IX - Devourer of Dreams
"Today will be your first test." I said, while watching the three shinobi in front of me. They remained listening, and attentive just as I had drilled them to be.
"Today we shall discover if you have what it takes to go to the next level, to reach a new limit of power." My head moves downwards as I bow to them and tap my cane into the ground.
The three shinobi rise slowly, before shifting into ready stances. Kakashi exchanges glances with the other two, who nod back.
In this moment, they all are prepared. That conviction in their eyes after enduring the hellish training I put them through these past three months.
I couldn't be prouder.
"Start!"
Kakashi blitzes forward, while Gai leaps backward firing off a barrage of shuriken toward me. Tenzo disappears in a swirl of leaves. I block Kakashi's first strike and withdraw a kunai from my robes.
Wind Chakra coats it, elongating the short blade into a deadly razor of compressed air. I bring it down on Kakashi, who substitutes with a log. As the wood is torn to pieces, Gai intervenes, crashing into me with nun chucks in hand. His movements are elegant and precise, and I can see the improvement since our first battle.
As he pushes me back, I can see the layer of water coating the edges of Gai's weapon of choice. He spins around, before declaring, "Suiton: Spiraling Tornado!" Bubbles ripple around him, and I can see the water flowing from a kunai lodged into the ground nearby.
Heh. Good work, Kakashi.
I rush backwards but can make out Tenzo perched on a tree nearby. He throws another kunai into the air, as his hands blitz through the necessary handseals,"Suiton: Rain Dance!" Gai relentlessly advances, each one of his spins pulling more and more water from the falling rain.
With each step, he is adding more reach and power, and his nun-chucks have become almost whiplike. My instincts suddenly scream at me, and I roll to the side to see lightning fall from the heavens. In my moment of hesitation, our team's Taijutsu specialist has already returned, slamming into my guard.
I make use of my wind razor to parry, but Gai clearly has an advantage. Shifting my weight downwards, I launch the kunai towards Gai, halting him before disappearing in a swirl of leaves. My rapid body flicker brings me to another open clearing some distance away, where I steady myself.
"Futon: Vacuum Bullets!"
The wind rushes towards Gai, but with a poof of smoke Tenzo is in his place instead. Hands touching the ground, Tenzo roars, "Doton: Earth Wall!" The slab of earth blocks the initial strike before being obliterated.
Tenzo is already long gone, and then I feel the rumbling underground. With a burst of chakra, Kakashi rips out of the ground, Chidori chirping as he lunges forward.
I smirk at him as his body crashes into a seal I had lain for just this occasion, while my own hand becomes coated in wind chakra.
"Futon: Vacuum Cutter!" The shock in his eyes is barely hidden. After all, I can make my own techniques- this one was inspired by the Chidori except for the introduction of Wind chakra. It is B- rank at best, but serves it purpose for the sheer fright factor.
As I rush forward, Kakashi dissolves into mud, and I can feel a pulse of chakra in the earth once more. Roaring tree roots rise upwards, and I rapidly reposition my body to dodge the wooden stakes.
They surpassed my every expectation. My feet land swiftly on a branch, when Gai descends, bathed in green light. He had finally opened the second gate. I stagger backwards, barely dodging the whiplash from his attacks.
My knowledge of cursed seals is the only thing keeping me in this fight (without unsealing my Sharingan arm), as they allow me to stagger Gai. However, due to the sheer density of his chakra and brain receptors, he can overpower them with pure chakra.
With me at distance, Gai's hands flash through handseals. "Suiton: Water Armor!" The rain pours around him, encasing him in a case of pure water. My eyes can see Kakashi making handseals behind Gai, and a trickle of earth falling away from the armor.
I grin at Gai, as I unleash a explosive tag on the branch I was standing on before once more body-flickering. But when I land, lightning strikes come crashing down, at rapid speed. Kakashi has clearly improved the previous jutsu, and he appears now, kunai in hand.
He throws it, and I can see the tell-tale chirping. With my free hand, my hands move swiftly. I was the student of the Nidaime, and there was plenty of water around.
