Naruto: The Uchiha Chronicles Re-Version:
Hello everyone, so it was brought to my attention that my name is not yet searchable on Pa treon. Apparently, I don't have enough patrons to show up yet. If you'd like to consider supporting me, you can find me by typing in the Pat reon web address and adding /rinnetaicho, or simply by finding my AO3 account where I was able to post a link you can copy and paste into your search bar. Unfortunately, due to ff net being weird about links and especially Pat reon I can't just give you a link here. Chapter 28 is already up on Pa treon and I'll be putting out an exclusive one-shot either tonight or tomorrow. Anyway's, on with the chapter, this time we see Naruto's reaction after being captured.
Arc V: Kusanoka's Vengeance:
Chapter 27: A fuzzy conversation
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Drip … drip … drip
Naruto groaned at the annoying sound. It drug him back to consciousness. His annoyance wasn't helped by the fierce pounding at the base of his skull. Weary sapphire eyes cracked open. Even the soft golden light that greeted him was blinding. He blinked a few times to clear the explosion of bright spots. When he finally saw clearly, he was in a very familiar place. Stone walls soared into darkness. Winding pipes lined the walls. He was in the physical manifestation of his seal. An annoyed groan slipped between his lips.
"Jeez, I preferred the dream. Nine turned into a hot fox-lady. How the hell do you even get a headache in this place?" He grumbled.
A deep growl rumbled around him. It was so loud it vibrated the floor. The layer of water tickled his cheeks.
"OI! Keep me out of your perverted fantasies you miscreant!" The Nine-Tails growled.
Not being in the mood for banter, Naruto chose not to respond. He opted instead to turn on his side and stagger to his feet. A wave of dizziness made the world tilt and turn in confusing ways. There was a terrible pressure in his skull. He looked at his tenant through squinted eyes while massaging his neck to try and relieve his pain. The fox was mostly a blurry orange blob. He focused on where he thought it's face was.
"Alright fox, now's not the time for games. Give it to me straight, what's the situation." He asked.
The fox let out a huff so powerful it made Naruto's clothes rustle. "Tch, after your brilliant decision to inhale that gas, your team seems to have fled. Whoever these people are have since moved you as well." The Nine-Tails responded.
His vision finally started to clear. Blinking the pained tears from his eyes, Naruto could finally see the massive fox fully. Part of him wished he couldn't. That smug smirk was annoying. "And the poison?"
"This damned concoction is annoying. It messes with your chakra. I'm still trying to clear it." His tenant said.
Naruto paused in his massaging. Poison that messed with his chakra? Even with his mind still fuzzy from the headache he realized the implications. Anything that messed with his chakra would mess with the seal. It was also very complex to make.
"Ah jeez, no wonder I've got a headache in here. It's basically all made up of my chakra." He muttered.
The fox gave a grunt in agreement. "It serves you right for your stupidity. Inhaling an unknown gas to save others? Bah! That pink-eyed wench of yours is right, you really are an imbecile." It taunted him.
"Ah shut yer fuzzy trap and tell me how long until I'm able to wake up. And give me any details on the five guys that caught me while you're at it." Naruto demanded rudely. His headache had him in a less than amicable mood.
Annoyed grumbles rumbled through the room like rolling thunder. A fierce scowl overtook the foxes face, though for once he didn't respond. That gave Naruto pause. For the fox to be even slightly serious was concerning.
"You'll wake up pretty soon." The fox grumbled. Naruto didn't particularly care for the sadistic grin that spread across it's face when it continued. "As for your captors, they're a sadistic bunch. Positively chalked full of delightfully negative emotions. One of them seems absolutely insane, and another has such a deep-seated hatred. I've rarely felt anything like it. One wrong step and you might be horribly tortured."
His eyebrow twitched in annoyance at the foxes gleeful recount. Of course it would take pleasure in Naruto being in a dangerous situation. That's what he got for being snippy. True to the foxes first answer, he could feel a subtle tug behind his navel. The telltale sign his body was about to awaken.
