Hinata activated her byakugan and scanned the area around the camp. She saw no one nor did she see anything to indicate a trap had been laid for them in the night. She signaled as much to her teammates. Shino and Kiba signaled their acknowledgment while Akamaru resorted to nodding. They emerged carefully from their hideout, destroyed all traces of their campsite, and resumed their mission—scouting the former site of Uzushiogakure for clues.
Her team had yet to enter the destroyed village, even though they had been there for five days by this point. There were a host of reasons why they hadn't passed the border into the village-proper, but Hinata knew they were all excuses.
The Village Hidden by Whirling Tides was a bad place.
The day before her team left on their mission, Tsunade-hokage-sama ordered them to meet with Ichigo to discuss the lay of the land. Uzumaki Mamoru's fuinjutsu, the one Ichigo and his sisters had used to travel between worlds, had deposited them in Uzu. They were the first residents of Konoha to visit the other village in a decade, so Tsunade wanted Ichigo to tell Hinata and her team as much as he remembered about their destination.
Ichigo had obviously had more time to prepare for their meeting. He had brought a map, an incredibly detailed map, which he had created using a technique from Soul Society. When activated, the images lifted off the page forming three dimensional structures, which could then be rotated and enhanced by the user. Underneath her byakugan, the images existed in the form of pure light.
It was a kido-based map, a subset of bakudo and barrier creation, which his clan head, Kukaku, had taught him to make along with fireworks. After an hour of practice, Hinata and all of her teammates, including Akamaru, had been able to activate and deactivate the map with the careful application of yin chakra and, weirdly, killing intent. (Akamaru wasn't able to spin the map due to a natural lack of thumbs, but they all agreed it wasn't likely that he would need to use that feature.)
Then Ichigo proceeded to review every ambush point and potential pitfall he could remember. Even a casual walk through the village would be dangerous. Most of the buildings were collapsed and deteriorating. Some had fallen into a network of tunnels which ran below the entirety of the village. Nonetheless Ichigo had excellent tactical recall of the layout, which was surprising given that he and his sisters had only stayed in Uzu for two days before moving on.
Shino had said as much before Hinata could mention it. Ichigo had reluctantly admitted that a few Hollow, his name for evil spirits, had been brought along with them from some place called the Dangai, and he had had to chase them down before they could eat anyone. The short series of battles had made him hyperaware of his surroundings. More so than the glowing map, it was a sobering reminder of Ichigo's origins, both why he had come to the Elemental Countries and what he had been before—a god of death.
Kiba had tried to lighten the mood by making a joke about ghosts haunting the place. Ichigo had denied the existence of any ghosts in the Elemental Countries so far but had said the aura of Uzu was right for them, which only served to unsettle the team even more.
Hinata had asked as politely as she could for an explanation and received the immediate reply that Karin was better at sensing that sort of thing and had been the one to encourage them to leave. After a bit of coaxing, Ichigo compared it to the still abandoned places in the Uchiha Compound. Uzushiogakure had been a place full of life once—joy, sorrow, birth, death, struggle, and peace—and now that the people were gone it was more than desolate. Most animals seemed to avoid the place, and the edge of the forest, which should have encroached on and partially taken over the village, was never came close to the broken walls.
That last fact alone raised alarm bells for the tracking team. It suggested someone was maintaining the border, but Ichigo swore there was no one living with a day's walk of Uzu, and according to their own maps, the nearest settlement was almost one hundred kilometers down the coastline. Not a serious impediment for a shinobi but still far enough away to be inconvenient.
When Hinata's team arrived in the former Land of Whirlpools, they had seen signs of people traveling through—too recent to be Ichigo and his sisters, who hadn't traveled straight to Konoha anyway—but they hadn't seen any signs of people staying anywhere either. Closer to Uzushiogakure, the signs were even more obvious, large groups of people of multiple ages were traveling to and from the former village but still no sign of occupation.
When they reached the physical border of the village, they saw what Ichigo had meant regarding the forest. There was a wide band of clear ground between the coastal trees and the edge of the village. It formed a near-perfect circle around Uzu. Hinata had traced it out on the map Ichigo had given them. If the border extended into the waters, then it really was a circle.
They hadn't dared to cross it on the first day. Hinata suspected it was part of a seal. The Uzumaki clan had been fuinjutsu masters, and they had founded Uzushiogakure. She wouldn't put it past them to have designed a seal into the village itself. Ichigo and his sisters had passed through it harmlessly, but they were Uzumaki by blood. She didn't want to risk her team unnecessarily.
The trees were not the mammoths they were used to around Konoha, but a determined shinobi could make a hidden camp anywhere. The first place they found had once been used by Uzu-nin. There was a hidden cache of rusting weapons, rotted tags, and dried inkpots. After a brief debate, they had agreed to use that location out of respect for their village's former allies but would move on the next night.
They had set up their usual rotating watch. In the morning, Hinata used her byakugan to inspect the destroyed village and found brand new signs of movement, but there were still no signs people staying in the surrounding area and none of them, not even Akamaru, had sensed anyone passing in the night.
They had all agreed after that first night not to enter the village until they knew who was coming and going but had had no success in determining who that might be. They had noticed other things though.
For one, Ichigo was right about the animals. A ruined village attracted scavengers and scavengers attracted larger predators which attracted even bigger animals. Hinata had seen the remains of many villages destroyed by war, and each one was miniature eco-system. There were a few animals, rats mostly, scurrying around Uzushiogakure but nowhere near enough.
There weren't even that many bugs. Hinata had allowed Shino to send a few of his colony into Uzu, but they reported nothing that the team couldn't see for itself. No people, no animals, and no competition for food from local insects. Every living thing fled from the village.
Every night they stayed, the feeling of wrongness grew stronger. Hinata wondered how Ichigo had missed it. What he described and what Hinata was feeling were nowhere near the same level of intensity. But they were still desperate for hints of what was going on, and their options were growing limited. Tsunade-sama and the others would have left for the Kage Summit that morning.
"We should go in," said Hinata firmly.
