Hey guys! I'm back with chapter two! Before I get on with this I'd like to thank all of you who have read the first chapter, followed, reviewed and added this story to your favorites. It means so much to me to know that there are people out there who enjoy my writing. Sorry my updating schedule is so slow but with the length of the chapters and how lazy I can be sometimes its really hard for me to update faster. Plus I'm probably going to be a lot more busy now with classes starting up so...yeah. Also, sorry about any grammatical and spelling errors...I try and correct them whenever I find them. Feel free to tell me if you find any. With that out of the way, let's get on with the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...which I'm kind of glad for since I'd probably screw up the series if I did own it. Naruto and the characters from the series are owned by Masashi Kishimoto.
Chapter 2
The atmosphere was tense within the Hokage's Office. Kushina stood staring nervously at the blonde boy infront of her, who returned the gaze with confused yet hopeful eyes. Hiruzen merely sat in his chair, observing the events unfold. Kasumi was still standing next to the open window and Tatsuo was frozen in place with his eyes focused on his best friend, the ninja-wire going slack as his arms fell to his sides. Tiger wasn't affected by the transpiring events and so managed to escape her restraints with a quick substitution with one of the chairs placed in the rather spacious room.
"Mom…" muttered Naruto, taking a step towards the red-haired woman. "…Is that really you?" He began opening his arms, his eyes filled with unshed tears, when he noticed the woman infront of him flinch slightly and the slight shivering that overtook her body when he moved towards her. The boy brought his arms down to his sides, his fists clenched tightly into fists. He looked down to the ground, hiding his face from Kushina's view. He heard her call him once more, this time a little surer of herself. The blonde took a deep breath before raising his head once more, a large smile plastered on his face.
"You're back!" the boy exclaimed, his eyes closed with a hand rubbing the back of his head. "So…how have you been?" Kushina flinched once again, noting the slight shaky tone the boy spoke in. Hiruzen sighed, hating the way Naruto was acting at the moment. The boy shouldn't have to act like nothing was wrong. Tatsuo narrowed his eyes when he noticed his friend's strange behavior. He looked at the woman who Naruto was talking with, his mind reminding him of the few times he had seen her in a handful of pictures. She was indeed the blonde's mother, Kushina Uzumaki. And that meant the little girl was his sister.
"Big brother!" shouted Kasumi, leaping towards Naruto from behind and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Big brother! It's me, Kasumi!" the girl shouted, not noticing that her hug was consticting her brother's airway. The adults chuckled at the scene before them, except Kushina who seemed to be on the verge of tears. She couldn't believe she'd been so selfish, going so far as to separate the two siblings. Tatsuo let out a sigh before clearing his throat loudly. Once he gained the younger redhead's attention, the boy pointed to his blonde companion. Kasumi looked back at her older brother before realizing that she'd been suffocating him and loosened her grip on the boy's neck.
Naruto broke free of his sister's grasp and took in long, deep breaths. The boy looked at his younger sibling with wide eyes before pointing accusingly at her. "What the hell, Kasumi?! Are you trying to kill me?!" the boy shouted as the red-haired child shook her head and apologized. "Man…It looks like you're still the same…" the blonde muttered before looking back at her. "But you sure have grown…look at how tall you've gotten…"
Kushina couldn't help but smile at the reunion. She knew she'd made quite a few mistakes when it came to her son, but she was glad to see that he was still able to get along with his sister and maybe even her in the future. Her happiness turned to rage as she heard what the boy said next. "Even your chest has gotten bigger!" Tatsuo face-palmed at his friend's words, while Hiruzen chuckled. Tiger seemed at a loss for words, not sure what to say or do. Kushina, however, stalked over to her perverted son. The woman's hair waved around ominously behind her as she stood behind the unsuspecting boy.
"Na-ru-to!" the woman roared as she brought her fist down on the poor blonde's head. Naruto let out a yelp of pain before he found his face implanted into the ground below him. Kasumi was blushing, but crouched next to her brother and poked him in the head. She asked him if he was okay, to which he slowly lifted up one hand and gave her a thumbs-up. Kushina stood over her son's battered body, an aura of fury blazing around her.
The Hokage smiled at the scene, before clearing his throat. "Well, Naruto…" the man called. The Uzumaki boy lifted himself off the ground and looked towards the man he viewed as a grandfather. "You've completed the test it seems…so as promised you will be allowed to become a genin." Naruto's demeanor seemed to change immediately upon hearing those words as he let out a loud cheer before hopping around the entire room. Hiruzen coughed, making the boy pause in his antics and look at the man once more. "You will also receive the technique I promised you…but you must promise to bring it back to me as soon as you can."
