Author's note:
Longest chapter yet as a gift for holidays. Enjoy!
CHAPTER 24
Captain Ryu and man with a Raiju mask and silver hair was rushing through the trees and at a speed comparable to a cheetah. They were running for the whole morning and reached the border of the Howling Wolf village. The village offered medical services and other shinobi services to the shinobi villages. It was called the hidden Wolf village, because there was a legendary monster called Roen, a mix between tiger and wolf, terrorising the village. Before years, the Kodan clan in the village sealed the wolf-tiger monster, Roen, in their shrine. But there were few noises from the village shrine now which sounded like howling and Ryu didn't like it.
Ryu taicho's allies informed him that there was something fishy going on in the village. Ryu taicho hijacked the medicines and few other things from that village to Konoha with his ally's help. Then, he got himself assigned to the mission. He chose his first joined comrade of squad Zero, Raiju, for this mission. The other two newbie squad mates got introduced to the Captain Ryu last week by the hokage and they are on training after getting beaten by their new captain in the introductory meeting mercilessly.
Captain Ryu brought Raiju, his first sub-ordinate, along for this mission since he wanted to see how well they co-operated during the missions. The mission to Land of Tea involved less mission tasks but more babysitting. So, both wanted to test their skills as a team so they could work out the details.
"I didn't want you to wear an ANBU mask again", Ryu said.
"I am not going to be that ANBU anymore. Honestly, we are not even in ANBU. I think we are special squad, SQUAD ZERO. That's why I didn't choose my old 'Inu' mask. Inu did lot of things and didn't do lot of things. The only good memory about that mask was a blonde chibi I used to guard who smiled whenever he saw that mask. He was very happy to see that ANBU. Everything else, I don't want to remember. So, I wanted a new wolf mask. But you gave me a better one", Raiju answered.
"Because a Raiju is a calm and harmless creature that symbolises lightning and has a silver hair which looks light blue because of lightning. It comes in a rainy day and make sure even the dark and rainy days are not so scary. But, when it gets angry, it's snarl sounds like a thunder and it wreaks havoc like a lightning. Fast, formidable, and dangerous. It can shapeshift and I chose the one when it is a wolf", Ryu said and continued with a quirky smile, "And let's face it, I am a dragon and a normal wolf will look bad near me. So, I gave you a better one".
"And you put two eye holes in the mask and placed a seal which will allow me to look normally?", Raiju asked.
"You can change your hair colour if you want. But I guess you are not going to do that"
"I am not going to"
"I figured. How the hell were you in ANBU? I mean, no wonder your bounty increased so fast. But I heard that no one looked at the sharinghan and lived to tell the tale except you", Ryu said.
"I never told any tales but they still exist", Raiju rolled his eye.
"That's why they are called tales. I am pretty sure the real truth is horrible than they imagine", Ryu said and Raiju didn't reply.
"We will reach the village in an hour and we are not going inside. Let's wait till the dark and I want to hear the howl of the wolf with my ears", Ryu said in a business mode.
"Alright. Do you really think it was a wolf or someone crying wolf?", Raiju asked.
"All myths started from a truth and this Roen existed. My guess is that someone is using it or its name. If it is real, we might be going to face a situation which Konoha faced twelve years ago", Ryu said gauging Raiju's reaction.
Raiju's wasn't an ANBU for years for nothing. He was calm and answered, "Then they need our help more than ever."
"N- taicho, if what you predict is right, will we be enough?", Raiju asked remembering his failure twelve years ago. He failed three people that day. Yondaime, his wife Kushina san, and their child who he was assigned to protect. The pair lost their lives and the whole Konoha mourned while the last one, that little waif, was the one who lost everything that day.
Ryu slowed down to run near Raiju. "Don't worry I am no Yondaime and you are not Inu. I may not be able to fight the nine tails head on but I can fight two tails, maximum three tails without getting a fatal injury. If the fox inside me agreed, I can fight five tails without problem with my current body without it falling apart. When I grow, I can withstand more chakra. But this tiger-wolf, is not a biju. Even my summons could handle it but that tiger-wolf absorbs chakra. So, we have to come in person. And you are smarter and stronger than you are twelve years ago. You are not alone. We will do this together. Don't worry and trust your taicho. By the time we reach howling wolf village, if it still stands, it will still stand even after we leave. We will make sure of that", Captain Ryu said with a reassuring smile which could not be seen through the mask but Raiju sure felt that.
"Next time, you slip up and call me by that name starting with 'N' again, you will be in charge of training the newbies and write training logs for a whole week", Ryu threatened with a smile and Raiju shuddered at the thought of training a snake lady to not hiss and expose herself during her missions.
'He is really good at being a captain. He knows how to make threats that work', Raiju thought.
"What about your summon taicho? Will people not find out if you use your summons?", Raiju asked.
"My summon is different. My original self has Baqi as summons. Five people who already saw it, would think, it looks like a furaribi or suzaku because of its fire affinity. I won't expose my fire affinity when I am in that form. But it is capable to shapeshift and some other things. When I wear this mask, it will appear as hayabusa or a basan with power of wind. I will not expose my wind affinity when I am Ryu. So, it balances the power I lack in respective forms and I have someone to blame for the wind and fire jutsus if I slip up", Captain Ryu explained.
"You already thought of everything, taicho", Raiju said with an approval. 'He is doing well'.
"I have been in one character or other, all my life. I know how to define my characters perfectly", Ryu said proudly.
"I agree. I met all of them", Raiju said. 'He doesn't know how to brag though.'
'He is going to be pissed off, if he knows I keep something else from him', Ryu thought and started running faster without waiting.
'He is really fast and he doesn't sweat. This must be his usual way of sprinting with his huge chakra and hyperactive personality. It must have been hard for him to slow down for team 7. But Sakura scolds him for being fast and running off on his own already. He must try really hard to appear normal for doing missions everyday huh? Everything normal for other kids of his age have always been hard for him. He is truly born to be extraordinary'.
Captain Ryu and his teammate Raiju reached the borders of the village.
"Let's wait here. Take a breath. I will sense for any other chakras and see if anything is abnormal", Ryu said and left. He left a clone behind.
Raiju and the clone made a temporary tent and Raiju took rest while his captain's clone took watch.
Captain Ryu reached the opposite end of the village and changed into other form with a mask and red cloak.
"Ouji (Prince) – sama, here you are", another man with a mask and a dark blue cloak said.
"Will you let it go?", Ouji sama, their leader said exasperated.
"Why? You are the prince of two ninja villages and even your silver haired sensei called you prince in the Land of Tea", the cloak man, called Ichiji, who met his leader in the Land of Wave, said playfully.
"I am going to make life difficult for both you and my sensei for that. So, what is that you have gathered till now?", he asked.
"Captain Shiranui-sama, the tiger-wolf must be real. I heard the howling too. The villagers are acting different than usual sometimes. They seem ecstatic. I searched for any chakras that is causing this, but there is no abnormal chakra. In few days, I have observed some people behave more differently than the others from the first day arrived. If this continues, business will be interrupted and every ninja village will suspect something and they will send ninjas here. If that animal gets released, there will be lot of lives lost at that time."
