This chapter, guys. This chapter was a pain in the... I definitely got a few strands of white hair trying to plan it out. And I'm not completely satisfied, but I think this is the best I can do. If I've learned anything these past couples of years of writing, is that these crappy chapters happen from time to time and you can't really do anything about it. I like the ending though, so that's something.
Also, Jiraiya. This is my first time writing his character and I knew that I need time to get used to a new face, but he certainly didn't want me to warm up to him -_- And I got frustrated because of that. So, yeah... Characterization might be a bit wonky in this chap. I think I even siphoned a bit of my own bitter opinion during Rei-Naruto's speech. Oops?
Buuuut enough whining. This fic is not completely serious, so meh, it's fine. Right?
Mistakes! Mistakes are everywhere! Cause it's not betaed.
Lest you fade here all alone
Chapter 5
The Sandaime and Jiraiya were prepared to face Minato's brother. They had read all the information about his appearance and character in Shisui's reports and they had enough time to brace themselves of what was to come. Still, the moment the man in question appeared out of thin air before their very eyes, they felt like someone sucker-punched them.
This man was definitely related to Minato Namikaze, no doubts about that. No one could deny the sheer resemblance between the two: the same vibrant golden hair, even styled into a similar hairstyle, the same cerulean eyes, bright and sharp, the same slender body, built more for speed rather than brute force, the same approachable, easy-going feeling about him.
The form of his face and most of his features were different though. Honestly, the first time Hiruzen had laid his eyes on the blond stranger, the image of the little Naruto popped in his mind. It seemed that the boy took after his uncle even more than his father.
"Oh my, it seems I'm in a bit of a pickle."
The man sounded utterly delighted and positively untroubled, his mouth stretched into an easy grin and blue eyes watching them all with noticeable hilarity. His genuinely cheerful attitude in such an unfavorable situation startled both the Sandaime and Jiraiya, while Shisui let out a sigh of exasperation, already kind of used to Rei's eccentric behavior.
"So, Shisui," the blond called cheerfully. "Do I need to kick the asses of these guys for you? Is that why you called me?"
The Uchiha's eyes grew as big as plates, having no doubt that this crazy person might just really do what he promised. "No! Nonono, don't do that!" he blurted out before he could gather his bearing. Realizing his mouth running away from him, he shot a terrified glance at the two older men next to him.
Rei smothered a fit of laughter. "Relax, kiddo, I'm just kidding."
A strong urge to punch him tickled Shisui's nerves. Instead of giving in, he took a deep breath and composed himself. Motioning towards his superiors, he introduced, "This is the Sandaime Hokage and Jiraiya the Sannin."
"I know who they are," the man replied coolly.
'And you still threatened to kick their asses?!' the young Jonin screamed in his head. Rei was insane, he decided there and then. This person was absolutely out of his mind.
"You're quite a cheeky fellow, aren't you?" Jiraiya commented lightly.
The blond chuckled. "Guilty as charged," he agreed readily.
The Sandaime coughed to get their guest's attention. When the latter's eyes in that achingly familiar shade of blue swung to look at him, Hiruzen suppressed a shudder. Despite the obvious air of frivolity, there was something lurking in the depths of his aura, hidden from prying gazes and cautiously kept in check. Something dangerous and deadly that sent every instinct of the experienced ninja like him on high alert.
This man was definitely not that simple. They needed to be careful; the Hokage had seen ninjas change their demeanor in less than the blink of an eye.
"I apologize for such a crude method to contain you," the elderly Sarutobi spoke in kind. "But you and your intentions are unknown to us and therefore such approach was a necessity to ensure the safety of both parties involved. I do hope you understand our worries on the matter."
Rei's grin widened, the prolonged canines only emphasizing his naturally wild and unruly disposition. "Crude method indeed. Even Jinchuuriki would be hard-pressed to withstand all these seals," he said and yet he didn't seem to be hard-pressed himself. Or even bothered by them in a slightest. "But I understand. Though I dislike being caged in any way, shape, or form, I'll try to bear with it until we're done."
"Can you, please, tell us your name?"
"Rei."
"No last name?"
"Uzumaki after my mother, Namikaze after my father. Choose whichever you prefer," the man replied without skipping a beat. He grinned at dumbstruck expressions of people in front of him. "Minato and I don't share the same mother," he explained, taking pity on them. "Although, for a new leader of Uzushiogakure, I guess Uzumaki is more appropriate. Not to mention that I'd have the same surname as my nephew…" The blond hummed. "Yep, let's do that! Rei Uzumaki, at your service."
