Juugo Uzumaki - Chapter 28

Juugo stood in the dark by the river, feeling alive as he tucked another seal to the side.

The stone didn't move, not yet while Juugo tirelessly unlocked the seals holding it closed. He pried them away, finding his chakra an adequate tool as he pushed it from his fingertips.

Shift.

There was one left, holding strong like a chain as Juugo wiped the sweat from his face. It had been like this for 4 hours, the night now in full swing as the moon hid behind the clouds.

He released the final mechanism, dodging to the side as a door of stone opened in the cliff. Juugo waited, leaning away from the foul air that escaped, trying not to gag as he edged to the door.

The door was thick as he peered inside, at least a foot of solid stone as Juugo followed the tunnel with his eyes, seeing how it disappeared round a bend. There were no lights, nor a place for them as he stepped cautiously out.

!

He ducked, then rolled as he dodged the flying kunai, the tips clipping the stone as Juugo cringed.

The noise reverberated, as Juugo waited in a ready crouch by the door, having felt the earth shift as he'd stepped inside. He'd come too far to turn back, too far as he rose steadily, then glanced behind as precautions came to mind.

Keep the door open.

Juugo hopped back, collecting the Kunai as he went in search of a stone to wedge the door with. There were some near the river as he stowed the kunai, a dozen or so in a spot by the door before jogging to the river.

Splash.

He reached below, holding the bank as his other hand fished for a stone amid the flowing river. There were many as Juugo carried them back, planning to wedge each one beneath the door.

Mizuki hadn't bothered. It was just a precaution as Juugo stuffed the last one under, looking for traps as he walked through the tunnelling passage.

It was pitch black, which Juugo didn't mind as he avoided the wires by the first bend, seeing the path begin to lower.

There was something ahead now, an opening as the tunnel guided him on, the traps ending as he arrived at the strange cave.

It wasn't natural, far from it as Juugo noticed the domed ceiling, smoothed by means unknown. He'd never seen anything like this as he stepped in, looking about with interest at the derelict things inside.

Tables, broken with missing legs. Chairs, cabinets and files, all of it littering the floors as Juugo walked between them.

He picked a page up, one of many that had fallen from filing cabinet, now bent and destroyed on the floor beside them.

Juugo read it, frowning as words he couldn't read dotted the page. It was something about… he blinked, saying the word aloud.

Hybridisation.

…

He wondered what that was, reading still as the notes became unintelligible. Frenzied.

Juugo set it aside, placing it back as he circled the room, deciding to read it all later once he'd figured this out.

The barrier, he could feel it now, pulsing from a seal directly above him. Which was high on the ceiling, too far to see as he looked away, finding his eyes settle with interest on the seals circling the walls.

He approached, touching quickly at the stone as he drank the knowledge they gave.

So this was it, he thought. Seeing now how the seals linked to each other, forming a chain like those at the front, forming a loop around the room.

It was very creative, ingenious even as Juugo pondered how he could use it.

He needed paper. Now, as he looked for a pen too.

Rustle.

Juugo gathered the discarded sheets, glancing at the empty backs as he searched for a pen. There had to be one around, as he searched the mess haphazardly.

"Yes!"

He headed back, arriving at the wall with sheets of paper as he began to copy, knowing he'd need to reference it later.

Scribble Scribble.

It was simple, so simple as Juugo found the pattern, seeing how the seals repeated after 24 chain rings.

24.

He scribbled it down, drawing next as he sketched each section in detail, trying to discern their meaning.

Some were delicate, with lines of connecting strokes as they covered the stone. Whereas others, like this one as he touched it, were thick and crude.

As if, drawn by a different hand while Juugo continued to scribble, adding notes as he went with his observations.

…

"Huh?" he said, glancing at his pen. "Damn."

The pen had run out, empty as Juugo shook it, still nothing.

He placed it down, feeling satisfied still as he gathered his notes, which had become strewn like the others behind.

Great minds work alike, so they say as Juugo stood with a sigh, stretching as he noticed the air.

It was fine, no smell at all as he stilled in thought.

He turned around, looking once again at the room at large as he searched in vain.

There had to be more here.

…

Juugo stowed his notes, deciding to fold them into his shorts pocket as he walked away, heading back through the tunnel.

He sniffed, getting a whiff as he felt the bend with his hand. There were no seals here, nor chakra as Juugo placed his hand, pushing with all his might.

The stone shifted, groaning with dust as a passage appeared.

Juugo covered his nose, flinching away as the air swept past him. He had dislodged the stone enough as he looked through the gap, lowering his hand as the doors inside came into view, running in a row across a section of wall.

Strange, as Juugo slipped inside, moving carefully as he arrived at the first door. They were wooden, hinged and brown like any other as he glanced down the row, seeing the same.

He looked back, peering inside before frantically averting his eyes… he dared to look back, glimpsing for a moment as his stomach churned.

That was why, as he walked weakly along, peering inside at the beds and bookcases. It was all broken, the rooms empty of anything else as Juugo arrived at the end.

A door stood alone, bigger and richer than the rest as Juugo noticed the snakes carved in the wood.

It was unlocked, unlatched as Juugo watched it cautiously.

This was an awful place, terrible and wrong as the smell continued to linger.

Mizuki had come here, had known about it – even searched for it.

…

Juugo wanted to breath, but couldn't properly as he checked his surroundings. There was no-one, he was as alone as before as he nudged the door open.

It creaked, opening as Juugo pushed it away, quickly dodging to the side. The wood knocked the wall, opening inwards while he waited, shifting nervously in the space to the side of the door… he soon leant around, seeing a glimpse of the office within as stepped out.

