A/N: And now you have yourselves a longer chapter.
At the moment, it'll be hard to update as I'm on a road trip through a number of US national parks like Yellowstone, Yosemite, even the Grand Canyon. Not a lot of souvenirs except the photos I take.
That being said, please read and review, would you kindly?
…
[Somewhere in the Hi no Kuni wilderness]
Naruto and Mangetsu came to a stop in a clearing to see a woman sitting on a log, whittling at a large branch. She had the same russet eyes as the older man, and wore white tribal paint all over her body, which added contrast to light reddish brown skin. Her creamy hair was done up in dreadlocks that were tied behind her head. She also wore a minimal amount of armor over scant scale clothing that enabled more mobility for her, while emphasizing her modest curves. A subtle hourglass figure, modestly-sized breasts and buttocks all accentuated with a streamlined form.
As he studied the woman before him, Naruto could not help but notice the subtle similarities between her and Mangetsu in that both had feline features. Mangetsu looked like a big, strong lion; his tall, muscular body enforced that image. It also helped that he wore proper armor that allowed him to take a hit without compromising on mobility. His hammer also served to strengthen the image of someone not to be trifled with.
This woman on the other hand, was shorter, sleeker, and overall built for speed. Her choice of weapon looked like a technologically-advanced crossbow propped up against the log, while a pair of large cleavers with bone blades were holstered at her sides. Dense, corded muscle rippled lightly under her skin, adding a spring to her movements. If Mangetsu were a lion, then she would be something like a cheetah or a leopard.
"About time you both got here," she said, her gaze focused upon the branch she was sharpening, "I was beginning to worry you'd gotten lost or something."
"Better late than never," answered Mangetsu.
"Indeed," added the woman, setting down her sharpened branch, "Well, let's get to it."
"Naruto, I'd like for you to meet my younger sister Mikazuki," Mangetsu said, "Mikazuki, this is Uzumaki Naruto. The Hokage's sent him to train under us."
"A pleasure," said Mikazuki, offering Naruto her free hand to shake.
Naruto accepted the handshake before regarding his erstwhile teacher. "So what're we gonna do now?"
"We're on patrol out here for a while," answered Mangetsu, "Mikazuki and I are gonna make our rounds in the wilderness while you set up camp for us. If you manage to make three tents before we come back for a rest, then we'll share our dinner with you."
"What happens if I don't?" asked Naruto.
"Then we won't eat until those tents are finished," Mikazuki added.
"That's no problem," Naruto declared, "I'll just head back to the village and…"
Whatever else Naruto had to say was cut off the second Mikazuki threw her knife at him, the tip digging into the ground before his feet. "Don't even think about it," she said, her tone even, "There's no guarantee that the camping store has what you need. Besides, the point of this exercise is to see what we have to work with for the next few months. Making tents, and setting up camp is a very basic thing that both Shinobi and Hunters need to know; if you can't even do that right, then there's no point in teaching you anything else."
"You have a lot of materials around you to help you make tents," explained Mangetsu, stretching his back, "Thick branches, dogbane bark, even leaves can be used. Whatever you need is already around you; we're not asking you to make a log cabin, just use that head of yours to figure out how to make an adequate shelter for us by the time we get back."
Looking around, Naruto could see the things in question, trying to figure out how he would solve the problem with the items on hand. "Can't I at least go buy some more tools at the hardware store?"
"I already gave you the only tool you'd need out here," Mikazuki answered, pointing the knife in the ground, "When you're out in the wilderness, there's nothing that a good camp knife can't do. Carving stakes for fences, skinning and gutting your game, splitting firewood, hammering nails; hell, you could even have a…civil chat with it."
"Mika, that knife fight with Kirishima was far from civil," Mangetsu reminded, "Not only did you kick him in the shin, you then proceeded to knee him in the balls, followed with biting his ear off."
Staring at his other teacher with fear in his eyes as she coughed into her hand, Naruto made a mental note to never get on her bad side. "The point is, Naruto, that knife is gonna be your new best friend out here," she said, "I would take the time to get used to it, and take good care of it."
"We'll try to be back by tonight," added Mangetsu, "In the meantime, try to set up camp for us."
