Disclaimer valid until end of story: Naruto and Co. are owned by Masashi Kishimoto. All rights reserved.
"The Hokage needs to speak with you immediately."
Something about all those words strung together like that (Hokage, speak, immediately) just spelled trouble. It couldn't be good news. She wouldn't be smiling when they walked in, she wouldn't beat Naruto over the head for calling her old, she wouldn't be drinking merrily or dozing on her mountains of paperwork. She would be looking sullen and grim, just like the messenger. The messenger who was currently looking at them with an unnerving expression on his face.
All this together could easily ruin someone's lunch time. It was a calm time to eat with friends and family, to joke around, to act as if life was good and everyone was perfect. Lunch plus urgent news equalled unhappy campers.
Naruto slurped up the remaining noodles handing from his mouth and looked over to Sakura, her chopsticks dangling from her hands. She met his eyes and nodded, inwardly sighing at the growling vibration coming from her stomach. They abruptly stood and exited the Ramen shop without looking at anybody, their bowls unnaturally lonesome.
The messenger stepped out of their way and followed behind them, hands behind his back. The mission, as he recalled, was not specified by the Hokage. It just showed the gravity of the situation. She wouldn't even let the messenger knew, she just said to bring Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki to her office as quickly and quietly as possible. No one outside the two needed to know.
"It's a mission," Sakura said, going into a steady jog to get to the Hokage faster.
Naruto easily kept her pace, "Yeah and it can't be very good."
Once they reached the Hokage the messenger entered first and bowed, before exiting her office. He glided past Naruto with urgency, almost slipping on the newly waxed floor. Sakura and Naruto waited by the door with patience until they were escorted in by two ANBU Black Oops members. One of which was identifiable by the bird mask he wore but they chose not to acknowledge him. The situation was not right for small talk. The air was too tense.
Tsunade was behind her gigantic desk with folded hands, hastily bidding the ANBU to leave. The two friends bowed before her and then stood straight. Sakura could see the anxiety in the older woman's eyes. After the doors closed, an uncomfortable silence filled the still room. The Hokage seemed to be living inside her mind at that moment, staring at an empty spot just below her window. A breeze ruffled some of the papers on her desk but she still did not move to stop them from falling. At last she picked up the scroll closest to her and fixed her eyes on it, taking a deep breath.
"Naruto, Sakura I have an important mission for you. Failure is not an option." When they said nothing she continued, "This is an S-Rank protection mission that will last a total of, no more than, two to five years."
It is said that when something hot is touched, the nerves in the hand send a message to brain so the body can move away. Some reaction times are slower than others but the brain gets the same message. DANGER,MOVE AWAY! Too bad that when something is heard there is no moving away from it. It lingers in the air, burning twice as hard and twice as fast.
"Two to five years?"
"S-Rank protection mission?" their thoughts were finally spoken out. It was unheard of for a mission to last so long especially a protection mission.
The Hokage struggled to pick her words carefully,"You need to prepare for this mission and that alone will take at least a year." It was rare for a mission's preparation phase to last more than a month. How long could gathering a few supplies and practicing techniques really take? "It is an undercover protection mission. You will not get caught or fail. You will assume the identity of someone new using a jutsu and become parts of a new world, that can take some time."
Sakura fumbled with her hands a little in nervous anxiety. Something was off about the mission. A Transformation Jutsu could only last a certain amount of time before it wore out, how could it last years? And who was the person they were protecting? Why couldn't he or she know who they were?
Were they the enemy in some way?
"Will we use a regular Transformation Justu?" Naruto asked curiously while fixing his Konoha Leaf Headband that was loose. Sunlight bounced off the metal part of it and caught Tsunade's eyes.
"No Naruto, it is a forbidden jutsu that has never been used before. It can transform a person for any amount of time and will be given to you by Kakashi tomorrow. It is called the Forbidden Transformation Jutsu #9. The reason it is forbidden is not known because it was created long ago, the details about it have been worn down by time. But if it should fall into evil hands, disaster could come to the Hidden Leaf Village and every other village in the ninja world. Since there are two of you it will come in two scrolls, a Water Scroll and a Fire Scroll. When you transform you will either be capable of learning water or fire type jutsus that compliment one another, any other jutsu will be dormant to you in that body."
"What?" Naruto looked shell shocked,"You're saying that I can't use the Rasengan or the Shadow Clone jutsu when I transform? Why not?"
"Because Naruto," Sakura put her hand on his shoulder,"If we had all our jutsus in another body that would be suspicious. Think about this: if you had green hair and looked like Kabuto but are able to use the Rasengan that would be strange. Not to mention someone would notice the technique if they ever saw Jiraiya or the Fourth Hokage perform it."
Tsunade turned to her, "Sakura, when you transform at first you will not have any jutsus. You have to learn everything all over again, including Ninja Academy type jutsus."
"Everything?" they repeated together.
Naruto was having a hard time believing all that, all his hard work would be thrown out the window. All the blood, sweat, and tears...the accomplished feeling he got every time he learned a new jutsu...it was all going to disappear. Was the mission really that important?
Sakura stared down at her hands, they wouldn't be healing hands anymore. They would just be used to deceive, to lie, and to protect their target.
"But don't worry, once you transform back to normal you will regain all your old jutsus back. You will loose the ones you learned through the transformation."
"Who is the person we are protecting?" It seemed to be the question Tsunade had been avoiding for she looked down and unfolded her hands before folding them again.
"Though he is traveling, we have been tracking him for a while. A year from now, when you are ready, you will follow one of Kakashi's Ninja Dogs to find him. He is no longer associated with our village but his actions can and probably will affect us."
No...
"Who is he?" Naruto persisted, her changing of the topic made him uneasy.
"He has three other ninjas with him and though they are skilled, they lack your power and skill". She turned to another scroll to her right and picked it up,"We have known for some time that Itachi Uchiha has been killed by his younger brother and now there is an opening in the have become more powerful over the last few years and we do not need another talented ninja to be corrupted into their ways."
No...it couldn't be...
Sakura and Naruto glanced at each other, they did not like where she was going with that.
Don't say it...
Please don't say what I'm thinking...
"They will most likely try to convince him to forget about his team and join them. This man is known for his hunger of power." Naruto gently grabbed Sakura's hand and squeezed it reassuringly because she was practically shaking in fear. "Your mission is to join his team and protect him, protect Sasuke Uchiha."