Disclaimer – Kishimoto owns Naruto and the characters therein.
.
Memories Of Others
Chapter 53
A Chunin Observed
.
"How do we do this?" Naruto asked almost half an hour later as the quartet sat in the small den that Kakashi had created via judicious use of doton jutsu.
Hinata shrugged to indicate that she didn't know while Kakashi stroked his chin in thought.
"Suien has a tendency to linger to gloat over his enemies after defeating them, so there's every chance he'll return briefly before dusk." Kakashi finally said. "Somehow, we need to contact the Jinchuuriki, check that she wants to leave Taki…"
"She does." Kurama stated. "I've been talking to Chomei."
Everyone looked at the large fox curiously and he glanced round. "What?"
"Chomei? But… how?" Kakashi asked.
"We Biju share a… I think you'd call it a Kekkei Genkei." Kurama finally answered after a long pause. "Any of us can talk with the others, we just need to concentrate to do so. It's easier when we're in a Host, it's one of the reasons I could cope with being inside those Uzumakis even though they never bothered to try and talk to me."
"Sorry." Naruto muttered.
"Yeah, you're my first Host who actually bothered to speak to me." Kurama half-growled, then he shook himself. "Sorry. I think I need to have another talk with Uncle Gama."
"Once this is over, I'll take you to him." Naruto promised and Kurama smiled briefly at him.
"Thanks. Anyway, we can talk to each other regardless of the distance between us, although since we're siblings, we usually don't want to. Family arguments and all that."
"Makes sense." Kakashi agreed as Hinata began stroking Kurama's fur to help him calm down. "So, what did you and… Chomei? Decide to do?"
"Simple, Chomei sent Fu here to meet you." A new voice said from the entrance.
.
"I have her in sight, Master." Shin declared, causing Orochimaru to give him a quizzical look.
"Shin, correct me if I'm wrong, but we're still in the Southern Bastion, correct?"
Shin nodded, not bothering to look around at the giant cavern they were standing in, its sides dotted with doorways and shafts, some of which were barred. "We are."
"And aside from all of my followers, the Sound Four and those odd young clones you've finally started to grow in the lab, it is just us two here, correct?"
"As always, my Master." Shin agreed while the newest member of the Sound Four, a woman named Guren, glowered at him.
"Then, how exactly do you have our target in sight?"
Shin motioned with one hand and a nearby rock seemed to ripple, turning into a small creature with a solitary out-sized sharingan. Moving on four stumpy legs, the dome-like entity waddled towards them.
"You actually managed to create them!" Orochimaru gasped, bending down to scoop up the creature. "Amazing!"
"Thank you, Master." Shin replied as Orochimaru examined the creature with all the joy of a young child given a new toy. "I only have a dozen of them at the moment and given our mission, I chose to have most of them placed near where the Jinchuuriki are known to live."
"They seem to use an integrated genjutsu to hide…" Orochimaru mused, turning the creature back upright and placing it gently on the ground, allowing it to waddle back to its former location. "Magnificent."
"Kabuto's aid was quite useful in overcoming several problems I had encountered in trying to create them." Shin demurred.
"He is rather gifted, isn't he?" Orochimaru agreed. "So, any other tricks you have with these?"
"Yes." Shin smirked. "I can use them as a means of transportation."
Orochimaru cocked an eyebrow at him. "So, you stand on them as they move?"
Shin's smirk widened. "No, Master. You remember how Obito can teleport?"
Orochimaru stared at him for a long moment, then his expression turned into a grin as predatory as Shin's.
"Shin, don't tell anyone about that." He commanded, then he looked round at his four guards. "The same goes for you as well."
"Yeah, like we want to end up like Tayuya." The six-armed one grumbled almost inaudibly.
"Exactly." Orochimaru purred.
.
Fu finished chattering to Kurama and looked around at her audience.
"Sorry, Fu didn't mean to ignore you. Fu was just happy to meet Chomei's big brother."
"I… think we got that." Naruto managed, pulling his shattered concentration back together. "So, since Kurama's told you why we're here, what's your decision?"
