Chapter Thirty-Three - The First Inspection
"So they sent the Uzumaki Prince to conduct the inspection," Chan spoke out loud as he watched the security footage of the prison courtyard.
"Do you think they know of the Deadmen?" En looked at the eldest of the last two people in the room.
The eldest of the two remained silent, staring at the screen from his wheelchair, but it was the youngest man that spoke.
"Do not worry, En, I do not think the Deadmen are the main concern of the major Hidden Villages," Tsunenaga told them with a calm smile meant to placate the twins. "I believe that they know of Mui-san's pet project with the Box of Eternal Bliss. Not only are we writing off the Deadmen as dead, but Mui is using other prisoners as fuel to open the Box. They will be concerned."
"From what I know of the Uzumaki, he is very observant and cruel when he wants to be." Chan told the elder while ignoring Tsunenaga though if the man noticed he didn't show it. "If he finds a whiff of what we are doing, he will tear everything apart. Not just our activities but us and everyone tied to the prison chain of command."
"He already knows there is more than he sees," Hagire finally spoke as his eyes moved from the screen to his lap. "No matter what is presented to him, even if it is fabricated to be nearly impossible to doubt, he will not accept it. He made it clear to Mui what he intends to do."
"If he is led to the Box and Mui is blamed, do you think he will leave his investigation?"
Hagire shook his head at Tsunenaga's question. "I doubt it. The Deadmen can always be recaptured, even if we have yet to find the means to recreate them without Her, so if he is getting close to them then we can revisit this project at another time."
"What of the girl?" En said while motioning to the camera that was looking at Karin. "She might have the key."
"Leave her alone for now. She will return home in time, whether she likes it or not."
Naruto stood to the side as he watched the prisoners be loaded off the carts and forced by the uniformed guards into the chalk circles. None of them fought back, one particular guy looked deranged and was ecstatic to be at the prison, and once they were all in the circles Makina had walked forward.
"Welcome to Hozuki Castle, but many of you would properly know it as the Blood Prison. Today marks the first day of your indefinite stay until you die or your village requests you back though I wouldn't hold your breath on the latter. Your villages have deemed you to be useless or broken tools and no longer require your services, and as such have sent you here to ensure you no longer cause them any problems." Makina looked at each of the new prisoners before raising her hand to Mui. "Warden Lord Mui will be making his statement."
Mui did not walk forward and only cleared his throat softly. "I am Warden Mui and in this castle, I am the judge, jury, and executioner. I expect all of you to behave and not cause any problems. I know not all of you will heed my warning so know that there are severe consequences for anyone that causes any problems for my staff or guards. I do not care what you do to each other but do not cause me any issues, am I understood?"
Without waiting for a response, Mui walked over to the first prisoner and thrusted his palm into their body. If it wasn't for the discreet hand seal used, Naruto would have assumed this was some kind of hazing and would have had a problem from the beginning of the inspection. Instead, he watched as a red seal marked the torso of the prisoner and the man buckled onto the ground in pain.
"This seal will mark you as a prisoner and will prevent you from using your chakra. As a warning, if you stray too far from me or I deem you dangerous, you will die. No one will miss you."
As he proceeded to mark the rest of the prisoners, Naruto's eyes caught the sight of one of them; a guy with white hair, ringed eyes not too dissimilar from the Rinnegan, and tanned skin. But there was something about him that screamed… different. Most peculiar.
Once the binding of the prisoners' chakra was finished, Naruto decided that he will let a clone follow Mui to his office and for the tour while he goes with the prisoners to do intake procedures. After doing so, he turned to the two girls. "You both should not travel alone so stick together and in plain sight. I will have clones everywhere in the facility soon enough so until that happens be extra careful. Understood?"
"Don't gotta tell us twice," Tayuya sarcastically said as she rolled her eyes. "After all that shit before I wouldn't trust myself alone anywhere in this shithole, let alone leave Karin by herself."
"Indeed," Naruto smiled softly before patting the two girls' heads. "I will be going with the prisoners for their intake."
The two girls nodded and walked off, Karin clinging closely against Tayuya while the older girl gave a sneer to any guard that got too close or looked at them differently. The blonde chuckled before trailing after the group of guards and prisoners as they entered the facility and walked past a few guard checkpoints. No one dared to stop or question him, instead they let him through with a weary stare as if unsure of what to think of him. As if he could lash out at any moment.
Your reputation as the Butcher of the Crimson Snow seems to have spread and likely grew into more than the truth. While there are cons to such a thing, we can use it to our advantage.
