The first chapter of SpiderBro was posted on fanfiction.net somewhere in May 2008, there’s been infrequent updates ending at Sep 2009, when a combination of life and work… but mostly life, caught up with me and I totally stop writing for a while. After that SpiderBro was like a forgotten memory, I knew I wrote a Spiderman and Naruto crossover fanfiction, but I simply could not recall what I wrote… until I read it again today.
And of course, once I started reading it, I begun to spot all the grammatic and vocab mistakes I’ve made 2-3 years ago. I’d like to think my command of the English language is better now, not much, but defintely better than before. And so I spent the whole evening vetting through all four chapters (The Prologue, Chapters 1,2,3). Hopefully it read out much better than before.
I’ll update the version in fanfiction.net when I have the time. But in the meanwhile, here it is, the edited and hopefully grammatically better version of SpiderBro: Prologue, Chapter 1, 2 and 3….
Disclaimer: I do not own Spiderman or Naruto. This story is a work of fanfiction. Written to the fandoms I love.
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Prologue : Birth of the Spider Ninja (version 3)
It was never supposed to end this way. When he had first gotten his powers, he had been without direction, using his abilities for his own gains, until the death of his uncle and the words of his father figure had changed his life.
With great power came great responsibilities. And thus he had changed. Donning on a new costume, he had become a vigilante hero. He had tried to stop crime, he had tried to save the innocents.
He was Spiderman, the hope of all the people who lived in New York City. He was the hero who was supposed to save the day. Except now he was stuck onto a metal paling of an unfinished construction site, webbed down by Venom, while the powerful sand fist of Sandman hammered down onto him. He was dying, he knew it. Strength had already left him, his breath was laboured. In the end it seemed that Harry, his best friend, had not come to his aid.
Perhaps he had been too naive to expect his best friend to help, after all, Peter was the cause of the late Mr. Osborne’s death.
A flash of green at the edge of the vision put his doubtful thoughts to a rest. Peter Parker smiled weakly as he realised his trust was validated. Harry, the New Goblin, his best friend was here. It would be too late for Harry to rescue him, but perhaps Mary Jane could still be saved.
“Save MJ!” Peter shouted at his friend as he struggled with the last of his dying breath. The Sandman’s huge fist came rushing at him, Peter twisted his wrist and shot thick globes of webbing into the monster’s face even as death stared him in his face. The giant fist came down, followed by raptures of immerse pain…. And then he knew nothing more.
OoooO
Dying was a strange sensation, as was the awakening part. Opening blurry eyes, he saw bright lights above him but everything else was out of focus.
“Waa….” A thin high wail sounded from his lips as Peter tried to speak. The late Spiderman froze, he had meant to ask out loud what the hell was happening. But all that escaped his lips was an unnaturally weak wail.
Peter tried to turn his head but discovered that his body did not seem able to make much moment. All he could see was that he was in some kind of wooden cot. Trying to raise his hands, Peter froze in shock at the pair of tiny plump, baby like hands that waved in the line of his vision. He knew that they were his hands, after all he was the one that controlled them.
“Shaaaa!!” Peter cried in fright, thoughts racing across his sluggish mind. He remembered distinctly the moment of his death before he had regained conscious in this place. And through some unknown means, he was now in the body of a baby!
Cursing in every language that he knew of, Peter paused in his tirade as all that came out of his lips were baby gurgles. Giving up venting his frustration for the moment, Peter tried to rack his brain for what could have happened. He recalled his fight with the Sandman and Venom. He had died, he was very sure of it. So why was he here now as a baby?
Putting all the facts together, a very unpleasant possibility was beginning to form in his mind. Peter had never been a big fan of religion, but he was not totally clueless about it. Some religions had believed in the aspect of reincarnation. Of course, according to those religions, should a person be reborn, the person would supposedly have forgotten about his past life and begin his new life on a fresh slate. That was apparently not what happened to him.
“You are different.” A voice said in his mind, interrupting his thoughts.
“Waaa!!” Peter cried out as he felt something scuttled across his face. His baby hands lacked the reach to brush the offending object off him.
The black object came into view and Peter stared crossed-eyed at the tiny black spider perched on his nose. The spider waved its forelegs in apparent amusement.
“You are one of the chosen one and your trial has begun.” Said the voice which Peter was sure came from the spider.
Before Peter could ask what it meant, the spider disappeared into a puff of black smoke. It was around this time that his cot began to shake as some external force struggled outside the building. Though his eyesight was not working so well at the moment, his hearing was still sharp and he could pick out screams and sounds of fighting outside. Then one by one, sounds of frightened babies began to cry all around him. Though he couldn’t see above his cot, Peter was very sure that he was in a nursery of some sort.
A short while later, a harried browned haired woman came into view above his cot. Seeing that he was not crying, she moved away. From the sounds she was making, Peter assumed that she was calming the rest of the babies. Peter frowned when he could not understand the language that was being spoken.
The symphony of babyish wails continued for a long while, before a sharp masculine voice suddenly cut through the noises in the room, barking out what seemed to be an order. A feminie voice, most probably the woman, said something, before her heels clicked sharply on the floor, moving away. There was the sound of doors closing as the babies all around him continued to cry. This time however no one came to calm them down.
Peter Parker had never felt so helpless in his life. He was trapped in the body of a baby, he could barely move his hand and something was happening outside the building. His spider senses had gone off several times for which Peter was grateful. It meant that he still had part of his spider powers even though the webbing and spider strength seemed to have left him.
He did not know how long he waited. But he was aware that time passed long enough that the wailings of the babies tapered into thin, sharp and hoarse cries. The wait was long enough that he could not contain his bladder anymore and released a warm liquid into his diapers. Peter struggled in his wet underclothes uncomfortably. One thing he was certain now was that he did not like being a baby.
When he finally could not keep his tired eyes opened anymore. Peter gave in at last, drifting into troubled sleep. The sound of battle was still going on outside. Occasionally his danger sense would go off, jerking him awake, but his body was too weary to care and he was soon in dreamless sleep.
He did not know what eventually woke him, but when he next opened his eyes, his wooden cot was shaking violently. A blonde hair man was standing over him, blood and scratches on his face. Beside him, her face pale and framed with a head of auburn hair, was a beautiful woman that could barely keep herself standing.
The couple looked as though they had been through hell, there were large visible holes in their stomachs, their clothes soaked in blood. For a moment, Peter wondered how the two could even remain standing. Then Peter noticed the bundle in the man’s hands. A bundle which the man managed to place carefully next to Peter as the couple slummed onto the floor.
Peter turned towards the bundle next to him and found himself staring at a drowsy looking baby, with a few strands of blond hair and large blue eyes. Faint marks that looked like whiskers adorned the baby’s cheeks. The man coughed out a few words in a strange language, before he slummed against his wife, whose eyes were already closed. Both their heads leaning against the cot as the two gradually stopped breathing.
Peter knew that the couple had died after minutes had passed and they continued to lie bloodied and pale against his cot. Fear gripped him, what on earth could be happening outside? It was around then that Peter realized the sounds of battle had stopped.
Turning his baby head to look at his new neighbour, Peter saw that the newborn had awakened. His crystal blue eyes were wide as he began to cry piteously. It was as though the newborn knew instinctively that people close to him had died.
It would be years before Peter truly understood what had happened. But for the moment both Peter and his new neighbour were helpless infants who were unable to understand the world and fend for themselves.
And thus begun Peter Parker’s new life in the ninja village of Konoha.
OoooO
30 minutes ago, Hidden Village of Fire (Konoha)
His wife was dead, as were the ninjas that were supposed to protect her and Kushina while the younger woman gave birth. Sarutobi received the news soon after a red alert was sounded in the village, with the appearance of the nine tailed fox that quickly began to devastate Konoha.
