Hi guys, sorry for the delay. Life… well it can suck sometimes.
To some of my readers, I previously promised that chapter 13 will come with a short interlude. However during the actual writing of the interlude… it sort of become a full chapter of its own.
I just completed everything, its still in raw draft form, and I am too tired to fine comb it (its close to midnight in Singapore, and I have work tomorrow >.<) I will post it first to those that really want to chance my horrible spelling and grammar to get at the story.
For those that decided to wait until I clean everything up, give me two – three days (double the amount if you’re feeling cynical =p) and I will post a cleaned version up on fanfiction.
I have edited what errors I could find. Here is the cleaned and updated interlude.
Thank you for waiting, thank you for reading.
And so the story continues…
To the first twelve chapters click here.
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Story Title: Technological Ninja Naruto Uzumaki
Crossover: Naruto / Star Ocean game series
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or plot from Naruto anime/manga series and the Star Ocean Video games series. This is a work of fanfiction.
Author’s Note: Apologies for the dry spell of a year plus without updates. Work & life has been challenging to put it nicely. In order to say thank you to the readers who continued sending me PMs of the story, to those who read, reviewed and loved this story, I have written a bonus interlude before the actual chapter.
I hope you guys/ gals will enjoy this new chapter 😉 my writing skills have been a little rusty.
The Interlude: The Missing Day takes place after the council’s first meeting after the Uchiha attack, and ends as Naruto received his legacy.
OoooO
Previously…
“So what is it?” Naruto asked confused “It looks like a metal cube to me.”
“To answer that, I will need a drop of your blood.” Sarutobi said, wondering if Naruto would be squeamish about it, especially considering his age. Naruto had simply shrugged and bit one of his finger, a bead of blood forming from the small bite. Sarutobi nodded. “Good, I need you to prepare yourself. Focus on the image of you opening a door. I need you to hold the mental image, as you smear your blood on the cube and said the words ‘Sanctuary’. Are you ready?”
“I am ready.” Naruto said with a nod. He looked at Sarutobi curiously as the older man lay a hand on his shoulder in a tight grip.
“Good, begin.” Sarutobi said. Naruto had given him a mystified look before following his instructions, smearing his blood on the cube, a look of concentration on his face as he said the words. “Sanctuary.”
The very air around them shivered, a roaring of energies surrounded them… and the essence of time… shattered. 111w
OoooO
Interlude: The Missing Day
23 hours ago, Senju Council Room
“… So the child has the Wood Release bloodline.” Roozu Senju, the oldest of the Senju clan elders said in a whisper of a voice. She had been the younger cousin of Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, and had already crossed a century of age.
“Yes, the The Third has confirmed this. Apparently he had assigned the boy to be trained in secret.” Natsu Senju revealed as he sat in front of the two Senju Elders, with the rest of the Senju Council members beside him.
“Really… the Third said that? Tell me Natsu, what was the first lesson I taught you, when you took charge of this clan after Tsunade left?” Roozu spoke up with a dry chuckle.
“Always check the facts.” Natsu said with a nod, acknowledging that he had learnt the lesson. “I have sent a team of our ninjas to watch over the boy for the night. The team leader has orders to discreetly obtain a vial of his blood and bring back the sample for identification. He should be back any minute now.”
“Good, you went straight to the source. With the way Sarutobi protected the boy all these years, the hospital records might very well be faked. I presume you have also already prepared the blood identification seals?” Touki Senju, the second clan elder asked with a rasp in his voice.
“Yes, I have Sentai prepared it.” Natsu said with a nod. “If the boy is descended from anyone in the Senju bloodline, the seals will show.”
“I see you’ve done the necessary work… before the destruction of the Uzumaki clan, it is known that the Uzumaki paid with their lives to allow their civilians, their retainers and townsfolk to flee before their fateful end. Many of the survivors of that time took up the name Uzumaki, in remembrance of the great clan that was willing to sacrifice themselves to save those not of the clan.” Roozu said with a regretful sigh. “A lot of Konoha’s orphans from that generation were named after the Uzumaki, in remembrance of our village’s alliance with them. We can’t just make the assumption Naruto Uzumaki is a true descendant of the clan and is thus distantly related to us.”
“After the clan’s destruction, Konoha has only housed two true descendants of the Uzumaki clan. The two known full blooded Uzumaki were our revered Lady Mito and her spiritual successor Kushina.” Touki said stealing a glance at Roozu. “You know we always suspected…”
“Your old age must be making you senile.” Roozu said with a snap. “Suspicions has no place in the council. There’s no place for rumours such as that to spread.”
“Elders… are you saying that Naruto might be descended from the main Uzumaki branch? Like Lady Mito and Kushina?” Natsu asked even as his mind put the pieces together. “The boy’s age… by the Sage! If Kushina’s child was to survive…”
“Hush!” Roozu said fiercely, glaring around the council chambers as the other Council members broke out into shocked whispers. “Unless we have proof, no word of this must be spoken outside the chambers. And even if we do have proof of the boy’s origins, it will not do that have it revealed to the public.”
“But Kushina’s child, the father was…” Natsu began and was interrupted by a knock on the council chambers. He looked at Roozu in frustration before placing his hand on the protection seals engraved on the Council chambers’ floor.
The seals which protected those in the room from any spying jutsu dispersed with a cackle of energy. There was a pause before the chambers door slide open, revealing Ginrin Senju, one of the ninjas sent to watch over the boy.
“Naruto Uzumaki’s blood as requested cousin.” Ginrin said as he walked forward, placing a small vial of blood into Natsu’s hand.
“How is the boy?” Touki asked in a quavering voice, his thin and frail frame leaning forward, as he stared at Ginrin.
“I think he is aware that someone is watching him. It is subtle, but the signs are there. Quite impressive since the team is guarding him from across the street.” Ginrin reported. “The kid is also a chakra monster, especially for his age. With close to high Jonin to Hokage level reserves if I am not wrong.”
“What!” Natsu said incredulously, an expression of disbelief crossing his face. It was unheard of for any child to possess so much chakra, not even those that started training from young. Not without some external factor. “Is it because he is a… container?”
“I have no idea. But I have to spend nearly a sixth of my chakra reserves just to apply a simple Genjutsu on him while I draw his blood!” Ginrin said shaking his head, the elders frowned at his words as they looked at each other. “Once I got in though, he’s out like a light. His large chakra reserves act as a natural Genjutsu defence. Genjutsu users with small chakra reserves will have problem manipulating him, but other than that, the kid has no other defences against any Genjutsu user that has the necessary skills and lots of chakra to spare.”
