The Mad Sage Of Uzushio, A Naruto Fan Fiction, Chapter 21: Love Among The Ruins Of Uzushio
Chapter 21: Love Among The Ruins Of Uzushio And The fallout In The Aftermath
Chapter 21
Love Among The Ruins Of Uzushio
And The fallout In The Aftermath
Damage assessments and casualty reports file in to Konoha from the Funato attack on Kiri, as the young monk with a talent for resurrecting the dead is brought home from the hospital by Mirai, in order to rest and recover from his resurrection efforts as a guest in her home. Night time comes and goes without the return of the mad magician’s three hour tour. In the morning, Mirai awakens and leaves her room wearing nothing but a red kimono with the crest of the Sarutobi Clan printed on the back in black, searching for the young monk Yuntaro, only to find her mother Kurenai waiting for her in the kitchen drinking freshly brewed tea, with no sign of Yuntaro in sight. Instead she finds a white long haired housecat sleeping on the couch, curled up in a white fuzzy ball.
Sarutobi Mirai:
Uh… Mama?… Have you seen Yuntaro anywhere?… And what’s with the stray?…
Yuhi Kurenai:
I saw Yuntaro… last night… coming out of your room…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Uh!?!… Mama!?!… I can explain!…
Yuhi Kurenai:
There’s no need to explain… You’re still young… But you’re a seasoned chunin of Konoha now… You’ve outgrown busy body parenting… and any moralistic lecture that I could give you… But what exactly possessed you to deflower the young monk to begin with?… And don’t bother denying it… I could hear you two… And I’m assuming that he was in fact deflowered?… He didn’t strike me as someone with a whole lot of… worldly experience…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Oh… He wasn’t… He was knowledgeable… in a medical sense… but completely inexperienced…
Yuhi Kurenai:
Sounds fun… It sounded fun… But how did it happen?…
Sarutobi Mirai:
I don’t know!… He was muttering in his sleep at the hospital about kissing me… and I just had to see for myself… But he was so hard… and toned… I just kept kissing him… and then undressing him… I’ve lost my mind!… But now he’s gone!… Where did he go?… And why do we have a stray cat sleeping on our couch all of a sudden?…
Yuhi Kurenai:
That stray… is the stray that we brought home from the hospital… only to corrupt his poor precious innocence in your bed…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Mama!?!… I didn’t corrupt his innocence!…
Yuhi Kurenai:
Because he corrupted yours too?… I suspected that it was a mutual deflowering… given that you don’t really date… being such an obnoxious hard ass workaholic…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Mama!?!… It’s called being dedicated to Konoha!… But yes… It was mutual… But is that really him?…
Yuhi Kurenai:
Oh yes… I was out on the deck… enjoying the garden… Because I couldn’t sleep with all the noise… And he just came out of your room… looking quite pleased with himself… Then he transformed into that cat… curled up into a ball… and went to sleep… Apparently our young magic monk has some peculiar sleeping habits… and not just in your bed…
The stray wakes up, and the white cat’s eyes open to reveal two purple Rinnegan in the place of the normal cat’s eyes.
Yuntaro Cat:
Miraisama!… You’re awake!…
The Yuntaro cat jumps off the couch and transforms back into his human form, again wearing a pristine set of sleeveless white monk’s robes. Yuntaro then kneels on the floor before Mirai, grabs her hands in his, and begins to ask a question.
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Miraisama… I’ve been giving it some serious thought… And I feel that I just have to do the honorable thing…
Sarutobi Mirai:
The honorable thing!?!…
Kurenai gasps, and covers her mouth with her hand at the shock of what she and Mirai expect to come next.
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
I’m not sure what’s customary in these situations… But will you… Sarutobi Mirai… do me the honor… of being my… girl friend?…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Girlfriend!?!…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
I know that it’s sudden… given that we’ve only just met… But given what we have already done… I feel that… it is only appropriate… for honor to be served between us…
Yuhi Kurenai:
Well then… If honor must be served… then you just don’t have a choice now… do you?… The honor of Konoha is at stake…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Mama!?!…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
There you have it!… It simply must be!…
Yuhi Kurenai:
I agree… It simply must be…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
See?… Your mother agrees… So what say you?… Miraisama?…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Oh!… Why can’t I say no to you?… Very well… I’ll be your girlfriend…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Excellent!… But I’m not sure exactly what’s customary… Does this mean… that I can kiss you?… in public?… in front of other people?… including your mother?…
Yuhi Kurenai:
Oh I insist… Every chance you get… Consider it a house rule… Future mother in law’s orders… It’s your duty…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Mama!?!…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Very well then… Honor and duty must be served…
Yuntaro stands up and begins to passionately kiss Mirai on the lips, and Mirai relents, as Kurenai just looks on, smirks, and sips her tea. The doorbell rings and Kurenai gets up to go answer it, leaving the young lovers to their lip smacking. At the door, Kurenai is greeted by her old student and protoge, Inozuka Kiba, along with his newly revealed little brother Taketori Hoki.
