AN: Hi. This is just an idea that struck me and wouldn't go away, the only one I've actually put down on paper (albeit digitaly). I hope you like it and whether you do or don't please leave back some feedback. Now enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, own Naruto or any concepts similar that may appear to belong to someone else. The plot, OCs and new ideas are mine; please ask if you feel you want to use them.
Prologue
By the time I reached the rendezvous things had descended into chaos; then again, they usually do when I'm involved. We had to meet in an underground basement in Kaishi Village, one of the trading towns in the southern shore of Fire Country. If you were to describe the place in a word dump would be among those that do nicely. The lamp posts where bent or busted, trash littered the streets everywhere and there was an overflow of beggars and junkies sleeping in the sidewalk. Most of the edifications where in varying states of deterioration: broken windows, graffiti, missing walls—you name it, the place was like a depot of structural damage.
The contractor was waiting in the middle of the room—the only illumined part—his hands supporting the weight of his upper body on a table as he inspected a map. He looked anywhere between 40 and 60 years old, wearing a black turtleneck with an open kevlar vest resting over it and sporting a shaved head. His black beard wasn't thick enough to hide the scowl adorning his face when reacted to my presence as he looked up.
"I hope you have a contingency behind you, we sure as hell didn't pay so much for one grunt," he provided as greeting with a gruff bark. Obviously he had never dealt with my type before.
"Sorry," I replied in mock sadness. "I'm afraid your money only got you the cheap model. If you had paid for an A rank you might've gotten a full team."
"You think this is funny don't you… Well, it doesn't matter we'll make do with you."
He really didn't know who he was talking to… sometimes I wonder if all the secrecy in this trade is really worth it.
"As you must know, your job is assassinating the head of the smugglers stationed in this hell hole. One of their headquarters is located in a warehouse in the harbor area. We had a mole stationed in their ranks for the past months and we have a rough schematic of the layout."
"Ok," I interrupted. "What makes you think the leader would be there today? Your mole isn't in a rank high enough to even see the guy or you would've done the job yourself."
"Heh, not as thick as you look. Our guy reported a sudden increase in security—much higher than the doubling of efforts during a new shipment." His eyes narrowed before he continued. "The convoy included some missing nin from Wind Country, something never seen before. More importantly, an unidentified yacht was registered in the log for arrival today at 300 hours. That's our vessel."
Something more conclusive would've been nice, but tools can't choose their input—just like ninja can't choose their intel. That kind of rash conclusion means these people are desperate to get this done. Besides, if the boss weren't there, at least it would be someone important, so I played my part.
"Got it. So what's the plan?"
"At least you have the right attitude," the guy said smirking. "I have men stationed…"
"Woah there," I interjected again—I'm funny like that. "I'm being paid for a job here; the description doesn't include civies helping me. Your men can sit this one out. Here's the new plan, I kill him and his security before he even sets foot on the premises. No need for schematics, the end".
I even smiled for the guy at the end, shouldn't have been surprised by his reaction; I mean, he really didn't know who he was dealing with. His face progressed through intensifying shades of red as veins in his neck and forehead bulged from the increased heart rate. When you've lived what I have you notice these as signs of rage. Then his mouth erupted in an explosion of saliva and sound.
"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? YOU WILL NOT COMPROMISE THIS SHOT WITH YOUR EGO! I SWEAR…"
I really have to work on my people skills, maybe that's why I keep interrupting people.
"Sorry, but there's not much you can do about it."
At that point I dispelled myself in a burst of smoke leaving my contractor confused and successfully relaying the briefing to the rest of the doppelgangers and the original.
I was waiting behind the wheel of my old rental car (I'm not familiar with the brand… to me it looked like piece o' shit would be a good guess) when the memory of the shadow clone I sent to the rendezvous materialized itself in my mind. After reviewing what happened I went got out of the car and walked into the empty parking lot. From that level I had a vantage point with peripheral view to most of the city, including the harbor. I reached into one of the pockets in my leather jacket searching for binoculars. I scouted the area looking for anything that stuck out, and then I turned on the infrared.
