Chapter 17: Land of Whirlpools (3): Uzumaki Puppets
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto is the work of Masashi Kishimoto.

A/N: The upload schedule is too slow! I'm reverting back to "short" chapters (around 2k+ words, give or take). For some reason, long chapters take too long to make, yet short chapters feel like a breeze. When I write a chapter that's 4k+ words long, it takes forever, but when I write two chapters that are 2k+ words, it takes less time. It doesn't make sense! T_T

"Haaa… Ha… HA!"

Wooooop—TING!

Sparks flew like fireflies at night, dancing as the cold knives and swords clash and kiss each other's blades with passion and killing intent.

Underneath the towering kingdom of trees, a swarm of bandits charged forward like moths drawn to flames, hopelessly trying and failing to break the barricade of the Uzumaki clan members.

The soil was dark, watered by raining blood, wetting the shredded grass blades below the humans' feet.

"Ichiro-senpai, dodge!"

Kaiso, Ichiro's friend, turned his head just in time to see a bandit raise his katana to slice Ichiro in half. Heeding his friend's warning, Ichiro bent his arm in an unholy manner, as if wanting to break it in half, barely blocking the incoming katana using his chokuto.

CLANG!

"ARGH! RETREAT!"

Ichiro gritted his teeth and yelled, growling like a mad beast trapped in a jar. They were surrounded by hundreds of bandits, and the White Bear Emperor was looming over their heads, the chances of escape were slim yet, Ichiro had no choice but to try,

"Ichiro-senpai, please escape! Leave us behind, regroup with prince Menma and let our death have meaning! Please, Ichiro-senpai, this is our last wish!"

Kaiso cried out. The other Uzumaki heard his plea, and they all surrounded Kaiso and Ichiro, protecting them from the wild brutes charging toward them. The White Bear Emperor wasn't deaf, he clearly heard Kaiso's words, so he ordered his army to ram toward the Uzumaki's defenses and quickly end the battle.

"RAAAAA!"

"NO! I won't leave all of you here to die! Let's fight side by side, and march to our own end together! FOR UZUSHIO!"

Amidst the battle cry of the unruly bandits, Ichiro raised his chokuto in retaliation, intending to boost his comrades' morale.

THUD.

However, his feet never took a step forward, and his knees fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Ichiro's eyes widened in disbelief, looking at Kaiso with wide eyes.

"Ichiro-senpai, please escape and be safe," Kaiso moved closer to Ichiro, tore apart Ichiro's shirt, and sliced his palms open, drawing a symbol on Ichiro's bare chest. "Fuuiinjutsu: Chi no Tōbō (Sealing Technique: Blood Escape). I bid you goodbye, senpai. You were the best friend we could ever ask for."

"KAISO, NO!"

POOF!

In a puff of red smoke, Ichiro's figure disappeared into thin air, replaced by a puddle of blood and flesh. Kaiso's blood and flesh.

Blink… blink…

"Prince?"

Ichiro groaned, looking around. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all made out of rocks, so he knew that they were inside a cave. Hearing Ichiro wake up, Menma turned to look at Ichiro's bloodied appearance.

Ichiro's shirt was in tatters as if he was mauled by a wolf, yet managed to stay intact. Even the blood on Ichiro's chest didn't belong to him, making Menma perplexed when he first saw Ichiro's state.

"What happened? Why do you look like you played inside a wolf's nest?"

Menma asked. Ichiro looked down, memories replaying inside his mind like a sort of play, a cruel play. "We were attacked by Shirokuma's army. The group fought well, betting our lives in resistance, but forty of us couldn't make a single of you, my prince. We stood no chance against the White Bears."

Menma nodded. That was obvious. A level 3 seal expert and the royal Uzumaki bloodline. Even if Ichiro multiplied by a hundred, they would still be defeated by Menma. Furthermore…

'These Uzumaki aren't what they seem to be.'

"Prince, how should we rescue them?"

Hearing Ichiro's question beside him, Menma was pulled out of his thoughts.

