Hello Everynyaa, how's it going. I hope you guys are enjoying this remake of the first fanfiction I ever wrote on this page. LIke I said earlier that after going over it again, it was kind of all over the place. I thought of cleaning it up a bit. But I would love to know what you think of the fanfiction thus far. So please Leave a review and tell me what you like or don't like. I welcome any critique you may have. Hope you enjoy chapter 2 and more will be posted soon. Thank you :)
Chapter 2
The Mystery is Revealed
One week ago…
A fierce wind blew across the planes as a cave with weird carvings at its entrance would enter. A group of shadowy cloaked figures would walk down in one long line. All over the walls were carved images of a fierce firebird ravaging the land. A pair of doors soon opened as they entered a giant hall. All over there was a tapestry covering the walls. At the center were 4 individuals standing on a stage waiting for their leader.
The first person was a beautiful young woman with Red and black hair. She wore a tan sleeveless shirt and biker shorts, with long boots, Her name is Keiko. There was another woman with short Black and blue hair, she had a long pink scarf around her neck. Her eyes have 2 different colors to them, one eye is red and the other is green. She is wearing a black dress with a gold dragon design on it. She has a belt with different kunai on it. She has heeled sandals with black nail polish on her fingers and toes. Her name is Kagami.
The third person is a young man with short silver hair, he had on a pair of glasses, and he also had a black beard and mustache. He had a big-looking sword strapped to his back, similar to that of a bastard sword. He had a chain mail vest and camo pants with boots, His name is Toma. And last was a Big bulky-looking man with a gigantic club. He was bald, with a weird-looking beard with it looking like 4 spikes. He had no shirt but spike armor, his pants were black. He wore silver boots. His name is Ogre.
The cloaked man who stole the egg soon would make his entrance on the stage. The two women would approach him and remove his cloak. The entire hall cheered for their leader. The man that wore the cloak was a dead ringer for the traveler that was with Naruto and the girls. Except he had battle scars on his face, and his hair was white instead of pink. He would approach front and center.
"My faithful followers, 10 years ago I began the process of bringing this disgusting world back from the ashes. I took pleasure in stealing a rare artifact known as "The Egg of Ashimaru." The legendary firebird of destruction. And once taken I found the one person out of the countless individuals on this floating rock and made them the host of the phoenix. And now the time has come to take what's rightfully mine. I will send two of my best enforcers to retrieve the incubator and bring her back here. And after that her life will be sacrificed and the phoenix will be in the hands of yours truly, Shinku Yamamoto."
The entire room erupted with applause and cheers. He then held his hand out to silence the crowd again.
"Once I fuse my body with the phoenix, then phase two will begin when we will take over this world, once and for all." He left the stage with his gang in tow. "Keiko and Kagami, you two have your orders, Retrieve the vessel at once. And this time I expect results."
Before they would head out, he gave Keiko a Syringe full of a chemical. She looked over the vile he just gave her.
"If I may ask sir, what is this?" She asked him.
"If you must know, think of it like an alarm clock for Ashimaru. Once you inject it into the target, the chemical will start to awaken her."
Keiko then put it into her pocket, and the two women soon would take off toward Konoha. All the while Shinku was laughing methodically.
After filing some quick paperwork, Ino, Sakura, and Naruto treated the wanderer to a hardy meal at the BBQ stand. He ate as much as his body would allow him. Since the restaurant was owned by Choji's family, Ino only has to pay half price.
"Thank you so much for the meal." The wanderer said, licking a bit of bbq sauce off his lips.
"It's no problem, I'm just glad I could help," Ino said, with a warm smile.
"Is there any way I can repay you and your friends?"
Naruto and the others thought for a moment and one thing came to Naruto's mind.
"Yeah, you could explain why you in Konoha," Naruto said, with the wanderer obliging to the Blonde-haired ninja's request, Sakura elbowed him in the side.
"Naruto, you idiot!" She said, The wanderer chuckled.
"It's alright Sakura, I think it's only fair that I let you guys in."
The Wanderer soon cleared his throat and began to tell them about him and what lead him to Konoha.
"My name is Kai Komoto, and I am on a quest to find a legendary creature."
"A legendary creature you say?" Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow.
"What kind of creature if you don't mind me asking?" Naruto asked.
"It's a very powerful and dangerous creature named Ashimaru. She is what is known as a FireBird, or a Phoenix to be specific."
Naruto and Sakura both breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that this guy was another member of the Akatsuki.
"So, why is this Phoenix so powerful, where did he come from?" Ino asked.