"Tch, oh well, I guess I'll have to take the opportunity to get some info. They probably aren't expecting me to be awake so soon." He mused.
Instead of fighting the pull, Naruto embraced it. He flung himself into it. Very quickly his vision started to turn black.
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When he woke up it was like a switch being flipped. One second he was unconscious, the next voices broke through into his brain. He felt a rough wooden floor underneath him. A careful tug of his wrists and ankles proved he was bound tightly. The scent of burning wax was heavy in the air.
"…can't we just kill him and go after the girl?" Someone said. His voice was gruff. It gave the impression of an individual that wasn't too bright.
Naruto used every ounce of self-control not to react to the sudden onslaught of noise and sensation. He had to force himself to breath slowly and deeply, as though asleep. The hardest part was suppressing his body's natural impulse and keep his heart rate low. He didn't dare try and use his sensing abilities. There was no telling how it would respond with his chakra out of whack, something he could feel even now. The best he could do was use whatever he could to try and gather information.
Another person gave a heavy sigh. "We've been over this Junichi, the boy is our best leverage to get the girl." His voice soft and oily. The sound of it made Naruto want to take a shower.
Still … his words brought a panicked heat to Naruto's body. That's right, that one man had been looking at Sasuki! She must be their target. Were they mercenaries trying to steal the sharingan for another village?
From across the room he heard a mad cackle. "Hehehe, I'm with rocks for brains on this one. It's five against three now, and two of them are silly little genin. It kills me to have a Leaf ninja just sitting there and not be able to torture him."
There was an unpleasant almost squeaky pitch to that persons voice. 'I'm going to guess that's the insane one.' Naruto thought, barely suppressing a shudder.
"Did you call me dumb Koroshi?" The dumb one growled. His voice was thundering.
"So what if I did? You got the balls to do anything about it?" The insane one jeered. A screech of wood on wood rang out followed by a harsh bang. The room erupted in a round of grunts and the scuffling of fabrics.
"Cut it out you two!" A new voice grunted.
With the group seemingly distracted, Naruto took the opportunity to catch a peek. He cracked his eyes open just the slightest bit. His vision was unbelievably hazy and narrow, but it was better than nothing. They were in a rustic candlelit room with worn log walls.
A towering man with stringy hair and bulging muscles strained to reach a slightly shorter man with long, spider-like limbs and a half-shaved head of long black hair. There was a sadistic smirk on the lanky one's lips. Two much smaller men were trying to keep the bulky man away from the other man. All of them were wearing loose-fitting muted green tops and black shinobi pants. The spider-limbed man had a dark brown flak jacket with gleaming silver clasps at the shoulders. What looked like the handles of eight blades protruded from his back. The others wore lighter colored flak jackets.
'If that's anything like our village, the spider-guy is a jonin, and the others chunin.' Naruto thought.
Through his hazy vision, Naruto saw a silver gleam. Candlelight bounced off the forehead protector tied around the giant man's biceps. Three blades of grass were engraved upon it. The symbol for the Hidden Grass, he realized. 'Why would they be doing this?' Were they impersonating the Grass? He needed more information.
"Stop this. You know Lord Hiroshi said to keep him alive and not cause any trouble." One of the smaller two–a slim man with spiky grey hair–said through gritted teeth.
"… Indeed I did." A cold voice said. Naruto froze in shock. It came from behind him. He felt the wood creak at his back. Slow methodical steps echoed through the room. Another tall man strolled to the center of the sparsely furnished room. He couldn't see much of him, simply the back of a tan flak jacket with a greenish tint.
How had he not even heard or felt the man? It was like he had no presence at all.
"That's enough nonsense Koroshi, Junichi. We have work to do. All of you, go scout the perimeter of the cabin. Soon enough Kakashi will no doubt be tracking us. I want to move to a more advantageous spot before then." The man ordered.
