Chapter Five: Wisdom of the Temple, Secrets in the Roots

Chiriku meditated at the heart of the monastery, its innermost sanctum, so deep within the compound that the outside world seemed to naturally slip away. The wooden walls were carved with ancient symbols and pinned with scriptures, telling the history and legends of the faith. The air was filled with incense and the serene chant of a single monk. Twelve pillars supported the high roof, each engraved with the names and deeds and even artistic depictions of past monks of renown. The centerpiece of the room was a great, ancient thangka, the width of a grown man across and two men vertical. This fabric had been here since this temple's creation three hundred years ago, imported by the same immigrants that would one day start building the Fire Temple.

The inner sanctum was a place where the ninja monks could connect with their spiritual roots and pay homage to their predecessors—a source of pride and inspiration, as well as a reminder of their duties to the Land of Fire. They were not a part of the Hidden Leaf Village, even though their relationship was friendly. They were a distinct entity unto themselves—even the Hokage had no say over any of the monks or their actions, for their autonomy was sanctioned by the Fire Daimyo himself. They were his direct weapons and, more often than not, his bodyguards; they walked with the authority and protection of the leader of the strongest Land on the planet.

In times like this, deep in self-reflection, Chiriku often wondered if his younger self could even imagine the possibility of being a monk, let alone the head of a ninja monastery. His stint as one of the Guardian Shinobi Twelve had been a taxing time, both physically and mentally. It was poetic, in a sense; the greatest change in his life had happened while at rock bottom. Isn't that a story as old as time?

A voice called out to him, interrupting his personal thoughts: "Lord Chiriku, we have an important guest."

Reluctantly, Chiriku stood on his mat with a huff, feeling stiff muscles stretch after over an hour of static meditation.

Behind him was the graying Bansai, the longest-serving monk the Fire Temple had, as well as the previous head. He, like Chiriku and every other monk, donned the same robes, reinforcing the lack of strict hierarchy the temple had. Uniform-wise, the only difference with Chiriku was the sash with the fire emblem across his waist, the one thing tying the bald man to his days as one of the daimyo's guardians.

Behind Bansai was the guest, and Chiriku was certainly surprised. A very important guest indeed.

Most of his body was covered by a light brown poncho, but his black hair and eyes were famous across the Shinobi world, even beyond the Land of Fire. Head of a Noble Clan and one of the Fourth Hokage's most trusted ninja. Chiriku bowed in respect. "To what do we owe the visit, Lord Uchiha?"

Sasuke gave a curt, customary bow in return. "The Hokage has put me in charge of a mission to go find my dummy teammate—after almost a year, we've finally got a trail on him. I wanted to extend an offer to you since you were one of his teachers back in the day."

Barfoot, Chiriku walked to the table that had all the incense sticks and, with chakra-shielded fingertips, pinched all four of them out. "And what could I possibly bring to such an expedition?" He turned back around to face them.

"I figured you would have unique insights into his jutsus."

Chiriku raised a palm. "More unique than yourself, Lord Uchiha?"

Sasuke nodded. He was always to the point; some might consider it rude, but there was something refreshing about someone who cut the extraneous fat from their conversations. "Me and that knucklehead have been around each other most of our lives—I know all of his jutsus, but I wouldn't say I understand them."

Naruto's architectural ninjutsus were basic enough on a theoretical level, but his offensive powers were a bit too...esoteric, even for his Sharingan to understand. The Gift of the Sages the monks of this temple had seemed similar enough in nature—but his eyes couldn't understand those either.

Chiriku looked at Bansai, stuffing his hands into his baggy sleeves. "I've got this, master. This seems to be a more personal matter."

Bansai gave both men a feeble bow before exiting through the curtain that served as the door. Chiriku motioned for him to come closer. "Seems a bit excessive. Do you really think things could turn violent?"

"No, not seriously," Sasuke admitted. "But I'd rather have a trump card in case things get out of hand. We have intel suggesting he's being followed, so it's possible he could go on the attack before he even knows it's us."

"Are the people you're taking not up for a fight?"

Sasuke walked up to him. "Most of the team is tracking specialized—Hyuga, Inuzuka, and Aburame; me and Sakura are the only people who could go toe-to-toe with Naruto in an all-out fight. That leaves the sixth spot open, and I want to fill it with someone else who can hold their own. I have a couple people in mind, but since you're one of the few who actually understands his ninjutsu, I figured I'd approach you first."

Chiriku nodded. "I see. If you don't mind me asking, what's the sudden rush on bringing him back?"

