CHAPTER SIX
"Kukukukukukukukukukukukuku" Orochimaru's creepy laugh reverberated throughout the dimly lit cave. "What do we have here? the Kyuubi jinchuuriki in my possession."
"He's here to make a deal" Kabuto said from beside the Snake sannin, both of them staring at the Blonde Jinchuuriki standing opposite of them. After an unlikely encounter between Naruto and Kabuto, followed by some vicious threats, Kabuto had wisely choose to lead him here.
"Ohh! Lets hear it" Orochimaru said amused. What could Naruto want with him of all people? 'Sure he must have heard of me'
"He wants…" Kabuto started to say but Orochimaru simply held up a hand. "Let him speak for himself"
Connecting his impassive gaze to that of Orochimaru, Naruto said, "I want your minions". He did not have time for niceties. Surprise actually showed on Orochimaru's face, not because of the strange request but because of how matured his voice sounded. He was expecting the voice of a kid, but it was different, much like that of Minato.
"To do what?" He asked composing himself.
"That is mine to decide" Naruto replied in an even tone. Both sides are equal in this transaction.
Kabuto stood quietly by the sideline watching the transaction go smoothly. He was half expecting Naruto to cower away in fear when he came face to face with Orochimaru. Orochimaru has been known to make fully-grown men piss themselves just by staring into his eyes, yet Naruto was managing was managing it without as much as batting an eyelash.
"What do you offer in return?" Orochimaru asked leaning back into his throne. If he was right, Naruto would offer the release of the Kyuubi, but he didn't need that, just not yet.
The floor around Naruto darkened a little, shadow tendrils rising out of it. The tendrils kept circling around Naruto like a controlled inferno.
"Kagemane?" Orochimaru asked raising an eyebrow, "although the offer of how you got your hands on it is tempting, I need something else"
He and Naruto stared each other down for a few minutes before he felt a tiny shift in Naruto's Chakra. Orochimaru looked on expectantly; the shadows receded to be replaced by wood tentacles that rip open the floorboard. Naruto watched as the hunger rose to Orchimaru's eyes. Such possessiveness would be his downfall, no matter, it was necessary for his plan. Showing this little couldn't do him harm.
"You asked for something else," Naruto said seeing as Orochimaru was not about to say anything. Sunset was approaching; he would rather miss this than the sunset. The Past-experiences were practically his now, no problem keeping a few personalities.
"One more thing" Orochimaru said looking at Naruto at the spot he stood unmoving since the beginning of the bargain. "How did you avoid me in the forest?" Orochimaru asked. This time Naruto raise a dramatic eyebrow.
"Like this" Orochimaru heard from right beside him. Orochimaru quickly disappeared from the spot, reappearing beside Kabuto.
"Show yourself" Orochimaru demanded as he could not see who it was. Another exact copy of Naruto materialised into existence. Orochimaru almost demanded what was going on when he remembered to keep his dignity. He did ask a question afterall.
"How long have you been there?" Orochimaru asked looking back to the first Naruto.
"I think I gave enough information" the Naruto beside the throne replied sitting on the throne, "now do we have a deal?"
"How dare…" Orochimaru started
"Have them ready in two months time" the first Naruto said before both disappeared into a ripple.
"How come I don't know about that ripple jutsu?" asked Orochimaru.
"Must be the third, any information concerning Naruto always vanish mysteriously." Kabuto explained.
Orochimaru's hysteric laughter came back full force. Konoha is grooming another Madara, but that Madara would be him after he take that body.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Hiruzen we should do something about Naruto, I don't believe in that civilian façade one bit." Koharu said aggravated. Over the one month break, Naruto had reverted to a strictly civilian lifestyle. His reason, no one knows like all the other things concerning Naruto.
"I think he should attend a session with Ibiki, Maybe what we need is a little understanding of his psyche to better understand him" Inoichi reasoned. "Using force would backfire, rather horribly I would say"
"That would actually worth some thought if we can get him to go" Chouza said from the clan head table.
"Or you can just all leave him alone" Shikaku advised, "Troubling him might start creating tension between him and the village"
"He started creating it already" Hiashi countered.
"We'll decide after the final exam" Hiruzen concluded the meeting.
"Hokage-sama, the warehouse, what is he keeping in it?" Hiashi asked. They almost forgot about it.
"Nothing, according to Jiraiya" the Hokage replied.