Fear had gripped him as he saw the devastation, even as he comprehend fully that he had lost someone he loved. Years of experience however kept his emotions at bay even as he gathered the Anbu to leap into battle.
Reports had been filtering in, of the Fourth Hokage, Minato, husband of Kushina, fighting with an unknown masked man throughout the village while fending off the nine tailed fox. Since Kushina had been the container of the nine tailed fox, the fact that Minato was fighting off an unknown assailant right now must meant that the assailant had something to do with how the nine tailed fox was freed from Kushina’s control.
Sarutobi had tried to led ninjas to intervene in the battle, but was forced to divert his attention away when the nine tailed fox began to move towards Konoha, destroying anything and anyone in his way. His rescue efforts was further delayed when a group of masked ninjas appeared on the battlefield, engaging the Anbu in battle.
As Sarutobi fought off several masked nin that was closed to Jonin level, he saw in the distance the appearance of Minato on top of the Toad Boss as he faced off the nine tailed fox. There had been a fierce battle, before the giant form of the nine tailed fox was bond by large golden chains of chakra. Relief filled Sarutobi, Kushina was the only one with the chakra chain bloodline, she was somehow still alive.
Killing the last of the masked nin that had appeared, Sarutobi rushed to where the nine tailed fox remained bonded, his Anbu quickly following behind him. He was swiftly closing in when the nine tailed fox vanished with a cry of rage. By the time Sarutobi reached the crater where he last saw the nine tailed fox, the only sign of Minato and Kushina was a large pool of blood.
His blood running cold at the sight, Sarutobi quickly barked out his orders.
“Spread out and search for the Fourth Hokage and Kushina Uzumaki.” Sarutobi ordered his Anbu sternly. “They must have retreated to safety but they are seriously injured, we need to get to them fast!”
As his Anbu vanished into the winds, Sarutobi’s made a promise to quickly locate Minato and Kushina, to ensure Konoha would survive this ordeal, before letting himself grieve for his wife’s death.
There was still a lot to do, and the village… must always come first.
OoooO
Author’s Notes and Disclaimer:
I do not own Spiderman characters or Naruto characters. This is just a work of fanfiction. I own nothing and is not making any profit out of this fiction.
OoooO
Chapter 1 : Emergence of the Bloodline
The first four years had been hell. Life at an orphanage was not the life he had planned for himself. But he was still a weak baby, and later on, a toddler that had to depend on the adults for food. He also came to know more about this world he was in. By the time he had reached four years old, he realized he was not on Earth anymore. One part was because he had slowly picked up the strange language that the adults spoke in his early three years.
Peter could now understand their conversations, but most of the spoken sentences did not make sense until a group of performing ninjas had come to the orphanage to perform for the children during some festival. They had done several impossible things with various handseals. Stuff like summoning water clones of themselves, vanishing and reappearing somewhere else in the blink of an eye.
These were things that were impossible for the people of Earth to do but apparently not so impossible for the people of this world. In a childish voice, he had asked the matron how they could summon fire dragons or create walls from the earth. The matron had patiently explained that they were ninjas who were able to manipulate chakra to accomplish these impossible feats.
It was then another child had spoke up with more questions but the Matron had ignored him coldly. Peter turned and found that it was Naruto, the baby who was in his cot the night he had first came into this world. Somehow, the adults at the orphanage continually treat the young boy with dislike and contempt, even though Peter had never seen Naruto done anything to deserve it. Influenced by the attitudes of the adults, the rest of the children slowly began to treat the young boy with the same level of disgust. Naruto became a virtual outcast in the orphanage.
Peter had quietly kept his distance, knowing and hating his dependence on the adults at the orphanage and knew that he could not antagonize said adults, at least not when he still could not protect himself. So he had kept a silent watch on Naruto, playing with him when no one would, passing him leftovers he had saved from his own dinner whenever the adults tried to punish Naruto for whatever small slights he had done to them by not giving him dinner.
The last straw was when Peter found a group of five year old bullies ganging up on Naruto who was playing by himself at that time. The Matron had taken one look and silently left the room without a backward glance. Peter did not miss the thinly veiled satisfaction on her face when she left. The bullies by them had begun to kick and punched the young four year old who had crouched on the floor whimpering. The rest of the toddlers looked at the scene with no little amount of fear that they would be targeted next.
Peter’s eyes narrowed. Picking up a play block he hit one of the boys in the head with a solid thump.
“Stop that!” Peter cried out, throwing caution to the wind. Throughout the three years he found that he was slowly regaining his strength and stamina. He was not super strong, but his small three year old body packs the power and strength of a six years old. It was also enough to crack the head of one of the bullies with his flying block. Peter’s eyesight had also became sharper, resulting in his unerring accuracy as he began throwing whatever toys he could get his hands on at the bullies.
The bullies cried and jumped around to avoid his flying projectiles which hit them with painful thumps and surprising accuracy. He was able to keep them at a distance for a while, but Peter soon found himself out of toys. He watched in dread as the bruised bullies walked towards him menacingly. Peter stood up, tiny fists curled as he prepared to fight. The odds were not good, one little old him and four bullies bigger and stronger than him combined.
The first bully to reach him raised a fist to strike at him. Peter braced himself to duck and was surprised when a white blur tackled the bully to the ground. He looked into the serious eyes of Naruto who picked himself up from the bully. He was crying and there were bruises on his arms and face but the little one was determined.
“You my friend.” Naruto said in his simple language.
Peter looked at Naruto in surprise and was a bit touched. Naruto like most of the toddlers could only speak broken sentences, and their thought processes were still immature. Peter was an exception who was looked on by the adults in the orphanage with no small pride at his mastery of the spoken language.
Peter reached out a hand and ruffled Naruto’s hair.
“We fight.” He said, knowing that Naruto probably still did not understand what the word ‘fight’ means.
He launched himself at the bullies and Naruto’s face brightened in understanding as he did the same.
Their determination did not help them however, not with four who were stronger than them. By the time the matron returned, Naruto spotted a black eye and more bruises while Peter had a split lip and several reddish brown bruises as well. The four bullies however had fared no better, most with surface injuries on their bodies.
Peter stood protectively over Naruto as the matron neared. For a moment the matron looked at their battered forms in shock, then a flicker of emotion passed across her face. Guilt, confusion and a bit of self loathing.
She said nothing however as she rounded up the injured children and began treating their wounds. That incident however caused a change in the way the matron treated Naruto. She no longer gave him cold stares or disgusted look, but she avoided him for the most part as if he was a bad memory to be forgotten. The bullies also stopped bothering Peter and Naruto. And that’s how the friendship between Naruto and Peter began.
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Two Months later…
Peter looked on with interest at the old man who had come to visit Naruto. Out of all the adults, he was the only one that had treated Naruto with continual love and concern. Peter had seen the old man a few times at the orphanage before that, but this was the first time he had taken note of the man.
All the adults at the orphanage treated the old man with respect calling him “Hoka-age” something. It was one word that he still could not understand. Peter watched quietly to make sure that the old man would not ill treat Naruto before resuming his drawing.
When the Matron had introduced them to pencil and paper, Peter had jumped at the chance of doing something intelligent again. He had proceed to draw people and things he remembered from his past, of his past life in New York.
The adults in particular had exclaimed at his detailed and well drawn drawings, naming him a young prodigy. Peter did not mind, he was going nuts pretending to be an ordinary four year old playing with the toy blocks. He hoped that the adults would gradually allow him to read the books and scrolls in the orphanage’s library.
“That’s a very nice picture. Though a very strange bridge.” A voice said behind him.
