I don't own Naruto.
Chapter Two: Training, Spies and Bad News
The Ne division of ANBU was created by the order of the Shodai Hokage after the defection of Uchiha Madara, ranked SS in the early bingo. The sole purpose of Ne was to deal with outside threats coming from nuke nin from any other village. To differentiate from the hunter-nin they didn't hunt the nuke-nin of their home village but rather capture, interrogate and when possible, assassinate missing nin that had been previously marked as a threat to the Leaf. Sometimes they went even further, killing shinobi still loyal to other Hidden Village but with a large threat level to Konohagakure no sato.
The compound of the Ne was an underground structure consisting of four levels. The first level was the main hall, the place where missions were given or extremely dangerous convicts were kept into custody. To get inside you needed a special pass or membership mask and the go further you needed even more authorizations.
Level two was the lodging area, for agents to sleep or train when they weren't on a mission. It consisted of a dojo and five sectors, each containing rooms for Ne members. It also had a cafeteria and a recreation lounge.
Third level was harder to reach, all you needed was to have a pass, stamped and signed by the Hokage and later on approved by the leader of the ROOT, that is if you weren't a Ne agent. It contained the storage room for food and drinks, the armoury, the medical facility and one extra room.
Level four was the most secure place. You were checked for weapons of all kinds- from kunai to wood splinters- poisonous gas releasers in the mouth or other parts of the body, and with your chakra sealed with a tag you could go on. It was the office of the division leader.
Travelling between levels was made in the central area, a cylinder shaped empty space except for the stairs and columns which were filled with tags of various purposes.
The walls of the compound were made out of diamond re-enforced steel, two meters thick after which there was a solid chemical composition of stone which made douton techniques useless.
You had to be Houdini to get inside that place without permission and leave with your throat uncut.
Uzumaki Naruto's room was that on the third level and consisted of a bedroom, a bathroom and a living room. There weren't many decorations on the walls except for the pictures of the Hokages in the living room that the blond specially requested. The Leader of ROOT had complied, seeing nothing bad in him having the pictures of the greatest heroes the village had ever gave birth to, seeing that he was a hero himself. If only by the chance of being born at the exact same time at which the Nine-Tails attacked.
At precisely six a.m. said blond would wake up, get dressed and went to have break-fast. His attire was that of an usual ANBU- the chest, arms and legs plates, the black cloth and the bandages above the sandals. At first they had been hard to get accustomed to but he had worn them for a few days now. Danzou had explained it was for his own security.
Breakfast in the cafeteria was made of toast bread, butter, jam, pancakes and fresh fruit. Part of being an elite ninja of the village meant having a balanced and rich menu. Naruto just assumed it was the chef who had gone mad with his addiction to cooking.
After finishing he proceeded the put on his mask which had the shape of a cat and was carried in the backpack he always had .Guards from the inter-level passes let him trough without any verification and so he was able to finally exit the compound and head to an adjacent building, a dome-shaped testing area for new jutsu. It was heavily sealed, new techniques often backfired, so it was also strict village policy that a medic and another ninja attended any new jutsu development. Most ninja ignored this rule, but most ninja were crazy.
The interior was completely empty except for some wooden logs, a pool of water, a small maze for explosives and targets for kunai and shuriken practice.
Danzou awaited the blond near the logs that were solidly pinned into the wooden floor. Slashes could be seen on their surface, irregularly placed.
"Ohayo, jii-san" he grinned broadly.
"Good morning. Did you bring all that I asked you to?"
"Hai. I've got ta set of kunai, the first-aid kit and the special ointment for bruises and will I need them for?"
"Naruto-kun remember that thing we talked yesterday about your chakra ?I said i would train you to use it at free will. It is critical for you to learn how to control it." There hadn't been any other incidents since the teleportation one but it was better to be on the safe side. Naruto didn't seem to remember that quite well.
" That'd be great. Let's get started!"
"You sure are hasty aren't you? The first stage of your training will be to control the powers you have. that that i will ask you to make that hand-sign again and focus the chakra to your keep it there for as long as possible."Naruto complied and the base of his sandals glowed in yellow.
"Okay now try to stick yourself to the wooden log over here and try to get as high up on it as you you are about to fall mark the point you reached with one of the 't be disappointed if you can't do it from the first try."
"What will this help with jii-san?"
"Well it has the purpose to help you better control your control we can't use any ninja try it."
The blond moved to the base of the closest log and placed his foot on that it was sticking to the wood he did the same with the other way, in small steps he reached one third of the trunk before slipping down made slash with the kunai and fell down on his rear.
