This chapter is by far my longest. I didn't want to make it into two so I rushed it a bit.
It's my first fighting scene so forgive me if it is not so good. I promise better ones for the future.
The was a giant beating heart hanging from the sealing held by black tendrils that went through the cave. The heart was a dark crimson and beating in slow rhythmic pulses. The veins were also pulsing.
But what made Naruto's stomach turn was the pile of rotten bodies below the heart. There was blood all over the cave and some bodies look as if they were blasted from the inside. There were body parts and organs stuck to the walls and attached to the veins.
Most of the bodies were piled up under the heart. The stench alone was making Naruto gag. He used some chakra in his nose to block the smell and followed Ayumu to investigate the pile.
The bodies were in different stages of decay so someone must come to the cave and brought them or killed them here. Naruto didn't know. Naruto quickly made some clones to investigate the cave further.
Now that he was next to the body pile he could see that there were strange carvings on the walls and the ground. Ayumu was also close to the wall looking at the carvings.
They seemed to be in a language Naruto couldn't understand. "Ayumu-san is this some sort of ancient language? Can you read it?" Naruto asked.
He got an affirmative response and what seemed like the need for time. "If it takes so long do you want me to copy all the carvings so you can study them outside? I don't feel comfortable staying here for long. The energy feels so sinister." Naruto said.
He got another affirmative and ordered his clones to copy everything. There was no other entrance to the cave so Naruto made some seals on the entrance so that in case someone enters the cave he would be informed.
His clones can't last long in these conditions a few hours at most and even then they were unstable. When some of his clones popped he got no memories from them so he couldn't use clones as spies.
It took a while but once he had everything and confirmed them with Ayumu they got out of the cave. They went back to the hospital where Ayumu and Ichika unsummoned themselves for the day to investigate the text.
Naruto reported his discoveries to Tsunade who sent a message to both Jiraiya and Orochimaru for assistance. She sent copies for them and also Konoha to see if someone knows about the language.
Naruto also went around asking villagers but they haven't seen anything like it. In the end, Tsunade asked to also visit the cave tomorrow to take a look at the bodies.
They were back in the caves in the morning. There was no entry to the cave according to his seals but there were two new bodies in the pile. Naruto got to work putting more seals all around the cave.
Tsunade to her credit didn't show any outward reaction towards the bodies but set her equipment and got to work. It took a few hours and their air purification was wearing out so they wrapped things up quickly and got out.
When they went back Tsunade explained her discoveries. "Not all the bodies died in the cave. Some of them were moved after their death according to injuries to their bodies. The oldest body dates back to about 4 months ago while the newest was from a few days ago."
"All the faces were mutilated beyond recognition but I suspect some of them belong to the patients who died in the hospital since some of the marks and body features were familiar."
"I suggest you send a clone tonight to check the graves. We don't want to alarm the locals so we can't be discovered. There is no news from others yet so we must continue our investigations."
"I expect your reports as soon as new information is acquired for now you are dismissed. Go and help with the patients." Tsunade said.
Naruto bowed and exited the room. He knew that his seals on the entrance were working correctly. There was also no disturbance in the flow so they weren't tampered with. Something was going on and it was bothering Naruto.
He summoned Yuki to ask for Ayumu's help in checking the graves. There was no news of the discoveries but Yuki said everyone was working on it.
It was after midnight and Naruto and Ayumu had just finished investigating the graveyard.
Just as they suspected most of the victims' graves were empty. There was also a black residue in the empty graves. Ayumu could also sense traces of energy connected to the black veins of the cave.
It seemed as if the black veins were stretching out under the city and they would surface to the graves to steal the bodies. The mystery of the bodies who died in the cave remained but at least now they knew why Naruto's seals didn't work.
His seals from yesterday were only covering the entrance and not the walls. So if he got an alarm from his seals on the walls when they find new bodies, it would confirm the theory.
Just as they got back to the base Yuki summoned herself. "Naruto it seems there are discoveries from the translations. You should summon Kuro to explain things." Yuki said.
Naruto thanked her and went to Tsunade's office to inform her. When they were ready he summoned Kuro. Kuro was in his human form which meant it was something serious. His human form was of a man in his mid-thirties.
He was tall and muscular, with crimson spiky hair that reached his lower back and was tied into a high ponytail. He was wearing a simple black battle kimono and had two swords strapped to his sides.
