EXCERPT FROM 'AMES NINJA REVISION GUIDE':
'...The levels of teaching in the Land of Rain were completely overhauled when the education system was rebuilt after the end of the civil war. This included the previous academy, which as many soldiers will now know, was completely destroyed. It has ever since remained that way - there is no longer a fixed learning institution for initiates in the Land of Rain.
Instead, the title of 'initiate' was introduced into the system and replaced the outdated, softer title of 'academy student' - ever since mandatory conscription from the age of ten for children of all healthy backgrounds was introduced; initiates have been held to a wartime standard ever since the civil war. This sticks with the recurring theme of every minor nation being forced to hold wartime standards - to match their ninja forces with the major nations in quality rather than quantity.
Initiates can learn in learning facilities constructed on the barracks where they are assigned, but they will also often partake in exercises meant to prepare them for military life. They are assigned to a learning platoon where a teacher will give them the skills needed to fit in with military life over the span of a year. Following this, there is a mandatory period of four years after this, at which point a ninja may choose to resign on the spot on their fifteenth birthday, provided they are only genin. After that, they may choose to take a three year education course which can help with learning essential knowledge and re-integration with society, or go straight into lower-paid work.
This system has not only been directly responsible for the military expansion in Ame's forces as well as it raise in quality, but also to a rise in discipline and pride in the population as the first generation of conscripted recruits has already truly past the mandatory period.
Remember. This is all to prepare for what is to come...'
SIXTEEN YEARS AFTER THE THIRD NINJA WORLD WAR.
THE FORMER LAND OF GRASS.
Unlike with the Land of Stone, not all of the country had been absorbed into the Land of Rain. The reasons were very straightforward - the population of the Land of Stone had not been resentful of the Rain ninja, and they had been small enough. Reluctant on many accounts, but there had been no major issues. The Land of Grass had been another matter entirely - the entire country was resentful of their conquerors, and so would create major problems if they could for the Land of Rain.
The solution had been very obvious for Pain. Half of the country had been seized, with every single Grass inhabitant forced out of their homes and relocated further North to what was left for them. Leaving a lot of fertile, empty land for Rain citizens to move in and begin farming on instead, and for the military to do what they liked with. A sudden expansion of land into greener pastures benefitted the small nation that had a cramped population.
It did not benefit the former Grass citizens, who had been forced into a vassal state, and watched over by hordes of Rain ninja who would crack down upon every riot that formed. The resentment was of no issue, either - it had been festering for a while, and would only take a spark to explode. But the current purge had been extended across the borders into their vassal state, where the resentment turned into absolute fear - where a single whisper of hate or seeming action against the state would sign your death warrant.
The issue was security. The population could be kept in line, but they could not be made to agree with what their oppressors did. As such, no military operation in the area was completely safe from espionage, something the Rain knew as there would be particularly spies for the Leaf and Stone villages in the vassal state. Sabotage was rare, having been extremely blunted due to the crackdown throughout the purge, but spying was something even the average citizen could do if they just passed on what they saw.
Thus, Jiraiya's spy network was extremely interested to know why an entire brigade of ninja from the Land of Wind had arrived in the vassal state.
LAND OF WATERFALLS, TAKIGAKURE.
The Hidden Village of Waterfalls was a small village compared to their counterparts, an anomaly on the continent they inhabited. Unlike the five major nations who had feudal lords living in royal cities as the capitals of their nations, the feudal lords of the minor nations - if they had one - usually chose their country's hidden village as their capital. For sake of smaller expense, and tighter security - with much smaller forces of ninja and samurai, it was easy for a major nation to intervene, and as such the common practice of having the capital as the hidden village was surprisingly effective.
That was what made the small city an anomaly. With the Hidden Village of Waterfalls being the capital much like their counterparts in the Lands of Rain and Rice, it was a city that did not host a reflection of its population size. The reason for this was perfectly clear, however, as the Hidden Village did not have much room to begin with - the city was hidden in a large formation of rocks built in a valley, its main entrance hidden behind a large flowing waterfall. Whilst this made for a great defensive set-up for the village leader and feudal lord, it meant that the city was not among the richest in the land. But, experts would argue that was the main purpose - the Hidden Village had to have a great defence.
Defence that mattered for little when overwhelming power showed up at your very doorstep.
Shibuki, the current democratically elected leader of the Land of Waterfalls, blinked as the security and locking seals on his office door visibly lit up, before spluttering and fading into non-existence. He quickly stood up and got ready, however, when the door was barged open and an unconscious chunin was thrown inside. Two ANBU leapt down from their observation posts in the ceiling besides their leader, and got ready to throw themselves at the enemy - when an order from Shibuki got them to halt.
"Stand down!" Shibuki snapped out with a shouted, hasty tone as he saw who exactly stepped through his door - the ANBU beside him even belying the shock in their posture as Hanzo of the Salamander walked in, closely followed by Rasa, Kazekage of the Sand village. "Silence!" He snapped once more as one of the ANBU seemed to begin to speak.