Hm? How so, old fox? Naruto stopped walking as the prisoners were herded into a cell and the guards walked off. He decided to wait here with the prisoners but another clone was created and sent to shadow the guards and monitor their activities.
While it is useless to have fear from a facility you are meant to inspect, that fear can be pressed against a few individuals to get information. Especially since they seem to have a lot of respect for Makina and an obligation to Mui. If we press the right ones then we can garner more information than we would have if you were just the Uzumaki Prince.
I get it now, Naruto said before looking into the cell and his eyes found the white-haired man again. I have a feeling about this one.
She seems to have a similar feeling about you.
Naruto paused as his mind mulled over what the fox said for a second before slamming his head back against the wall. You said she.
I did. The fox confirmed evenly.
This is the male wing though, is it not?
I think this prison is co-ed. Kurama chuckled at the boy's expense as he had just misgendered another person. I think she is trying to hide as a male for whatever reason. You'd think you would have known about crossdressers better after-
You will stop now and not mention them again.
Touchy even now. It's not like you were complaining. Kurama cackled at his host's expense as the blonde was ready to go on a rant again. But as I was saying, she looks to be interested in you as well.
I guess she will be one of the people I interview.
Naruto sighed before he felt the intrusion of new memories enter his head and his eyes narrowed at what he had seen. His clone shadowing the guards had dispelled when it overheard them talking about leaving the prisoners in the cell for a few hours before continuing the intake process. That would make them miss the dinner period and they likely won't eat until the next morning.
The blonde silently created four clones and sent them for the guards with a single purpose; teach them a lesson.
"Fucking bastards thinking I won't do shit," Naruto grumbled to himself before looking into the cell. She was staring still. "You want to say something?"
"Ooh, I do!"
Naruto raised an eyebrow before looking at the excitable man that raised his hand, a manic look in his eyes. "Okay?"
"How did it feel killing an entire Hidden Village?!"
This garnered the attention of the other prisoners, and while the girl showed no interest in her body her eyes were much more observant and that spoke more to Naruto. It seems that everyone has heard of his actions but we're curious about the actual details.
"You don't feel anything after the first dozen. After that, it's just a number that grows." Naruto hummed to himself as he thought back to his feelings of the time. His anger. Frustration. Emptiness. "Once it's just a number, it is all judgement from there on. It wasn't a lottery where the winner lives. I looked at you and if I did not like what I saw you were dead before you could comprehend the need to defend yourself."
"So cool!" The man shouted again with an even more manic expression. "I was ordered to kill an entire civilian village that was planning on selling secrets to a neighbouring nation. I killed every man, woman and child like I was told. Then when I returned I was arrested and thrown in here."
Naruto just listened as the man spoke; while many would think the man is deranged he knew better. The man had snapped from the mental and emotional strain of his duties and his mind could no longer deal with the horrors he had committed; he was too far gone for that. But whether he was like this before massacring a village or after is unknown. If he was like this before the orders came, it would explain why his village used him as a scapegoat for one last blackbook mission before disposing of him. If it happened after, the village likely got rid of him so that their mission wouldn't reach the ears of the other villages as his mania made him keeping the act a secret next to impossible, only justifying his imprisonment.
I wonder if Aizen-san could focus the mania into something productive.
"Ah!" The man suddenly exclaimed before turning to Naruto again. "I heard you can hire prisoners from here! Do you have any openings, Uzumaki-sama? I follow orders very well!"
Naruto just stared at the man, wondering if he had thought out loud for a second, before huffing. "I am not here for recruitment. But I will think over your offer-"
"Tamanaki, no last name," the man grinned widely. "Former Jonin of Yumegakure."
"Yume?" Naruto was surprised by that.
The village bordered Fire and Tea and were great spies and intel-gatherers. They have leveraged blackmail on many of the governments more than once and have since been looked at with weariness. Despite this, they were small and held only one notable clan currently in the village and they were the ones in power. They specialised in combat-oriented variations of the Transformation Technique that took the form of animal features; tiger's claws, beetle's shell, frog's slimy skin, toad's special long tongue, and many others.
"Yeah! We may be small but we are very specialised!"
Before the conversation could continue, a thunder of footsteps could be heard as well as squeals akin to farm animals roared through the empty halls. Naruto smirked as he saw the guards come running down the corridor, affected by a special transformation seal technique and this one turned them into pigs; rotund and sweaty, their beady eyes caught sight of him before skidding to a halt with squeals and oinks in alarm. They shook as he eyed them, a cruel smirk dancing along his lips that showed teeth.
