Chapter 2:First Mission, Deadly Ambush!
Zaku took a step back and Ino did the same. Sasuke turned around and faced them. He held up a small bell on a string in his hand.
"You have thirty minutes, if this bell is still within my possession when that alarm goes off, I'm sending you back to the academy."
"What! Back to the academy!" Kiba managed to cut himself free from the net with a kunai and dropped to the ground.
"Shinobi must think on their feet, and failure in the real world often results in death. Either you are going to succeed, or you can stop wasting my time." He stood, waiting for their first move. Kiba was happy to oblige. He dashed off towards Sasuke in a blind rush.
"Kiba no!" Zaku tried to stop him, but Kiba jumped over top of him and came down at Sasuke in a power strike.
"Slow..." Sasuke muttered, than disappeared.
"What!" Kiba landed on his hand and flipped over to his feet. Ino looked around, than pulled a kunai out.
"Spread out, if we..." Ino started to talk strategy, but Kiba interrupted her. "Shut up, I don't need you to tell me what to do!" He jumped into the air and towards a tree that Sasuke had just appeared in.
"Idiot!" She said as she jumped after him. Sasuke disappeared as Kiba reached him. He landed on the branch and looked around.
"Dammit were did he go!" Ino landed short of the branch to cover more ground.
Zaku swung his arm backwards hard and punched when he felt Sasuke behind him. But the Jounin blocked it casually with on arm. Sasuke swept low with his leg and kicked Zaku's feet out from under him. He put a hand to the ground and flipped himself away. Sasuke smiled and held the bell up.
"None of you have a chance on your own." Ino ran over next to Zaku as Kiba jumped down and did the same.
"We'll have to use teamwork if we have any chance of doing this..." She said to everyone, not taking her eyes off of Sasuke. He jumped far backwards and landed on top of on of the stumps. Ino thought for a second, than came up with a plan.
"Kiba, distract him. I'll try to incapacitate him with my Shadow Bind Jutsu, Zaku, you grab the bell." Zaku readied himself.
"Sounds good Ino..." He said. Kiba gritted his teeth. "Don't tell me what to do!" He tore off after Sasuke. Ino laughed to herself. "Heh, that's why you're the distraction, mutt." She started her hand seals and moved to the middle of the clearing. Zaku powered up his chakra and got ready. Kiba dove after Sasuke, who jumped him and kicked him with both feet, sending him crashing into the stump. Sasuke flipped backwards to the ground. Kiba scrambled after him, but Sasuke spun and sent him flying away.
"Shadow Bind Jutsu!" Ino's shadow stretched out and shot at Sasuke's shadow.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Zaku duplicated himself into two and jumped at Sasuke. Ino's shadow connected with Sasuke's perfectly.
"Got him!" She exclaimed and held the Jutsu in place. Zaku dove at him and grabbed at the bell. Sasuke disappeared in poof of smoke and the two Zakus were left with a handful of smoke.
"What the?" Ino said as the Shadow Bind Jutsu broke. Sasuke appeared behind her and lightly chopped the back of her neck. She flew forward to the ground. Kiba got to his feet and tore off after Sasuke again.
"You two are very well adept for your age. You on the other hand..." He grabbed the charging Kiba by the arm and threw him into the clone Zaku which destroyed him. Sasuke smiled as he looked over the three. He remembered back when he was a Genin, these three reminded him of him Naruto and Sakura.
"It didn't work... this is impossible...he's too much stronger than us..." Zaku shook his head in disbelieve. Sasuke looked over to Kiba and shook his head.
"You're of the Inuzuka clan correct? Where is your dog?" He asked. Kiba gritted his teeth and balled up his fists.
"I... was supposed to get it after the Genin graduations... but guess where I had to be?" He said sarcastically. Sasuke looked at Ino.
"Your father is Nara Shikamaru? I'm assuming that he taught you that technique... and I see that you have picked up at least some of his problem solving abilities." Ino blushed and shrugged her shoulders. Sasuke looked over to Zaku.
"And you're an interesting one aren't you? Formally of the Hyuuga clan, you live with Uzumaki Naruto don't you? He was the only other one I've seen to do the Shadow Clone Jutsu so well at such a young age. He taught you that if I'm not mistaken. Tell me something, how skilled are you at the Hyuuga clan's Jutsu?"
