I do not own Naruto or Fate/Stay Night. They belong to their respective creators and not me. I am only writing this for fun and not for profit. So with that in mind, please enjoy the story but if you don’t like it then I can’t help you. For those of you that do, please leave comments and let me know what you think.
Fate/9th Destiny
By Ten-Faced Paladin
Chapter 4: Rising Stakes
Konohagakure - Kurama Manor
A silent room existed, but was bright in illumination. Only the sounds of paint being spread across canvas denoted someone was there. Many portraits decorated the room, depicting scenes or people. Some of the pictures were old, while others were newer. However, the advancement of skill was quite apparent, becoming quite talented as the newer portraits were done.
The painter was a young woman, barely a teenager herself. She had long auburn hair, some tied in a loose braid on the left side of her face while a yellow hairclip tamed more. She had shoulder length hair, but not a smudge of paint was on it which went to show how careful and precise her strokes were. She wore a painter’s smock which was pink, once again clean of any paint. Underneath, glimpses of mesh clothing could be seen, the likes which shinobi would wear. She was pretty with brown eyes, but there was a paleness to her skin which indicated a state of health which may not have been ideal. Those brown eyes were also tempered with a darkness, of a past shrouded in tragedy. Her name was Yakumo Kurama, the heiress of the Kurama Clan.
The Kurama Clan was once prominent in the village politics. They were supremely talented in the art of genjutsu, able to craft illusions which could cover cities and fool absolutely everyone. Their arts were in high demand and when the clan joined Konoha during its founding they immediately took a place of standing with their abilities. What made their clan so powerful was their Kekkei Genkai which while not a physical appearance such as the Byakugan or the Sharingan it was a mutation in the brain itself which allowed possessors to cast genjutsus so real, the brain would believe they were happening and should a victim die within the illusion, they would die in real life.
Sadly the glory days of the Kurama Clan had passed. Their numbers had dropped to quite a low number, leaving their military power quite limited and their political power likewise cut down with both so few members and their true heads being almost exterminated.
Yakumo herself felt that pain of powerlessness for almost her entire life. She was born with a weak constitution, all but closing off the path to becoming a shinobi for her. However, being born with her clan’s prized Kekkei Genkai her family petitioned the Hokage for a special tutor. Sarutobi accepted that, already having seen a young man become a shinobi on his taijutsu skills alone and so he assigned a specialty Jounin to the task.
Yakumo was immensely pleased and she grew to truly admire her tutor Kurenai Yuhi who was a genjutsu specialist. She did well in her lessons and worked hard. It was enough that Yakumo truly felt like she was on the road to becoming a shinobi herself. She would be able to do her clan proud, be an asset to the village, and one day bring her clan back into full strength among the council.
But then it ended…
Kurenai for some reason told Yakumo that being a shinobi was not her path and that she should look elsewhere. It broke Yakumo’s heart, but she was bound and determined to not give up, to become a shinobi no matter what. It was then that Kurenai, her role model, put that final stake in her dreams and killed them by sealing her abilities, preventing her from using genjutsu and her Kekkei Genkai. Yakumo’s dreams were crushed and she felt like she had finally lost everything.
And then her home burned down, killing both her parents. She could not remember the incident, having been traumatised by it but she knew that it was no accident. Later she found it was true, overhearing her uncle discussing the event with Sarutobi, one topic of which was the possibility of ending her life if she grew too powerful. It led Yakumo to believe that the Hokage had ordered her parents’ death and Kurenai to abandon her because of this, to keep her from growing too powerful and becoming a threat.
Embittered and angry, but keeping her senses, Yakumo kept her head down. She moved in with her uncle and took up painting to make it appear as if she had moved on. It helped with her own troubles, giving face to her passions and her demons. Still, she secretly trained and tested to see what she was capable of. Over the years she grew capable of more and more but she kept it hidden. She didn’t want to give anyone the chance to see the seal was beginning to fail. She was already in the midst of planning what her next move was. She was going to use her abilities to force Kurenai and then the Hokage to admit to what they did. She would receive justice for her parents and make the Hokage admit to his crimes. She just needed to perfect the illusions she needed and find the right timing.
However, the truth was much darker.
“Yes...just like that...a stroke here...one there...and all will be ready…”
The voice went unheard to Yakumo, but in her heart and mind it was still there.
The Kurama Clan’s Kekkei Genkai had a dark drawback to it. With the differences in their minds, the users of the ability usually could not control the full extent of their abilities both physically or mentally. To compensate, their minds would construct an alternate personality from their psyche which could take the strain and control the abilities. These personalities were usually aggressive, embodying aspects of themselves which the users did not like or tried to deny they had. More often than not, Kurama Clan members succumbed to these personalities and went mad before having to be put down. There was the odd case of the true personality winning out or even the pair working together but that was rare even if the Kurama Clan wished to speak about how their abilities worked.
Yakumo had developed such a personality. It was named Ido, the common name for such personalities. She, if there ever was a gender for such things, was developed from Yakumo’s frustrations and resentment towards everyone who heaped so much pressure and responsibility on her both being the heiress to the Clan as well as the inheritor of the Kekkei Genkai. Ido hated Konoha and wished to see it burn like Yakumo sometimes wished on her bad days. She resented everyone who told Yakumo that she couldn’t be a ninja tried to hold her back, desiring to destroy them for their words. Most of all she despised Kurenai for trying to take away their future as a shinobi.
Unknown to Yakumo, Kurenai had discovered Ido when she peered through the girl’s mind. Ido was devouring Yakumo’s psyche and doing untold damage. Her monstrous appearance and habits in Yakumo’s mind, where symbolism was everything, was telling to the Jounin. So Kurenai brought the matter to Sarutobi who after the incident with Yakumo’s parents decided that it would be best to seal away Ido. It was for the best since Ido had been the one to kill Yakumo’s parents since she felt they were trying to hold Yakumo back from her dreams. Taking control of Yakumo, she cast deadly illusions which made the pair believe they were on fire, sparking their bodies to self-ignite and burn the building down. Ido then hid the memory from Yakumo, making her believe instead through chance that the Third ordered the attack.
The seal in fact did not hold Ido back at all. Instead, she had grown too strong for it already. She was fully capable of taking control of Yakumo during times of stress and when she was asleep, allowing her to wander and seek out her own amusement. One of her pastimes was to research new ways of helping her and Yakumo’s plan to destroy Konoha and punish Kurenai and the Hokage for their part in their suffering.
Because Ido loved Yakumo and would do everything to make her happy, especially if it meant she could burn something.
So Ido studied in the Kurama Clan library while Yakumo slept during the night. She liked to try and study obscure things, likely stemming from how she herself was a mystery in connection to the Kurama bloodline. One of the subjects she studied was history and myths, likely hoping for background on the Kurama Clan and techniques she may be able to try to make herself and Yakumo stronger with. It was where she came across a strange ritual.
