Capítulo 52: The New Filth
Naruto: Tales of Ashihara
Kakumei – Arc 2: The Curse of Time
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Chapter 52 – The new filth
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2 long months have passed since Sasuke Uchiha departed from Konoha again. After he left, supposedly heading to the land of Iron as he said to the Hokage, he didn't give any update on his situation for a whole month. And following these 30 silent days, all that Naruto has received from the wandering hero is a tiny bit of information about the Daitengu. "Sojobo is looking for new yamabushi.". That is all he wrote in his last message.
At least, the 7th Hokage knew how to react to this update. He and Chojuro, the new Mizukage, listed down every person that the Daitengu could be eyeing to use as hosts to his children. In Kiri, they noted everyone who already has a tengu. In the land of Fire, they noted Saori Minamoto, the last member of her family to still live in Ryuka, their original home village. They noted Ino Yamanaka as well, since she herself mentioned the genetic resemblance that her clan shares with the Minamoto family.
To prevent the Daitengu from reaching these potential targets, Naruto has put Ino's family under his personal protection. And about Saori Minamoto, he sent an elite of Konoha-nin to Ryuka, with the mission to protect the leader's mansion and its inhabitants. This team of 7 Jonin is directed by the leader of the Sarutobi clan and the Hokage's right-hand, Konohamaru.
It has now been 3 weeks since this squad arrived at the seaside village, and all that Konohamaru had to do so far was act as Saori Minamoto's personal bodyguard. The other members of his team, including Moegi Kazamatsuri and Udon Ise, just stood by the castle or the village's touristic beach to ensure security.
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Right now at the moment, the 3rd Hokage's grandson is simply chilling in the mansion, and chatting with the VIP he has to protect in her bedroom. The two of them are just sitting on the bed and drinking their morning coffee, while the rest of the Konoha-nin are guarding the mansion's surroundings. Konohamaru speaks of how pointless this mission has been until now.
"It is nothing against you, Lady Saori." he says. "It's just that it has been 3 weeks, and absolutely no sign of any enemy activity was found. Neither did any other target see anything suspicious."
"… It is true, but isn't this good news?" she asks. "I prefer being free and well than under attack."
"You're right, but… If it isn't useful to be here, I'd rather be by the Hokage's side." answers Konohamaru. "Not that I don't like this mission… I actually like this place a lot. But I'm a ninja. I'm not supposed to enjoy myself. I should be on serious duty."
"I understand, though personally, I still don't hate having you around." says the Minamoto lady.
Konohamaru doesn't answer, and just looks at her confused, not sure of what she means.
"I usually get bored of things really quickly, even if I like them. I really gotta love them strongly to not grow sick of it too fast." she explains. "After 3 weeks, I still enjoy your presence, Konohamaru… On the contrary, I've been leading this village for over 10 years now. And I can assure you that I liked it at first… But it took less than a year for me to grow bored of it. Right now, I really just want to find a good reason to leave this village, and pass its direction on to my brother."
Again, Konohamaru stays silent, at first. He stares at her, mesmerized by these words. He's confused by their meaning, but also surprised by how he can relate to them.
"What would be a good reason to drop the village?" he asks.
"I don't know… I could move to another village, or get married… or both." she suggests.
The Konoha-nin blushes a bit, and shyly looks away as he tries to connect the different pieces of her dialogue and starts to see messages he seems to make up to himself. After a brief silence to clear his mind. He relates to her words again.
"When I was younger I was focused on the goal to become Hokage." he says. "So I wanted to be the leader of my village… But I abandoned this dream when I realized how pointless my motivations had become. Back then, I just wanted to be regarded as more than just my grandpa's grandson by the villagers. To earn their recognition… But today, I actually take great pride from this family connection, and I'm far past being nothing but 'Lord Hokage's grandson'."
"Same…" says Saori. "At first, I gladly accepted the role to lead this place. I liked the place. I like the people. And I had all the help I needed to rule. But then I thought,… I may not be suited for this actually. I was mostly helped… A bit too much. Natsuri Yokawa from the hostel and others were, and still are, playing a way too important role in my leadership. What's the point for me to be there anymore, if I could just leave it to them?"
