章節 15: Chapter 15: Persona Part II
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
"Hmm…."- Bijuu
Chapter 15:
Persona Part II
Naruto calmly waited for his turn as he waited in line to check in with the guards who were checking the entire convoy before anyone of them could enter the superpower that was the village of Kumo. The blond could feel that the guards, as well as the hidden ones, were watching him in particular. Not that he could blame them. Wearing the cloak did make him the most shady one of the group. Some part of him wanted to punch himself for ever thinking of wearing the thing. But it did serve the purpose of shielding his looks. The blond Uzumaki didn't want for anyone to remember him later on down the line. That would be too problematic. Besides, it wasn't like he was carrying any weapons. He had left the Hiraishin kunai with the clones that were still trying to decipher how to make the damn thing work in Mount Myoboku. It was the safest place for them to do so. Also, he had Fukasaku teaching a small group of clones the basics of fuinjutsu and to see if he knew how to make the kunai work. But once again, the whole thing had been a slow process. Then again, it had only been two days so far since he had been working on it. He couldn't lose faith. And finally, wearing the cloak did make him look cooler, if that was even possible, just like Saiken had said.
"Oh! Going to infiltrate Kumo. Looks fun," Saiken said in his usual cheery tone. It also seemed that it was the first time that the bijuu had bothered to see what Naruto was really up to in the past two days.
Naruto smiled at hearing the bijuu. 'Not as exciting as you may think. I mean, all I'm doing is waiting in line right now.' He finished by taking a few steps up as the merchant in front of him was called up. Naruto really did understand why they were taking all these precautions. But still. It was sooooo boring to wait for them to finally call him up. Because really, he was harmless.
Son Goku snorted at that. "Harmless? Right. And Shukaku doesn't love senseless slaughter."
There was an echo of laughter from somewhere in Naruto's mind followed by what sounded like "Oh yeah, baby!"
Naruto didn't need to think hard about who had been responsible for that. Cause really, it was obvious.
"Just keep a calm head," Matatabi said in a soothing voice. "Nothing good will come of you getting too anxious about this. Trust me."
If there was something that Naruto had learned these past three days, it was that Matatabi was the nicest out of the bunch. Well, other than Saiken. But the bijuu was simply cheerful. The nice that Naruto was talking about was the encouraging kind. No matter what, Naruto already knew that he could count on Matatabi to help him keep calm. Yugito had been lucky to have had the bijuu at her side all right.
Thinking of the blonde jinchuriki made a thought suddenly appear itself in Naruto's head.
'Oh yeah! Aren't the "original" Matatabi and Gyuki here already?'
"We are," Gyuki confirmed. "Matatabi and I have been in Kumo ever since the current ninja system was adapted. But we aren't sealed in anyone around this time. Well, I wasn't. I don't know about Matatabi."
"Neither was I," Matatabi replied. "If I remember correctly, they had never tried to seal me into anyone before Yugito because of the rampages you used to cause."
Gyuki had the decency to chuckle uneasily. "Sorry about that. But I really wasn't too fond of the idea of getting sealed into humans. The first one saw me as nothing more than filth. After that, I didn't bother to try and get to know the others. I figured that all humans were the same. At least, that was how it went until I met Bee."
"Yes, despite his terrible sense of rapping, I am grateful to him for having done that. I was at least able to meet Yugito because of that," Matatabi said.
'Sounds like you four had a great relationship,' Naruto commented with a small smile.
"We did," Matatabi replied. "But Yugito and I were only able to get along because of Gyuki and Bee. I wasn't in the fondest of moods back then since I had been sealed away for so long. It wasn't until Gyuki talked to me that I decided to give Yugito a chance. I didn't regret it. She was a wonderful girl. Her time came too quickly."
'Well, we'll just have to make sure that that future doesn't come to pass,' Naruto said with conviction. 'That goes for the rest of the jinchuriki too. They were all victims of Obito's scheme. Except that now things won't happen that way.'
"Some of them are alive already," Son Goku said. "I know for a fact that Roshi is already. So is Han too, right, Kokuo?"
"Yes, if I remember correctly," Kokuo spoke up in a thoughtful tone. "But I don't think I've been sealed into him just yet. Either way, they're not going to be your allies, Naruto. I know for a fact that Han was loyal to Iwa and its leader."
"So was Roshi until he left," Son Goku added.
'Don't worry, the whole point of all of this is to make them all come together. Roshi and Han…we'll get through to them somehow. When we meet them anyway. Right now, we have to focus on what's happening in front of us.'
"Speaking of which, it's your turn, brat," Kurama said, bringing Naruto's attention back to the real world. And just like the bijuu had said, it was his turn to be inspected. Walking calmly to the two guards, Naruto felt his confident rise as he stopped in front of them. Cause really, he had nothing to hide…aside from being a time traveler…and housing all the bijuu…..and the fact that-okay, so maybe he did have a lot of things to hide. But still. They weren't necessarily bad things. Also, he wasn't planning on doing anything bad either.
It was Kurama's turn to snort. "Plan? You never plan anything. You only go with the flow."
Exactly!…..wait, had the furball just insulted him? Agh, whatever. He would worry about it later if he could remember to.
