Naruto: Tango with Death

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Takashi slid on the water surface, and spat out a mouthful of blood as he tried getting up. I quickly stopped him though, placing my foot on his chest as I asked, "That technique of yours, where did you learn it?"

Takashi looked a little confused, and I saw him pause longer than normal on my foot before saying, "I-I learned it from one of our guards."

"Is it a mandatory technique in the army?"

His eyes back on my foot, Takashi gulped and replied, "No, it's his special technique. He was a captain in our guards, a brave man."

I knew I recognized that technique! Captain Katai!

C Rank Mission, capture the convicts. I faced a man, called Captain Katai, who was unusually strong, and he used the exact same technique on me, almost killing me.

However, I pretended I knew nothing about him and asked, pressing a little harder with my foot, "Was?"

Takashi once again gulped, still staring solidly at my foot, and said, "Yes. He was charged with treason, but it's all weird."

"Hmm?"

Takashi finally looked away and added, "Sorry, I talk too much. Could you…"

I moved my foot up, flicking his chin with my toes as I asked, "What happened? Tell me."

Takashi's lower body suddenly sunk down, but he was fast enough to catch himself with his hands. Or is he hiding a bon… I don't want to know.

Takashi, who was now furiously blushing, tried to make himself as small as possible as he said, "It's just the usual boring politics. Mother had him arrested for treason, like she always does when someone gets in her way."

Well, ain't that interesting?

I removed my foot from him and said, "You loose. You are too predictable."

Thinking I was only talking of his fighting techniques, Takashi's face returned a little closer to normal as he nodded sheepishly.

I rolled my eyes at him before walking away. I could almost feel the boy's gaze on me, which made me smile internally. No, I'm not attracted to him in any shape or form, but having him at my beck and call could be a very valuable asset.

Now that I made sure he wasn't the creepy dude I thought he first was, of course. Besides, I would rather have a relatively handsome boy around my age chasing after me than some creepy old man. Or even someone in his thirties or twenties for that matters.

I may have been in my twenties in my past life, that doesn't mean I want someone that age right now, because whoever would date a 9 years old while being at least 20 was definitely not someone anyone should get with.

BACHELOR FOREVER OROCHIMARU!!

Anyway, with that out of my system, I walked out of the water. Madam Shijimi was nowhere to be seen, maybe she was venting somewhere else, or she was getting treated, but in any case I was alone as I laid prone under the sun.

As an asian oriented world, the beauty standards here are to have pale skin, 'jade like skin' if you will.

I, however, didn't really have to worry about this. By absorbing Yang Chakra, my body receives an all around improvement, which of course includes my skin. Actually, my skin is one of the places that receives the most nourishment, since any form of energy has to pass through it.

On the other hand, tanning is nothing more than the skin getting damaged from the sun's rays, so as I grew stronger, my resistance to the sun did too, meaning I could stay under the sun for pretty much as long as I want and not get any tan.

A bit sad, if you ask me, I like having a tan, but I guess it does help in this world.

Wait, is that why all Sages of Six Paths, Otsotsuki and Jinchuriki of the Ten Tails are all so white?

Something to think about…

While I was deep in thought, I heard footsteps approach me, unfamiliar ones, and a male voice say, "May I ask you something?"

I looked up, and spotted the monk, Chiriku. I hummed in agreement, and he asked, "Would you happen to know a man called Might Guy?"

I nodded and replied, "I train under him. You met?"

Chiriku smiled and said, "One of my colleagues used to work for Konoha, so he comes back to the village from time to time, when we have free time. I came with him to visit the leaf once, and there I met this man, Might Guy. A truly… unique person."

I snorted, "You can say weird. Because he is. But he's also the greatest Taijutsu Master in the world."

Chiriku picked up, "You hold him in high esteem."

"Don't you?"

Chiriku nodded, "I was younger when we met. More foolish. I believed myself, and my arts, to be invincible. He showed me I wasn't."

This did get my curiosity, so I asked, "What are your arts, exactly? I've only ever been taught Ninshu."

Chiriku shrugged slightly and said, "It's similar to Ninshu, but at the same time it isn't. I guess you can say it is a different use of chakra."

I asked, "Could you show me your lowest level technique?"

Chiriku titled his head and said, "This is… Well, I don't see why not."

He closed his eyes, opened a palm toward the ground, and the other in front of his heart. I felt my mind tingle as a strange aura appeared around Chiriku, when suddenly the aura manifested itself in the physical world.

A red fist appeared out of thin air and punched the ground in front of me, making a hole.

Chiriku then opened his eyes, and said, "That would be the equivalent of my weakest attack, chakra wise that is."

I nodded slightly before asking, "Then could I ask you for guidance?"

"Guidance?"

I circulated my chakra through four of my Tenketsu, and I felt my spirit bolster up as I started emitting some aura. However, it quickly disappeared.

Chiriku, who usually kept a rather indifferent face, now looked surprised as he asked, "You learned the Gift of the Sages? I thought you were only taught Ninshu?"

I shook my head and replied, "I am self taught. I discovered this technique some time ago, but was always quite confused by it, since it didn't seem to do anything. Clearly, it is the one you just used. But then, why do we differ so much?"

Chiriku mumbled, "That is something only someone self taught would ask… How strange. Before answering you, I must tell you where the Gift of the Sages come from."

I nodded, listening, and Chiriku said, "Hundreds of years ago, the Summoning world was discovered by practitioners of Ninjutsu. You must be familiar with it?"

I once again nodded, and Chiriku added, "The Summon World is under the affluence of several clans, each of which is headed by a Sage."

I gasped, "So the Gift of the Sages isn't from the Sage of Six Paths, but…"

Chiriku nodded, "Yes, the Sages of the summon world. The reason your technique did not do anything is because you did not sign any contract with any Sage's Spirit."

I guessed, "To sign this contract, you don't necessarily need to go to the Summon World, do you? Would be a bit unpractical otherwise."

Chiriku corroborated my guess, "Indeed, you don't. Instead, you need to draw their spirit to you through a special meditation technique. Once you do sign the contract, a part of the Sage's Spirit will imprint itself in your mind, which will allow you to summon said imprint to fight."

I noticed, "The Sage seems to be losing quite badly."

Chiriku replied, "Of course, there is a price to pay. Different spirits have different demands, but most of them ask for simple sacrifices. We, at the Temple of Fire, only deal with peaceful spirits with simple demands. Most of them ask for some Yin Chakra."

I nodded, and asked, "Would it be possible to learn this special meditation technique? Of course, I would perfectly understand if you can't, you have already answered many of my queries."