I'm glad you all like how this is going. And just so you all know, the crimson/red hulk is the equivalent to your standard savage green hulk from the comics.
I don't own a thing, if I did I'd be freaking loaded, and please don't slam the grammar, it's just a fan fiction, not a nominee for the New York's best seller's list.
Chapter 2: The Fate of Naruto
Naruto slowly sat up. He hadn't felt so energized in he didn't know how long.
"Hey," Ino said softly, reaching over to Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder. "How you feeling?"
"I'm feeling pretty good." Naruto admitted smiling.
"How much do you remember?" Ino asked.
"It's just flashes mostly." Naruto said. "I remember you though, being inside my head and helping pull me back." Ino smiled and slid her hand across his cheek.
"Tazuna's finished his bridge and we're heading back in a few days now that you've recovered." Ino explained. "Haku's buried Zabuza and taken up his blade."
"Is he coming with us?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah." Ino confirmed. Naruto smiled.
"He and I are a lot alike, but shunned by something we can't control." Naruto said, absentmindedly putting a hand on his stomach. "The Old Man'll let him in."
"What about you?" Ino asked, placing her hand on his. "What's going to happen to you?"
"The Ino-Shika-Cho Trio brought me back once; you guys could probably do it again if you had to." Naruto said. "That just says to me that, with any luck, we'll be on the same team soon." Ino smiled before she hugged Naruto tight around her neck.
"Don't you ever scare me like that again." Ino snapped holding the boy close. A little stunned at first, Naruto recovered and hugged Ino back.
"I'm sorry Piglet; I'll try not to worry you so much." He replied kissing her forehead. After the two of them composed themselves and Naruto threw on some cloths, the headed downstairs. Tazuna, Inari, and the rest of Team 10 stood up and made their way to Naruto while Team 7 hung back.
"Are you ok Naruto?" Inari asked.
"Yeah, I'm ok." Naruto said, reaching down and ruffling the boy's hair.
"What happened out there kid?" Tazuna asked, scared but concerned.
"A dangerous power that was sealed inside me Tazuna." Naruto said. "A little bit of it got out and turned me into that, that thing."
"Where'd that power come from?" Sasuke asked.
"Sorry Sasuke, but that's a secret." Naruto said.
"What caused you to transform like that?" Asuma asked.
"I don't know, but when I saw Sasuke dead like that I just got so pissed off," Naruto trailed off.
"Maybe your anger was the trigger." Shikamaru said wisely. "Or combined with some kind of adrenalin rush that caused you to become that,"
"Hulk." Choji offered. Everyone turned to look at him with raised eyebrows.
"Hulk." Shikamaru finished.
"So I just have to try and keep my cool or else I'll turn into a giant monster that could level an entire village if I wanted." Naruto said with a sigh looking up. "Sounds simple enough, I've got plenty of practice." He muttered under his breath.
"Well whatever's going to happen, we'd better get back to your village." Haku said. Naruto glanced over at him. He wore the same outfit but without his mask and now had Zabuza's sword strapped to his back.
"Yeah, the Old Man's gonna want to know about everything that's going on." Naruto agreed. "Not to mention we got to make you a citizen of Konoha."
"So I guess I'll finally belong to a village." Haku said with a sad smile. "Dad always said that one day we'd be able to settle down and be real ninja."
"And by dad you mean the mercenary who was trying to kill us for the past couple of weeks." Sakura said. Haku growled and started to reach for his sword.
"Easy Haku." Naruto whispered walking over and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Believe me I know what you want to do, but you have to take it easy." Haku calmed himself down and released the sword hilt. "Now that I'm up, we'd better get going."
After a tearful farewell with Inari and Tazuna dedicating his bridge the Great Naruto Bridge, honoring Naruto and indirectly pissing off Sasuke, the two teams and Haku took off for Konoha. It was an uneventful trip for the most part and the only real trouble they got was just getting into the village with Haku. Together, they all made their way to the Hokage's tower and debriefed him on their mission.
"I see." The Hokage said. "And you wish to join our village Haku?"
"I had always hoped to join a village and stop running from hunter ninja Lord Hokage, I had just hoped that I would have been able to do it with Zabu, with Dad." The Hokage sighed, giving Haku a grandfatherly look.
"It will take some time, but I will see to it that you become a ninja of our village." The Old Village Leader said.
"Thank you." Haku said bowing. "If it helps, I would guess that I am at about chunin level ninja."
