ch 11

Senjii scowled and swatted at a fly that buzzed around his face. The persistent insect just avoided his blow and continued to pester him. With a whispered oath Senjii sliced the fly in half with the demon dagger Mabry had given him. He twirled the knife and slipped it back into his belt.

His eyes took in the meadow. Their prey hadn't shown up as yet, if it even existed. Mr. Mabry had regaled them last night of a story of the largest Boar he had ever seen inhabiting these woods. How no hunter could ever catch it, or spear it.

This of course had piqued the interest of Naruto, Senjii and Nagi. Although Senjii suspected the entire reason for the story had been to get them interested in the first place.

He looked across the meadow to the large oak tree on the far side. He couldn't see him, but he knew Naruto was by that tree. Across to the left, completing an almost equilateral triangle of the three of them was Nagi, somewhere in the shadows.

Mabry had pointed out this meadow and the hoof prints all over it - fresh ones, large ones; so the three of them decided to wait for it to show up again. Mabry had laughed and told them he'd wait by the Wagon for the day, but by morning he'd be continuing on to Tengoku.

Senjii smiled. He genuinely liked Milford Mabry. The man was fatherly. He took care of the three new orphans they picked up as if they were his own children. He had a huge supply of fresh children's clothing and he'd provided them with such.

After a little talking and laughter, the kids had opened up about how they came to be on the streets. Mirrun's father had been killed, while her mother and herself were sold into slavery. Her mother had bought her freedom somehow and given her the only possession she had, a gold coin on a shoestring. Mirrun cried as she told the story. Her powers had not manifested until she was on the streets for a year. A year until she realized she could see faster than people could move, and that she herself could move as fast as she could see.

Gennosuke was actually blinded by his parents when he was a baby. Apparently he used to have one blue and one brown eye. In his village that was a sign of evil and his parents were afraid he'd bring wrath down on the family. He found out their treachery one night when his dad came home drunk and that had been all he needed to run away from home. He'd long known he could send chakra pulses out to 'see' his surroundings. They allowed him to see things in a full 360 degrees of vision. He learnt to fight on the streets because a blind kid was always picked on.

Syren couldn't remember anything from before the streets. His first memories were of being in a box in an alley. He only survived out of sheer luck. An old homeless man had taken him in up until he himself died a few years ago. His water transformation was more instinct than a purposeful skill.

Senjii couldn't help but be impressed with the quality of people Naruto was drawing to his village. These kids alone had immense potential to be great warriors. Then there was Nagi.

Senjii had to admit, the addition of Nagi to the team kind of completed them. A three man cell was just more efficient. They now had three specialized skills on this team. Stealth with Nagi's shadow move technique; melee combat with Senjii's sword techniques, and aside from a healthy all around quality to him, Naruto was a mass effect person. 'The guy has now single-handedly wiped two towns off the face of the map.' Senjii thought.

Yes, they now seemed perfectly balanced. And Nagi just fit in with the team dynamic. They just needed to get him a white suit and an armband now.

Senjii smiled and settled back in his spot, waiting for the Boar.

Nagi grimaced as the midday sun beat down upon him. He wiped the sweat from his brow, the dreadlocks he sported now tied back so as not to fall in his face. Once Milford Mabry had told them the story he, Senjii and Naruto had no choice but to hunt the boar. It was obvious. He grinned. It certainly was nice to meet kindred spirits. Nagi hadn't been this comfortable with anyone in a very long time. It felt like…friendship.

It had certainly been a while. From the moment Naruto hadn't even blinked at his dark skin, Nagi knew something was different about him. Everywhere he went in the unnamed country his skin was considered a curse. The superstitious and uneducated people would hunt him, shun him and curse him.

Naruto accepted him and offered him a home.

Nagi sighed, this heat really was unbearable.

Naruto scanned the brush carefully from his position perched high in the oak tree. He knew where Nagi and Senjii were, so he didn't need to look in those directions. He did anyway though, in case the boar snuck up on them, he didn't want his friends hurt.

He smiled. It was nice to have friends, a home to go back to. A sigh of contentment escaped his lips. He had gotten some memories from a few clones that had popped. They'd been gone two weeks already, and his clones couldn't be expected to last this long. They still had though, only now beginning to pop.

