"Do we know anything more at this point?" asked the Hokage.
"What we've been able to determine is that it's some kind of space/time fold, and that he's gone for about an hour," said the ANBU with the hannya mask. "It occurs an hour after he's asleep. During that time he apparently goes through more than an hour of whatever he's doing - the amount of damage to his clothing and writing in that book of his would take more than a single hour to accomplish."
"That book of his," prompted the Hokage.
"Unknown language, diagrams, seals, and all written in Uzumaki's handwriting - which has improved since he started penning it but still is hardly that impressive." Hannya considered something.
"Something you noticed?" asked the Hokage.
"We used Hana Inuzuka to identify the odd smell that appears in Uzumaki's apartment," said Hannya. "Wherever he goes, there is an ocean. Also old stone and graves."
"Do we know how long this was going on before we noticed?" asked the Hokage.
"Yes, we are relatively sure that the boy's book was probably purchased at the beginning of these disappearances, and the blank book was purchased at a calligraphy store here in Konoha. Canary investigated and found that it was purchased a year and a half ago, one of a series of blank books meant for personal journals and the like. The ink Uzumaki uses is likewise nothing special, though there is an odd scent to indicate something may have been added. The cover and front page are part of a seal. But there was a peculiarity noted."
"Oh?" asked the Hokage.
A small folded letter was pulled out of a sleeve and laid upon the desk. "It was addressed to you, sir."
"Eh?" asked the Hokage, who took it, opened it, and then read it. His eyes visibly widened almost immediately and when he finished, he carefully folded the letter back up before using a quick jutsu to reduce the letter to ash.
"Hokage-sama, that letter. Did I recognize the handwriting?" asked Hannya.
"The Fourth Hokage," admitted the Third Hokage.
"Isn't he... dead?" asked Hannya.
"Yes, he is, and yes it was, and yes it was recently written - probably within the past two days, and yes, he has been dead for six years," said the Hokage, sitting back in his chair and staring at the ceiling for a few minutes.
"So it's a forgery?" asked Hannya.
"Is that what you think?" countered the Hokage.
"More along the line of hoping, because the alternative that suggests itself is... concerning," admitted Hannya.
"Need I say that all this is to be considered an S-Class secret?" asked the Hokage.
"No, I think everyone understands that," said Hannya.
"I'll check in on things myself," said the Third eventually.
much later:
He felt the slight chill in the air before the shadow. That told him who was interrupting his kunai practice before the other spoke.
"Uchiha."
"Uzumaki."
"You have lost many. Your clan was slaughtered."
"You state the obvious," said Sasuke, turning back to the targets.
"The dead pass messages on through me," said Naruto. "Your uncle wants you to have something he had hidden away."
"People who are killed are dead," stated Sasuke.
"The dead do not always rest," stated Naruto. "Come on, I don't want to get woken up by Teyaki Uchiha again tonight. Let the poor spirit go to his rest."
"Oh?" asked Sasuke, curious now.
It had been exactly where Naruto had indicated. A stone which had been cut, hollowed out and then rejoined. In it was the secret recipe of Uchiha Senbei as well as a few other documents and a small journal.
As soon as he'd gotten back to the home he'd occupied since the Massacre, Sasuke had hidden the recipe away and begun going through the rest of the documents.
When he was done, he sat back and considered things. Naruto Uzumaki could speak with the dead. Which was not as impressive as the idea that the dead could answer him.
This was a secret, something Sasuke understood. It was a great and terrible secret, and as long as it remained secret - it was a power that could come as a surprise to give an advantage to those associating with the sleep-deprived boy known as Naruto Uzumaki.
Power was something to be acquired and cultivated.
If it wasn't a bloodline, then it still wasn't a regular jutsu. Many people had noted that Naruto's eyes seemed to track motion in an empty room or that he'd look or react to something nobody else saw. This just made him really weird to most. Sasuke now had a pretty good idea of WHAT Naruto was seeing.
How many ghosts could there be in a ninja village? How many dead were unable to rest within its borders?
No, this was one jutsu that even if he COULD learn it - Sasuke decided that he would avoid trying that one. It seemed to carry a particularly heavy burden.
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(Posted Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:25)
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