Fuinjutsu Chapter 6 part 1/2
Chapter 6.
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Hokage Tower; the Hokage’s Office; 07:01 GMT.
Naruto nodded politely at the two ANBU guards stationed outside the Hokage’s office as he was finally granted entrance. He’d been out of the hospital for three days now and the encounter he’d had with Orochimaru was nearly forgotten as nothing more had happened after their little chat. Now, he’d been summoned by the Hokage and Naruto truly had no idea what the old man wanted of him this time. He guessed he’d find out soon enough.
“Hokage-sama,” Naruto greeted politely as he stopped a short distance from the old leader’s desk.
The Sandaime glanced up from the reports he was reading to grant Naruto a small smile in greeting. “Doing better I hope?” the Hokage enquired as he shuffled his papers and put them away.
Naruto nodded. “I was fine the moment I woke up, but Tsunade-hime insisted on some rest and more tests before she let me leave. I’ve been back to work for three days now,” he said to reassure the person he’d once considered a grandfather.
“Good, good,” Sarutobi said absently, “I’m happy to hear that you’re up and running again. As the situation is now, we need as many functioning shinobi as possible.”
At the serious words, Naruto straightened his stance imperceptibly as he slipped into a more professional mode. “What do you mean, Hokage-sama?”
The old man sighed as he rose from his seat. “The conflicts along the border are escalating. More and more sightings of unauthorised travel across the border are reported by the day. In addition to that, the Iwa-nin you caught along with Namikaze-san was assassinated some time ago.”
Naruto frowned as he absorbed what he was hearing.
“How are you coming along with the jutsu I gave you?” the Hokage abruptly changed the subject while Naruto was still caught in his thoughts.
Naruto did a double-take before he finally registered the new question. “Well enough,” he answered almost at once. “I’m up to a partial transformation at the moment. The technique hurts as hell and it uses an insane amount of chakra, but I think it will be very useful in the approaching times,” he said.
The jutsu-scroll he’d been handed by the Hokage after he’d signed his contract was a very advanced transformation technique. It wasn’t an illusion like the low-level Henge they taught the academy students, but rather an actual physical transformation of the user. As such it required enough knowledge about anatomy to make sure that you didn’t scramble your insides when you activated the jutsu.
At the moment, Naruto was able to make small adjustments to his appearance. He could change his hair-colour and his hair-texture, in addition to small changes to his facial structure. When he fully mastered the technique, he’d be able - in theory - to even physically change his gender.
The transformation technique literally worked on a cellular level. As such, it was possible for Naruto to transform from a twenty-year old natural blonde with facial markings to an old bald man (or woman) with wrinkles as long as he didn’t loose or gain any mass in the transformation.
The fact that the technique worked on such a basic level was also the reason behind all the pain. Naruto hadn’t really thought much about how much pain a human could endure before he’s started to rearrange small parts of his molecular structure. The pain nearly rivalled what he’d felt during Akatuski’s extraction ritual and it pretty much scrambled his concentration, which was why he’d never managed to transform anything but smaller parts of himself.
At the moment, the advanced transformation technique was the only jutsu requiring hand-seals that Naruto was able to use. This was because the technique focused solely on affecting internal parts of the user. Naruto very much doubted he’d be able to use it to transform anything else, like a tree-trunk or another person. In fact, he didn’t even know if it would be possible to perform the technique on anything other than oneself even if he’d been able to properly channel his chakra.
When he’d fully mastered the technique, it would be invaluable to him as a spy, seeing as nothing short of a blood test or a person adept at sensing and distinguishing chakra would be able to reveal who he really was. And from what Naruto had learnt from Minato when they’d first met, it was impossible for anyone to sense his chakra unless they were in physical contact with him.
Naruto thought that to be awesome, seeing as he’d previously sucked at hiding his chakra.
Snapping himself out of his thoughts, Naruto focused on the situation at hand again.
“Why do you wonder?” he asked the Hokage.
The Sandaime sighed heavily as he pondered silently to himself. Finally he seemed to reach a decision.
“I need you to be able to move invisibly from now on,” he said. “I know I promised you free access to the library, but I really need you out in the field now. Would you be willing to take on missions outside the border and continue your research when time allows it?” he asked carefully.
Naruto regarded the old man in front of him carefully before he spoke. “The situation is really that bad?”
The Hokage nodded.
Releasing a small sigh himself, Naruto smiled in grim amusement. “Nothing to it then. I’ll do what you ask of me. I know you haven’t known me for a long time, but I can honestly say that I really like you. I think you’re a great leader.”
The Hokage blinked in bewilderment at the sudden change of topic and the unexpected compliment he’d received from the most baffling man he’d ever known. “Then I thank you for your willingness to help me,” he finally said when he’d collected his scattered thoughts again.
