A\N: No, sorry, I didn't suddenly become a very fast writer! This chapter was meant to be part of the previous one, but I decided to cut it in two parts instead. Hope you'll enjoy it all the same.
I still don't own either Naruto or Elder Scrolls.
Asaru heard more shinobi run in the corridor outside of his cell. Normally you wouldn't hear ninja moving if they didn't want you to, but they seemed to be in a hurry. Maybe because their hidden village was under siege.
The first explosion had been very far, even if it had probably been felt by the whole complex. The last one though, it had to be much closer, judging by the way the cell's walls trembled.
"Maybe they came to rescue us?" his cellmate wondered, hopeful.
Asaru smiled grimly. He doubted this was a rescue mission, at least not for them. He was a simple retainer for his lady, and the young man he shared a cell with was the grand-nephew of a noble from Cloud Country. Good for being kept for ransom or pressuring people to comply with requests, rather than being used in whatever horrific experiments happened in the bowels of Orochimaru's labs but not important enough to warrant a dangerous, expensive rescue mission.
Especially not one that required what sounded like a frontal assault against a hidden village, even if a recently-established one.
He kept his conclusions for himself, though. No reason to break the young man's hopes.
The most probable explanation was that Konoha was retaliating for Orochimaru's attack at the chunin exams. Oh, shinobi liked to act like nobody knew their secrets, but even ninja guards got bored and gossiped like fishmongers.
They probably had a specific objective that had nothing to do with prisoners like them. As the sound of battle grew closer, he wanted to hope, but realistically speaking the chances of shinobi not sticking to their mission parameters to help them were pretty slim.
"They're coming this way," Tatsuo said, and if Asaru strained his ears he could hear some voices getting nearer and nearer.
"一your friend should be here," a voice said, followed immediately by someone running from one cell to another, shouting quite loudly.
"Sasuke? Sasuke? Sasuke, are you in there?!" someone called, and each time someone screamed in terror. Then a young ninja peeked through the bars of the cell's door. An aura, like orange flames, cloaked the child's body. And his eyes were blood red and slit like a cat, and his teeth were akin to a monster's. "Hey, Old Man, have you seen Uchiha Sasuke around here?"
It was asked like they were talking in the middle of a town's market square instead of a dark prison inside one of Orochimaru's lair. It was so unexpected that Asaru didn't immediately react. His cellmate, though, had no such problems and let out a loud, startled shriek before begging to not be hurt and promising that his family would reward the young boy if he didn't.
"Hey, I'm not that scary," the boy who looked like he was possessed by a demon complained.
Other prisoners said otherwise, and between the requests for mercy and begging for help, Asaru heard someone mutter the word 'Jinchuuriki'. One of the imprisoned shinobi in the next cell, he figured.
"Wait, 'Uchiha'? As in the clan with the Sharingan?!" the first voice asked incredulously amid the chaos of pleas for help.
"Yeah, why?"
"Because everyone here knows how Orochimaru is obsessed with that!"
"So?"
"So Orochimaru is probably plucking your friend's eyes out right now, to use them himself, or clone them, or whatever!"
Silence fell at that. Asaru felt sympathy for the child, to find out that his friend was probably put through some kind of sick experiment by their jailer.
"Do you know where he'd keep him?" the boy-monster asked.
"Yeah, I guess? It's on the other side of the一"
That was enough for the possessed shinobi. "Great! Bring us there!"
"I'd rather not," the other said reluctantly. And Asaru couldn't blame him, for who would want to go into the lion's den? Or snake's, in this case. The boy with the orange aura seemed to be about to protest, but Asaru spoke up.
"Excuse me. If you are about to leave, could you at least open the doors of our cells?"
He may not have turned in a nervous mess like his cellmate, but he wasn't going to waste an opportunity for freedom.
The boy blinked. "Oh. Sure!"
"Boy, what are you doing? We're wasting time," a gruff voice clearly belonging to a man said, in an accent Asaru couldn't place.
"But it's the right thing to do! Right?"
The pause after that wasn't very long, but it was long enough to make the prisoners hold their breaths. Including Asaru.
"Just get on with it," the man ordered, and from the sound of it, the group started to work on the locks. A man stepped in front of the cell door, probably the owner of the gruff and accented voice. He, too, seemed to be covered by a strange aura, ethereal scaled armor with a crown of horns. His eyes were golden and glowing and just as monstrous as the boy's. Like father, like son, Asaru supposed. He pointed a simple wooden staff at the door, around the spot where the lock was located. A moment later, it started turning bright with heat, then it melted. Asaru took a step back at the sight of the droplets of white-hot metal falling near his feet.
Once the door was open, Asaru stepped outside to see that the other cells were being opened, either by lockpicking or jutsu, by their other companions. Asaru was surprised to see how they were younger than his own niece back home. Wouldn't a hidden village send their best for a rescue mission in enemy territory?
Once the locks were dealt with, the prisoners, civilians and shinobi alike, emerged from them. Two of the latter, Asaru thought they were from Kumogakure, just stared at the man, muttering something. Asaru caught a single word, 'Yondaime'.The man must have heard it too, judging by his reaction. It wasn't quite a sigh. More like a low growl.
"Fine, you're all free now," he said, sounding very annoyed, before gesturing towards the entrance to the prison. "Get out of here, and watch out for the dragon near the exit."
"Dragon?" someone asked. They didn't receive an answer, as the man ignored them.
"Let's move, now," he ordered as he turned to leave.
"Wait, we can't just leave them like this!" the boy protested, following in his father's footsteps.
"Yes, we can," the man said, harshly. "We can't waste more time, and you can't bring them all the way to the exit and get to your friend in time!"
At that, the boy stopped. "Yes, I can." He made a gesture Asaru couldn't see and before the man could reply, there was a bunch of smoke flooding the cell block. It went away just as quickly, revealing that there were now at least a dozen identical copies of the boy. The only difference was the lack of the ominous aura around their bodies.
"Follow us!" one exclaimed, starting to guide some of the closest prisoners. The liberated shinobi glanced at each other uncertainly, but in the end they followed as well. The boy advocated for them being free, after all, and that seemed to trump the usual ninja paranoia.
A couple of them stopped to thank the older ninja with a white mane, saying something about their villages being thankful towards Konoha for their freedom. Asaru couldn't say which village they were from. But maybe he could try to hire them, to escort him to his Lady's remote castle or at least as close as possible. Maybe he could involve his cellmate in this, so that his family would cover some of the expenses.
