WOW! 20 REVIEWS FOR THE FIRST CHAPTER ONLY! I LURV YOU GUYS! Well, I got more... But it's still a great result! So, here's the second chapter, guys! Enjoy!

"Gai. I see that your team is as lively as ever."

"Of course, Hokage-sama! This beautiful assemble of youth power shines like a thousands suns!"

"Ah-ehm. However, we have a C-ranked mission for you, today. It's an escort mission of a certain individual. Please, come in, Tazuna-san."

"We'll reach the nearest town by sunset, if we walk at a steady pace. Let's move out."

"Alright!"

"… They're just travellers, it seems. But they give off a strong aura… … I've better warn Zabuza-sama, just to be sure."

The Hero's Codex

Chapter2: The country of the dead hero

"Yosh! Another youthful adventure awaits us!"

"Lee, it's just another rank C mission." TenTen sighed. And they had just began their travel. The girl always tried her best to calm down their Sensei's and Lee's 'youthful' tempers. Usually, Neji aided her, but he was still fuming about the blind comment from earlier. "I mean, we've been doing these kind of mission for almost a whole year…"

"But every mission is an opportunity to train and get stronger and more youthful! Yosh!" Lee pumped his fist in the air, and Gai gave him the nice guy pose, shiny teeth included. TenTen cursed because she had forgot her sunglasses. Neji just groaned.

"Lee, on a C rank mission there isn't much to train with. The worst kind of enemies we'll encounter will be thugs and robbers. And we're clearly stronger than those kind of people."

Since they were all that focused on the discussion, Gai's team failed to notice the sudden uneasiness of their client, who swallowed silently and began to sweat.

"Ahahah! Such a youthful display of conversation! But let's just continue our travelling! Tazuna-san probably wants to get back home as soon as possible, right?" Gai said, patting the old man's back. Tazuna just laughed nervously.

"You can say it out loud…"

"TAZUNA-SAN PROBABLY WANTS TO GET BACK HOME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!"

"LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

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They couldn't believe how easy that was going to be. They were a bunch of idiots. Two of them wore green spandex more for a distorted sense of fashion than as a mimetic suit. Then there was a girl who looked more like a panda than a ninja, and the old man was just a drunk geezer… The only problem could have been the Hyuuga, but he was just a Genin. How much trouble could he be? They prepared their attack…

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"On the twelfth day of Christmas, sensei gave to meeeeee…"

"LEE! I FORBID YOU TO KEEP ON SINGING THAT SONG! IT'S MAY, YOU IDIOT!"

While TenTen let out her frustration shouting, Neji was using all his willpower to not Jyuuken his team-mates' ass. But even like this, he didn't fail to notice that little particular that made everyone on his team alert. A puddle in the middle on the road when it was days that it didn't rain? Now, that was strange. And in the Ninja world, strange means dangerous.

"… TenTen." He whispered.

"I saw it." While TenTen took a hold of two kunais from under her blouse without being seen, Lee and Gai immediately approached their client, making it look like they had just changed their direction during the walk. Immediately after, from the puddle silently emerged two figures. Two ninjas, that was clear. But TenTen was ready.

She turned around in a flash and she hurled the two kunais at the new-found enemies.

"!" The Demon Brothers barely dodged the attack. Damn, instead of doing a surprise attack, they had been the one to get one. They were about to recover and launch another attack, but…

"You unyouthful enemy nins! I, Maito Gai, will deliver your punishment right here!" Gai was behind them. A single word went trough their minds.

'Shit.'

With a well placed roundhouse kick, the two were sent flying… Towards more hurt. Lee was in the air, and with another roundhouse kick, he sent the two ninjas flying towards Neji, with their backs exposed. The Hyuuga rotated a little on himself to give his body the right motion, and he struck the opponents in their backs, knocking them out with his Jyuuken. All of this under Tazuna's incredulous stare. The two ninjas fell to the ground before they could even land a single hit.