“Almost done,” Yakumo smiled, finishing touches on the strange circular design she had suddenly felt the urge to paint. She had never seen the design before, but for some reason it all just came to her and in a flight of fancy decided to paint it to see what it would look like finished.
“Oh it’s wonderful Yakumo,” Ido praised her other half, not that she heard it.
Ido had seen the design in one of the Kurama Clan’s history books. It dated back to before Konoha was founded, when ninjas were divided by clans and who hired them, not be countries or villages. It was vague, but Ido determined that the seal was in fact a summoning array which called forth seven powerful beings for the Kurama Clan to fight a secret war with. Tales about the beings, what little she could find, spoke of immense power and techniques and weapons referred to as Noble Phantasms. They could devastate whole legions of ninjas and bring down castles and forts easily. It was also so simple to summon them! Ido could do it without even using Yakumo’s body! No prep work was needed either since the ritual called for using blood or something like that as a medium and Yakumo already mixed cattle blood into her paints to thicken them. All she had to do was suggest Yakumo stay still and concentrate on the design!
“Just sit back and admire it Yakumo,” Ido whispered to her other half. “And I shall make our desire come true!
Yakumo traced the elegant curves of the foreign writing on the circle with her eyes. Gibberish she dreamed up of course, but she had to admit that it looked nice.
"Silver and Iron to the Origin. Gem and the Archduke of Contracts to the Cornerstone. The Ancestor is my Great Master Schweinorg.
The Alighted Wind becomes a Wall. The Gates in the Four Directions close, coming from the Crown, the Three-Forked Road that leads to the Kingdom Circulate.
Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill).
Repeat every Five Times."
Yakumo reached to the portrait and touched it to see if the paint had dried on a certain part yet. The design was just so...entrancing.
"Simply, shatter once filled.
I announce.
Your Self is under Me, my Fate(doom) is in Your Sword.
In accordance with the Resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this Feeling, this Reason, then Answer.”
Yakumo felt a spark and suddenly the entire design began to glow. She gasped in shock, stumbling back from the portrait. In her rush, she accidentally knocked over the easel which caused the paitning to fall onto its back. The portrait with the circle on it began to glow brighter, illuminating the entire room with a strange light. Yakumo became increasingly afraid and Ido tried to project calm and soothing into her as she continued to speak.
“Here is my Oath. I am the One who becomes all the Good of the World of the Dead, I am the One who lays out all the Evil of the World of the Dead.
But Let the Shadows Conceal thy Face! Let thy Name be Forgotten! Stand Not in the World of the Light! Forever be Counted in the Abyss of Shadow!
You, Seven Heavens clad in Three Words of Power, arrive from the Ring of Deterrence, O Keeper of the Balance!"
Yakumo whimpered, not knowing what was happening, afraid that someone had found out about her abilities and was coming to kill her. She tried to move, but her body was locked and a burning sensation was appearing on her hand. Red light rose into her view, prompting her to glance at it. On the back of her hand the Kurama Clan symbol, a feather-like marking appeared. It was the last thing she saw before the room filled with light, eliciting a scream from the young woman.
The light died down, causing Yakumo to dare to look. The room was filled with smoke, but it was slowly vanishing. In front of her, standing on the drying paint of her latest portrait was...a woman?
She was an extremely healthy woman with a slim and almost panther-like build despite her strongly defined abdomen muscles. Much of her upper body was exposed save for a bikini which wrapped around her neck and under her arms. It was a show of femininity which caused Yakumo to blush even if her breasts were on the small side. She wore black pants that hung on her hips quite well and black boots. Her skin was as black as night, making Yakumo wonder if she painted herself. She had long purple hair tied in a ponytail with large hoop earrings and rings around her neck, but her face was covered by a skull-like mask.
“A-ANBU?” Yakumo quivered.
“No,” the woman shook her head, her voice husky and sensual. “We are Servant Assassin. By your summons we have come forth. Are you our Master?”
“W-we?” Yakumo blinked.
Then…
“Are you our Master?”
“Master?”
“Mistress!”
“Say yes!”
We can get you the Holy Grail!”
“We will make your dream come true!”
“Just accept us.”
“We will fight for you!”
One by one in plumes of black smoke, men all dressed in various rags to robes appeared in puffs of black smoke. They were all men with midnight black skin, purple hair styled in different ways, each armed with different styles of bladed weapons be it from daggers down to their fingernails, and all of them wore the skull-like mask.
“Yes! Yes! Yes! We are your Masters! We summoned you!” Ido cried from within Yakumo’s psyche in joy.
The group’s heads all twitched, looking deeply at Yakumo for a moment. As if one united thought passed through all of them, they stepped back save for the one woman. Slowly, she began approaching Yakumo who watched her with fear. Coming up to the heiress, she kneeled down slightly. She then palmed her mask and removed it, revealing a beautiful female face with molten gold eyes looking up to Yakumo with sincerity and calm.
“Fret not Master,” she spoke. “We are not here to harm you. We are here to serve you. The Command Seals on your hand mean you are our Master and so we shall fight for you from the shadows for the Holy Grail.”
“S-Serve me?” Yakumo stuttered. Looking up at the other men in the room, she saw them all bow down to her in deference.
“What angers you, we shall kill. What you seek, we shall find,” the woman spoke. “As your Servant Assassin, we shall do whatever it takes.”
“Y-y-you a-ah…” Yakumo began, her mind in a flurry of shock, fear, and confusion. At that moment, she could only do one thing which someone with her constitution could do. She passed out. Conveniently, there were two more Assassins behind her, gently catching her before she could hurt herself.
“So frail,” the Female Assassin stood up, donning her mask again.
“But her prana is quite adequate,” a cloaked Assassin commented, stepping up to examine Yakumo after the two Assassins placed her on the bed.
“And so very like us, Medicine,” laughed a third male Assassin. “Her mind is broken in half. Two Masters, one body.”
Murmurs rippled through the mass of black-clad killers. They could all easily sense the second mind in their Master thanks to the bond they shared with her. It seemed they had been paired with a Master who knew exactly what they suffered, even if on a minimal scale compared to them.
“Yakumo-sama!”
“Away!” snapped the Female Asssassin, prompting all of the group to leap out the windows, astralize themselves, or compress themselves into the shadows while gripping their weapons. Not a heartbeat later, a pair of Kurama Clan guards entered the room having heard a ruckus before seeing Yakumo asleep on the bed and the painting on the ground.
“Must have heard it fall over,” one of the men whispered.
“Then let’s go,” the other men silently stepped through the room and fixed the easel and the painting. “Aw, the paint got smudged. Yakumo-sama won’t like that. It’s a good piece.”
“Quit playing art critic and let’s go,” the other shinobi hissed. His partner finished with the painting before the two of them left. Once the door closed, the Assassins in the room slipped out from their hiding places.
“We will watch over Master,” one of the Assassins spoke. “The rest of you should gather information about this Village Hidden in the Leaves.”