"Suiton: Water Wall!" The kunai frizzles out on the newly summoned wall, and Gai bursts through it right towards me. He and I return to a battle of taijutsu, and I'm clearly outclassed. He pushes forward, before making a hand seal with his right hand and thowing a punch with his left.
"Suiton: River PUNCH!"
I gasp as the air is knocked out of me with the continuous flow of water but pull off a quick substitution to get back. The water on the other hand, has landed infront of me and only know do I understand their plan.
Kakashi flies through handseals. "Katon: Majestic Flame Destroyer!"
Tenzo, relaxing on the trees runs through his own. "Mokuton: 8 Pillar Cage!"
And Gai, the boy who had no talent with ninjutsu is all smiles as his hands move in rapid succession. "Suiton: Wet Wave!"
As the three complete their individual seals, they declare as one:
"TEAM ART: BRIONIC PULSE!"
With my movements completely sealed by the Mokuton, there wasn't much I could do. This was the spirit of shinobi, their greatest strength. The teamwork that allowed these three to gain a chance to defeat Danzo, Shadow of the Leaf.
I wasn't going all out, but this was still a massive improvement. They did not speak once during this fight; they were completely focused on the objective.
And this final Jutsu of theirs—
—It was easily one of the strongest I had seen. When the fire met the water, everything exploded. The sheer energy released from the intense vaporization and steam shroud was more than enough to neutralize most shinobi. I had to act quickly and slammed my hand on the ground before Tenzo could complete his Wood Cage.
The blood on my thumb was enough.
My body felt more pain than it had ever had, as my robe burned to cinders. I could feel the intense burns as I was warped away, just in the nick of time.
I promptly collapsed in the purple realm I ended in. As my eyes refocused, I took note of the Sharingan gazing back at me.
Next time I would have to be less arrogant when fighting those little monsters.
"Shimura-! You finally came baaaaack!" As I look at Baku, my summon, I can't help but chuckle. The giant orange elephant-like creature smiles down at my diminutive frame.
"For an eater of dreams, you are quite lively."
He looks satisfied with my response, and inhales deeply through his trunk.
"Enough of the petty talk, Danzo." Gone is the playful nature, replaced by the sharp tone I remember him as.
I take a deep breath, and ready myself. "Lord Baku, I require your humble teachings and aid." I prostrate myself slowly and swallow my pride. "I desire to learn the arts of the Sages."
"Something is off about you Danzo..." The beast spins in the air as the milky stars melt and blur together. "Your dreams are changing."
He smiles then, and a shiver crawls down my spine. "It makes for truly fascinating entertainment~! No more skulking around, 'Konoha' this 'Notice me, Hiruzen-senpai!' that!"
I grit my teeth at his remarks but remain silent. This is no mere summon, Baku is a monster. There was a reason Danzo had only used him as a disposable summon. Baku is the eater of dreams, so when manifested in the physical form he takes a 'shell' depending on the summoner.
By learning his jutsu, you are forced to work with him rather than enslaving him (because that's what Danzo would do), which of course would be a liability for canon Danzo. But if I worked with him, I could rival even the Bjuu. For Baku was ancient, regardless of his attitude. My personal suspicion was that he existed a long time before the Otsutsuki.
"Lord Baku. You exist to devour the nightmares of the people, so I shall give you my own."
I tell him, tell him of Kaguya, my other world, and who I am. I tell him my goal, and what I desire. At the end, he looks deep in thought.
"So, you have changed. This dream you speak off..."
My nerves are tense, and I wait, praying that he agrees to help me.
"It is beautiful. A world without Chakra, a world where the Baku can rule supreme!" He grins down at me, but his tone turns somber.
"For a lost dreamer like you to meet me..."
I fidget slowly.
"It is only fate. You and I are not so different. I can see clearly now, your dream."His yellow eyes bore into my soul, and I saw it.
My dreams, my memories flow in front of me. Riding my bike, playing catch with my old man, graduating high school.
Getting a job.
And then...
Dying.
That blackness.
