Lest you fade here all alone
Chapter 12
Even before Kusagakure came into view, Jiraiya could already feel it. That peculiar feeling penetrating the surroundings, a certain low hum that charged the air and left tingly sensation on the naked skin. Chakra. Pure, raw chakra everywhere. In the ground and the air—the environment thoroughly saturated with it.
Jiraiya couldn't help himself. His pace increased until he was all but running the rest of the way to the top of the hill. The moment he reached it, the moment he laid his eyes on the village, the sight stole the air out of his lungs.
He didn't quite believe rumors he began hearing while coming back from Iwa. The seal that spanned across the whole Kusagakure? Maybe possible with enough people, a lot of preparations, and a powerful and knowledgeable Seal Master in command. Done in seconds by one person? Completely absurd. Not even if that person was Rei Uzumaki. And there was no doubt in Jiraiya's mind about the identity of the culprit. Fearful mentions of 'Blond Uzumaki' were a dead giveaway.
Looking at the intricate black lines swirling and curling on roads and houses as far as the eyes could see, covering every inch of visible surface, Jiraiya realized that rumors were not exaggerated as he had expected. They were true to the last whisper.
The Seal Master in him was in utter awe and giddy with excitement at the opportunity to witness such a majestic sight.
The ninja in him trembled in absolute terror at this overt display of tremendous power, control, and mastery of the Fuuinjutsu.
Jiraiya followed the road to the village, stopping at the very edge of the sealing array. He squatted down and gently traced a few lines. Raw chakra nipped at his fingertips. His eyes narrowed when something caught his attention, gaze quickly flicking here and there.
There was a pattern. No, not a pattern, but the same fragment. One formula repeated over and over again, creating a gigantic web of seals.
Jiraiya's heart soared. Marvelous! Brilliant in its simplicity and efficiency.
He quickly stood up and strolled into the village, head whipping to one side and another, trying to see as much as possible so he could etch the view into his memory to the smallest details.
The sannin paused, eyes sparkling. He rushed to the corner of the building to take a closer look at the part that piqued his interest.
Stability matrix working as the grounding pillar. Of course! The sheer size of this thing would make it unstable without at least a few of these, shattering the precarious balance between each segment of the system. And while Jiraiya could recognize the function of this section and how it was made, the method to implement it into this monstrosity was beyond his current knowledge. So seamlessly incorporated into this mind-blowing number of other components and crafted together in a cohesive, perfectly working structure.
Jiraiya was about to brush a hand across the base of the stability matrix, when suddenly he had to duck the sneak attack from behind. Immediately, he jumped to the side, preparing for the fight against… an angry housewife?
"Don't touch it, you moron," the woman said, putting her free hand on her hip while shooting daggers at the man. She had a broom with her which she apparently wasn't afraid to use on unsuspecting passersby. "What if you activate it, ah?! You'll take responsibility for what will happen?!"
Despite its fully charged status, the sealing system was dormant at the moment, Jiraiya could tell. A sleeping beast, waiting for further commands. If a simple touch could stir it, they wouldn't be able to casually walk on it.
Naturally, civilians didn't know any better.
"Sorry, sorry." The sannin rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I just got curious…"
The woman looked the man up and down before her eyes narrowed. "You're not here to cause trouble, are you?" she asked. "God knows, we don't need more trouble."
"Nah, I'm just passing by," Jiraiya replied with a silly smile plastered on his face. "What happened? What's up with an art? Oh!" He let his face brighten just enough to take on a guileless, inquisitive look. "Is it a festival of some sort?"
The civilian snorted, expression twisting into a grimace as she glanced around an empty street. "That's not an art, Old Man. We were attacked."
"Attacked?!"
"I wasn't there when that happened, but—" Someone called from the nearby house and the woman looked towards a man standing at the door who waved her over with a hushed 'hurry up!' Her brow furrowed even further. "Sorry, I have to go," she said, promptly turning to leave.
Jiraiya tsked under his breath. There went his first chance at information. "Ah, wait!" he stopped the woman. "I'm looking for a place in this—" he was about to say 'lively', only to realize that she was the first live soul he had met or seen here; the place was completely deserted, "—quiet village for a weary traveler to wash the dust out of his throat."
"Quiet, huh," the woman scoffed before pointing in a specific direction. "I heard Daiki's Pub is still open, just down the street, near the center of the village."
Jiraiya bowed and turned to the indicated way. His eyes slid past the stability matrix and a pang of regret pricked his chest.