Akamaru whined quietly. Kiba bit his lip. "We don't think it's a good idea."
"It's not a good idea," admitted Hinata. "But we can't learn anything more from sitting here."
"Everything we can see in there, you can see from out here with your byakugan," said Kiba stubbornly.
"You know there's more to collecting information than what you can see with your eyes, Inuzuka," snapped Hinata.
"Don't yell at me," growled Kiba. "Akamaru thinks it's a bad idea to go in there. I think it's a bad idea to go in there. You think it's a bad idea to go in there. So does Shino. If we're all in agreement, then we shouldn't go in there."
"Hinata is upset by our lack of progress," said Shino. "Why? Because Naruto and Kurosaki Ichigo are threatened by this enemy."
Hinata blushed. "Th-that's not why! We're on a mission, and we're getting nowhere."
"Regardless, acting recklessly will not do them any good," said Shino. "Perhaps we should look for alternative means of egress."
"I've checked for escape tunnels," said Hinata. "They're all collapsed."
"We know there are ways to hide from the byakugan. And this was a coastal village. Perhaps there was a hidden port as well as a hidden village," suggested Shino.
"You think we should scout the coastline?" asked Hinata.
"I would like to consider every possibility before we cross over that border," said Shino.
"If it gets us away from that place, then I am all for it," said Kiba. Akamaru woofed quietly in agreement.
Hinata considered it quickly. Checking up and down the coastline wouldn't hurt. If they didn't find anything, then they could reconsider entering Uzu. Kiba was right about one thing. She didn't want to go in there if she didn't have to.
"Which direction?" asked Hinata.
"The nearest port is south of us," said Shino. "Perhaps the waters are better that way."
Hinata resolved to spend at least a little time learning about the ocean when she got back to Konoha. She knew how to keep her balance on a boat and had learned to sail on a river, but she and her team were depressingly underprepared for a sea-based mission. Shinobi were usually hired to kill pirates not track them.
"Alright," said Hinata. "Kiba, Akamaru, you take point. I'll take the rear. Shino have your bugs send out a wide net. If they can hide from my byakugan, I don't want us taken by surprise."
Her teammates signaled acknowledgement. They retreated from the village (again) and started heading south. Once they were out of sight of Uzu, they moved closer to the beach—what little of it there was. This part of the coast had more rocks than sand. Tracks were harder to find on rock, of course, but that only mattered if there were tracks to find. No one else had passed by this way in years, not even the mystery enemy they were trying to hunt down.
They had covered a good twenty kilometers, and Hinata had just been considering ordering them to turn around when Kiba and Akamaru came to an abrupt halt. Shino and Hinata closed ranks behind them, close but not too close to avoid crowding in case of an attack.
"What is it?" asked Hinata.
"The wind shifted," said Kiba. "Akamaru smelled something. I can too. It's not good."
Hinata was impressed, the smell of the sea had overpowered her nose and she knew it had to be worse for her teammates, but she was concerned too. "Not good" was an incredibly vague descriptor. They had drilled to report as accurately as possible, but Kiba still tried to soften things for his teammates whenever he was unsettled.
She activated her byakugan and focused her vision forward and slightly toward the sea.
Roughly two hundred meters away was a cove, no doubt created over thousands of years by one of the many eddies in the Land of Whirlpools. At first she thought it was full of logs or maybe a school of large fish. Then her mind processed what she was seeing.
"Oh no," she breathed, dropping her dojutsu, and racing for the water, all attempts at hiding forgotten.
There were bodies in the water. Hundreds of them. Young and old, civilian and shinobi. Too many to fit inside the coastal inlet. Many more floated out in the open ocean. Most were bloated with seawater, and some of the bodies had been tossed up on the shore by the tide and were rotting away in the sun. The stench was overwhelming. If they had been killed at the same time, it would have been a massacre. But it was clear that the oldest bodies had to have been there for months while others were…fresher.
"Oh gross," said Kiba weakly.
Hinata spared him a glance. Kiba was deathly white beneath his tattoos. They all knew death. They were shinobi. But this was different.
"Where are the birds?" asked Shino. He sounded as cool as ever, but he was deliberately looking away from the charnel house that was the cove.
"Birds?" Hinata heard herself ask.
"Gulls, vultures, scavengers," said Shino. "There are none here. Just as there are none in Uzu. Why is that?"
Akamaru whined loudly.
"Because the bodies are wrong," whispered Kiba.
Hinata took a deep breath and gagged. She breathed again, through her mouth this time, which was barely an improvement, and reactivated byakugan. She couldn't see anything wrong with bodies. Though she realized with dull horror that there was at least another layer below the one she could see with her normal vision. The tide just kept piling new bodies on top and pushing the older ones down. The water in this cove was more liquefied flesh than actual water.
Then she saw something else. Movement, fluttery but there, and then a spasm. A weak heartbeat and a breath.
"Someone is alive," said Hinata.
"In that?" asked Kiba.
Hinata stripped off her coat.
"You are not going swimming in that," said Shino flatly.
"No," said Hinata. "I am a shinobi. I am going to water-walk. That's just in case I slip."
Hinata slipped. More than once. She had experience at water-walking, not people-sludge walking, and when she thought about it too hard her concentration slipped too which made her stumble. In the end, she had to stop thinking about it entirely and focus on the shinobi she was rescuing or else she knew she would start screaming.
The walk back was even harder. The shinobi, a Mist nin judging by his hitai-ate, was catatonic from his injuries, from floating in the water who knew how long, or from being surrounded by decaying bodies, Hinata wasn't sure. Regardless, he was sixty kg of deadweight she had to carry over her shoulders, and he was coated in—well, she couldn't think about that yet.
Hinata dipped into the water so often that she was tempted to wade to shore. She was already covered in filth. What stopped her were the bodies, or more accurately, the people they had been. Walking through them would destroy the flesh even faster and in turn destroy any chance of them being identified. Maybe stepping on them was less respectful, but it would preserve them just a little while longer.
Finally, Hinata reached the shoreline. When her feet hit solid ground, she upped her pace and jogged past her teammates keeping her burden as steady as possible.
