So, here we are again, my second posted fanfic. One more and I can start to write the second chapters. Now, my writing is going to slow down dramatically if not now then after my third fic is posted. It won't pick up again until the end of June or the beginning of July. Will see you when I see you!
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Naruto. I am not Kishimoto, no matter how much I want to be.
Of all the shinobi currently still alive, few could match the Sandaime Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi. Sure, others were younger, or stronger, or both, but the Hokage's wisdom and experience trumped them all. He truly earned the title of Shinobi no Kami and proved to the world that old gods were still gods and as such not to be underestimated.
Of course one as experienced as him would see the importance of knowledge, that forewarned is forearmed and would create a spy network. Led by his most trusted student, the Toad Sannin Jiraiya Yamaguchi, the network in question spanned the hidden nations and was the best in the world.
"WHAT?!"
So one can understand that his reaction to the fact that a hidden village almost as old as Konoha has existed in Oni no Kuni without detection and that a group of shinobi from that village has come on a diplomatic mission to the Hidden Leaf was one for the history books ... or maybe the blooper reels.
One of the three that were standing before him digged a finger into his ear. "Yeesh. Loud much?" The Sandaime glared at him and he raised his hands in surrender. "Sorry, sorry. It's just, we're standing in the same room as a pissed off Shinobi no Kami. It's either joking around or pissing my pants."
The Hokage took a deep breath and counted to ten in his head. "No. I should be the one apologizing. It isn't your fault that we were caught unaware of your home."
The shorter of the two young men in front of him grinned. "It isn't your spy network's fault either Sarutobi-sama. The entirety of Oni no Kuni is supposedly covered in powerful seals that make it impossible to find Tenshigakure."
The Hokage looked the two shinobi and one kunoichi in front of him over again, the flak jackets and angel-winged hitai-ate they all wore standing out to his scrutiny, showing that they really were from a different hidden village and that they were at least Tokubetsu Jounin in rank.
Now the old god focused on them one by one, starting with the kunoichi, Hana Kaiyo as she gave her name. Her hair was black and short with a few ocean blue streaks and a pair of longer bangs framing her face. Her eyes were green and large, her skin a nice tan of a woman who worked outside a lot. Her vest covered a plain blue shirt, which she wore with black pants. Her hitai-ate was worn around her neck. She had a kunai pouch on her right thigh and attached to her sides were two wakizashi in black sheaths.
The taller of the two males, Kiba Kasai, came next. His hair was black at the roots but gradually lightened to red at the tips. He was paler, the skin of someone who spent a significant amount of time inside surrounding his brown eyes. He wore a black shirt with flames licking at the bottom, black pants with burning scratches on his knees, a kunai pouch on his right thigh and white fingerless gloves with storage seals on the backs of his hands. His hitai-ate was on his forehead. Thrown over that was his vest, with a two-handed katana in a dark red sheath on his back.
The third one sat slightly closer than the other two, signifying his leadership in the scenario. He had windswept black hair, slightly tan skin and almond shaped blue eyes. He wore a black shirt with a white lighting bolt on the front and black pants, his hitai-ate was tied around his right biceps. He had a kunai pouch on his right thigh and a brown and white bo staff tipped with a vicious horn like blade was strapped to his back. He said his name was Raiun Raijinto.
The Hokage now got down to business. "You said you came here on a diplomatic mission, right? Why now, why us and, if your answers are acceptable, what do you want from us and what do you have to offer in return?"
Raiun answered: "For starters, we're here now, because there isn't a better time. The nations are currently at peace and wouldn't risk war, just because we showed up on the scene. Konoha was our leader's choice because you are known as both the strongest and the nicest of the great five. As for what we have to offer, Oni no Kuni is rich in Chakra storage gemstones which we would be happy to trade, as well as the fact that we would funnel a few missions your way. All we want in return is open trade, and if you could give us a few missions as well, we would be very grateful."
Sarutobi frowned. "Your offer is good and your explanation is sound, but you aren't saying something."
Raiun smiled at the old veteran. "You are as sharp as the legends say, Sarutobi-sama. There is in fact one other reason why we decided to reveal ourselves now. Our Tenshikage received a warning from his summons. The sages of Sen Buredo Mountain have always been allies of Tenshigakure no Sato and their ability to predict the future has always been helpful. The prophecy in question said something about a cataclysmic storm, unleashed upon the Shinobi Nations and that nine young leaves will stand in its way. It also said that the three guardian angels will be crucial in stopping the storm."
Now, Hana added her voice to the discussion: "We managed to decipher the following from the prophecy: nine young ninja from Konoha will be crucial in stopping a war that has the potential to destroy the world, but they will need the help of the guardian angels."
"This means," finished Kiba: "that we want to help. And the easiest way to do that is to help our future saviors reach their full potential."
"You want to train them," deduced Sarutobi. "It makes sense, in a way. You said it yourself that the world depends on the angels and leaves, so the easiest way to get yourselves used to working with them is to teach them. Very well, I accept the offer."
With those words the Hokage took an empty scroll and started writing. After reading through what he wrote, he nodded to himself and duplicated the scroll twice before adding the stamp of his office and offering the scrolls to the three before him.