“I see… a weakness to Genjutsu that will be something we have to rectify… once we confirm his heritage. Hashirama had a whole set of Genjutsu defence techniques created back when he went up against Madara. As his spiritual successor, and with Madara’s current reappearance, that child might very well need those techniques.” Roozu said with a nod. “Ginrin can you continue seeing to the safety of the boy while we… discuss matters?”
“Yes grand aunt I will be on my way.” Ginrin said rolling his eyes as he left the chambers.
“That child needs to learn proper protocol and respect.” Roozu said with a sniff as the chamber doors were closed.
Natsu wisely kept silent, reapplying the protection seals before taking out a scroll that had the blood identification seals engraved on it. Adding the blood from the vial to the center of the seals, Natsu channelled chakra into the seal arrays.
The seals glowed a bright green as it analysed Naruto Uzumaki’s blood based on the information collected from Senju members’ blood throughout the decades. It took a moment before two names and relating information was written next to the same array as the seals finished its analysis.
“Naruto Uzumaki is an identified descendant of our Lady Mito.” Touki rasped as he stared at the name. “And according to the seals, Naruto’s blood bears certain similarities to Lord Hashirama’s blood work. Not enough for a descendant match, but still certain of his blood markers are a match.”
“It must be the similarities of the two Wood Release bloodlines.” Roozu said in consideration, stroking her chin in thoughts.
Natsu frowned. They already knew Naruto Uzumaki had the Wood Release bloodline. But that he was a direct descendant of Lady Mito was however a momentous fact. Though Mito was not born of the Senju clan, she was married into the clan and her blood information was available to the clan’s medical records.
Touki continued reading the information discovered by the seals, the lines on his face creased as he peered at the words. “Naruto Uzumaki is one of her grandnephews from the Uzumaki bloodline. He is not related to any Senju of the past few generations. But since he is descended from the main Uzumaki branch, any Senju ancestry he had might have, would be before the time our clan started keeping blood records.”
“Which means it is highly likely that Naruto might be… related to Kushina Uzumaki, who was Lady Mito’s niece.” Natsu said as he straightened his back. “Kushina’s blood records should be available at the hospital archives, we can get the information and…”
“No. The information we have will do.” Roozu suddenly rasped sharply, a look of decisiveness in her eyes as she straightened her back to glare at Natsu, stopping what he was going to say. “We have proven that he is a true blooded Uzumaki from the main branch. He has a shared ancestry with our clan and that is enough for us to accept him in as one of us.”
“But he might be the son of…” Natsu began to protest but Roozu cut him off with a quick shake of her head.
“Some secrets…” Roozu said sternly. “Are best to continue being secrets. If we are really going to prod the hornet’s nest to discover the truth, we have best be very careful and be prepared for the consequences. If Naruto is really Kushina’s child… do you really think The Third would not have measures in place if anyone started looking into it? And let’s say if Naruto really is Kushina’s son, why would The Third hid the fact from everyone? Think about it all of you, before you make rash decisions.”
There was stumped silence, then Kane Senju, the accounts keeper of the clan, said in a harsh voice. “The Third was protecting the boy. If he was really born from Kushina and… her husband, the amounts of enemies those two made in their lives, especially the latter, would make Naruto a constant target for revenge and assassinations.”
“Even the Anbu cannot protect a weak baby, or a hyperactive child 24-7. A well trained assassin can strike when guards are down, or if he/she gained the trust of a child who is ignorant of why he needs protecting.” Natsu said in understanding. “If the Fourth was still alive, his reputation and presence alone would keep all the vultures away… but he’s not. And the Third is getting old, his skills and capabilities are not what they used to be. The secret, if there is really as such, was to protect the boy through anonymity.”
“Yes, and thus that anonymity had best continue. At this stage of his life, Naruto does not have a powerful reputation to deter any would be assassins, though with the Wood Release bloodline, and his status as a demon container, he would be destined for great things to come.” Roozu said. “Now if he also possesses the Uzumaki bloodline… that would be something to see.”
“So if we were to bring him into our clan, I say that we let that secret lie and not prod for the truth, whatever the matter.” Roozu continued firmly. “The Senju clan is not what it used to be, neither is Konoha. With the passing of the First, Second and Fourth Hokages, as well as the deaths of so many prominent ninjas in the previous wars, it would be a dire situation if the other ninja villages began massing assassinations attempts against us to get at the boy. Look at what Madara did to the Uchiha clan only a few days ago. Can you imagine what will happen to our clan if let’s say Earth village send all their high ranking ninjas after us to get at the boy?”
A grim silence fell in the council room. Roozu was about to continue when she was interrupted by a sudden and urgent rapping on the doors of the council chambers. The rapping was in a code that the council members instantly recognized. Natsu tensed, quickly cancelling the seals protecting the room.
“Enter.” Natsu called out, as one of the Senju guards walked in with a grim face.
“There’s been a situation. The Hokage just sent out a Top Secret code Orange through secure channels. He is recalling all Anbu, Jonin and Special Chunins currently listed as active duties for an S-rank mission. No details of the mission was sent except a time and venue. Whatever mission is going down, it is going down within the next half an hour…”
OoooO
19 hours ago, Naruto’s Apartment
Naruto opened his windows to let in the cool night air. It was already past midnight. Through his clones and Sica, he had been monitoring the take down of Root and Danzo. Old man Hokage and the Acting Anbu Head, Shikaku Nara, had been surprisingly efficient in leading the operations to dismantle Root operations in the catacombs.
Learning of how old man Hokage had personally conduct the torture and information extraction of Danzo within the Torture and Interrogation chambers of Konoha, had definitely changed Naruto’s preconception of his grandfather figure as a kindly old man. There had been a certain ruthlessness and fury in the Hokage’s actions that Naruto had never witnessed before.
The clone had recorded the whole grisly affair with his Sica. Replaying the recording in his head, mentally seeing how the Hokage had ordered Inoichi Yamanaka to mind rape Danzo of all his secrets, had shown Naruto how terrifying the Yamanaka Clan’s Mind Techniques would be.
While the Yamanaka’s clan techniques were at first glance not suited for combat, the brute force mind reading technique Inoichi used, had ripped through all of Danzo’s mental defences, turning him into a drooling mess. Konoha had gotten information on Root’s operations from Danzo’s head, at the cost of technically turning Danzo brain dead. Whatever old man Hokage or the Council would do to Danzo next would be but a formality.
It was only when Naruto asked Sica for more information about Yamanaka clan techniques, that clones stationed at the Yamanaka clan home had previously scanned, that Naruto realised the Yamanaka clan specialised in Yin chakra manipulation with a focus on mental manipulation.