"It looks like you had some kind of accident," Naruto played a voice of concern as he looked into the sergeant's eyes. "After we handle the intake I will help you regain your natural appearance again. You should hurry, it would be a shame if this form became permanent."
The threat was clear, and even the prisoners could see that the man had caused the guards to be like this and that if they did anything else untoward to them then he would make sure their new transformations were forever. And knowing the Uzumaki, either from stories or from experience, many of the prisoners were grinning in satisfaction.
Naruto had a clone shadow the now bestial guards as they performed the strip searches for contraband and cleaning of the prisoners. He found, after his clone dispelled at the end, that when subjected to this process the prisoner known as Ryuzetsu had utilised a nearly perfect genjutsu on the bindings constricting her chest. The guards, most being Chunin or civilian volunteers, were incapable of noticing and therefore did not know that "he" was actually a she.
While he observed all of thi, he had created new clones every few minutes and sent them to scout the guard routes and various other areas of the facility. For some reason he kept getting a feeling that there was something massive below his feet, as though ground was a maw about to abruptly open wide and swallow him whole, but for the life of him he could not find a reason why. There were only five floors below ground all of which held prisoners and the necessary facilities to humanely take care of people. The guard stations and quarters were above ground in the southern section of the castle.
Knowing he had a long day ahead of him, Naruto filed these feelings and thoughts away, for now at least, as he went about turning the guards back to normal after they finished the intake procedures for all prisoners.
Later that night
Naruto sat on a soft mat in the middle of his room. The two redhead girls lay snoring softly in the bed, worn out after a few hours of fucking - intensely in Tayuya's case as she refused what she called "soft lovey dovey shit". However, while he had his clones watching the night procedures of the prison he was focusing his aura. Specifically, his divinity.
One thing Naruto suspected is that with his Ascension, he had unlocked the kind of divine forces that normally only the gods in the heavens can utilise. This may be why when he first changed into his Heavenly Form in Snow Country, he was undetectable by everyone even while giving off an intense feeling of dread; in that state he was as ephemeral and otherworldly as the Gods above. It was as if his very presence heralded the arrival of something imperceivable that had no presence but whispered to your instincts that survival can only be achieved through prostrating yourself and praying for forgiveness for every sin ever committed.
Another he suspected his powers may touch the divine is that he had gained the ability to hear prayers. While not wanting to flaunt himself as some kind of god, he did have intuitive knowledge of every prayer sent to the Sage, the Heavens, and even himself from those residing in his areas of direct influence. The main area he coud detect thus far was Uzushio though he also got prayers from people in Snow and Sky as well as he has a direct connection or ownership of these areas.
What he was only now discovering and partly the reason for his meditation was that he was also getting prayers from the coast of Fire. From his knowledge, most of Zoya's influence from Fire to Uzushio was coastal based with a particular focus on rich trading ports and her other subdivisions were spread thinly throughout the country. Is that why he was getting prayers from the coast now? He was close to Zoya and therefore had an indirect influence on the area?
The other thing that he had felt the need to meditate upon was the second complex below the prison. Below the five prisoner floors was as far as he could ascertain a complex array of rooms and facilities that nearly doubled the size of the prison. However, it was not as densely populated with maybe a hundred or so people versus the three hundred in the prison above.
He could not find an entrance from the prison into this hidden complex, even after he looked everywhere with his clones, so he was left to think the entrance was outside the prison walls. He would have to make some more clones in the morning to search the area and if they didn't find the entrance then he mused, he would just have to make his own.
On top of that, during his search for this entrance, he had found that Mui disappeared from his room and office a few hours into the night. He could not sense him and while it could just be the man had his chakra hidden and hadn't actually left his room but the level of skill required to do so while sleeping created more questions than answers. Especially since Kiwako Makina, who by all appearances was Mui's protege and possible future replacement, had laid down and rested for the night in her locked office displaying no such skill. He should know, he kept an eye on her all night waiting for an opportunity to search her office.
For the first day, other than finding another complex underground and a woman hiding as a man, it had been pretty uneventful.
You just had to jinx everything.
Before Naruto could voice his confusion to the fox, he was startled as an explosion rocked him and his room. Tayuya and Karin bolted out of bed in alarm and the blonde had to calm them down before they got excited.
"What the fuck happened?!"
Naruto raised his hands as he approached the two, trying to get their attention to ease their concerns. "I don't know but I will find out. I want you to stay here in this room."
"But-!"
