Chapter IV:
Grey Mountains
Sakura woke up in a snowy clearing. She did not recall what she was doing or how she got here. She tried to clear her mind and remember where she was, but no matter how hard she concentrated, her mind was all fuzzy. She started moving, at first slowly, but then broke ino a run towards the trees. She tried to stop, but her body refused to obey her. It was snowing heavily, she could barely see a few meters in front of her, but she kept on running.
It felt like she was running forever, yet she felt no fatigue.
Sakura blinked and the scenery changed, from the snowy forest to a wooden house on a hill.
Ah, this was our home.
She observed the building with fascination before a cry of distress got her attention.
Slowly, with a batted breath, she turned on her heel and her heart dropped.
The beautiful white snow was painted crimson.
Ah, father.
Her father, an accomplished bounty hunter stood on the clearing with his back turned to her.
Behind him, in the snow, she saw her mother's body, lying, bleeding from deep cuts.
Even further than her father stood a figure, a man with four arms, grinning savagely. No, he was not a man, only a demon could look like this, but it was alright, father was here now, he would protect them.
He was the strongest, yes, he was undefeatable. She saw him kill strong bandits and Ninjas, no one could match him.
She heard her father shout angrily at the demon, who shouted back with glee, but she couldn't understand a word.
Why were they shouting, didn't they see Mother was hurt? She needed help!
Sakura watched with morbid fascination as her father unsealed his treasured sword, a Japanese broadsword. Yes! With this, no one could come close to defeating him, not even this demon!
A single strange hand signal from the demon.
Howling of wind.
Blood erupted.
Her father fell to his knees.
The clearing was sunk in blood.
Countless cuts on her father's body.
The demon's eyes were on her.
Sakura woke up with a scream, sweat pouring down her brow, her breath ragged. Her green eyes dashed from left to right, her whole body tensed, her heart hammering in her chest. After a few minutes, she calmed down and lay back with a sigh.
It was three in the morning, she thought, looking at the clock on her nightstand, there were still seven hours till her first official team meeting and mission. It was that memory again, the last she saw her father, roughly four years ago. It came back every now and then, to the point she got used to it already, at least she thought so.
She didn't remember the details and her mother never wanted to speak about it, but after the demon defeated her father, he went with the demon, not saying a word or even sparing them a glance. Sakura always wondered why did her father had gone away, but then she moved to Konoha and joined the academy. It was then that she decided she would get as strong as she could and find her father for answers.
She didn't want him to return, after all, if he decided to abandon her and her mother, she would not force him. Though she would beat the living shit out of him for this, she wouldn't drag him back. She just wanted answers, she wanted to know why- why did he leave them for that monster? But more importantly, where did he go?
For the past years, her ambition of finding her father seemed like a far-fetched dream, something almost impossible to achieve, mainly because she lacked power, but now? After meeting and seeing her team's strengths? Even if only one of them helped her, it would make the road much easier, the question was how to get them to help her.
Kakashi would probably decline, seeing how he was a Konoha Jonin, an important persona in the Village and his absence wouldn't go unnoticed even for a moment. But then, he was her Sensei, so maybe in the future, he would be willing to help. Time will tell.
Sasuke would be hard to convince, seeing how his whole life revolved around training getting stronger, and bringing his Clan back. There was the matter of Itachi, but Sakura shuddered at the thought of facing such a heartless man, even with her team on her side.
That blond bastard was the easiest to convince, yet the one whose help she would least. Sakura was certain should she shower him with praise and worship him like a god, he would help her, however, the pink-haired girl had her pride and decided to put this idea on hold. If she had no other option, then she could take the blow to her pride, but only as a last resort.
"Stupid old man," Sakura huffed and jumped to her feet, barely making a sound. Well, she wouldn't be able to go to sleep now, might as well do a workout before the team meeting.
Sasuke sighed loudly, his back pressed against a wooden bench in front of the Hokage tower, a can of cold soda in his hands. For the last three hours, he and his team have been doing D-Ranked missions, from catching a cat, painting fences, and helping carry groceries.
The worst part?
It was really only him and Sakura doing the tasks. Kakashi was always lounging around, reading his Icha-Icha, ever so often preaching under his nose about the importance of the D-Ranks. Well, their Sensei was at least pretending to care about them.
