THE WILL OF FIRE: 2. The Phoenix (A Naruto Fanfic)

The Phoenix, Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

 

“Ok, which one of you is which?”

We set up the camp and got ready to discuss our plans. I just finished setting up the barrier around us and was totally confused who was Izumo and who Kotetsu. It’s not like they were twins, they just acted like it.

“I’m Izumo,” said the one with spiky hair.

“Got it,” I said, sure I’ll forget it in a few hours. “Now, let’s talk tactics.”

Anko spread a map on the ground and said, “I think we should start at the Otogakure hideout. If he’s passing himself, and his team, off as Otogakure Shinobi, I think we should look there first.”

“It makes sense,” I said, not being able to resist a shudder. “But that place…”

“Creepy,” Anko said.

“Creepy doesn’t begin to describe it. It’s the center of most of his operations.” It was also a place filled with bad memories and… “I think it’s pretty risky,” I said.

“Well, we should try somewhere,” Anko suggested.

“Hey, Anko remember what I said when I came here,” I pointed out to her. “The thing that won you over.”

“It’s in this hideout?” she asked, shuddering.

“What is?” asked both of the guys at the same time and I forgot which was which-again.

“The thing they tell you about in nightmares,” I explained, throat dry. “It’s called Forever Lake. It was known to be home of a goddess of immortality, hence the name ‘Forever’. But we all know forever doesn’t last. One day, a hero came to seek the goddesses help. He wanted to be immortal and a conqueror. She didn’t want to grant his wish, so he attacked her. The other gods intervened and relocated the goddess. They turned the hero into a…”

Both of them were listening to me like I was telling a ghost story. It wasn’t, not exactly. “A huge snake. But the legend is false, of course. The entire hideout is indeed built around a lake known as Forever Lake but Uncle Orochimaru did some experiments to make the legend come true. There is indeed a monster inside the Lake, one that’s much older than the legend and has adapted to Uncle Orochimaru quite well.”

“But the thing is, the monster can be merged with a human body, if the human is strong enough, granting that human unimaginable power.” Anko explained what I couldn’t.

“But why hasn’t Orochimaru merged with the monster?” asked the one with spiky hair. Izumo?

“Because there’s a trick. Two, actually. First, the monster functions as a sort of Kekkei Genkai, so you have to be of a special bloodline to be able to merge with the monster. Second, it has to be a female.”

“Why?” both of them asked at the same time.

“It’s because of how the merging process occurs.”

They both seamed uneasy and we all understood what she meant by that. Last, the one with spiky hair asked, “And does a person like that exists?”

“We’re not sure,” I jumped in before Anko could answer. “But if it did, Uncle Orochimaru wouldn’t hesitate to manipulate that person. But he’s not completely sure himself. Now, can we get to the mission?”

We made basic plans of infiltration and stuff like that and I warned them all to be extra careful.

“If there’s one thing I'd like to be remembered by,” I said, “Is that no one dies on my missions! Got that?”