So Naruto knew where the construction had reached. He also knew about the orphanage arriving with Tsunade and Sakura. He was honestly excited to see Sakura again. Even though a small bit of shame couldn't help but creep its way into his thoughts. How would she react to seeing him? He'd been kicked out of their village for failing to bring back Sasuke. A promise he had made to her. A promise he had broken.

Mabry had been delighted to hear that his orphanage had been moved successfully and that the children were safe and being taken care of. He even approved of the starting up of the Warrior Academy.

"They won't be children forever. One thing I always teach my kids is to protect your own and protect the weak. Training them just gives them the power to back up those words." He had said. Naruto agreed.

A rustling in the shrubbery brought his attention back to the present. Out of the bushes strode the largest boar Naruto had ever seen. It stood easily six feet tall from hoof to shoulder. Its tusks were three feet long and curled in slightly. The edge looked razor sharp even from here. None of that was the most outstanding feature though.

Both Nagi and Senjii's eyes threatened to bulge out of their sockets.

The Boar had shimmering gold fur. Naruto, Senjii and Nagi all grinned. This would indeed be a prized catch!

The boar approached the center of the clearing and just stood there. Senjii felt a single drop of sweat drip down his forehead.

"Now!" Nagi shouted as he threw a handful of small exploding tag behind the Boar, not trying to hit him but to drive him forward. It worked well; the huge beast lurched forward in an impossibly fast run, straight towards Senjii.

Senjii leapt from the brush and swung with his sword. The idea was that if it went towards Senjii he would use his swords to slay the beast. If it went towards Naruto he would use a jutsu.

That was the plan anyway.

Senjii's sword slices cut through the empty space the Boar had been a second ago. The Boar had sped up incredibly fast and was now cutting to the left, towards Naruto.

"Naruto it's coming your way!" Senjii shouted. The animal left clouds of dust behind with each hoof strike.

Naruto dropped from the tree, intending to land directly on the Boars back with a Rasengan. He too missed as it dodged again, and ended spinning back into the middle of the clearing.

Naruto, Nagi, and Senjii now flanked the animal that just stood there and watched them.

"Just ease up on him, try to get it whichever way it goes." Senjii said.

As if on cue, the Boar lunged towards Nagi. He didn't have any weapons to use against the animal except more exploding tags, so he used one and melted into the shadows.

The tag landed in front of the rampaging animal. As he ran over it, the tag exploded. Naruto and Senjii saw the animal get thrown up into the air, but it didn't look damaged, it just looked mad as hell.

On the arc back down, the golden boar twisted in mid air and vanished into thin air.

Naruto and Senjii who were racing towards it stood in disbelief. "Where did it go?" Naruto asked.

From behind them they heard the crashing of hoofs and turned in time to see the angry animal rushing at them, tusks lowered. They barely managed to dodge out of the way of those razor sharp tusks.

The boar raced past. But instead of turning to come back, it disappeared into thin air again.

Naruto and Senjii, now joined by Nagi, looked around frantically. They stood back to back, looking all around for the next attack.

"How did this happen!?" Nagi asked incredulously. "Aren't we supposed to be hunting it?!"

Senjii scowled. "That Mabry…"

The Boar appeared in thin air to their right and charged again. They jumped up high, only to see the boar below disappear and then see the boar thundering across the ground again and jumping into the air after them like a missile.

In midair it's really hard to dodge attacks. Naruto pushed both Senjii and Nagi away from him and braced to take the full impact of the attack himself.

It never came. As it should have hit, the Boar disappeared. The trio landed and looked around the eerily quiet clearing.

"I think it's gone." Nagi said. He then promptly walked over to Naruto and slapped him behind his head. "What the hell kind of move was that!"

Senjii nodded, also cross. "What's the big idea pushing us out of the way like that?"

Naruto shrugged. "Was an impulse thing. I can heal, you guys can't. I can take the most damage and walk away."

Nagi shook his head in disgust and walked a little distance off. He wasn't expecting the response to actually make sense.

The three unsuccessful hunters walked back to the Wagons.