"We'll go to the land of whirlpools. I'll try to search for sealing supplies there," Menma elaborated, "In our current state, we don't stand a chance against the White Bear bandit army. I need to stockpile sealing scrolls, but we don't have money. We can't escape from this forest either, our only hope is through the land of whirlpools. We will head toward our ancestral homeland."

The far eastern forest of the land of fire, the one Menma and Ichiro are in, was polluted by bandits. Here, bandits roamed around like cockroaches, you'll find them in every corner. Bandit armies like the White Bears are common here, so Menma and the other Uzumaki's escape was hopeless unless they used brute force.

Of course, Menma could always leave whenever he wants, but Ichiro and the others didn't need to know that.

Menma and Ichiro traveled like desperate men, never stopping once to rest. After a week, they finally stopped.

They've now reached the shore at the edge of the land of fire. Looking at the light-blue, clear sky and the deep blue ocean in front of him, Menma couldn't help but take a deep breath of the ocean breeze. With the cold, salty, and somewhat floral scent of the air, Menma let out a free smile, and all his tension melted like an ice cube melting under the bright, hot sun.

"Prince… are you sure?"

"Tsk, get going already. Hop on my back, we're departing."

Menma crouched, his back facing the hesitant Ichiro. The original plan was for Menma to create a seal formula, as well as a boat. The sealing formula will allow even the smallest raft to carry a boulder, as well as give it the ability to drive at fast speeds.

If that boat was created, it would be like dolphins in the ocean.

The problem is, the other Uzumaki are now either dead or captured, and only Ichiro remained. Creating that boat was a waste of time, especially now that they are fighting against time. They could always create the boat later, so Menma decided to simply run across the ocean for now.

The distance between the land of fire and the land of whirlpools was vast, but it was possible for Menma to cross it if he ran fast enough.

Under Menma's urging, Ichiro finally relented and hopped on Menma's back. Because of their height gap, Ichiro had to wrap around Menma's body like a monkey hugging a tree branch to properly support himself.

"Let's go. Delaying won't get us any further."

With that said, Menma took off and ran into the horizon.

Menma ran for three days straight, ignoring his shaking legs and trembling body, when he finally saw a small dot on the horizon. After another day of running, Naruto arrived at the shore. He arrived at the land of whirlpools.

"Prince, we are he…"

THUD!

Ichiro got off Menma's back and stood up, but when his foot touched the ground, he fell flat, face first. Menma looked at Ichiro's unbreathing body, his eyes hiding his deepest thoughts.

"Grrr…"

Menma was about to approach Ichiro when he heard a deep growl behind him. Turning back, Menma saw a gigantic, two-headed wolf. The wolf was twice as tall as him, reaching a staggering ten feet in height. Menma looked like a cub in front of the wolf.

Menma bent down and grabbed Ichiro's chokuto, but when his chakra-sensing ability scanned the wolf's chakra, his body stood straighter, startled beyond words.

"God damned it, why does it have as much chakra as me?!"

Menma glanced at Ichiro before charging at the wolf.

"AWOOO!"

Letting out a deafening howl, the wolf looked at Menma with a piercing glare and opened its mouth, revealing sharp, enormous set of teeth. Its fangs were particularly large, like stalactites and stalagmites growing off of the wolf's mouth.

RAARR—!

The wolf snapped its mouth shut, intending to bite Menma in half, but it didn't feel anything in its mouth. Menma had already jumped high into the air, landing on the wolf's head.

Menma raised his chokuto, intending to cut open the wolf's neck to let it bleed to death. No matter the size, all living creatures will be dead if the neck is cut off.

CLANG!

However, contrary to Menma's expectations, instead of the wolf's neck, it was his chokuto that broke.

"What the hell?!"

"AWOOO!"

Angered, the wolf shook its head, creating wild gusts of wind.

Menma wasn't affected. From the moment his chokuto snapped in two, he already jumped off the wolf's head and landed next to Ichiro's body. Then, he lifted Ichiro's body into his shoulder, running away like a thunderbolt.