Something just felt off in the room with him aware of the man's presence. It wasn't the tone of his voice. It was how the others reacted. The second the bulky man knew this Hiroshi was there, he stood ramrod straight along with his teammates. Even the insane one gave Hiroshi a deferential nod.
"Whatever you say Big Bro. Even I'm not crazy enough to get in the way of your revenge on the Copy Ninja. Come on rejects, you heard the captain!" The insane guy said to the others as he shoved himself away from the wall he was leaning on.
Unlike the last time he insulted him, the hulk showed no reaction. As soon as they started moving Naruto squeezed his eyes shut again so as not to be caught. All he could go on was the sound of four sets of footsteps, three light, one rather heavy, making their way across the room. Very quickly the footsteps grew distant. He just barely heard a faint–clunk–of a heavy door. In the silence, Naruto's mind raced. That Koroshi mentioned revenge. Had he been wrong in his assumption? Maybe the Sharingan wasn't the main motivation. Suddenly, Hiroshi's chill voice ground his thoughts to a halt.
"You can stop pretending to be asleep now boy." Hiroshi said. The blood turned to ice in Naruto's veins and his heart leapt into his throat. He was truly frozen in place. Half of him wanted to open his eyes, the other didn't want to acknowledge the man's words and continue his act. Ultimately the decision was taken out of his hands. Hiroshi spoke again, his voice smooth and cold as a window in a winter storm. "I've no patience for childish games. Either open your eyes or I'll stab you."
Just from the way the man's followers acted around him, Naruto believed he was sincere. With little choice he slowly opened his eyes. His heart thundered in his chest as he met the unnerving green gaze of his captor. Half of the man's face was a ruin of twisted scar tissue laced with lightning-like red marks, with a curtain of long black hair framing his face.
He noted the unique greenish tan vest the man wore. It was markedly different from the others. Did that mean he was a special rank?
"Now was that so hard?" Hiroshi asked rhetorically. At least that was what Naruto assumed it was. With a casual air the man turned one of the chairs around to face Naruto and took a seat, folding one leg over the other. For a moment he just stared at Naruto with that unnerving acid gaze. "If I remember right from the mission information your name would be Naruto Uzumaki, correct?" He asked.
'He's looking to gather information. Maybe I can try and do the same.' Naruto thought. He had little to lose. "Yes." He answered.
"It's rather impressive you could regain consciousness so quickly after absorbing all that poison. I was assured it would keep anyone out for quite a while." Hiroshi said. He had a calculating gleam in his eye.
Hiroshi sat still as a statue in his chair. He never so much as blinked. His solitary green eye bore into Naruto, almost daring him to attempt something to escape. He needn't have worried. While his sensing was still messed up, Naruto didn't need it to know this man was dangerous. He was like Kakashi and Zabuza. Eventually though he got tired of simply sitting there. Something was nagging at him.
"Why are you after Sasuki? What does she have to do with you getting revenge on our sensei?" He asked bluntly. Intimidating or not, he wasn't about to be cowed by Hiroshi. Especially not when Sasuki might be at risk.
For the first time since he'd laid eyes on the man, real emotion flashed across Hiroshi's face. It lasted for less than a second. His face twisted in anger. His eye darkened with a cold emerald fire. The next second both returned to that icy smooth calm.
"My idiot brother Koroshi is lucky he's family. He shouldn't have let that slip even if he thought you were unconscious. Though I suppose there's not much point trying to keep it secret." Hiroshi muttered. A mockery of a smirk twisted the corner of his lips. "So you want to know what there is between your sensei and I boy?" He asked. Naruto nodded resolutely.
The smirk drained away before his eyes, leaving a cold blank mask. "It's quite simple; Kakashi killed my sister."
Naruto's breath caught in his throat. Not so much at the idea of Kakashi killing someone, but because of the understanding it brought. This wasn't just some mission for their enemy. It was deeply personal, and yet Hiroshi remained controlled and calm.
"What do you know of the Third Shinobi War boy?" He asked.
Naruto shrugged. "The major villages all fought, mostly in smaller border lands."