The Hokage opened a drawer in his desk before retrieving a scroll and a headband. The man smiled before handing them to Naruto, who hesitated for only a moment before gingerly tying it around his head. The blonde had a goofy smile plastered on his face the entire time. The door was suddenly swung open as Neko rushed back in. Her eyes seemed to land on Naruto before she looked to her fellow ANBU in question. "Sorry Captain…they got me…" the tiger-masked woman mumbled. Neko visibly deflated with her head down as she stared at her feet.
"It's quite alright Neko," stated Hiruzen. "As I told you before…Naruto can be quite a handful." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly when the Hokage gave him a mock glare. "Now…I will hear your report. Kushina, we can talk more tomorrow." The Hokage pulled out and tossed the woman a set of keys. "I assume you'll be living in your old house…" Kushina seemed puzzled but nodded.
"Naruto and Tatsuo…" both the boys stood at attention when they heard themselves mentioned. "You are free to do as you wish. Remember that teams will be assigned in three days." Both boys nodded before heading towards the door. "Oh and would you mind showing Kushina and Kasumi-chan around the village…I'm sure they've forgotten some of the layout of the place…"
Naruto seemed to freeze in place for a second before he smiled and nodded. Tatsuo noticed his friend's hesitation but chose to remain silent. The group of four bowed and left the room. Hiruzen watched them depart before letting out a long, tired sigh. He turned towards the two ANBU still present before smiling. "So…it seems like you've had quite an interesting day. Did you manage to find the rest of your team Neko?" the Hokage's voice was calm, but it was quite clear he was enjoying the situation. Tiger turned to look at her captain. Neko chose to remain silent.
A few minutes later Naruto made his way down one of the busy streets of Konoha, the two redheads following behind him with Tatsuo trailing behind the three. "This is Konoha's market district!" Naruto announced as he gestured to the various shops and stalls around them as they passed by. "Here you can get all your desired necessities, whether they're shinobi supplies or common trinkets." The two women behind him couldn't help but snicker at how the blonde acted like he was a tour guide.
Kasumi walked a little faster, catching up to her brother and starting a conversation with him. Kushina chose to remain a few steps behind the two, partly out of nervousness and partly out of fear. What confused her were the looks her son was getting from quite a few of the villagers that the four passed. Most of the people around them stared nervously at the boy, whispering amongst themselves. Others outright glared at the blonde boy not doing a thing to hide the hate they had in their gazes. Kushina couldn't understand what the reason behind these looks was however.
The woman was so lost in her thoughts that she failed to notice the black-haired boy walk up next to her. "Pretty sad isn't it?" he questioned. Kushina looked at him, the confusion clear in her eyes. "It's been like this ever since you left. People started believing that he was the Nine tails." Tatsuo looked down at the ground as he walked. "He became hated by most of them…" the boy swept his gaze over the people they passed before his eyes came to rest upon his blonde friend.
"Why?" it was all Kushina could utter, her eyes wide as she stared at the young Uchiha. The boy shrugged his shoulders and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket.
"People are idiots…" the boy answered as the group left the market district of Konoha behind. "A lot of people died on that night. It's something that most find hard to look past." Naruto laughed with his sister as the two shared stories. It was hard to believe that the two had been separated since they were four. "After you left it just got worse. And after that one night…" the boy stopped speaking, lowering his gaze to the ground. Kushina grew silent, wondering why the boy had stopped. "Naruto may seem happy…but he's had to deal with a lot of shit in his life. Don't think for a second that it will be easy to return to his life."
Kushina was about to say something when she was interrupted by Kasumi's excited yell. The two looked ahead to see her hopping around infront of a nice sized house. Kushina smiled upon seeing the house, memories of her time with Minato returning to the forefront of her mind. She and Tatsuo reached the place just as Naruto finished fiddling with the lock. "There you go!" the boy exclaimed as the door opened with a loud click. He handed the key to Kushina, who flinched a bit before accepting it.
"Naruto-kun…why did Hokage-sama have the keys to the house?" Kushina questioned. Naruto seemed to process her words for a few seconds before smiling.