Behind them waits an entire entourage of kage, attendants, and associated shinobi and family. They include the Fifth Hokage Senju Tsunade and her daughter Shizune, the Fifth Kazekage and his brother and chief aide Kankuro, as well as the kazekage’s son Shinki, and Shinki’s team from Suna, Araya and Yodo. The mizukage’s delegation from Kiri, including the Sixth Mizukage Chojuro, and his newly revealed mother, the Fifth Mizukage Terumi Mei, and Chojuro’s sister Misuno, his chief aide, but without her previous surgical mask.
Next to Misuno, former rogue ninja Hozuki Suigetsu waits with his friend Jugo, while staring at the newly revealed face of Misuno, who bears a striking resemblance to her mother Mei without the surgical mask. The Kiri chunin, and the only current member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist, Karatachi Kagura, stands guard near Misuno, with a wary eye watching Suigetsu, as Suigetsu stares at Misuno.
Yuhi Kurenai:
Kiba… What brings you here?… along with half a summit?…
Inozuka Kiba:
Well… What can I say?… I just wanted to check on you and our new magic monk friend… As it turns out… this is my half brother Hoki… He’s the grandson of the mad magician and Tsunadesama… And he wanted to get to know his new cousin… But I’m just so cool… everyone else just had to tag along… What can I say… It’s animal magnetism…
Senju Tsunade:
Pardon us tag alongs Kurenai sensei… But we need to have an audience with our new young monk friend…
Yuhi Kurenai:
That’s no problem… It’s perfectly understandable under the circumstances… But if you want privacy… I’m afraid you’re out of luck… I can only accommodate so many people outside in the garden… But that’s my favorite part of the house anyway… Douzo… Mirai!… Yuntaro!… We have company!… You’d better still be decent!…
Inozuka Kiba:
Decent!?!… Why wouldn’t they be decent?…
Senju Tsunade:
Is this a bad time Kurenai?…
Yuhi Kurenai:
No… Apparently… it’s a very good time…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Mama!?!…
The entourage is led into the house by a concerned Uncle Kiba. Kiba finds Yuntaro still lip smacking Mirai in the living room.
Inozuka Kiba:
Mirai!?!… You just met this guy!… Did he do something?… Is this some sort of weird pervy genjutsu?… Kurenai sensei!?!…
Yuhi Kurenai:
Relax Kiba… Don’t be so reflexively protective… There’s no genjutsu at work that I can sense… Maybe I’m under genjutsu too… But some things are just an unavoidable force of nature… I should probably disapprove… But given my daughter’s social graces and work habits… this may be my only chance at grandchildren…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Mama!?!…
Yuhi Kurenai:
Besides… I like the kid… And that particular ship has already been sailed… several times… and quite loudly… Which is why I’m already on my twentieth cup of tea… None of us got much sleep last night… for various reasons…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Mama!?!… Yuntaro!… Stop!… My mother was just playing with you… You don’t actually have to kiss me continuously… And we have guests…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Oh… Sumimasen… Miraisama… I just didn’t want to let you down… Is there a rule book for this sort of thing?… perhaps an instruction manual?…
Sarutobi Mirai:
And endless variety of them… None that are any good… But some are at least entertaining… and stimulating… to perverts… They’re not medical journals…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Perhaps I should do my own research?…
Sarutobi Mirai:
I’m the only research you need… boy toy…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
‘Boy toy’!?!… Is that my new pet name?…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Sort of… It just means boyfriend… But I’ll explain all that later… For now… we have guests… Remember?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Of course… Whatever you say… girl toy… I got that right… right?… Is that anything like a trophy wife?… I have heard of such things…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Close enough…
Inozuka Kiba:
Kurenai sensei!?!…
Yuhi Kurenai:
Stuff it Kiba… It’s a force of nature… And I want grandkids… Lets all go out to the garden for a change of scenery… as well as subject…
A beaming Yuntaro leads a blushing Mirai by the hand out to the garden, through the sliding glass door out to the patio, followed by a grumbling Kiba and a grinning Kurenai. The remainder of the entourage follows suit and begin to file in to the small walled garden along the side of the house. Kurenai’s garden is largely a flower garden, with numerous drip irrigated pots lining the inside of the wall, and with several pots on wall mounted shelves, and a single tangerine tree in one back corner of the garden. The rest of the yard has gravel and stone steps covering the ground in between all the flowers.
