A/N- 2021
So I'm pushing a non-binary Haku headcanon, so in this story, Haku uses they/them pronouns.
-March 6th, Y14, 12:00 PM-
It was overcast over Iwagakure with strong winds blowing through the village made of rock and stone. A few loose strands of your hair moved in the breeze from where you sat on the rooftop of one of the buildings in the village.
Though not your first time in the Land of Earth, it was the first time you had visited Iwagakure. The village had fascinating aspects. It was the only village to have an Explosion Corps due to the prominence of Explosion Release among native ninja. And the Third Tsuchikage could also use Dust Release, making him the only other person alive other than yourself who could use it. You had heard he had quite the attitude, though.
Exploring the village would be a good start to the individual part of your training journey, but you would miss traveling with Jiraiya. He had became something of a second father to you and let you call him Jiraiya-Pa. He had worked with you on using your techniques while in your Chakra Mode, Sage Mode, or both of them used together. You had decided to start calling the combination of the two modes the Eleven-Tails Sage Mode. Jiraiya had also taken you to Mount Myōboku, and you had met his Toad Summons, who all had instantly taken a liking to you.
However, the thing you were most proud of accomplishing was opening the Eighth Gate while using either the Body Revival Technique or the Ultra-Fast Regeneration Technique. You were now able to achieve your full potential and chakra reserves without damaging your body, though you didn't intent to use it unless necessary.
You lay back and rested your arms behind your head, appreciating the peacefulness of watching the clouds slowly move. You never took peace for granted, especially now that you were going to be traveling alone, making you a target for missing-nin. Though part of you didn't mind being a target. You enjoyed fighting, but perhaps that was a character flaw within yourself and hypocritical to the peace you wanted to bring to the shinobi nations.
"There you are," Jiraiya said, landing on the roof beside you. "Are you planning to leave without saying goodbye to the great Toad Sage?!"
You sat up and chuckled. "I would never think about it, Jiraiya-Pa. I was just... thinking. I'm going to stay in Iwagakure for a bit, but I have to figure out where I will go over the next two years."
"You can't go wrong with wherever you choose. Just have fun, kiddo!" Jiraiya ruffled your hair before offering you his hand. You grabbed it and he pulled you onto your feet. "Now, it's time for you to head out on your own. I would tell you to stay safe, but I don't think I have to worry about you being able to handle yourself."
"Thank you, Jiraiya-Pa. For everything," you told him before reaching into your bag and pulling out a journal. "Despite how much I did not want anything to do with Icha Icha, I think you actually have a solid book on your hand with well-written female characters for once."
"Awe, I knew you couldn't refrain from reading through the draft of a soon-to-be literary masterpiece."
You deadpanned. "That's because you begged me to edit it before I left."
Jiraiya grinned and took the journal from your hands. He would never change, but at least you edited his first draft without an issue. Maybe once you were older, you would read through the series just to see if it was more enjoyable.
Adjusting your bag on your shoulders, you took a step back. Well, this was it. From here on out, for the next year or two, you would be on your own.
"I'll see you when I see you, Jiraiya-Pa," you said and hugged him. "Good luck with your book."
"And good luck with your training," Jiraiya said your name, wrapping an arm around you and squeezing. "Now, get going!"
You grinned and backed out of the hug, waving to him before jumping away on the start of your solo journey. What did the world have in store for you?
-April 15th, Y14, 8:17 AM-
Rain poured around you, water hitting the black cloak you wore that covered your clothes and head. You had heard of Amegakure before—some ninja from the village attended the Chūnin Exams you took part in years ago—but you had never seen it before.
To even get into the village, the gate guards conducted a background check on you for their leader to decide on whether you should be permitted into the village or not. You were granted acceptance, but you were being watched at all times. You understood the village's wariness of outsiders. Ame had been hurt multiple times because other shinobi villages chose the land as their battleground during past wars.
Ame was so much different from other shinobi villages. It was smaller than most, but it was industrialized. High-rise buildings towered over you, and the greenery was minimal. Despite how rainy and miserable the weather was, there still was something stunning about the village itself—the tallest tower, particularly. The architecture fascinated you. Each side of the building had a humanoid face on it, and it connected to two smaller towers. One of the humanoid faces had eyes that resembled the Rinnegan.
There wasn't one person you could think of other than yourself who could use the Rinnegan. And yours was unique because your Rinnegan wasn't permanent and was an icy blue instead of purple. So what was the connection between Amegakure and the Rinnegan? And just who was the leader of Amegakure?
Hanzō of the Salamander had been the leader, but if memory served you right, rumor had it that he was killed during a civil war in the village years ago. It had only been a rumor, but you were inclined to believe it was true because you hadn't heard anything about Hanzō in recent years.
You would have to explore the village and figure out the history surrounding it, along with the identity of the person running it. Although you would have to be careful. You were being watched, and you didn't want to piss off an entire village and start a conflict. Ame ninja were well-trained, and though you felt confident you could beat them in a fight, you would've preferred not to take on an entire village.
You approached one of the buildings marked with the kanji for hotel. It was at least ten stories tall but was drab and didn't have many windows. Oh well, it would work.
You entered the hotel and removed your hood. The concierge looked up from the desk as you approached her, and you greeted her then kindly requested a room. The woman pulled out a large reservation logbook and flipped it open then slid it to you. She offered a pen to you, and you uncapped it. All she needed was your name, number of occupants, and the day you were checking in.
You filled out the information on the dotted lines, not voicing your curiosity over not being asked how long you intended to stay. Ame was hard to get into, and the weather was poor. It wasn't a place tourists were drawn to.
"You will be staying in room 700," the woman said, handing you the key.
"Thank you."
You took the staircase up to the seventh floor and found your room at the end of the hall. You opened the door with your key and stepped inside, flipping on a light switch, casting a golden glow over the room.
It was quaint but cute. You had a kitchenette to your left that flowed into a cozy lounge room with sliding glass doors that led out to a balcony. You walked over to the only door on your right, opening it to reveal a bedroom with a queen-sized bed. There was a bathroom off of it, and you set your travel bag down and shrugged off your black cloak. This room was perfect for your stay in the village—a bit dark, but you didn't mind.
Taking a seat at the end of the mattress, you tested the comfort before falling back and lying down with your arms spread across the bed. You could easily fall asleep right now, even though it was after eight in the morning.
You got off the bed and picked up your travel bag again, opening it and removing the scroll with your clothes sealed away inside it. You opened the top drawer of the dresser across from your bed and slipped it inside to be unsealed later. You left everything else in your bag, grabbing your cloak and putting it back on before slinging your bag over your shoulder.
You left your bedroom, ensuring you had the key to your hotel room before heading out the front door. Jogging down the stairs and through the small lobby of the hotel, you exited the building and pulled the hood of your cloak above your head. You headed down the road, immediately feeling like someone was watching you. Your eyes flickered to the corner of an alley, noticing a few slips of paper slowly falling to the ground.
You walked over to the alley and crouched, picking up one of the slips. There was nothing on it, but there was a trace of chakra in it. In fact, it seemed like the paper itself was made of it. Whatever these slips of paper were likely belonged to a Ninjutsu technique. You hummed, letting the paper fall from between your fingers. Whoever had been there must've Body Flickered away because there was no trail that their chakra left behind. Were they the person who was keeping an eye on you while you were here?
You stood and looked toward the tallest tower in the city. Something told you that you would find the leader of the village there, but you doubted you could just show up and ask to talk to the person. What you could do was ask some of the people living in Ame about their leader.