The subtle breathing of the metal mask that contained the rebreather apparatus equipment to contain Hanzo's poisonous breath sounded out in the room as he entered, the shaded lens in the mask that covered his face aimed squarely at Shibuki. Both village leaders were dressed in robes, although Rasa still wore the traditional attire of the Kazekage's formal dress, clearly not anticipating a fight. Hanzo had just slung a robe over the dark wetsuit that formed part of his internationally renowned figure.
"Shibuki, the democratically elected village leader of yet another democratically controlled ninja village." The deep reverberation of Hanzo's voice came out as slightly garbled through the rebreather, but nonetheless still clearly audible. "It is strange how only minor nations end up as democracies, and still end up as some of the weaker minor nations at that."
Shibuki kept a controlled face to hide his emotions as he frowned at the leader of the Rain village. "At least my people have rights, Hanzo. We are comfortable as we are."
Hanzo only let out a deadened chuckle that contained no hint of humour, nor did his tone change to match the declaration of humour. "Funny that. The Land of Stone said the exact same thing before they 'voted' away their country." Hanzo responded, the ambiguous implication of fraud lost on none of the room's occupants. "It astounds me that your nation still stands, if all you're doing is being 'comfortable.' But then again, that's what happens when you cower behind the supposed protection of the greatest power."
Shibuki almost let out a snarl as he leant onto his desk and fixed Hanzo with a glare, putting on a brave face that raised Rasa's level of respect for the non-military leader before him. "Just what are you doing here, Hanzo? Two S-ranks in a nation that harbours none means you are up to something, and nor will this go unnoticed by our neighbours."
Rasa merely folded his arms as he saw them arrive at the point of the confrontation of village leaders, aware that his own role in it was merely to show Rain had the support of a major nation of their own. Normally, it would look bad on his part, but the benefits in it were far too good to pass up - and he'd already soured relations with the Leaf. In reality, if it went to plan, all he really was doing was souring them just a bit further and losing a bit of time in his day. It was entirely worth it to the Sand leader.
Hanzo withdrew a folder from between his robes, taking no notice of the twitching fingers of the ANBU as he deposited it on the desk of Shibuki and slammed open a page. "Tell me." Hanzo demanded in a serious tone then. "Do you recognise her?"
Shibuki kept his glare on Hanzo for a second more as the man seemed utterly unfazed by the stare from a man who held no personal power to back it up, before the Waterfall village leader looked down to the file. He became slightly confused as to the context of where this was going, as two S-ranks did not just burst into rival village leader's offices just to question them on personnel. On the file was indeed the personnel profile of a woman of chunin level from what Shibuki, before he looked up to Hanzo, further confused now.
"What is this, Hanzo?" Shibuki questioned the man opposite him, only to then almost have a heart attack at what happened next.
Hanzo took a small step forward, before slowly leaning onto the desk Shibuki had his hands on - making the Waterfall leader back away slightly and off the desk. Shibuki was about to question again as his nerves started to become more pronounced - before he was forcibly cut off. The Waterfalls leader gave a loud gasp and started gargling on his spittle as Hanzo, faster than Shibuki could blink, whipped out a kunai and slit its razor edge all along his throat. The man slumped forward onto the desk.
The two ANBU guards were forcibly ensnared where they were, gold dust whipping around their boots and lower legs and keeping them from moving with the impressive strength of metal and the trained chakra of a Kage. It stopped them from escalating the already tense situation, as Shibuki gave a racking cough, and tried to recover and still his thumping heart as he looked to Hanzo with fully exposed fear now. Hanzo just gave another deadened chuckle as he saw Shibuki trying, unsuccessfully, to recover from the weak amounts of killing intent sent his way - which may as well have been Kage-level to the civilian leader.
Hanzo just put his hands on the desk and leant forwards, the subtle breathing in his rebreather becoming loud in the ears of Shibuki as the legendary ninja shoved his face into his - and Shibuki folded. He quickly leant back away from Hanzo, who gave a chuckle.
"You are no match for me, or my nation." Hanzo stated flatly, despite the previous amusement as he thumped the file on the desk with a finger. "You sent a spy into my lands, and tried to start a civil war. For this, I demand equal compensation." Hanzo took a moment to savour the situation, the fearful man before him still trying to recover and so didn't interrupt as Hanzo spelled out his demand. "Surrender the seven tails jinchuuriki to me."
"Or you won't face war at first." Rasa calmly spoke up next, as he took out a piece of folded paper from within his robes. "You'll be facing an intervention from the forces of the Land of Earth."
Shibuki's face went further ashen at the news of two major nations coming to his lands, as well as a minor nation commanded by such a man before him; but before he could deny Iwa coming to his lands, Rasa smoothed the paper on the desk before him. Clearly displayed on it was a military version of a map of the Hidden Village in the Waterfalls, with guard routes and patrols all along it - and the location of the Hero's water circled in red. A liquid of remarkable strength that gave a human temporary herculean strength and chakra status at the cost of their life force to how much they drank, any village would wish to examine its properties.
