Sup guys, here's the first chapter of The Demon' s Blessing.
The last chappy was a prolouge; this starts with the whole graduation ordeal and stuff.
This is seven years in the future; keep in mind that if it seems that Naruto has way too much chakra, he has already absorbed seven tails' worth of chakra. Just keep that it mind. Let it sink in for a moment...
Alright, that's enough sinking in.
Kay guys, here we go.
Naruto groaned as he turned in his bed once more. The alarm clock went off again...and again...and again. Finally, he decided that he couldn't take no more of it. He got out of his bed, turned the alarm off, and looked at the calender.
June 16.
'Shit,' was the one word that summarized Naruto's thoughts. Today was the day of the Genin Exams! No wonder his alarm clock had been set. He was Naruto Uzumaki; he didn't give a flying fuck when he was late or not.
But he could never miss something as important to him as the Genin Exams.
He dashed across the room, bursting through his bathroom door as he did so. Before he hopped in, he created two clones.
"Akui, I need you to prep me a breakfast, ASAP." he said to the first one. He was Naruto's height of five feet three inches, with the signature golden spiky hair of Naruto's. Akui was clad in a blue shirt with an orange spiral on it. He wore black baggy pants and had googles on his head. Akui nodded before running off.
Naruto turned his attention to the female clone. "Metsui, I need you to clean up my apartment." he ordered her. She was at a height of five feet one inch, with two ponytails hanging on either side of her head. She wore an orange shirt with the Konoha symbol centered on it. She also wore the black baggy pants, but did not have the googles that Naruto or Akui had. Metsui nodded before turning and summoning a group of clones that looked like Naruto.
"Clean-Up Division, you know our duty." she said. They all nodded and sped off into the living room. Naruto sighed as he headed into his warm shower.
'Having my own army is freaking awesome.' he thought. 'These excess chakra seals that turn the chakra into clones are so awesome.'
After taking a five minute shower, he ran out of the bathroom with his robe on. He quickly grabbed his black shirt with the kanji for "Leaf" on the front and "Strength" on the back, the black baggy pants that he wore, and his goggles before running back in. He ran back out merely a second later dressed. He stopped to grab his trench coat that he saw the Fourth Hokage wear in many pictures. The difference was that instead of being white with red flames, it was white with black flames- flames reminiscient of Amasterasu- licking the bottom. On the back, the words "Fifth Hokage" ran across it.
Naruto's dream was to be a Hokage better than the Fourth Hokage ever would be. And he would achieve it as soon as the old man retired. At least, that was his belief.
He sat down and quickly demolished the bacon and eggs that Akui had made before dispelling said clone. He turned to Metsui and the Clean-Up Division, to find that they too were done. He dispelled them as well before summoning three more clones.
The first clone was Naruto's height. He looked exactly like Naruto did in terms of features, but his hair was black instead of yellow. He wore a green shirt with the words "Bow down to me" written across it in big and orange letters. He wore the standart black baggy pants.
"Hyosuke, you and the Taijutsu Division meet on top of the Hokage Monument to practice the Fox Style and Emperor's Guard katas." he said. Hyosuke nodded and left via open window. Naruto turned to the female in the middle.
She was five feet four inches, with red hair that reached to her shoulders. She had the whiskers as all Naruto clones did. She wore a plain white shirt with the baggy pants. On her back was two identical blades; the standard tanto swords. Her waist had a katana on it.
"Anju, take the Kenjutsu Division to Training Ground 44 and head to the A-class section with Jake and the Ninjutsu Division. Your objective is to survive the day without losing a single member." Both she and the third clone, clad in the same clothes as Hyousake but with an orange shirt and green letters, nodded and disappeared in a shushin. Anju's shushin consisted of fire swirling around her before disappearing, while Jake's shushin was with the shadows of the apartment bending around him, swallowing him whole until he faded into nothingness. Naruto sighed.
"Shika, Lisa, come out." he sad to two more clones. Shika looked like Naruto without the trench coat, while Lisa was wearing Anju's clothes but looked like Metsui.
"Shika, you and the Tactics Division need to go off and make some formations. Lisa, you and the Torture and Interrogation Division have to go and practice in the ANBU headquarters. If anyone stops you, tell them that Ibiki and Anko called for you. And, if possible, find Kogeri and the Assassination Division and tell them that they can dispel." he said. Shika nodded and phased through the apartment's walls, while Lisa gave a 'Hai' before disappearing in a swirl of water.
Naruto looked at the alarm clock.
It read 8:55.
The Academy began in five minutes.