You walked down the road and found a restaurant that was already open for business. People who worked at restaurants and bars overheard information all the time, making them valuable informants. If you could get off on the right foot with the people working at this restaurant, you might get a lead on what you wanted to find out.
You were really going to have to be friendly when you talked to the people of this village. Ame-nin didn't trust Konoha-nin, so you were at a disadvantage already. Luckily, you knew how to play your cards and manipulate conversations.
Perks of assisting Konoha's intelligence unit.
You made your way over to the restaurant with two goals in mind: Getting food and getting information.
-April 17th, Y14, 10:29 PM-
Resting your forearms on the railing of the balcony of your hotel room, you stared out at the tallest building in Ame. You were right to assume it was the leader's tower. After talking to numerous people in the village over the past two days, you had discovered that the man who ran it lived there and that Hanzō was dead. But none of the citizens knew much about the new leader. All you had discovered was that he was called "Pain," and he was revered as a god by everyone in the village. He didn't communicate with the civilians, nor did they know what he looked like. The only way the people living in Amegakure got orders was through someone known as "Angel." The citizens valued her nearly as much as they did their leader.
The illusiveness of Amegakure's leadership fascinated you. Why keep your identity a secret if you were the leader of a village, especially when the citizens treated you as if you were a god? You were impressed Pain could gain such a status without ever being seen, but you were also curious. There didn't seem to be one person in the village who thought negatively about him. It didn't matter how amazing someone was; there would always be those who disagreed with them or didn't like them, especially when it came to politics.
Could Pain and his Angel be silencing those who dissented?
You pushed back from the railing. You didn't know what to do with the information you had learned. While you wanted to find out more about the mystery leader, Pain, if he wasn't directly communicating with his citizens, there was no way he would speak to you.
A small yawn escaped you, and you covered your mouth and shook your head. You had been looking into Amegakure and its leader all day yesterday, the day before it, and today. You should've just called it a night and gone to bed. Tomorrow morning, you would decide if you wanted to continue traveling or if you would keep on learning about the village.
Turning on your heel, your eyes widened when hundreds of slips of paper started to spiral in your room. You immediately grabbed the hilt of your katana, preparing to unsheathe it at any moment. The slips of paper started forming a person, and you tilted your head as a young woman with pale skin, amber eyes, and dark periwinkle hair pulled up into a bun appeared in front of you. She had a labret piercing, and her lips were pulled into a natural frown. She didn't wear the standard Amegakure uniform. Instead, she wore a black, high-collar cloak with red clouds on it.
She must've been the woman who had been watching you these past few days. The paper slips that she materialized from were the same ones you found on your first day here. But what was she doing in your room? Her neutral expression gave away nothing about what she wanted or if she intended to attack, but you kept your hand on the hilt of your katana. She was still an intruder in your hotel room, and you were not going to relax until you knew what she wanted.
"You've been asking about Pain," the woman calmly stated, her eyes boring into you.
"Purely out of curiosity."
"Who are you?"
You gave your name to her, and her eyes narrowed a fraction. The tension grew heavier by the second when neither of you said anything. Could this woman be the Angel?
"Pain would like to speak to you," she said, making you raise an eyebrow.
"Then where is he?"
The woman slowly walked towards you, and you moved back until your back hit the railing of the balcony. You kept your eyes on her as she continued approaching you. She stayed calm as she joined your side and stared out at the tallest building in the village.
"He's waiting for you at his tower. I will escort you there."
"And why should I go with you? I don't know who you are."
"I am Konan—his angel," she responded, expression remaining stoic. "You spent the past two days trying to find out about Pain, so you're getting your chance."
Surely not without having to give something in return. There was no way Pain had heard that you were trying to learn about him and decided to meet with you for selfless reasons. You were also extremely wary about Konan. Her Ame headband wasn't visible, so you were assuming it was under the cloak she wore. And the cloak was a whole other thing you were curious about. Was it just a piece of fashion, or was it something else entirely?
You let go of your katana and gestured Konan to lead the way. She turned to face you, and your eyes widened as paper started spiraling around both of you. The slips of paper obscured your vision of everything around you, and when it disappeared, you gasped. You were no longer on your balcony; instead, you were standing on the stone tongue of one of the faces of the leader's tower. At the end of the tongue, a man wearing the same cloak as Konan sat with his back to you. Konan stood beside you, and the guy turned his head, making you inhale sharply.
He had the Rinnegan.
You stared at him wide-eyed as you took in his appearance. He had fair skin and spiky orange hair, but his piercings stood out the most. He had three bars running horizontally through his nose, six piercings on each ear running from his earlobe up to his helix, a metal bar through each ear, and he had fang-like snake bites. The man's piercings weren't normal metal; they were Black Receivers. You would've recognized them from anywhere.
Was this the real Pain, though? The Receivers only needed to be used if the user wanted to control one or all of their Six Paths. You had never heard of someone using them as piercings, but then again, you had thought you were the only one alive with the Rinnegan. No one in your clan had ever had it. It was always a mystery as to why.
"Is this her, Konan?" Pain asked the woman beside you.
She nodded, and he stood and turned around, his cloak blowing in the wind. His Ame forehead protector had a slash through it, and you shifted into a defensive stance. If he was the leader of Amegakure, why was his headband slashed? It was universally understood that when a ninja slashed their forehead protector, not only had they left their village, but they had completely cut ties with it.
Pain said your name, "You've been snooping around Amegakure. Why?"
"Pure curiosity." You shrugged. "I've never been to Amegakure, and I wanted to learn more about it while I was here. Mysteries intrigue me, and you just so happen to be the biggest mystery in the village. Now, tell me—why do you want to see me?"
"You're smart. I should've expected no less from one of the survivors of your clan's massacre and the holder of the prophecy. I do have ulterior motives for wanting to speak to you."
"And what would that be?"
"Your purpose as the prophecy holder aligns with my group's purpose—world peace." Pain approached you. "My organization, the Akatsuki, intends to end all of the violence and injustices in this world and bring about a new era of peace."
"So, you want me to join?" You raised an eyebrow and gestured to Konan's cloak. "I take it these cloaks the two of you wear identify you as part of the Akatsuki?"
Pain sent you a curt nod. His chakra signature told you that he was being honest about his goal of achieving world peace, but you felt like there was more to this than he was letting on. He had a slashed forehead protector, and whether he was the leader of Amegakure or not, that was a sure-fire way to recognize a missing-nin. You didn't believe every missing-nin was your enemy or even a bad person, but joining a group with at least one in it did not seem like the best idea, especially when you knew next to nothing about this group.
"And how do you intend to achieve world peace?" you asked.
"Through any means necessary," Pain responded "The Akatsuki intends to capture the nine Tailed Beasts and use them to end wars."
Your mind drifted to Naruto, Gaara, and B. Pain only mentioned nine, which meant he didn't know about Blaze, but you didn't like the sound of the Akatsuki collecting all of the Tailed Beasts. Hagoromo had separated them for a reason. Capturing them all to use their power sounded like the exact thing you should've been against. And how did they intend to use the powers of the Tailed Beasts? All of them were sealed in their Jinchūriki, and even if they weren't, you couldn't see them listening to the orders of some guy no matter how strong he might've been.
Blaze, tell me I'm not losing it and this sounds like a horrible idea.
Nothing good can arise from them capturing all of the Tailed Beasts. This is what you need to stop if you want to save the world.
Gods, how would you even do that? You knew three Jinchūriki, but that was it. Pain had informed you that the Akatsuki intended to capture the Tailed Beasts, but you didn't know how to prevent that. Were they already starting to capture them? Did they even know the identities of all the Jinchūriki?
"How many others are a part of the Akatsuki?" you asked.