"I don't recommend dilly-dallying here for long if you don't have to, Traveler!"
Jiraiya offered a cheery, "I won't!" over his shoulder. "Thanks!" The moment he faced the street ahead, any cues of cheerfulness melted away from his expression.
He really couldn't afford staying here for long, no matter how his fingers itched to examine every inch of this masterpiece. Once he knew more about why Rei Uzumaki attacked Kusagakure, he would have to hurry back to Konoha with this information. It might be crucial for the safety of their village.
After a few minutes of trekking and not meeting anyone else, the sannin reached the pub. He knew this place well. The owner was once on his list of possible informants for his spy network, but it fell short after several attempts to recruit him.
Jiraiya reached for the door handle. Before his hand could land on it, the door flew open. He backpedaled with a little yelp, avoiding it smacking him to his face by a hair's breadth.
"Oops!" a bright feminine voice chirped from under the dark hood that completely hid the owner's face. Light on her feet, she easily danced around the man without as much as a brush against him. "Sorry about that!" The girl waved, then swiveled around and soon disappeared around the corner.
The sannin squinted, finding something amiss about the stranger but unable to put his finger on it. Maybe it was her—
"Jiraiya."
The barman was glowering at him from inside the dimly lit pub.
Jiraiya's mouth stretched into a wide grin as he sauntered in, thoughts about the woman pushed aside to ponder at a later time. "Daiki, my good man!" he greeted, warm and exuberant. "Long time no see!"
"Yeah, yeah," the other man muttered, leaning under the counter for a moment. He straightened up again, holding a bottle of sake and two small drinking cups. "Figures you'd come here to investigate," he said, already pouring the beverage into the cups.
Jiraiya took it as a sign to join the man at the bar. He crossed the room, raising an eyebrow at the only other visitors of the pub – a group of four men on the floor among the pieces of a broken table. Three of them were still conscious, moaning and groaning as they tried to push themselves on shaky feet, blood dripping from their noses.
The most telling detail was their headbands around their heads, depicting grass symbol. Kusa ninjas. Beaten to a pulp.
Noticing Jiraiya's obvious confusion, Daiki laughed. "The lady from before," he motioned to the door with his head. "Fools were asking for it."
"Shut it, Daiki!" one ninja growled. He spat blood from his mouth and wiped it with the back of his hand before baring his teeth into a sneer. "When I get my hands on her…"
"Yeah, good luck with that," the barman commented. There was a mocking smirk on his lips as if he knew something they didn't.
With another furious grunt, the man finally staggered to his feet. He kicked his companion who was still laying down with an angry, "Come on! Let's go catch that bitch!" Feeling something wet and uncomfortable in his nose, he sniffed and absent-mindedly brushed it off.
Fresh blood.
That infuriated the ninja even more. He snarled and stomped towards the exit. As he passed his unconscious mate, he buried his boot into his stomach as a wake-up call with more force than was necessary.
Daiki watched ninjas with distaste. When the last of them finally found his way out of the building, he all but spat, "Assholes," after them and then proceeded to gulp down his sake shot in one swift move. "I wish he would have killed them all."
Jiraiya was honestly surprised by the man's open hostility. When he met Daiki years ago, he was stubborn as a mule, but generally a gentle and peaceful person. "From when do you hate ninjas?" he questioned. "Aren't your eldest son supposed to be a genin by now?"
Daiki's eyes were hard and cold as he stared at the sannin. As was his voice when he said, "He was a genin."
Jiraiya winced. Was, huh.
The barman filled another shot for himself, downed it again in one go, and slammed the cup on the bar. "Until they used my boy as bait and left him to die."
Ah. Definitely not the topic to talk about. Jiraiya heard that Kusa didn't really instill strong camaraderie between their ninjas, but he didn't realize it was this bad. "Sorry for your loss," he said, genuinely offering his condolences for a grieving father.
Daiki stayed silent for a few minutes before letting out a tired sigh. "Yeah, well, I'm sure you're not here to hear my sob story," he commented, clearly changing the topic. "No." His lips quirked up. "No, you're here for what everyone comes here these days." He leaned on the bar in front of the other man, rocking his empty cup back and forth. "The blond Uzumaki."
"Ah, you know me, old friend," Jiraiya said as he pulled a few bills and pushed them across the bar. "Always up for some juicy gossip."
The money disappeared into Daiki's pocket and the man filled the sake cups again. "I was running an errand that evening and happened to be there myself," he started, savoring his sake this time. "Rei Uzumaki, he said his name was, a leader of the newly rebuilt Uzushiogakure."
Jiraiya startled. He knew Rei was supposedly living in Uzushio, but he didn't expect him to actually undertake the task of rebuilding it. And it was already done? Was it possible to rebuild the village so fast? It would take an enormous amount of funds and manpower to do it. Where the heck Rei procured all that?
"He was confronting our… honorable leader," Daiki put a clear, sardonic emphasis on these words, "about the treatment of two Uzumakis that lived on the outskirts of Kusa, a mother and a daughter duo." He paused to take a sip of his sake. "I don't blame him. That woman seemed to be sick and they still forced her to work in the hospital." The man shook his head. "No wonder Rei blew that place up."
"He blew the hospital up?!"
"Only the ninja wing. It was quite impressive. I've to say, he has a style." Daiki smirked, his admiration for the Uzumaki unmistakable. "Though our great leader attacked first, so the art on the streets and dozens of ninjas dead, I guess that was his response to the unprovoked assault." He shrugged, unconcerned. "Who knows how the meeting would have ended if Jushi hadn't decided to attack him."
The sannin's mind whirred, filtering through the information at a feverish pace.
Rei Uzumaki came here for his clan members, probably after hearing some rumors or just stumbling upon them blindly. Seeing that his fellow Uzumakis were not treated all that well, he offered them sanctuary in Uzushio. He met with Kusa's leader to inform him that he was taking them away, and the latter didn't react well to the news.
It sounded uncomfortably similar to what happened to them, didn't it? Jiraiya felt chill sliding down his spine as Rei's ultimatum from that day rang in his ears, backed up with a devastating display of power. It also seemed that Konoha had been given some leeway, contrarily to Kusa.
Oblivious to the other man's growing horror, Daiki continued, "Their attack did nothing to him." He chuckled. "In return, the blond Uzumaki made that gigantic thing in seconds! And then," he snapped his fingers and Jiraiya had to fight not to flinch, "the hospital – gone," snap, "Zosui, that bastard, gone," snap and a satisfied grin, "Jushi – gone!"
Jiraiya abruptly stood up. "I need to go," he said, already moving towards the exit.
"Hey!" the barman shouted after him. "You didn't pay for your—"
The sannin slammed the door shut behind him.
Daiki huffed. Oh well. Not like it mattered. The payment from the unexpected blond patron was rewarding enough and all he had to do, was to tell anyone who asked about what he had witnessed that evening.
The man finished the remaining sake in his cup and started cleaning.
Maybe he should move his family and business to Uzushio too. Not a bad idea. He didn't like Kusa and it was done for anyway.
As soon as Jiraiya left the village, he summoned the fastest toad messenger and sent it to Konoha ahead of himself with a message to not, in any circumstances, deny Rei Uzumaki the guardianship of Naruto lest they wanted Konoha to be swallowed by another calamity of the Kyuubi's proportions.
Only when he started running towards Konoha, the sannin realized what exactly bothered him about the girl who almost bumped into him.
Her hair was red.
The moment Rei appeared on top of one of Suna's buildings, located on the outskirts of the village, he instantly smelled blood. Taking control of his rage, smothering the primeval urge to defendprotectkill, he surveyed the scene in front of him.
It was an open field, surrounded by a few dunes of sand on one side and empty houses on another. A few dead ninjas lay strewn around; their bodies twisted in unnatural angles, sand soaking their blood like a thirsty beast. The injured screamed and moaned, their limbs turned into mince, bones crushed, or outright missing. The ones still alive barked orders, dragging their incapacitated comrades away from the battlefield.
And in the middle of all that gory carnage stood a tiny red-haired figure. A snarl slipped free every time someone stepped over an invisible line, waves of sand rising immediately to lash out at everyone who hurt him. Who still threatened to hurt him.
Rei's brow furrowed before he stepped off the roof and landed silently on the ground below. He didn't really care what exactly happened here, though he could guess. Quickly, he walked forward, a steady gaze fixed solely on the little Jinchuuriki, on Gaara, on one of his kids.
The blond sidestepped the Suna ninja that was sent careening backward by a sand whip and harshly pushed another out of his way when the man jumped right in front of him.
Only then people started to notice him.
"Who's that?"
"No idea…"
"Who are you?!"
Rei cared not about someone demanding to know his identity. He strode straight towards the violent sand tornado, all focused purpose.
