Shin Ikeda
By Kassien
Written: 10/28/22 - 7/30/23
Chapter 7: Border Skirmishes
It definitely got me the experience I lacked quickly, as within days of arriving at our outpost we were ambushed by a platoon of Rock shinobi, and I was quickly in the thick of it and surrounded by enemies. The fight seemed to go on for an entire day, as we had to fight off wave after wave of Rock shinobi, trying to take over our outpost, and my barrier Fuinjutsu got quite the workout as did everything else, as our team all survived with only minor injuries, while the almost two dozen dead bodies were quickly searched through for anything of importance or value, and sealed in black stripe scrolls for somebody else to deal with. The following few days were more of the same, though the attacks were smaller and spread out more, another five separate teams over three days came through trying to take out or control the outpost, and we turned every one of them away, though Xian was injured pretty badly in the fighting that final day.
Luckily, we had a little break after that, and for several days we didn't have any activity, which allowed our team to rest up a bit, and for me to finally go around our outpost and set up several Fuinjutsu based traps that would hopefully help us hold off another small invasion. It was just in time too, as the following night they tried a sneak attack, while most of us were sleeping, and my traps being set off woke me and the team up instantly, and gave our scout Xian, the position of several of our invaders. He quickly called out to us what he saw, and it wasn't good as at least ten shapes were darting around the outpost trying to avoid traps and obviously coming for us.
It was another frantic night of fighting that didn't last nearly as long as the last fight after both Gaku and Doto were seriously hurt earlier in the fighting, and with Xian not at full strength, I completely went nuts and unleashed the strongest water technique I knew, Water Release: Great Waterfall. It flooded the area around the outpost and had them all scrambling for purchase, and then I was zipping through their ranks, my Water Whips were so powerful they were disarming the invaders literally, despite the Elemental deficiency against Earth, and I had soon killed or captured all fifteen of the invading shinobi. I was then working on patching up my team, and sent a pair of shadow clones towards the two nearest Konoha outposts, telling of our situation and asking for aid, to cycle in another fresh team to hold our position.
I didn't really remember any open hostilities during this time of the Manga, and was surprised that Rock shinobi were attacking us so openly, having come through Grass Country to have attacked us here, and wondered if this just wasn't important enough to mention, or was it the norm for this region, and it just never affected the main character, so we didn't know. Damn, trying to keep straight what happened in some Manga, versus what was happening to me, in my life, right the fuck now, wasn't easy and they didn't even seem like the same thing any more. And maybe it was good that I was putting aside some of what I "thought" I knew about this story's future, and deciding that I needed to live in the moment more, and stop planning for the story to sort itself out, and sort it out myself.
It was rather freeing in a way, and also terrifying to not really know what was going to happen, though I guess that was always the case, having never seen the end of the series anyway. Now having met him, I hoped Naruto did end up becoming Hokage and saving the day, and if I was lucky, and trained my ass off, I might just survive long enough to see it happen. For now, I had to ensure my teachers and friends returned home, and for that to happen, I had to hold this outpost with everything I had, and I was ready to do just that.
It was several days and several ambush attempts later when we were finally joined by a somewhat familiar team led by a familiar Konoha Jounin named Asuma Sarutobi. He was quick to speak with Sensei Doto, as our senior most ninja, and get an update on the situation that he shared openly with his team and the rest of us, though Sensei wasn't trying to keep the conversation private exactly, we were ninja. There lone kunoichi, Ino Yamanaka, wasn't a medic anymore than I was, though she did know quite a bit about poisons, of which Sensei, Xian, and Gaku had all been hit with at some point and was still causing them issues with their bodies and chakra.
I added to the discussion the most recent teams that had attacked, I had reason to believe they weren't actually Iwa ninja at all, but someone trying to implicate or increase tensions between the Leaf and Rock. When I had really turned the tables on them, they all abandoned the basic earth jutsu they were almost exclusively using at the fight's outset, and all three had lightning elemental attacks to fall back on in a pinch before I took them out. Though, I did leave one alive to interrogate, it's not really my area of specialty, and told them so, getting them all to give Ino knowing looks, and I was somewhat interested to see her Clan's mindwalking in action as long as it wasn't being used on me.