"Good job in taking their unyouthful but still youthful lives, Neji! This way we'll be able to interrogate them about their target!" Said Gai.

"I don't think it will be necessary. The target was clearly our client." Said Neji, turning towards said bridge-builder. Tazuna gulped.

"Ehm… And… H-How could you… Know that?" He stuttered.

"It's quite simple. If they had been Kumo nins, the target would probably have been me. The Cloud is after the Hyuuga's eyes from a long time." Neji slightly clenched his fingers on his crossed arms, at the memory. "And if they would have been stone nins, then the target would have been Gai-sensei. He's in their bingo books. But in Kiri's ones, unlike Hatake Kakashi."

'DAMN YOU, KAKASHI! YOU HAVE BEATEN ME AGAIN!'

"So, that only leaves you as a possible target, Tazuna-san." Neji clearly stated. Tazuna began to sweat profusely. "And one more thing… Since a bridge builder isn't something Kiri would care about, these are probably missing nins."

"…" Tazuna swallowed. It seems that it was time to tell the truth. And to try to be as melodramatic as possible. He would probably be a critical hit for the two MIG. Men-In-Green. He didn't know about the girl and the blind kid, thought.

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"… Sensei…"

"I know what you want to ask, Naruto. No. Last time I've been here… It wasn't like this."

The first thing Naruto had noticed when he had made a single step in the town was the gloomy air that reigned over everything. Things, people… Even animals. Then, he began to observe everything else. The town was poor. Really poor. Most of the houses had been repaired the best one could do without proper means, and it was most of the times not done very well. A lot of people were wearing ragged clothes, and were so dirty that one could tell that they couldn't even wash them…

"… What… What's with this place…" Stuttered Naruto.

"No. It's probably more like… What's with this country." Said Chuushinmaru.

"Stop thief!"

"!"

Naruto and his sensei turned in the direction of the scream. And they saw a young man running in the direction. They acted. Naruto grabbed the bag he was carrying, since it was probably what it had stolen, while Chuushinmaru stopped his running with his arm, making him fall the ground. Then, he gave him the hardest stare he possessed.

"… Get lost."

"! Iiih…"

The thief immediately ran away, frightened, since Chuushinmaru had provided to let out a little killing intent, along with his stare. Suddenly, a woman with long black hair approached them, in a hurry.

"T-Thanks… He got me… By surprise…" The woman was panting due to the run she had just made.

"No problem. Here's your bag." Naruto handed her the bag smiling. The woman smiled back and gladly took it.

"… Lady…" Chuushinmaru decided to ask that question that was bugging him. "What happened to this country?"

"…" The woman bit her lower lip. She probably knew even more than most of the people around there. But she quickly dismissed it. "Well… What about we talk about it while having lunch? It's the least I can do after saving it, after all…"

"… Alright. But we are offering the food." Answered Chuushinmaru.

"Uh?"

In the meanwhile, the thief cursed mentally. He needed that food. His little brother was starving… But suddenly, he noticed that something had been put in the right pocket of his trousers. A scroll. He picked it up. Upon it, there was a writing. 'Food for a week'.

Rule #7: A true hero punishes the criminals and helps the ones in need. And he has to be able to distinguish them, because they can often be confused or correlated

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Team Gai was currently travelling on a boat along the sea near the coast of the wave country. Yes. They had decided to continue the mission, even if they were aware that they would probably have to fight more ninjas. And of Jounin level, nonetheless. But it was either that, or getting drowned on dry land by Gai's and Lee's rivers of tears. And they preferred fighting all the sannins together than that. Suddenly, the noticed that they had arrived. The ferryman had stopped the boat in front of a small quay, and made his passengers step on dry land.

"This is where we part ways." He said, making a sign to Tazuna with his head. "Please, be careful."

"Don't worry. These ninjas will take me home safely. Right, guys?" TenTen and Neji were already walking away. Tazuna, Lee and Gai sweatdropped. "Ehm… See you. Thanks."