Peter turned and grinned at the old man who had wandered over. Naruto was at his side clutching the old man’s hand.
“It’s a bridge.” Peter said. He had drawn the Golden Gate bridge. Even though he had never been there, he had seen pictures of it. Mary Jane had showed him photos of it enough times that he remembered what it looked like. Peter could still remember Mary Jane saying she wanted to visit San Francisco with him one day. Of course, there was no chance of that now.
“A bridge made of metal from what I can tell from the picture.” The old man said in an amused voice. “I am not sure if that will be possible but you have quite the imagination don’t you?”
“I love drawing.” Peter said with a shrug. “I want to read too but the matron wouldn’t let me.”
The old man bend down and stared into his eyes. Peter looked back determinedly, something in his eyes must have convinced the old man because the elderly man smiled. “Ah.. a child eager for knowledge, that’s rare. I’ll speak with the matron for you. I think she’s just afraid you’ll mess up the books and scrolls. Books and scrolls are hard to get for an orphanage you know.”
“I’ll take care of them. I promise.” Peter said quickly.
“Very well then, I’ll hold you to the promise.” The old man then bent down and whispered to Peter as if phrasing a question. “I heard you are Naruto’s friend?”
Peter nodded as Naruto looked shyly at him. “He is my friend.”
“Ah… good good.” The old man nodded in satisfaction. “You seemed mature for your age. Take care of Naruto for me will you?”
“I’ll.” Peter promised, feeling that somehow he had passed a test.
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Three Years later…
“Peter! Hurry, I think the show’s starting.” Naruto whispered as they creep around the walls of the orphanage. Today was their birthdays, the day when both of them were born into this world. Peter’s thought drifted to the date of another of his birthday and quickly shook his head, the past was the past.
It was Naruto who had suggested that they sneak outside to look at the annual festival, one which the children at the orphanage were never allowed to join. The festival was one that celebrated the defeat of the Kyubbi, a nine tailed fox demon of immerse powers.
The Fourth Hokage was the one that had used his life to defeat it. Peter still remembered how the matron had told them the story while showing them hand drawn pictures of the Fourth Hokage who had looked very familiar. In fact, whenever he looked at the pictures of the Fourth Hokage, his memory flashed back to the blond haired man who had died after leaving Naruto in his crib.
Of course, according to the matron, the Fourth Hokage had died out in the battlefield so that man could not have been him. But the nagging feeling that the Fourth Hokage looked familiar remained at the back of his mind. There was also the fact that the Third Hokage regularly visited Naruto to check on him. Peter now knew that the Hokages were the highest ranking ninjas in the village of Konoha and that the old man who kept visiting Naruto was the Third hokage. He could not help but wonder what Naruto’s relationship was with the Third Hokage.
“Naruto, maybe we shouldn’t.” Peter said trying to be the sensible one. They were seven years old, any kind of trouble could came upon them in the middle of the night in strange streets.
“Come on Peter, we’ve never been to a festival before. Matron brought the other kids to them last year but not us.” Naruto pleaded his eyes opening wide.
Peter paused and sighed, Naruto knew that Peter could not say no to him when he use the puppy dog eyes on him. But what Naruto said was also true. The matron had refused to bring Naruto to the festival last year and Peter had elected to stay behind with his friend to make sure Naruto did not have to spend the festival alone. It was also part of the reason why Peter was worried about venturing to the festival with no adults around to protect them. There was something about Naruto that most of the adults seemed to hate, even though Peter could never understand why. Even though the matron no longer hated Naruto, Peter distinctively remembered how worried she had seemed last year about bringing Naruto to the festival.
Naruto was a hyper but polite child and not born with vindictive tendencies as some of the children in the orphanage seemed to be. That’s why Peter had stuck with Naruto throughout these years. In fact they had exchanged a ceremony under the willow tree behind the orphanage during their sixth birthday. To Naruto, they were now blood brothers.
“Alright, but let’s be careful ok…. Naruto! Wait for me!” Peter shouted as he hurried after his sworn brother.
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The festival was unlike any others that they had ever seen. There were lots of people and stalls selling food and wares. There were also a lot of traveling ninjas doing all kinds of stunt. Naruto and Peter pushed through the crowds looking at everyone and everything in awe.
“This is great! We should come out again next year!” Naruto said as they found a spot on a fence and sat on it. Peter however was not paying attention to the performance. He had narrowed his eyes as he saw the odd looks some of the villagers were giving them. The villagers were not bothering them however, so Peter put them out of his mind.
As the night goes on, Peter gradually relaxed. They stood on the fence watching some wandering ninjas perform at the village square. Peter was amazed at all the chakra techniques that they could do. The people of this world sure was amazing, manipulating the elements as though it was nothing. Naruto and Peter watched the performance for hours before Naruto began to tire. It was after they decided to slip back to the orphanage that Peter realized something was wrong.
They were walking through a secluded part of the town when sounds of running feet and shouts sounded behind them. Peter’s spider sense started going off and he grabbed Naruto’s arm and started running.
“Peter, why are we running?” Naruto gasped as Peter pulled Naruto along with him.
“Something is wrong, I can feel it.” Peter answered without pause.
Naruto gulped and put more speed in his legs. He trusted Peter’s instincts after all the years of being with him. Naruto knew that Peter would always had a sixth sense when something bad was about to happen.
“There he is! That’s the fox bastard!” Someone cried as a mob of angry and drunk villagers came into view behind them.
“Demon!” Someone shrieked. Peter grabbed Naruto and ducked to the side as a glass bottle of alcohol smashed into the road beside them.
“He’s with another brat! They’re together! Demons in cohort! Get them!” The man leading the mob cried.
Naruto and Peter gasped as they tried to run away. Peter might have been able to escape, but Naruto being a seven year old lacked the strength and stamina to outdistance the mob for long. Naruto gave a cry as something smashed into his back with force and he fell onto the ground.
“The fox brat is down! Get him!” Someone cried as the mob charged forward.
Peter grimly placed himself in front of Naruto. He did not know what was going on, but he knew he had to buy time for Naruto to escape. The mob was after Naruto and it seemed they were out for his blood.
“Naruto, get up quickly! We have to run….” He did not have time to continue as the mob smashed into him with wooden clubs and wine bottles.
Peter fought them off with cold efficiency. Throughout the years, his strength had grown even though he was still not as strong as when he was Spiderman. He had the punching power of a sixteen year old but that was not going to do much good against a mob of angry villagers. His only saving grace was his enhanced agility but even then, he could not defend against attacks from all directions. Peter stumbled as he was knocked backwards by heavy blows.
Behind Peter, Naruto cried out in pain. A large portion of the mob had swarmed over to Naruto while Peter was down, and they were kicking and punching the kid. Peter felt sick in his stomach, how could the villagers do this to them! They were just children!
“Get off Naruto!” Peter shouted in rage as everything went red. He had never felt so helpless and angry before. “Get off him!”
Peter pushed at the villagers with all his might, sending a few to the ground at his sudden increase in strength. One of them raised a glass bottle menacingly to smash down at him. Peter instinctively stretched out his hand in a vain attempt to block it.
SNARK!
Peter blinked at the webbing that had shot out of his right wrist into the eye of his attacker. The man stumbled as the ball of sticky and tough spider webbing blinded him. Peter drew back his hands and noticed the small barely noticeable webbings flaps that had appeared on his wrists. His webbings are back! Somehow he had all his spider powers again. It was just too bad his strength was dependent on his age and body physique. Peter looked grimly at his attackers, at least now he had a weapon to use against the mob.
