Anko was one of the jounin escorting the mysterious boy to the Hokage's office. A couple of days had passed ever since Orochimaru's invasion, and the stranger hero of the village had been kept in between interrogation rooms.
Despite his fight against one of the most legendary shinobi in history, he seemed quite calm and rested. No major wounds, no major psychological effect. He just came in and wiped him out of the face of the Earth like he was nothing. Anko could not conceive that.
The other jounin was Kakashi, the man that had been in charge of the mission of the northern regions where that boy had been first encountered. And he, like the violet-haired woman, constantly stared at the boy from behind.
Lord Third had been very clear in that they could not even touch the boy. He was to be brought safely to the Hokage and his advisors, and when everything was fully understood, a decision would be taken.
As the trio finally reached the door that led to the office, Anko's common sense was overrun. Her eyes snapped open as he perceived the sudden rise in her energy signal and she pushed the boy to the side. Then, she kicked him towards the wall and grabbed a kunai from one of her pockets. She pressed the weapon against the boy's neck, while he was standing against the wall.
Kakashi reacted quickly and pressed his own kunai against Anko's neck from behind. Gohan was caught off-guard, but his arms were ready to get out of the situation.
"Let him go, Anko." Ordered the silver-haired jounin with determination.
The woman did not say or do anything. She simply remained in the same position.
Two ANBU appeared out of seemingly nowhere to join Kakashi. But not even them were enough to make her move away.
"Tell me." She finally said, while her eyes were shaking slightly. "How?"
Gohan gulped. "How?"
"How did you kill him!?" She yelled back.
The half-blood flinched and hesitated in his reply.
"How did you kill Orochimaru?!"
"I just did, I don't know." Answered the boy. "I just did what I've always done. I just fought."
The answer did not satisfy the woman, who lowered her arms. The ANBU moved in to submit her, but Kakashi stood in their way and shook his head.
"Let's continue as planned."
Gohan felt a shiver go down his spine before returning to the door and opening it. The light that came in from the window of the office dazzled him, so he covered his eyes with his right hand.
The silver-haired jounin gave him a soft push forward. The boy understood the signal and continued forward.
The office was a relatively cozy place. Shelves filled with books about diverse topics decorated the walls, alongside the many paintings and portraits. Four of which were the faces of the four Hokage that had ruled over Konoha.
Lord Third was sitting peacefully behind his desk, which was filled to the brink with towers of paperwork. Next to him, Danzo and Ibiki were standing firmly.
"You may take a seat, young Gohan." Said Hiruzen as he pointed at the chairs in front of his desk.
As long as he sensed the energy signals from all three men, he got a bad feeling about the situation. Ibiki, a tall and very bulky man, stared directly at him, irradiating something akin to killing intent. As for Danzo, he was as silent and still as always, almost like a corpse watching over his surroundings.
The half-blood decided to follow instructions and sat down. For a brief moment, he looked behind him. Kakashi and Anko noticed and glanced back at him.
"So, first of all, your full name was Son Gohan, correct?" Asked the old leader.
The Saiyan nodded.
"I've never heard of that clan." As the Third spoke, the boy could hear someone writing on paper, but he could not see anyone doing so. "Where do you come from?"
Gohan hesitated, unsure of what to reply. If he was to be honest, he was not from that world. But was that a realistic answer?
"I come from Mount Paozu, from a very distant land."
Hiruzen glanced at his advisor briefly before turning back at the boy. "Never heard about that place either, how interesting."
"How about your family?" Inquired the man with half of his face covered in bandages. "Can you give us any names?"
"Is this for… some registration?" Gohan replied with a question of his own.
Danzo was displeased with the boy's response, of course. If there was something the elder appreciated it was efficiency. To him, any form of questioning or resistance during interrogations was futile, especially when at the mercy of Konoha.
"Indeed, so please, we will need your collaboration, young one." Hiruzen explained, before beckoning his advisor and the boy to continue.
"My father is Son Goku, and my mother is Chi-Chi. My maternal grandfather was called Ox Satan, while my paternal grandfather was named just like me, Son Gohan." He scratched his chin while diving into his thoughts. "And that's all the family I know of."
"Very interesting." Added Hiruzen. "Was your family dedicated to fighting in some way? It seems you are well versed in… martial arts of some sort."
Gohan laughed nervously. "My parents participated in some tournaments. Dad won one a few years ago."
"A civilian tournament?" Pressed the old Hokage.
"I guess?"
The Third once again glanced back at his advisor. This time, for a few more seconds than before.
"Have you ever been trained in any of the shinobi arts?" Asked Danzo.
"No, sir. I only learned about shinobi through Sakura."
"Do you know who Orochimaru of the Sannin was?" Continued the advisor. His face now showed slight disbelief, rather than a purely neutral expression.
The Saiyan shook his head. "Sakura and her teacher told me to go for him and I did. I had to ask mister Hokage which one of them was Orochimaru."