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
So… Tsunadesama… How may I be of service?…
Chojuro:
I know that you’ve already performed a great and miraculous service here in Konoha… and at great personal risk… given the nature of the jutsu that you used to do it… But I was wondering if you could possibly do it again?… Before we came here… we were receiving reports from what happened to Kiri… before the attack on Konoha… The Funato laid siege to Kiri as cover for the theft of almost our entire fleet of airships… just so my father could use them in the attack on Konoha…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Uncle Toshiro?… is in league with the Funato?… I’m no expert on the history… but that’s unheard of… isn’t it?…
Chojuro:
Hai… But so is the son of an Uzumaki… being the Mizukage… But that’s another complicated story… That we’re still sorting the details of… You expressed a desire to redeem your uncle when you performed that resurrection jutsu before… I’m already immensely grateful for the lives of the airship crew that would have been lost by my father’s hand… if not for you… But for the sake of the dead of Kiri… I may be compelled to seek justice against my own father after all… without some sort of miracle to stop it…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Well… In general… resurrection is always a deviation from the natural order of things… not to be engaged in lightly… or without dire necessity… But human nature is such that the temptation to play god is too great to avoid completely… especially when you’re personally close to the recently deceased… I’ve never before done anything as big as what I did yesterday… But I do feel confident that I can do it again… And for the sake of my uncle and cousins… I would be more than happy to try… And it sounds exciting!… I’ve never been to Kiri!… When do we leave?…
Chojuro:
I’m afraid that we can’t leave any time soon… Besides having to remain for the summit… our air ship was still destroyed… and as far as I know there’s no resurrection jutsu for air ships…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Not that I know of either… But we needn’t leave here necessarily… in order to take care of Kiri… But I may need to make some alterations to Kurenaisama’s garden…
Senju Tsunade:
This is starting to feel familiar…
Yuhi Kurenai:
What sort of alterations?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
A well of shadows…
Sarutobi Mirai:
A… well of what now?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
A well of shadows… a tool and artifice… of conjuring and divination… among other things… It is an ancient method that dates back to the time of the Sage of Six Paths… and his original tradition of ninshu… With such a device… it is possible to perform remote viewing in far off lands… peer into alternate planes of existence… even the realm of the dead and the afterlife… if one has the skill for it… one may even cast genjutsu over great distances… But I’m no expert on genjutsu… The Uzumaki tend not to have much talent for genjutsu… Although I hear that my father Shintaro is a notable exception…
Yuhi Kurenai:
Well my daughter and I are experts in genjutsu… I think I may want one of these wells for my own purposes… So by all means magic monk… Do your worst…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
I’m afraid that I must endeavor to do my best… given the demanding nature of the endeavor… as I am not truly magic…
Mirai face palms, mortified by her clueless boy toy.
Yuhi Kurenai:
Fair enough young monk… Then by all means… gambate kudesai… Douzo…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Hai… Kurenaisama… Please clear a space in the center of the garden…
Yuntaro leads Mirai by the hand closer to the center of the garden, as the others gathered in the garden clear away. He kneels down onto the gravel with Mirai and releases her hand. Yuntaro then places both hands palms down on the gravel covered ground, and without performing any of the hand seals normally required for more elaborate jutsu, he performs an earth style jutsu, causing a circular ring of stone to raise itself up out of the ground underneath both Yuntaro and Mirai. The ring rises two inches above the ground, two feet wide, encircling a space a few meters wide, with Yuntaro and Mirai still siting on the new ring. Then the ground enclosed by the ring drops straight down, crating a deep cylindrical hole, with blackened walls, and a blackened bottom, before it then fills to the up with clear water, stopping just short of three inches from top edge of the stone ring.
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
There… It may not look like much… But that… is a well of shadows… The blackened walls and bottom prevent any subsurface detail from piercing the calm reflective surface of the water… it functions as a focal point for one’s consciousness… in order to tap into it’s deeper powers…
Yuhi Kurenai:
It’s a variation of the dark mirror technique!… I’ve heard of genjutsu masters using something like that to remotely cast genjutsu… Sodesuka?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Hai… But it is far more powerful… as it uses the connection with natural elements of the earth and water… and whatever else you bring to the jutsu yourself… like wind… or lightening… not to mention blood…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Blood!?!… Why blood?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
While blood is not necessarily required normally for most uses… I don’t exactly know my way around this world of ours… And I will need to have something to lock onto for Kiri… some sort of marker… intimately connected to the target destination… an object that was made there… or spent a good deal of time there… for decades… if not centuries… or just a drop or two of blood from someone born there…
Chojuro:
You can use my blood…
Terumi Mei:
I’m afraid not Chojuro… You and your sister Misuno weren’t born in Kiri… You were born among the ruins… of Uzushio…
Chojuro:
Uzushio!?!…
Misuno:
More secrets mother?… Were we ever told the truth about anything?…
Terumi Mei:
Every time that I told you and Chojuro how much I loved and cherished you…
Chojuro:
That’s more than enough for us… Right Misuno?…
Misuno:
I suppose it will have to do… for now…
Terumi Mei:
Enough of this… You can use my blood…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Very well then… Come take a seat on the edge of the ring… Drop a couple drops of blood into the pool… and I will take care of the rest… And please… gather around… with this jutsu I can show you what I can see with it… through the eyes of my avatar…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Avatar?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Hai… My storm dragon avatar… But it will be easier to show… rather than tell… Please… Douzo…
Mei takes a seat on the ring, as the others gather round for a closer look. Mei pulls out a small kunai throwing dagger, and pierces her fingertip with it, then squeezes a few drops of blood into the pool. Then Yuntaro raises his hand in front of himself, and a flash of purple lightening materializes his flute back into his hand, before he raises it to his lips with both hands and begins to play. As he plays, he uses wind nature chakra to augment his playing, deepening the resonance of his own chakra, attuning it for senjutsu and the absorbing of the nature energy surrounding him. Yuntaro stares deeply into the dark pool while he plays, as the surface begins to sparkle slightly at first, then with ever growing intensity, and a wide variety of colors.