"Where are you going?" asked Kiba.
"Clean water," said Hinata.
She ran almost three hundred meters up the coast before she thought she was safe. There were still bodies in the water, but they were much farther out in the current. Without her byakugan, she wouldn't know they were there at all.
Hinata waded into the ocean until the water reached her waist. Then she dumped the Kiri-nin onto his back and, careful to keep the unresponsive shinobi's head above the water, submersed herself completely. She stayed under as long as possible, scrubbing herself as best she could with only one hand. When she rose, she felt minutely better, but it would be a long time before she felt clean again.
Kiba joined her in the water then and helped hold the shinobi steady as Hinata stripped his clothes. There was a good chance the shinobi was hypothermic, but he also had open wounds, some of which had started to bleed sluggishly, and Hinata decided he could wear a spare set of Shino's clothes after they cleaned him off rather than trying in vain to keep him warm.
The first thing to go was a heavy pack, which sank to the sandy bottom as soon as she cut it free. But she resorted to cutting off all of his clothes in the end since they were too tattered and stained to save. As they slowly floated away, Hinata idly wondered if they would rejoin the collection of bodies. Then she deliberately put aside all thought of that gruesome place and focused her attention the (barely) living shinobi in front her.
He had been in battle, been wounded, and been discarded into the ocean, likely by the same group who had murdered all those other people. In some ways, he was lucky. The cold of the sea had slowed his bleeding and the saltwater had helped prevent infection to a small degree. As a Mist-nin he was better equipped than most shinobi for the chill waters and had had enough energy at some point to try to heal himself a little bit. Hinata needed to finish the job, enough for him to tell them what he knew at least.
Kiba had been rinsing off the exposed skin with handfuls of seawater, but his hands hesitated over the man's chest. "How is this guy not dead?"
Someone had stabbed the man in the heart. Or at least, they had tried to.
"He has dextrocardia situs inversus," explained Hinata quickly.
Kiba frowned. "He has…what?"
"His internal organs are reversed. It's rare, and what saved his life," said Hinata.
"You mean, he's lucky," said Kiba.
"We are lucky to have found him," corrected Hinata. "He is incredibly skilled. A gaping chest wound isn't the kind of thing normal people can shake off."
"Yeah?" murmured Kiba. "Someone should tell Naruto."
"Naruto isn't normal," said Hinata automatically.
"Still harboring a flame?" asked Kiba. "Should Ichigo be worried?"
Hinata resisted the urge to growl at the Inuzuka. Kiba was unnerved by what they had found—who could blame him?—and he was trying to cover it up by acting normal. For him, that meant prying into his teammates' personal lives. She could understand, but she didn't want to deal with this right now.
"Set out a bedroll," she told him. "And have Shino get out his spare uniform."
"Okay," said Kiba sounding relieved to have something to do.
Hinata carefully finished rinsing off the man's face—she wanted the rest of him to be clean before she tried anything he could possibly interpret as drowning—and then started towing him to shore. Kiba helped her carry him to a sleeping bag laid out well away from the high-tide line.
"Kiba, I want you to use the Inuzuka fur-drying technique," said Hinata.
The Inuzuka lived in harmony with their nin-dogs, but that didn't mean they were anymore immune to the smell of wet dog than regular shinobi. Some long ago Inuzuka housewife had developed a Wind-type jutsu that allowed members of the clan to breathe out hot air like a blow-dryer. It was also excellent at warming freezing shinobi. Hinata wanted to warm the Kiri-nin as quickly and safely as possible.
While Kiba started drying the shinobi, Hinata focused on using Mystical Healing Palms. Green light surrounded her hands and she laid them over the shinobi's chest. That was the most critical injury. The cuts on his arms and legs were severe but not life threatening, not the way the chest wound was. She poured every bit of chakra she could spare into it, using her byakugan to keep a steady watch on his heart and lungs. He had breathed in some seawater and at this point might not survive coughing it back up.
A gentle pressure at her back dragged Hinata to her senses. She looked up to see Shino standing over her. At last recall the Aburame was standing watch while Kiba using the blow-dryer jutsu on her having finished with the Kiri-nin. When had they moved?
"Lie down," said Shino nodding toward a second sleeping bag.
Hinata shook her head. She wasn't Sakura, Tsunade, or even Ino, who often had the chance to use her medical jutsu in T&I, and she still had a long way to go before the wound was closed.
"I still need to—"
"He is stable," said Shino. "And you need to lie down. Why you ask? Because you are our only healer and because we are in enemy territory. If we must fight, then you must be well."
Hinata lowered her eyes. Frustration warred with practicality, but her teammate was right. If they were attacked, they already had one unconscious body to deal with and didn't need another.
"Thank you, Shino," she said quietly. "Would you…?"
"I will wake you in an hour or if there is need," said Shino taking up a position where he could easily watch her, the mystery shinobi, and keep an eye on Kiba and Akamaru doing their own rounds.
Hinata forced herself to her feet then wobbled the few steps to her own bedroll and practically collapsed face-first onto the thin layer of fabric and padding. She promised herself she would move into a more dignified position before going to sleep. She just needed a minute to gather her strength.
An hour later, a smelly wet tongue licked Hinata awake. She grumbled and swatted at Akamaru but pushed herself upright. A few blinks cleared her vision and gave her time to recall their situation. Hinata rose to her feet, much more gracefully this time, and accepted the ration bar Shino tossed her way as she moved to check on her patient.
The Kiri-nin was looking much better. He had a bit of color in his cheeks and his heartbeat was still weak but steadier than it had been before. There was still some fluid in his lungs, and Hinata foresaw a battle with pneumonia in his future if he survived. One of the boys had taken the time to shove him into a pair of Shino's trousers, which were only a hair too short, and they had laid Shino's spare shirt over him to keep him warm but hadn't put it on him so Hinata could reach the wound easily.
Hinata shaped her chakra and reached out with glowing green hands. The shinobi moved grabbing Hinata's arm as soon as she touched his chest. She saw Kiba and Shino both go for weapons out of the corner her eye but shook her head no. The man's grip was too weak to do anything. Instead she leaned forward over his head.
"Shinobi-san? Can you hear me? Can you open your eyes?" she asked.
The man's eyes blinked open slowly, and he squinted against the late morning sun. "Where—?"
He broke into a cough. Hinata waited patiently for him to finish. "We're down the coast from Uzushiogakure. You were in the ocean. Do you remember?"
"Dangerous," rasped the man. "Who?"
"We're a team from Konoha investigating the Uzumaki disappearances," said Hinata.
That roused the man a little further. He peered at her face. "Hyuuga. My team also looking for..."
Hinata kept her face passive. "You were the only one we found."
"Dead," said the shinobi firmly. "Uzu—danger—my bag." He dropped her arm to touch his chest were the bag had been strapped. "My bag!"
The fool tried to sit up. Hinata kept him down with barely any effort. "I know where your bag is. What's in it?"
"Proof of danger in Uzu," said the shinobi. "Take it to the summit. Prepare the villages for war."
Hinata blanched. Another war? So soon after the last one? She wasn't sure the world could weather it.
"I will get your bag," said Hinata. "Shino, Kiba, get him on a stretcher."
The advantage of living in a village ruled by a medic-nin was that everything that could be done to help preserve a shinobi's life had been done. The standard bedrolls were all designed to become stretchers by the simple expedient of sliding a collapsible pole—which was strong enough to double as a bō staff in an emergency—into a sewn-in pocket on each side.
While the boys hurried to follow her orders, Hinata activated her byakugan and prepared herself to wade back into the ocean. The bag hadn't moved very far despite sitting in the sea for over an hour. Hinata remembered how easily it sank to the bottom.
She scooped the bag out of the water and refocused her byakugan to study the contents. It was full of hitai-ate and…severed fingers. Hinata winced at the sight, but she had to admit that hitai-ate weren't that hard to find or fabricate. Fingers could at least be used to identify individuals.
A casual glance showed her the symbols all five of the major Hidden Villages and even more from the lesser villages. Someone who killed shinobi this indiscriminately wouldn't limit themselves to descendants of the Uzumaki Clan, not for long. The other Kages would have to acknowledge the problem now.
"We have to get this bag to Kage Summit," said Hinata once she was out of the water. "Him too."
Kiba took the bag so Hinata could change into dry clothes. (Growing-up in the Hyuuga Compound eliminated any chance of being body-shy, and a little nakedness was common for shinobi in the field.) Shino had already rolled up her bedroll for her. He was kind like that and used to working with Academy students who weren't the best at remembering to clean up after themselves.
Kiba peered inside the bag and wrinkled his nose. Then he glanced at the Kiri-nin laid out on the stretcher.
"Do you think he'll make it?" he asked quietly.
"We need to make sure he does," said Hinata as she pulled a fresh shirt over her head. "We never went into Uzu and haven't seen anyone in there. He has. A first person account will—"
She stopped mid-sentence. Her attention caught by movement at the edge of her byakugan's range.
There was something coming toward them from the direction of Uzu. It was hundreds of scraps of paper floating in ink and chakra and moving in perfect sync. It took her brain a moment to puzzle out what she seeing. When she did, the blood drained from her face.
"What is it?" asked Shino.
"An army," said Hinata. "We need to go now."
-0-0-0-0-0-
Mifune walked toward the training grounds and tried to let go of the tension this morning's meeting had caused. The leaders of the Iwa, Kiri, Konoha, Kumo, and Suna had agreed to meet to discuss the threat of disappearing Uzumaki Clan members after the blatant attack on Suna. Unfortunately, it became quickly obvious that Mei, Kurotsuchi, and A did not share the same level of concern as Tsunade and Gaara.
The reaction of the other three was understandable. Kumo and Kiri had never had any members of the Uzumaki Clan join them after the destruction of Uzushiogakure for obvious reasons. Iwa only had one or two families to claim that clan, and they had died in the Third Shinobi War. The Kages truly didn't see the vague, mysterious enemy as a threat to their own villages.
In the privacy of his own mind, Mifune felt much the same way. The Uzumaki were an off-shoot of the Senju and, when they had existed, had been a ninja clan having no connection with the samurai in any way. He admitted that an enemy bold enough to attack one of the five major Hidden Villages could easily become a threat, but he wished either Gaara or Tsunade had brought something for them to act upon. Internal reports were not enough.
To everyone's surprise, Mei had announced she had sent a team to the former site of Uzushiogakure to investigate any potential clues. She had expected hear back from them before the beginning of the Summit. Tsunade had then admitted to sending one of her own teams to Uzu for the same purpose. They had also not reported in as expected. The idea that the two teams had encountered and eliminated each other weighed heavily on everyone's mind.
Mifune had adjourned the meeting for a mid-morning break. It would give Gaara and Tsunade time to create new arguments and give the other Kages time to think through the problem further. He would take the opportunity to address the other matter Tsunade had brought specifically to his attention.
The samurai had no stake in the Chunin Exams, yet they were issued an invitation to each of the semi-annual Exams for propriety's sake. For the same reason, Mifune usually sent whichever of his lieutenants had expressed some interest in attending or picked one at random.
This year Okisuke had attended the third stage of the Exam held in Suna. Upon his return, he complained mildly of the heat and the sand as expected but expressed interest in one of the genin who failed to earn a promotion. The Leaf-nin had filled-out Sarutobi Konohamaru and Hyuuga Hanabi's team and specialized in kenjutsu. He had demonstrated proficiency in iaido-style combat and basic ninjutsu and even managed to win his final match after losing an arm thought he retired before the last rounding of fighting. Okisuke had heard he was a foreign cousin of Uzumaki Naruto's, which explained some of the strange behavior.
A week following Okisuke's return, Mifune had received a letter from the Hokage. The letter spoke about the boy in question and how even the casual observer expected him to be a samurai rather than a shinobi. Tsunade had asked as obliquely as possible about samurai practices and expectations. To Mifune's surprise, she was seriously considering instating the boy as a samurai when Konoha had not produced a single one since its founding.