Meanwhile Danzou assumed the lotus position and began made no noise at all in contrast with the blond that started cursing the log and all the gods he could remember each time he fell down from the log.
In two hours Naruto managed to advance to the half of the log but just couldn't move further no matter how much he to the Ne leader he said" Ne,jii-san?I can't go you tell me what I'm doing wrong ?"
"You need to calm down, , especially yours is very hard to manipulate because it is very sensitive and responsive to your state of mind and your like me and close your do exactly as I tell you."
"Take three deep breaths each time counting from three to that place your tongue on the roof of your tongue and cling your teeth thirty-six times."
"Are you sure jii-san/ It sounds kinda silly."
"Do as I told and you'll see."Naruto followed the instructions and was surprised to find out that he felt somehow his worries were forgotten in an instant."Now try to climb that log again.."
This time he managed to reach a good part of the distance, almost the top of it.
"Very good Naruto-kun..Many shinobi take days, even weeks to master this exercise but you almost did it in a few come here for a second.I want to show you something.
Approaching Danzou that was still in the lotus position Naruto saw him taking a kunai i his hand and spin it with his index finger."Naruto-kun, tantojutsu is very important for a shinobi.A single shuriken or knife well thrown at the enemy may even kill a 's why I will ask you to take this will learn how to control multiple types of kunai, balance them and eventually use them in actual combat.A skilled marksman can pin a fly to a tree from fifthy meters away ...without killing it."
"Wow...am I really gonna be that good?"
"Even better. Let's get to tricks an schemes first. What I will show you will have to be practiced whenever you have some spare time. Take one of the kunai in your right hand.
Now balance it on one or two fingers. Which side is the heaviest...the handle or the blade?"
"They have the same weight jii-san."
" standard kunai are made like this. In case you have any other type at hand then remember this...When the blade is heavier throw it by the handle and when the handle is heavier throw it by the blade.
Now closely observe the elements. How many parts does it have?"
"Three...the blade...the handle... and the ring"
"Can you do the thing I did earlier? Then try to pass the kunai to another finger on the other hand. Close the distance between them until they touch each other, then move to the second finger to have it at the same speed and angle as first. Then change the centre of gravity of the kunai, but not too much, just enough for it to move."The blond followed the instructions and played like that with the kunai for a few minutes.
"Very good ,take a blunt one on the index finger and one on the ring finger. Now start rotating the two, what you have to do is find a perfect timing to begin rotating the other. Teep your fingers safe you also have to lower each one while the kunai on the other passes by it, and use that motion to move the kunai on it. It's hard to find the perfect timming but it will help you gain dexterity ,also required in order become a shinobi."
Another two hours passed and Naruto still tried to get the timing right. It was complicated but deep inside him he knew he could do it . He would become a shinobi like all the others he ... "He lost the timing again. Danzou sighed "Keep focused, boy".
Mizu no Kuni
A man wearing a black cloak slowly advanced along the empty street with tons of water pouring on him. It was dry and warm inside it but didn't let it get to him, as made his way out of the main street on to a deserted alley, where thrash had been thrown carelessly on the sides and above him, four stories blocks blocke most of the view of the sky. The town was named Kateshima and represented an important knot between two main roads, the SE-NV and NE-SV which crossed the country from side to side.
As in many other changes, the people of the town didn't believe that the civil war ravaging the country will ever reach the. Things were about to change...
Up until now the fighting had took place in the mountain passes east to the metropolis. The Mizukage wanted to occupy only a part of the northern ports but the rebels held their ground easily. The High Council decided to go for a strike right through t Kateshima and cut the rebels at half.
Rebel spies in Kirigakure no Sato alerted Yukimaru who left only a few men to guard the passes and create the illusion that he was still there while he secretly moved his main army to Kateshima awaiting the enemy. It was risky but the risk had to be taken.
The cloaked man advanced forward trough back-alleys and tight spaces. His target was a small pub in the lower parts of the city. It was a place where anyone could get information as people tended to speak very much while being drunk. He reached the haunted like entrance and wasn't noticed by anyone.
Giving the impression that he wasn't looking for anyone in particular he looked for a free table and proceeded to it. Right in front of him, a man and a woman, hidden under dark cloaks, much like himself were whispering to one another. Clearly they were spies, he didn't know who was the superior but he couldn't care less. It took eight hand-signs for his eyes to glow. He made contact with the man's, who was facing him and the technique activated. Though the newly formed mind-link he sent a huge impulse of chakra, destroying his brain cells. He fell with his head on the table, dead.