An intervention by Iwa could be launched very successfully with only the information in Rasa's hand. Shibuki could not deny it, whether it would be on the scale of the intervention that started the previous world war or as a small, elite strike.
He was surprised that the two men standing before him had not done it themselves.
"You cannot do this." Shibuki shakily tried to counter, perhaps more in denial of the situation than putting on a brave face once more. "The Leaf is our ally, they will not stand for any aggression from you or Iwa."
Rasa gave a sigh, as if the ongoing political standoff was getting tedious to his patience. "Just give it up, Shibuki." The Kazekage stated calmly. "The spy of yours was caught in the Land of Rain."
"Spy?" Shibuki let out, but was cut off as Hanzo then seized the man, regardless of the swords being drawn by his ANBU guard - only staying their hands to avoid Hanzo from snapping their Leader's neck like they knew he could. Hanzo held the village leader up by the neck, his eyes hidden by the shaded lens of the rebreather - but Shibuki got the distinct impression they were narrowed on him.
"People died, you slimy piece of filth." Hanzo stated, still in a flat tone. "For half a day, my capital city was on the brink of civil war as your spy commanded renegade forces to attack it." This was accompanied by Hanzo beginning to forcefully strangle Shibuki as his hands clamped further round his neck, the ANBU unable to even budge as more of the gold dust circled their legs, anchoring them firmly to the ground. "Unfortunately for you, your spy, who was my chunin commander, was found guilty in the act of fleeing, and I managed to tear out all the necessary information from her skull before I had her put down like the dog she is. Don't deny it, it was very simple to work out she came from your nation."
One of the ANBU quickly pulled off a substitution jutsu with a lamp in the corner of the room, showing off their training as they did it without hand seals which would've otherwise alerted the village leaders - but unfortunately not on good thought, and entirely out of a desire to save their village leader. Rasa merely clenched his hand into a fist, and listened as the two ANBU let out screams of agony as the gold dust, which had been circling inside their uniforms around the legs and thus been transported with the ANBU, reacted accordingly. The lower legs from the feet right up to the thighs became shredded as the gold dust massacred the flesh they dug right through, even penetrating through the bone with ease from the energy provided by chakra. The two ANBU were very likely now disabled for life, and without proper attention in the next few minutes, likely with other health conditions too.
Shibuki could not respond to any of this as only strangled gasps came out, but Hanzo tired of that as he threw the man to the ground. "What's it going to be, Shibuki?" Hanzo growled out. "Do I have to level half this pathetic village with my Salamander summons, or will you just hand over the jinchuuriki?" As Shibuki wretched on the floor and wheezed in the necessary breath needed to answer, Hanzo had one last thing to say. "And don't bother thinking you can fight. Your jinchuuriki is only eight years of age and your last noteworthy ninja, Kakuzu, is long gone from this village."
Shibuki was fully terrified of the two men before him, and his racing mind wasn't finding much option to salvage the situation as it scrabbled for anything. In the end, it was a remarkably simple choice to save his village from the immediate threat for something that was hated anyway - even if he did personally regret it.
DARK CAVERN.
The now thoroughly dead corpse of the mint-haired child dropped to the floor with a clatter as the chakra energy keeping it suspended in the air withdrew from the area, being drawn into the waiting maw of the ten-tailed statue. An eye of the great beast opened to expose the purple rinnegan beneath the previously closed eyelid - successfully showing the capture of another tailed beast.
"Finally, that was boring as fuck!" Came a rambunctious, jovial voice from one of the flickering apparitions that were gathered on the fingers of the open palms of the giant statue.
It had taken over seven hours to seal the seven-tailed beast, with the extraction process taking approximately one hour per tail. The hour-long process of sealing the one-tail had been simple enough for the then four members of the Akatsuki, but the seven hours of being in one place had tested the patience of quite a few of the now seven members.
"Enough. Silence Hidan." Pain's voice cracked out, sensing the emotions running high. Such powerful figures gathered like this were bound to rival one another, and would be very hard to control - as seen by the fact that Pain could only order them around via direct commands. All based on the fact that he overpowered any person standing in that room - nobody wanted to test him after the initiation of Orochimaru (who had defected two months ago), and only a couple of them were willing to work together without Pain's orders. Only Sasori seemed unbothered by who he worked with, excepting Orochimaru who he had sworn a vendetta against. "I will not hear another word from any of you."
Hearing not even a grumble from a couple of the more impatient members like Hidan or Deidara, Pain nodded as he began to speak. "Good." He started, the rainbow visage of his projected figure flickering as he spoke. "The Akatsuki's plans have started in earnest. It was not the original plan of the Akatsuki to start collecting the tailed beasts this early, but this is only a benefit. But, we will not detract from the plan just because of this - we still need information and money. Kakuzu, this is where you and Hidan come in. Continue hunting for money."
