Kage Search Arc

Chapter 9 - Han

"Normal Speaking"

"Thinking"

"Amaterasu"

"Amaterasu Telepathy"

"Summon/Jutsu"

Previously. . .

Two years have passed since the ANBU and Twelve Guardian Incidents. Tetsu no Kuni's neutrality is clearly fading away and the command of the samurai nation is worried about confronting shinobi espionage tactics against their samurai. Their solution is to found their own Hidden Village; basically, they were going to be fighting fire with fire. With the Daimyo having most of his points covered, he has asked Nobunaga and Amaterasu to search for one of the jinchuuriki of Iwagakure after the Tsuchikage agreed to allow one to become the village's kage upon agreement. But with Amaterasu's growing distrust towards both the samurai and the shinobi and the unknown of the jinchuuriki's reaction to such a proposal, will the duo succeed in their recruitment mission?

Nobunaga and Ammy made their way through the snowy wastelands of Tetsu no Kuni as they headed towards a warmer climate and the Samurai Bridge on the country's eastern side.

Nobunaga was in old-fashioned samurai armor, similar to Mifune's armor, only it was a green color. He wore a helmet with an upside-down crescent moon on the front of it with another tiny, upside-down crescent moon sitting within the embrace of the larger one. When Ammy inquired about it, Nobunaga merely said it was his standard uniform as a taishou of Tetsu no Kuni back when he was the taishou.

She asked him why he was wearing it now and his only answer was because this was military politics they were dealing with. Though she did not quite understood what he meant, she simply decided to let go.

Ammy herself was dressed different due to what was involved in the mission. She wasn't wearing a kimono but rather she was wearing the dark body suit of a samurai along with a cloak around her. Under the cloak she had her tails tightly wrapped to her body and used a belt to make sure they stayed there. Around her head were bandages similar to what Mifune. They were used to keep her ears hidden.

Currently, she was sitting on Nobunaga's shoulders as he kept a decent pace for his age through the snowy landscape.

"Nobunaga-jiji, not that I mind, but why are you with me instead of Mifune?" Ammy asked innocently but with a hint of concern.

"Why do you ask, Ammy-chan," the old man replied curiously.

"Well, I'm worried about you," Ammy said hesitantly as if trying hard not to make her answer sound wrong. "You're getting really old. . ."

"You need not worry about me, Ammy-chan," Nobunaga smiled. "I still have a few years left in me. This is nothing so worry not."

"But-"

"Ammy-chan," Nobunaga stated with a tone of authority. "If I wasn't capable of completing this mission I wouldn't have been sent. Do you not trust mine, Mifune's, and the Daimyo's decision?"

Ammy was silent in response.

"Not really," Amaterasu quietly commented in her mind.

"Why are you being like that Amaterasu-chan?" Ammysaid clearly saddened and confused by her counterpart's words. "They did there best so why the change in your thoughts towards them?"

There was a pause before Amaterasu's downtrodden answer came, "I. . . I don't know, Ammy-chan. I don't know why I thought or said that. . . Forgive me, please?"

"Of course, Amaterasu-chan," Ammy smiled inwardly.

"Are you alright, Ammy-chan?" came Nobunaga's voice snapping her out of her silent conversation with herself.

"Yes, Nobunaga-jiji, what is it?" Ammy asked politely and slightly embarrassed she got caught up in talking to Amaterasu that she totally lost awareness of what was around her.

"You spaced out on me for a minute. Are you alright?"

"Yes, just talking with Amaterasu-chan."

"What'd she have to say?" Nobunaga asked curiously.

"Nothing," Ammy lied. She was nervous about what'd he say if he found out what she said. "She was just teasing me. That's all."

Nobunaga hmm'd but didn't reply.

In Tsuchi no Kuni. . .

It was about an hour after their conversation that they reached Tsuchi no Kuni.

The land certainly lived up to its title unlike many other nations in the world with their own being no exception.