"Ishaku, is anyone acting suspiciously? Anyone you are concerned about?", captain Shiranui, asked.
"No Shira-sama, I suspected the village head but even he cannot maintain the jutsu of this level. I am suspecting it is a genjutsu but he isn't capable of that", Ijichi, but who was called Ishaku with the mask on, told to his captain Shiranui aka Captain Ryu of squad zero aka Naruto, jinjuriki of Konoha.
"Genjutsu? I will take care of this mission. You leave from here. My teammate is here. We will finish this mission", Shiranui said.
"Shiranui-sama, I worn this mask to speak for you. I am your voice. Ishaku was created for that. I can't leave you here and go. That animal is dangerous. I will help you here", Ishaku said.
"Ishaku, your purpose isn't to speak for me alone. Our purpose is to speak for everyone who can't. You are needed elsewhere. I have collected some information after meeting Damiyo from Land of Tea. I have used my knowledge and found out something too. Take this", Shiranui said handing him a scroll.
Ishaku looked surprised at his captain's words and opened the scroll. He only read few lines before his hands started shaking.
"Go. I have got all the information you needed. What you do with it and how you go about it, is your choice. You can make things right, by your hand. I want you to go there and observe for yourself before making a decision. If you want my help, write to me. I will come after this mission and help you. If not, write to me and let me know what you want to do next. I will be worrying if you don't write. I will be alright here. The person who came with me is very reliable. Don't worry about me. Go and take care", Captain Shiranui said.
Ishaku was on the verge of tears. He didn't expect his captain would do these good things for him after everything.
"Thank you taicho", he said his voice unsteady.
The said captain gave him a smile and threw a package at him. "There is some money and other things you will need on the way. Don't hesitate to ask me if you need more assistance. We are all we have", his captain said and Ishaku nodded. Something swelled up in Ishaku's throat and blocked all his words.
Shiranui snapped his fingers and a new figure with another mask and dark green cloak appeared.
"He is new. Take him with you. Train him on the way. Use him if you need any help. What you do with him when you have personal business, is your choice", Shiranui said.
"Does he have a name yet?", Ishaku asked already disliking the new-comer.
"His name is Kaneko. He has special abilities with metal. I thought you would be the right choice to train him. Our earth comrade, Saruta and water comrade Mitsu are busy exploring", Shira said.
"Hello, I am Kaneko. Please take care of me", Kaneko said.
"I will if you stick around with me for a week. If you give up, you can't go back because I will kill you", Ishaku threatened.
"I will definitely stick around and prove my energetic atiitude and hard work. I am very excited to work with you and protect our Ouji-sama with you", Kaneko said and Shiranui scowled.
'You are dead Kashi. You have to blurt out the prince crap when Ishaku was following us in land of tea to inform me about Damiyo. If only I have known that time, I would not have taken you through the forest he was hiding. My clone I created that time dispelled itself after Ishaku, Saruto and Mitsu irritated him by calling ouji-sama non-stop. You started it Kakashi and my entire team is calling me ouji-sama now'.
"He he he. I stopped hating you kid. You caught on fast", Ishaku said.
"And I stopped liking him", Shiranui said.
"Don't be like that taicho. You are really like an ouji-sama. You are strong and kind and we all respect you and we are your soldiers. So, I am not teasing you and we mean it when we call you ouji-sama. Right Ishaku senpai?", Kaneko said and Ishaku nodded.
"Kid is right".
"I am not ruling anything. You are not my soldiers. You are survivors and warriors fighting for something you believe in. I am just organising you and guiding you. You are free to walk away whenever you want. I want to be your friend and captain. I don't want to be a royalty telling you to do things. I want you to be a comrade doing it with you", Shiranui said and Kaneko looked at him with admiration.
"You are so energetic Ouji-sama", Kaneko said with stars in his eyes and it reminded Captain Shiranui of a green spandex clad mini green beast of Konoha. He shook his head to erase that thought. 'I can't handle being friends with three of them. Two is my limit'.
"Run kid", Ishaku said and Shiranui nodded at Kaneko, dismissing him and with a 'take care and be careful'.
"I know why you want us not to call you that but it is a symbol of gesture that shows our respect to you. You have done many things for us, taicho. When we all thought our lives were going to end, you not only saved us but you gave a purpose and meaning for our life. We can't do anything for you in return. We do work for you but it is nothing personal. It is work and you pay us and we do things we like. So, you should let us show you our gratitude and loyalty or we would feel burdened. You need not think about the meaning behind that word but it means a lot to us. It is our way of showing the respect we have for you", Ishaku explained.
"If it means so much to you guys, by all means, continue calling that", Shiranui said understanding.
"Thank you Ouji-sama. Please take care", Ishaku said with two fingers salute and ran away.
Captain Shiranui returned back to the tent as Captain Ryu to see his teammate Raiju with the food Ishaku gave him before leaving.
"You are back", Raiju said.
"Yeah. Here is your food", Ryu said giving the food to Raiju and went outside to wash his hands and created few more clones to stand watch.
"What did you find taicho?",
"There are no suspicious chakra signatures but the people are acting differently. The tiger-wolf makes a noise at night. Genjutsu may be the cause. But no one is maintaining it. I have two guesses. By some reason, the seal loosened and it is creating the genjutsu through the weakened seal. I think it is absorbing people's chakra during the daytime when they are using chakra for work and at night it causes trouble with that absorbed chakra. Or someone else is casting a genjutsu and at night they are trying to weaken the seal and release the animal. Anyhow, Roen, the tiger-wolf or some other new animal is residing there and we have to take care of it", Ryu said.
"Genjutsu of this level? It is not possible without a sharinghan", Raiju was apprehensive.
"It is what I heard. But I want to see it with my own eyes. So, we are going to take a look at find it by ourselves", Ryu said. "It may not be genjutsu and something else altogether. But if it is genjutsu, I want you to stop it without sharinghan while I take care of that animal. How you go about it, is your choice. I said what I am not okay with and I will watch you".
"I will not let others know about my sharinghan. Why can't I use it?", Kakashi didn't understand why his captain was dead set on him not using sharinghan. He would not expose his identity.
Ryu understood what he meant. "I am not worried about you exposing your identity. Honestly, I don't care if you don't wear your squad zero mask. There are basic criteria I set for bring a squad zero member. Squad mates can't use a jutsu that is your signature, can't use your summons unless you are in a fatal state or chakra depletion. Basically, your original self has nothing to do with your squad zero tasks except I personally ask you for it."
"Raiju, in squad zero, there is no individual person. It is a team. Your individual selves don't matter. You are going to work single and combination jutsus with your other teammates. Like last mission, you used rasengan to try to beak the sword of Life. But I want you to use a simple jutsu that could be done with your teammate next to you who can accompany and amplify the jutsu you used. Use a jutsu that could be used in combination with a senbon skilled ordinary ninjutsu user or a fast woman who cannot use genjutsu. All your jutsus should complement each other"
"Raiju, when you become squad zero, you are not just Konoha shinobi. You are my shinobi. You play by my rules. There are no solo missions in squad zero except for me. So, unless, you can make your squad to work in combination with your signature jutsu or we come with a series of attacks that is a linear combo of your signature moves, you don't use it. Because, until this squad dissolved, I am aiming for 'zero squad death' policy and 'zero bounty and no bingo book' policy."