He shot a webbing to tangle the legs of several of the villagers sending them tumbling down. He then proceed to pull the rest of the villagers from Naruto with strands of his strong webbings. His spider senses screamed and Peter quickly twisted around, but not before something heavy slammed onto him. Peter crashed down onto the ground in pain as one of the villagers landed on top of him and held him down.
“You’re with the fox demon, your life ends here.” The man said with a maniac look in his eyes. Peter could smell the alcohol in his breath. He gasped as the man formed a handseal and slammed his hand onto Peter’s chest. All of Peter’s strength immediately left his body as he lay on the ground paralyzed. He could not even summon enough energy to lift his numb arms.
Peter could only watch in horror as the man pinned him down with one hand, a knife in another. To his left, he heard Naruto screaming in agony. With what little strength left, Peter turned his head. Through an opening in the mob, Peter saw Naruto’s pale bleeding face as a knife slashed down at him.
It was happening again. He was going to die and this time Naruto was going to die with him. Despair filled Peter, but he refused to go down without a fight. He refused to die like a … helpless little kid… Something burst inside him, an emotion dark and shimmering with anger, a trembling rage that seared through him.
Anger… And then there was a voice.
Do you wish for power, chosen one?
It was a voice gentle yet at the same time terrifying. It echoed in his mind, bringing with it a sense of great power.
Peter had no strength to speak. But there were other ways of conveying his emotions. With his dwindling strength, he sent back a whisper of thought.
I wish to live. Give me the power to protect my friends. Peter screamed into the depths of his mind.
Time seemed to slow down as Peter watched the ninja on top of him slashed down with his knife. He knew that he was going to die yet his human nature still held a sliver of hope. Hope that somehow, someone would answer his prayers and save them.
Then I grant you your wish. The voice said with approval.
Peter felt the knife piercing his chest and then….
BOOM!
Something large and black appeared behind the ninja and swept him off Peter. It then proceed to lay waste to the rest of the mob.
When the military police arrived at the scene, they found several severely injured villagers and one ninja scattered on the streets. They also found two young boys bleeding to death and a giant black spider standing watch over them.
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Chapter Two : Adoptions and Revealations
Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, was trembling with barely restrained rage. He had just thrown several villagers into jail and stripped one chunin of his rank before sending him to the Anbu to be punished. The visit to the hospital after all the administrative work was completed had confirmed Sarutobi’s fear. He had watched the doctors rushed to patch up the two heavily injured young boys, tried to stop their blood from spilling onto the marble tiles of the hospital.
Sarutobi had then returned to his office, weary and heart sick, unable to do much else but to prepare for the meeting of council that was to come.
Someone knocked on his door. His secretary entered, a chunin who had requested for a desk job.
“Hokage-sama.” His secretary said. “Fugaku Uchiha had ordered an emergency clan heads meeting.”
“Damn those bloody Uchihas.” Sarutobi groaned, it figured that Fugaku was the one calling for a council meeting after what had happened.
This was the worse part about being a Hokage. The political maneuvering of some of the larger clans sickened him, and he had a feeling he knew why the emergency meeting was called. It would not be because two young boys were attacked. No, not many of the current clan heads would bother meeting up to discuss about some random violence. Rather, it was what had happened during the attack which would concern the council.
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In a rare event of unity, the clan leaders were assembled in the clan hall by the time Sarutobi arrived. The Third Hokage looked around him coolly, Fugaku was probably the one who had managed to gather everyone to the hall on such short notice. After all the military police were the ones who had found Peter and Naruto and the military police were mostly made up of Uchihas.
Sarutobi glanced around the council grimly as he sat down at his seat which was at the head of the table.
“Why was this council called?” Sarutobi asked, a rhetorical question as he had already suspected the answer.
Fugaku cleared his throat. “It has come to the clan chiefs’ attention that a new bloodline has emerged in Konoha. All the clan chiefs are gathered here today to address this issue.”
Sarutobi’s lips pressed together grimly. Apparently a new bloodline was more important than the fact that two children were seriously hurt by a mob tonight.
“Yes it is true. Myou Reiyou who was known as Peter in the orphanage, was diagnosed by the head doctor at the hospital of having a bloodline that is closely tied to the spiders.” Sarutobi said. There was no use hiding this fact, the results would be widely known by tomorrow, all bloodlines in Konoha had to be registered publicly.
“An insect bloodline then.” The head of the Aburame house mused. “And a boy with a funny name… where is the boy in question?”
“He’s still under treatment in the hospital for his injuries. According to the matron at the orphanage, he insisted to be called by the name Peter from the day he was able to speak coherently.” Sarutobi said trying to answer the question calmly.
“I’ve heard that a chunin instigated an attack on the boy and Uzumaki Naruto. Has the chunin in question been punished?” Shikaku Nara asked with a frown.
Sarutobi nodded to the man in question with a tense smile. Out of the gathered clans in Konoha, the Nara, Yamanaka and Akimichi were some of the few clans that did not actively bear bad feelings for the demon container. They had their casualties during the Kyubbi attack, but the Nara were a family of thinkers and they knew better than to place blame on a boy innocent of any wrong doings. The Yamanaka and Akimichi, staunch supporters of the Nara, followed the Nara clan’s example.
“He has been stripped of his rank and sent to the Anbu for questioning.” Sarutobi said in a harsh voice
“I see.” The Aburame clan head said with a satisfied nod before continuing. “If I may ask, what are Myou Reiyou’s powers in question?”
“According to the tests, Myou Reiyou possesses enhanced speed, strength, and senses along with the ability to emit a strong and resilient web like substance. He is also capable of healing faster than the average human. The doctors admit that there might still be some other unknown abilities that they have not discovered.” Sarutobi said observing the gathered council as he made his next statement. “He also possesses an innate summon for the spiders.”
There was a startled silence as the clan heads stared at him.
“There has not been a case of a person possessing the ability to summon without signing a contract for decades.” The head of the Inuzaka clan said in a strained voice. “And I’ve never heard of a summons for spiders.”
“As you’re all aware, the current summoning contracts all over the world always began with one person who was somehow given the ability to summon their own particular creature. No one really knows why the first summoners were able to do what they did.” Sarutobi said in a firm voice. “I think you’re all well aware that Myou Reiyou might be the first summoner for the spiders and only he can say who he would pass the contract to.”
“Well that’s well and good Hokage-sama, but let’s move on to the important thing.” Fugaku cut in abruptly. “According to the public records, Myou Reiyou is the lone survivor of his family, the rest were wiped out eight years ago in the Kyubbi attack. Seeing that he’s a bloodline wielder, the law states that…”
“I am aware of the law Fugaku.” Sarutobi cut in with a frown. “I was the one that created the law on bloodline wielders.”
“Then you’re aware that since he’s the only survivor of his bloodline and also a minor who cannot fend for himself, special care must be taken for his survival.” Fugaku said with a smile. “On behalf of the Uchiha clan, I would like to take him in as a member of my clan.”
Sarutobi’s eyes narrowed. He knew it would come to this. The Uchihas had a thirst for power and would not settle for second best. Now that a new bloodline had emerged together with a new summoning contract, it would be in each of the clans’ interest to take in the child, and hopefully marry the child in within their clans.
“I object.” The head of the Aburame clan said, glaring at Fugaku. “Seeing that the child’s abilities are of an insect type bloodline, it would be prudent to leave that child in the care of the Aburame clan where we can provide more understanding for his powers.”
“The Uchihas would be able to provide for the boy better. We know thousands of jutsus…” Fugaku said in a strong persuading voice.
Sarutobi tuned out the rest of the conversation as the rest of the clan heads began joining in the arguments, the only ones standing neutral were the Inuzaka, Nara, Yamanaka and Akimichi clan heads.
There was a knock on the door and the archivist in charge of the Konoha’s public records walked in. He made his way to the Hokage, passing him a piece of paper before leaving the room. Looking down at the information written on the paper, Sarutobi smiled.
“It seemed that I’ve found a way to resolve this problem.” Sarutobi said with satisfaction. The clan heads paused in their arguments, turning to look at him. “I must pose the question to you. Do all of you agree that Myou Reiyou should be taken in by one of the clans instead of surviving in the orphanage?”
“Of course Hokage-sama. We can’t have a repeat of what happened today. This boy bears a new bloodline and a new summon, he must be protected!” Fugaku argued.
“Very well then. Shikaku do you recall Tamase Nara?” Sarutobi turned to the Nara clan head.
“My great aunt? What does she have to do with this?” Shikaku Nara asked.
“She married Natan Reiyou, grandfather of Myou Reiyou.” Sarutobi said with a smile, seeing Shikaku’s eyes suddenly light up in understanding. “Myou Reiyou is distantly related to the Nara clan and as such, you will be allowed first choice for the custody of the child. Do you accept?”
Off to the side, Fugaku spluttered his protest while the Aburame clan head remained seated as he silently watched the proceedings.
“I see… this is a troublesome situation…” Shikaku Nara said with a sigh but quickly straightened himself as the Hokage gave him a sharp look that promised hell if the Nara did not go along with what the Hokage had planned. “Er… Truthfully I have no problem with it… I would need to discuss this matter with my clan first, but I foresee no objections on their part.”
“The boy might be related to the Nara clan, but Hokage-sama…” Fugaku began in a hard voice but was cut off by Sarutobi.
“By law of Konoha, the Nara clan is allowed first choice to the boy based on their distant blood ties.” Sarutobi said firmly. “You know that very well. As such, this will be the end of the matter regarding custody of the boy. Is there anything else that needs to be brought to my attention right now?”
“Yes Hokage-sama.” The Aburame clan head spoke up. “With you and Shikaku’s permission, I would like to assist in the training of the boy…”
Sarutobi smiled as he listened to the Aburame clan head’s proposal. One problem was solved, and a political mess was avoided. At least with the boy cared for by the Nara clan, he would be out of the hands of the Uchiha clan who might use him as a political pawn.
With the matter at hand settled, Sarutobi’s thoughts drifted to the two children in hospital right now, especially Naruto. He hoped that they would be alright.
<>
Six days later…
“Peter, Peter! Wake up!”
“Hmm… Let me sleep.” Peter groaned as someone began shaking him.
“Ojii-san!” Naruto’s voice called out. “Why is Peter like that? He’s been sleeping for days!”
“Naruto, most people heal much slower than you do.” Sarutobi’s voice said patiently. “Peter is already healing faster than normal people.”
“You mean we’re special?” Naruto asked in astonishment.
Peter snatched the pillow under his head and threw it in the direction of Naruto’s voice.
“Omph!” Naruto cried out, his voice muffled by the pillow.
“I can’t sleep with you chatting here!” Peter complained as he got up. “I swear you come here every morning just to annoy me!”
“That’s because you’re still in the hospital. I got well on my second day here.” Naruto whined. “But it’s you sixth day here already and you still have to stay in bed. The orphanage is very boring without you.”
Peter sighed, understanding Naruto’s feelings. Even though no one had dared to treat Naruto badly at the orphanage anymore, they had the tendency to give him a wide berth, leaving the boy to his own devices.
“Well I am trying my best to recover.” Peter said turning to the Hokage. “Hokage-sama, can I leave the hospital today? The wound is almost healed now.” Peter said tapping the knife wound on his chest.
“Well it just happened that I had a talk with the doctor just now. You’ll most probably be allowed to leave if there are no unforeseen problems.” Sarutobi said with a smile. He gave a sigh as his face changed. “But there are some things that we need to talk about. Naruto, you remember Shikaku-san who came with us to the hospital? He should be talking to the doctor, get him here alright?”
“Alright Ojii-san!” Naruto said cheerfully as he ran out of the room.
Peter observed the Hokage with a sinking feeling, something about the look on the old man’s face made him weary.
“Is it about the villagers? I already said Naruto and I did nothing to provoke them and I am really sorry about hurting them, even though I don’t remember summoning the spider you told me about.” Peter said in a rush, finishing off his words hotly. “And they do deserve what they got!”
“Now Peter, calm down. This isn’t about the villagers, though I’ve seen to it that the people responsible are punished.” Sarutobi said in a reassuring voice. “But the emergence of your unique abilities must be carefully cultivated… Ah Shikaku! You’re here, that’s good.”
A man wearing a fishnet vest in his early thirties walked into the room with Naruto trailing behind curiously.
“Hokage-sama, I assume this is Myou Reiyou.” The man named Shikaku said looking at Peter.
“My name is Peter.” Peter corrected turning back to look at the Hokage anxiously. “So what is it that you want to tell me?”
The Hokage gave Naruto a look and coughed uncomfortably, then meet Peter’s eyes.
“Konoha is a village of ninjas, as such we look upon people with bloodline limits as treasures of Konoha.” Hokage began, though from his solemn tone Peter knew that the news was not going to be anything good. “Peter, you have an unique bloodline limit, added with the fact that you are the first summoner of the Spiders, the council had agreed to put you under the protection of ninjas who are capable of looking after you. Shikaku is your distant uncle, by the decree of the village council, from today onwards you’ll be living with him.”
Naruto paled at the news while Peter just stared at the Hokage in dread.
“Don’t worry Peter.” Shikaku was saying. “The Nara clan has agreed on this, from now on, you’ll be one of us.”
Peter looked at Naruto who was unusually quiet at the news. His eyes were downcast, staring at the floor.
“No.” Peter said loudly, causing Naruto to look up at him shock. “I am not leaving Naruto behind at the orphanage. We are sworn brothers now, and I am not going to go somewhere else and leave him alone.”
There was a light twinkling in the Hokage’s eyes as though he had expected Peter’s disagreement. When the Hokage spoke however, it was in a serious voice. “I understand your concern Peter, but unfortunately, your adoption is by the mandate of the council. It cannot be lightly put aside.”
“Then I’ll run away.” Peter said with a huff. “I am not leaving Naruto behind.”
“This is troublesome.” Shikaku said with a sigh. “Look, there’s no need to talk about running away. Naruto can also come join us as a honorable member of the family.”
“Shikaku, are you sure?” Hokage asked with a start. “Your Clan…”
“My wife will be fine with it. As for the clan, I’ll deal with them.” Shikaku told the Hokage rubbing his forehead tiredly. He turned to face Peter and Naruto. “Well let’s get Peter out of the hospital and I’ll bring the two of you to meet my family.”
“You really mean it? You’re really taking both of us in?” Naruto asked, his eyes shining with unshed tears.
“I am not a man who goes back on my word.” Shikaku answered seriously. “Now, let’s see about getting you two some new clothes…”
<>
Shikamaru looked at the two boys dubiously, his father had brought the two of them home and told him that they are both Shikamaru’s brothers now, part of the Nara clan. His mother had took it in stride and ordered him to take the two of them to the bathhouse to clean up, before pulling father into the kitchen.
Shikamaru could hear raised voices, but he could not make out what they were saying.
“This is the bathhouse.” Shikamaru said pausing outside the structure in question. “You can clean up here.”
“Wow! Your own bath house. This is so nice!” The boy called Naruto said excitedly, rushing inside with his new clothes.
The other boy, Peter, gave Shikamaru a nod and smiled. “Thank you.”