"Seriously? It's the same for me." adds Konohamaru. "I also thought… Compared to the current one, I'm not young enough to be the 8th. And why would I ever want to replace Naruto? It's not like anyone could properly succeed to him."
Saori takes a sip from her coffee cup and raises her eyes to gaze at the ninja. She passionately looks at him and recalls his last complaints in her mind, though it sounded more like admiration.
"Naruto Uzumaki is a great man, and a great leader for sure… But so are you, Konohamaru." she says. "To me, it seems like you would have been a great Hokage."
"Thanks… I hope you don't intend to ask me to take the lead of this village." he kids.
Just as he says this joke, he raises his hand and instinctively catches a sharp projectile that was aiming for his neck. He looks at the miniature kunai he just caught and follows the projectile's trajectory with his eyes, to the small window on the wall on his right. Saori notices the weapon in her bodyguard's hand, and follows his gaze to look at where it came from.
"Oh, We're finally under attack apparently." she says blankly.
Konohamaru looks back at her, unsettled by her emotionless reaction. Still holding the kunai, he gets serious and stands up to see through the small window. At this moment, the door of their room abruptly opens, and Udon steps in.
"Konohamaru, an intruder tried to penetrate the castle." he yells. "He's being handled by the team right now."
"Well, we're finally there for a reason." remarks Konohamaru. "A weapon just flew in, coming from there, aiming for me." he adds, pointing his finger to the window. "Udon, go find who threw this projectile!"
"Copy that!" says Udon, who disappears right on the spot.
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Outside of the mansion, in front of the gate, a young boy with long black hair covering half of his face steps back. Having just failed to infiltrate the place, he gets frustrated. In his mind, a voice speaks.
"Akiko, leave now!" it says.
"Oh no, I'm not doing that, Daitengu." answers the boy in his mind.
"Retreat! This is an order. If you go now, your mission can remain a secret." yells Sojobo. "Staying is taking the risk to reveal your affiliations and objectives."
In front of Akiko, 5 ninjas of Konoha stand between the door and him. One of them steps forward, 3 others stay in range, and Moegi stays behind for now. The closest one looks at the intruder confusedly.
"But… You look like you're just 10 years old!" the ninja remarks.
"11 now, bitch!" yells the boy, preparing to totally ignore the Daitengu's directive and go on with this encounter.
He jumps forward to the ninja who just underestimated his age and tries to kick him in the face. The Konoha-nin dodges and tries to grab the kid's leg as it flies by, but Akiko lowers it first. The ninja still manages to get a hold on this intruder, by firmly catching on his forearm right before he attempts to punch him in the balls.
As he's being held down, the Yamanaka boy thinks it's time to show off his new powers. With his other hand he pretends to try to free himself at first, but actually joins them together. With his hands hidden under a pair of sleeve-like gloves covering them, he performs a few hand signs.
Shi no Tatchi
Rapidly after he's done with the hand seals, he holds on the ninja's arm with his free hand, and causes him to collapse instantly, as some sort of black mist emits from his palm.
Shocked, the 3 ninjas standing behind take a step back, and gaze at each other, seeking for support. All together, unsure of what just happened to their colleague, they get in rank to all stand on a single line with the boy, who stands back to the sun before them.
He joins his hands again and performs two consecutive series of hand signs, still hidden by his gloves. He surrounds his whole body with the same black mist that was released from his palms, and hovers off the ground. In a single leap forward, carried by the dark fog, he passes through all three ninjas, who stand completely still, unable to move. He grabs the last one's face when he reaches him and pushes his face against the ground, just as the two others drop dead on the floor behind him.
Konohamaru and Saori arrive to look at the scene from a balcony, just in time to see the 3 ninjas fall dead. Saori looks at the kid surrounded in black mist and gasps in shock, recognizing something from her past. Konohamaru turns around to see her worried face and waits for her to explain.
"I know this fog." she says, in a startled voice. "It's my father's black jar. Akashita. A tengu who can kill with just a touch."
"Does this mean that my colleagues are dead?" asks Konohamaru, unable to believe what he just heard.
Meanwhile, Moegi steps forward as the last one standing against the kid. She fearlessly, but carefully engages him in a hand to hand fight, to which Akiko confidently compels. Only a few seconds suffice for the kid to understand that he's at a disadvantage. Trying to escape this pointless fight he takes a little step backward, leaving just enough time for Moegi to set a trap.