Normally, when scouting in that wavelength, IR points out heat signatures making it easy to identify living things in the dark. The good people at the lab in Konoha are a tad clever and tuned it to work a little different. You see, chakra is a very particular form of energy, it can be shaped into a display of flashing lights, a raging fire, even roaring sound. The signature the chakra has varies with the state it is: could be ultra violet, x-ray, radio—you name it. The thing is that in its raw, unmolded state it is constantly emitting IR. After figuring that out, it was trivial for techies back home to put this together to isolate the chakra signatures.
This swipe revealed only one point that was clustered with chakra, the boat itself. "That kind of protection ain't cheap, this guy must think he's something. Time to have some fun." I said to myself with a wolfish smile plastered on my face. A few hand seals later and I was at the mission site.
Even before the smoke of my shunshin cleared my senses were assaulted with a strong smell of fish from the nearby warehouses. I quickly moved through the concrete yard making sure to stay in shadows, move with the direction of the wind; you know, all that crap that is instilled in you when you're stealthy killing machine. I made it to hull of the ship undetected. I climbed my way to rail and I swept my vision through the deck when my eyes were at the level of the floor just to meet with the back of a pair of steel plated boots. Without wasting any time I reached into my jacket and swiftly plunged a kunai into the grunt's jugular.
"Grglgrlgrlgr…" was the faint noise that escaped the guard as he fell in a pool of his own gushing blood. Don't look at me like that… I know it isn't the cleanest way to dispose of someone, but it's really hard to make a sound when your trachea is being blocked by steel knife.
A quick inspection proved him to be only a civie with ammunition; no training to deal with people like me. At any case, I stuffed the bastard in a nearby closet, took his Id, weapons and wallet. Hey, to the victor go the spoils, or something like that. Anyway, from there on this was a textbook infiltration so what comes next is pretty obvious. I closed my eyes and visualized the guy I just killed and canalized my chakra into forming a skintight layer around my body then my hands take the form of the tiger seal and "Henge!" I had donned the skin of the guard as my own. Of course this whole thing just took less than a second; it comes with practice. Through a similar chakra molding exercise and a cross seal I performed my signature technique: "Kagebunshin no jutsu" and a clone materialized next to me. I added a mask that covered the lower half of my face and removed any leaf insignia; this kind of thing doesn't have to be traced back home. Now time for some acting!
"Hey," I cleverly told the suits guarding the cabin door. "Look what I found lurking around the deck. Boss would like to see this." At which point I pushed the disguised clone with the tip of the Type 89 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifle plundered from the body now safely resting as the contents of a service closet.
"What?", said the goon to my right. "You know the boss don't like to be disturbed before looking over a shipment. Just shoot the bastard and throw him overboard."
Shit, so much for the stealthy approach. Before the guard could insist, my clone hit the guy on the sternum with an audible crack and before he could collapse again on the throat. The sound that escaped him was a mix between a grunt and a gasp. Guy was dead before hitting the floor. Just after my clone completed the execution of the guy on the right I shot through him, dispelling the clone and piercing the other guard twice. Once in the chest and once in the skull. I like to be thorough.
"Fuujasin," where the words I heard shouted before a powerful gust of wind ripped the cabin door slamming it into me and sending me flying towards the mast. My back crashed against the massive wooden pole and dispersed in a cloud of smoke. You didn't think I'd be caught off guard after alerting them with a gun shot, right? I took that brief respite to see what I was up against while crouching on top of the mast. There were to missing nin from the sand in the deck and one inside the cabin, none of which I recognized; which translated into one thing: not really worth my time. Since I was aware of this I had to ways to go about this. I could finish before they were aware of anything going on OR I could throw caution to the wind and have some fun. Number two sounded like a good idea at the time.
I dropped my disguise and made my presence known. "Hey there fellas," I said with as much verve as I could muster—that could be a lot if you know me. "Why the violent reception? I just want to …"
"Fuuton: Kaze no Doriru!," The missing nin my right shouted before I could finish being an ass. Wind started spinning in his outstretched arms and literally a thin typhoon started rushing towards me from that starting point, very much like a drill.
"Katon: Gamayu Emudan!" Interjected the other ninja almost simultaneously. A stream of fire flew from the caster's mouth into the wind drill flying in my direction. The result was impressive to say the least. The fire intermeshed itself with the wind current and augmented at least trice in size. The pinpoint needle of a drill became a thick rotating fire cylinder, spitting flame in every direction. The two missing nin didn't move their gaze away from the behemoth of an attack until it consumed me in a roaring crash. Splinters of wood, ash and steel came flying in all directions.