Naruto, on the other hand, completely refused to do the missions. The moment he heard they were going to do D-Ranks, or as he put it-Menial tasks for mongrels- the blond again conjured his golden throne from the Gate of Babylon and sat down, reading some ancient book, who knows what about.
The silver-haired Jonin tried to persuade the rich jerk to help his team, but after almost getting skewered alive, he let the blond alone. Naruto told them, with his usual infuriating smirk, that they should be grateful he honored them with his presence and as long there was nothing interesting or worthy for him to do, he would amuse himself with accompanying them.
He looked to his left and saw Sakura dozing off while Naruto sat to his right, with a irritated expression. They were waiting for Kakashi, who went up the Hokage tower to get them another mission, last for today, even though it was barely an hour past noon.
Maybe they would go train after it? Sasuke was curious what the silver-haired Jonin would teach them, after all, if yesterday's exam was any indication, Kakashi was strong, very strong, and could teach them a lot of things. However... looking at how he behaved today, the Uchiha was skeptical about Jonin's willingness to exert himself even a bit.
"Alright, team!" Three heads turned to Kakashi, who was walking towards them with an eye-smile and a scroll in hand. "Seeing how each of you could take down an experienced Chunin, me and Hokage-sama concluded that keeping you on D-ranks would be a waste, so we will be doing a C-Rank,"
"A C-rank?! On our first day?" Sakura wasn't too sure about it, expecting the Jonin to pull their leg and give them another D-Rank, but when he nodded his head again, she actually started believing him.
"Something more entertaining than a D-Rank, but still not worthy of my attention. Nevertheless, I shall grant you the privilege of traveling with me,"
"Gee, thanks," The pink-haired girl muttered with a deadpan look.
"So, what is our mission?" Sasuke asked and threw his soda can into the trash.
"We will be traveling to a small Village in the south, Hirokawa, to deliver a message from Hokage-sama himself,"
"Shouldn't a mission like this, I dunno, be listed higher?" Sasuke asked with an uncertain look. A message from the military dictator being protected by a squad of fresh Genin and a single Jonin? Yeah, that didn't sound too good.
"Usually, yes, but the content of the message is nothing important. You see, the Village didn't respond to Hokage-sama's last message, and neither did it send its usual taxes to the Daimyo, so we are there to remind them about it,"
"So, a political mission as our first C-Rank? Neat," Sakura muttered sardonically.
"Hmph, when are we departing?" The blond questioned.
"In an hour, if all goes well, we will be back in three days. Go prepare and meet me by the main gate in an hour,"
"What do u guys think about this?" Sasuke asked as he stood up.
"What do you mean?" He looked at the pink-haired girl who stretched with a yawn.
"Well, a Village doesn't respond to the Hokage and Daimyo? Don't you think something bad might have happened there?"
"When you say it like this, it might be slightly concerning, but I am sure they wouldn't sent us to Hirokawa if the situation was something bad, right? I mean, don't ANBU scout places like these before missions?"
"Maybe you're right, I might be just reaching,"
"Fools, Hirokawa is a small farming Village, the worst that could happen was if some bandits attacked them, nothing to worry about,"
"For the first time since I met you, you said something I agree with," Sakura answered.
"Of course, we shall meet later,"
As the blond turned into golden particles and vanished, something Sasuke assumed was a modified Shunshin, the Uchiha turned to his female teammate with a smirk.
"Didn't expect you to agree with him,"
"Well, it was the first thing he said that wasn't praising him or insulting us, so why not? Besides, we are a team, even if he is a massive jerk, so we should at least try to be civil," The girl huffed and crossed her arms.
"Yeah, say that to him and see his reaction," Sasuke joked making the girl smile.
"He would probably rant about how we should feel honored to be his teammates,"
"Most likely, he might try to skewer us alive,"
"That's a possibility too,"
"So, anything you can tell us about Hirokawa, Sensei?" Sasuke asked between bites of rations. They had been traveling for a few hours now, the sun was starting to set.
"Hirokawa is a small Village in the south of the Fire Nation, but despite its size, it's an important strategic point. The Village lies at the feet of the Grey Mountains and is a large iron reserve,"
"Grey Mountains?" Sakura muttered, trying to see them in the distance.