"Oh! I haven't lived here for around nine years," the boy's words left Kushina shocked. She couldn't understand what the boy had meant. Upon seeing her confusion Naruto decided to clarify. "Well…I left with Pervy Sage when I was six and I've been living with Tatsuo ever since I've gotten back." The blonde pointed at his friend who just sighed. "But don't worry. I've kept the place cleaned up…" Kushina remained confused but decided to question the Hokage about it later on.
"You two are probably going to want to unpack so we'll be leaving now," Tatsuo stated. "We'd be happy to bring you anything you need. But I'm sure Naruto would like to get started on that technique the Hokage promised him…" Kushina nodded before moving to enter the house. Kasumi seemed far sadder at having to separate from her brother after having only met him a little while ago.
"Um…if you could maybe bring us some lunch?" Kushina asked, not wanting to bother the two boys too much. "I'll pay you for the cost-" Naruto waved his hand swiftly silencing the woman.
"Don't worry about it! We'll be right back!" the blonde stated as he turned to walk away. Tatsuo nodded to the older woman with a smile before moving after his blonde friend. The two walked away from the house, heading back the way they'd come.
"You really shouldn't act like everything's fine…" stated Tatsuo as he walked alongside the Uzumaki boy. "You sure you're ok?"
Naruto smiled softly at his friend as the two headed for one of the few places where Naruto wasn't treated badly. "I know it's not right…but I understand what Mom is going through." His words caused Tatsuo to raise an eyebrow. "She's still hurt. I just have to give her some time." The two boys continued their journey to Ichiraku Ramen in silence.
The day went by quickly after that. After getting their ramen to go, Naruto and Tatsuo split up. The black-haired Uchiha convinced his friend to go home and start working on the technique he'd received from the Hokage. The lazy boy then went ahead and delivered the ramen they'd got for Kushina and Kasumi to the two women, much to their delight. The boy then returned home to get some sleep. It wasn't until just after the sun had set that things started to get interesting again.
Naruto and Tatsuo had been on their way to return the scroll the Hokage had given the blonde. The two arrived at the old leader's office to find the man addressing what looked to be the entire shinobi population above genin rank. They'd been asked to wait outside of the large room the Hokage was having the meeting in. "What do you think is going on?" questioned Naruto, fiddling with the scroll in his hand. He was still tired after training non-stop since he'd gotten home that afternoon.
Tatsuo had his arms crossed and his eyes closed as he leaned back in his seat. The boy wasn't really paying attention to what was happening at the moment. "Big Brother!" The boy opened one eye to see the red-haired girl they'd met this afternoon approaching them. She was accompanied by her mother as the two made their way over to them. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to return this scroll to the Old man," Naruto replied as he held up the scroll in his hands. Kushina's eyes widened at the possibility that came to mind. "I finished learning the technique about an hour ago." Kasumi seemed surprised and immediately began pestering the blonde for details about the technique. Kushina watched the two siblings interact with a smile before sending a look towards the lazy boy leaned back against the wall. "Why are you two here?"
Kushina looked back to her son before replying. "I was summoned by Hokage-sama. I didn't want to leave Kasumi alone for fear that she'd end up destroying the house." Kasumi blushed before yelling at her mother, stating that she wasn't that irresponsible, much to her brother's amusement. The four didn't have to wait too long after that until those present in the meeting began to rush out. The Hokage was the last to do so and, upon seeing the four, lead them to his office.
Once there he explained the situation to the four confused shinobi. "Someone has stolen the Forbidden Scroll of Seals," the old leader stated in a grave tone. His words caused Kushina to gasp, but they gained no such response from the three others present in the room. "I currently have every ninja ranked chunin of higher searching for the culprit. I called you because being a jounin I would like you too to help in the search." Kushina nodded to the man's request before the Hokage turned to look at Naruto.
"Done already Naruto-kun?" the man asked the blonde boy who nodded to him with a grin and handed the old man the scroll in his hands. "Well done. I expected no less from you." The Hokage took the scroll and placed it on his desk. "I'm assuming you want Tatsuo-kun to learn the technique aswell?" Hiruzen questioned not looking at the two boys. He didn't have to do so to see the sheepish look the blonde had on his face. The old man sighed before turning to face Tatsuo. "You have my permission, but know that this jutsu is extremely dangerous. But seeing your current chakra capacity, I'd say that you can manage up to three clones at a given time." The man's voice was serious when he spoke, indicating how dangerous the matter truly was.
