Naruto : Domination: Chapter 88

If not to leverage my metaknowledge of memory of either movies or random things in order to set up my small economic empire, I had never actually thought about my past. What does it say about me that I feel more alive and necessary here than I ever did back on Earth?

...

I shook my head, quickly freeing it from the potential reminiscing: it was not the time.

Without a whisper, I walked downstairs, and soon enough, I was inside the ant-hill like structure that was the Iwa outpost/prisoner-camp. My personal version of the henge quickly covered my form, making me look like one of the shinobi I had subdued at the top of the hill.

Once that the sensors on active duty were dealt with, I could be a bit more liberal in the use of my techniques, and without hesitating, I let brief instants of absolute stillness to give me an inkling about the position and relative strength of the chakra systems surrounding me.

With that undeniable advantage, I sneaked past everyone, only a few random shinobi managed to spot the retreating form of my back, but given the lack of an alarm and my regular appearance, I didn't encounter problems of sort.

To my great relief, I didn't feel any known chakra signatures, even if I could recognize the several fire natured shinobi held prisoners roughly at the middle of the ant-hill-like outpost.

In short order, I reached the entrance of the prisoner wing, which unlike what Tobirama had foretold, were all kept together.

Placing all the prisoners together had its merits: less potential escapes, all potential threats in the same place, a place that had likely been trapped to hell and back, that granted the possibility of dispatching less shinobi or kunoichi as guards, and was far enough from the confines of the outpost that an attempted rescue mission would turn into a bloody mess.

Not that rescue missions happened often, wither in time of war or peace.

I didn't know anyone among the prisoners, if that was because of my limited contacts with other shinobi or because I had badly underestimated the number of the Elemental Nations' populace, it was up to anybody's guess.

Nevertheless, there was a particular presence that felt... important. I had already felt it at some point, I was sure, even if I didn't take notice of it back then, but who ...?

I walked past the rows of individual cells without stopping to consider the ones held within: freeing them would cause a ruckus, and I wanted to figure out who I had felt before being forced to haul ass away from the Iwa outpost.

"Uzumaki Karin?" I asked as my modified henge melted off me, my mind finally catching up with my intuition: she had been at Konoha during the disastrous chunin exams.

The redhead was bound with chains to the wall, while her chakra was kept from being manipulated by a sequence of paper tags that rested respectively over her forehead, her heart, and her stomach. Her red eyes widened as she turned towards me, her gaze unfocused since her glasses had been taken away from her.

"You're not my usual guard... and you were under a henge, how do you know my name?" her voice was croaky enough to spur me into a bit of Suiton sealless manipulation.

A tendril of crystal clear water left my waterskin and quietly sneaked its way through the bars of the cell, reaching the girl's lips before she could ask any more questions: "Drink." I ordered, pleased to see that she was coherent enough to recognize that it wasn't the time for her to haggle.

"I've read the registry of the prisoners." I shrugged as an explanation once the cell's door clicked open: "How did they capture you? You're a sensor, and a powerful one at that."

She finished gulping down the last of the water I had kept floating in front of her face when she heard me open the cell: "I've... I've managed to escape Kusa when the war passed there... but there were just so many unknown nin... and some I couldn't feel just got the drop on me."

"Hunter-nin." I commented: given their field of work, stealth was a priority along with tracking, and no matter how talented a sensor, there were counters to every skill, as I had proven by managing to sneak in.

"Do you know who I am?" She was skilled enough to raise Orochimaru's interest in the manga, was she not? And Uzumaki tend ot have a minor form of plot armour in any case, what to do? what to do?

"I... the chunin exams in Konoha..." Karin stuttered out, her red eyes wildly moving to keep everything of me into her sights even as she marginally relaxed.

"You're a sensor, aren't you?" I tilted my head questioningly even if I already knew the answer to what I had asked, "A powerful one, too, or you wouldn't have remembered me."

She flinched at my words and seemed to shrink on herself, her eyes growing even wider than before.

What to do, what to do? Generally, when in doubt, I followed the philosophy of 'Never leaving money on the table'. I would never become a swordsman, but sure as hell I was going to leave the Kusanagi in the Summons Plane, along with the shit I had stolen (mostly out of spite) from the Sarutobi clan.

I didn't want to have a random Konohamaru jumping in the way simply because he had access to a uniquely powerful summon. It was a hoarder's mentality, but when the things I accumulated could be used against me were I to leave them around, I didn't think my choices wrong.

Sure, I gave back the Samehada, but that was mostly to prove that I was the one to take it from Kisame, and I needed to make my name heavier than it was, at least to make Itachi's job with the Rinnegan-endowed nut-case a little easier.

"You remember me? There's no way you didn't feel me back in the Konoha's Crush." I asked when she failed to answer, and from her reaction, I already knew that yes, she remembered.

"You... were the one that fought the ...?"

"Orochimaru." I quipped with a smile, "along with Hashirama and Tobirama Senju, who had been enslaved from beyond the Veil of Death."

Karin gulped loudly: "But your chakra was... different then..."

"That would be me using Natural-chakra, I would have used it to storm the place, but I'm trying to remain low-key for now." I tilted my head, thinking if what I was about to say would be a winning strategy or not. Then I sighed. Fuck it, I'm gonna wing it and hope for the best.

"Would you like to learn?" I offered, letting my chakra lightly seep out of my coils, making her 'reading' easier.

I didn't know what she was feeling, nor I was particularly interested in it, after all, she was an Uzumaki prisoner of Iwa, and whatever I had in mind, sure as hell didn't involve raping and breeding, which was her foreseeable future if she didn't escape, I hoped that her unique brand of bullshittery would be enough to make her tentatively trust me. Besides, I'd prefer to have a second pair of hands to help with Itachi, and her bloodline is scary useful.

When I saw a reluctant acceptation in her eyes, I smiled. I had to work against the propaganda with Shikamaru, Ino and Choji, what could she become under a proper sensei instead of whatever shit Orochimaru had forced her to be? Besides, she had grown up abused by Kusagakure, hadn't she?

"I'm calling you 'Padawan'." I started out as I made quick work of her bindings.

"What..?!" she let out as I hauled her to her feet.

"You heard me."

She spluttered: "Padawan as in that children book?" she shook her head as I walked out of the cell with her hot on my tail, "That's..."

"Be quiet and follow, Padawan." I flicked her nose as I walked along the corridor, "Try to keep yourself hidden from the sensors and every half-experienced shinobi, I'd prefer to be out of here before their spotters blow up."

In that moment, I felt my paper bombs go off, immediately followed by cries of alarm and the chakra of Iwa shinobi.

Well, shit. I sighed as I eyed the other prisoners, which were now clamouring to be freed.

At least I have a secondary diversion now.

...

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