His face was sharp and angular and he had red fox eyes. his ears and tail were also visible. "I'm sorry for the late disturbance but it was urgent that I inform you. I get straight to the point."
"The language is one of the old forgotten scripts from before the era of chakra. I don't think anyone but a few of the older summons can translate the language. Fortunately, there were books about the language in our library but translating it is a long and tedious work."
"We are not finished with the translations yet and Ayumu and Ichika have to go back to the cave tomorrow to check a few details. So far the translation is talking about a story. The story is of a dead god."
"Long ago there was a god of darkness and chaos roaming free in the world. He left a trail of dead bodies wherever he went. That was why the other gods sent their trusted vassals to fight this god."
"There was a long fight and many fell but in the end, the god fell. The god was angry at his fate so he cursed those who sealed him, promising to kill them all. They sealed his body deep within the ground and some humans decided to become its guardian so no one could revive him."
"We had to find some of the references from our own books but that was the story. We believe that the cave was where he was buried. The rest of the text is about how to revive the god. We haven't finished the translations yet."
"From our discoveries and Ayumu's report from the cave and the village, we believe that someone must have started the revival process. The heart is what contains the body. The veins are gathering chakra from the citizens causing the sickness."
"The vile natural energy takes over the victim's body sucking their life force. Slowly it is gathering energy for the fallen god. These people are probably related to the guardians who sealed the body so the god is killing them as revenge."
"We need more time to translate the ritual and how long we have but we cannot act rashly. We have no idea what might happen if the ritual is interrupted so the best course of action is to wait for now." Kuro said.
"Thank you for all the information Kuro-san. We will wait for your information. Naruto for the time being we might have to rely on your ability to keep the more critical patients alive. Do you think you can handle it?" Tsunade asked.
"Yes, Tsunade-sama I will do my best," Naruto said. They then discussed a bit more about things that should be done and how the events are related.
The next day was hell for Naruto. He was trying to heal all the critical patients to some level of stability but it was straining his body. Kuro and Ayumu were back today. Ayumu went to check on the cave.
Last night Naruto got an alarm from his seals from 2 bodies entering and Ayumu confirmed it today. Kuro in the meanwhile went to check all the village archives and even asked locals and elders if they ever heard of similar tales.
Naruto was too tired to ask for the results. Tsunade informed him that Orochimaru wanted to join them for assistance but 2 sannins in the same place outside of Konoha would bring too much attention so the Hokage was sending some ANBUs.
It's been 2 days and the ANBU finally arrived. They were Genma, Shisui and Mukai Kohinata. Naruto had to send his agents away in order not to risk discovery.
It was the early afternoon and Naruto was resting in a hospital bed. He had spent the whole day healing patients again. According to Tsunade's graphs and some calculations from Orochimaru, the rate of the disease was constantly increasing.
It was taking a shorter time for people to get affected and even shorter to get critical. So far they have managed to keep everyone alive but even the medics were in a bad shape. There were only so many chakra pills and energy bars that their bodies could handle.
They couldn't keep this up for much longer. Naruto was using all his strength to push through and heal more people but his body was suffering. He could feel a constant pain in his tenketsus and fatigue.
Tsunade ordered him to stay in bed and not use chakra for anything else for the time being. Naruto was mad at himself for not being able to do more. But now that the ANBU was here everything was better.
Kuro had told them that the translations were done and they would be done with the counterattack by the night. So far they had a few more discoveries. They only had until the last villager dies to stop the ritual.
In order to do so first they must remove all the bodies from the cave. Then they needed a protective barrier inside the cave so that the veins couldn't reach out. The next step is to cut the heart open at midnight.
It would free the uncomplete god and if they succeed the god would be put to sleep again. It all sounded too easy and Naruto knew something would definitely go wrong. Kuro would join them tomorrow night since he was also a sage and would sense if something goes wrong.
Naruto couldn't help but worry. Kurama was currently holding back all of his chakra and the pent-up chakra was starting to hurt. He might need to ask Tsunade-hime to heal him before going with the others tomorrow night.
There were currently red angry bite marks all over his arms and it felt disgusting. He knew that Kurama would heal them as soon as he could use chakra. He was just so frustrated. He tried to adjust himself on the bed just as Shisui dived into his room and tackled him on the bed.
