Chapter 20

One week ago - Iwagakure

The glass workers were possibly the most important people of Iwagakure at the moment due to the sheer number of shattered windows or green houses that were caused by the explosion. It was most assuredly going to be their biggest payday yet.

As the workers went on with their reconstruction efforts, a large man with a tattered black cloak entered the records building near Tsuchikage manor on a personal mission. He had received info that Shinji Sato was looking into his mother prior to what he viewed as a terrorist attack on the village he swore to protect with his very life, retired or not. Han angrily combed through the "S" section of names.

Pulling the Sato family file out, he opened it and was greeted with the face of the terrorist himself, the day he was admitted as a genin. Growling at the sight, Han flipped through the pages and landed on the face of his mother, Yukira Sobu. A beautiful woman in her own right, if only she knew the terrorist she would birth.

Learning she was an outsider to the village until the mission where Akuma Sato would rescue her and return her to Iwagakure. However, the unfortunate part was that her original village was not documented or at the very least wasn't on this particular file. Han was thorough in his search, going so far to learn that Yukira was allergic to soy beans of all things. His research was cut short as the door to the records room was opened and then shut right after.

Looking over, Han was mildly surprised to see Onoki of the twin scales standing there, apparently garbed in an outfit that was designed for him to not be recognized. "I'd ask what you're doing, but we both know how foolish that would be." Onoki sighed and walked in front of Han, grabbing the file of Yukira Sato and flipping through the pages.

Han did not speak and instead watched his village leader look over the file. "She comes from a village in the Land of Iron, Kachinkiri." He closed the file and dropped it onto the table nearby, "that's where Sato is most likely heading." Han narrowed his eyes and stood up, looking down on Onoki with a quizzical expression.

"If you know what i'm doing, why haven't you stopped me yet? Everyone knew he was your golden boy." He asked his village leader in a neutral tone. Han's words, while potentially biased, did have a point. Word had spread just how quickly one child ran through the ranks with the ability to back it up each time, but ability or not the shinobi force at large had viewed this as not only a slight against all the hard work they put in, but an act of blatant favoritism as well.

Shinji Sato had been a talking point for a lot of shinobi, but now more so and for the worst reasons following the explosion, and it all circled back to Onoki. Now it was coming to bite him in the ass as his entire force now viewed him with a mixture of mistrust and disappointment.

"Because I need you to do it. The hunter nin will never catch up with him at this rate and the way i see it, you're the best chance we have at either apprehending Shinji, or executing him for his crimes." Onoki robbed his temple at the mere thought of another battle right now but recovered after a moment. He did not say another word and Han began to walk off before the slight shift of movement caught his ear, causing him to turn.

"Do not underestimate him, Han. He is perhaps the most dangerous shinobi to come out of Iwa in a long time." Onokis face resembled the meaning within his words as Han tipped his hat and vanished in a body flicker.

Present day

Dazed and heaving the ice cold air, Shinji stood and looked at Han. 'How the fuck-When did he- Deidara!' Shinji thought in rapid succession. shaking his head and looking at his brother who he threw to the side, "Run! North east!" Shinji screamed to Deidara as he readied his blade, focusing in on the five tails jinchuriki.

"Trust that I will find your friend as well, Sato." Han growled as he readied himself for his opponent. Keeping his eye on Shinji and having read his file, Han watched as Shinji disappeared from sight. Han encased himself in a steam shell and blocked the attack that was coming for the back of his head.

Shinji's estoc went to strike Han right in his spine to end it quickly, however he didn't expect the man to be fast enough at his size and weight to deflect the strike, and yet that's exactly what happened. In slow motion, Shinji witnessed Han turn his whole body and begin to strike with a steam encased fist, noting the heat waves distorting anything around it.

Han struck with his erupting propulsion fist, only to shove his arm through not the chest of the terrorist, but a rotten and wet log. Growling, he ripped his hand from the log and shattered it upon doing so. Looking around for his enemy, Han saw nothing, only him and the trees now that he was sure Shinji was taking refuge within.