There had been another exchange of letters out the possibility of sending the boy, Kurosaki Ichigo, who was indeed a relative of Naruto's, to the Land of Iron for training. Then the attack on Suna had occurred and any discussion had been derailed.
Mifune and his samurai did not possess the extensive information networks which each shinobi villages claimed to have, but he did keep a finger on the pulse of the world so to speak. He had heard that Kurosaki Ichigo had arrived in Suna through a tear in the sky and proceeded to fight to off the invading army single-handedly while rescuing the Kazekage from the attackers. Whether or not that was true, something had happened in Suna, and Kurosaki had been involved.
A quick meeting with Tsunade after her group's arrival at the Summit had briefly brought up the boy again. Mifune had said he would might consider allowing Kurosaki to train with the samurai in the Land of Iron, but he had to meet the boy first. Tsunade kept her face passive, but her eyes shone with satisfaction. Kurosaki had accompanied them to the Kage Summit.
Now Mifune was going to the training grounds that had been set aside for the Kages' retinue. Having restless shinobi roaming around was no one's idea of a good time. Having a certain area set aside for the use of all the visiting ninja meant that could show off to one another and were mostly easy to find when any of the samurai went looking.
Mifune stopped when he reached the broad, grassy area where the visiting shinobi had gathered. They were mostly in little clumps representing each village though there was some intermingling. Tsunade's pink-haired apprentice was arguing furiously with one the Suna-nin and another Leaf shinobi was speaking to a Cloud kunoichi. One of Mei's retinue was in a heated debate with an Iwa-nin. But no one was flashing weapons, except those few shinobi which were training together. It was a surprisingly peaceful scene.
The samurai general spotted the boy in question on the ground at the very edge of Konoha's group. He was sitting in lotus position with a bokken planted in the earth in front of him. Oddly, there was a stuffed toy lying across one of his shoulders. His fiery orange hair marked him as an Uzumaki, but the fierce scowl was so unlike Naruto that for a moment Mifune had trouble believing they were related. Then again, Tsunade and Gaara also had that blood, and neither of them were particularly cheerful.
Mifune made his way to the meditating boy as inconspicuously as possible. He doubted he went unnoticed by any of the shinobi, but they were at least polite enough, or well-trained enough, not to stare.
When he was closer, Mifune saw that Kurosaki had a little pyramid of acorns stacked on his left and a tiny pile of oak saplings on his right. There was an acorn resting in his open palms. As Mifune watched, the acorn split open and slowly started to grow, fed only by Kurosaki's chakra. The samurai hadn't realized there was another mokuton user in Konoha and eyed the wooden sword speculatively.
When the seedling had grown to roughly the same size as the discarded plants, Kurosaki cutoff his chakra flow and added the sapling to the pile. He reached for another acorn, hesitated, and tilted his head back to look at Mifune.
"May I help you?" he asked.
His brown eyes were wary but not afraid. He certainly didn't recognize General Mifune of the Land of Iron. His scowl suggested that he was less than pleased to be interrupted, but he had enough manners not to be completely dismissive of a total stranger.
"You are Kurosaki Ichigo, correct?" asked Mifune. He couldn't imagine there was another among the group from Konohagakure who fitted the description, but it never hurt to check.
"Yes," said Kurosaki. "Should I know you?"
"I am Mifune."
There was a flicker of recognition at the name, but Kurosaki's scowl deepened as he failed to place it.
Then the doll on Kurosaki's shoulder moved. "You idiot!" it hissed. "That's the General of the Land of Iron. He's like the samurai equivalent of a Kage!"
Mifune stared at the toy in surprise. He hadn't heard that Kurosaki was skilled at manipulating puppets. Then again, it wouldn't make sense for a puppet to know something its master didn't. Perhaps it was a gift from Suna or, more likely, a relic from Kurosaki's homeland.
"Oh," said Kurosaki sounding vaguely surprised. "Hello?"
An incredulous smile formed on Mifune's face. He had experienced a great many introductions over the years but he had never received such a bland reaction before. The little toy groaned and was echoed by a slightly louder moan from an actual human.
Mifune glanced up to see a few of the Leaf-nin had drifted closer. He recognized the Yamanaka who had reported on behalf of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Department and her companion, Sai, who was one of Uzumaki Naruto's companions.
The Yamanaka had buried had her face in her hands while Sai was watching in open fascination. Mifune remembered that he had been one of Danzou's ANBU-Root and was still struggling with understanding basic human interaction all these years later. Even Konohagakure, with all of its talk of a brighter future, had skeletons in its closet.
"Did you want something?" asked Kurosaki.
"I have heard from several people that you show some talent at kenjutsu. Would you be interested in a spar?" asked Mifune.
"Really?" Kurosaki was surprised, but there was a note of delight in his tone.
Either way, the possibility of a fight drew him to his feet the way nothing else had managed. A lingering stranger, or the lingering samurai general, apparently weren't enough.
"Really," said Mifune barely hiding his amusement.
Kurosaki paused as he reached for his bokken. "Are you sure you don't have to do…meeting stuff?"
Mifune felt the tension headache threatening to return at the very suggestion. "We have taken a break."
Kurosaki seemed to accept that as explanation enough. Mifune noticed the nearest shinobi all had the desperate look of people wanting to ask questions but not quite daring. They would no doubt hear from their leaders soon.
"Oi, Konohamaru will you take care of Kon?" asked Kurosaki.
The Sarutobi heir appeared instantly. He was watching Mifune with wide eyes and was visibly biting back any possible comments. The doll, Kon, jumped from Kurosaki's shoulder to Konohamaru's. Mifune was watching carefully but could not see any evidence of chakra strings. Perhaps it was a clockwork creation?
The shinobi who had been using the training grounds had moved, lining up along parallel sides. Clearly, they all wanted to see the General spar with Kurosaki, even if it was very short match.
The two faced each other. Kurosaki's scowl turned thoughtful then almost sheepish.
"I'm not very good at sparring," he said.
