Shy Fox Chronicles
Chapter 12: Journey to the End of Fate
We do not own Naruto or any copyright content. All copyright content goes to their respective owners. We own all OCs.
Bolded Italicized is used for descriptive actions
Italicized is used for internal thoughts/flashbacks
Bold is for emphasis
"Underlined Bold" is for dialogue/internal thoughts concerning otherworldly beings
Naruto always wondered how his mother, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even his ancient grandfather performed long treks across the Land of Fire. Because his feet were blistered, sore, and felt like they were going to break. After three days. He could tell the others were not much better, but this trip was his idea, so he had to put on a brave face. The nearly endless forests of the nation had sheltered them through most of it, keeping potential dangers at bay. However, as they approached the border with the Land of Lightning, this began to change.
The forests began to thin, and the land became rockier and drier. Hills began to form before they too were swallowed by the rising forms of mountains. Roads became more jagged and windy, forced to follow the contour of the land, unlike where man could cut their way through nature. The air became cooler, smacking them with a chill and dryness they had only ever felt in winter. Yet they trudged on, guided by the maps and tidbits they could scrounge up without suspicion.
Yet in all of Naruto and his band of merry boys' wildest dreams, they were not prepared in spirit for the land they had to traverse. To them, the largest outcropping of stone they had seen was the great bluff the Hokage Monument was carved into. Its imposing size and serenity gave them hope, inspiration, and comfort. These lands and nature's crafted monuments gave no such feelings. Towering spires of stone jotted the jagged canyons that clung with mist, piercing the sky like a spear poised for the kill. They marched under the dank, and shadowed forms of bluffs so massive that several Hokage Monuments could have been stacked on them. It left them with a sense of crushing, near hopeless insignificance, like they were so small they were specks of sand. And the uneasy feelings kept on coming.
"Kei… are you sure that the mountain is through this?" Naruto asked nervously, his head darting between canyon walls for threats.
"According to the map, it is. Thank the gods grandpa taught me how to read one." Kei replied, looking the map over carefully.
"You're the only one he did teach how to read one, so I'd hope you can read a map." Shinkoku grumbled.
"Guys… why would these people have someone locked up, or be involved with those wolves? Do you guys have any idea what that's all about?" Naruto asked confusedly.
"... I'm not sure. Whoever this kid is, if he's in one of the vaults, he's probably powerful or potentially dangerous if he falls into the wrong hands. But these visions are guiding us for a reason, so I say we follow them." Seikoku replied after giving it some thought.
"... And why did you morons drag me along again? I have training with Itachi I could be doing." Sasuke cracked back.
"Because, if you're having visions too, then you're going to be involved somehow in the future." Kei told him, looking over a trail marker on the map.
"And why would you pea brains think releasing a prisoner is a good idea?" Sasuke questioned.
"To be fair, we don't know for sure that he's a prisoner. But he's in those vaults for a reason. I just have a feeling that these visions are telling us to release him." Shinkoku added.
"How do we know it's a he? We only saw their eyes…" Naruto said simply.
"Good point. I guess we'll find out when we get there." Seikoku replied with a shrug.
"Wait… I think we found the spot from Naruto's vision! There's a clearing just up ahead!" Kei replied, pointing at a spot on the map.
The mountain path soon began to climb, but even at the angle, they could see the edges of the forest, one more full of pine trees than the oaks they were used to. Yet it felt familiar to them. When they finally arrived, rising over a crest in the path, it was the clearing, just as it was in the dream. Full of the same swaying grasses, flowers, and the same aura it had. Yet there was no sign of any wolves, which confused them.
"This is it… this is the clearing. The wolves aren't here, but this is definitely it." Naruto noted in awe, looking around the clearing.
"So… what now?" Seikoku asked, looking around expecting something.
"Now Naruto guides us through to the mountain maze so I can take over." Sasuke noted, looking around as well.
"So, we have chosen death. Got it." Shinkoku sighed.
"Hey! I've got a great sense of direction!" Naruto offendedly huffed.
"You got lost going to the bathroom down the hall at the last Chūnin Exams!" Shinkoku shot back.
"I was running on low sleep!" Naruto replied indignantly.
"And you're not now!?" Seikoku chipped in.
"Guys, please focus…" Kei groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Right! If I remember… the mountain maze should be that way." Naruto replied, pointing in a direction to their center right.