"Name," one of the guards simply said in a gruff voice. It was obvious to anyone that he wasn't particularly enjoying his job.
'Okay, so they get straight to the point,' Naruto thought before answering, "My name is Daisuke Sora. I'm traveling alone."
The bijuu, excluding for Saiken, had had a little contest to see what name their blond companion was going to use as his alias while staying in Kumo. Of course, Kurama had suggested a battle royale right off the bat with the winner having his name used. Shukaku had seconded that until Matatabi scolded them both into submission. By the end of it, Shukaku had taken to sulking in a little corner. It was then that Isobu had suggested that they simply play rock paper scissors. The only problem had been that Chomei didn't actually have any hands. Even Isobu did, despite them actually being legs. Point was that he could use them. Isobu had then suggested that Chomei could simply use one tail for paper, two tails for rock, and three tails for scissors. The rest had agreed, Kurama and Shukaku begrudgingly so. And in the end Chomei had won, who had picked "Sora" because it meant sky and since he could fly…..well, it fit. As a side note, Naruto realized that the bijuu were far from being unintelligent. It appeared as if the Sennin had taught them all lots of things before he perished. And after that, they simply continued to learn from the hosts that they were forcefully sealed into.
The two guards were obviously taken back by how young Naruto sounded. They looked between each other before the one who had asked the question from before said, "So you're alone then. Hmm and how old are you exactly?"
"Nine," Naruto answered without missing a beat. Of course, he still had several months before he "technically" turned nine again, but he could at least pass for a year older than what his body technically was right now. It would make his situation at least a bit better. Although it wasn't that grand of a change from being an eight year old boy traveling alone either. But the blond would rely sorely on his wits for this one.
"Nine!" the guard repeated in shock. It was a sentiment that was shared with his fellow Kumo shinobi as well as the hidden ones that had been watching the caravan for the last couple of miles. Naruto sensed the sudden spike in chakra from them, which was all that he needed to deduce that little detail.
"What are you doing here traveling all by yourself?" the other guard asked while scratching the back of his head. It seemed as if the fact that Naruto was just a little kid was enough to make them less cautious of him and the fact that he was hiding his looks.
"Because my parents asked me to run a little errand for them," Naruto replied in a cheery tone. It would be better if he didn't act like he was feeling down about it. Also, it wasn't a complete lie. If he wanted to stretch the facts far enough, he could say that his father wanted for him to master an extremely advance time-space ninjutsu that would one day win Konoha the Third Shinobi War. But he wasn't about to tell them that.
"What does your family do?"
"They run a small shop. We don't have enough money to hire anyone else to come buy the supplies we need, and my mom can't leave my dad alone running the place alone, and neither can my dad."
"And they would just send you alone here to do this?" Naruto could detect a hint of suspicion entering the guard's tone at the question. Not that the blond could blame him. But having thought of this ahead of time, Naruto answered, "Yes. But they know several of the people that I'm traveling with. So they trusted them to get me here safely." To emphasize his point, Naruto turned around to wave to one of the merchants that he had befriended. Said merchant noticed him from the line that he was still standing in and waved at him back with a small smile. This had the positive effect of easing the guard's suspicions. At the same time, though, Naruto knew that the guard could ask the merchant if it was true. Thankfully enough, the merchant was in one of the other lines and not to be seen by the two guards that Naruto had to deal with. Combined with the fact that he was just a kid with no weapons, the guards would no doubt let the matter drop which in turn would secure the blond's safe passage into the village without causing a ruckus. As a side note, the blond knew that he would soon need to start mastering those combined infiltration techniques with the toads that Fukasaku had been telling him to do so for the past couple of days. It was one of the other reasons why Jiraiya had been a top notch infiltrator in the future. Or so the toad had told him. But with trying to figure out the Hiraishin, Naruto had put that to the back of his list for the time being. He would worry about it after all of this was done. Besides, in using such a method, there were a lot more risks once he was inside than the one that he was currently using.
After that, things went smoothly. The guards simply asked him a few more questions such as what he was buying and how long he intended to stay in the village. The merchants that had been in the caravan expected to stay for five days or so in order to have the proper time to sell their merchandise and trade with other sellers and buyers in Kumo. Naruto figured that his business in Kumo would be done by then, so he told them that he would be leaving with them. Even if he wasn't going to, it was the answer that he needed to give in order for the guards not to become suspicious again.
Once he had gotten past the checkpoint and inside the village, Naruto could tell that no one was watching him anymore. Which was good. It was annoying to keep sensing someone else spying on you without you being able to do anything about it.
At any rate, Naruto was quite proud of himself as he walked through the village streets. His infiltration had been a complete success! It was just one of the many reasons that made him so badass.
He heard Kurama snort in amusement at that.
Eh, what did the furball know? He was only jealous. Putting the self gratifying thoughts aside for the moment, Naruto focused on his next order of business. And that was finding the blacksmith that would forge the kunais that he needed. During the day before the blond had left, he had Haru draw him a detailed sketch of what he needed. The boy was talented with things like that too. And yes, that meant that he had indeed shown the two Uzumaki the weapon. It went without saying that the two had been beyond excited about seeing the weapon. Not that Naruto could blame them. He felt the exact same way.