Mabry couldn't stop laughing. As they told the story his smile got bigger and bigger until he could hold it in no more. They sat around a table inside his wagon, lights from candles and lanterns illuminating the room.

"So what was that?" Nagi asked. "That wasn't an ordinary Boar."

Mabry laughed some more. "Well of course it isn't. Didn't anyone think to ask WHY no one has caught or slain it as yet?" He leaned back in the chair and interlocked his hands behind his head.

"That was a forest spirit. We're on the outskirts of a giant forest that's thousands of years old. The spirit appears to determine if travelers are welcome in this section of its forest. It cannot be killed. It does however kill those it deems unworthy."

He clapped the boys on their backs. "I guess you're worthy!" He said with a hearty laugh. "It's a majestic beast isn't it? I remember the first time I fought with it. We sparred for hours until the sun came down."

Mabry sighed. "Good old days."

Naruto frowned. "How many times have your battled with it?"

Mabry shrugged. "Who counts time spent with an old friend? Each time we meet I learn something new."

Senjii nodded. He understood that. Naruto thought back to the hunt and realized the Boar had used some very specific tactics. It charged the only unarmed and therefore weakest one of them. It herded them into a small group. It drove them into the air and attacked them there where it was harder to dodge. He realized the Spirit was in control the entire time. Naruto wondered if there was any way for him to incorporate those tactics into his style.

"Well." Mabry continued. "Now that we have permission to pass, it's a straight line to Tengoku by tomorrow."

Tengoku

*pop*

Another of Naruto's clones puffed out of existence, letting the wheelbarrow it was carrying crash down to the ground. Jiraiya frowned, that was the tenth one today. At this rate they'd all be gone by tomorrow and construction work would need to cease. They really counted on those clones for cheap labor.

Jiraiya shrugged and went back to his book, scribbling down ideas that came to him. He looked over to where Ma and Pa toad were meditating. They had said they needed to feel the Natural Energy here in Tengoku to determine just what level of risk Naruto would be exposed to. They had been sitting there for hours.

He could hear the sounds of children playing not far away. The Orphanage was right in the shadow of the White Tower. Put there specifically because they knew how Naruto felt about orphans.

Across the 'street' - which at this point was nothing more than markings – was the area set aside for the Warrior Academy. No work had begun on this at all, so for now it was just a training ground. Tora had put together a starting syllabus for the Warriors in training to follow and divided up all the interested children into levels. It was a lot of organizing, but he had the help of Hiroka and Sakura.

Guerrera was hard at work laying down designs into the stone walls and floor. They were special markings to increase strength and durability.

Just then, he heard a drip. Then another one. He peeked over the top of his book with a smile. They've done it!

Within seconds the drop became a torrent as running water was brought to the village. Jiraiya heard a cheer go up from the residents of Tengoku as the pipes all filled with water and flowed out. The clones nearest to him jumped up in joy.

Jiraiya smiled. The village was coming along.

"Young Jiraiya." Pa toad said, breaking him from his reverie. "We agree to start Naruto's training in Sage arts. The Natural Energy on this island is incredible. It rivals that of Mt. Myouboku."

Jiraiya nodded. "Naruto would be sad to leave this village again for so long, but it's important that he learns how to control it before he accidentally discovers Natural Energy."

Ma Toad shook her head. "No No. You misunderstand. We will train Naruto here. There is more than enough natural energy here to help speed him along. Also he has a wind affinity and this is the perfect place for him to learn, especially if he's already feeling its presence."

Jiraiya was shocked, but nodded in acceptance. He'd talk with Naruto when he got back.

Kenshiro had been a member of Jiraiya's spy network for close to ten years. It was not particularly rewarding work. Jiraiya didn't pay. It was all solely done for two reasons. One was a life debt to Jiraiya, the Sannin had saved him from a noose many years ago. The other was sheer boredom. If all he had in his life was his store and his nagging wife, Kenshiro thought he'd have killed himself by now.

The door opened to his store and a timid looking man with round glasses walked in nervously.

'Ah, a customer.' Kenshiro thought. He approached the man and smiled broadly at him.

"How can I help you today?" He asked the customer. "Hammer? Nails? Paint?"