"Otouto why are you in bed? Are you sick too? What happened? Who did this to you?" he continued to ramble as he was strangling Naruto on the bed. Naruto couldn't breathe and he was getting crushed by Shisui's weight.
Thankfully Tsunade and others entered the room at that moment and Tsunade just lifted Shisui off by the back of his shirt as if he weighed nothing. "Of the patient crow." Tsunade said as he dropped Shisui on his ass.
"I'm fine nii-san. Nothing a little rest can't fix. Did you guys get debriefed on the details?" Naruto asked as Shisui made his way to sit on the edge of the bed.
"Yes, Tsunade-sama explained everything before crow decided to make a dive for your room. What is your plan for the attack?" the ANBU with the bear mask or Genma asked.
"Well, I'm the seal master here so I will be in charge of the barrier. There is a strong barrier I know that once cast won't let anyone in or out but I will have to hold it for the duration of the fight."
"Since Kuro will come with us as a sage he can protect me while you guys take the lead to fight. I'm also preparing some offensive and defensive seals for you guys to use in the fight. I also have a huge repository of weapons." Naruto said and they gave them an inventory list of his weapons.
"Naruto are you sure you are in any fighting shape by tomorrow? You are already in a hospital bed." Shisui said.
"Don't worry I'm trained well. I think it would be best if we check the cave once today. Maybe there is something you or eagle can see that we missed." Naruto said.
"Not so fast gaki you still need to finish your IV. I will check on you afterward and decide if you can leave or not." Tsunade said as she went out.
Bear and eagle also went out to check the situation while Shisui remained with Naruto. He made himself comfortable right next to Naruto lying on the bed. "What are you not telling me Naruto?" he asked in a voice that meant business.
"I don't know what you are talking about," Naruto said.
"Don't lie to me otouto I know when you are lying. You wince whenever you move and you keep playing with your sleeves. Show me what you are hiding." Shisui said in a calm voice.
Naruto knew that he couldn't hide and he didn't want to push Shisui away so he slowly pulled up his sleeve to show the bite marks. Shisui gasped as he gently grabbed Naruto's wrist to get a closer look.
"What are these? Who did this to you?" Shisui's Sharingan turned on automatically.
"Calm down Shisui-nii. No one did this to me." Shisui's grip tightened in a warning. "I'm telling the truth let me explain it." Naruto said and then told him about his healing abilities and why he hid them from everyone.
"Naruto that is careless even for you. You can't push yourself like that I can see how you are trying to hide your pain. Itachi and I have been training with you for a while now and I've seen you getting your bones broken and not showing any reaction. Does Tsunade-sama know you are in pain?" He asked.
"No. Please you can't tell her. I know my limits and yes it does hurt but if I can save their lives it's worth it. She knows it's straining me tenketsus but if you tell her about the pain she won't let me assist you tomorrow." Naruto said as he gave Shisui his best puppy dog eyes.
Shisui glared at him for a few seconds but relented. "Fine I'm not telling Tsunade-sama but from now on you are not healing anyone else. Promise me that you will stay back in the fight. You can't get involved like this"
"And you will tell Tsunade-sama everything after the fight."His voice left no room for argument.
"Thanks, Shisui-nii," Naruto said as he pulled Shisui closer into a hug.
"Sleep for now I will wake you when the IV is done," Shisui said as he rubbed Naruto's back.
It was the night of the attack. Yesterday eagle and Shisui went to the cave with Naruto. Thankfully they hadn't missed anything critical to the mission. The four of them were now headed toward the cave.
Bear was staying back with Tsunade in case something happened and people outside the cave needed protection. The citizens were now all taking shelter in the makeshift hospital along with the patients.
Naruto left them some seals for emergencies and Ayumu was also summoned in case there was an emergency. Tsunade had healed Naruto's injuries as much as possible to lessen the strain on his tenketsu.
She was against Naruto going on this mission or even healing patients from the second day when she realized the amount of pressure on Naruto's body but Naruto was good with words.
He told her that he was a part of ROOT and it was his duty to give his life to serve people. That he would gladly give his if he could save one more person. It took some more argument but Tsunade just called him an idiot when she saw she wouldn't win against him.
They were now in the cave and Naruto was finishing his seal while eagle and crow were checking everything for the last time. Naruto gave them a signal and activated the seal. As if on cue the veins and heart stopped beating.