Zaku thought about it for a second.
"I can do the Byakugan to a degree, but I cannot hold it for very long." He said, thinking about how Hinata had taught him the basics of the Hyuuga white eyes technique.
"And the Juken style, what of it?" Sasuke asked again. Zaku shook his head, he hadn't been able to efficiently use the Juken fighting style very well yet. Sasuke nodded.
"Understandable at your age without an elder Hyuuga to teach you I suppose." Sasuke nodded and threw the bell to Zaku.
"You all pass." He said as he turned and walked over to the clock. Kiba looked over at Zaku and shook his head.
"I don't get it... he just gave it to us?" He scratched his head. Ino put her hands on her hips and sighed.
"He was just testing us I guess..." Sasuke grabbed the clock and turned back to them.
"There was no way any of you could have gotten it. But you got closer than I expected you to." He turned the clock off and started walking back towards the village.
"Congratulations team three; you're now officially a Genin squad." He said casually.
"We begin training here tomorrow at six a.m. don't be late." He leapt away into town. Kiba cracked a smile, and then erupted into cheering.
"Yeah! We did it! We're Genin!" He started laughing and he and Ino hugged. A second later they realized it and pushed each other away.
"Get offa' me mutt!" she said and crossed her arms and turned her nose up. He grunted and turned away from her. Zaku laughed at them and started walking back towards the village.
"WHAT!" Naruto exclaimed and smashed his fists down on the table when he heard that Sasuke was Zaku's sensei. Hinata laughed to herself at Naruto, it was just like him to over react like this. Naruto more or less pouted the rest of the night. Zaku didn't fall asleep quickly that night, his real training was about to begin, and he couldn't wait.
Zaku sat under and tree and Ino was perched atop one of the stumps, awaiting Kiba and Sasuke. Zaku stretched his arms and yawned. Ino looked over at him.
"Didn't sleep well?" She asked absently. Zaku yawned again.
"Hardly at all, I was thinking about today." He said sleepily. They heard someone coming and both of them got alert quickly. Kiba came trotting along the path with a big smile on his face, and a small dog trailing behind him. It had spiky grey fur and looked to be some kind of young wolf. Kiba whistled and the dog jumped up onto his back and sat in his down hood and stuck its head and front legs over his shoulder. It barked when Kiba came up to Zaku and Ino. Ino looked at it with a trouble expression.
"Oh great, he got an accomplice..." she said rolling her eyes. The little dog growled at her and Kiba laughed.
"His name is Akumaru!" Kiba said enthusiastically as he pulled the little dog off of his shoulder and held him up. Zaku got up and walked over to him. He bent down and looked at the dog. He put his hand up to its mouth and held it there.
"Uh... good boy?" He said. Akumaru sniffed at him for a second, and then bit his hand.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Zaku yanked his hand away and Akumaru held on. He ran around in a circle screaming as Kiba chased behind him yelling at Akumaru.
"They say that the Inuzuka clan bonds with their animals at a spiritual level." Ino turned around to see Sasuke standing there watching. She turned back to the scene and laughed.
"Looks like they'll get along real well." She said.
They began their training shortly after. It was hard, and Sasuke was a strict sensei. They trained day and night for about a week. Kiba and Akumaru strengthened their bond. The little dog proved to be more of an asset than anyone had thought it could be. Sasuke helped Ino develop her natural intuition and problem solving skills. Zaku trained his Byakugan by having it on all the time. They worked on their basics a lot, training their stealth and combat over and over. Sasuke taught him how to tap into the Juken style, but he could only tell him so much since he wasn't from the Hyuuga clan. They all walked out to the training grounds together most of the time. Ino and Kiba continued to argue constantly, but it was usually harmless. They made their way to the Hokage's office one day after they were called upon. They were sent inside by the guards, and found Kakashi and Sasuke talking over a paper.
"I'm glad to see you here." Kakashi said as he looked up at them. Sasuke stood up and turned to them.
"It's time for your first mission." He said. Everyone immediately got excited. Kakashi held up a scroll that had writing on it.
"This is a low ranked mission since it's your first. You are to take this scroll to a feudal lord in the country of tea."
Akumaru barked and Kiba nodded. "What's on the scroll?" He asked. Sasuke looked at him. "That's not for us to worry about. We were hired to take it to the country of tea, and it's important enough to require something more than a normal courier." Ino put her hands on her hips and sighed.