"You can't hide forever Sato! I will find you!" Hearing branches crack, Hans head snapped in that direction. His body ignited with a steam cloak as he moved into a ready to charge pose, with a single shockwave, Han burst through that section of the forest, leaving a trail of melted flora on his warpath for Shinji.

Meanwhile, in another tree opposite of where Han rushed into, Shinji sat cloaked in the chameleon jutsu. Wrapping his fingers around the blade of a kunai and his other around an explosive tag, he brought them together as one and readied the weapon. Han came walking out of the forest he trampled through and Shinji prepared his move.

Dashing around the trees, Shinji appeared in the treeline behind Han and threw the kunai, bringing his hands up in a seal and silently cast the explosive kunai shadow clone technique. The whistle of the storm of kunai met Han's ears, but the sizzle of the tags met at the same time. Creating a dome of steam, he pushed away all kunai with only a couple managing to get past the steam wall, doing minor damage. The ones that landed into trees or into the ground, exploded in sequence with each other

Now lined with toppled trees and craters, Han brought down the steam dome and looked into Shinji's direction. "It's gonna take more than your paltry tricks to stop me, Sato and i will bring your corpse back to the village with me."

"Paltry? I think my tricks are mediocre at their worst." Shinji scoffed at the comment, still cloaked in the jutsu. He brought up a hand seal and activated a surprise for Han in the form of delayed explosive tags. They went off with a bang and han had no time to dodge or block. Through the smoke, Shinji could see an immense amount of chakra building up at the center, but not for an attack. It was similar to his steam armor, but well he would have to wait and see.

As the smoke cleared, Shinji saw the form of red Chakra surrounding Han with a single swishing tail, bubbling and angry, the chakra lashed out at the ground leaving scorch marks in its wake. "So that's the cloak of the five tails. Tell me what is-" Shinji went to inquire and irritate, however the chakra construct of a clawed hand reached out toward him and almost crushed him if it weren't for his mastery of the body flicker.

'Okay, so now he's got range. Not fun.' Shinji thought, pushing away the angry grimace in favor of a devious smirk. 'Luckily I do as well.' Flashing through hand seals, Shinji dropped from the tree and slammed his hands on the ground letting go of the chameleon jutsu in the process, "Earth release: Mudslide!" All around Han, the earth started to shift and pull him in any direction it saw fit, crashing him against the various trees and boulders it took along for the ride, breaking off some superficial pieces of his armor in the process.

Shinji noted the faintest flicker of the five tails cloak, but that was prior to it shining brightly once more and Han appearing on top of the mudslide. Now shinji was the one to be baffled as Han started bolting directly for him multitudes faster than before. Shinji kept in pace with Han, blocking each of the strikes attempted with all his effort against the mighty force that was Han. In a hand to hand match against these two, Han would clobber Shinji with his sheer strength alone. However shinji was small and fast, not only that but counters were what his style was all about.

After one particularly heavy sledgehammer strike from Han, Shinji saw an opening in his side and, enhancing his fist with chakra, delivered a devastating strike to his ribs, sending Han into a nearby tree also taking that down in the process. It wasn't long before Shinji saw the familiar glow of Han's cloak shine again but this time with two tails. 'More tails?! This guy…' Shinji thought, baffled and huffing for air. 'I gotta do something crazy here, but what?' Shinji began to plan, however was cut short from the chakra construct hand reaching for him.

Flickering away to another tree, Shinji watched as the one he was just in, grabbed by Han, was beginning to melt like ice cream on a hot day. Widening his eyes, Shinji made it his goal to not be touched by that chakra as he dodged another hand.

