The Ninja Encyclopedia, Part 4 - Q & A Special

A/N: Sorry for taking so long with this Special! I have had a lot of work to do at my University and I'm making preparations for my graduation at the end of this semester!

In fact, if it wasn't for DocHoliday0316 helping me out, again, I might've taken longer to finish it so give a shout out to him!

Btw, to the guy who said I was making this a Naru/Saku fic in a recent review:

Taking your head out of your pairing-obsessed ass, build a bridge over the pairing-tard river, AND GET OVER IT! I have my reasons for how I write my fics the way I do and just because the scenes with the shinobi are somewhat Sakura-centric it does not mean I'm putting her into any pairing(s). Again I said no pairings in this fic and I meant it: NO PAIRINGS! And DON'T you DARE accuse ME of lying about that, YOU GOT IT?!

...Now that I've gotten that out of the way, enjoy the Special!

Please send faves, follows, and reviews if you wish but it's perfectly optional this time around.

Disclaimer: Still Applies

Some Time Before the Special...

As the final preparations for the Q & A Special were underway, Kurama was in a none-too happy mood.

"Ok, why does HE have to be here?! He only had one cameo scene in this part of the story and you didn't even show what he looked like!" Kurama yelled out rather angrily at the black-hooded figure that was the grand architect of this story, Rocker1600 (Rocker for short), who stood in front the Tailed Beast (who was in his human form).

"It's not like I enjoy being here or being forced to do this, either," the man who was the source of Kurama's rage towards Rocker, who let out a sigh before he responded to Kurama's question.

"Why, you ask? Because I said so, Kurama. Madara and I are the special guests for this special and that's MY final decision. If you or Madara are going to give me any trouble over my decision then I'll just do to you what I did to Juha Bach after what he gave me for Christmas back in 2013," Rocker warned the Tailed Beast as well as the now-named Madara Uchiha.

At hearing Rocker's threat, both Kurama and Madara's faces paled in fear, knowing all too well that Rocker's threat was no bluff. Back on Christmas Day 2013, Juha thought it would be a good idea to give Rocker a copy of School Days AND all the Twilight films (both of which are among the top 50 things in the world that Rocker HATES) as a practical joke. Needless to say, Rocker didn't think it was funny and removed him from this story before he had any chance to appear... permanently (hence why the fate of Masaki is so drastically different in this fic). It was the only time Rocker had ever unleashed the full might of his giant pencil and both Kurama and Madara, along with everyone else (all the other characters bore witness to what happened), didn't want to relieve that nightmare, much less find themselves at the wrong end of Rocker's wrath.

After all, compared to a certain Soul Reaper who was part of the Royal Guard (who will NOT appear in any part of this story) that also wielded a "pen" that was mightier than the sword, Rocker's powers were even WORSE in terms of what they do to his intended victims.

The two hosts muttered stuff under their breaths and looked away from each other but didn't object any more for the moment.

"Alright, then. I guess we have no choice. (he sighs) Let's just get this damned thing over with... (he turns to face Madara) You better not give me any crap, Madara," Kurama warned.

"You took the words out of my mouth, Nine-Tails," Madara hissed back before he and Kurama walked away to finish preparing for the Special as Rocker looked on.

"This is going even better than I had anticipated. Let's just hope they don't end up trying to kill each other, as entertaining as that might be," Rocker thought to himself as he just walked to the room where the Ninja Encyclopedia Omake, and the approaching special by extension, takes place to wait for his two subordinate and unhappy co-hosts...

Current Time...

"(sighs) Welcome, everybody, to the Ninja Encyclopedia. I'm your host, Kurama, and today we're having the Q & A Special promised to you in the letter from our last session. Joining me as co-hosts for this occasion, which also marks the end of the first half of this story, is the author himself, Lord Rocker1600, and... ugh, I can't believe this... Madara Uchiha..." Kurama began, with a great deal of disgust in his voice as he introduced the infamous Uchiha.

"Hello, my faithful fans," Rocker greeted.

"Hn," was all Madara "said."

This caused Rocker to turn and glare at Madara though his black hood, though that was more than enough for Madara to feel a sudden burst of unease and dread, as if death itself was staring at him... only it wasn't death. It was something far worse.

Deciding to let Madara's curt introduction slide, Rocker simply turned away from the Uchiha and told Kurama to continue.