Team Gai and their client began to walk away, into the forest, directed to Tazuna's home town. But suddenly… A noise in a bush alerted them again. Immediately, Lee took out a kunai from his weapon pouch and hurled it towards the bush. No move came from it, though… They slowly approached it… And they discovered a white rabbit who Lee had barely missed.

"ARGH! OH, NO! I'M SORRY, LITTLE FRIEND!"

"It was just a rabbit…" Sighed Neji, shaking his head.

But in the meanwhile, while his Genins lacked the experience and the knowledge, Maito Gai, as a Jounin, had both to detect a detail that was off with the rabbit.

'That rabbit… It's a snow rabbit. But it's spring, so… He should have brown fur. So, that means… …' "! Everyone! Duck!"

"!"

Everyone did as told, minus Tazuna, who needed a help from TenTen, since he was thinking Gai was referring to another animal. Damn. Was that the wave country's forest or some barnyard? But they were all on the ground nonetheless, while an enormous sword flew over their heads and got stuck in a tree. And suddenly, a man landed upon it.

"Hmph. Konoha ninjas, hn? What about… You hand over the old man, and I'll let you go without killing anyone else?" The man said.

Gai observed him. He knew him too well. He was a famous face among the bingo book. He got back on his feet, and made a sign to his students. The three of them understood immediately. It was their agreed sign for 'protection'. They immediately applied the triangle position around Tazuna.

"My youthful pupils… This is not an opponent that you can fight. He's a famous missing nin from Kiri. Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Hidden mist." Said Gai, removing his backpack from his shoulders. He would need all the mobility he had to fight that opponent.

"Hmph. You know my name, but I don't know yours… Even if…" Gai raised an eyebrow. "I've heard that the strongest taijutsu master from Konoha has… Enormous eyebrows."

Team Gai and Tazuna sweatdropped. Well, at least he knew about the Jounin… Even if, not in the way he would like…

"Y-Yes… I'm Maito Gai…"

"Well, enough with words. I'm here to kill the old man."

"!"

Immediately, the three genin tightened their defence position even more, while Tazuna gulped. Gai just stared at his opponent.

"But it looks like… That I'll have to defeat you first, Maito Gai…"

"…"

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Tsunami couldn't believe what those two had done. I mean… They had stored food… In scrolls. And they had suddenly let it out from it and begun to cook it. Yes, they were cooking too. Hell… She felt a little out of place, being the one not doing anything, for a change. While they cooked, she had told them everything. About Gatou and his goal, the consequential impoverishment of the wave country, the bridge that her father wanted to build… And while she kept on talking, sensei and apprentice stayed silent.

"… And that's all." She finished. And silence reigned supreme in the whole house. Even more silently, Naruto and Chuushinmaru brought food to the table. Another few minutes passed, before Naruto decided to talk.

"… Sensei…"

"You only call me sensei when what you're about to say it's something serious." Commented Chuushinmaru. Naruto was a bit taken back. Chuushinmaru smiled weakly. "But don't worry. I was thinking about the same thing."

"…" Naruto grinned, a look of decision on his face. "Right."

"I think that this country will be a nice place where to stop for a couple of months…" Commented Chuushinmaru.

"Uh? I don't understand…" Said Tsunami, staring at the two strange individuals. Naruto grinned and gave her the nice guy pose.

"It's pretty simple! We're going to help your father build the bridge, young lady!" He said, determined. "We'll protect him till his job is done! And then, we could even go and teach this Gatoo a lesson by kicking his hairy a…"

"Naruto…" Said Chuushinmaru.

"Right, right!" Replied Naruto, nodding. "Rule #58: A true hero can be a sailor with his enemies, but he must use manners with gentle people!"

"… What?" Tsunami began to do a little thinking. They had stopped that thief in a fraction of seconds. And they carried things in scrolls. That meant… "Are you… Are you ninjas?"