Theoretically the Yamanaka mind techniques were replicable. Chakra after all was a balanced melding of spiritual and physical force, which basically contains yin and yang chakra elements. Yin chakra was theoretically formed by a highly advanced shape manipulation of spiritual chakra.
The problem was that for an average ninja, it could take years to master shape transformation of a single chakra element. With the largely non-combat application of Yin chakra, and how all the powerful Yin chakra techniques were closely kept secret by clans specializing in that field, usually the only ninjas that venture into mastering spiritual energies were medi-nins.
Through generations of specialization in their Yin elemental mind arts, most Yamanaka clan members were born with body structures that instinctively allows them to masterfully perform yin element shape transformations using their spiritual energies. The only clan that could compete with them in Yin chakra manipulation were the Nara clan with their Shadow techniques.
The whole affair opened his eyes to the wealth of information and techniques that he had previously scanned from the other ninja clans, that he had no knowledge of, either because he could not be bothered to find out, or he had made a prior decision not to copy any clan techniques of those that he was friends with. Either way, both decisions showed his own ignorance and short sightedness. Naruto now had a new resolve, to at the very least, familiarize himself with what the ninja clans in Konoha were capable of, and to further his own knowledge.
Naruto had stopped spying on old man Hokage and the Anbu after Danzo’s session. N11 and S11 did continue recording the tortures taking place, but Naruto had decided not to preview the scanned recordings. If there was anything about Root that he need to know, Sica would inform him. He had seen enough death, pain and suffering during the attack by Madara on the Uchiha clan. There was no need to add to his current nightmares, he already had trouble sleeping at night.
With the number of new seals S17 had scanned from the library within Root’s catacombs, the research clones’ Sicas had readjusted the calculations for the Shadow Clone Seal Array. It will be completed within the next 9.5 hours. The Heal array and the Fire Bolt array will be completed within the next 14 hours. Sica informed Naruto as he looked out of his windows, seemingly looking aimlessly at the dark slumbering buildings in the neighbourhood.
At these hour, almost everyone were asleep and the streets were dark. But Naruto still caught the glint of moon light reflecting off a binoculars lens from an apartment across the street. Naruto snorted and grimaced. He had to give his Senju guards points for persistence at least. Off to his left on a high apartment building, the second group of his baby sitters from the Uchiha clan remained virtually undetectable. If it was not for Sica previously informing him of their presence, Naruto might not even have known they were there. Sica’s current words however shifted Naruto’s thoughts for the moment.
Ah the library. Naruto thought with a twinge of regret. N17 had discovered the presence of the library only after the Hokage had begun launching his attack on Root. S17 had explained to N17 the significance of the find. After realising that the library contains numerous scrolls that could only be penned by the Fourth Hokage as they possessed his insignia, S17 had attempted to scan the opened scrolls in the library.
A large number of the sealed scrolls were however unscannable. Sica might be powerful, but its scans could not pierce sealed dimensional space. A small portion of the scrolls were opened or unsealed and they were scanned. N17 had then grabbed a few of the scrolls with his father’s emblem for keepsake before fleeing the library, just as one of the incoming Anbu team stumbled upon the place.
Naruto had to admit that he did wonder if old man Hokage would ever pass him the newly rediscovered legacy of his father. N17 and a few of the other clones he sent in as backup, had observed the Hokage personally leading a team to gather up every single piece of scroll, book and paper in the library, and transferring them back to the Hokage’s Tower.
The transferred scrolls, books and papers were currently kept within the Hokage’s library while the interrogation of Root members were conducted. Old man Hokage had suppressed knowledge of the recovery of his father’s legacy, all ninjas involved in the retrieval of the items were already sworn to secrecy. Naruto had no idea what the Hokage would do with the Fourth’s legacy but there was not much he could do to affect the old man’s decision anyway.
Of course, even if the Hokage was to keep his father’s legacy locked up in the Hokage’s library, Naruto was pretty sure he could find a way to get to them. No… right now there were other important things for him to worry about. Such as the Senju team “guarding” him across the building, as well as the more discreet Uchiha team that even the Senju guards had no knowledge of.
“Those Senju are even creepier than the usual Anbu guards.” Naruto muttered crossly as he turned away from the window, closing them again. “Not to mention there’s the Genjutsu one of them used on me just now, in my own room! If I don’t have to pretend to dumb down my skills, that I didn’t sense them, I would have smacked him around before he even get close enough to cast a Genjutsu.”
It is a 99% possibility that the Senju will try all means to get your blood, especially since they are set on their course of action. By willingly letting the Senju guard distract you while he drew your blood, you actually have control over the situation. You are in no danger since I am unaffected by the Genjutsu and is still able to assist in your protection should anything goes wrong. Sica remarked. Not to mention the Senju guards have kept their distance, while becoming more zealous in their duties, once your blood work has been confirmed as being a true blooded Uzumaki.
“Ah yes. The clones monitoring the Senju compound said that the Senju council members already suspected who my parents were.” Naruto snorted a little derisively. “Funny how they are now all about claiming me into their clan just because of some fabricated cover story. In the past I was the demon brat, now I am the god damn hero that saved the Uchiha clan and everyone wants a piece of me.”
Currently only the major ninja clans wanted a say in your future upbringing. Sica corrected, taking Naruto’s words literally. The civilians of Konoha will only receive news of your heroics once the new day begins.
“It’s an expression Sica, a figure of speech. I really have got to teach you not to take words too literally.” Naruto said rolling his eyes. “Anyway once the news are released in the morning about the cover story the Hokage and the elders spun for me, I have no doubts many of those civilians who have treated me badly in the past would have a change of opinion.”
Sentient societies as a whole are judgemental, and could be highly influenced by the reputation of an individual. Sica reasoned. It is logical to assume that many civilians might experience a change of heart towards you, once your reputation improved.
“Well… I don’t like it.” Naruto said disgruntledly. “But I also know there’s nothing to do about it. So let’s discuss other more important stuff. It is going to take a while for the old man and the Anbu to finish interrogating the Root operatives. The village will most probably continue to be lock down tomorrow. Add in the new Senju and Uchiha ninjas watching me, I have to be very careful if I want to continue my training tomorrow. I have to get stronger fast, especially since Madara is still out at large. Those words he said to me when he tried to kill me…I just want to be more prepared in future.”
I have already redesigned your training schedule. In particular I have begun incorporating the Wild Hunt exercises into your schedule. Sica advised. We can begin tomorrow.
“That’s good. What exactly are the Wild Hunt exercises?” Naruto asked thoughtfully.