"Yup, that's the name of the mountains in the south. While they are not as long as the ones in Land of Stone, or high as the ones in the Land of Lighting, they are a vital natural defense for our country,"
"How come?"
"Well, Konoha is not known for its naval strength, and during the First Great Shinobi War when we fought with Kiri, it took all of our ships to defend our eastern coast from their attacks, and that's with the support of our allies. If not for the Grey Mountains in the south, our navy would be stretched too thin, causing a naval invasion that would threaten our Village, since most Shinobi were on the frontlines,"
"But, Sensei, why didn't they just cross the mountains and attack from the south?"
"Good question, Sakura. The reason is twofold. First, the wildlife in the mountains is... different from the wildlife in our forests. The animals there are bigger, stronger, more ferocious. The passage would be difficult and costly for the invaders. Secondly, during a previous war, a whole-,"
"Wait, what do you mean by a previous war? We are talking about the First Great Shinobi War, right?" Sasuke asked, confused if he understood something wrong.
"Yes, we are talking about the first Great Shinobi war, but there have been wars before and after. The term 'Great Shinobi War' Is used to describe a war between all of the five Great Shinobi Villages. Any war that doesn't fit the description is just another war. For example, the third Great Shinobi War ended over thirteen years ago, just a year before you lot were born, but for the past two years, Kumo and Iwa have been at war, signing a peace treaty just a few weeks ago. Just like this, Konoha had been at war with Kiri before the first Great Shinobi war,"
"Seriously? Why did they fight, shouldn't they, like, I dunno, be recuperating from the previous Great Shinobi war?" The pink-haired girl asked, not understanding why the two Villages would fight again.
"That's a difficult question to answer. The easiest way to answer this is, who started the war. For the Great Shinobi wars, it's usually the Hidden Village that declares the war, mostly for resources, influence, or money. Three key elements when it comes to sustaining a Hidden Village and empowering it. For this, when a Village declares such a war, the other Villages have to respond, or else risk one Village becoming too powerful. There are of course Alliances, but they usually break apart during a war and it ends with everyone fighting everyone else," Kakashi lectured with a saddened sigh.
"For the other wars, they are mostly caused by Daimyos and their goals are much different. Prestige, land, and bragging rights. During such wars, the Villages have little to nothing to gain, so other Villages are less inclined to interfere. Most of the casualties during such wars are the Daimyo's armies, Samurai, farmers who are drafted, and local militia. Unlike the Great Shinobi wars, where Ninjas are the foremost fighters, during normal wars they are akin to elite forces, therefore both Villages can recover manpower while also aiding in their Daimyo's wars,"
All three Genin were listening intently, even Naruto. This was something the blond didn't know, but the knowledge was most welcome. The course of a war, the various economic and administrative aspects of them, was not something he could find in old books and tomes.
"So, what happened before the first Great Shinobi war? I mean, why didn't they cross the mountains?"
"Right, so, during an early war between Kiri and Konoha, a whole regiment of Kiri forces, consisting of around 700 Shinobi and 1500 Daiymo forces, under the command of General Nobunaga arrived at the southern shores of the Fire Country. Their mission was to cross the Grey Mountains and march on the Fire Capital, while the Fire Countries army was defending an invasion to the east. They were the best of the best, well-supplied, and with the best leadership. When Konoha had heard of their mission a few days after their arrival on our coast, the higher-ups thought the war was over. The very same day Fire countries small garrison of Samurai station was defeated and scattered, General Nobunaga marched his regiment into the mountains,"
"What happened?"
"There have been no confirmed reports from our scouts, but from what they gathered, the whole regiment was slaughtered in the mountains, General Nobunaga included. The few who survived ran to their ships, sailing forth without waiting for their comrades, shouting and screaming about an evil spirit of the mountain. Countless expeditions were sent into the Grey Mountains from Konoha, yet none found this spirit who saved us back then. It became something of a legend, that a vengeful spirit lurks high in the mountains, waiting for an army to try to cross through its territory to slaughter them without mercy. This incident caused Land of Water to lose the war and since then, no one dared to march their armies through the grey mountains,"
"Wow, why didn't they teach us something like this in the academy?" Sakura asked with a deadpan. "Never heard this story, but it seems more interesting than half of what we learned back with Iruka-Sensei,"
"I am not sure, but maybe the Fire Country didn't gain much from it? No land, no money, just reparations and a few treaties that were broken in the following year anyway,"
"Something on your mind?" Sasuke asked, turning to the silent blond, who scoffed.
