Naruto Shippuden: girl from whirlpools

Once Bitten

Chapter Twenty-Four: Once Bitten

The calling card may have put Senju Han out of sorts, but as far as Minato was concerned it was his first piece of good luck in a long time. It was certainly more than he could have hoped for when all he'd expected to find – at best – was an empty vault. While the monk stared forlornly at the place where his grandfather's scrolls should have been, Minato discreetly took the scroll from his limp fingers. "This is probably the same guy abducting people," he said, examining the message. "Do you have any idea when the techniques might have been taken?"

Han didn't answer for a moment, as if he hadn't heard him. Minato was about to repeat the question when he suddenly spoke. "Any time between now and fifty years ago?" Han ran his hand over his face. "I only had one purpose left in life, and imagine that: I've failed it."

"You can't blame yourself," Minato told him abstractedly. "I'm beginning to think this guy is on par with a kage for how easily he outmanoeuvres everyone. The protections on your vault were perfect."

"I should have noticed the break-in."

Minato had already offered his token condolences and now he was more concerned with the scroll in his hand. The message had been hand-written with a distinctive style that he was almost sure he'd seen before. It wasn't much of a lead to go on, but it was better than nothing. The cryptography department back in Konoha had a handwriting analysis expert, if he recalled correctly, and it was about time she started utilising her job title. "Do you know why he would say the 'world will know immortality once again'?"

"That's the jutsu, isn't it?" Han said, slowly pushing the vault doors shut again, though he didn't bother to lock them. "It's a jutsu that cannot only bring the dead back to life, but restore their souls. Providing you sacrifice a life in return, you could bring back anyone as many times as you like. It's... a very tempting prospect, isn't it? There are always people you would love to have back beside you once more... and far too many you would happily sacrifice to do so. It's evil even in the most well-intentioned hands; in the wrong hands you could resurrect armies."

"Seriously?" Kushina hadn't been too far off the mark with her horror novel theory about zombie armies... not that he'd ever admit that out loud.

Han shrugged and shook his head. "So there you have it," he said, wandering away. "I don't know what else to tell you. I expect you'll be heading back to Konoha in the morning?"

"I expect so, yes."

"I can't say that I won't be relieved," Han said with a soft, humourless laugh.

Well, now Minato just felt guilty. "I'm sorry," he said. "I know we've caused you a lot of grief coming here."

Han raised his head to look him in the eye. "You say that with a face like that... and you have no idea." He shook his head again and moved away to sit on the steps outside the hall, looking out at the rain hammering the courtyard.

"What do you mean?" Minato asked him plainly.

"You're Midoriko's son, aren't you?" Although the way Han asked made it clear he already knew the answer. "I knew when you gave your name... should have realised it straight away when I saw your face. I don't know why, but even though it's been twenty years, I still expected you to be a child. Makes me realise how long it's been."

Scroll in hand, Minato sat down on the steps beside him, looking at the monk more closely than he had since his arrival. Small lanterns and candles had never given him the whole picture, but now as morning approached and the new gray light filtered through the rain, Minato noticed what he hadn't before. Han was pale – from the tips of his hair to the ends of his fingers. Suddenly Minato knew where he'd seen him before.