"You are going to combine our moves?", Raiju asked.
"I am working on it. I have already worked out few details. For example, I can use, my water jutsu and your lighting jutsu, to form a new one but I am working on it so that only we could use it. Not any hilly billy could replicate it. I also want to use this way to let the squad mates identify each other to avoid impersonation of squad zero in future. World only knows the Captain Zero now but when they find out about our squad, our names may be used for impersonation since our squad mates won't get to know each other behind the mask for a long time. I have a plan to expand our team in time and only you and I will know every person behind the mask. I want them to reveal their identity to their squad mates of their own will."
"I also want our squad to improve themselves and go beyond what they are now. One of the main enemies and reason our squad formed, is because of an internal enemy inside our village who knows all our strength and weaknesses, except mine. And I need help from you guys to face him and his mini army. Well, not to face him but to expose him. You guys will need to surprise him with new skills and catch him by surprise if you want to have a chance against him. Now, if you go as you are, he will fold you like a cheap deck of cards. If my estimate is right, if they meet in a fight, Sandaime cannot kill him without him fatally injured or dead pobably."
"Is that War hawk that strong!", Raiju wondered and remembered something. "I heard you fought with Sandaime. He was praising about your skills for fifteen minutes non-stop taicho".
"Ah, I fought him for an hour to earn this mask. Now we fight for fun once in a while. That guy was nicknamed 'Professor' aptly", Ryu said eating. "Can you believe he said he would have taken me as his apprentice or student if he had known about me earlier? Who wants him as a teacher? He would talk my ear off about Will of fire and start a sentence with 'you know in my days….'".
Raiju laughed at the last part but he did see why hokage wanted Naruto to be his student.
"Ah. That's how it is", captain Ryu said suddenly.
"What is it?"
"You know the Kodan clan from this village?", Ryu asked.
"Yes. They make the medicine Kotaro to treat severe illness", Raiju said.
"They have another clan name Kumanoi clan inside and they have invented something called 'blue fire powder'. It can temporarily give regular people an advantage to compete against shinobis. It is an explosive. They have used it win over Ame ninjas and now, they want to commercialise it. I don't know what deal they have with the prospective buyer, they are asking for Kodan clan's technique to make Kotaro too. The Kodans don't want to sell. My clone has been listening. Apparently, the bully from Kumanoi clan is bullying a child from Kodan clan", Ryu explained.
"Did you interfere? Is that child in danger?"
"The one who is bullying is also a child and the Kodan clan boy was calm and collected. He left", Ryu said.
'That kid reminds me of Itachi with his infant brother', Ryu thought.
"What is the plan taicho?", Raiju asked intending to see how his captain handled things. It was not just the sub-ordinates but also the captain who had to prove why he was suited for the captain and worthy of his sub-ordinates putting their life in his hands.
"It is most likely one of the groups is using the name of Roen to scare others or worse, releasing Roen physically to scare others. Despite whom it is, it is very essential to seal it back. You go to the Kumanoi clan side and investigate about blue fire powder. If that powder can grant additional advantage to ordinary people to rival shinobis, there is a chance someone is using something experimental that can replicate jutsus, especially genjutsu. You are more suited to find it. I will go to the Kodan clan and investigate. I suggest you go as a buyer for blue fire powder but if you want to sneak without making an appearance, suit yourself. We can meet in a tea house at the centre of the village at mealtime to exchange information. We will go investigating Roen at night according to the information we gained", Ryu said.
"Sounds good to me taicho", Raiju said and Ryu finished eating.
"Take some rest. We will make rounds tonight to investigate the shrine and go into the village in public tomorrow morning separately", Ryu said.
"What if we find out? Can we seal Roen back?", Raiju asked.
"I will just have to repair the seal. I think I can do it. Or I can make a temporary seal that would last for few years and come back again after advancing in seals to reseal it. Either way, I am confident that I can seal it for couple of years. Do you really think I would bring you here and put us in danger if I am not sure we can make it back alive?", Ryu asked.
Raiju blinked at Ryu laughed at him. He didn't mean it like that at all.
"That was a rhetorical question. Don't worry fuku-taicho (Vice captain). I have a strong desire to live longer. I have just started and I cannot not exist without becoming a hokage".
"That's true. I know you will become the hokage. But what about the fuku-taicho part? Since when I have become one?", Raiju was completely disagreeing to become one.
"If I am away from Konoha or far away and one of our squad mates needs help or advice, you are in charge. They have to listen to you in my absence and I already told you that only you and me will know every mask just few minutes ago", Ryu said lying down in his sleeping bag.
Raiju didn't expect his captain to go far away. If his captain was going away he would be going on a mission and his squad mates would we with him right? "Where are you going?".
"Not now. But I have a feeling that my original self would be seeing the sannin soon. He might want to check the seal I got as birthday gift twelve years ago and reassure Akatsuki won't unseal it. I don't think he would be doing that inside the village. He would be taking me away somewhere", Ryu explained.
"Oh. We thought about removing the remaining other seal of yours. Do you want to do it in this mission? We have medicine from Kodan clan here if it hurts", Raijiu asked staying away from the going away part.
"I have already removed the physical seal stoping my growth and I am alright", Ryu said.
"Maa, I told you to wait, didn't I? Why are you so impulsive? Did it hurt? Are you alright?", Raijin asked.
"I hurt for a couple of hours but I was alright later. Thanks to the certain scarecrow sensei of mine scaring the villagers and council, a certain war hawk who wanted to check if the seal really disappeared, couldn't send someone to my house. He could only send people to gawk at me from distance. I pretended to be oblivious to any change in me. Then hokage altered your report and put that I had to use my other chakra to fend off shinobis under water in Land of Tea. So, the War hawk of ROOT didn't doubt anything", Ryu explained.
"Even if he did, he won't expose himself. He may try to force some restrictions on you with the council, but this time, hokage won't let him", Raiju added.
"I know. That's why I want to remove the other seal too. I am waiting for the right time", Ryu agreed.
"Well, we can try after completing this mission", Raiju insisted. He didn't want Naruto to play with seals and take risks with his health away from his eyes. Naruto did it twice already and he didn't want to let it go the third time without being there.
"We will see"
When the night fell, both Ryu and Raiju sneaked into the village. It was easy considering Ryu knew the password by watching the village. Raiju went to Kumonai clan and started investigating. Ryu went to Kodan clan and in search of Kodan shrine.
There was a growl that could be heard throughout the village. Ryu still couldn't sense any chakra. He decided to go to the shrine. When he went there he saw a figure covered in cloak leaving the temple. He thought for a second and didn't follow him. He went inside the temple and tried to find the seal. He sensed the animal behind the seal and saw smoke. He inhaled a small amount to see if it was poisonous because he was immune to poison and it won't affect him but others might not be lucky.
The smoke wasn't poisonous but it tried to cause slight blurring of eyes and numbed his senses. Ryu used chakra to eliminate it and felt relieved. Once he found out that it was not fatal, he tried some more. It caused his eyes to blur and dull his other senses too. It caused hallucination and Ryu actively removed it from his system and used a wind jutsu to disperse it. He studied the seal and copied it so that he could repair it later.
