Author's note – Kishimoto Masashi owns Naruto while Guyver is written by Yoshiki Takaya.
I make no claim to either, I am merely playing in their sandboxes.
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Chapter Twenty
Waterfall
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The ground flowed past far below as Naruto raced through the sky.
"You know," Kakashi said from his position on Naruto's back, "Flying seems… almost boring."
"Just because you can't read your porn…" Naruto teased him and Kakashi let go with one hand just long enough to dope-slap him.
"That has nothing to do wih it." Kakashi protested, then he leaned sideways to peer over Naruto's shoulder at the landscape below. "Hmmm, turn left a bit and… there! That waterfall."
"Should I de-armour?"
Kakashi mulled the question over for a moment as they descended, then nodded. "Yes, but only once we land."
"You really think I'd switch back at this height?" Naruto asked incredulously.
"Mayyyyybe?"
Naruto huffed, then slowly changed his orientation from horizontal to vertical, touching down lightly. Kakashi unwrapped his arms from around Naruto's shoulders and stepped backwards, allowing Naruto to shed his armour.
"It's been a month, yet that still amazes me every time I see it." Kakashi admitted.
"Fu is sad." A new voice said, startling the two ninja. "Fu thought that you were a big bug and Fu wanted to be friends."
Naruto was the first to spot the speaker, a green-haired girl slightly older than him, her orange eyes staring at him.
"…Fu." Kakashi said slowly. "The Jinchuuriki of the Nanabi. What are you doing outside your village?"
"Fu is banned from entering." The girl sighed. "Fu might hurt people."
"Then why don't you just leave?" Kakashi asked, causing Fu to look round frantically.
"Don't ask!" She hissed, dropping out of the tree she was perched in and landing lightly on the ground, then she brightened. "Fu is lucky to meet you!"
As she landed, Naruto saw that what he had assumed were simple red bandoliers were actually the straps for a large rounded box that she wore on her back, a box from which a humming noise emanated. A few insects emerged from a hole near the top and Naruto's eyebrows rose.
"An insect user? Are you related to the Aburame?"
"Fu does not know." The girl shrugged, then she froze with a gasp of pain as a grey-haired shinobi landed beside her.
"Fu! You know better than to talk to real people." The new arrival sneered. "Go back to your nest."
Naruto growled as Fu slumped, then staggered off, one hand rubbing at the back of her neck where a seal was visible. The new ninja didn't bother to watch her leave, turning to face Kakashi with a welcoming smile.
"Welcome to the Land of Cliffs. I am Jonin Suiren."
"I am Jonin Hatake Kakashi, and this is Chunin Uzumaki Naruto." Kakashi replied coolly. "We are here with a message to be delivered to the leader of the village."
Suiren sighed. "I'm afraid that he died a fortnight ago, fending off an attack by outside forces. For now, the Elder Council is in charge until Shibuki comes of age."
"Then I need to deliver the message to them." Kakashi said, before glancing at Naruto. "Naruto will stay out here since having two visiting ninja enter Takigakure could be problematic."
"Of course." Suiren smiled. "Please, come with me."
Naruto watched them go, smirking as he read the hand-signals that Kakashi sent. Talk seven, discover seal prison.
Talk to Fu and find out about the seal that Suiren had used to control her.
Not a problem.
"Armour on!"
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Kakashi removed the blindfold that Suiren had insisted he wear in order to traverse the main entrance to Takigakure without actually revealing its location. Glancing around, he mentally nodded at the sight of the tree before him, a tree so large that its branches sheltered the entire crater valley that Takigakure was built in, a tree that he had seen before when he covertly infiltrated the village on a mission several years previously.
"The Elders are this way." Suiren said and Kakashi followed him into a tunnel that wound up through the trunk of the tree, finally emerging in a room built between two of the lowest branches. The room itself was bisected by a hanging barrier comprised of thin strips of bamboo, allowing Kakashi to see the shapes of the Elders without revealing enough detail to actually identify them.
The tautness of the cords holding the bamboo screen showed that the bamboo strips had been layered with metal as an additional security measure.
"Elders, may I present Jonin Hatake Kakashi from Konohagakure." Suiren said and from the other side of the screen, an old lady spoke.
"It is an honor to have the son of Konoha's White Fang visit us."
"It is an honor to be granted an audience with the esteemed Elders of Takigakure." Kakashi returned, dropping into a Seiza position and bowing. "I sorrow for the loss of your leader and extend my deepest regrets, Tatsumaru was renowned for his wisdom and bravery."
"He will be missed." An old man replied. "To business, I am curious as to why you are here?"
"I come bearing a message." Kakashi said, slowly reaching up and extracting a scroll from the chest pocket on his vest. "I have been tasked with delivering this to the leader of Takigakure, but when it was written, Hokage-sama was unaware that the Takikage was no longer with us. When I return to Konoha, I shall carry the tidings of his unfortunate and regrettable demise."
A brief feeling of smugness emanated from behind the screen as the implication that Konoha saw Takigakure as being almost equal sank in. Kakashi handed the scroll to Suiren who in turn carried it to behind the screen and handed it to one of the figures. Several minutes passed with the occasional whisper, then the man spoke.
"Have you knowledge of the contents of the message you carried?"
"I do not." Kakashi replied calmly, although he was inwardly seething at the implied insult to his honor.
"Hmmmm." The man mused, then there was another round of whispers followed by the sound of someone writing.
"We have a response for your Hokage," The woman said as Suiren emerged from behind the screen with a new scroll in his hands, "And we thank you for bringing the message to us."
"It is an honor to serve." Kakashi said with a slight bow, then he accepted the scroll and placed it into the pocket that had held the first message.
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Naruto spotted the unusual blue-with-green-and-white-sparkles of Fu's chakra signature within a minute of taking flight and he swooped down to land beside her, eliciting a squeak of shock.