"Get back here Sato and fight me!" Han roared with a demonic twang in his voice as he retracted both chakra hands that were added to his greater sum once more. Shinji watched as the jinchuriki stood there stock still, grabbing a kunai, 'Now would be the perfect-' interrupted once again, Shinji shielded himself from the wave of pressure released by Han paired with his demonic roar. Body now coated in a dark chakra, Han's blank white eyes looked at shinji with hatred, three tails whipping behind him angrily.

"This is really bad." Shinji said to himself, bringing up the kunai and sword in his other hand, readying himself for the bloodlusted jinchuriki in front of him that warmed the very air around the battlefield.

Deidara ran in the direction ordered to him by Shinji, but he must have gone the wrong way because he reached the edge of a river . "What the hell?! Where am I?" he whipped his head around, trying to find the way back or anything he could do to help shinji, until he started to remember a lesson, just barely taught to him by his brother about clay being a naturally occurring resource.

"Wait he said something about clay being in rivers right?" Deidara brought a finger to his chin in thought before he decided to look for himself. Going over to the river, Deidara looked at his hands, both tongues wriggling in hunger. Nodding and putting his hands in the bed of the water, the feeling he was met with was cold and he wanted to vomit at the sensation but oddly enough the flavor of the river bed was the worst, yet the boy persisted.

Hearing an exceptional amount of explosions in the distance Deidara turned his head to see the smoke rising way off to the north. "So I did go the wrong way." he grumbled in acceptance before shaking his head and tearing his hands from the river.

"Let's see if it worked." pointing both of his arms outward, Deidara pushed whatever clay he gathered from the river, which so happened to be pretty substantial as the gray sludge hit the ground in a large puddle. Bubbling and beginning to take shape, Deidara focused on all he learned so far and tried his hardest.

What resulted from that concentration was a creature smaller than fukihana, but still resembling her all the same. Excitement washing over him, he hopped on the back of his creation. "Now let's see if you can fly, hmm!" Deidara commanded. Nodding in acceptance with the order, the creature began to flap its wings and to Deidara's joy, began lifting off the ground.

After the creature gained its bearings, the two soon lifted off into the sky and off into the direction of the explosions from the safety of the air. "Don't worry shinji, I'm on the way!" he announced as he flew off on the back of his creation.

As Shinji watched the predatory form of Han staring at him, something caught the edge of his vision, just in the sky. He looked for only a second but his skin went pale all the same. 'That moron! What the hell is he doing!?' he wanted to shout at his brother, but something else told him to trust the process. Warring with the decision, Shinji ultimately decided to trust his younger brother as his vision focused back on Han, stalking toward him.

'Alright deidara, let's see your plan.' Shinji put away the kunai and readied his estoc. Han went down on all fours, white eyes barely peeking from beneath the rim of his hat and growling toward shinji. It appears the former man was beyond words now as he stopped, then rushed forward in an instant toward shinji.

Dodging the first animalistic strike from han, shinji trucked through the heat wave that followed and stabbed at the side of the jinchuriki. He found the chakra cloak to be hard to get through, but not impossible as his blade slid in. Roaring in pain, Han slapped shinji away and tore the blade out of his side, snapping it like a toothpick.

"You prick!" Shinji shouted in anger at the sight, before he looked up to the sky to see a familiar head of blonde hair peeking from just over the edge of a gray fukihana. He had something in his hands and he guessed now was the time for him to get out of there. Shinji summoned four clones of himself into existence and ordered them to fend off Han for now as he cleared the zone.

Upon clearing of the immediate area, the sound of Han rampaging through his clones was evident, but the whistle of something big falling from the sky was even louder. At first Shinji thought he may have been too close and wanted to move even further, but then the impact of whatever deidara dropped finally hit the ground.

And the explosion that followed would be one the two of them would remember for the rest of their lives. Shinji may have been out of the immediate area, but he along with the rest of the forest around were taken along with the shockwave of the blast.

Earth shaking and having to brace for the aftershock of the explosion, Shinji watched as the mushroom cloud cleared revealing a damaged Han who was kneeling at the center of the crater, heaving mighty breaths paired with wet coughs.

