Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me. This is purely a work of Fan fiction, no profits gained. Support the official releases.
If you haven't seen some of the latest volumes of the Manga and don't want to know what happens, please don't read, I really don't want to spoil anything. May possibly contain mature themes befitting Shinobi life? Please enjoy.
AN: I changed Rating from M to T because there shouldn't be much M material for the time being (maybe later though)
Tsunade's footsteps echoed in the empty corridors in the Hokage Tower. It was good news and yet she didn't feel cheerful. Her bi-weekly meeting with the village advisors had ended and she had managed to convince the elders Homura and Koharu to allow Naruto to return to active duty. After Naruto was released from hospital they had voiced strenuous objections against being allowed to leave the village, they had recommended that he be kept under close scrutiny in case he lost control again. In the wake of the reports the council received concerning the scale of the damage Naruto had caused, Tsunade had no choice but to acceded to their recommendations.
She had attempted to reopen the subject for debate however the advisors had always responded with the same objections. She could choose to ignore their objections however such a course of action would only strengthen Danzou's influence over them.
Going into her most recent meeting Tsunade had been so sure that they would disagree with her once again, and she had entered the room with a due sense of resignation. Much to her surprise neither Homura nor Koharu had voiced any objections. This dramatic change of heart after months of rather strenuous objections was disconcerting.
Logically she knew that she should feel happy, she had been against keeping Naruto under watch from the very beginning. It was a victory for all intents and purposes, but something did not feel right. Her intelligence network suggested that Danzou had been the driving force behind keeping Naruto in the village and that was what worried her.
Their change of heart could mean either two things, if Danzou was involved. The first possibility entailed that they had simply ignored the old war hawk, the other option would entail that Danzou had simply given up. Tsunade genuinely hoped it was the former of the two options, Koharu and Utane sided with Danzou on many issues but by no means were they his pawns, perhaps they had simply become tired of his prattling on the issue.
The idea that Danzou had simply given up was incomprehensible. Tsunade had known the man for a long time and she had never known him to give up so easily. She had first met him when she was very young; it was dislike at first sight. He had possessed a personal magnetism similar to her grandfather, the legendary first Hokage.
However Where as her grandfather inspired loyalty and comradeship amongst his peers the young Danzou had inspired a fearful awe. What irked Tsunade particularly was that she came to realize that he deliberately cultivated his natural ability to make people uneasy for his own ends. This was of course long before he had suffered the wounds that had forced him to quick being an active Shinobi. Before his injury he had been an extremely powerful Shinobi considered a match for even her own sensei Sarutobi at the height of his prowess.
His physical strength was not at issue however at the moment it was his other noticeable trait; his utter resolve to do what he thought was right. His determination in dangerous conjunction the inability to comprehend that the opinions of others had any validity was the cause of the Hokage's current predicament. Such a man simply could not give up so easily; it was not in his nature.
Tsunade was eminently thankful that Danzou had not informed the Daimyo that Naruto had caused the damage, things would have been very tense should he had done so. Danzou probably didn't want the lord involved in something that he probably considered a village affair.
Tsunade shrugged her shoulders wearily attempting to dismiss her thoughts, there was little use imagining defeats in victory. If Danzou had indeed been behind keeping Naruto in Konoha, he may have simply come to the conclusion that it would be better off if Naruto were not in the village should he happen to lose control again.
Tsunade reluctantly had to admit there was a certain amount of logic to that assessment. Whatever happened in the cave should never be repeated particularly near a populated area. She had personally surveyed the damage; the entire mountain range had been obliterated. She had originally dismissed the notion that the Kyuubi was able to destroy mountains with the swish of its tail as an exaggeration, however after seeing the devastation first hand, she reconsidered her judgement.
It all came down to a question of trust; She trusted Naruto, he would not allow himself to lose control again. He had faced something terrible in that cave but he had survived through it; she had no doubt that he would only emerge the stronger because of it. He was Naruto, a force of nature in his own right. She had seen it many times in her short tenure as Hokage, no matter what obstacles he was faced with he always managed to overcome them. If he saw that others were having problems with their own hurdles he would help them, whether they wanted his help or not. And now she had the opportunity to help him, he had become a dazed. She only needed to point him in the right direction and he would continue his path.
Tsunade smiled it was probably just the shock of victory that was leading her to such thoughts. It had taken months but now she could finally be content that she had fulfilled another aspect of her role as Hokage, Sarutobi-sensei would have been proud of her.
Naruto would be allowed to undertake missions with the rest of team seven and Tsunade knew the perfect assignment for the reconstituted team
Perhaps she would allow Iruka to give him the good news, the academy teacher had been worried about his former student and it seemed fitting that he should be the one to bear the good news.
Tsunade continued the walk back to her office, in a far greater mood than she had left it.
--xxxxxxxx--
Else-ware in the village two ninja were engaged in fierce combat.
One of the shinobi clad in the standard Konoha uniform blended in with the trees in which he was engaged. His opponent clad in orange was pursuing him, not allowing his opponent to escape.