"Naruto-kun," Matatabi spoke up, "this is your first time in Kumo correct?"
'It is,' Naruto answered. 'And even if it wasn't, I'm pretty sure that things would be different from how they are in my time.'
"Of course they would be!" Son Goku said with some chuckles. "Gyuki did go in quite a bit of rampages through the place throughout the years. And here I always thought you were the most calm headed one out of all of us. Other than Matatabi anyway."
"You try being sealed away in the Old man's pot for a long time with your first contact with another living entity being a human who disregards you as a mindless beast from the beginning," was the eight tail's response.
"Point taken," Son Goku said with a sigh. "Even I would be pissed after that." And he would know. All of his jinchurikis had been the same way. Even Roshi. Although the old bearded idiot hadn't been as bad as some of the others. The major problem that Son Goku had had with the man had been that he had never bothered to learn Son Goku's real name. While the old man had never treated him a mindless beast, he hadn't gone as far as to treat him like an equal being either. At the very least, Son Goku knew that Roshi had changed his mind during the last time they had talked during the war with the rest of the jinchuriki. And it was because of that that Son Goku would always consider the old fool his first true host.
"You're correct, Naruto-kun," Matatabi said, moving the conversation along. "Even I can already see the differences of the village. But I do know of one man who would be the best candidate to help you with what you seek."
'Seriously!?' Naruto replied in excitement. 'But wait, how would you know something like that?'
"She knows about him through Yugito who went to him because of Bee," Gyuki answered for Matatabi, already guessing just who his brother was talking about. "He's the one that forged Bee's eight blades. But he's probably only a teenager at best at this point, Matatabi."
"Oh, I know," Matatabi said. Noticing how Naruto was about to question how he was going to help him then, Matatabi added, "But the one I'm talking about is his father. During one of the times that Yugito went to him in order to get some new kunais, he mentioned how his father had been a great blacksmith back in the day, even better than him. Apparently it's been the family business for some time."
'I'm surprised you can recall something like that,' Naruto said with some gratitude in his voice. It made his search that much easier, after all.
"Matatabi has always been like that," Kurama answered. "I don't know why, but he's always been the one to recall even the smallest of details out of all of us."
"That's because I consider everything to be important since there's no telling when it could come in handy," was the bijuu's explanation. "You, Kurama, only like to see the big things sometimes. What you fail to realize is that the big picture is always made of smaller ones."
Naruto chuckled at hearing Kurama being told by Matatabi. It was a funny thing, hearing all the bijuu bicker among themselves like regular people. It was something that the Uzumaki kept noticing more and more. Not that he should be surprised. Apparently the bijuu had all been together for several years after the Sennin's death. They had chosen to hide themselves in one of the temples that the Sennin had built. In those years, they had had forged bonds with one another as regular siblings. They had gotten to know each other quite well. At least, that was how it had been until the Sennin's oldest son had come into the picture. From what they had told him, the man had come to the temple in search for them in order to wield them in combat as his weapons. In retaliation, the bijuu had tried to fend the man off but apparently he possessed the perfect Mangekyo sharingan by that point and had managed to snare them all until Kurama was able to sacrifice himself in order to let the others escape. After that, the bijuu had scattered all throughout the world until the Shodai Hokage rounded them all up again. During that time, however, Kurama had already become bitter towards the others since none of them had bothered to come rescue him from the clutches of the first son's descendants. Apparently, Kurama had been on the receiving end of being snared under the sharingan's control throughout the years with Madara having had been the most recent one as well as the most ruthless one. It was another reason why Kurama detested the Uchiha clan with a passion. It was also because of that that the other bijuu had stayed away. They feared that if they tried anything, they would end the same way as Kurama had. Worst case scenario being that they would all be brought together as one under the Juubi yet again.
Naruto stopped his reminiscing as Gyuki spoke. "If that's the case, then his shop should still be in the same place as in the future."
'Then let us go!' Naruto thought with a shout.
In the back of his mind, he also swore that he would never let them go through the same thing again. Even if it was Sasuke.
Naruto stood in front of the weapon store that Matatabi and Gyuki had directed him to. Apparently it was a small shop compared to some of the other ones that he had spotted along the way, but he would trust the judgment of the two bijuu. After all, this was where they were from. If anything, they knew the most about the area than anyone of them, especially Naruto considering that he had never even set foot in Kumo before.
Walking inside, Naruto came face to face with an array of different weapons, some hung along the walls like different types of blades while others being encased along shelves like shurikens and kunais. Standing behind the counter was a bald dark skinned man with an impressive built. He also had what seemed like a black lightning tattoo running down through his right eye. His dark eyes lit up at seeing him.
"Ah, a customer. How may I be of a service to you?"
Removing his hood, Naruto wasn't surprised to see the man's face become surprised at seeing someone so young as him in a weapon store. But to the blond's own surprise, the look disappeared a second later. Instead, the man's look of friendliness from before remained in place once more.
"I'm looking to see if you could make me a set of special kunais according to some…..special modifications."