Mifune raised a brow. "Then we will be careful."
Kurosaki nodded then took up an iaido stance. Mifune settled into his own opening position. They waited a beat then attacked.
For most of the watching shinobi, the attacks were little more than a blur. The samurai-style iaido was known for its ability to crush ninja before they could form a single hand-sign.
Mifune straightened and looked at the deep groove his own attack had carved into the ground. Kurosaki had moved so fast, Mifune hadn't restrained his attack as well as he should have. He gently touched long, shallow cut that traveled across his collar bone and over his shoulder. It was barely deeper than a scratch, but if Kurosaki had been trying to kill, then Mifune would quite likely be missing a head.
Mifune turned on his heel. Kurosaki had left an equally impressive scar on the earth for all that Mifune had barely sensed him use his chakra. He was holding up his left arm clearly more concerned by the hole in his uniform than the blood welling up along his lowest set of ribs.
"I see that iaido is not your preferred style," said Mifune.
"No," said Kurosaki. "That's what Goat-Face, er, Dad taught me, and it's good for the bokken. But I can't really use it with Zangetsu."
"Zangetsu is your usual weapon?" asked Mifune. "Did you bring it with you?"
"Yes," said Kurosaki.
A sword hilt appeared over Kurosaki's shoulder. He reached up and drew the blade. Mifune carefully concealed his surprise. Zangetsu was only a sword because it was too big to be called a knife, but that was what it appeared to be, a giant Khyber knife nearly as long as Ichigo was tall. He held it as comfortably as he held the bokken, almost more so, for all it had to weigh at least ten times as much as the wooden weapon.
Mifune stepped forward for a closer look. "The hilt is the same." For a given value of hilt.
Zangetsu had neither cross guard nor grip. The tang of the blade was wrapped in white cloth, but it was clearly not glued or wired into place and barely offered any cushioning. Mifune had a hard time believing anyone could hold such a sword and use it efficiently, but obviously Kurosaki could.
"I use the bokken for practice, and it doesn't scream, "Fight me!" the way Zangetsu does," explained Kurosaki.
The blade flashed despite Kurosaki's steady grip. Mifune dismissed it as a fast moving cloud though the timing was suspicious.
"Would you like to try again?" asked Mifune.
"Yes," said Ichigo firmly.
The two separated. Mifune settled into his usual opening stance. Kurosaki tossed the bokken to the side. It landed with pinpoint accuracy between the pyramid of acorns and the pile of saplings. Kurosaki then squared off against Mifune holding Zangetsu so the blade was pointed at the samurai general.
Another breath, a beat, and Mifune surged forward. Kurosaki parried his first strike with the barest amount force and slashed straight at Mifune's chest with impressive speed. Mifune disengaged the blade and brought up his sword to block.
The weight of Zangetsu was pushed him backwards. If Ichigo was holding back, it wasn't very much. Mifune suspected he understood what Ichigo meant when he said he wasn't very good at sparring. That first attack was lethal against anything less than a master swordsman.
Mifune reevaluated at lightning speed and rushed in again. Zangetsu was a large sword. It was difficult to pass, but once Mifune did he would have the advantage at close-quarters. Or at least, he should have.
Kurosaki wielded the massive sword as easily as most samurai wielded a wakizashi, and Kurosaki could use Zangetsu's bulk as a shield. Mifune reinforced his katana with chakra and attempted to stab through the sword. If Ichigo wasn't using chakra to strengthen his weapon, then he would have to move or risk breaking his blade
Mifune's practice sword hit Zangetsu and held. It didn't skid, but it didn't break through either. He couldn't feel any chakra in the blade, but it must have been reinforced somehow.
Kurosaki slid a hand slid down Zangetsu's length, and he shoved Mifune back using his whole body as fulcrum. He chased after Mifune instantly, and they exchanged traded blows up and down the length of the field. Each strike from Kurosaki hit harder and faster than the last. Mifune truly was growing old, if a single bout slowed him down this much.
Mifune disengaged completely, leaping away to create distance. Kurosaki let him go, Mifune took the opportunity to gather chakra in his katana. If close range combat failed to work, then long range would have to do. Resettling into an iaido stance, Mifune drew his blade and unleashed the chakra along its length while his feet remained firmly planted.
The chakra blade flew at Kurosaki, who appeared totally unconcerned. He settled into something resembling and iaido stance himself though, with a blade that size and no scabbard to speak of, using an actual iaido technique was impossible. Kurosaki took a forward step and swung at the incoming chakra blade, shattering it completely.
Astonishingly, following that act, Zangetsu hurtled toward Mifune. Kurosaki had thrown his sword at him. Mifune darted to the side to but had to keep running as the weapon followed him. He spared a glance for Kurosaki and saw he was still holding the white wrapping in both hands. Somehow, he was directing the sword with only that.
Mifune stopped running and held his ground. When Zangetsu approached, he knocked the blade up and back, putting as much strength into the blow as he could. The sword went flying, white tail streaming behind it. Mifune rushed the now weaponless Kurosaki, but his opponent didn't seem to notice.
Kurosaki was following Zangetsu with his eyes, and Mifune was going to, not kill him, but show him the point of keeping one's eyes on one's opponent even when disarmed. Mifune was almost within striking range when Kurosaki leaped.
The samurai stopped and looked up. Kurosaki was aiming unerringly for Zangetsu, but the sword was nearly a hundred feet in the air. No shinobi could jump that high. He had to be using some special technique.
Kurosaki grabbed Zangetsu out of the air then twisted around and shot towards Mifune like a bullet. The samurai steadied himself. To outward appearances, it would look like he was bracing for impact.
At the last moment, Mifune dodged. Zangetsu hit the ground and was promptly buried up to the hilt. Kurosaki looked dazed by the impact. Mifune flicked out his katana. He wouldn't slice the boy's throat, but Kurosaki needed to know how close he came to losing his head.
Kurosaki's left arm shot up to block the strike. Mifune wasn't expecting it and couldn't pull back in time to stop from cutting through the boy's arm. Instead of flesh, he hit metal.