The Wild Hunt programme, is a series of highly strenuous exercises, designed for the black operation O.M.A division. They were one of the Federation divisions that funded research for my development. As such I have limited data on their programme. Sica explained. The O.M.As are basically high level intelligence agents that were trained in the singular task of becoming a one man army, hence the designation O.M.A. They were the Elites of the Intelligence agency that none of the public knows about, and only two to three individuals managed to pass the training programme each year.
“That sounds tough.” Naruto said with a frown. “So these O.M.A people are supposed to be the ones you are created for?”
The O.M.A division is one of three Federation division that will have access to technology based on my template once research is completed. Sica noted. With my analyse of your chakra and learning capabilities, their programme is the best suited for making you combatively stronger fast. The normal Federation Infiltration lessons you requested previously would still be useful. But based on the events of a day ago, it is imperative that you gain a higher sense of combat awareness and fighting capability fast.
“So what does the Wild Hunt exercises do?” Naruto asked as he flopped down tiredly onto his bed. It had been a rough day, and it certainly did not get better with his discovery of Root and sending his clones to help old man Hokage clear them out of the catacombs. He actually became a Chunin for Sage’s sake, though what changes his new status would bring, he had yet to discover.
Basically the Wild Hunt exercises were structured in a way to train O.M.A candidates for the final test, which requires them to defeat an army of trained soldiers and operatives on their own. Due to this, strength training is a lesser criteria. Sica revealed. Intelligence, ingenuity, tactical abilities, technological expertise, medical training, chemical training (for making poisons), pathfinding and a whole hosts of other skills are considered more important.
In order to adapt the exercises to your situations, I have crafted various scenarios with different objectives, to pit you against your clones. You have to go against them without my assistance with whatever knowledge you were taught or would possess before the exercises. Sica noted. The clones however would be guided in battlefield tactics and techniques by their Sicas. Since you will receive their memories once they dispel, no tactics nor techniques will be reused. It also indirectly allows you to pick up battlefield tactics after the whole exercises through your clones’ memories. As a Sica’s range of detection is quite vast, when used against you… I predict it will be a challenge for you to even pass the first level of Wild Hunt exercises.
“What! They can use their Sicas while I can’t?” Naruto said sounding shocked. “That’s cheating!”
The purpose of the Wild Hunt exercises is to hone your battle senses, adaptability and skills. You cannot improve if you keep using me as a crutch. Sica admonished in a matter of fact voice. To allow for fair play, I will not communicate with any of the cloned Sicas.
Naruto scowled at Sica’s words and gave a reluctant shrug. “Fine.” He muttered. “But how am I supposed to go up against my clones if their Sicas inform them of my every position?”
That. Sica said in an impassive voice. Is what you are supposed to figure out. And you have to pass each level of exercises in order to proceed further. If not you will have to repeat the exercises you failed, until you figure a way to pass.
“That sounds like too work.” Naruto said, flopping lifelessly onto his bed. “Maybe I should stay in bed tomorrow… it has been a hard past day for me…”
Your earlier directive to train you takes precedence. Your attempt at inciting sympathy is unfortunately not applicable to me. Not to mention once your Chunin duties started, there will be less time for training. Sica stated bluntly. I will wake you up at 6 a.m. in the morning as per the training schedule.
“You are heartless Sica!” Naruto accused indignantly.
As I do not have a heart and am an inanimate, I must highlight your atrocious use of grammar and vocabulary. I will rectify this deficiency in your future language lessons. Sica stated calmly. Good night Naruto.
“Traitor!!!”
OoooO
14 hours ago, Hyuga compound
A gong sounded in the courtyard and Hinata jerked up in startlement, snapped out of her sleep. Blearily opening her eyes, Hinata rolled out of her futon, going to the window to see what’s going on. The gong sounded again, this time with the chiming of bells. Hinata recognized the sounds this time round, the sounds were clan codes for an emergency council meeting.
The sky outside the window was still dark, but the reddish skylights, at the edge of the horizon signified that dawn would come shortly. What would be so urgent that the council needs to be called so early?
Curious, Hinata decided to open the door to her room, stepping out into the courtyard to find that a lot of the main and branch family members were already up. A large group of clan ninjas gathered at the path leading to the front gates of the compound. Amidst the group, she noticed the stiff and weary forms of some of the clan’s Jonin and Chunins. It looked as though they had just returned from a mission.
Though only eight years old and in her first year of the ninja academy, Hinata was not stupid. Her lack of self-confidence tended to make the Hyuga main branch members dismiss her, which meant that other than her training sessions, she spent most of her time in her room reading. Her favourite book had been the compilation of her mother’s herbal notes.
Hinata was keenly aware that something must have happened to the ninjas just coming back to the compound. The whole clan had been told of the appearance of Madara Uchiha, the big bad ninja of legend, two days ago. Most of the younger ones had no idea what was happening. All Hinata knew was that no one below the age of twelve, were allowed to leave the clan compound for the next few days. Her heart clutched in fear as she wondered if Madara Uchiha was back. She had read up on him in Ninja History, and he was not a very good person.
“Hinata! What are you doing outside?” A voice raised in concern asked behind her. Hinata whirled around guiltily to find the disapproving form of Ruer Hyuga staring down at her. The motherly Hyuga branch member was her aunt and served as the caretaker of her younger sister. Aunt Ruer had also taken care of Hinata when she had been much younger, after mother had died.
“I heard noises…” Hinata began, voice trailing off as she wilted under Aunt Ruer’s frown. She might have gained some confidence after hanging out with Naruto and the others after school, but it was not enough for her to stand up to the woman who had spanked her and bathed her when she was younger. “What… what is going on?”
“The Hokage called up an emergency mission last night.” Aunt Ruer said curtly as she herded Hinata back towards her room. “It must have gone bad from the looks of it. But that’s none of our business, the council will take care of it.”
Hinata turned to see the crowd of Hyuga council members and some of the Jonins moving towards the council chambers to the east of the compound. “I think I saw cousin Yue, her shoulder is bandaged up…”
“I am sure your father would take care of her. In the meantime, you should be in your room right now.” Ruer said firmly cutting Hinata off, guiding her back to her room. “I will be bringing you and Hanabi breakfast. Stay in the room for the morning until I find out from your father what is going on.”
“But… what about school?” Hinata asked as Aunt Ruer turned around to close the door to her room.
Aunt Ruer hesitated for a moment before giving Hinata a reassuring smile. “The Academy is closed for a few days. Now since you’ll have sometime on your hands, why don’t you spend the afternoon with your younger sister, teach her some ninja techniques? She will be receiving her first training in three months, after her fifth birthday. You can do your part as a big sister to help her.”