A desk and its solitary chair came into view, and nothing else as Juugo stepped softly inside. There was little here, nothing but walls of smooth stone.

The desk did stand out though, made of wood with carvings as Juugo eyed it suspiciously.

What could he really gain from this, as he walked around it, making sure to do a thorough check for traps as he went. There were none, not one as Juugo flicked the chair away, finding sweat on his brow as he wiped it.

He'd have to check the drawers, but perhaps there was a better way as Juugo hopped on the desk, dropping to the other side before gripping the edge.

Juugo flipped it, wanting to disrupt any traps that might be waiting inside.

A string snapped, firing needles to the floor before the desk smashed upon them, a corner breaking as the sides fell away.

Poorly made, smiled Juugo as he let the wood settle. The side really had opened, falling off to reveal its simple innards. He could see the drawers now as he leant to see them, empty on their rails and a… box?

It was stuck to the wood above them, made of metal as Juugo fished inside.

He tore it off, letting it fall before tugging it out.

Juugo threw it across the room, letting it smash against the wall as things fell to the floor.

Something popped, spraying colourful ink about the room as Juugo ducked behind the desk, feeling as a bit landed on his top. It was pink, then red as it began to bubble like acid, burning the fabric as Juugo whipped his shirt off, tossing it down as the room fizzled similarly.

He glanced around the desk. That was when he saw it, a scroll that had survived unstained beneath a board from the broken desk.

Juugo scrambled towards it, flicking it away before nabbing the scroll. He turned back, running for the door before… he forgot his t-shirt, as he plucked it from the floor, bolting with abandon from the room.

The rooms passed in a blur, then the gap as he slipped through it, glad it hadn't closed as he sprinted for the exit.

Juugo tumbled outside, tripping as he slid across the smooth stone.

…

He sat up, bleary eyed as he glanced to the sound of grinding stone. The door was closing, munching the rocks as it slammed shut.

Juugo hadn't closed it, nor even touched it as he stood quickly, dropping his shirt by the scroll before heading over. There must be a trigger somewhere, as he assessed the seals he'd unlocked.

They'd closed again, shut in the same exact way he'd found them… he'd ponder this later, vowing to return as the sun glimmered through the trees.

An hour left, plenty of time as Juugo arrived back by his things. He'd need a new t-shirt, the fabric all but gaping back at him as he wrapped it carefully, deciding to bin it as soon as possible.

He set it aside, looking next to the scroll and its faded colour. Which had once been purple, but no longer as a newer string held it tightly. Juugo picked it up, holding it in his hands as he decided to squat, instead of sit on the hard stone.

It was old, the wooden roll within cracked and worn from use, to an extent he'd not seen before. He had to open it, and so he did as he tugged the string loose, letting it unfurl like a mat across the stone.

What he saw was… difficult to describe as he looked at the ink. There was a man, drawn to illustrate as more followed, forming a series that ran the entire length of the scroll.

Juugo glanced across them, seeing as they were shown transforming into animals.

A tiger. A shark. And was that – yes, a snake. It had been marked, circled anew by a hand he recognised.

He shifted back, regarding the scroll with a wary frown. Juugo could see it now, what it was that had occurred in the cave just behind him. How the owner had transformed men into animals, even children.

…

Juugo would have no part in it, nor would any other as he turned on his heel, quickly scaling the cliff to collect the dried grass.

He returned quickly, arranging it carefully so it covered the scroll and his ruined t-shirt. Then, with his trusty Fire Flint, he started a fire.

It burned easily, the fire colouring purple while the scroll burned into crinkled flakes. Juugo threw some more grass at it, then his t-shirt as the fire bloomed again. He'd let it burn out, as he watched the fire flicker from a few paces behind… he turned, seeing the kunai he'd left.

He already had some, still hidden in his room from the man he'd saved. They were better than these though, the tips broken as Juugo arrived beside the loose pile.

They'd find a new home. At the bottom of the river as Juugo threw them one by one, watching as they soared through the sky.

Juugo threw the last absently, looking away from its path as the sun touched his skin.

He walked back, seeing the fire in smoulders as he flashed through hand signs, finishing with his hands thrusted forward.

Water erupted, forming a ring from his hands as it blasted the stone, sending the ash straight down to the river in washing wave.

Juugo relaxed, enjoying the damp on his feet as he wiped his face. The blow back had been more than expected, due to the river he supposed, since the air was rich with moisture here.

He'd made good progress with his jutsu, the result of which varied based on how he finished his hands.

Cupping, was tame. Drinkable. Whereas open, with fingers splayed as if to catch a ball caused the water to ring, forming a vortex before firing from his hands.

It was combative, though still limited as Juugo walked away, heading up the cliff as he hands clasped the holds.

He'd need to increase the output, force even more chakra through his hands to truly damage anything.

…

Food for thought, as he arrived by the forest, choosing to run through the trees as he headed home.

AN

What did you think? Spooky?

I wanted to give Orochimaru the vibe I got when first watching the Anime, a kind of: 'this guy should be quarantined'.

What did you think of turning people into Animals, pretty neat idea no?

I liked the symbolism too when Juugo burns it – and his water jutsu! Let me know what you thought of that, going to try for a more instinctual use of the element, rather than the restrictive jutsu we all know.

But don't worry, he'll still have some epic jutsu :)

Latest chapter is up on Pa – treon / bactum too and they'll be another release this weekend once I've finished chapter 39.