No confirmation was given, but trees rustled outside as figures moved through them.
(LINE BREAK)
Training Ground Three
The day had long since begun for Sakura and Sasuke as they waited at the training ground for their teacher and last teammate to show up. Kakashi was of course late again which got Sakura angry and Sasuke questioning if their supposed teacher was really worthy of being a teacher. He didn’t want some idiot ruining his chances at achieving his ambition. Normally Sakura may have used this time alone with Sasuke to score some romantic points and finally get ahead of Ino, but she was too busy being nervous and going over everything she learned from the academy. Sasuke was also thinking of which jutsus he would need to pass the test, and also wanting to make sure the dead last and the fangirl didn’t get in his way.
“Heeeeeeeeey! Sakura-chan! Sasuke!”
Both graduates looked up and saw Naruto running towards them. He was still in the glowing orange jumpsuit with that bright grin on his face. Oddly enough, he had a pair of bento in his arms as he ran towards the two. Reaching them, he skidded to a halt before taking a moment to get some of his breath back.
“Is...Sensei, here yet?” he asked.
“No. He’s late again,” Sakura huffed, crossing her arms. “And so are you Naruto! What if Sensei arrived and you weren’t here? You’d have failed for sure!”
“I know, I know, but he’s late for everything!” Naruto replied, getting his breath back. “Unless it’s some kind of emergency or Hokage-Jiji asks for him, he’s like three hours late for everything!”
“And how do you know that?” asked Sasuke with a raised eyebrow.
“Seiba-neechan had me ask around after we went to eat!” Naruto explained. “She said ignorance is the enemy or something. So I ran around the village asking everybody if they knew something about the guy. They said that he’s late for everything and that he never takes off his mask. So I guessed I had plenty of time to get ready!”
Sakura and Sasuke blinked at the explanation. It actually sounded rather...smart for the blonde to do such a thing. Then it dawned on the both of them that they could have done the same thing to learn a little bit more of how Kakashi worked, possibly what kind of test he administered, and even how he fought if it came down to it. There was a whole wealth of things they could have tried to learn if they just thought of it.
‘I can’t believe the dobe thought of that,’ Sasuke cursed inwardly for such a stupid mistake.
‘How could Naruto think of something so...smart?!’ Sakura gasped inwardly while her inner self gave a bellow of, ‘How could we not think of such a simple thing!? SHANNARO!”
“So, are you guys hungry? I already ate,” Naruto offered, holding up the two bento he brought.
“But Kakashi-sensei told us not to eat!” Sakura reminded. Was Naruto trying to get them to disobey their Jounin instructor’s first order?
“Well, yeah, he did but think about it. How effective are we if we go into battle hungry? Seiba-neechan told me that hunger is the enemy and that only idiots go into a fight on an empty stomach. Sides, we’re gonna need our energy. I mean, this has a 66% failure rate! If we go in hungry we might as well fail already!”
Again, Sasuke and Sakura blinked before wanting to smack their foreheads at such an obvious thing. They were the tops of their classes! If the dobe could get such a concept, they should have seen it a long time ago! It was one thing to follow orders, but following detrimental ones for no reason was just asking to get a fail no matter what.
Naruto shoved the bentos into their hands, “Come on and eat up! He shouldn’t be here for another hour or two!”
Both took the bentos and were a little reluctant to open them, fearing Naruto’s idea of cooking. As far as they knew, he would eat nothing but ramen when given the chance. Opening them though, they discovered that there was actually a decent meal of rice, some pickles, plum, and other little tidbits which looked appetizing and good to eat.
“Naruto, did you make this?” Sakura asked. Her stomach grumbled at the sight and even her hard-won dieting skills were no match for the food.
“Me? No way! I can only make ramen! Seiba-neechan made them. She says I need more variety in my diet. She also says I shouldn’t eat ramen all the time!” To be honest, the meal he had was delicious. Actually the best he ever had.
“Well you wouldn’t be so short anyway,” Sakura giggled, making Naruto pout at the teasing. Sasuke was silent as he began to eat. The pinkette wasn’t far behind as she dug in, finding the food to be surprisingly good.
“Hey, dobe,” Sasuke spoke up, “What else did you find out about Kakashi-sensei?”
“Well,” Naruto frowned, scratching his head. “Lot’s of people say he’s like some kind of legendary ninja or something. He was taught by the Yondaime believe it or not so he’s probably got all sorts of tricks!”
“Hn,” Sasuke frowned. That was going to be a problem then. If Kakashi was so high profile than likely he was going to be powerful and the test was going to be that much harder.
“Oh! And he’s always reading some little orange book. Every woman who brought it up got angry about it or something,” Naruto continued. “I bet that’s his secret weakness! We should totally try to steal that book so we can blackmail him into passing us!”
“Naruto…” Sakura frowned. “A Jounin isn’t going to have a stupid weakness like that.”
“Dobe,” Sasuke huffed.
“OI!” Naruto snapped back.
“Mah, mah, looks like my weakness is out then.”
The trio turned, Sakura and Sasuke with their mouths filled with rice as they saw Kakashi standing not a few feet away from them. He looked slouched with his hands in his pockets and a backpack slung over his shoulder. He was eyeing the three lazily, but one could almost feel the pressure of a superior pressing down on them.
“YOU’RE LATE!” Naruto shouted at the silver-haired jounin.
“So I am, but so are you,” Kakashi retorted, approaching the three. “Care to explain Naruto? And I distinctly remember telling you three not to eat breakfast. Any explanations for that?”
Naruto gulped, but quickly stepped up to plate, “It was me Kakashi-sensei! I gave it to them!”
“Oh?” Kakashi raised an eyebrow. Taking one for the team already? Points for Naruto then. “Then tell me why you disobeyed an order from a superior?”
“Well...because it was a dumb order!” Naruto called back. “We’re going up against a guy who people say has like, a thousand jutsus! And with this whole test taking it hungry will just make it even easier to fail! So go ahead and ding me or whatever, but I’d rather do that than fail! I’m not going to take a test with any more disadvantages than I have to!”
Kakashi stared at Naruto for a moment as Sasuke and Sakura didn’t even dare to swallow. After a moment of the same tense atmosphere, Kakashi actually smiled, or whatever passed for it with how he kept his face covered, “Very good Naruto. Were this a graded test I’d give you bonus points for that insight.”
“EH?! Sakura cried. Sasuke blinked in shock.
“Take note you two,” Kakashi pointed to his remaining students. “While we are soldiers for our village, successful shinobis have to look underneath the underneath. Always examine any orders you receive thoroughly when you get the chance because you never know when they may have been falsified or lacking intelligence. Also, never go into any kind of mission without at least trying to get any and every advantage you can. You never know what may happen so be prepared.”
‘Naruto...beat us…’ Inner Sakura choked as Sakura nodded dutifully.