"Not sounding too good there, big red." Shinji breathed out with a contemplative gaze as he stood at the edge of the crater. "How's that lung holding up?" He asked the jinchuriki who coughed again, staining his mask a deep red, even through the black cloth.

"Go… to hell traitor!" Han growled as he ripped the torn hat off his head and threw it to the ground, revealing a head of auburn hair. He gripped the dirt under his hands and pushed himself up from the earth, standing to his feet and hung his head.

"We've both been there, at the whims of that fool Onoki." Shinji's tone was that of a statement, crystal clear and meaning behind every word he spoke. 'It's now or never.' Shinji brought up a single hand seal and summoned two clones into being. Han found himself ripped from the earth by a searing pain that wrapped itself around his body surrounded by a golden light.

He looked down to see yellow chains, burning and ripping into his skin while suspending him in the air, but also draining him, weakening him. Tracing the chains back, he saw Shinji, now joined by two clones watching him from the edge of the crater. "Remember when I first met you at Bao-dacious? Remember the question I asked you?" Shinji was only met with the silent, hateful gaze from Han.

"I asked you what you thought the limits of a jinchuriki were and I found your answer to be quite unsatisfactory. So I decided to find those limits myself, you only provided me with the opportunity." Shinji took off his shirt and allowed a clone to draw a seal on his chest, to the left of his heart. It resembled an hourglass type shape with a circle around it and a diamond in the center of the hourglass.

"They will hunt you down Sato! Until the end of your days!" Han shouted as blood spurt from his mask and wounds made from the sharpened chains began to widen.

"And I will handle them all the same." He retorted casually as two more chains rose from behind shinji and twisted their broadhead arrow-like points, aimed at Han. They began to glow before rocketing toward the captured jinchuriki and piercing into his flesh, but leaving no wound. No, this attack was aimed at the beast that lay trapped within.

The chains began to tug, and what followed from Han was a scream that rivaled no man prior at the pain caused from a piece of himself being torn away. His vocal chords soon tore from never speaking this much on a good day and what followed were the pained silent screams as Han watched the shape of the five tailed beast begin to erupt from his own body.

Being ripped from the now withered body of Han, the spirit of the five tails remained trapped in the web of golden chains. "Now!" The main shinji shouted to which his clones followed by flying through hand seals at the same time.

"Uzumaki sealing technique: Human vessel!" The clones screamed in unison as the main shinji began struggling even with the weakened spirit of the beast. As the jutsu activated, a circle beneath both clones formed and glowed a bright purple that spread to the chains holding the beast.

No words were said as the two clones gripped the chains and pulled the five tails into their creator with all of their strength. The seal on Shinji's chest glowed white before the head of the beast went head first into the seal. Thanks to its current weakened strength and the will of Shinji's own, it allowed the beast to be pulled in. Midway through the sealing process Shinji had fallen unconscious due to the experience, yet the seal he made remained intact and held the beast within.

"So boss has a tailed beast now huh?" one clone asked as he brought his hands to his hips and looked at the form of their creator passed out on the ground, face twisted with discomfort.

"Mhm shits gonna get weird now." the other responded with a nod as he stuffed a scroll he finished writing into the cloak of shinji, then the cloak on top of him. Upon his completion of the task, both clones poofed away. Deidara looked at the body of his older brother and sighed, and then to the center of the crater. Sliding down the dirt wall of the hole in the earth, Deidara approached the body of Han.

"Don't leave a trail for them to follow." from his palm, a gray tarantula formed and jumped on the body of Han. Looking over to the red hat, Deidara grabbed it before returning to the edge of the crater.

Now equipped with Shinji over his shoulder and face red with effort, Deidara began walking off in the proper direction he was given before.