Kei looked at the map to make sure. "Well… there is a pretty big mountain area in that direction, according to the map…" he noted.
"What kind of madmen are we related to if they were willing to live in the center of this horrible place? How did they move around this craphole?" Seikoku asked, looking around at the mountains that surrounded them.
"I think it's kind of nice. Fresh mountain air, nice plants, hungry cave leopard… wait, what!?" Shinoku noted before realizing what he just said as he noticed the creature coming out of the shadows.
The boys had seen the big cats before behind the safety of steel bars. Yet, as the beast stepped into the sun, it was clear that this was not the kind of animal they had seen before. Its spotted hide was more faded silver in color, as if the mountain air had sucked the color out of it. However, while it superficially looked like a leopard, it was far more massive. Standing nearly as tall as a tiger, it curled back its lips to reveal fangs like steak knives, and its eyes bore the distinct look of a cruel intelligence. As if it knew exactly what it wanted to do to them, and it was going to enjoy it.
"Don't move. Its vision is based on movement." Seikoku whispered.
"That's dinosaurs, you idiot…!" Shinkoku hissed in annoyance.
"Sasuke. You like cats. You talk to it." Seikoku whispered to him, while keeping his eyes on the cave beast.
Gulping, Sasuke took a step forward as the leopard growled. "N…nice cave leopard. We're not food. We're just passing through…" he tried to calmly say, not wanting to agitate the predator.
However, the feline cocked its head, as if almost offended by such a crude gesture. And they soon found out what happened when you offended them. The beast growled before snarling and leaping, trying to pounce on them.
"Scatter!" Naruto called out as the boys scrambled to dodge the beast's lunge.
The massive cat landed with its claws digging into the ground where they had once stood. Drawing kunai, the boys surrounded it and tried to always keep one eye on it. Snarling, the hungry beast stalked around in a circle, looking at the morsels that had surrounded it as it waited for an opening. Seeing one, it lunged at Sasuke, trying to pounce on him. Just barely dodging, Sasuke slashed at its side only for it to jump aside, growling viciously.
Drawing three shuriken, Kei threw them at the predatory beast to try to catch it off guard. However, as if sensing the move, it jumped over the throw as the shuriken soared and stabbed into the trunk of a tree. Cursing, Kei had to jump to dodge as the beast tried to pounce down on him, its claws digging deep into the trunk of the tree behind him. Growling, the leopard growled at the boys as it circled them like a shark that had smelled blood in the water.
Seeing its opening, it lunged, heading right for Naruto. Crying out, Naruto pulled his kunai up as the leopard pounced on him. The blade of the knife dug into its chest as it yowled in pain, leaping back. Scrambling to its feet, injured but far from fatally, it snarled at the boys before running off, clearly deeming them not worth the effort. As easily as it showed up, it slunk back into the undergrowth of the forest as the boys panted in fear.
"Anyone hurt?" Naruto asked, looking over at his team.
"We should be asking you that! You're the one it almost made a meal out of!" Sasuke snapped at his friend, rushing to check on him.
"I'm just glad you guys are safe…" Naruto said, before being cut off.
"We're fine, thanks to you. Nice move with getting your kunai up that fast." Kei noted with a smile.
"Let's get moving before something else thinks we look like a meal…" Naruto said, before taking the path towards the maze, throwing the blood-soaked kunai into the undergrowth.
As the rest of them began to follow their orange-clad leader, they walked through the small patch of forest before taking a winding trail down into a mist-covered valley. Carved by a mountain stream, sprays of water kept the area moist and covered in plants. To their surprise, the leopard was not the only larger than expected animal. Deer towered over the size of cows, shaggy cave beasts like a cross of a rhino and a boar were as big as elephants, colossal turtles as big as houses swam in the streams, catching fish as long as telephone poles. It was as if it was a land time had forgotten, where the rules of nature did not apply.
Yet, as they walked down the old path, they noticed signs that man had indeed trod upon these lands. Carved into the sheer canyon walls, inside large stumps of ancient trees long dead, or out in the open, were small shrines in shockingly good condition. Each had a statue to a god or spirit in them, sometimes multiple, but none were of a deity or spirit that they recognized. And as they went, their numbers seemed to increase, but so did the caves that formed in the sides of the canyons. Some clearly were simple holes while others had bones around them, indicating predators, of which they made a swift passage past.