“Now finish up and we can get started,” Kakashi explained, walking up to the stump. Setting down his pack, he pulled out an alarm clock. Placing it on the stump, he set it. Standing up again, he looked to his students with two of them stuffing their faces with the last of their meals before approaching. “Now, this clock is set to go off at noon. Your test is as follows.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out two silver bells on string, “I have two bells here. You have to get these from me by any means necessary. All you have to do is get one from me and you pass. Anyone who doesn’t gets tied to the post. Normally I’d have us eat lunch in front of you but you saw around that so we’ll just leave you and go have lunch at a restaurant.”
“But...there are only two of them Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura pointed out.
“Very astute,” Kakashi nodded. “One of you is going to fail this test for sure. And when you fail, you won’t just get tied to the post but I’ll kick you back to the academy for retraining.”
“WHAT?!” the three students cried.
“So when I said do whatever it takes, I meant it,” Kakashi continued. “So if you want to win this, you’d better be ready to kill me for these bells.”
“Ha! Big talk coming from a guy who couldn’t dodge an eraser!” Naruto laughed.
“Big talk coming from the dead last,” Kakashi retorted, causing Naruto to begin growling with a vein on his head. “But then again, you were the only one who managed to examine my orders instead of blindly following. You even went around town asking about me so to develop intel according to some friends of mine. Maybe I should take you a bit more seriously than Sakura or Sasuke.”
Sasuke scowled and Sakura threw a dark look at Naruto who was just too busy smirking at the compliment handed to him. Kakashi pretended to ignore it as he looked at the three before assuming a stance.
“Okay, looks like you three are finally taking this seriously. Good,” Kakashi nodded. “Now, ready...set…”
The trio tensed.
“GO!”
(LINE BREAK)
Konoha Library
Saber huffed as she looked over numerous books about the history of Konoha. Ever since her meeting with Rider, she desired to try and scrounge up knowledge about what was going on in the Holy Grail War. If the Servants could not fight each other, then how were they supposed to compete for that coveted prize?
So she began her search in the local libraries. She wasn’t expecting to find anything about the Grail Wars. No, that would be coveted and secret knowledge. What she sought was knowledge about one of the founders of the village, Hashirama Senju. Sarutobi had let it slip that the man had participated in a previous Holy Grail War. So Saber wished to research the man and learn perhaps there was a time in his history in which he could have participated in the Grail War and give her a place to begin looking into the problem she suffered.
She had to admit, the man sounded powerful. So powerful people called him Shinobi no Kami or the God of Shinobi. The man could manipulate the very element of wood, spawning forests and all manner of wood constructs which according to a book about him could tame powerful demons. He was a sage in that he could use the mysterious Senjutsu or Sage Arts and his bloodline was still coveted even though it no longer could produce the strange Mokuton or Wood Release ability. He had only one descendant left, but she had apparently left the village and had no intention of returning. The man was a dreamer though, being a noted crusader for peaceful relations between first the warring clans and then the Hidden Villages. He stuck to his dream even if not all of his comrades wished the same. He eventually gave his life for that dream, which Saber could respect. Given all his exploits and how so many revered him, Saber wouldn’t have been surprised to hear that his soul ended up at the Throne of Heroes.
What did bother her was that the book ended up just speaking about his exploits and very little about the man himself. It didn’t mention anything about what he did personally or what he may have gotten into outside of his connection to Konoha. That was just frustrating given that Saber wanted to know more about the man’s personal history rather than his military one. How had he gotten involved in the Holy Grail War? Were there more before that one? Where was she supposed to learn about the strange mechanics which were in place.
“Useless,” Saber frowned, closing the last of the books and setting them aside. Standing up, she turned to leave the building. It seems I may have to talk to that old man about what I wish to know.”
Tipping her hand to anyone so early. How frustrating.
(LINE BREAK)
Konoha - Training Ground Three
“Well that was fun,” Kakashi commented, his hands in his pockets.
His three wannabe students glowered at him from the wooden posts. None of them had gotten a bell and although Kakashi said he tie up the one who failed, since all three failed he had Sakura tied up on the post. The pinkette was naturally not pleased about this.
“WHY THE HECK AM I TIED UP?!” Sakura cried out, channelling her inner self for a moment.
“Because out of all three of you Sakura, you were the only one who didn’t even try to get a bell,” Kakashi replied. “I had to go find you and you didn’t exactly put up much of a fight.”
A cloud of gloom appeared over Sakura’s head.
It was more or less a flub from the get-go from Kakashi’s opinion. He had such high hopes when he first came on them disobeying his orders.
Naruto had begun the test by outright charging him, missing the point about stealth and staying hidden but the kid stuck to what he was good at so there was that. Kakashi had decided to tease him by reading his Icha-Icha Paradise while sparring. Rather than get pissed off...okay Naruto did get pissed off, but the blonde recognized the book. At first it seemed like he was going for a fight, but in the middle of it he actually tried to steal the book, apparently knowing how much Kakashi treasured his smutty literature. Kakashi had to give the hyperactive blonde credit for gathering intel like that. His school skills may have sucked but in the practical world he seemed to be doing alright.
Still, no one touched Kakashi’s precious Icha-Icha and so Naruto suffered the Sennen Goroshi technique for the insult. Naruto managed to recover fast and launched a Kage Bunshin offensive which when one thought about it pretty impressive. He even managed to get one behind him to try and pin him down for the bells. Of course, Kakashi easy countered by using Kawimari no Jutsu to substitute himself with the real Naruto, causing his own clone to slug him. All of the clones got in a brawl over that thinking Kakashi was hiding as one of them before Naruto remembered he could dispel them all to determine the truth of it. Once the clones were gone, Kakashi lured him into a simple rope trap which left the boy dangling from a tree while the teacher went off to see what his other prospects were doing.
After avoiding a sneak attack from Sasuke, Kakashi left him to get a little paranoid while he left to see what Sakura was up to. He decided to mess with her a little and cast the Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu which he figured would show her precious Sasuke-kun as a corpse or something. It worked, but Sakura freaked out and fainted from fright, foam in her mouth and all. Kakashi was vastly disappointed since Sakura was the top Kunoichi. She should have been able to see through the technique easily, but her crush/obsession with Sasuke seemed to have dumbed her down something fierce. What the heck were they teaching these kids?
Eventually he got around to Sasuke and the kid gave a good show of why he was picked to be the top of his class and it certainly wasn’t on his name alone. The surprising part was when the kid whipped out the Katon: Gokyaku no Jutsu when no Genin could realistically be expected to be able to use it. Still, Kakashi wasn’t a Jounin and former ANBU just because of his looks. One quick use of the Doton: Shinju Zashu no Jutsu and Saskue was up to his neck in the dirt.
Satisfied with his work, Kakashi went to see how the other two were doing. Naruto had managed to free himself and stumbled on Sakura. He had managed to wake her up and he seemed in the process of asking if they could work together when Sakura all but slugged him away before running screaming for Sasuke. She found him, but then promptly passed out thinking he was just a decapitated head. Naruto helped dig him out, but was laughing the whole time. The alarm rang soon after, leading to the trio’s little moment.