Hinata frowned, spending the afternoon with her younger sister sounds like a great idea, but she had really wanted to meet up with Naruto and his little group again. After hanging out with the group, for the first time in her life, she felt as though she really belonged somewhere, that she was not totally useless.
But if the Academy was not going to be opened for a few days, that would be a few more days of waiting before she could see them again. As to her plans for the afternoon, perhaps she could show Hanabi the herb seedlings she had been secretly growing in a corner of the back courtyard. And she might even impress her little sister with the new academy style Taijutsu she was learning.
OoooO
10 hours ago, opposite the street from Naruto’s apartment
Ginrin frowned as Banii entered the apartment the Senju clan had rented. The apartment that the surveillance team was staying in, was rented for the sole purpose of watching over Naruto Uzumaki. The arrangement was temporarily, and would last until the clan could officially petition the Konoha council for Naruto to be inducted into the clan. Banii had left for the Senju clan compound for supplies during the early morning, and had only just returned.
“Any news from the clan?” Ginrin asked as he methodically began sharpening his kunai on a whetting stone. As team leader of the small group, he had to keep his ears open for any information from the clan.
“The Hokage called an emergency S-rank mission last night. All the active Anbu, Jonins and Special Chunins were supposed to be involved. The Senju council managed to exempt those of us looking after Naruto by citing clan rights to reject the call, and sent a few of the clan’s Jonins in our stead.” Banii said with a frown, putting down her satchel of sealed supplies next to Ginrin. “Something about the mission last night got the whole council spooked though. I heard from the clan guards that after those who left for the mission returned, they called an emergency gathering of the council members. All of them had been in the council room since before dawn has broken.”
“I wonder what mission we have missed.” Ginrin said with a thoughtful frown. “I guess it will be something to ask Natsu when we get back. I would rather have been out on a real mission than stuck being a babysitter. Though that reminds me, I thought the Konoha council was announcing Naruto’s bloodline and actions during the Uchiha clan attack to the public this morning. That was the whole reason our team was sent to watch over him with so much haste. We are to protect him and deter any would be mob that might arise from the announcement. But I hadn’t seen or heard so much as a news crier the whole morning.”
“I guess that mysterious S-rank mission the Hokage called must have derailed those plans.” Banii said with a shrug, flipping her blond mane over her shoulder as she began stacking the supplies she brought back into the cupboards. “How’s the kid doing anyway?”
“He has locked himself up in his apartment since he woke up this morning. The kid is incredibly boring…” Ginrin said shaking his head.
“Or maybe not as boring as you think.” A voice interrupted him. Ginrin turned around to see Tetsuki, his third team member, and the one who was supposed to currently keep an eye on Naruto from across the street, entering the living room of the apartment. There was a grim look in Tetsuki’s eyes that caused Ginrin to stiffen.
“What happened?” Ginrin asked, putting down the kunai he was sharpening, standing up to look at Tetsuki.
“The little imp has given us the slip.” Tetsuki said with reluctant admiration. “I have children of my own, so I thought it was weird that an eight year old boy would spend his entire morning reading in his room. I popped closer to his apartment to check up on him and realised that the amount of chakra he possessed was very much lesser than what I sensed last night.”
Ginrin narrowed his eyes. “He used a shadow clone as a decoy?” At Tetsuki’s nod, Ginrin cursed, though a smile of reluctant admiration crossed his face. “I knew he was onto us. Though to have that level of environmental detection skill in someone so young, it is almost unheard of. Is it possible he have long range chakra detection skill?”
“I can’t really tell.” Tetsuki said with a helpless shrug. “None of us in the team are real chakra sensors, and even the sensors in our clan would have difficulty determining the type of chakra sense someone has. But that’s not the only scary thing about the boy.” Tetsuki continued, drawing Ginrin and Banii’s attention. “The shadow clone he left in his room has Chunin level chakra reserves. My chakra sensing might be limited in range, but it is pretty accurate when it comes to gauging chakra reserves.”
Banii arched her eyebrow. “That kid’s a real chakra monster. Where are Haabu and Koubutsu anyway? If that Uzuamki kid has given us the slip, we need everyone to begin finding him.”
“I sent them out into the streets to gather information about the news the village council was supposed to release.” Ginrin said with a frown. “I will call them back to help with the search. In the meantime Tetsuki and Banii, search the neighbouring areas for any signs of the boy. Once Haabu and Koubutsu are back, we’ll do a wider spectrum search.”
“Hai!” Tetsuki and Banii said, their hands flickering into the Body Flicker Technique before they vanished out of the apartment in a gust of wind.
Ginrin reach into his pouch to adjust the team’s radio transmitter. “Haabu, Koubutsu. I need the two of you back at the apartment now, there has been a situation…”
OoooO
1 hour ago, opposite the street from Naruto’s apartment
Kagu Uchiha frowned as she remained hidden in the shadows, on top of an apartment building, watching the Senju clowns watch Naruto Uzumaki’s apartment.
“Why are we doing this?” Kagu asked, moaning a little to her teacher. Shadou Uchiha was a stern unyielding man, who was one of the few Uchiha Jonin left without serious injuries, after what was now being termed as the Uchiha Massacre. He was one of the best Taijutsu specialist in the clan, and Kagu had been apprenticed to him ever since she graduated from the Academy three years ago. “That Senju team is more than enough to look after an eight year old, why do we have to be around to make sure he is safe?”
“You know why.” Shadou said sternly. “He and his teacher were instrumental in preventing a full massacre on the clan when Madara attacked with those traitors. From the Anbu reports, Madara apparently tried to kill the boy when he discovered him helping us in our clan. We as the Uchiha have our honor. The blood debt our clan owned to the boy must be repaid. Not to mention those Senju fools are pathetic enough to lose the boy’s trail, you really think they can protect an eight year old from our clan’s most infamous ninja?”
“He also slipped past us, and we can’t find him anywhere in the village.” Kagu grumpily pointed out the facts. “Now we’re all waiting here, hoping that he’ll return soon from wherever he went. But that’s beside the point, even if Madara really goes after this kid for personal vendetta, there’s nothing the two of us even counting the Senju team, can do against him.”
“There’s a reason the two of us were sent here by the council.” Shadou said looking disapprovingly at Kagu. She might had felt abashed by the look in the past, but she was too used to his mannerism that it did not have much effect on her now. “Aside from our… new clan head and a few others, we’re among the fastest ninja in the clan. We can at least stall and take the boy to safety if any attacks happened.”