However, as they approached one around a corner, they heard the distinct sound of munching. Not like a cow eating grass or people eating a meal. It was the raw, visceral sound of something crunching bones like they were crackers between iron hard teeth. Something that was not friendly or ever would be friendly. Seeing no other way around, as they had no means of running on the canyon walkways or climbing it, they had to try to face what was before them. They wished they would find another way around very soon.
Rounding the corner, they saw several small humanoids with a sickening green colored skin, greasy black hair in wild fuzzy manes, and skinny bodies akin to monkeys. Yet what creeped them out were their heads. It was as if someone had forced a pumpkin onto such a small body, no more than three feet tall. Yet the large, almost oval heads bore great maws, filled with jagged, snarling teeth as if they had become no more like feral cats. Between the two of them, however, was one that was far larger, pushing that of height closer to their mothers. All three however were morosely eating away at scraps, not at anything substantial in terms of sustenance. Yet, despite this disturbing sight, there was somehow something even more horrifying near them.
The source of the crunching sounds came from a far larger humanoid. Despite sitting and having a perpetual stoop, almost like a gorilla, the mammoth monster was likely pushing ten feet tall. Its skin was an earthen grayish brown, cobbled and warted almost like a stone street. Long, thick arms tipped in great anvil sized hands gripped the leg of a cave beast, bringing it to a thick, boxy head on an equally thick and stout neck. Though it was so thick and short one would swear it did not have a neck next to its massively wide shoulders. When it finally stood, its legs were so stout that its gargantuan hands nearly dragged onto the ground. Yet it turned to look at them with beady amber eyes, and its slitted nostrils gave a mighty sniff, before craning its vision to look at the five.
"They have a cave troll. Of course they have a cave troll." Shinkoku sighed.
"I think you mean it has goblins. Grandpa did always say they were easy for powerful creatures to force them into servitude." Seikoku retorted.
"Less lecturing, more getting ready to fight…" Kei growled at his brothers.
As if a switch had flipped in the brain of the mountain of muscle, the cave troll let out a bellowing, guttural roar. The goblins soon yipped and yapped as they drew jagged, rusty shanks, their thin lips stretched with glee at what they knew was about to happen. This time, however, the young shinobi were ready to fight. Seeing the corpses around the cave mouth, they noticed swords of varying makes and conditions strung among them. Soon the five bolted, scrambling to get something bigger than a kunai. However, their search was interrupted by the barreling charge of the giant lummox.
Dodging aside, this allowed the cave troll to barrel into the side of the cave, the stone wall shaking from the impact. Rolling to their feet, each boy grabbed a sword, shield, and a helm that were suspiciously close to their sizes. Shaking off any questions for now, they prepared for battle, now armed and ready. The goblins hissed and yapped as they rushed in, trying to stab at them as they rushed in with their rusty weapons. Blocking them with their shields, the boys tried to push the goblins back only to have to dodge around the charge of the troll again. Letting out another bellowing roar, the beast hefted a great club that looked more like part of a small tree that had been ripped out of the ground, tipped in a sharpened stone made into a makeshift ax head.
Bellowing again, the cave troll swung its massive weapon at our heroes, who ducked and jumped over to avoid being hit. The sharpened edge of the stone slammed into the wall, rattling the cave from the strength of the beast. Noting what would happen if they got hit by a blow like that one, the boys made note to keep the troll in sight at all times while trying to deal with the goblins. Bashing them with their shields and slashing and stabbing with their swords, the boys tried to beat back the goblins while they stalled for time to think of a way out of this. All the while, the troll lumbered about the cave, slamming edged club and fist down in an attempt to crush the boys and make a meal out of them.
Finally, Sasuke managed to shield bash a goblin in the face, dazing it as it stumped back. Seeing his opening, he plunged his blade into its face, stabbing the goblin in the eye. As it yapped and hissed in agony, trying to pull the blade out, he kicked it hard in the stomach to knock the wind out of it as he jumped onto it, plunging his short sword deep into its skill and killing it. Rolling aside, he barely avoided being crushed by the cave troll's club as the goblin was smashed with a sickening, gory crunch, its head sent flying with Sasuke's blade still impaled in its face. As the head rolled to a stop before him, Sasuke tried not to gag and throw up at what he had just seen as he reached down, planted his foot on the severed head, and then grabbed the hilt of his sword before pulling it free of the goblin's eye socket.