"Delivery? Not very exciting is it?" She said. Kakashi looked up and her and held up his index finger.
"Most Shinobi missions are not as exciting as people think." She bowed her head. Sasuke walked over to the door.
"We should get going right away if we want to make good time." He said. They followed him out and everyone got ready to leave.
They met at the gate when everyone was ready, and headed for the country of tea. They walked along for a while without much happening. Sasuke told them to keep their guard up. A mission like this could go from a low rank to an A rank mission quickly if someone hired a high level ninja from another village to oppose them.
"Aw man... I thought that this was going to be fun to have a mission for the first time, this is just boring." Kiba complained as he walked along with Akumaru sitting in his hood like usual. Zaku started to say something, but Akumaru sniffed the air. Everyone stopped and looked at him. Sasuke's eyes shot back and forth at the thick woods on either side of the dirt road. Kiba looked over at Akumaru.
"What is it?" He asked. Akumaru barked and Kiba looked up at Sasuke.
"He says there are three people, about thirty meters to the south, moving at us slowly." Sasuke nodded, he had come to the same conclusion.
"Zaku, try and find out what you can see." Sasuke said to him. Zaku nodded and did his hand seal.
"Byakugan!" His eyes widened and faint veins popped to the surface at his temples. His vision raced through the woods like an outer body experience. Seeing right through trees and rocks as it went. Thirty meters to the south he saw them. Three of them, all dressed in a black jumpsuit. They wore the hidden village of grass symbols on their forehead protectors. They all had their faces covered from the nose down with metal masks. Two of them had full tight hoods covering their head, and the one in the middle had long black hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. He had straps covering his arms and legs whereas the other two did not. All of them had simple holders and pockets on belts. They were moving slowly through the woods, trying to not be detected.
"I can confirm, three moving in our direction, looks like they know we are here. They're from the village hidden in the grass." Zaku said pulling his vision back to him. Akumaru sniffed the air again.
"Something else Akumaru..." Kiba started to ask, but Sasuke pushed everyone to the ground.
"DOWN!" he yelled as he knocked everyone down. Just in time, as a giant shuriken on a chain tore onto the path from the woods to their north. It chopped down trees and kept going, swinging around back to where it came from and back into the darkness of the woods. Sasuke jumped back up and looked into the woods, pulling a kunai out.
"Was the first group a distraction?" He said to himself. "Everyone, be on your guard now!" He yelled as everyone stood up and pulled out kunai. Akumaru jumped down in front of Kiba and growled at the woods to the south.
"Akumaru says they don't feel much different in strength from us." Kiba said, keeping his eyes on the woods. Sasuke nodded and smiled.
"Good, then I can take care of the leader... make sure not to die on the first mission." He said as the shuriken came back. Everyone hit the ground, and Sasuke grabbed onto the giant shuriken and was pulled off into the woods.
"He left us!" Ino said annoyed. Kiba braced himself.
"No time!" He said as the three grass ninja burst out of the woods. Zaku yelled to the others as soon as the enemy ninja were in sight.
"Split them up! We'll each take one." Ino and Kiba nodded and attacked the ninjas on the sides. They split off in opposite directions and left Zaku with the leader.
"Heh, you think you can fight me?" The ninja said in a muffled voice from behind his mask. Zaku held his kunai up in a defensive position and made a seal with his other hand.
"Byakugan!" his vision Jutsu activated in its alternate version. Instead of long range vision in one direction, this way gave him a three hundred and sixty degree view around his head. It also let him see little details with drastically more accuracy than normal. His ability to see Chakra flow was greatly enhanced as well.
"Try me!" He yelled to the ninja leader.
Ino kicked the grass ninja hard in the chest, sending him flying backwards trying to keep his ground. She made her hand seals and readied her chakra.
"Shadow Bind Jutsu!" she yelled and her shadow stretched out and lanced into the grass ninja's shadow and merged with it. "Gotcha!" she yelled happily. The ninja tried to move but found himself unable to do so.
"What... did you do?" He said from behind his mask. Ino laughed and moved her arm around. The ninja's arm moved as hers did simultaneously.
"Heh heh heh, you see? Your shadow is bound to mine, you can only move how I want you to!"