"There are nine of us now since one of our ex-members left."
"And where are you in your plan so far?"
"You will learn once you accept."
Once I accept? You raised an eyebrow in surprise and released an amused breath. Very bold of him to assume that you were going to accept his offer into his organization in the first place. Something told you that the other members of the Akatsuki were missing-nin as well. Pain was wise not to tell you where the group was in their plan. Revealing too much to you meant that you could go running off and spreading the word about it to everyone you knew. Actually, you were surprised he told you as much as he did...
It clicked.
"You don't intend to let me leave here without joining," you breathily chuckled. "Tell you what. I'm not going to decide this very second, but let me hang around you and Konan for a few days, and then I'll decide whether I'll join willingly or if you'll have to force me into your group."
What are you doing?
Relax, Blaze. I just want to see what I can get out of them. I don't have any intentions of joining a group that seemingly wants to achieve peace through violence. It's counterintuitive and oppressive by its very nature, but we can't ignore that being around them means I get more information.
Just be careful.
I will.
Pain eyed you as if trying to see through your request. You knew next to nothing about him, but you could tell he wasn't dumb. He wasn't going to reveal everything about the Akatsuki to you if he accepted your suggestion, but you didn't necessarily need him to. You just needed to spend time around him and Konan—learn their personalities and get them to trust you even just slightly.
"I'll give you a week," Pain stated, earning a glance from Konan.
"A week works just fine." You offered him your hand.
Pain held your gaze, grasping your hand and shaking it. So the Akatsuki? You needed to find out what type of organization they were and who else was in it. Pain had said there were nine members, which meant you didn't know who seven of them were. There was also the ex-member whom you were curious about. What happened that made them leave, and who were they? All you could do was hope you would find out.
-April 24th, Y14, 7:01 PM-
Pain sat on the edge of the stone tongue with one knee pulled to his chest while the other dangled over the edge in the open air. You stood beside him with your arms crossed over your chest, focusing on all the buildings you could see ahead of you. Gods, you felt so conflicted over everything right now. While Pain did keep from you where the Akatsuki stood on the path to their goal, you did find out that every member was an S-ranked missing-nin, along with who they were and who they worked with. What you did not expect to find out was that Itachi was a part of the group, and Orochimaru had been until he tried to take Itachi's body.
That was the first you had heard of Itachi since the Uchiha Massacre. You didn't know how to process it. You hadn't seen him. You didn't know where he was in the world. But you did know that he was somewhere out there wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it. Everything about Itachi was a mystery to you, but you were still determined to find out what really happened a few years ago. But at least Orochimaru didn't get him.
That damn snake was the worst.
Your eyes flickered to Pain, and you stared at his side profile. He and Konan were actually pretty cool. Pain seemed to have a god complex, but it didn't surprise you. What got you was how much he cared about the people closest to him, whether it be the Akatsuki members or the people in his village. There was genuine empathy there for them. Other than that, he could be incredibly cruel. Maybe that was a result of his environment. If he grew up in Amegakure, he would've gone through two shinobi wars and other conflicts—very few that Ame was willingly a part of. Those injustices would've made someone apathetic to the outside world.
"It's your last day," Pain said, breaking the silence between the two of you.
"I know," you stated, moving to take a seat beside him, "and I think you know what my decision is."
Pain turned his head to look at you, his lips pulling into a deeper frown. There was no way you could justify joining the Akatsuki. They were going after some of your friends, and while you weren't sure if they knew about Naruto, Gaara, and B yet, you were not taking any chances. You also didn't support his way of obtaining peace, nor did you want to defect from Konoha.
"It's an ignorant decision," Pain said.
"Is it?" You raised an eyebrow. "Subjugation is not a true form of peace, Pain. There are other ways."
"You're foolish if you think you can achieve peace through any other means. Humans will always be the same. They'll never end the cycle of violence and death they started. I will make them desire peace by showing them the impacts that conflict leaves."
Did he not hear himself? He wanted to cause the world pain to convince them to want peace. This didn't break the cycle of violence and death he was against; it only perpetuated it. And what did the Tailed Beasts have to do with this? You couldn't figure out that connection, which was quite possibly the only reason you might've considered joining the Akatsuki. You wanted to know the details of their goal.
"If believing there are other options to achieve one of the goals that I was born for is foolish, then I'm the biggest goddamn fool there is," you told Pain, getting onto your feet. "Violence only creates more violence, Pain. If it didn't, there never would've been another war after the First Shinobi World War."
Pain's eyes burned into you, and you matched his fierce gaze with your own. What did he experience that made him think force was the only way to achieve peace? It contradicted itself. Force and peace were direct opposites of each other. How didn't he see that?
"You won't be able to force me into the Akatsuki, either," you stated, focusing chakra to your eyes and activating your Seiunigan. "I don't want to kill you, but I won't hesitate to put you in a Genjutsu that no one can escape until I break it."
"I warn you against making an enemy of me."
"And I'm not trying to be your enemy, but I'm not joining the Akatsuki, nor can you make me, Pain. Not now, at least."
Pain's eyes narrowed. "You're suggesting you could change your mind."
You shrugged, allowing your eyes to revert back to normal. "I can't see into the future, after all. I highly doubt I will, but still, I acknowledge the possibility."
Pain seemed satisfied enough about what you said, and you held back from smiling. This was what you wanted. You didn't want him to view you as an enemy, but you didn't want to be seen as an ally either. If he believed there was a chance you might change your mind, then you were in a state of limbo where he had a bit of trust in you. He needed to if he wanted you to join. The only thing you didn't know was how long you could remain in this state until he forced you to make a final decision.
"I'm leaving Ame tonight," you told Pain. "Say I change my mind... Where should I go?"
"Return here to Ame. You don't have forever to change your mind," he said your name.
"I know." You smirked and nodded to him before turning on your heel. You noticed Konan silently standing closer to the actual stone face, and you sent her a wave. "Bye, Konan."
She said your name and nodded to you before you Body Flickered to your hotel room. Opening the drawers of the dresser, you grabbed all your clothes and the scroll you stored them in. You sealed your clothes into the scroll and slipped it into your travel bag before looking around the room, making sure you grabbed everything and then taking your leave.
-November 4th, Y14, 1:48 PM-
Snow flurries blew in the wind as you wandered through the Land of Sound. Your breath appeared in front of you every time you exhaled, and you adjusted your travel bag, following the path. If your map was correct, you should've been getting close to Otogakure. It wasn't a place you wanted to be around. The night of your clan's massacre, Orochimaru and the bodies you didn't recognize all had Oto forehead protectors. You didn't know much about the village, but if Orochimaru ran off there and lived there, then you weren't sure you wanted to stick around too much.
Continuing down the path, a man came into your line of sight, heading in your direction. As you passed by him, you made eye contact for a second before looking ahead. You kept following the trail even when you noticed the man stopped walking. You didn't have to turn around to know that he was staring at you, but you ignored him.
"Excuse me!" the guy called out, making you stop and look over your shoulder at him. "Pardon me. You just look familiar."
Your analyzed the pale man in front of you. He was older than you by a few years with grey hair pulled back into a ponytail, dark eyes, and black-rimmed circular glasses. He wore a high-collar purple shirt with matching purple pants, and he had bandages tied around his waist. An Otogakure forehead protector rested on his forehead, making you wary. You had never seen this man in your life.
"You must be mistaking me for someone else," you told the man.
"Ah, you're probably right," he responded, sheepishly smiling and rubbing his nape. "I'm Kabuto Yakushi."