When he patrolled around the homes near the village he could see that mist inside the temple was slowly covering the village. The people who inhaled it had some happy dreams from their expression but the children slept more soundly. Old people felt like they fell unconscious and Ryu arrived at a conclusion.
He then turned to the tent and started working on the seal. When Raiju returned to the tent, he saw the picture of his captain sitting on his sleeping bag leaning against a soil protrusion which served as a headboard, caused by an earth jutsu and a small study desk on his lap filled with papers full of seals.
"Come and see this seal", he said.
Raiju went and sat next to him and took the papers to look at the seal. The original seal was much less complicated than the seal Naruto had on his stomach. That was why it could be easily damaged.
"So, what did you find?", Ryu asked.
"The Kumonai clan wanted to find some medicine for eternal youth. They accidentally found the blue fire powder. Once he found out it can explode when it came contact with water, they improved it. When Ame wanted to annex this village into their territory, they made use of this powder to win against them. So, they want to commercialize it and wants to announce that their neutrality to sell this powder to all nations and other villages. They also want to make use of Kodan's clan Kotaro. Kotaro is a form of saigenzai. Saigenzai is-",
"It is a hallucinogen and it is illegal to take it with in the village as it causes fatality if not taken under advisement. Kotaro, on the other hand can cure people depending upon the dosage but in high doses can have side effects", Ryu finished it for him.
"Yes. Since Kotaro can also bring in money like blue fire powder, they want to commercialize it as they knew the taste of money but Kodans won't agree with that. So, I think Kumonai clan is trying to set Reon on the village and defeat it to prove their superiority. It seems you are right. It is a combination of what happened twelve years ago and the Uchiha massacre", Raiju said drawing the parallels.
"If it is exactly the same but you forgot someone", Ryu said.
"Forgot?"
"Yes. Who is our Danzo in this picture? Kumonai clan won't start this without knowing how to reseal the Roen or they have discovered something new that could unseal and seal Roen. Otherwise, they won't dare to open it. They don't know how to seal it. Only Kodans know the sealing method since they were the ones who sealed it last time. But today, I found that the seal is being opened properly without anything and I saw that hallucinogen in the shrine today. Only Kodan clan could do that. It can't be Kumanoi clan or someone is selling Kodan clan secrets to others. And there is only two people who could do it. Someone from Kodan or someone close to both clans who is ready to reap the benefits when both of the major clans destroyed each other, just like Danzo did after both the incident twelve years ago and Uchiha massacre. So, who is that person or a clan? We have to check them too", Ryu said tapping his fingers on the desk.
"Why are you so sure someone from Kumonai clan didn't sneak into Kodan clan?"
"I saw a person leaving opposite to the direction from Kumonai clan from the shrine. I also think that as the highly intelligent individuals, Kumanoi won't make noise publicly if they had this plan to release Roen all along, so they wouldn't be suspected. And Kodan clan has seals placed around the shrine and only people who know the way can go in. There is something else we haven't considered", Ryu said suddenly sitting straight.
"What is it?"
"You are right. This is exactly like our village. Kumanoi wants to become famous and sides with war by wanting to unleash this powder everywhere. But the Kodan clan is famous for medicine and it doesn't like violence and is dead against this blue fire powder. Though this is an ideal situation for this village to become rich by offering both weapons and medicine, Kodans think it is promoting war. So, what if someone from Kodan wants to stop that by controlling Roen and kill the Kumanoi clan to stop it from happening?", Ryu proposed.
"That is a far fetch but not impossible. Do you really think violence hating Kodans would try to hurt their own villagers?", Raiju asked doubtfully.
"Most violent things happened and happening, are done by violence hating people. We have seen too many examples for that. From Shodaime Hashirama to Itachi, you and me, we all hate violence but we killed more people compared to others of our age in the name of guarding peace. What if there is an Itachi here too?", Ryu asked.
"I don't think there would be another one as skilled as Itachi but I am certain there would be another Danzo. So, there may be another one manipulating someone with the ideologies like Itachi. Let's hope he isn't as skilled as him", Raiju said hoping.
"Trust me when I say, there is no 'another Itachi'. I saw that person leaving from the temple. There was some smoke. It had the same effect of the hallucinogen but it was more potent. I am going to investigate it tomorrow. You go and find about that third person or a clan who would benefit if both Kodan and Kumanoi got destroyed. Remember, if you ever see blue smoke, try not to inhale it. It is strong. You can use your chakra to repel it from your system", Ryu said.
"Is there any other side effect?", Raiju asked.
"It dulls your senses. It is more potent than your normal strong liquor. It causes different emotions to different doses", Ryu said shrugging.
"How do you know what the effects of liquor are?", Ryu asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't. I guessed", Raiju said with a wide smile and it didn't look genuine. 'Naruto, you messed up'.
"No, it was accurate. How? You know you are underage despite you being a captain right?", Raiju asked in a sensei tone and Ryu won't admit but it made him nervous whenever he heard it.
"I know. It is not like I am drinking", Ryu asked.
"Answer me straight. Have you ever drunk alcohol?", Raijin asked calmly while his inner Kakashi was getting outraged by minute. Damn being a captain. Naruto wasn't allowed to drink until he was sixteen, no matter what mission required. Kakashi knew if Naruto's answer was yes, he would completely lose it.
"I was fed alcohol", Ryu said in Naruto's tone. His authoritative tone minutes earlier faded into a kicked puppy tone.
"Fed? Who fed you alcohol?", Raiju who was in Kakashi mode asked. His tone was dangerous. He was thinking so many things at once. Did someone in Konoha gave him alcohol to harm him? Whoever it was, their death day had arrived.
"It isn't what you think. I had an accident. I was in so much pain and bleeding all over the place. Someone found me and wanted to provide me first aid. I kept thrashing and they didn't want to knock me out by hurting me more. So, they gave alcohol to me forcefully and I lost consciousness. It was the only thing they had and I wasn't safe in the hospital. I was bandaged and treated and everything was fine. I know it is harmful and completely stupid but they did what they could. That's how I know", Naruto explained and Kakashi didn't know whether to be grateful to that person who treated Naruto or angry that they chose a harmful and stupid way.
"I am sor-", Raiju said.
"Don't. I am happy that you are here now. Let's focus on the mission. You go to sleep. My clones are on watch. I will study this seal and sleep too", Ryu advised sighing.
"Thanks for letting me. I am glad I am here too. Don't spend too much time awake. Good night", Raiju said and went for his sleeping bag.
The next day morning both Ryu and Raiju entered the village separately in disguise. Ryu came to the Kodan shop and asked for the most skilled, most orthodox, and most moral person who was famous for his way of medicine. He said he wanted his brother treated. He had cash to spare and he only wanted the best to cure his severely traumatised brother.
Everyone pointed to Tenma Kodan. Ryu went to the way villagers pointed. Tenma was busy with his new-born son these days and didn't come to the shop. He was in his home.
From what captain Ryu gathered, Tenma was against anything violent and he had strong sense of justice. Ryu also found out that Kodan clan could make a type of saigenzai, called Kotaro by ingesting few plants. It was the kekkai genkai of that clan. Naruto suddenly realized that blue smoke was Kotaro which can induce hallucination when inhaled.