Shikamaru looked as the door shut behind them and pondered. That Naruto kid is just too loud and excitable, living with him would probably be a headache, but Peter on the other hand seemed the total opposite of Naruto, calm and mature. It would certainly be nice to have someone mature to talk with for a change…
<>
“Shikaku! What do you think you’re doing bringing that boy back with you?” Yoshino hissed in anger. “You know how the elders feel about him!”
Shikaku rubbed his eyes tiredly. “It was the only way to get Peter Reiyou to join the clan. He refused to leave Naruto behind. Apparently they’re quite close.”
“I thought the boy is called Myou Reiyou? And that isn’t a reason Shikaku!” Yoshino said agitatedly. “Have you given any thought about how the social standing of the clan will be affected by adopting that boy as one of our own?”
“Myou Reiyou insisted on being called by the name Peter and I’ve agreed with him we’ll continue to let him use it.” Shikaku said wearily. “Don’t worry dear, I am the clan head, I’ll explain my decision to adopt Naruto to the elders.”
“You maybe the clan head now, but another of your cousins can be easily chosen to take over your position!” Yoshino said glaring at him. “Honestly, I don’t mind taking the boy in, but why give him false hopes when you know that the elders will force you to put him back into the orphanage anyway?”
Shikaku looked at his wife then sighed. “Because now I have the excuse to adopt him without anyone suspecting my intentions, and because Naruto is the only son of the Fourth Hokage.”
<>
The elders were seated in a circle as well as the other council members of the Nara clan. Shikaku walked up to them, bowing slightly before sitting at the chair reserved for the clan head.
“I think you know why you’re called here Shikaku.” One of the clan elder said in a raspy voice. “Let us dispense with the formalities and explain to us why you chose to invite trouble to the clan by adopting the demon container.”
“Very well elder.” Shikaku said dryly as he started passing around the documents in his hands. “The information I am passing to you now is a SS rank top secret. It was one that I uncovered after many months of research. Anyone that betrayed this secret will be put to death by the clan.”
“What!” Shikaku saw one of his uncles looking at him in shock. “Shikaku, what have you done? The clan never held any secrets of that high level before.”
Shikaku looked at the council members to make sure he had their attention. “I’ll explain in time. Elders, do you still remember, that Kushina, wife of the Fourth Hokage, was supposedly pregnant and was about to go into labor during the time Kyubi attacked the village?”
“Of course we remembered. It was such an auspicious event that was ruined by the arrival of that demon!” One of the elder spat. “It is another reason why the demon container must never be allowed a place in our clan!”
There were a few loud voices as a few of the council members voiced their agreements. Shikaku looked coldly at them.
“I’ve always wondered. What happened to the baby? The Third Hokage had told everyone that the baby died, along with Kushina during the labor. Which coincidentally happened the night when the Kyubi attacked our village.” Shikaku said tonelessly. “There was never any funeral for the baby and as time passed, he was forgotten as Konoha struggled to rebuild from the Kyubi attack. I felt something wasn’t right and weeks after the attack, I did some digging on my own, searching hospital records and the old residence of the Fourth Hokage.”
“Shikaku, you know I will always stand by your decisions. But you’re not making a strong argument for your case which is the adoption of Naruto Uzumaki.” One of his closer cousins cut in. “What does the dead baby of the Fourth Hokage have to do with anything?”
“Read the reports I’ve passed to you. The Nara clan had always pride itself on being a family of thinkers and keepers of knowledge.” Shikaku said bowing his head looking down. “You can come to your own conclusion on the reports yourself.”
Several of the council members shoot him dubious looks but everyone began flipping through the reports. Shikaku closed his eyes, remaining in silent meditation.
“This!…”
“Oh my god…”
“This cannot be true!” Several of the council members began crying out as they finished the reports. There was chaos as the council members began to turn to each other in fierce debate.
“Why would I lie to you about a matter of such importance? Why do you think I said before I hand out the reports that this is a SS rank secret?” Shikaku said, his calm collected voice cutting through the loud and agitated shouts of the council members.
“But if this information is true, why would the Third Hokage lie to us… unless…” The elder who had spoke up paused before continuing his sentence, understanding on his face. “The Fourth Hokage had made many enemies in his life. If news that the child of the Fourth was still alive…”
“There would have been many assassination attempts, which without the Fourth or his wife around to protect the child, the baby would have died sooner or later… Not even the Anbu could be around every hour of the day to safe guard him.” Another council member finished for him. “But Shikaku how can you be sure that the information you’ve found is accurate?”
“In the brashness of my youth, after I’ve suspected a cover up, I’ve broke into the Hokage’s secret library to uncover the truth… Those are copies of what I’ve found there.” Shikaku admitted wearily.
“Shikaku! If the Third Hokage finds out about this, the Nara clan could be accused of treason!” One of the elders said harshly.
“I’ve no intention of letting the clan members know about this secret that I’ve uncovered in the first place.” Shikaku said tiredly. “Originally, after I realized the amount of danger this information could bring, I had thought to take it to my grave with me. But then I had a chance to adopt Naruto Uzumaki and the clan had wanted to know why I did it… After much thinking, I decided it’s best if the clan knew the truth. It’ll save us all a lot of trouble and explanations.
I knew that no matter what flaws each of us have, we Naras as a whole are loyal to clan and village. I am sure you’ve not forgotten the debt that the Nara clan and many others owned to the Fourth Hokage. I trust that all of you can keep the secret that I’ve passed to you and make the right judgments.”
There was an awkward silence and for a moment, no one said anything. Then one of the elder spoke in guilt.
“Who would have ever thought that the demon container is the child of our most important hero? No wonder the Third Hokage had always told the citizens that the child is the legacy of the Fourth.” the elder said downcast, the fire within him died out. “None of us had guessed the truth… To think of how we’ve treated the child all those years… The Nara clan will always do the right thing, I will stand by your decision to adopt the child. It’s the least we can do for the memory of the Fourth Hokage. By protecting his son, Naruto Uzumaki!”
As the rest of the council members voiced their agreement, Shikaku gave a small smile feeling a load lifted off him. At least the burden of the secret was not his alone to bear now, and Naruto Uzumaki would find a home with the Naras, for as long as he lived.
<>
Sarutobi gazed down at his crystal ball, where the image of the meeting of the Nara clan council was imposed in it. The telescope jutsu was one of his creation which could transfer images and sounds of distance events.
The Third Hokage shook his head wearily. Who would have thought that Shikaku would have uncovered the secret of Naruto’s birth and kept it hidden for so long? And now, all the Nara clan’s council members were in the know. If it had been any other clans, Sarutobi might have been worried. But of all the clans, the Naras were the least ambitious and also one of the few clans that were deadly loyal to him and the Fourth. There was also the fact that of all the ninjas in this generation, Shikaku was one of the few that were trustworthy.
Sarutobi reflected on what he had seen. The changes in the attitudes of the Nara clan members after they had known of Naruto’s lineage made him wonder if he had made the right choice, to keep Naruto’s birthright a secret.
But then he thought about the Uchiha clan who would have attempted to take guardianship of Naruto if the truth was known. The numerous enemies of the Fourth who would have came after Naruto seeking his death. Deep down, Sarutobi knew that the reasons he had kept Naruto’s birth a secret still held true. Perhaps when Naruto’s all grown up and able to take care of himself, then and only then would Sarutobi release the secret of Naruto’s birth to the public.
With a command, Sarutobi undo the jutsus holding the images and sounds in the crystal ball. He would observe the Nara clan for a while longer to make sure that they did not make a wrong move. He would let them keep their secret for a while longer, and entrust Naruto to their care.
After all, trust had to begin somewhere, and it’s time that Naruto had a family willing to take care of him.
<>
Soft knocking sounded at his door. Sarutobi looked up as he set aside the pile of reports that he was looking through.