As the three were reading through the scrolls, the Hokage spoke: "Give that scroll to the Jounin Sensei of the team you will be helping. It should be enough for them to trust you. Now then, if I will be entrusting you three with my Genin I want to know your rank and abilities. No sense in having allies you don't know after all."
"Of course Hokage-sama," said Raiun: "To start, I am a Jounin while both of my friends are currently Tokubetsu Jounin, field promoted while I got my promotion in the Jounin exam. To become a Jounin in Tenshigakure you must demonstrate a mastery of two elements and two non-ninjutsu specialities. My teammates are both one element away from a promotion."
Hana spoke next: "I currently have a mastery of Suiton and am working on Doton. My other masteries are in dual blade Kenjutsu and Iryojutsu."
Up next was Kiba: "I have a mastery of Katon and am working on Fuuton, while my other two masteries are in Kenjutsu with a two-handed katana and Fuuinjutsu."
Raiun was last: "Before I begin, let me explain the Raijinto Kekkei Genkai. It allows us to control lightning to a ridiculous degree. In other words, we don't need to use handseals for Raiton jutsu beneath A rank and have much more control, as such we are capable of using jutsu that would otherwise be much too dangerous as a single slip could be fatal. It does come at a price however, our Chakra network is always aligned towards lightning, meaning that any jutsu without an element is much harder and any other element impossible over E rank. As such, instead of two elements and two non-ninjutsu specialities a Raijinto needs a high mastery of Raiton and three other specialities, in my case Bojutsu, tracking and poison making."
The Hokage wrote the information down, before handing the trio a set of papers.
"Those are the three teams that you will be helping. They are currently the only rookie teams in Konoha, with the second youngest being a full year older. Pick a team and tell me so I can get the paperwork in order."
Hana picked up the papers first, looked them over and came to a decision: "I'd like to take team 8 please."
Kiba yanked the other two papers from her hands, looked them over and flinched a bit: "I may be evil but not that evil. Sign me up for team 10."
Raiun cocked an eyebrow at that, before looking at the last paper and sighing in relief: "Team 7 it is then."
The Hokage looked mildly amused: "So, ah... can I ask what that was about?"
Raiun answered with a sickly grin: "One of my Genin is an Uzumaki, as is my fiance. If Hari-chan found out that I didn't train her clanmate she'd string me up."
Now the old monkey looked very amused. The young man in front of his desk grumbled a bit before getting back to business: "So, where are they right now? I think it would be best if we introduce ourselves to them as quickly as possible."
The Hokage answered: "In regards to teams 8 and 10, they are currently training. Team 8 makes use of training ground 25 and team 10 of training ground 12. As for team 7, I'm afraid you just missed them. They left yesterday on a C-rank mission to Nami no Kuni."
Just as the Hokage finished his sentence, a messenger hawk flew through his window and alighted on his desk. The Sandaime took the message, read it through and, when his head snapped upwards and the Shinobi no Kami made his reappearance, the Tenshigakure trio understood that the news were bad.
The Hokage dug around in his drawer a bit and pulled out a trio of Konoha hitai-ate which he gave to the ninja in front of him: "Consider yourselves accepted. Kiba-san, Hana-san, find your teams and introduce yourselves, Raiun-san, wait for a bit, I need to talk to you."
The two Tokubetsu Jounin saluted before jumping out of the window and into Konoha proper, while their remaining teammate snapped to attention: "What do you require Hokage-sama?"
The wizened leader waved the message he got from the hawk in the air: "Your team got in too deep and requires assistance. You will go meet them in Nami no Kuni and provide help. Understood?" "Perfectly Hokage-sama. I will leave at once. But before I leave, do you have anything with their scent? It would help a lot."
5 minutes later
Raiun stood at the gates of Konoha, his new hitai-ate tied just beneath his old one. He quickly bit down on his thumb before running through a few handseals and slamming his hands on the floor: "NinpÅ: Kuchiyose! (Ninja art: Summoning)"
Appearing from a puff of smoke, the solid black jackal with brown eyes and a gold necklace with a scarab charm briefly shook his head before looking at Raiun and speaking in a voice as wispy and quiet as the shifting dunes: "What do you require, Raiun-sama?" "Your tracking experience Kuro. We're tracking a Genin team in over their heads. I need to get there quickly and as such, I called the best tracker the jackals have to offer." "Of course Raiun-sama, give me a scent and I'll get you a trail in a second."
Raiun pulled a scrap of cloth from a storage seal and offered it to Kuro who sniffed it once and immediately set off with his master in hot pursuit.
Will Raiun make it in time? Well we'll see now, won't we? Now for some translations:
Tenshigakure no Sato - village hidden by the angels
Tenshikage - angel shadow
Sen Buredo - thousand blades
Raiun - thundercloud
Kiba - fang
Kasai - fire
Hana - flower
Kaiyo - ocean
Kuro - black
And, just for a laugh: Yamaguchi - mountain-mouth
There, that should be all. To finish the chapter, a recommendation for a good fanfic to read:
The Mouse of Konoha by obsidian dreamer:
Never underestimate the power of good advice. A few wise words into a pair of young ears leads a young would-be ninja to a decision; the Leaf will recognise him, but not as the fox...