There was knife in Kurosaki's hand. It was not a kunai or a senbon but still needle thin with a small wooden grip. It fit neatly into Kurosaki's palm and was just long enough to block Mifune's sword. If Mifune had held his ground earlier and blocked Zangetsu, Kurosaki could have slipped this innocuous little knife into Mifune while he was distracted.
Still, now that Mifune knew about the knife, he could just channel more chakra through katana and slice the thin knife in two. Before he could do that, Kurosaki raised his head so Mifune could see his face.
The boy was grinning. It wasn't a happy smile but a fierce, vicious grin only seen on those who thrived in combat. Mifune was exchanging lethal blows in what was supposed to be a spar, and the boy was having fun.
"Getsuga tensho," said Kurosaki.
Mifune could see the light around Zangetsu where it was buried in the dirt. The ground beneath his feet exploded and crumbled away. He started to fall.
The samurai instantly channeled chakra into his sword. The glowing form of chain surrounded the katana, and Mifune flicked it around the closest stable point in an attempt to keep himself from falling.
Unfortunately, the nearest stable point was Kurosaki, and he wasn't that stable. Surprised at the sudden weight, Kurosaki went tumbling after Mifune.
The samurai hit the bottom of the surprisingly deep crevice, Kurosaki landed on top of him, knocking the breath out of him, and then they were both showered with dirt. Kurosaki kept a hold on Zangetsu, which kept the massive sword from impaling both of them, but otherwise the fight had come to a rather inglorious end.
"Ow," said Kurosaki mildly. He used his grip on Zangetsu to lever himself off Mifune. "You okay?"
Mifune took a careful breath. "I will be," he wheezed.
The hole Kurosaki had made was not designed for people to stand in. But fortunately, Mifune had landed in a relatively flat section otherwise he would have been wedged in place. After a few more breaths, he managed to sit up and look around. His own katana was lying abandoned further up the crevice, Mifune let it lie while he gathered himself.
There wasn't anyone looking in on them just yet. The spectators might not know the fight had ended and wouldn't want to get caught in any potential crossfire.
Mifune turned his regard to Kurosaki. The redhead was examining his arm. It took Mifune a moment to process, but he quickly realized that joint was bending in the wrong direction. He traced the fall in his mind and looked Zangetsu, where it was buried in the wall. To keep it from hitting them, Kurosaki had turned the blade and injured himself.
"I am certain Tsunade or her apprentice will be able to repair your arm, Kurosaki," said Mifune.
Kurosaki shrugged. "It's fine."
A dark energy surrounded him making Mifune shudder. Kurosaki flung out his broken arm and his elbow snapped into place. He performed a few stretches, then nodded to himself, and the ominous feeling faded.
Mifune stared in shock. He knew a handful of shinobi who had developed self-healing techniques, and he knew those who house the Tailed Beasts could often heal themselves with borrowed chakra, but he had never seen a technique like that before.
Then Kurosaki reached out and plucked Zangetsu from the wall. The blade was to all appearances unharmed by the fall. Kurosaki "sheathed" it across his back. The sword disappeared from sight. Mifune had suspected it was hidden in a seal, but there was nothing to indicate that was so.
"That was an impressive display of skill," said Mifune seeking some sense of equilibrium.
"Thanks," said Kurosaki sounding surprised. "Ah, you too."
Mifune smiled. "As leader of the samurai I am expected to have some skill with a sword."
Kurosaki flushed. "Right, of course. I just meant, you're a lot better than anyone else I've fought here. Of course you are, I mean you've just been fighting longer, well obviously. It's just… good to fight someone who knows how to use a sword."
Mifune raised a brow. "I understand there are several talented swordsmen in Konoha."
Ichigo shrugged. "I already fought Sasuke. And Suigetsu and Kakashi are avoiding me. And all of the ANBU use ninjato, but," here he wrinkled his nose, "Ninjato. And they get pissy when I beat them with plain kenjutsu but then get offended when I suggest they use ninjutsu since I'm not, which doesn't make sense for shinobi."
"Konoha's forces are known to hold to strange ideals," said Mifune wondering why the boy was fighting regularly with ANBU in the first place. "But you don't see them using ninjutsu against you as an unfair advantage when you are not practiced at it yourself?"
Kurosaki scowled and sat back down. "But that's the thing. I've practice at using Zangetsu almost exclusively, and they've practiced at using ninjato and jutsu. If they don't use their ninjutsu, it's a huge disadvantage for them, but if I don't use it, it makes barely any difference for me."
"That is unfair," agreed Mifune. "Especially since you are used to your opponents to having more experience than you."
"You could tell?" asked Kurosaki.
Mifune chuckled. "The strength of your hits, the speed you moved? If that was your idea of a spar, then those you fought in the past must be highly skilled if the only way you can win is to overwhelm them with sheer power."
"Yeah," said Kurosaki. "That's basically it." He regarded Mifune solemnly. "So did I pass your test?"
Mifune blinked in surprise. Had Tsunade mentioned her intentions to Kurosaki? "Test?"
"Generals don't just fight unranked soldiers. You wanted to test me," said Kurosaki. "Did I pass?"
"It remains to be seen," said Mifune. "How do you feel about samurai?"
"I don't understand," said Kurosaki.
"How would you feel about training to be a samurai?" corrected Mifune.
Kurosaki's scowl deepened in concentration. Mifune waited calmly for the asnwer.
"If you're offering to train me," said Kurosaki, "I'd have to decline. I am currently serving as a shinobi of Konohagakure and have responsibilities to the village and the people there."
"And if I am offering to train you on behalf of Tsunade to be a samurai of Konoha?" asked Mifune.
Kurosaki's interest was piqued, but he still held back. "I'd have to talk to the Hokage first. Being a samurai means more than knowing how to fight with a sword. I know what's expected of me as a genin. But I don't know anything about Konoha's samurai code, or if they even have one."
Mifune nodded pleased by the response. "A good answer. Talk to your Hokage, Kurosaki. And after this matter of the disappearing Uzumaki is resolved, then you may find yourself back in the Land of Iron."