He had a story to tell his Lady, and he looked towards the adventure it would be to get there.
"You won't be able to always use clones to get what you want. I told you that before," the gruff man told his son as they took a turn towards their destination, Orochimaru's inner sanctum.
"It still works, though," the boy pointed out.
As they left the former prisoners under the care of the shadow clones, Conrad urged his companions to hurry despite knowing way too well that he was the one slowing the group down.
During his career, he had arrived far too late to save anyone way too many times for his liking.
The prisoners would've been fine if they had rescued them later. Probably. Supposedly. If they didn't have to leave in a hurry, that is.
He really hoped the boy would not have to live with the consequences of making the call that sealed his friend's fate.
"Why are there no guards?" Conrad whispered.
"He doesn't need them," Jiraiya answered. After all, who would dare to disturb Orochimaru in his inner sanctum? Conrad had been inside enough dark wizard lairs to know that these kinds of people always kept a surprise or two for the inevitable last stand.
They were advancing warily, the children following closely. The shinobi's steps were completely silent. Conrad was sure that Jiraiya didn't like how much noise his armored boots made in comparison.
The room was full of strange paraphernalia and artifacts. Tomes and scrolls, tablets with carvings and idols. Snake symbology seemed to be the most common, which didn't surprise Conrad given the man's obsession with them, but reminded him of something he couldn't really recall at that moment. In other circumstances he'd have gleefully examined and studied them. Or put them all in a big burlap sack. But the perspective of leading the boy towards danger put a damper on those thoughts.
He was also distracted by the chanting that seemed to come just around the corner. Because of course there was ominous chanting.
Conrad reached for a potion on his belt. One to empower his magicka. After drinking it, he decided to drink another, just to be on the safe side. And then another, to boost his stamina.
Naruto and Sakura looked at each other nervously. They wanted to save their friend, but did they realize how in over their heads they were? He doubted it. Jiraiya's face instead was a solemn mask. After all, he was about to face his former friend. Both him and the genin walked beside Conrad with purpose.
The water boy, Suigewhatever, instead, looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. And Conrad couldn't blame him. But he had not fled, yet.
"Laas," he whispered as they got closer to a sturdy-looking door. The source of the chanting. Two auras appeared in front of his eyes, on the other side. A sphere of fire started forming on his staff's tip as he pointed it at the door.
They were rushing inside before the debris fell down.
Sasuke was there, laying unconscious on a stone slab that reminded Conrad of a sacrificial altar. There were glowing seals all over the place, reminiscent of snakes slithering around the boy's body. And looming over him was a man so pale that for a moment Conrad thought he was a vampire, moving his hands the way shinobi did when they were about to use a spell.
As soon as he saw Conrad, he stopped, as if he was hesitating. Jiraiya did not, however, and after a few handsigns, there was a puff of smoke... and then a log was laying between the glowing symbols. A few things happened all at once.
Naruto and Sakura rushed to help their friend, who had appeared behind Jiraiya. Orochimaru's face was contorting in disbelief and rage. And Conrad unleashed a small storm in his general direction.
Orochimaru dodged it. Because of course he did. Jiraiya had expected it though, because he jumped at the man, kunai in hand, while Conrad's spell tore apart what little furniture the room had.
He was about to follow the older shinobi, when he saw an orange and blond blur pass beside him and it was only thanks to concern-fueled reflexes that he was able to grab Naruto's jacket and pull him back. The auras surrounding their bodies buzzed as they clashed against each other.
"Boy, what do you think you're doing?!" he almost yelled, dragging Naruto away from the duel between two fighters moving so fast that Conrad could barely follow them at times.
"He hurt Sasuke!" Naruto snarled, brandishing his own puny weapon. "He一"
"Don't be an idiot!" Conrad hissed. There was no time to be tactful. "Grab your friend and get out of here. Don't stop until you're outside, you understand?"
"But一"
"Naruto, help me carry Sasuke!" Sakura nervously called, and that seemed to finally be enough to convince the boy. Naruto created a couple of shadow clones that, unlike him, were not coated in a toxic chakra shroud.
"I'll see you outside, Uncle," he said, as the copies helped Sakura carry their friend. Conrad nodded.
"Yeah, yeah! Can we just hurry?!" Suigetsu urged them, sounding like he wanted to get away as soon as he could. Honestly, Conrad didn't blame him.
Without even looking back at the retreating children, Conrad started casting a spell before joining the fray.
Orochimaru was upset.
Actually, Orochimaru was livid. He had been on the verge of finally getting the Sharingan. The key to learning every jutsu in existence, and an important stepping stone in his goal to reach immortality.
In hindsight, it was his own fault. He should've known that Jiraiya would've been right behind the Yondaime's brat. But this was just a minor setback. He'd get young Sasuke again, he just had to win this fight, and Orochimaru knew how Jiraiya fought.
It came with having been the man's teammate for years during their youth. As he avoided a jutsu, it became clear that it had been just a distraction for a different one: the real attack. He almost felt nostalgic, feeling reminiscent of the countless sparring matches they'd had under the watchful gaze of Sarutobi. Usually with Tsunade either spectating or taking part in it.
Of course, they were not sparring. They were trying to murder each other.
Then there was the other opponent in the room. The one that looked like Namikaze Minato. But, Orochimaru had decided, it was impossible for him to be a clone like he had believed at first, before the failed invasion.
He didn't move like a shinobi, and certainly didn't fight like one. He wore heavy armor that hindered him, used none of the Yondaime's signature techniques and it was clear as day that the two men had no idea how to fight along with each other. They even impaired each other a few times, giving chances to Orochimaru to either dodge, counter or attack himself.
No, that was no clone. Even if Konoha had managed to replicate a whole individual using Namikaze's DNA, Orochimaru just knew that Jiraiya would've been involved in training it since the beginning. Mostly out of misplaced loyalty for his old student, the fool.
Minato clone or not, he'd die. Jiraiya too, so he'd not bother him anymore in the future.
The fight had moved to the rest of Orochimaru's chambers, where he'd have more space to move around the slower opponent and put him between himself and Jiraiya to further hinder them. That was the plan, along with a certain indecision between making them suffer or just strike them down quickly.
That was when the Minato lookalike yelled unfamiliar words at Orochimaru, and the next thing he knew, the Sannin was caught by what felt like a localized blastwave from an explosion, which sent him flying and tore apart various stone tablets and other artifacts he had collected over the years.
Despite the annoyance at seeing those priceless items broken, Orochimaru was suddenly intrigued. That had not been a jutsu. There had been no chakra, no hand signs. Interesting.
Very interesting.
After Orochimaru was done with this current nuisance and got Sasuke back, he'd take great care in figuring out what the man had just done. And in case he couldn't capture him alive, he could always find answers by examining his carcass.
"I think we took the wrong turn," Suigetsu admitted. Everyone came to a stop, and the two shadow clones that were carrying Sasuke between them almost slammed against the original.
"Seriously?! You're supposed to be our guide!" Naruto protested, the chakra around his body flaring for the blink of an eye.
"I never saw this level, I told you guys! It's not like you two noticed that we were going the wrong way, either!" Suigetsu protested. Naruto and Sakura were about to say something about that, but the echoes of the battle were still audible.
"We should keep going," she said, and the boys quickly agreed as they heard again the echoes of the battle. Sakura adjusted the satchel's strap before stopping in her tracks and stared down at it.
She had forgotten to give the bag to Naruto's uncle. In the hurry to take Sasuke and drag him away from Orochimaru, who still conjured unpleasant memories from the Forest of Death, she'd forgotten. How could she have forgotten? There had been no time to give it to him, but she could've dropped it, or something! How could she be so stupid?!
Sakura sighed, re-adjusting the strap once more before keeping up with the group. She really hoped the man didn't need these.
Conrad swore loudly as he realized that the girl still had his damn potion bag. He'd have to make do with the few ones still on his belt.
They were both to blame. Conrad would admit that he had been anxious to make the children get out of there. But he'd still blame the girl, if he survived this.
Conrad's inner grumblings about the girl with pink hair getting away with his potions were interrupted by Orochimaru suddenly barfing out a sword. Actually, a snake had gotten out of Orochimaru's throat, and a sword had come out of the snake, handle-first. It was easily the third grossest thing Conrad had ever seen in his life.
Jiraiya didn't seem to be surprised in the least though, and tried to turn the floor where Orochimaru was standing into a swamp, for some reason. Orochimaru jumped away, and Conrad followed him with a hopefully well-timed Whirlwind Sprint shout, swinging his axe.
With a flicker of his wrist, Orochimaru struck. A few moments later, when his brain would catch up on what had happened, Conrad would realize that had it not been for his spell that had hardened his skin and flesh, he'd have lost his hand. Instead, the blade had cut through his armored gauntlet like it had not been there, but had then slid over his hand. Which had still left a gash that hurt like a bitch. But at least the hand was intact.
What had been cut apart was his axe. The axe that he had commissioned just a few years ago, which had been forged in the Skyforge by Eorlund Gray-Mane. Not just the handle, but the head too. They had both been cut roughly down their length.
Instead of dwelling on it, though, Conrad showed his annoyance by shoving his staff towards Orochimaru and blasting him with a stream of flames point-blank to his face. The pale face of the man turned into a chair that fell on the ground burning.
Right. Kamawasomething, the substitution thing. The whoreson wasn't even singed.
Jiraiya, unperturbed by the sudden change in their opponent's position, threw a bunch of kunai before using some kind of jutsu. Conrad didn't really care which kind. He just let his ruined axe fall to the ground and unsheathed his mother's sword. The blade caught fire, and in Orochimaru's eyes he saw a sign of recognition.
"Where did you find this man?" Orochimaru asked Jiraiya.
"As if I'd tell you," the Toad Sage answered, which caused Orochimaru to make a sound that may have been a snort.
Conrad, never having been one to believe in mid-fight banter, went for a lunge feint, moving the blade in a slashing motion at the very last moment.
It was stopped effortlessly by Orochimaru's blade. "His kenjutsu form is terrible," the snake-obsessed ninja observed.
Conrad would've been the first to admit that his swordsmanship skills were rusty, but the ebony blade had not been cut apart like the steel axe had.
"I think we should go this way," Naruto told the others. They had stopped at a fork between a hallway and a staircase. The clones had put Sasuke down, and Sakura was trying to figure out why he wasn't waking up.
"What? No!" Suigetsu shook his head, pointing at the stairs. "We're underground, and that's a way up! Up is good!"
"But it's not the same direction we came from," Naruto pointed out.
"So what? It still goes up," Suigetsu told her, gesturing towards the ceiling. "This place should have multiple exits, anyway!"
"You said you've been in a fish tank the entire time!" one of Naruto's clones argued.
"Yeah!" the other agreed as he pumped a fist in the air. "And that they wouldn't let you see anything!"
"Boys, is this the right time?" Sakura asked before an argument could start.
"How's Sasuke?" Naruto asked after staring for a moment. The Uchiha had barely stirred at all while the clones carried him like a piece of furniture.
"Feels like he has a fever," she said, taking a healing potion out of the bag she had before looking up to a shadow clone. "Help me make him drink it."
"Huh? Oh, right!" the clone nodded as he held the Uchiha's head for her. "It helped Lee, so it can help Sasuke!"
Sakura was about to ask what Lee had to do with this when Sasuke sprung up, slapping away the small bottle from Sakura's hands while choking and spitting out the potion. Well, at least he was awake.
He looked around in confusion, doing his best to get back to his feet and ready to fight. And, most worryingly, the cursed seal was spreading all over his skin. It reminded Sakura of that time in the Forest of Death.
"Easy, Sasuke-kun! Easy," she said, showing him her empty hands.
"Sakura...?" he managed to cough out. She nodded, and he kept looking around the room, his eyes briefly stopping on Suigetsu before focusing on Naruto. "What happened to you, dead last?"
Naruto stared back at Sasuke, his chakra tail swishing from side to side. "You should look in the mirror, jerk." Sakura had to resist the urge to mention pots and kettles.
"Who's this?" Sasuke asked, pointing at the only person he didn't know.
"Suigetsu, nice to meet you. Can we go now?! We're still inside of Orochimaru's base!" Suigetsu answered, looking like he was starting to wonder why he was still sticking around at that point.
"Wait, what...? You followed me here?!" Sasuke exclaimed, wincing as the seal flared again.
"Damn right we did! What were we supposed to do? Leave you here?!" Naruto asked. "No way! You're our teammate!"
"Guys, Suigetsu has a point," Sakura told them. Is that what she was now? The one that had to keep her teammates and allies in check so they wouldn't fight with each other? Because it sucked. "Naruto, why don't you send some clones both ways? You know... scouting?"