Doton – Dorojigoku
The soil under Akiko's feet crawls up his legs and condenses to immobilize him. Trapped in short range, he acts to free himself and joins his hands, still free to perform a new jutsu, with signs hidden in his gloves.
Shinranshin
With his hands pointing at Moegi, he troubles her mind and causes her to stumble and loosen the hold of her dirt trap. Free from this hindrance, he covers his hands in black mist again and leaps forward to grab the kunoichi by the shoulders and face, attempting to end her life as easily as he did for the 4 other ninjas.
Fortunately, Konohamaru interferes in time. He jumps from the balcony and kicks Akiko in the face to push him away before his hands can land anywhere on Moegi. Carefully, the Sarutobi grabs and holds on one of the kid's gloves as he falls to forcibly take it off.
The Konoha-nin turns around to check on Moegi. She is alive, but seems like passed out. She wasn't touched, but still inhaled a tiny bit of this black mist. Konohamaru looks at Akiko, who's getting up. Back at the mansion, he shouts to Saori, to get some intel about this ability.
"Saori, getting touched by his mist-covered hand means I die…" he says. "… But what if I just breathe it in?"
"Um… It depends on how much you inhale." Saori answers, feeling at duty. "It takes away some of your life energy, but not entirely."
"So, Moegi who just swallowed a little bit of it… What'll happen to her?"
"… If it's really just a bit of it, she's just passed out. She'll wake up soon and well."
"Okay. So I just need to keep a bit of distance for your jutsu to become ineffective…" Konohamaru remarks, staring at the kid who's standing in front of him. "Let's say… A staff distance."
Kuchiyose – Kongonyoi
He summons a meter and half long adamantine staff, like the one the 3rd Hokage used. Akiko looks, pissed off, at the ninja who got in his way. Joining his two hands again he makes another hand sign that Konohamaru, who uncovered one of the boy's hands, tries to recognize.
Kagemane – Shikon
Around him, the 4 defeated ninjas suddenly stand up and hurry all together to attack Konohamaru. Konhamaru receives them and fights them off with his weapon. While he puts them down one after another with not too much difficulty, he carefully analyzes their behavior and surroundings. He couldn't identify the jutsu used by just the hand signs, so he's trying to find other clues. There he catches one, just as he knocks down the last one, he notices something strange with his shadow. It seems like it's connected to the other moving corpses.
Kage Shibari
Just when he understands it, he's caught on by it and finds himself paralyzed. This kid actually uses the Nara clan's shadow paralysis. This is why the 3 ninjas from earlier couldn't dodge his dash forward with the black mist. With his back to the sun, Akiko actually had them all three stepping in his shadow and paralyzed them using the Nara secret jutsu.
The corpses suddenly moving is probably also due to the Shadow Manipulation, even though this shouldn't be possible. But he understands it too late, he fell victim to that same jutsu already, and behind the last dead body dropping to the floor, he sees Akiko jumping to his face, ready to take his life with a touch.
With the little movement he can still do, he loosens his hold on the adamant stick he's holding and lets it fall. Before the kid reaches him, the staff suddenly turns back to its original form: Enma, the Monkey King. The summon violently kicks him away as soon as here.
"To summon me in a fight against a simple kid…" complains the white monkey. "How shameless, young Sarutobi."
"This ain't just a kid, Enma." explains Konohamaru, now free from the paralysis jutsu. "He has one of the Minamoto clan's tengu."
"Whatever… Let's just finish this quick." says Enma as he transforms back into his staff form.
Akiko stands up again, angry about this ninja's resistance. In his mind, the Daitengu calls again.
"Retreat, boy!" he yells. "You've been foolish enough already. You can't win. Leave before revealing anymore information!"
"AAAHH! Where's Meinu when you need her?" yells the kid, too stubborn to accept the Daitengu's order and admit defeat.
With a new series of hand signs, he gathers black mist around his hands, and he makes a second series that Konohamaru recognizes.
Futon – Daitoppa
With a wind bullet, he propels the black mist on his hands forward to his enemy, who is already prepared to react.