Naruto looked over to see his friend nodding. "I understand Hokage-sama…" the Uchiha boy stated. The Hokage nodded his acknowledgement before returning to his seat behind his desk.
The group of four exited the office moments later. Kushina asked the two boys to take care of Kasumi while she was busy with the search. After separating, the three made their way back to Tatsuo's house. On the way there Naruto explained the concept of his new jutsu to his sister, demonstrating the technique by forming a cross-shaped handseal with the first two fingers of both his hands. A clone of the blonde Uzumaki popped into existence next to the three. Upon closer inspection it turned out that the clone was solid, unlike the normal clone technique taught at the academy.
The boy was slightly disappointed by the fact that his sister already knew the technique. He was sure that Tatsuo had already managed to analyze the technique with his sharingan and so would no doubt be able to use it aswell. The three walked through the nearly empty streets of the Uchiha district, making for an eerie atmosphere. Tatsuo's house was indeed in the Uchiha district like Kasumi had originally thought, hearing about the famous clan from her mother. The house itself was on the far outskirts of the district, having very few houses near it. It was an average sized house with a simple design, having nothing to draw too much attention to it.
The house seemed to have a sizeable training field behind it. She assumed that was for more ninja-related exercises. Entering the building, Kasumi let her eyes wander. She didn't really notice anything too spectacular. It seemed quite bland for the most part. She followed her brother and his friend into the living room where the three stopped.
Tatsuo noticed it immediately when the three had entered the house. Some may have called him paranoid, and maybe he was, but he'd made a habit of scanning his house with his sharingan whenever he entered the building. Who could blame him really after the kind of past he had. He'd memorized the layout of his house over the years and he could certainly notice when someone had been in his house. The slightly bent picture frame on the wall and the moved rug infront of the living room entrance. He felt the breeze coming in through the door that lead out to the training field and frowned.
"Out back then…" he muttered before walking towards the source of the breeze. He heard Naruto and Kasumi follow behind him, but at this point he wasn't too worried. The three came out onto the field to find a single person waiting for them. The man's white hair blew gently in the breeze and the moonlight reflected slightly off of the headband he wore. The man had a rather large scroll hung across his back and wore the standard attire of a konoha shinobi. "Mizuki-sensei…?"
The figure noticed them before a wicked smile came across his face. "So you're here. Finally!" the man exclaimed as he gazed at the three. "I don't understand why you're so important but whatever!" the man shouted before sending several shuriken flying at the three. Tatsuo merely stood there, not worried in the slightest.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" exclaimed Naruto, having run through several handseals. A sudden gust of wind knocked the projectiles out of the air and forced the chunin instructor to cover his eyes. Tatsuo didn't wait for him to recover, the boy flashed through several handseals before taking a deep breath. The boy blew out, a stream of water being released from his mouth. The pressurized torrent of water slamming into the stunned man and smashing him into the back wall that bordered the training field. "Cool. When'd you learn that one?" questioned Naruto, sending a questioning look towards his friend.
"Today…" Tatsuo replied, his eyes still gazing lazily at his former teacher. "One of the ANBU used it." The boy watched the older man slowly climb to his feet before coughing several times. The boy frowned slightly before turning around to face the person who stood in the doorway the three kids had just come out from. "So…who might you be?"
Kasumi and Naruto sent a glance at the man, both having seen him come out of the house a few seconds ago. They were careful not to let Mizuki out of their sight. The other man had long brown hair that fell down to his shoulders. He had tanned skin with a muscular build. His eyes were black and he had a scar running across his face, from the bottom of his right eye, across his nose and ending at his left cheek. He wore a green vest and baggy black pants. The man also wore black shinobi sandals and had weapon pouches strapped to his thighs.
"Mizuki…" the man's voice was deep and gruff as he addressed the other man. "…Hurry up and get out of here. The Forbidden Scroll of Seals is too valuable to risk losing." His words caused the three genin infront of him to glance at the scroll on the former chunin instructor's back. The white-haired chunin grit his teeth but nodded. "I'll take care of these three…"
Mizuki smirked before leaping onto the wall and then out of view. Naruto cursed before chasing after him. The other man grunted before leaping for the boy, only to find himself being kicked in the face. Kasumi watched Tatsuo kick the newcomer to the ground as he leapt after her brother before the boy turned towards her, his sharingan eyes gazing at her with confidence. "Kasumi, go help your brother. That scroll is far more important than this idiot," his voice was calm but held a sense of urgency. The redhead nodded to him before leaping off after her brother.