Naruto immediately ran out of the apartment, but not before activating the blood and chakra recognition seals. They wouldn't allow anyone but him to enter. He also activated the security and weapon seals, so that any intruder would be bombarded by a hail of weapons and Naruto would be alerted.
He took off down the streets, blasting by several groups of people who jumped as he scared the crap out of them. He mentally snorted.
'Before, they treat me like shit. Now, because of my eyes, they worship the ground I walk on. Fucking hypocrites.' he thought. Kyuubi chuckled.
"Hey, being worshipped is better than being hated, isn't it?" he asked.
'True, but it's still sickening.' he thought as his coat flew with the wind. He loved running this fast! The wind in his face, the scenery rushing by, the fast reflexes he had to have to dodge incoming traffic...it was so exhilarating!
Finally he reached the Academy. Knowing that he didn't have time to head up to the fourth floor, he channeled chakra to his legs and jumped towards the open window of his classroom. Soaring through the air was awesome, and he'd probably scare the crap out of Iruka. Sasuke would glare at him like the emo bitch he was, and everyone else that wasn' t staring at the Uchiha would be looking at him with either envy or amazement.
Iruka was sipping on his coffee, watching the class interact in what would be possibly their last class together. Kiba was making subtle advances on Hinata. Shino and Shikamaru were making light conversation. Chouji was eating out of his chip bag. Ino and Sakura were arguing over Sasuke, who was glaring at the chalkboard as if its very existence pissed him off to no ends. Everyone else was just making a ton of needless noise and confusion.
"If Naruto's late again, I'm gonna..." Iruka mumbled under his breath. Before he could finish his thoughts, however, he noticed a blur appear at the windowsill. Everyone else turned to it as well, to see Naruto sitting there without a care in the world.
"Hey, Iruka-sensei. I'm not late for the exams, am I?" he asked. Iruka glanced at the clock.
It had just struck 9:00.
"No Naruto, you just arrived in time. How did you get up here?" Iruka asked.
Naruto just looked at him. "I jumped." he stated plainly.
As he expected, Kiba and Sasuke scowled at him for showing off, while Shino, Shikamaru, and Chouji didn't even lift an eyebrow. Ino and about a third of the girls in the class instantly swooned over him, while Sakura and about a half of the other girls stared at Sasuke. The rest of the girls got into their Shikamaru fangirl club, something the lazy Nara accidentally received after the class heard of his IQ and saw him beat Sasuke in a battle. And Hinata glanced at him every few seconds or so before looking away with a blush, something that Naruto noted in the very back of his mind.
"Teach me how to do that, dobe." Sasuke demanded. Naruto looked at him in the eye.
"Nope." he said. Sasuke growled.
"You will teach me!"
Naruto merely shook his head in response. "Learn it yourself, Uchiha. Just because your precious Sharingan resides within you does not make you automatically better than me; for if you did your studies, you'd know that of the three great doujutsu, the Rinnegan- the doujutsu I have, not you- is naturally the strongest. So sit the fuck down, shut the fuck up, and prepare your limp dicked ass to take the exams." he stated. Sasuke growled, but Sakura was the first to make a move.
"DON'T TALK ABOUT SASUKE-KUN LIKE THAT, NARUTO-BAKA!" she screamed as she attempted to hit the boy. Unfortunately for her, Naruto was still perched in the window. He merely leaned back as the blow passed over him. He then used his legs like a scissor to pin Sakura, and with pure leg strength, threw Sakura out the window. He did a backflip and grabbed ahold of the windowsill, and pulled himself back in.
"She'll be back in a little bit, Iruka-sensei. And before you go and scold me for doing that, if she can't survive that fall without damage, then she doesn't deserve to be a ninja." he stated. Iruka opened his mouth in response, but then realized that Naruto was right. Even a Genin should have the skills to land properly; if she didn't, then she'd prove herself to be all booksmarts but absolutely unskillful.
Naruto decided to take a seat to the right of the Uchiha, where the pink haired harpee had been sitting. The Uchiha gave him a passing glance and scowled but said nothing. Naruto smirked. He certainly put the bitch back in his place, or so he thought.
As the class waited for Sakura to get her ass back to the room, Naruto noticed several pairs of eyeballs focused on him. He turned to meet all the looks. Instantly over half of the people staring at him looked away. Naruto grinned at those who still had the guts to stare at him. Personally, he thought that having guts was a huge factor in being a ninja.
He first met the gaze of Kiba Inuzuka, the heir of the Inuzuka clan. Naruto decided that Kiba was good at Taijutsu, but not really at anything other than that. He might be a ninja, but Naurto really wasn't sure. They were friends, not the best of friends, but they tolerated each other. Naruto didn't like that Kiba glared at him for talking to Hinata or outdoing him at something. Kiba, though unknown to the class, didn't like him mainly because that he was the object of the girl of his dreams.