One of the ninjas reached to grab him. To stop him. To interfere.
The human screamed as the offending appendage plopped on the ground. The ground that split in two by the force of the wind blade that severed the arm.
Rei did not spare it a single glance.
Sand swirled on his left, spinning and rising high into a thick column. Then it slammed down. Lethal, carrying no mercy.
Only to be blown away by a gust of wind.
Another wave came from his right.
Rei's pace never faltered, nor did it slow down as his winds tore it apart again.
Gaara snarled. More and more sand gathered around him, a massive wall that surged up, blocking the sky and the sun itself.
The blond halted, looking up.
Shouts of retreat sounded behind him, Suna ninjas hurrying to pull back.
For a split second, the world stood still.
Gaara roared, throwing both his arms forward.
Rei lifted one of his own.
The sand descended, momentum increasing with every passing moment. Overwhelming and unrelenting, like the wrath of the desert itself.
The spectators held their breaths.
The sand was inches away, just about to drown and crush the blond, when it happened. Rei made a swift swipe with his hand. A single action. It wasn't even a jutsu. But the great tsunami of sand shattered, scattered in the winds, the remnants of it raining harmlessly on everyone's shoulders.
Gaara's breathing hitched. Glinting with unshed tears, teal eyes met the blue ones. Same eyes he grew to like, to yearn. They never judged, never condemned. Were always soft and warm and affectionate. Consistent and fierce and protective.
Rei came to a stop in front of the small Jinchuuriki.
Gaara hiccupped when imaginary fingers tightened around his throat and chest.
Rei didn't say anything, didn't ask anything, didn't demand, didn't accuse. He crouched, careful arms coming around the child to pick him up and press against his chest, trapping him in an embrace of safety. A quiet, "I'm here," fluttered across the hair on the top of Gaara's head.
Desperate for this genuine act of kindness, Gaara hesitantly let his arms wind around the blond's neck. When he wasn't rejected, he buried his face into the crook of it. "S-Sorry…" that managed to squeeze out sounded particularly strangled.
"It's alright," Rei said, his voice weaving around the boy like soothing velvet. "I got you."
Rei didn't want to bring Gaara to Konoha. While it wasn't as bad as Suna, it still was not a good place for the Jinchuuriki. He hoped that with the seal containing the Shukaku corrected and tightened, without random bouts of bloodlust and insanity, Gaara would be left alone and given time to start healing here, in Suna.
At least, until Uzushio was ready to welcome its new residents.
But it seemed that Rei's trust in humanity failed him again.
He needed the Bijuu and the Jinchuuriki to become friends. It wasn't because he himself befriended Kurama back in his world. If he wanted his plan to succeed, to be fair for both sides, to save them all, there was no other way. The mutual trust and understanding between them were vital, unavoidable. He had to make it happen somehow.
But the Bijuu would never entertain an idea of even trying to start understanding humans if all they had ever witnessed was the worst of humanity.
Gaara couldn't stay in Suna any longer. There was no way Rei left his kit in this place.
A few days in Konoha wouldn't be bad if he kept a constant eye on the boys. No doubt, empathic as he was turning out to be, Naruto would jump at the opportunity to take care of his fellow Jinchuuriki.
There was a poof and the identical blond stood next to the original. Then, the real Rei with Gaara still clinging to him disappeared in a blink.
"What did you do with the boy?!"
Rei lips curled into a sneer. He turned and looked at the man standing at the side—the person behind all this. Rasa, the Yondaime Kazekage, Gaara's father. No. This scum was not worthy of that title.
"You have forfeited your rights to know."
Rasa scowled. His eyes flicked over the blond, lingering on his headband and the symbol that shouldn't exist anymore. "Who are you?! Identify yourself!"
Rei's sneer twisted into a grin, wide and sharp and more than slightly mad. Blue irises bled into bloody red. He let up his hold over the natural energy that always surrounded him.
And the humans knew the danger.
They knew fear.
They knew death.
The maliciousness of Rei's chakra tainted the air itself and corroded their lungs and airways from inside out. His killing intent simply overrode all thoughts within their minds. They envisioned their death multiple times, tasted it on the tip of their tongues, and felt it on their bodies over and over again.
Like standing before a Bijuu. Nay, it was so much worse. Like ants facing a dragon.
A few ninjas dropped to their knees and puked their guts out. A couple slit their own throats.
A man screamed, feeling the last sane parts of his mind trickling away, and threw himself on the blond, swinging his katana at his neck.
Effortlessly, Rei caught his arm by his wrist and twisted. A sickening crack rang especially loudly in deathly silence. The blond grabbed the blade that slipped from the man's grip and the latter's head hit the ground with a thump, body following soon after.
Rei pulled the katana out of the stomach of the ninja that attacked him from behind and started walking. Glowing crimson gaze never strayed from the intended target.
"Pr-protect the Kazekage!"
The order snapped some of the remaining Suna ninjas out of their stupor.
Rei's eyes narrowed when suddenly there was a line of bodies standing between him and his prey. He seethed when he heard one of these insignificant beings advising his prey to flee.
There was no way Rei would allow that to happen. He had a punishment to deliver.
He lifted his free hand, the other still holding onto the bloody katana.
A few ninjas in front of him stumbled back in fear. Rasa pushed the man that insisted on escaping away.
A chakra gathered above Rei's palm, visible to the naked eye, more and more, until it formed a perfect blue sphere. Constantly rotating at high speed, it grew larger, white chakra adding blades to the construct. It produced a high-pitch sound like a whining wind. And then the core started turning red. Tendrils of smoke rose from still spinning blades.
The ambient heat in the surrounding area spiked drastically and kept rising until people felt as if their skin could spontaneously combust at any given moment.
Rei winded his arm with a construct—
Rasa's eyes widened. He slammed his hands on the ground.
—and hurled it towards the Kazekage and his men.
Gold dust surged upwards, wave after wave, and conglutinated into a solid wall. Just in time as the chakra construct was already upon them, a scorched trail of liquid sand left in its wake.
Rasa clenched his teeth, feeling an impact shaking the ground beneath his feet. But his defense would hold. It would hold.
The moment he glanced at the blond man, catching his gleeful expression, he saw his mouth forming a soundless word.
'Boom.'
Suddenly, he realized, with absolute certainty, that it would not hold.
"Kazekage-sama!"
The chakra construct was still drilling into the gold wall when it suddenly imploded. Its size grew rapidly, swallowing and incinerating everything it touched.
And once it was triple its original size, only then it exploded.
The gold melted in an instant and then turned to vapor. Caught in a blast, humans turned to ashes. The lucky ones were propelled by the shockwave, flying through the air and then slamming into the nearest buildings, destroying them in a process.
Dazed after the crash, Rasa pushed his aching body up. He could feel the heat, the inferno nearing him. Could feel his skin blister and begin peeling off.
At that moment, he knew despair.
And when he thought it was all over, he heard a snap of fingers.
The chakra construct dispersed. The hellish temperature vanished. A blast of cold wind got rid of the remaining smoke and lingering heat.
An eerie silence reigned over the devastated battlefield. There was no movement whatsoever, for everyone who still had the strength to move was too afraid to do so.
Then, the sound of crunching glass echoed. The blond stranger was walking again, slow and deliberate, each step leaving an imprint onto the deepest parts of their souls.
At that moment, Rasa knew terror.
He stared into those demonic eyes as the man stopped in front of him, unable to look away. Like a prey paralyzed by the eyes of its hunter, being sucked into its demise.
Rei raised the katana and brought it down.
Blood splattered on the Kazekage's face. And he could feel the searing pain burn across his body as the blade cleaved straight through his bones and flesh, cut through arteries and tendons—sliced him in half.
And at that moment, he knew agony.
It took Rasa a few excruciatingly long minutes to realize that he was still alive. That the blade never even touched him. That the blood on his face was not his own.
"My name is Rei Uzumaki, the leader of Uzushiogakure," the blond spoke, staring down at the sitting Kazekage. Like a dragon staring down at the ant after making an effort to keep it alive when he stepped on it. "From now on, Gaara is under my protection. This was the first warning. There won't be a second."
Rasa's breath stuck somewhere halfway through his windpipe.
"You try coming after him with even the slightest hint of malice and we'll continue where we left off."
Rei stabbed the katana an inch from Rasa's feet, driving his point further, and the man couldn't suppress a flinch. With a pleased smirk, the shadow clone dispelled.
A/N
Interesting fact: the melting point of sand is around 1700 degrees Celsius and the boiling point is 2950C. Gold melts at 1064C and starts to boil at around 2807C. Considering that Rasa imbues his chakra into his gold, that number most likely would be much higher.
I have a discord channel now, so if you're interested, here is the link: discord. gg/a7tQPPa