to port! Do you hear me Chu-chan!? Break off and swing about! Do it now!" she yelled back. The captain of the Fury was a fiery, fearless, and altogether bold woman in almost all things; but when it came to her little sister, Maora was doting, loving, and extremely protective.
The Fortune managed to break off and escape to open water before marines aboard the Kono threw grappling lines, fouling the Fury's rigging and further entangling the two ships. "All hands! Abandon the gun posts! Loaders, cut away those fucking hooks and dress that shit that used to be my rigging! Spongers and gunners, arm yourselves and help the boarding party! Kill any asshole who dares stand against you! Get us the hell away from this accursed ship, for fuck's sake." Maora marched back to the helm of her ship, growling out orders to the now reassigned cannon crews. The Rose swung out to port, using the Kono as a shield between her and the oncoming ships.
The Fortune tacked quickly to starboard and swung away from the Kono, before drifting out a bit more to gain a better sight line for their gunners. It ended up with the Kono dead in the water, the Fury lashed alongside her left railing, and the Tea ships approaching from her right side. The Dusky Rose was flanked out behind the front of the Kono to its left while the Fortune was flanked out behind the back of the Kono, both ships with their prows pointing out away from the Kono. The three ships could hold the defensive triangle pattern for a bit, but the oncoming armada was very troubling. Not to mention the still vicious fighting aboard the Kono itself. Tatsuya saw this and was beside himself as he listened to his beloved daughters cry out to each other.
"Maora-nee sama!" "Don't worry Chu-chan!" "Maora-nee sama!" "Eyes on target, Chu-chan! Fortune needs you to focus!" The Tea ships spread out, three ships forming a center while three ships spread to each flank in a crescent moon formation. Tatsuya called out to Ryuusuke as the opposing forces started trading sparse cannon fire to test the range. The pirates were already turned sideways to unload full broadside attacks, but the simple number superiority of the Tea armada made them more dangerous.
After a few traded cannonades, Ryuusuke looked up from the Kono's foredeck after he and Hidoki had secured the upper decks of the ship. His gaze darted from ship to ship, quickly assessing the situation. He had been expecting a heavy response at some point, since the Freebooter's had been taking a lot of merchant and Tea navy ships lately. The Sekimoto family, and their ships and men, were too valuable to lose. Ryuusuke nodded to himself as he made a decision while the Tea ships closed in.
"Tatsuya! I need you to break off and run!" Tatsuya looked over to him in shock and anger. "What!? What the hell are you saying Ryuusuke?" he shot back. "Go Tatsuya! Run! Do it and let them see you do it! Then I'm going to need you to pull an Ivan!" Ryuusuke ordered. Tatsuya was perplexed for a moment before a devious smile crawled across his face. He nodded sternly to Ryuusuke before turning to give the order. When told the same, Kochume balked for moment before grimly turning to give her own orders.
The Rose and the Fortune swung away in opposite directions from the Kono, appearing to abandon their trapped ship. The Tea admiral lowered his spyglass when he noticed this. "Hmmph! Sea rats indeed! Look how they scurry, leaving their comrades behind without a second's hesitation. Split the fleet around the Kono. Push the line forward, I want those ships taken or sunk immediately" he order. His deck master saluted crisply, before running off to carry out his command.
Some of the Tea ships had started trading shots with the Rose and the Fortune as they raced away in opposite directions from the intertwined Kono and Fury. Jagged shards of wood and metal were flying everywhere as ships fired at will. Ryuusuke surveyed the carnage grimly, waiting for the first of the encircling Tea ships to start passing by, chasing after their quarry. He knew it was time.
Nodding firmly to himself, "broken arrow" he said to Hidoki. She spun to Ryuusuke in shock, "what? What did you say?" Casting a minor voice-amplification jutsu, Ryuusuke caused his order to boom out over the waves. "Now hear this! All forces, Broken Arrow! Repeat, Broken Arrow!" All of a sudden, destructive jutsu lanced out from each of the Freebooter's ships to strike out at the Tea armada as the Uzu ninja seeded among the Sekimoto pirate forces revealed their true nature. A handful of Uzu ninjas vaulted from their respective vessels and charged across the water at the attacking ships.
Cannon balls and crossbow bolts shot out at them, erupting and spouting up geysers of water. The corpses of the unfortunate sank into the unforgiving waters. The Uzu-nin responded with blades of wind that shredded sails, bullets of stone that tore hulls, and gouts of flame that roasted flesh. The Rose and the Fortune took the opportunity to fire cannonade after cannonade at the invading force. The crew of the Fury had taken control of the Kono when the Uzu-nin had revealed their true abilities, dispatching the remaining defenders quickly.