Kiba ducked a slash from the grass ninja's kunai and brought up a powerful uppercut that send the ninja sprawling away. He caught his balance and slid to a stop.
"I'll kill you right here!" he yelled, throwing a handful of shurikens. Kiba blocked all of them with his kunai and they fell to the ground. Akumaru leapt off of Kiba's back and into the air towards the grass ninja.
"A dog? Are you joking?" he threw his kunai at Akumaru, but the little dog flipped over it and came down onto the ninja. He bit onto his neck and the ninja screamed out in pain. Kiba rushed him and spin kicked him into a tree. Akumaru jumped off and back to Kiba's side.
Zaku ducked a swipe from the ninja leader's double sided kunai. He flipped backwards and kicked the grass ninja in the chin as he did. Zaku dashed forward as soon as his feet hit the ground and drove his elbow into the back of the ninja while he was still in the air. The ninja flew through the air towards a tree, but kicked off of it and went flying back at Zaku. Zaku jumped just high enough to clear the oncoming enemy. He thrust his feet down just as the enemy flew under him and drove him face first into the ground. He flipped away and landed in a ready stance. The grass ninja scrambled up and charged him. He dodged strike after strike with ease, sweeping the enemies feet out from under him.
"I can tell which ways you're going to go before you even make the move; your body language gives you away." Zaku said to the ninja. He jumped to his feet, swinging his double kunai and he did so. Zaku parried the attack and sent the double kunai flying into a tree. The grass ninja began a complex hand seal and muttered to himself.
"I won't let you!" Zaku threw his kunai, but the ninja ducked it and finished the hand seals.
"Poison Cloud Jutsu!" He pulled his mask down and spewed a thick green smoke from his mouth in a stream. Zaku covered his mouth and jumped straight up as the thick gas surrounded him. He rose above it and flipped backwards into a tree.
"The gas is to think to see him..." He concentrated his Byakugan into the smoke and the x-ray took effect. He looked from one side of the cloud to another.
"There you are!" He said as he saw the grass ninja standing in the middle of the cloud, doing another complex hand seal.
"Damn it was just a cover!" Zaku said to himself. The straps on the leader's right arm glowed with chakra, then shot off of his arm, flying out of the smoke and wrapping around Zaku's neck like tentacles, pulling him into the poison cloud.
Ino looked over the grass ninja trapped in her shadow bind jutsu. She smiled to herself as she saw were his kunai holder was. This was exactly why she kept hers on the back of her waist. She reached down to her side and the ninja did the same. She reached to where his kunai holder was and grabbed one. There was nothing in her hand, but he had a kunai in his. His eyes grew wide as he saw what she was doing. She held her hand up to her neck; he pressed the kunai tightly up against his.
"You lose." Ino said with a cold look on her face. She brought her hand out and hit her shoulder hard. The ninja screamed in pain as the kunai plunged into his shoulder. She let the shadow bind fall, and he fell to the ground. She rushed over to him and kicked him in the face, knocking him out.
Kiba cracked his knuckles and his neck. The grass ninja made a quick hand seal and exploded into smoke. Six clones rushed out of the smoke with kunai ready. Kiba and Akumaru jumped over top of them and landed were they had just been. They all spoke in unison as they slowly began to circle Kiba.
"Just what do you think you can do against me now?" He said in a cocky tone. Kiba smiled and put his kunai away. He gritted his teeth and made a quick hand seal.
"I'll go wild!" he yelled as his body bulked up slightly. Arms cracked and popped out of place, then got slightly longer. His fingernails shot out into claws and fangs grew from his teeth.
"Beast style Jutsu!" He dropped down to all fours and took off. He rushed the clones at high speed, dashing in and out of them, slashing as he went. He ripped one apart, two, three. They exploded into blades of grass and fell to the ground.
"Shit!" The three remaining clones said in unison as they jumped backwards, all three throwing handfuls of shurikens. Kiba slid close to the ground as most of the shurikens flew over him. He brought a clawed hand up and stabbed through another clone. He shot his other arm over and grabbed one around the neck and held him off of the ground. Akumaru came out of nowhere and ripped out the last one's throat. The one that Kiba held from the ground kicked at him, but he squeezed hard, and the ninja passed out.
Zaku slashed blindly at the strap wrapped around his neck with his kunai and cut it. He leapt backwards out of the poison gas and sucked in a breath of air.
