Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Reflection of Oneself ❯ Rebellion ( Chapter 13 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

The Reflection of Oneself

Chapter 13: Rebellion

Determination.

With it, we can do anything. Limitations mean nothing in the face of one's strength of mind, just as pain and panic mean nothing to one who believes they will make it out all right. It is because of our determination that we have conquered such odds that were once thought impossible.

Cultivate it, and it will become your greatest asset during the hardships ahead. No matter what, if you believe, it was always be there to guild you through the darkness.

One Day Later:

It was his first day off since he had been released from hospital. Using that time wisely, Nanikato focused on creating a sword described in the jutsu he had received from Orochimaru's archive. He shivered involuntarily, as just thinking of the older snakelike man gave him the shivers. He wished he had listened to the instincts that had told him the man was dangerous, but the thought of getting to learn some powerful new techniques had dulled his senses.

“Maybe you should take a brake - this is your day off, after all”

Nanikato looked up, smiling softly at the older woman sitting next him. She was waving

As of three days ago, he sought out Tanabata-hime's burnt down shop and called out the ghost of the woman whom had been such an influence on his life so far. In the space of a few minutes, she had agreed to the terms of his Spirit Contract and would assist in the flesh at times of dire need. For now, she was just a ghost that only he could see.

“Thanks for your concern, but I need to get this done” he replied politely, shrugging off the jacket she had given to him.

“Very well then,” she nodded, blind eyes sparkling. “But just don't over do it - you are still recovering. Good things will come to you in due time.”

He smiled softly, tracing a finger over the ring of kanji on the back of the jacket. At its center was the sun, joining with the moon in harmonized unity. The flames of the sun were flickering out towards the words: “As I walk the Sunlit Path, I will forever gaze upon my own reflection within Moonlit Pools”.

He liked the saying and… he was sure that Naruto-niisan would have liked it too.

“Arigatou Tanabata-hime,” he whispered. You're very welcome Nanikato-kun.”

Turning his attention back to his sword making, he looked down at the small pile of `ingredients' that he needed for the jutsu. The instructions had for the jutsu had called for four items that would be molded with chakra and used to created the sword.

In order for the jutsu to work, he had needed to find a piece of metal that was `two metals merged as one', sacrifice a drop of `one's own blood', an `object of power' and a piece of `something precious'. He had collected the first three within a couple of days, but it had taken him much longer to figure out what the fourth was meant to be until after he had read the instruction more thoroughly.

To cover the first item, he had purchased a sliver and gold braided ring from one of the jewelry shops in the village. It would be used to form the blade, shapped to bring the sword strength and integrity. When it came to covering the second item it was the easiest of all because it was, of course, his blood. It would be used to form the heart, a consciousness for the sword so that he

could wield it alone.

For the third item, he had procured a chunk of crystallized chakra - much like the paper that allowed people to see what they're their elemental affinities were, a rare stone formed from having too much wasted, condensed chakra in one place. It could be used to focus one's own chakra and magnify its power to the max, but with the down side of if being used too much is, a person would quickly burn out. Thankfully though, Oto did have a few… locked away in Kabuto-san's privet private collection, that is. Nanikato had never liked the thought of stealing, especially from the gray haired medic-nin, but his trust in the man had slipped lately.

The fourth, as tricky as it was, turned out to be two hair clippings. It would be used to form a barrier, making those whom the hair belonged to immune to its power. Nanikato would thank Sasuke-sensei and Tayuya-oneesama for `donating' their hair later, as they had no idea that he had taken the clippings during the night whilst they slept thanks to his gift for astral projection. It was said that once he was finished and the sword was `born', he would always be able to infuse it was more hair clippings, thus adding others to his list of `precious people'.

Ready for anything, Nanikato took a deep breath and stared down at the ring, the vile of blood, the crystal, and the two hair clippings, preparing himself for the birth of his sword. A protective barrier of low-grade blood seals surrounded him to protect himself from any possible backlash.

Then before he could think of a reason to stop himself, the blonde's hands began to fly in to a sequence of almost never-ending seals.

“Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Bird, Dog, Boar!

Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Bird, Dog, Boar, Rat!

Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Bird, Dog, Boar, Rat, Ox!

Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Bird, Dog, Boar, Rat, Ox, Tiger!

Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Bird, Dog, Boar, Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare!

Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Bird, Dog, Boar, Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon!

Horse, Ram, Monkey, Bird, Dog, Boar, Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake!

Ram, Monkey, Bird, Dog, Boar, Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse!

Monkey, Bird, Dog, Boar, Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram!

Bird, Dog, Boar, Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey!

Dog, Boar, Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Bird!

Boar, Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Bird, Dog!”

He paused, taking a deep as the power built around him, then began forming the seals once more, the final sequence underway.

“Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Bird, Dog, Boar - Juuni Hogosha: Tengoku-taki no Yaiba Soushi!”

He brought his now fiercely glowing hands down upon the four items, causing them to glow as well as they, merging into a molten ball of light. He was rocked backward, his back crashing into the wall of blood seals. Slightly stunned, he stared up in awe, mesmerized by the sight that was taking place before him.

Within the light, it appeared to be melting. A strand of curving light he recognized to be the blade stretched down towards the ground, reaching a length of just over four feet - it was almost as tall as him. The light swirled again, becoming the hilt. Then ever so slowly, the brightness around him began to fade and the finished sword slowly drifted down to him.

It was… beautiful.

The blade was a mixture of sliver and gold, shimmering with a ripple of chakra. The hilt was wrapped in a braided rope of red and raven strands, which he recognized to be Tayuya-oneesama and Sasuke-sensei's hair, the chakra crystal imbedded at the top to become the pommel. Reaching out hesitantly, it alighted in his hands.

Seconds after that, it was absorbed into his body, vanishing as his fading reserves were returned to him tenfold. It was a jolt to his systems, causing him to gasp and his blue eyes to widen for a moment before they rolled back and he passed out from the shock.

Sitting next to the unconscious child, Tanabata smiled sadly.

“So strong and yet so fragile. There is a long path ahead of that will be filled with many painful choices. The choices that you make will affect the lives of many. But you will do what you believe is right, defending the sanctity of what is innocent…”

She reached out, brushing a strand of blonde hair out of boy's face, a finger tracing one of the fine whisker-like marks upon his cheek.

“Rest now, for your quest begins tomorrow.”

-.ooOoo.-

Sasuke sat on his bed in a meditative position, contemplating the choices he had made in the last few days. He knew that it had been the right thing to do when he had told Tayuya yesterday that he was going to be talking Nanikato out of the village for good. He had been rather less then enthusiastic about was her coming along, but there was nothing he could do about it.

That woman was like a festered sliver in your thumb.

The only reason he really put with the woman was because of something Tanabata-hime had told him years ago and he had always listened to the older sage's unearthly wisdom. She had told him that one day he would find something special and that he would be forced to share it with another. Sometimes he really hated how fate presented itself to him.

But that wasn't what was bothering him, no what bothered him was that they had been spied on. He couldn't detect a chakra signature, so they had to have been masking it. What had alerted him to the presence of a spy was the itchy feeling of eyes boring into his back - a sensation he had grown insanely accustomed to after years of dodging rabid fangirls.

Thankfully, Sasuke hadn't let whomever was watching know that he had known they were watching him. He had the sneaking suspicion that it had been someone from the ANBU, yet nothing had transpired in the last twenty-four hours to tell the Uchiha that Orochimaru had gotten wind of his plan. If it had been the ANBU, then Orochimaru would have known by now.

So he ignored it. He had to concentrate on getting his student out of the village and that was what mattered, spies be damned.

Slowly opening his eyes, he stretched and got to his feet. Crossing the room, he sat down again, this time at his desk as he opened his journal to write once more. As he leafed through the pages to where he had left off, he was content knowing that this would be the last time he ever wrote in the book within the walls of Otogakure.

Dipping his brush into the inkwell, he brought it out and began to write.

I shall be beginning a new phase in my life tomorrow. Perhaps I will be able to begin amending my sins, starting by leaving this accursed village. I think that Wave Country would be the best focal point for our travels, as it the only familiar place in my memories that wouldn't be fraught with enemies. Besides, I think Nanikato will like it there.

