A Senju Tale: Change Of Fate 34 A New Challenger Approaches

It was a miserable afternoon. After several days of clear weather with lots of sun, the sky opened up. The rain was heavy and the wind was strong. Lightning lit up the sky as thunder bellowed through the air.

A large team of 12 Konoha ninja approached their encampment. They were in a rush to get back in time for the war meeting that afternoon. The group arrived in the camp. Leading the charge were two familiar faces.

Minato and Fugaku arrived in camp and headed to the command center. They had been out on a reconnaissance mission for over a week so they were itching to sleep in a bed.

The two teammates got over to the command center and entered the front door. As they walked in, they removed their cloaks and shook them off since they were wet from the rain. They then walked into the war room and got excited.

Minato called out saying, "Nawaki! How's it going?" He ran over and dapped him up as Nawaki said, "Yo. I just got back from a mission. How about you guys?"

Fugaku joined them and said, "We just got back too. We've been gone for so long. It's good to see you."

Koryu then walked over and said, "Ah Fugaku. Please give your briefing on the reconnaissance mission during the meeting." Then he turned to the rest of the jonin in the room and said, "Let's get this meeting started."

In the few hours that they had the officer, the Tu0026I division used the Yamanaka clan techniques to complete a mind walk. This combined with the doc.u.ments stolen from the enemy command center provided some startling news.

It turns out that the Raikage's son, A, and his partner, B, will be entering the battle. Not much was known about the two. The key intelligence that they possessed reported that A is extremely strong and fast, and that A's partner is allegedly the hachibi jinchuriki.

They would be joined by a squad of elite Komo ninja to help out down the Konoha forces. The battles to come were about to get significantly harder. It also seemed that the advance force they sent out was just to test Konoha's strength before sending out the big guns.

Following the meeting, Nawaki invited his former teammates to go hunting for fresh food with him. They were eager to enjoy some of his cooking so they happily agreed.

As the three of them left camp, they caught up on their recent excursions. Minato and Fugaku left on a scouting mission soon after they returned from the first battle. Their team had fought with a few k.u.mo scouting teams but nothing notable happened.

Nawaki then told them about the infiltration mission he went on and they were amazed. They were jealous that he got to have all the fun. What's worse is that they had a feeling that they would have been selected for that mission if they were not off base.

As they were searching for dinner, the rain slowed down and finally let up. Unfortunately, it was replaced by a dense fog that limited visibility. The three of them were quiet for a few minutes.

Nawaki then said, "Guys, I think I sense an animal up ahead. Let's check it out." He waited and there was no response. Then he realized that he could not sense his two teammates.

Understanding the situation, he immediately unsheathed his sword and a.s.sumed a defensive stance. Out of nowhere, he sensed a familiar chakra. It was extremely powerful.

Nawaki turned in the direction of the signature and froze. Staring back at him was a huge silhouette. Glowing eyes pierced through the fog and gave off an extremely intimidating presence.

The creature then said in a deep voice, "h.e.l.lo again. It is time for us to have a little chat." It's chakra flared and it disappeared along with Nawaki. Once they were gone, the fog slowly dissipated revealing a very confused Minato and Fugaku.

A bright light s.h.i.+ned on Nawaki. Opening his eyes, he found himself lying on the ground. He sat up and looked around.

The ground he was sitting on was a construction made of engraved stone bricks with the appearance of being thousands of years old. Around him were decaying stone pillars with crumbled stone rubble scattered around them.

Looking out from the platform, he noticed several mountain peaks that sat above the clouds. There were various plateaus with caves leading into the mountain side. There were trees, ponds, and plenty of gra.s.s covering all of the flat land.

Nawaki then set his gaze to right in front of him. A huge albino tiger stood in front of him. It had glowing blue eyes and a powerful presence. A bead of sweat dripped down Nawaki's face as he knew that he didn't stand a chance against the beast.

The tiger then sat down and said, "Welcome to Mount Yudaina. This is the home of me and my brethren."

Nawaki sat there dumbfounded. He then said, "Wait, where am I? And who are you?"

The tiger laughed and said, "Ah yes. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Zora. I am a member of the Tiger Sage clan. We are currently in a mountain range within the Land of Lightning as you humans call it."

Nawaki was extremely confused. He just could not wrap his head around what was happening. He then said, "Huh? Tiger Sage clan? What's that?"