“Come in.” Sarutobi called out, wondering who it could be.
The door opened and a pink haired woman stepped in, adjusting her glasses nervously as she walked towards Saurtobi’s desk, stopping in front of him. Sarutobi recognized her as one of the assistant archivist in the Ninja Library.
“Hokage sama, here are the reports you requested.” The woman said placing the reports on the table as Sarutobi began reading through them. “Basically we were able to discover that Myou Reiyou was not the only Spider Summoner in history, he was however the first person to summon a Spider without a previous summoning contract. The clan Hiroyashi who originally lived in Wind Country, supposedly tricked a Lesser Spider Summoning contract from the Spiders two hundred years ago. According to the old histories, in retaliation for that trickery, the whole clan was cursed with a deformation bloodline. All direct descendants from the clan bear six or even eight hands in some cases.”
“I see…” Sarutobi said with a frown as he looked through the reports. “That’s strange, if they were a ninja clan, I should have at least heard of them, but I’ve no recollection of the existence of such a clan.”
“That’s because the clan secluded themselves after they were cursed.” The archivist said respectfully. “The last report we had of the clan was a note that the whole clan was wiped out after its leader angered the Wind Daimyo. Supposedly no more members of the clan survived the culling, that incident happened fifty years back, so it’s no surprise you’ve never heard of the clan.”
“Ah… that would explain why there’s no news of the clan.” Sarutobi said with a nod. “Good work. I’ll read through the report. You may leave now.”
“Thanks Hokage sama.” The archivist said as she left quietly, closing the door behind her.
Sarutobi stared at the reports, it certainly doesn’t seem like Peter has any relation with this Hiroyashi clan. The only thing similar those two had in common was the Spider summons. But one word in the reports bothered him. The words Lesser Spider Summon was clearly labeled. Does that mean that there’s Greater Spider Summons? Sarutobi shake his head, unable to imagine what that would mean. It does however set his heart at peace that Peter was the one that got the Spider summon and the spider bloodline. From the years he had observed Naruto growing up, Peter was a constant friend by Naruto’s side, almost like a brother in all but blood. With the prestige that Peter now gained and the friendship he has with Naruto, Naruto’s life would hopefully be better than before. Add in the fact that it’s the Nara clan who were now watching over the two of them, Sarutobi felt a sense of ease he had not felt in years.
“Hopefully, things would go smoothly from now on.” Sarutobi said in a small prayer as he returned to his paper work, setting aside the reports in his hands to be filed later.
<>
“This will be your room, Naruto and Peter.” Shikaku said as he led the two boys into their new room, Shikamaru was trailing after them with a bored look on his face. Upon his father’s orders, he had brought along his futon, dragging it after him. “I thought the two of you would prefer to be together since everything is still new to you. In the future if you want separate rooms, just let me know.”
“It’s alright Nara sir, Naruto and I like this room very much. Thank you for letting us stay here!” Peter spoke up as Naruto stared in awe at having their own rooms. Naruto had grown up in the orphanage dormitory all his life, and the idea of not sleeping in a room full of people sounded strange to him.
“Now Peter, we’ve gone through this before, drop the formalities and call me father, we’re family now.” Shikaku said in a mild rebuke as he pushed Shikamaru forward, handing Peter a clock. “Shikamaru will be sleeping in with you three for the night. I expect all of you to play nice and get to know each other. Lights out at ten got it?”
“Yes father.” Peter and Shikamaru chorused while Naruto continued to stare around, still dumbstruck at having a room of his own.
“Come on Naruto, let’s prepare our futons.” Peter said as he shifted the two futon laid out on the floor so Shikamaru would have a place to lay down his.
“Oh alright.” Naruto said as he quickly moved to help.
Preparing their sleeping area only took a few minutes, after which the three boys sat on their sleeping mats looking at each other.
“So what should we do now?” Shikamaru asked with a yawn. “We already introduced ourselves this afternoon.”
“Peter can tell a bedtime story.” Naruto spoke up eagerly, looking at Peter. “Peter’s really good at telling stories. He used to tell bedtime stories for everyone in the dormitory before we sleep every night.”
“Bedtime stories?” Shikamaru asked curiously, wondering what stories Peter knew.
“Alright then, if we’re going to be telling stories, the two of you better get into your futons.” Peter said with an air of an adult. Shikamaru gave a shrug before following Naruto’s example and crawled into his futon. “Alright, I’m going to tell you the story of Hansel and Gretel… Once upon a long time there was a evil witch…”
“What’s a witch?” Shikarmaru asked at the strange word.
“A witch is like a very old ninja hag who is a woman. Peter invented her.” Naruto said sagely from the side.
“Ah I see.” Shikamaru said as he fell silent, letting Peter continued the story.
“… The witch lived in a house made of cake and candy…” Peter continued in a soft voice as he told the familiar story of his world. “… and then Hansel and Gretel tricked the Witch into the oven and escaped and they lived happily ever after…”
Peter looked at the two boys by his side and smiled at the soft snores emitting from Naruto. Shikamaru was already fast asleep. For a moment he sat in the silence of the room, pondering his future. He now knew what he wanted to be when he grew up in this world. The ninjas in this world were those with power. He would become a ninja so that no one would ever be able to harm him or Naruto again. There was also the mystery of the giant spider that had protected them… As Peter crawled into his futon to sleep, his last thought was that he would find a way to call the spider again so that they can have a chat. He had so many questions he wanted to ask, like why he was in this world…
<>
Giant shadows creep in the great dome under the rolling sands of Wind Country. Hundreds of spiders gathered before the oldest of all their races, the Spider Sage.
“The greater and lesser spiders are gathered before you Sage of all Spiders.” The Boss spider said formally. Among all the gathered spiders she was the only one that reached the enormous height and width of the sage.
“Ah yes, it has been long since all of us have gathered together. Far too long…” The Spider Sage said with a sigh, her voice reaching to all in the great hollowed dome. “The last time we’ve gathered was eight years ago, when we’ve pool our essences to plead with the Primal Spider for help, to prevent the future we’ve seen from happening… And in the end our prayer was answered. The Primal Spider sent us one of its champions, a human male from another time and space, reborn as a baby. We’ve kept silent watch on him, and a week ago, Grienda, one of the spider scouts watching over our savior made contact with him. He has agreed to the contract, he is now our summoner, and his thread is ours’ to weave.”
“You are all summoned here so that we can begin the Great Weaving, to peer through the sands of time and all the possible futures, to use this new thread we’ve been given to prevent the future we’ve seen eight years past from happening.” The Spider Sage continued in a grim voice. “But before that, Grienda, I need you to go to the human world for one more task. Seek out the last survivor of the cursed clan who had tricked us centuries ago. Bring him to me. I have use for that soiled thread, he shall be part of the twenty that will change the future…”
<>
Orochimaru brushed the dirt of the run down village off his shirt with a grimace. If not for the report from his spy network, he would not be here. According to his intel, an orphan from the Hiroyashi clan was seen residing here. Orochimaru however did not want the child because of any humane purposes. No the object of his interest was the child’s bloodline that made him valuable in Orochimaru’s eyes. That child was supposedly the only one left in the world with the bloodline from the Hiroyashi clan.
Orochimaru licked his lips as his mouth widened in a smile at the thought. The child would make a fine experiment material, and if the bloodline proved inferior, he could always use the child as cannon fodder. Add in the fact that the child was supposedly an orphan and an outcast, he was probably wanting for attention. Orochimaru would only need to provide the child with the basic necessities and show some superficial kindness to mold that child into one of his many loyal soldiers.