The woman also turned to the cloaked man and her green eyes met red pupils with three balck dots in the pupil. Like her companion she also fell down dead.
Outside the town under a tree, Uchiha Itachi heard a buzz from his radio communicator."Report !"
"Agent 1 sir! Targets have been threat is nullified."
"Return to base camp and take twelve hours for rest. You did very well." He had specially called for a specialist in espionage and assassination from the Leaf, knowing he would need to fed off enemy spies. Logic dictated that the Mizukage would have placed some of his men throughout the rebel camp, so he would have to filter them out.
Another man appeared next to him wearing a green kimono with grey flower designs on them. His eyes weregrey and his hair completely white reached his shoulders. His voice was tough and deep.
"So you took care of the job. Konoha nin live up to their standards."
"Kaguya-san. What brings you here?"
"Orders from HQ. We have to maintain our current position and make no contact with the civilians. The enemy army s #is two weeks away from here so can't blow off our cover yet."
"Two weeks is a lot considering the distance. Why the delay?"
"Bad weather combined with bad morale. Except for the High Command, nobody knew of this operation so it took a while to gather all the details. Reports say the weather will keep like this for a while.
"So we shall fight in muddy terrain. Very bad for mobility and supply. How many men do they have?"
" Half of them are shinobi but most are nuke nin hired for a few weeks . La crème de la crème has to protect Kirigakure and the Mizukage."
"Do we have a plan to balance the scales even further?"
"A strategy is being formulated. One thing is for sure, we cannot keep the city, we'll have to face them to the north. It 's risky but we are short on optinos."
Fire Country. Imperial time.
Princess Sayoshi was strolling down the corridors of the imposing structure, making her way to her bedroom, accompanied by her personal maid and two body-guards. Passing a large metal door that lay open she absently noticed the two shinobi standing guard on the ceiling.
Assassination attempts were nothing out of the usual when you were part of the ruling family of a very large an powerful country like Ho no Kuni. One of her cousins had died in such a way and since then all of them were having nightmares about mysterious killers coming in the night.
Finally, after the third set of doors she entered the interior courtyard. A few meters from her two men whispered quietly among themselves. One was wearing a black and red armor with the design of a tiger on the chest . He had black hair and obsidian eyes. A small scar marked the passing of a sword by his left cheek. His name was Reikaro Nobunaga and he was in charge of the three thousand men inside the palace having been recently promoted to the rank of colonel.
The other one had blackish blue clothes, wore ninja sandals and had a green vest with a red spiral on the back. On his fore-head was a hitai-ite representing a spiralling leaf ;his clothing suggested he was a shinobi of Konohagakure, an elite one. There was a permanent garrison of ninja in Tenkyo belonging to either Konohagakure or Kemurigakure, the hidden village of Smoke, the second shinobi village of HO no Kuni. He and his interlocutor had a piece of clot at their belt with the kanji for 'fire' written in red paint on it.
Right now, Yamishiru Saizo was the commander of the garrison and his reason for being at the front gates was one of high passing of the princess made them stop their conversation and bow down in front of her, which she did as well after which she moved further down the small road to the gardens area.
"So Nobunaga-san, you claim to know the reason for which the infiltration was do easily done."
"Hai but I don't have enough trust in some of the new men. This is where you come in. I need you to..."
Those were the only things she could hear before taking a turn and entering the majestic floral arrangement of the palace. Her father had ordered the building of it and could often be seen walking trough them..
Recent news brought to her said that she had just been betrothed to the heir of the Rice Fields. At first she felt depressed for the fact that she wasn't given a choice in the matter, she was only seven years old but she understood life better than most other people around her. Her mother was the sister of the Daimyo of the Wind Country but she hated to be married to someone she didn't love.
She loved both her father and her mother and they loved her or at the very least did a hell of a job at pretending to but she didn't like being used as a pawn in a political game.
That was the reason for which she came down here- to calm her thoughts. A most unnatural feature of the princess was her silver hair reaching to the base of her eyes which were blue and she wore only blue kimono or yukata, never a different colour.
Sadness filled her at the thought f her life being already decided for her.
End
A.N.: OK, I've re-written chapter two, it's becoming more and more annoying. I really didn't expect the damn word editor to screw me like this. I could barely understand what I had written in the first place. I'll keep reconstructing then move on with the plot.
That thing Naruto tried to do is what Kakashi did near the end of the fight with Zabuza.
Bag p a in viata mea!
Alexander R out!