You warily gave him your name in response, but instead of the typically shocked reaction you received from everyone else, he didn't seem surprised at all. Maybe he had never heard of you or your clan?
"So, where are you going?" Kabuto asked, joining your side.
"No place in particular. I'm just passing through,"
"The Land of Sound has some great places. You should see Otogakure."
"I would prefer not to." You looked Kabuto dead in the eyes. "Oto-nin are responsible for my clan's massacre."
His eyes widened in surprise, though it was a fake reaction. Who really was this guy? You were sure he hadn't lied to you about his name, but why was he pretending he had never heard about your clan's massacre, which also meant he had recognized you. You eyed him for a few seconds. He was an Oto-nin. He could've known Orochimaru. You didn't know what that snake's role was in Otogakure, but you knew he belonged to it.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know," Kabuto told you.
Bullshit.
You didn't trust Kabuto at all, and you had a feeling that even if you tried to leave, he wouldn't just go the other way.
"Of course," you told Kabuto, offering him a small smile. "I didn't expect you to know. It's not like you had something to do with my family and clan's death."
Kabuto chuckled and nodded with a sheepish, close-eyed smile, and your eyes narrowed into a dangerous glare. He was still lying...
Holy shit, he was there! The realization had you clenching your hands into fists, but you quickly forced yourself to relax when Kabuto opened his eyes again.
There was no way he didn't know Orochimaru. He was there the night of your clan's massacre. Hell, he had probably participated in it. He would've had to have known Orochimaru for that to be the case. He also must've been the only other Oto-nin who survived your clan's massacre because the rest were recovered by the ANBU members who had found you and disposed of the bodies. Gramps hadn't told you in the hospital, but a few weeks after the massacre, he had informed you that all of the Oto-nin that had attacked had Curse Marks.
Did Kabuto have a Curse Mark? You glanced over at him as you lifted a hand and rubbed the one that Orochimaru gave you. You dropped your hand back to your side when Kabuto looked over at you. He didn't say anything, and you started getting a bit annoyed when he kept walking with you, creating an awkward silence.
"So... Is there anything else you need?" you asked.
"No, but I could show you around the rest of the Land of Sound," he offered.
"All right. Show me around."
Kabuto's lips twitched up and he gestured you to follow him. He led you down the path. Where was he taking you? All you needed to do was stay on guard. He might try to pull something on you.
Kabuto led you toward the edge of a canyon cliff, but he didn't stop and jumped over the edge. He stood at the bottom of the canyon, where numerous cave entrances were. The Land of Sound must've been made up of a system of caves.
You jumped off the cliff and landed on the floor of the canyon, and Kabuto smirked before walking over to one of the caves. You tailed after him and followed him into the cave, memorizing every turn you made the farther in you went. Your eyes narrowed when you picked up on several chakra signatures. Before you could mention it, your Curse Mark started reacting to something, making you grip it and wince in pain.
"All right, cut the shit, Kabuto. Where are you taking me?" You glared at the back of his head. "You've been lying to me from the start. I know you were aware of my clan's massacre, and I know you had something to do with it."
A condescending smirk tugged at his lips. "And here I was beginning to question if Lord Orochimaru was right about you being the prophecy holder."
"What do you and that snake bastard want?" you snapped. Glowing flame marks started spreading across your skin from the Curse Mark on your neck.
Calm down! Blaze said your name as the glowing flame pattern turned black and stayed on your skin. The Curse Mark wants you to lose control. Fight against it.
"Ah, I take it you've never used the Curse Mark?" Kabuto laughed. "It reacts to Orochimaru's chakra. He is the leader of Otogakure, after all."
So that bastard's around here?! Your nostrils flared, but you quickly controlled your anger. The chakra flowing through your body felt disgusting and foreign. You could tell it was Orochimaru's, and you hated it. You wanted the Curse Mark gone. Hell, you didn't even know why he gave it to you! All Gramps had said was that Orochimaru gave you the Mark because he wanted you to seek him out for power. How would the Curse Mark make you want that?
"You have a strong will," Kabuto commented. "Orochimaru's chakra was supposed to eat away at your mind until you were weak enough and would seek him out."
"It'll never happen," you spat out, dropping your hand from your neck as a slightly crazed smile comes to your face. "You fucked with the wrong girl."
Before Kabuto could respond, you disappeared and reappeared in front of him, infusing a large amount of your chakra into your fist and punching him square in the chest. He went flying back and hit the wall of the cave, bursting through it and causing dust to fill the area. You dashed through the hole, following the path to a new cave trail where you found Kabuto sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall with blood dripping from his mouth. His glasses rested crooked on his face, and one of the lenses had a crack running through it.
Making a few hand signs, you said, "Explosion Release: Landmine Fist."
Instead of hitting Kabuto, you punched the ground, causing a shockwave to rupture the cave. A huge crack spread across the ground, making it uneven and throwing Kabuto into the air. You teleported behind him and kicked him in the back, sending him flying through the cave and crashing into the ground. He could barely react, and you Body Flickered over him and grabbed his shirt color, forcing him to meet your gaze.
"I should kill you, but I think I'm going to leave Orochimaru an example of what happens if he continues trying to come after me," you told Kabuto, who barely looked conscious. You made a hand sign and placed your palm on his chest. "Explosion Release: Landmine Palm."
Using your Explosion Release chakra, you caused a mini-explosion that sent Kabuto flying back into a wall. He hit his head on the stone and slumped to the ground. The presence of his chakra signature told you that he was still alive, just unconscious. Walking past his body, you glanced down at him and took a deep breath, forcing your Curse Mark to retract.
For nearly a decade, you had never used it. But you couldn't go on like that. You needed to activate it and train with it. You couldn't let Orochimaru's chakra take control of you like that without you granting it the ability to. And maybe mastering it would lead you to learning how to get rid of it.
You lost control a bit there.
You sighed as you walked through the cave.
I know. I just... I don't think I've been that angry since I confronted Orochimaru after he killed Dad.
There was one other time you were that angry besides your first confrontation with Orochimaru.
You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. Blaze was right. There was a more recent time you went off the rails, and it was when Haru and Yui were killed. You ran a hand over the top of your hair, knowing that you still needed to work on controlling your emotions. You couldn't let personal things affect you like this ever again.
You looked around, realizing you had no idea where you were in the cave system. Approaching one of the walls, you placed your hand on it. Infusing chakra into your fist, you punched the wall of the cave. It broke apart, and once the dust settled, sunlight shone through. You ran forward and came out into the canyon, only to come face to face with a young woman with fair skin. Her blue hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, and her lips were painted a deep red. Her dark eyes bore into you.
"I suggest you not mess with me," you stated, nodding back at the part of the cave you destroyed. "If you're an Oto-nin, I left one of your comrades half-dead in the cave."
"Lord Orochimaru has orders for you to be brought to him, and unlike that Kabuto idiot, I will bring you to him," the woman stated and made several hand signs that you recognized. "Crystal Release: Growing Crystal Thorns."
Pink thorn-like crystals sprouted out of the ground and made their way towards you, but you jumped and landed on top of them before they could get you. You continued moving from crystal to crystal before making a few hand signs once you were above the woman. Using your Mud Release: Bottomless Mud Hole, the ground underneath her turned to mud, and she began to sink into it as mud hands pulled her deeper down. You stopped them before she could sink completely, leaving her with just her head sticking out of the mud. Infusing Crystal Release chakra into your hand, you touched the crystal thorns trying to kill you and made them dissolve.
The woman's eyes widened, and you dropped down to the ground and walked over to her, stopping in front of the mud.
"You have Crystal Release? It's the first time in a long while that I've met someone else who could use it," you stated, tilting your head in curiosity. "Who are you?"