“Well, out of the three of you Naruto should be the only one sent back to the academy,” Kakashi reported. “You two don’t have to worry about that.”
“HUH?!” Naruto gaped.
“You mean we passed?” Sakura gasped. ‘HA! True love conquers all! Shannaro!’
“Hmm,” Sasuke nodded.
“No,” Kakashi replied. “Sakura, you and Sasuke should just give up on being shinobi altogether. At least Naruto has the potential. You two should just quit before you embarrass yourselves.”
Sakura and Naruto both let out cries of shock again, but Sasuke did something different. Picking a kunai out of his pouch, he lunged for Kakashi with the intent of taking him down. If it was to get the bell or just kill him though, that was the hard part to say. It didn’t matter too much though as Kakashi first gripped Sasuke before a quick twist disarmed him before he was slammed into the ground and Kakashi turned him into an improvised seat.
“Sasuke!” Naruto gasped, tensing as if preparing to attack in case things got wild again.
“DON’T SIT ON SASUKE-KUN!” Sakura shrieked.
“This is exactly what I’m talking about,” Kakashi frowned. “Naruto at least began to catch onto what this exercise was about. If you came at me together you may have gotten the bells. You two completely missed it! This one vital point can determine if you succeed or fail in an operation! Teamwork!”
“But you didn’t tell us what that was about!” cried Sakura. “If this was a team exercise then why did you have only two bells? One of us would have still had to be tied to the post!”
Naruto for some reason felt like he really dodged a bullet. After being beaten the first time and seeing he was losing time, he decided that it was time to get tricky. Another bit of advice Saber told him was that having backup was always a good idea. At first Naruto thought she meant his clones, but she said the clones were just him multiplied with the same skills and mentality. If he’d miss something, chances are they’d all miss it. Having comrades, real ones, would make any task easier. So after trying by himself, Naruto had to admit she was right since he got his butt kicked even with the clones. So he wanted to ask Sakura for help and maybe if he could get Sasuke off his high horse maybe ask for some advice. Sure they ran out of time but at least he still had a chance to become a ninja. He’d also have to thank Saber for all the great advice she gave him.
“The point of the two bells was to cause dissention in the ranks,” Kakashi replied, stunning the trio. “The situation was set up so I could see which of you could put aside notions of personal gain and suggest working together for the good of all.”
Kakashi glanced at Sakura, making her gulp, “Sakura, you were in a perfect position to help Naruto during his fight with me. For that one moment where his clones caught me off guard, you could have dove in and maybe have gotten even both bells off of me. Instead you promptly ignored him and went chasing Sasuke even though you had no idea where he was or what his plan entailed. And then your all-consuming crush on him allowed me to get you in a basic genjutsu that someone of your grades could have easily realized and broken out of. Once Sasuke became involved though, your mind went to la-la land.”
Sakura simply wilted.
“Sasuke here,” Kakashi looked down. “Simply decided to leave you two to rot since you were going to be a hindrance to him and went after me himself. He’s skilled, but he put way too much confidence in those skills and it cost him. I was able to play his blind spots which a teammate would have been able to cover and take him down. That kind of attitude also exposed comrades and can put your whole team at risk.”
“But...but…” Sakura gulped while Sasuke just scowled.
“Naruto on the other hand,” Kakashi looked up, but the harshness was gone. “He understood that going by himself, even with his ability to clone himself, wasn’t going to cut it. After all, all the clones have the same skillset and if I could counter one or eight of them, I could likely counter all of them. So he decided to try and ask you two for help. What did you do, hm?”
Sakura wilted further and Sasuke’s scowl deepened. Sakura was so frightened about Sasuke she hadn’t even heard if Naruto said anything before she ran to see where her ‘one true love’ was. Sasuke ignored Naruto out of reflex, ready to turn and try for the bells again. He was so set on doing things by himself, he wouldn’t even entertain the notion of working with the other two.
“Sorry about this Naruto,” Kakashi shrugged. “I’m sure if you had gotten some better teammates you’d have passed this test. Don’t worry though. I’ll make some recommendations and we’ll see where we can put you.”
“Whu...h-hey,” Naruto gulped. “Hey come on Kakashi-sensei we didn’t do that bad did we? I mean, maybe if we had a little more time we could have pulled it off.”
“Well, maybe,” Kakashi nodded, standing up. “But during missions things can get heated and happen real fast. You need the ability to pick up on things quickly or else you may end up...messy. Individual skills are all well and good, but it’s teamwork which guarantees a success.” He then asked, "So, Naruto, how did you figure it was about teamwork?"
Naruto shrugged, "Well, we were all put together as a team for a reason. Everyone was. I mean why do that if they're gonna get separated anyway? Didn't make sense. That, and there’s no way three fresh out of the academy Genin to beat a Jounin unless they work together. So figured I’d ask Sakura-chan and maybe Sasuke for help and we’d worry about who gets a bell later."
And once again Naruto managed to surprise Sakura and a Sasuke for his insight. Of course, Saber had a hand in helping Naruto figure that little fact out. Naruto knew he was crafty and could outrun and trick Chunin but Jounin were something else entirely. Saber just had to remind Naruto that as good as he was, Jounin were some of the village’s best for a reason and no new Genin would be able to take one on alone even if they could clone themselves to ridiculous numbers.
"Let me guess, you two believed Naruto wasn't worth listening to because he was dead last, right? Here's a secret. Jiraiya of the Three Sannin was a dead last too," Kakashi told them. His teacher, the late Yondaime, had told him so.
That statement, hearing that one of three legendary ninjas of Konoha was the dead last of his class stunned Sakura and Sasuke. Now knowing he had their attention, and beginning to feel most optimistic about this team all things considered, Kakashi continued his speech. “Okay Naruto, since you’re so confident in your team’s ability to get the job done I’ll give them a second chance. Get everything you think you may need. I mean everything. However…” he looked at a trio with a narrowed eye. “You can’t let Sakura go. She’s the only one who didn’t even try for the bells so she can’t get the same benefits you and Sasuke do for this next test. I’ll be back in one hour and rest assured I won’t be late. So move it or lose it you two. And no skirting around my orders this time. My word is law for this next test. You disobey, you automatically flunk.”
With that, Kakashi leaped away, leaving the trio by themselves. The three glanced at one another, a little scared and more than a little apprehensive about everything that is going on.
Naruto then went and untied Sakura.
“Wha-what are you doing!?” Sakura cried. “We’ll fail!”
Naruto shrugged, “No we won’t.”
“How do you guess that?” Sasuke asked.
“Well, I can’t be sure, but I think this is another test,” Naruto replied. “I mean he was testing us on how to obey the right orders. The whole not eating thing was stupid. I think this is the same thing.”