"Um…" The man stammered. "I...I…I have a…'toad'…problem. Can you help with that?" He looked at Kenshiro cautiously.

Ken sighed and his face instantly became more serious."Its OK, no one else is in the store. So you want to reach Jiraiya? Can I ask why?"

The man nodded. "Because we heard that his apprentice has started a new village. A place where people can start over, not live in fear. My Family…I want us to go there."

Kenshiro smiled at the man. "You're the second one this week." He slipped a piece of paper into the man's hand. "This is a map. Be at that location in one week's time. Walk with any belongings you like."

"Thank you!" The man stared incredulously at the map and turned to walk out.

"Don't thank me. I might join you if my wife drives me crazy enough." Kenshiro said with a jovial smile and got back behind the counter.

Kakashi jumped from branch to branch, feeling the presence behind him more than knowing it was there. He changed direction and jumped again, moving impossibly fast. He hoped to avoid a fight if he could. He didn't want to battle a Konoha nin if he could help it. The presence behind him followed his turn. It has to be ANBU.

He had left Konoha not an hour before he realized he was being followed. He had immediately left the trail and took off into the trees.

But it looked like he would have to face it sooner rather than later. A second presence suddenly appeared to his left, moving to intercept. Kakashi swore to himself. The pursuer must have radioed for an intercept.

Kakashi turned in midair just in time to dodge a well thrown brace of Shuriken. The figure who had intercepted him was throwing projectiles at a very fast rate from behind cover. Kakashi flipped over and twisted, avoiding Shuriken and Kunai by the dozens. The style of fighting made it obvious to him who he was fighting, which meant the one pursuing him was obvious as well.

As he neared a clearing Kakashi veered off. The last thing a ninja really wanted to do was fight in the open if he could help it. With the two ANBU on his trail, Bekkou and Akame he was sure of it, even less so. In the open he'd be an easy target.

A slight whistle was all the warning he had to jump high in the air, to dodge a windmill shuriken slicing through the branch he had just been on. That was Bekkou again, a weapons expert.

As he arced back from his jump over the canopy of trees he felt a heat blast approaching him. A large fireball had erupted from the forest racing towards him. Kakashi executed a Kawarami and switched places with a log at the last second. He knew it wouldn't fool them but it should buy him some seconds.

From his hiding place in the bushes he did a quick series of hand signs and called on his summons. This was a tight spot. He could easily defeat these two ANBU, but he didn't want to hurt anyone. His summons in this case was two large ninja dogs. With a series of signals he communicated to them what he wanted done. In a flash, they ran off into the bushes.

Kakashi sighed then glanced up in time to see a scythe cutting down towards him. He rolled backwards, feeling the blade pass an inch away from his skin. He palmed the ground and spun, kicking the legs out from under Bekkou.

The ANBU instead of falling did a cartwheel and landed back on his feet. The Scythe never left his hands. He swung it again, across this time, to take off Kakashi's head. Kakashi ducked under and threw a smoke pellet to the ground. He pulled off another Kawarami and appeared several yards to the right.

A stream of fire arced its way towards him, scorching trees and shrubbery in its path. He rolled out of the way again. Akame was a fire type, adept at creating fireballs much like the Uchiha clan, but maybe with less power. But he made up for it with accuracy.

Both ANBU were fairly new recruits which made Kakashi all the more cautious. They would be over zealous to prove themselves.

"Surrender Kakashi!" Bekkou said from a branch high up, fifty yards away. "You cannot escape us."

Kakashi sighed. They needed more experience.

One of his Nin-dogs rushed Bekkou and bit into his left leg, hard. Bekkou screamed in pain and both he and the dog fell off the branch. Kakashi released the summons before it hit the ground, not wanting any of his dogs hurt.

He heard a curse from far behind him. That would be Akame. He raced towards the sound, determined to incapacitate the man without hurting him seriously. Fireballs came rapidfire towards him as he dodged and ran full tilt towards where he now knew Akame to be.

He burst from a bush and jumped up to the branch Akame was on. The new ANBU panicked and body switched with a log. Kakashi landed on the branch he had been on and looked around.