Creaak—creak—creak—snap!

Menma jumped from tree branch to tree branch, bending each branch he set foot on and sometimes snapping it in half. Ichiro's body swayed left and right like a lifeless doll, unaware that his life as well as Menma's were in jeopardy.

"What the hell is this place…? Ichiro, wake up!"

"Awooo!"

Hearing the disheartened howl behind him get fainter and fainter, Menma finally let out a sigh of relief. The wolf's skin was harder than his chokuto, making his chokuto snap in half. The thought of it made his eyes bulge and his skin crawl. That wolf was likely everywhere in this land, just how would he be able to survive?

Menma finally understood what it meant to escape the tiger's den only to walk into a wolf's nest.

When he couldn't hear the wolf anymore, Menma stopped and hid above a tall tree, concealing his appearance. Looking at Ichiro's unmoving body, Menma frowned.

"It seems like… my theory is correct. These guys are puppets."

Menma formed this theory long ago. To be exact, when he met with Ichiro's group. They were all Uzumaki, and they all had Uzumaki blood, but why were their chakra so little? Furthermore, why did they insist on staying in that bandit-infested forest?

That was tantamount to suicide, yet those Uzumaki still did it.

Furthermore, what was that thing about god's bloodline? The royal bloodline could already spark a forest fire in the souls of every Uzumaki, why did they have to exaggerate it to the extreme and call it the "god's bloodline"?

Menma sighed.

"There's definitely a hidden mystery here, but my survival comes first. These Uzumaki are puppets, so maybe I can dissect… no, no, no, let's focus. Should I leave this place?"

Menma shook his head.

"No. The reason I came here in the first place was to collect some sealing supplies in order to rescue those Uzumaki. They were so life-like, and everything about them felt real, like a normal, living person, yet they were actually puppets. Each and every one of them is of great research value, I must try my best to rescue as much of them as possible."

With a solid plan in mind, Menma took a rock and drew a storage seal on it. Then, he sealed Ichiro's body into the rock. When Ichiro's body was absorbed by the rock, his theory was confirmed. These Uzumaki were puppets, 100%. Otherwise, they wouldn't be accepted by the storage scroll.

Menma spent an entire week exploring the outskirts of the land of whirlpool like a mosquito in search of blood. He would never stop even for a moment, avoiding all the giant beasts he encountered. The beasts in the outskirts had the same strength as the giant, two-headed wolf, meaning he was hopeless in front of them. After a week, he encountered hundreds of these giant beasts, making him understand just how dreadful this place was.

"No wonder no one from the ninja world explored this place. I'm afraid that even the kages will be hard-pressed just trying to survive here in the land of whirlpools."

Menma analyzed. He found three ruined structures belonging to the Uzumaki during his week of exploring the land of whirlpools, and although he found no inheritance of the Uzumaki clan, he found a lot of sealing equipment and supplies.

"I suppose it's time to return to the land of fire. Shirokuma, I wonder how ugly your face will be when you see me again. It would be quite the reunion, I hope you're ready."

Menma sighed, having the feeling of jumping into a pit of fire that he had just escaped from. Well, with his current situation, he escaped from the pit of fire, only to fall into a pit of magma, so he had no choice but to return to the pit of fire. Menma chuckled at the irony.

With that in mind, Menma ran toward the land of fire as if the ocean was just a vast plain. Without Ichiro on his back, he reached the land of fire in just three days.

"Prince, what happened?"

Ichiro squinted his eyes, trying to block the blinding rays of the sun. The last thing he remembered was arriving at the land of whirlpools, and then his memories got cut off. When Menma told him that they were back at the land of fire, Ichiro was addled.

"When we went to the land of whirlpools, we encountered a giant, two-headed wolf…"

Menma recounted his adventure to Ichiro, scaring the poor soul of Ichiro away. Well, if he had any.

Ichiro was horrified. The beasts Menma was referring to were more commonly known by the Uzumaki clan as "chakra beasts". They are normal animals who absorbed too much chakra, making them evolve to become stronger and fiercer.

It's just that, these chakra beasts weren't as powerful before as they are now.

Menma ignored Ichiro's rattled expression and observed Ichiro's every move. Ichiro's skin was soft to the touch, his breathing was hot, his eyes would water when feeling extreme emotions, his body would tremble when cold, scared, or angry, and he would bleed when cut… every time Menma observed Ichiro, he would be fascinated.

"I wonder who created these puppets…"

"Prince? Did you say something?"

"Forget it, we are nearly there."

Ichiro nodded and kept running. Their destination was Shirokuma's base.

Menma planned to ambush Shirokuma and assassinate him if possible, but if not, then he wasn't scared to fight Shirokuma head-on. In their last battle, Shirokuma lost a limb, while Menma only lost scrolls.

Now, Menma was full of sealing supplies. He had at least a hundred blank scrolls, and he even found a giant, two-foot-tall scroll and a big brush shaped like two phoenixes during his stay at the land of whirlpools.

For the current Menma, he could easily destroy the White Bear bandit army if he wanted to. He just had to make all one hundred blank scrolls into Explosive Scrolls and the White Bear bandit army's base would go up in smoke.

Of course, he wouldn't do that. His purpose was to rescue the Uzumaki, not roast them to ashes.

Furthermore, he wouldn't waste all one hundred blank scrolls and make them into sealing scrolls. He could always write sealing formulas in the midst of battle, so he wasn't worried about running out of useful scrolls. Although he could write seal formulas on anything now, he would always prefer writing on sealing scrolls.

Sealing scrolls needed to be prepared and infused with chakra, so the seal formula's performance would reach its peak. With such an advantage, even seal masters would stockpile sealing scrolls and blank scrolls in order to use for battle.

Writing seals on sealing scrolls was like writing on paper while writing on other surfaces was like writing on stone, who in their right mind would write on stone?

"Prince, I sense other Uzumaki nearby."

"Huh?"

Dumbfounded, Menma looked at Ichiro. He couldn't sense anybody nearby, but Ichiro said he could sense some Uzumaki nearby.

"Okay, lead the way."

"As you wish, my prince."

Although Menma was skeptical, he still chose to follow Ichiro. Ichiro was a puppet, a masterpiece created by the Uzumaki clan. Who knew what kind of secrets they had? Maybe he could sense anyone anywhere in the ninja world. Menma chuckled at the thought.

It only took a minute for Ichiro to stop.

"Where are they?"

Menma asked, looking around.

"They're here, my prince."

Ichiro replied, pointing at the ground. Menma tilted his head and raised his brow, also pointing at the ground.

"They're underneath us?"

"Yes."

Hearing Ichiro's reply, Menma was certain that these Uzumaki had been buried. Menma would sense it if there was an underground basement, but there was none, so the only logical guess he could take was that the Uzumaki were "dead".

"All right, dig them out."

"This… ah, I understand."

Ichiro tensed, his eyes turning red. He gripped his trembling hands into a fist and took out a thick, tree branch above them. Then, he started digging using the tree branch and chakra.

Ichiro took an entire day digging out 13 "dead" bodies. All of them had blood-red hair, their skin was pale, and they had many cuts and bruises, yet their skin was still fresh, far from decomposing. In fact, they were still bleeding, constantly dying the soil red.

"P-prince, I've dug them out. Where should we bury them? Their burial should be honora—"

"No, I'll put them into a storage scroll."

Ichiro froze in place. Did he hear that right? When Ichiro regained his senses, Menma had already sealed all of the bodies into a storage scroll labeled "Uzumaki".

"P-prince, those Uzumaki died in battle to protect their…"

"Don't worry, they're fine."

"Ah?"

"Sir, the Uzumaki are acting weird."

Takumashii reported to Shirokuma, while Shirokuma just ignored him. Shirokuma despised the Uzumaki, the only reason they were still alive was that they could be sold for money. Naturally, he wouldn't care if the Uzumaki started acting "weird".

"Sir, they suddenly fell asleep. All at the same time. Then, after an hour, they all woke up. All at the same time. Then, after waking up, they began rampaging. All at the—"

"All right, I get it!"

Shirokuma's eye twitched, but he repressed his annoyance and pondered.

"But you are right, that's weird. Take me to them, I want to see those damned lunatics."

Shirokuma stood up and followed Takumashii into the basement. Only, before Takumashii could open the trapdoor leading to the basement, one of the White Bear Kings entered Shirokuma's office and whispered to him.

"Oh? The Uzumaki prince is heading our way? Leave him be, what can one person… WHAT?! Menma is heading this way?"

Shirokuma gritted his teeth, his eyes turning bloodshot and his fist trembling.

"That bastard, taking away my arm wasn't enough, he wants to raid our base too? All right, call the Thunder Roses and the Raining Needles, now!"

Listening to Shirokuma's orders, the White Bear King hesitated.

"What?"

"Sir, are we really going to call those two?"

"You've got any problem?"

The White Bears had bad blood with the Thunder Roses and the Raining Needles. It would be appropriate to say that they were sworn enemies.

"If you want to live, go call them now. Do it as if your life depends on it… because it does."

"Yes, sir."

Shirokuma and Takumashii watched as the White Bear King left with unsteady steps.

'Menma, even if you've doubled your power, I'll triple mine!'

Shirokuma chuckled, signaling for Takumashii to open the trapdoor.

At the same time, hidden behind thick layers of leaves and branches, Menma and Ichiro were watching as the White Bear bandits walked about, doing their daily business.

"Ichiro, go in there and see if you can find any useful intel."

Menma ordered. He got used to thinking of Ichiro as a puppet now, and it was definitely safer to have a puppet spy on the enemy's nest than for him to take action by himself.

"It shall be done, my prince."

Ichiro didn't even hesitate and left their hiding spot silently.

As Ichiro left, Menma resumed infusing chakra into his two-foot-tall sealing scroll. He would need this thing to be battle ready, otherwise, he would be in trouble if the White Bears reveal a trump card that he wasn't prepared for.

When Ichiro was close enough to the bandit's lair, he carefully hid behind a tree and began weaving hand seals.

"Huma (horse), hijutsu (ram), saru (monkey), ninjutsu: Nigeru Shinkirō no Jutsu (Fleeting Mirage Technique)."

After casting the technique, Ichiro's body began to blend with his surroundings. His clothes began to wrinkle and turned dark brown, matching the tree he was hiding behind. His skin also "dried up", giving the illusion that his skin had turned into the bark.

Ichiro stepped forward, his foot touching the stone and the color of his foot also changed to match the stone.

'! The Uzumaki are nearby!'

When Ichiro sensed 30 Uzumaki chakra signatures, Ichiro's head jolted, abruptly turning downward making it seem like the "small tree" snapped in two.

Ichiro closed his eyes, activating his sensing ability to the fullest, and searched underground. Sure enough, he sensed a hidden basement that housed hundreds of cages housing slaves. Thirty of the slaves had red hair, and they had the Uzumaki's chakra signature.

'They're being caged like animals… how terrible! I must report this to the prince—'

"Hey, are we really allying with those damned bastards? They acted like hyenas whenever we caught a big group of slaves, do we really have to work with them?"

Ichiro kept his eyes closed, his body unmoving, and his breathing still. He was out in the open, and his disguise would be blown if he moved.

A few dozen meters away from him, a group of four bandits was walking in his direction. The bandit who asked was wearing a sleeveless white shirt that looked more like a rug. His body, like the other three bandits, was bulky and bulging with muscles.

"Ah? Who are you talking about?"

One of the bandits asked. He wasn't wearing any shirt, but he had a white sash that seemed like it would fly away at any moment.

"Huh? You didn't know? We are allying with the rotten roses and the flying sticks."

"Hahaha! What? You mean Thunder Roses and Raining Needles?"

