Dark Phoenix of Konoha by White Angel of Auralon

Part 39 - A Dangerous Situation

Naruto opened the scroll and then analysed the sealing matrix before blanching.

"Sensei, where did they find that seal?" Naruto asked strained.

"The team is inside Fang Country to investigate the vanishing of a number of people that never reappeared anywhere. What is that seal about?" Kakashi asked.

"This is a variant of a summoning jutsu. A dangerous one at that. Where a normal summoning jutsu requires a small amount of blood to call an animal that you have a contract with, this one is based on the Jashin cult. The seal basically, once a certain amount of human blood is sacrificed, will call a reaper spirit that will fuse with the one using the summoning array. Supposedly, if the ritual is performed correctly, the summoner will become a high priest of Jashin, a reaper spirit that the Jashinists call a god, and be immortal. As far as I know, from what I found in Orochimaru's notes, as little as there was about the group, you need at least fifty victims for the ritual," Naruto stated.

"Crap, that's really serious. Jashinists are already a pest before they are impossible to kill. We need to send backup to the team immediately. No normal chunin team can take on a skilled Jashinist," Kakashi cursed, "The massacre of the Hidden Hot Springs Village ten years ago was bad enough. We don't need another Hidan."

"The crazy priest that enjoys his 'religion' too much? He's an S-ranked missing nin," Naruto asked.

"Yes, that one. He was behind the massacre that caused the Hidden Hot Springs village to fully change their village into a tourist attraction, using the large number of natural hot springs that the country had to earn money. They were a very small village anyway, and after Hidan was done there, the number of active ninjas was too low to call themselves a hidden village anymore anyway. So far the number of Jashinists is low, as their rites involve self-injury and not many want to do that. But the crazy ones that actually follow them, are really dangerous, as they don't care about the number of innocents that they kill, all to please their so-called god," Kakashi confirmed.

Naruto pondered the situation.

"Sensei, please let me go and back up the team in Fang Country. I am probably the only one that can undo the sealing matrix before they activate it and create another immortal priest," Naruto asked.

"We can't let this get out. After a long A-rank mission like yours, you need to rest for at least two days, normally the week that I gave your team off. But I agree that this is an emergency. I will send you there as Dark Phoenix. That way nobody should find it strange that you are doing two A-rank missions after another without a break. Hm, the fastest way to get there would be sending one of your kunai ahead and flashing there, but we don't want anybody to find out your identity," Kakashi pondered the problem.

"Fang Country is about a day at ninja speed away," Naruto mentioned, "I could fill up my supplies in one hour and then take off. You could send a messenger hawk ahead to inform the team leader that I'm coming and to not, at any circumstances, let somebody with a large scythe pour blood anywhere near the seal. I don't know how many victims they have assembled already, but we should act fast."

"True. I'm going to send for Shikamaru and Hinata to support you. Shikamaru will be valuable to trap the Jashinists and Hinata can help you as a scout and be the team's medic," Kakashi decided.

"It will be a challenge to keep Shikamaru out of the loop," Naruto commented.

"I'm sure you'll manage. After all, you managed to keep everybody in the dark for years while you trained in secret," Kakashi told him with one of his eye smiles.

"Point," Naruto admitted.

"I'll have the two here in one hour," Kakashi stated and Naruto nodded, using the flying thundergod seal in his secret hideout to save time to go there.