Tatsuo smiled as the girl left before his expression grew serious. He turned back to see his opponent getting back to his feet. "Who are you? What do you want?" the boy asked with a kunai already in hand. The other man didn't reply, choosing to remain silent as he worked his jaw back into place. He stood back up and twisted his neck, a series of snaps and cracks indicating that he was loosening himself for a fight.
"That was a good kick…" the man said finally, having stretched quite a bit. "Name's Eiji Ito. You're Tatsuo Uchiha right?" Upon receiving no answer, the man's smile grew. "Well, my mission is to retrieve you. Whether you choose to resist is up to you…" the man took a fighting stance, his legs bent and spaced widely. His arms were held infront of him as he stared at the boy.
Tatsuo was glad he'd told Kasumi to go after Naruto. Because if this man was here for him, he'd need to focus on this fight completely. Not having worked with Kasumi, he wouldn't be able to fight too well with the girl. He formed a single handseal before two clones popped into existence beside him. One of the clones rushed off, on its way to inform the Hokage of what was happening and the other stood back, ready to aid his creator.
Tatsuo assumed his fighting stance, his legs spaced and arm held lazily out infront of him. His grip on the kunai tightened and his sharingan eyes were spinning wildly. His clone stepped back, his hands held closely in preparation for a jutsu. There were a few seconds of silence before Eiji rushed at his target. Tatsuo rushed at him head on, his eyes focused on the man.
Meeting in the middle the two engaged. The older shinobi twisted around, sending a hard roundhouse kick at the boy. Tatsuo jumped over the kick, aiming his own kick at the man's head only to be blocked by his opponent's arm. Using the arm as a platform the boy leapt off, flipping backwards in the air to land on the ground. He didn't even look up before rolling to the side to avoid a drop kick from the man. "Fire Style: Great Fireball!" the man leapt out of the way as the clone launched a devastating ball of flames at him, his right hand held in a half tiger handseal.
He had no time to recover as Tatsuo rushed at him again. The boy swiped at him with his kunai causing him to stumble back to avoid the wide slash. The black-haired boy pushed forward, bringing his weapon around for another strike. Eiji narrowed his eyes before catching the boys arm in a tight grip. He smirked and looked at the boy, only to end up staring into the youth's swirling red eyes. His world grew hazy and his grip on the boy's arm loosened.
Tatsuo smiled as he pulled his arm free and latched onto the man's arm with his left. He could have killed the man but he needed to capture him. At that moment the man's eyes grew more focused and he let out a low growl. "You brat!" he roared as he attempted to punch the younger ninja. It seemed he'd broken out of the genjutsu. Tatsuo cursed before leaping back. The man attempted to rush at him but was then forced to dodge a hail of kunai. He swore and glared at the boy's clone that continued to pester him.
The man turned back to see Tatsuo rushing at him once more and smiled. Running through several handseals he slammed his hands into the ground. "Earth Style: Opening Earth Rising Excavation!" the man roared as the earth infront of him seemed to erupt upwards, several pillars rising at a shocking speed. Tatsuo was caught off guard by the technique and was tossed painfully into the air by the rising pillars. The boy let out a pained cry before straightening himself in the air. He ran through several handseals before breathing in, his chest expanding as he gathered air into his lungs.
"Wind Style: Greath Breakthrough!" the boy exclaimed as he blew out a stream of high-pressured wind. Eiji didn't have time to dodge, so the man used chakra to stick his feet onto the ground to prevent being blown away. Several cuts appeared on them man's skin aswell as quite a few tears in his clothes. The man didn't notice the boy's clone running through a chain of handseals to his left. He only noticed it when he felt the heat. And in another moment he was engulfed in raging flames that were fueled by the wind.
Tatsuo landed on one of the earthen pillars in a crouch as he stared at the dark cloud of smoke that the explosion had produced. Once the smoke died down though he noticed the distinct lack of the man's burnt body. A yelp of surprise from his clone caused him to look to his right, only to see the clone disperse as it was stabbed from behind. Eiji pulled himself out of the ground completely before dusting himself off. "Earth Style: Hiding Like a Mole Technique," the man casually announced as he gazed at the boy standing on the tall pillar in the middle of the field.