"Nope! We're Heroes! Well, Chuu is! I'm still in training…" Replied Naruto, rubbing the back of his head, a little embarrassed. Tsunami was a little confused.

"I'll explain." Said Chuushinmaru. He closed his only eye for a moment before talking again. "Commonly, a hero is more like a role that one finds himself into from time to time. A hero is usually someone who puts his life on the line for the sake of others, and in the end manages to do something out of the canon that brings them happiness and well being. But… Long ago, a clan thought this."

"…" Tsunami just stared and listened.

"A hero is a hero just for a selected time of people, and not forever. For example, heroes of war can become monsters, in times of peace. And they have always been that for the families of the soldiers he has killed." Tsunami nodded in understanding. "So, they decided that the world needed true heroes. Heroes that fought just for the sake of those in needs, without asking anything back. Their behaviour was based upon seven principles."

"Yes! Humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntariness, unity and universality!" Intervened Naruto. Chuushinmaru nodded, approving.

"Exactly. The clan evolved trough the time, but the basics remained the same. To become True Heroes. We could say that it's more like a work than a role, for us." Finished the older of the two.

"Hmm… It's interesting, but… If such a group of people exists… How come I've never heard about it?" Asked Tsunami.

Naruto winced just at the sound of those words. Chuushinmaru became surrounded by a gloomy aura, not dissimilar by the one that drenched the whole Wave country. Sadness and sorrow…

"That… It's something that I can't talk about. I'm sorry…" Answered Chuushinmaru. Tsunami understood that she had asked something about a touchy subject.

"I'm… I'm sorry…"

"You finished?"

"?"

"?"

"?"

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You could cut the tension like it was real. Lee felt like he had just cut a good two kilos of it just by moving around with his kunai in hand. At first, Zabuza had hidden himself behind by using a ninjutsu to summon a thick veil of mist. Kirigakure no Jutsu. Then, he began to let out killing intent. And good thing that they had been ninjas for almost an year, or they would be trembling like kittens in the rain. It was an insane amount of killing intent. A novice genin would be tempted to suicide himself to not let Zabuza have his way with him. In the killing way, of course. Then, suddenly…

"You're all dead."

"!"

"!"

"!"

"!"

"!"

Zabuza had suddenly appeared in the middle of the protection held by three Genin. Neji was the first one to react. He jumped forward, leaning his hands on the ground, then he pushed and kicked Zabuza hard in the stomach. But 'Zabuza' dissolved into a large amount of water. Mizu Bunshin. But before the real one could try one more time to land an attack, Gai detected him and tried to kick him hard in the middle of the chest, but he parried it with his sword.

"Hmm… Another bunshin, hn?" Said the Jounin.

"You noticed. How thoughtful of you." Said the real Zabuza from behind his back. Gai somersaulted behind him, dodging Zabuza's sword swing, and landing behind him. He launched himself at the missing nin one more time, and Zabuza barely dodged.

'Hmph. He's strong… That last punch was so powerful and fast that even if he brushed me, my skin got burned...' "I have to admit… You're probably stronger than me in Taijutsu… This is not a fight that I can win by using my sword only." Zabuza's comment made Gai chuckle.

"Even you had to admit my strength… It's only a matter of time before I definitely impose myself over Kakashi…" Gai gave the shiny teeth ninjutsu to Zabuza, who sweatdropped along with everyone around there.

"… But… What about ninjutsu?"

"!"

Zabuza suddenly disappeared, and reappeared standing on top of the lake, and he was already doing handseals for a technique. Gai could just guess that it was going to be a water jutsu.

"Everyone! Be prepared to dodge!"

"Suiton! Water dragon(traduci, qui!)!"

An enormous dragon made just of water suddenly rose up from the lake, and launched himself at the place were Gai and his team previously were. They jumped out of the way. Gai saw Zabuza already moving towards them, walking on the water's surface.