The sparkling surface water of the pool begins to swirl about it’s center, creating a sparkling rainbow whirlpool effect, of ever growing intensity. Yuntaro’s playing gradually intensifies, along with the growing amplitude of the rainbow sparkles in the whirlpool. The Yuntaro reaches a climax in his playing, triggering an explosive release of purple lightening from his own body, and the flute in his hands, striking the surface of the rainbow whirlpool. Then a giant dragon made of water, and infused with electric purple shadow lightening chakra, breaks the surface of the pool.
Purple lightening from Yuntaro’s body continues to connect with and infuse his chakra into his storm dragon avatar, as it rapidly flies up into the sky above Konoha, leaving everyone but Yuntaro completely shocked and stunned by sheer stunning spectacle of it. Then it disappears completely in brilliant flash of purple lightening, shooting across the sky in the direction of Kiri, as Yuntaro continues to play. Then the rainbow sparkle whirlpool stops swirling, restoring it’s calm surface, as the multicolored sparkle begins to morph and shift, taking on the appearance of what is seen through the eyes of Yuntaro’s storm dragon avatar, as it rapidly flies towards Kiri.
The storm dragon avatar arrives in the sky over Kiri with another flash of purple lightening, shocking and terrifying the people of Kiri, still reeling from the shock of the previous attack. The storm dragon avatar then explodes into a brilliant multicolored light shard storm, with endless shards of light seeking out and striking every corpse in Kiri, resurrecting everyone of them, even to the point of restoring their physical clothing to their previous undamaged state. Simultaneous to the explosion of the storm dragon avatar over Kiri, the pool’s surface explodes in a geyser like manner, shooting straight up before precipitating into small man made rain drops, harmlessly falling on those gathered in attendance. Then Yuntaro passes out and falls back away from the pool from the effort.
Sarutobi Mirai:
Yuntaro!…
For a few hours, a flurry of long distance phone calls are made back to Kiri by the mizukage and the rest of his delegation, confirming the results of the magic monk’s handiwork. But they are pestered with endless questions about how it was even possible, without any simple explanations forthcoming.
Yuntaro lies on a set of cushions, flute sill in hand, set upon the deck of the garden, with Mirai sitting watch next to him, and fretting nervously over her new boy toy, next to a stack of meditation cushions set upon the deck, ready for the next wave. Kurenai, Tsunade, and Shizune all sit on meditation cushions in a row along the stone ring of the well of shadows, comparing notes and sipping tea, getting a good seat in advance of the next wave. Tsunade orders Kiba to take Hoki and arrange for additional security for Kurenai and Mirai’s house and the surrounding neighborhood indefinitely.
Gaara, Kankuro, and Shinki are having a tense but quiet sidebar in one corner of the garden by the tangerine tree, as the rest of Shinki’s team takes guard posts on either side of the front door, assisting with the village summit security. Suigetsu waits impatiently in the garden with Jugo, and the friendly neighborhood birds that seem to gather around him, as well as on top of him while he waits for his own consultations. But Suigetsu stares noticeably at Misuno through the sliding glass door of the deck, with the mizukage’s delegation taking advantage of newly rush installed extra phone lines. Yuntaro begins to stir on his cushions outside on the deck, as Chojuro is still using Kurenai’s phone to call home.
Chojuro:
Hai… Uzumaki Yuntaro… the son of the Ghost of Winter… Uzumaki Shintaro… Hai… using a combination of senjutsu… and the power of the Rinnegan… Hai… You heard me… But keep the details confidential… for now… Chalk it up to a miracle for now… And tell people that we’re investigating the incident… We’ll just have to figure something out… about a lot of things… Hai… I have to go… The magic monk appears to be waking up…
Chojuro, Misuno, and Mei all stride out to the deck to rejoin the consultation, leaving Kagura to join the others guarding the front entrance, and the outer wall of the garden, assuming now almost standard summit security protocols.
Sarutobi Mirai:
Yuntaro?… Daijoubudesuka?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Hai… Genkidesu… Has my father returned yet?…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Iie… Not yet… That’s quite an encore performance… miracle monk… Is there anything that you can’t do with that magic flute?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
All sorts of things I imagine… as my flute is not magic… But it is specially made… of stainless Yuino steel… made in Uzu… a gift to my mother from my father… in appreciation for her playing skill… and then to me from my mother… in appreciation of my father and me…
Senju Tsunade:
When was that exactly?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
They grew close when my mother was a student of his for a time… as part of the Demon Order of Kumo… in the beginning… back when his wife was still just missing… Then one day they received word that his wife was killed by her father… My mother never knew the details… But she… consoled him… for a time… But then she had to leave… in part because of me… in larger part because my father was already tied up in politics that he probably wouldn’t want me tangled up in… or so she wrote to me… she wrote to me a lot… in various codes that she would teach me…
Senju Tsunade:
That sounds like a familiar story… Right Shizune?… Oh well… Their loss of self control is our gain… Are there any other miracles that you have in store for us?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Well… I’m not sure what you mean by miracles… as I am not magic… But perhaps we could begin with that consultation that you wanted me to read about… last night?… I glanced at that other scroll that you gave me… the one from Orochimaru… That’s Jugo over there… isn’t it?… I don’t mean to be rude but… I couldn’t help but notice you over there… with all your bird friends…
Senju Tsunade:
That’s him… But how did you manage to digest all that material so fast?… and still have time for… other things?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
A gift of my fancy eyes… They could always break any code that my mother would send me to crack… She would would challenge me to send her back the key… I learned to read and write extremely well… at an extremely young age… in large part because of my fancy eyes… but also because my mother knew just how to take advantage of my fancy eyes… It was one of my favorite games…
Yuntaro stands up on the deck and raises his hand at Jugo and points an accusatory finger at him.