“Much good that will do us.” Kagu muttered under her breath. She stiffened as a flicker of movement at one of Uzumaki’s apartment windows caught her eye.
“The boy has returned.” Shadou said, a look of approval in his eyes as he observed the Uzumaki apartment. He had caught sight of the movement as well. “That was an impressive use of the Body Flicker technique, especially for someone his age. Almost precise control and power over the technique, he really is a true prodigy.”
“I can run faster than that without using the Body Flicker at all.” Kagu commented in a tone of disparity.
“Yes you could do that, after years of physical training and having me beat it into you.” Shadou commented bluntly, causing Kagu to wince. “For a boy his age, having that level of Body Flicker mastery puts him on par with some of the more specially trained Chunin border scouts.”
Channelling chakra to her eyes, Kagu sharpened her sight and looked into the boy’s apartment. “He looks like he has been out training. He’s covered with bruises and sweat. I thought his teacher is still missing?”
“The Hokage called off the search after the S-rank mission yesterday night.” Shadou revealed. “It’s possible the boy’s teacher is still alive and has continued training him. Or the Uzumaki boy might have decided to do his own training.”
“What did happen last night?” Kagu asked, perking up at the more interesting topic. “I know you talked to Shusui this morning, when we dropped by the clan compound during the search for the boy. What did he tell you?”
“Something that does not concern my annoying apprentice.” Shadou said stoically. “Now settle down, I will take first watch, you get a little sleep for the night.”
“This is the first ‘mission’ in Konoha where I have to sleep in a bed roll on a chilly apartment top, while my very comfy residence is only a few miles away.” Kahi grumbled as she began lying out her bed roll.
“The council is trying to get hold of an apartment in the area where we can better observe and protect the boy from.” Shadou stated simply. “But it will take time. The clan funds are needed to pay for the repairs of all the destroyed properties in the clan compound. At the current time, the Uchiha council can’t afford to buy out a tenant with enormous sums of money like the Senju clan did. Get use to your bed roll, because that will be what you will be sleeping in, until either our clan or the Senju gets custody of the boy…”
OoooO
Present time… Physical location – Naruto’s apartment
It was as though the air had shattered into a million sparkling shards. It felt as though the very air around him had been electrified. He was falling… no he was soaring… in a sea of fractured shards of luminous flickering images.
He could sense the presence of old man Hokage next to him, but it was as though he was frozen entirely, able to only see forward, as he was pulled and pushed by unknown forces towards destinations unknown.
As he flew past the shards, he saw…
The Senju council meeting to discuss about him…
He thought he saw himself back in his own room, after helping to take down Root the previous night…
He saw Hinata…
He saw the Senju team watching over him as dawn breaks over Konoha…
He saw the Uchiha duo sent to watch him…
He saw…
He saw…
His head pounded, the images coming at him too fast for him to completely comprehend. For a moment it was as though he was seeing through the very fabrics of time, to the very source, the essence of everything in the world.
His mind went blank as his brain gave up the struggle to understand or remember all the things he had seen. A doorway appeared in front of him and he flew right through it. It took him several long moments before he regained control of his mental state, as he began blinking, peering around him in a blur of bewilderment.
He had exited the strange tunnel of shattered shards, nearly collapsing onto what seemed to be a brown brick floor, inscribed with a set of enormous circular seal array giving off a mild golden glow. He looked up and felt his chest constrict, his breath wheezing out of him as he saw what was in front of him and what he was standing on.
Seemingly endless rows of shelves stretched out in front of him, into the far horizon. Looking around him, he discovered that he was standing on a brown brick circular platform that seemed to be floating slightly above the nearest shelves. He could see no walls around him, just endless rows of shelves filled with scrolls and books. There was sufficient ambient light illuminating the whole place, but there were no obvious light source around him.
A flicker of movement at the edge of his vision caused him to turn around. Naruto blinked as he saw old man Hokage standing beside him, the older man releasing his hand from Naruto’s shoulders. The expression on the old man’s face was filled with wistfulness and also joy as he looked around him.
“What is this plac…” Naruto began but Old man Hokage interrupted him with a smile. The older man’s eyes roamed around the chambers with a hint of remembrance and sadness.
“This… is your legacy, the true legacy of the Uzumaki clan.” Old man Hokage said gravely as he looked at Naruto. “The Library of the Uzumaki.”
Naruto blinked, remembering the strange cube with unknown seal arrays that had somehow brought both of them here. “So… You mean my ancestors actually managed to create a liveable environment within a storage seal of some kind? A sub-dimension of some sort which they set up to contain their knowledge? I thought that isn’t possible, the widely known limit of storage seals is that nothing living can be contained within the seals.”
“In a way you are correct, this place exists on a different plane of existence. However its raw form is not just a modular sub-dimension tied to the physical world, it is a malleable dimension created outside of space and time.” Old man Hokage said, smiling at Naruto. “I am surprised that you know the concept of dimensional space and storage seals. Even your father, the seal prodigy that he was, only really began his study of space-time after your mother… showed him her legacy.”
“Okay… so I take it this dimension we’re in right now is vastly different from the ones used by normal storage seals?” Naruto asked, even as he began looking around for a way to leave the podium they were on. The only way off the podium that he could see was to shelf hop all the way down to ground level.
“This dimension is not a self-contained dimension created by modified storage seals, tied to the physical world.” Old man Hokage explained. “It is in fact a sealed and mutable dimension space permanently etched into a hidden corner of our plane of existence. The unique seal arrays on The Legacy, the metal cube that you use to transverse here, actually creates a pathway cutting through space-time. The pathway connects the user of The Legacy, and those physically in contact with him at the time of activation, to the dimensional space.” Old man Hokage grinned as he waved at his body. “One thing you should take note is that we are actually not existing physically in this dimension.”
“What do you mean?” Naruto asked with a start, even as he sent another mental command to Sica. Usually Sica would have provided him with some information by now.
“It might be best for me to let you in a piece of Uzumaki history, so that you can better understand what is going on.” Old man Hokage said, his eyes glinting with humour. “This was told by your mother, to both me and your father, when she first allowed us to enter The Legacy with her.
“According to Uzumaki legend, long ago the Senju clan exiled a group of their inner council due to political reasons. The handful of exiles began their own clan, which began the founding of the Uzumaki. Later generations would mend ties with the Senju clan, but during the beginning, the clan was small, and wholly unremarkable until the third generation of the clan. Hakusho Uzumaki was the fourth son of the Second Uzumaki clan head. He was also the man who would change the clan’s fortune. He was considered a clan legend among the Uzumaki, though few outside the clan knew of this legend.