As impressive a display of chakra that attack was you could tell these guys were amateurs, still dazzled by the bombastic, flashy displays of power. I used to be like that, but now I appreciate the practicality of more tightly controlled destruction.
Before they could spot my body among the wreckage, both felt the impact of a spinning ball of chakra the size of a fist in their stomach. Rasengan! As I felt the impact, I pushed them against the surface of the deck before stopping the attack… In retrospect I should've let them fly with it; it wasn't worth the mess of internal organs…
"So you took out the trash," said a grizzled voice from inside the cabin. "About time too, those newbies were getting on my nerves. Now I don't have to do the job myself!" And the leader of the hired muscle stepped out of the cabin.
One look at this guy and you know he's different from the others. He had long, graying hair slicked back. Tan skin, with sun spots scattered around. His face had a leathery quality, as if he had endured the worst the world had to offer. A slashed suna hitai-ate tied around his bicep. He was wearing a traditional Gi with an open ninja vest over it and steel bracers that covered his forearms. The oddest thing was, he had no scars. When you get to live as much as he seemed to as a ninja without getting scars it only means one thing: whoever he was, he was good. Then again, so was I.
"Interesting choice of words… " I replied in a façade of thoughtfulness. "You see, I also have a job to do and you're kinda in the way. So why don't we save us a bunch of time and you get out the way?" I might be a badass assassin and all, but if you can get a break you try and make the best of it.
"No chance kiddo. Any last words?" Said the seasoned ninja as he assumed a fighting stance I was unfamiliar with.
"How about …" I replied as I unsheathed two custom-made, silenced, semiautomatic .40S&W. These handguns weighed about one and a half pounds each. They were made of matte black steel and were carefully carved with runes along the barrel and the handle. The ammunition itself was prepared like that, but I digress. In the same motion I released one shot from each gun, one heading towards his head and one to his groin.
Before the bullets hit the target, my opponent's bracers took a faint blue hue—a tell tale sign of chakra circulation—and he intercepted both shots then he went through a series of handseals before shouting "Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" Five water dragons raised themselves from the water around the docked ship. Then, with a swift motion of the veteran's arm, one of the dragons came crashing towards me.
I jumped sideways to avoid the massive water construct. I forming my favorite handseal I materialized a Kagebunshin in midflight before another dragon came flying in my direction. The clone tossed me in another direction before the water dragon crashed into it, dispelling it instantly. As I was landing I started forming handseals again: Snake, Goat, Monkey, Pig, Horse, Tiger. Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu! A giant fireball blew from my mouth collapsing with the other 3 water constructs flying in my direction. The result was a giant explosion of steam that covered the whole of the ship. Before I could prepare a counter attack, my target's bodyguard came rushing towards me from the steam cloud swinging at my mid section with a siangham on his right arm. I shifted back to avoid the hit and following the momentum of my dodge I sent a roundhouse kick to the siangham on his left unbalancing the attacker. Or so I thought before he flowed with the strike and retaliated with a stab. I blocked the blade with my twin .40's and I disarmed the bastard with a flick of the wrists. As the siangham sailed out of his hand I sent a kick to his chest that sent him flying across the deck. I took that moment to start molding my natured chakra.
I imagined my chakra flow as millions of tiny blades circulating through my body. Then I channeled it into my hand and pushed it into my handheld weapon. The runes of in the gun started glowing in a green hue before I pulled the trigger. The force of the shot would've ripped my arm out of my socket hadn't I been prepared for it. The bullet itself left a trail of visible chakra behind it as it flew toward the missing nin. Again, my adversary parried with a chakra infused bracer in mid-air. The bullet pierced the bracer, his forearm and his shoulder in a clean exit would. The wind chakra coating was a bit messier. Due to the nature of wind chakra, his arm ended sliced in two different sections: the shoulder and the elbow; his hand still gripping the other siangham. The rouge assassin slid over the deck when he fell in a heap, leaving a literal trail of blood in his path.
"AGH! I'll kill you for that!" Spat the missing nin as he held the bleeding stump where his arm was supposed to be.
"What we're you trying to do before? More importantly, what makes you think that now that's intimidating stumpy?" I replied with a grin on my face.