Watching as the brother-sister duo disappeared into the woods, Naruto pulled the knife out of the ground to examine it. It was almost as long as his forearm with a burl wood grip that was held in place with brass pins and bolsters. The single-edged blade was sharp, thick, and it had a wood grain pattern on it. After giving it a few test swings, he saw that it was a little forward-heavy, possibly to do the work of both a hatchet and a knife at the same time.
Gripping the knife, Naruto picked up the thick branch that Mikazuki carved on, before hammering it into the ground with the pommel. I've got a lot of work to do, if I'm gonna impress those two…
…
[Elsewhere]
Three ANBU stood by, watching from a distance as Uzumaki Naruto worked alone at his task. With the boy's focus on his knife, it would be an easy grab-especially with his mentors no longer in the vicinity.
Shizuoka Mangetsu and Mikazuki, better-known as the "Moon Siblings" were a brother-sister Hunter team born and raised in Konoha. Their mother was a chūnin named Shizuoka Maiya, and their father was a Hunter from Kumogakure. Both had to deal with a good amount of prejudice in the village due to their biracial origins, but would grow up to become celebrities in the Guild.
Mangetsu was the older one at 36, and the calmer and wiser of the duo. He was a Heavy Weapons specialist in the Guild, favoring his hammer for bashing in monster skulls. That being said, he was not averse to picking up a bow or a heavy bowgun to shoot down flying prey.
Mikazuki on the other hand was more energetic of the siblings at 27. Where Mangetsu favored heavy weapons, she took to faster and lighter ones. However, she was best known for being a nitō-ryu fighter, and a crack shot with a light bowgun. She was also a tactical thinker, which enabled her to set traps on the fly; the complete opposite to her brother's strategic approach.
The ANBU had heard stories during the Third Shinobi World War of how formidable they were; how they used their traps to prevent incursions into Hi no Kuni. Then there was also that story in which they'd survived a Bazelgeuse bombing run and drove it away from a Konoha patrol team that had unknowingly angered it.
On top of that, they had a keen sense of environmental awareness that aided them in their hunts. There was a story wherein they'd baited a Rathalos into attacking a squad of twelve Iwa-nin during the Fourth Shinobi World War. None of the infiltrators survived the wyvern's attack.
Still, the team had their orders; they were to abduct Uzumaki Naruto if the opportunity arose, or terminate him with extreme prejudice if none came. The lead ANBU raised a hand, ready to move in; before he could make a single gesture, he was interrupted by a muffled groan of pain from behind. He found Mangetsu behind them, pulling a large knife out of his colleague's back, before stabbing him four more times through the rib cage. His arm wrapped around the ANBU's neck.
In response to the sudden ambush, the remaining ANBU pulled out their cleaver-tanto, ready to defend themselves. The lead ANBU watched as his arm was lopped off in one swing, shortly before his colleague was filleted with a pair of bone cleavers. The leader fell to his knees, holding back his moaning.
"Well, what do you think, onii-chan?" asked Mikazuki, twirling her cleavers.
"If the Hokage really wanted to spy on us, he wouldn't need to send ANBU," answered Mangetsu, leaving the ANBU's corpse to slump to the ground, "So I'm thinking these guys are Danzo's toy soldiers."
"Typical," added the younger Shizuoka, "That crazy old cripple just doesn't take a hint, does he? You wanna kill him, onii-chan?"
"Nah, let him go," answered Mangetsu, tossing his knife menacingly in the air, "Somebody's got to tell Shimura what happened here."
"I have nothing to say to you brutes," bit out the ANBU, standing up while keeping his voice level through the pain, "And I will not do your…"
Mangetsu caught his knife mid-air, quickly throwing it at the ANBU. The heavy blade punched straight through the ceramic mask, and penetrated his skull. "Then what good are you?"
"Bury them, or leave them to be eaten?" Mikazuki asked.
"Probably a better idea to bury them," answered Mangetsu, pulling the knife out of the ANBU's face before shaking blood and grey matter off the blade. "If Danzo's smart, he won't press the issue any further and just leave us alone. After all, his ROOT division is technically supposed to be disbanded; he'll have quite a mess to clean up if he won't let this go." As he sheathed his knife, Mangetsu noted that his sister was looking through a pair of binoculars. "How's he doing?"
"Hasn't even started making a tent yet," she answered, still looking through the ANBU's binoculars, "He is trying to get familiar with the knife, though; he's using it to carve stakes and make rope."
