//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: A Few Secrets Come to Light // Story: The Equestria *Girls* Shinobi // by mattchilly //------------------------------// We reappeared in a large mostly empty but well-lit room. Handing on the walls were hundreds of wooden weapons of almost every kind of weapon imaginable there were several and serval wooden posts that were firmly planted in the ground. “We’re safe now. You can let go.” I said and the others slowly started to let go and look around. “Where…where are we?” Luna asked. “One of the training rooms of my real home.” I said. “Real? Inferno I demand an explanation!” Celestia said. I smirked, and made a hand seal releasing my Transformation Jutsu. Whereas before I was just a few inches taller than Sunset now I was as tall as Celestia. I have piercing crimson eyes, straight black hair that was currently styled to reach just shy of my shoulders. I also had on mostly sky blue leather armor with yellow arrows at the knees and pieces of metal armor on my arms with my elbows exposed, chest, waist and lower legs and odd shoes that left my toes exposed. On the chest plate over my heart is the image of a red magnifying glass with an eye in the center and three red arrows coming of the top. “How the? Who are you?!” Rainbow asked. “Because I know for a fact that Inferno can’t do that!” “How?” I asked and she looked puzzled at the question. “How you do know with absolute certainty that ‘Inferno’ couldn’t do that.” “I..erm…” Rainbow stuttered trying to think of a reason. “He’s one of my best friends so of course he would have said something!” “Rainbow… no everyone. I have many secrets I didn’t want to tell anyone. Who I really was is one of them and for that I am truly sorry, but know that I never once lied to you about being your friend.” I said with a short bow. “Who are you?” Sunset asked. “I know you’re not from Equestria because that wasn’t magic you used but it shouldn’t be possible that you could teleport us here without magic. So who are you?” “YA!” Pinkie yelled looking angrier then I’d ever seen her. “Who do you think you are keeping who you really were from your friends!” “And your bosses.” Celestia said trying to keep calm but I could tell by the tightness of the muscles in her face she was very close to cracking. “My true name is Kohtaro Hanzō. I am a Shinobi and founder of both Fekikugakure, The Hidden Phoenix Village, and the Rising Phoenix Country.” “Hidden Phoenix…? What are you talking about?” Applejack asked. “I agree. Everyone knows that Ninja’s aren’t able to do what you did. Not in real life any way.” Twilight said adjusting her glasses. “Ninja’s from the Main Continents perhaps, but here in the Elemental Nations anything is possible.” I replied turning and motioning for them to fallow. “But let’s not talk in a training room. Please fallow me.” As I led them to our destination we passed through serval empty corridors and when we passed a window they saw an entire city made of stone and wood which was also empty and judging from the shadows and light posts throughout the city it seemed to be late night. “This place is pretty empty for a so called Village.” Rainbow snarked. “Well I did finish building it only two months ago.” I said. “And I haven’t found the right people to invite to join.” “Do you mean to tell me you built this entire place? As if we’d believe something so utterly impossible.” Twilight said. “This most have taken years to complete, and that’s not taking pluming and wiring into account.” Turning my head to look at her I said. “You are friends with a unicorn who came through a magic portal that was embedded in a statue outside a high school and while still a high school student you made a device that can drained magic out of six people only to get over powered by your negative emotions when forced to use it. In my experience very few things are impossible. As for how long it took to complete Fekikugakure, it only took one month to make all the buildings and another to use Fūinjutsu to give this place electricity, although I did have a few Shadow Clones to assist me.” "More like a few hundred." “At least now we know how Crow… no Kohtaro got a letter on your desk at home without us knowing Sister.” Luna said. “That doesn’t mean I have to like it.” Celestia replied. “I was paranoid for weeks after he broke in to do that.” “That’s also how I got Iron Will arrested.” I said. “Sent a Shadow Clone to his home, found a ledger containing EVERY deal he and his cronies made to hush stuff up and in a few cases make evidence to get certain people arrested. Copied it into a small journal along with photo