The green Shinobi parried a vicious overhand strike from his opponent whilst trying to withdraw to a safer range. His opponent however kept up the momentum forcing him on to the other foot. He guarded against another strike, his arm jolting from the force of the blow. A fallen tree branch interrupted his backward movements; he tripped slightly inviting his opponent to the attack. He dove to his left to avoid a flying kick and then, using his hand as a pivot, tried to connect with adversaries unprotected back with a spin kick. The move was ineffective, as his opponent allowed used his momentum to escape the counterattack.
The green clad man stood up and ruffled his Shinobi vest; it had slipped slightly from his improvised kick.
"What's the matter Yamato-Taicho, is it too much for you?" His adversary shouted from across the small clearing, a smile very evident upon his face.
"No talk Naruto, continue" Yamato responded putting his hands together.
Naruto obliged and charged towards his sparing partner. A column of wood emerged from the ground in between the two combatants. Naruto cursed, He shouldn't have moved so far away from his captain, he had given him the space to preform his jutsu. It didn't matter though he had a surprise for his captain, Since Yamato had formed a barrier between them, he would not be able to see what he was doing. Naruto preformed the shadow clone jutsu to gain his assistant. Together Naruto and his clone moulded chakra into the swirling vortex.
"Rasengan"! Naruto shouted just before he reached the wooden barricade.
The wood was not an effective barrier to the attack. The Rasengan, with the right hand and ninja attached, burrowed through with considerable ease. Small wood chips flew back from the attack and embedded themselves into his legs. They were not a issue however as the angle of the Rasengan made it unlikely that any debris would hit him around the face and they had little force behind them in any case, at worst they would be as bad as splinters.
Naruto broke through the stockade and saw Yamato standing unguarded; he was evidently surprised judging from the look upon his face. Naruto smirked expecting his captain to concede defeat, it was only a sparing session after all and they didn't want to injure one another. Yamato however continued to look on in surprise; Naruto then felt a hand engulf his right wrist in a strong grip.
He panicked and looked to see who had grabbed him.
Yamato stood half formed from the ground, his legs merging with the soil.
Naruto then looked again towards the ninja supposedly ahead of him. Yamato was there as well; he no longer looked surprised rather he was moving to attack.
Naruto tried to guard himself however the Yamato in the ground still had a tight grasp on his right wrist, stopping him from using the formed Rasengan. The half emerged Shinobi had also grasped his shoulder making it difficult for Naruto to move his other arm. He watched, almost in slow motion, as the oncoming Yamato dove his Knee into his unguarded sternum.
The Yamato clone released his hold on Naruto once he had been hit by the attack. Naruto dropped to the ground clutching his chest, his breath having been driven out of him.
It took Naruto to recover from the blow; he rolled over onto his back and cast an accusing glare at the closer of his two assailants. The sun glinted of Yamato's forehead protector making him appear hazy.
"I won" the man stated simply.
"Don't you think that was a bit too much" Naruto asked.
"You asked for more intense training sessions" Yamato reminded him "Besides I am quite sure that was the Rasengan that you were going to use"
"I wasn't actually going to hit you with it" Naruto replied feigning petulance.
"A weapons value is determined by your willingness to use it. If you were unwilling to follow through with the technique you should have chosen something different"
Yamato's walked towards him and bent down to talk to him more directly. "What do we take out of this fight?" he asked.
"I think I didn't do to badly, for most of the fight I prevented you from having the time to preform any Mokuton abilities" Naruto answered rubbing his still sore chest.
"And" Yamato hinted.
"And I should have paid more attention to Jutsu selection. Although I still think you are on shaky ground on that one Yamato-Taicho" Naruto answered.
"That's one thing" Yamato answered standing; he suddenly exploded into a cloud of smoke before Naruto's eyes, drawing a startled exclamation from the young ninja.
"However you should also take into account your enemies knowledge of you and your Jutsu arsenal. Since I know you, I expected that you would use the Rasengan and I lured you into a trap. If your enemy has knowledge about you and your techniques then it is best to adopt a defensive posture until you can ascertain the depths of their knowledge and devise appropriate countermeasures"
Yamato was standing next to the shredded remains of his wooden barrier
Naruto blinked wildly, Yamato's Bunshin's were surprisingly realistic he hadn't even realized that he was talking to a clone. "I'd imagine it would be pretty rare to find an opponent who knew so much about you"
"Perhaps, but closing your mind to the possibility is dangerous".
"So Yamato-Taicho, it's been over a week when am I going to be allowed to take missions," Naruto asked.
"These things take time" the wood-nin replied wearily.
It had nearly been a week since Naruto had accepted their offer. Yamato was glad that his student had accepted, it would have been difficult had he refused. One thing that he did not appreciate however was Naruto's constant badgering about when he would be back on missions.
Yamato soon found that, even though he prided himself on his ability to keep his cool, Naruto's constant questioning was beginning to grate upon his nerves.