"I'm Guren," the woman struggled to say from the mud applying pressure to her body.
"You know Orochimaru only wants you for power, right? He's just using you, but I can tell you're not like Kabuto. You're here because you were told to be here. Kabuto's acting on his own accord."
"So what if Lord Orochimaru is using me and I'm here on his orders? I'll dedicate myself to him till the day I die!"
"Well, then, in that case, I hope you change your mind," you said before putting her in a Genjutsu.
Guren went completely still, and you stared at her for a few seconds before jumping up and landing on top of the cliff. Gods, you hadn't considered the other ninja Orochimaru gave Curse Marks to and was using for his own gain.
"I need to get out of this damn country," you muttered.
You dashed off across the snow-covered ground, hoping for no run-ins with Orochimaru. You had lost your temper with Kabuto; you would go ballistic on the man who killed your father in front of you. You didn't like the side of you that lost control, and you were going to make sure you continued working on fixing it. No matter how long it took.
-January 21st, Y15, 5:35 AM-
It was still dark out as you walked through the misty forest of one of the islands that made up the Land of Water. It was the first time you had visited the country, but it lived up to its name. Most of the country was made up of water, and the climate of the islands surrounding the mainland was cool and damp. Even when the sun was out, it wasn't much warmer. Maybe the temperature went up in the summertime? You would have to return over the summer to check it out. You had heard Kiri had some beautiful beaches that you would like to visit when the weather was warmer.
A few bubbles floated past you, and you sensed chakra infused in them. Was it a technique? You glanced over in the direction the bubbles came from, picking up on several chakra signatures, one of them having unusual chakra. In a way, it reminded you of Gaara, Naruto, and B. It was like the person had two chakras.
Blaze, is there a Jinchūriki around?
Yes. It's the Six-Tails' chakra you're sensing. The beast's name is Saiken,
You dashed in the direction of the chakra signatures, quickly picking up the sounds of conflict. Somehow, you had managed to find another Jinchūriki. The Akatsuki really lost out on you because you kept stumbling upon the people they were after.
You landed on a tree branch and stared down at the five people below you. Four of them were members of Kiri's ANBU, and the other guy didn't have a forehead protector. You cocked your head as you eyed the tall man who looked to be in his early twenties and had fair skin and brown, shoulder-length hair with bangs that covered his left eye. He wore a long, blue kimono that hung loosely in the front, exposing his lean but muscular chest, and his pale golden eyes carefully watched the four ANBU hunter-nin in front of him. Some type of pipe rested in his right hand that you presumed to be the thing that created the bubbles you saw.
"You can't keep running, Utakata. Just surrender and return with us to Kiri," one of the hunter-nin ordered.
You stayed silent, wanting to find out more about Utakata's situation. It didn't sound like he still belonged to the village, so was he a missing-nin? He must not have done something too terrible if Kiri hadn't put a kill on sight order on him. Or did this have something to do with Kiri wanting to retain hold on the Six-Tails' Jinchūriki?
"I'm not returning to Kiri. I just want the village to leave me alone," Utakata calmly responded.
"Then we'll bring you back by force," one of the other hunter-nin stated.
Utakata shifted into a defensive stance. You had no reason to get involved here—you didn't know Utakata or why the ANBU were after him—yet you felt inclined to stop the Kiri hunter-nin from dragging him back to the village when he just wanted to be left alone. Utakata didn't seem like a threat. If he was, there wouldn't have been a conversation.
Gods, you hoped you wouldn't regret doing this.
Utakata started defending himself from the ANBU's attacks, and you weaved the hand seals for Storm Release: Laser Circus. A halo of energy spread around your hands before encircling them. The sound of electricity filled the air, but before the hunter-nin could react, you shot out four beams from your hands, using your chakra to change the direction of the beams as the ninja tried to avoid them. You struck the four ANBU in their heads, causing a hole to form in their masks before they all collapsed to the ground.
Utakata looked at you, and you dropped down from the tree branch and nudged the dead bodies with your foot.
"They seemed to be causing you trouble, so I thought I'd lend you a hand."
"I could've handled them myself," Utakata responded, making you chuckle.
"I never said you couldn't." You turned your head and met his gaze. "As I said, I thought I'd lend you a hand."
Utakata eyed you. "Who are you?"
You walked over to him, holding out your hand and offering him your name. Utakata was wary but grabbed your hand and shook it, introducing himself to you.
"Why did you help me?" he asked you.
The two of you began walking together through the forest, leaving the dead hunter-nin behind.
"I overheard a bit of your conversation with the ANBU. You wanted to be left alone and they attacked you. I just opted to take your side," you responded and quirked an eyebrow. "So what's the deal with Kiri's ANBU after you, Utakata? I'm trying to decide if I made a good decision or not."
"I left Kiri to wander the world. I couldn't live in the village."
He was telling the truth, though he was also withholding information. It was unrealistic to think he would've told you everything about himself after just meeting you. But at least he wasn't some sort of violent killer that murdered hundreds of people in cold blood.
"Does this situation also have something to do with you being a Jinchūriki?" you asked, and Utakata stopped walking.
"How do you know that?"
"My sensory skills are strong, and I could tell you have unusual chakra. It reminded me of other Jinchūriki I know."
"Yet you still decided to help me?"
"Why not?" You shrugged, resuming your walk again. "Just because you're a Jinchūriki doesn't mean you deserve to be treated like shit."
Utakata's expression changed to one of slight surprise before returning to a stoic one. The silence that fell over him and you was relatively peaceful.
"So you're from Konoha?" Utakata broke the silence after a few seconds and you nodded. "What are you doing out here in the Land of Water?"
"I'm traveling. I have been for close to three years now. It's nice not to be confined to the village, though at the same time, I miss home and doing missions."
Thunder rumbled in the sky, making you and Utakata look up. The first drop of rain hit the earth. You didn't know it was supposed to rain today.
"You should get out of this storm. The forest could flood if it rains too much," Utakata said.
"Shouldn't you do the same?"
"I'll be fine."
You looked at Utakata in amusement. "You're an interesting guy, Utakata. Very carefree."
"Worrying has never gotten me anywhere in life."
"I should try it."
Utakata stared at you with a contemplative gaze then sighed. Before you could ask him what was wrong, he blew a bubble with his pipe that surrounded you and lifted you off the ground. Your eyes widened as you slowly rose higher and higher, and you swore you could see a flicker of amusement in Utakata's eyes from where he stood on the ground. Your heart raced as you sat in the bubble and looked around for what to do. It freaked you out a bit, and you pulled out one of your kunai to pop the bubble before a voice stopped you.
"Didn't you say you wanted to try not worrying?" Utakata asked, and you looked over, finding him in his own bubble. "Relax. Take a moment to see the world from a bird's eye view."
You stared at him for a few seconds before nodding and slipping your kunai away, looking around the land. Despite the rain that now steadily fell, you could see everything, and it was beautiful. You had a view of the entire island and the ocean surrounding it, and below you were the tops of all the trees in the forest. You found yourself slowly relaxing, and a smile came to your face while your bubble carried you across the island.
"This is some technique, Utakata," you laughed. "Thanks for this."
He nodded to you, and you lounged back in the bubble. You still didn't know much about him, but Utakata seemed like a good guy and one that just wanted to mind his own business. His use of bubbles in Ninjutsu was amazing as well. You had never considered mixing soap with Water Release, but it made a statement. It was a type of technique that when you saw it, you knew who was using it—much like you using glitter with your Magnet Release.