“In his youth, the only noteworthy thing about Hakusho was his fascination of the pre-cataclysm ruins and his scholarly skills. During that point of history, the deadly mists surrounding some of the ruins were beginning to dissipate, and there was a rush of adventurers’ making their fortunes by finding old artifacts or objects of power. The deterioration on the ruins meant that not much items of significance managed to survive, but enough new finds were brought forth to the world that made a handful of explorers rich, and expanded the knowledge of electric and mechanical arts in the Elemental countries.
“Hakusho Uzumaki was fortunate or unfortunate, depending on one’s point of view, enough to discover an artifact that according to your clan legend, predates even the pre-cataclysm period. There was not much known about the artifact. What was known much later was that the artifact implanted an entire repository of knowledge, most of it about exotic seals, into Hakusho’s mind, which caused his mental state to deteriorate rapidly.
“By the time his exploration party managed to bring him back to his clan, Hakusho was a jabbering mess. He was able to understand what others were saying, but when he spoke, it was in a language no one had ever heard before. The clan healer diagnosed that Hakusho’s brain was somehow breaking down due to the enormous stress of what happened, and that he would not have long to live.
“Hakusho must have understood what it meant, it was said that he secluded himself for several days. The Legacy was created by him during that time. According to the Uzumaki clan’s legend, Hakusho dragged himself to the Uzumaki council with the last of his strength, holding onto the metal cube, and in the first understandable words he had spoken since he returned to the clan, he was able to explain what happened to him, and passed on the cube as his Legacy to the clan.
“He told the council that he had extracted all of the foreign knowledge implanted into his mind and had secluded them in a separate dimension. This became a library of knowledge that the Uzumaki clan could later access. Hakusho passed away soon after his last great act, as his damaged mind gave up on him. But his Legacy empowered the clan to be able to later stand amongst the Senju and Uchiha clans in power.”
“So… this Library of the Uzumaki… is actually formed from the extracted memories of one of my ancestors?” Naruto asked slowly, trying to comprehend what he had learnt. “After some unknown artifact dump an entire repository of foreign knowledge into him?”
“In a way, yes. Artifacts from pre-cataclysm periods are dangerous for a reason, much less artifacts from a period predating that. It was said the Old Gods who birthed humanity into this world left powerful artifacts hidden in various corners of the world after they left for the heavens. Old manuscripts of pre-cataclysm era spoke of how several of those artifacts were found, how some could turn fertile lands to deserts, or sink continents into oceans, or transmute a whole civilization into a tree that touched the heavens. There are much suppositions among scholars in our era that those artifacts of the Old Gods might have been the cause of the later cataclysm, centuries after they left.” Old man Hokage said simply as Naruto widened his eyes in interest.
“I never knew the ancient artifacts could do this…” Naruto said in shock, wondering if those artifacts were advanced technologies of some kind. “I don’t think there’s anything about pre-cataclysm artifacts in the academy library, I would have found some information on them if that’s the case.”
“Konoha is a ninja village, our libraries tend to contain information our ninjas can use in their career, rather than scholarly knowledge like these. If you go to the Fire capital where the Metalworkers and Scholars have set up their bases, you might be able to find more information from them.” Old man Hokage said with a chuckle. “I do collect old manuscripts from the pre-cataclysm era in my spare time, carefully sealed away to prevent them from deteriorating further. Perhaps one day, I may show you those collections.”
“I will like that.” Naruto said eagerly, even as he sent a mental probe to Sica. He was beginning to get anxious at the continued silence from his only true companion. All these new information about pre-cataclysm era artifacts were new to him. Depending on whether they were fact or fiction, he might be able to convince Sica to re-evaluate the technological level of his world, and allow him to release more advance technologies into his world.
“But that’s enough about old manuscripts from the pre-cataclysm. Tell me Naruto, have you heard of Yin chakra?” Old man Hokage asked.
Naruto nodded. “Yin chakra is an exotic chakra element that’s often paired with Yang chakra. On its own, it is the basis of imagination and spiritual energy, used to perform…” Naruto trailed off, sprouting knowledge he had learnt from Sica before realising what he just said. He looked around the seemingly physical and endless library in front of him, and recalled what the Hokage had said much earlier about them not existing physically. Mouth opening in shock, he turned back to the old man. “You mean this whole place is made up of Yin chakra?”
“Yes… yes it is.” Old man Hokage said, eyeing Naruto in surprise. “That was surprisingly knowledgeable and deductive of you. It seems your teacher trained you remarkably well.”
“So when you say we are not physically here, you mean we are actually Yin elemental copies of ourselves? Like elemental clones?” Naruto asked, finally understanding why he could not reach Sica.
If he was a Yin clone formed within this dimension, it was doubtful Sica’s functionalities would be fully brought over. The Shadow Clone technique was the only clone technique he had tried in the past that fully replicate Sica with all its capabilities. The basic academy clone technique, wood clone technique and other elemental clone techniques he tried had all produced clones with Sica devices that were not operational. That was one reason he had stuck to using the Shadow Clone technique, even though each of the elemental clones have their strength and weakness.
“I guess calling our forms in this dimension Yin clones is not incorrect. It is very much like how the Yamanaka clan does their mind walking techniques.” Old man Hokage said with a pondering smile. He motioned Naruto to follow him to the edge of the podium. “Come, let me show you the library, as your mother had once showed me.” The Hokage said, giving Naruto an amused look, as he stepped off the podium, standing on air before an amazed Naruto.
“I didn’t know ninjas can walk on air.” Naruto said shocked. He had never heard Sica mention any air walking techniques before.
“Ninjas can’t walk on air. No one that I know of have enough chakra control to infuse and create a solid chakra platform in the air.” Old man Hokage said simply, his voice changing into a more lecturing tone. “Yin chakra is basically mental energies. This whole place is formed from mental energies, as are we. In this dimension, your own thoughts can shape the environment around you, or even yourself to a limited extend. Your ancestor built several safe guards when he created The Legacy, the major one is that the shelves containing the representations of his extracted knowledge can never be destroyed. There are others, which unfortunately I do not know about. Whatever safeguards that exists however, do not stop you from using ‘mental suggestions’ on yourself… for instance, suggesting to yourself that you are able to walk on air.” The Hokage said as he calmly turned and began walking down to ground level, as if he was standing on invisible stairs.
Naruto gaped at the older man who was already half way down. Biting his lips, taking a deep breath, Naruto decided to test out what old man Hokage had suggested. He did tense his body to jump to the closest shelf if his test attempt failed. Taking a deep breath, he leapt off the podium and focused on the thought that he could fly.