If he was surprised at what Naruto wanted, he didn't show it. Instead, he said, "Sure. But what kind of modifications are you talking about?"
Reaching into his cloak, Naruto pulled out the sketch diagram that Haru had made for him. "These kinds."
Taking the paper from him, the man began to read through all the notes that were there along with the diagram. "This is quite detailed," the man commented. "Did you do this yourself?"
Naruto shook his head in amusement. "No, a friend did. I'm actually not that skilled in doing stuff like that." Like, seriously. Naruto wondered just why the boy was so why. From everything that he had seen already, the boy was talented. Like, seriously so. Naruto could only wonder how strong the boy would be once he was an adult.
"It'll take some time," the man said after a few moments of silence. "There are quite a few things that will have to be done. Not to mention the metal that you want isn't so cheap."
Thankful that the man wasn't speaking to him like a brat, Naruto asked, "Just how long would it take?"
"That depends," he said, his eyes going to him. "Just how many of these do you want?"
Naruto hummed for a moment, considering the many options running through his head. At the moment, he didn't plan on doing any intense fighting. But just in case things turned sour, and with his luck it was likely to happen, he would need to have some in stock where it wouldn't matter if he lost some or if some were destroyed.
Nodding to himself, he finally answered, "Somewhere around forty five I would have to say."
The man raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh? And just tell me one other thing: just who are these for exactly? I can't actually have a small boy running around with something this dangerous."
Naruto smirked at hearing that. And here he had been waiting for when the man would ask him that. "Don't worry. I wouldn't be here if I didn't know just how dangerous this weapon is. So you have nothing to worry about. I'm not going to accidentally stab myself or anything."
The man shook his head. "You're quite the odd boy, aren't you?"
"It's Sora."
The man smiled as he said, "Well, you can call me Ichiro, Sora. And considering the quantity that you want, it's going to take me a week at least to get them all done. I do have some other jobs that I'm already currently working on already. So-"
"I'm going to need them a little faster than that," Naruto interrupted. "Is there any way that you can make it happen in five days?"
Ichiro hummed for a few moments. "I suppose if I pull some all nighters and if I were to only work on your request, then yes. But that would cost a bit extra."
"Money is not a problem," Naruto said instantly. He already had the blank check that Haru had given him. While some part of him did feel bad about basically robbing from Kenji, he did need this. And fast.
"I see," Ichiro said while rubbing his chin. After a few more moments, he finally said, "All right. I'll have it done in five days. You can come by to pick them up then as well as for the payment."
"All right then," Naruto said in return with a smile. "I'll be seeing you then, Ichiro-ojii-san."
One of the man's eyebrows twitched at the sudden nickname as Naruto walked out of his shop. He wasn't that old yet, dammit.
"You really don't know a thing about respect, do you?" Gyuki asked with some amusement in his tone.
"Consider those titles the brat's way of saying that he actually respects you," Kurama said before Naruto had the chance to answer. "He's only ever used it on those that are close to him. Heck, he called his teacher Ero-Sennin from the beginning. Not that it wasn't accurate, but that's another story altogether."
Saiken laughed at hearing that. "It's for the best! Being all formal only makes you get all grouchy. It happened with Utakata and Kurama. I don't want to see it happen to Naruto too."
'Kurama? Formal? Pfft, right!' Naruto couldn't keep his laugh contained at the thought. 'The furball is nowhere close to being formal.'
"That's because the only one I get to talk to is an idiotic blond who doesn't know a single thing about strategic planning."
Naruto shrugged at the insult. 'Big deal. Planning a hundred steps ahead is Shikamaru's thing. And there's no fun in that. It's better to improvise. It's the best way to get the rush!'
"He's right, you know," Son Goku said with a nod. "Making all kinds of preparations beforehand takes the fun out of the fight."
"Don't encourage him," Kurama grumbled.
'Relax, Kurama,' Naruto said with a smile. 'I'm only kidding. Well, mostly. I mean, I'm nowhere near Shikamaru in the smart department. I know that. But even I know that it doesn't hurt to have some sort of strategy beforehand.'
"So what do you plan on doing for now, brat?" Son Goku asked with curiosity. Kurama had made sure that he and the others couldn't go back to napping, so he at least wanted to see if he there was something interesting he could look forward to. Cause if not, then he would just find a way to sneak off and join Shukaku in napping since the one tailed racoon was the only one who was able to get away with it.
"You should look for a place to stay for the time being," Kokuo advised.
"He's right," Matatabi added.
Naruto hummed for a few moments, mulling the idea in his head before shaking his head. 'Not yet. I can find a hotel or something whenever I can. So no. There's something that I've been planning on doing ever since you guys told me that Gyuki and Matatabi are here.'
"Oh no," Kurama groaned. "Please don't tell me you're about to go off and do something stupid again."
'What's the matter, furball?' Naruto said with a smirk. 'And here I thought you were always up for a little mayhem.'
Saiken chuckled. "It seems that now that we're all here, he has to be the responsible one. But seriously, that's lame. Leave that to Matatabi or Gyuki. We should have fun instead!"
"I swear, you're going to be the death of us someday," Kokuo said with a sigh.