He lingered on that thought a moment, and then rolled his eyes as he realized the incredible irony in them.

I do believe that I have become a parent. It does seem like the logical end of this spiral. I started out as an abrasive individual before becoming a mentor, a friend… a brother and now I am a father. Although I am not the kind of person suited for such a role, though I'd do a much better job then Kabuto or Orochimaru. They would only see to twist Nanikato's mind for their own uses. No, he deserves so much better. After all, I am to blame for his existence in the first place so it does kind of make me some sort of family… though I'd rather be a brother then a father any day!

-.ooOoo.-

That Night:

As darkness descended over Oto that night, four spies stealthily slunk through the shadows of the village towards the hospital. During their journey they had come across some close calls, nearly being caught by patrolling guards at least half a dozen times.

“Be careful!”

“I was!”

They stopped, blending into the shadows.

Neji turned, glaring at Lee. “No, you weren't. Remember, this is enemy territory.”

Lee scowled back, but it looked too forced on his naturally happy face.

“Oh lighten up a bit Neji, we're all high-strung at the moment.”

“Easy for you to say baka,” the Hyuuga hissed.

“Will you two please shut up?”

Both men froze in the middle of their triad. Tenten was staring pointedly at them with that look in her eye that told them to smarten up or die. After years as a team, the two males had become familiarized with the methods the young woman used to deal with people that pissed her off.

Iruka shook his head. “Now that you've calmed down, I'd really like finish this. We'll be moving out tomorrow, after all.”

The younger three nodded.

“Yes, Iruka-sensei.”

Iruka smiled thinly, leading the way in silence this time as they continued on.

Ten minutes later, they were entered in the hospital, which was directly next to Otokage Tower, via an open window in the civilian secretor. Without waking the room's sleeping occupant, the quartet slid aside one of the ceiling panels and began to crawl among the ventilation shafts. Thankfully, nightshifts at any hospital were tame compared to dayshifts, allowing them to slip through without detection.

It took them awhile, but they did locate Kabuto's office. Tenten hadn't been pleased at all when the room of their search happened to be on the other end of complex, forcing them to travel much farther in such cramped conditions. But once they were there, it was worth it. The room was laid out with a clutter of paper, expressing the fact that the head medic-nin was being just a little less then organized lately.

“Okay,” Iruka whispered. “Lee, you check the left. Tenten, you check the right. Neji, you'll be coming with me to check that backroom.”

Without a word, Lee and Tenten dispersed to their assigned sides of the room. Satisfied, Iruka and Neji headed for the door at the opposite end of the room, checking for traps. When it proved clear, they entered and found that it was a personal laboratory.

Neji hissed, holding up an orb of chakra like a flashlight. “Doesn't this kind of remind you Ibiki-san's `torture chamber'?”

Iruka was forced to stifle a coarse laugh.

It did remind him of what Marino Ibiki had dubbed his `Torture Chamber'. It was the same hauntingly sterile backdrop with all sorts of medical apparatuses that could be used to inflict pain. While the office had been cluttered, this laboratory was immaculate. At the end of room were nine large glass cylinders, a type of peculiar incubators, which gleamed faintly in the light.

“What are those things?”

“I have no idea.”

The pair traversed the space quickly, gazing over a strange setup of buttons and dials that controlled the each cylinder. The only thing that they could gain from them was dates recorded on the digital panels. One recorded a date nearly thirteen year ago and another had a date as recent as just these past six months. The rest of them had dates building up from the oldest to the most recent, spanning a time of twelve years.

“Over here.”

Iruka turned, spotting Neji standing before a large filing cabinet. He had the second draw open, the one that was conveniently labeled “Experiments”. The younger man was sorting through file after file of numerous experiments conducted within the walls of this village over the years. It sickened the brunette to know that so many people had suffered here.

“Hey, I think I've found something.”

Neji pulled out a rather fat folder with the words “Kyuuzano - Cloning, Phase One” written in the top corner. Deciding that would be better to read it after they had left the hospital, Iruka henged a piece of crumpled paper in a nearby wastebasket to look like the folder and returned the copy to the filling cabinet.