Many years ago, during the formation of the ninja world. Everyone knows that the mighty nine-tailed beasts reigned supreme. However, there was a mysterious individual that figured out there would be a way to harness the power of the 9 beasts. One day he found a way to provoke them and would have the beasts fire a concentration of their power and chakra at him, but he would divert the blast and channel it into the creation of a powerful creature. A mighty powerful creature he named Ashimaru.
With every flap of her mighty wings, it would create Firestorms that would destroy villages, towns, and cities. Countless lives would be lost during her rampage. Not even the nine-tailed creatures could stop her furious rage. It would take the Kage's and the most elite ninjas during that era to do battle against the evil Phoenix.
It would be a fierce fight involving some of the strongest of the ninjas. But it would be no use, however, it would be the first Hokage to think of a solution to defeating the firebird. He enlisted the help of a mighty seal master. His name would be Kaito Komoto… My Father. He would end up using the most powerful seal he could muster up… Edo Tensei. While there was no one to seal the phoenix in. He would grab a nearby stone, ironically shaped like an egg. Using every ounce of his life force, he would seal the bird into it.
The elders of my village would decide that it would only make sense to find someone to guard the egg from anyone trying to gain the egg. So first they would locate the egg in a sacred cave and seal it from the world. Then they struck up a deal to scrub the island from any maps that would be created in the future. And then came my part, since I was the only son of Kaito's they would force me to watch the egg. So they would give me a powerful elixir known as the Immortal's Kiss. After ingesting it, it would make it so I would never age, never die. I would be stuck as a 16-year-old for the remainder of my life.
"So you can't die?" Ino asked the young man.
"Well not of any natural ailments, I can still die in battle." He responded to the young woman.
"So what brings you to Konoha then?" Naruto asked.
"Well about 10 years ago, a cloaked figure attacked the cave where I was stationed to protect the egg, and outmatched me and stole the egg. So for a decade I've been in search of what I'm assuming at this point is the host of the Phoenix since I'm pretty sure whoever stole it, has already infused a person with the spirit of Ashimaru." Kai answered his new friend.
"How would you know that a person has the Phoenix in them?" Sakura would be the next one to inquire.
"It's really faint to be honest, at this point the Phoenix is in a hibernating state. So it's tricky to sense it's chakra. But last night I felt a tinge of its chakra coming from Konoha, so I made my way here as quick as a lightning bolt. But once I got to where we met, I lost track of the Chakra source. It will only occur once in a while, so once I find out who is housing the bird, I'll have to think of a way to safely remove the bird without waking it." He said, sipping on some tea.
While it was hard to believe sometimes, Naruto believed him. It wasn't like he was a stranger to something like this, after all he has the nine tailed fox inside of him. Sakura was in the same boat as Naruto, but kind of hesitant. Ino was still sort of skeptical of him. But still he was still a guest of the village, so the teens decided it would be best that Tsunade would be suited best to listen to his tale.
"Come on then Kai, it's time to get you over to the Hokage's office," Ino said, dragging Kai by his arm.
"All right, lead the way." He said, following her lead. He had no choice. Naruto and Sakura followed suit.
They soon arrived at Tsunade's office, she was sound asleep at her desk. Mounds and mounds of paperwork were on top of her desk. Sakura tiptoed like she was walking on eggshells to try to wake her from her nap. She knew the risk, but she had no choice. She nudged Lady Tsunade awake.
"WHO DARES WAKE ME FROM MY SLUMBER!" She screamed, seeing Sakura wave with a smile.
"Oh, it's you… what do you want?" She asked her young apprentice.
"We have a visitor here to see you."
Kai stepped up and bowed to show her respect.
"Lady Hokage, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kai Komoto and I have come a long way to request your help."
Kai would then go into the details of his long story and his journey, about the Phoenix and about the cloaked figure. That potentially a world ending threat could be asleep in one of the female kunoichi in her village. He then brought out some ancient papers that explained everything she would need to know.
"I didn't realize that the Komoto clan was wiped out, are you sure you're the last of the Komoto's?" She asked, as she flipped through the paperwork he provided.
"Exactly, once I find the bird while it's asleep, I believe I can remove it from whoever has it inside of their bodies."
"What happens if the Phoenix awakes, what signs would we have to look for?" She asked him.
"Little things like a change in appearance like the coloring of hair, markings on a body, more noticeable an emblem of a phoenix. But one thing I know for certain is that when the Phoenix fully awakens, it will destroy the body of its carrier and would send waves of concentrated fire that would incinerate this entire country."
"Well your paperwork seems to be checked out, so I welcome you to Kohoha." She said, shaking his hand. "Now we must find you a home to live in temporarily."
"My parents'flower shop has a small apartment located on the top floor, Lady Hokage." Ino said, with a smile.