The Tea admiral looked on as the fleeing ships continued to shed ninja while they ran. He turned to his first mate. "That smacks of desperation, don't you agree? What cowards" he spat. "Sir, we should be wary. They have a disturbing number of ninja, more than we were led to believe" his first mate spoke up. The admiral eyed him haughtily "The last two ships of these Freebooter scum had ninja. We sank them, did we not? We have the weather gauge, thus we have the advantage and will control this battle. Besides, they left their ninja out on the water to die. These pirate filth lack the stomach for a true battle."
The admiral haughtily turned away to lift his spyglass again, the conversation obviously over in his opinion. The first mate noticed that the majority of the ninja being killed out in the water were popping into smoke as they fell. He was about to speak up again, but decided not to push his luck. Besides, who could tell with ninja? Maybe that's just how some of them died. Looking over to his master gunner, the first mate gave orders to start using sweeps of grape shot from the cannon. That should clear the waters of these pesky ninja.
Below decks in the Kono, the new owners were waiting for the last of the Tea fleet to come into range. Without a rudder, the Kono could only fire at the Tea ships approaching straight at them. These happened to be the ships in the center as the two flanks were still moving around to chase the Rose and Fortune. Ryuusuke was hurriedly looking through the ammunition locker, when he suddenly gave a shout of triumph.
"Perfect! I was hoping these would be here! Every one, hurry! Load these and fire when I tell you. Any shinobi left in here?" When he spotted a few hands go up, he smirked and rubbed his hands together. "Good, now get up on deck and hide, but don't attack until I signal. The signal will be a fireball in the air between the ships. When you see that, slip quietly over to the Tea ships and try to take out any commanding officers you can recognize. Any of you with shadow clone ability, this is the perfect time to use them. Use as few wide range destructive jutsu as possible. Go."
As the ninja ghosted away, and the gun crew got to work, Hidoki sidled up to Ryuusuke with a playful smile. "What is that evil genius mind of yours up to now, Ryuu-kun?" she asked. Ryuusuke turned to her in mock indignation. "How could you forget Doki-chan? It's obviously my birthday, since Tea was nice enough to give me a fleet" he responded. "Now I just have to go out and accept my presents" Ryuusuke stated before striding forward to the gun batteries. Hidoki just rolled her eyes as she followed.
The gun crews finished loading just as the center ships were about to split around the Kono. Ryuusuke hurriedly gave last minute orders. "Fire!" Ryuusuke shouted. The guns of the Kono erupted, spewing flame and metal. The cannons loaded with chain-shot aimed for the masts of the ships. Twin metal balls spun toward the masts, a thick chain attaching them. One unfortunate marine was caught in between a shot and the main mast, the chain nearly cutting him in two before the balls swung around and crushed him. Masts and rigging were decimated, slowing the ships and crippling one.
The other guns had been loaded with grape shot, canvas bags filled with metal balls and shuriken. These were aimed a bit lower, sweeping the upper decks clear of soldiers and gunners as the hail of metal cut them down. "Excellent! Reload, same firing assignments! Two more volleys, then go help the Fury's men. Hidoki on me" Ryuusuke said, he then turned and slipped out one of the gun ports down to the water. "Kami, I love it when he's so commanding" Hidoki followed with a small blush.
Hidoki covered Ryuusuke as he snuck up to the only remaining functional ship as the Kono's three volleys had crippled a second, which was the flagship. He placed low yield explosive tags that he had modified to explode in a certain direction onto the rudder. He usually used these for blowing open locked doors. Just to be safe, he placed many more along the hull at the waterline. Looking up, he read the ship's name. "Scourge of the Sea, huh?" he thought with a snort "how modest".
The seals placed, Ryuusuke shot a fireball straight up, where it exploded into a shower of sparks. Tatsuya and Kochume smiled, crying out in near unison on their respective ships "Crazy Ivan! Crazy Ivan!" Oars came out of the Dusky Rose's right side, while oars came out of the left side of the Fortune all dipping into the water. Sea anchors were released on the same side as the oars, while Tatsuya and Kochume throttled back on the movement seals. Both ships turned sharply to face each other with the Tea fleet between them. The oars were shipped back into the boats and release catches hit, causing the chains holding the sea anchors to fall into the sea.
