Chapter 74

Chapter 74

"AARRGh!"

The moment Kaen let her go, Tayuya collapsed from pain. It was a painful process, but Kaen confirmed part of his theory. Orochimaru's soul in the cursed seal is connected to something outside. At first, Kaen was confident that it would be connected directly to Orochimaru, but now, he was able to find out that the connection to the outside source was too weak, so he concluded that the cursed seals were connected to other cursed seals.

It wasn't what he wished for, but it wasn't nothing. If he could find a way to sense the chakra, he should be able to find the other people with a cursed seal. Kaen wasn't a sensor, and he would need someone with powerful sensing abilities to detect the chakra from a distance. He would have to see if any of his sensors were capable of it. But it would probably take someone in sage mode to pull something like that off.

Seeing that Tayuya was waking up, Kaen checked on her condition. It wasn't anything serious, only exhaustion, and after a day or two of rest, she should be fine. Still, Kaen was impressed by how much Tayuya could endure. It only made him more curious how they convinced her to reveal Orochimaru's hideouts. It couldn't have been done by simple torture as she was highly resistant to pain.

Not wanting to leave Tayuya on his basement floor as it sounded weird and would cause unnecessary trouble for him if someone found out that Kaen kept the underage girl in his basement, he carried her to one of the empty rooms he had. He should have asked Tsunade to check on her since it was hard to tell if there was damage that Kaen couldn't perceive.

It would be problematic to lose Tayuya at this stage. He finally found a way to track down Orochimaru if he kept someone with a cursed seal beside him. Just a bit more, and he should be able to find the link between Tayuta and another user of the cursed seal. Even Orochimaru probably didn't know he could do it. He will surely be surprised when Kaen finds him.

"Hokage-sama," One of my ANBU operatives came to me. "We lost contact with the team you sent to Amegakure."

"Damn, I told them not to get too close," Kaen was keen on keeping an eye on Amegakure, as he wanted to know how much power it possessed if Pain decided to use it to attack Konoha. "Tell the others not to get close to Amegakure. And avoid its vicinity at all costs."

Pain shouldn't realize who he killed since he used the former Root members who wouldn't say anything and didn't have anything on them that would indicate they were from Konoha. But still, it is better to avoid it for now. Kaen couldn't afford to take on Pain's forces right now. Even though only a few members in Akatsuki concerned him, there was no way Konoha could win against all of them.

"Has our genin reached Iwagakure yet?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," The ANBU answered. "We got a short message that they are fine and ready to take on challenges before them."

Kaen wondered what kind of test Iwagakure would give to his genin. It would probably be disadvantageous for them. But that old geezer will only fool himself if he thinks he can get rid of Kanoha's genin so easily. Even though Rock Lee was away on special training with Might Guy, the rest of the genin were more than capable. Kiba has greatly improved his fighting style since the last Chunin Exam. Hinata shouldn't have any trouble either.

Kaen didn't have time or any reason to be concerned about them. And it was the first time in a while that he had time as all his work was done for now. Kakashi was systematically dismantling the Land of Sound, looking for Orochimaru. From the reports Kaen received, Kakashi's team was only getting better at dealing with the reanimated shinobi.

"What are you doing?" As Kaen walked out of his house, Anko awaited him.

"I am here to take Tayuya back once you are done," Anko replied, but Kaen saw through her lie and only narrowed his eyes. "Fine, I wanted to ask you again to let me join Kakashi's team."

"Denied," Kaen replied as he walked past her.

"What? Common, how long are you going to be like this?"

"We have another mission," Kaen told her. "Prepare yourself; we are going to the Land of Whirlpools."

It was long overdue. He didn't know what he would find in Uzushiogakure, but many secrets there would provide a lot of help to him. Who knows how many sealing techniques were left hidden in there? And he especially was looking for a way to summon Shinigami. The Third wouldn't share that jutsu with Kaen, and it was not mentioned in Forbidden Seal Scroll.

…

It was nice to leave the village once in a while. As much as Kaen wanted to change the village for the better and prepare for the incoming war, everything went quite slowly. Politics were like that. Procedures took a long time to be realized. And there is always one problem or another to deal with. Sometimes it was just too suffocating.

"It will be our first mission with only the two of us," Anko said as they sailed to the Land of Whirpool. "It still feels weird without Yugao and Hana."

"I only need support if anything comes up. A team will only draw more attention. And they couldn't make it, as they had other things to take care of."