He then turned to Shino Aburame, a good friend of his. Shino was the heir of the Aburame clan; as all Aburames were, he was silent and intellectual. He felt that he and Shino had a somewhat special bond; Naruto was ostracized by something out of his control, while Shino was ostracized by something that had nothing to do with him. When he could get the stoic person to talk, they'd have a nice conversation. Naruto didn't mind being in silence with him, either; for unlike many his age, he found his time with Shino rather companionable than creepy.
Naruto tore his eyes from Shino and turned to Shikamaru, one of his best friends in the Academy. Heir of the Nara clan, Shikamaru was the laziest person Naruto knew, but also the smartest. The two had many fun times with each other; when Naruto felt the urge to go on a prank, Shikamaru was the first person he'd contact. Shikamaru, in turn, found someone who understood his passion for watching clouds and gave him a good match in shogi. Naruto's head of the Tactics Division, Shika, was even named after Shikamaru, a tactical genius by all means.
Fourth on the list was Chouji Akamichi, also a good friend of Naruto. He was Shikamaru's best friend, heir to the Akamichi clan and someone Naruto could share his ramen obsession with. Chouji was big-boned, but Naruto knew better than to call him fat. Chouji was also someone with whom he could prank or hang out with. Chouji even went so far as to offer a bag of chips to Naruto- which, to any Akamichi, was a symbol of trust and friendship.
Finally, he came to Hinata Hyuuga, heiress of the Hyuuga clan and a straight man's wet dream. She was, in Naruto's description once when she had found him half dead from chakra exhaustion, an "angel from heaven." She had nice hair, a pretty face, a perfect body, a nice personality...Naruto felt that he could go on and on. But, she would shy away from Naruto, who took it as she didn't like him/was afraid of him. Therefore, even though the two would make a perfect couple- with Naruto's rather fierce and caring personality to Hinata's shy and loving one- they were not boyfriend and girlfriend.
These five were basically Naruto's best friends in the Academy, even though Kiba and him had some rough patches and Hinata and him barely interacted. That aside, the group of six were really close.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Naruto asked to the five who were grouped together.
"Nothing much, just getting ready to ace this exam." Kiba said confidently, borderline arrogantly.
"Big words, Inuzuka. Can you back that up?" he retorted. Shikamaru groaned.
"This whole test is troublesome...this is such a drag." he said rather sleepily.
"Shikamaru, everything is a drag to you." Chouji replied before stuffing his face once more with goods.
"Naruto, how do you think that we'll all do?" Shino asked. He had experience with Naruto's predicting abilities; they were good, very much so.
"Hmm...I'll probably finish first, depending on how hard I decide I want to work and how hard the Uchiha actually tries. You, Shino, can come in either third, fourth or fifth; you and Shikamaru are pretty even, and since you guys occasionally take Taijutsu lessons with me, your Taijutsu is way better than one of your clansmen. Shikamaru, if you put effort in it, you can make it to third place, but you'll be no lower than fifth, since your mom won't take that from you. Hinata should easily be the top kunoichi, and could make it to the fifth spot overall if you gave it your all. Chouji can take sixth or seventh, and Kiba should be that other spot. After that, everyone else falls in place. I'm confident that we'll all make it through, though." he said to give everyone extra confidence. He didn't want his best buddies to fail, of course!
After some more meaningless conversation, Sakura finally made it back up to the room. Iruka motioned her to an empty seat before usign the Scary Head no Jutsu to settle the class.
"Alright, now that Sakura's here we can commence with the test. The test is divided into five parts. The first part, which we take now, is a written exam. You have twenty minutes to answer these ten questions based on Konoha history." he said while handing the tests around. Naruto snorted. He took his village's history in pride, so he should take this part easily.
"Begin," he said as everyone got to working.
1. Who was the First Hokage?
Naruto scribbled down Hashirama Senju.
2. What was the Second Hokage's relation to the First Hokage?
Naruto said that they were brothers.
3. Why was the Fourth Hokage also known as the Yellow Flash?
Naruto said that because of his Thunder Flying God Technique, the Hirashin no Jutsu, with which he could obliterate entire armies in a single, yellow flash.
4. What was the greatest disaster to befall Konoha?
He snorted before writing down the Kyuubi's attack. This test was way too easy.
5. Name the Three Legendary Sannin and their jonin sensei.
Naruto wrote Jiraiya, the Toad Sannin; Tsunade, the Slug Sannin; Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin; and Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage.