"To close..." He said to himself as he pulled the rest of the strap off of his neck and threw it to the side. Two more straps whipped out of the smoke like tentacles and Zaku ducked one. The other wrapped around his wrist and tried to pull him back in. He braced himself and pulled hard, yanking the grass ninja out of the smoke. He sliced the strap off with his kunai and spin kicked the ninja hard in one clean motion. The gas cleared as the ninja's concentration broke and faded away. He arose and held his arms out, the straps on them whipping around with minds of their own. Zaku pulled a second kunai out and got ready.
"Bring it on freak!" he yelled. The ninja held his arms out and the straps whipped around frantically at high speeds. They lashed violently around, cutting gashes in the ground and in trees. Zaku dodged them and slashed at them when they got close, unable to make much of an offensive. "There has to be some kind of pattern to the attack... something..." he searched the attack pattern of the whips with the Byakugan. He ducked a swipe, and then he saw it, a pattern. One...Two...Three... there, and opening. He waited, ducked another swipe and dashed in. He ran straight up the middle and jumped a low swipe. It was more or less automated; it was to complex for the ninja to control on his own. He ducked another, and reached the ninja.
"You!" the ninja pulled his arms back, but Zaku was already to close. He slashed up with both arms and sliced up both of the ninja's arms. The kunai cut the straps from his arms, as well as cutting his arms badly.
"AAAGGRRAAAHHHH!" He screamed with pain and jumped backwards. He let his arms hang at his sides as the straps fell from them.
"You...I'll kill you..." the ninja pulled a smoke bomb from his belt with pain and threw it down.
"Another time..." He disappeared into the smoke and ran off into the woods. Zaku put both his kunai away and looked towards Kiba who was carrying one of the grass ninja over his shoulder. Ino walked up from his other side, dragging a ninja behind her. They both looked at him, and then threw their ninjas together.
"Geez, and here I thought that you were the strongest of us." Ino said laughing. Zaku looked at her annoyed.
"Yeah well you know..." He started, but Sasuke came walking out of the woods. He had blood splattered on his face and was whipping off with the back of his hand.
"Where is the third?" He asked seriously. Zaku pointed off in the direction that the ninja had ran. "He took off after I cut him up, should we follow him?" Zaku said. Sasuke shook his head. "No, our mission is to deliver the message. Good job everyone." Ino spoke up about the two incapacitated ninja.
"What should we do with them sensei?" Sasuke looked down at the two ninja. He turned and started walking down the path.
"An enemy you let live can attack you again in the future. But unnecessary killing can erode a man's soul. These men attacked you, therefore you have every right to take their lives. Life is full of difficult decisions, whatever one you make, be quick about it, we have a deadline." He kept walking down the path without looking back.
The three stood there over the unconscious bodies of the grass ninja. Zaku looked at them; they couldn't have been more than a few years older than they were.
"They're leader left them behind..." He said absently. Kiba picked both of them up and threw them off the path and into the woods.
"They can come back if they want, I'll tear them up again." He said and walked after Sasuke. Ino nodded and followed after him. Zaku watched them walk away and thought to himself. He walked over to the bushes and slit both of the ninja's throats. He wiped off his kunai and put it away. He trotted to catch up with Kiba and Ino.
The mission was smooth from there; they made their way into the country of tea and delivered the scroll to the feudal lord. They made their way back to Konoha after that. Everyone seemed lighthearted, happy after their first mission. They separated when they got into town, the sun was going down and everyone was going to home and get some sleep. Zaku watched Kiba and Akumaru walk down their road, and then Ino took her way. He was about to head off in his way when he noticed Sasuke watching him.
"Is something the matter sensei?" Zaku asked. Sasuke kept looking at him.
"You're the one who killed the two grass ninja?" he said, already knowing the answer. Zaku didn't know what to say. He was surprised that Sasuke knew, he had been a good ways ahead by the time he had finished off the enemy ninja.
"I...uh...yes..." He said warily. Sasuke started to walk away, and then looked back at him.
"Good... things like this need to be done from time to time, can I count on you to do them for the squad?" He waited for an answer patiently. Zaku thought about it for a second. He was going to have to do the dirty work? It was better that it be him than Kiba or Ino.
"Yeah, if it needs to be done." He said. Sasuke nodded and disappeared into the night.