All shinji felt was the sensation of floating in water, half submerged while the other half was bathed in a cold breeze. The thought of him dying in the process of turning himself into a jinchuriki crossed his mind, but he already died and this was far from the same experience. Struggling to open his eyes for a moment, he finally did so to reveal a crystal clear night sky with a waning crescent moon hovering up high. Shinji stood to his feet, realizing his whole body was sore and the water was only as deep as his ankles.

Surveying the area, he noted how he was in a large cave of sorts, with an opening to the night sky on the ceiling. "Okay, now where am I?" he huffed, annoyed as he looked around the darkened corners and paths of the cave, seeing nothing with his mutated vision.

"This is your mind." the loud almost childlike voice echoed from one of the darkened corners. Shinji whipped his head all around, trying to find the location of the beast, until he finally noticed it. Just out of sight, one particular cave mouth was sealed off with the golden chains he used before.

A contemplative expression grew on Shinji before he decided to walk over to where he surmised the beast would be. As he approached, a wave of pressure brought him to his knees that came from the cave. 'The sheer-power!' Shinji realized just what he got himself into then, widening his eyes in realization.

Rising from the pressure and approaching the cave mouth, Shinji looked on where the chains disappeared into the darkness. The subtle glow of the chains illuminated a large figure deep within, only barely. He spotted the features of a gargantuan horse, with a curious shape for a head.

"So, you're the five tailed beast." Shinji commented as he landed on the eyes of his co host. He stepped deeper into the cave, now only illuminated by the glowing of the chains. He stood only a couple meters away from the now dolphin looking head of the beast.

"I am, and if we're pointing out the obvious, you're the one who killed Han right?" the five tailed beast asked without a single movement from its mouth and in a neutral tone. It hunched closer to Shinji's smirking face.

Nodding once, Shinji confirmed. "I am." he gave a deep bow. "My name is Shinji Sato, five tailed spiri. It's an honor to meet you. Do you have a name?" Finishing his bow, Shinji looked up to the beast in wonder and awe at the sheer size of the creature.

The tailed beast however, was perplexed. Raising its eyebrow, it looked into the golden eyes of shinji. "Wait-what did you just say?" it asked, confusion melting into its childlike voice.

"I asked for your name, great spirit." Realization crossed Shinji's mind after remembering how idiotic everyone viewed the existence of tailed beasts. "I see, baby steps then I suppose." taking a deep breath, Shinji removed the smirk and put his hands in his pockets, looking into the eyes of the beast.

"Listen, for the record, i dont think youre just some mindless force of nature. Monsters, or rather beasts in this case were and are my specialty. You clearly have a knack for reasonable thought and I won't treat you like some prisoner to be caged." Shinji closed his eyes and formed a look of concentration.

"What are you doing?" the five tails asked, confusion and anger creeping in as the chains started to flicker. Looking on in genuine surprise at the strength this boy showcased, the beast allowed him to continue. Moments later, the chains faded and the five tails was free to roam Shinji's mind.

"There-woah, that was weird." as Shinji spoke, a strange wave of dizziness washed over him, causing him to support himself on his knees. He didn't have long as the heavy footsteps shook the very mindscape he found himself in. However as he readied himself to chain up the beast once again, he was stepped over in favor of leaving the darkened cave.

"Oh wow, you have a very nice location here." the beast commented as it walked outside and into the open shallow lake. Shinji ran after the beast who began to lounge in the water, sighing in relief. Now it was Shinji's turn to be confused, scratching his head at the sight of the great five tailed spirit rolling about in a five inch deep lake. 'This is not how I expected this to go.'

Hands on his hips, Shinji walked over to the edge of the water and just watched the glee on the spirit's face. 'Is this some kind of joke or something? The five tailed beast, flattener of mountains and ferocious geyser from hell, is playing in a lake. Those stories are little more than nonsense now.'

"You still have yet to tell me your name!" Shinji called out, arms crossed and watching on with a flat smile as the beast played in the water. Ceasing its behavior for a moment, the creature rose to its four legs and walked over, shaking the very mindscape with each step.