Gagging and fighting down bile, Sasuke wiped the blood off of the blade and onto the clothes of a nearby corpse as he prepared to keep fighting. Meanwhile, Naruto clashed with another goblin as he slammed the edge of his shield into its temple. Seeing it stagger back and leave itself open, Naruto swung his sword down in a chopping motion and sliced off the hand that held its shiv. As the goblin yapped and hissed in pain, it clutched the stump where its hand once was as Naruto stabbed his sword into its mouth, piercing through the back of its neck and severing its spine. Gagging and fighting down bile, Naruto kicked the corpse of the goblin off his blade before wiping his blade clean on its loincloth, trying to not be sick before rolling away to dodge as the fist of the cave troll came down, crushing its slain subordinate under its massive knuckles.
Meanwhile, the triplets triple tag teamed at the largest of the three goblins. The monkey-like beast had thrown aside its shiv in favor of a short sword and shield of its own. Blocking slashes from the three Kamishini boys and slashing and stabbing with its own blade, it tried to outmaneuver them and take them down one by one. Dodging around a stab from one of the boys, it tried to slash down on Kei only for Shinkoku to block the slash with his shield.
Meanwhile, Seikoku let out a battle roar as he got a running start, jumped, and kicked off a wall to land on the head of the goblin. Hissing and snarling, the ape-like beast tried to shake and throw him off as Seikoku held on, stabbing his blade into its shoulder to have something to hold onto. As the beast howled in pain while it shook and bucked, Kei and Shinkoku turned to look at each other and nodded. Running up, Shinkoku slid to the floor and kicked the goblin between its legs, forcing it to stumble back.
Running up as well, Kei got into a full sprint as Shinkoku held up his shield to give his brother a platform. Running up, Kei vaulted off Shinkoku's shield as Shinkoku slashed at the Goblin's ankles with a sweeping cut. Yelping in agony, the beast threw itself back in agony as it fell to its knees, throwing Seikoku off it as he rolled with the momentum, getting back to his feet and pulling another sword from another corpse as he got up. Meanwhile, Kei raised his sword as high as he could and, using the momentum of his fall, swung with all his might, cleaving the goblin's head in two in a shower of blood.
Panting, the five boys turned to look at the cave troll as it bellowed and charged like a mad bull. Rolling aside, they barely avoided it as it slammed into the wall of the cavern with the force of a runaway locomotive. Stumbling back, the troll roared and swung its club wildly in an attempt to hit them. As the boys jumped, ducked, and dodged around the swings of the massive club, they caught sight of something. An indention in the stone where the troll's last charge had hit the cavern wall. Getting an idea, Naruto called out to his friends.
"Guys! I have a plan! Lure it to the wall of the cave and get it to smash at it trying to hit you! Then we bring the cave down on it!" Naruto called out.
"Are you crazy, Naruto!?" Sasuke demanded, dodging under a swing from the cave troll.
"Just do it, Duck Butt! We can't kill this thing if we don't!" Kei called out to his Uchiha friend.
"Fine, but, if we die, I'm kicking all of your butts when we get to the underworld!" Sasuke called out back.
"Noted! Now follow the order!" Shinkoku called out, dodging a punch from the ape-like behemoth.
With that, the boys began to stab and slash at the troll to anger it, then guided it towards the spot Naruto pointed at. Kei stepped in front of the spot and blew a raspberry at the troll as he called out.
"Hey, ya' big, dumb ape! Over here!" the Kamishini boy called out, turning his butt to the troll and smacking his own behind with his shield to taunt it.
Letting out a bellowing roar, the troll charged with all its might. Rolling aside, Kei let the troll slam headfirst into the wall, hitting the same spot from earlier. Dazed for a moment, the troll stumbled back as it tried to shake its head. Meanwhile, Shinkoku ran in front of the same spot and threw his sword at its head. The blade hit the stone-like behemoth in the nose, piercing it and making it roar in pain as it turned to look at him. He stuck his tongue out at it and taunted it.
"Nice try, Ugly, but you're too slow!" Shinkoku called out, enraging the troll even more.