Sasuke let his eyes wonder, drifting to the ancient fabric pinned to the wall. "We've had our agents looking for him since he left, but this crap with the Cloud has almost turned it into a necessity."

"Are the tensions with the Land of Lightning really that bad?" Chiriku wondered out loud. He had heard the rumblings of future conflict, but the Fire Temple could only be called into action by the Fire Daimyo himself, so they were left alone for most of the time. Even enemy ninjas avoided the Fire Temple because to attack it was to attack the Daimyo himself—a declaration of war, not on the Leaf Village but the whole Land of Fire itself—the wealthiest nation with the biggest standing army. This was the main reason so many used it as shelter during times of conflict.

Sasuke confirmed it with a nod. "Unfortunately. Shikimaru's been doing nothing but political strategy and negotiations for over a month now. Even the daimyos are starting to sling mud at each other. As much as we would all like to let the lovebirds wander off together, it's becoming apparent that both of their skills are becoming more and more important."

"How unfortunate," the monk muttered. "I'm afraid I must decline your request, then. If even the daimyos are starting to bicker, then me and my temple need to start preparing for the worst. If this goes on long enough, we might even be called back to action for the first time in years."

The Uchiha gave a simple nod. "Understandable." Though Sasuke didn't voice it, he was disappointed in the answer. The truth was, while everything he said about Naruto's ninjutsu was true, a sliver of him also wanted to see the Great Buddha Chiriku in any sort of action; the stories about his exploits during his tenure as head of the Twelve Guardian Shinobi put him at the same level as the Sannin.

For a minute, neither continued the conversation. Sasuke seemed too absorbed in the thangka to continue on. There was a majesty to it, a sense of awe. Part of it was the shocking size, but the other was the images—its bright, vivid colors popping out as if fluorescent in this otherwise dull, wooden room lit by candle light. The obvious weathering gave it a unique character, as if this piece of art had been dug up from sands time had tried to bury.

Chiriku noticed this interest. "It's our most prized possession," he expounded. "As you can see by the date in that corner, this thangka was ancient even when this temple was built. It's amazing to think that, in my lifetime, it will turn a thousand years old."

"Wow," he said. He didn't sound impressed, but not unimpressed either. His voice was hard to read.

Chiriku was interested in his fascination with the piece. "Do you find it strange, Lord Uchiha?" The monk asked.

Sasuke remained impassive, though he did try to choose his words carefully. "It's certainly striking, dare I say, even beautiful. I've never been one for spiritual stuff. This is all pretty new to me." Sasuke etched every detail of the fabric into his memory.

The background of the thangka was filled with various geometric colors and dynamic patterns. There are clouds, flames, flowers, stars, suns, moons, and constellations, all of which are tiny in comparison to the two great figures at the center.

One was a radiant red, nude woman dancing upon a corpse in blissful enlightenment, a garland of severed heads from her neck to her knees, as a bone apron, devoid of any fabric, allowed her legs to freely spread apart. Her three eyes looked down at him as if real, seeing the past, present, and future simultaneously. In one hand, she held a skull cup filled with blood, while the other gripped a knife obviously intended for flenching skin from muscle. To Sasuke, she seemed like a mad goddess, one possessed by passion, dancing to the tune of primal liberation.

Mirrored on the right side, a serene figure of radiant light contrasted her wild bliss, casting streaks of white all across the fabric. He wore the robes of a monk and sat on a lotus throne, holding a lotus flower while displaying the gesture of meditation. He had a peaceful expression, as if having achieved complete detachment from worldly concerns. To Sasuke, he seemed like the primordial father everyone looked up to—the stern but loving patriarch who welcomed all who would accept his ways. Encircling the two godly figures was a huge coiling serpent or dragon—which one he wasn't sure—eating its own tail.

Chiriku saw Sauske's attention and decided to explain the basics. "The man is the great sage, Amitabha. The legends say he was the first to develop the Sage's Gift that this temple is known for now, long before the era of the Sage of the Six Paths."

Unlikely, the Uchiha thought. Sasuke gave him a sideways glance. "And the naked woman?"

Chiriku's expression soured a bit. "Vajrayogini," he said coldly. "I guess you could call her the 'left-handed path' of our temple. Regardless of our feelings towards her, both she and Amitabha are permanently linked within our teachings. You could say they were co-founders of the faith."

Quickly changing topics, Chiriku pointed to the serpent. "The snake is Adishesha, the cosmic serpent that embodies universal cycles, balance, and the contradictions of nature."

Sasuke's face scrunched in confusion. "Contradictions? Seems like a weird concept for a god."