"I thought it was Iwa testing our new Hokage?" came Asuma's low grumbling voice, echoing the conversation I had earlier with Doto.
"It's awfully aggressive and somewhat shortsighted of them to keep attacking this outpost, with a known anti-Iwa ninja like Doto and his team," I responded with a shrug, before continuing, "we've been facing waves of attacks, more than we would assume during peace times, all mostly heavy earth jutsu based assaults, almost begging us to point the finger at Iwa and increase the hostilities on our end, and with Doto here, that would almost be a certainty. Meanwhile, the larger border stations, and our own outposts closer to Iwa, are not seeing any increased activity, while the same can't necessarily be said with the land between us and Kumo."
"And now with the lightning techniques," came the voice of Shikamaru, thinking it over in his own head and probably seeing the connections even easier than Doto did.
"Exactly," I replied, "and before Doto goes off on his own personal Iwa vendetta, I would love to get it confirmed they aren't from Rock, hence the prisoner."
Then I brought out the armless prisoner with a pair of Fuinjutsu seals covering the stumps that remained behind, having successfully experimented with healing seals, or at least seals that slowed the blood loss to an acceptable level to keep them alive. Asuma took one look at the prisoner, before turning to Ino and asking her if she was ready, and after getting a nod, motioned to Shikamaru, who reached out his shadow to take control of our prisoner, getting him to kneel before Ino. She then reached out her hand, touching the shinobi's temple, while Choji instantly appeared behind her to catch and support her as it appeared her a puppet with her strings cut.
From this side, it didn't actually seem to be much of anything, as we just waited for another minute, everyone remaining completely silent, until with a gasp of air, Ino was seemingly waking up from a deep sleep, blinking and getting her thoughts in order. She then confirmed that he was a Cloud Jounin, part of a group with the mission to increase Leaf and Rock tensions, and try to start a war between their two biggest rivals for the strongest village. It instantly made this a lot more involved than we first thought, and also pretty glad that Doto wouldn't have an excuse to go kamikaze into Iwa, and most likely get himself killed, and start an unnecessary war.
"Why don't we discuss what to do while we eat," came the gruff reply from Doto, "my poor nephew over there looks like he's wasting away."
"Haha," laughed Choji somewhat sheepishly, but he didn't deny his uncle either, and was quick to jump in and help once I pulled an entire deer out of a storage scroll and started preparing it.
"Do you think I keep a whole deer in storage for my meal, Sensei?" I asked with a smirk at my own Jounin Sensei, who had really enjoyed my Fuinjutsu storage scrolls over the years, causing him to chuckle along with his nephew and teammates, while Ino and Shikamaru especially were looking at everyone with impossibly wide eyes.
The plan turned out to be fairly simple, with Asuma's team heading back to Konoha with a detailed report of our findings, while Asuma and I were responsible for providing Kumo with an appropriate distraction to keep them occupied as Doto and his team held the outpost near Grass. Executing our "small" part of the plan with a distraction turned out to be fairly straightforward as well in the end, though it was by no means small or easy to pull off, taking us a few days of sprinting to even reach the Frost and Lightning border. Asuma and I had to quickly locate the closest Kumo team or contingent we could find, and give them something else to deal with, that would hopefully keep them occupied until we got a response from our Hokage.
His original idea of simply charging through the border and engaging with their closest outpost like two kamikaze samurai, was quickly discarded when the first border outpost we reached was located somewhat high up into the foothills of the mountains, and was occupied with well over a hundred enemy shinobi with little to no cover for an approach. Instead, I asked him about his strongest wind techniques, did they only cut or could he instantly freeze a waterfall, because with all the moisture that high up into the mountains I had all the base I needed to really bring the floods. His answering smirk told me he was ready, liked my plan a whole lot, and was itching for a fight.