"Minato never spoke of you," the Hokage noted carefully.
"Well, he hadn't known about me," Rei answered with a subtle 'obviously' hanging somewhere in the air. "And I lived far, far, far away from this place. So far away that it feels like a totally different world." The moment he finished speaking, he stuffed his hands into his pockets, a perfect picture of nonchalance.
Suddenly there was a spark of chakra discharge on the far left side. Everyone instinctively glanced at it just to witness the paralysis seal sizzle and die.
"Uh…" the blond stammered before flashing a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that. It was an accident. I'm completely innocent."
The Hokage's face darkened and Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched. "These seals have no effect on you whatsoever, am I right?" the latter questioned.
"What are you saying? I'm completely trapped here. Can't even move."
The man was making fun of them, the three of them were pretty sure of that. Couldn't move, their ass. He was happily rocking on his heels even when he said that, the punk.
"Ah." Realizing his own contradicting actions, Rei stopped moving. But as any true Uzumaki, standing still for long was near impossible for him. "Fine," he said, lifting his arms up in a mock surrender. "You're right. They have little effect on me."
Jiraiya's eyes lit up. "Can you tell me why?" It was the first time he met a live being that was immune to seals, so as the self-respecting Seal Master, he was burning with curiosity.
"Hmmm," the blond hummed again, peering up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "With my current skills in the Sealing Art, dismantling the seals of this level from inside is as easy as breathing. I find a weak spot and with a flick of my chakra it goes poof." Another seal discharged a burst of chakra and faded out of existence the moment his voice fell. "…Just like that," Rei finished with an unenthusiastic shrug, his whole posture screaming 'bored'.
The Sannin stroked his chin, gaze staring at the seals, painted on the ground. This wasn't the first time he had heard about destroying the sealing arrays by infusing chakra into the weakest spot and simply tearing the construct apart, but to do that one had to possess an immeasurable amount of knowledge in seal creation and utilization theory. Only the highest Seal Masters of the Uzumaki clan were known to hold such abilities!
Jiraiya was always passionate about the Seal Techniques, even if he wasn't that good at that. Meeting such an expert, now that the Uzumakis were gone, and maybe getting some tips was a chance of a lifetime he was not about to miss.
At this point, the real purpose of their gathering was already forgotten by him, pushed aside by an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. "But how can you still use chakra under the effect of these chakra suppression seals?" the Sannin put forward another question.
Rei's megawatt grin was back with vengeance. "Tell me, can a person force the whole ocean to stay still? Stop all the underwater currents and allow not a single wave to appear on its surface?" His eyes scanned the surroundings, counting the chakra suppression seals. "Can six people do that?"
Shisui just looked confused. He had only fundamental knowledge in this exotic art and this trap seemed like an impregnable stronghold for him. The moment he saw it and was asked to call Rei here, he was so worried about his new acquaintance. His heart gave a guilty lurch the moment the blond appeared – just like he promised – and all these seals activated.
But, of course, Rei took this situation as a joke. Shisui sighed. What else he could expect from the person who could pop into Konoha's most secure jail as if it was his own turf and then drag him around the world in the blink of an eye?
A small frowns formed between Jiraiya's and the Sandaime's eyes as they considered the blond's question.
The implication was clear – the seals were ineffective due to the man's vast chakra reserve. Higher than the Jinchuuriki's. And yet, not a single ripple of chakra emitted from his being. He could be standing right behind someone and the latter would never notice.
That thought was a scary one. He truly lived up to his own name.
The Sandaime stared at the blond, his mind working a mile a minute. Rei Uzumaki, a mysterious brother of Minato Namikaze, turned out to be such a proficient Seal Master, surpassing his every expectation. It also seemed that he followed his own principles and conduct with a blurry line between good and bad, and had no qualms about breaking the rules or going over the edge.
Unpredictable. Rei Uzumaki was perilously unpredictable.
As Shisui said, a wild card indeed.
The man's unrestrained nature combined with a perfect control over the jutsu as deadly as the Hiraishin and his skills to ghost around freely without being detected in the middle of the day while wearing such flamboyant clothes put him to the highest possible threat level. Who knew what else he was capable of.