Naruto broke into a wide grin. “Don’t mention it. So, I gather that you want me to operate incognito and under a disguise from now on?” he ventured cheerfully.
The Sandaime nodded. “Yes, in accordance to your position as my personal shinobi, you’ll go under the codename Yuurei when you employ any form of the transformation technique.”
Naruto couldn’t help but quirk and amused eyebrow. “From Rei to Yuurei? Not much of a codename,” he said.
Naruto couldn’t deny that he was tickled by the name though. It too meant ‘ghost’, but it was considered a more malevolent form of the word Naruto had adopted to be his name. In addition it suited his position as a ghost operator. He found he didn’t mind the new codename at all.
Sarutobi smiled, showing that he too found amusement in the name he’d given him. “Maybe not, but with the disguises you’ll be wearing, no-one will connect you to your undercover persona.”
“As you say Hokage-sama,” Naruto agreed affably.
The old Hokage tilted his head in thought. “Didn’t we agree earlier to drop the formality between us?” He reminded the blonde chuunin in front of him. He got tired of all the superficial politeness people insisted on using and he’d found it refreshing that Rei had been willing to use his last name only instead of his title.
“As you say Sarutobi-sama,” Naruto answered, this time cheekily.
The Sandaime chuckled.
“About the mission you require me to do…” Naruto prodded gently.
The monkey summoner sobered up as they returned to the heart of the matter.
“Right. First I need you to visit the border-post where the captured Iwa-nin was held. Enquire discreetly about anyone who visited the post in the days before and after the assassination. Maybe you can get some clues to who one of the traitors might be if they were careless enough to show themselves…and if indeed the assassination was made by a shinobi from Konoha. After that, I wish for you to infiltrate Iwa-”
Naruto blinked in surprise at this as he regarded the venerable leader with incredulous eyes. The old man ignored him completely as he continued giving out his orders.
“-Use the transformation technique. I don’t care how you fulfil this mission, but I need you to obtain any information you can get on who the traitors in the village are, what the Iwa are planning and what they consider to be Konoha’s greatest strength. I imagine the last objective will be the easiest to figure out.”
No doubt, Naruto thought sullenly to himself. The objectives he was receiving were not exactly easy to complete. He began to wonder if the old man had smoked something stronger than the usual tobacco.
“You have a lot of faith in me old man,” he said before he managed to censure his thoughts from his spoken words.
The Sandaime quirked an eyebrow at the way he’d just been addressed, but he let it be, not entirely able to convince himself that he didn’t find it both endearing and somewhat amusing. The only bit of protest he could come up with anyway was that he wasn’t that old.
“Yes, but I do not believe it to be unfounded,” Sarutobi said as he started to search through the mountain of files he had on a table to his left.
Finally finding what he was looking for, he pulled out a non-descript file and tossed it to Naruto.
“The file contains relevant information about border-patrols along the Konoha border as well as any information we’ve managed to attain concerning Iwa’s border. In addition you’ll find some maps and some information about hidden safe-houses beyond Konoha’s border. The last paper in the file contains information of the shinobi that will be your contact while you are on this mission. I believe this particular person to be above suspicion so you can trust him with anything pertaining to your mission.”
Naruto flipped through the file ‘till he came to the last paper. He was curious as to who the Sandaime would trust at this point in time and with such critical information. When he saw the picture of the man he was supposed to report to he couldn’t quite manage to hide his humour.
“Jiraiya, the Seal Master? My contact is Jiraiya? Well, I can’t deny that this will be interesting.”
The Hokage raised an eyebrow in obvious surprise. “You know of him?”
Naruto chuckled. “Hah! He’s the biggest pervert currently in existence. Who hasn’t heard of the author of the Icha Icha-series?”
Sarutobi groaned. “I find it disconcerting that my student is known to you because of his amoral hobbies.”
“Hobbies?” Naruto snorted again. “For him I gather it’s more of a life-style.”
The Hokage sighed.
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Konoha Proper; Ichiraku’s; 10:35 GMT.
Naruto sighed in contentment as he inhaled another bowl of delicious ramen.
The Hokage had told him to leave the next morning so he was supposed to use the day to get his affairs in order as well as to prepare and pack for the extended mission he was undertaking.
Before he did all that though, Naruto figured he deserved to reward himself with a healthy intake of the heavenly food known as ramen.
“Rei-san.”
Naruto broke into a small smile at the somewhat familiar voice that greeted him from the open street. Turning around in his chair, Naruto waved the kid over as he signalled for two bowls of ramen, one for him and one for the new arrival.
“I trust you like miso ramen Obito,” he said to the young Uchiha.
Obito nodded, somewhat surprised at Naruto’s easy acceptance of his presence.
“Do you eat here often?” Naruto enquired as he accepted the two new bowls of ramen that the owner passed over the counter.
Obito fidgeted. “Not really, only when sensei’s girlfriend drags him and us with her. …She’s crazy about ramen,” he added as an afterthought.
Naruto smirked. “She’s not crazy. She’s just intelligent enough to know good food when she tastes it,” he said.
Obito gave him a weird look and Naruto shrugged carelessly.
They ate in companionable silence after that.
When they’d finally finished eating, Naruto sat back to regard the black-haired genin in front of him. “So, what brings you here?” He asked.
Obito shrugged helplessly, suddenly seeming a lot more down than he’d been before. “Ah… it’s nothing,” he denied.
Naruto didn’t believe that for a second. “You don’t look like it’s nothing,” he wheedled.
“Ano…” Obito hesitated. “Could you keep a secret?” He asked slowly.
Naruto regarded the young shinobi in front of him seriously as he weighed the question. Obviously something important was going on, or at the very least something Obito felt was important to him.
“Sure,” He finally answered the Uchiha. “I’ll keep your secrets if you want.”
Obito sighed. It sounded as if it was in both relief and in resignation. “My clan is filled with stuck-up assholes,” he said in a serious, but still despondent voice.
“Oh?” Naruto stalled as he tried to keep an amused twitch from appearing on his features. He knew plenty about Uchiha’s acting like assholes from his own personal experience.
Having actually started to talk about it seemed to get the ball rolling for the young genin. “Yeah, all they care about is their blood-limit and their standing in the village. My parents are always harping at me because I haven’t activated the Sharingan yet. They…they say that I’m worthless to them if I can’t get it activated. The clan-head is the worst. That’s Fugaku, he’s married to my big sister and she just got a kid. I feel really sorry for her though. Fugaku doesn’t treat her right…” he trailed off despondently as he swirled a single remaining ramen-strand in the left-over broth. Finally he continued somewhat hesitantly. “The clan head… I overheard him in a conversation with my father once. He said that if I’d been his son, he’d have had me assassinated ages ago for my incompetence. He said that Uchiha without their Sharingan should be put down like stray dogs because of their weak genes. In addition to that I’m even more of a disappointment because I have an eye-condition where my tear-ducts don’t produce enough moisture for my eye. Sometimes it can affect my vision and in the long term I may go blind…”
Naruto’s brow furrowed. He’d been aware that both Itachi and Sasuke were a couple of complete assholes, but he’d never really known anything about the clan’s values or its strictness. By the time the massacre occurred, he’d only been five years old. At that point in his life he’d been more concerned with surviving himself, than the loss of Konoha’s most infamous clan. He realized with discomfort that if Obito was telling the truth, that the Uchiha clan may well be even worse than the Hyuga in some ways. If that was true it wasn’t really a wonder that Itachi did what he did.
He could remember perfectly clearly all the stories Hinata had told him about what was expected from her as the heir of the clan. The pressure she’d received was enormous and she’d had major troubles with her confidence as a result of her father’s and the clan’s expectations and demands.
Itachi had been a child prodigy surpassing anyone the Uchiha had ever allegedly produced before - barring perhaps the founder; Uchiha Madara. How would he have responded to all the pressure laid on him? If he was already doing everything perfectly and it still wasn’t good enough…
Naruto’s thoughts trailed off as a sudden clarity of what he had to do struck him. He’d already wowed to himself that if he was stuck here, he’d change as much of the future to the better if he could. Maybe…maybe he should start already? Maybe the most important changes he could make were the small ones…
That’s it. He resolved to himself. I’ll do my best to help the people I come across so that they can get happier and feel safer in their place here in Konoha. If they’re content with their lives, they can only get stronger.
Naruto was going to do something no-one had bothered doing before. He was going to stand up for and help the new generations in Konoha to the best of his ability. Starting today with Obito.
“Have you talked to anyone else about this?” Naruto asked slowly as he fished out some notes to pay for the bill.
Obito shook his head. “No, I’d talk to my sister, but she’s already under enough pressure as it is, being married to that asshole Fugaku and having to take care of her newborn kid. And my team… Well, sensei knows about the… eh… eye condition I have, but nothing more than that. I’m not supposed to talk about clan matters with anyone outside the clan and if I told sensei we’d both get in trouble. Other than that my team-mates really wouldn’t understand. Rin’s nice and all, but she’s not from a strict clan and Kakashi’s an asshole. He’d only make more fun of me if he knew. I just…I just don’t know what to do.”
Naruto sighed as he signalled that they should take a walk. Obito willingly rose to follow him.