Futon – Rasengan
Konohamaru quickly prepares a Rasengan in one hand and uses it to repulse the black mist away before it can reach him. The wind push of his jutsu dispels the black cloud and reaches Akiko, sending him flying many meters back through the streets. Right after he lands on his knees, Akiko immediately prepares a new jutsu that Konohamaru recognizes again by just the hand signs.
Shintenshin no Jutsu
Akiko now attempts to use a Yamanaka jutu, but the Sarutobi spins the adamant staff in his hand really fast to stop the enemy mind from entering his body. This way, he would interfere and dispel the jutsu, but surprisingly, he still sees the kid drop asleep as if his spell functioned. Konohamaru is still conscious, but not Akiko. This must mean that this mind body transfer wasn't aimed at him. He turns around to see who's body could have been taken, but too late.
Saori jumps down the balcony she was standing on and hurries to reach Moegi, who's still passed out on the ground. Konohamaru runs to stop her, but he reacts too late. Akiko, controlling the Minamoto princess's body, lifts Moegi up and holds her at knife point, with a kunai on her neck. The same kunai that was sent flying in the bedroom earlier. Konohamaru freezes, afraid of what might happen.
"That's it! Freeze, asshole!" yells Akiko with Saori's voice. "Drop the staff and let me go, or I'll slit this bitch's throat!"
Konohamaru stands still, and thinks of a way out. He finds none. This kid already showed a really effective reaction span. Out-speeding might not be possible. And if he takes too long to undo the summoning of Enma, he'll get impatient.
"Don't do this, boy!" yells the Monkey King, still in his staff form. "It is obviously a trap. As soon as you're unarmed, he'll slit her throat anyway and will come for you."
Konohamaru doesn't answer, and thinks. He looks at the kid, and guesses that his goal is probably to run away with Saori's body. His mission must be to kidnap her.
"Shut the hell up! Fucking dollar store Son Goku!" yells Akiko, stressed. "And you! Hurry up or I'll kill her!"
Konohamaru stands still for a moment but not too much. He looks at Moegi and notices her slightly opening an eye. She must be conscious, but pretends to be asleep, to trick her enemy. He contains his reaction and waits to be sure of it. Suddenly he sees her blink an eye at him. Immediately, he takes it as a signal.
"Sorry, Sir Enma, but I can't trade lives." he says as he undoes the summoning of the staff.
Akiko squints, unsettled by how easy it seemed. He understands that the ninja must have found an advantage, or that he's set a trap. Looking for clues about what he is missing, he realizes that his hostage is just pretending. Ready to slit her throat, his hand is stopped, as Moegi holds it still. She leans her head forward and prepares to headbutt the controlled Minamoto. But Akiko reacts soon enough. He throws Moegi forward and out of range, and leans his head backwards to reduce the chance of being hit even more.
When he puts his head back straight up, he's greeted with a powerful punch to the nose by Konohamaru who fists Saori down. As she falls unconscious, the Konoha-nin catches her hand before she hits the ground and holds her against him.
"Ah! I'm really sorry Lady Saori!" he says, panicking.
"Great!" says Moegi who stands up. "There should be two of them. That kunai here wasn't thrown by this kid earlier. So where's the other one?"
Konohamaru leaves Saori carefully lying on the ground, stands up and turns around to see the unconscious true body of Akiko lying down on the streets a few meters away. Having just been put down while using Shintenshin, his real body must have felt the same pain and is therefore as passed out as Saori.
"I've sent Udon after the other attacker." he says.
Suddenly, he and Moegi are surprised by a gas bomb that is thrown at their feet and unleashes a gas cloud that covers their sight.
Rasengan
Konohamaru reacts quickly and dispels the cloud with a chakra orb. When his vision is clear again, he notices that Saori's body disappeared from where it was lying. Looking around, he turns back to see the kid again, and sees a young woman carrying Saori on her shoulder, fleeing towards Akiko's body.
She's a fully black dressed girl with one only sleeve, sealed around her right arm. As she's running away, He guesses that she must be the one who threw the kunai earlier. Before he can do anything, Udon, who was already engaged in a pursuit with her, takes action.
Doton – Moguragakure
Emerging from the ground right under the girl, he grabs one of her feet with one hand, one of Saori's with the other. He pulls on Saori and throws her away from the kidnapper that he slams into the ground. Udon lands straight on the ground, standing between Saori's body and the girl. She rolls a few meters away and stands up.