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Fry!… Stinking beast!…
Yuntaro’s finger zaps Jugo’s feet with a few flashes of purple lightening, to the shock of everyone present, not just Jugo. Then he starts to raise his flute to his lips, just as he sees a reaction from Jugo. Jugo begins to physically change, as well as growl slightly.
Hozuki Suigetsu:
Baca!… Are you nuts?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Do not interfere with my consultation!…
Jugo changes into a large and monstrous form with claws, and begins to stalk after Yuntaro, as Yuntaro begins to play his flute. The flute song catches Jugo mid stride, preparing to pounce before frozen, then he begins to change back, as Yuntaro continues to play. Jugo is gradually restored completely to human appearance as he looks down at his own hands to verify with his own eyes, before Yuntaro ceases his playing, and begins to explain.
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Sumimasen… Jugosan… But I needed a genuine response in order to test my treatment… A necessary evil… with a promising result… Do you know anything about music Jugo?… They say that music sooths the savage beast… It is often used for some forms of genjustu… I’m no expert on genjutsu… I’ve only ever managed to use something like that on animals… Which is why is works on you…
Hozuki Suigetsu:
Hey!… Who are you calling an animal?!?…
Jugo:
It’s okay… Suigetsu…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
I’m not saying that your friend here is an animal… But his power is controlled almost entirely by his own animal nature… The beast rules you… But you can’t kill the beast… because you are the beast… A tricky puzzle to be sure… But the solution may already be at hand… if you can answer my previous question…
Jugo:
Previous question?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Do you know anything about music?… I couldn’t help but notice you with all the birds earlier… Do you ever whistle to the birds?… or play some other sort of instrument?…
Jugo:
Orochimarusama… taught me the flute… on a bamboo shakuhachi… nothing fancy… And yes… I do whistle back… That was why Orochimaru said that he taught me the shakuhachi… But I don’t really practice any more… I haven’t played in several months… I don’t even have an instrument at the moment… I broke the last one I had… in a previous episode…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Well that is the most immediate problem that needs to be corrected!…
Yuntaro holds out his hand, and materializes a traditional bamboo shakuhachi into his empty free hand, and hands it over to Jugo.
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Here… Douzo… This is a replica of one of the many flutes that my mother would give me when she would visit me… She was always bringing me scrolls and flutes… I’ll show you how to make your own copies later… For now you can borrow mine… My prescription for you… is self medication… through music therapy… Sage heal thyself… or something like that… Music helps to attune one self to nature… and so is integral to sage practice… And your principle problem is too much sage energy… that comes far too easy to be controlled by anything but your own animal nature… which we all have… It is like being stuck in the middle of a burning bridge… crossing over to being a proper sage… and controlling your power… or being stuck on the burning bridge… to be consumed by your own power that you can’t get rid of… because you didn’t earn it… or even ask for it… It was foisted upon you as an inheritance of meddling with nature… Whether you like it or not… you have no choice but to complete a process begun by your ancestors… or be consumed by it…
Jugo:
So how do I proceed?...
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Baca!… Play!… Show me what you have learned!… Imada!…
Jugo begins to play the shakuhachi, then Yuntaro recognizes the tune, and starts to play along. Numerous birds from the surrounding trees throughout the surrounding neighborhood converge upon Jugo and Yuntaro, drawn by their playing. Jugo and Yuntaro reach the end of their song and stop playing.
Hozuki Suigetsu:
That playing is for the birds if you ask me… just kidding… Cool!… So he just has to play his own flute a lot?… If only that worked for the rest of us guys… just kidding…
Misuno:
Do you always gibber this much?…
Hozuki Suigetsu:
Only around pretty girls… It’s better than truth serum some times… You should try it more often…
Misuno:
Suigetsusan!?!…
Terumi Mei:
I know… right?…
Misuno:
Mama!?!…
Terumi Mei:
At least now you’re comfortable calling me mama in front of other people… I just wish you could say it with more affection than shock…
Hozuki Suigetsu:
Does she normally turn that red?… Maybe that was what the mask was covering up this whole time…
Terumi Mei:
She always told me that she wanted to hide the obvious resemblance between us… which is why I finally forbade her to wear it ever again… Come to think of it… you’re right!… She’s been using me as an excuse… to cover up from showing what boys she likes!… since she was little!…
Hozuki Suigetsu:
I think you’re on to something… She’s getting redder… I can see why that would be a liability as a shinobi…
Misuno:
Mama!?!…
Chojuro:
I think we’ve monopolized enough of the magic monk’s time with our family melodrama… at my sister’s expense… As much as I like saying that out loud too… in front of other people and everything… this is supposed to be a five kage summit… in spite of it’s missing pieces… and our recent complications… This isn’t supposed to be about us… And I’m more interested in hearing from the magic monk… if you don’t mind…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
I’m not magic!… And if you don’t mind cousin… I would like to know how well I did… in Kiri…
Chojuro:
Shockingly good… Everyone lost in the last attack… was resurrected before the bodies even had time to start to stink all that much… by all reports… I’m surprised there weren’t any reports of flowers growing everywhere… based on the results here… I guess Kiri doesn’t get the extra special touch that Konoha gets… I feel slighted…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Well that level of gardening is more of an artistic endeavor… and requires much more in the way of direct control… on site… much harder to do remotely…
Everyone busts into open laughter as Yuntaro remains completely oblivious to obvious sarcasm.