"Tsk…" 'Fighting him near a lake is a clear disadvantage…' These were the thoughts of Gai while Zabuza was approaching him at high speed, already savouring victory.

"You're mine!"

"Not so fast!"

"!"

Zabuza suddenly had to stop. He hadn't noticed that TenTen had jumped a little higher than the others, and she suddenly threw six kunais at him, but not even one hit him. They all fell around him, in the water.

"Uhuhuh… You sure had bad aim, girly…"

"Are you sure?!" Answered back TenTen, smiling knowingly.

And Zabuza understood as well when six explosion from underwater made him lose balance and forced him to jump back a little. But it wasn't over. He hadn't noticed another thing. Lee hadn't jumped at all. This was demonstrated by his kick suddenly coming from underwater and impacting under his jaw. Then, the Konoha genin jumped after him.

"Tsk…" 'What the hell… He's very fast…'

"Konoha Seppuu!"

Lee kicked the Jounin one more time, hard, towards a certain point of the lake where Neji was waiting for him.

"You're inside my divination range…" Suddenly, Neji fell into a pose that his team-mates only knew too well. "Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou!"

"!"

Neji initiated his attack while Zabuza was still at mid-air, not giving him any chance to defend himself. Zabuza didn't know what kind of attack it was… Yet. He suddenly could not feel his chakra anymore.

"64 hands!"

With the last series of hits, he was sent flying towards a tree, slamming hard into hit. And next thing he heard was Maito Gai landing in front of him, a few meters in front.

"Seems like you underestimated my youthful pupils, Zabuza." Then, Gai turned towards said pupils, giving them the nice guy pose and the shiny teeth. "Good work, my pupils! I'm proud of you!"

"Yosh! You are, Gai-sensei!"

"Lee, please…"

But before Gai could deliver the finishing blow, a pair of senbon struck Zabuza's neck.

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"Ah! Inari, you're back!"

Another presence had finally entered the room. A kid around 10 years old, more or less. The name was Inari, from how the young lady called him.

"I was getting sick of you talking about nonsense…" Said the boy. The mother sighed, and was about to scold him, when Naruto decided to talk first.

"Nonsense? What do you mean?" Asked the blonde haired boy. The kid seemed angry.

"It's simple. Heroes don't exist. You're liars… Or just stupid."

"WHAT? YOU LITTLE…"

"Naruto." Naruto stopped his angry retort before it even started. It seemed that he obeyed everything Chuushinmaru said to him. "Leave him be. After all… We'll stay here long enough to prove him otherwise."

"… If you try to against Gatou… You'll just die." Said this, the boy walked away, probably to his room. Tsunami sighed some more.

"I'm sorry. He's not a bad kid, but… He's been like this since…"

"Tsunami! I'm back!"

"! Ah! Father!"

"?"

"?"

"?"

"?"

"!"

"!"

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Haku managed to intervene right in time. Zabuza was in deep trouble. Fighting against that leaf Jounin was a hard task, but when those genins decided to take part into the battle, the odds were all again the missing nin.

"Haku, I think this time it will be a hard fight. Do you think you will be capable of handling those three genins at the same time?" Asked the missing nin to his tool. Haku nodded.

"Yes. I think I already detected their weak points. I will try to gather some more informations during these days. By the way… Two particular individuals have arrived in the country."

Zabuza raised an eyebrow at this comment. Haku waited a few seconds before continuing.

"They're not shinobi, and I don't think they're missing nins either. But their auras were… Particular. Strong, and their chakra gave away a different sensation than normal."

Zabuza massaged his chin. Haku decided to continue to explain his line of thoughts.

"I think they were just travellers. In the best of the cases, they will soon leave the country."

"… But it never hurts to be on the safe side, right?"

"Right."