Naruto was about to go on a tirade about teammates that abandon their teammates and probably something about his own ninja way too, but Sakura's suggestion sounded the perfect solution to figure out who was right about which way to go. He formed the usual hand sign and with a poof of smoke a few more clones were created. As soon as they came into existence, they went in the two opposite directions. Now the group just had to wait to find out which way they'd have to go. At least, that was the plan.
Next thing Naruto knew, he felt a kunai go through his throat, his left eye and his stomach. All of those sensations rushing into his mind at once, yet happening only one at a time. As he一as they were running up the staircase.
And then... nothing.
Naruto shook his head, getting ready for a fight. Before the others could ask him what was going on, a familiar voice came from the staircase.
"I had figured I'd have to deal with some strays," Kabuto said as he became visible to them, twirling a kunai between his fingers as he kept going down the steps. "I didn't imagine I'd have to deal with so many at once..."
Orochimaru was toying with him, that was clear as day. In fact, Conrad would even say that he was targeting him the most, perceiving him as the weakest between him and Jiraya. How fucking dare he?! If that wasn't enough, he was starting to feel numb where the ninja had managed to scratch him. Poison, for sure. But what kind? Given the track record of the last few months, probably one he didn't know.
That was a problem for later, though. If he managed to win this.
Jiraiya came to his help, keeping Orochimaru busy long enough for Conrad to summon a storm atronach, which immediately unleashed its namesake against the snake summoner. And tore apart a few scrolls and stone tablets and other antiquities. Conrad felt a pang of guilt at the sight, but his neck and ensuring the children would not be chased down by this pale faced freak was more important.
Orochimaru's reaction, a mix of sneering in rage and annoyance as he avoided the lightning bolts, kinda felt good though. More importantly, it distracted him so that Jiraiya could gain the upper hand.
Seeing Orochimaru distracted, Conrad rushed in, his mother's sword high and aiming for the bastard's head. He saw it coming, but it didn't matter: either Conrad killed Orochimaru by slicing his skull open, or Jiraiya would when Orochimaru tried to parry Conrad's slash.
Conrad had not expected Orochimaru to be able to just dodge by stretching his neck unnaturally, bending it sideways to let the sword pass harmlessly over his head. Almost like a snake's body would move.
Jiraiya's attempt to use the Rasengan didn't work much better either, but Conrad was too surprised to follow that. The obsession with snakes, the ancient tablets with the serpentine figure, what the bastard had just done...
"Tsaesci," he muttered. It had been barely more than a whisper, yet it was heard perfectly by the two shinobi.
"You... know about them?" Orochimaru asked, keeping his sword pointed towards Jiraiya but slowly turning towards Conrad. "I may have a use for you, after all."
Conrad didn't like the way he was being stared at. It made him feel like a butterfly about to be pinned to a cork board by someone that enjoyed doing such things for fun. Conrad had not read much about the Tsaesci, because there wasn't much in Tamriel about them in the first place except some conjectures, legends and few accounts from the time of the Akaviri Potentate. But Orochimaru seemed to be very interested in collecting artifacts relating to them. And Akavir, or the Elemental Nations as its inhabitants called it now, seemed to have forgotten a lot about its past.
If Orochimaru was a Tsaesci, he was trying to find out more about his own people.
"You wish," Conrad scoffed as he raised his sword with one hand and started channeling an ice storm through his staff. It didn't matter if Orochimaru probably knew more about the Tsaesci than he did, the important thing was that he believed otherwise. People that saw what they wanted right in front of them tended to commit mistakes. And a mistake could end this fight, one way or another.
Sakura was doing her best to not die. Which was a good summary of her whole day.
But until a few minutes ago she had been accompanying two experienced fighters, and even if one of them was not a shinobi, she had not felt like she was in real danger. That safety blanket was gone now, though. Jiraiya the Toad Sage and Naruto's uncle had remained behind to deal with Orochimaru, and they were on their own.
Seeing Kabuto had sent Sasuke over the edge. The cursed seal briefly flared red before covering his skin, turning it into an unnatural grey color. Even his hair changed, getting paler and longer. Sakura got a glimpse of some kind of dark mark forming on Sasuke's face, before he jumped against the traitor.
Naruto followed suit, and Sakura took a quick stock of her current ninja tools and joined the fight, followed by Suigetsu despite his initial reluctance. Because, really, what could they do? Not fighting wasn't an option. Besides, they were four against one. Sakura and Suigetsu could act as a distraction, and Naruto and Sasuke could deal the final blow. Then they would get the hell out of there. That was the vague plan in Sakura's head.
Nothing went according to plan. Kabuto was no Orochimaru, but he may as well have been given that he was able to deal with all of them with ease. They knew since after the invasion that he couldn't have been a genin, but Sakura was sure that Kabuto was no chunin either. She guessed that he was at least a special jonin. At least. So far she
had only managed to survive whenever Kabuto got too close to her thanks to Naruto or Sasuke. And a lot of lucky dodging on Sakura's part. And at least once when Suigetsu took a hit that had been aimed at her, but she wasn't sure if that had been an accident or if he was trying to help her.
She had dragged their wounded ally away from the fight, and had immediately looked for one more healing potion to give him. It felt like the only thing she was good for, today!
Suigetsu looked in awe as his wound closed itself, leaving no sign it had been there in the first place. Sakura forced him to get up.
"Don't just stand there, let's go help them!" she told him, ready to join the fight again. Even if it was just to be a distraction… maybe they could make it. Give enough time to Sasuke or Naruto to figure out how to win this.
For a moment, he looked like he was about to follow her into the fray. But then, just for a moment, his eyes met Kabuto's. And in that fraction of a second the traitorous shinobi made a silent promise of what would happen to Suigetsu later, once he had been brought back to the labs.
"I-I'm sorry," he stammered, taking a step back. Before she could say anything, his body crashed down in a puddle of water that flowed away, into the dark corridors.
Sakura couldn't believe it. He had left. She wasn't even sure if she could blame him, but she was going to be very mad about this. Later.
Right now her teammates needed her.
She had to do something, anything to help before they'd get overwhelmed, or... or worse. But she was too weak, she had no bijuu in her gut or a doujutsu or a seal that would give her anger issues. She only had some standard kunai, some shuriken, a few explosive tags and smoke bombs... and the stupid, heavy bag that she had forgotten to ditch at the start of the fight, which was slowing her down with all the一
With all the potions inside of it. Sure, many were healing potions. But some could help in a fight. Harissen-san had said so, right?