6. Who is Kakashi Hatake?
Naruto wrote down that Kakashi was a Jonin of Konoha who was world renowned for using his Sharingan to master over 1000 jutsu (at this, he mentally frowned since there weren't even that many in the world).
7. Name the major clans of Konoha.
Hyuuga, Uchiha, Aburame, Akamichi, Nara, Yamanaka, and Inuzuka.
8. Who is responsible for the Uchiha Massacre?
Itachi Uchiha
9. What is Training Ground 44 known as?
The Forest of Death.
10. What is the ANBU?
The ANBU are a highly trained group of shinobi that take on the most dangerous of missions. They answer only to the Hokage and those in ANBU above them.
Naruto grinned as he dropped his pencil. From the looks of it, he was the second done in five minutes. Sakura, of course, was first, because she was nothing but a textbook anyway.
After the twenty minutes was up, Iruka turned to them. "Next up is your throwing ability. We'll head outside to do this test. Class, get in a single file line and follow me to the throwing grounds."
The class settled into the standard single file line, with Shino in the front and Ino in the back. Apparently, they were lined by their last names, which is why Naruto groaned. His last name of Uzumaki was, after all, second to last on the list. He figured that he'd somewhat pay attention.
"Class, this test is simple. You have five kunai to hit a dummy from 20 feet away, and then five shuriken to hit another dummy from 20 feet away. The process repeats except that it will increase from 20 feet to 30 feet. Vital areas are 5 points, while everywhere else is 1 point. Missing the target is a subtraction of 3 points. Shino, you're up first." Iruka explained. The Aburame nodded and went up.
Naruto watched with interest as Shino connected on all five of his kunai from 20 feet, with one in the neck, one in between the eyes, one in the forehead, one in the lung, and one that stuck out of his arm. The shuriken went slightly worse, with two in the neck, one in the stomach, one to the heart, and one that grazed the head but missed. From 30 feet, Shino actually did better; one kunai went in the heart, one to the left lung, one to the right lung, one in the forehead, and one in the neck. The shuriken also did better; two hit the heart, one in the right lung, one in between the eyes, and one that struck his forehead. Iruka nodded while scribbling furiously.
"Alright, so that was four to the neck, two in between the eyes, three to the forehead, four to the heart, four in the lungs, and since that was all vital areas, that turns into an 85. The one in the stomach was three points, since it's a fifty-fifty chance that the person lives or dies. There was one in the arm, so that brings you to an 89, but since you missed a shuriken, your final score is an 86. Chouji, step up if you will."
Chouji did worse than the Aburame, with one kunai to the neck, one to the heart, two in the stomach, and one that missed. The shuriken ended up with one in the neck, one in the forehead, one in the arm, one in the leg, and one that missed. From thirty yards out, three kunai went to the stomach, while one found a lung and one missed. With the shuriken, one found the neck, one hit the forehead, one hit the heart, and two missed.
"Chouji, that translates to a fourty two. " And so it went on. Hinata ended up with a 86. Kiba found himself with a 72. Shikamaru managed a 59, which was expected, as the Nara didn't have all that good an aim. Finally, Sasuke came up, and managed a 97, only missing a shuriken from thirty feet out.
"Beat that, dobe." Sasuke taunted as Naruto stepped up. Without so much as taking a glance, two kunai hit the neck and three to the head, one in each eye and one to the forehead. One shuriken to both lungs, one to the heart, one in the heck, and one forehead finished up the twenty footers. Naruto then nailed all five kunai in the head. With the shuriken, he decided to show off.
Flicking one to the neck, he coated it with wind chakra that decapitated the dummy. A flaming shuriken struck the man's left lung, while one covered in lightning hit the right lung. A shuriken that found the man's heart instantly caused the straw to cave in, signaling that it was covered with earth chakra. And a kunai with a water cloak struck the body's stomach. The area became wet as the kunai punctured the dummy.
Iruka stood speechless, as did all the other teachers and students. Even Sasuke's mind shut down for a moment at the display. As if it were a hidden signal, all the minds rebooted at once. Despite this, however, Iruka is the first to regain his sppech abilities.
"Naruto...these scores...they haven't been seen since the Fourth Hokage took this test. Amazing! You scored a 200, because using elemental chakra while throwing is an automatic extra 20 points. Itachi Uchiha scored a 140, Kakashi Hatake scored a 140, but this ties with the highest score set by the Yondaime Hokage." he sttutered out. Naruto nodded lazily, as if he did stuff like that every day, which, knowing him, he probably did.
After a few minutes of sitting there, Ino completed the portion of the test with a 64, something she gloated nonstop to Sakura, who only got a 57, one of the worst grades.
They went farther over to the grounds they reserved for Taijutsu sparring.