It was a lie. Kaen would have been fine alone, but he took Anko to get her mind off Orochimaru. She was becoming more and more obsessed with joining Kakashi's team. It only proved to Kaen that Anko wasn't in her best mindset. And he couldn't let her do as she wished with a clear consciousness. Kaen would be too worried about Anko if she joined Kakashi.

"You sure we will be able to find anything in here?" Anko asked as they entered the river from the sea that ran through Uzushiogakure. "There is nothing but rubble left. Even if anything were left behind, it would be buried under the rubble of buildings. It will take months to dig up anything."

"That might be true, but you never know," Kaen smiled without concern. "Let's land somewhere close."

Once they dragged the boat onto the land so the currents wouldn't take it, the sun was already setting. Under the orange light of sunset, the devastation of Uzushiogakure looked even more depressing. Not a building was left unscathed; all that was left were fallen walls and pillars. It was impossible to determine which part of the village they were in; it was the same everywhere they looked.

"I barely heard anything of this village, but it must have been a great village with the size of the walls and pillars. I only heard that Amegakure possesses buildings that reach the sky, but Uzushiogakure seemed to have them too."

"It was only possible because of the materials they use," Kaen replied as he touched one almost intact pillar. "Even after all these years, the stone still holds up. To build taller houses, one needs material that can withstand that much weight. Simple wood wouldn't be enough for such grand buildings."

"They surely like to mark everything," Anko commented, as there was some kind of symbol on everything.

"These aren't simple marks, but protective seals," Kaen corrected Anko as he, too, inspected the marks.

Everything is more or less what Kaen expected it to be. Uzushiogakure was destroyed, and not a single street was left untouched. It was also hard to believe that anything was left unlooted. Thieves, treasure hunters, or other shinobi probably all tried to find anything of value in here. But Kaen couldn't let it go so simply.

"Sorry to say it, Kaen, but even if there was anything out here, we won't be able to find it," Anko said as they walked for half an hour without anything changing. "It was a waste of time to come here. There is a reason why no one comes here anymore. Nobody could find anything."

"Is that so?" Kaen could tell Anko didn't want to be there and probably felt she should be fighting Orochimaru with Kakashi. "You should now know that I am not just a nobody. Summoning jutsu."

Kaen bit this thumb and slammed his hand on the ground. A black cat appeared out of the smoke and meowed in greeting. Kaen petted the black cat with a smile while Anko looked at them, curious about what Kaen would do.

"Kuro, would you be kind and look around this ruble and see if you can't find some underground passage?"

"Of course, master, nya," Kuro turned into black smoke and disappeared into the rubble.

"Take your time and be careful!" Kaen shouted before Kuro was gone too far.

Kuro was a one-of-a-kind cat with the power to turn his body into smoke. He wasn't strong, and his body was quite fragile, but he was very intelligent and fast. His ability let him go where nobody else could. Still, Kaen was worried that Kuro might activate some seal that was left behind if he wasn't careful. Kuro was a bit too hyperactive for his own good.

"Now what?" Anko asked.

"Now we wait and prepare a camp," Kaen replied, looking for a clean place to set a fire. "We should prepare dinner. You make a fire. I will catch some fish."

When Kaen caught enough fish for everyone and the fire was made, the night had fallen completely. It had been a long time since Kaen had cooked fish over open fire. It was quite fun, even if Anko seemed angry at something. And Kaen guessed that Anko would find out why she was there sooner or later. So, Kaen took out his secret weapon, a bottle of sake—the best money could buy.

"I could help Kakashi and his team. I know Orochimaru best out of them," Anko said, seeing that she couldn't hide her feelings from Kaen. "Just let me go. I don't understand why you won't."

"I think you understand and know it too why I won't let you join them," Kaen replied, filling a cup of sake for Anko.

"I can't let him go, Kaen," Anko said. "After all he has done to me, I couldn't live with myself if I didn't at least hit him back once. I trusted him, and he betrayed me. Because of him, nobody trusted me in the village. If not for Ibiki taking care of me, I wouldn't have a place in the village. Did you know that your team was the first team I worked with after Orochimaru betrayed the village?"

"No, I didn't," Kaen answered. "But it changes nothing. I will not let you kill yourself."

"I am stronger than before!" Anko didn't like Kaen's answer. "I can fight. Orochimaru won't be able to play with me like he did before."

