A strange new life

5.16

That revelation distracted me enough that I couldn’t concentrate on deciphering the wood clone details for the rest of our vigil. I knew there was more happening behind the scenes. If the Hyuga was making a play for the Hokage position, I was sure the other shinobi families wouldn’t let this opportunity pass. Another clan came to mind that could also use this opportunity: the Uchihas’.

I didn’t know much about them even after many years. They controlled the police force. They were ridiculously strong. Emotions ran hot on that clan. They already wanted to try a coup before. I wasn’t sure what the clan political situation was at the moment. Danzo, I think, was the one in the original story oppressing the clan to the point of rebellion. Itachi’s father was the one more vocal about fighting back. Itachi was a pacifist at heart, and Shisui was willing to use a genjutsu on his own clan to prevent civil war.

Itachi was now the Uchiha’s clan leader. Shisui was a member of the ANBU.

That particular branch of secret ninjas was the last one I would expect to cause trouble to the village. They operated directly under the Hokage.

A deluge of information flooding my mind put a stop to any political consideration. I pushed thoughts about the shinobi family, Hokage’s succession and stolen eyes out of my mind. Scout-chan finished her job and unpopped herself.

There was a lot to parse through, but also, not that much actionable intel. Scout-chan found many things to report: hidden traps, places where paper seals were placed, battle scars and trails. From the looks of it, this hideout used a similar technique to Yamato’s house jutsu, only that those seals had faded and not been replaced in a while. Perhaps there was no one still keeping the hideout operating?

I organized the information, saluted in Scout-chan's last known direction. She would be missed. Then I turned and went looking for Yamato.

I found him talking to his clone. Yamato-clone’s report was similar to Scout-chan. None of them entered the hideout, and there was no evidence that anyone, apart from a big heavy humanoid creature with claws and a big sword, went in or out recently. When the clone was done, I wrote my report. Yamato was patient enough to wait until I wrote everything my clone found out. When I was finished, the man was scratching his chin.

“All the information points to that no one is currently inside the place, aside from the creature we defeated a few days ago. It might be worth moving our camp here, that way Hayase can keep an eye at the entrance while Sai is still recovering from his injuries.”

I gave Yamato a thumbs up. Easier than writing down a response. With one last look toward the hideout entrance, we left.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Things moved fast after that. When we returned, Yamato explained the plan. Hayase took charge of carrying Sai. The house went puff, and we hurried toward the new camp location. All in all, it took hours to relocate, reorganize and prepare the new camp. Night had already fallen when we finished setting things up again.

This close to the enemy’s place, I wasn’t about to relax security. Even if the house was hidden under Yamato’s seals, a bit more protection wouldn’t go amiss. My hands flashed again, out popped two clones. Sentry-chan the First and Second saluted, then moved out to keep watch. I popped out my apron and went to make sure my domain was in order, and to prepare food. After today’s revelation I wanted to eat something special. I had a feeling tomorrow wouldn’t be a good day. Better make sure to keep spirits up before delving into a madman’s house.

Yamato and I had already explored part of the hideout complex. Much to my disappointment, the places explored were devoid of life, even if not of danger. It was all a bit sus. The complex had no power, and signs of being abandoned in haste. I think I knew the reason for that. It was big, had several arms and heads and was deadly.

What had the people from Oto done after fleeing from Konoha? Where was the sound four. Wasn’t Kimimaro supposed to be here in this hideout? At least, that was the impression I got when querying my brain for memories. At this point, I wasn’t certain anymore, but the main beats of the story were still somewhat clear to me. In the Sasuke recovery mission, egged on by Kabuto, Kimimaro left his treatment to help bring Emosuke to Orochimaru. This place didn’t match my expectations.

We had managed to find what seemed to be a vault of sorts. One still locked and trapped. If Kabuto had returned here after fleeing Konoha, he hadn’t managed to access that place as well.

Trying to open the vault was going to take a lot of time. Which was why I convinced Yamato-taicho to let me explore on my own. I could use my clones to help with the traps and stay safe, we’ve done it a few days already while exploring. And I was never alone on my own anyway.

Crouched down in the dark tunnel, I studied the walls, floor and ceiling. This was one of the passages where the chimera hadn’t gone through. When we first entered the place, it became obvious that most of the traps were sprung on what I’ve been calling the prison path. If we followed the obvious destruction, we had a relatively clear path from the entrance to the cells. I reckon that’s where they’d been keeping the creature until it broke free.

The cells were… not a good place.

Small, rough stone cubicles, with a single opening barred by thick metal doors. A small slit on the metal door let me see the interior. It reminded me of those solitary confinement cells in the before. The whole prison stank of decay and shit. A single peek inside the cells was enough for me. I’d leave identifying the bodies to the others. I was, after all, a young impressionable kunoichi. I wasn’t averse to playing the child card to avoid that particular duty.

The cells all fed into this one corridor that led to an underground arena. The arena’s floor was full of crusted and dried blood.

The sequence of events in my mind was like this: After days without anyone to keep maintenance in place, the chimera escaped. It tore a path toward the exit, springing most of the traps in its way. Once outside, the creature attacked nearby settlements, but often returned to the hideout for one reason or another.

I think the passage I was casing at the moment led to the labs. I had already found what seemed to be a dormitory, a common area, and storage. There were a few more passages to explore. Yamato was on the other side of the complex, trying to break past one particular nasty trap. He was sure it was a vault of sorts. If we were lucky, most of the information we wanted was stored there.

The dark corridor I was in now didn’t seem trapped. No strange markings on the walls, no fissures on the ground, no wires or strange devices. I summoned Decoy-chan, the Eleventh. She glared at me, gave me the finger, but did her duty. She strode toward the door, and when nothing happened, pulled it open.

Somehow, I was expecting an explosion, maybe poison, or something more insidious.

Decoy-chan peeked inside and froze. Without looking back, she unpopped herself. I was right. This tunnel led into the labs. The room was large, partially hidden in darkness. In the middle of the room, an operation table, with a corpse on top of it. On the walls, rolls of vat tubes, filled with green goop. Human shaped silhouettes barely visible inside said goop.

I closed my eyes. Tried to stop my trembling hands. I knew there was a chance to find more experiments. I had avoided thinking about it until now. I had hoped there would be no mad-lab here.