Naruto yelled in pain as Kabuto pierced his left arm with his chakra scalpel. Sakura didn't hesitate. Grabbing the first bottle she found, she popped it open and started to drink.
Conrad and Jiraiya were being pushed back, bit by bit.
If earlier they had been fighting through Orochimaru's ceremonial chamber and his collection of Tsaesci artifacts, they were now moving through some kind of laboratory. It reminded Conrad of the one they found earlier, but bigger. He couldn't really examine the room though because Orochimaru was coming at them while standing on the head of a giant snake that was sliding towards him at full speed.
The snake itself wouldn't have been a problem. In fact, a simple shout of Unrelenting Force as the beast opened its mouth was enough to tear it apart, before its body disappeared in a gust of smoke. Orochimaru, though, just jumped above the shockwave of the shout and tried to skewer him with that sword of his. Conrad raised his staff and erected a ward, as strong as he could, right above his head. The sword was stopped in a clash of steel against magic, and for a moment Orochimaru remained suspended in the air, in perfect balance upside-down over his ward. Smiling in an almost ecstatic way.
Conrad could swear that the man seemed to be more interested in him with each new spell or shout he used against him. He heard Jiraiya yell something and next thing he knew, Orochimaru and his blade disappeared behind what looked like a pink-colored wall. Except it wasn't a wall. It was made of flesh, which seemed to have appeared out of thin air around the room's ceiling and most of the walls too, covering most of the lights in the room. Conrad lowered his staff, staring at the pulsating, contracting spectacle.
"... what did you do?" he asked, unable to look away. The stench was almost as bad as Durnehviir's.
"That is a technique of mine. Instead of summoning a whole toad, it summons the esophagus of a giant one," Jiraiya explained as the thing contracted in oddly paced spasms. It was, for certain, the second grossest thing Conrad had ever seen. "No one was ever able to escape from it."
That seemed like a horrible way to die, to be honest. Which Conrad would've been fine with if it meant that they didn't have to deal with Orochimaru anymore. He'd seen people die in arguably worse ways, after all, and barely lost sleep about them anymore. Yet...
"Did you ever use it on someone with a blade like his?" he asked. The way Jiraiya did not answer his question was the only answer he needed. Conrad had a sinking feeling in his gut as he heard several meaty muffled cuts.
The blade tore apart the walls of the esophagus like a knife cut through an overripe fruit, and Orochimaru fell down towards them as the ruined organ disappeared with the usual smoke cloud. Part of Conrad's mind wondered if that meant that somewhere a giant toad just had its throat sliced open. The rest, though, was busy preparing to unleash a spell to reduce Orochimaru to a crisp while he was still in freefall. Because he had expected that.
What he had not expected was for Orochimaru to throw his sword towards them. Or for the blade to start spinning at breakneck speed. Or to swing and change direction through the air, as if possessing a mind of its own. First, the blade cut through his staff, breaking his spell before it could be complete. It kept going, passing just next to his ear and moving over the floor around them, sawing it like the blade of a sawmill would make quick work of a large log.
Then Conrad felt the floor collapse under his own feet.
He immediately let go of his staff, now useless. He didn't really need it to cast spells, though: it was just a tool to better focus his power. He chanted a spell, and broke at least one or two Imperial Laws. But he wasn't in the Empire, so who cared, really?
Conrad's fall stopped, and he started ascending, his body sustained by a telekinetic push.
That was when Jiraiya was thrown at him, and collided with him midair, hitting him square in the face with that forehead protector of his. Being hit in the nose by a metal plaque worn around the head of a freakishly tall man was not a pleasant experience, even when your body was infused with spells that were meant to harden the skin and flesh.
This time, Conrad fell all the way down to the lower floor, losing his mother's sword in the impact. It landed somewhere nearby with a clanging sound. He tried to get up, still disoriented by the blow.
That was when he got struck in his lower abdomen.
For a barely perceptible moment, his skin and flesh resisted thanks to the spells he had infused them with. Then, the very tip of the sword broke through, followed by the rest. It did not stop until it struck itself into some rubble behind him, impaling him. Conrad had been stabbed before, it was a well-known fact of life for him.
He would have screamed if he could have, feeling sharp pain as he tried to breathe. His hands instinctively grasped the blade, but he glanced down at the wound, which didn't seem to lose as much blood as he expected, and looked up at the blade. And up. And up.
Orochimaru was standing at the edge of the ruined floor, which was now the ceiling, holding the sword's hilt pointed towards him. Because apparently, that weapon could also become as long as its owner wanted to.
He gasped, forcing himself to take a deep breath despite the way each breath brought painful spasms in his belly as he stared at his opponent. "Ven Gaar Nos!"
As the last word was shouted, a gust of wind started to pick up. A breeze at first, before quickly rising into a gale so strong that it started picking up dust and small debris as it shot towards Orochimaru like a hurricane. It was not Orochimaru that was invested by his shout though, but a chair, like the ones he had seen in the laboratory above. The sword was still there though, pinning him and swaying a bit
because of the wind. Where did he一
He turned as much as he could despite being pinned at a rock, his left arm raised and already shooting a lightning bolt. Orochimaru just grabbed his wrist and twisted the arm upwards, making the spell hit the ceiling.
"FUS一" he started, but before he could yell the second word Orochimaru slammed his free hand against his mouth, stopping him from completing the shout.
"A jutsu activated with your voice. Intriguing. Can't have you do that, though," Orochimaru observed, as a cold sensation spread over his lips. Then, for some reason, the ninja let go of his face. Conrad immediately tried to shout at him, point blank range.
Nothing happened, because much to Conrad's confusion and horror, the man had sealed his mouth shut. "This is going to make interrogating you difficult, but I'll find a way."
A groan from nearby distracted Orochimaru, not that he expected Conrad to reply to his little monologue. It sounded like Jiraiya was finally getting up. Or trying to.
"Mmh. Excuse me, I have to finish a reunion with an old friend. I'm fairly certain I didn't puncture anything vital. Don't go anywhere, alright?" Orochimaru had the gall to ask Conrad before circling around the rubble, probably to avoid having to kneel under his own sword.
Conrad tried to twist a bit so he could shoot Orochimaru in his overconfident back with a blast of fire. The only fire he got though was the pain he felt as his muscles contracted against the blade pinning him.