"Nothing, just wondering what kind of spirit lurks in these mountains,"
"Don't tell me, you believe in ghosts and such?" Sakura asked with a teasing smile, making the blond frown.
"Had you seen as much as me, you would believe too. The same way you most likely don't believe in gods,"
"Actually, I don't believe in the supernatural either," Kakashi said with a sweatdrop.
"Then you lot are truly fools!" The blond stated thunderously with a scowl.
"Oi! Not our fault you are religious," Sakura answered with a scowl herself.
"You are fools since you can't tell a god when one is standing in front of you!"
Silence filled the area and the group came to a stop, all looking at the blond with incredulous expressions.
'Does that arrogant idiot believe himself a god?' Sasuke thought in disbelief.
"Come on, I know you are arrogant, but this is a bit much Naruto," Sakura said with a pitying look.
For his part, Kakashi kept silent, not wanting to aggravate the blond Genin. he knew he would have to run damage control when he erupted with anger in a few seconds and it wouldn't be pretty. The Jonin watched with batted breath as Naruto took a calming breath, closing his eyes for a moment before exhaling and opening his crimson eyes again.
"Let me tell you something. I shall not repeat myself, so listen carefully, mongrels," His voice was chilling, even Kakashi, someone who fought on the battlefield of the third Great Shinboi war felt nervous. This feeling reminded him how absurdly powerful the blond was and should he go batshit crazy and try to kill them, he would succeed.
"Do you know what our current era is called? It's 'after sage', it began when the Sage of six paths gave mankind Chakra and taught them how to use it. A few years before this, he did a miracle, he split the god tree into nine, becoming the first human to ascend to godhood. His ascension was the moment the age of mystics died out and the age of man came to be. Before the age of man came, gods, divine beasts, and the supernatural walked the earth along with humans, but with the spreading of Chakra among the masses, gods started to lose their divinity and divine authority. Divine beasts were hunted down and mystics around the world were collected and captured. Some gods sealed themselves away, others became redundant and vanished, and others were still weakened and killed. A few of the remaining gods tried to live with humans, becoming patrons of their clans, and giving them blessings for servitude or submission. Of course, with time, even these gods were killed or sealed away,"
"How do you know it's not just a legend? How do you know any of this is true and what about your selfclaimed godhood?" Sasuke asked with a skeptical look.
"The god tree. It's the key. Split into nine divine beasts, each with their divine authority roamed the world. One of them appeared in Konoha twelve years ago,"
"Wait, you mean-," Kakashi shouted in distress. Impossible, right? Naruto shouldn't know about the Biju inside him!
"The Kyubi was the strongest divine beast from the God tree and when it attacked Konoha, my father sealed it inside of me,"
"YONDAIME-SAMA WAS YOUR FATHER?"
"KYUBI IS STILL ALIVE?"
"YOU KNOW ABOUT ALL THIS?"
"Silence!" His team's outburst halted, and Naruto continued his story. A cold smirk on his face as a gate opened and the divine Chains of Heaven slipped out, coiling around his right hand.
"The Yondaime, my father sealed the beats inside me at my birth, and a few days before I fought it, defeating it using these Chains. I took its Chakra, divinity, and authority, becoming a demi-god myself!"
Vile Chakra, filled with anger and hatred surged from the blond. The wind rushed around the team, the sky darkened and the world went quiet.
"This way, by becoming the first god in this new age, I have woken up the mystics, ushering in a new age of the world. All in this world belong to me and all that dare walk my garden shall bow before me or be exterminated!"
It was early morning when they saw the Village from a small hill. They camped during the night and resumed their journey when the sun started to rise. The situation in the team was... tense to say the least.
