Naruto Fanfic - Prisoner of Nightmare

Chapter Seventeen[XVII]: Red's Elders

   Uzukaze Naruto followed a path through the Ushinawareta Mori⁸⁹ that only he and his summons were aware of, his eyes lazily glancing at familiar markers through the thick, white fog at encircled the forest. With a sharp right, the tune from an ocarina became louder, making him smile a little. He was close now.

   After only five more minutes of walking, he stepped through a large, stone gate lined with vines. It was decrepit, large chunks missing from everywhere while the top didn't even connect, the vines and other flora were the only things keeping it together. Naruto felt the air shift around him as he stepped through the barrier, becoming denser until he came out the other side.

   The ocarina was clear now, the song playing from the big, marble statue of a fox with nine tails, it was of Kurama. Instead of trees and fog around him, there were nine gates, excluding the one behind him. His summons were walking around, the nine different clans mingling with each other. The nine gates they resided in were called the Kokonotsu no Hyōkō no Mon.

   There were Tengoku⁹⁰, located in the first gate, the Kanki no Mon⁹¹. The gate was only a metre tall but shining like a beacon of pure white light, with small little particles floating around it. Beside them was the Mayonaka, located in the second gate, the Aimaina Mon⁹². This gate was the polar opposite of the Kanki no Mon, two metres tall and made out of withering shadows, seemingly sucking in all the light near it as the shadowy tentacles swished.

   Located in the third gate, the Ikigurushī Mon⁹³, were the Kaze⁹⁴. This gate was three metres tall, made out of solid wind that had a sheen of silver over it, it had small little clouds floating around the top. Beside them were the Koū⁹⁵, residing in the fourth gate, the Suibotsu no Mon⁹⁶. Their gate was four metres tall, it was made out of water with small little fishes swimming inside.

   The fifth gate, the Han'ei no Mon, is where the Chikyū lived. The gate is five metres tall and made of wood, many vines swirling around it along with tiny little mushrooms growing on it. Then there was the sixth gate, the Udaru Yōna Mon⁹⁷, which is where the Sabaku⁹⁸ spent most of their days. Their gate was six meters tall and made out of sand, small little particles floating around it along with some cacti sporadically grown on it.

   In the seventh gate, the Kaitai no Mon⁹⁹, was the Tamaishi¹⁰⁰. Their gate was made out of stone with minerals of all different kinds around it, it was seven metres tall. The eighth gate, the Shōkyaku no Mon¹⁰¹, is the place where the Enjō¹⁰² survived. It eight metres tall, made out of pure lava with ash hovering about. The ninth and final gate, the Kunō no Mon¹⁰³, is the home of the Gossamu¹⁰⁴. The gate was nine metres tall and made out ice, it was covered light snow as it fell out of seemingly nowhere.

   Naruto had no interest in entering any of the gates, however, he was here to meet with the Chōrō, the highest-ranking members of the foxes, one from each clan, similar to the clan heads. They were the strongest, and although they had quite the distaste for him at first, they slowly warmed up to him. Still, when he trained with them, he ended up with broken bones, perhaps even more than before.

   Some of them particularly disliked him, but he only knew of two that truly did. The rest were either fine with him or even liked him to a certain degree. Still, it was probably because he technically did hold Kurama as a hostage and he gained the respect of most, if not all, of the lower-ranked foxes, some even held his word above the Chōrō, which was a great insult to them.

   Sighing only for a moment, he smoothed out his features and smiled at the many different coloured and sized foxes greeting him, responding kindly to each one. Soon enough, he was in the centre of the gates where the Chōrō resided inside of a cave that was carved into the earth and illuminated with white luminous stones, each of them sitting on stone pillars with the kanji for their respective clan etched into it. The pillars also had some personal touches, like vines wrapped around it for the Chikyū Chōrō.