"I said stay, Tayuya," Naruto said once more, this time his tone making it clear that it was a command not a request. "Do not leave this room until I or a clone come to get you. You will not go into harm's way while leaving Karin unattended."
Tayuya grumbled as it was clear the effects the siren call of battle had on her; the Uzumaki are bloodthirsty and when faced with a fight that could end in death, they excelled in taking it with a grin and cruel efficiency. While Uzushio before destruction had been able to develop a proper squad formation that influenced Konoha's own cell formations, they were still devastating to any enemy they encountered and it was their brutality that made them especially disliked by the "sophisticated" ruling classes of the world - with the exception of the old Fire Daimyo.
"Fine." The girl finally said before throwing herself onto the bed and ignored him.
Naruto gave a sad smile and rubbed her back before giving a small kiss to her shoulder. He turned to Karin and gave her a kiss too. "I'll be back."
As soon as Naruto had exited the living quarters building, he emerged into chaos, the officers running around in panic and shouting various orders. A fire engulfed the east side of the wall, diverting attention from the guards, but the main gate has been broken down from a second assault. This one was backed by not only missing ninjas but also mages fitting the same outfit as described by Shikamaru a few days ago. A red eye outline with three short eyelashes can be seen on their robe, symbolising their allegiance to the Future Cult dedicated to the Priestess Shion.
They were tossing spells from their staves and with their will, pushing back the civilian and shinobi guards that were not prepared for an attack that wasn't chakra.
"Don't just stand there and watch! Help us!"
Naruto turned to see Makina running past him with a few guards to help the gate defenders. She had her sword with her and unsheathed in preparation for the battle she will be joining even if it would be suicide to do so. He had to admit, that level of fearlessness was a strong turn on and he felt a small grin widen on his face as his eye squinted with a tint of excitement.
"A harvest just waiting to be reaped!"
Naruto grabbed the handle of Khahrahk as he heard the hungry whisper float upon the wind and spread, bringing with it the haunting impression of a graveyard in the dead of night. The chorus of whispers built as he released the zanpakuto from its scabbard, a black mist exploding forth and swirling around the courtyard. His body began changing to his Shikai form before it burst into a purely red energy that sent a shockwave through the courtyard. He now stood, blackened burnt skin from his hands to his elbows and along the left side of his face down to his shoulder blades. His left eye is black and giving an intense heat haze as if emitting an intense invisible fire. Above his head is the Scarlet Crown of his Bankai form but much thinner and of simpler design than the complete release.
With the advent of his new form the indecipherable whispers finally coalesced into audible voices.
Lady Priestess, we pray you guide us as we fight in your name!
Give us the strength to fulfil your mission and kill your enemies!
Please forgive us for our sins.
"Their whispers to their Priestess fills the air! Disgusting worms praying for a mortal woman in a land not truly under her dominion in anything but name as if she would have the control to do anything but listen, powerless to change a thing! As if she will reach them as we do!"
Naruto grinned but deep down he felt pity for these men. Just from their prayers he can gather that they were sent by the Priestess or by higher ranked mages of her cult. But there is one that stands above the others; a power greater than the others and on par with that of a Jinchuuriki but born of a power that was not chakra. It was pure Chaos.
"Makina-sama, get back!"
Naruto raised his hand and with it a shimmering, transparent wall rose up in front of the second and third lines of guards facing the attacking mercenaries - among them being Makina and her assistant. An explosion of energy erupted at the gates, destroying the gate wall and throwing guards and mercenaries alike into the air and away from the source. With it came the feeling of pure Chaos wafting from the smoke in dark black and purple energies, lashing out occasionally as if looking for something to kill.
Priestess…
Naruto narrowed his eyes at the strained prayer of one of the aggressors. He recognized the struggle of containing an intense power as he had made this sound many times when acclimating to the intense bumps in using Kurama's power. Clearly, this was the prayer of the holder of incredible Chaos.
"If he struggles then he is weak. If he is weak, then he is only a sacrifice whose only purpose is to bring forth more chaos at the cost of his life!"
Naruto felt bad for such an existence but he also understood there to be people of fanatic beliefs around the world - even his own Fourth Division is fanatic in their belief in him that even prior to his Ascendance they believed him to be a god made flesh. And their beliefs are spreading to their expansions in Sky and Snow. But the latter could be Koyuki-hime's doing.
"What was that, Makina-sama?!"
Naruto was close to lowering the barrier that protected the prison guards before he rapidly raised his other hand cupped his hands together while allowing a space between his palms; in turn, the barrier expanded to completely cover the guards from a secondary explosion, but this one purely black and purple and reeking of Chaos.