Konoha couldn't afford to make an enemy like that. No village could.
It didn't look like the man held enmity against Konoha. Disregarding his fooling around, Rei already extended them the courtesy of cooperating with their interrogation. He could have broken out of this trap right from the start, but didn't. They had to use this opportunity and the man's goodwill to collect more information.
Before Jiraiya could shoot into a heated discussion about the seals, Hiruzen gathered his scattered thoughts and asked, "What is your purpose for arriving in Konoha?"
Rei glanced at him, raising his eyebrow into a skeptical 'Are you seriously asking me that?' expression. "Naruto. The Uchiha clan. Ichiraku Ramen," he listed out honestly before he suddenly quieted down. After a moment, an amused chuckle slipped through his lips followed by a lazy grin that sent shivers down everyone's spines for it wasn't his usual friendly, teasing smile, but a vicious sneer, filled with malicious glee. "Oh, yeah. And Danzo to a certain extent. Can't forget about that lunatic."
-a little bit earlier, Root HQ, Danzo's office-
Danzo scowled at the paper in his hand, not really seeing its content. He had read the same line for the umpteenth time, but any kind of concentration eluded his paranoid mind and his eyes occasionally snapped from the document to glimpse around his empty office. The honorable war hawk, for all intents and purposes, looked almost jittery.
Danzo scoffed, his free arm sliding down towards his bottom before he caught himself and retrieved it immediately. The itch was there, though. Real feeling or not, it didn't matter. He refused to succumb to it!
The thought of such childish tricks used on him caused the old man's face twist with immeasurably murderous intent and the paper crumpled as his fist tightened around it. The moment he would get his claws on that hateful person who dared to insult him to this extent, he would make him regret to ever be born! Even if he had to bring a new chair every day to sit on because those annoying seals turned out to be too intricate to be removed, he would prevail in the end and make that fool pay!
Then, the next thing he knew, the room went dark. Danzo started, his body shifting into an alert mode with practiced ease. Darkness descended like the thick velvet curtains as if all light had been sucked out in an instant, leaving the lone man buried in the black obscurity which seemed to oppress him like an awful weight. No sound reverberated. No echoes. It was as if he were stuck in a void of nothingness.
He strained to see beyond the seemingly solid black walls around him, then lifted his hand and touched his own nose, but saw nothing. In fact, he couldn't even see an inch in front of him at all.
Danzo prepared to gather his chakra to try a genjutsu release and realized that he couldn't utilize his inner energy at all. To his utter disbelief and horror, it was completely sealed.
Pondering on what was happening and what to do, the Root commander could only gaze at the darkness, but then – if you stare into the abyss long enough, something will stare back – sinister red eyes gleamed in its very depth, accompanied by a guttural, feral growl and a wave of almost palpable killing intent.
The old man froze. After a moment, his eye narrowed at the unknown creature, prowling around his office aggressively.
A quiet, haughty chuckle tickled Danzo's ear from behind. Fear like never before gripped his heart, but he dared not to move his gaze from the red-eyed predator in the darkness. He had never felt this helpless and powerless, at a complete mercy of whatever or whoever invaded his office.
And then the darkness vanished in the blink of an eye as unexpectedly as it appeared, together with the bodiless laughter and the shadow beast. The room remained unchanged, and Danzo might have reasoned that this incident was just a figment of his imagination, if not for one unsettling thing.
There were three words written on the wall opposite his desk, still dripping in fresh crimson liquid, while the acrid, metallic smell gradually pervaded the stale air.
I see you
"Oh, yeah. And Danzo to a certain extent. Can't forget about that lunatic," Rei said, still reveling in the memories of his shadow clones. All that painstaking preparations were so worth it! Ah, the face that old bastard made! Just the thought of it send the blond into another fit of gleeful chuckles.
"Do you have some kind of grudge against Danzo Shimura?"
A question from the Sandaime forced him back to the situation at hand. Rei stared at the Hokage's face, still as wrinkly as he'd remembered. "Grudge?" he echoed. "He's an ass. Isn't that enough reason to dislike him?"
That earned him an unimpressed look.
"Che, fine," the man muttered. He straightened his back out of the previous lazy slouch and, so quickly it was frightening, his cheery and happy-go-lucky demeanor was gone, replaced by a heavy, humorless gloom. "You want to hear about all the ugly things, Old Man? I'll tell you." He paused, thinking it over. "Naruto's birth was supposed to be a secret. Only a select few knew of the secure location where it had taken place. Did you ever figure out how the intruder found it?" he asked but didn't wait for a reply. "Well, Danzo informed him."