A throaty chuckle escaped my opponent. "I think this should help you reconsider," he continued before a mad grin split his face. Suddenly his chakra levels spiked before he exploded in a blast of scalding hot steam. I jumped to evade the attack. This guy was good, I didn't even see the replacement with a water clone. The missing-nin came darting from the steam directly towards me. I started shooting, aiming at his vitals, but he changed course and started dodging my attacks. This kept until I fired my fifteenth shot and *clack* , ran out of bullets. Thinking this was his chance to get me, the traitor lunged towards me convinced that taijutsu would bring me down… Incredible considering he just lost an arm… The nerve of some people, right?
I put away my twin .40S&W's and fall back into a familiar taijutsu stance. He starts with an easily blocked kick, then another and another. Before I know it he's throwing a flurry of kicks almost as fast as my gunshots. I see a change in the tempo of his attacks and quickly exploit the change of pace. I grab one of his legs with one hand and I start spinning chakra in the other. I see his eyes widen in surprise and recognition. I always love this part.
"It… It can't be! … You're Konoha's new Toad Sage!" Gasped the veteran with a fear stricken voice. As if he realized just now that he wouldn't walk out alive from this.
"Uzumaki Naruto, in the flesh. I would ask your name, but you'll be gone soon." Then I cried "Rasengan!" as I plunged the spinning orb of chakra into his chest without letting his leg go. Again, in retrospect, I should've let him fly…
By the time I walked into the cabin I was covered in the gore of the elite bodyguards my target had. Some neat killing machine I was. Still, it serves as an extra intimidation factor. The room was huge; you wouldn't think you're inside a yacht when you walk in. It was ostentatiously decorated, as if he was constantly receiving royalty in here; however, it still managed to maintain business air to it. The mighty crime lord was cradling his knees in a corner of the room hiding behind a pushed desk. As I continued my trek toward my target I recharged my pistols with a magazine that had 爆発 (Explosion) carved into it. I push a bit of chakra into the gun and fire at the desk. The effect was immediate; once the round came in contact with the furniture piece it exploded in a blast of fire and splinters. The shockwave pushed the mobster into the wall, covering him in debris from the waist down—effectively incapacitating him.
"Kenichi Shinoda," I said in a foreboding tone. "Today you will answer for the crimes you've committed against the people of Kaishi Village. Any last words?" That last part I add to give him a chance to beg, people get real creative when their lives are on the line.
Flash Back
A middle-aged man in an expensive suit is sprawled on the ground, mud covering him from head to toe. It's raining heavily and it seems as if it's going to get worse. I'm looking at him down the barrel of my gun.
"Any last words?"
"I'll triple whatever they're giving you," the man desperately cried shaking as he tried to get up. "Hell, I'll give you a bank check just let me go!"
A young woman is sunk in swamp mud from the waist down. I have a kunai pointed at the target's throat. "Any last words?"
"Let me live please," said the woman crying inconsolably. "If you do I'll let you do anything you want. I'll let you fuck me, please let me live"
A missing nin in a standard Iwa uniform is tied in ninja wire to a large tree in the middle of a dense forest. I have a formed rasengan in my right hand and his throat in the left. "Any last words?"
"Fuck you Konoha dog!" Rasped the rouge ninja with a blocked windpipe. "Just get it over with!"
… Not everyone humors my whims. Still this one didn't disappoint.
"Please let me go, I'll pay you," stuttered the mobster as he tried to free himself from the mound of debris that was his desk. "I'll give you my cargo, you can have all the smack you want!"
I just kept walking towards him undeterred. Besides I already heard that one.
"I'll make you one of my lieutenants. Please don't kill me." By now he closed his eyes and started whimpering. Too bad it always ends the same way.
A low sudden whistling sound broke the silence that followed his plea, a sound that could only be generated by a silenced bullet flying from a handgun. The explosive round pierced the target's stomach making a gory mess of him upon detonation. The head however was mostly intact, which is really what I needed. I picked it up and sealed it in a scroll and off to hand it in.
The whole scuffle ended at 0327 hours. By the time the resistance group finished mobilizing to strike the headquarters they found the head of the crime lord at their doorstep and I was already gone.
Nothing special to say; after all, it's just another day of work.