Iruka turned to his class once more. "Ok, so the third part is the Taijutsu exam. In this part, two competitors will enter the ring. They will spar using nothing but Taijutsu. The one to be knocked out of the ring or forced to surrender will lose 10 points, while the one who wins gets an extra 10 points. It is suggested that you use the Academy style Taijutsu, but other forms are okay as well. First off, Shino Aburame and Chouji Akamichi."
The two boys headed into the ring. After about three minutes of sparring, Chouji eventually won. Shino was faster by far, but Chouji managed to get one powerful blow that knocked the Aburame out of the ring. Chouji settled with a 89, while Shino received a 78.
After some more battles, Sakura and Hinata took to the ring. The match was over as soon as it started. Sakura threw a sloppy punch at Hinata, who sidestepped and shoved her into Hinata's waiting foot. Sakura tripped and fell out of the ring. Iruka shook his head.
"Hinata, that's a perfect 110, while Sakura gets a 43 for...effort and...uh, throwing a punch." Iruka said, reading the results Mizuki gave him. Honestly, he believed that Sakura deserved a zero, but since Mizuki was proctoring this part of the exam, he couldn't argue.
Kiba thrashed some civilian kid pretty easily, earning him a 106 for both speed and strength. Shikamaru did surprisingly well, earning a win against some other kid and receiving a 96. Finally, Naruto and Sasuke took to the ring.
"Kich the baka's butt, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cheered as the Uchiha settled into the Uchiha clan's stance.
"Go, Naruto-kun!" Ino and, though much quieter, Hinata, said as Naruto settled into the Emperor's Guard Stance. It consisted of Naruto holding his right hand out in a claw like fashion, with the left hand off to its side and behind it. His right foot was also put in front of the left foot in the same fashion as his hands.
"Begin" Mizuki said as he leapt out of the ten foot ring. The two stood for a long time, not moving a single muscle. They wait for the other to make a move.
Finally, Sasuke cannot stand the wait and decides to taunt Naruto in the hopes of making him move.
"What's the matter dobe? Are you scared of facing me?" he asked. Naruto shook his head.
"Nope, but you are too weak to even go full out on, so I'm just going to use my weakest style. That should be enough for you." he stated. Sasuke growled and charged Naruto.
He began with a right fist to the face. Naruto deflects the punch away and blocks the spinning kick from the right foot with his forearm. Sasuke then forces himself to jump over Naruto, trying to kick him on the way. Naruto blocks the attack with his forearm and pushes Sasuke away.
Sasuke lands rather neatly and comes at him again, with a knee to the gut. Naruto blocks with his right hand. Sasuke launches a left hook to the face of Naruto, who grabbed it and tossed Sasuke over his shoulder. The boy lands about a foot in front of the line, before Naruto appeared and launched a really hard punch- it was with inhumane strength, something that Sasuke noted as he landed.
"That's not fair! He cheated. That last punch was inhumanly strong, which meant that he used chakra to enhance it." He stated. Naruto intervened, seeing as how he was the one in question.
"No, that wasn't chakra, but rather your energy plus mine. The Emperor's Guard style is a defensive styled Taijutsu stance where the user absorbs the energy from the opponent's blows and redirects at them. That's why I stayed on the defensive most of the time. Furthermore, even if I did use chakra, it would have counted as Taijutsu anyway because I did not use a Ninjutsu or Genjutsu." Sasuke growled.
"Teach me that style, dobe." he demanded.
"Why? I thought that the Uchihas were better than everything, so why would you need to learn a style underneath your Uchiha stance?" he questioned. To everyone's shock, the reasoning actually went through to Sasuke, who paused.
"You know what, dobe? You're right." he stated before walking away. Naruto received a 110, while Sasuke received a 90. The class then proceeded to move away from the training ground and over to the forest.
"Next up is the Genjutsu portion. You must dispel a Genjutsu we place on you as fast as you can. Under 10 seconds is a perfect 100, under 20 is a 90, and so on and so forth."
Shino received a 100 after dispelling the illusion three seconds in. Chouji had a harder time, but still hit a 100 after seven seconds. Sakura received a 100 only because thanks to her childish reserves, her chakra control was good and that made it easy to dispel a Genjutsu. Hinata received a 100 thanks to the Hyuuga's ability to see through Genjutsu and dispel it easily. Kiba got a 90 after taking about eleven seconds to dispel it, while Shikamaru got a one hundred after a five second gap. Finally, Sasuke, Naruto and Ino all received a one hundred, with Naruto being able to dispel the Genjutsu in a second, Sasuke in three seconds, and Ino in eight seconds.
Finally, they went back into their Academy classroom for the final portion of the exam.