FLASHBACK
"It has only been two weeks and Naruto is already up to something again" Jiraiya said sitting across the Hokage in the Hokage office. "I'm starting to think Kushina is still leaving on inside him"
"It's only a warehouse" Hiruzen replied unperturbed
"Come to think of it, where did he get the money to buy such a huge mass of land?"
"I don't know how he's been managing that since he left the orphanage" Hiruzen said unsure.
"Maybe he found a hidden treasure" Jiraiya said meaning for it to be a joke. If only he knew correct he was.
"Why don't you go and see what in it, I'm sure he won't stop you from entering."
"What about the Hyuuga, couldn't they just look through it" Jiraiya wondered
"No Byakugan could do it, what they see is behind it whenever they try to look in it." Hiruzen decide to go into details, "Same applies to everything he owns. He doesn't overload it with chakra like the normal method, it just won't work. He doesn't even have to be there for the effect to remain."
Hiruzen explained, he could as well say everything now since Jiraiya would be meeting Naruto face to face, and he won't be around for much longer. "Such obstacle and others like it have made understanding Naruto impossible for us."
"I've missed much already" Jiraiya said disappointed, it might not have been like this if he was around."
"Maybe you should offer him training; I'm not sure what the outcome will be but it doesn't hurt to try."
Naruto stood on a ladder at present, his loose shirt blowing slightly. The clangs of a hammer hitting nail reverberating through the empty colossal warehouse. The location of the warehouse just suits his need perfectly, it wasn't in the Konoha streets like his apartment. It was quiet and secluded, and on the outskirt of a rice farm, a perfect place to live. He would have used Moukuton to do it, but that would have brought unfettered attention to him, and he needed to regulate the flow of his Chakra, the Hyuuga kid disrupted the calm pace he fixed for it.
"What do you want Jiraiya?" Naruto said not stopping his work.
"Hello Naruto" Jiraiya greeted from atop a ledge far beside Naruto. He wasn't even surprised Naruto knew his name, He did after all join hand in attacking Naruto the last time.
"Hello" Naruto greeted back over the clangs of his swinging hammer.
"I never knew you know Carpentry"
"I used to know a carpenter" Naruto replied curtly.
"Don't you think this place is too massive for a warehouse?" Jiraiya asked from up the almost thirty feet high Massive building
"Why are you here?" Naruto asked again, they were getting distracted.
"I can teach you" Jiraiya said looking at Naruto, he could not see a nail bag in sight, or any other tool for that matter. All the woods looked to be decorated with highly proportioned gears. "For the third part of the exam" He added when he noticed Naruto stopped working.
"What can you teach me?" Naruto asked as he proceeded with his work.
"I can teach you to summon" Jiraiya replied instantly glad he could gain a little control in the conversation
"I don't need it" Naruto said uninterruptedly
"What!" Jiraiya exclaimed disbelievingly, what Ninja would deny the assistance of a Summon. Maybe Naruto didn't know what a Summon is. "Naruto if you had a Summon, you could call…"
"Jiraiya, I don't need it" Naruto paused to get the point across. He wasn't in need of hindrances when he could create his. A few minutes of silence ensued.
Jiraiya decide it was time to speak. "I could teach you the Rasengan" If Naruto agreed, he
would at least have one more thing that belonged to his parent, beside his obvious teleporting skill.
"Show me" Naruto demanded. From his memories it was a feared technique but he never had any chance to see it physically. Jiraiya extended his palm outwards, blue chakra collecting at the tip of each finger. The chakras suddenly picked a fixed pattern as they turn to a spinning blue ball suspended above Jiraiya's palm.
"Is that it?" Naruto asked looking a bit disappointed.
"What do you mean is that it? Not every jutsu has to be flashy" Jiraiya said insulted, he spent a lot learning this technique.
"Instead teach me your one thousand needle technique" Naruto said looking at Jiraiya
"How do you know about?" Jiraiya questioned as if forgetting who he was talking to. Naruto ignored him to focus his attention back on his work.
"You are not supposed to know about" Jiraiya said again, trying to pass his point across, but what answered him were the clangs of hammer.
FLASHBACK ENDS
Naruto currently stood in a dark room looking at the eagle's claw pedestal, or rather, observing the meteorite emitting purple chakra radiation which sat on it, the civilian who appeared to him on their introduction day standing beside him.
"What did you say was the name this village?" Naruto asked
"Hidden star village" the person replied with a matching tone. Naruto enveloped his hand with shadow before taking hold of the so called star. However doing that triggered the security alarm.