This was confirmed by the leader himself, who nodded with curiosity as everything seemed consistent.
"Why did you kill him, then?" Asked the Third, quite curious about the boy's motivations.
"I sensed his energy." He lowered his head while explaining. "And it was evil and ill-intentioned. There was something off-putting about it. Something… twisted."
"A talented sensor. Fascinating." Hiruzen said. "Well, whatever the case, we appreciate your service."
Gohan nodded in acknowledgement.
"And we are willing to reward you in exchange for something else."
Kakashi widened his only visible eye.
"Join Konoha as a shinobi. We'll give you everything you need." The Third scanned the boy's face, checking for any signs of what he would say. Unfortunately for him, there was only hesitation.
The boy scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry, mister Hokage. I don't really like fighting. Sakura told me what being a shinobi meant and… I don't think I'm made for that job."
Once again, Danzo was displeased.
"If you do not like fighting, then why have you trained so much to reach such prowess?" Hiruzen was simply caught off-guard by his response.
"Sir, I've been forced to fight since I was four years old. It's never been my choice to fight." He looked down. For a brief moment, the image of android 16's face flashed in his mind. "I only fought Orochimaru because he was a threat to life. And the reason I fight is to protect the innocent and the living beings of this world."
The advisor's demeanor did not change with the boy's speech. Lord Third, however, was impressed.
"I see, Son Gohan. What an admirable path you have chosen." The man turned around to look at Ibiki, who nodded back. "Alright, young boy. I insist on our offer to at least move into our precious village."
He shook his head. "I already have a home, and a friend waiting for me there. I appreciate the offer, but I can't accept it."
Gohan stood up and bowed as a form of apologizing, but also showing gratitude. However, before the Hokage could respond, the silver-haired jounin intervened.
"Is that friend…" he began while staring at the mysterious boy. His purple clothes were so familiar that they brought back memories to him. His spiky, black hair was impossible to mistake. "The green man?"
Gohan gulped. Despite his best wishes, the man had recognized him.
"Yes."
Chakra began to gather on the man's right hand, while the Saiyan sensed it perfectly. How could he explain the fact that Piccolo was an alien? If they believed he was a demon, like people did back in his own world, then he would be in serious trouble.
"My friend is not a demon." He raised his hands. "And nor am I."
"Then what is he?" Asked Kakashi. His other hand was already at the height of his face mask, while the temperature in his arm began to rise as well.
"It's hard to explain." Admitted the boy. He sighed, completely cornered. "His species are called the Namekians. They're peaceful people that live out of water and sunlight, just like plants."
"Then why was he so powerful, if such a species is peaceful?"
A drop of cold sweat slipped down the Saiyan's face. He was between a rock and a hard place, and was running out of options in regards to his answers. It was already unlikely that they would believe Namekians were a thing.
"Well, he fused with someone."
"Fused?" Inquired Lord Third. He knew about all kinds of jutsu, even forbidden ones; but he had never heard about such a thing as fusion.
"Yes. Namekians can fuse. As in… mixed. Two can become one, and such." Continued Gohan, as he started to notice intrigue in the faces of the men in front of him. "And my friend, my master, fused with Kami."
The Hokage was the first one whose eyes snapped wide open. He was followed by Ibiki and Kakashi, while Anko flinched. As for the old advisor, he gritted his teeth.
"Kami?!" Gasped the woman.
"He fused with a god?" Added the frightened Ibiki.
Then, an idea appeared in his mind, almost like a light bulb turning on. He nodded confidently, before raising his finger.
"But now, through my master, Kami has reincarnated." The captivated looks of everyone in the room carefully followed the boy's every move. "He is still a toddler, but very soon he should start to grace this world with… magical objects!"
"Fascinating…" Admitted the Hokage. "Would it be possible for us to meet the reincarnation of this Kami?"
Initially, Gohan was not sure if they would believe the story at all. He was the most surprised about their apparent belief of it all.
"Once he has grown older, I'll make sure to arrange a meeting!"
Behind him, the violet-haired woman murmured. "So that's how you did it… With the favor of a Kami."
Somewhere deep inside, Gohan began to wonder if it had been a good idea to tell them that little Akira was a god, rather than the full truth. He would have to talk about it with Piccolo.
"Amaterasu!" Yelled the pale man as a small black flame formed on the creature's shoulder.
Cell watched it with interest. It slowly spread throughout his chest and arm, and every time the pain got stronger. What was more fascinating to him was how it was immune to the intense rain that would have turned any regular fire off by that point.
"Very fancy trick, I must say." The creature charged his Ki and dispersed the black fires simply with his aura.
Itachi widened his eyes. Inside his cloak, he began a different combination of hand seals.
Added to the rain, lightning began to fall around them. Brief sparks were left in the air, and they gathered until they had formed a massive hawk.