“But you’re not sure,” Sakura insisted once Naruto finished undoing the knots.
“He also said to take everything we’ll need,” Naruto said as he finished untying Sakura. “Everything includes you.”
“And if you fail?” she asked.
“I’ll start over. I mean, I failed the Genin exam two times already. I passed it once so I know I can pass it again,” Naruto shrugged.
“Good point, as much as I don’t want to admit the dobe has one,” Sasuke nodded, causing Naruto to glare at him. “We will need everything for this, and that includes our team. What did everyone bring. Weapons, trap materials, everything.”
“Oh! I loaded up on kunai, shuriken, some ninja wire, smoke pellets, exploding tags, and a bunch of ramen!” Naruto ran and grabbed his pack, bringing it back over. “I was going to try and make some traps before Kakashi-sensei got here but I didn’t have time.”
“OK, who are you and what have you done to the real Naruto?” Sakura asked, not believing that the Naruto they had been in class with for years could be so prepared. Well, he’d prepare the ramen but she never thought he’d have packed all that gear.
“Seiba-neechan helped me prepare,” he said. “She also told me to go with my strengths. I’m Konoha’s Number 1 Prankster for a reason. Now, I’m gonna go set up the traps while you figure out how to take down Kakashi-sensei. I still think if we take that book we can pass this.”
“Slow down Dobe,” Sasuke retorted. “You’re not the only one who packed up. I grabbed some hyorogan pills along with some weaponry. Basic stock that we can get right now.”
“You mean the military ration pills?” asked Sakura. “That’s a good idea. That way if we run out of chakra we can just replenish by eating those.”
“Yeah,” Sasuke nodded. “Sakura, what did you bring?”
“Just more kunai and shuriken,” Sakura shrugged. “I didn’t know what we were up against so I just decided to go with the basics.” She left it unsaid that she spent part of the night dreaming of romantic fantasies surrounding her and Sasuke going on risky missions and discovering love together.
“That’s all?” snorted Sasuke.
“Better than nothing,” Naruto replied. “Well, if this is all we got we better make the most of it.” He performed a hand seal, “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!”
The Shadow Clones popped into existence and then asked, “What do you need, Boss?”
“Set up some traps in the forest,” Naruto ordered. “And I mean set up traps in that place to high heaven if you have to! We don’t want Kakashi-sensei to get through unscathed!”
“Gotcha, Boss!” the Shadow Clones saluted before dashing off.
“I thought you were always bad at the Bunshin no Jutsu?” asked Sakura.
“Oh, yeah,” Naruto admitted rubbing the back of his head. “I kinda found a better version. They’re called Kage Bunshin and they’re solid.”
“Better for us. Means we have backup if we need it,” Sasuke nodded. “Okay, let’s try to figure out how we’re going to lure Kakashi-sensei into the traps and pass this test.”
“Right Sasuke-kun!” Sakura beamed.
“Let’s do this!” Naruto agreed.
*POOF!*
The clearing erupted in smoke, catching the trio off guard before a shadow fell over them. Looking up, they began to pale when they saw Kakashi standing over them, looking downright furious. His eye was even shining with an ominous light. The three Genin felt their hearts sink when they realized that they had been busted.
“YOU~!” Kakashi growled like some beast about to be unleashed.
The three cringed.
“Pass!” Kakashi smiled, dropping his previous monstrous image.
“Huh?” the trio blinked.
“You’ve finally decided to do what you were supposed to instead of what you’re told,” he praised.
“But...aren’t we supposed to do what we’re told?” Sakura asked.
“Sakura, sometimes you can’t always trust what your superiors tell you because they might be compromised somehow,” he told her. “If a Jounin in charge told you to slit your own throat, would you do it?”
“No!” Sakura cried out.
“Right. A ninja is supposed to see the hidden meaning, the things which are hidden,” Kakashi nodded. “A ninja who violates the rules and disobeys may be considered trash, but a ninja who abandons their comrades are even lower than that!” He turned to Naruto who had decided to free Sakura even when told not to. “And I’m proud that you three managed to take your first steps in learning that.”
The three looked at one another, feeling a mix of emotion. They were all happy that they had finally passed and become real Genin. Naruto felt like he may cry, being one step closer to achieving his dream. Sakura felt like cheering out loud, both because she passed and perhaps because she would be with Sasuke all the time. Sasuke just grinned a little, satisfied that his ambition was getting closer.
“Okay, that’s enough tomfoolery for today,” Kakashi nodded. “Naruto, get those clones of yours to dismantle the traps and lets get out of here. Your official duties begin tomorrow.”
“Okay!” Naruto saluted before taking off for the forest.
XXX
Meanwhile, Saber was headed to the Hokage Tower for answers. She didn’t have any other option since information about the First Hokage personally was going to be either with the Senju Clan, which didn’t exist in Konoha anymore or with the Hokage. She didn’t want to have to admit that something odd was happening with the Holy Grail War, especially when it affected her of all people but it was quickly shaping up that she didn’t have a choice. She needed to know if it happened during previous Grail Wars or if there was some kind of clue. The Grail itself certainly wasn’t giving any sort of information as to what was happening.
She, of course, wondered how her Master Naruto was doing as well. While the academy’s exam was complete, he still had another one under his new Jounin instructor. Hopefully, her words stuck to him.
“Ah, you’re Seiba Uzumaki-san, right?”
Saber blinked when she heard her alias called and turned to see Iruka walking up to her.
“You must be Iruka-sensei, Naruto’s former teacher,” she greeted. “Nice to meet you.”
“Yes, I am,” Iruka smiled. “You know, when I was told that Naruto had a relative coming to stay with him I was skeptical.”
“Understandable. It is not everyday one discovers they had lost relations hidden in the wings,” Saber nodded.
“He must’ve been happy to learnt he wasn’t as alone as he thought,” Iruka agreed.
“Is there a reason you wish to speak to me?” Saber asked, growing impatient.
“I just…” Iruka sighed, trailing off. Shaking his head he looked up to Saber again. “Just take care of Naruto. He’s a good kid who's had it tough for a while now. Things are finally starting to look up for him and I don’t want to see anything take that way at this point.”
‘In other words, hurt him and I hurt you,’ Saber thought, easily getting the hidden meaning behind what Iruka was saying. “I understand. Rest assured that his well-being is one of my highest concerns. I intend to do what I can to make his dreams come true.” By winning the Holy Grail, she would truly ensure that his dreams came to reality.
“So, where are you headed?” Iruka asked.
“To the Hokage Tower,” Saber answered. “I have a few things to ask the Hokage.”
“Well, you’re a civilian so you can’t go in without an appointment. However, I’m a Shinobi so as long as I tell the receptionist I had important news she’d let me in,” he told Saber.
“Devious,” smiled Saber. “Shall we then?”
“Of course,” Iruka nodded.