Kakashi himself could hardly believe what the blond said before, but it would answer a few things. Yet, the sheer idea that the blond was telling the truth was terrifying, a demi-god? Really? And he had to deal with this shit? Ugh, he regretted not taking a team last year, by now he would be chilling, reading Icha-Icha while they did D-Ranks, and not stressing about the implications of what Naruto said.
Sakura was... unsure of what to feel. On one hand, she was excited, because the blond was truly strong and his help would be invaluable when she started searching for her father, but on the other hand. Damn, he is a god! She had no idea how to respond to this news. Should she actually show him respect? Should she act around him like she did around Hokage-sama? She wasn't sure and decided to see what her teammates would do.
Sasuke's thoughts were conflicted, because while he was pleased to know his teammate was not just an arrogant, rich jerk, but an actual demi-god, he was not sure what it meant for the team and the Shinobi world. If he would truly bring the age of mystics back, the world would change greatly and the Uchiha was not sure in what direction and it scared him, if he was to be honest.
Naruto was pleased by their reactions, it showed they didn't just shrugged his words aside, but actually either believed him or at least thought how much truth was in them. Naruto debated when to tell them about his godhood, but when the situation came, he didn't let it pass, now, if only the atmosphere wasn't so stiff.
"Alright team," Kakashi spoke, breaking the tense silence, making two of his Genin jump slightly. "That's Hirokawa, our mission's destination, let's go deliver our message," He turned to the blond and looked at him seriously. "Do try not to antagonize our clients,"
"Of course, I know how to conduct myself during a mission," The blond answered with a smirk before team seven resumed their march, walking into the Village proper.
"Is it only me, or do the people seem... scared?" Sasuke asked, looking at the Villagers. Most of them were hiding inside their homes, peering at them through half-closed doors and windows, while those who were in the streets tried to avoid any eye contact with the Shinobi.
"Yeah, something is not right here," Kakashi muttered, leading his team towards the biggest house in the Village, where the Village elder resided. The Jonin knocked on the door and they didn't have to wait long before someone opened them.
An elderly man appeared on the other side, looking at them with a scrutinizing gaze, but when his eyes noticed their headbands, his visage instantly brightened.
"Ah! Shinobi from Konoha! Please, come in, come in," The man ushered them inside before locking the door quickly. Team Seven looked at him quizzically, but the Genin kept quiet, following Kakashi's lead.
"Jonin Hatake Kakashi, together with team Seven. We have been dispatched to deliver this message to you, sir," he handed the man the scroll from the Sandaime, making the man sigh.
"Let me guess, Hokage-sama wants to know why we didn't respond to his last message?"
"Right," The old man sighed heavily before sitting down on a comfy chair.
"Then you are not here to help us?"
"Help you? What's wrong?" Kakashi asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Let me tell you what has been happening here for the past few weeks. We have been mining iron like we usually do, but one of our workers dug a new tunnel, leading to a large cavern. So, naturally, we sent a small task force with the intent to see what we found. They came back a few days later, telling of a tunnel leading to a great temple near one of the higher peaks. That's also when our problems began. We entered the temple and saw a goddess in the flesh. We brought her gifts, fruits, gems, and whatnot. At first, she seemed kind, telling how she would protect us if only we would submit to her. At the time, we didn't know what it really meant, so we got along with it, only to realize our folly. The demon, for she can't be a goddess, forbids us to leave the Village, we can't even enter the mines. Not only that, but all of our savings have been taken, and anyone who stayed in the village longer than a day has been killed, including merchants and a squad of Shinsengumi,"
"That's... a lot to take in," Kakashi muttered and looked to his left when Sakura elbowed him slightly.
"Sensei, what is the Shinsengumi?"
"The Shinsengumi is the Imperial City's Elite Police Force. Their Primary objective is patroling the Capital, sometimes other big cities, or when needed, they travel as guards for important guests inside the FIre country,"
"I see, thanks,"
"Back to the matter at hand, we should probably leave and inform Hokage-sama about our findings, but I presume-,"
"Fool, we will investigate this at once," Naruto stated, his tone leaving no room for discussion and making the Jonin-Sensei sigh. The Village Elder was confused about how a Jonin would follow a Genin order, but one look into those crimson orbs made sure he didn't question the blond.
"Could this demon or goddess be the spirit from the mountains?" Sasuke asked both Kakashi and Naruto. The former shrugged while the latter nodded.