The masked, tall figure of Kakuzu only nodded to the leader of the criminal organisation, not wanting to open his mouth. He was honestly annoyed by the operation of the organisation he was press-ganged to join, not helping his resentment any - with the Akatsuki taking half the money of any bounty, it meant he earned less. But, it did come with its benefits - with the information provided by Sasori and Pain's sources, he hunted targets down much quicker from having constant information on them his own sources didn't.
"Alright, it's about time you gave me some more fucking sacrifices-" Hidan began running off his mouth, only to be silenced by the spiked fluctuation in Pain's chakra which powered the entire communication jutsu they were using. They all felt it, made even more obvious by the wide and drilling look Pain's rinnegan was giving Hidan.
"If you do not shut up, Hidan." Pain spoke out, still in a calm manner which belied the chakra spike and the haunting look. "I will find you through the ring on your finger and show you exactly how I can bypass your immortality with a technique of mine."
Hidan was thoroughly silenced as he seemed rattled, which was unsurprising to the musing Kakuzu. It was probably the first time in Hidan's entire life that someone claimed they could entirely negate the immortality he lovingly preached about, and as so it must've been shocking. If it had been someone inferior to Hidan, he would've been in hysterics by now - but that was the problem for them all, and the reason Kakuzu did not just walk away from the organisation. Pain was superior to them all, and he did not have Orochimaru's slippery skills that allowed him to circumvent the undoubtedly wide-spread listening from Sasori's spy network.
"Deidara and Kisame." Pain spoke blandly next as he swept his rinnegan eyes over to the mentioned pair. Whilst not the greatest pair to match up, Pain did not care for whether their skills complimented one another or not. Hidan was the only one Kakuzu could not kill in one of his fits of rage, and S-ranks could overpower any foe that wasn't similarly matched anyway. "I have a more special job for the both of you. There is a current uprising within the Land of Snow, against the occupying Rain forces there. You will crush this uprising in any way you see fit, so long as you do not touch a singular Rain ninja there. I will not have Hanzo calling for your heads and then subsequently exposing this entire organisation."
Sasori looked slowly over to Pain in thought, the deeper context not lost on him through the little more amounts of trust the leader put in him than the rest of them apart from Konan. Hanzo was long since dead, but Sasori mused on how it was still an effective cover to utilise. Especially when the deceived in question weren't going to blab their mouths to anyone else anyway, and were subsequently strong enough to deal with anything Pain ordered of them.
"Rain forces?" Deidara questioned with a hum. "What are they doing in the Land of Snow?"
Pain's voice cracked out like a whip, and put a halt to all speculation. "That matters not. I do not care for what you think. Just do as I say, and do not harm a single Rain soldier whilst you are there. If you disobey this, I will have your heads, is that understood?"
Kisame answered with a wide grin, not put off at all by the death threat - it wasn't his first. "But of course." He responded as he hefted his large sword, currently held in a layer of wrapping, onto his shoulder. "I hear that Land in particular is unusually gifted in technology. I look forward to seeing if anyone there poses a challenge."
"The only challenge you should face at all is the leader of their pathetic rebellion, one Doto Kazahana - an A-rank ninja you'll find in the Bingo Book." Pain informed them. "Do not fail me."
With that, the entire communication jutsu faded in an instant at Pain's mental command, the cavern turning dark once more. No love was lost between any of the criminals.
PAIN'S TOWER, ELITE COMMANDERS OFFICE.
The masked visage of the Elite Commander slowly looked at their student as they entered the office, having done this for a week now. Piercing eyes drilled into Gaara's own, as the commander saw that the unexperienced child's body language showed the curiosity the red head undoubtedly had, despite how controlled he tried to make his face.
"Speak your mind." The elite commander ordered simply.
Gaara was slightly taken aback by the upfront statement, but then clamped down on his short surprise and answered his teacher. It was to be expected after all, as the commander was the epitome of a military superior. All conversations were kept formal, disciplined and to a military standard - it was no wonder they were Pain's favourite and most trusted soldier. The commander literally kept all their cards to themselves and Gaara couldn't even work out what their gender was; their body entirely hidden behind the ever-present armour and mask, let alone their mannerisms and actions.
"Commander." Gaara called them, unsure of what else to call them - and having learnt his lesson in formalities after forgetting it in one incident. "I was just wondering... who are you? If we're going to learn from each other for six years, I was just thinking Commander-"
"Well then you can stop thinking on such matters, Gaara Uzumaki." The commander snapped out, still in an authoritative, yet neutral and formal tone. "A soldier is only paid to think on how to accomplish their objectives, with their superiors being paid to think on what those objectives are. Only personnel of gold ranking status may find out my identity, Uzumaki, and as an initiate, you are most certainly not of gold ranking status."
All of that was delivered in a level tone that Gaara could tell was not a lecture, but rather what the Commander considered fact. "Yes, commander. My apologies." Gaara responded.