"Ahahaha! He gave up on fighting! I am free!"
Naruto raised his hands, lifting the prison guards within the supernatural bubble, and moved them to the other side of the courtyard in a single fluid motion before he was hit in the side with a lash of the Chaos energy. He stood his ground, only skidding along with the ground with a wince.
"A strong mortal!" There was a deep breath before a sigh of contentment blew the smoke away. "Ooh. You smell unique. Your blood carries the stench of an Uzumaki, but your power screams… divine."
The last word was said with a gleeful shudder and Naruto now faced down the four heads of a draconic creature made of black and purple Chaos. Red eyes stared back, alight with a bright sheen that gave Naruto the impression it was excited with his existence. He had an ill feeling about this beast; he was staring at something unholy.
"Priestess, protect us! We failed you. Moryo has been unleashed."
Naruto now has the name of this creature all thanks to the various similar prayers of the Future Cult mages. "You're uglier in person now that I see you up close. What kind of name is Moryo?"
The beast seemed annoyed at that and all four heads bared their teeth at him and low growls erupted from each of the mouths. "Your power will taste all the better when I eat you!"
Naruto jumped over the first and stabbed Khahrahk into the side of the second head that tried to bite him in the air, clinging to the weapon as the beast thrashed around. He avoided being eaten by another of the heads and ripped his zanpakuto free before sending a blast of air from his hand that threw him in a direction away from the Chaos beast. He landed with a crouch and with Khahrahk by his side with a new purple energy surrounding it.
"This energy… is unholy. Dark; tainted."
Naruto thought about Khahrahk's words as he gazed upon the retreating mercenaries and cowering mages as all were caught by the elite officers among the guards. He had to admit, he admired how even the civilian guards were working to their best despite being outmatched and surrounded by such destructive energies. But that would amount to nothing if they get killed by the raging battle.
This being is a World Beast. An unnatural force of nature, whether artificial like my siblings and I, or natural like the Elders. You cannot kill it normally and Khahrahk will probably have as much luck since there is likely no soul to absorb.
That was going to be an immense pain. World Beasts could be killed only by annihilating a large area that they are in with enough firepower that it kills them to a molecular level but while the Uzumaki had seals for that kind of job he had to be concerned for the condition of the Castle and it's prisoners and guards. It wouldn't be good if he reported all casualties and the loss of a prison.
"Oh well," Naruto said as he created a clone with the duty of obtaining something from his belongings.
"You damn mortal! You dare take a taste of MY power?! I should have you skinned alive after I thrash you around like the weak god you are!"
Naruto noted the very human and very raw emotion coming from the being. "First of all, I am not a god. I am imbued with divine authority and powers but I'm no god. Second of all, to be able to take your powers means that you are not a god. You are barely a World Beast."
Naruto's eyes now glowered with omniscient divine power as he slowly deduced the situation before him. "That means that you require more sacrifices to consume. You have not garnered enough strength to control anything beyond the basic elements. Am I wrong, Moryo?"
"How dare you!" The serpentine beast shouted at the Uzumaki's accusations.
But Naruto heard the twinge of panic in the being's tone. A slight dip into fear that he knew he hit the nail on the head. "I see. In that case, I will have to have a talk with the Priestess over her intent on letting you come. Before that, I will seal you away into your new prison until you learn to bend to my will."
This chapter took a while to do. Lost motivation for a bit and then had to think on some other things to do with the story. It was a whole mess but we made it. Thank you for all the comments I really appreciate them :D
iamshinydragonmist: Or Hidan will try to kill her to release his god lol
PraetorXyn: Oh okay, no this is entirely coincidental lol. Had the idea of the Uzumaki Mask Temple for a bit and ended up looking up different demons and settled on a few that would be the basis for the sealed demons (we have Michaelis from Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler who is contracted demon) and this is where we begin distinguishing the supernatural of the world.
WindyCitySlayer1: It is time to "wake up to reality" kek. It is probable that Naruto and Rin will get together as that is what I'm leaning towards from the start.
WhateverPlus: Thank you :)
dastewie2012: There are a few differences between this Naruto's rasenringu and Menma's but yes they are very similar. It isn't a resenshuriken but more akin to the planetary resengan that canon Naruto uses :)
Mr Nobody: Are you okay in the head? Don't insult me with a good time because you do that I'm coming after you with a lot of lotion and a lot of leather clothing. Be careful bud :)