Tatsuya and Kochume then both waited impatiently for the sails to be dropped before they shot the seal throttles forward, hurtling their respective vessels forward past the pursuing ships. The Tea ships were caught flat footed and couldn't change course fast enough to stop the Rose or the Fortune. The Uzu-nin had been waiting for this opportunity. "Suiton: Tidal Wave" "Fuuton: Great Breakthrough" Massive waves formed to the Tea ships' port sides, while gales of wind gusted into their top sails. Five of the six pursuit ships were lifted out of the water and capsized. The Fortune quickly came up on the one reaming upright ship's stern and raked it with broadsides from its cannon.
The Fortune quickly came alongside and boarded, slaughtering the shell shocked marines aboard with the help of the ninja. The Tea admiral was in denial as his fleet's fortunes were suddenly and viciously reversed. The Fury had finally recovered enough to limp along around the Kono and join in the fight with the three ships that still had soldiers remaining. The Rose and the Fury pulled alongside the flagship and boarded it. The marines had surrendered quickly though, when ninjas had assassinated their commanders like vengeful wraiths.
Tatsuya laughed when he came aboard to see one of Ryuusuke's badger summons scampering around on all fours, clawing at the base of the main mast. On a spar horizontally attached to the mast, a foppish man in a ridiculously embroidered ceremonial uniform was clinging to it with his arms and legs. Every time his ass drooped down, the badger would jump up and claw at it, eliciting a girlish scream from the man. The man actually started crying when his absurdly large admiral's cap fell off and the badger pounced on it, tearing it to pieces.
"Let me down! Have you no honor? Have you no honor!?" the admiral pleaded. "Mujinaren, that's enough. Get the fool down" Ryuusuke laughed. The badger just stopped chewing on the hat, and stood up. Mujinaren shrugged "as you wish, Ryuusuke-sama." The Badger looked up at the shocked man. "Too bad, I was going to get me an ear too." The admiral sputtered before getting out "it... it can TALK!?" He lost his grip in his surprise to go crashing to the deck.
The onlookers just laughed as he flopped on the deck, trying to regain his breath. Ryuusuke walked forward and caught the crowd's attention. "Alright, alright enough fun and games. Let's get these ships collected. Bring the prisoners together in the hold of the Kono. Get those capsized boats righted before they take too much water, and secure any remaining marines aboard. Boys and girls, we got ourselves a fleet." The pirates and ninjas around him all cheered, before they went off to carry out their tasks.
Tatsuya grabbed the admiral and hoisted him to his feet. "Well my fabulously dressed friend, how can we repay such generosity? A whole fleet just for us? You have our deepest thanks." Tatsuya swept off his tri-corner hat and gave an elaborate bow. Straightening, he turned to Ryuusuke. "What shall we do with him?" Ryuusuke just shrugged "I'm sure he'll fetch a good price from Tea" and walked off with Hidoki following.
IWAGAKURE- DUNGEONS
Chains clinked softly in a dank, dark cell deep beneath the Tsuchikage's Tower. A rat chittered as it scuttled along the base of the rough-hewn wall, its nose twitching nervously. Suddenly the clank of chains and a startled squeak could be heard, before a wet crunching as the rat was devoured. The sound of a door being opened caused the creature to abandon its meal to retreat to the darkest corner of the cell. It huddled in nervous expectation as footsteps echoed in the hall outside its cage.
The cell door opened and the creature flinched from the invasion of light as its familiar darkness was stripped away. The light revealed a wretched boy of around 9 or 10 years old, clad only in rags and chains. Filthy, spiky red hair shadowed haunted eyes that peered fearfully out at the menacing figure in the doorway. As the figure spoke, its rasping voice clawed its way down the boy's spine, leaving terror and despair in its wake. "So you're still alive, are you?" A long, serpentine tongue slithered out and licked the figure's lips menacingly, as a dark, inhuman chuckle escaped. "Kukuku. Such a prize specimen, you will give me such superb data."
Almost mechanically, the boy felt his gaze dragged inexorably to meet the merciless observation of the sinister yellow eyes regarding him, which had slit pupils like a snake... or a demon. The child curled into a ball, huddling in fear as the figure approached. The cell door swung shut, muting a child's screams and unholy laughter.
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A/N- I'm happier with this chapter than the last one, I hope you agree. I realized that I had screwed up my timeline and had to cram things into the last chapter, while rushing a few in this one. I am trying to keep somewhat to the canon timeline, and I feel like we're back on track.
I thank you all for taking the time to read and follow my humble story. I really appreciate all the feedback I get in reviews, as well. I haven't left many reviews on this site, and I'm grateful for those that take the time to do so with me.
Oh, and kudos to reviewer Wabadoo for catching the Hearthstone easter egg I put in Chpt. 2. Cheers!