(LINE BREAK)
Yu no Kuni - Yugakure
Yugakure despite the name wasn’t a Hidden Village. It used to be, but due to a tiredness of wars and such things and more people wanting to visit Yugakure more for the hot springs located there than for ninja business then the village just phased out of producing ninjas and instead became a resort town which had quite a number of spas, hot springs, and all sorts of things which the travelling tourist was just itching to experience. They still had ninjas, but they were more like trained security guards than anything like how modern ninjas operated.
It was also one of the favorite places for Jiraiya the Toad Sage to visit.
“Oh yeah!” said sage grinned, peeping through a hole made in a fence surrounding a female hot spring, allowing him to see the bevy of beauties bathing inside. “Nice! You’re going into my next book!”
Jiraiya was a man around his fifties, wearing green and red clothes which wouldn’t have looked out of place on a kabuki actor. He even wore geta sandals like one. He had long white and violently spiked hair, looking almost like actual needles. He also wore a horned hitae-ate with the symbol of oil etched on it, showing his loyalty to Mount Myoboku the traditional home of his summons the toads. His face hd a perverted leer as he shamelessly peeped on the women in the bath. He had red lines running down his face and a wart on his nose, actually making his pervert look worse.
When one spoke of Jiraiya, they would all agree that the man was a pervert. He would promptly disagree...only to proudly proclaim that he was a Super Pervert. He would blatantly peep on women in hot springs, swimming in bikinis, just about any way a woman would be dressed in scanty ways he would be there to see it. Of course he didn’t do it simply for the pleasure of it. That was just a bonus. He claimed it was research into his massive hit of a novel serious Icha-Icha Paradise, the prize of men everywhere and the bane of housewives and girlfriends all over. He used the sights of his peeping to help create more convincing characters and scenarios. He would say it was the secret to his success
Jiraiya wouldn’t be considered one of the Densetsu no Sannin if he was just a perverted idiot. He was considered one of the most powerful ninjas in the nation and he had the skills to back it up. He was crafty, intelligent, and could be downright evil with some of the ideas and tricks that he could think of. He was also a spymaster of the highest degree. He had an information network which spanned across the entire continent. He knew just about everything big which was going on and could root out some of the secret stuff which was going on. Plenty of his earnings from his books went into maintaining that network. He may have been a letch, but he wasn’t a stupid one although he played the part quite well when given half a chance. His exploits with Tsunade over the years certainly showed that much.
“Hey you!”
“Tsk!” Jiraiya grimaced, closing his notebook. Glancing to his right, he saw a local guard running towards him. “Well so much for my research.”
The guard attempted to apprehend Jiraiya, but the legendary ninja just hit the Shunshin no Jutsu and vanished in a swirl of leaves. Reappearing on a rooftop, Jiraiya glanced forlornly at the hot spring in the distance before leaping away to make his escape. With a couple leaps, backtracking, and some misdirection and Jiraiya was walking through town as free as a bird with no one the wiser.
“Sheesh. No one can appreciate the artistic process,” he muttered to himself.
Huffing about his misfortune, Jiraiya continued his trek. As he walked, another man was approaching from the opposite direction. They two didn’t meet eyes nor did they speak. As they passed, Jiraiya deftly slipped a roll of Ryo into the man’s hand while said man at the same time with practice ease slipped a scroll into Jiraiya’s hand. It was such a subtle move that only trained ninjas would be able to have noticed it.
Slipping the scroll up his sleeve, Jiraiya continued on his way, muttering about philistines and the like. Coming to an alley he turned onto it before leaping away. Landing onto a rooftop, he had his way out of Yugakure entirely, coming to some of the rockier areas where the tourists generally didn’t go. It was a bit of a hike, but any self-respecting ninja could make it. No moneybags tourist would really consider it. What few monks were in the area usually only visited the temple and kept their shrines elsewhere so it was usually abandoned.
Coming up the stairs, Jiraiya happened onto the temple as the night fell. Looking around, the shrine carved into the mountainside was peaceful, if not a little creepy, “Wonder why they don’t have a monk here or something. Probably too close to the tourists or something.”
Jiraiya took a seat at the shrine steps and took out his recently claimed scroll. After checking the seal and making sure it wasn’t boobytrapped, he cracked it open and began to read.
In recent days, rumors had been spreading around and Jiraiya had been using his network to see if there was anything to them. As expected, there was. All of the Hidden Villages were starting to research deeper into old summoning jutsus and techniques lately. How and where it all began he still couldn’t get down but he would. What really got Jiraiya’s attention though was that they weren’t trying to use variations of the Kuchiyose no Jutsu but an older variation that if the Sannin knew his history right hadn’t been in use since before the founding of the Hidden Villages. According to Jiraiya’s sources, that particular jutsu just stopped working for some reason and no one used it since. In recent days though, it seemed to be getting a revival as people tried using it again. Normally it wasn’t so surprising since supposedly legendary lost jutsus always went in and out of fashion with people trying to learn how to use them. What was bothering Jiraiya was that it was apparently working.
How did he know? His old teacher Sarutobi all but confirmed it when he sent a message via messenger falcon, one of the fastest methods of transporting a message there was. He reported that Naruto, a fit of idiocy thanks to a crooked teacher stole the Forbidden Scroll and copied the Kodai Kuchiyose no Jutsu and against all odds, despite not having a clue as to what he was doing, he managed to get it to work. He summoned an armored warrior called Saber who took down the traitor who doped himself up something fierce with a formula Jiraiya’s old ‘friend’ Orochimaru apparently gave him.
As Naruto’s godfather, although the blonde didn’t know it, Jiraiya just wanted to smack the kid for doing something so stupid. On the other hand, it opened up a whole new can of worms that Jiraiya knew he was going to have to talk to Fukasaku and Shima about back on Mount Myoboku. Not much beyond what Hashirama Senju wrote about the supposed Holy Grail War existed so if anyone knew what it was all about then those two old toads would.
Still, Jiraiya lived by the advice that if one had to confirm something, they confirm it themselves. So as part of his investigation, he decided to see if the Kodai Kuchiyose no Jutsu really was turning active again. It had been deemed forbidden in Konoha considering how powerful the beings it summoned were and how much devastation they could cause. Since the jutsu didn’t seem to work anymore anyway, it seemed like a logical step after the war. If it was active, and the villages were trying it then Jiraiya himself had to know what was what before he could make any further moves.
“Okay, let’s do this,” he nodded. Stepping out onto the open grounds again, Jiraiya pulled out a second scroll and opened it to reveal a sealing array with the character for ‘chicken’ in the centre. Undoing the seal, there was a poof of smoke before several dead chickens tumbled out onto the ground. Quickly getting to work, Jiraiya used the chickens’ blood as drawing material to create the proper seal on the ground, stopping every couple of minutes to make sure he was following the directions right. He was a seal master of course, but the one for the Kodai Kuchiyose no Jutsu was written in a foreign language and different styles so he was a little new at it.