He choked back a cry of pain, his hands instinctively closing around the blade. He briefly tried to pull it out, despite the way his fingers were getting cut on the edge, but that just made the pain worse. He'd probably start to bleed out as soon as he pulled it out anyway. Conrad wondered if this was how Minato had felt before he'd died.
They were losing. He hated to admit it, but they were losing against this bastard. He couldn't even help with the fight he could clearly hear going on behind him, and only listened to the occasional declarations born from a friendship turned into hatred, because he was stuck.
He fumbled to reach a healing potion, mostly to deal with the pain but also because he'd rather not trust Orochimaru's word about the current state of his innards. And because he was pretty sure his body was close to going into shock. The potion would help with that, but it would make pulling the sword out more difficult. Maybe he could become ethereal with the Thu'um, and一no. He's 'holding' the sword, technically. So it would be affected by the shout.
But what if he... summoned some atronachs to pull it off? Of course! It was so obvious! And they'd help Jiraiya too. Who, based on the sounds he was hearing, was being hit more often than Orochimaru was.
Letting go of the empty bottle, he moved his hands closer to better focus on the conjuration. That was when, between the light coming from the hole in the ceiling and his spell, he noticed the many tables in the room.
And the corpses on them.
Conrad had spent many, many years going into the dark ruins scattered in the wilds of Skyrim and beyond. During those times, he'd seen many prisons, torture chambers, vampire hideouts, lairs of dark sorcerers and cultists. In short, he had seen many disturbing things. The sight in front of him managed to be more horrible than the banquet he'd witnessed in Castle Volkihar.
The worst part wasn't how neatly organized the tables were, but how clean the room was. There was effort put into this, effort for a reason... and Conrad had no idea what may justify or explain this. Or everything else he had witnessed since he'd broken down the gate to this pit of suffering.
They would lose. Jiraiya would die, and then Orochimaru would keep Conrad alive to ask him about obscure, half-remembered and very possibly wrong Akavir lore. And then... then Orochimaru would go after the children.
After the children. After the boy.
Unless Conrad did something.
He kept channeling the magic between his hands, but the will behind it shifted, aiming for a different purpose. He'd never done something like this before. But he had read the lore and the tomes found in the caves and the ruined forts scattered all over Skyrim, albeit briefly. To understand what he spent many years fighting. He had never thought that he'd end up using such a spell.
The boy's safety was on the line though. What would he do to ensure his safety, Conrad asked himself?
Everything.
Conrad released the spell, unleashing a wave of otherworldly energies all over the room.
The corpses, who had been laying on the tables in various sorry states, started twitching.
The fight was raging on through the corridors carved inside the mountain.
As she drank an orange, slightly glowing potion in one go, Sakura couldn't help but wonder if Kabuto was herding the boys somewhere. Pushing them in the direction he wanted them to go.
She threw the bottle away as she kept moving to stay out of reach, ignoring the feeling of her muscles burning up. In a good way, if that was possible. The empty bottle clattered on the ground, and she picked another one from the satchel.
It barely slowed her down now, it was as if it didn't weigh anything at all.
While she drank again, Kabuto stopped Sasuke's attack and manhandled him straight against Naruto, so that the Kyuubi's caustic chakra would hurt him.
Sakura's fingers left large cracks in the bottle, but she ignored the traitor's taunting words to the boys and quickly drank one more potion. Kabuto had ignored her since she had dragged Suigetsu away from the fight, only aiming at her if she tried to get closer so that Sasuke or Naruto would expose themselves by coming to her rescue.
Why would Kabuto have to worry about her, anyway? He knew the strengths and weaknesses of Konoha's genin very well. Compared to her classmates back at the Academy, Sakura had only her smarts. She didn't have a bloodline limit or a clan tradition or a big angry monster stuck inside of her. She had somehow been put in a team that included all of that. After the exams, she'd been very aware of the differences between her and her teammates.
But now? She had left a trail of emptied bottles with labels she couldn't read behind her. She felt the way the foreign magic was surging through her body. And for the first time in her life, Sakura felt strong.
Letting go of the bottle she rushed in, faster than she'd ever been. Faster than Lee had been. The expression on Kabuto's face before her fist broke his jaw was incredibly cathartic.
A pale purple light had washed over the mortuary, or whatever this room was used for, and the dead had stirred in its wake.
For a very brief moment, Jiraiya had thought that Orochimaru had used the Edo Tensei. But everything about them was wrong. They were not moving like a person would. Instead they lurched, moving in an unnatural way, still sporting the injuries that had killed them. Their eyes were the worst part. There didn't seem to have any traces of sentience or personality in there. Just looking at them made Jiraiya's hair stand on end.
He almost struck one by reflex, when he realized that they weren't interested in him at all. They were focusing all of their attention towards Orochimaru, who looked as surprised as he was.
Both of their eyes moved to the point of origin of the unearthly energies: the pile of rubble on which Conrad Harissen had been skewered against. The man was barely visible, but his hands were both raised and wrapped in the strange light that had reanimated the bodies.
Orochimaru jumped in that direction, either to finish off the man or ask him how he'd done it. Jiraiya couldn't tell, but still he crashed against Orochimaru with both of his feet and sent him towards a group of the dead. Of course, Orochimaru managed to land graciously and snarl at Jiraiya.
That was when the closest walking corpse grabbed his shoulder. Orochimaru immediately reacted, snapping the offending wrist like a twig. The corpse didn't even react, and more joined in an attempt to swarm him. Punches, savage kicks, some even attempted to bite him. Orochimaru blocked each strike and retaliated with his own, which should've killed them.
The dead attacked with a mindless fervor, heedless of devastating, crippling wounds. Yet for all that they couldn't even touch Orochimaru. They were nothing to him, too slow and too weak.
But more kept coming, each one giving them time by distracting their foe.
Jiraiya knew that this was a good chance to strike and finish off his former friend once and for all. He doubted that he'd have another chance.
Then he heard the pained rattle of Minato's brother from the other side of the rubble.
Taking advantage of the fact that Orochimaru was distracted, he rushed to help Conrad, quickly taking in his condition. Sword stuck in his abdomen and a strange seal on his mouth.
Jiraiya grabbed one of the potions hanging at the man's belt, knowing that he'd need it soon. Then he held the sword and pulled. The man's cries of pain were muffled by the sealed lips. Once the blade was out, Jiraiya felt it escape from his grip. Orochimaru had recalled it to him, and started to rend the dead with it. Jiraiya didn't miss a beat and uncorked the bottle, pouring the contents directly on the wound.