"I'm sure that will help." The Hokage said. "Now, if I could have a moment to speak with Naruto alone," everyone but Naruto left the room, leaving Naruto alone with the Hokage. "So, what are we going to do about your new power?"
"I don't know Old Man; I would never have guessed that the Fox's chakra would turn me into the Hulk." Naruto said. "But it seems to only be triggered by some extreme anger."
"When the council hears about this it's going to be a nightmare." Sarutobi groaned rubbing his temples.
"How do you think I feel?" Naruto asked leaning against the wall. "That damn council's being doing everything they could to make my life hell, and succeeding for the most part. After this, they're probably gonna want to slice me and dice me just to figure out what makes me tick."
"Well I promise you Naruto I will do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen." The Hokage said.
"I'll hold you to that Old Man." Naruto said. With a nod, Naruto left the room, running his hand through his blond hair.
"How'd it go?" Ino asked. Naruto looked up to see the Ino-Shika-Cho trio standing before him with looks of concern.
"Good news, the Old Man's got my back; bad news, the council's probably gonna want to dissect me to figure out what the hell the makes the Hulk…the Hulk." Naruto said.
"They can try." Choji said slamming a fist into his palm. Shikamaru nodded in agreement.
"Thanks guys." Naruto said with a smile. "Well, until the council comes after me with torches and pitchforks, who wants ramen?"
"Sounds good to me, I love ramen." Haku said with Choji cheering. Together, Team 10, Haku, and Naruto made their way to Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto's regular restaurant. Haku was welcomed into the place like he was Naruto's long lost brother.
Several hours later several ninja appeared.
"You're here for me aren't you?" Naruto asked.
"Here for you and for the son of Zabuza Momochi." One of the ninja said. Naruto nodded and stood up, Haku standing at his side.
"We'll catch you guys later." Naruto said as he and Haku took off with the ninja.
"So, what are we going to be looking at?" Haku asked.
"The Civilian Council will probably roll out the red carpet for you, want to hook you up with their daughters because of you kekkei genkai." Naruto explained. "Me they'll want to slice open, figure out what caused me to turn into the Hulk and try to find a way to mass produce it. Of course it's not up to them; it's the Shinobi Council that calls the shots."
"What are they like?" Haku asked.
"There are 6 ninja heads on the council." Naruto explained. "Use to be 7 until the Uchiha's were wiped out. Anyway, there are the Hyugas, they're a bunch of stiffs but they're fair. The Aburames, they use logic more than anything. The head of the Inuzuka clan, well that clan is the exact opposite of the Aburames, they trust their instincts. Then there are the Naras, the Akimichis, and the Yamanakas. You met the kids, and the parents are pretty much the same way, Nara's smart, Akimichi's mostly muscle but he's got brains inside his head and is kind, and Yamanaka, well, he works for the Interrogation Department so don't try lying to him." Haku nodded in understanding.
A little while later, the group arrived at Hokage's tower and showed Naruto and Haku the way to the council room. Upon entering Haku was a little surprised by the dimly lit room. There were 6 men on one side of the room, which Haku assumed was the Shinobi council, while the Civilian Council was on the other side. The Hokage sat in the middle of them all with two other aged ninja at his sides.
"Haku Momuchi, you wish to become a Chunin with the village of Konoha." Sarutobi said. "What qualifications do you have to bring to our village?"
"Sir, I am an expert at assignation and extraction. I am also a decent medic though I could admittedly use more experience with it. I also possess a kekkei genkai that allows me to manipulate ice and use it for my Demon Ice Mirror Jutsu which lets me teleport through the mirrors and attack at multiple angles. Before my father died he was also helping me lean how to wield his sword."
"I see, well you certainly do seem qualified to become a chunin." Sarutobi said with a nod. Reaching under his seat, he produced a leaf headband and tossed it down to Haku. "Welcome to Konoha." Haku nodded and replaced his mist headband with the leaf.
"Haku, would you by any chance consider seeing my daughter?" Said a woman on the Civilian Council. Haku glanced over at Naruto who looked back with an I-told-you-so look.
"And who might your daughter be ma'am?" Haku asked politely.
"Her name is Sakura Haruno." The woman replied. Naruto and Haku's eyes went wide and looked at each other before they both broke into laughter.
"Sa-Sakura is your daughter?" Naruto asked beating his leg. "And, and you're trying to hook her up with Haku." Naruto burst into new rolls of laughter.
"I, I'm sorry ma'am." Haku said, trying to pull himself together, but failed and started laughing again.
"That's enough!" The Hokage snapped, instantly snapped Naruto and Haku out of their laughing fits. "Now Naruto, we need to talk about this, Hulk as you call it."