"Fu didn't squeak!"
Naruto released his armour and smiled at the kunoichi.
"Fu, no-one knows I'm here except for you. I've studied seals extensively, can I please look at the one that Takigakure uses to control you? I hate slavery seals, I may be able to help"
"And why should Fu trust you?" Fu demanded, only to gasp as he gave his answer.
"Because, Jinchuuriki of the Nanabi, I am the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi." Naruto said almost formally.
Fu stared at him, then slowly nodded. "Chomei says she feels Kyuubi sleeping. Fu will trust you."
Naruto walked round and glanced at the seal on Fu's neck, then he started swearing.
"What is it?"
"Someone stole one of my clan's seals!" Naruto snarled. "That is a prisoner-control seal! Anyone who knows the correct hand-seal could set that off!"
"You can remove it?" Fu asked quietly and Naruto grinned.
"I could, but it would be better if I changed it. At the moment, it inflicts pain while suppressing your chakra, but if… sorry, but can you sit down and remove your top? I need room to work."
Fu blushed as she knelt down and undid the straps of her bug-pack while Naruto pulled out a small scroll and unsealed his sealing supplies. Turning back, he dipped the brush into the ink.
"Hold still, this may tickle."
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"…and there." Naruto finished. "Seal!"
The ink that spread across Fu's shoulders and down her back almost to the waist glowed, then flowed inwards, mixing with the seal already placed there before vanishing. Naruto made a hand-seal and Fu twitched.
"That tingled!"
"That is what the seal now does." Naruto explained as he picked up Fu's top and extended it over her shoulder for her to grab. Turning away, he re-sealed his supplies as Fu donned her vest. "Although they can't use it to control you now, I'd advise against letting them know that until you get strong enough that they can't simply take you down and pull the Nanabi out of you."
"Naruto!"
Naruto's head snapped round at the distant call. "I have to go. Good luck."
Fu watched as Naruto ran off, leaping into the air as his armour materialized around him with a burst of energy.
That gives me an idea as to how you can use my power. Chumei mused within her.
Oh? What were you thinking? Fu is curious now…
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"How did it go?" Kakashi asked once they had left the Land of Cliffs behind them.
"They were using an Uzushiogakure prisoner control seal on her!" Naruto growled.
"I assume you modified it?" Kakashi asked and Naruto nodded.
"Yep, changed the function from crippling pain to light tingle. Fortunately, it was one of the seals that I had studied, along with the tracker seal on me that I had a clone remove. No clue who did it, it was done when I was very young and it was quite crude."
"A tracker seal?" Kakashi queried. "I can think of several who would want to do it, but I don't know which of them would have the skill. Not that it matters any more."
"I'd still like to know," Naruto said with a slight shrug, "I wouldn't like to have them try again. It could be a problem."
Kakashi hmmm'd in agreement, then resumed watching the ground flow past far below.
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Fu lay back on the scavenged futon that served as her bed in her cave and smiled.
Suiren had triggered her seal as a warning to stay away from foreign shinobi unless ordered otherwise and she had acted as if the seal was still inflicting pain until he had left.
As she fell asleep, she thought of the blond shinobi who had given her the greatest gift of all.
The chance of freedom.
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"Why the hell didn't anyone bring this to my attention?!" Onoki raged, waving the copy of the Amegakure Bingo Book in the air. "This brat's using an Uzumaki super-weapon and he's the spitting image of the Yondaime when he was younger!"
"He's an Uzumaki, not a Namikaze, grandfather." Kurotsuchi said and Onoki scowled at her.
"If you let yourself get fooled by a name, you'll never be worthy of taking over! He's the son of the Yellow Flash! What happens if he learns how to use that damned Hiraishin technique? Combine it with that invincible armour… our shinobi will fall like blades of grass!"
"He can't be that powerful…" Kurotsuchi began before the door opened to reveal the large form of Kitsuchi.
"Father, daughter." He rumbled. "I have a report from our agent in Takigakure, Hatake Kakashi has been teamed up with an apprentice, a blond kid with whisker marks."
"I KNEW IT!" Onoki howled. "Kakashi's the student of the Yellow Flash, who else would they use to teach the bastard's son? We need to put him in our Bingo Book NOW!"
"What rating?"
"Flee on sight, just like his old man." Onoki growled. "But up the reward, I want his head!"
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"…and while I was meeting with the old bats, Naruto made contact with the Taki Jinchuuriki and discovered how they were keeping her in line, by the use of an Uzumaki-based seal. He changed the seal so that she could leave whenever she wanted, so we may gain a second Jinchuuriki in the future."
"I'll want a full report from you written up by tomorrow, Naruto." Hiruzen said and Naruto nodded in acknowledgement. "Excellent work, though. Kakashi, something has come up with Iwa and I'm sending a squad out, I'd like to have you on it. Naruto, since that border is currently too hot for you, I'm reassigning you to work with Mitarashi Anko in Area 44 for a few days. With your armour, there shouldn't be anything that can hurt you."
"Yes, Hokage-sama." Naruto grinned. "Should be fun."
"Dismissed." Hiruzen said, then he looked past them. "Asuma."
"Father." Asuma said as he led his team in. "I was hoping for a simple C-rank, I think my team is advanced enough for one."
"I do have an escort mission, a bridge builder heading to Wave…" Hiruzen said, picking up a scroll.
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Author's Afternote – Yep, several more Chekov's Guns have been loaded…
Also, to the un-named reviewer who said "suddenly the armour seems like a useless pile of crap", I admit it has a weakness to Raiton. Just because it has one weakness, doesn't make it bad. If you want Naruto to be a boring invincible hero, then you can write that darned story yourself.
Sheesh.