"I suppose you have earned that much. My name is Kokuo." Spreading its front legs slightly, Kokuo bowed its large head in appreciation. "Now, I have a question for you. Why have you gone to such lengths to turn yourself into something everyone fears and hates?"

Shinji shrugged, it was an easy answer for him. "I dont give a damn about anyone else other than myself and the people closest to me. They can take their opinions and shove 'em. As for your other question, I had a theory on the supposed limits of a jinchuriki. I wanted to find out for myself just what they were. With your help, I can reach those limits, and then exceed them." as Shinji spoke, he walked closer and closer to Kokuo until he was just at the base of its hooves.

"Will you help me in that endeavor Kokuo? Not as a chakra source and container, but as genuine partners." Shinji stuck out his hand in a hopeful gesture of camaraderie to which he just received a stare.

Silence held in the air with Shinji's hand still extended and the unshaking gaze he held. "In all my years, living among you humans, there was only a short time wherein my kind were viewed as the guardians we were supposed to be. Then, that fool Hashirama decided he knew what was best for the world and divvied us out like cards to all the great nations to be used as weapons." Kokuo shook its head in disappointment and anger. Shinji stood back and listened to the words of this very old creature with nothing on his mind but absolute awe. 'Never have I met a creature truly as unique as a tailed beast. Bar none.'

"I never wanted to fight, but it's what I've been forced to do. I know my position in the eyes of the world, Shinji Sato and I already have your thoughts flooding into mine due to what I'm beginning to understand was your design." Kokuo looked confused at the memories he was receiving, but also looked at how Shinji just nodded.

"I designed the seal for it to gradually start giving access to my memories as well as looking through my eyes, feeling through my hands, et cetera. I'm trying to make your stay within my body be as beneficial for you as it is for me." Shinji looked on at the deadpan stare he received from Kokuo.

"Oh really? Well a lot of these memories are of you reading. So tell me how that benefits me, Sato?" Unashamed, Shinji puffed out his chest.

"I want you to understand what makes me, me. But also…" Shinji grew serious then and dropped the attitude. "My life here so far has been short. Soon you will start to learn things no one else has and probably never should."

"What are you talking about, child?" Kokuo asked as memories of when Shinji was a baby being neglected by his father and left in his crib surfaced within his mind, then the day of his birth. But, it didn't stop there.

Kokuo saw a blue light, and then he saw the memories of a different man, a different time and a different place, bleeding and in pain at the foot of…a man with pointed ears. 'An…elf?' Kokuo remembered through the flowing memories. Its eyes snapped open as he looked down at…Shinji? or…Gaston?

"Just who are you, Shinji Sato?" Kokuo asked angrily as shinji stared with a neutral expression. He grew solemn and his mouth formed a straight line. After a sigh, he spoke.

"In my old life, my name was Gaston and as you'll come to know, I led a long life there, one filled with a lot of swallow potions, shitty food and near death experiences. But, I was an expert at my craft and was renowned for my time…I think." Shinji crossed his arms as he watched Kokuo begin to squint his eyes, in what he guessed was disgust. Couldn't blame it, being a witcher is nasty business. "But there i was given a second chance at life, but not before promising to find the one who reincarnated me-"

"Caranthir." Kokuo interrupted as the name flashed into his mind and with it all the rage surrounding it.

"-and kill him." Shinji finished with a growl at the memory of the elf that put him down. He unconsciously let go of the fist he made and calmed himself in front of Kokuo. "But more on him and the wild hunt later, I have to get back to my little brother. I'm glad to have met you, Kokuo. I believe this will be the start of a great partnership."

"I still haven't agreed to anything Sato." Kokuo huffed toward his warden as he slowly vanished. "Hrm. This Fringilla woman seems to have accompanied Gaston for quite some time. Something to bring up at the next meeting." Kokuo grew a petulant smirk before its gaze returned to the lake from before, somehow not losing any of its already shallow depth.