Yet as fate would have it, they wouldn't be getting out as easy as they had gotten in. Thanks to Lee, they had tripped a hidden alarm system halfway out, one that forced them to recklessly teleport out of the hospital as fast they could. By the time they were safely back at their hotel, things had been stirred up as badly as a kid pocking at a wasp's nest.

“I thought I told you to be careful baka!” Neji snapped.

“That wasn't my fault!” Lee snapped back.

“ENOUGH!”

They froze. This time it was Iruka giving the reprimand and everyone knew that Iruka, changed or not in the past twelve years, could give anyone a scolding worse then a room full of PMSing woman. They shivered unconsciously, causing Tenten snicker.

Sighing, Iruka sat the folder down on the dinning table.

“Well, we've complete the second part of this mission in one piece so let's finish it that way.”

He seated himself at the table then, this companions following, and opened the folder. On top of the stack was a handwritten booklet done by Kabuto himself. The first page described a list of technical terms that only Lee knew after having spent so much time with Sakura, whom he had confessed, and who reviewed such jargon in her sleep.

Finally though, it began to tell a story.

I have just begun an experiment that will bring to me much recognition if it is to succeed. This file shall be my official documentation of a process that will take over a decade to complete. Today I will begin to attempt something that other medics before me have failed - to create an exact copy of a human being. Many have said that cloning is immoral, taking upon yourself the role that only a god should have. But should that not be said for all the various types of the Bunshin no Jutsu as well, as one could consider that our elemental clones have a life and a soul before they are extinguished?

So why not just create a Koukyuu Bunshin and be done with it? Unfortunately such a fanciful notion is impossible, for the one to create it would have to give away their life in return. However, my extensive research has finally paid off and I have formulated what will be an effective cloning method using genetic processing. Should my experiment work, Orochimaru-sama will begin commissioning an army clones created from blood of the world's most powerful shinobi.

Iruka shivered.

An army of clones? The very thought made his stomach turn painfully. So this was Orochimaru's secret weapon? Only the Snake Sannin would be truly crazy enough to commission something like that.

If and once one the clones survives the cloning process, I will then begin to comply a formula with observation on a way to speed up the procedure exponentially so that we are not waiting ten to twelve years in between. It will also, serve hopefully, raise the survival rate.

As I take this step forward, I will begin by creating nine specimens, using the blood sample and the donated embryos I have procured. Should this succeed, I will have fashioned the next generation of shinobi, three teams that will become a force to be reckoned with.

They flipped through the papers, reading anything of interest, which was everything. It explained the existence of the nine cylinders in that laboratory - they had been cloning incubators, the home for the developing fetuses. The booklet was an immense chronicle that detailed so much hard work; even thought it was the hard work of a twisted enemy. If there was only word for Yakushi Kabuto, it was `genius'. The man was a medical marvel, no doubt about it.

“Hey guys… look at this.”

Lee held up a singular sheet of paper. Having sorted through the rest of the loose-leaf papers, he had come across something that both saddened and pleased them. Written on the paper was a short list of, eight names and eight ages recorded.

It was an obituary register.

Specimen #1, Kyuuzano Haruki - deceased; age 15 months

Specimen #3, Kyuuzano Nikkou - deceased; age 2 years, 12 months

Specimen #8, Kyuuzano Kitai - deceased; age 4 years, 3 months

Specimen #5, Kyuuzano Raimei - deceased; age 6 years, 4 months

Specimen #6, Kyuuzano Hakumei - deceased; age 6 years, 5 months

Specimen #2, Kyuuzano Ryoku - deceased; age 8 years, 9 months

Specimen #4, Kyuuzano Takamaru - deceased; age 9 years, 1 month

Specimen #7, Kyuuzano Koko - deceased; age 11 years, 11 months

This was a record of those unfortunate souls whom had to died during this cloning experiment. Eight deaths… but there had been nine clones.

Lee set the paper aside, a sickened look on his face.

It was Tenten this time that found another, smaller booklet. This one was written in dairy format, contrasting with the first that had resembled a professional memoir.