He went to Tenma's home and saw his wife and two children. His eldest son was called Reishi Kodan and the younger son was called Kina Kodan. Reishi was taking care of Kina while Tenma was talking to Ryu.
"Hi, I want to treat my traumatised brother. He was a shinobi and he is in pain. Some people suggested I come here"
"Hello, I am Tenma and this is my family. I do have something that can be useful to relax your brother and help him sleep. I have few other medicines that could help him cure"
"Thank you. You know, shinobis try to keep peace but they never know peace", Ryu said shaking his head in disappointment.
"Yeah. Nowadays, people take violence too easily. They don't know the sacrifice shinobis had to make for the sake of peace. With few inventions, they think they are better than shinobis. Let's see what will happen if they see a threat normal humans cannot deal with their power. Only shinobis with their knowledge and wisdom, can deal with such threats and the world will understand it soon, Shinobis symbolise the importance of lives and they keep us safe from every threat. Their sacrifices cannot be compared to normal people and any invention that promotes war and making their lives harder is an insult to them. It undermines their lives and put them in unwanted danger", Tenma said with passion.
"True but people aren't completely helpless. I heard your village has a blue fire powder that can defeat shinobis", Ryu said poking him for information.
"What are you saying? How is that true? Shinobis can't be compared to it. That powder can't work on bigger threats. Shinobis have defeated threats like bijus and other monsters. How can this blue fire powder can rival that?", Tenma said annoyed.
"True. I agree with you", Ryu said placating him.
"I ran out of herbs to make the medicine. Why don't you wait? I will send my son to pluck it."
"Can I go with him to see?"
"Sure. But you can't make the medicine even if you knew the plant"
"Thank you"
"Reishi, go with this person to pluck these herbs", Tenma said giving a list.
"Hai papa"
Ryu and Reishi walked to the herb and Ryu talked to him about his little brother Kina. Reishi talked interestingly and how he would do anything to protect his brother. Ryu already knew that because when the other child bullied him that day, Reishi didn't even react until they mentioned Kina. Once they mentioned him, Reishi got angry and threw stones at them and ran away.
Ryu asked more about his friends and kids who bullied him. He came back to Tenma and waited for the medicines to be made. Once it was done, he paid for it and left.
At the same time, Raiju went to the breakfast shop in the marketplace and ordered something to eat. From the chatter, he picked up the hot topics and talked to the waiter. He found out some clans and went to enquire 'which clan lived where'. From his calculations, he guessed Sendo clan was the one that stood to benefit the most from the misgivings of the two major clans. They are second in both medicine making and research.
Ryu and Raiju met and exchanged information. They summarized that Tenma might be the one who might be putting people in genjutsu by mixing Kotaro in food and Sendo clan was provoking him and Kumanoi clan at the same time.
"Find out who in Sendo is doing that. There is a Sendo kid who plays under the big tree in the eastern part of the village. His name is Juro or Jiro. Start with his family. I will try to complete the seal. We don't have much time. At the same time, we have to come up with a solution to not let this blue fire powder to be commercialized."
Ryu and Raiju worked well. Raiju found out Jiryu Sendo was the one initiating conflict. Ryu was still trying to improve the seal but he found out how Kumanoi clan came up on that. He found the solution to the fire powder problem.
"You got the solution to the problem?"
"I do. After resealing Reon, we can go solve that. I want to take a look at the seal once again and I will go to the shrine again today. We have couple of days before Tenma fully open the seal", Ryu answered.
"Want me to come with you?"
"No. I want you to solve the hallucinogen issue. Find out if you can wake them from genjutsu by normal methods after inhaling the mist. Be careful not to inhale it. From what I gathered, some of the side effects include blindness and deafness", Ryu stressed.
"You too. I don't want you to compare some other effects to hallucinogen later", Raiju stressed.
"Seriously?"
"I am. And you aren't allowed to drink even for a mission until you are at least sixteen."
"Ok"
"Then fine"
Ryu went to the shrine that night and he didn't expect that Kataro to be stronger than usual. He found some blue fire powder and guessed it is to set off the animal after unsealing it. Ryu eliminated the mist he inhaled with chakra but suddenly everything changed.
Ryu saw a scene where Tenma couldn't control Roen and he tried to seal it again. Tenma's wife died while trying to help him. He wanted to seal the animal inside his eldest son but he failed. He sealed it inside his younger son and died in the aftermath. The eldest son took care of the younger son. But when the villagers hated the kodans, the younger son Kina, gave into hatred and killed them. The oldest son, Reishi, used Kotaro and made Kina and others forgot about the identity of the person who killed them. In the end, Reishi gave up his life pretending to be Roen and resealed the Roen inside Kina. Everyone thought Reishi was the murderer and Kina saved the village. Kina lived alone but the village didn't hate him.
Ryu woke up from the genjutsu and left a clone to copy the seal. He hurried to the tent. Raiju was alarmed at the way Ryu looked.
"What happened?"
"Nothing", Ryu said closing his eyes leaning on the headboard with his eyes closed.
"Obviously something happened"
"I inhaled the hallucinogen and it hurts my head", Ryu said not lying entirely rubbing his temples.
"Maa, I told you to be careful"
"Hmm. What did you find out?"
"People are becoming addicted to Kataro at small doses. It makes them relaxed and happy without side effects but it seems higher doses have side effects", he said pointing at Ryu.
"So, the drug causes genjutsu that make people feel euphoria temporarily but kills them ultimately", Ryu summarised.
"Yes"
"That's bad", Ryu said rubbing his temples.
"I inhaled a little too. It showed happiness before I eliminated it with my chakra. I didn't feel any pain. Just how much did you inhale to be in pain?", Raiju asked slightly worried about the way Ryu was holding his head.
"I don't know if it was because of my special status or some other thing, I didn't feel any happiness. I saw a terrible future if I fail to stop Roen or I don't know if I drawn too much parallel to the past, it was horrible. I don't who it was but I heard someone asking me to stop it before it happened all over. It sounded suspiciously similar to Shisui's voice", Ryu said.
"What parallel?", Raiju asked.
After Ryu explained what happened on the genjutsu, Raiju didn't say anything but put a comforting hand enveloping the other's broad shoulder.
"That hits too close to home", Raiju said.
"It didn't feel like hallucination", Ryu said.
"Does it hurt too much?", Raiju asked worried.
"No. It is beara-", Ryu stopped abruptly and stood pulling Raiju along with him. "Tenma is at the temple going towards the seal releasing huge amounts of Kataro. Go and stop anyone from reaching the temple. Release the genjutsu. Focus on getting the people away from the shrine. Stop anyone trying to provoke conflict and chaos. I will try to stop Tenma and reseal Reon. After saving people, join me". Ryu said creating clones.
"Ten of you, go with Raiju. Do anything he tells you and one of you is in charge of keeping him away from harm" he said to the clones. "Take them with you. They are yours to command", Ryu said and Raiju headed in the direction opposite to the shrine.
Ryu created another ten clones to save anyone awake from harm and take care of strays on the other part of the village.
He rushed to the temple to stop but there was a big explosion occurred that woke everyone up. People came out to see what it was but was soon distracted by a loud growl coming from the opposite direction. They were scrambling here and there grabbing children and important things alike.