It didn't disappoint, as a series of time released explosive tags off to the western most neighboring mountain got everyone's attention in the area, and gave us the two minutes of uninterrupted focus to gather the necessary chakra for me to call forth the Great Waterfall technique directly above the towering defensive structure. The enormous waterfall crashed heavily over the outpost like a thousand battering rams, as stone and debris was blown off in large chunks at the powerful weight and power of the waterfall. Before the second crash of water could even come back onto the outpost, Asuma's large scale wind attack was howling through the air like a wurlitzer siren as it crushed against the water and stone, destroying the outpost entirely, while also leaving behind frozen chunks of ice in certain places that almost completely covered any of the visible damage.
Then it was a mad rush back through Frost and Hotsprings, with quite the contingent of shinobi following us, though several were thinned out by the careful and sometimes not so careful laying of traps as we moved with purpose. With the pursuit, we knew we also couldn't return directly to Konoha, as we were trying not to let the world know about our little sabotage, and continued dangerously into the Land of Rice, knowing we were in Orochimaru's territory, but hoping it would confuse our pursuers, and muddy the waters of culpability away from Konoha. Luckily, we didn't encounter the Snake Sannin himself, but did manage to locate an out of the way base of his, by complete accident.
It brought with it the arrival of several mostly disfigured or unnatural looking Sound Ninja, when we stopped momentarily to eat some rations and regroup after hours of being pursued, and had seemingly landed on the ground directly above the buried base without even knowing. Once the first of several dozen disfigured and grotesque looking beings, because calling them human at this point would have definitely been a stretch, arrived, we knew we were in trouble, but also possibly given the cover and out we needed. After a quick engagement of the most aggressive and first arriving of the Sound ninja, both Asuma and I created shadow clones in our place, I added an extra underground to help as well, and continued southwest, knowing we couldn't enter the Land of Iron easily and would have to take our chances with returning to the Land of Fire, and hoping our pursuers from Kumo got distracted by the Sound ninja and the shadow clones we left behind.
Those clones put on quite the Water and Wind show to draw out as many of Orochimaru's experiments as they could, and just in time for the arrival of the pursuing Kumo ninja to engage, while they luckily avoided the worst of the fighting by blending back down into the bunker style base after sowing the seeds of battle with all the action now above ground. The underground bunker was every bit as creepy as one would expect from someone like Orochimaru, and our clones quickly went through the entirety of it to make sure nothing else dangerous was here, and also because Orochimaru was Konoha's number one missing nin, and any information we could get on him and his ninja or experiments would be considered gold. And nobody knew this more than the man (or at least his clone) next to me, who after seeing the first lab had gotten really stiff and demanded we gather any and every piece of evidence we could, and I wasn't going to argue with the son of the Third Hokage on this one.
That information, though, was now sealed in a single storage scroll and being guarded and protected by two somewhat fragile shadow clones, who quickly understood the importance of their task and the dangers presented to them. My main shadow clone gave the scroll to Asuma's clone, and told him to run home while he stayed and covered all of our tracks, and then started setting up Fuinjutsu explosive notes all throughout the underground bunker. That clone and myself received the memories of my second clone, after it dispersed while sabotaging the fighting going on between the Lightning and Sound ninja, so we both knew where everyone was in the clearing and the clone remaining behind was ready to cover our tracks.
My remaining clone underground emerged directly in front of one of the last remaining pursuing Kumo ninja, and simply smirked before activating all the Fuinjutsu seals and watched as an all encompassing explosion erupted upwards in a large mushroom like cloud of smoke, fire, and debris which became easily visible for miles in every direction. My clone's last thought as it dispelled was of a successful completion of the mission, as there would be no more pursuers from either Kumo or Orochimaru's forces after this little light show.
+-—-Shin Ikeda—-+
When the last of my clone's memories returned to me, I quickly let Asuma know what we found in Orochimaru's base, and that his clone was bringing the scroll back to Konoha and our pursuers were no more. He gave me a somewhat funny look, then glanced back in the direction we came, and had just seen the large explosion from, but didn't say anything for a while as we hightailed it back through Fire Country towards Konoha, and it wasn't until several hours later well inside Fire Country, that we stopped for a quick break, that he spoke.