"If I were you, I would never come down from this bubble, Utakata," you said, closing your eyes and enjoying the freedom of feeling weightless and without responsibilities. "This is the most I've ever relaxed."
"Really?"
"I've been a ninja since I was four, and I rarely got breaks. It's always been the ninja life for me. Even before I was a ninja, my parents constantly trained me. I was already a Chūnin by the time I learned how to ride a bike."
Utakata murmured your last name and his eyes widened. "You're one of the survivors of the massacre and the one the prophecy spoke of."
"So those facts really are known everywhere?" you murmured and nodded. "Yeah, I am."
Utakata looked away from you. "There's a small cave in a nearby cliff that can act as shelter during this storm. You can join me if you want. Consider it payment for 'lending me a hand,' as you put it."
Taking shelter with Utakata didn't sound too bad. It could give you a chance to learn more about him, and in return, you would be open to telling him more about yourself.
"I think I'll take you up on your offer, Utakata," you said, making him glance over at you and nod.
-January 31st, Y15, 11:15 PM-
A fire flickered between the small camp you and Utakata had set up. While you had learned that he preferred solitude to the company of others, he didn't object to you joining him on his journey around the other small islands in the Land of Water. It had brought you both closer together, and you considered Utakata a friend at this point. You had both opened up about bits and pieces of your pasts, but you still didn't know what his entire reason was for leaving Kiri, and you could tell he had questions about you as well.
"This past week has been fun," you said, averting your gaze from the fire to Utakata's eyes. "The only place I have yet to see in this country is Kiri, so I'm going to make my way there in the morning. I really appreciate you letting me join you on part of your journey."
"You haven't been bad company," he admitted, falling silent for a few seconds before saying, "my memory at the time of when I left Kiri is fragmented. I don't remember everything, but I know I was betrayed by someone who was my master."
You realized where he was going with the conversation and shook your head.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I understand, Utakata."
He shrugged. "I don't mind telling you. What I remember is my master who was training me, Harusame, trying out this process on me. I don't remember what it was for or why he was trying it, but something happened during it, and when I came to it again, he was dead. I don't know why, but I felt betrayed and like I couldn't trust him, so I left the village to travel the world. Kirigakure hasn't been accepting of that, though."
What the hell was Utakata's master trying to accomplish in whatever process he put him through? It sounded traumatic. Did it have to do with his Tailed Beast in some way? When a Jinchūriki started transforming into the beast they hosted, their memory wasn't always the clearest. If Harusame had triggered that transformation in Utakata, it could've explained his fragmented memory.
"Uta..." you breathed out, and his head snapped up in surprise at the use of the nickname. "That's horrible, and I'm sorry you had to go through that. Does Kiri blame you for Harusame's death?"
"Yeah. They only want to bring me back so that they can find out what happened. I'd be killed afterward."
"You don't deserve that. You may not consciously remember everything that happened, but you subconsciously do for you to feel betrayed by it."
For the first time since you met Utakata, his lips pulled into the faintest of smiles. You stood and walked around the fire, taking a seat beside him. You were happy he trusted you enough to open up to you about his past and what had happened that led him to defect from Kirigakure and choose to live a nomadic lifestyle.
"The reason why I've been traveling these past few years was because so much was happening in my life that I was on the verge of defecting, and the Hokage noticed. It was just one thing after the other—my clan's massacre, the death of one of my closest friends, the death of my Sensei, and then the deaths of my best friend and another close friend of mine that occurred on a mission I was the leader for. Their deaths were the final nail in the coffin that pushed me to lose it. I was under so much stress—stress I didn't even realize at first—that I couldn't stand being in Konoha, so I was sent off to explore the world and train with two of the Legendary Sannin," you explained.
"The Legendary Sannin..."
"I've met all of them. Jiraiya and Tsunade trained me, and Orochimaru... well, he's responsible for what happened to my clan," you whispered and showed Utakata the Curse Mark on your neck. "He gave me a Curse Mark the night of my clan's massacre. Part of his chakra is inside of me now and always will be until he dies. It's supposed to be eating away at my mind until I'm weak enough to go to him, but I'm stronger than that. I just... I hate that he's attached to me like this."
"How disgusting that someone would do something like that," Utakata spat out, examining the mark on your neck. "It's like he laid a claim to you."
"I've started doing research into removing the chakra of the person who gave someone a Curse Mark from the body. I don't know if it'll ever be possible, but I'm at least going to try one day."
"I hope you succeed," Utakata said your name.
"And I hope the Kiri-nin will one day leave you alone."
Utakata hesitated but lifted an arm and wrapped it around your shoulders, pulling you into a comforting side hug. You relaxed against him until your eyes grew heavy. Utakata carefully helped you lie down, placing your travel bag under your head to use as a pillow while draping a blanket over your body. He stared at you with a soft gaze and lightly rubbed the top of your head before sitting down against the trunk of a tree while you drifted off to sleep.
-February 1st, Y15, 8:00 AM-
The waves lapped softly against the sand of the beach, and you looked out across the ocean. Kirigakure was on the other side, and it was your next stop on your journey. Glancing over at Utakata, a sad look came to your eyes. Traveling with him over the past week had been amazing, and you were going to miss him once you left. You hoped your paths crossed again and that he could get away from the hunter-nin.
"So this is it..." you sighed. "Thank you for letting me join you, Uta. I wish you luck on your future travels."
"I wish you the same," he responded before slipping a bottle out of his kimono and handing it to you. "Take this with you. Use it when you're stressed to calm down."
You took the bottle and smiled when you noticed it was a soap solution to make bubbles with. Some might've said it was childish, but blowing bubbles helped you focus on your breathing and was an effective way for you to calm down and ease your mind.
You softly laughed, putting the bubbles away. "I appreciate this, Uta. I see why you're so carefree in your bubbles. There's just something so light-hearted about them."
"I suppose there is," Utakata said and slipped his bubble-blowing pipe out of the sleeve of his kimono. "Enjoy the rest of your training journey."
"You as well." You held out your hand. "It was great to meet you, Uta. I'm happy to call you a friend."
Utakata seemed surprised at first. "I guess it's good to know I have a friend out there."
Both of you shook hands, and you backed away first. Utakata sent you a nod, and you started walking along the coast, glancing back to see a bubble surrounding Utakata and lifting him into the air. He began to float over the ocean, and you made your way toward the dock on the island.
-February 15th, Y15, 2:28 PM-
Walking through a misty field outside of Kirigakure, you focused on everything around you as you headed away from the village. Kiri was a place with a dark history and a Mizukage the people seemed to fear. You had enjoyed your time and started working on creating a new nature transformation that involved combining all your others into one. You called it Elemental Release, and it was your primary focus. If you succeeded, it would be one of the biggest breakthroughs in nature transformation that the world had seen in a long time.
Luckily, you had a year to focus on creating it before you returned to Konoha.
The mist around you grew thicker. The Hiding in Mist Technique. You sensed a chakra signature quickly approaching you, and you unravelled your manriki chain from around your waist and swung it out as the person swung a sword at you. The chain wrapped around the handle of the sword and their wrist, and you pulled the end of it with one hand and forced the direction of their sword to change and hit the ground instead.
Sensing a masked chakra signature in a tree about ten meters from you, you lifted your free hand up near your head and caught a senbon needle between your pointer and middle finger before it could hit your neck. Well, shit. If you weren't as talented of a ninja as you were, you would've been fucked. The teamwork between these two mystery ninja you had yet to see was impressive.