It seemed to work, because Conrad's flesh knitted itself back together and the man's face looked slightly less pale.
And then Conrad's hands moved in an elaborate manner, a spell, Jiraiya realized. Part of the old Sage's mind wondered how those movements worked in comparison to the hand signs used in ninjutsu.
Two of those flaming creatures the Nord used to summon in battle appeared, twirling mid-air and immediately unleashing bolts of fire against Orochimaru. One, he dodged. The other, he used one of the shambling corpses as a shield.
Jiraiya knew they didn't have much time. The best course of action would've been to take Conrad, regroup with the genin and keep moving until they were all back in Konoha. And then ask Conrad what the hell he'd done because it honestly disturbed him.
So he held the man and tried to pick him up. Much to his surprise, Conrad actually slapped his hands away, silently glaring as he steadied himself on his feet.
The crazy bastard wanted to stay and fight? After an injury like that?!
"I hope you have a plan," Jiraiya said. It was useless to waste time arguing. He figured it was best to use it by writing a seal on a tag.
With a grim expression, Conrad pulled something out of a small pouch hanging from his belt. A rough-looking crystal or gem. Very dark in color, with some purple reflections. Jiraiya didn't know what it meant, but it felt like an answer to his unspoken question.
Jiraiya nodded. He'd distract Orochimaru, and then Conrad would do whatever that thing meant. As long as they got away alive and found the kids again, it was good in Jiraiya's book. He slapped the tag with the counter seal he had just finished on Conrad's mouth, and then jumped into the fray before the Nord could protest. He went low to avoid a slash from Orochimaru's sword, a Rasengan already forming in his right hand.
Kabuto slashed at Sakura, cutting deep. It did hurt, but it was more like... a hollow pain. More manageable.
Probably because the cut was closing so fast that it made Kabuto's own regeneration look like a parlor trick. Sakura laughed, not really sure why. She felt like that time Ino had dared her to drink a caffeine energy drink. But stronger, coming from her very core.
She caught Kabuto's hand with her own, and squeezed. Something popped in there, breaking like breadsticks. Behind her, she heard the sound of birds chirping as a blueish glow illuminated the hall.
Kabuto's eyes widened, and immediately tried to free himself by striking Sakura. But she was faster, and hit him in the solar plexus with her free hand. Twice. Then, for good measure, she threw him over her shoulder as he had the wind knocked out of him.
"Now!" she yelled as Kabuto slammed heavily on the ground.
The last things he saw were a chidori going straight for his heart, and a small, blue sphere of destruction being aimed at his face.
Orochimaru swatted his hand away, as if he was shooing away an annoying bug, and the spinning sphere of destruction bore a hole into a nearby corpse's torso. To Jiraiya's amazement, instead of just collapsing, it broke apart into a smoking pile of ash.
There was a bright flash, and a lightning bolt struck, moving through the animated bodies as if they were linked through a chain to strike at Orochimaru. He dodged, Conrad's spell crashed against the walls. Jiraiya used his momentum from his failed charge to twist his body and kick as hard as he could. It impacted against Orochimaru's wrist, and the sword clanged against the floor.
Orochimaru engaged him with taijutsu. Parry, parry, deflection and strike back. A well-known rhythm, Orochimaru's style so familiar and yet so alien after all these years.
In the corner of his eye Jiraiya could see Conrad holding that stone in his hand, looking like he was trying to figure out what to do next. There was something in his expression that Jiraiya couldn't really read.
Orochimaru feinted then, exploiting an opening to once again recall his sword. The sudden lunge forced the Toad Sage to gain some distance, and he got ready for the next cleaving strike. But instead of pressing his attack, Orochimaru rushed towards Conrad. Jiraiya silently cursed, already forming a jutsu to hinder or stop him. Orochimaru's sword rose.
A sickly purple light suddenly shot from Conrad's extended hand. The light faintly coated Orochimaru's body, shimmering as he stopped on his tracks.
Jiraiya hesitated. He couldn't see Orochimaru's face, but he could plainly see the way he trembled. The way the blade was shaking in his hand. Orochimaru was scared. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Orochimaru expressing fear.
Neither Conrad or Jiraiya let that moment of hesitation go to waste. A kunai thrown by Jiraiya went through Orochimaru's neck just a scant beat before a spike of ice buried itself in the ninja's stomach.
There were no cries of pain or choked gurgles. A strange sound came from Orochimaru's throat, and then his body seemed to twist and bloat. A snake fell from the folds of his clothes. Followed by another. And another. Snakes as white as milk, slithering on the floor. Finally, a figurative torrent of reptiles erupted from Orochimaru, his body slowly deflating and collapsing.
Both Jiraiya and Conrad were taken by surprise, but they weren't attacking. They were fleeing, moving towards the cracks in the pavement and walls that had been created by the fight. Realizing this, the Nord started blasting waves of flames from his free hand, trying to burn as many as possible. Jiraiya followed suit, with a fire jutsu of his own.
For a moment, all that could be heard in the chamber was the raging of flames and the sizzling of the snakes contorting at their passing.
Orochimaru's body had been reduced to an empty husk, like the skin shed from a snake, covered in the clothes he was still wearing. Conrad set fire to those, too.
Was it over, then? Did they win? Was Orochimaru... dead?
Conrad was staring at the gem in his hand, a hard look in his eyes. Then he made a sharp gesture and all the remaining corpses collapsed like puppets from Suna that got their wires cut, dissolving into piles of ash.
Conrad ignored them, drinking a potion while still gazing at the stone.
Jiraiya wondered what he had just done. What had that spell been? What could scare Orochimaru like that?
He wasn't sure he wanted to know. But he could always ask later. After they were far away from this place, and nobody's life was on the line.
"Conrad, we need to move," Jiraiya reminded him. Minato's brother nodded, putting the stone back where he'd taken it from.
As they went to look for the kids, he spoke up. "Did you really have to burn off my beard?"
As soon as they had managed to get out of the base and got over being blinded by the sun, Naruto and his teammates had collapsed on the ground.
They weren't worried about any ambushes from stragglers because the dragon had apparently decided to keep an eye on them. Like a very big hen around tired chicks. A big hen that could tear apart anyone that tried anything.
Which was why the Konoha-nin that had arrived shortly after they had laid down had not dared approach yet. So the newcomers had got themselves busy by talking with the groups of former prisoners that every now and then got out of the mountain. Every now and then they also captured some Sound-nin that seemed very eager to surrender as soon as they saw daylight. And the ninja surrounding them. And the dragon.
