DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto.
Without further ado, Enjoy
CHAPTER TWO
Sarutobi stood, calmly looking out over the village from the balcony of the Hokage tower. He's always enjoying seeing it from a bird's eye view, he dimly realized. It had always been a street view for most Konoha citizens, or a roof view depending on who they were. But he'd rather have it all laid out in front of him like this.
'They're beautiful, aren't they?' the god of shinobi thought to himself
From the thousands of little people darting around below to the towering trees covering nearly half the village. He always felt a mesmerizing awe as he traced a simply enormous one that curled up and over the Academy, covering it in a protective canopy of leaves.
The place were future protectors, leaders and wielders of the 'will of fire' of Konoha and the land of fire were created, molded and mentored
"The kings of the village" as he liked to call them
This was the biggest reason he had been protecting Konoha from the day he was born to this day; to carry on the dreams and visions of peace, hope and prosperity from his sensei and mentors Tobirama and Hashirama and to the pass it on to the future
He idly wondered if Itachi felt the same way before accepting that mission from Danzo to slaughter his family
He shook his head at the stupidity of his own thoughts, of course Itachi felt same way otherwise he wouldn't have dared accept such a mission
He really was special the sharingan wielder, shinobi like him came around only once in a lifetime and Konoha was quiet blessed to have had one like him.
Unknowingly to most he was actually coaching Itachi to taking his hat when the time was right that's why he even took him out of Anbu and made him a jounin sensei so as to get him used to be in the 'light' side of Konoha
Hiruzen couldn't help the bitterness he felt when he thought of what Konoha's future would be like now,
Who would he manipulate, er, talk into taking the tasking job of being Konoha's newest overseer?
Kakashi? The man had so many demons that he felt that giving him such a job would only make it worse plus he was quiet sure that he wouldn't accept it even as a mission
Jiraiya? How many times had he's student reject this job plus he secretly didn't want to put an end to the Icha-Icha series which would surely end should the wayward man take the hat
Asuma was not powerful enough
Tsunade wanted nothing to do with Konoha
Gai?
NO! HELL NO, in fact FUCK to the NO!
He held nothing against the eccentric man but seriously, NO, even as an April fools joke he wouldn't dare
That only left the younger generation to consider, so who?
Sasuke had the talent and the will to handle such a job but now the last Uchiha was too much of a flight risk.
Naruto was actually more talented than he's two teammates and had the mind that rivaled the best geniuses Konoha has produced so far but the boy held no interest in Konoha. Ever since he discovered that Minato was he's father, he's held some resentment towards the village that has continuously ostracized his brother and him, the young blonde only had interest in restoring his near extinct clan. A part of Hiruzen worried about Naruto's mindset when it came to protecting Konoha
Menma? Perhaps the redhead would be the one to lead the village hidden in the leaves in the future, unlike his brother, Menma held nothing but love and admiration for the village Minato had sacrificed his life for, he adored the people despite the hate they threw at him and he always makes it a point to declare his wish to become Hokage whenever he could.
Yeah, Hiruzen could see Menma as Konoha's future Hokage but there was only one problem at the moment, he was just too young. He wanted to give everyone time to grow up at their own pace and rise through the ranks like everyone else so the idea of making Menma his apprentice was too premature
With a sigh, hiruzen shook his head not wanting to on this train of thought
When he's eye went back to the view of Konoha he realized that he had stayed in this position until twilight, he watched as the beautiful lights brightened Konoha
The professor gave a low perverse grin when he thought about what usually takes place during this time of day, it was so surreal. From all the way up here, one would never know that at that exact moment a good fifth of the village population was succumbing to their own baser desires.
And here he was, all alone, and really wishing he were at least twenty years younger. It really wasn't fair. As the Hokage, everyone just expected him to be above this sort of thing, to be abler to resist all the brutal temptations due to reasons known only to them.
To hell with those people. If it weren't for his complete collection of Icha Icha novels (God bless that wonderful student of his) he'd have given up on life years ago.
He heaved a great sigh, and turned to reenter the tower when he found himself facing a slowly approaching figure. Another sigh escaped him; he really didn't need this right now.
"Danzo," he greeted with a slight nod of his head.
"Sarutobi," the Root leader returned.
"Well, it's been great catching up like this," the Hokage continued as he began walking away. "Let's do it again sometime."
"Not so fast, Sarutobi." Danzo moved to impede his path.
The hokage groaned inwardly, trust Danzo to wrong his perfectly good day.
"What is it?"
"I have been thinking a great deal about the future of our village" the war hawk said
"Coincidentally so have I, well good talk" Hiruzen responded as he tried to once again walk away from his friend/rival only to be stopped once again
"Oh for the love of Kami, please let's talk all about it" the professor said sarcastically
"This is serious Hiruzen, need I remind you that you are way past your prime and in desperate need of a successor" the Root leader said getting annoyed with his friend/rival's antics
"I don't need anyone to remind me of that my dear friend, I'm well aware of our current situation" responded the hokage
"Then do you mind telling me what you wish to do about the matter?"
"At the moment, Nothing. Konoha is not in any war at the moment and I'm not completely senile so I think we have some time to prepare the next successor" the hokage said
"At the moment, Konoha is at its weakest. The fourth Hokage died at the hands of the Kyuubi taking a great number of our Shinobi forces with him, the traitorous Uchiha are dead, your pitiful students are nowhere to be found and one of them is out there doing his best to try and destroy Konoha and we both know that war can start at any moment" Danzo countered inwardly cursing Hiruzen for being so weak, if he was Hokage Konoha wouldn't be going through such a period
"What do you suggest we do?" the god of shinobi asked although he had a pretty good idea what Danzo wanted
"Give me Naru-
"No"
"Menm-
"No"
"Sasu-
"No"
"DAMN IT HIRUZEN"
"Danzo, you and I both know that having any of those three under your care is just asking for trouble" Hiruzen started explaining and continued before Danzo could say anything else
"Yes I know that I need a successor but forcing the issue isn't going to help anyone. Besides, Team Dragon has done incredibly well so far without any outside meddling so why should we fix something that isn't broken?"
"But who is going to take the mantle should something happen to you?" Danzo snapped
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it" was the reply
Seeing the annoyed look on his rival's face, Hiruzen decided to cut off whatever schemes the war hawk was plotting inside his head
"Danzo, you knew that I was preparing Itachi to succeed me, you knew that the future of the leaf would have been in safe hands with him at the helm and yet instead of allowing me to deal with the Uchiha issue you decided to take matters into your own and now look, this is the result of your actions. Leave those three boys alone." He said ending his sentence with the kind of tone that reminded even the strongest of shinobi just who he was
"They need experience, we both agree that those three have a huge role to play in the future of our great village but if they are going to be anything like Minato's or our generation then they will need to see the world for what it is and understand exactly why we make the decisions we make" Danzo responded trying to make Hiruzen see his point of view
"What are you talking about?"
"Last year, the leaders of Kirigakure's bloodline movement came to us seeking our help in ending Yagura reign of terror. We refused for obvious reasons but now my sources tell me that the war is in its climax, we need to send team Dragon to participate in this war. Of course we won't allow them to be in the thick of the action considering this not our war but participating in this war will open their eyes to the real world" The war hawk said
After a few minutes of awkward silence, the hokage finally responded,
"I'll think about it" he said and started walking away officially ending the conversation
KONOHA STRIP CLUB
Naruto blushed as he entered a secluded room with a pretty woman leading the way, the door closed behind them. It was decorated in dark reds and purples, lights on the ceiling giving mood lighting and mirrors on the two side walls, and the ceiling. The back wall had a long red couch, enough to seat 6 full grown men, and in front of that was large table with a platform pushed right up behind it, obviously for the women doing their strip routine.
The pretty brunet smirked and pulled her young customer across the room, and sat him down on the couch.
"Now then, let me give you a real show." As she smirked as she got up on the platform.
Naruto watched as she began to move her body in soft motions to the music being pumped in through speakers in the top corners of the room. Her hips swaying as her hands slide slowly up her body, trailing her curvaceous figure upwards to her chest, her head leaning back as she stroked her chest. Her lips opening as she gave out a soft moan.
Naruto swallowed as he began to feel a growing arousal stirring in his crotch, and his face reddening once again, and more as the clearly talented woman began to slowly pull down the zipper of her tight jack revealing more of her cleavage in a sensually teasing manner.
She smiled erotically as she continued to move her body, and her hands across her body, her open jacket pulled down, as Naruto stared at her bra covered breasts. She saw this, and teasingly tossed her Jacket over Naruto's head, making him jump from the sudden break of his view. She chuckled, and Naruto pulled the jacket off, putting it beside him, as she continued to watch her act, as she continued to dance erotically, and discard her clothing, one piece at a time making Naruto get harder and harder, enough to make him uncomfortably tight in the crotch of his pants.
"Aren't you a little bit too young to be in a strip club" the woman asked though she never stopped her dancing
Naruto blinked not expecting her question but answered nonetheless
"Maybe, but I'm also too young to be slitting people's throats but I do it anyway" the blonde pervert said
"Oh, you're a shinobi then?" the questioned
"Yeah, I'm surprised you haven't heard of me, I'm quiet famous for my age" Naruto said still mesmerized by her dance but also a little surprised that this woman didn't know he was considering what he was and how the entire village treated his brother and him
"Oh really? You must be some hotshot huh?"
"You bet"
"Then I guess you need something more special than a strip tease eh?" she said as she took off her shorts remaining in only her bra, panties and stocking.
A bit of blood leaked out of Naruto's nose when he thought about the implications of her words
Man he loved his life sometimes
"What did you have in mind?" he asked his mind going through some of his most favorite scenes from Icha-Icha
"You'll see, my name is Amira by the way." she smirked, hungrily, as she knelt down, and removed her bra, her large breasts jiggling as they bounced free of restraint.
'Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy' he thought grinning perversely as he watched the now identified as Amira's tits bounce freely as she moved
As Amira danced for him, Naruto took the opportunity to also carefully examine her features, she had long silky black hair that she tied in two pigtails, charcoal black eyes that seemed to light up when she looked him the eye, long luscious legs with a curvaceous figure to compliment them and cute little dimples. She most likely in her early twenties he guessed
When Amira put her left hand inside her panties and gave a low moan while her other hand continued stroking her breasts more blood leaked out of Naruto's nose as he grinned like he's just won the Konoha lottery
He was supposed to be getting some much needed sleep in preparation for his mission in the early morning but now as he watched Amira dance, he really couldn't give a single fuck
She moved closer to him and caressed his face, her charcoal black eyes meeting with his blue orbs. Just as she was about to bring his face closer to her breasts…
"We should have known you were spending your time and money on stupid shit" they heard a voice say
Naruto turned to glare at the source of the voice knowing full well who it belonged to
"what the fuck do you bastards want? Can't you see that I'm busy" he hissed at his annoying twin brother and equally annoying Uchiha teammate
"We have a mission early in the morning idiot, and we won't allow you to get us killed just because you were too tired from your disgusting habits" Sasuke Uchiha responded not at all bothered by the fact that they have just walked in on their teammate getting a lap dance from a much older woman
Obviously something like this has happened before
"I'm never too tired asshole, even if I stay up all night I'll still have more energy than you come morning." Naruto said seriously pissed with his so-called friends
"This is so disgraceful brother" Menma said giving his brother a disapproving look
"Go fuck yourself" Naruto said flatly giving him the finger
"Now get lost I wasn't done here" he finished bringing his eyes back to Amira only to find her lying on the platform in a deep sleep
The blonde jinchurikki turned to his smug looking Uchiha teammate with tears in his eyes
"I hate you man, I really really hate you" he grumbled looking crestfallen as Menma dragged him out of the room
"I can live with it" the Uchiha responded earning a glare from his blonde friend which he skillfully ignored
THE NEXT DAY
"What the hell?" an older man exclaimed getting obviously annoyed with what he was staring at
"I asked for three super ninjas and I get three toddlers and one of them just so happened to have pink hair" he finished taking a huge slug from his sake bottle
"It's not pink its red, you asshole" rebutted Menma getting annoyed with their newest client, he turned to glare at his now snickering teammates
"Tazuna-san I assure you that team Dragon is fully capable of handling this mission, in fact they're yet to fail a single mission" the hokage defended his shinobi
He was honestly getting sick and tired of always trying to assure stubborn clients of Team Dragon's competence only to have them later sing their praises after they completed their mission but he guessed it's to be expected from a team so young and talented
"Could you atleast throw in one jounin who looks like he won't shit his pants when the going gets tough?" Tazuna said further annoying the three boys
"Please just trust their abilities Tazuna-san, all three of them are tobetseku jounin or you could always pay more for an extra jounin" the hokage responded trying to get him to shut up which seemed to work like a charm as Tazuna hastily responded
"No its okay, I guess I'll have to trust your three boys after all"
"Very well, you can start off as soon possible then" hiruzen said officially dismissing them
"Hai hokage-sama" the three boys chorused
Twenty minutes later
After making sure that everything they would need was safely sealed in their scrolls, the team began moving through the countryside of Hi No Kuni. Naruto in front, Sasuke on the left side of Tazuna and Menma taking up the rear.
For a few minutes Menma looked around at the environment, taking in all the sights he could. However, as time wore on his excitement about being out of the village for their first mission as a special jounin began to fade. True they have been out of the village multiple times, but this is the first time they were doing it without any superior commander. Ever since Itachi murdered his own family, Kakashi had taken the role of pseudo sensei escorting and leading them in most of their missions. When Kakashi was busy, Gai was chosen to be their mission leader and those missions ALWAYS turned out to be quiet 'interesting' to say the very least.
Deciding to amuse himself and kill time, Menma asked Tazuna some questions about Wave, something that seemed to make the older man more nervous and panicky.
Although Tazuna tried to downplay his nervousness as the negative effects of Konoha's sake and travelling with three babies, all three members of team Dragon could tell that the older man was hiding something though they didn't ask him about it.
Trying to find some way to pass the time Naruto reached into his pouch and was about to take out his Icha-icha book, when he stopped. Having spent as much time as he had with his danger-attracting friends on so many missions, Naruto had developed what he had taken to calling his danger sense to a finely homed point. Even the most miniscule trace amounts of killing intent could be detected by him.
And right now there was a bit leaking from somewhere.
Looking around Naruto tried to find the source of the killing intent. It wasn't quite large enough to pin point, being fairly miniscule, so he was forced to really rely on his eyes. As he continued walking he spotted a puddle in the middle of the road.
Odd, it hasn't rained for several days. Naruto thought with a frown. He looked back to see both Menma and Sasuke eyeing the puddle before moving on. Naruto shrugged and turned back towards looking in front of him, wondering if he was just being paranoid.
"Menma watch out!"
Naruto whirled around when he heard the shout, and saw his twin brother with a pair of shuriken-linked chains, which were being held by two figures. The two ninja, who were obviously ninja by the headbands on their heads, yanked the cables resulting in Menma getting torn to shreds, sending body parts and blood flying everywhere.
Instead of getting angry like any other brother would, the blonde merely grinned knowing full well that he's brother/teammate wouldn't be killed by something like that. The two shinobi, both of whom were wearing water breathing apparatus', tattered black cloaks and a pair of wicked looking claws with shuriken chains attached to them, charged forward.
Sasuke quickly threw a shuriken and kunai into the chains, making them stick to a tree, then running up towards the pair before he jumped up and kicked both of the two ninja attached to them in the face.
The pair released their chains and charged. Thankfully Naruto had been expecting this, so he moved quickly created two clones to impede their approach while he stayed behind to protect the bridge builder, but before the doppelgangers could reach them, a red flash appeared out of nowhere and slammed a rasengan in one of the attacker's gut sending him straight to unconsciousness.
While the other attacker was clearly shocked with his' brother's defeat and obvious death, he wasn't able to do anything when he felt very hot flames burning his leg. The man screamed out trying but failing miserably to put the fire out even with a water jutsu.
He watched as the black flames ate away at his flesh with reckless abandon not stopping for anything, the man turned to his attacker getting ready to curse him out only to come face to face with the legendary sharingan only this time it was in the shape of a pinwheel and not the regular three tomeo design
"Talk"
That simple four-letter word was enough to turn him into a blabbering mess forgetting all about his burning flesh.
"Hey" Sasuke said slapping the kiri rogue nin hard
"If you don't want to end up like your teammate, I suggest that you start making some sense" he said reminding the man about he's fallen brother
The chunin glared at the Uchiha clear hate in his eyes "How did you know of our ambush?"
"Seriously?" The Uchiha asked. "That was practically the worst ambush we've ever had the pleasure of experiencing " he shrugged.
Seriously, that was no joke, if it wasn't for Itachi, kakashi and sometimes Gai's timely intervention, Kami only knows what would be left of their team
"Plus no assassin worth their salt would leak their killing intent like that." Naruto said getting into the conversation, he paused for a moment as he looked over at Tazuna, who was looking more nervous than usual.
Though them being here was starting to make sense, 'that must be why Tazuna has been so nervous' thought Naruto
"Really it wasn't that hard, if you know what to look for." Menma said with a shrug. "Since it hasn't rained in nearly a week, there was no way that a puddle could have lasted very long on a clear day, much less seven."
"Wait a minute!" Tazuna said, looking a bit disgruntled as he glared at the three boys.
"If you knew these ninjas were going to attack us, then why did you allow them to?" he asked, feeling a bit irked.
"We could have easily taken them out before any trouble started. But then we wouldn't have learned anything," Menma said as he turned a mild glare onto the man. "We wanted to know who their target was, and what they were after."
"W-What do you mean?" Tazuna asked with a stutter.
"He means we wanted to know if they after us, ninja attacking ninja. Or if they were after you, the master bridge builder," Naruto said as his eyes also narrowed. "When you made your request to Konoha, you asked for standard protection, from bandits and highway men and the like. You never mentioned that ninja were after you. If we had known this, it would have been designated a B-rank mission or higher."
Tazuna looked down in guilt under the three boy's withering gaze. "Our mission was to simply get you to your destination and guard you while you built your bridge. If we had known we would have been fending off attacks from ninja, we would have staffed a different squad and charged for the cost of a B-rank mission. Even if you had your reasons for doing it, lying about a mission is unacceptable. As it is, this task falls beyond the boundaries of the mission we were given."
"We should report to the Hokage immediately" Naruto said getting nods from his two teammates
"A-Are you going to leave me?" Tazuna asked dreading their reply
"We should, you'd definitely deserve it for lying to us like that" Naruto replied a bit coldly
"But we won't" Menma said surprising everyone
"It doesn't matter if he lied about the mission; the fact is we've already accepted it. As Konoha ninja we can't go back on our word, not only would that be disgracing ourselves and Konoha, but it could also cause people to lose faith in our village if we run at the first sign of trouble." The redhead looked over at Tazuna, "You don't have to worry about me leaving, even if they do."
"Hn. You think you could protect him yourself?" Sasuke snorted. "Please, you would be lost without someone like me watching your back."
"So that mean you're in teme?" asked a grinning Menma.
Sasuke just looked at the redhead with a smirk. "Hn."
Naruto merely looked between the two and sighed. It seemed he was would have to be the voice of reason in their team although they barely listened to him
"You guys do realize that this is our first mission as tobetseku jounin right? Do you seriously want to risk not only the client's life but yours as well because I doubt these guys will give up just because their first attempt failed" he said trying to make his teammates see his point of view.
"Yes we realize what we are doing Naruto and you and I both know that we're fully capable of facing whatever freak they send next" Menma responded, "If it makes you feel better, we'll send a raven to hokage-sama explaining the situation and also requesting back up"
After a few minutes of awkward silence, the blonde jinchurikki finally said
"I guess that means we're continuing then but if something happens that is outside of our capabilities, it's on you two."
Somewhere else in a hidden location
In the middle of a large forested area, there was a large fortified structure being held between two trees. Inside that structure two individuals were having an important meeting.
In a room, a tall man with bandages covering half his face lounged in a large thrown like chair. To his left was one of his subordinates, awaiting his instruction. In front of him was a rather short fat man in a business suit, with frazzled gray hair and sunglasses on his face, despite how dark it was inside.
"What!" The short suited man shouted. "You're telling me you failed! I paid a lot of money to hire your group! I thought you were supposed to be some hot shot former ninja assassins! If this is all you're capable of-"
"Quit your whining…" the tall man growled as he hefted a large zanbatou style sword up with one hand, even though it was nearly as tall as he was. Bringing it around he pointed it at the now pale businessman, "Next time I'll be going to finish them myself. And this sword, Kubikiri Houcho (Head Cleaver), will be the last thing they see."
"A-are you sure about that?" asked the now nervous man. "It seems that the target has a high level ninja guarding him, and now that the Akuma brothers have failed, they'll be on guard for another attack. It will take some extreme skill to…"
"Just who do you think you're dealing with?" The man growled, not lowering his sword as he glared at the small fat man. "I am Momoichi Zabuza, the Kirigakure No Kijin (Demon of the Hidden Mist)."
Back to Team Dragon
It was later in the day, and Team Dragon along with Tazuna had found a small clearing off the road to Nami No Kuni to rest for the night. Ever since the mission was bumped to A-rank, Naruto had unofficially assumed the role of team leader which was usually the case when they were forced to split up with their commander during missions. Sasuke had been charged with getting lumber and starting a fire, while Menma had been ordered to prepare the tents. Naruto was the one who had gotten them some food, catching a few fish from a nearby stream.
After dinner Naruto looked at his teammates, "Since this mission is now more dangerous than we initially thought, we are going to be taking three-hour watch shifts. Menma, you're going first, Sasuke you go second, and I will go last."
"Sure thing captain." Menma said sarcastically as he stood up and went to perch himself on a large rock some little ways away so he could keep watch.
"The rest of you make sure to get some sleep while you can." Naruto began moving to his tent. Soon everyone else had started heading off to.
Menma put some his hands up in the ram seal as he sat down cross legged, "Kage Bushin No Jutsu." A few clones puffed into existence only to scatter as soon as they were formed, moving off several dozen feet away in all directions and henging into random objects and animals.
"Can I help you Oji-san?" asked the redhead as Tazuna climbed onto the boulder he was sitting on. His eyes were still closed and he had not bothered to even look in Tazuna's direction as he remained perfectly still.
He was silent for a moment before letting his curiosity get the better of him. "I was just wondering'… why did you agree to come with me knowing I had lied?"
"Why not ask Naruto that question, I don't know if you noticed but he's now the team leader?" Menma asked a question of his own
"Yeah but, he did it because you convinced him to" countered the bridge builder
The jinchurikki was silent for a few moments and Tazuna was unsure if the he would talk or not. Finally, "Forsaking and abandoning people in need is both dishonorable and cowardly. Below courage there is nothing. Those are the words from fathe- I mean the Yondaime Hokage." Finally, the blond opened his eyes and looked over at Tazuna, "They are words that I do my best to live by."
"How noble of you" Tazuna said in a teasing like tone, "But still, thank you" he said as he stood up to go to sleep
"He was only trying to protect me you know, please don't take his hostility to heart" Menma said grabbing the old man's attention
"Protect you?" Tazuna asked with a raised brow, the redhead did not look like he needed any protection from what Tazuna could recall. If anything, he seemed like the most dangerous of the two
"Our parents died the day we were born leaving us with no… 'responsible' guardian so Naruto took the role of my protector even though we were of the same age. He pushed himself to the limit in training and worked hard to sure that we lacked for nothing. I guess it's hard for him to see that I no longer need protection ya know" Menma explained surprising Tazuna with the revelation
"I see… well, no worries then. I know I'd be the same if I was him. Good night and thanks again" Tazuna said as he walked away
Three days Later
When Team Dragon got to the coast they were surprised was to find a thick fog had rolled in. Tazuna had led them to a man who had been willing to offer them passage across, and now the six of them were inside a motorboat to cross the waters and head into Nami No Kuni. Currently the motorboat was off however and the boatman was rowing, so as not to attract attention from anyone that may want to cause their group harm.
Naruto who was at the front of the boat was staring into the thick fog.
'There's something odd about this fog.' He thought to himself.
Even for morning fog it seems to be really thick. Of course, since this was his first time being in a coastal region, he supposed he might just be over thinking again.
"This fog is pretty thick," Naruto commented out loud, wondering what the others thought of it.
"Yeah, it's actually hard to even figure out where we're going," Sasuke said, agreeing with Naruto. "I mean, the only thing I can even see is the water…" he looked off the side of the boat and into the rippling water.
"We'll be able to see the bridge any minute now," The boatman said in a quiet voice. "As soon as you set foot on the other shore, you'll be in Nami No Kuni."
As if on his words the fog parted where they were going to reveal the bridge. The group looked up as the shadow of it loomed over them. Even at the angle they were seeing it at, the large unfinished bridge was a sight for the group of tobetseku jounin.
Menma whistled, "Alright I have to admit I'm impressed Tazuna-san."
"Thank you," Tazuna said with pride in his voice.
"I mean, I didn't think a drunk old man like you was capable of building something like this," Menma continued.
Tazuna's shoulders slumped a bit. "…that wasn't very nice."
Menma snickered.
"You guys need to keep it down," The man hissed. "The whole point of moving through the dense morning fog is so that we wouldn't be spotted. But it doesn't do any good if they hear us. Why do you think we're going like this? Turning off the motorboat and rowing?"
Sasuke looked over at the boatman with a frown, "And who would 'they' be?" he asked.
"Sasuke brings up a good question," Naruto said as he turned to Tazuna. "I think we've been more than patient enough Tazuna-san. Before we reach the pier, I need you to provide some answers. The men who are after you, I need to know why." His voice took on a deeper tone, signifying how serious he was. "And if you don't tell us…I'll have to end the mission when we drop you ashore. That was the technical limit of this assignment, protecting you until you reach Nami No Kuni. Guarding you until you finish the bridge was left to our discretion."
Tazuna un-slumped himself and looked up at Naruto, "Alright, I'll tell you…no I want to tell you. You are correct; this is beyond the scope of your original mission. The man who is after my life is very short man, who casts a very long and dangerous shadow."
"A very short man?" Questioned Menma with a look of curiosity etched on his face. "So we're facing off against someone who would be better off in a circus or something?"
Naruto ignored Menma's jibe as he looked at Tazuna, "A man with a dangerous shadow? Who is it?"
"You know of him. At least I'm sure you've heard of him," Tazuna sighed. "His name is Gato."
"Gato? Gato of Gato Transports and Shipping?" Sasuke asked as all three boy's eyes slightly widened as a sign of shock.
"The Gato? Rumors place that man as one of the richest men in the world!"
"Yes. The very same," Tazuna spoke with a slight nod. "On the surface, he appears to be nothing more than a legitimate businessman…however underneath that, the man is one of the rulers of the criminal underworld. He is known for using gangs and hiring ninja to ruin countries and initiate hostile takeovers of other business. He uses his business as a cover for his black market operations, smuggling drugs, contraband…even slaves."
"Bastard" Menma commented with a slight growl at hearing the man smuggled slaves.
"He came to Nami no Kuni a little over a year ago," Tazuna ignored the redhead's comment as he gave Naruto more information. "He had used his wealth and violence to enter our country, and before we even knew what was happening, he had managed to seize control of all our shipping and transport."
"That makes sense," Naruto mumbled, getting the attention of everyone else.
"Nami is really nothing more than a string of islands. They have no other way to trade and receive supplies other than their shipping routes. By taking control over that Gato effectively controls everything, am I right?" he continued
"You're right gaki" Tazuna said with an imperceptible nod.
"On an island nation the man who controls the sea, controls everything from finance to government, to our very lives. Anyone who even attempts to stand up to him…disappears. However, even Gato has fears…and the one thing he fears is the bridge."
"Which of course is why Gato is after you," Naruto said with a nod. "Once the bridge is complete it will connect Nami to the mainland, and you won't need ships to get supplies. Since you're the master bridge builder, you're in Gato's way and he wants to cut you off."
"That means that this Gato is the one who hired those ninja," Sasuke said, already planning on what he would do when more ninja showed up.
"That still doesn't answer my question," Naruto said as he looked at Tazuna pointedly. "If you knew this was going to happen, knew that Gato was dangerous, why did you lie about the mission?"
"If Gato has been here for over a year, that means he's had a year to place a chokehold on all imports that come into Nami. And if he's even half as corrupt as Tazuna is saying he is, then chances are high that he's placed ridiculously high taxes on everything. I doubt this country even has enough for a B-rank mission. Am I right, Tazuna?" asked Menma, turning to look over at Tazuna.
"No you're right," Tazuna said. "Our country has never been a major metropolis, and since Gato has come our country has been reduced to nearly nothing. We are poor to the point of emptiness, even our nobles have very little money, and what they and the rest of us have hangs in the balance of building the bridge."
Tazuna sighed, "As it is, we poor people are the ones who are paying for this mission; we simply don't have the money to afford a B or higher rank mission. They were too expensive." Tazuna looked up at the group of Konoha ninja. "If you drop me off and abandon me when we get ashore, there will be no bridge. Gato will no doubt kill me before I can even get home."
A thick silence hung over the ninja as they digested everything.
"I don't think you need to worry about that Tazuna-san," Naruto said, getting everyone's attention. "I think it was pretty stupid thing to lie about the mission. You knew you would be up against a man who was not averse to hiring ninja, and that he could afford to hire ninja that were far more skilled then a group of gennin. Had you gone to the Hokage and been honest, he would have been able to arrange some kind of agreement to give you a team of Chunin or even Jounin and set up some kind of payment plan." Tazuna looked down at hearing that.
Naruto sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "That being said I can at least understand why you didn't say anything. You had no way of knowing whether or not we would have helped you if you had been honest, and since we've already agreed to take this mission, and since that redheaded dumb ass," Naruto hiked a thumb up to point at the scowling Menma. "Was so adamant about us getting a mission, we can't afford to go back with a large black spot on our record."
Once again everyone was silent as Naruto spoke; his tone making it clear that he was the one in charge now.
"Well…I suppose we can continue the mission." The blonde said at last.
"However, if at any point I feel we're out of our league and I order us to abandon the mission, you two will follow my orders to the letter. Are we clear?" he asked in a commanding voice getting nods from his teammates.
"Thank you," Tazuna mumbled as he looked at the group.
The boat continued to move silently as they made their way closer to Nami.
"We're almost there," The boatman said. "Just under this archway and past the mangroves and we'll reach the pier."
Everyone snapped to attention as they made their way under a large archway, passing through it and coming out on the other side to a small inlet lake. There were several buildings around the bank, and a few sparse trees located around and in the water.
As they got closer to the shore the group found that the buildings were mostly rundown, with rot and fungus spreading along them. Some of the buildings even looked burnt out, no doubt from Gato's thugs using violence to bring the population under Gato's heel.
The boat made it to the dock and the Konoha ninja plus one master bridge builder got off. After Tazuna and the boatman exchanged farewells the group set off again. For the most part it was silent, only the breathing of the group being heard. Naruto was taking point again, while Sasuke were located on the left side of Tazuna and Menma taking up the rear.
As they continued moving, their danger senses spiked again, Naruto stopped and looked into a bush that rustled a bit.
"Get down!" he shouted he grabbed Tazuna, pulling him to the ground, while the other two quickly ducked
WOOSH-WHOOSH- WHOOSH- WHOOSH- WHOOSH- THUNK!
The group looked up to see a large zanbatou stuck in a tree with a man standing on top of it, said man was shirtless, with two cameo style armbands and pants, His face was half covered in bandages up to his nose and his head band was tilted slightly like Kakashi's, except not covering his eyes, holding up spiky black hair. The symbol of Kiri displayed on the head band with a slash mark running across the center.
"Well, well if it isn't Konoha's newest wonder kids, the infamous 'Team Dragon'" The man said, in rough sounding voice.
Naruto stood up and glared at the man. "Momoichi Zabuza, The Kiri No Oni. I never would have expected someone like you to be working for scum like Gato."
Zabuza shrugged, "It pays the bills. Besides it's all worth it if I get to fight opponents like you three." He said with a deep chuckle
'These brats are actually famous?' Tazuna thought
"Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, why don't you hand over the old man and I'll let you wannabes go," Zabuza suggested.
"I'm sorry but you know we can't do that," Menma glared at the missing ninja. "It wouldn't look very good for Konoha if we just let you have him without even putting up a fight."
Zabuza shrugged, "Don't say I didn't try diplomacy first." Grabbing onto the hilt of his blade, Zabuza kicked off the tree. He landed on the lake some little ways away, and made a hand sign. "Let's see if there's any truth to the stories about you, Hidden Mist Jutsu."
A thick mist spread across the land, blanketing the already misted area so heavily that no one could see more than a few feet in front of them.
Naruto and Menma quickly created ten clones each that all surrounded the bridge builder while the originals formed a straight line with Naruto on the middle and Menma and Sasuke on his left and right respectively
"Zabuza is a master of the Silent Killing Technique, it goes without saying that he's most powerful shinobi we've faced to date. If we're not careful we'll be dead before we even know it. Hope you're both ready for the battle about to take place…" said Naruto hoping that both his teammates understood the gravity of the situation
Menma taking out his Hirashin kunai and Sasuke activating his sharingan was the response he got
"Ah! The Sharingan and the Hirashin," Zabuza voice came from within the mist, his outlined form barely even visible. "It's an honor to be facing them so soon."
"Still we both know that the Sharingan is useless if you can't even see and it goes both ways with the flying thunder god," The mist began to thicken even more, making Zabuza disappear completely.
"Eight points…" Came the disembodied voice of Zabuza, causing Tazuna to freeze as an intense killing intent filled the air. "The liver, lungs, spine, clavicle vein, jugular artery, brain, kidney and the heart. Now, which one shall I choose first?"
"Ready Team Dragon?"
"Hai"
END CHAPTER
Sorry I took so long; College is really taking up a lot of my time
Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed it.
P.S: If you are interested in being my Beta please PM me
SARAVAN OUT!