Tsuchi no Kuni appeared as a mountainous and hilly region with plains and forests dotted around the landscape. Villages with farmland were spread around the small plains. Tsuchi no Kuni was well-known as a fertile land in the areas that weren't filled with rocky terrain. It was a very different type of landscape that Ammy had never seen before. Her journey from Hi no Kuni to Tetsu no Kuni went from forest, to mountains, to rocky terrain, to the snowy landscape of her new home. It was all very beautiful but it was all very similar. Something about this landscape however was breath-taking.

Her gaze hardened. The view was very deceiving.

She had been told prior to their trip about this land, Tsuchi no Kuni, and its poor reputation as a nation which cared only for its own power. They were involved in all the Shinobi Wars up to that point and were infamous for using far-less-than-honorable tactics. They had betrayed allies, killed numerous civilians, and used the war to gain information from and to assassinate important figures in their own allied nations. It was clear they were on no one's side but there own which made Ammy and Amaterasu very uneasy knowing they were going to be in an alliance with them.

Nobunaga had assured them, however, that they were still weak from the Third Shinobi War and wouldn't likely try anything. Amaterasu had argued that that fact could make them even more desperate, but the aged samurai general had simply replied that the Sandaime Tsuchikage was one of the two kages who ended the war due to being tired of the endless conflict.

Amaterasu still had her doubts but she chose to grudgingly accept the circumstances before her and just try to do her best in finishing the job.

"So, how are we going to find a jinchuuriki in this entire nation, Nobunaga-jiji?" Ammy asked curiously. It was a big nation. How were they supposed to find a single person here again?

"We gained a bit of information about the location of the jinchuuriki," Nobunaga replied. "One is currently on a mission away from Tsuchi no Kuni. Where he currently is, I do not know. Recent reports have put the other one somewhere to the north of our current location."

"Recent reports?" Ammy asked curiously.

"Apparently, his treatment as a jinchuuriki has made him very. . . hateful towards humanity as a whole."

"Hateful?" Ammy asked. Then she blinked and nodded catching Nobunaga's attention. Suddenly, her expression turned serious, the color of her eyes melting into a gold color, and her stance changing from a relaxed one to one of impatience. Tapping her foot, Amaterasu asked, "How is someone who has that mentality at all trustful. Someone who distrusts humanity to that degree shouldn't be given a chance like this!"

Nobunaga frowned and for the first time stared down at the small fox-girl with a disapproving face which surprised the goddess but didn't cause her to back down. That is until he spoke, "If that were truth then Ammy should still be rotting within the walls of Konohagakure, Amateras-sama."

Those words froze the goddess in her tracks. Before she could speak, Nobunaga's angry and authoritative face was present just a couple inches away from her's as if he were a father disciplining his child.

"I do not know what has happened to you over the past two years, Amaterasu-sama, but just because you reside in the body of a seven year old doesn't mean you can simply act immature like one. I know it must be hard for you to comprehend this but we are human, we aren't perfect in everything we do."

"I'm not perfect either. . ." Amaterasu muttered, ashamed of her actions.

"Then you have no excuse," Nobunaga said sternly. "Grow up and act like the goddess you are. We need everyone in their right mind on this mission, understood."

Amaterasu held her hands behind her back and looked away like a child being told they did something bad. Her fox ears fell flat on her head and her tails seemed to be lifeless due to her guilt. Swallowing her pride, the goddess uttered, "Yes, Nobunaga-jiji. I am sorry for how I acted."

Nobunaga nodded, "Apology accepted. Now to answer your question in regards to the jinchuuriki's mental state, well, why do you think I brought you and Ammy along?"

Amaterasu's golden eyes widened in realization. Nobunaga had brought up a good point there. Ammy had experience the hate and scorn of being a biju's container and now she has to live with the fact that she is the biju itself. The mental pain of being abused physically and verbally, through neglect and hate; if anyone could melt the stone cold heart of a jinchuuriki, it was Ammy.

"I apologize. I should have had all the information instead of jumping to conclusions," Amaterasu said bowing. "I don't know what's wrong with me but I will be sure to fix it as soon as possible."

"Good," the old man replied. "If that is all, let's continue on. I doubt our target will stay still for very long."

Amaterasu nodded, "Let's go then."