"Ok guys, this last part is the Ninjutsu part. You have to perform the Henge (Transformation), Kawamiri (Substitution), and Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique) to pass. For the Bunshin, you have to produce at least two clones. If you want, you can perform a jutsu from outside of the Academy for extra credit." Iruka explained. "Shino, you're first."
The Aburame walked in and out several moments later with the headband. Chouji, Sakura (surprisingly), Hinata, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Sasuke did the same. Finally came Naruto's turn.
"Alright Naruto, first is-" Iruka began. However, Mizuki appeared eager to start, as he launched a handful of shuriken at Naruto before Iruka could even start. He substituted with a chair off to the side of the room. He quickly then turned into a carbon copy of the Fourth Hokage (which he already is, except with whiskers) using the Henge, before turning back into himself. He then created four perfect clones, and then used the Shadow Clone Jutsu to fill the room with clones of himself. As Iruka hit one, it dispelled, showing him that it was indeed a different jutsu from the one that the Academy teaches.
"Congratulations Naruto, you pass with flying colors!" he congratulated as Naruto grabbed a haead band and tied it to his forehead. He gave a smile at Iruka and left the room.
Outside, he met Kiba, Shino, Hinata, Shikamaru and Chouji.
"Hey look, it's Naruto!" Kiba said as they turned to see their classmate and now comrade.
"Was there any doubt that i was going to fail?" Naruto asked while smirking. Everyone else smile back.
"Alright guys, we're celebrating. Let's get something to eat." Naruto stated. Eventually, after an argument between Chouji and Naruto, the six decided to head to Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto's favorite place.
He recalled the place when it was just a measly stand could only serve about five people at once. However, after Naruto gained his Rinnegan, word got out that the stand was his favorite spot to eat. The business at Ichiraku picked up tremendously afterwards, and seven years later, it was one of the premier restuarants in Konoha. It was about the size of a small apartment building, with several floors and several waiters and cooks. The first floor was breakfast food, the second served lunch, and the third served dinner. Each floor had about 20 tables, with one table with one chair, one with two, and so on and so forth.
Naruto and his friends entered the restuarant and headed up to the second floor, where a waiter met them.
"We'd like a table for six." Naruto said as the waiter took down their names. He directed Naruto and the rest of the crew to a table near a huge window. It gave off a nice view of the western district of Konoha. Naruto slid into the corner with Hinata next to him and Kiba next to her. Shino sat across from him, with Shikamaru in the middle and Chouji at the end.
The waiter came up to them once more. "What are your orders?"
"I'll have three large bowls of pork ramen to start, please." Naruto said.
"I'll have three large bowls of miso ramen." Chouji stated.
"I'll have some Asian sesame noodles with ginger-scented chicken." Shino stated.
"I'd like to order a medium bowl of shrimp ramen," Kiba said.
"Troublesome...can I have some tuna maki?" Shikamaru asked.
"A-ano...I'll h-have a small bowl of vegetable r-ramen, p-please." Hinata stammered out. The waiter nodded and left to hand the order off to Teuchi, the head cook of the lunch menu.
"So guys, how'd your Ninjutsu test go?" Naruto asked, kickstarting a conversation.
"Well, I did all three Academy jutsu and then used my bugs to make a bug clone." Shino stated.
"I did the jutsu and then used my Partial Expansion." Chouji continued.
"I did all three jutsu but didn't get any extra credit." Hinata said without stuttering, much to everyone's shock.
"Yawn...all three jutsu and then Shadow Possession." Shikamaru stated.
"I did all three and then used the Head Hunter Jutsu on Mizuki." Kiba said. Naruto and Shikamaru snickered.
"So that was why he was covered in dirt." they managed to say while all the others just looked at them. After a few second or so, they managed to calm themselves.
"Oh, I did all three and then used the Shadow Clone Jutsu." Naruto stated after realizing that he never told them what he did. At that point, the food had arrived. As they ate, they made pointless talk about what was going on in their life, how they were doing in their training, and even managed to make a day that Naruto would take them somewhere special. As they ate and talked, Naruto gave off a true smile, which everyone else noted and did as well. They understood that they would alway have one another's back, no matter what. They were friends, and that's what they did.
Finally, after all else finished, a ramen eating contest took place between Chouji and Naruto. Naruto managed to pull away with the win, triumphing over Chouji's thirteen bowls with his fifteen. Afterwards, they left but still stayed together.
"Race you to the hill." Kiba said as he ran off. Everyone else smirked and ran off after him. It was a tradition that after anything they all did together, they would make it to a hill and lay there, watching the clouds and the sunset.