Chiriku nodded in understanding. "Adishesha is less of a god and more of a symbol, representing the endless contradictions of life and morality—to want peace yet crave conflict, to cling to life yet be fascinated with death, to seek love yet be guided by lust, to preach morality when the universe itself seems to shrug away any notion of fairness or karma. There's even a hymn about it, more ancient than this thangka: 'War and peace, you reward in turn; Sickness and health, you bestow in turn; Love and perversion, you grant in turn' and so on. That's why the symbol is of a serpent eating itself—a paradoxical state for a being that wants to live."

Sasuke nodded in understanding. He got most of that. "Oh, interesting." Sasuke looked at him. Something seemed a bit strange about the way he talked about these legends. It wasn't as enthusiastic as he would've expected, coming from a monk. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you don't sound too invested in these tall tales."

Chiriku took the critique surprisingly well. "That's because whether or not the legends are real doesn't really make any difference."

Sasuke wasn't expecting an answer like that. "Odd thing for the head monk of a monastery to say."

Chiriku shrugged. "Here, let me give you this hypothetical: say I see a hungry peasant begging for food. If I give him ten thousand, or if the most ardent skeptic gives him ten thousand, are the results any different? At the end of the day, a belief's validity is irrelevant to the good it can manifest in the world. Even if my beliefs are founded on falsehoods, the good we have done is still very real to those who were in need."

"How surprisingly pragmatic of you." An awkward silence stretched between them. Sasuke dwelled on the thangka for a chunk of seconds. "So I guess this Amitabha is what gave Naruto the inspiration for his jutsu?"

Chiriku took a deep breath, as if calming nerves. Sasuke noted the odd behavior but didn't vocalize anything. "Unfortunately, Naruto found Vajrayogini's teachings more to his liking. All of us looking over him at the time were greatly disheartened."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at that. "And what exactly is so bad about this woman's teachings?"

Chiriku turned, so their eyes met. He seemed more intense than normal. "Let's just say that, though we aim for the same thing, our methods are very different. Tell me, have you ever heard of a sect called Tantra?"

…

Yamato walked through the dark and narrow tunnels, feeling a chill run down his spine at every turn. Despite his years of service to Danzo, there was always a spec of anxiety whenever they met—this wonder if today would be the day his true allegiance was uncovered and he was unknowingly walking to his death. It was the type of nerve that didn't go down easily. Without fail, after each and every meeting, his heart would flutter with adrenaline at the sheer relief he felt.

Eventually, he reached a large metal door, guarded by two masked shinobi. They wore cat-like masks with purple markings and carried tantos. More nameless tools with no sense of self. They looked at Yamato with suspicion, as they did all people, but let him pass when he showed them a mark upon his hand: Danzo's seal. Under normal circumstances, it would be proof of Danzo's grip over his mind and body, but Lord Minato had fixed that issue.

Once he was through, the door closed behind him with a loud clang. The room was large and dimly lit, filled with dozens of shelves of scrolls, books, and files. A dozen tables were littered with every type of map one could think of, charts, and images. As he walked past the tables, he saw pictures of missing ninja, foreign leaders, and even some fellow Hidden Leaf Shinobi and civilians alike.

On the other side of another door at the opposite end of the room was the secret passage that connected the Root chambers to the outside world. It's a long and narrow tunnel, supported by great wooden beans, alight with torches on stands. It was a great hole reinforced with metal and concrete, with only a single bridge connecting the inner platform to the outer. On this subterranean bridge, two figures waited for him.

One was a fellow Anbu, though with a different mask, but Yamato's eyes honed in on Danzo—friend or foe, one always had to watch that snake like a hawk. He was an old, grizzled man on the outside, clad in unassuming robes with most of his face wrapped in bandages; an injury from a past mission, he always said, though Yamato doubted that.

"You're late," Danzo said, his haggard voice weathered and raspy.

"Apologies, sir," Yamato said, closing the distance between the three of them. "My transport off the island was delayed by a lazy captain."

Danzo scoffed. "Lazy incompetence is spreading like a plague amongst the generations." He limped across the bridge, his one arm propped against a wooden cane. "Such is the result of Hashirama's world."

Thankfully, his thoughts ended there. He reached the red metal railing lining the bridge and leaned his back against it, facing the two of them. Yamato noticed the lack of a third.

"Any word from Torune?"

"That's why I called you two back." His voice gave no clue as to his thoughts; it never did. Whether furious, sad, or even gloating, his voice was always statue-still. "My link to Torune was severed—he's dead."