"If a goddess resides in this temple, it wouldn't let another spirit roam through its territory. Therefore it must be the same entity,"
"Don't go! The Shinsengumi squad was obliterated in seconds! A team of Genin has no chance against it!"
"Silence, know your place, mongrel!" He turned to his teammates, seeing that they too, wanted to go into the temple and see what was inside for themselves. Good, they were brave enough, it was something the blond liked in people. Turning back to the old man, Naruto released a small amount of Chakra. "Send for a guide, once we reach the temple he will head back here,"
The old Village elder scrambled from his house, his legs quickly carrying him to one of the nearby buildings, before banging loudly on the wooden door. Kakashi turned to the blond with a dry look.
"What? Not my fault," The blond huffed and crossed his arms, making Sakura snicker at him. After a few minutes, the VIllage Elder came back with a bearded man in tow.
"That's Takaba, he will lead you to the temple, nothing else. I shall pray for your safe return,"
The journey was neither long nor particularly difficult for the team of Ninjas and before they knew it, team Seven stood in front of a long, well-lit corridor.
"That's as far as I can take you, stay safe," Takaba muttered before hurrying back, the shinobi not sparing him a glance. The corridor was pretty spacious, lit by regularly spaced torches, it had a slight tilt, making them walk uphill. Sasuke noticed that, unlike the previous passages, this place was made of finely cut stone, and the walls had distinctive engravings in a language the Uchiha had no hopes of understanding.
Finally, they reached the end of the corridor, and great, stone doors were the only thing dividing them from the Temple where a goddess waited. Sakura looked at the Uchiha and then at Kakashi, nodding to them with a resolute look.
"Alright, team, no matter what, stick together," He turned to the blond who looked impatient. "If anything goes south, I am counting on you, Naruto,"
"While it hurts me to lower myself to this level, should anything go wrong, I give you my word I will lead you all alive out of this temple," While he didn't want to do this, Jonin and his teammates followed him here, so keeping them safe this one time was the least he could do. Besides, by following him here, Kakashi saved the blond from committing treason, because he would come here regardless of what the silver-haired man said.
Naruto placed his hands on the double doors and pushed. The great pieces of stone gave in and opened a path for the team. At first glance, they saw a large temple, the ground made from fine, smooth stone, and pillars crafted by master stones it. Walls lines in foreign for them depictions, while the ceiling glittered in all possible colors. Then, they saw the large throne, to which led a purple-gold carpet and the woman sitting on it.
If Sasuke had to describe her in one word, it would be:
Beautiful.
Red eyes and long black hair tied up into twin tails with two black ribbons. On top of her head, was a black and gold tiara, along with a golden neck brace and matching "O" shaped earrings. Her clothing was very revealing, with her top being a white bra that was outlined with gold and exposed a bit of cleavage along with her lower back and stomach. On her bottom is a jeweled black-gold thong. She also wore a dark blue stirrup with gold ornaments on her right leg, and a gold bracelet on her left ankle while being barefooted. Her left arm was outfitted with a black and gold glove that covered her forearm, while her right arm had a golden bracelet around her upper arm.
Her red, bored eyes turned towards them, slowly going from the Uchiha, through Sakura and Kakashi till they stopped on Naruto, where they widened and she jumped in her seat.
"You again!" She pointed at the blond, making him suppress a groan.
"Yes, me again," Naruto answered with a drawl and a bored look, getting quizzical looks from his teammates.
"You know her?" Sakura asked, her eyes never leaving the goddess.
"No,"
"YOU DARE?!"
So, another Chapter is done, hopefully to your liking. Let me know what you think of the reviews. Whoever guesses who the goddess is gets a cookie ;)
For pairing in this story, it won't be NaruHina, NaruSaku, NaruSasu, or SasuSaku. All pairing, if they eventually come will be different than canon and while I have already planned Naruto's pairing, I am open for Sasuke and Sakura pairings, so leave some suggestions you would like to see, and maybe, if the plot permits, I will write them. (Obviously, no harems).
That's all for now, I will start working on the next Chapter asap, but it will probably take another two/three weeks before an update comes.
Thanks for reading, see ya!