graphic evidence and dropped the original on Shining Armor's desk when no one was looking.” “And how long did that take… and what’s a Shadow Clone?” Luna asked. “Exactly five minutes to copy the entire ledger and another minute to get the journal to Shining’s desk. A Shadow Clone is an advanced version of the normal Clone Jutsu which are just illusions but a Shadow Clone is solid enough to effect items.” I explained as we reached our destination. We entered my dining room I asked everyone to be seated while I went to make some food in the kitchen. Once inside the kitchen I made thirty Shadow Clones and sent them to watch over the few other members of Celestia’s organization and the girl’s families and nine different clones that set to work on a different task. I came out fifteen minutes later pushing a cart and placed a plate in front of each of my guests before putting serving plates covered with different kinds of food on the table then went back into the kitchen for the cart of food I’d prepared for myself. When I came back everyone’s plate was full to bursting. “I don’t know what’s crazier. The claim of you got Iron Will arrested or the fact you think you can eat that much food.” Applejack said. “Normally a Ninja needs roughly twice the amount of calories a normal civilian needs, I need roughly twenty times the amount normal Ninja’s need.” I sighed then clapped my hands. “So onto my explanation although part of it is going to be much shorter than you might think.” “So Kohtaro what exactly is going on. Start at the beginning.” Celestia said using that ‘I’m your principle and you’re in a lot of trouble’ voice. I shot Celestia a ‘that’s not going to work here’ look, took a sip of my sake. “Well it started four and a half years ago in another universe, and I’m talking Multiverse here. I used to work part time in a comic book shop that also sold manga, so I did what anyone who worked in that kind of store did when it was empty and I was on the clock, I read to pass the time. Then one day I bought a lottery ticket just for the heck of it and two months later I found that I’d won the first prize of $500,000,000.” At this I heard a few hushed gasped around the table. “Once I had the money in my account I finished paying a few debts I was working through I then bought sixteen figures and ordered a custom made helmet each of which belonged to one of my favorite fictional ninjas.” “I’m betting you quit your job and move up in the world. Am I right? I bet I’m right.” Sunset chuckled and I noticed that I was the only one who was eating. “Then you’d lose that bet, but please eat. I didn’t make all that just so it could sit there and look good.” I replied. "Despite winning the lotto I continued with my job because I liked the place, and I had fun talking to other anime fans.” The moment they took their first bites they started looking between me and the plate in shock. “How is it this good?!” Luna asked. “What kind of ingredients did you use?” “Just the normal stuff from the grocery store two block away from the Sugarcube Corner.” I replied. “Bullshit!” Rainbow cried. “There is no way that’s true!” “Any ingredient can shine if you know how to cook them to bring out their full potential.” I stated calmly. “Now as I was saying three weeks after I made the orders they arrive on the same day. After signing and bringing the packages into my home I started placing the figures and helmet in place and when I finished there was a puff of smoke and I was standing in an ally in Canterlot City.” “…That’s it?” Fluttershy asked. “I was kind of expecting something a little more… interesting.” I chuckled. “That’s how I got to the Main Continents but it wasn’t long until I realized I could remember the lives of every person I’d bought merchandise of as if I was the one there and a few tests showed I could also use their techniques. That’s when I started using the alias Crow for ‘work’ and enrolled in Canterlot High as Blazing Inferno… enrolling was surprisingly easy due to just walking up and telling you I wanted to enroll Celestia. For someone who ran a city wide organization I’m surprised there wasn’t any paperwork.” Celestia looked to the side at that embarrassed. “So how did you find this place?” Pinkie asked. “Do you mean this area or the Elemental Nations?” I asked. “Ummm yes?” Pinkie replied unsure. “Well for the Elemental Nations one of my clones found the continent by accident but I’m glad it did.” I said as I started on my soup. “How do you find and entire continent by accident?” Fluttershy asked. “Well the entire thing is hidden inside a giant Genjutsu to keep it hidden from the Main Continent. Who