“Why did you decide to talk to me about it? If it could get us both into trouble I mean?” he prodded as they veered off from the main street and started to walk towards the Hokage Monument.
Obito shrugged lightly as his eyes lighted up as his mood improved marginally. “Eh… I don’t know. You’re just… I feel like I can trust you. In a way you really remind me of sensei,” he said. “…But, you’re new to the village too so you don’t really have any preconceptions and your also really cool and strong. The way you sparred with sensei…it was awesome!”
Naruto chuckled as the mood lightened even more.
After some minutes of silent walking Naruto finally decided to say something to lighten Obito’s worries a bit. “You shouldn’t take Fugaku’s words to heart. There’s no way the Hokage would let anyone get away with blatant assassination in his village - especially not from a clan-head. In addition to that, the conflict that’s worsening will probably keep your clan’s attention diverted for the moment.”
Instead of making Obito feel better, it only sobered him up from the light mood they’d just achieved.
“I know that. I don’t think any of them would really kill me…maybe disown me, but not kill. It still hurts though. And I really worry because I want to get the Sharingan. If I don’t get it I’ll always be weak and a disappointment to my family.”
Naruto sighed heavily as he glanced at the depressed teen walking next to him. What did you say to something like that? Naruto had plenty of experience with derogatory remarks, but he’d never had a family - a blood relative - tell him he was worthless. In a way it made Naruto happy that he’d never known his parents. He wouldn’t have been able to withstand the open hatred he’d inevitably get from them just because he’d been chosen to be a jinchuuriku at his birth.
When he broke out of his thoughts he was a bit surprised to find that they were at the top of the Hokage Monument. The Yondaime’s head hadn’t been added yet so the view was a bit different from what Naruto was used to, but they still found a nice spot to sit on where they could see the entirety of Konoha village.
“Listen,” Naruto finally broke the silence again. “I really believe you’ll get your Sharingan eventually. You’re probably just a late bloomer and you know what they say about late bloomers,” he comforted the boy. “You’ll definitely become the greatest Uchiha ever. You’ll probably even surpass Madara himself.”
“You’re just saying that.” The young Uchiha remained unmoved.
Naruto sighed again, this time in slight exasperation. “You know what makes a ninja really strong?” he asked, remembering back to what seemed ages ago, when he’d learned the most important lesson ever from the most unlikely source.
“What?” The black-haired youth wheedled.
Naruto smiled gently as he ruffled Obito’s hair. “The strongest ninja in existence are those that have something or someone precious to protect. That’s why the Hokage is so powerful, he loved Konoha and he’s willing to do everything to protect it.”
Obito glanced up at Naruto with wondering eyes. “Really?”
“Yes. Really. Just find what’s precious to you. Do your best to protect it and you’ll grow stronger than any of those stuffed-up, glorified turkeys belonging to that clan of yours. You’re a good kid Obito and you have a lot of hidden potential. All you have to do is bring it out.” Naruto said confidently.
Obito’s face lightened up considerably as a wide grin broke over his face. “Thanks, Rei-san,” he said gratefully.
Naruto ruffled his hair again as he returned the blinding grin. It only widened further at Obito’s loud protests at the perceived manhandling.
When they’d finally calmed down again Naruto sighed softly. “I’m going away on a mission for the Hokage tomorrow,” he confided in the young genin.
Obito snapped to attention, not really liking that his newest role-model was leaving him.
Naruto saw the kid’s expression, but forged on anyway. “It’s a really top secret mission so you can’t tell anyone what I’m telling you now. Do you understand?”
Obito nodded seriously, feeling honoured now that such a capable shinobi as Rei-san was willing to confide in him.
Naruto smiled. “Good. I’ll be gone for a long time. There’s no time-limit at the moment, but I suspect months, maybe even a year depending on how successful I am.” Fishing in his pocket, Naruto pulled out a blank key. “This is the key to my apartment. I’ll show you where it is later if you agree to a favour I want to ask you.” He said.
“A favour?” Obito asked. “What kind of favour?”
Naruto continued to smile gently. “I want you to look after my apartment while I’m gone. Just look in on it whenever you have the time, but don’t let it get in the way of your personal life or your missions. Can you do that for me?”
“Of course!” Obito promised excitedly. “It’ll be no problem.”
Naruto chuckled. “Good. In return you can sleep there whenever the clan gets too much for you and you just need a break. I’ll even teach you a couple of jutsu I know when I get back.” I promised in return.
Obito lightened considerably. “Awesome!” he cheered as he jumped up with a fist in the air. “Come on! Let’s get to your apartment.” He began pulling on Naruto’s sleeve in his excitement and Naruto couldn’t help but laugh out light.
“I’m coming, I’m coming. Sheesh! Calm down!”