"Shit!", Raiju said and asked the band of clones and to disperse to stop anyone from going towards the shrine. Except one clone which stayed behind to help Raiju everyone else dispersed.
"Let's go and find out who would want to wake people up. They might have another plan to harm the innocent people if they wake them up", he said and the clone nodded.
Ryu and his other clones were trying to stop the Kodan clan from moving towards the shrine and busy saving people. They were closer to the shrine and exposed to Kataro faster. They started falling into genjutsu and the blue fire powder outside the temple dispersed and the people started behaving differently. Instead of being incapacitated or acting happy they fell into delirium. They started moving towards the shrine and slowly their chakra was being absorbed by Roen whose seal was weakened significantly. Ryu's clones were stopping them and taking them away farther where their chakra could not be absorbed. Ryu created more clones to help and the original flashed towards the temple.
"Stop it Tenma. Don't do this", Ryu shouted.
"Who are you? Don't stop me."
Ryu almost reach him while using chakra to eliminate the residuals from his system.
"What you are doing won't help them but make them want to discover something more potent than the fire powder. You stop doing this and I will stop them from commercializing the gun powder"
"You can't. They won't stop. They don't understand the significance of lives They have to experience it personally to know it"
"I can scare them enough to not let them take ninjas easily. I am a ninja too. If you do this, innocents will get hurt. Roen is dangerous", Ryu said.
"I can control it"
"What if you can't? Your clan and your family lives closer. They will be the first ones to get affected", Ryu tried to calm him.
When Tenma was thinking, Ryu already caught him and shunshinned out of the shrine.
"Did you wake all these people up Tenma?"
"No. I just wanted to scare them not to kill them"
"Then someone else knows your plan and want to take advantage of the situation"
"What do I do now?", Tenma asked panicking.
"Use Kataro to make people go to back into their home", Ryu ordered.
Tenma tried and felt more panicked when acted differently. "I can't control them fully"
"Then how do you plan to control Roen? It must be the altered blue fire powder"
"What?! I didn't use blue gun fire powder. I didn't expect that animal to absorb so much chakra", Tenma said looking terrified.
"Shit! Send back anyone nearing the shrine and you stay away too", he ordered both the clones and Tenma. He sent Tenma to a safer distance and asked him to control people away from the shrine who wasn't exposed to the gun powder. He assured him that his clones would take care of the Kodan clan near the shrine. Ryu hurried to the shrine as soon as he sensed a chakra inside the temple. But it was a second late as Roen broke the seal by absorbing chakra from other people.
The first one to die was the one who was putting altered blue fire powder near the shrine. It came outside the shrine and gave a maddening growl.
Before it could start absorbing other chakras, Ryu used a fire jutsu to get the attention of the tiger-wolf.
Raiju, who saw the sudden growl and a fireball, guessed what happened.
A clone reached Raiju and informed him what the original ordered.
"Ryu will seal the Roen back with help from Tenma. Let people inhale Kataro and Tenma will order them to go to a safer distance where it cannot absorb people's chakra . If anyone is incapacitated before that, we will move them away. It appears Jiryu Sendo was the one who set the explosion and released the animal. He escaped while his subordinate died. You are to ensure that he or other Sendo clan people don't interfere Ryu's sealing. Be careful and don't get hurt while you are at it", the clone said following Kakashi while they both cleared more people. There was shouting and clones forcefully removing people while Kumanoi clan thought it was good idea to use blue fire powder to defeat Roen. "I will stop the Kumanoi clan", clone Ryu said and parted.
Raiju looked at the direction of the shrine before proceeding towards Sendo clan. "Be careful", he said intending to finish off the Jiryu first. He won't let anyone disturb this leader even though he couldn't save the last one. He intended to arrive early and join the fight on the shrine fast.
Ryu successfully gained the attention of Roen. That creature was purely an animal which is different from bijus.
"Stop using chakra idiot. Can't you see he is absorbing it?", kyubi said irritated.
'I am trying to get his attention'
"Use something that won't make him stronger"
'What do you want me to do?'
"Try throwing a stone"
Ryu aka Naruto laughed at the comment and it angered the animal more. It started growling and came to him with a high speed. Ryu went ahead but had to take a detour for saving few people from entering the area. Reon was absorbing chakra faster than earlier by attracting people towards the shrine.
Tenma, who came back after seeing Reon, was struggling to control Reon when a pop occurred. The blue fire powder started exploding which was buried outside the shrine. It started over- powering Tema's control over Roen.
Ryu used water release jutsu to spoil gun powder hidden underneath, It was odourless and difficult to find out by normal standards.
Suiton: Dogō Tatsumaki (Water Release: Furious Roaring Tornado)
At the same time, Ryu clone at Kumanoi clan and Raiju at Sendo clan used smaller water jutsus to eliminate the gun powder dangers.
Suiton: Hatō (Water Release: Surging Sea)
Suiton: Suishōha (Water Release: Water Colliding Wave)
After drenching the area, Ryu talked to Tenma.
"Tenma, leave that animal to me. You focus on getting these people away using Kataro. The effects of Kataro and gun powder together is disorienting them and give into Reon's call easily", Ryu shouted.
"But it is my fault that it is free. You can't control him alone. I have to seal him. Only Kodans know how to do it", Tenma was mad at himself. He didn't expect these things to happen.
"Trust me. I will deal with him. I am a ninja. I fight evil. You are a person of medicine. Go and save people. I will be alright. Send them away and come back", Ryu instructed and Tenma could actually feel that he wasn't helping anybody by refusing. He reluctantly decided to let go of the remaining control over Roen.
"Are you ready ninja sama?"
"Yes"
"Here we go", Tenma said and let go of his control. Roen let out a menacing growl and everyone in the village started feeling the power of Roen. Some people with poor constitution already fainted with the rapid decrease in their energy.
Raiju heard the growl and cursed. He was dealing with Sendo thugs trying to bring the blue fire powder they have hidden and trying to deploy it with balloons. This powder was something different from the one in Kumanoi clan and he instantly guessed they have improvised it to provoke the animal. When he used water jutsu and spoiled most sacks of the powder, he was distracted by saving one of the villagers and a single Sendo thug escaped but Naruto's clone took care of him.
He was hurrying to join Ryu and decided to open his sharinghan eye. He missed a kunai coming for him worried with the glimpse of the incident twelve years ago. He was afraid that he would lose the remaining hold he had in this life will disappear too. He knew Ryu was capable of dealing with it but he couldn't help but worry.
"Keep the eye closed. Don't go there. You will only get your chakra absorbed faster and become useless especially if your sharinghan is open. We, I mean my original, will be alright. If our original thinks he can't control it, he would have dispelled the clones to have more chakra", clone Ryu in charge of protecting Raiju told him stopping that kunai from a Sendo.
"You are alone there", Raiju told.
"That's because we trust that you have got our backs here. He can fight freely without worrying about these people", clone Ryu reminded him. "He is your taicho for a reason. It is not his first rodeo. Believe it or not, in our missions, we have seen worse, alone. Trust him."
"If I don't I would be already there", Raiju said knocking down a Kumanoi clan shinobi who might have been working with Sendo clan.