A bandit wearing a thick, white cape laughed and slapped the bandit with the sleeveless shirt's back.

"Why do you laugh? It's true, rotten roses and flying sticks is a better name for those two."

"Mn, well, I guess you have a point."

The White Bears have been enemies with the Thunder Roses and the Flying Needles for as long as heaven and earth. Reconciliation is impossible for the three.

The Thunder Roses betrayed them on multiple occasions when they worked together, while the Flying Needles would "accidentally" throw senbons at the White Bear bandits.

No bandit can tolerate such treacherous acts, much less the haughty White Bears.

"So, why are we working together with those two?"

The fourth bandit asked. He wasn't wearing anything on top, he only had white, baggy pants.

"I don't know. Apparently, there's an emergency."

"Ai, it's just an emergency, why do we have to work with… huh? Did you feel that breeze?"

"What breeze?"

"Never mind."

None of them knew, but Ichiro had already left the area unnoticed.

"The Thunder Roses and the Flying Needles are allying with the White Bears, they must've already known about the prince's plan. I have to inform the prince!"

As Ichiro ran toward Menma, he failed to see a flying senbon coming toward him.

Thud!

"Sir, Ichiro has been chained down, as you asked."

Takumashii said. Beside him was his master, Shirokuma. They weren't the only ones in the room, there were four other people inside. Two of them were the leaders of Thunder Roses and Flying Needles, while the other two were their trusted men respectively.

"White Bear Emperor, what is the meaning of this? The bandit armies are doomed if we don't help?"

The leader of Thunder Roses, Blood Rose, asked, her tone ice cold, clearly displeased. The leader of Flying Needles, Phantom Senbon, just quietly listened. Phantom Senbon was the one who knocked out Ichiro.

"It is exactly as I said. There's an Uzumaki prince by the name of Menma, and he wants to target the armies of the three of us."

Shirokuma explained, not a hint of impatience could be heard in his voice.

"Oh? Are you sure you're not just trying to bring us down to hell with you?"

Blood Rose asked, her brows raised and her gaze full of doubt and blame.

"I'd never do such a thing. That business is best left for you whores."

"White Bear Emperor! Watch your tone, I'll cut off your tiny dick if you keep spouting bullcrap."

"Blood Rose, language, please."

For the first time, Phantom Senbon spoke, making the other two leaders look at him. It wasn't known to anyone, but these three were once teammates. They worked for the land of rivers. One was an honorable samurai, one was a silent killing ninja, and the last was an infamous spy.

"Fuck you Phantom Senbon. He's calling my precious darlings as whores!"

"Well, I'm not wrong."

"Shut up!"

"Sigh, you two stop bickering. Shiro, tell us what's really going on."

Shirokuma went silent, looking at the other two leaders who were staring holes at him.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you. The Uzumaki prince wants revenge, and he won't stop until the Uzumaki in the pure lands has their justice."

"What? What do you mean?"

Blood Rose asked.

"He means the prince won't stop killing bandits that touched the Uzumaki," Phantom Senbon said, "All right, I'll send you some ninjas, err, bandits."

"Very well, I'll give you the slaves when the war is over."

Shirokuma nodded.

"Hey! I never touched an Uzumaki before, I hate those lunatics…"

Before Blood Rose could finish, Shirokuma threw a dead, mutilated Uzumaki at her, stunning her in place.

"Now you have. So, are you sending troops?"

Blood Rose was seething in rage, smoke could be seen rising from her head, but inwardly, she smirked.

"Fucking bastard, all right, I'm in."

"That's more like it. What Uzumaki lunatics, you're crazier than them," Shirokuma laughed and waved at Takumashii, who took out a sealing scroll and a sculpture of a red spider lily.

"Shall we begin talking," Shirokuma asked, already knowing the answer.

"Keep your mouth shut, let Phantom do the talking," Blood Rose scoffed

"All right, here's the plan," Shirokuma ignored her.

If you want to read more chapters in advance (up to chapter 31) and influence the story, you can check my pátreón!
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