Walking through the streets, he quickly sighted the child. The wide berth the villagers gave the boy, as well as the looks of disgust aimed at him helped Orochimaru pin point the boy’s location easily. The scrawny and dirty boy looked extremely out of place with his six hands as he sat in a corner begging for food, a look of despair and hopelessness on his face. Orochimaru smiled, the boy was already broken, that would make him all the more easier to manipulate.
He was about to stepped up to the boy when a black puff of smoke engulfed the boy. Screams erupted in the villager as the villagers sighted the giant black spider that had appeared, looming over the boy. Orochimaru froze as he stared at the spider summon, he was aware that the Hiroyashi clan had the summon, but he did not know the boy could use it. He doubted the boy even have the necessary chakra to do a summon at his age, so what was the spider summon doing here right now?
A clear melodic voice sounded in the air as the spider spoke to the boy who was staring at it in awe.
“Hiroyashi Kidoumaru, you’ve been summoned by the Spider Sage to the Sanctuary. Hold on to my leg and let’s be off from this place.” The spider said as it moved one of its legs closer to the boy.
Orochimaru’s eyes widened. He did not know what the Sanctuary was, but he did know that if he does not do something fast, the boy will escape from his control. As he threw an exploding tag out to distract the spider, Orochimaru rushed forward with chakra enhanced speed to make an attempt to grab the boy. Orochimaru was more than a little surprised when several balls of webbing shoot out from the spider summon, striking the exploding tag, sending it shooting off in another direction. Orochimaru in the meantime had to jump out of the way quickly to avoid the rest of the webbing attacks.
“This child does not belong to you, Summoner of Snakes.” The spider said in contempt as it eyed Orochimaru. “Stay out of the affairs of the Spiders, or we shall cut your thread from the great web.”
A wave of killing intent erupted from the Spider which flooded over Orochimaru before it disappeared in a puff of smoke, together with the boy.
Orochimaru’s eyes narrowed as he gave a frustrated hiss at the sight of his prey disappearing. Something major seemed to be a foot. It seems that he would need to do some research on the Spider summons to see what they were up to.
<>
The bacon sizzled on the pan as Yoshino bustled around in the kitchen preparing a breakfast for five. Though the Nara was a rich clan, like most of the ninja clans, they do not keep servants for fear of treachery. After all, who would really know if the servants were just spies sent to steal clan secrets? Larger clans like the Uchiha and the Hyuga used the weaker and non ninja members of their clans as servants, but it was a practice which the Nara clan frowned upon as a whole.
“You could help you know, you lazy bum.” Yoshino huffed as she slapped her husband’s head while he dozed on the table.
“Women are supposed to serve men…” Shikaku froze, jerking his head up as he realized what had just slipped out of his lips. “Ahh… I mean…”
Yoshino held the frying pan threateningly towards her husband as a twitch developed in her left eyelid.
“I am sorry, but I thought that you just said something about WOMEN SUPPOSED TO SERVE MEN?” Yoshino fumed as she glowered at her husband.
“I mean… I mean…” Shikaku trailed off as he stumbled over his words trying to think of something to appease his wife. “I mean you are the most wonderful, beautiful wife in the whole wide…”
BOOM!
The house shuddered as a loud explosion sounded from upstairs.
Yoshino’s anger instantly changed to concern as she looked at her husband.
“The boys!” Yoshino said as she rushed up the stairs, holding the frying pan threateningly in front of her. Shikaku quickly picked up several kitchen knives as he followed behind. Yoshino reached the boys’ room and opened the doors forcefully, the frying pan positioned in front of her ready to whack any intruder. She did not expect wisps of black smoke to flow out of the room. When she saw what was in the room, her frying pan fell out of her hands as she stared in disbelief at the scene in front of her.
“Yoshino! What’s going on?” Shikaku bellowed anxiously as he pushed his wife behind him protectively, ready to deal with the intruders.
“Greetings Nara clan.” A golden brown spider the size of the two grown men said from its position next to a very shocked Peter. All three boys had gotten out of their futons and Peter was shielding Shikamaru and Naruto behind him with his small body. “Forgive my entrance and all the smoke. I am still young and am still learning how to walk between the worlds.”
“Ah it is okay.” Shikaku said as he looked at the spider in shock. He was brawled over by Yoshino who suddenly pushed him aside, running towards the direction of the spider. That was when he saw the malnourished and dirty child cowering behind the spider. Shikaku blinked as he realized the child had six hands.
“Oh you poor thing, who did this to you?” Yoshino asked as she rushed to the child’s side and began checking his body. The boy shy away from her touch, but Yoshino kept a firm hold on him. Her lips thinned and her eyes hardened as she saw the wounds on his three of his hands which looked like beatings from a belt.
“Hiroyashi Kidoumaru is an orphan, last of his clan.” The golden brown spider replied in answer to the question as he shifted a large scroll off its back, handing it to Shikaku. “The Spider Sage asked me to pass this message to you. In exchange for you taking care of the boy as well as Peter Parker, the Spider Sage will allow one direct descendant from the Nara clan in each generation to sign the Lesser Spider summoning contract. Are you agreeable to this?”
“Of course we will take care of the boy.” Yoshino said giving her husband a look that promised him pain if he said otherwise. She kept a firm grip on Kidoumaru who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. “Peter is already our charge, although you’ve gotten his name wrong. It is Peter Myou Reiyou. Is there anything else you wish to tell us? If not I am going to treat this boy’s wounds and get some food into him.”
“I have one last message for Peter Parker.” The golden brown spider said, seemingly ignoring Yoshino’s correction of the name. Peter seemed to freeze up at the spider’s words while Shikamaru and Naruto continued to observe the spider curiously. “You are the only one capable of summoning both the lesser and the greater spiders. That summoning contract is bond to you in blood and soul. Only your direct descendants will have access to the contract and you are unable to add any who are not of your blood into the contract.”
“I don’t care about that.” Peter interrupted, an agitated look on his face. “I need to know why I am here…”
“What you wish to know will be answered when you’ve managed to summon one of us by your own strength. As per decree by the Spider Sage, you will need to prove to us that you are worthy of being the Summoner of the Spiders. We will speak again once you’ve accomplished that task.” The golden brown spider cut in before Peter managed to finish his sentence. “Farewell Peter Parker, may your thread stays bright and strong in the Great Weaving.”
Peter gave a strangled cry as he lunged forward, intending to grab the spider before it could leave. He was pushed back by a strong gust of wind however, as the spider departed with a small explosion and more black smoke.
“It didn’t tell me anything.” Peter muttered in frustration as Shikaku looked at his new foster son curiously. In the meantime, Yoshino rushed the dirty six handed boy out of the room and down the stairs to be fed and cleaned.
“Why did the spider call you Peter Parker?” Naruto asked from the side curiously as Peter gave a seemingly helpless shrug.
“I have no idea.” Peter said, trying to sound clueless. “I was hoping it could tell me why they chose me to be their summoner, I guess I will have to learn how to summon them before they’ll reply me.”
Shikaku looked at the boy sharply. Years of ninja training told him that Peter was hiding something, but Shikaku had more important things to deal with right now. Bending down, he picked up the Lesser Spider Summoning Scroll as he eyed it thoughtfully.
“Boys, go downstairs and help your mom to take care of our new addition to the family.” Shikaku ordered as he turned to Shikamaru, Naruto and Peter. “I need to go and have a word with your uncles and the Hokage.”
“Okay.” Naruto said with a smile as he rushed down stairs, with Peter and Shikamaru following slowly behind.
As they left, Shikaku’s hands flashed into the handseals for the Body Flicker Technique. There was a swirl of wind as he teleported away, leaving an empty room behind.
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Wraithrune's Den of Words 