Fu's face fell. "Fu would love to come with you, but Fu can't." She sighed.
"But…" Naruto started before his eyes widened. "The seal that Suien mentioned. It's more than a control seal, isn't it?"
Fu nodded slowly and Kakashi leaned forwards. "Fu, I've studied under the Fourth Hokage and his Sensei, I'm more than adequate with fuuinjutsu. Naruto isn't as advanced, but he understands it almost intuitively. If you let us see the seal that Suien uses to control you, we may be able to find a way to negate it."
.
"Negate it?" Orochimaru asked curiously and Shin nodded, ignoring the Sound Four who had taken position in the trees around them with the exception of Guren, who had created a crystal dome for them to talk in, a dome that shielded them from any sensor-nin.
"They think there's a tracking Seal on the Jinchuuriki, possibly linked to a suicide one so if she gets beyond a certain distance from the one controlling her, the Seal activates and kills her."
"Meaning that the Nanabi would take several years to reform, placing the plan on hold until it does." Orochimaru nodded in understanding. "Well, far be it for little old me to interrupt them while they're removing that Seal."
Shin stared at him in confusion. "We're not striking while they're distracted, Master?"
"And have the Takigakure shinobi track us down in order to reclaim their weapon?" Orochimaru countered. "There is a reason that Takigakure has official treaties with all of the Great Five, Shin. They may not have many shinobi, but should they choose to use the substance known as Hero's Water, a Taki Genin can defeat even a Tokubetsu Jonin. Imagine what a Taki Jonin could do…"
Shin blinked, then shivered slightly.
"No, we're waiting for them to remove the Seal, then we'll swoop in and leave with her., using one of your remote viewing creatures… what do you call them, anyway?"
"I… hadn't really considered it." Shin admitted after several moments of thought. "Watchers?"
"As good a name as any, I suppose." Orochimaru sighed. "Anyway, we use your Watchers to escape, leaving the Konoha Shinobi unable to follow us and in position to take the wrath of the Taki Shinobi."
"An excellent plan, Master." Shin said and Orochimaru smirked.
"I know, Shin. I know."
.
Hinata looked on the verge of tears as she stared at the Seal that had been literally carved into Fu's upper back.
"This isn't good." Naruto finally stated. "If it was applied normally, I could counter it, but by actually cutting it like that… dammit!"
"Fu was unconscious when they did it." Fu offered, glancing at Hinata. "Fu doesn't remember more than waking up with a very sore back."
"Yeah…" Naruto grumbled, glancing at Kakashi. "Okay, I see two choices here. Jiraiya…"
"Or Uncle Gama." Kurama finished.
"It'll take a lot of chakra to summon him and if we try to take Fu there, the Seal will activate since it's out of range." Naruto sighed. "Ero-Sennin."
"Ero-Sennin." Kakashi agreed, his voice lacking any humor. "Can you fetch him?"
"He'll need time to prepare." Naruto replied. "Fu… I hate to do this, but it's getting dark and the person who can help you will need light to work in."
"Fu understands." Fu said as she accepted her top from Hinata and shrugged it on, then pulled her red backpack over. "Fu will come back tomorrow, yes?"
"We'll have a full meal waiting for you." Naruto said as he pulled out a small scroll and unrolled it. Fu's eyes widened as several small loaves of bread appeared. "Here, these rolls contain sausage baked into them."
"Thank you." Fu smiled, grabbing the rolls. "Fu and Chomei will see you tomorrow!"
.
"Well, looks like we're camping out." Orochimaru sighed. "Guren, shatter this dome, we're moving further from Taki so that their patrols won't stumble on us."
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."
"Shin, after this mission, we'll need more Watchers. One for every one of my covert outposts at the very least."
"Yes, Master."
.
.
A flash of light illuminated the subterranean hideout and announced the arrival of Konoha's premier fuuinjutsu practitioner.
"Not a bad setup." He mused, looking around critically. "However, I think I can improve it, especially if I'm to perform another of my Sealing miracles."