The mask was still fixed his way as the commander considered how to start the training for the day. "Perhaps we need further discussion upon military doctrine, Uzumaki, if you are going to question such matters."
Though it was a seemingly open-ended statement, Gaara had learned enough during that week to know not to question or comment on it. The commander had thoroughly taken the advice from Lord Pain in making sure to beat all semblance of his past self out of him (when in their presence, at least) with military doctrine and showing the levels in power between them - precisely why Nagato had passed Gaara to them.
"Of course, Commander." Gaara agreed simply.
"Good." The elite commander stated, before starting the day off with the simplest command they'd issue that session. "Sit."
MILITARY HEADQUARTERS, TRAINING ROOM TWO.
Though the Jonin Commander much preferred to utilise their assigned office and desk spaces within Pain's Tower, their official assigned space was in the military headquarters in Ame of which they would be the highest ranking superior there. The military headquarters was the primary place in the Land of Rain where all of the missions were funnelled through, before being sorted and categorised - and then being dispatched to the relevant barracks across the nation. It also sorted out many other factors such as the logistics division was based in the headquarters along with a liaison for the research and development centre on the other side of the city who received their orders for their projects.
It also contained a number of training rooms for the military personnel inhabiting the building. Though a strange place to train at first, it made sense in the long term as much of the work that was carried on in the headquarters was administration work, which could cause senses and skills to dull with disuse. Thus, a place to train nearby was constructed to ensure this was countered.
It also of good convenience to Sasori, as for security and simplicity reasons, the headquarters was the building directly right of Pain's Tower. The heavy concentration of security already in the centre of Ame could thus be merely extended over the headquarters. As such, it was just a matter of going through a connecting tunnel to the next building for him and his assigned charge.
Nobody was going to question them being there after all, not with two of Pain's watchdogs from the elite divisions watching Sasori's movements all hours of the day. Sasori could beat them, but their skills would be more than enough to have time to merely activate a radio device linking them directly to their leader - who would then activate the failsafe chakra rod implanted in Sasori's wooden body.
"The basics again, Sasori?" Shino questioned of him as the two of them stood in the middle of the room.
Sasori merely looked to Shino at what was a semi-rude greeting to who was essentially his teacher, but he'd learned to get over it. His preference for more refined behaviour worked both ways - though he was annoyed by Shino's blunt mannerisms which could be rude, his desire to not waste time meant he wasn't going to argue with a child who had less emotional capacity than his leader.
"You know I will not waste time, Shino, and so we will set out this foundation. A good foundation set out now will avoid us going over trivial things later." Sasori explained calmly, before posing a question of his own. "Right, now since you've done chakra control exercises before as you've told me, you should have at least decent progress with the wall climbing exercise."
Shino only nodded. "I run up this entire wall." He answered.
Sasori gave a nod, before then countering Shino's statement. "Good, but not good enough. That wall is only ten metres high. I have an upgraded form of the exercise which would normally take a genin about a month to master. I wonder how long it will take you."
"What is that, Sasori?" Shino asked.
Sasori didn't directly answer him, only turning around to exit the room they had entered. "Come, Shino, let us go outside."
"In the pouring rain?" Shino blandly stated the obvious as he moved to be just behind his teacher.
"Yes." Came the simple answer from the puppeteer, and it was from that statement that Shino realised why it would be so much harder to climb a wall with chakra outside in this nation. "But, if you master this exercise which we repeat every day, water walking will fortunately come more naturally to you. Which will mean less wasted time."
PAIN'S ATTIC.
"Now, Naruto, you've spent the past week recovering from your stay in hospital and surgeries. But now is the time to commence your proper training." Nagato informed his fellow red-headed Uzumaki as he guided Naruto by the shoulder down the corridor.
"Thank you, Uncle." Naruto responded. "But who will I be learning from?"
"I would have thought that would be obvious from what we were doing." Nagato stated as he looked to the child for a moment with his rinnegan eyes. "Me, of course."
Nothing more was said as the two moved up the small wooden staircase leading to the attic space that Nagato spent such a large amount of time in. Combined with the constant dark weather he helped manipulate over Ame, it was of a small concern to Konan about how pale Nagato was.
With a mere spike of chakra, the sensors in the room detected the familiar chakra signature and the lights in the room blazed on, making Naruto look round in wonder. It was a large room that took up the entire floor space of the Tower's level, and the edges of it were crammed with equipment and items. Against one wall sat a veritable trove of knowledge, with a useful system set up by Nagato with his paths so that information could be quickly exchanged between summoning them by his or the Animal Path's hand. A large chair that had several restraints upon it was set against one of the walls, wired up to what looked like a small metal transmitter.
The last wall captured Naruto's interest the most, however, was the row of similar machines to the right of the chair. A set-up of large, mechanical structures big enough to fit people inside, there were eight of them set against the wall. To Naruto, they looked like big metal boxes with retractable lids that could only be moved by the machinery attached to it - as he looked into the window set in the top half of it.
"Who is that?" Naruto asked as he stared at the person lying within.
