Ranger of the Leaf
Arc One – Undiscovered
Chapter One – The New Mission
x~X~x
Konohagakure no Sato, also known as The Village Hidden in the Leaves, was only a village in name. It was easily miles across and covered in the greys of the house rooftops, the greens of the forestry and blues of the crystal-clear rivers that snaked their way around the greys and greens as if being the borders of two rivalling nations.
It was a different story outside the village, out there the green of the forest ruled. There was every shade of green imaginable, there was no grey at all and it looked like the green of the canopy devoured the rivers in one go. It may not be a village but it certainly deserved to be named Hidden in the Leaves.
These two parallels were separated by a thick brick wall that would take a specialist to scale but then you'd still have to find a way past the multitude of highly trained guards. They patrol the top of the wall all day, every day and change up their patrols every so often so an assailant wanting to get in can't predict the times they will be able to sneak past. The only way to get past the wall to the jewel it contained was to go through one of the three manned gates that were situated at the eastern, western and southernmost points of the perimeter.
The wall didn't encompass the entire circumference of the village, there was no wall covering the northern region of the village but that wasn't to say it was left wide open. No, because instead towering over the most important part of the village was one of the largest and steepest cliffs you could dream of. It was easily hundreds of metres high and went one for most of the width of the village.
The cliff served another purpose apart from defence however, the cliff was famous throughout the entirety of the Elemental Nations and maybe even beyond. The reason it was so famous was the five faces carved into the cliff face by a master craftsman and someone who maybe even the best in the known land. The five immortal stoic faces were representations of the current and past Hokage the highest title of power, both physically and politically, in Konohagakure.
If someone achieved the title of Hokage it meant you were recognised by the Council of Konohagakure, government leader of the Land of Fire, the Fire Daimyō as the most powerful and best Shinobi or Kunoichi in the village and so are appointed the role.
As the number of faces would suggest, there has only been five Hokage since Konohagakure was founded.
The left most face was the face of the Shodai Hokage, Hashirama Senju. He was probably the most powerful Hokage because of his near unlimited chakra reserves and his one of a kind Kekkei Genkai, the Mokuton. It allowed him to sprout forests in an instant or create near indestructible wooden golems. He sought peace in a time before Konohagakure in a time when clans fought for territory, a time known as the Warring Clans. He, along with a man called Madara Uchiha, founded Konohagakure to give the clans who didn't want to fight a safe haven to live their lives in peace. His lasting legacy of all the population of Konohagakure was the Will of Fire.
The face next to his was of the Nidaime Hokage and was the brother of Hashirama, Tobirama Senju. He succeeded his brother after his death because of the political stability and his work to help the prosperity of Konohagakure the title of Hokage allowed him to continue this work with more political power. While his brother had the power Tobirama had the brains, the man was a genius in creating Jutsus but what made him so formidable to his opponents was his mastery of Suiton. He was so proficient with the style that he didn't even need a water source to create his Jutsu instead, he could just pull the water molecules in the air and gather them together to create water.
Just before Tobirama went to his death he appointed one of his former students, Hiruzen Sarutobi as the Sandaime Hokage and he was the centre face. He was a powerful shinobi that was known by many as the 'God of Shinobi'. He was a genius tactician and had the skills to back it up, he mastered all of the five nature styles in his lifetime. He trained a team of the ninja that became known throughout the Elemental Nations as the Legendary Sannin and feared by most that if you see them and are not ranked Jōnin then flee. He was the longest serving Hokage and the only Hokage to appoint his successor and live to guide them, even after his successor's untimely death he retook the mantle of Hokage until his death.
The Yondaime Hokage that Hiruzen appointed and the fourth face was a man by the name of Minato Namikaze. He was the student of Jiraiya of the Legendary Sanin and at this point was the most popular Hokage because of how he died. He and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, sacrificed themselves to seal the Kyūbi, a being of immeasurable power, into their son and save the village from being destroyed by it. Apart from his sacrifice, his most known achievement was wiping out Iwagakure forces during the Third Shinobi World War with the use of a technique the Nidaime Hokage created but Minato mastered called the Hiraishin no Jutsu and earned him the title 'Konoha's Yellow Flash'.
The final face and the Hokage that came after the Sandaime Hokage's second reign was a woman by the name of Tsunade Senju. She is the current Hokage and first female Kage throughout the entire Elemental Nations. She is a team member of Jiraiya, making her a Legendary Sannin as well. Her skills lie in being the strongest Kunoichi, being able to destroy walls in a single flick. However, she was probably known more for her prowess in the art of Medical Ninjutsu, she pushed for there to be a medic in every team of ninja and the importance of them. She did have her downfalls though which came in the form of gambling, she was notorious in the casinos of the Land of Fire for gambling but she wasn't any good at it and was known as the 'Legendary Sucker' that's how bad it was.
The five faces together were known as 'Hokage Rock' and they were all looking in different directions as if they were watching over all the parts of the village. Hiruzen was looking straight forward, to maybe the most populated district of the village and directly at a very large compound.
The compound had the Hokage's Residence, the Academy and the Administrative part of it that contained the Hokage's Office. Tsunade was stood on the roof of the Administrative part looking up at the rock face of her sensei. It was one of the few times Tsunade could get away from the piling paperwork that came with the job that she only started a few months ago. Her chestnut brown eyes were concentrating so hard that to anyone who could see her would have thought she was having a staring contest with the gigantic face.
Tsunade was a well-built but slender woman. She had a very impressive bust size that made most men drool and most women jealous. She had lost count of the number of times women she didn't even know came up and asked how they could achieve her ample bosom. And every time she told them she couldn't help them as hers just grew with age.
Tsunade broke eye contact with the face of her mentor as she closed her eyes, pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a drawled sigh. She didn't even know why so many women wanted breasts like hers, they were more of a hindrance in her eyes. They limited her movement a lot during combat, both offensively and defensively, with her being a Taijutsu user. Not to mention the pressure they put on her back was killer.
She winced and moved the hand on her nose to rub her shoulder from the pain. A soft green energy emanated from the palm of her hand while she caresses the dull aching and resumed the staring match with the rock. She just couldn't comprehend that all those ass aches were worth having men ogle you, she had enough of that with her ex-teammate and her closest friend trying everything he could think of to see her bare breasts.
On her forehead was the pinnacle of chakra control, needed for Medical Ninjutsu, in the form of a small violent diamond called the Hyakugou Seal. A seal formed from channelling and storing chakra at a single point.
Her smooth blonde hair, done up in two ponytails and grass green haori were dancing with the gentle breeze that past her. Under the haori you could see her grey, kimono-style blouse with no sleeves, held closed by a broad, dark bluish-grey obi that matches her pants. She wore open-toed, strappy black sandals with high heels with red nail polish on both her fingernails and toenails. Her lips were covered in soft pink lipstick.
Tsunade had been out here for a while just staring, it helped her think. Today was the Naruto Uzumaki, the boy she saw as a son and had brought her back to the village to take the Hokage job, and his godfather, Jiraiya were going to start their three-year training trip. She had to admit she was grateful for the missions that kept coming in after Sasuke had left the village as that meant she had an excuse to put Jiraiya off but now there were none and she had to let the prepubescent teen go.
Before Tsunade came to the roof she had just signed off on Jiraiya's mission request and gave it to her fellow Sannin. She made sure to make him promise to keep Naruto safe and make Naruto promise to try and make sure Jiraiya trained him and not just tell him to do something then go to the closest bar or hot spring to do 'research'.
She snorted as she used the term research very loosely.
"Would you have let him go, sensei? I know you trusted Jiraiya with your life but is he really capable of looking after someone for three years." She stopped as if the giant face was giving her a reply, "I know, I know. Jiraiya is stronger enough to fight anyone off but I'm more worried about Naruto becoming a small Jiraiya. I can cope with one perv at the hot springs but not two."
Her thinking usual thinking time was cut short by a soft voice come from behind her.
"Lady Tsunade." The soft voice stated.
Tsunade knew the voice anywhere and turned around. Stood in the doorway to the inside of the building was a healthy slender woman Tsunade recognised as her companion and assistant, Shizune. The young woman had straight shoulder length onyx black hair that framed her face, her eyes mirrored the colour that gave the illusion that she didn't have pupils. Her skin contrasted her hair, being fair skinned giving her a healthy glow, Tsunade expected no less from her student. She was wearing the outfit she usually wore when not in the line of duty, which was made up of a long bluish-black kimono with white trimmings and a mesh shirt peeking out of the opening in the kimono, held closed by a white obi, and open-toed sandals with low heels.
Shizune had been with Tsunade while she was outside of the village when she took her along because she was the niece of Dan Katō, the love of Tsunade's life, who died shortly before. The young woman had seen Tsunade at her worst yet stayed with her and supported her as she saw her purpose was to care for Tsunade. Tsunade knew if it wasn't for Shizune she wouldn't be able to handle the workload of being Hokage. For all that Shizune was the closest thing to a daughter she had.
"What is it, Shizune? You know not to disturb me now." Tsunade asked, added a bit of an edge to her voice to bring home the point.
"I'm sorry, Lady Tsunade. But a mission has come in."
"I thought I finished all the mission request for today?"
Shizune nodded, "Yes, you did but this mission came by an unknown hawk. I haven't seen the seal anywhere before but it is only to be viewed by the Hokage."
While Shizune was talking Tsunade walked over to her and took the scroll the younger woman had outstretched to her. It looked like any other mission request that came by a hawk, it was a small scroll with a green centre and ends.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes in interest, Shizune knew most of the major seals that would come with a mission scroll, so if she didn't know it then that could be something interesting. She turned it over and found the end of the scroll paper and the seal.
Her eyes went as big as tea saucers and her mouth opened a bit. The seal was a stamp of an oakleaf pressed into a dull gold dollop of ink.
Shizune saw the look on her master's face and was surprised, Tsunade had seen a lot in her lifetime and with that, it made it very hard to shock her so when she was Shizune knew it was something big and important.
"Do you know who sent the request?"
Tsunade didn't hear her though, she was too transfixed on the oakleaf seal and her ears were ringing with all the thoughts that were swimming through her head. Without a word, she moved past Shizune and descended the stone stairs, the sharp tapping of her heels on the stone as she went further and further down.
Shizune was shocked and left speechless her master didn't answer and just walked past her. Quickly collecting herself, she took off after the older woman, following the sounds of her heels and matching them with her own. She smelt the subtle scent of perfume that she knew Tsunade wore and as it got stronger she caught up with Tsunade, it didn't take long. When she fell in line behind her she noticed Tsunade had broken the seal and pulled the paper out.
Shizune couldn't see what was written on the paper from over Tsunade's shoulder and just could see the large kanji for gamble encompassing her back. She could hear her master mutter to herself, something she did very often when reading and concentrating hard. She could catch the odd word from Tsunade's mouth but they were few and far between for Shizune to get any grasp on what she was saying.
Once they reached the top floor, the two navigated their way through the simplistic corridors passing by the odd painting on the beige walls every now and again.
Shizune just stayed behind Tsunade and gave up trying to sneak a peek at the scroll's content. She decided to just wait until they got to her master's office before finding out what she wanted to know. Luckily for her, it didn't take them long to arrive at the double oak doors that Shizune knew as the doors that led to the Hokage's Office.
Without looking away from the scroll, Tsunade displayed an excellent display of spatial awareness by stopping right in front of the doors and reaching into one of the pockets of her green haori and pulled out a small brass key. She quickly used it to unlock the doors before swiftly having the key back in the pocket it came from. Seems as her hands were busy, Tsunade used her foot to push the door and let it swing open.
The room inside was arguably the most important space in the entire village. The wall and floor followed the same décor that was in the corridors outside except the corridors outside were clean and tidy while the office was messy with clutter and had the faint smell of the perfume Tsunade wore which was to be expected with how much time the older woman spends in the room.
Around the mahogany desk was piles of paperwork and scrolls that were still left for Tsunade to look over, Shizune sighed when she saw them, she spotted what was written on the paper and knew they were meant to be filed days ago.
She cast that thought to the back of her mind for now and make Tsunade look over and sign them later. She looked around the room and saw the bookcase stood against the wall full to the brim with books of various sizes but Shizune's eyes fell on the photos of the past Hokage on the wall between two bookcases.
She admired the past Hokage and every time she looked at those photos it filled her with a sense of vigour to make sure Tsunade was regarded in the same light they were, there was a lot of pressure on Tsunade with the village still recovering from the invasion of Otogakure and Sunagakure recently and the fact Tsunade is the first female Hokage so she had to set the bar for women who wanted to become Hokage in the future.
Tsunade sat in her chair and spread the scroll across the desk, Shizune saw the look of concentration on her face and knew it was important.
"Um, Lady Tsunade." Shizune peeped, still getting no reply, "Lady Tsunade." She replied, raising her voice a bit. Still nothing, "Lady Tsunade!" She shouted, finally getting the Hokage's attention.
"What Shizune?" Tsunade asked, a hint of annoyance hidden in her voice.
"What is the request and who sent it?"
Tsunade took another quick glimpse downwards at the scroll before looking back up Shizune, "I'll tell you soon but I need you to do something first. Go as fast as you can and catch Naruto and Jiraiya before they leave the village. When you catch up to them, bring them back here."
Shizune heard the tone of Tsunade Senju, Hokage of Konoha in the master's voice and knew not to argue but he did have a question, "What if Lord Jiraiya says no? He has been waiting to take Naruto for a while now."
"Tell him if he doesn't bring Naruto back here this minute, that what I did to him at the Hot Springs will feel like a tickle compared to what I will do to him."
Shizune quickly nodded and took off out of the room as fast as she could.
When she was out of the room Tsunade looked back down at the scroll, "What do you want?"
x~X~x
The main road leading out of Konohagakure and leading to the Southern Gate was teeming with people as it always was, people were diving in and out of various shops with different shopping bags clutched in their hands.
Two people in the crowd stuck out, however, neither of them were going into the shops or even casting a glimpse to them. They were heading straight to the Southern Gate one looked overjoyed while the other was smiling down to the other in amusement.
The overjoyed one was Naruto Uzumaki, a prepubescent teen with golden blond hair that looked like an explosion went off in his hair and left it spiked in every direction. His eyes were like two sapphires that were so full of life except for all the hardships the young boy had at to go through in his short life.
Naruto's life had been anything but normal and easy, he had been orphaned at an early age so he never knew his parents. He became the Jinchuriki of the Kyūbi the day he was born but didn't find out until less than a year ago when a scornful teacher told him everything. During that time, he was hated by the older generations of the village for the destruction his tenant had caused however his generation didn't know as the Sandaime Hokage passed a law that they were not to be told.
This influenced his current attire of a 'kill me' orange and blue jumpsuit with blue sandals. He was refused to buy different clothes from shopkeepers who hate him. His pride and joy was the clothed headband and metal plate, with a leaf made of a spiral etched into it, he had tied around his forehead. He had been given this headband by his teacher Iruka, who had saved him from his other teacher Mizuki when Mizuki tricked Naruto into stealing a very important scroll and revealed Naruto's biggest secret he didn't know he had.
The other was Jiraiya of the Sannin, he was an aged man but had the energy of a man half his age which came with all the training he had gone through. His hair was as white as snow that travelled all the way down his back and was as wild and erratic as Jiraiya could be.
His eyes were small and as black as coal. Unlike Naruto, Jiraiya's eyes may have seemed kind but they were hard as bedrock and cold. The aged Shinobi had seen things that would make most people go insane and do things that would make most people faint but that was the curse of being a Ninja. From his eyes, two streaks of red travelled down his cheeks. He also had a wart on the left side of his nose that had him the look of a toad.
He was wearing a green short shirt kimono and matching pants, under which he wore mesh armour that is visible at his wrists and ankles. He had on hand guards, a black belt, traditional Japanese wooden sandals, and a red haori with two yellow circles on each side. Strapped to the small of his back was a large scroll, he had a tattoo on his left palm and he wore a horned forehead protector with both were the kanji for oil.
"Man, I can't believe we're finally going, Dattabayo!" Naruto shouted with a huge grin and his hands behind his head, "I'm finally going to get strong enough to bring Sasuke back!"
"Yeah, I was getting annoyed with all the missions Tsunade kept sending you on." Jiraiya added, "But it did give me the chance to finish the first half of my new book."
Naruto glared at the older man before grumbling, "You're such a perv. Ow!" Jiraiya hit the boy in the back of the head, "What the hell was that for!?"
"I've told you, I'm a Super Perv. Get it right."
Naruto grumbled something about that not being something to be proud of under his breath but didn't say anything to Jiraiya.
Suddenly a chill went up Naruto's spine as if a sixth sense started working and he felt like someone was watching him. He turned to look down the street that had gotten a lot less crowded this close to the Southern Gate. He scanned the crowd using a critical eye to see if he could spot anyone watching him but there was no-one, everyone was just going about their lives.
"Sometime this year would be nice!" Jiraiya shouted from a few yards away.
Naruto quickly turned, "Coming!" He shouted back, running to catch his teacher.
Once he had caught up the two turned and started walking again. Jiraiya took a quick glimpse back to a lamppost with a small smile. While Naruto may not have noticed the young girl quickly hide behind the lamppost when he turned around but he sure did.
The girl popped his upper body back out from her hiding place and Jiraiya got an unobstructed view of her. She had hair in a short Princess cut and was as dark blue as the sky at midnight. Jiraiya noticed her eyes were white with a tinge of lavender with no pupil which made Jiraiya think she possessed the Byakugan which was Dojutsu Kekkei Genkai that was solely in possession of the Hyūga clan.
Jiraiya also noted she didn't have a Caged Bird Seal on her forehead making her a member of the Main House.
She was wearing a cream-coloured hooded jacket with a fire symbol on the upper sleeves and fur around the cuffs and hem. She also had her forehead protector around her neck.
'So, she's a Hyūga Kunoichi.' Jiraiya surmised.
Jiraiya made eye contact with the Hyūga and saw her eyes widen. He flashed a quick smile and saw her go stiff while her face went rosy in the cheeks. She darted back behind the lamppost while Jiraiya turned back to the Southern Gate.
"Naruto."
"Yeah?"
"Do you know a Hyūga?"
Naruto looked up at his teacher in confusion and suspicion, "Yeeeaaah." He replied in a drool, "Her name's Hinata, why?"
"Just wondering." He replied, 'So her name's Hinata. That's the name of the heir.' He said to himself before looking at Naruto, 'He's only 13 and already has the eye of the heir of Hyūga clan.'
Jiraiya smiled and pulled Naruto into a nuggie, "Damn it, kid. I'm so proud of you."
In a second Naruto had disappeared in a poof of smoke and was replaced with a log. Jiraiya let go and looked around before spotting Naruto sat on a tree branch trying to tidy his hair. The boy glared at Jiraiya, "Hey! What's the big deal, Dattabayo!?"
"Nothing, I'm just proud. I can be proud of my student." Jiraiya called back, "Now come on let's go."
Naruto gave up on his hair when it didn't do what he wanted it to do and jumped down from the tree to the floor. He once again caught up to Jiraiya just as he made it to the Guard Station.
Sat behind the counter were the two Chunin dubbed 'The Eternal Guards' were playing cards. Izumo Kamizuki, a man with medium length brown hair that covered his right eye but left the other onyx orb free. He wore his headband as a bandana and wore the standard Konoha flak jacket and trousers.
Then there was Kotetsu Hagane, a man with spiky black hair and dark eyes. He had a small strip of bandages going across his nose and around his head. He also wore the standard Konoha flak jacket and trousers but unlike Izumo, Kotetsu wore his forehead protector just like a headband.
When Jiraiya and Naruto got up to the station Izumo and Kotetsu's eyes lit up, they finally had something to do as Naruto guessed it must be a slow day.
"Ah Lord Jiraiya, Naruto. Good to see you." Izumo greeted in a welcoming voice.
Jiraiya smiled, "Hello Izumo, Kotetsu. How have things been?"
"Bit slow but can't complain," Kotetsu replied.
"Only because you have won most of the games." Izumo scoffed.
"What can I say? So, what can we help you with?"
Jiraiya pulled out the scroll Tsunade had given him with permission to take Naruto training. He gave it a last minute once over just to make sure everything's in order before passing it to the two.
Kotetsu gave it a look over and smiled, "All seems in order. How long are you going to be gone for?"
"About three years," Jiraiya replied.
Izumo and Kotetsu's eyes widened before looking at Naruto, "You're gonna be strong when you get back if you're being trained by Lord Jiraiya." Kotetsu commented.
"If that fight against that Neji kid in the Chunin exams was anything to go by you're already on your way. That kid is seen as a prodigy with the Gentle Fist, so to take him down was impressive." Izumo congratulated.
Naruto went red with the praise, he wasn't used to it. He gave an awkward smile, "Hehe, thanks."
"You deserve it, kid," Izumo replied.
"Well let's be off. The earlier we start, the better." Jiraiya beckoned.
Naruto nodded before waving to The Eternal Guards who waved back.
They were just about to make it past the threshold before a voice called from behind them.
"Lord Jiraiya! Lord Jiraiya!" The voice shouted.
Jiraiya groaned with his eyes closed before skulking round, "Am I ever gonna get this kid training?"
Naruto groaned as he copied his master and turned. He wanted to get his training started and learn all those awesome Jutsu his master knows.
Shizune came running up to the two and stopped in front of them, hunched over in exhaustion. She had never run that fast in her life.
"What is it, Shizune? Tsunade signed the request, it's cleared." Jiraiya grumbled.
They gave the young woman a couple of seconds to catch her breath. After which she answered, "A request came in a few minutes ago that was for the Hokage only. When I gave it to her she went intense and went to her office. After I snapped her out of it, she told me to come and get you and Naruto and bring you to her."
Naruto groaned, "For Kami sake, I just want to train." He looked to his teacher for support but was shocked when his teacher looked intense at Shizune.
Before he could say anything, Jiraiya spoke, "Do you know what was in this request?" Shizune shook her head, "Anything special about it?"
Shizune looked to be remembering the scroll for anything that stood out and recalled something, "It had an odd seal on it. I have never seen it before."
This seemed to make the look on Jiraiya's face worse before asking again, "What did this seal look like?"
"A golden oak leaf."
Hearing the words, Jiraiya's eyes were the size of dinner plates and his mouth was open a bit. He quickly recovered though before looking to Naruto with a look Naruto hadn't seen before. It was a look that told Naruto to do what he said without question.
"Come on we near to see the Hokage."
"But-"
"Listen to me Naruto." Jiraiya snapped, "We're going and that's that."
Naruto didn't say anything else and just nodded. Jiraiya returned the action and started walking back into the village followed closely by Shizune and Naruto.
x~X~x
End of Chapter One
TBC in Chapter Two
x~X~x
Authors Notes – Hey guys, I have been reading a lot recently and found an author by the name of Occiden. I loved his Leaf Nin Ranger story but saw it wasn't continuing, so I contacted him and asked if I could remake it and to my glee he agreed.
For those of you who are here from Dawn Bringer, I suddenly got writer's block for it and can't continue at my best for now. So it's on a break again.