"Indeed. We smaller villages were forced to pick sides and fight in our own land. My village fought against the Hidden Leaf. That's where I first encountered your sensei. We met in many battles I didn't feel one way or the other about him. Well, until one particular one at the tail end of the war changed things." Hiroshi said. "It happened near the end of the war. Our father was the village leader at the beginning of the war, but he was killed. The people that were left were incompetent. They pressed anyone from a shinobi background into service. Including my sister.
"Generally I despise attachments and sentiment, too messy and useless. There's one exception, and that's family. As an experienced jonin, I took her on as my student to try and keep my sister safe. Then the damned fools sent us on a mission to destroy an outpost on the border with the Land of Fire." Hiroshi explained. The monotonous tone of his voice was beyond unnerving. "I was locked in a battle with Kakashi, who had become the Copy Ninja by then. He wore me out and was about to make the killing blow with his Lightning Cutter. My sister had finished her part of the mission. She made it back just in time to take the blow for me. In an instant I saw my sisters body pierced. The next thing I knew I felt a white-hot pain on my face. Even then, I was able to flee with my sister's dying body. But not before I promised your damned teacher I'd have my revenge. An eye for an eye."
Hiroshi's words faded into a choking silence. The room was so quiet you could hear the subtle creak of the cabin shifting in the wind. Not once during Hiroshi's story had he showed an ounce of emotion. Yet he could practically feel an aura of rage emanating from his captor. He didn't need the Nine-Tails to figure out that Hiroshi was the source of the rage it had described. A cold, calculating rage of unimaginable depth. Naruto licked his lips nervously.
"So how does taking Sasuki get you revenge?" He asked. In his opinion it was a rather great feat he didn't let his unease bleed through.
For the first time since he began to explain his history, Hiroshi showed emotion. A twisted grin stretched across his face. His hand snapped up and grasped one of hilts on his back. A wickedly gleaming kunai sword slid out and Hiroshi held it in front of him.
"Quite simple. Kakashi is extremely sentimental. After my village has successfully studied and replicated or reproduced the Sharingan, I'm going to stick my blade through her heart and send her corpse back to him. Can't have any loose ends." He replied.
A blade erupted from Sasuki's chest. Her warm blood splattered across his face. The light left her eyes in an instant. Ever so slowly, her body slid from the blade and hit the ground with a THUD!
"Can't leave loose ends."
His reaction was instinctual. He forgot his apprehension. The instant the last word left Hiroshi's mouth an inferno of rage burst to life inside Naruto. With a defiant roar he tried to lunge forward at Hiroshi. He wanted to hurt him! Yet the ropes binding him cut into his wrists and arms. They held him in place. He was like a barking dog on a leash.
"IF YOU TOUCH HER I'LL KILL YOU!" He screamed. The viciousness of it made his throat feel raw. Unconsciously, he started to draw on the Nine-Tails chakra. The ropes groaned in protest at his increased strength.
In the face of Naruto's impotent wrath, Hiroshi maintained his smirk.
"Oh? So that's how you recovered so well. Maybe that's twoloose ends." Hiroshi said calmly.
The chair underneath the tall man groaned as he stood to his feet. The hand not on his kunai sword dove into his pocket, pulling out a vial filled with an acid green liquid. A silver needle poked out of the cap.
"No matter. A direct dose should be more than enough to put you to sleep for a while. Tailed Beast or no Tailed Beast. Night night, little ninja." He said with condescension dripping from his voice.
Before Naruto even realized what was going on, he felt a sharp pinch in the side of his neck. Instantly a familiar black void started to swallow his vision. He barely had a second to realize what was happening.
'Crap, not again!'
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Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. This was the first one released early on Pa treon. I wanted to show Naruto's reactions to the situation, as well as flesh out Hiroshi's back story more.
Well, that's all for now.
Until Next Time,
RinneTaicho, Signing Off!
⸻ Patron Shoutout Wall ⸻
Zachgilbert, Odin Darkfeather, MK3Kratos, Garim.