"A commotion is starting outside" the person announced not a bit worried
Outside the pavilion
"Hoshikage-sama" A ninja knelt in front of Akahoshi waiting for order to speak.
"Go ahead"
"Something weird is happening at the village square. A huge amount of mist is rising from the ground and it is quickly turning to fog. We can't explain it because the sky is clear and no moisture should be present by this time of day"
Akahoshi stood up to confirm the information; he walked right past the kneeling ninja and straight out of the Hoshikage's residence. True to what the ninja had said, the village was almost completely wrapped up in the fog. The ground looked like it had just finished raining. He thought of what could cause the strange phenomenon; he wracked his brain a little and quickly arrived at the answer. The star, he took a running start before purple wings grow out of his back which shot him into the sky, the pavilion his destination.
Akahoshi arrived at the dojo to find the trainees sprawled all over the floor, some dead some unconscious. A civilian stood at the edge of the training dojo holding a sword dripping blood to the floor. A long blonde-haired teenager stood behind him facing away from them.
"Hello!" the civilian greeted flicking the sword to get the blood off it. The smile on his face allowed the view of a longer than normal canine.
"Who are you? What are you doing here? Where did you take the star?" Akahoshi asked in rapid succession.
"That is a lot of question you are asking" the person replied.
"Take care of him" with that, Naruto walked into a ripple and disappeared out of sight.
"I'll kill you today" Akahoshi said ready to start a fight.
"You should not be worrying about me, think of your villager's safety." The person said before disappearing also.
"What do you mea…?" Akahoshi started but realisation dawned on him, "the fog, son of a bitch"
Akahoshi jetted out the way he came in.
Naruto stood on the valley overlooking the village, he watched as the village got completely covered in thick fog. He should not leave without leaving them a parting gift.
Akahoshi arrived back at the village just in time to shout for the villagers to get indoors but the fog already penetrated every single home. There was no escape.
The word Ninpo:Gyan(False Darkness) resonatedthroughout the village. The electric volts that followed lasted a good five minutes. Crackles of electricity and cries of electrocuted villager reached Naruto's ear as he watch on apathetically. Naruto watched from his position above the village as his lightning went on independent search for any life signs in the fog. A ripple broke beside Naruto as the brown-haired civilian walked out of it.
They both stood side by side overlooking the village as the lightnings died down. Somehow some humans still managed to survive the blitz. Must be the shielding thing.
"What will you do now? You would have been disqualified by now" the civilian-dressed ninja broke the silence.
"The final exam is of no importance. I expect you found the others" Naruto said, this chakra-giving meteorite was the second of the three gifts he gained from the memories, the first was the treasure chest with which he has been sustaining himself with all this years. The third holds more significance as it would cost more than just strength, preparation was needed.
"I did" the man answered.
"All eleven of them?"
"Yes" It was a facility that housed dangerous criminals which was later broken down into splinter cells scattered all over the elemental nations.
"I would hate to be interrupted when everything is already going smoothly." Naruto said not directing it at anybody.
Naruto was about to retreat but he sensed more questions. "What is it?" Naruto asked
"Why are you dealing with Orochimaru? We can handle the task on our own. Orochimaru can not be trusted"
"He is in possession of something I desire" Naruto replied not peeved a little. The question was understandable; Orochimaru was a sly snake, if his past deeds were anything to go by.
A ripple pierced the reality prompting the departure Naruto. But a purple Kunai crossed his path. Naruto turned his gaze to the bad-mannered child suspended above him, the purple wings behind the boy shone softly. The wings would have qualified for something of celestial nature except for the feeble kid it was attached to.
"You have trampled on my grandfather's dream and you are going to pay with your life. I will take vengeance for all my people that you have injured." Sumaru, the son of the previous Hoshikage ranted.
The way Naruto looked at him was akin to the Hokage looking at a pompous Genin. Naruto went to ignore him but two more kunais flew past him. Sumaru threw another round aiming for a direct hit. Getting annoyed at being interrupted, Naruto flicked his wrist, pitch black Kunais flying at an unseen speed sped toward the neophyte. Two of the Kunai went right through the oncoming chakra kunais, absorbing the Kunai like foam soaking up oil. Before Sumaru could think to defend, the wings behind him were subjected to the same fate. With nothing to hold him airborne, and strangely not being able generate another pair of wings, Sumaru fell back into the gorge.