Suddenly there was a loud roaring noise and the heart burst open. Crow and eagle took their stance with their blades drawn. A body fell from the heart into the empty ground below it.
For a few seconds, nothing happened but then the body started to move with cracking sounds. It was a body of a giant muscular man with long messy black hair and completely black eyes.
When he started talking his voice was low and rumbling echoed throughout the whole cave. "YOU IMBECILES. YOU DARE INTERRUPT MY FREEDOM. I WILL CRUSH YOU ALL AND DESTROY ALL YOU HOLD DEAR." He yelled showing a mouth full of sharp teeth.
Shisui rushed forward trying to hit the god with his blade. But the god just stood there and once the blade made contact with his body it was as if it was stopped by a wall. The god tried to grab Shisui by the neck but he quickly shunshined out of reach.
Eagle was next he was trying to distract the god by throwing kunais and shurikens. Meanwhile, Shisui was throwing small precise jutsus from different natures to find weaknesses.
The battle was dragging out the god was warming up and his movements were getting quicker. He managed to land a few hits on them and used some of the thrown weapons to hit them back.
So far the only element that was doing damage was lightning. Shisui would use small ration attacks and whenever they landed they would stun or halt the god's movement for a second.
Some of the chakra-enhanced weapons from eagle were also doing damage. They could make small cuts on the skin but nothing too deep. Genjutsu wasn't affecting the god so Shisui was only using his eyes to read the movements.
The battle pace was going up and eagle and crow were panting. They had minor injuries at the moment but it was only a matter of time. The god only had scratches and he would even take some hits just to prove that they wouldn't do any damage.
The god was using the tendrils in the cave to attack from every direction and eagle and crow were on constant move. Eagle was using Byakugan to keep track of tendrils but while he was dodging he was hit in the stomach by the god and got thrown toward other tendrils.
Shisui shunshined and caught him in the air helping him to his feet. Soon they came to a strategy. While eagle was keeping track of tendrils and keeping them back, crow would attack the god.
The god was slowly trying to separate them from each other. His attacks were getting faster so eagle and crow had no choice but to react. Naruto saw that the god was trying to overwhelm Shisui.
He threw Shisui to a pillar in the cave. As Shisui hit the pillar black tendrils caught him and held him in place. Naruto had to do something. He quickly gave control of the seal to Kuro and unsealed his blades.
He channeled wind chakra to them and jumped the god from behind. His blades dragged on his back and made two long cuts the god turned his face towards him. "YOU WILL PAY." The god screamed.
Naruto wasn't ready to go down he started throwing seals on the ground making a cloud of smoke when the cloud died down he made a bijuu dama sending it full force it connected with the target sending the god to the wall and into rubbles.
Shisui was instantly by his side. "What the hell was that?" he asked as he cut the tendrils holding him.
"I will explain everything later. I have a plan." He quickly explained his plan to eagle and crow.
The god got up shaking with rage there were black tendrils around his body and a piece of his shoulder was missing where he was hit. He charged toward Naruto. Naruto did his best to block most attacks. He was low on chakra from maintaining the barrier and he could make one more bijuu dama at most.
The attacks were coming from everywhere. He was on the defensive and he couldn't make a single attack. Suddenly eagle attacked from the back making the god turn towards him. He sent all his tendrils toward eagle making him use the eight trigrams.
Shisui also jumped into action jumping from above shoving his blade through the hole in the shoulder and into the heart. He then channeled a huge amount of electricity into the wound making the god scream.
The god grabbed Shisui by the throat squeezing. He grabbed the blade and pulled it out ready to hit Shisui. Naruto jumped in front of Shisui trying to deflect the hit but the attack was too strong and pierced Naruto's lung.
Naruto used all his remaining power in a bijuu dama and shot it point-blank into the god's face. The god was thrown back holding the remainder of his face. Naruto gave Shisui a Kunai with a tag which he threw into the god's face.
The seal activated generating a huge amount of electricity. Eagle used the opening and attacked from behind using an enhanced gentle fist to shove his hand through the body and yanking out the heart.
With a last scream, the god fell to the ground. Kuro used a special seal they prepared beforehand to seal the body. Naruto suddenly fell to the ground coughing blood. He could hear Shisui screaming something beside him but his vision faded.