Saiken huffed at that. "Don't be like that, brother. Besides, we can't die…..forever. We can always come back."
"He's right," Son Goku added, backing up Saiken.
"Just what do you plan on doing?" Gyuki asked, letting the other three argue among themselves.
'I want to speak to the Matatabi and Gyuki of this time,' Naruto answered without hesitation.
"If that's the case, then we can always contact them," Matatabi said in a hopeful tone. "There's no need for you to endanger yourself. After all, the village regards us as one of their top priorities. The place will be awfully protected."
"That's the thing, though, we can't," Kurama stated with an annoyed voice. "I've tried it before."
'Try what now?' Naruto said in a confused tone. 'Just what are you talking about?'
"Don't you remember when you talked with all the bijuu and their jinchuriki during your fight with them?"
'Yeah.'
"Well, it's something only we bijuu can do among themselves like I told you. We can communicate with one another no matter where or how far away from one another we are. But we never really used it so…..'
'So what you're basically saying is that you've been contacting the other bijuu of this time since the beginning?' Naruto asked, connecting the dots on his own.
"Try is more like it," Kurama corrected with a sigh. "For whatever reason, I haven't been successful. And I didn't think that something like that would be important since I figured that we would be stuck in Uzu for some time. And then maybe by then I would be able to actually contact them, so there would be no need to tell you. Guess I was wrong."
"But if what you're saying is true, then Naruto won't be able to speak to them either," Gyuki said, adding his own analysis of the situation. "Meaning that you shouldn't even attempt to sneak into where we're being kept, Naruto."
Naruto frowned at hearing all of this. While what they were saying did have some merit, he still wanted to try nonetheless. He didn't want to let the two keep feeling like there was no hope for them. Not only that, but he really didn't want for Gyuki to continue with all of his rampages. It just wouldn't be right. But at the same time, if he stopped that, it could have some major consequences for the future. Like Bee not being jinchuriki. But who cared? Naruto was already trying to change many different things about the future. This way, a lot more people would be saved, and Bee wouldn't have to go through what he had.
"Oi, Kurama, I have a question," Isobu said, suddenly joining the conversation.
"And what's that?"
"When was the last time that you tried to contact them?" he asked.
Kurama paused at hearing the question. After a few moments, he answered, "Just before that little run in with that puppeteer at the temple. Why?"
Isobu didn't answer for several seconds. Then, he finally responded. "Well, this is only a theory, but what if maybe the reason you couldn't before was because of that woman?"
Everyone else was taken by what the three tailed turtle had just said. "What makes you say that?" It was Matatabi who asked the question that was on everyone else's mind.
"Well, given what we know about her so far, which isn't much, should we really put anything past her at this point?" Isobu replied, bringing up a good point to the group. "I mean, at the very least, we have to assume that she has to do something with bringing us here. What Naruto has told us should confirm that much at least. Who says she can't block us from talking to our past selves?"
"But that's impossible!" Kurama said with a shake of his head. "No one should be able to interfere with our mental world. It's only for us. No one else."
"But the Old man could do it," Isobu replied. "I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong. It's just that it could be a possible theory."
'It is,' Naruto said. 'Thanks for telling us. But he's right, Kurama. At the very least, we should consider that as a possibility. I'm still going, though.'
"Oi, were you not just paying attention to what we just said?" Gyuki said while shaking his head. "It's too dangerous. There would be no point in-"
"Let him do it," Kurama cut in. "There's no reasoning with this brat. Once he sets his mind on something, there's no point in stopping him. Besides, talking to your past self isn't his only objective. Isn't that right, Naruto?"
Naruto sighed, knowing Kurama had figured him out. 'There's really nothing I can hide from you, is there?'
"It's been on your mind for a while now," Kurama retorted. "And while I think it'll be pointless, the Old man instructed you to do as you please in going about your goals. Besides, it really was starting to get boring around here."
"You're going to confront the Raikage, aren't you?" Matatabi guessed with a sigh. "Despite what Gyuki warned you about…"
'There are some things I have to tell him,' Naruto replied. 'You may think it's foolish, Matatabi, and it probably is. But I still have to try. If I simply refused to talk with someone merely because of his past actions, then I might as well stop right here. My goal would be impossible then. Anyone can be saved. Of course, there are some that might refuse it. But I can't do anything else unless I'm certain of it. It's just the way I do things.'
Matatabi merely sighed again, knowing that he wouldn't be able to change the Uzumaki's mind about the matter.
Naruto continued on his way to the Raikage tower which stood up in the mountains in the distance. Placing his hood back on, the Uzumaki was already set on his goals: find both Matatabi and Gyuki of this time period and confront the Raikage. There was no doubt that the man would be in his office in the tower. He would just need to find it. As for the bijuu…well, he had senjutsu and the other bijuu to help him locate them.
He had infiltrated Kumo. Now, it was time to kick it up a notch.