Slipping the senbon into your mouth, you took off one of your war fans from your belt and infused your Wind Release chakra into it. You waved the fan and sent a huge gust of wind out, clearing the mist and revealing the swordsman who had attacked you. The tall, young man had a greyish tan, dark brown eyes, and short, black spiky hair. Bandages were wrapped around the lower half of his face, acting as a mask, and he only wore a pair of dark black pants with cow print arm and leg warmers. His muscular chest was only covered by the strap for his sword.
"Zabuza Momochi." You smirked. "Nice cow print, Mr. Moo-Moo."
"You little brat," he growled, trying to get his sword loose from your chain.
"Ah-ah." You shook your head and tugged on the chain to keep his sword and arm under control. "You're not going anywhere just yet."
Zabuza's eyes narrowed into a dangerous glare, and you glanced over in the direction of the other person. Infusing chakra into the senbon, you spat it out in the direction of the person. They jumped out of the way and landed a few meters ahead of you on the ground. They wore a Kirigakure pinstriped outfit with a green haori over it and a brown sash tied around their waist. Long black hair framed their face hidden by an ANBU mask.
"So what gives me the honor of being attacked by one of the legendary Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?" you asked Zabuza and glanced over at the other person, who looked to be about Ryuu's age. "And who's your partner here?"
"How did you know I was there?" the masked ninja asked you, tone soft and feminine.
"I could sense you," you chuckled. "Masking your chakra doesn't work against me. I've trained to sense chakra to even the slightest of levels since I was a child. You're very talented in it, though."
Putting your war fan back on your belt, you grabbed ahold of your manriki chain with both hands and tugged it hard enough to make Zabuza let go of his sword. You yanked the chain towards yourself, pulling the sword with it. You let go of the chain with one hand and grabbed the handle of the sword.
If you recalled correctly, Zabuza's sword was Kubikiribōchō and was specifically used for execution. The half-circle in the blade close to the hilt of the sword would cleanly slice someone's head off. You had heard the sword also had a special ability to repair itself from the blood it harvested from its victims.
"So the Bingo Book was right," Zabuza dryly laughed, making you send him a curious look as he said your name and stated, "you are the Silent Phantom of Konoha."
"Excuse me? What do you mean the Bingo Book was right?"
"You didn't know?" Zabuza seemed surprised before sighing and pulling his Bingo Book out of his pocket, tossing it to you. "I doubt Konoha's has you in it, but the continental book operated by the black market and every other village that isn't allied with Konoha has you listed as the ninja with the highest bounty on their head."
You opened the book to the first page. "Well, shit."
You read through your entry, chuckling to yourself when you realized that they didn't have a picture for you or confirmation of your name. The alias that Zabuza had called you was marked down, along with an age range that placed you somewhere between thirteen and seventeen. You read through the listed abilities and the note at the end of the book that told anyone with a copy of it that it was believed that you were this unknown ninja.
"Honestly, why don't they just put my name down, anyway? I'm the only ninja who has all of these abilities," you said, handing Zabuza his book.
"The black market is still a business, and until confirmation of identity occurs, they don't take chances."
"Well, according to that book, I have a flee on sight order, yet you and the other one attacked me, anyway."
Examining the sword in your hand, you stuck the hilt of it into the ground and leaned against the dull edge of the blade. You swung the end of your chain around, eyeing Zabuza and the other person. What intentions did they have?
Zabuza suddenly jumped back, and the masked ninja made a hand sign. Mirrors made of ice surrounded you from all sides and above. A reflection of the masked ninja appeared in each mirror, and you stayed calm.
You were surprised the mystery ninja was trying to attack you. They should've known you had Ice Release from the Bingo Book, but you supposed that didn't necessarily mean you knew this technique, and you didn't.
"Ice Release," you said, sensing the chakra that ran through all the mirrors and finding the one with the actual ninja in it. "What is this technique?"
"Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals," they responded and pulled out three senbon between their fingers.
You hummed, examining everything you could about the technique. You needed to see how the rest of the technique worked so that you could find out how to break it. It had been a while since you had come into contact with a technique you had never fought against before.
The person suddenly moved out of the mirror at a speed that threw you off guard. If you hadn't trained yourself to track movement at such rates, you would've had to resort to one of your Dōjutsus to watch their movements.
Every time the ninja moved, they threw senbon at you. You were able to dodge each needle while continuing to track them, and you started swinging the end of your chain again. The use of senbon was a rather cruel choice of weapon to use. This ninja's goal was to hit you with them as much as possible until you couldn't move, and then, they would likely go for a finishing move. You would've been in a lot of pain right now if you weren't as skilled as you were.
You kept tracking the ninja's movements while dodging their attacks, and when they start coming toward you again, you swung your chain out and wrapped it around their waist. Restraining them with the chain, you tugged the end of it, pulling them toward you. You wound your arm back and punched them in the chest, unravelling your chain from their body so that they went flying out of the ice mirror prison. You grabbed Zabuza's sword and followed them out of it. The person slid across the ground and stopped near Zabuza, and you sighed before tossing Zabuza's sword back to him.
"Enough with this. I don't want to kill you," you told him and the other ninja. "Where are you both off to?"
"Nowhere in particular. We're just traveling and doing jobs," Zabuza warily responded, placing his sword on his back. "Why?"
"Mind if I join?"
"You want to travel with missing-nin?"
"I don't mind." You shrugged and approached him and the other ninja. "I'm just traveling as well, and I've already been hanging with missing-nin. What's two more?"
Zabuza's eyes narrowed, but he sighed and nodded as he turned on his heel and began walking away. You followed after him, glancing over at the masked ninja who joined your side and released their ice mirror technique. They reached up and removed the mask from their face, revealing dark-brown eyes and rather androgynous features.
"I'm Haku," the person introduced themself to you.
"It's nice to meet you, Haku. That technique you trapped me in is amazing. Your speed is also just as impressive," you told them and sheepishly rubbed your nape. "May I ask what pronouns you use? I don't want to misgender you."
"I use they/them," Haku responded with a kind smile. "Thank you for not presuming."
"There's no need to thank me," you told them, wrapping your chain around your waist.
Haku sent you another grateful smile, and Zabuza led you both across the field. You had never met any of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen before. You knew quite a bit of the last generation of them died while the others became missing-nin. You didn't know the details, but you knew Zabuza became a missing-nin a couple of years ago after he and some other ninja attempted a coup d'etat against the Fourth Mizukage. Given the stories you had heard about the Fourth Mizukage while in Kiri, you couldn't blame him. Kirigakure was a dark and cruel place, and you didn't feel like you could relax the entire time you were there.
Missing-nin or not, Zabuza and Haku were people you looked forward to getting to know and travel with. You would love to know what Zabuza could teach you when it came to Kenjutsu techniques, and you now had someone to practice your Ice Release with. You didn't know how long you would travel with them, but it was bound to be an interesting experience.
-April 19th, Y15, 4:29 PM-
You tilted your head, eyeing the beginning of a bridge being built over the ocean from the Land of Waves. The country had relied on Konoha for imported necessities for years, but you hadn't heard that they were building a bridge. It would make traveling between the Land of Fire and Land of Waves a thousand times easier, which meant transporting goods would also be simpler. Maybe you could help out a bit.
Turning to Zabuza and Haku, you sent them both a smile. The past two months that you had traveled with them had been a blast. Haku had opened up to you about their past, and you had been surprised to hear that such a hardened and bloodthirsty ninja like Zabuza had a soft spot. He cared about Haku, even though he acted like he didn't.
Zabuza had also told you about himself and his time in Kirigakure during the Bloody Mist era and what he had done to graduate. It was a bit off-putting to hear, but in the end, he was a product of the environment he grew up in, and that environment was a vicious one.