"I do not doubt your strength," Kaen replied. "I would trust my life to you, Anko, because I believe you. But I know you, and you can't hide your turmoil of emotions from me. I can't trust you to keep your head cool while facing Orochimaru. And that will get you killed."

"Just say that you don't trust me," Anko said, unable to listen to Kaen's words.

"Did you know I never had many friends?" Kaen tried to calm down Anko. "You, Hana, and Yugao were my first team, too. You three were my first friends I could trust, even though I might have never said it before. I liked working with you guys. And that is why I will not let you die so easily."

"So what? Will you hold me against my will because you are worried about me?"

"I am the Hokage, so if I must, I could as I wished," Kaen replied. "Don't hate me too much, Anko. As you are right now, you stand no chance against Orochimaru. But I promise you that he will pay for everything he has done. I will hunt him down."

In the end, Anko took her cup of sake and drank it. Kaen knew it wouldn't be the same situation in the Forest of Death if Anko met Orochimaru. But Kaen still feared that Anko would do something reckless trying to take down Orochimaru. The snake wasn't worth Anko's sacrifice. As they continued to drink while waiting for the fish to cook, Kuro returned.

"Master, I found a place, nya," Kuro said as he jumped on Kaen's lap. "Treats! Treats!"

"Here, have this," Kaen gave Kuro one of the fish he caught. "What did you find?"

"It's somewhere where I can't get in," Kuro could get through the smallest cracks. So, if he couldn't get through, it must be a fully intact or sealed place. Either way, it was a start in Kaen's search.

"Eat up, and then lead us," Kaen said, letting Kuro rest.

After filling up with the food, Kaen was the first to stand up. Kuro happily led them through the ruins. Soon, they reached their destination, with Kuro pointing down under broken walls and pillars. Cracking his neck, Kaen went to work and cleared the rubble. Anko just watched, probably still angry at Kaen. After clearing a few meters of rubble, Kaen found an entrance to a cellar.

"This is it," Kuro proclaimed, jumping on the bend and cracked hatch. "No matter how much I try, I can't get inside. Stupid door."

"Oh, interesting," With Sharingan activated, Kaen could see various seals on the hatch and around it. "Someone worked hard to keep people out of this place."

The sealing technique used on this hatch was truly marvelous. Not only did it protect this place from anyone entering without breaking the seal, but it also ensured the safety of this place. Of course, a Kage-level shinobi or tailed beast might be able to break through with pure force, but in doing so, they would also destroy this place. So, it would be not very sensible to do so.

"How long it will take?" Anko asked as Kaen inspected the seal.

"Probably the whole night," Kaen answered. It was one hell of a warding seal, but Kaen was excited rather than concerned. By breaking this seal, he should be able to find many secrets of it and even be able to replicate it.

"Then I will be on the watch," Anko replied. "Who knows who might wander in while you are busy."

"Thanks."

While Kaen worked on the seal, Anko walked around the ruins and secured the perimeter, and Kuro played next to the river. As Kaen expected, he was stuck studying the seal for hours. He cleared the whole place from the rubble where the seal touched. Not even minute detail missed Kaen's eyes. He was so absorbed in the seal that the sun had already risen by the time he finished.

"Are you finished?" Anko asked impatiently as she watched Kaen barely move from this place all night.

"Almost," Kaen said. At this point, he wasn't even concerned about breaking the seal, as he was already thinking of how to use it to protect the village's secrets. He could seal the Forbidden Jutsu scroll so nobody could open it. Or he could even seal bunkers with it, protecting civilians from the shinobi if the village was invaded. "It is more a lock than a seal. And you need a key to open it."

Kaen found out that if he forcefully tried to break the seal, it would backfire in one way or another. The conditions for opening it were that he needed to create a key and insert it into the seal; that way, it would open without trouble. And like any key, it needed to fit the seal precisely. It might be hard for others. But Kaen was a master of Fuinjutsu, and with his Sharingan, he created a key fitting the seal.

"It's opening," Anko exclaimed as Kaen put his hand on the seal and turned it.

"Let's go."

It was time to see what they found. Kaen hoped for many things but found even more than he could have ever imagined. He found a place that perfectly described the kind of people the Uzumaki clan was. Every village would wage a war for this, and Kaen would be more than happy to do the same to get what was hidden here.

A.N. As always, If you want more, up to seven advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852. And if you have any requests for stories, I will only take them on my pa treon.