Naruto Karyuden

Chapter 11: A New Home

A NEW HOME

Two and a half months ago

The Hidden Mountain Village, as the name would suggest, lies atop the highest mountain peak of the Land of Woods, Mount Ashigara. Much of it is built atop the peaks, where it's sizable enough for a village to comfortably lay, although some structures are also built into the mountainside.

Mizushi, Kuga, and Takeshi have made their way back to the village after a fairly long absence, and they return with one extra person- Itsu Chinoike who looks uncomfortably to be here. She's still not sure what she's gotten herself into.

She's taken to the main building of the village where the leaders usually reside. Inside, in what appears to be the main meeting room- chair and desk set at the back and a larger table to the side designated for meetings.

The man behind the desk notices their appearance.

He wears the standard shinobi uniform for the Hidden Mountain- dark green clothing under a dark brown flak jacket. In stark contrast is his hair- a red mane that reaches his shoulder blades, framing an attractive face; the one blemish being a deep scar that goes from the temple of his nose to his lower jaw.

His voice has a soothing essence to it, but there's an underlying poison to it that makes Itsu's blood curl. "Takeshi. Kuga. How is the Hidden Hot Waters fairing?"

The two of them step forward.

Kuga playfully frowns. "No concern for our wellbeing, Kaidomaru?"

"If you were the kind of people I needed to worry about, I wouldn't trust you with anything."

Takeshi holds out a scroll and places it on the desk, and then steps back to his original place. "Everything is going to plan. Because the Land of Hot Waters reduced their shinobi village to nearly nothing and broke off any close ties with other lands, it was a simple feat to ease our way in. They realized they couldn't remain neutral in these new times and before they could rekindle old alliances, we swooped in and made ourselves the top contender. All as you intended."

Kaidomaru opens the scrolls and reads through it, a smile on his face.

Kuga places a hand on her hip and smirks. "All we need to do now is merge with the Land of Rice Paddies by showing ourselves as the better option than the Land of Fire. Once we have them, absorbing the Land of Hot Waters will be child's play."

"Excellent." He then turns to Mizushi. "Where's Fudou?"

"He's right here." Mizushi weaves hand signs and markings spread all over his hand. He opens his palm and a blob of chakra manifests.

Kaidomaru steps in front of his desk and forms the same hand signs and the same markings appear on his hand. He touches the ball of chakra and it's absorbed into him.

Itsu looks between all of them. "Wait, hold on, what do you mean 'he's here'?' You said you killed him, right?"

"In a way. This is his soul, containing all of his memories and knowledge. If he wouldn't share the secrets of his cult so we'll just take them."

Kaidomaru clenches his fist as he feels energy washing over him. "This is a special sealing technique, a Forbidden Jutsu of the Uzumaki clan. To take a person's soul and absorb their knowledge into yourself. Although it takes some time to process. Just because this Fudou died doesn't mean his research must be lost, as well. It can still be useful."

"And you're telling me this, why?"

"Because you knowing won't change what is to happen." He stands right in front of her, almost too close. He's actually shorter than her and yet his figure feels overwhelming. "So you're Itsu? And a Chinoike, at that."