"Thank you," said Kurosaki gruffly.
"Are you alive down there?"
Mifune and Kurosaki both looked up. Someone had finally been driven to check on them.
"Naruto," said Kurosaki fondly. "We're fine."
He stood up smoothly despite the fight and subsequent tumble. Mifune envied him his youth as he rose wearily to his feet and at last sheathed his own katana.
"Would you like a lift?" asked Kurosaki bluntly.
From someone else, Mifune might have sensed derision or rudeness. But Mifune could already tell that Kurosaki had noticed his aches and was trying to be kind.
"Only if my dignity can stand it," said Mifune.
Kurosaki smirked. "I've been practicing."
A white circle spread out beneath his feet. There was just enough room for two people if they stood close together. Mifune accepted Kurosaki's arm onto the platform and the two of them floated gently to the surface.
Mifune gratefully stepped onto solid ground. The feeling of floating did not agree with him.
The crowd around the training grounds had grown between the first and second bouts. In addition to Naruto, the other Kages had come to watch as had Mifune's lieutenants, Okisuke and Urakaku.
The Kages were stoned-face, even Tsunade was hiding her opinion of the match. Mifune's lieutenants might have passed as inscrutable to an outsider, but he could tell they were unnerved by the result of the fight. Mifune couldn't recall the last time he had fought to a draw with an opponent, the long-ago clash with Hanzo notwithstanding.
"A good fight," said Mifune.
"Yes," said Kurosaki looking grimly pleased.
"We should do it again," said Mifune and hid a chuckle at the expectant look on Kurosaki's face. "Another time. After my old bones have recovered some."
"Right," said Kurosaki, subsiding somewhat. He tugged nervously at his hair. "Ah, sorry for landing on you."
"I have only myself to blame, being the one who pulled you on top of me," said Mifune. "Perhaps next time, you will use your favored weapon. That sword was better than bokken but I think you are used to wielding a different blade."
Kurosaki's face did a funny twist. Mifune suspected he was trying not to smirk or roll his eyes. His expression finally settled into a now familiar scowl.
"I'll release Zangetsu if you use your real sword too," he said,
"Very good," said Mifune.
The others seemed to take that as the official end of their spar. Kurosaki was instantly swarmed by excited Leaf-nin. Tsunade's apprentice was among them, and she did not look pleased. Mifune thought he saw her shove a ration bar into a protesting Kurosaki's open mouth, but he too was swept up in his own crowd.
"Are you well, General?" asked Okisuke. "You were down there a long time."
"We were merely having a discussion while I recovered," said Mifune. "I am not as young as I used to be, you know. I certainly slowed down at the end."
"You did not slow down," said Urakaku. "He sped up."
The man sounded offended on Mifune's behalf, as though anyone could anticipate his opponent's stamina before a fight began.
Mifune turned his attention to Tsunade. "I am surprised you did not promote him at the last Exams."
The other Kages—barring Gaara, naturally—were all glaring daggers at her, silently demanding an explanation.
Tsunade scowled. "He only agreed to participate if I promised to deny his promotion to chunin. Kurosaki does not believe he has the temperament of a shinobi."
"No," said Mifune thoughtfully. "He most certainly does not."
"A kid who can fight evenly with Mifune-soutaicho did not belong in the Chunin Exams," said A bluntly.
"Neither did a kid who can stop an army," said Mei. "He did stop an army in Suna, did he not?"
"Not the whole army," said Gaara mildly. "Just a significantly large portion."
Tsunade smiled sweetly. "Well, I need a third genin for that team. My only other option was Naruto."
Everyone glanced at the blond who was bouncing excitedly and apparently chatting Ichigo's ear off at a mile a minute. The redhead was listening with fond exasperation while he ignored the stuffed toy screaming in his other ear. The pink-haired healer interjected with pointed finger every so often. The rest of the Leaf shinobi were obviously dissecting the fight.
It struck Mifune suddenly how young they all were. Samurai rarely took missions outside their country and barring the Fourth Shinobi War never engaged in such events. As a result, they lived much longer than active shinobi on average. Excluding Tsunade, all of the Leaf-nin at the Summit were in their early to mid-twenties, and they were all elite or highly-anticipated fighters.
Mifune wondered how many of them would be dead if not for the Shinobi Alliance. These past few years would have seen a resurgence of war if the villages had not come together to fight Akatsuki and then the Ten-Tailed Beast. Now, all of the active shinobi had friends in every major village and any potential war would have a much greater personal cost.
"I heard rumors Kurosaki and his siblings are descended from the Shinigami," said Kurotsuchi. She leveled a stare at Tsunade. "Why is a rumor like that going around Konoha?"
"Because Kurosaki Isshin, their father, is from a place called Soul Society, and the soldiers there are called shinigami," said Tsunade. "I have already heard several complaints about their presumed arrogance from my shinobi."
Mifune would have accepted that as explanation if he hadn't seen the way the normally stoic Gaara stilled then subtly glanced over his shoulder at the raccoon-dog that claimed to be Shukaku.
The Kazekage was close to Naruto and had had the opportunity to see Kurosaki fight during both at the Chunin Exams and the Invasion of Suna. Not to mention, if there was any creature in the world that could recognize the Shinigami, surely it would be one of the Tailed Beasts. If they thought that Kurosaki used techniques that were otherworldly, then Mifune was willing to entertain the idea.
But how could the god of death have a child?
It was not something Mifune wished to consider seriously, and they had other, less fanciful matters to attend to. "I think that is enough of a break if everyone is willing to resume the meeting?"
There were poorly disguised winces all around. Mifune was staring at group of shinobi. He knew all of those looks were deliberate. He was not swayed.
"Back to business then," said Mifune. He took a step and winced. "Perhaps I might fetch a pillow first."
Tsunade stepped forward. "Let me fix your aches, old man."
Mifune raised a brow. Now that Onoki was retired, Tsunade was the oldest serving Kage. She was not that much younger than him. Still he let the comment passby unsaid in favor of healing his many bruises. Alliances with the shinobi could still be useful after all.