Chojuro:
That’s okay cousin Yuntaro… You have the thanks of a grateful Kiri… as well as a grateful cousin…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
You’re welcome cousin Chojuro… Does cousin Gaara have any requests?… It is Gaara right?… Gaara and Kankuro?… I’ve heard of your family… from the Uzumaki family official history… my father’s aunt married a previous kazekage… So we’re cousins too!… Our other cousin Naruto isn’t here right now… What can I help you with?… You seem like someone who needs help with something… You and your son…
Gaara:
Hai… I need you to… to help me find out… what happened to Shinki’s mother…
Shinki:
Father… We should look into this on our own… in private…
Gaara:
You think I haven’t looked into it before?… I’ve investigated what happened to your mother… even before I knew she was your mother… There’s no trace… nothing… We need help here…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Well… I can’t make any promises… But the well of shadows was primarily meant for just such a task… I have used it myself to contact and commune with the spirit of my own dead mother Yugito… It was she who guided me to come to Konoha… Do we even know if Shinki’s mother is actually dead?… Do we even know that much?…
Gaara:
Iie… We know nothing… I always thought that she just covered her tracks really well… because I trained well enough… or so I flattered myself well enough… Now we have nothing… Now… I have nothing of hers… save for Shinki…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Well… Shinki may be enough… With a little help from my new friends here… Normally when I use the well of shadows device… I’m alone in the wilderness… I didn’t actually have to share my insight with anyone one else… That would require genjutsu… better genjutsu than mine for sure… And I may have to make further alterations to the garden… Jugo can help me with the music…
Yuhi Kurenai:
Douzo… Ganbate kudesai… Feel free to be artistic…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Domo… Cousin Jugo… See if you can play along with me as a make a few changes…
Jugo:
Cousin?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Hai… Cousin… If you know anything about the history of your clan… you should know that it’s an offshoot of the Uzumaki… So we’re distant cousins… cousin… Now get ready to play… Cousin Jugo…
Jugo:
Hai… Cousin Yuntaro…
Yuntaro starts to play a tune familiar to Jugo, thanks to Orochimaru’s prior coaching, so Jugo starts to play along. As they play, flowers begin to rapidly grow up through the gravel ground cover everywhere, save for some existing stepping stones, and some new stone meditation platforms, all of which now rise to the same uniform height of two inches above the ground. The multicolored thicket of flowers rises to at least a foot above the top of the new stone meditation platforms, , and the stepping stones, as well as the stone ring in the center. Stone garden candle lanterns of cat gods spring up in the corners of the garden, and along the inside of it’s garden wall, formed without candles in them yet.
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Now come and take a seat next to me on the ring Jugo… You’re now my new musical apprentice… both patient and apprentice… and bandmate… Although at moment we’re only a duet… You come sit on my other side Miraisama… Everyone else grab a mediation cushion… and grab a good seat… But Shinki and Gaarasama need to take a seat a long the ring as well… at least for the next part… Kankuro as well…
Jugo and Mirai grab cushions along with Yuntaro, and take their seats as instructed. Likewise Kankuro, Gaara, Gaara’s son Shinki grab cushions and take their seats along the ring.
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Shinki… We’ll need a few drops of your blood… no more… no less… no need to be excessively morbid about this… just a few drops in the pool… Anything more than that and you’re the one whose going to be cleaning it…
Shinki does as instructed.
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Now we’ll start with a basic spirit summoning… where success isn’t necessarily good news… and failure isn’t necessarily bad news…
Gaara:
Because if you succeed… it’s because she’s dead… And if you fail…
Shinki:
Then she might be alive!…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
There are fates worse than death… Demonic possession is often described that way… by survivors of exorcism…
Senju Tsunade:
Proceed… young monk… imada… while the blood is fresh…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Hai… Tsunadesama… With me Jugo… Just follow along and lend me some of your energy and I’ll handle the rest for now… But eventually you’ll learn to do this on your own…
They begin to play, and the surface of the pool begins to shimmer and sparkle unnaturally, and continues for several minutes, before Yuntaro relents in his efforts somewhat. He uses his wind nature chakra to impose his voice upon his playing.