He first apologized for not thinking too highly of me when we first met, and then thanked me for my help in sabotaging Kumo, and for my clone staying behind so his clone could ensure the information they collected from Orochimaru was secured. I responded that I wasn't offended in any way, as I hadn't really done enough to make a name for myself and for all he knew could have been a run of the mill Chunin. He laughed at that, mumbling about a waterfall and Orochimaru base explosion that few Chunin were capable of, and gave me a respectful nod, then said he was happy to fight at my side any time, before we shared a friendly smile and some much needed rest before we jumped back into the trees to race home.
Just before we reached the gates of Konoha though, it was Asuma's turn to pause as his clone's memories were returned to him, but it made him scowl and come to a complete stop that had me somewhat nervous after all the work to get that information. He then signaled we were picking up the scroll at a drop location nearby his clone used, and to follow him as he took off in a sprint to a somewhat nearby clearing with an old warped and twisted tree, the only one to disrupt the small clearing. After a second of digging, he unearthed the scroll and instantly opened it and started looking at the kanji listed, showing the things sealed inside before pressing one as several hand written journals appeared.
His clone must have already known where to look, as seconds after flipping one of the books open to a page near the beginning, he turned and held it out for me to read, and my whole world stopped in an instant.
Experiment #451, attempt #34 "Shin" clone of Tobirama Senju. July 7th , 260 c.e.
The first successful clone of Tobirama Senju, to survive the incubation period, used the inclusion of his Impure World Resurrection Ritual along with physical creation to complete.
63.7% Senju DNA
9.2% Uzumaki DNA
17.1% Jugo DNA
10% Orochimaru DNA
Clone seems stable after three days, and appears as a normal human baby "Shin". Don't have the time or patience to deal with the next few years myself, and will infiltrate and place him among Konoha's orphanage. He will be implanted in some young prisoner with a death seal seal implanted to ensure her silence, that should help stimulate the same growth of Tobirama. I'll have my spies continue to monitor the boy until I can have him brought to me by age four or five.
Age 1 - Reports from Orphanage, normal development, nothing unusual reported.
Age 2 - Reports from Orphanage, very active physically, loner, slow speech development, lean build.
Age 3 - Reports from Orphanage, physically active and intelligent, quiet, loner, ready to be 'adopted' next round of inspections, flat black hair and gray eyes.
Age 4 - Orphanage destroyed by Kyuubi along with all records or knowledge of Shin. No report of Shin amongst dead or missing, only Shin currently in Konoha of similar age is Ikeda Clan Heir. Despite looking alike, determined not to be a Tobirama clone by Medic Kazu, October 11, 265 c.e. (day after Kyuubi attack). Presumed dead. Danzo also has a Shin in Root, but the boy is already 7 and doesn't match physical description, and we don't believe Danzo is hiding him.
Age 15 - Shin Ikeda wins Kuso Chunin Exam, heavy water user & Fuinjutsu user, lethal, machine like efficiency, unreal speed and skills for Genin.
Age 17 - Shin Ikeda captured Kidomaru during flight from Konoha Crush, destroyed Snake Summons 'Ghurki' during invasion. Need blood sample to confirm identity.
Age 17 - Blood sample obtained from Konoha Hospital, confirmed Tobirama Senju clone. Plans underway to apprehend and return to me.
Like I said, my whole world stopped as I stared at the words on the page, hoping they said something different, but knowing without a doubt, that this was the most likely scenario. It explained why I didn't have a family or last name when I reached the orphanage, and how I was so successful at water manipulation and Fuinjutsu, despite not actually being from the Ikeda Clan. It was simply too much mind altering information too quickly, and my brain almost shut down and didn't process it, but then I looked at the wide eyed Asuma Sarutobi staring at me, and knew I would have to do something, and fast.
"So, you think I can call in that favor already?" I asked with an uncertain look at the Jounin, who only minutes before was thanking me and offering his help for our successful pulling off of our mission, and the subsequent find from Orochimaru's base.
"You expect me to sit on this?" he exclaimed, and I winced knowing it was huge news, and not something easily forgotten about or swept under the rug.
"Not on anything else we found," I answered seriously, "but let me erase those recent Shin Ikeda entries that tie me to this clone …or I'm nor sure what they'll do to me?"