Cell opened his arms, excited to receive it directly. He was very interested in how seemingly different fighting was for those people. Their Ki felt different, but they also manipulated it differently. And yet, they were not half as strong as the Z warriors were, or so it seemed to him.
The hawk began to wave its wings before finally launching itself at the creature. It was a direct hit and an explosion ensued upon impact. After the hawk disappeared into the explosion, small sparks were left to give the android's body extra electric shocks. Finally, lightning struck Cell from the heavens, culminating the attack.
The smoke dissipated relatively quickly due to the heavy rain. What it revealed was not what Itachi or any experienced shinobi would have expected to see. Cell was completely intact except for a few burns. An S-class elemental jutsu had done no damage to it at all.
Uchiha widened his eyes as he locked glances with the android. In a split second, Cell suddenly saw as the man replicated himself millions of times. Then, the man also began to run and float in every direction possible. And periodically, some of the replicates of his own body disappeared by themselves.
The android rubbed his eyes and shook his head, but whatever was going on around him did not stop. He even began to get dizzy, when he felt something akin to several spikes hit his arm directly.
He was finally snapped out of the genjutsu by the pain caused by a direct hit from Samehada. Itachi had picked up the legendary weapon from the corpse of his former partner, which now lay lifeless on a puddle of his own blood.
The sword had now freed itself from the bandages that kept its true appearance hidden. Unlike what would be expected from a blade, it was not made out of metal. Instead, it consisted of downward-facing scales all the way until its hilt. On the end of the blade, it possessed a mouth, which was now chewing on Cell's arm.
The android felt that some of his energy was being drained and sucked by the mouth of the sword, but he found it endearing more than anything else.
"Now that's an unusual sword. I'm very intrigued by you, so far."
Itachi's face remained focused and neutral. He pulled the sword back and then thrusted against the android. However, Cell simply stopped the sword with his bare hands. Even through the sharp scales that formed the sword, the creature pulled it off the man's hands and threw it away.
While on the floor, Samehada continued to twist to try and reach the green creature, as his energy had been especially tasty.
Cell smirked while he looked Uchiha straight in the eye. Those were clearly not regular eyes, not only because of the intense red color of the iris, but also because of the black patterns on them. He could also sense his energy, which despite not being impressive in its sheer magnitude, something about it felt special.
The three tomoe of the man's sharingan began to spin very quickly. This had an almost hypnotic effect on the android, who found himself unable to look away. And then, everything around him disappeared.
For a brief moment, he floated in an empty space, before being transported to a red dimension. He was sitting on his knees while his hands were tied to a wooden pillar right behind him. A massive stone structure was then dropped on his knees, before over a hundred copies of Itachi emerged from the shadows with blades on their hands.
One of the replicas took a step forward and raised his voice. Its intensity and echo almost made it feel as if he was a god.
"For the next 72 hours, the weight on your knees will get heavier and heavier, while we stab your back and ribs constantly."
When Cell finally recovered his senses and found himself back in the real world, he was in the exact same place at the exact same time. The rain was still soaking him and everything around him, while his body had no real injuries. However, he felt exhausted and some of the pain was still there.
But the pale man was nowhere to be seen. Only the other man's corpse and his sword, still twisting and turning on the ground. Apart from the rain, the only other sound that reached his ears was that of crows cawing.
"What the hell?" Were the only words that came to mind.
Perhaps he had grown weaker than he expected after losing his perfection and the androids. He would have to go back to his old ways.
He grabbed the lifeless corpse of the shark-like man by the neck and raised it. Cell was almost an entire head taller. He stripped his cloak off, and then let him fall back on the puddle of his blood.
He carefully analyzed the cloak, and saw that it only had the small holes caused by his beam, which he called the 'Perfect Shot'. It was certainly more than useful for hiding some of his appearance, especially after how negatively his previous two opponents had reacted. Even back when he first traveled to the past, he had been met with horrified expressions.
Cell put on the black cloak, and then buttoned it in the same fashion as its previous owner. He looked at himself in the reflection of the small puddles of water that resulted from the rain. It really matched him, or so thought the bio-android himself.
He turned to Samehada, and noticed that it was still fighting to get closer to him. This caused him some laughter. He grabbed Kisame's sash and put it over his cloak, in the exact same way as the shark-like man. Then, he took the sword and put it in place. The bandages he chose to leave behind, as it looked more menacing like that.
"We have something in common." Cell said as he remembered his days of absorbing people to get stronger. Now, he would probably have to return to such methods if he wanted to survive. "I have a feeling we might get along fairly well."
His long tail crawled slowly out of the cloak. It was green with several black spots on it, and at the end of it, there was a brown needle-like structure. Almost like a proboscis. It approached the corpse of the shark-like man, and then stabbed it with his tail. Through it, he began to absorb the dead body. Surprisingly, it still had an impressive amount of energy in it. So much so that the android had a small spasm once he finished.
Only the clothes of the man were left, while his body was nowhere to be seen.
"Ooh, that's a nice charge."