Ryu who had materialised near Roen, trying to tame the animal by normal jutsus. And he could see that he absorbed that chakra. He also found that it fed on people's anger when it absorbed the chakra.
He tried to injure the animal with a kunai and it didn't work.
"What are you doing? I was not serious when I said to throw a rock at it. Why are you trying to tame it instead of putting it into that place back?", Kyubi asked.
'I want to see if it can be taken away from the village. I want to set it free on Sojobo mountain. That way it would be free and no harm done to people. I don't want to imprison it. I didn't expect you to tell me to seal it', Ryu replied.
"That's because I am a biju. Not like that stupid tiger-wolf. It is created to absorb chakra and I, am chakra. We are not the same. In fact, we are natural enemies", kyubi replied with disgust.
"And it is tied to that shrine. It can't leave there. At least not until you completely remove the old seal. Don't experiment and just seal it", kyubi said and Ryu could see that the animal was tied to the shrine. He was not sure what removing the original seal would completely entail. He didn't want to start something even more horrible without understanding the seal fully.
Ryu nodded and summoned a sword. It was the Senju sword he got from the Senju compound. He regretted breaking the Sword of life now. He should have waited until after this mission. It could absorb chakra too. The sword didn't work but it did mange to get its sole focus.
'Want some fun kyubi?', Ryu asked.
"What prank are you pulling now?", kyubi asked interested.
'I am going to stun him. Do you wanna scare him?'
"He he he. I don't hate you much now", kyubi said getting its scary face ready.
'Wait a minute. I want to see if other jutsus work on him', Ryu informed.
Ryu first released a mist covering everyone's visibility. He released a wood stump that absorbed Reon's chakra which in turn stopped Reon from absorbing more chakra. It froze for a second not understanding what happening.
Ryu set up a perimeter with his clones sealing the area. The clones stood at node points of a formation and formed an unsymmetrical pattern when looked from air. The chakra from the are outside that area couldn't be absorbed by Reon anymore. It was a simple seal temporarily sealing anything inside it. But any chakra inside the formation could be absorbed by Roen. For example, original Ryu's chakra could still be absorbed but the villagers and Raiju would be safe from losing the chakra. This formation needed the object to be sealed at a particular distance from the original seal. And so, Ryu waited till now.
Raiju cleared Sendo thugs and the clone near him saw that Ryu had set up a perimeter.
The clone said to him, "There is only few more. Me and other clones can handle it now that the original stopped Reon from absorbing chakra. Go and help him seal it."
Raiju started sprinting towards Ryu hoping to get there on time. Ryu was talking with the kyubi.
"He will absorb your chakra"
'But there is a limit to how much he can absorb in few seconds. It should be enough for me to immobilise him and reseal him', Ryu explained. 'I want to know whether without the Wood release, will I able to face him.'
"Try it"
Ryu sensed Raiju approaching and motioned him to wait just outside the formation.
"Are you hurt?", Ryu asked nearing the Reon who unfroze from the wood jutsu.
"No. You?"
"Please", Ryu said sarcastically overpowering the Reon with a sword which now has a different seal on it to make it work against the animal. He fell back while his clones were keeping it busy.
"I am going to stun him with normal jutsus"
"But it will absorb your chakra", Raiju said and Ryu had a déjà vu.
"But there is a limit to how much he can absorb chakra in few seconds. It should be enough for me to immobilise him and reseal him. Let's say he could absorb 'n' quantity of chakra he could absorb in a second and I pass n+10. Remaining ten could affect him just like it does with normal people", Ryu said.
"Problem is, how much is 'n'. He is absorbing chakra from the whole village" Raiju reminded.
"It is about quality also. That's why we are going to pass high intensity chakra instantaneously", Ryu said.
"You have something planned", Raiju said giving an apprehensive look.
"Remember I talked about combining our jutsus?", Ryu said excitedly.
"You want to try something we have never practiced, against it now?", Raiju was thinking Naruto was Konoha's no.1 unexpected knucklehead ninja even after becoming a captain.
"Yup"
"Taicho, I don't think it is a good idea. And I don't have as much chakra as you do to bring the high intensity jutsu", Raiju aka sensei Kakashi reminded in teacher's mode.
"Already taken care of. Just use normal lightning jutsu. I will use huge water release to pass and amplify it and we are going to drown him while electrocuting him. I have ability to release salt water from the atmosphere. It will hold only for few seconds but I would start sealing already", Ryu said.
"Please tell me you have back up plans if it doesn't work out", Raiju said.
"I have better options and I am just trying to use ordinary ninja way", Ryu said.
'Ordinary ninjas will not try a legendary animal with ordinary jutsus. They go for special jutsus.I thought he was going to borrow kyubi's power to control the animal and that's why he chose the mission as he was most suited for it. But no. Kami keeps blessing me with surprises or it is just the person in front of me', Raiju thought.
"Why don't you use better options?", Raiju asked.
"What if one day I lose my better options and I had to face this animal again? I must see what works and what doesn't. I have back up options to subdue it if I messed up now. In future, I may not have that option", Ryu explained.
Raiju could not refute that logic.
"Let's try it taicho"
"Use your weapon to pass lightning through water", Ryu said forming an Inu seal for water release.
Raiton: Raiga (Lightning Release: Lightning Fang)
Suiton: Suiryūkyō (Water Release: Water Current Bridge)
Ryu and Raiju worked perfectly and combined their specialities. The thick water columns and strong lighting created a powerful storm in an instant which Ryu guided by his wind release and passed with an extremely high intensity which served as a surplus chakra and stunned the legendary, Roen.
"So, normal jutsus work too huh?", Raiju said with a smile impressed with his taicho.
Ryu was already near Roen repairing the seal and slowly moving it towards the shrine.
Suddenly, a pop sounded. It was a balloon filled with a fire powder a Sendo thug set off before being handled by Ryu's clones.
Roen was affected by it and started protesting against its sealing. It unfroze and started to move.
"Stay still", Ryu ordered releasing his KI and a demonic chakra for a second. The animal got scared and stopped moving. It just saw a terrifying fox with nails as big as it was and the chakra was monstrous.
"Wuss. Just scared of seeing my face. Can't believe you weak humans call it legendary", kyubi said repulsively. "Even you as a kid didn't get scared by me this much Naruto. It is a scaredy cat", kyubi said insulting Reon and Ryu aka Naruto smirked.
One man and one fox smirked while the animal was petrified. Raiju's single eye widened and he stood there in shock. He knew the fox and his captain were on civil terms and it helped him but to know something and see something was a different experience. Others might not know but he clearly felt that kyubi let its presence known the second Naruto, sorry captain Ryu warned the animal to stay still. Their co-operation was seamless.
Tenma who was running towards the shrine from the minute he saw a Raiju ran towards the shrine finally reached there only to see the Reon being sealed.
Ryu continued pulling Reon towards the shrine and resealed him in few minutes. Raiju and Tenma let out the breath they didn't realise they were holding.
"Are you alright?", Raiju appeared besides his captain and asked.
"A little tired"
"Thank you ninja-san. I will not forget this help. I will admit my mistakes and surrender myself", Tenma started and Ryu stopped him with a hand showing a stop sign and a mmm sound.