"Are you sure Ino, I mean he could always stay with me." Naruto asked her.
"Nonsense, I'm pretty sure Kai wouldn't mind." Ino rebutled. "Besides, Sakura told me about your apartment Naruto."
"Now what's wrong with my place?" Naruto said, in an offended tone.
"It's a horrible mess, Naruto Uzumaki." Sakura said.
Naruto couldn't fight back against that allegation. She kind of had a point.
"It's fine Naruto, But I will take Ino up on her offer. I don't want to impede on you."
"Then it's settled then, now off you 4 go. I have to get back to work." Tsunade said, shooing them away.
As Naruto and they left the office, Ino would grab Kai by his hand.
"You guys go ahead, I have to show Kai to his new home." She said, dragging him away. Much to the laughter of Naruto and Sakura.
Naruto and Sakura soon made their way out of Hokage Tower and were walking the streets. Naruto soon saw Sakura start to yawn again.
"Hey Sakura-Chan, are you still tired?" He asked.
"Yeah, while it was a nice nap. I was still weary."
"Do you want me to walk you home?" He asked, with a blush on his face.
"I guess if you want to." She said as the two teammates made it back to her home.
It would take them a bit but they got back to Sakura's house. Naruto noticed that her parents were not at home at the moment.
"Hey Sakura-Chan, where are your mom and dad?"
"They left a village a few days ago, they said they were going on vacation for their anniversary."
Sakura soon took her boots off and entered the house. Naruto didn't want to enter, just wanted to see Sakura home safe.
"I'll see you later Sakura-Chan." He said, but before he could head out. He felt her hand grab his sleeve.
"Hey Naruto, I was just curious if you wanted to stay over tonight?" She asked, with a tint of red on her cheeks.
"Scared?" Naruto said, in a joking tone.
"Shut up, Baka!" Sakura responded.
"Sure thing Sakura-Chan." He said, giving her that big Naruto grin.
Naruto sat down on Sakura's sofa. He was kind of sweating. He has only been in her home a few times in the past but not at this level where he would stay the night, but more of just coming over to see if she was ready to go on a mission. The only times you could say they slept together were during missions with Kakashi and Sasuke. But this was different. They were alone in her house.
"Hey Naruto, did you want some tea?" She asked, digging in her kitchen for some drinks for her and Naruto.
"Sure, anything would be great right now."
After a short time, she would come in with two cups of hot tea. Sakura handed him the tea and they took a sip with a sigh of satisfaction. Naruto had to admit that Sakura made a great-tasting tea.
"So Sakura-Chan, I was just curious why you invited me to stay the night? Any reason in particular?"
She thought for a bit, she knew the reason but she felt kind of embarrassed by it.
"Was it because of the nightmares?" He asked her. She nodded her head, blushing like crazy. "It's alright Sakura-Chan, I can relate to that. I mean I had bad dreams as well."
"It's not like I wouldn't mind if Ino came over, but when we were in that flower field earlier, I felt so at ease with you Naruto."
"Well if you want Sakura-Chan, you can rest on me." He said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Sakura got closer to Naruto and laid her head on his shoulder, and soon she was fast asleep. He saw that once again she had such a peaceful expression on her face. She had that smile on her face, that said that she felt safe.
"Naruto, I'm sorry!" She said, as she slept soundly.
Naruto, out of instinct, calmly stroked her hair as a way to relax her a bit more. This would cause her to coo like a morning dove.
"Sleep tight Sakura-Chan." He said, dozing off as well. And the two teammates fell asleep with their heads close together. They both felt so content together.
In a nice one-bedroom apartment, there was the sound of a door unlocking. Ino turned the light on and showed Kai into the house. Kai looked over his new surroundings. There was your standard kitchenette, A stove, fridge, sink, small dishwasher. A bathroom with a toilet, but there was no bath though, Ino would explain that he would have to use the bathhouse a block from the flower shop. And then there was the bedroom. It had one bed, a bed stand with a light. All in all, it was a standard one-bedroom apartment you would see in a small town like Kohoha.
"Well, what do you think? We just renovated it last week." Ino asked.
"I think it will work well, thanks again Ino." Kai said, giving her a warm smile.
"Umm sure, if you need anything Kai. Feel free to call me." She said, blushing a bit before leaving Kai to his own devices.
After Ino left the apartment, Kai looked out at the village he is calling home for a spell. The view was pretty amazing to be honest. It had a great view of the village rooftops. And he could see the monument of all of the Hokage's of the past. His view was that of the first, since he knew Hashirama when he was a child. Only one thought was on his mind though, the task at hand. It wasn't gonna be easy, but he knew that hopefully he would find the wielder of Ashimaru soon.