"It was Choji who named it." Naruto said with a shrug. "Anyway, I know everyone in this room knows I've got the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox inside me, I told Haku by the way. It seems that there's something up with my seal, it's like the power seeped out, tapped into my pent up anger, and turned me into the Hulk. I wish I could say more but I don't remember much, I think the Hulk is another side of my personality."
"You said the Hulk came from your pent up anger." The Hyuga head said. "What do you mean by that?" Naruto scoffed.
"Come on, all the shit, the attacks, the beatings, and you all think that I didn't get pissed off because of it?" Naruto said. "No I was getting pissed off, but I kept it buried. I didn't want to fight back and let those assholes," he shot a glance at the Civilian Council, "have real reasons to kill me."
"I see." Sarutobi said.
"I say we try to train this Hulk creature and use it to increase our village's defense." Danzo said.
"Sorry you half sliced freak, but I'm not going to become anyone's weapon." He said, shooting a glare at Danzo.
"Then I say that the boy should be put to death!" Haruno screamed standing up in her seat.
"Jeeze, and I though Sakura was a loud bitch, I guess it runs in the family." Naruto said actually earning a few chuckles from the people on the Shinobi Council.
"Lord Hokage!" Said a new voice. Asuma walked into the room, cigarette planted firmly in his mouth. "If I may make a suggestion as someone who has seen the Hulk in action."
"We've already heard about what the Hulk can do from Kakashi Hatakai's report." The Aburame head said.
"But I'd bet that Kakashi left out that the Hulk calmed down when he saw Haku." Asuma said. "I have a theory that while the Hulk is a different side of Naruto's personality, the two of them share memories in some from or another."
"What are you suggesting Asuma?" The Hokage asked, looking down at his son.
"My team was able to stop the Hulk, even temporarily, and eventually turn him back into Naruto." Asuma said. "I propose that Team 7 be temporarily disbanded." The entire room exploded in an uproar at the idea of the team with their precious Uchiha be broken up.
"Silence!" The Hokage roared leaking out small killing intent to stop everything. "Please continue Asuma."
"Thank you." Asuma said. "I would like to request that Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno be placed under different senseis for the time being and that Naruto placed on my team along with Haku. Should he ever become the Hulk again, Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji can restrain and change him back and Haku may be able to calm him down if.
"What senseis would you recommend for Sasuke and Sakura?" Sarutobi asked. An almost wicked smile spread across Asuma's face.
"For Sasuke, I think Ibiki Morino and Anko Mitarashi for Sakura." Asuma said. At the mention of those names the Yamanaka head gave a dark chuckle.
"Are you trying to kill these kids Asuma?" He asked.
"Not kill them." Asuma said. "Just get them focused and whipped into shape."
"Well I'm for it." Yamanaka said. "If you want to have ninja whipped into shape, Ibiki and Anko are the one's to do it."
"I'm with him." Nara said his head down as if he was trying to get a nap in like his son did in school.
"As am I." Akamichi said, his arms crossed over his chest.
"I do not think that it would be a good idea." The Hyuga head said, "They was assembled for a reason and I think it should stay together."
"Believe it or not, I'm with the Hyuga." The Inuzuka Head said. "When a team is brought together, it needs to work out their own problems." Naruto scowled. While he did understand the reasoning behind the Kiba's mom's decision, it didn't mean he had to like it. All eyes were now on Shino's father for the tie breaking vote.
"I agreed with Asuma's plan." The Aburame head stated. "I know of Sasuke and Sakura's personalities and being trained under the top two members of the Interrogation and Torture Department should be able to help them focus on their jobs as ninja."
"Then it is decided." The Hokage stated. "As of now, Team 7 will be disbanded for a time with Sasuke Uchiha under the teachings of Ibiki Morino with Kakashi Hatake teaching him how to use his Sharingan properly, Sakura Haruno under the teachings of Anko Mitarashi, and Naruto Uzumaki and Haku Momochi under the teachings of Asuma Sarutobi." Naruto and Haku looked at each other before turning back to Asuma.
"Looks like you two are my students now." Asuma said cracking his knuckles. "Well if I can actually whip Shikamaru into combat shape, I can't wait to see what I can do to you two." It was something about the smile on his face that couldn't help but make the two ninja shiver slightly.
And I'll get Naruto and Haku into mission time next chapter. And in case no one's figured it out yet, Haku's going to kind of be the Rick Jones to Naruto's Bruce Banner.
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