Underneath the mask, Yamato's eyes went wide. Surly, Naruto wouldn't have—

"It was Naruto doing; I'm sure of it. A few hours after I felt the disconnect, I received his check-in from the messenger beetle, likely sent just before his death."

"Anything specific that makes you think that?" The other Anbu, Fu, asked.

"The note says he was at an abandoned village: Amphawa, though I doubt he had any idea of its significance to that tainted clan."

"What's so special about it?" Yamato pried.

Danzo thought for a moment, deciding how much information to give. "Amphawa was the last surviving cluster of Uzumaki after their village was destroyed. After a few years, one day, every man, woman, and child simply vanished, leaving all of their possessions behind. In the decades since, the locals have all told stories of hideous beasts under the waves and mysterious noises at night. They even say that if you sleep too close to the waters, you'll eventually become plagued by nightmares of a voracious serpent."

"Sounds like superstitious yokel nonsense to me," Fu dismissed.

"Irrelevant to the point. Naruto's obsession with his clan was known to everyone, and now one of the Anbu I sent to track him ends up dead right after stumbling onto an abandoned Uzumaki village in an area where he's been recently located. I shouldn't have to spell out anything more clear than that."

Stiff at the reprimand, Fu apologized and eagerly agreed.

"I called the two of you back because I wanted no records of this conversation. Understand this: your previous restrictions have been lifted. Naruto has shown a willingness to hurt his countrymen, and as such, we will take him in by any means. I don't care how you do it; I don't care what condition he's in, so long as he is alive and cognizant. I want him back and in my custody."

Danzo turned, telling the two men he was not going to answer any further questions. "Take as many ninja as you deem fit, but understand that discretion is paramount. Under absolutely no circumstances is anyone outside of the ninja you take to know about this. No slip-ups, no matter how small, will be tolerated."

He walked away from them. "Dismissed."

Fu and Yamato disappeared in a blur of motion.

Danzo cursed Naruto under his breath. That boy was squandering the only opportunity he had to uncover the truth about the Uzumaki. Mito was dead, and Kushina had been just a child when she was sent to the Leaf; any information she could've had would be worthless, and even if she did know something of value, being the host of the Nine-Tails meant she was the single most looked-after person outside of the Hokage—she was untouchable, even to Danzo.

But her son, now, had been a golden opportunity, even though it took some encouragement along the way.

Danzo craved their secrets—their longevity, their jutsus—and, by extension, so did the Leaf, needed them. The Uzumaki may be a cursed clan, but they were a powerful one, which was why the other villages had gone out of their way to destroy their relatively tiny nation.

If the tablet he found was to be believed, they were even the ones that brought the nine tailed spirits into the world.

They were shoulder-to-shoulder through the lush forests, admiring the beauty of nature in comfortable silence. The sun was shining through the canopy, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere. The air was fresh and fragrant, filled with the scent of flowers and herbs. The sounds of the abundant nearby waterfalls and streams were soothing and relaxing.

The two had—reluctantly—gotten out of bed in the morning and dressed for a new day. The idea of staying an extra day in the capital had been passed around but was quickly decided against. At the moment, it was best that they not stay in one area for too long. Besides, this village that Yusuke lived in was apparently known in the Land of Water as the premiere hot spring spot. Now that was something worth risking an extra night on.

The two walked down a beaten path in the forest, backpacks strapped and loaded. Tayuya was wearing something on the lighter side—short shorts and a thin shirt with exposed shoulders and sleeves ending at the wrists—while Naruto still had his dark jacket—a birthday gift from his mom—on, but he had his arms curled inside. Tayuya had tried buying him more fashionable clothing, but his tastes were a bit bland by her standards. At least that jacket Kushina had gotten him was in good taste. That just left her with a half-dozen pairs of the same pants to fix up.

Hours after they had left the capital, as they were walking, Naruto suddenly stopped mid-step, his face morphing in a sudden epiphany. "Shit, it's almost the 29th—do you have any tampons on you or should we circle back and nab some?"

A slender finger flicked his nose, causing him to recoil. "Of course I do; women don't just forget shit like that. And you seriously have my cycle memorized?" She looked at him with a weird face.

"Of course I do; any good husband does," he proudly said, bouncing his finger up and down in the air. "On the days leading up to it, I make sure to reserve my extra funny jokes for later."

A hand slapped him upside the back of his head. "Ow! The hell was that for?" He cradled the sore spot.

Tayuya looked at him with doe eyes and dimples wide in a bright smile. "I don't know what you're talking about; tis the wind, you see."

"Bullshit, it is! And stop talking like that!"