Zora laughed again and said, "I am not surprised. We have not had much interaction with your species. In fact, over my thousand years of life, you are the first human I've brought here. For your question, allow me to explain. The Tiger Sage clan is made up of descendants of Matatabi sama or Nibi (two tails) as you humans call her. What else might you be confused about, boy? And do please tell me your name."

Nawaki shook himself out of his daze and said, "Oh yes yes. My name is Senju Nawaki. I am from Konohagakure and am a part of the Senju clan. Why did you take me here?"

Zora stood up and said, "Follow me. The Great Tiger Sage would like to meet you." Nawaki stood up and followed the great tiger towards a ma.s.sive shrine.

As they walked Kensho popped up and said, "d.a.m.n kid, this that new new. Things are getting pret-ty spicy."

(The dash is to alliterate the two "t" in pretty)

Nawaki rolled his eyes and thought, 'So I was right. This did not exist in the anime. Or at least we just weren't told about it. I'm curious if this tiger sage is like Gamamaru. Should be interesting.'

He followed Zora across a stone bridge that extended to one of the other mountain peaks. This other peak was where the plateau with the shrine was located. As the two approached the shrine, the immense amount of ornate detail in the shrine's construction.

The front of the shrine had ma.s.sive stone pillars. Large stone blocks sat at each end of the pillars and they were engraved with beautiful carvings of tigers. On the ground in front of the shrine, two large statues of tigers towered over any human that would approach them.

As they walked into the shrine, Nawaki felt a wave of powerful energy wash over him. An extremely overwhelming presence consumed the s.p.a.ce. He continued to follow Zora deep into the mountain reaching the main chamber of the shrine.

A deep and powerful voice called out, "MMMMMMmmm… My humble abode, I welcome you to, young leaf. Byakko the Great Tiger Sage I am. Patriarch of this clan I am. Introduce yourself you will?"

(Yes, he f.u.c.king… he f.u.c.king speaks like Yoda. No, I don't care if you don't like it. If it bothers you, drop the novel and go f.u.c.k yourself. This is for my enjoyment.)

Nawaki shook himself out of his daze and said, "Oh, my apologies Byakko sama. My name is Senju Nawaki. What have you brought me here for?"

Byakko let out a deep laugh and said, "Many reasons, I brought you here for. Some of them… reveal to you I can not. Chosen, you are, young leaf."

Nawaki was extremely confused. Meanwhile, Kensho was dying of laughter. Through the laughing fit he said, "OH MAH GAWD. WHO IN THE f.u.c.k REINCARNATED YODA? LOL XD!"

Nawaki chuckled and then shook off the humored expression. He then said, "What, exactly, have I been chosen for?"

Byakko pointed his head into the air and then said, "Summoning contract, you will sign. Look forward to working with you, my clan does. Zora chan. Bring out the summoning contract you will."

Nawaki got very excited. Kensho was nearly speechless. He could only say, "Yooooooooo! Tigers are dope as f.u.c.k!" They both could barely contain their excitement.

Zora walked into a side room and grabbed a large scroll. It looked very similar to what Jiraiya and Has.h.i.+rama would strap to their backs. Nawaki's eyes widened in excitement. It was of course the one thing he was missing in his ninja garb.

Zora placed the scroll down and unfurled it. There were various open positions to sign and only one was taken. Written in blood, the name was Otsutsuki Hagoromo. Otherwise known as the Sage of Six Paths.

Nawaki turned to Zora and asked, "Why is the Sage of Six Paths the only other name in here?" Zora chuckled and said, "Ah. That is quite the question. Each of the nine tailed beasts had descendants that formed clans. Due to the relations.h.i.+ps between the tailed beasts and Hagoromo sama, he was the only one trusted with us. I hope that covers it. You are quite special to be chosen as our second ever summoner."

Nawaki's eyes widened and sparkled with delight. This was truly amazing and better than he could have ever imagined. Without hesitation, he bit his thumb and spread blood to his index finger. Channeling chakra to his finger, he then signed his name in blood into the s.p.a.ce next to the infamous sage. Lastly, he spread the blood to each of his fingers and pressed all five of his fingers into the contract to leave fingerprints.

Once he finished signing, his name and fingerprints glowed and he felt a connection establish itself in his head. Then Byakko said, "Completed, our contract is. Take the scroll you will since responsible for our clan you now are. Send you back to your friends, we will. Farewell for now, young leaf."

A thick mist then rolled in. Zora walked over to Nawaki and slammed his paw on the ground saying, "Gyaku Kuchiyose no Jutsu" (Reverse Summoning). In a puff of smoke, Nawaki and the scroll disappeared.