"Anyways, it seems we got plenty of questions from you readers... unfortunately they mostly the same questions or questions about stuff that was already answered within the goddamned story. Or they were damned pairing requests despite making it perfectly clear that their are no pairings. Thankfully, we did get several questions that we've decided to answer," Kurama said before the Tailed Beast pulled out a sheet of paper he had stored inside his duster and began to look at its contents.

"The first question is actually a basic summation of a question a lot of you readers keep asking over and over: Will the Fullbringers appear in this story? Well, you see... I have absolutely no idea who these readers are talking about. Lord Rocker?" Kurama asked.

"The Fullbringers won't be appearing in the story. In the end, they were essentially a plot device to allow Ichigo to get his powers back. They were relevant for only one arc, and made only one appearance after that."

"They were apparently led by a professional Squall Leonhart cosplayer," Madara said under his breath, unaware that Rocker heard wait he just said.

"Wait, how did you know that reference? Did you break the fourth wall without my permission, Madara?" Rocker asked, though the tone in his voice made it seem like he was stating a fact.

"Uh… well… you see-"

Before a now uneasy Madara could think of an excuse to save his skin, he was suddenly presented with a game case by Rocker. On the cover of it was a pink-haired woman, and the game was titled "Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII".

"That's your punishment. You're playing it after the special."

"I don't play video games so I don't see why this is a punishment. Furthermore, why would you carry around a copy of that?" Madara questioned as Rocker crossed his arms.

"I've been trying to get rid of that thing for a looooooonng time. Of course, if you want, I can go fetch you a copy of 'Ride to Hell: Retribution' as well," Rocker warned.

After an awkward silence, Kurama finally spoke up.

"Anyways, let's get back to the special, shall we?" Kurama said as shifted in his seat.

"Our next question is this: I'm confused, does that mean Naruto's bankai essentially is Sage Mode from canon, or does he have Sage Mode and bankai active at the same time while still separate?"

"Well, the answer to that is that is very easy: they're two separate things. However, the bankai's design and some of it's abilities are heavily inspired by the Sage's abilities presented in canon," Rocker answered, which seemingly caused Madara to raise an eyebrow before Kurama continued reading the questions.

"And here we have the last question of the special: does Gin Ichimaru have a special role in the story?" the Tailed Beast asked.

"Well, to find that out, you'll have to read the rest of the story, which will continue into Part 2," Rocker replied.

"Why keep them waiting? Why don't you just tell them now," Madara asked as Kurama addressed him.

"Because that would ruin the excitement of it. Besides, it's Lord Rocker's decision when it'll be revealed, jackass," an annoyed Kurama said.

"You should watch your mouth, beast. I was able to control you once and I can control you again," the Uchiha sneered.

"Says the guy who can't even control his bladder," Kurama said dismissively.

"W-what did you just say?" a stunned Madara asked.

"You heard me. I know for a fact that you get agitated when someone stands behind you while you're trying to take a leak. That's how Hashirama was able to get the jump on you as a little brat, last I heard. The most powerful Uchiha can't even take a piss properly; I almost died laughing when I heard that," Kurama taunted.

At that point a now-pissed off Madara walked right up to the Tailed Beast, standing inches from his face.

"You're dead, you foul beast," Madara hissed before Kurama pressed his forehead against Madara as if he were challenging him.

"You think you can kill me? Then why don't you come and-"

Kurama was suddenly interrupted by Rocker who rushed him and Madara and, before either could react, grabbed their heads and lifted the two off the ground, effectively restraining the two.

"I have had enough of your bickering. Seeing as I can't kill you two..." Rocker said as a light emanated from his hands.

"Amnesia!" Rocker yelled before the lights burst in a brilliant flash that enveloped the entire room.

Moments later, the flash dissipated, revealing that Rocker was alone in the room... which he apparently disintegrated.

"Oops... maybe I put too much effort into wiping their memories of this fiasco and sending them away... oh well," Rocker thought to himself before turning to face the sky as if he were staring into the ether... or looking at some crowd of people that only he could see.

He then spoke up.

"Well... I apologize for that. This wasn't much of a Q & A Special but I hope you guys liked it anyways. Anyways this is the last entry for 'The Maelstrom & Deathberry - The 1st Act.' I hope to see you guys soon for the 2nd Act of this fic. Until then, this is Rocker1600, signing out!" he said as he gave a good-bye wave.

See you in the 2nd Act!