"But you are this clone," he argued, and I knew I was starting to panic and get desperate. If he shared this information, I probably wouldn't remain a Konoha Ninja, or maybe even alive.
"So what if I am?" I yelled back. "Those words don't change WHO I AM. I am also the sole Heir of the Ikeda Clan and a Konoha Chunin you just claimed to be 'one of the good ones', doesn't that count for something too?"
"Shit," muttered Asuma, hanging his head a bit as he thought over my impassioned words. "You're right, sorry Shin."
"Apology accepted," I replied with a tired sigh, "and yes, this is big news, life altering news …but it's mostly my big news about my origins. It's just a name and some DNA, Sarutobi," I paused to let that sink in, knowing he of all people would get it . "It doesn't show my heart and the connections I've made throughout my life, and shouldn't affect who I have become and what I've already done for my village, and make no mistake, Konoha IS my village."
"Your right," answered Asuma, looking at me with a little different light, like he just realized what I said, and it resonated easily with the son of the former Hokage.
"You may be a Sarutobi by birth and me a …Senju clone, but we are Konoha Shinobi by our own choice and through our own hard work," I answered him, both heartfelt and honest, "and that is enough for me."
"I never pegged you for a philosopher?" came his somewhat curious reply, and I let him have all the time he needed, still ready to defend myself, but luckily didn't have to wait long, "but I like that …being a Shinobi of the Leaf might just be enough for me too."
He then handed me the notebook that contained the entirety of the experiments Orochimaru conducted to clone the Second Hokage, with a firm nod of his head and the simple instructions to hang on to this one myself. He then proceeded to tell me to meet him for drinks tonight to celebrate returning home before packing everything back up, and then leading the way back to the village, checking in at the gates, and going straight to the Hokage's office. There, we filled Tsunade in on everything that happened on our mission, causing her to instantly seal the room when we mentioned our Orochimaru base encounter, and then walked her through everything,
except the contents of a single Orochimaru notebook that would never be mentioned.
We were in turn given a week off and 'asked' to write up our reports quickly as she assessed the damage and fall out from our mission, and we instantly left to settle back in home, with instructions to meet later for drinks. Asuma was in a great mood when we did meet up later, and it didn't take my extra keen sense of smell to know why, as we shared a few drinks and chatted a bit, getting to know one another better. At the end of the night, he thanked me again for what I said today, and that it made him realize he was pushing a little too much lately, partially to overcompensate for the loss of his father and partly to avoid dealing with his own reality, and that he needed to slow down and enjoy life a little more, that was the Konoha legacy his father had tried to leave for him.
I thanked him as well, knowing by giving me the clone journal and basically my freedom that I would forever be indebted to him, and promised him if he ever needed anything, that I was the person. Those next few days in Konoha, felt almost like a dream or nightmare, as time passed too quickly, and most of that time was spent inside my own head or reading the creepy handwriting of a vile monster as he described the cloning process in greater detail. It was nauseating to see your life broken down in front of you, and when I reached the inclusion of the Impure World Resurrection Ritual, some part of me shuddered so deeply that I just knew, this is how "I" got here, into the land of Naruto.
The harder part to understand, was the inclusion of the other DNA strands, until I read all of the creepy notes and learned that Uzumaki vitality probably helped keep me alive through such a weird grafting of powers and bloodlines together, while the Jugo DNA would help me gather Natural Chakra and possibly / eventually reach a type of sage mode. Orochimaru included his own DNA out of arrogance, thinking it would tie the clone further to him, and maybe as a possible backup body to have available in an emergency. He was much less interested in the Second's water control for himself, and even in his notes here, mentioned his greater desire to re-create the First's Mokuton, but still didn't skimp out on any advantage given to the clone, …myself.
I just felt fucking dirty, and no amount of cleaning or soaking at the hot springs helped. I didn't really even know what to think about being a clone body, as my "body" was never really what defined me, and I guess at some level it answered one of the more fundamental questions I always had …about how the fuck I got into the Naruto world. It also made me wonder about any possible connection I had to the Second Hokage's water nature, and marveled that I was already modelling myself after the Nidaime, and now I learned I was his actual clone, it was just fucking weird.