The elderly Sarutobi's face darkened. "How do you know about that?"
"I have my way." Rei shrugged, unconcerned. "I'm not here to convince you. It's your choice to believe me or not. But deaths of my brother, my sister-in-law, your wife, and thousands of Konohans were the direct consequence of Danzo's treason." His sharp blue eyes moved on Jiraiya. "He was also one of the instigators behind the ambush of your students that resulted in one's death and the grief-induced madness of another."
The Sannin furrowed his brow. "My students?"
"Ame orphans." Jiraiya's eyes widened, but he was not allowed to insert even a word, because Rei continued, "Yahiko died, Nagato went crazy, and Konan was left to pick up the pieces. The person I'm hunting, the same one who unleashed the Kyuubi upon Konoha almost seven years ago, used Nagato's grief and guilt and roped him into his insane plan to destroy the world by collecting the nine Bijuu, their hosts not included. In the future, Naruto will become the target of their organization." The blond shook his head with a bitter smile. "Seriously, it's such a mess."
Everyone was still in the middle of processing this massive information dump when Rei was speaking again, "Now Danzo developed this gross obsession with Uchiha's eyeballs. He wants to wipe out the whole clan so that he could collect their Sharingan and implant into his creepy arm." He shuddered at the thought of that thing. "And you're ready to offer him the Uchihas on a silver platter."
The Sandaime bristled. "That's not–" he began, but wasn't allowed to finish.
"Honestly, when I arrived at Konoha, I was prepared to slaughter everyone in the Uchiha clan to preserve the peace," Rei confessed, his voice was indifferent, not a drop of sympathy could be heard. "But the longer I observed the situation, the more I understood that if I've killed all the guilty ones, Konoha would become a ghost town. Just what the hell were you thinking, Old Man? You simply can't drive such prideful people into a corner just because of one rogue member's actions and not expect them to lash out. They are not like a powerless, lone child that is unable to retaliate."
"Wait," Shisui suddenly uttered stiffly. "Rogue member's actions? Are you saying that it really was an Uchiha behind the Kyuubi's attack?"
Rei stared blankly at him for a bit, then clicked his tongue at the slip-up. He was getting unnecessarily upset and let out a deep breath to cool his head. Well, he couldn't take it back now. "Yes," he replied.
"Then… the man you're hunting?"
"The same Uchiha," Rei groaned, ruffling his own hair in frustration. "It changes nothing! That person is a missing-nin and had been for a long time. He doesn't care about his clan at all. If you get in his way, he's going to massacre you all himself. But you don't have to worry about him... That man is mine to kill," he ended with a low growl.
"It seems there is a deep hate between you and him," Jiraiya noted carefully.
"My parents… My friends, sensei, teammates were killed by him or his allies. My village was reduced to dust, together with its people. My lifelong partner sacrificed himself to give me a chance at survival." Eyes like chips of ice gazed at the Sannin steadily. "So, yes, the hate between us is as deep as you can get."
The silence that followed settled on the warehouse like a heavy blanket. Rei felt irritated at the shocked and condoling expressions on the three people in front of him. A cold rage ignited in his chest, pointed at himself for talking so much today, for voluntarily ripping open the scars, scabbed long time ago, and letting all those ugly memories to ooze out and slither around his head, mocking him, tormenting him.
To pour his own heart here was definitely not part of the plan.
"I'm sorry for your loss," the Sandaime uttered kindly.
Rei just… stared. He didn't know what to do with that. There had been no time for grief or compassionate words during the war and after it ended, well, there was no one important enough left to say that to him.
After a few seconds of dazed gawking, the blond offered a tight, sad smile and lifted his hand to cover his eyes. "Thanks," he whispered. If his voice cracked just a tiny bit, no one called him out on it. "But enough about that!" he said forcefully, dropping his arm back to his side and revealing his face schooled back into a mask of casualness. "Let's talk about something else."
Hiruzen cleared his throat subtly. "Shisui already informed us about your plans to rebuild Uzushio, but rebuilding a village is a very arduous ordeal. Konoha would always welcome you and even offer our help with restoring the Uzumaki clan."
Rei blinked. That was an invitation if he had ever seen one. He smirked. Very smooth, Jiji. "Maybe," he said. "But no."
The Hokage wasn't deterred by the blond's instant refusal. "You should give yourself some time to think about…" he trailed off when Rei held three fingers. Confusion fluttered across his geriatric features. "Yes?"
"Three reasons. First," Rei folded one finger, "as I've already said, I dislike being caged in any way, shape, or form. Joining Konoha would compel me to follow your rules, restraining me in a way you can't even imagine." He folded the second finger. "Second, the power balance would be shot to hell with me joining you. Between Konoha's local clans and also between the major ninja villages. I'd rather not deal with that kind of shitstorm. Third," he folded the last finger and returned his hand into his pocket, "I don't wish to see some people that live in Konoha. If I settled here, it'd be too troublesome to avoid them."
The Sandaime's frown deepened. "Do you have a grudge against those people?"
"What's with you and grudges?" Rei asked, baffled. "No. I want to protect them. I simply do not wish to see them."
"That makes no sense!" Jiraiya piped in with a grumble.
Rei laughed at the almost pouting face of his sensei's counterpart. Yet, he didn't elaborate. He never disclosed the fact that both of them were among those he didn't wish to see either. Because it was hard, too hard to look at the people, wearing the faces so achingly familiar, but knowing that they were not the ones he'd come to love.
"What about Naruto?" the Sarutobi tried again. "I assume you already made contact with the boy and I'm sure he would be happy to have you around."
"Maa, Naruto will soon turn seven. It might be a bit harsh, but on his birthday I will tell him about the Kyuubi and his father's real identity. At the same time–"
The Sandaime's expression hardened. "You cannot," he interrupted. "He is but a child, such news could completely destroy his chance at normalcy."
Rei rolled his eyes. "His normalcy was destroyed the moment Minato chose him as the next container for the Kyuubi. What is so normal about being hated by the whole village and not even knowing the reason why?"
The elderly Hokage had no answer to give him. There was nothing normal about Naruto's circumstances, no matter how hard he deluded himself on thinking otherwise.
"At the same time, I'm gonna ask him if he wants to stay in Konoha or leave with me to live in Uzushio."
Rei's bold declaration was equivalent to dropping a bomb and everyone present was suddenly on high alert.
Hiruzen drew himself up with a ferocious glare, the killing intent flooding the warehouse. "We will not allow you to kidnap Naruto!"
"Kidnap?" Rei raised an amused eyebrow at the intimidating display. "Even if I wanted to kidnap my nephew… Who, exactly, is going to stop me?"
Blue eyes fluttered closed and when they snapped open, they were dyed in bloody red with pupils transformed into vertical slits. And together with their appearance, without any warning, the man's hidden aura unfurled around him like massive wings, bringing forth a great tsunami of raw chakra that washed across the warehouse in a tangible shockwave, obliterating all the seals into nothingness. Its force was unfathomable, outside of human's comprehension, and every heart of the observers skipped several beats in fear as they were sent stumbling back on the impact.
Several shadows moved from around the perimeter and all of a sudden there was a group of masked ninjas surrounding the Hokage and his two subordinates, poised and ready to fight. Yet, none dared to make a move against the stranger.
Rei held himself with an imposing, lazy arrogance, those crimson eyes half-lidded and gazing down at them all, very much resembling some dangerous predator that spent most of its time sleeping and ignoring the prey. He smiled, but it was not a pleasant expression. His grin was slow, tyrannical, and ominous, a mocking challenge to an insignificant opponent.
"If Naruto wants to stay, it's fine. I'll keep visiting him as I do now, nothing will change," the blond spoke in an eerily quiet voice. "If he decides to leave with me, you have two options. One, stay stubborn like this and lose any chance of associating yourselves with him. I'm gonna cut all ties with Konoha and you'll be left on your own without your precious Jinchuuriki. And two, not resist Naruto's departure and part ways with him on your own goodwill, giving the boy an opportunity at life far from all the crippling hate. In this case, I can promise that we'll come for a visit and if Konoha will meet any trouble, Uzushio will be there for you."
Rei let his ultimatum sink. Then his eyes blinked bright blue again and his aura was visibly pulled in, locked inside, and stored away like a slumbering dragon, without a single ripple to indicate its overwhelming existence.
"The choice is yours. I'll make myself scarce now. Farewell."
He was gone in the next instant.