Zabuza and his group had tried to overthrow the Fourth Mizukage because they disagreed with how he ran the village, but that failed. You also had learned that a lot of people believed the Fourth Mizukage was being manipulated. If someone were pulling the strings from the shadows, you wondered who they were and why they were doing it.
"You sure this is where you want to stay?" Zabuza asked, looking toward the run-down town. "It doesn't look like there's much to do here. Knowing you, you'll get bored."
"That is the beauty of actually staying in a place instead of passing through it. You find out what you can do," you responded, clasping your hands in front of you. "Plus, I want to check out the country. I've never been to it before."
Zabuza shook his head but didn't comment on your reasoning; instead, he sighed and turned to you. You raised an eyebrow when you noticed something was on his mind, and he glanced at Haku and nodded to them. They both made a hand sign and summoned two boxes.
"What's this?" you asked.
Zabuza and Haku gave you the boxes, and you eyed them with curiosity before you took a seat on the ground. You opened the box Haku had given you and gasped at the sight of beautifully crafted twin ninjatō swords in a sword holder. You slid them out of their sheaths and carefully examined them. The hilts were made of sleek black metal, and the tsukamaki wrapped around them was made of blue fabric that provided proper gripping and didn't feel like it would hurt if you gripped it too tight. The blade of the sword was stunning. The metal was matte black and the edge of the sword was icy blue. The caps of the swords were the same color blue as the gripping, and the hand guards were painted a black to blue ombré.
You sheathed the swords and picked up the box Zabuza had given you. You opened it and found an O katana. The sheath was black with purple lightning running up it, and you brushed your fingers over the tsuba of the sword. It wasn't a standard guard; instead, it was shaped like the head of a dragon, and the blade of the sword came out of its mouth. It was painted black with purple outlines, and the steel of the sword was matte black with purple lightning running up it. The kashira of the katana wasn't the standard cap; it was shaped like the tail of a dragon, and the tsukamaki was made of the same material as the twin ninjatōs but in purple.
"These are beautiful," you whispered and looked at Zabuza and Haku. "You didn't have to do this, but thank you."
"Those swords were crafted by Mitsuru Uyeno. She's considered the best bladesmith in the ninja world, and her ancestors created the seven swords of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen that were passed down through generations," Zabuza explained and gestured to both boxes. "Mitsuru made the twin ninjatōs to work with your Ice Release chakra, enhancing the strength of those moves. The O katana works with your Lightning Release in the same way. The steel for both swords is the strongest she has, so they won't break easily."
"You'll have to pass along my thanks to Mitsuru," you said, sliding off your travel bag and putting the holder for the twin ninjatōs on your back. "You really didn't have to do this for me."
"We found out we missed your fifteenth birthday, so it's a late present and also a farewell gift," Haku softly said.
Zabuza's flicked your forehead. "You should've told us your birthday, brat."
"Well, I really appreciate you both thinking about me," you told them.
You slid the sheath of your O katana through your belt so that it rested against your side. You adjusted the sword so that it fit comfortably and picked up your travel bag, sliding it over your shoulder. You were really going to miss spending time with Zabuza and Haku. But this was where you parted ways.
"These past two months have been fun," you said, using your Fire Release chakra to burn the empty boxes. "Thank you for letting me join you on your journey."
"Better that than being your enemy," Zabuza said.
You playfully rolled your eyes and elbowed him.
"I'm glad we met," Haku said your name and brought you into a hug, whispering, "Zabuza is, too."
You giggled. "I'm glad we met as well, Haku. Stay safe."
Their cheeks grew a faint pink. "You, too."
You let go of Haku and offered your hand to Zabuza. "Goodbye, Mr. Moo-Moo."
Zabuza sighed in annoyance but grabbed your hand and squeezed it. He nodded to you, silently saying goodbye before letting go of your hand. You stepped back a few step and waved to Zabuza and Haku before turning on your heel.
Walking towards the town, you noticed that it was in worse shape than you had originally thought. Numerous people begged for food or money, and the streets weren't in the best condition. You hadn't known the Land of Waves was struggling this much.
You pulled out your wallet and gave some money to a few kids and adults that asked you for it, and your eyes flickered to the bridge. If the construction workers could finish the bridge quickly, the country should be able to make more money because importing and exporting would be easier.
You approached the bridge and looked around at all of the construction workers. Many of them carried steel beams, and your eyes widened when you saw one of them starting to drop theirs. Body Flickering over to the man, you grabbed the beam and lifted it with one arm. The man's eyes widened in shock, and you offered him a smile.
"Where do you need to take this beam?" you asked.
"U-Uhh, right over here."
The man led you to where the bridge was built out to, and you set the beam down where you were directed to before looking around. Making a hand sign, you created a dozen Blood Clones and ordered them to help out the other construction workers. The guy who you had helped looked at you like the gods had sent you themselves."
"Hey, you!"
An older man made his way over to you. His short grey hair showed his age, and he had a grey beard that framed his face. A pair of glasses sat on his nose, and his sleeveless shirt showed off his muscular arms.
"Who are you?" the man demanded.
You give him your name and added, "One of your workers almost dropped one of the beams, so I stepped in and helped out. I hope you don't mind."
"You want to help?"
"Yeah, I don't mind! This bridge is a brilliant idea."
The man scoffed. "It would be if Gatō didn't keep trying to stop me."
Who was Gatō, and what did he do?
You gestured the man to step over to the side with you so that the others could work. He watched in surprise as some of your Clones carried things back and forth, helping out the other workers as well.
"Who's Gatō?" you asked. "And who are you?"
"I'm Tazuna, the one responsible for building this bridge," he said, and you both shook hands. "And Gatō... he's a businessmen that just came into power last week and has already monopolized the shipping industry and gotten richer while the rest of us suffer. We're building this bridge to take away his power, but he's been trying to stop us every step of the way."
"Then I would like to help as much as I can. I don't mind staying for a couple of weeks, so whatever you need from me, I'll do. I'm sure you can tell that I'm quite capable when it comes to physical labor."
"That's an understatement," Tazuna chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest. "So you're a shinobi?"
"I am. I've been one since I was four."
Tazuna's eyes nearly popped out of his head, making you cover your mouth, muffling your giggle. The people of the Land of Waves weren't ninja, so you weren't surprised they didn't recognize you. However, you wanted to help out the people of the country. What Gatō was doing was disgusting. He was getting rich off struggling people, and that was something that needed to come to an end. You doubted you would be able to build an entire bridge in two weeks—at least, not without using Ninjutsu—but you could help the construction crew as much as possible.
"Well, I'll gratefully accept your help. I want to offer you my family's house to stay at while you're here, though. My daughter, son-in-law, and grandson live with me as well, but we have some spare rooms and can turn one of them into a bedroom," Tazuna told you.
"That's very nice. Thank you, Tazuna. I accept," you said before clasping your hands together. "So, what do you want me to start with?"
Tazuna smirked and pointed at a pile of steel beams that needed to be moved, and you nodded before jogging over to them. If you ever met Gatō, someone better stop you from pummeling him for everything he had done. What a disgusting pig.
You lifted two of the beams, making the construction men gawk as you walked past them. Your physical strength was unnatural, even for ninja, and when you infused chakra into your body, you only got stronger. You couldn't wait to return to Konoha and show off your new skills and improved strength. It was less than a year away. Less than a year until you saw everyone again.
A/N- 2021
All right, so this was the last chapter of your character's back story (went from four chapters to nine after editing). I really hope you enjoyed these chapters and that it makes your character feel more developed. Chapter ten will be the start of the actual Naruto series and will follow the show (with changes made to accommodate your character, of course). Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!
-Michaela