The Sandaime Raikage walked calmly but swiftly to his destination. Walking behind him were his son and nephew, who was chosen to be the next jinchuriki for the Hachibi. They were A and Blue Bee, both who were his pride and joy. They already exemplified great potential to become powerful shinobi in the future. Of course, there was the issue with Blue Bee. Given how neither the boy's father nor uncle had been able to keep control of the beast so far, it was more than likely that it would result in the same way with him which would no doubt result in the boy's career as a shinobi to be cut short. And it was all thanks to the fact that they didn't possess a seal strong enough to keep the Hachibi in check for too long. It did last for some time, but not forever. It was a far cry from the Uzumaki's massive arrays of fuinjutsu in their possession. But that wouldn't last for long anyway.
The powerful shinobi was currently taking the two boys to the lower levels of the tower where they kept the Hachibi entrapped in the Kohaku no Johei which was rumored to be one of the legendary Rikudo Sennin's treasured tools. Of course, the man wasn't all one hundred percent sure that that was true. Not that it mattered. The thing got the job done. And that job was to keep the Hachibi safe and secured until another host was ready to become its vessel.
The boys behind him didn't say anything as they continued to descend down the tower. Not that the Raikage was expecting them to. He had already told Blue Bee of what his future would be as well as A. He told his son as well because the Raikage wanted for the boy to be thinking about such things already since he would one day take his place as the Yondaime Raikage. He wanted for his son to be absolutely ready for when that day came. He couldn't tolerate weakness. Not if Kumo was to survive anyway.
The guards stationed in front of the room readjusted their postures when they saw him walking towards them. And that was how it should be. Without respect, there was nothing. Just like with power. Those were the two things that the Raikage deemed as the most important. Power and respect. They were the two allies of every shinobi. Without power, there wouldn't be respect. And without respect, there would be nothing else. It was this basic principle that he was teaching his son to understand as well.
Entering the large room, both A and Blue Bee gawked in amazement for a moment at the grand size of the room. Not that it was surprising. It was made that way in order to house the important treasured tool.
"This is it," the Raikage said as he pointed to the center of the room where the large pot was. "This is where the Hachibi is currently being stored for the moment."
"How long until the ceremony?" Blue Bee asked.
Ah, that was right. That was the only thing that he had failed to mention yet.
"In just a few days," the Raikage answered. "The earlier we do it, the better. You're being given these several days to mentally prepare yourself for what's to come. It's key to once you become the jinchuriki. You have to make sure your mental state is always at its best. Also, the faster it is done, the sooner you can get adapted to its chakra. Remember that. Once you become the jinchuriki, you'll be one of our most important assets in the village. Just like your father before you was."
Blue Bee looked at the pot in front of him with a somber look. The boy already knew that the beast that was trapped in it was half the reason why his father was already dead. The other reason being that he had been mortally injured in combat during the war and then lost control of the beast. If it hadn't been for his uncle coming in to the rescue, it would have turned into an even bigger problem than what it had been. Even so, he would still face this head on despite knowing that it was a suicide assignment. It wasn't like he wasn't aware of how the beast got out of control in time. There was no doubt in the boy's mind that he would meet his end one day by the beast's hand. But his father had raised him to be a proud Kumo shinobi. And while he wasn't officially one just yet, he still considered this to be his first duty as one. And he would not let his father down, no matter what. He had sacrificed himself for the better of the village. The least he could do was do the same.
A looked at his cousin with a worried look, knowing what laid in front of him. But then the look disappeared, which was replaced by his usual normal one. He couldn't show any weakness. Blue Bee wasn't showing any weakness, nor was he complaining. As his family, A knew that the least he could do was show him the same courtesy. This was also all for the betterment of the village. There was nothing wrong with that. At least, that was how he saw things.
The Raikage glanced at them for a few more moments before turning towards the door. "I only wanted to show you this for now. You should get some rest for now-"
The Sandaime Raikage stopped mid-sentence as one of the shinobi stationed at the entrance of the room was kicked straight through the door and into the room and landed on the ground in front of him with a thud, now unconscious. The Raikage turned his attention to the hallway outside to see the other shinobi on the ground, either unconscious or dead. The man wasn't sure for the moment. Both A and Blue Bee looked at the scene in front of them with wide eyes. Neither boy was familiar with actual combat by this point.
But the Raikage couldn't worry about them right now. Instead, his eyes were scanning the room around him as fast as possible. Whoever was responsible for this was fast. He had only been able to see a blur for a split second after the door had been smashed into pieces.
"There's no need to hide," the Raikage said. "I already know you're in here. At least be honorable enough to show your face."
There was a pause. For a moment, the Raikage wondered if he had perhaps seen wrong and the mysterious shinobi hadn't been able to enter the room still until a figure landed in front of him with a blur. He was right: the person was fast. But also foolish. At least he had been smart enough to hide his looks with that cloak.
"And just what is it that you plan to accomplish here today?" the Raikage asked. Both A and Blue Bee stood behind him, taking on a basic defense pose to defend themselves from the person. Not that it would matter. The Raikage already knew that the person was leagues ahead of either of them.
"I'm here to make a statement," was the person's response. The Raikage was also taken back by how young he sounded. But at least he knew that he was definitely a he.
"By attacking my shinobi?" the Raikage questioned.
The person shrugged."I've heard that you're a man who respects power. Well, I just showed you a fraction of it."