- Although the other eight specimens have died, I am please that at least one has survived. Today welcomed the official `birth' of specimen #9, the only clone to make it through the whole twelve years. I'm pleased to say that he is perfectly healthy and once he's awake and introduced to his new `family', we will start by teaching him the basics and later begin with a training routine. He has yet to be named.

- As much as it displeases me, Orochimaru-sama has given the honor of naming the surviving clone to Sasuke. Since he was my creation, I should have been allowed to name him, or at least had my say in what it should be. I hope that isn't something stupid.

There was more that wasn't very interesting, but they read it anyway. After a month worth of babble, they came to a part that finally revealed to them what they had been suspicious of since beginning to read the file.

- The boy has grown startlingly intelligent over the past month. It was only today that Sasuke finally came to me to tell me that he finally named the boy - or rather, the boy named himself. I am glad that I'll be able to referee to him by a given name now, but I must say that I wasn't too keen on his choice. Nanikato? Honestly, who names themselves something like that?

That complicated things. What were they to do now, knowing that Uchiha Sasuke's apprentice was the single surviving clone? There was also the small fact that they didn't known from whom the boy had had been cloned…

-.ooOoo.-

“Nanikato.”

“Yes, Sasuke-sensei?”

The blonde was confused. His sensei, in all the six months they had known each other, had the older man had never come to his apartment. But now he was here, a strangely serious look upon his young face that made him look so very old.

“We're leaving tomorrow.”

“Nani?”

He blinked, uncomprehending.

Sasuke sighed. “We are leaving Oto tomorrow, indefinably.”

“But why?” Nanikato asked, puzzled.

“Do you want to stay?”

“Well… I… umm… not really, but - ”

“You feel obligated?” the raven-haired man asked. “That's understandable. All shinobi are taught to be loyal to their village.”

“But - ”

“I left my village…”

The blonde's eyes widened. “Nani? You mean you weren't born in Oto?”

Sasuke shook his head.

“You know I couldn't have been. Oto isn't as old as I am. No… I was born in Konoha.”

“You, you mean that you were once one our enemies?” Nanikato asked, shocked.

“Yes, but that was a long time ago. I left Konoha after the first invasion when I was twelve. I had reasons - selfish reasons - for seeking out Oto. I wanted power, power to defeat the killer of my clan.”

“Your brother?”

The raven-haired man's eyes widened. “How did you know that?”

“Kabuto-san told me. He told me not to bring it up around you because it was a sore topic. I'm sorry for your loss.”

He watched closely as the older man turned away from him, his jaw working.

“Yes, well there had been nothing I could do. But that aside, I need to get you out of here. I know many things that you don't, and Orochimaru plans to use you a weapon to crush Konoha - that is why he gave you that curse seal.”

Nanikato flinched, reaching up to place to hand over the still tender seal.

“Do you still feel obligated to your home village?” he asked.

“No, not really. But I have a promise to fulfill… to an old friend.”

The boy wisely kept his mouth shut for that one. He remembered Kabuto telling him that Sasuke-sensei had had a friend - a best friend - that had died many years ago. Right now was not the right time to start picking at an old wound so he stayed quiet.

“Where will we be going then?”

“Wave Country.”

-.ooOoo.-

Translations/Original Jutsu

Haruki - Spring tree

Nikkou - Sunlight

Kitai - Hope

Raimei - Dawn

Hakumei - Dusk

Ryoku -Strength

Takamaru - Hawk

Koko - One by one

Juuni Hogosha: Tengoku-taki no Yaiba Soushi/Twelve Guardians: Celestial Blade Creation - lower S-rank ninjutsu/kenjutsu. This technique allows the user to a sword of great power. Calling upon the power of the Twelve Guardians, its creation depends on the strength and quality of the soul of its creator. Combined with four worldly items, it becomes a blade of solidified chakra when summoned into battle.

Koukyuu Bunshin/Permanent Clone - a mythical kinjutsu. This technique, in theory, could allow a person to create a living clone of themselves that wouldn't disappear and would possess a mind of its own. Unfortunately, one would have to take into account that in order to living clone from your chakra alone would kill you.