Nobunaga started running northward and Amaterasu was quickly on his tail after gaining permission from Ammy to remain in control to keep pace with him. While Ammy herself could keep pace with the aged samurai, she herself was not that skilled in the instinctual movements needed for avoiding objects at such speed.

"Amaterasu-chan," Ammy said from within her mind. "Are you okay? What's going on with you? Why are you so angry all of a sudden?"

"I. . . I don't know," Amaterasu said in her mind. "I'm sorry for worrying you Ammy. It won't happen again."

"You promise?" Ammy asked with a sad yet hopeful tone.

"Yes, I promise."

Nobunaga glanced at the celestial fox-girl with a worried expression on his face. He felt uneasy. He knew this wasn't natural for Amaterasu to act. Something was going on and it was continuously making him feel ill the more he thought about it. There had to be an explanation for Amaterasu's wrathful attitude that had been steadily growing over the past two years and the old man was determined to find out what was really going on.

The old man shook himself from these thoughts. Their current mission was more important than Amaterasu's attitude. From what it seemed at the moment, Amaterasu would be keeping her anger in check.

About an hour later. . .

They had been travelling northward to find the Iwa Jinchuuriki residing around that area. It was during this time that Amaterasu had sensed something. Despite their fusion, Amaterasu could easily tell what was biju chakra and what was her celestial powers, and she was not mistaken in that what she sensed seemed similar to Ammy's chakra. Not identical by a long shot, but similar enough for there to be no doubt this was a jinchuuriki and not another shinobi. They were close and Amaterasu could lead them straight to the jinchuuriki.

Well, if only it were that simple.

As it turns out, the minute they started getting close, Amaterasu felt the chakra of the jinchuuriki suppress itself. In other words, he was onto them and knew they were coming. Nobunaga wasn't at all surprised by this development at all.

"Figured it wouldn't be that easy," he had commented at the time.

Now, Amaterasu and Nobunaga were off again tracking the jinchuuriki. Meanwhile, Amaterasu was conversing with the usually-dominate personality of their shared body.

"So, what are we going to do when we meet the jinchuuriki?" Ammy asked in her head. Amaterasu thought about the question as she instinctually kept up with Nobunaga as they continued on. It was a good question and one they hadn't really thought about on the way here. Which was stupid in and of itself. How much of her wisdom was blocked by her unexplained rage? Regardless, it was a mystery for another time.

On one hand, it seemed like a no-brainer about what they were going to do. They were going to show the jinchuuriki the life they would have as a kage, his responsibilities, and the reasons this was a good idea. However, there was the other factors to this negotiation that really showed just how difficult of a task this would be even though another jinchuuriki, who had gone through similar experiences albeit not as long, was involved. But if what Nobunaga said was true and this jinchuuriki really developed a hate of humanity. . .

"I don't know Ammy-chan," Amaterasu said to her through their mental link. "We don't know how bad his hate is or how he'll react to another jinchuuriki. We'll have to play it by year on this one."

"Are you sure we shouldn't have some kind of plan, Amaterasu-chan?"

"Be kind, polite, and try to connect with him as much as we can," the goddess replied. "In truth this is all we can do."

Thoughts roamed through their mind link. The unknowns in this confrontation were starting to wear on them like it did during their first weeks in Tetsu no Kuni. How would this jinchuuriki react to seeing one that literally fused with the biju it held? What would his reaction be? Would he be angry, surprised, shocked, sympathetic? What? The thought of feeling disgusted by another jinchuuriki, someone who had been treated similarly to how she had a little over two years ago, was horrifying in her mind. She doubted she could bare the thought of the closest thing she truly could consider family see her in such a way. Nobunaga and Kimiko were her family but they couldn't relate to what she had suffered; not like another jinchuuriki could.

These thoughts affected both souls greatly. Amaterasu became worried for her counterpart's mental state hoping she wouldn't fall into depression if such an event were to occur. Meanwhile, Ammy was trying hard to be strong like she was taught, but she knew escaping from such thought processes, especially after dealing with such an extreme case of abuse in her younger years, was not easy in the slightest.

"I hope we can help him," Ammy said quietly within their link. The vow surprised Amaterasu briefly but stayed silent. "I hate the idea of going through what I went through. I don't want anyone to go through what I went through. I hope we can show him a better life. I want him to be free. Just as I was free. . ."