And at the end, I can see the future. Kakashi is sitting at the Hokage desk, with Tenzo chuckling next to him. Gai is running down the street, with Lee following. Jin relaxes on the mountain, and Naruto cheers as he pumps his fist into the air.
And me and Hiruzen watch from the river we played at as children.
"Thi-this..."
"This dream is beautiful. Never forget it, Danzo, or whatever your name is. You desire the power to make it a reality?"
I can only nod my head. Baku looks oddly serious, almost as if he is measuring me up.
"I only give my contract to those who have interesting dreams."He pauses in his observations as he studies me. "Your dream, your hypocrisy was amusing, but it got old quick. But to see this new passion, this nightmare you fear..."
As I look into Baku's eyes, I see the one emotion I never thought to see.
Compassion.
"To wake up and keep moving forward. To try to change this world, even though it is not your own. To you this is not but a fantasy. "
And to my shock, I can understand. The world of ninja, of shinobi is not Baku's. To him, a being that exists outside of our plane of reality, it is not but a dream he glimpses when called.
"Very well then. Let us two dreamers change this reality. I shall call you when the time is right."
#̴͙͎̲̉̽̔ͮ͌̃͗̚̚"̷̗͓̤͎̿̒̄͂̐̕̕""̶̣̓̚͡͞t̜͈̘͌̉̋ḩ̵̛̝͕̹̩̘̖͇̲̼̮̜̺̮͚̖̜̬̐̌̍̔̾ͣ̓̀ͤ̿́͑ͫͪͣ̏͛͋̂͊͢͢͞9̶̴̛̖̞̙͕̙̳̞̇̊̆ͥͬ̐́̊ͪͤͬ͂͌̐́͑̔͠͡ ̝̙́ͬ̌͢͡l̵̬͈̖̤͈̭̱͍̥ͥ̇͐͛̇́͛̇ͣͦͤ͆ͪ͋̈́͡͝_̡̻̩̮̥̺̯̀͗ͫ̈́͑̈̚̕͟1͚̲̟̌͆̿̃̀͘͢͢0̟͈̟̩͍̳̍́̈ͬ̆̽̋̓̾̄͛̓͑͠_̨̀́̃ ̌\͠1̮͡_͔̓͒ͥ̐́͆. "
That's...
My old name.
I look at Baku, and smile.
"Thank you."
He nods, and then my world spins.
I'm gone once more.
Back to the dark.
All dreamers must wake. That is the truth of our world.
Kakashi isn't sure what happens after they launch their finishing move, but Danzo is nowhere in sight. He exchanges glances with Tenzo and Gai, and the three remain vigilant. Their first lesson is not so easily forgotten, even though at the back of their heads there is the fear that they killed the old man.
But Kakashi knows Danzo.
Despite his gruff exterior, the man has a heart of gold. Every day Kakashi got to visit Naruto he would remember that, and at Gai's urging he had even started thinking about adoption. Minato-sensei had been a father to him, and he wondered what he could be too little Naruto.
When he had told the elder, the man has expressed his full support of the endeavor and promised to talk to the Hokage.
He had forgotten about revenge- what purpose would it bring?
If he died, who would be there for Naruto?
What would Kushina-nee & Minato-sensei say about him?
And at the end, he knew Danzo wouldn't die.
Those who abandon the mission are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are even worse than trash.
And when Lord Danzo reappears in a poof of smoke, clothing burnt but still in good shape, Kakashi smiles.
Gai rushes forwards, and a Chidori forms in his own hands.
Wood pillars rise from the ground, and Danzo's eyes snap back into reality.
"Game over, —"
He had one before, but he had been too slow.
"— sensei."
And Danzo stares at the impeding attack and closes his eyes. He smiles at them and raises his fist.
Kakashi wonders if he is lost in a dream.
"Well done."
Danzo taps his cane into the floor, before appearing lost in his own nostalgia.
"You all have impressed me. You are ready for the next level—" His eye reopens, and chakra floods through the clearing. Kakashi gasps at the sheer malevolence and killing intent behind it.
"—So be prepared."