The story is picked up after the ending of Chapter 486. But the plot will surely thicken.
Tsunade walked purposefully from the lighted hallway into a large, shadowed room. In the middle of the room glowed the vast, round design of a seal, and in the middle of that seal was Karin. Her whole body was encompassed into a solid stone dome with a sheet of buttons and nobs jutting out from the rim. Only Karin's head was visible. Her eyes were closed, her mouth slightly relaxed and parted from the ease of unconsciousness.
A man with a wide, muscular build and bald head stepped out of a dark corner of the room to meet her. He had a gash across his face.
Tsunade addressed him immediately and assertively. "Are the tests complete, Ibiki?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
"What have you found?"
Ibiki crossed his arms, his eyes lighted with amusement although the rest of his face emanated a grim air. "In the small amount of time that he had her, I'm both surprised and impressed that Orochimaru was able to go this far and do this much."
Tsunade's own face was hardened with resignation and stoic resolve, yet it also showed the small taint of a snarl. She had prepared herself into accepting the situation, no matter how grotesque. "How far did he go?"
Ibiki closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before continuing. "I didn't even know that Orochimaru was aware of this jutsu; The Mind Pierce Jutsu. Have you heard of it?"
She nodded. "Mind Pierce Jutsu. It is usually only capable of being performed on small children, being the only time when one's mind is free, honest and unguarded. You can make a permanent plexus of tunnels into the person's mind so that that person's thoughts,--memories, feelings, everything—is always accessible, even to adulthood."
Ibiki smiled briefly. "That is what I'd expect from our Hokage, to know of such a top secret forbidden jutsu."
"So you are saying Orochimaru performed this jutsu on her?"
"Yes. Apparently, he knew that her…connections to the leaf—"
"You mean Naruto."
The man bowed his head. "I'm guessing that he was aware of this connection potentially causing some…conflicts of interest…in the future. So he wanted complete dominion over what was going on her head."
"He sealed off her memories."
Ibiki raised his eyebrows to show that he was impressed. "Yes. "
"So you have infiltrated the plexus of tunnels in her mind? I would think that Orochimaru would have made sure that—as his servant—Karin's thoughts would only be accessible to him."
Now Ibiki smiled in his dark, conserved way. "Right again, Hokage-sama. But the Mind Pierce is my clan's jutsu. It was easy to break the barriers he established so naively."
"Excellent," replied Tsunade, "Then I'll have you remove those mind blocks at once. But first, what else have you discovered?"
"Pardon me, Hokage-sama, but—all of them?"
"Yes."
"Even—"
"Yes." Her eyes flashed stubbornly.
"You do not doubt that she may…choose a different reaction to everything that has passed?"
"I want you to remove the barriers that block her from her memories and then seal up her mind so that the plexus in her head can never be accessed again. What happens after that is her decision to make, and her alone."
The man frowned and offered earnestly, "I understand that she is the daughter of one of your favorite students, Hokage-sama, but allow me to advise that this personal bond may be impairing your judgment."
Tsunade smiled sardonically. "Shijime wasn't necessarily my student."
"When the council decided to relocate Karin to a different country so as to better conceal her identity, the land of Fire was not considered. And you know the reason."
Tsunade closed her eyes and sighed, slightly annoyed. "I will not deny that I have a personal interest in Karin, considering whose daughter she is; whose sister she is. When I left the Leaf village, the grass country was the first I visited just to be certain that she was safe." Tsunade opened her eyes and looked straight at Ibiki. "But I will assure you, Ibiki, that my judgment is not handicapped. I simply acknowledge that she has a right to those memories and a right to make a decision based on them. She is not Shijime or Kushina—she is Karin. One's genes do not reflect the individual. Karin is her own person, and as such, she will have to make her own path, by her own volition."
Ibiki's mouth tightened. "I understand."
"Anyway." Tsunade put one hand on her hip and turned to the unconscious Karin. "You were able to break those barriers. You should know what is going on in her head. What she is dreaming right now."
Ibiki smiled cynically and released a fleeting chuckle, also turning to gaze at the red-haired girl. "Only two images replay over and over again in that mind. One is in the forest at the Chuunin exams. The other is of Sasuke piercing her chest with his chakra." Then his smile vanished and his eyes turned cold. "I saw Danzo's death through her eyes. He took her captive and used her as a shield, but…that didn't matter to Sasuke."
NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE OUT ON THURSDAY. ENJOY :bouncy:
Tsunade walked purposefully from the lighted hallway into a large, shadowed room. In the middle of the room glowed the vast, round design of a seal, and in the middle of that seal was Karin. Her whole body was encompassed into a solid stone dome with a sheet of buttons and nobs jutting out from the rim. Only Karin's head was visible. Her eyes were closed, her mouth slightly relaxed and parted from the ease of unconsciousness.
A man with a wide, muscular build and bald head stepped out of a dark corner of the room to meet her. He had a gash across his face.
Tsunade addressed him immediately and assertively. "Are the tests complete, Ibiki?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
"What have you found?"
Ibiki crossed his arms, his eyes lighted with amusement although the rest of his face emanated a grim air. "In the small amount of time that he had her, I'm both surprised and impressed that Orochimaru was able to go this far and do this much."
Tsunade's own face was hardened with resignation and stoic resolve, yet it also showed the small taint of a snarl. She had prepared herself into accepting the situation, no matter how grotesque. "How far did he go?"
Ibiki closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before continuing. "I didn't even know that Orochimaru was aware of this jutsu; The Mind Pierce Jutsu. Have you heard of it?"
She nodded. "Mind Pierce Jutsu. It is usually only capable of being performed on small children, being the only time when one's mind is free, honest and unguarded. You can make a permanent plexus of tunnels into the person's mind so that that person's thoughts,--memories, feelings, everything—is always accessible, even to adulthood."
Ibiki smiled briefly. "That is what I'd expect from our Hokage, to know of such a top secret forbidden jutsu."
"So you are saying Orochimaru performed this jutsu on her?"
"Yes. Apparently, he knew that her…connections to the leaf—"
"You mean Naruto."
The man bowed his head. "I'm guessing that he was aware of this connection potentially causing some…conflicts of interest…in the future. So he wanted complete dominion over what was going on her head."
"He sealed off her memories."
Ibiki raised his eyebrows to show that he was impressed. "Yes. "
"So you have infiltrated the plexus of tunnels in her mind? I would think that Orochimaru would have made sure that—as his servant—Karin's thoughts would only be accessible to him."
Now Ibiki smiled in his dark, conserved way. "Right again, Hokage-sama. But the Mind Pierce is my clan's jutsu. It was easy to break the barriers he established so naively."
"Excellent," replied Tsunade, "Then I'll have you remove those mind blocks at once. But first, what else have you discovered?"
"Pardon me, Hokage-sama, but—all of them?"
"Yes."
"Even—"
"Yes." Her eyes flashed stubbornly.
"You do not doubt that she may…choose a different reaction to everything that has passed?"
"I want you to remove the barriers that block her from her memories and then seal up her mind so that the plexus in her head can never be accessed again. What happens after that is her decision to make, and her alone."
The man frowned and offered earnestly, "I understand that she is the daughter of one of your favorite students, Hokage-sama, but allow me to advise that this personal bond may be impairing your judgment."
Tsunade smiled sardonically. "Shijime wasn't necessarily my student."
"When the council decided to relocate Karin to a different country so as to better conceal her identity, the land of Fire was not considered. And you know the reason."
Tsunade closed her eyes and sighed, slightly annoyed. "I will not deny that I have a personal interest in Karin, considering whose daughter she is; whose sister she is. When I left the Leaf village, the grass country was the first I visited just to be certain that she was safe." Tsunade opened her eyes and looked straight at Ibiki. "But I will assure you, Ibiki, that my judgment is not handicapped. I simply acknowledge that she has a right to those memories and a right to make a decision based on them. She is not Shijime or Kushina—she is Karin. One's genes do not reflect the individual. Karin is her own person, and as such, she will have to make her own path, by her own volition."
Ibiki's mouth tightened. "I understand."
"Anyway." Tsunade put one hand on her hip and turned to the unconscious Karin. "You were able to break those barriers. You should know what is going on in her head. What she is dreaming right now."
Ibiki smiled cynically and released a fleeting chuckle, also turning to gaze at the red-haired girl. "Only two images replay over and over again in that mind. One is in the forest at the Chuunin exams. The other is of Sasuke piercing her chest with his chakra." Then his smile vanished and his eyes turned cold. "I saw Danzo's death through her eyes. He took her captive and used her as a shield, but…that didn't matter to Sasuke."
NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE OUT ON THURSDAY. ENJOY :bouncy:
