Disclaimer
Naruto characters and references belong to Misashi Kishimoto
Fullmetal Alchemist characters and references belong to Hiromu Arakawa
Original Characters characters are mine.
Naruto Hurricane Alchemist Chapter 1: The Goodbye That Came Too Soon.
Continental Calender 23rd June 1935, Resembool
"YOU WANT ME TO WHAT?" A blonde haired and amber eyed young man shouted in disbelief
Blackburn gestured to Naruto who was sitting next to him. "I want you to take the boy as your apprentice." The uniformed man said simply
The blonde scratched the back of his head "But I've never taught anyone before, I don't know where to start." He protested.
The officer shrugged indifferently at Elric's complaints "Just start where you teacher started and work from there."
Edward Elric folded his arms and starred at the chestnut haired man "Fine, but what's in it for me?" he smirked.
"The kid seems to like milk a lot so he can save you the agony of drinking it and I'll try and keep Major Armstrong from interfering with your life until your done with him." Lucas chuckled.
The Major had him pinned, it was no secret that he hated milk and he couldn't deny the fact that it was a lot more peaceful without Louise Armstrong around flexing his muscles "Sounds like an even trade to me."
"It's a deal then Naruto I'll see you in Central when you've finished your training." The brunette stood up and walked towards the door but was intercepted by a short elderly lady.
Pinako poked Lucas with her pipe backing him into a corner "Don't tell me your planning on enrolling this boy into the military." The elderly woman's voice was stern.
"No, no it's not like that." He waved his hands defensively in front of him as sweat began to trail down his forehead and neck.
The short woman placed the pipe back in her mouth and eyed the Major skeptically "Then what is it exactly?" she responded dryly
The spike haired blonde made a fist with his left hand "I was the one who made the decision to become a state alchemist I want to become stronger so I can fulfil my promise to someone precious to me." He said in a low and serious voice, but loud enough for everyone to hear "I don't quit and I don't run, I always keep my promises and I'll do whatever it takes to keep them." He looked up at Pinako with determination in his cerulean blue eyes.
The elderly woman gave a defeated sigh "It looks like you and Ed have a lot in common I doubt I'll be able to talk you out of it." She walked over to Naruto sizing him up "But who is going to pay for the operation?" she looked back at the Major then back at Naruto
Naruto patted his pockets looking for his frog shaped wallet "Um-ah! Crap! My wallet…it's gone!" On the way to Resembool he was so awe struck by Blackburn's stories that he had forgotten to check for missing belongings.
The officer sighed in frustration "I'll pay for it after all I responsible for finding him." He pulled out a roll of notes and put them on the table near the door "I'll meet you in central after your training." He said nonchalantly as he waved back before leaving the house.
******TWO YEARS AND NINE MONTHS LATER******
A black haired man stood at the full-length window with an eye patch over his right eye "Our scouts reported that the Akastuki were on the move and their route took them directly to Sunagakure. That means that they are after Jinchuuriki again, if they succeed in gaining access to the bijuu inside Kazekage, we can assume that they're preparing to do something big." He turned around to look at a young blonde woman.
"What do you suggest sir?" The blonde asked looking up from a clipboard.
He looked at the information that the scouts had given him "We've sent two problem solvers, the Iron Wall and Hurricane Alchemist"
"But if we send troops into foreign territory without approval, we'll risk starting a war." She looked at him concerned.
"I do understand the risks." He looked back at Riza Hawkeye with a gleam in his eyes.
"Sorry sir."
"No need to apologize you're only concerned for their wellbeing, but I wouldn't send them if they weren't capable." The Fuhrer walked over to his desk and took a seat in the high-back leather chair "If by chance they manage to succeed in intercepting the Akastuki, we'd have proven to the Wind Nation that we're just being a good neighbour, if they fail they can aid the ninja in hunting the perpetrators down, saying that we're just lending aid" he leaned forward with a playful smirk on his face "Besides sooner or later the Major would have found out and insisted on going." With her mind at ease Hawkeye nodded and returned to her duties.
Two uniformed men trudged through the thick forest of The Land of Rivers, their heavy black coats and boots were muddied and slightly scuffed from the awkward trek through the bushes "Why are we walking to Suna?" the blonde whined, pushing aside a branch. Since his training with Edward Elric he allowed his hair to grow to shoulder length his spiked hair to became more wild and flow more freely, adding a red streak to his hair, to throw off anyone looking for him he began wearing make up to hide his whisker like birth marks, to try and forget his traumatic past and after changing his name he told himself that the only thing he had to do was keep his promise then he would truly be free of the painful memories.
The chestnut haired man at the front, leading the expedition climbed over a fallen tree and glanced back at the blonde. "Because someone forgot to fill up the radiator at the last stop." He said sarcastically.
"Then why didn't you do it?" Naruto asked leaping over the tree that his superior had climbed over.
"I had to pay!" Lucas snapped shaking his head at the blonde who was trying to shirk his responsibility. The now Lieutenant Colonel pushed passed several trees and bushes and found himself staring down at a river from the ledge of a cliff. "Also getting the jeep through the forest would have been difficult and I don't feel comfortable breaking down all those trees and revealing our presence." He added then groaned to himself at his current situation. 'Why did I have to get stuck on this mission, when I have so much work to do.' He thought to himself dreading how much paper work would accumulate while they were off galavanting in the middle of no where "That's right now I remember." He muttered.
******Flashback******
Six days ago he found himself in the Fuehrer's office trying to convince Roy Mustang that Naruto could handle himself without supervision "But sir why do I have to go with him? He's perfectly fine on his own." he waved a dismissive hand about
The Flame Alchemist just stared at him "Well you did find him and you do have more knowledge on that region besides him. Other than that he's still wet behind the ears." He his voice took a disinterested tone.
The chestnut haired man shook his head "But I don't know where the hidden villages are." He continued to press the fact that he was better off at Central and Naruto could take care of himself.
"Did I say that you have to go to their village? Besides Naruto will take you there if it is necessary." He stared at the Lieutenant Colonel with cold, calculating eyes.
"And what of my work?" Lucas Blackburn asked with worry in his voice.
"You can finish it when you get back." Roy again sounded disinterested picking up the newspaper which was on the desk.
"But my work would have doubled by then." Blackburn groaned, like Tsunade he really hated to do paperwork
"Would you prefer to take it with you? If not I suggest you hurry back then" he smiled arrogantly.
Lucas flinched at the sight of the grin and the knowledge of the accumulated workload that awaited him upon his return. "Yes sir!" He saluted and walked out of the office and closed the door behind him "Arrogant hard-arse." He muttered under his breath.
******End of Flashback******
"Hopefully we'll be able to intercept them before they make it to their destination."
Naruto stood on the right side of the Lieutenant Colonel and looked at the bushes and saw them rustle only just slightly "Movement!" he said in a low and commanding tone and gestured them to take cover.
The soldiers crawled to the edge carefully and peered at the two figures below them "Do you recognize them?" Lucas whispered to the youth.
Naruto responded with a slight nod "They're Akatsuki but I don't recognize their faces."
"I see" the man glared at the two Akatsuki below them.
"Gaara! That's Gaara!" the blonde growled, his usual sapphire blue eyes became blood red upon recognizing the boy in the beak of the clay bird sculpture. "YOU BASTARDS! LET HIM GO!" Naruto shouted as he quickly picked himself up and leapt from the ledge with a thrust knife in hand, his eyes were filled with fury and were even visible beneath the blue tinted lenses of his wire frame sunglasses.
Lucas rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration and slowly picked himself up "Damned puppy! He's so impulsive" the other State Alchemist grumbled at being pulled into a battle and knew that sooner or later that he'd have to bail Naruto out.
Falling towards river Naruto threw his knife at the short stocky figure before him trying to catch him off guard. "Another distraction." Sasori muttered to his partner.
Landing safely on top of the water Naruto looked at Sasori's wooden tail in disbelief as he saw the knife lodged in one of the tail sections "He didn't even look at the thrust knife."
"And who might you be hmm?" Deidara looked at the blonde with interest
Naruto stared the Akatsuki members down and smirked "I'm the Hurricane Alchemist and I'm here to end your life." He spoke with bravado.
"Deidara you can handle this." The puppet master went to take the unconscious body of Gaara from Deidara's clay bird when a wall of iron rose from the ground and blocked the entrance to the lair. "Uh?" the puppet master stepped back shocked at the sudden change of events.
On top of the wall of iron stood a chestnut-haired officer, his turquoise eyes stared coldly down at the short Akatsuki member. "Where do you think you're going ugly?" he taunted focusing an FG 42 at the puppet.
Sasori growled at the comment and being delayed further from completing his mission "This is really starting to piss me off." His gravely voice held malice in it.
The Lieutenant Colonel clapped his hands together and placed them on his body, a familiar electric blue light engulfed his body as the iron in his blood and small portion of the wall created a protective armour shell "Then we should make this quick short stuff." was the last phrase he said before Sasori leaped onto higher ground and attempted to impale the Steel Fortress Alchemist with his tail as the tip soared passed his head, the State Alchemist noticed a purple liquid drip off the end Is that poison? I need to avoid contact or I'm good as dead. He frowned knocking the tail away with the butt of the automatic rifle.
As the battle raged above them Naruto stood in a defensive position as Deidara stood silently waiting for an attack "I have to thank you for arranging the battle to take place here." The Jinchuuriki said with a smile on his
The self-proclaimed artist looked at the young man quizzically "Hmm?" he dodged another throwing knife "You have to do better than that." The Akastuki member mocked.
"Really? Then I'll need to take this seriously." He slashed the so-called artist's face with one of his spare thrust knives leaving a deep wound across his nose.
The blonde Akatsuki howled in pain and backed up covering the gash with his right hand, as blood trickled down his face and arms spilling into the river beneath their feet turning. "You arrogant prick!" Deidara cursed as he leaped on to the back of the clay bird and began a retreat.
"I can use the air to warm the water up and cause the moist air to rise and by agitating the air enough I'm able to create a hurricane." The blonde raised a gloved right hand and placed his left over the blood red transmutation circle inscribed on the black gloves, the circle pulse blue as the air speed slowly picked up and a small hurricane formed and began chasing his fleeing opponent.
Deidara began to sweat as the cyclone began to catch up to him "No hand signs. But how?" he gritted his teeth in desperation as he could feel his chakra begin to drain under the stress, but was relieved when the wind began to die down and the funnel disappeared "Time to leave and rendezvous at another base." Deidara steered the bird away from the fight and towards the forest.
"You're not getting away that easily." Naruto leaped after the blonde leaving Lucas and Sasori to their own devices.
Watching from a distance Kakashi, Sakura and Chiyo where dumbfounded by the events unfolding before them, shielding their eyes as a blast of wind from the dying hurricane passed by them. "What the hell?" Kakashi shouted as the air howled by the group.
Dropping her arms the elder from Sunagakure starred at the remaining soldier who continued Sasori and frowned when she recognized the style of clothing from long forgotten texts "That uniform." She said in a barely audible voice.
Kakashi and Sakura looked at the elder curiously "Chiyo-obasan?" the silver haired nin looked at the woman curious at the statement.
The old woman's gaze intensified when she caught the glint of silver in his hip pocket when the officer fighting her grandson dodged the tail of the puppet. "That uniform is worn by the Amestris Sate Military and if they're wearing a pocket watch that indicates a State Alchemist." Her voice was serious.
"Alchemist?" It was the pinkette's turn to enquire; in the years that passed she had grown in strength, intelligence and beauty and had achieved the rank of chunin, but retained her short hair, she and changed her clothes so they wouldn't be as difficult and awkward as her Genin clothes used to be and allow her more movement.
Chiyo continued to watch the dance of death between the Lieutenant Colonel and the Puppet Master, however it was obvious to the retired puppeteer and medic-nin saw that the officer was struggling "They use Renkinjutsu or Alchemy in their language, it's a variation of Rentanjutsu a technique that was thought to have been lost along with the clan that practiced it before the founding of Sunagakure. We eventually engaged the State Military from Central in combat only once when Kaze no Kuni was trying to expand it's borders however our first encounter with them left us badly beaten and only a handful survived that engagement after that; all expansion ceased." Her voice was serious and didn't waver.
The young kunoichi turned her attention to the battle between Blackburn and Sasori "So what are they doing here then?" she asked no one in particular.
The retired shinobi shook her head "Who knows? But we need to take care of these guys if we intend on retrieving Gaara" Chiyo launched herself towards the battle on the other side of the ravine
"Chiyo!" Kakashi called after her but it was too late she was already halfway to Sasori, he immediately jerked his head towards his female pupil "Sakura go with Chiyo-obasan"
Sakura nodded in response to the order "Right!" she bounded across the ravine to join the elder.
The silver haired shinobi turned to race after the other Akatsuki member, when two familiar faces stopped him in his tracks "Wha-? Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki" he said with spite.
"We're here to remove you obstacles" the shark like man gave a toothy grin to the copy cat nin, shouldering his sword.
As if in a single motion Kakashi sunk into a defensive position, but was thrown off when four figures stood in the way. "Hope we aren't too late" the leader said boisterously.
The Sharingan user relaxed but kept his guard up, even though his comrade was willing to take on the new menace there was no telling what could happen especially when dealing with the Akatsuki "Gai?" he walked up to the dark haired man.
The Taijutsu expert furrowed his thick brows trying to remember the blue skinned man before him "What's the situation?" he asked the usual carefree attitude had disappeared from his voice and was now serious.
"The Kazekage is currently being held by that Akastuki member that has headed in that direction." He nodded towards the gully that had tree trunks and giant roots that acted like natural bridges and obstacles between the two sides of the narrow valley. "Their uniformed opponents were here when we arrived, we were going to move in when these two and your team showed up." He finished looking Gai in the eye who just nodded in response.
"We'll deal with these two you go and handle them." The Jonin in the green jumpsuit glared at Kisame and Itachi who were waiting patiently for the two senior shinobi to finish their conversation.
"Roger! Be careful." Kakashi warned although Gai could be annoying at times, the silver haired man didn't want the oaf to get killed.
Gai smirked arrogantly to the copy nin "C'mon like I'm going to be beaten by these two after all I'm Konoha's Great Beast. Maito Gai." The man gave a thumbs up, wink, and smile, he turned to his former students when Kakashi disappeared to pusue Deidara, his face became serious as he got back in the game. "Tenten, Neji deal with Itachi, Lee and I will be this one's opponent." He pointed to each group's assigned opponents.
Puppets littered the battlefield broken, twisted and some were almost unrecognisable from the landscape itself, Lucas stood panting heavily his armour had faded, where as the two kunoichi although bruised and cut were barely exhausted. "Let's go Sakura" Chiyo said with renewed vigour
"Hai!" Sakura adjust her combat cloves, preparing herself for another round with Sasori.
The red head didn't look amused but was interested in combat abilities of his enemies.
"Hmph!" The red haired male grunted after having the majority of his puppets destroyed 'Got to admit she's quite a girl and that military dog isn't bad either.' Sasori mused "Never thought I'd see the third Kazekage destroyed. I haven't been forced to solve a problem this way since I joined the Akatsuki." He smiled reminiscing about the last time he used himself in combat "I wonder how long it's been?" he removed his coat to reveal joints and weapons instead of organic components, the only part left of Sasori' original body was a blue fleshy core imbedded on the right side of his chest.
Sakura was shaken by what she saw "Wha...What is that?" she stammered.
The elder was shocked by what she saw but not surprised at what he become "He hasn't aged at all. He still looks as he did long ago." She focused on the functions of each weapon that her grandson had installed into his body "Well there's a reason why."
"It's been awhile indeed...since I last used myself." He smiled sadistically at the three figures.
"He's an actual human puppet," Chiyo said blatantly.
After revealing that he himself was in fact a puppet he activated another scroll and activated a pair of concealed flamethrowers in his wrists forcing his foes to find protection from the flames "What's the matter? Aren't you going to attack me?" Sasori of the Red Sand taunted his three opponents, as fire charred grass and rock.
During the fight Lucas had transmuted the spent FG 42 into a sabre unfortunately the puppet of the Third Kazekage had managed to shatter the improvised blade, now all he had left was the Browning Hi-Power "Well if they won't, I will!" he charged out from behind the rock he had been using to shield himself from the flames and fired his service weapon at Sasori causing the puppeteer to reel back as his form became riddled with bullet holes from the pistol.
"The weapons are unlike any I've seen before." Sakura's emerald eye's focused on the black handgun as its wielder charged at the Akatsuki member.
With an empty clip the Lieutenant Colonel threw the piece aside and clapped his hands before placing them on the red head's faux body and smirked wickedly at him as blood started to dribble from his mouth as he snickered "It's a pity you used a lot of metal in your puppet and that your weakness is exposed." He said weakly, a blue flash engulfed the human puppet as the steel blades warped and twisted eventually shooting into the grounds and towards the core of the puppet. "Huh?" the officer then noticed that the organic component was missing and saw the replacement body about to charge the old woman with a blade in hand "Watch out! Ugh! Gak!" his body moved without thinking and took the sword in the stomach when he tried to defend the two women and fell to his knees, just as his eyes began dilate the officer began coughed up blood that seemed to foam while the poison to work it's way through his system robbing him of his strength.
The sword made a grating sound as it was pulled from the middle-aged man, who slid off Sasori's blade with ease thanks to Blackburn's blood which acted like a lubricant. Sakura instinctively caught the State Alchemist in her arms and began her preliminary analysis and was shocked by what she found. "How is this possible? How can someone lose an entire lung? There isn't anything to even suggest surgery."
The former Suna-nin was about to attempt another attack but was stopped dead by a pair puppets the resembled his parents, that were now piercing the only semblance of humanity with their own weapons.
Cold uncaring eyes looked at the two medic-nin and the unconscious man "Leave him he's good as dead anyway. Even if you remove the poison I've hit him in a vital area and with only one lung he'll die in a matter of minutes." He said in monotonous voice as Chiyo began the healing process "Even an experienced medic-nin such as you should realize this." He focused on the elder.
The senior looked up at her grandson then to the officer "This is a technique that I designed specifically for you Sasori." She said in a wavering voice.
It was then Sasori realised what she had meant and as a final gesture offered up some information regarding Orochimaru "As a reward for defeating me…" he began.
Not too far Naruto was still in hot pursuit of his target, with his eye's still glowing red with rage "This is ridiculous he's got to come down sooner or later." He frowned at what seemed to be his only option left. "I hate using this attack but there's no choice!" he stood on one of the large roots that crossed the narrow valley and again activated the transmutation and fired a powerful volley of compressed air at the fleeing Akatsuki.
"What?" Hearing the scream of rushing air Deidara manoeuvred the clay bird away from the ranged attack and smiled at his luck and the futility of the attack "Phew! Aw-Shit!" he cussed as another blonde and blue-eyed youth crashed into the neck of the sculpture a blue sphere in his left hand.
Kakashi landed on a branch exhausted from his use of the Mangekyou on the pyrotechnic expert and watched from a distance as the blonde alchemist made sure that the Fifth Kazekage was unharmed "Was that a Kage Bushin and a Rasengan? But the only ones who knew the Rasengan technique were the Fourth Hokage, Jiraiya and Naruto? If he's a State Alchemist then how come he moves like a shinobi? Unless…no it couldn't be." then it dawned on him at who he was looking at when he saw feint marks on his right cheek.
Separated from his clay and his target Deidara glared at the Kyuubi container from the bushes and carefully backed away only to find himself standing in front of four more Konoha shinobi "Good work Neji." The thick browed leader praised the Hyuuga.
The blonde smiled "That must be the Byakugan, the eye's that are passed down in Konoha alongside the Sharingan. You used their power to find my blind spot and sneak up on me." He stood up, with a kunai in his mouth "But I'd best be going." He managed to utter before launching himself into the fray.
The pang of metal against metal could be heard throughout the forest earning the attention of Kakashi and Naruto you immediately stared off into the direction of the battle "He's over there." He locked on to Deidara's movements and leaped into the air to intercept throwing a clenched right fist at the Akatsuki's left cheek, sending the member flying into the trunk of a nearby tree. "Feh-You don't have any material to make your bombs, however I have unlimited material." Naruto taunted landing at Deidara's feet before covering the seal with his hand pointing downwards "By condensing and cooling the water in the air I am able to turn the vapour into solid ice." A short sword of made of hardened ice materialised in his hand.
The other blonde smirked when glanced a piece of clay in cuff of Jinchuuriki's uniform, causing Naruto to look puzzled by the Akatsuki's expression. "Good to know then I can show you my own ultimate and final piece of art." The blonde snatched the piece of clay with his mouth and began to chew the explosive material.
"Fuck!" Naruto jumped back several feet, realizing his mistake and what was about to happen.
"Neji what's going on?" Gai asked with concern and alarm in his voice.
The young genius began to sweat when he saw a swirl of blue chakra begin to expand in the pit of their opponent's stomach "There's a build up of chakra in his system and it's growing at an exponential rate."
"Everyone move. NOW!" Kakashi called as the Akatsuki began to blow up like a balloon however it was to late as a ball of flame chased after the shinobi, time seemed to stand still as their lives began to flash before their eyes as some could almost feel death's grip closing in on them, but that was a short lived feeling when they glanced one last time to see a vortex in place of the glow of the fireball. "That was close." Kakashi gave a sigh of relief before covering his sharingan eye.
"Lieutenant Colonel Blackburn." Naruto concerned for his superior ran to his side and went to help him up.
Lucas raised his hand to stop him and grinned, "Are you okay puppy?" The Lieutenant Colonel said teasingly to the young officer in a weak voice.
Naruto's eye twitched "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO ASK YOU TO STOP CALLING ME THAT!" The blonde shouted angrily, irritated by nickname.
"I'll stop when you stop rushing into dangerous situations without thinking," he said bluntly knowing that he wasn't one to talk seeing as he was stabbed by a poisoned sword earlier "or would you prefer that I call you an idiot?" The Lieutenant Colonel gave him a wicked smile knowing that calling him an idiot would annoy him even more.
"Oh! Now that's real creative." The blonde said sarcastically rolling his eyes.
Blackburn chuckled lightly "If the shoe fits-" he paused when Naruto looked over to the unconscious Kazekage.
"How's Gaara?" Naruto asked worried about his friend.
"He's fine." The officer stretched and headed to the nearby jeep, as luck would have it the battle between the shinobi had eventually taken place close to where they parked the military vehicle and would save them the time and energy of having to walk back through the mud and undergrowth of the forest.
Everyone looked at the blonde with curious eyes then recognized the familiar whisker like birthmarks that were now visible after the makeup that was used to hide them had come off "Naruto?" everyone said confused at what was happening, but were glad none the less to see that the one who changed their lives for the better, was in fact very much alive and had a right arm.
"This was the boy Kakashi was talking about." Chiyo looked back and forth between the Konoha shinobi and the two State Alchemists
Although happy that he was alive and amazed at how much he had grown physically, Sakura Haruno fought the urge to knock him flat for making her feel guilty and miserable over his supposed death, but her impulses stopped when Naruto began walking to the rear of the open vehicle. "Naruto wait! Aren't you coming back with us?" she pleaded
Naruto closed his eyes, biting his lower lip, he really wanted to go back but after what happened to him during the first part of his alchemy training he felt he was a danger to everyone in Konoha. "I-I can't." he strained
She was taken aback by what he said; surely he knew that everyone would understand why he disappeared. "Why? What about your friends? What about your dream of becoming hokage?" she held herself back from sounding too needy, then it dawned on her that it may have been the way he was treated in the village and having the burden of carrying the Kyuubi.
Naruto then looked over his shoulder back at the rose haired kunoichi with a stern look in his sapphire eyes. "I'll keep my promise to you but as far as you should be concerned Naruto died two years ago, I'm Aoshi now." He didn't look at the group of shinobi."Even though you ignored my compliments back then, I still think that you look beautiful Sakura-chan, take care of yourself." He didn't say anything more to the group as he climbed into the back of the army green vehicle and slapped the side of the jeep "Let's go." With that the Lieutenant Colonel pressed the accelerator hard to the floor and the vehicle tore away from the shinobi, creating a cloud of dust and debris in its wake.
As the blonde started to disappear over the horizon the kunoichi desperately ran after the young man screaming out to him with an outstretched arm as tears welled up in the corner of her eyes and eventually broke free spilling down her cheeks. "Naruto wait! Naruto!" she collapsed to the ground when the vehicle was no longer within sight, hugging herself tightly she felt heartbroken she had failed to stop Sasuke and now Naruto from leaving.
After they pulled away from the group Naruto saw what looked to be all of the shinobi from Sunagakure coming to Gaara's side, seeing the sheer size of the group to the boy's aid made him sincerely happy. "Are you sure you want to do this we could have stayed a little longer?" The Lieutenant Colonel called to Naruto keeping his eyes on the landscape that slowly changed from green forest to the harsh browns and tans of the desert.
Naruto faced forward and sighed dejectedly "Equivalent exchange. In order for Aoshi to exist, Naruto Uzumaki must not and vice versa. You of all people should know that" Naruto said plainly, causing Lucas to touch his right side with his left hand.
The chestnut-haired male tilted his head back slightly "That's not what I meant and you know they'll label you as a nuke-nin now that they know that you're still alive." Blackburn stated matter-of-factly
The blonde brought his legs up on the empty seat next to him and position his arms behind his head "I know! But they won't label me a nuke-nin, not straight away anyway. Right now I'm considered KIA or at least MIA and rescinding that declaration creates a lot of paper work and you could say Tsunade-obasan is…allergic to paperwork." He pulled out his blue-lensed sunglasses to put them on when he noticed a crack 'Damn broken' he then pocketed the sunglasses and settled for putting his arm over his eyes, although it was his favourite jutsu, creating the Rasengan in his left hand always left him feeling drained.
"Just like I'll be when we get back." Lucas groaned imagining the mountain of paperwork that would have piled up in his absence and just thinking about it made him exhausted.
******Konohagakure four days later******
After returning from their mission Team Gai along with the remaining members of Team Seven stopped at the hospital to admit an exhausted Kakashi to one of the wards so he could recover from his ordeal, to save time and to confirm what she had heard from Gai's team the fifth Hokage and her assistant stood next to the copy-nin's bed "So Naruto is alive?" she asked looking both at her apprentice and the former Anbu, trying to see if there was a hint of deception that might implement a joke but found nothing. 'After I get through with him he'll wish he was dead.' She thought bitterly
Kakashi looked at the blonde woman while lying in his bed with the sheets covering his face "Looks that way. However Amestris has taken him in and made him a State Alchemist." He reported in a nonchalant voice.
Sakura chewed her lip "We have to get him back." The kunoichi said out of the blue surprising everyone in the room.
Tsunade sighed, she knew that Sakura was serious but at the same time knew that the kunoichi was acting on emotion too "Does he want to come back though? Unlike Sasuke, Naruto has aligned himself with a nation, a nation that we barely have information on." She tested.
The pinkette gritted her teeth in frustration at the way Tsunade was treating her. "What does that matter? He's still a Konoha-nin!" she exclaimed
Tsunade frowned at her apprentice's brashness "Sakura! Amestris is a nation not a group of rogue shinobi! We're dealing with a nation that has weapons and techniques unknown to us. On top of that the information you've given me on Sasori's contact is a once in a lifetime opportunity and chances are that Naruto may be at the rendezvous too." The hazel-eyed woman reprimanded the sixteen-year-old adolescent.
"No" she shook her head from side to side. "His comrade was out cold and thus won't know of the 'meeting' and for all we know it maybe a trap. Besides Sasuke can look after himself for all I care. Our chances of retrieving Sasuke will dramatically increase if we get Naruto back and the only way we can do that is if we confront him and persuade him to return." The kunoichi stared intensely at the Hokage her emerald green eyes burned into Tsunade's mind.
Tsunade rubbed the ridge of her nose trying to think "But do you know where he is?"
"Chiyo-obasan said that the capital of Amestris was called Central and it is located west of here, before we left she allowed me to copy a map that shows everything beyond Sunagakure's borders it maybe old but the landscape shouldn't have changed that much." Sakura shrugged.
'She's more like him than she realizes.' Tsunade thought "Fine! Then how do you intend to find him?" Tsunade asked.
"I managed to catch the name and rank of his commanding officer we'll ask to see him then hopefully he'll point us in the right direction. Besides he owes me and Chiyo-obasan one." The pinkette smirked.
Finally Tsunade threw her arms in the air defeated. "It's your call Sakura, not mine. I just hope you're making the right decision, are you sure you want to go through with this?" she tested to make sure that her apprentice wouldn't regret her actions later.
"Hai." She responded with conviction.
'Then go get prepared. I'll have a team formed by the time you return." She dismissed the kunoichi
"Arigato Tsunade-shishou." Sakura bowed and walked out of the room a little too quickly, everyone noted the spring in her step.
As Sakura was leaving she noticed that Konoha's elders approach Kakashi's room, she thought of sticking around, but preparing for her next mission was more important.
"Tsunade we would like a minute of your time." Koharu stated upon entering the recovery room, then left as soon as she came.
"Great what do they want?" Tsunade glowered.
Tsunade sat quietly facing the two elders with Shizune by her side. Homura adjusted his rectangular glasses then looked at the Godaime "Lady Tsunade we understand that Uzumaki Naruto is alive and that you intend to retrieve him, rather than follow a possible lead to Orochimaru." His tone was cold.
"Let me guess you'd prefer we follow the information that was given to us by Sasori?" she said testing the elders.
Koharu shook her head "No we agree on the course of action you are taking."
"They cannot possibly know the danger they are in, it will be best if we retrieve him and keep him under supervision and prevent him from leaving the village in case the Akastuki realizes his presence in the Fire Nation. It may not seem like it but we are making concessions." Homura reasoned.
The blonde woman frowned at the strict demands that the elders were proposing to place upon Naruto; if Sakura succeeds in retrieving him "There is no need to impose such severe restrictions on him, even if we monitor him and restrict him to the village the
Akatsuki will eventually come after him just like they did with Sunagakure. In that event it will put the village in danger. As long as he is on the move and within the borders of a strong nation he is safe and will keep the Akatsuki guessing. And if you've forgotten he's not a Konoha shinobi anymore." She added.
The elderly man scowled at the Hokage's naïveté and her willingness to give the boy free reign of what he does "Your argument is weak Tsunade and is unbecoming of a Hokage.
We intend on reinstating him as a shinobi of Konohagakure and also give him the rank of Chunin upon his retrieval."
"How do you know that the Akatsuki won't take Naruto from Amestris a country we hardly know about? Do you have irrefutable evidence that once an Akatsuki member has taken the kyuubi from Naruto won't even pose a greater threat?" Koharu remained calm
Tsunade stared inwardly remembering Naruto's determination and perseverance "He won't be caught. I have faith in him." She said wholeheartedly
Homura sighed, "If that's what you believe you can do whatever want. But as compensation we'll be adding a shinobi of our choice to fill one of the positions."
Tsunade frowned at the ultimatum"Fine"
"Danzou you may enter now." The grey woman called out to the hall.
Hearing the click of the lock being released on the door the Godaime's eyes widened when she realised who she was looking at "You!" her voice was bitter
"It's been a while Tsunade-hime" the bandaged man hobbled into the room.
"Then the new shinobi is somebody from Anbu Roots." Tsunade knew that if Danzou was involved then the mission was already threatened.
Across town in Sakura Haruno was already had her medical pouch prepared for the mission to retrieve Naruto, a platinum blonde stood leaning against the door frame of Sakura's room. "Already going on another mission I see." She smirked.
"Yup." The pink haired kunoichi nodded as she grabbed her backpack and started packing the supplies she would need for the mission.
Ino strolled up to her and looked at her friend's face "You seem rather up beat today. In fact I haven't seen you like this for quite awhile. So is the rumour true?" The platinum blonde mused
"What rumour?" She asked rhetorically.
However her friend didn't catch on "You know the rumour that Naruto is alive." She sat on the edge of Sakura's bed, watching her friend pack.
The Haruno looked at her friend with cheek in her eye's "Why? I thought you were interested in Sasuke?"
"At least I wasn't as obsessive as you were." She responded in kind.
A pained sign of guilt played across the usual gentle features of the pinkette as she replayed her past in her mind "…" she then gripped the covers of her bed tightly as she screamed inwardly.
Ino looked away realizing her mistake "Sorry Sakura" the Yamanaka said in a low apologetic voice
"We both were and I'll never forgive myself for allowing Naruto to make that promise." Her voice caught in her throat remembering the pained expression on Naruto's face and then seeing the severed arm in the morgue after the attempt to bring Sasuke failed.
"Hey why don't I come with you on this one? It's been pretty slow at the flower shop lately and Team Asuma hasn't received any missions either, besides you have a few positions free on your team." She tried to break the awkward silence and lighten the mood.
Sakura was taken aback by this offer but decided to play it cool "Is this out of concern for a friend or do you just want to see how much Naruto has grown?"
"A little from column A and a little from column B." Ino simply replied.
"You'll have to ask Tsunade-sama." Sakura knew that once Ino saw how much Naruto has matured she would be fawning over him like some lovesick schoolgirl.
Ino got to her feet and walked over to the door "Oh-don't you worry I will." She winked to her friend and waved before turning a corner.
******Akatsuki Lair******
A grey-eyed figure gazed at the other members of the Akatsuki with displeasure. "Deidara and Sasori's failure in capturing the Ichibi has put Suna on high alert making another attempt too risky."
"Deidara-sempai fouled up good." An orange masked figure teased chuckling childishly, much to the annoyance of the blonde artist.
"Shut the hell up like you could do any better." The blonde snapped rubbing his fractured jaw that the Jinchuuriki's metal arm had inflicted.
"And it appears that the Kyuubi container isn't dead either. However the use and the appearance of such alien techniques was unexpected." Zetsu added interrupting the argument before it had a chance to begin.
Konan frowned "Then how are we going to combat them?"
"We fight fire with fire obviously." Tobi replied snickering pointing to Itachi.
A half dead man's eyes narrowed after sorting through the information that Zetsu had given them. "The technique was first taught to a people calling themselves the Ishbalans, however the practice soon became a sin amongst them those that practice this art are soon ostracized and considered exiles. However there may be a few that still practices it regardless." His voice was devout and serious.
Hidan looked at his partner curiously "And you know this because?"
"I was alive around that time moron." He reminded sadist
The white haired man rolled his eyes "Oh…Tough words coming from a fucking corpse." He said in a mocking tone.
"Shut the hell up arse hole, before I sew your lips shut." Kakuzu spat.
Pein stared coldly at Hidan and Kakuzu "Both of you silence! Itachi, Kisame head west and find us one of these exiled Ishbalans and bring them back for interrogation." He made sure his orders and wishes were understood.
"Yes Pein-sama." Itachi bowed, before his and Kisame's holographic bodies disappeared.
"For Team Kakashi's next mission, since Kakashi is still receiving medical treatment, they'll need a new team member. On top of that there isn't much time until the next mission." Shizune reported to the elders.
Danzou stared out the single small window in the lounge room. "In that case, for team leader, we should select one of the more skilled individuals from the hokage-controlled Anbu." His voice was calm and controlled.
Koharu nodded in agreement to the suggestion "Agreed! That should be just fine."
"I assume you have no objections Tsunade?" Homura asked the well-endowed Hokage.
The blonde woman stared at the Anbu with her hands folded in front of her face "And that's the situation. I'm going to have you act as a temporary replacement for Kakashi." Tsunade finished updating the masked figure that stood before her.
"Acting as a replacement for Kakashi-sempai of all people this is quite an honour." The Anbu said proudly.
"This is not an Anbu mission it is a normal one so remove your mask and I'll assign you a codename. For the duration of the mission you shall be called Yamato. While you're on this mission I want you to keep an eye on someone who'll be added to Team Kakashi. He's a member from a division known as Anbu Roots and Danzou chose him." She was troubled at how quick Danzou had already chosen a candidate to replace Sasuke.
"What are you implying?" Yamato asked suspiciously
Tsunade sighed "Danzou is an old war hawk and was in direct opposition with the Sandaime for the position of Hokage. He's a person who lives for war and sees that the only way for 'true' peace is if he controlled every nation out there and to obtain the title of Hokage he'll go as far as sending the village into chaos just to reject everything Sarutobi has worked for." Her voice was bitter at the thought of the village being thrown in to flames by Danzou.
"I see and who is the last team member?" The brunette enquired.
The fifth Hokage smirked "I'll leave that up to you." she pointed to Yamato playfully.
"Hai Hokage-sama." He nodded dutifully.
There was a knocking at the Hokage's office door "Enter!" she called
A platinum blonde girl walked into the office. "Hokage-sama I was wondering if I could go with Sakura on her next mission. I mean someone will have to keep her in line and seeing as her team will be going into unknown territory an extra medic-nin will be needed."
"What do you think Yamato?" Tsunade quirked an eyebrow to their good luck.
"Huh?" Ino looked at the Anbu and the Hokage inquisitively unaware that Yamato was the temporary leader of Team Kakashi.
He scratched his chin "Well it saves us having to ask for volunteers and we're going to an unknown foreign land meaning the risk of injury will be higher, so it would be prudent if we have an extra medic-nin." Yamato reasoned.
"I agree. Yamanaka, Ino permission granted you'll be temporarily assigned to Team Kakashi for this mission." The older blonde said in a strong voice. When Yamato and Ino left Tsunade swivelled her chair to face the window and got to her feet. 'I only hope it was the right decision.' she chewed her thumb nail in anxiety, if Naruto was to refuse to come back to Konoha it would be best if Sakura had her childhood friend there with her to comfort her and if he did decide to come back both Ino and Sakura would be able to keep each other in line.'All this just to retrieve that knucklehead. If I and his other friends weren't so busy we'd all probably go too, oh to be young again' she sighed at the whimsical thought.
In a secluded area far from prying eyes, a meeting between the founder of Anbu Roots confers with one of his many subordinates. "I've managed to arrange it so you would be on Team Kakashi. You've been selected for this mission not just because you're close to Uzumaki, Naruto's age, but you're because you're stronger than him and also because your unique artistic skills are unmatched. Until the completion of the mission you will be assigned the codenamed, Sai." The bandaged man stood before a kneeling dark haired teenager.
"So I am Sai" the dark haired sixteen year-old gave a fake smile.
Danzou frowned "Do not use a fake smile like that in front of me." He said sternly, warning the young artist.
"I'm sorry…the manual said that the best way to appeal to someone is with a smiling face. I've practice but I am still unable to make these facial expressions" Sai apologized to his superior wholeheartedly but due to his training betrayed no emotion.
Konoha Ninja Handbook
Naruto's Alchemy
Air Blast-Naruto is able to create a powerful blast of air by activating the transmutation circle and aiming two of his fingers like a pistol at his target.
Air Control- Naruto controls the temperature of the surrounding area. Due to this ability he has sometimes inadvertently created micro-storms when attempting to create objects of ice when covering the seal with his hand pointing downwards
Hurricane Alley- Naruto can summon hurricanes by activating the transmutation pointing his hand down and moving up.
Air Barrier- Naruto creates a barrier of air by touching the transmutation pointing his hand up and moving down
Air Slash- Naruto can use the air like a blade by activating his transmutation circle and making the desired cutting motion.
Though Naruto specialises in using air techniques for combat, he does know other forms of alchemy. An inherent weakness of his alchemy is gale force wind conditions making the manipulation of air difficult to control and predict.
Naruto's Ninjutsu
Kage bushin
Rasengan
Oiroke no Jutsu
Kuchiyose no Jutsu
Due to the loss of his right arm Naruto can only use Ninjutsu with his left hand thus has become limited and becomes exhuasted whenever he uses chakra due to the amount of concentration that is required to form seals and the Rasengan.