created the Genjutsu and why I’m not sure but I have a few suspicions.” I replied. “What’s a Genjutsu? For that matter what’s a Jutsu?” Sunset asked. "I’m beginning to feel like an academy teacher." I snickered to myself before beginning the explanation. “A Jutsu is a technique Ninja’s use by using hand seals to focus our Chakra. Chakra is the force that allows Ninja’s to do what those on the Main Continent would see as ‘super human’. It’s a combination of spiritual and physical power created by a body’s Chakra Coils. These coils spread the Chakra throughout the body by a network and are accessible thanks to pressure points called Tenketsu. A Genjutsu is a Jutsu that affects a humans five senses to trick the mind into seeing illusions which is why it’s also called ‘Illusionary Techniques’. This can be used to put a person to sleep, see their biggest fear, or in this case hide an entire continent.” “Apart from Genjutsu there are two other main categories for Jutsu those being Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. Ninjutsu consists of almost all the other Jutsus and are also called ‘Ninja Technique’, Taijutsu which is another way of saying martial arts or ‘Body Technique’. Now all other categories for Jutsu are subcategories. The way a Ninja preforms Jutsus not counting Taijutsu and Fūinjutsu are through Hand Seals which are used to help focus and mold Chakra.” I explained. “This is all well and good but when do we get to go home?” Rainbow asked. Knowing this was coming I sighed and leaned my elbows on the table and crossed my fingers. “I regret to say that… I can’t in good conscience let any of you return to the Main Continent…” I paused for a few moments before sighing again. “…ever. As far as the Main Continent must know all of us died in the explosion.” “WHAT?!” Everyone yelled. “You better have a good reason Kohtaro.” Celestia growled. “The ones who placed the bombs around Canterlot High are a shinobi clan, specifically the Foot Clan. Now that may not sound that bad but if their leader is who I think he is then it’s very, very troubling that they were targeting at LEAST one of you for assassination.” I said. “The Foot Clan doesn’t only have shinobi training but also access to advanced weapons and armor. This makes them a very dangerous foe.” “So why plant a bomb?” Luna asked. “My guess is to make it look like a gas explosion.” I sighed. “How do we know that...” Rainbow started. “That I really had nothing to do with the Foot?” I asked my voice growing so cold making Rainbow started to shiver. “If I wanted you dead all of you would have died long ago or I could have left without you.” “So… What now?” Luna asked trying to calm her own nerves. “First we finish what’s left of our meal. Then I get things ready to train you how to fight ninja’s and the best way to fight a ninja is to be a ninja.” I said. Fluttershy’s eyes went wide. “You don’t mean…” “All of you need to become kunoichi.” I stated and much to my surprise Rainbow’s, Fluttershy’s and Sunset’s eyes light up and we continued to eat in silence for three minutes. Once we finished I led them out of the dining room and towards my lab. When we got there I said. “Welcome to my lab, please don’t touch anything, and I do mean anything” The lab itself had white tiles shelves of books, scrolls, vials, and cabinets. In the back there were a few more white doors and a large thick curtain covering an out cropping next to a table with a 10 screens of screens all connected to one of three computers. I saw two of the clones I made earlier huddled over a computers working on the project I gave them. Walking over to the clones working at the computers I asked. “Is everything ready?” “Almost Boss.” The one on the left said. “We were doing our final checks before letting you look at em.” Nodding I went back to the girls who were still looking around. “Why did you bring us here?” Twilight asked as she and the rest of the girls were looking at the books on the walls. I started going through hand signs and said. “You’ll find out soon. Illusionary Art: Hypnotic Rain.” Feathers suddenly started raining around them and in moments all were on the ground asleep as all the other clones entered the room. “Get them all ready. Once I do my check on the process, I’m going to get the transfer done ASAP.” “Got it Boss!” The Clones said and quickly got to work. Moving to the computers I sat in the chair the clone had been in and started going over the different screens showing nine strands of DNA and began making small adjustments of my own. If I was going to do this I was going to give them the best chance of survival I could. —Twenty Five