"A fraction you say," the Raikage repeated, interest befalling his face. And he did have a point. The Raikage could already tell that this person wasn't an ordinary shinobi. The only problem was how young the voice sounded. "So then? What exactly is it that you want with your statement?" The Raikage wasn't one for beating around the bush either.
"I'm here to ask you to end this war, Sandaime Raikage."
Out of all the responses that he had expected, that was the last one that he would have ever guessed. "Just what are you talking about?" he said, his mind now wondering whether the person in front of him was even sane. "Do you actually expect me to do as you say?"
"Just what is it that you hope to gain from this struggle?" the person asked in return. "There's nothing but bloodshed. Your shinobi keep on dying everyday. And for what?"
"For power and respect," the Raikage answered without missing a beat. "They're two of the few things that actually matter in this shinobi world of ours. They're also two of the things that define all shinobi. Without respect, you can't gain anything. And without power, you can't gain that respect. With what you're asking me…my village and my people would lose both. There would be nothing beneficial in doing such a thing."
"You would continue this war for those reasons alone?"
"They're all that truly matter!" the Raikage stated, now starting to lose his patience. "I plan on showing this world Kumo's supremacy. And this war is one of the quickest ways to do so. Now then, I have nothing more to say of this. You should leave before I reconsider letting you go as an appreciation of the skills that you showed me."
The person was silent and unmoving for a few moments. Finally, he stated, "Your thinking is flawed. You don't know the meaning of either respect or power. You're only using others for the advancement of your own goals. It's nothing more than selfish."
"Oh? Is that so," the Raikage said, his lightning armor bursting into life around him. Both A and Blue Bee took steps away from the Raikage, already knowing that if they got in his way that they wouldn't survive. "I've changed my mind. I won't let this level of disrespect go. If you believe that your way of thinking is the correct one, then come at me. If you have no power, then the words you spew fall on deaf ears. No one will listen to you. That is the truth of this world. If you want me to consider what you say as true, then show me the power behind those words."
The person brought his arms in front of him in order to shield himself from the incredible punch from the Raikage who was on top of him in an instant. The force of the punch was enough to send him flying back into the hallway outside, almost knocking him through the wall and out of the building.
"Oh?" the Raikage said in a curious tone, observing how the person's arms were still functional despite the punch that he had just delivered him. Not only that, but he hadn't been able to send this individual flying through the wall like he normally would have against any other opponent. Smirking in sudden anticipation, he said, "It seems that you indeed are more powerful than the average person. But are you stronger than me? That's the question."
"I didn't come here for a fight."
"Then you shouldn't have come here at all," the Raikage retorted. "Listen to this, boy, and listen to it well: the only words that matter in this world are the ones spoken through your firsts. It's the only way to get anything done. If you expect to change anyone's mind with your mouth alone, then you're sorely mistaken. You'll only find yourself dead one day."
The person jumped up to ceiling just as the Raikage pounced on where he had been before. But he wasn't able to dodge the Raikage's tackle that sent them both soaring through the different floors of the building which ended with an extreme tremor throughout said building. If that wasn't enough to alarm every other Kumo shinobi in the building, then nothing else would.
Once they had made it to the top, the Raikage didn't give his opponent any time to breathe. He grabbed him by the shoulders and hurled him into the ground in the top floor of the tower. Landing on the ground in front of the person, the Raikage h'mphed when he saw the cloaked individual spit some blood in the ground between them as he stood back up.
"You're a lot tougher than I imagined," the Raikage commented with some praise in his voice. Any normal person would have been torn to shreds by now. Whoever this person was may be foolish, but he was also tough. The Sandaime Raikage would grant him that much at least. But that didn't mean he was going to play with him forever. No, that wasn't his style. As stated before, he didn't like to beat around the bush. Bringing two fingers in front of him, the Raikage was ready to unleash his most powerful technique on this person. He wasn't that good at holding back either.
The Raikage heard the person t'ch before there was a sudden puff next to him, which made him raise an eyebrow. He recognized the technique.
'A shadow clone,' he thought. 'Does that mean that he's a Konoha shinobi?' It was a possibility. But there was also a possibility of someone else not from Konoha to be able to use the technique. For the moment, he wouldn't jump into any conclusions. He only needed to finish this before any of his shinobi got here and as a result got in his way. Readying himself to charge, the Raikage heard alarm bells go off on his head as he noticed his cloaked opponent creating a blue orb in his hands with the aid of his clone. Interesting. What could that be? It didn't matter. Nothing could beat his Jigokuzuki in a face-to-face confrontation.
Reassured by this, the Raikage didn't waste anymore time in charging his opponent again. But to his surprise, instead of trying to dodge like before, the person instead charged straight at him, the strange blue orb still in hand. It seemed as if his guess had been correct. It was a straight on attack technique. If that was the case, then this match was already his.
"Jigokuzuki!"
"Rasengan!"
The Raikage smirked at his fingertips neared the strange technique, but to his immense surprise his opponent instead dodged to the side just before his spear could reach him. But that was impossible! No one was able to see the true length of his attack. But he wasn't able to dwell on his surprise for too long as the strange blue orb instead came in contact with his shoulder, the force powerful enough to bend his arm inward even though he was protected in his lightning armor.
The next few seconds went by too fast for the Sandaime Raikage. He felt something that he hadn't felt in a while: pain. Looking down at his chest, the powerful shinobi saw how his lightning spear had been able to penetrate his lightning armor and thus actually wound him. A severe wound at that, not severe enough to kill him but just enough to leave him immobilized. The next thing he knew, he was on his knees with blond gushing out of his mouth as well as his wound on his chest.
"How is that for power?" the cloaked person said as he stood in front of him. The Raikage could do nothing more than stare up at him, coming face to face with a young boy with gold eyes and blond hair. "Your way of thinking is wrong, Raikage. The meaning of power that you speak of…it's not true power at all. There's nothing to be gained by oppressing others. That's not true respect at all. But don't worry. I don't plan on killing you. That's not my intent at all. Now that you have seen some of my power, then maybe you'll come to know that what I say is true. But until we meet again, Raikage."
The boy was already gone by the time the Kumo shinobi had come to the aid of their leader.
'Was I wrong?'
"No, you weren't," answered Kurama truthfully. "Well, in thinking that it wouldn't actually end in a battle, then yes. But we also managed to prove that Isobu's theory may be more right than we first thought."
Naruto had been able to successfully infiltrate the tower using the powers of his sage mode. With the aid of the bijuu inside him and his sage chakra, he had been able to at least pinpoint Gyuki's chakra. Or the Gyuki of this time period. But it was there that he learned that the Sandaime Raikage was also in the same location. The blond had quickly seen it as a means of taking out two birds with one stone. He had confronted the Raikage, the end result being the battle with the man. During the fight, however, Kurama and the others had been able to talk to the sealed Gyuki. It went without saying that the trapped bijuu had been shocked beyond belief at seeing every other one of his brothers, including his own self, right in front of him. The bijuu hadn't been able to explain much to their trapped brother due to Naruto's battle. They had left with the promise that Naruto would come back again to explain everything to him. Which was what the blond planned on doing after he rested for a few hours.
The blond felt exhausted after his talk with the Raikage. It was like a reality slap. In his time, the other Kage had been opened to the idea of forming an alliance and coming together because the Akatsuki threatened their entire world. It had required something that big to be the catalyst that brought all of the shinobi nations as one. But during this time period, there wasn't such a thing. Every nation distrusted one another. And it was more than likely that they all shared the same viewpoints as the current Raikage. It was disheartening to say the least.
"Oi, don't get all down like that," Son Goku said with a shake of his head. "You should have known from the beginning that this wasn't going to be a walk in the park. So man up, Naruto. Our father trusted you with this. And we have put our faith in you as well. So don't let any of us down. There are too many people who have placed their trust on you for you to be down just like that."
'I know,' Naruto said with a smile. 'Thanks for that, Son Goku. I really appreciate it.'
The bijuu didn't reply.
Naruto placed his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling of his hotel room. After he had left the Raikage tower, his next order of business had been to get a place to stay. Aika's money had come in handy there. He had gone to one of the cheapest hotels that he could find. Not that it mattered that much. The blond wasn't one for luxury anyway. One could never miss something that he never had, after all. But one thing that he was already missing was the brightness that was his home in Uzu. Just knowing that his family was with him safe and alive was enough to send the blond sleeping with a smile on his face.
Thinking of everyone he now had in Uzu, Naruto was quick to fall asleep with a smile on his face.
And that was when everything really went down the drain.
Naruto woke up with a start. And from the moment that he did, he knew something was wrong. He only needed to look at the concerned face of the woman who had been his opponent last time he had seen her to know he was right. Thinking on his feet, Naruto quickly stood up and put some distance between him and the woman.
"Just what are you doing here!?"
The woman shook her head as she stood up from her kneeling position as well. "Like I've told you, I'm not your enemy. And we won't be fighting this time around."
"What the hell are you talking about!?" Hearing himself shout in a voice that he hadn't heard in a while, Naruto looked down at himself only to see he that he was taller than the last time he had checked as well as wearing the orange and black jumpsuit that he had before being sent to the past. "What the hell!?"
"Calm yourself," the woman said as she walked up to him. At least, that was what she was doing until Naruto tensed up. "You really don't trust me, do you?" she asked as she stopped making her way to him.
"Considering how we first met, not really, no," Naruto said while rolling his eyes. "Now, explain yourself this time. What did you do now?"
"This is not my work," the woman replied as she indicated to their surroundings. Now the bothered to pay attention to where he was, Naruto realized that he was standing in an elaborate white room with large pillars all around him. It definitely wasn't his hotel room.
"Then who did this?"
The woman looked at him, staring at him for a few moments until she replied, "The last living Otsutsuki on Earth."
Her answer was soon followed with laughter that emanated from everywhere around them. Both Naruto and the woman looked to the far side of the room to see the door opening for them, only to see that no one was on the other side.
"Welcome, Asura-kun. I've been expecting you for quite some time now."
Naruto had a feeling that his night was going to be a lot worse than what his day had been.
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票