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Well… All I can tell you at this point… is that we can’t summon her spirit here… But perhaps we can find her current location…
The pool begins to shimmer and sparkle again. But this time the image shifts to a global planet view of the middle sea, as if viewing the Island of Uzu from orbit. A single glowing red dot marks the southern end of the island, marking the site of the fallen Uzushio.
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
This indicates… that she’s in Uzushio!… But it also indicates… that she’s…
Shinki:
That she’s what?!?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
That she’s become possessed… by some sort of demon… This technique I’m using… is primarily a technique of demon hunting… That’s what it was created for… The one thing that it can’t afford to get wrong… I may not know exactly what that means… But we’d have to go to Uzushio to find out… Which thanks to my uncle Toshiro… is probably going to be all kinds of trouble no matter what you plan to do about it…
Yuntaro stops playing, and Jugo follows suit.
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Given the past history… and the patterns of demons in general… demons tends to gravitate towards… if not be the secret instigators of… all sorts of petty political conflicts… as a cover and license for their own perverse indulgences… Their presence in Uzushio… no matter who the host may be… points to them being involved with my uncle Toshiro to some extent…
Senju Tsunade:
Your private family matters… have quickly become alliance matters… and not for the first time with present company… Where is Shintaro with Naruto and the others?… I knew they were going to be more than three hours… But this is getting ridiculous… and worrisome if it continues…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
I may not know the answers to those questions… but with a little help from some friends… I may be able to at least address them… At first I was thinking I could try my hand at the spirit avatar projection jutsu… something I’ve only done for myself in the past… And it would not allow for discretion… as I would be visible to everyone around me… but unable to physically touch anything… save to be seen and heard… Sharing the experience requires more skill and experience with genjutsu than I have… And it wouldn’t be discrete enough to suit the needs of Uzushio anyway… So I guess I’ll just have to send my mother Yugito to check it out for us…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Your mother!?!… You’re going to send… your dead mother Yugito?!?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Hai!… My mother is a spirit messenger of the resistance!… A spirit agent of the underworld!… in the resistance against the Otsutsuki Empire!… But I probably shouldn’t be talking about that… That’s a secret… Don’t tell anyone I said that…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Okay precious… Lets talk to mommy… Yugito was a legend… and not just in Kumo… and not just for being a jinchuriki… Most people didn’t know that till after the war… She was a role model for kunoichi everywhere… She had a reputation for strange solo missions… even among her peers in Kumo… and being very devout spiritually…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Even before my father came to Kumo… and founded the Demon Order of Kumo… my mother was very studious when it came to all the secrets of the two tails… as well as sealing in general… And she would often be called upon to deal with unusual situations where her expertise would come in handy… often involving demons… I was born in the convent where she studied for a time… prior to becoming the jinchuriki of the two tails…
Yuntaro transforms his left hand effortlessly, and without the performance of hand seals, into a cat’s paw, with white fur and retractable claws. Then he extends the claw of his left index finger, and gauges a small slash in the palm of his right hand, and squeezes a few drops out into the pool.
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Oh… Sumimasen… And after lecturing about about being excessively morbid…
Nii Yugito:
You needn’t have gone through that trouble just to summon me… I’m already here…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
I know mother… I’ve sensed you were there the whole time… I’m just priming the well for the next step… when I have to track down my own father… Please mother… introduce yourself properly to my new girlfriend… Miraisama!…
Yuntaro’s left hand transforms back into a normal human hand, as Yugito shimmers into view as an apparition hovering above the well of shadows.
Nii Yugito:
Oh I saw you with her… I’ve been watching this whole time… including last night… and for the record… I approve…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Mother!?!…
Nii Yugito:
What?… I said I approve…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Well… that’s good to know… nice to meet you properly… face to phantom at least…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Mother… if you’ve been eves dropping as usual… can you look into the matter of Uzushio?… If there are demons there… the strong ones may sense you… And you may have to do battle… Do you think that you might need… back up?…
Nii Yugito:
No my brave spirit warrior… And you’re not ready for that anyway… You’re very knowledgeable and powerful my son… But you have much to learn about war and combat… That more than anything is why I sent you to Konoha… not just to meet and get to know your father… This is where you belong… to pass on what you know… and to learn what you don’t… I’ll handle Uzushio for now… You just stay here and help out the nice kage trying to save the world… okay?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Don’t talk to me like I’m four!…
Nii Yugito:
Then don’t pout like you’re three!…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Hai… Mama… Happy hunting mama…
Nii Yugito:
Domo… Gambate kudesai… Yuntaro… And good luck… Miraisama… And may the two of you have many children together…
Yugito shimmers away before Mirai can respond…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Yugitosama!?!…
Yuhi Kurenai:
I like her style…
Senju Tsunade:
You said before that you were priming the well of shadows to track down your father… How does that work exactly?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