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The sudden meeting between the groups gave different reactions to different people. Now, picture the scene. Gai and Tazuna walked in first, followed right after by the three genins. Tsunami, Naruto and Chuushinmaru were still sitting at the table. Now, Lee, TenTen and Neji and Tsunami didn't have particular reactions. The genins because they all thought that the three people in the room were all Tazuna's relatives. Neji was the first who remembered that Tazuna mentioned just his daughter and grandson as in 'relatives living with him'. Tsunami because she knew that Tazuna was gone to hire ninjas for his protection. Tazuna was confused, because he didn't know the guy without an arm and an eye and the blonde haired kid. Gai was, to say the least, shocked. The reason: the whisker marks on the blonde kid's face. Chuushinmaru and Naruto became tense just by seeing the newcomers' forehead's protectors. Konoha nins.

"Welcome back… Oh, these are the ninjas you hired? Thanks for taking my father back home safely." Said Tsunami, bowing.

"It was our pleasure, miss!" This was Lee. And for once, he said something that went along with the situation.

"And our due." Added TenTen, smiling. Neji just… Sorta smiled, with his arms crossed.

"Tsunami, who are these two new faces?" Asked Tazuna, finally.

"Oh, right. Grandpa, these are… Uh? Is something wrong?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

Indeed, there was. Naruto was staring at Gai, sweating. He was very nervous, and even fearful. Chuushinmaru was staring at the Jounin too, but he wasn't sweating. His stare was firm and even a bit irritated. Gai's stare was similar, only that his stare was downright angry.

"G-Gai-sensei, what's wrong?" Asked Lee. The tension was identical to the time they had faced Zabuza, only without killing intent… Yet?

Gai moved his hand. Chuushinmaru moved his hand inside his sleeve and took a hold of one of his hidden knives. But Gai's hand, fortunately, didn't move for his weapon pouch, but for one of his pockets of his jounin's uniform. He picked something out of it. It looked like a piece of paper… No, it was a photo. Gai showed it to Naruto and Chuushinmaru. It was a photo of a very young Naruto, around 6 years old, playing with a red ball in a sand box. One of the rare moments when he was smiling, at that age.

"After you disappeared…" Gai suddenly began to talk, in a scolding tone, directing his stare to Naruto. "Sandaime-sama gave this photo to me and every other Jounin, Anbu, Chunin and even Genin that he trusted."

"?"

Gai's team became interested in the conversation, since they had understood that it concerned Naruto. They began to stare at the blonde too.

"I will never forget his face, that day… He looked like… He was asking us to throw away our lives. He was suffering… Terribly." Gai paused just a second, for emphasis. "His exact words were: 'I can't ask this to you officially as a mission… And it seems that most of the village wants him to stay missing… Or dead… But… He was my responsibility… I beg you… If you find him… If you get to know something about him… Report to me and me only, immediately. The Sandaime Hokage begs you on his knees to do him this favour'."

"…" Naruto gritted his teeth. He seemed like he felt guilty for something.

"Gai-sensei, what's the meaning of this? Who's this boy?" Asked TenTen.

"… Do you think I didn't know?" Suddenly, Naruto decided to talk, his eyes focused on the ground… Or better, the table. His hands clenched into fists. The attention of everyone was focused on him. Even Chuushinmaru was focused on his speech, even if one couldn't tell, since he was keeping his eyes closed. "I regretted every day of these past six years of going away without saying hi to ojii-san, old man Teuchi and Ayame nee-chan… But… That was… That was my only chance to leave that hell that you call village…" Suddenly, Naruto's head shot up, no longer staring at the ground, and no longer feeling guilty, but determination and anger visible on his face. "I… I will never go back there! Never! You'll have to bring me there in a coffin, to make me stay!"

"… This boy, my students…" Gai lowered his hand. "Is Uzumaki Naruto. A citizen of Konoha, and the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Youko."

"!"

"!"

"!"

"!"

"!"

"…"

Continue…

In the next chapter…

Naruto's identity gets revealed to Team Gai and Tazuna's family. And in the end, Chuushinmaru comes to an agreement with Gai. What kind of agreement? What will happen? And what about Haku and Zabuza? Stay tuned!