226. Spirit Mountain Turtle Reiki
'Reality Slash'
The Susanoo swings its giant Katana towards the creature.
BOOMM…
The Katana releases a massive surge of chakra which travels through the ground, parting a major chunk of land in half. The swing of the blade forms a bottomless rift as the chakra wave travels towards the giant turtle.
BOOM… BOOM…
Large pillars of black flames rise from the ground.
BANG…
The blast hurls the beast in the air.
BOOM…
The giant turtle topples over and lands sideways on its body.
BAM… BAM…
The Susanoo slowly walks towards the giant turtle and points its Katana towards the turtle's neck.
'This giant turtle is similar to 'Genbu' of Kumogakure. I wonder if it is related to the island turtle of Kumo.'
Izuna scrutinizes the giant turtle and wonders about the possibility.
'Shinobi World is truly wondrous. This mountain turtle and the island turtle of the Kumogakure are even more ancient than the history of the shinobi itself.
They must be at least 10,000 years old, or perhaps even older.'
He shakes his head and threatens the giant turtle.
"Listen! I don't have any feud with you, but I need to know the location of Shangri-La village. The village was supposed to be somewhere on your back, but I can't sense the chakra signature of the villagers.
Tell me where are they and I won't harm you further."
Izuna questions the giant turtle as he thinks about Kimimaro.
'I can't sense my Flying Thunder God seal on Kimimaro. There are only two possibilities, either there is a powerful space-time barrier disrupting the space or someone has tempered with my seals and erased it.'
ROAR…
The giant turtle roars angrily as it struggles to gain balance. The turtle angrily stares at Izuna as it opens its mouth wide.
Swoosh…
Dark red and blue chakra bubbles gather around its mouth as the beast charges up another tailed-beast bomb.
"Very Well…"
Whoosh… Bang…
The Susanoo flickers on top of the turtle and kicks its head, preventing it from charging up the attack.
"Since you won't cooperate, I can only get rid of you to prevent any further catastrophe to the land."
Swish…
The Susanoo lifts its giant Katana and swings it towards the turtle's neck.
"ANGEL-SAN! STOP!!"
A loud yell echoes in Izuna's ear as Kimimaro jumps out from behind the giant turtle's back.
Huff… huff…
Kimimaro pants heavily as he lies against a giant rock on the turtle's back. His clothes are badly tattered and there is dust and dirt smudged on his body.
Swoosh…
Izuna disperses his Susanoo as he flickers to Kimimaro.
"Are you ok?!"
Izuna notices the haggard appearance of Kimimaro.
"What happened to you?!"
Izuna inspects Kimimaro's body.
"Angel-san! Please don't hurt this turtle."
Kimimaro begs Izuna.
'There are no injuries on his body.'
Sigh…
Izuna takes a deep breath as he uses Mystic Palm Technique to heal Kimimaro's wounds.
The wounds on Kimimaro's skin close as glow returns to his body.
"Thank you, Angel-san!"
"It's ok."
Izuna shakes his head and asks him.
"Describe the entire incident to me. Tell me what happened after my departure?"
"Yes, Angel-san!… But before that…"
Kimimaro turns towards the giant turtle.
Whoosh… whoosh…
Kimimaro jumps towards the giant turtle's ears and whispers something.
Hmm…
Izuna curiously stares at their interaction.
"Don't tell me… Kimimaro can somehow communicate with this giant turtle."
ROAR…
The giant turtle releases another roar as it turns towards Izuna.
The giant turtle nods its head as Kimimaro continues to whisper something in his ears.
Rumble… Rumble…
The giant turtle lies down on the ground.
Whoosh…
Kimimaro flickers towards Izuna.
"Angel-san… please help this giant turtle. He is in so much pain. Please help him."
Hmm…
"About that… explain everything in detail to me. I would like to know each and everything before I take any action."
ROAR…
The giant roars and nods his head.
"Angel-san… After your departure, a strange scent spread throughout the entire village. Before I could react to it, my head felt dizzy, and I lost my consciousness."
Hmm…
Izuna nods his head.
"It might be the work of those glaze Snow lilies. Maybe they induced some sort of genjutsu and induced sleep in the villagers…" Izuna remarks as he ponders.
'But who could be the instigator of these events? Is it Akatsuki? The image of Konan appears in his mind.