The man beside Naruto watched on with admiration as Naruto dealt with the annoyance deftly, ever since they separated, he has rarely ever saw Naruto in action. With no more hindrance, Naruto departed not caring if somebody saw his features and would be able to trace him back to Konoha. The man followed soon after.
"Hokage-dono, what is going on here? Three of your participants are missing, one of which is already disqualified." Ai, the Raikage spoke irately. "I hope I haven't come here to waste my time." The only reason he was here had already been disqualified. He'd exercise this enough patience just to see the blonde look-alike, the brawls below were unlike anything of ninja nature.
"Will you exercise some patience, I'm sure they will be here" Hiruzen replied coolly, this was the second time he would be questioned. First by the Kazekage, now the uninvited Raikage was making enquiries.
The Raikage was about to retort when a commotion broke among the crowds, the cause being Naruto who just walked in and joined the spectators like he wasn't scheduled to have an exam today. Ai sat speechless, right in front was the carbon copy of the Yondaime, and he was tempted to move in closer to get a better look. The resemblance was too much, but why was he in civilian clothing. He shot a sideways glance at the Hokage who sat unworriedly, his opium releasing puffs of smoke into the air. He shifted his gaze to the Kazekage beside him, something akin to a glint in the kages eyes. He suddenly felt like he was the odd one out, he briefly wondered if he was the only one or if there were other Kages who also didn't know of this astonishing revelation.
In the spectator box
"Doesn't he know he's already disqualified" Kiba asked especially quiet. After Naruto's display of superiority back at the tower, saying his name out loud almost became a taboo among his age mates. Kiba was the most that wasn't tricked a bit with the lifestyle Naruto took up after the preliminaries.
"I don't think he's here to participate" Hinata supplied while looking at the attire Naruto had on. The appearance of Kakashi and Sasuke diverted the attention from Naruto to the centre of the arena.
It wasn't long before Orochimaru commenced the invasion, he was afraid Naruto might have known about his plan for Konoha and the old monkey may have been tipped.
The thousands of excited spectators all fell victims to the Genjutsu the invading Ninjas activated, save for a few who at least had ninja training of some sort.
Naruto sat on his chair, the Genjutsu washing over him harmlessly. Although he also planned something of similar nature, this invasion was poorly executed. He got up to leave the tainted atmosphere; he had no business with the war. He walked past a couple of Jounins engaging sand Nins. He was about to continue walking but an object flew into his path, his first thought was an enemy ninja playing hero but it was only Kakashi.
"What is it?" Naruto asked
"We are under attack by Sunagakure and Otogakure" Kakashi answered misinterpreting the question.
"I can see that" Naruto replied
"What!" Kakashi expressed his surprise, "don't tell me this is also none of your business"
"My point" Naruto replied, no reason to get himself in between Orochimaru and Konoha.
"But the village is being attacked; your village is under attacked" Kakashi reasoned much more calmly.
"My village was destroyed long ago, it…" Right then, someone pushed Naruto from the back, making him lean forward a little. Kakashi briefly wondered how the person was able to touch him before directing his gaze to the Ninja behind Naruto who had been dumb enough to not deliver a deadly strike on first contact. An enraged look flashed across Naruto's visage as he spins on his heel, he had been interrupted a lot today. He raked his gaze over the ninja before stopping on the Ninja's headband, a sound-nin. Although he would have preferred not to create another massacre today, no sound-nin would be leaving here alive today.
"Nar…" Kakashi started to say, but a bright yellow flash obscured his vision. What he originally wanted to asked was why Naruto said Konoha wasn't his village, but the question caught in his throat as he once again saw the fabled Hiraishin of his late sensei, but did it seem brighter, maybe because of Naruto's longer hair. Back to the matter at hand, Naruto took a few more flashy stops, sound-nins falling under his shiny sword; he never waited to see the effect of his strike as he proceeded into the village, he could care less about the Suna-nins that held fearful looks in their eyes when they saw with their eyes the legendry Hiraishin, he had business only with the sound-nins, except if a Suna nin had decided to provoke him also. Channelling his chakra in mid-flight, Naruto searched out all the Otokagure Nin present in the village. Just because he had a deal with their leader doesn't mean they would be spared of the insolence. With a light crackle which was barely audible, Naruto departed, using the would-be victims' chakra signature to teleport to them as opposed to the Yondaime's three pronged Kunai.
The arena went deathly silent after no trace of yellow could be seen anymore.