"Oh! Well done, Udon!" salutes Konohamaru. "To ambush the undercover enemy right when he reveals himself! That's great!"
Udon doesn't answer and just pulls out a sword from a scabbard attached to the back of his flak jacket, ready to fight the young girl.
"You look very young too, but not as much as your partner… I'd say not over 17." he guesses.
"Bingo!" answers Meinu, who's exactly just 17 now, as she stands up after checking on Akiko who's right behind her.
She puts her left hand in her hair and pulls out a short dagger from there. She leaps forward and tries to fight Udon off. They collide their weapons many times, and Kiss keeps changing hands, which Udon doesn't fail to notice. While her weapon is in her left hand, he hits her left arm with his elbow, forcing it up and out of action. Unarmed, she throws her short blade from one hand to another.
Before she can catch the weapon with her right hand, Udon holds her sleeve and lets his shoulders roll around her right arm. He ends up back to her with her arm trapped under his, and lowers his blade flat against his own chest, trying to cut her arm off. Just as the blade rips through her sealed sleeve, she suddenly pulls back her arm at incredible speed, too fast to be seen, causing her sleeve to tear off from her clothes, but saving her limb.
She leaps back and gets on her knees, next to Akiko's sleeping body. She stares, like extremely bothered, at her naked right arm and the small cut on her biceps.
"Well, now it has to stay like that." she says, sorrily about her arm.
Udon slowly steps closer. Unsure of what she just meant, he ignores. He points his sword forward, under her neck. She looks up, tiredly, with her eyes appearing full of regret and fear.
"I'm done playing, mister ninja." she says, in a confusing tone, mixed between flirting and begging.
Udon analyzes her, finding this defeatist behavior suspicious. He looks at her face that looks as sincere as possible, and checks the surroundings to see that she has absolutely no weapons in range, except for the ninja pocket strapped around her right thigh, like most ninjas have. He gently slits this pocket off and throws it away with the tip of his blade.
She doesn't seem to complain about this, and is rather surrendering for real. Now sure that she's not dangerous anymore, he lowers his sword and lets her innocent face trick him.
"Me too. Who are you?" he answers while reaching out for her with his hand.
"Just call me Meinu." she says as she raises her arm to catch on Udon's.
Unexpectedly, and in a movement too fast to be countered, Meinu has a sword that emerges from her now naked right arm's skin. With this arm's hand, she catches the sword's handle that's propelled to her and promptly stabs through Udon's chest with the blade.
Udon feels this sudden pain and looks down to see the sword through his body. Moegi and Konohamaru yell in panic while he stares confused and surprised at the wound. Meinu looks just as confused as her victim, as if she wasn't even the one who just did this. She lets go of the sword's handle. Taking advantage of the confusion, she throws herself back to Akiko, and uses another gas bomb that she pulls out from her cleavage to hide her movements.
Shunshin
When the mist settled, the mercenary girl and the boy disappeared. Udon stands still with the weapon through his body, doing his best to stay conscious, but uncontrollably falls back due to the shock. Moegi runs off to get him, as hitting the ground could cause the blade to move abruptly. Konohamaru runs forward too, but goes to check on Saori first, seeing that Moegi got Udon for now.
The Sarutobi analyzes the VIP, and deduces that she's just a bit hurt, and will eventually wake up perfectly fine. Moegi does the same with her friend's wound, still with the weapon going through.
"Tha-That was naive of me." Udon comments, breathlessly.
"Don't talk. If the blade moves in any way, you'll lose all your blood and die in seconds." Moegi says, full of panic. "What should we do?"
Konohamaru stares fearfully at his friend on the verge of death. He remains calm and serious, and tries to think of a way to save him. He looks down at Saori who seems like she's just peacefully sleeping. Gently, he rubs her cheek with the back of his hand as one only idea comes to his mind to get out of this situation.
"We have to head back to Konoha." he says firmly. "We should bring Saori with us. We now have confirmation that she's the Daitengu's target. We need to bring her to safety."
"What about Udon?" Moegi complains.
"… We have to bring him back too, and quick. We'll get him to the Hokage."
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End of Chapter 52 – Next Chapter: Konohamaru's love story
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