Mangetsu shrugged. "Well, it's a start. We'll see if there's anything worth training when we get back."
"So what's the prey of the day?" Mikazuki asked, tossing aside the binoculars.
"There was a Great Jaggi sighted south of here, and it's been causing a good amount of trouble for the farm there," explained Mangetsu, "Apparently, it's leading a fairly large pack and getting them fat on sheep."
"And for dinner?"
"Let's see what we'll find, if not the Jaggi."
…
[Hokage Tower]
Hiruzen gazed into his crystal ball, watching as Mikazuki and Mangetsu summoned a shovel to bury Danzo's ROOT operatives. He could only sigh exasperatedly at his fellow elder's refusal to leave Naruto be. Any other time, old friend, he mused to himself, any other time.
The only reason he let ROOT remain active and off the books was because they had value in the long run. There were simply things that needed to be done and kept out of sight and out of mind; things that regular ANBU shouldn't know━things even the Hokage shouldn't know. The fact that ROOT wasn't under the Hokage's jurisdiction meant that Danzo sent them in of his own volition, allowing him to wash his hands clean of this transgression.
Besides, in the old Kage's mind, there was nothing for him to punish. Danzo tried to abduct Naruto against his explicit orders to do otherwise, so his operatives were slain by a pair of Hunters protecting their new apprentice. As far as he was concerned, Shimura got off easy; he was already on thin ice with the Guild for commissioning several contracts that resulted in missing Hunters. I think I have a pretty good idea what happened to those poor souls, but with all ROOT operatives fanatically loyal to Danzo, there's nothing I can do.
Because of this, Hiruzen had to offer up reparations for unpaid missions and lost Hunters to the head of the Konoha Hunters, and a sincere apology for Danzo's actions. Whether his word as Kage would be trusted after this incident was another story, but at least he managed to appease the Konoha Hunters for now. If the Guild severed their ties with the village, the Shinobi would be ill-prepared for the swarm of monster-slaying missions they'd surely leave behind. And aside from the Senju brothers rolling in their graves over the consequences of Danzo's crimes, the village would be left defenseless in the event of an Elder Dragon incursion. Danzo, why in the world would you even want to antagonize the Guild? Surely it's more than just prejudice?
For now, he would simply keep watch over Naruto's progress. But if Danzo persisted in his efforts to abduct and turn the boy into a ROOT operative, Sarutobi would not hesitate to tear down the organization. And with the Guild still baying for the last Shimura's blood over the missing Hunters, Danzo would be fighting a war on two fronts if he continued to push his luck. I dare you to try something like this again, he thought.
…
[The Clearing]
Mangetsu and Mikazuki returned to the clearing with a wild chicken on hand to find Naruto struggling to get a single tent ready. The densely-packed branches he was using for the walls of the tent simply fell apart at the knots before he could prop them up against the posts. Though to his credit, he had a few frames at the ready to support the branches.
"Yeah, we've got a long road ahead of us," Mikazuki noted.
"That's enough for now," Mangetsu called, getting Naruto's attention as he approached, "You've got the right idea, using the leafy branches for the walls of the tent, but you need to tie them tighter."
Naruto watched as Mangetsu tied the branches; his hands moved slowly to show him the proper way to tie a knot to hold the branches together. "So I didn't do well, huh?"
"You're only a beginner, so that's to be expected," answered Mangetsu, as Naruto began to help him, "Though that just means you'll be able to take in our lessons much better than if you knew how to camp to begin with. Keep an open mind; it'll keep you alive."
The two of them went to work silently, setting up camp while Mikazuki went to work carving on wood with a large knife. "So why do we need the Hunters in the village?" Naruto queried, setting up a wall of the first tent.
"Let's just say there are things that Shinobi can do better than Hunters, and vice-versa," explained Mangetsu, setting up the other wall of the tent, "Hunters can fight people just fine, but we're better-suited to fight monsters. Shinobi are better at fighting people, but tend to be bad when it comes to monsters."
"But can't a Shinobi do a Hunter's job?"
"I seriously wouldn't recommend it," answered Mangetsu, setting up another tent wall, "Monsters have a pretty strong resistance to jutsu; we don't know why, but they can take a lot of direct punishment from chakra. So unless they've got Kage-level fighters or jutsu, or they know what they're doing, the average Shinobi team will outright lose to a monster. It's happened before, like the team that was almost killed to the last man from fighting a Zinogre; I heard their Raiton jutsu didn't hurt it so much as piss it off even more."
Naruto gulped nervously. The idea that he could be done in by monsters that could tank a lot of jutsu was a disconcerting thought for him. "But the Hokage wants to change all that by sending you to be trained by us," Mangetsu reassured, helping to set up a second tent, "I guess he wants to use you as a sign of goodwill between the Shinobi and the Hunters; to show that we can cooperate. Personally? I don't know about that, but no reason not to give it a shot, neh?"
It would be another hour before all three tents were set up; in that time, Mikazuki had begun collecting a pile of sticks. "Naruto, come on over," she called, "I've got something to show you."
Naruto sat up and walked towards his other teacher, with the knife in hand. As he was about to offer it to her, she raised her hand in refusal. "Keep it, I bought it from the smithy specifically for you," she said, "Besides, I always bring my own knives. Of the three things you should never leave home without when camping, the knife's at the top of the list."
"What's the other two?" Naruto queried.
"Fire, or at least a way to make fire," Mikazuki explained, indicating a small jig on the floor. It consisted of a small bow with a long stick wrapped in its string, stuck in a bundle of dried straw on a plank. She held the stick up with a handle in one hand. "This is just one such way; it's called a fire drill. It's not exactly sophisticated, but it's one of easiest ways I know to get a campfire going if I forget to bring matches or a lighter."
"How does it work?"
"You put a pile of stuff you want to burn under the stick," she explained, operating the jig, "Then you push and pull the bow back and and forth really fast until you see the pile catch fire. After that you have to put it in the firewood to get a campfire going."
Mikazuki offered the jig to Naruto, who continued to push and pull the bow. "What's the third thing we need?" he asked, the bundle of straw smoking.
"Clean water," she answered, piling the firewood together, "That you can always find in a lot of different ways; usually, it's easiest to just set up camp near a river for this."
"Makes sense," noted Naruto.
"These are all basics that Hunters have to do while out on the job, away from civilization," added Mangetsu, preparing the chicken, "You have to know these things, because you're not always going to have Felynes or teammates to help you out. When you have to do a job alone, it helps that you know how to help yourself out here—that will mean the difference in your survival."
Naruto pulled out the flaming bundle of straw, quickly handing it to Mikazuki, who placed it into the pile of sticks. "Now we get to a really important skill you need to know out here," she chirped, "We're going to cook."
…
[Aiko Tea Room]
Danzo sat at a table, admiring a deep green teacup that was pieced back together with a combination of lacquer and fine gold dust. The teapot that accompanied it was of the same color, and had shown signs that it was destroyed worse than the cup. Overall, he got his money's worth appreciating the art, rather than the tea.
"Danzo-sama, we have a problem," whispered a voice from behind him.
"What happened?" Shimura asked, studying the teapot's gold-painted cracks.
"The team you sent to abduct Uzumaki Naruto has failed to report back," answered the messenger, "I believe that the Shizuoka siblings are responsible."
"Then it seems we have no choice but to lay low," answered the elder, "If Hiruzen wants the Jinchūriki trained by Hunters, then we will allow him his victory for now."
"Your will be done, Danzo-sama."
As Danzo set down the gold-laced teapot, he began to think of his next move.
…
[The Campsite]
Naruto sat at the campfire, watching with a watering mouth as the chicken roasted on a spit. He could smell the fat melting into the meat as Mangetsu turned the rod to cook it more evenly. After every turn, he would brush the bird with a liquid he couldn't identify, but smelled sweet when it burned.
"Can we eat now?" Naruto whined, "I'm getting real hungry, dattebayo!"
"Just a little longer," answered Mangetsu, brushing the chicken, "This isn't like your instant ramen. This is quality food, you have to give it time to cook. Besides, what could taste better than a dish made out of ingredients fresh from the wild?"
"And don't even get him started on those soldier pills the Shinobi like to chomp down on so much," Mikazuki advised, "He hates those things with a passion."
"They satisfy you for three days, and then drain you of energy for a while after that," he admonished, "What isn't there to hate about them?"
Deciding that it would be a while longer, Naruto decided to change the subject, if only to take his mind off his hunger for a little longer. "So how do you earn your license?"
"Two ways," answered Mikazuki, "You could do it the more civilized way like onii-chan; or you could do it the traditional way, like I did."
"What's the civilized way?" Naruto asked.
"The guild assigns a professional chef to you, and you have to gather whatever ingredients they ask for," explained Mangetsu, "Sounds easy enough, but those pro chefs tend to be very specific about what they want; if they need an extra hand in the kitchen, they will get it. That's because you have until graduation day to get all the ingredients together, and the dish you're both making is your contribution to the graduation feast. You don't have a contribution to the feast, you don't graduate; simple as that."
Naruto nodded in thought; he could see how Hunters and chefs could get along well. "What about the traditional way?"
"You go hunting for a Flying Wyvern," Mikazuki answered simply, with more than a healthy dose of enthusiasm.
Naruto simply stared at her with his mouth agog. "A Flying Wyvern?"
"That's right," she said, as though it were the simplest job in the world, "You go out into the wilds with an experienced Hunter, then hunt yourselves a Flying Wyvern. In the old days, that was the test to see if you were ready to hunt on your own, because it forces you to use every skill you learned: what weapons you should use; when to use your traps; even how well you know your prey. Even with the more civilized option on the table, if your Hunting partner confirms you did well during the hunt, then you got the license. That's because the Flying Wyverns are among the most dangerous prey out there; big, winged monsters, some of which could actually fly, and all of whom have a nasty temper."
Naruto began to think of the different ways a Hunter earned their license. Both made sense in his mind. "As it stands, we're going with an 'all of the above' method of teaching you," added Mangetsu, turning the chicken several more times, "We're not certain how you want to finally get your Hunting License, but we're going to train you for both tests just in case. When we feel you're ready, we'll ask how you want to graduate. The chicken's done, by the way."
"About time!" Mikazuki sighed, reaching out with her knife. She pulled out a drumstick, and cut it off at the joint, while her brother shaved off a piece of breast. Following the siblings' example, Naruto cut off an entire wing. His mouth watered as he looked upon moist, steamy, well-browned skin, while smelling the sweetness of the marinade that Mangetsu covered it in. One bite into the wing, and he could taste honey with a hint of cinnamon dancing in his mouth with the juiciness of the chicken.
Naruto found that he had to repay Mangetsu and Mikazuki for their kindness. Maybe everyone's right; I do need to get serious, dattebayo. And the best way to pay them back is to be their best student. I'll be the best hunter you both taught, or my name isn't Uzumaki Naruto!
…
[Konoha Wilderness, sixteen months later]
As he rummaged through the forest floor for thick branches, Naruto kept his ears open for trouble. It'd been over a year and a half since he started training under the Moon Siblings, and he'd made strides in his training as a Hunter. Setting up camp with improvised materials became an art form to him, as was cooking over a campfire.
In terms of fighting skills, the siblings first taught him the basic skills and conditioning needed to survive a knife fight, and all the things he could use his camp knife for. After that, Naruto was given a crash course on the use of Hunter weapons, starting with the sword and shield. Once he was done with that, he was allowed to hunt mundane game like deer and wild boar before graduating to larger, more serious prey. One of the largest he'd hunted so far was a Great Jaggi, which he used to make dinner and several of his weapons.
For now however, he was on camp duty; which meant looking for thick branches for tent posts. Finding a large branch still attached to a tree, Naruto brought out his knife to hack it off. As he was about to begin the cutting, he noted something shining from the corner of his eye. He lowered his knife, but kept it at the ready as he investigated the nearby tree. A closer examination revealed that something was lodged in the trunk.
Naruto reached out to the item embedded in the tree with his knife, digging the tip into the groove. He dislodged the item out of the tree, carefully pulling it out before examining it more closely. It had a slightly curved profile with a central ridge bending a diamond shape in half; it was slightly larger than Mangetsu's hand, and had a metallic sheen to it as though it were made of brass. Picking up a leaf, Naruto used the plate to slice through it; the cut was extremely clean, as though it were made by a ridiculously sharp sushi knife slicing through air. Overall, the object gave the impression of an large, strangely-shaped arrowhead, or a big, fat kunai.
Whatever it was, Naruto found that this thing wasn't alone. He could find these large arrowheads in different sizes, lodged in many trees. He also found wet blood splatter in the area. Better not push my luck, Naruto thought, Whatever left these behind might still be around, and my weapons are back at camp!
Naruto stuck the arrowhead into the tree, and returned to the task at hand. After chopping off the branch he needed, he gathered the bundle and the item in question before running back to the campsite. He ran through the forest, deftly avoiding obstacles with fluid movements to avoid being slowed. Sometimes he flipped over bushes, other times he cartwheeled under low-hanging branches; neither hindered him in any way.
Arriving at camp, Naruto found his teachers setting up a campfire and a spit. From the recently-killed snakes he saw, they'd just got back. "We were starting to get worried," said Mangetsu, "Something up?"
As he approached his mentors, Naruto set down the bundle of branches, while holding the brass, diamond-shaped plate, out for them to see. "I found this a while before you two got here, dattebayo."
Mangetsu studied the item in question, gently taking it off Naruto's hands. As the older man inspected it, a silent 'oh no' was written on his face. "Where'd you find this?"
Naruto pointed towards the forest. "I found it in a tree over there, and there were lots of it."
Quickly turning to face his sister, Mangetsu held the plate in one hand for her to see. "Mika, send word to the Guild, tell them we've got signs of a Seregios here."
Mikazuki's expression turned serious. "What's going on?" Naruto queried.
"You found Seregios scales," answered Mangetsu, "That's serious business to the Guild, which warrants us warning everyone of its presence."
"I don't get it, what's a Seregios?"
"They're an invasive species of Flying Wyvern that can thrive in any ecosystem," explained Mangetsu, "Once they make themselves at home, they'll quickly try establish themselves as apex predators, eating or killing native wildlife just to show everyone who's boss. They may not have poisoned talons or the ability to breathe fire like Rathalos or Rathian, but they're equally as vicious, and they can fling their razor-sharp scales everywhere."
"Well why don't we hunt it ourselves, dattebayo?" Naruto asked, earning a searching look from both of his mentors, "We're already in the area, why not take care of it here and now?"
"You sure about this?" Mikazuki asked in concern, "This'll be a make or break moment for you. If we succeed in the hunt, then you'll earn yourself that license; but one mistake, and you could die."
"There's no shame in turning back," Mangetsu added, "We all agreed that you would earn the license eventually, and you know that there is another way to graduate. However, if we do this, you will be pushed to your limit—fighting, survival, everything we've taught you will be put to the test. So I want you to take a deep look inside yourself now, and tell us in your heart of hearts that you're ready for this."
Naruto silently contemplated what he'd been told. As he made up his mind, Naruto regarded the Moon Siblings with a confident expression. "Yeah, I'm ready."
Mangetsu nodded in assent. "Good, we just wanted to see if you believed you were ready. Either way, the Guild has to be notified of this."
"I'll relay the message," Mikazuki offered, cracking her neck.
"You do that," agreed her brother, "But make sure the Guild knows a graduation exam is also taking place."
The younger of the Moon Siblings nodded in acknowledgment before sprinting back to the village. Mangetsu then turned his attention back to Naruto, "In the meantime, we're going to prepare; make sure we have enough flash bombs and rope. We also need jerky for at least a week. As soon as Mika gets back, we're going to make sure all our weapons are sharp, and we've got more than enough ammo because we're going after large game."
"We'll be ready, dattebayo!" Naruto assured.
…
A/N: And that's the end of the chapter. Expect there to be cameos in the future.
Looks like we're guaranteed at least a little action in the next chapter, what with Naruto going through the traditional graduation exam. How will he fare against the Seregios?
Another question would be, why does Danzo want to antagonize the Hunter's Guild so much?
All this and more later.
Props to NorthSouthGorem and Soleneus for beta-reading the chapter. Give them both a look when you can.
And do leave a review, would you kindly? And keep it classy.
…
Cameos/References/Vocabulary
Danzo's repaired pottery—kintsugi, the Japanese art of taking broken pottery, and piecing it back together with lacquer and precious metals like gold and silver. It is also the basis of the "Kintsugi" weapon skin set from "Warframe."
Mangetsu and Mikazuki—their names mean "Full Moon" and "New Moon" respectively.