"Not who, but what. They're dead." Nagato stated bluntly, getting a grimace from Naruto, who nonetheless kept looking - he'd seen death before, to his unfortunate mental state. "That, is Hanzo of the Salamander."
Naruto gave a small gasp as he looked to Nagato, before looking back to the corpse. "The bad guy who ruined the nation before?"
"More than that." Nagato stated in a far-away tone as he reminisced when looking at the corpse. "He was evil. He ruined a lot more than the history books will ever portray, Naruto. If that body wasn't so useful, I would have it destroyed for merely being connected to him."
Naruto looked at Nagato with semi-wide eyes, curiosity in them that the boy did not feel like voicing from the tone of his Uncle - instead questioning something else. "So all of these other people-"
"Dead as well." Nagato responded immediately as he looked further along the row of machines. "But none of them were as bad as Hanzo. Five of them are ninja simply killed by Jiraiya of the Sannin, and one of them was a very dear friend of mine."
Once again, Naruto didn't question the curiosity he had for one topic and instead went with the other. "Why Jiraiya of the Sannin? Isn't he one of the powerful ninjas of the Leaf?"
Nagato just nodded as he shook his thoughts and turned to his nephew. "Very powerful, he's the third most powerful behind Hiruzen Sarutobi and his own student, Minato Namikaze." Nagato answered as he looked at Naruto, before smiling. "He was the teacher who helped make me as powerful as I am today."
Naruto let out a small gasp at that, making Nagato chuckle slightly before shaking his head as he saw the curiosity build within the boy. "But that is a tale for another day, nephew." Nagato stated as he cut off the flow of questions. "I will tell you everything in time, when you will understand these concepts better. But now, now is the time to begin training."
Naruto nodded, before becoming more excited about the prospect of training. "Cool, what are we doing?"
Nagato led them over to the massive space of wooden flooring in the middle of the room, and gazed seriously at Naruto. "As the nine tails has undoubtedly told you, Naruto, your chakra has had to change in accordance with the manipulation of tailed beast chakra in your system. You will find it more difficult to utilise good chakra control." Nagato spoke. "But this also comes with its own benefits. Healing on the battlefield, better sensory perception and others, based on the abilities being a jinchuuriki gets from its tailed beast. I do not know of the specific ability the nine tails can give you like the sand manipulation the one tail gave to Gaara, but you can ask it in one of your sealing lessons."
Naruto took all this in with a scratching motion to his head, but he understood enough. "So what are we gonna do now?" He questioned.
Nagato smirked as he settled into an open stance. "Hand to hand combat. I will help you specialise in certain areas to assist you in your career of a ninja, and I can promise you now that close combat will be a vital asset to you in accordance with these changes. I am not the best, but there is enough expertise in the Land of Rain that you can become much better than me." He explained, before holding out a palm. "We will start simply. Speed-building and dodging will be the first things we will do, which will also aid you in your stamina and perception skills. We begin now."
TOP FLOOR BEDROOMS, ONE WEEK LATER AT NIGHT.
The digital alarm read 21:07 at night as the three brothers sat on their beds, Gaara and Naruto having their single beds against the left wall as Shino sat on the right. The room was gloomy as they only kept two lamps on, sitting in the dulled atmosphere as they only talked before bed.
"So how goes training?" Gaara directed his question to Naruto, having got fed up of the previous conversation on news within Ame that he was unfamiliar with - instead now talking of something far more relevant to him.
Naruto blinked at the change in topic, before shrugging. "Well enough, I suppose." He responded, the red head petting the head of the larger nine tailed fox that was lounging all over the lower half of his bed. "My training with Uncle is still focused on the basics, like he's trying to make me reach a standard in training before we become too specialised. Oh, but he has focused a lot on close combat too, like he's trying to me specialise in that maybe."
Gaara gave a nod. "Yes, it is a little differently for me. My training under the Commander has been nothing but specialised so far. A lot of academics, and strategy studying, as well as physical training that relies more on stealth than even speed or strength. They say my style under them will be a lot more quiet than other ninjas will be."
Shino spoke up then. "Do you even know the commander is?"
Gaara just shook his head with a frown as he replied. "No. They always wear a mask - perhaps only Nagato knows who he is."
"Very likely." Shino agreed, watching a purple insect crawl onto his hand as he then prepared to speak of his own experience. He commanded the insect to leap from finger to finger as he sat straight on his bed, Naruto watching for a moment. Knowing his brother, that wasn't an idle motion, but rather a new form of chakra control exercise he was trying to perfect. "Yes, I've been coming along quite well the art of the sword actually. Added to the fact Sasori is keenly trying to exploit my speed bloodline, it should make a very nice combo. I'll likely specialise in both short and long range engagements."
Naruto cocked his head as he thought about that, something striking him. "I wonder where Uncle learnt sword fighting from? He doesn't really show such things a lot. He much prefers shorter weapons, like kunai."