As if his body had wings, he soared in the air for a moment, before gaining enough control to follow the Hokage to the ground level. The older man smiled at the look of wonder on Naruto’s face, before motioning for him to follow. His feet touching the grey cobblestones of ground level, Naruto looked around him. All around him were shelves packed with scrolls and tomes. There was also a cleared space underneath the floating podium where a single book stand stood, with a thick tome placed on its holder. As the Hokage began to move to the closest shelf, Naruto scrambled after him, daunted by the sight of the seemingly infinite library.
“Now there are several important details you need to know about your legacy.” Old man Hokage said seriously. “First and foremost, only a true blooded Uzumaki can open a connection between the physical world and this dimension. At the current moment, that consists only of you.
“Secondly, much of the library actually contains the extracted foreign repository of knowledge from Hakusho Uzumaki. Towards his end days, when he was creating The Legacy, he was able to decipher and understand some of those foreign information in his head and use those knowledge to create The Legacy. When the foreign repository of knowledge was extracted out of his head into The Legacy, they became the scrolls and tomes you see on the shelves. Those scrolls and tomes are the mental representation of his knowledge.” The Hokage explained even as he began rummaging through some of the scrolls close to him.
“Now these two scrolls are a good example.” Old man Hokage said as he took two scrolls from the shelf. He unrolled the first one to reveal a series of unidentifiable words outlining some diagrams. “As you noticed, this scroll contains a language much different than the one we know of. This is an ancient language that probably exists during pre-cataclysm era or maybe even earlier. Your ancestors calls it the language of the gods, based on their assumption that the artifact which passed Hakusho Uzumaki all these knowledge was left by the old gods.”
Old man Hokage then unrolled the second scroll, which revealed another series of unidentifiable words. At the end of the unidentifiable words were what seemed to be actual translations of the unidentifiable words in the common language. “The second scroll contains translations of the ancient language into the common tongue used today. This is actually one of the few tiny portion of what Hakusho managed to translate and decipher, before he extracted his implant knowledge and placed them here.
“Subsequent generations of the Uzumaki made used of the translated scrolls and tomes to come up with a translation codex for the rest of the scrolls and tomes in Ancient tongue. That codex is contained within the Uzumaki Codex, the big tome located under the floating podium.” The Hokage said pointing behind them towards the tome on the book stand. “Throughout the centuries, before the destruction of the Uzumaki clan, they managed to translate hundreds of scrolls and tomes through generations of effort, unlocking rare seal knowledge that empowered them.
“Their power over Seal mastery became their downfall when some of the nations grew fearful of their power and destroyed them. Your mother Kushina and the wife of the First Hokage, Mito Uzumaki, were the only known survivors from the Uzumaki’s main bloodline.” Old man Hokage stated seriously. “Though your ancestors made great efforts in translating the ancient knowledge passed to them by Hakusho, they have not even managed to translate a quarter of the knowledge contained here. Each of the Uzumaki who have translated a scroll or tome, would form a duplicate copy of the same scroll or tome in the common tongue, and place them back onto the shelves. The Uzumaki clan saw it as their personal mission to fully translate all the knowledge contained in The Legacy.
“After the death of Lady Mito, your mother as the last surviving member of the Uzumaki bloodline, broke clan protocol by bringing your father, my wife, me and a few others, in to help with translating whatever scrolls or tomes we could in our lifetime.” The Hokage said in fond memories, a look of sadness crossing his eyes. “We also duplicated some of our knowledge to store in the Legacy, as a form of indirect payment to future Uzumaki descendants, for use of this… sacred space.
“This was where your father first gained the knowledge and idea to improve the Flying Thunder God Technique that was created by the Second Hokage. The improved Flying Thunder God Technique was what earned your father the title of “The Yellow Flash” during the Third Ninja war. The copy of his improved technique should be here somewhere. Your parents spent a lot of time here, before your birth. Where you was conceived, the protective measures in The Legacy prevented Kushina from activating it during her pregnancy. No one has been here since then.” Old man Hokage said looking at the shelves around them. “I remember your parents have a special corner set up with their own memory archives, but it has been years and I can’t seem to recall where it was.”
“I am sure I have all the time in the world to look around.” Naruto said his heart leaping at the thoughts that he might have some mementos of his birth parents, their own stored memories to look into.
“Yes you will wouldn’t you?” Old man Hokage said, smiling idly. “One last thing. As this dimension is outside of space and time, when we return back to our bodies, it will be at the exact moment we left it. To leave the dimension, you need to return to the seal array on the podium and activate it by saying the word ‘Return’ while touching the middle of the seal. If you bring a non-Uzumaki into The Legacy, they need to be standing with you in the seal array, or they will remain trapped here. It has never been tested, but I am sure it would lead to unpleasant circumstances if someone is trapped in The Legacy while disconnected from their physical bodies. Without the seal bridge linking our yin selves to our physical selves, our bodies will continue aging as time moves on in the physical world.”
“I get that.” Naruto said with a nod. He hesitated before moving forward and hugged the older man awkwardly. “Thank you old man, for telling me… for giving me this… legacy from mom and dad.”
“It is the least I can do for you.” The Hokage said with a smile. “What you do with the knowledge within The Legacy is up to you. But remember, knowledge is power, and those who wield great power must use it responsibly. Remember the Will of Fire, the legacy of the First Hokage.”
“I will.” Naruto promised, his mind whirling at the wealth of knowledge before him. As soon as he returned to his physical body, he would need to get Sica’s opinion on this. “I will. And I will need your help with this. There is no way I can translate even a small portion of… this alone.”
OoooO
Pangalactic Federation Codex
– Compiled by by Dr. Reimi Saionji (Head Linguist, Historian and Diplomat 1-A of the USTA)
A.D. 2064: World War III broke out after several clashes between World Republic Federation, the ruling government on Earth, and their enemies. Both factions of the war utilized Weapons of Mass Destruction, razing the lands on Earth. This was known as the Shattering, and it was one of humanity’s darkest era.
A.D. 2072: Dr. Arnold Maverick of the Smithson Institute found the remains of an ancient civilization on humanity’s home planet, Earth. The razed and uninhabitable landscape of Earth had been rearranged, opening up areas that were previously undiscovered by Man.
DNA of this ancient race was extracted from a corpse contained in a 12,000 year old sarcophagus. DNA testing revealed that the genes of this race bears remarkable similarities to humanity.
Project Hope, classified Top Secret by the government of that era, tried to combine the ancient race’s DNA with modern human DNA, in order to create superhumans. It was later revealed none of the experimentations were successful.