Naruto made it first, with Kiba coming in second even with his head start. Shikamaru and Shino arrived at the same time, with Hinata following them. Chouji, naturally, was the last to arrive. The six plopped down under the lone tree that stood on the hill, laying in a circle with not a care in the world. A few words were exchanged, but one didn't need to hear the conversation to understand that they were close.
Finally, after a few hours of that, the sun set and it became night time. They all stood.
"Oh! Guys, we have to meet at the Academy at eight thirty tomorrow to find out our teams." Naruto said, rememebering something Iruka had told him as he was leaving. The others nodded and were about to leave, but they spotted a figure run away, with a bundle in his arms. A few seconds later, the Hokage's voice rang out over the village.
"All available ninja, the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing has been stolen! Spread out and find it before it gets away!" the voice boomed. The six looked at each other, before looking at the way the stranger had left.
"You don't think..." Shikamaru said with widened eyes.
"It doesn't matter, it's a chance we'll have to take. Let's go guys." Naruto said as he leapt off after the culprit. The other five quickly followed him.
"Hinata, can you see him?" Naruto called out as they leapt through the thick foliage that was the forest that lies on the outside of Konoha. A strange feeling of thrill was in all their bodies; they were in a virtual state of lockdown, and they were outside the village for the first time in their lives. It was only their first day on their job, and yet they were here chasing after someone who might've stolen the scroll.
"Hai, Naruto. He's still running away from us, but we're catching up to him. If we continue like this, we should catch him in under five minutes." Hinata stated. Her stutter had dissolved completely in the time of emergency.
"Kiba, do you have any scent that might identify the thief?" Naruto asked to the person traveling next to him. Kiba sniiffed the air.
"He has a distinct smell of snakes...but he also smells like Mizuki-sensei!" he exclaimed. Everyone's eyes widened at the revelation.
"That can't be..." Chouji said.
"A few bugs have caught up to him, and they identify the chakra as belonging to Mizuki-sensei as well." Shino informed them.
"But why would he..." Hinata murmured.
"Of course!" Naruto exclaimed, feeling stupid. "He's stolen the scroll for Orochimaru!"
Everyone gasped, Shino and Shikamaru more so because they understood why.
"How?" Kiba asked. "How did you come to this conclusion?"
"Remember back a few months ago, when Mizuki-sensei was absent for a week? Iruka-sensei told us that he was on a mission to the Land of Rice. According to rumors, the new village over there, called Oto, was created and ruled by Orochimaru." Naruto chattered off quickly.
"Plus, my bugs that are working on draining his chakra are picking up on a much fouler chakra as well, coming from his neck." Shino stated. Kiba's eyes narrowed.
"Now that you mention it, I remember that there was a strange marking on his neck as well. It was black and kinda looked like what the Sharingan should have when it fully matures." he said. Shikamaru shook his head.
"So he went to the Land of Rice completely unharmed, and came back with a marking on his neck and smelling of snakes. The marking sounds like the Cursed Seal that we learned about. It was, after all, created by Orochimaru. So if he went to Oto, it would've been the perfect chance to get the seal from him. And if he came back smelling like snakes, it suggest that..." he said.
"He's been dealing with Orochimaru." Naruto said. "And that explains why he stole the scroll."
"Care to elaborate?" Chouji asked, who now understood who Mizuki was really working for, but not why the scroll has anything to do with it.
"Think about it. Orochimaru doesn't just give away the markings for free. He expects something in return. Mizuki must be giving him the scroll." Shikamaru stated.
"Why the scroll, though?" Hinata asked.
"The scroll is full of powerful jutsu and seals that can make the wielder significantly more powerful. Orochimaru's life ambition is to avoid death and try to learn every jutsu that exists. He's probably banking that there's a way to get immortal in the scroll, and even if there isn't, then he gets jutsu out of it and Konoha loses them. It's a win-win situation for him, unless we can get the scroll back." Naruto stated. Shino nodded.
"But I can't shake the feeling that there is an underlying ambition in this..." he said.
"There can be a number of reasons. He can be searching for a way to find immortality, to unseal the Kyuubi, or maybe he's planning to use some jutsu he finds in an attack against Konoha. However, we don't have any proof right now. All we can go on is that Mizuki-sensei is stealing the scroll, most likely for Orochimaru." Naruto replied. All of his friends nodded, not freaking out about the Kyuubi situation because they knew that Naruto held him in. They even met him once, and they had to say that he was quite friendly.
Finally, they caught up to the culprit. "So, it's you kids, huh." he said with a chuckle.
"Give it up, Mizuki. You can't win. Hand over the scroll and surrender peacefully, and you might live through this ordeal." Naruto stated. To confirm their suspicion, Mizuki stepped out into the light, with the scroll in his arms.