Letting out a bellowing roar, the troll swung its club with all its strength at the spot where the young Kamishini was standing. Shinkoku rolled to the side to dodge as the club slammed into the wall sharpened stone first. The cave rattled from the impact as a small crack began to form in the wall. Soon, the crack began to spread as the troll looked up at the cracking ceiling above it. Throwing a kunai at the troll, hitting it in the eye, Sasuke then took his turn as it roared in pain.
"Come on, dumbass! Is that all you've got!?" the young Uchiha taunted.
Glaring with fury in its eyes, the troll had had enough. Half blind from its eye being impaled and blind with fury, it charged with full strength and top speed. However, Sasuke positioned himself so that it would collide with the wall, then jumped aside as it got close enough to cause it to barrel into the wall like a runaway train. The cave began to shake and tremble as the cracks on the wall and ceiling spread and grew from the troll's head slamming into the source.
Running out of the cave, the boys got to safety as Naruto drew a kunai and reached into his backpack to pull out something special. Something he had packed in case of an emergency. Considering their situation, he believed this qualified as an emergency. Pulling out an exploding tag, he wrapped it around the handle of the kunai.
"It's crushing time!!!" Naruto roared with vigor.
Throwing it with all his might, he hit the spot where the now dazed troll's head had impacted, the kunai plunging into the crack. Soon, the tag hissed before exploding. The blast rattled the cave as the entire place began coming down. The troll bellowed as it was buffeted by falling rocks before being buried alive. All that was left that was visible was the troll's hand, which was barely visible from the rubble.
"You maniac!! Where did you get an exploding tag!?" Sasuke roared as he coughed from the dust.
"I found it in my mom's underwear drawer for some reason." Naruto answered.
"Why did your mom have an exploding tag in her… never mind. I don't wanna know…" Kei replied, coughing as he waved the dust out of his face.
"No one is going to ask why he was in her underwear drawer?" Shinkoku coughed out confusedly.
"I was looking around in her room for something that could come in handy during the trip." Naruto coughed out in reply from the dust.
"Can we get to this damn mountain before we have to deal with another thing that wants to eat us?" Seikoku asked as he picked himself up before dusting himself off.
With a mutual nod from the others, the five continued their march as Sasuke took the lead. Through further winding valleys, canyons, and crags they marched, their feet on the verge of bleeding through their sandals, and their legs feeling the burn of their forced march. Yet, finally, it came into view. They could not mistake the colossal peak for anything less. Reaching so high that they could not see its peak through the clouds, the wide based mountain could not have been anything other than the Mountain of Death. The home of titans among men.
With vigor finally finding its purchase and a second wind upon their loins, they redoubled their efforts. By nightfall, they finally reached the edge of the peak, and into the nearest opening. Unlike the caves they had seen, it was a gate made of arched and vaulted stone, carved directly into the mountain itself. The floors were smooth and polished, though dusty with a sandal-thick layer on the floor. The walls were covered in kanji like runes and various works of art, depictions of events long since passed that they could not understand. Yet hardly any of them were battle scenes, much to their confusion.
"Kei, you said these guys were super powerful and stuff, right?" Naruto asked as he looked at a mural depicting a leader from his people.
"Extremely so. Why?" Kei replied, raising an eyebrow.
"Then why are there no battles on these murals?" Naruto asked in confusion, as more and more murals continued to appear, melting and shifting into new forms as they walked along.
"... I love magic…" Kei replied with a smile, sensing what this was.
"How can you say that? You've never felt magic before?" Seikoku scoffed at his brother.
"Close your eyes and feel it. It feels just like how grandpa said it would to anyone who can use sensory powers." Kei explained to his cohorts.
The two closed their eyes, and nearly immediately they were hit by it, as if someone punched them in the chest. Shocked, Naruto and Sasuke closed their own eyes. Despite them only having chakra, even they could feel the overwhelming presence of this thing they called magic.
"It's like… a wind. A gentle fall wind that's swirling around, weaving itself in and out of everything…" Shinkoku said in awe as he opened his eyes, as if now seeing a whole new world.
"But it's… chaotic. Like there's a storm roiling under it, waiting to be unleashed." Sasuke continued, in awe at what he felt.
"This… this is definitely the right place." Naruto said with a big smile.
Soon, however, this moment was shattered by a wild cackle. "Except you're here at the wrong time! AHH-HAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!" Came a cackling, feral voice from the shadows, pinning the boys in fear at what was yet to come…
To Be Continued…