"Don't make your own decisions. That's what led to this. You will do as I say", he said in a no-nonsense tone.
"Hai ninja-sama"
"First, you are going to release the remaining Kataro you have selectively in appropriate doses to alter everyone's memory and erase today's events. And then you are going to use Kataro some more and make Kumanoi clan think they didn't develop blue fire powder but they got it from a mysterious seller. I will arrange it so that it appears like few bandits killed that dead guy near the shrine and tried to release the Reon. The blue fire powder the bandits stole provoked it further instead of helping and anonymous ninjas who were in pursuit of them helped you to reseal the animal."
"And then you will protect this shrine and the animal inside with your life for next seven years. My repair on the seal will only work for seven years and that my estimated amount it will take for the Reon to feed on all the village's anger. More importantly, you stay from Sendo. They manipulated you and Kumanoi clan. We will talk remaining things tomorrow. Do you understand all that?", Ryu was all business.
"Yes ninja sama. But after seven years?"
"I will come back and reseal it or I will send someone else. It will be taken care of", he promised.
"Go and do what I said. Leave with my clones. They will help you to move fast", Ryu said sending him with few clones.
Ryu then turned to Raiju.
"You good?"
"Yeah"
"Summon your ninkens. We will find all the fire powder they have hidden and destroy the labs for the improvised fire powder. Do you know who altered it?"
"I have a guess"
"Try to erase his memory and on few Sendo thugs"
"You want me to use genjutsu taicho?"
"Have not you been training your sharinghan for kotamatsukami genjutsu to make people forget something? You can train here. If you mess up, we can use Kotaro to repair it. Tenma will help. This is the chance you won't get inside Konoha or anywhere. You haven't used your sharinghan and exhausted yourself yet. Use chakra storage seals and train your sharinghan on real subjects until you run of chakra here. My clones will take care of you after you are exhausted. This is not cruel as it isn't harmful genjutsu to use either. It is a perfect place", Ryu said encouraging him and his squad mate didn't react.
"Listen Raiju, I know I said you can't use your sharinghan on missions. But the mission is over and I already know who you are. You don't have worry about anything else when it is just us. None of your squad mates are here and most importantly I am here. I got your back. It doesn't matter what mask you are wearing and where. You can always take a break with me around. Go", Ryu said and Raiju felt weird at someone telling him that they got his back on a mission.
It was always Raiju who put himself in danger so his team shouldn't have to face it. He already felt surprised when he was sent with a clone who was specifically assigned to protect him and now he was asked to go play and take a time to improve himself in the middle of a mission or the end of it. Everyone except Guy, always assumed he was a genius who got everything naturally and didn't notice how much he trained for it. Sure, they knew he trained but he trained harder than ordinary ninjas as he was targeted by many. That's how he continued to stay on top after reaching there.
But somehow, now, his young not yet technically a teenage captain, understood he wasn't an all-knowing genius and needed help and training. So, he brought him to a mission involving genjutsu and stopped him from exhausting his chakra using his sharinghan on the mission to prove genjutsus doesn't always need sharinghan but it could be stronger and effective if trained properly. Raiju aka Kakashi, was always apprehensive about training sharinghan as there was no one to rectify if he accidentally caused some harm with it during trainng. That's why he only used it for small genjutsus and chidori but nothing else. He also thought he wasn't an Uchiha and he couldn't fully exert sharinghan's potential. But now someone was asking him to train, mess up and assured that he was covered. He was given a chance to train his sharinghan where it was real but inconsequential.
Ryu was giving him chances at redemption too. Raiju knew with kyubi's power, Ryu didn't need his help to seal the animal. But he gave him a closure to let him arrive on time to lessen the pain he had acquired twelve years ago.
'He is an incredible captain already. I am worried for nothing. He will manage this squad better than most seasoned ANBU captains but he is still bit of knucklehead though. Who uses people involved on a mission for training? Well, Sendos are not all good people. I am in desparate need of training the sharinghan and someone else is ready to take the fall if something goes wrong. Even if Tenma couldn't repair if I did something wrong, Itachi would come and make things right if Naruto asked. Naruto already might have thought of that too', Raiju realised.
"Well, it is good not to be a captain. I am going to play while you get to work", Raju humoured trying to diffuse the dull ache he felt at being cared for.
"I am going to clean Kumanoi clan up. Use the clones to help you. We would come back as guests tomorrow morning to see if everything settled which means we have to clean up everything before sunrise", Ryu said and created hundred more clones and Raiju was impressed. To create hundred clones with disguise after fighting an animal that consumes your chakra, most shinobis would not be able to do that.
"Go and use every jutsu you find useful to disperse Kataro faster before Tenma uses up his energy. Help to settle back every shinobi in their beds. We don't have much time", Ryu said and dismissed them.
After hours of hard work, the village was back as new except the staged bandit attack near the shrine. Tenma was exhausted and the clone Ryu settled him inside his home.
Raiju exhausted his energy after using sharinghan for long time and the clone Ryu dropped him in the tent and told him to rest. It removed his Raiju mask and stood guard so that Raiju without the mask, aka Kakashi could rest peacefully.
It took another couple of hours before Ryu arrived. When Ryu came back to their tent, the sun was already rising.
"Go to sleep. I still have chakra to create two clones to stand guard", Ryu said creating more clones and dispelling the already existed ones to get information feedback.
"You must be exhausted too", Kakashi said.
"It's alright. Here eat this before sleeping", Ryu said and threw some fruits to his comrade.
Kakashi got it and started eating while Ryu sat leaning on his back and closed his eyes.
"Don't you want to eat?", Kakashi asked.
"I am not hungry"
"You must eat something"
"No", Ryu said rubbing his temples.
"Your head still hurts?"
"A little"
"Then sleep. It will help"
"I have to listen to how Tenma explained the bandit attack to clan head"
"Kataro will keep people in sleep for couple more hours. Take rest", Kakashi advised.
"I-"
"Remember when I told you about you taking breaks in between your masks and I will always be there to cover and you promised the same to me. I listened to you and trained and rested. Now, you listen too", Kakashi refused to give in.
"Ok Kashi", Ryu said removing his mask and becoming Naruto.
"Hmm. I forgot to ask. What did you hallucinate about when you inhaled that hallucinogen?", Naruto asked
"Sleep and I will tell you later", Kakashi postponed.
"Promise?"
"Promise"
"Okay. You sleep tight too", he said lying down on his side with hands over his forehead.
Kakashi took a look at the young shinobi who saved a village but was hurting from a headache. He doesn't if he had to laugh or cry.
Naruto kept rubbing his head and Kakashi waited until he settled down to sleep some more too.
"You did good today Naruto."
Kakashi closed his eyes too since he understood from the fight earlier Naruto's clones were capable and they had more chakra than normal shadow clones to last for hours. So, he needed not to lay down, as alert as he was in his normal missions. He could relax.
Minutes later, Naruto groaned in pain pulling his hair in sleep.
Kakashi thought for few seconds before extending his head which reached Naruto's sleeping bag. He moved an inch closer and put his hand on Naruto's hair while combing through his hair soothingly.
Naruto calmed down in seconds falling asleep and Kakashi rested his eyes peacefully too.