It could be them, or else why would Konan appear in a remote place like this village. But what could be their motive? I have shut down their activities and suppressed them."
Izuna ransacks his thoughts as he signals Kimimaro to continue.
"… Later, I regained consciousness and found myself tightly bound in a giant metal cage with the other villagers.
The villagers were under some sort of genjutsu and I was unable to dispel the genjutsu…"
Kimimaro helplessly shakes his head as he continues.
"Those metal cages were made of an unknown metal which restricts my chakra and I was unable to infuse any chakra.
So, I used my bones to break free from the cage and escape from the imprisonment."
Kimimaro describes the series of events to Izuna and how he escaped from his imprisonment.
"I see. So, it looks like someone is plotting something in Shangri-La."
Izuna turns towards the giant turtle and questions.
"So… what about this giant turtle? What's the deal with him and you?"
Kimimaro scratches his head and answers.
"Umm… when I was escaping from the prison; I heard a miserable cry filled with pain in my head. So, I followed the direction of the scream and found my way out."
Kimimaro points towards the giant turtle.
"Somehow, I can understand this giant turtle."
Eh!
Izuna has an incredulous expression on his face.
'Should I call him a Pokémon Trainer now?'
Cough… cough…
Izuna coughs slightly as he discards these unnecessary thoughts.
"So… what does this giant turtle has to say? He can understand me, right?"
Izuna turns towards the giant turtle.
Roar…
The giant turtle nods its head.
"I see…"
Izuna walks near the giant turtle and questions him.
"Before I agree to help… I would like to learn more about you."
Roar…
Kimimaro nods his head in consent as he acts as a translator.
"My name is Reiki. I am also known as the spirit turtle or the mountain turtle."
The giant turtle introduces itself.
Hmm…
Izuna nods his head as Reiki continues.
"Before the era of the shinobis; this land was inhabited by many giant creatures. I was one such being who roamed freely in this world.
Back then, humans don't have access to chakra. As such the humans of that era treated me like a deity and called me 'Mountain Turtle'."
However, various other creatures terrorized humankind and attacked their cities.
So, the Sage of Six Paths fought against these creatures. Most of them died under his hands, others sealed; only a few including me and my brother Genbu signed a pact with the Sage."
Hmm…
'So that's the origin of the Mountain's graveyard. A place filled with the remains of various unknown creatures.'
"GENBU!! Isn't that the name of the island turtle of the Kumogakure? So, he is your brother."
Izuna questions the Mountain turtle.
"Island Turtle!!... I see that's what you humans call my younger brother. I am glad he is still alive and well."
Reiki nods his head as he continues.
"After the death of the Sage of Six Paths; all of us hid from the world, according to the pact."
Reiki finishes his introduction.
"I see…"
'Damn! He is a living fossil… I can research his body to learn more about the Nature energy and its origin.'
Kimimaro pauses as he waits for Izuna's response.
"… so why are you restless after so many years?"
Izuna questions him.
Sigh…
The giant turtle heaves a sigh of relief as he turns towards the giant tree on its back.
"This entire mountain range is a part of my body, including the various creatures which inhabit my body.
However, this giant tree on my back is like a malignant tumor. The roots of this tree have spread throughout my body and are continuously draining my vitality as we speak."
The giant turtle points at various dark black spots on its body.
Hmm…
Izuna surveys the black spots.
"This is similar to aging. This tree is draining your vitality and life essence. At this rate, you will die within the next few years."
Izuna warns the giant turtle.
"Still… how come you never get rid of this tree? You could easily get rid of this tree when it was still a seedling… but now it has grown to such an extent that it has become a part of you."
He questions the giant turtle.
"About that… this tree induces a large scale genjutsu on me, rendering me immobile. I am unable to resist the control of this tree. The genjutsu is quite powerful."
The giant turtle remarks.
'No wonder! Casting such a large-scale genjutsu to hide a small village was quite suspicious. The true motive of the perpetrator was to suppress this turtle.'
Izuna nods his head in understanding.
"Earlier, your attack severed one of the major roots which were directly linked to my mind, and as such, I was able to break free from my restraints."
The giant turtle turns towards Izuna as he begs for help.
"Oh human! You possess the bloodline of the Sage of Six Paths. I request you to get rid of this calamity."
The giant turtle lowers its head.
"…"
'Dude! A few moments ago, you were hell-bent on getting rid of me.'
"Yare! Yare!"