"You're pretty good kid. But you aren't experienced…" the man explained as he began walking towards the boy. "Being a shinobi requires you to do terrible things. You haven't even taken a life yet have you…" the man stated more than asked. He hadn't expected to boy to look away from him, the young ninja's eyes seeming to cloud over as he remembered something. The man didn't waste time however and ran at the genin, taking advantage of his momentary hesitation.
Tatsuo snapped out of his thoughts too late. His eyes widened as he saw the man rush up the pillar to get to him. The Uchiha jumped off the pillar just as Eiji reached the top but the man leapt off after him and grabbed him by his face. Tatsuo slammed his feet into his opponent's gut as the two plummeted to the ground and his hands formed a familiar handseal. The man let out a pained grunt, but did not release the young ninja. Upon reaching the ground, Tatsuo felt immense pain as he was smashed painfully into the earth. Softening the fall by strengthening his body with chakra had helped immensely, but every bone in his body seemed to be screaming in protest at the moment.
Eiji let go of the boy as the dust around them cleared and jumped back to avoid the shuriken from the two clones the boy had made during their fall. The man was forced to leap aside to avoid another volley of shuriken from one of the clones as the other one helped the orignal Tatsuo to his feet. The boy glared at his opponent as his clones disappeared. His breathing was labored and his eyes were practically closed. The boy was hunched over slightly as he tried to catch his breath and regain his bearings. He was beyond thankful to Naruto for letting him copy the Shadow Clone Jutsu since he'd probably have lost without it.
"So you have killed someone, eh?" the man asked, as he rotated his arms. "Who was it?" Tatsuo's eyes grew cold at the man's words. He tried his best to avoid thinking about that night and he'd done a good job in forgetting about it for the most part until today. "I doubt it was someone too important if you were allowed to become a ninja after it." Those were the man's last words before he found himself under a relentless assault by the young Uchiha.
"I'll kill you!" the boy roared as he rushed at the man. He let the kunai in his right hand fly towards his opponent only to have it dodged. A few seconds later and he'd closed the distance between himself and his target. Eiji went for a straight punch, only for the boy to duck under it with an insane amount of speed. Tatsuo grabbed the man's outstretched left arm by the wrist before striking with a brutal palm strike at the man's elbow. A sickening snap echoed as the boy broke the man's arm inwards at the joint, Eiji letting out a howl of pain. The genin didn't seem to care about his own injuries at that point, his mind set on killing the man infront of him.
Tatsuo didn't stop there however. The boy let go of the man's broken arm and spun around to nail the man with a powerful elbow strike to his torso. He ignored his opponent's grunt of pain and turned around to deliver a vicious right hook to the man's jaw. Eiji stumbled away from the young ninja, his mind reeling from the brutal beating he'd received and the unholy pain he currently felt. He heard the boy behind him and turned back around. Trying to smash his elbow into the boy, he was surprised to find the black-haired genin ducking under his strike to slip into his guard. The next moment he felt the boy place a foot on his bent knee and boost himself up to smash his knee into his jaw. The man tasted blood as his teeth dug into his tongue and his vision swam due to the immense pain that surged through his body.
Eiji stumbled backwards, his vision little more than a blur at this point. He fell to his knees as he tried to process what was happening. His left arm was broken and he was sure the boy had broken his jaw. He could see the boy walking over to him, but he didn't have the strength left to stand with the pain wracking his body. He could see the expression on the young ninja's face. He recognized it quite well. It was the face of a shinobi who knew of the grim responsibilities of ninja. The face of a ninja who had accepted the fact that they had to kill. He saw the boy pull out a single kunai and then his world went dark.
Meanwhile, Naruto chased after his former sensei through the trees. He hoped Tatsuo was okay but he knew that the boy would have wanted him to go after Mizuki. He could see the chunin up ahead and smirked. The blonde sped up, hopping from one thick branch to the next. "Hey traitor!" the boy shouted, his hands going through a few handseals. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" the boy roared as he blew out a pressurized stream of air that knocked the speeding chunin off the branch he was on and into one of the trees. The man let out a pained grunt before falling to the forest floor. He landed on his feet with a loud thud and glared at his former student as the boy landed in the clearing infront of him.
The boy smirked at the white-haired man as he gestured to the scroll on the man's back. "Hand it over bastard!" the boy's words caused the elder shinobi to growl. "And I might go easy on you!" At that moment Kasumi too landed in the clearing, beside her brother. "Kasumi? What are you doing here?" the blonde questioned as he looked at his sister.