"We need to remain covert." Kakashi noted and Jiraiya gave him a gimlet stare. "Sorry."
"While we're waiting," Jiraiya said as he unsealed his supplies, "Sensei asked you to be ready in case he needs you. He shouldn't, but just in case."
Naruto cocked an inquisitive eyebrow and Jiraiya gave a small chuckle. "He and his son are finally getting their family relationship sorted out, by going on a mission along with the rest of Asuma's team. They're escorting the famous actress Fujikaze Yukie to the Land of Snow to film her latest Princess Gale movie."
"Where is the Land of Snow?" Naruto wondered and Jiraiya slapped a map down.
"Just there." He pointed. "Once we're done here and Sensei sends word that they've finished filming, I'm hiring you to send me to Sensei's side. I really have to talk to Yukie about making an Icha Icha movie and it'll let him teach you a few new tricks."
"I liked her films." Hinata spoke up from the corner where she was preparing breakfast, the smoke from the small fire vanishing into a chimney that Kakashi had created using a doton Jutsu. "Can I come?"
"I volunteer to help." Kakashi interjected with one of his eye-smiles. "This means we can use the Guard version, which takes less chakra."
Jiraiya blinked, then frowned at Kakashi.
"Takes less chakra per person using it." The Jonin corrected himself.
"What does?" Fu asked from the entrance, then she stared at the Toad Sage. "Fu wants to know who the old man is?"
"Old man?" Jiraiya mourned, tears seeming to flow down his cheeks. "I'm in the prime of my life!"
"Face it, Ero-sennin, you're old." Naruto said and Jiraiya dismissed the tear-genjutsu in favor of glaring at his godson.
"Not old."
"Vote!"
Hinata raised her hand, as did Kakashi.
"Traitors." Jiraiya grumped as Fu giggled. "Alright, once you've had breakfast, let me look at the Seal and I'll see what I can do."
.
"Something's happening." Shin said quietly, causing the other five to look at him curiously. "Kakashi's moved out of their hideout and is on guard… I'll have to have my Watcher back away from him. If he uses his sharingan, he'll be able to see through the Watcher's genjutsu."
"Interesting that they have Kakashi on lookout duty." Orochimaru mused. "Obviously, Naruto is far more skilled in fuuinjutsu than I thought. Fortunately, I seriously doubt that he'll be anywhere near Jiraiya's level."
.
.
The lines of ink that covered Fu's back, limbs and three-quarters of the cavern started to glow and writhe as Jiraiya, Shima and Fukasaku knelt around Fu, concentrating hard. The now-glowing runes flowed inwards, briefly covering Fu's back and the small blank scroll that lay unrolled from her shoulders to her knees, then Fu gasped in pain as the scroll darkened with a complex pattern of reddish ink forming on it.
"Done!" Fukasaku gasped and Jiraiya reached out to snag the scroll, tossing it into the air with a flick of the wrist that caused it to roll up. As the scroll arced through the air, all eyes were on Fu's back, which was bereft of any trace of the Seal that had once been carved into her flesh.
"Naruto, take this scroll and have a clone place it in Fu's den." Jiraiya ordered, only to see the scroll snapped out of the air by Kurama.
"I'll do it." The nine-tailed kitsune said around the scroll clamped in his jaws. "I can find the den easily, then I'll simply dispel and Naruto can re-summon me."
Kurama didn't wait for a reply, but he simply vanished out of the cave.
"Fu… is free?"
"Apparently so." Kakashi said from the entrance. "So, a little while to recover, then will you join us in Konoha?"
"Fu will!"
.
"Looks like they're done, Master." Shin reported. "A clone of… of the Kyuubi just exited the cave holding an oddly-glowing scroll."
"Really? How odd. Well since they've sorted out the problem, let's go and say hello." Orochimaru said, motioning for Guren to shatter the barrier and the Sound Four to form up. "After all, it is the neighborly thing to do…"
.
.
"This is not good."
"Tobi agrees."
.
.
.
.
.
Author's afternote - Shin has full access to Kabuto's skill. Does anyone think he wouldn't have taken advantage of it?