Amaterasu silently smiled. Ammy's innocent selflessness despite everything she had gone through was just an uplifting thing and she loved to listen to the power, simple words from her child companion.

"We will help him. I promise," Amaterasu vowed in return. After a brief pause, Ammy whispered in their link, "By the will of the kami, I pray we do."

"I am a kami, remember?"

Amaterasu got a mental image of her child counterpart blushing and cutely looking away causing the goddess to chuckle out loud. This caught Nobunaga's attention, "What is so funny?"

"Something Ammy did. Don't worry about it."

Nobunaga nodded as they continued to head towards the jinchuuriki.

An hour later. . .

The jinchuuriki was pretty evasive. This was not entirely surprising since apparently he frequented this area of Tsuchi no Kuni quite a bit and with him being a native to this country it made tracking a tad more difficult than it would be tracking in Tetsu no Kuni. He knew the land: its hills, valleys, rivers, streams, forests, mountains. . . but unfortunately for him he had on his tail a former-jinchuuriki-turned-biju with the powers of a celestial deity tracking him down. While he had given them a tough time on the way due to his knowledge of the land and his skill as a older shinobi, it was hard to outrun a goddess.

Soon, they reached a clearing where Amaterasu relinquished control back to Ammy for this confrontation. After all, she could relate to him better than she herself could.

In the middle of the clearing a tall man wearing red armor stylized in a way that reminded Amaterasu of samurai armor with a from her realm stood silently watching them. Though he did express surprise at the appearance of little Ammy, which was easy to decipher despite virtually his entire head expect his eyes was covered. To Ammy, he look like a cross between a shinobi and some of the old drawings of samurai she had seen within the archives in Tetsu no Kuni.

"Who are you?" The man spoke in a soft yet strong tone. Hate mixed with surprise could also be felt from the jinchuuriki's voice much to Ammy's disheartening. He then directed his attention to said fox-girl. "What are you?"

Ammy looked at Han. No more fear and depression was in her eyes. She remembered her oath. She would help him, "I amŌtsutsuki Amaterasu. I formerly was the jinchuuriki of Kyuubi no Kitsune but due to a. . . mishap. . . I fused with the biju and became one with it."

Ammy's words caused a grunt of surprise from the shinobi. That wasn't what he expected, "You fused with Kyuubi? Why haven't you gone on a killing spree?"

"I am not the same Kyuubi who attacked Konoha and dealt so much death and pain," Ammy said determinedly. "I am. . . was its jinchuuriki and still am the same person."

Han wasn't buying it just yet, but he decided to turn his attention to the other tracker in the clearing, "And you? Who are you?"

"My name is Nobunaga, Former Taishou of Tetsu no Kuni, Ken no Kami," the old man said with pride and authority.

Han glared at them suspiciously, "Why is a jinchuuriki and a samurai after me? In Tsuchi no Kuni no less?"

Nobunaga smiled at him, "We have come to offer you a chance at a new life."

"A new life?" Han spat. "You seek to kidnap me and use me as your own. This is why I hate humans like you. You see our kind as a weapon."

"Your wrong, Five," Ammy said angrily much to the surprise of Han and Nobunaga. She pointed at Nobunaga, "This man risked his life, his honor, and his reputation to keep me safe. He saved me from Konoha when I fled its walls. He gave me a second chance and the same can happen for you."

"You little child! I was hated by my village! Neglected! Isolated! Left forever without family or a home! Your precious Konoha follows the idea of this so-called Will of Fire, right? Don't you dare compare you suffering to-"

Before Han could finished, he sudden keeled over from a sudden blow to the gut. As he landed on his knees, the small hand of the fox-girl grasped his chin and held him at eye contact with her. Ammy's eyes glared dangerously at him as tears fell from the beautiful orbs staring down the jinchuuriki of the Gobi.

"No," Ammy said bitterly. "It is you who cannot compare you suffering to mine. I was neglected from infancy. Undernourished. Beaten. I survived by scraps in a rundown orphanage is the worst part of Konoha. At age four I was kicked out and spent the next year in a dilapidated apartment by myself. That apartment was continuously vandalized and I was beaten on a day-to-day basis by the residents of Konoha."