The location part works the same as the other two applications… But what I’m proposing to do with it is radically more demanding… But with the support of experts in genjutsu… I can use the well of shadows to perform the spirit avatar projection jutsu… a high powered form of astral projection… a power of my fancy eyes… enabled by the well of shadows… and powered by senjutsu… But I need to help of genjutsu experts to share and broaden the effect… and take others with me… We will be immersed in the environment of wherever we find them… able to speak and hear… and to be seen and heard… but without the ability to physically interact otherwise… except in the form of light sound and chakra… well enough for a summit at any rate… I’ll need Jugo to help with musical support… and I’ll need Mirai and her mother to help me out with genjutsu…
Yuhi Kurenai:
How do we do that?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Jugo and I will play to resonate with… maintain… and to share sage mode chakra… in the process of sharing that chakra… any genjutsu that I’m subjected to… or allow myself to be subjected to… transfers right along with my sage mode chakra… And I know enough genjutsu that I should be able to drag you and everyone you ensnare right along with you… to where ever my father and cousin Naruto may be…
Yuhi Kurenai:
So it’s like a mutual genjutsu?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Hai… Even when doing this alone… it is largely a kind of self induced trance… that is essentially a self inflicted genjutsu…
Senju Tsunade:
Is that a power of your Rinnegan?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Only the extent and the power of it… in truth anyone can do it with enough skill and chakra… and access to a well of shadows or similar device… Truth be told… there isn’t that much information of any credible sort about my fancy eyes… outside of legends that is… the only recent experience with one was during the last great war… You would probably know more about my fancy eyes than I would…
Senju Tsunade:
Like physical transformation?… That was one ability displayed by Nagato… the man who attacked Konoha with it… But he used a form of technological transformation… transforming his body into high tech weapons…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Physical technological transformation?… Wow… That’s a mouthful… I don’t know much about modern technology outside of medicine… and modern medicine is not my strong suit… I’m more of a traditionalist… But I’ve always had an effortless ability to transform… especially into animals of various types… I can even manage the Akimichi’s expansion jutsu to some extent… I guess I never really thought of that as something special… since other people do similar things… I just took it for granted as normal… I can read and break any code or strange language… My mother loved to exploit that… I also have perfect visual memory of everything I see or read… and I have an extensive collection… Beyond that I have a lot to learn… like my mother says… The only proper combat jutsu I know is taijutsu… Certain forms of taijutsu are fundamental to the conditioning and cultivation of senjutsu within the Uzumaki tradition… Everything else seemed superfluous to me… the only other combat jutsu I ever learned… was the lightening taijutsu from the Fourth Raikage…
Senju Tsunade:
You learned… ‘lightening taijutsu’?… from the Fourth Raikage?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Hai… Lightening Style chakra mode… But from there I mastered the shadow lightening style… possibly also a gift from my fancy eyes… I can use any element style… just not all nearly as well… and mostly I’ve only focused on learning medical jutsu… or jutsu related to senjutsu or other spiritual practices… But I’ve memorized the entire curriculum of the demon order of Kumo…
Senju Tsunade:
Good for you… Wait till you get a look at the updated versions that your father dropped off… I sent them home with Kurenai as well…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Hai… Sodesune… I’m still absorbing… I was… busy with important… personal matters… But you have my word… I’ll master the material as soon as possible…
Senju Tsunade:
At ease… spirit warrior… Take your time… I just wanted to make sure that you got your copies…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Hai… Tsunadesama… Tsunadesama?…
Senju Tsunade:
Eh?… Nandesuka?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Please train me!… Please train me to be… a medical shinobi!…
Senju Tsunade:
A medical shinobi?… You already raise the dead kid!… What more do you need to learn about medicine?… And why do you need to be a shinobi?… of any kind?… young monk?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
It is like my mother said… there is much that I need to learn about combat and war… I do not believe that I am compatible for use in any other military role… And I already have considerable medical training… although not much practical experience outside of tending to injured animals in the wilderness… And the unnatural powers of resurrection shouldn’t be relied upon so gratuitously…
Senju Tsunade:
Well… You’re quite right about resurrection… normally… Alright… I’ll train you… to be a medical shinobi… But you have to train others to do what you do… if you can…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Well of course… In fact… I hear… that there are even plans… to start a shinobi university!… Isn’t that fantastic?!?…
Senju Tsunade:
Yeah… Fantastic… We’ve heard that news too… Now how about this spirit avatar thing?… What do we have to do again for this?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
For the most part… Jugo and I play… Mirai and Kurenai help with Genjutsu… and the rest of you grab a cushion…. grab a spot… and get comfortable… as if preparing for prolonged deep meditation… Because we could be gone for several hours… And if you don’t want to get dragged along for the ride… then leave the garden… I can’t control the effect any better than that…
Kiba and Hoki return to take up positions as additional summit security outside the garden wall, with detective Kiba acting as summit security head. But no one leaves. And everybody not already seated on an appropriately cushy cushion, grabs a cushion, and prepares to get comfy for the duration. Yuntaro starts to play, and Jugo follows suit. Then the pool begins to take on a now familiar multicolored swirling sparkle. The sparkle grows and grows beyond the pool to fill the air around them with multicolored sparkling brilliance, until it completely blinds everyone present, absorbing them in the spectacle, and whisking their consciousness away to destinations unknown.
There Is No Alone!
Forever Never Ending!
There Is No Escape!
There Is No Point In Pretending!
For compilations of previous chapters in paperback hardcopy:
The Mad Sage Of Uzushio, A Naruto Fan Fiction: Volume 1: Chapters 1-17 Paperback On Amazon.com