"Me knows not what you're referring to, good sir." She started walking away, hands innocently clutched at her back, now putting an entirely unnecessary sway to her hips, exaggerated by the shorts which hugged her waist like a second skin.

For a split second, the playfulness stopped. Naruto peeked over his shoulder with murderous eyes, looking at something his wife hadn't noticed.

The playfulness returned in an instant. He popped his arms back through the sleeves of his jacket. "That's it!" He grabbed onto Tayuya's waist.

Her world was suddenly flipping around; dirt and grass became the sky, only to be replaced by the clouds again and again several times over. She landed in his arms, a thick band of red hair flipped over half of her face, blushing from both the sudden adrenaline and embarrassment.

"Wh-what do you thi—!"

"La da dee, la da da!" He interrupted her in a sing-song voice, moving her up and down and side to side like a doll protectively clutched in his arms.

He started peppering her neck and cheeks with kisses. She playfully protested. "God, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

He moved his lips beside her ear. "We're being watched," he warned under his breath.

Tayuya understood everything in an instant. She stretched out her arms around his neck and pulled their faces together. No matter where someone was, they would only see newlyweds having a cheeky moment.

"More Anbu?" She kissed his ear.

"I've never met Anbu this sloppy. Their intent to kill is making my hair stand on end." He shifted her body, giving her legs room to wrap around his waist, holding her by the small of her back.

"How many?" She asked against his clavicle. Technically speaking, her sensory skills were better than Naruto's; however, the key difference was preparation. Tayuya could track someone for over a mile and even pick them out in a crowd, but that required deliberate concentration. Naruto, on the other hand, could almost instinctively pick up anyone who got too close. It was not as refined as hers, but it was definitely more applicable.

"One, as far as I can tell." He kissed her lips. "And a powerful one at that."

"What's our play?"

"Just get ready and stand behind me," he whispered against her neck. "I've got some pent-up energy to vent." His eyes still had dark bags from his restless night. Rounded up, he had gotten about four hours of sleep.

With one last nibble of his earlobe, Tayuya got the last word in. "Just make sure you save some for me later." She then slid herself out of his arms, dropping to the dirt gracefully.

Naruto snickered. "Well, that goes without saying, you damn tease." He turned in the direction he felt the chakra, his wife safely tucked behind his back. He narrowed in on the exact angle, focusing his eyes on the direction that gave him the strongest tingle down his spine. He raised his hands, neither slowly nor hurriedly.

Spiral Arts were the secret powers of the Uzumaki, and all of them were grand in scale and in ripple effects. There would be no need to use any here, especially with Tayuya right next to him. Besides, they weren't his specialty anyway. Naruto had spent the majority of his twenty years developing two jutsu arts, ones only he could use. Both involved the Uzumaki's creation abilities, though bent for entirely different purposes. For all the value flipping an entire ninja village's infrastructure had, one-on-one it was niche at best the best of times and worthless for the rest, which is why his first jutsu art was his primary means of battle. Although saying it was just another extension of the Uzumaki's chakra materialization abilities wouldn't be right—at least, anymore.

"Whoever is out there, either run away or attack! Because…"

Naruto's hands clapped together. Above him, two disembodied arms manifested, clapping together in a thunderous mirror of his motion, creating an image of six praying hands. Slender, feminine, carved with ritualistic tattoos, and decorated with golden bracelets, the limbs were larger than adult men yet still looked soft and delicate to the touch. Tayuya shuddered under them.

"I'm warning you now!" Naruto yelled to the forest. "I'm not in the mood for holding back today!"

From within a shadowed treeline, a slender man in a loose kimono stepped forth, thin eyes narrowed in hatred, burning with a visceral urge to destroy a great enemy.

And those eyes were aimed at Naruto specifically.

(End of Chapter Five)

Author's Notes: Have to say, I'm really enjoying this story, so much so I've finally given it its own document page. The plot of this thing has developed to the point where I can't keep it all in my head like I wanted to at the beginning. I have the rest of this arc down in bullet points, along with a whole bunch of lore that I'm slowly drip-feeding in—I actually cut like two paragraphs worth of stuff from this chapter because I thought it would give away too much too soon. Also, to anyone that happens to also be reading To You, From the Abyss, you might notice a similar power Naruto has here, and I just wanted to touch on that. Due to the fact that this and that story were originally a part of a bigger one shot that I scrapped, aesthetically they may look alike, but both the substance of the power and its role in the story are completely different. (Hell, I might end up deleting it anyway. That bullshit I went through when posting really soured my drive to work on it.)

Anyways, I'd love to hear your thoughts so far!