A yelp told him that his other dog had found Akame and had also bitten him in the legs. Kakashi nodded to himself and released that summons as well. He then took off back west, heading as far from Konoha as he could get, glad he hadn't hurt anyone seriously.

The City of Yomi, Land of the dead

Amidst a city full of decrepit stone houses and street bonfires stood a tall black stone tower. Smoke and screaming wrapped its way around the tower, as the dead and dying in the streets cried out in agony. This was Yomi, the capital city of the Land of the Dead. Demons and ghouls and monsters of the most horrible nightmares roamed this land. 'Living' as you will for the day that they could escape this cursed island and destroy the world.

Fortunately for the world, they were for the most part kept in their own land by the need for utter darkness. The slightest bit of daylight would destroy them. Even the meager light of the moon would remove them from this plane of existence. There were very few times they could venture past their own borders, kept eternally dark by the Clouds of smoke and magic of the darkest kind.

Some Demons found ways to exist beyond the borders. In fact over the years several excursions into the world by former residents of Yomi had resulted in massive worldwide destruction; however humans had been stronger than they expected and bound or destroyed those soldiers.

It was the most powerful of those soldiers that was being discussed now.

"Kyuubi!" Magnon raged, slamming his gauntlet fist down onto the arms of his throne. The stone and bone chair shuddered at the impact.

"Yes my Lord." Ji-Hoon spat out. "He was bound in a human and helped the human defeat the sixth squadron horde. He showed us no mercy."

Magnon scowled in disgust at Ji-hoon. Magnon was an imposing figure, standing eleven feet tall, clad in dark red armor, smoke rising out of creases and cracks. His eyes a black pit that threatened to suck you in. A mane of white hair adorned his hardened features, battle scars on his face belying years of war. You didn't get to be Lord of Yumi through family ties; you earned it by defeating all challengers.

"The Kyuubi was the next challenger for my throne, you think that a century away from Yomi would lessen his skills? You were a fool to throw away a horde over a personal insult. Three human children you were corrupting were not worth your petty vengeance." Magnon growled at Ji-Hoon. The land of the dead did not suffer weakness or defeat lightly.

Magnon clenched his fists and Ji-Hoons left arm crunched into dust. He fell to the ground writhing in pain.

"I will not kill you yet you foul worm. I need to know where Kyuubi is. That is an open wound that needs to be cauterized immediately." He pointed his metal fingers at the sobbing lesser demon in front of him.

"You are adept at maneuvering amongst the humans. The filthy human blood we put in you keeps you half human enough to live outside our lands. You will find this vessel of Kyuubi and you will tell me where he is."

Naruto slept fitfully that night, awakening inside the familiar long dark sewer. Ahead he saw the bars and the paper seal that held his prisoner at bay.

The growling and snapping behind the bars let him know that the Kyuubi was upset.

"That Filthy Half-blood dare put his hands on me! On MY vessel!" The fox snarled and howled, raging against the wind.

Naruto let him rage for a few minutes before interjecting. "What were those things? And how did they know you?"

Kyuubi howled again and glared down at Naruto. "Those were lesser demons, filthy half bloods and ghouls. Natives of my real homeland, the Land of the Dead."

Naruto walked a little closer to the cage. "That Ji-Hoon thing, he knew your name."

Kyuubi laughed. "All Lessers know my name. I would have challenged for the seat of Yomi itself had I not gotten the opportunity to leave that wretched land."

Naruto didn't really understand but nodded. "So what does this mean?"

The fox looked at Naruto and lowered its massive red head down to his level. "Since you failed to kill him, that lesser will have reported to Magnon. That means you imbecile that the hordes of hell will now be looking for me. I was Magnon's greatest threat. He now knows I live, even if it is inside a vessel. They will hunt you down and they will kill you to get to me."

Naruto stared wide eyed at the demon in front of him. "What do I do?"

Kyuubi growled. "You get stronger on your own. I cannot give you anymore chakra than I already do. Can't give you any special powers or anything like that. If you break my seal I will be free of course, and I will decimate them. Remember that. When your loved ones are in danger, the only way you can save them is to set me free."

Naruto woke up sweating.