"Tatsuo said to come help you…" she stated as she glanced at Mizuki. Naruto cursed inwardly, knowing that he should have expected that. His only concern was that he didn't know how strong Tatsuo's opponent was.
"Well then, we'll just have to finish this quick and go help him then!" Naruto exclaimed as he turned to look back at Mizuki. To his surprise, the man had an oversized shuriken spinning around his right arm. The man launched the weapon at the two, only to have the siblings leap over it. Naruto returned his attention to their opponent once more, running through a chain of handseals. "Wind Style: Air Bullets!" several spheres of compressed air formed around the boy before being propelled towards Mizuki.
The traitorous ninja saw them coming and leapt back to avoid them. Dust flew into the air where the balls of wind made contact with the ground. Naruto landed on the ground and looked up just in time to see his former teacher rushing at him. "Water Style: Wild Water Wave!" Kasumi shouted as she shot forth a torrent of water from her mouth. The stream of liquid hit the surprised instructor head on, sending him sprawling onto the ground. Naruto turned to his sister and gave her a thankful smile. She smiled at him in return.
The girl's face suddenly grew horrified as she saw what happened next. "Big Brother!" she shouted, causing the blonde Uzumaki to turn back to their opponenet. He saw the shuriken flying towards him and raised his arms on instinct. A second later a few clones popped into existence infront of him, taking the shuriken in his place. Kasumi let out the breath she'd been holding when she saw that her brother was alright. She looked back over to see Mizuki glaring at the two of them.
"You brats!" he shouted in outrage before taking a deep breath. His expression changed, a sinister smile plastering itself onto his face. "Naruto, would you like to know why everyone in this village hates you?" the man questioned, reaching for the metal bracer he wore on his right wrist. Naruto seemed intrigued and Kasumi seemed hesitant to attack upon seeing how her brother was acting. "It's simple really…" the man stated as he pressed his fingers gently against the seal painted onto the bracer. "You have the Nine Tailed Fox sealed within you!" he shouted as he unsealed another oversized shuriken from the seal on the bracer. "You are the Kyubi!"
Noticing how the blonde wasn't too shocked by his declaration the man switched targets. He saw how Kasumi was more shocked than her brother and launched the weapon at her. "Die!" he roared as the metal star-like weapon flew at the girl with devastating speed. The girl herself snapped out of her shocked state too late. The next thing she heard was the sound of metal tearing through clothes and flesh. She looked up to see her brother's pained face as he gazed down at her.
"Big Brother…?" the girl questioned, tears in her eyes. Naruto gave her a reassuring smile before lifting himself off of her. The boy slowly rose to his feet before turning to face the person who dared attack his dear sister. It was only when he turned around that Kasumi was able to see the extent of his injury. She let out a loud gasp, bringing her hands up to her mouth on instinct. A long jagged cut extended from the bottom left of his back up to his right shoulder, blood leaking freely from points where the wound was particularly deep. The shuriken had ripped clean through both his jacket and shirt.
The blonde was probably in unbelievable pain, yet he was standing unflinching. He seemed a bit hunched over but his eyes held unimaginable hate for the white-haired chunin infront of him. "Hey bastard!" the boy roared, his voice a bit deeper than before. Steam began to rise off of the wound on his back, the pupils in his eyes becoming slits as the wind around him began heating up slightly. "You can talk shit about me all you want! And you can hurt me all you want!" Dark blue chakra began swirling around the boy as he brought his hands up into a cross-shaped handseal. "But if you try to lay a single hand on those I care about…!"
Kasumi watched on in awe as the chakra around the boy seemed to visibly shape itself. The wound on the young ninja's back seemed to heal at an extraordinary rate. Mizuki watched on in horror as his former student's chakra seemed to take the form of a fox. The man took a step back from the intense killing intent directed at him as the boy released his chakra in one single burst. "I'll kill you!" he roared and the entire clearing was blanketed in a large cloud of white smoke.
Mizuki gulped as he stared at what the smoke revealed as it dissipated. Hundreds of clones of the blonde ninja surrounded him from all sides. Standing in the clearing, hanging from the branches of the trees and even standing horizontally with their feet stuck to the trees themselves. All of the copies of the boy had predatory smirks on their faces as the stared at their prey. Mizuki's last coherent thought was that he was screwed. And then the Naruto clones descended upon him like a flock of vultures.