Hours Later, Village Hospital— Soft beeps fill the air as I noticed eyes opening from the person on the bed next to me. She has red and yellow hair that’s reminiscent of the morning sun as its half way over the horizon. Smirking I said. “I was expecting you to be out for a least two more hours. Guess the procedure was more effective than I thought it would be.” As the others started waking up groggily she said. “What happened?” “Couldn’t let all of you go through… let’s call it 'surgery' awake now can I?” I asked and quickly used the Phoenix Village sign language I created two years ago when I first had the idea for this village to tell a clone to get eight others and nine mirrors and get back here ASAP. “Surgery?” One of the other’s groaned her hair looking like someone took a lot of shards of broken colored glass and put them together at random and piercing crimson eyes asked. “What are you talking about?” My clones reappeared just as I saw that everyone was now awake. “See for your selves.” The Clones brought forth the mirrors and everything was quiet before my instincts told me to cover my ears moments before they all screamed. “WHAT ON EARTH DID YOU DO?!” “All Shinobi must be taught when they are young, otherwise their muscles and Chakra Coils can’t develop properly. So in order to teach you properly I had to try something dangerous. The reason I didn’t tell you is because that could have made it even more dangerous.” I explained. “What. Did. You. DO!?” One with hair that perfectly looked like an Aurora demanded. “When I went into the kitchen I made nine clones and gave each one a job to get a small clip of your hair and along with a clip of my hair to get to the lab and start the process of cloning you new bodies.” I explained before taking a deep breath. “Welcome to the waking world… my daughters.” Silence filled the room. Before one with light pink and blond hair said. “What?” “Your new bodies DO have DNA from your old ones and my pieces of my own.” I stated. “Wouldn’t that make you my children in a way?” The one who’s left eye as red as a ruby and right eye the deepest blue of a sapphire leaned into her bed and said. “I wasn’t ready for today.” “And I wasn’t ready to suddenly be the farther of nine, eight year old girls but here we are.” I shot back. “So now that the transfer’s over you all need new names. After all, transferring you to new bodies would be meaningless if you were killed before you became official Shinobi.” “And I’m guessing you have it all figured out already?” A girl whose hair went from fiery red to a dark pink asked. “Here’s the list of your new names. Celestia is now Midday Aurora, Luna is Midnight Eclipse, Rainbow’s Shattered Spectrum, Applejack is Blossoming Apple, Rarity’s now Precious Gem, Twilight is Evening Star, Fluttershy is Kind Wing, Pinkie’s now Pinkari, and Sunset‘s now Morning Phoenix.” I said. “How do you even do this?” Evening Star asked. I closed my eyes for a moment and when they opened my eyes had changed to a white orb with several black rings. “Well the first part was cloning the bodies which should be obvious. The second part was to use my Rinnegan which is one of the rarest and most powerful Dōjutsu or ‘Eye Jutsu’. The Rinnegan gives me access to what are called ‘The Six Paths of Pain’. The one I used for the transfer is call Naraka Path.” When I finished my explanation I canceled my Dōjutsu and my eyes returned to normal.” “That’s only half of the explanation!” Blossoming Apple exclaimed. “How did you do this?” “I used Naraka Path to transfer your souls from your old bodies to your new ones.” I stated. “Is that safe?!” Midnight Eclipse asked slightly panicked. “Do you think I would try something like moving souls to a new body without testing it?” I asked raising an eyebrow. “I gave animals who were sick and dying a new lot in life. True their new bodies are the same as their old ones just younger and without any genetic illnesses but I still made sure I could do it safely before even beginning to think of using it on a human. It took a lot of time and practice to use it the way I did” Kind Wing looked around. “I know what happened but does anyone find it weird that I want to call Kohtaro ‘dad’?” “I was thinking the same thing.” Evening Star sighed. “All of you should get some rest. Tomorrow I’m going to do a full physical exam just to be safe.” I said getting up with a small smirk. “Besides it’s late and children should be asleep by now.” Shattered Spectrum rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Get going you smart ass.” “See you in the morning girls” I said as I left the room leaving my clones to take care of them.