Shino raised an eyebrow at that, seemingly a bit puzzled. "I thought you'd know, Naruto. You're the only actual Uzumaki out of us three."
Naruto actually showed his puzzled face unlike Shino. "What does that have to do with anything?" He asked.
"You really don't know, do you?" Shino questioned back, getting a shake of the head from Naruto. "I am curious as to why Nagato has not mentioned it, but I read about it from a history book. Sword fighting is one of the major aspects of the Uzumaki clan, alongside their sealing skills and notorious stamina, healing and lifespans."
A more shocked visage overcame Naruto's face at what Shino said. "There's an Uzumaki clan?" Naruto questioned with a stunned tone.
Shino's face darkened as he pressed both hands together in front of his face, the bug crawling back under the skin. Shino knew he wasn't going to like what he was about to reveal, but logic dictated that to hide it would only cause further trouble for his brother, or at least their relationship, if he kept it hidden longer. It was just what he was going to reveal may crush more of his brother's innocence than the kidnapping attempt, and that caused him to hesitate - a rare thing.
"Gaara. I will now tell you both what I refused to tell you a week ago." Shino stated as his dark blue eyes stared at the former jinchuuriki born in the Sand, before then looking to the jinchuuriki born in the Leaf. The Fox's glowing red eyes never looked away from Shino. "I refused to tell you without the presence of Naruto, because it concerns us both. To tell you of the Uzumaki clan, Naruto, would have to involve telling you of your parentage - as you are the son of the current head of it."
THE NEXT DAY, PAIN'S OFFICE.
The door to the office was barged open, making the Deva Path's eyes narrow as it swiftly looked up - before settling into a more normal glance of curiosity as he saw it was Naruto, with the nine tails trotting into the office before him.
"I do apologise." The Fox spoke out with a very unapologetic tone. "But he has been asking me questions all morning you are much more suited to telling, given how I never cared for the full story when you already killed that Uchiha."
Deva's eyes looked seriously at the Fox at the mention of cursed clan name, before looking to Naruto as he now had an inkling what it was about. "What questions?" The corpse asked slowly.
"How did I end up here?" Naruto asked in a very serious tone he'd never used before, vestiges of fury in his eyes. "When I was actually from the Leaf? And why did you never tell me?!"
"Ah." Deva let out as the body reclined back into the office chair, despite there being no feeling within the long-dead corpse. "That is a question that can be answered easily." He reassured with a placating tone, looking to Naruto softly.
Naruto eased up slightly as that cancelled out some of the worse simulations playing in his mind, before huffing. "Well go on then." He demanded.
Deva took a moment to look at Naruto, and regarded his nephew for a moment. If that had been Shino or Gaara, there'd have been a much more hostile atmosphere within that room. "Like I said, it's rather simple. There are two reasons." Deva started to explain. "Shino has undoubtedly told you of your true parentage if this has been brought up. Thus, the two reasons are with two men - Minato Namikaze, your father, and a man called Obito Uchiha."
A soft growl emanated from the Fox at the mention of the name, but Naruto merely scratched the miniature tailed beast behind the ears to calm him. "Who is that?" Naruto questioned, knowing full well who the current ruling Hokage was.
"Obito was a man who was thought dead during the battle of Kanabi bridge during the Third Ninja World War, a genin in the Leaf who supposedly died in an altercation with Earth ninjas." Deva answered as he put his hands together, remembering all he had torn from the man's head. "In truth, he lived, trained by another, unimportant Uchiha. He became powerful enough to control the nine tailed beast, who he then directed to attack the Leaf - starting the chain of events which brought you here."
Naruto blinked, before looking to the Fox who just looked back to Naruto with friendly, red eyes. "You attacked the Leaf?" Naruto questioned with a surprised tone.
The nine tails gave a huff before answering as Naruto stopped scratching his scalp. "Like he said, it wasn't quite my fault given how I wasn't even in control of myself. But now that I look back on it, it was one of my finer moments..."
"Three million dead." Deva interrupted then, hearing what the Fox said as he held up one finger. "In just one attack. Out of a population of eleven million and the second biggest city in the Land of Fire, three million died from the flames spawned by your fire-natured chakra and the direct attacks from you."
The Fox snarled at the Deva Path as he heard the insinuation. "You try being locked up for over a century of your life, and then not hold resentment against them!" The nine tails growled at Deva with an angry swish of a few tails.
"On the contrary." Deva calmly countered, getting the Fox to blink as he saw it going differently to what one might assume at first from what Deva said before. "Many of the minor nations cheered at another tailed beast attack against one of the major nations, and I certainly used it to my advantage." He spoke, and saw the nine tails settle down as Naruto began to pet the Fox once more. "Five million Ame citizens died in the Third World War, we could not care if the Leaf's population still hasn't recovered from ten years ago. No, I tell this more for Naruto's benefit."
Naruto looked to the Deva Path as he questioned that. "Why me?"
Deva leant forwards slightly to show how serious he was. "You need to realise that this is the world we live in. Where a world war guarantees millions of civilian deaths at least, where entire armies will be eradicated and where the minor nations once more become the literal battlefields." He explained, before gesturing to the nine tails. "You have read of how the Third world war lasted over fifteen years, and you have just heard of how factors like the tailed beasts can achieve such feats in a singular night."
"But what does this have to do with me being here?" Naruto asked seriously, bringing the discussion back on track.
"Everything." Deva replied, glancing seriously to the nine tails jinchuuriki. "For due to the attack, Minato Namikaze chose to seal the nine tails into you. To lock away the beast, after having defeated Obito Uchiha who had unleashed the Fox on Konoha."
Naruto frowned at that, not quite seeing the negatives - as he had never experienced them. "You would've done the same." He stated, looking at Deva with a weird expression.
"Not like how the Namikaze would've." Deva countered as he slid a piece of paper onto the desk, letting Naruto read. "This is a piece of paper that Sasori at the time managed to seize from the will of the Fourth Hokage, a hastily drawn up list of his wishes after his death. Including the wish for your heritage to remain unknown until you reached Chunin, and for the entirety of the Leaf to know of their 'saviour'."
Naruto read through it with a mounting frown, before looking back to Deva. "Is that bad?" He questioned, slightly hesitantly. "You didn't tell me about him either."
"What good would it have done you?" Deva questioned back. "You didn't need to know. I wasn't going to give you back, and given how we're training you now, it has no bearing on any aspect of your life but for your own personal curiosity. In terms of this will, however, both points are bad."
Naruto crumpled the paper slightly as he demanded the answer. "How?"
Deva slammed a reconnaissance report folder onto the desk, before flipping it open and throwing three more pieces of paper onto the desk. Detailed across them, were the life experiences of Gaara Subaku, Yugito Nee the two tails jinchuuriki and Fuu the seven tails jincuuriki. "Gaara Subaku, now your brother, had a childhood so bad he was driven mentally unstable by his own father who ordered assassination attempts on the boy to both test him and perhaps get rid of an unstable weapon. It has taken a week of counselling by Konan to even get him to talk normally to you two, and he has been assigned under one of my commanders to give him the discipline and rigidity he desperately needs in life."
Deva then jabbed a finger upon the second sheet of paper. "Yugito Nee, the two tailed jinchuuriki. Shunned within her own village, with a reputation of being treated with mistrust as she has not proven herself like the eight tails jinchuuriki. This has fostered a jealous relationship between two jinchuuriki, and she remains loyal only to the Raikage and her friends." The Path's finger then traced over the final paper. "And Fuu, of Takigakure. She had a worse childhood than the two tails, with an ostracization so bad she has been moved to the very boundary of her village to keep her away from the populace. She was hated within the very place she lived for merely being a container to the disaster that ravaged their nation seventy years prior."
Naruto looked slightly horrified as Deva finished speaking, words not coming to him - as the Fox's eyes narrowed as he heard something within that speech. "Had?" He voiced suspiciously.
"Later." Deva responded immediately to the Fox, before looking back to Naruto. "So imagine this treatment of these three within a place that has experienced the worst tragedy in its history, all because of the foolish ideals of a stupid man who still doesn't understand how the world works. On top of that, you wouldn't receive a singular piece of that man's heritage until chunin, after you have had to prove yourself, because due to his actions, everyone would come for you just to spite him? His actions were not considerate of you, but rather a village which would have happily ostracised you."
"I-I see." Naruto stuttered out slightly, all of the slight suspicion he had being turned completely around now that he had some of the answers he sought. "But how did I really get here then?"
"That is simple." Deva answered as he leaned back again. "Obito Uchiha, having failed, grabbed you after the Namikaze sealed the nine tails within you just an hour after birth and teleported away before anyone could intervene. He brought you here, I killed him and the rest - you know."
Naruto's head span as he tried to process it all, having learnt a lot in just the ten minutes they'd been having the conversation. But there was just one more thing he had to know - why his Uncle kept him.
"But why didn't you contact the Leaf?" Naruto asked slowly. He wanted to hear it. "Why not get something out of this? Once they know I'm here, they'll stop at nothing..."
"You tell me, Naruto." Deva stated seriously as he leaned forward slowly. "Would you really want to go back to a place that you know has helped to directly destroy the city you stand in - twice?"
Naruto looked at Deva with slightly widened eyes, before a more bitter frown overcame the young ninja's features. "Never." He responded resolutely, causing the Uzumaki puppet master upstairs to smirk slightly - the boy's education over the years had come to fruition.
"Besides." Deva started speaking again. "You are my Nephew, and I have many... plans, I need help with in the future. You will learn of it all, I assure you. The Leaf cannot just take you back after you have been fully trained, which is what these six years are for. Just as I assure you, that you have been treated far better here than you would've been treated in Konoha."
And with that long explanation and further forthcoming answers - all of which were in his favour, Nagato had secured Naruto's loyalty.