“Whew. Gonna need to cook those later,” the pervert sighed, tossing the last of the chickens aside before wiping his hands clean. Moving back to his initial scroll, Jiraiya read it over again.
The scroll had come from a contact who was part of a merchant business that did rounds to a few of the Hidden Villages. So it was easy for him to pick up information on what was going on. Given that guy had further contacts who were ninjas or worked closely with the ninja population then there was a lot of info to be had.
The information on how the technique was performed not with a group of handseals, but with a chant that was spoken in a foreign language. Fortunately decoders in the villages managed to translate the lines from old tomes, foreign transcripts, and other little bits and pieces from history and such. So Jiriaya had himself a full translation of the words to invoke the technique.
“Catalyst though…” Jiraiya muttered to himself. Comments made from the scroll mentioned that using a relic of some kind would increase the chances of summoning a specific entity. It could be something directly connected to that entity or some kind of symbolism. It wasn’t necessary for the technique though. Still, having something to steer the summoning towards something that wasn’t likely to kill him was what Jiraiya was hoping for. Scratching his head for a few moments, Jiraiya just shrugged his shoulders and kept reading.
“Damn this is a long one,” he frowned, reading the words. “Jeez, who can remember all of this crap?” Sighing, he stepped up to the circle, “Well, no point putting it off. The research won’t do itself.” Raising his hand to point at the circle, he began to speak
"Silver and Iron to the Origin. Gem and the Archduke of Contracts to the Cornerstone. The Ancestor is my Great Master Schweinorg.
The Alighted Wind becomes a Wall. The Gates in the Four Directions close, coming from the Crown, the Three-Forked Road that leads to the Kingdom Circulate.
Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill).”
Repeat every Five Times.”
The circle began to glow, causing Jiraiya to frown but he did not stop his incantation. Above him the stars of a constellation seemed particularly bright that night...
“Simply, shatter once filled.
I announce.
Your Self is under Me, my Fate(doom) is in Your Sword.
In accordance with the Resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this Feeling, this Reason, then Answer.”
The stars hanging in the sky began to shine even brighter as the light rising from the circle did the same. The stars all formed a pattern, resembling that of an archer with a strange body. Ages past once called the constellation Sagittarius. Although the name was lost to the Hidden Countries, that title still existed within the heart of Gaia and soul the Ayla. The name, and the ones who made that name what it was.
Here is my Oath. I am the One who becomes all the Good of the World of the Dead, I am the One who lays out all the Evil of the World of the Dead.
You, Seven Heavens clad in Three Words of Power, arrive from the Ring of Deterrence, O Keeper of the Balance!"
The incantation was completed and Jiraiya had to shield his eyes as a pulse of pure power erupted from the circle along with the bright light. His senses could feel something appearing but at the same time he felt his chakra beginning to be siphoned off towards the entity in the circle.
The sounds of clopping hooves at first caused Jiraiya to think that he had called a horse of some kind. Getting the glare out of his eyes, he looked up to the circle before his eyes bulged and his jaw dropped slightly.
The bottom half of his summons was that of a horse, a fine horse which was well-taken care of with muscle and chestnut hair. A horse which was ridden on battlefields but could also convert to the quiet life when the battles were done.
Where the head was supposed to be though, that changed things.
Where the horse’s neck should have been was the upper body of a man. Around his waist he wore an armored kilt while he wore a white tunic covered with a studded leather breastplate. His arms were bare save for leather bands around his biceps and wrists. Said arms were strongly muscled and from Jiraiya’s eyes, perfect for the use of archery. The entity’s face was impeccably handsome with blue eyes and long straw blonde hair which was tied in a ponytail that in a way looked like a horse’s tail with how loose it was.
His presence though was powerful, even though the man himself didn’t look threatening so much as odd. It reminded Jiraiya of the sensation he had when he first accidentally summoned himself to Mount Myoboku. It also gave him the sensation of the first time he tapped into the Sennin Modo and the nature chakra which flowed into his body. He could also see into the entity’s eyes, a literal fountain of wisdom and silent strength. Again, Jiraiya was reminded of Fukasaku and Shima when they used the Senjutsu chakra. He was looking at...a sage.
“By your call, I Servant Archer have come forth,” the man/horse introduced. “So by the rules of the Holy Grail I ask, are you my Master?”
“Holy…” Jiraiya blinked, but then managed to get his senses back. “That’s right. I summoned you. Is there any contract that I have to sign or-OW!” Jiraiya grimaced and rolled back his sleeve to reveal the back of his hand lighting up with the symbol for oil, split into three distinct parts.
“Ah, the contract is confirmed then,” the entity calling himself Archer nodded, approaching Jiraya. Once he was close enough, he peered at Jiraiya, taking note of his body structure and finding something. “Ah, interesting.”
“What?” asked the Toad Sage. While he never minded a lovely lady examining him, when a man did it he just felt weirded out.
“I can tell by slight imperfections in your body structure that you seemed to have suffered from some kind of mutation or drastic body change,” Archer replied. “Forgive me for being intrusive but I just find it fascinating. Most men can’t ever harness such a change. From where I can see your pulse, you are totally at ease with nature around you just like I am. Are you by chance a sage as well?”
“Well I don’t like to boast,” Jiraiya grinned, although he upped his opinion of the creature if he could tell that Jiraiya was a sage just by looking at him.
“Ah, what a coincidence. Or perhaps this was why I was summoned to your side,” Archer nodded. “Now then Master, I’m sure you may have some questions about the Holy Grail War and our role in it. Would you prefer to do this at your residence?”
“Normally I’d say sure, but uh…” Jiraiya pointed at the man’s bottom half. “You’re going to have a hard time going anywhere like that.”
“Ah, yes. Things have been different since the Age of the Gods ended,” Archer nodded. Closing his eyes, his entire body began to glow before it seemed to shift and grow smaller. Once the light died down, Jiraiya noted that Archer looked like a regular human, but his legs were covered in protective armor. “There we go.”
“A Henge?” Jiraiya blinked. It seemed like one, but it didn’t act like one he had ever seen before.
“Oh, nothing like that,” Archer waved off pleasantly. “You see, by reducing my statistics I am capable of taking on a human form. If you want me to be at full strength I will have to be in my centaur form but that will make it quite obvious to our enemies as to who I am.”
“Enemies huh?” Jiraiya frowned. “Okay, you’re going to have to explain this to me back at my hotel room. Let’s go.”
“Of course Master,” Archer nodded. The two then headed out of the temple back towards Yugakure. Jiraiya seemed to have confirmed the rumors he was chasing, but now it was a whole new game that he had to start asking about. It gave him the feeling that the can of worms that was opening was going to be a lot bigger than he first thought.
To be Continued…
A/N: The places are slowly being filled and more and more we see that things are going to get intense. The connections between those chosen are going to make the battles ahead that much harder for all involved. Can those of Konoha survive the coming storm?
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