"We made it," Naruto said after a while.
"Yeah," Sakura said, looking pale. Sasuke nodded, hissing as he massaged the spot where the cursed seal was.
"Maybe you shouldn't touch that."
"It hurts," the Uchiha admitted. Naruto just knew that Jiraiya would want to check on that. And his own seal while he was at it, even if the Kyuubi's chakra had pretty much subsided by now. Naruto felt like he had burned it all at once with that last attack down there.
"So... good teamwork, guys," he said.
"We sucked," Sasuke countered.
"No we didn't!"
"We won, didn't we?" Sakura asked, sounding very tired.
"Yeah, what Sakura-chan said!" Naruto nodded.
"If we had been stronger I wouldn't have been taken in the first place!" Sasuke protested.
"What? That's dumb!"
"Can we not fight until we get home?" Sakura pleaded, massaging her temples.
"Are you alright, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.
"I've got a headache. It's nothing."
There was another moment of silence.
"Thank you," Sasuke said. "Both of you."
Before Sakura or Naruto could answer, the dragon craned its large head, staring at something. They all followed its gaze and saw Jiraiya of the Sannin and Naruto's uncle walking towards them.
It wasn't an impressive or heroic looking walk. Conrad was limping and one of his arms was wrapped around Jiraiya's shoulders. The fact that Conrad seemed to also be carrying a large, heavy sack probably didn't help.
The dragon rumbled something that Naruto realized were words, and his uncle answered in his own mother tongue. He couldn't understand a word, but he recognized one very clearly. His father's name.
Then the dragon gave a deep nod with its head and vanished in a swirl of purple energies. Conrad slowly sat beside him, letting the sack fall down. Some of the contents fell out. A sword hilt was sticking out of the pile of scrolls, books and various items that the man had claimed for himself.
He seemed to notice where their eyes had fallen on. "We'll split the loot later, once we're back in Konoha," Conrad told them as he uncorked one of his potions.
"Split it?"
"Of course. Best way to deal with it: everyone that took part in the expedition gets an equal share," he explained, pausing to drink. "... where's water boy?"
"He left," Sakura explained.
"Oh. Well, that's one share less then," Conrad shrugged.
"We lost a lot of time collecting that," Jiraiya said disapprovingly.
"I told you they were safe near Durnehviir, I could sense that."
"That's not the point, Conrad," the Sannin sighed.
"So... did you win, Uncle? Ero-Sennin?" Naruto spoke up. Conrad gave him a look.
"Boy, if we had lost we'd not be here."
"What happened to your beard?" he asked, noticing how it had got burnt in a very odd pattern that reminded Naruto of a starfish. At that, his uncle glared at Jiraiya for some reason, but they were interrupted by a Konoha shinobi approaching.
It was Ino's father, the Yamanaka clan head. "Conrad. Jiraiya-sama," he greeted them.
"Inoichi. Aren't you T&I these days?" Jiraiya asked.
"I volunteered," he said, before looking at the genin. "Are you three alright?"
"Yeah! We kicked butt!" Naruto nodded. Sasuke and Sakura didn't seem to share his energy though.
"I'll send one of our medics once they're done checking the prisoners," Inoichi told them. Then he looked at Naruto's uncle. "Has anyone ever told you that you're a very stressful person to be around?"
"I do my best," Conrad deadpanned. "Look, it's nice that you came to help, thank you. But you're late. Do you mind letting me speak with my nephew for a bit?"
Inoichi looked around, both at the prisoners Naruto and the others had freed from the prison level and to some shinobi from Sound that had surrendered. Food was being given to the former prisoners. Some were basking in the sun. Others were protesting about not being able to leave immediately. And one was being restrained, having apparently tried to kick one of the shinobi that had surrendered.
He sighed. "Sure, I'll clean up your mess, I guess. Just so you know, the Hokage will want a report of this. A detailed one."
"Sure, whatever her Hokage-ness desires," Conrad grumbled.
"If you need it, I have a razor in my field kit," Inoichi said as he went to give some orders to the other Leaf shinobi. Naruto could've sworn he was smirking.
His uncle muttered some words at the man's back, which he had the weird feeling would've been very offensive if anyone could understand them.
Sakura unslung the big satchel that was still around her shoulders, and handed it to Conrad. "I drank a few. Sorry."
Conrad accepted the satchel with a nod. "A 'few'?" he asked slowly after having checked inside.
"It was an emergency," Sakura explained. "I didn't drink the blue ones, like you said." Conrad gave her a good look.
"Do you feel any aches? Tiredness? Pains?"
"I feel like I'm a bit feverish. And tired."
Conrad stared for a moment. Then he turned towards Jiraiya. "Can you get her some water to drink?"
"I don't think I can drink anything else," she protested. Conrad ignored her.
Jiraiya's eyes briefly moved between Naruto and Conrad. "Sure. Anything else?"
"If she pukes, it's fine. Actually, it's probably for the best," he added. Sakura wanted to protest.
"I don't want to一" she objected, but Jiraiya interrupted her.
"Come on, Sakura. Let's get you some water. Sasuke, come with me too. I have to check your seal."
Sasuke nodded, stepping up, letting himself be guided away. Sakura followed.
Naruto sat by his uncle, waiting for him to speak up.
"Boy. You're grounded."
He nodded, having expected this. Naruto wondered what it would be like, being grounded? Surely he'd still be able to train and go on missions, right?
"I'd do it again," he said defiantly. Saving his friend was worth being grounded, in his opinion.
"Next time you better ask for help. Tell an adult you trust."
"There was no time! If I told Granny Tsunade, she'd have had to call a team and stuff!" he protested. By then, the jerks that had kidnapped Sasuke would've been too far!
"You should have made a clone right away. You could've left a note, at least."
"Well, I didn't think about that back then!"
"I guess I'll have to hammer some good sense in that head of yours, somehow," his uncle said, ruffling his hair.
"Hey! I'm not dumb!" he protested.
"I know you're not, Naruto. But you'll have plenty of things to learn already. Like how to speak Cyrodillic. And Nordic too, while we're at it. Good thing you'll have a lot of free time."
Naruto would've liked to point out that being grounded and free time weren't the same thing. But a question popped in his mind. "Wait, aren't those the languages you and your students speak?"
"Yes."
"Why do I have to learn them?" Naruto asked. "You already speak mine."
"Because you're coming home with me, boy."