Ammy took a deep breath before continuing, "No, Five, it is you who shouldn't dare speak to me of not understanding. I am one of the only eight other people who can understand you."

"I'm sorry," Han glanced downward, ashamed at what he had said, for he knew her words were true. "I didn't know. . ."

"If you didn't know you shouldn't accuse," Ammy reprimanded. With that, she let his head go allowing him to slouch a bit in his kneeling position.

"I'm sorry Ammy-chan," Amaterasu said within her head. Ammy let the tears finally drip from her face, "It was your fault, Amaterasu-chan."

Nobunaga sorrowfully looked on and sighed. He knew it was going to come down to this somehow. Damn, his instincts. As the Tetsu samurai escaped to their thoughts, Han arose and gazed upon his new acquaintances. He grunted out his question, "So, what is this deal you wanted to talk to me about?"

Sorry I didn't get this chapter out as quickly as the other chapters after the arc's beginning. The next one should be out faster. Also, I want to remind everyone that I have a couple of days left before I ship out to Boot Camp. For eight weeks after I leave I shall not have access to a single, electronic item which means no updates for me at all in that time period. Sadly, this does mean that the second half of the arc will not be released until I return. I should start to come back afterward but I never know what type of free time I'll have in the military so it's anyone's guess. Hope you all continue to support me in my service!

~Teddypro

P.S. - If at all possible I'd like someone to make a cover image for this fanfiction. Send me a PM if you're at all interested! I'll get to it when I return in February and decide a winner!

Response to Reviews

A/N: I decided there would be no definite amount of Responses I'd give. That way most people get them instead of me having to choose people.

{RandomWriter21} - Han and his bijuu hate humanity as does Roshi to a certain extent. This said, I believe that Roshi will be the Kage. Great chapter!

Answer: I'll keep that in mind but also keep in mind that this is also a fanfiction, too. Even so, I'll do my best to keep it as close to the truth of the canon as possible.

{Impstar} - Note: only the five great villages have kage. The minor villages have a leader yes, but he's not called a kage nor is it required that he be S-ranked (in fact, usually he isn't). The Star Village had a kage, but it was an unofficial one that only they recognized; they thought that they would rise to the level of the five great villages and decided to call their leader a kage.

Amaterasu is rather touchy. What's made the wise, benevolent, caring Goddess so up in arms? Blaming all Shinobi for the acts of a few seems rather petty of her. She knows that she's illogical, but this is still something she should be able to get past.

Answer: I am aware of that, but I wouldn't think that a nation as militaristic powerful as Tetsu no Kuni would be considered a less country either. Even so, I'll keep it in mind. Like I said, I am well-versed in Naruto's details like that so don't worry. I have thought hard about how this story is going.

Yes, there is always a reason for everything I write.

{idea getthe } - Nice update though a bit slow

Answer: Stay the same speed all the time you might lose interest. People like variety.

{narzo92} - Awesome chapter keep up the good work ;D
PS. Will Ammy obtain a special sword from the naruto verse
or a sword made by you?

Answer: Thank you. As for the sword, maybe, maybe not. Kinda don't want to here a spoiler do ya =P or maybe I'm just cruel like that =D

{legend of pegasus} - out of the many FanFiction i have seen i firmly believe that this is one of the most well written and thought out i have seen and it is passably my favorite at he moment. i can truly see this story going places, all the good places. :) this is how fa fiction is meant to be written.

please keep up the awesome work i will be watching 0.0... CLOSELY!

Answer: Thank you for the compliment. Also, I have family in Great Britain. How's it over there?

{IAmDemonWolf} - First of your stories I've read. I'm now a fan. Didn't notice many, if any, grammar errors, while you did a good bit of 'telling' you did more 'showing' and over all you are a wonderful writer. I hope you continue this story to its conclusion. Later.

Answer: Thank you. But what'd you mean by 'telling' and 'showing'? I think I understand but I'd just like to make sure I'm misinterpreting it.