"You six don't stand a snowball's chance in Hell against me." Mizuki sneered as he put the scroll down. He quickly made hand signs as well.
"Earth Style: Mud Dragon Bullet," he proclaimed as a dragon head rose from the ground next to him and launched several mud balls at them. They quickly scattered away from the attack.
"Partial Expansion Jutsu," Chouji said as his hands increased to the size of Naruto's body. he swung at Mizuki, who jumped to launch himself out of the way. Unfortunately, the group of six had planned it out so they were glad that he did so. A group of bugs swarmed the scroll and flew back to Shino, who grabbed hold of it.
"Tunneling Fang," Kiba said as he flew through the air at Mizuki. Without anyway to dodge and forgetting about the Substitution Jutsu, Mizuki was hit by Kiba, though he had crossed his arms in front of him to block the attack. The impact and energy behind the attack blew Mizuki at Chouji, who grabbed him. Shino's bugs swarmed him, eating him of all his chakra. As they flew off, Naruto approached him, ready to put his part into play, when suddenly Chouji yelped and dropped him. Mizuki stood up, with purple chakra flowing visibly from him. The Cursed Seal was spreading over his body.
"HAHAHAHAHA! Take this! Earth Style: Multi-Mud Dragon Bullet!" he said as two dragons of earth shot mud bullets everywhere.
"Shinra Tensei." Naruto stated as they were all repelled from him and his friends. Mizuki was also thrown through the air, straight to Hinata.
"8 Trigrams: 2 Palms!" she said as she closed two tenketsu, stopping the chakra flow.
"4 Palms!" she said, closing the next four.
"8 Palms! 16 Palms! 32 Palms! Eight Trigrams, 64 Palms!" she called out as her hands moved in a blur. With each strike, she closed off one tenketsu after another until finally, with a palm to the heart, she sent him flying back to Shikamaru, who finished his hand seals.
"Shadow Possession Jutsu," he said as Mizuki landed on his feet. As Shikamaru's shadow connected with Mizuki's, he was kept in place. Naruto used the opportunity to go for the jutsu that he was going for earlier.
"Soul Removal!" he stated while holding his hand on Mizuki's head. As he pulled upward, a spirit was removed from Mizuki's body. With a silent scream, Mizuki slumped over, dead. Naruto nodded as the ANBU appeared.
"Naruto Uzumaki, Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Chouji Akamichi, and Shikamaru Nara, the Hokage wishes for your presence. Mizuki's body will be taken to the Research Division for analysis." the ANBU commander said as two others picked up the body and shushined away. The commander and the other ANBU member escorted the six Genin back into the village.
Sarutobi rubbed his head as he listened to Naruto and his friends tell their tale. He was definitely too old to be dealing with this shit.
"So let me get this straight. You guys celebrated graduating by going to Ichiraku and then hanging out on the hill, where you noticed a figure running off with a bundle. Hearing my command, you six went after him and figured out that Mizuki was betraying the village and working for Orochimaru. You six then used teammwork to incapacitate and ultimately kill Mizuki and retrieve the scroll." He recapped as the six nodded silently. He sighed.
"This has become an A-ranked mission for all of you. You each will receive 50,000 ryo for your efforts. Come back tomorrow at two in the afternoon to pick up the money." he stated.
"Hai." The six replied.
"By the way, your parents were alerted to your actions, and..." Sarutobi stated as his door slammed open to reveal Tsume. Following her, Shibi, Chouza, Shikaku and Hiashi all strode over to their children.
"I heard what you did Kiba. Good job using the Passing Fang!" Tsume said as Kiba blushed under his mom's praise.
"Nice work." Shibi said to Shino, who nodded.
"Good job, son! We'll celebrate by going out to the BBQ restaurant tomorrow!" Chouza said to Chouji while providing him with another bag of chips.
"Good work, Shikamaru." Shikaku said to Shikamaru, who mumbled "Troublesome" under his breath.
Hinata stared at Hiashi, who stared right back. To her joy, he gave her a nod, signaling a job well done. Overwhelmed with joy, she jumped onto Hiashi in a flying hug. Though he doesn't react, Naruto saw that he was trying his damn best not to smile.
"You're all dismissed." Sarutobi said as the eleven disappeared. He sighed and turned to the last paper on his desk.
"Looks like I'll have to change the team arrangements." Sarutobi stated as he erased a few names and moved them around.
Cut!
So guys, there be the first chapter of The Demon's Blessing. Review!
Yes, the teams are changed. They won't be the same as the canon, so therefore, the missions and everything else will change as well.
Alright guys, I'm signing off. Review!
Andrew out!