Naruto helped Kasumi up to her feet before the two walked over to the brutally beaten Mizuki. The two looked down at the crumpled body of the unconscious man before Naruto retrieved the Forbidden Scroll of Seals. "Big Brother…" Kasumi started, gazing at her brother's now healed back. "…Your back…" the younger girl trailed off. Naruto turned to look at the girl before smiling. He looked tired after what had happened, the battle and injury definitely having worn him out.
"…You don't know yet? Don't worry, I'll get things explained to you in a bit…" the blonde stated before they turned back to the half-dead Mizuki. "So, what do we do about him?" A few minutes passed as the two argued about it before they decided to take him with them. The two made several clones that tied up the traitorous chunin using ninja wire. On their way back, the two found themselves meeting up with several ANBU who escorted the two genin to the Hokage who was currently at Tatsuo's home.
Upon arrival, the two ran over to where Tatsuo sat on his porch with the old leader of the village. The black-haired boy seemed rather depressed. "Tatsuo!" Naruto called out upon reaching his friend. "What happened?" Tatsuo looked up at the two before smiling gently.
"You two are alright," he looked the two over and noticed the state of Naruto's attire. "What happened?"
"We're fine!" Naruto shouted at the boy before looking at the Hokage. "Old man! What happened here?!"
Hiruzen watched things play out calmly. He took a deep breath as he heard Naruto's question before speaking. "Tatsuo-kun here is fine for the most part," his words caused the blonde Uzumaki to visibly relax. "He did very well considering the situation, as did you two…" Hiruzen turned to Tatsuo before placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Are you going to be alright Tatsuo-kun?"
"Yeah…" Tatsuo stated as he got to his feet. "I knew what I was signing up for when I became a shinobi…" The boy turned and walked into his house. He needed to be alone for a while and sleep this whole thing off.
Naruto stared at his friend as he walked back into the house before looking at the Hokage. "He'll be fine Naruto-kun…" the old man spoke as he looked back at the ANBU checking over the place. "He just needs some rest."
Naruto was about to say something when he was halted by someone crying his and Kasumi's names. He turned to see Kushina rushing over to the three of them. The woman wrapped Kasumi in a tight hug, muttering about how she was so scared something had happened to the two of them. She looked over at Naruto and the boy saw the tears in her eyes. He moved over to the two women, noticing the slight increase in the elder woman's breathing. Stopping a few steps away from the two he smiled and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Hey mom!" he exclaimed, closing his eyes and offering her a wide grin. "Sorry about worrying you! I didn't mean to…" Kushina looked at her son, knowing he was trying his best to not let the sorrow he felt show. The woman got up, leaving her daughter for a moment before moving over to her son. Naruto opened his eyes, widening them slightly when he saw his mother kneeling infront of him.
"Naruto-kun…" the red-haired beauty started. "I'm sorry for what I've done. Thank you…for protecting Kasumi-chan. Thank you…for protecting me." She wrapped the younger boy in a tight hug, despite the shivering that overtook her body when she did so. "I'm sorry for being a terrible mother! Please forgive me!" Sobs wracked her body and she was shivering uncontrollably now but she didn't care. The pain in her heart overrode the fear in her mind. She felt the boy in her grasp shift before she felt him slowly push her away. Looking up she saw his smiling face and his bright blue eyes staring at her.
"What are you talking about, mom?" the boy questioned, doing his best not to burst into tears and simply begin crying in the older woman's embrace. "You're not a terrible mother! There isn't anything to forgive!" The boy had to take a deep breath to keep his voice from breaking at this point. "Now…you haven't told Kasumi about the seals…" He tried his best to change the conversation, noticing the tears his mother was trying to hold back. "I think you should…Mizuki said some things about it so…"
Kushina let out a small gasp before turning to see her daughter staring at the ground. She turned back, only to see Naruto moving back into the house. "I'm going to go check on Tatsuo, okay?" he shouted back as he walked out of sight. Kushina didn't move, simply kneeling on the ground with tears running down her cheeks. Kasumi walked up to her mother and stroked her back, trying to calm her down. Hiruzen watched the events unfold with mixed feelings. He turned back and looked up into the star-filled sky. He was sure Naruto was crying at the moment aswell.
Chapter two is a wrap! I'm still getting used to the fight scenes but I hope the one's in this chapter were alright. With that done we can move on to...other stuff! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter...and thanks for taking the time to read it. See you all next week!