"Patience"
Naruto shot a sour glance at his captain.
"Glaring at me isn't going to make you return to duty faster. Besides we still have a lot of work to continue with here, certainly more than enough to keep you occupied."
Naruto grunted in acknowledgement.
"I think that today we shall begin a new type of training."
"It's not Kage Bunshin training again is it"?
"No it is not Kage Bunshin training" Yamato replied trying desperately to keep the irritation out of his voice "In fact this training regime I created myself and it has yet to be tested, I suppose you could be called a pioneer "
Naruto's eyes lit up, Yamato smirked at his own cleverness and withdrew the item from the pouch and handed it to his now eager subordinate.
Naruto looked at the utensil for a few moments carefully weighing it in his hands before speaking "Yamato-Taicho this is kinda lame"
"What" Yamato responded testily, his feathers most definitely ruffled?
"Its just wire, you made out like it was some big deal and then hand me some wire. What reaction were you expecting"?
"Something more respectful" Yamato grumbled
"Did you say something?" Naruto asked. Yamato shook his head, there was no use trying to change some aspects of the boy it was hopeless.
"For your information this is something more than just normal wire. Do you remember Asuma-sensei's trench knives"?
"Do you mean those blades that could pierce through stone"?
"Yes those…"Yamato nodded "as you know they were made of a special material that was chakra conductive. You were able to channel your chakra through the metal to increase its piercing potential among other things"
"I remember"
"Well this wire is made out of a similar material."
"So your saying that with this wire I can do what Asuma-sensei did"
"Not exactly, whilst eventually you may be able to integrate this technique into your arsenal for the moment their chief use will be in their training value. There is a fairly substantial difference between the two items. Asuma's trench knives were not very long, at max about thirty-centimetres or so, where as that wire I have given you is about ten-metres long."
"I don't see where this is going"
"Be patient and listen then, these wires are far more difficult to use then the trench knives, the distance between the point of Chakra emanation and the limit of the weapon is great. The nature of the wire also makes it difficult to control, for example you could hold a Kunai horizontal with no problems however holding the wire perpendicular to you arm hight is impossible by physical means alone. In order to do it you need precise Chakra control…."?
"And that's the point of this training, it's to work on my chakra control. Is that it?" Naruto realized where Yamato was going with his lecture "I would much rather you teach me a super powerful technique or something, like the Rasen Shuriken"
Yamato's features changed, something about the way they became set made Naruto realize that his captain was becoming more serious.
"I realize that I am not the same type of teacher as Kakashi-sensei. The simple fact is that many Shinobi go through their careers mastering one particular technique and then letting their other skills slip. Your weakness is your Chakra control, from what Kakashi told me before he died it has always been your weakness."
Naruto attempted to respond but Yamato continued talking and he eventually quietened.
"I'll admit that you are much better than you were a few years ago however you can always become better. Indolence is death for a Shinobi, never forget that." Yamato carefully studied Naruto's face, his words had had the right effect, the boy was solemn now.
"Separate from the Kyuubi's influence you have a unique chakra range; it is far greater and more resilient than any Shinobi that I have ever met. If you were able to master your Chakra you would be the far better for it than if I teach you some flashy technique. The more precise your Chakra control the more damage you will be able to inflict to your opponents and the less chakra you will need to use to accomplish the task."
"All right, what do you want me to do" Naruto asked
"Unroll the wire and lay it upon the ground"
Naruto did as asked, "Now concentrate your Chakra into the wire"
"Should I try to incorporate my wind nature manipulation"?
"Not yet, we don't want to make this more difficult than it has to be"
Naruto nodded and complied with his instructions. The ten metre long piece of conductive wire began to glow blue as the chakra flowed through it.
"This is easy now what?"
"Now lift the wire up from the ground"
Naruto jolted his arm upwards the wire rippled in response to his movement.
"Stop." Yamato shouted "I want you to hold the wire in the air through sheer chakra pressure. Don't move your arm."
Naruto stopped moving his arm, the wire pulsed again as he poured chakra into it.
"Now lift it using your chakra" Yamato instructed.
The wire slowly began to lift itself off the ground, it jerked wildly as the Chakra was channelled through it.
Yamato was mildly surprised; he hadn't really expected that Naruto would be able to lift the wire from the ground on his first attempt. It made sense however considering his sheer amount of Chakra. "Now I want you to bring the wire up to a level perpendicular with you shoulders and once you have done that try to hold the wire perfectly strait"
Naruto attempted to comply, he managed to raise the wire to shoulder height but he was completely unable to keep the wire level. It rippled in reply to is uneven chakra control. He looked hopefully towards Yamato for some pointers.
"Concentrate on the wire, imagine the ripples levelling out" Yamato instructed.
Naruto tried however the rippling effect continued unabated.
"Just keep at it, eventually you should be able to get at least one wire. At that point we will try two, one in each hand and continue so on until your hands are full.
"What, I cannot even control one"
"You will, eventually you may even be able to extend your chakra flow outside your body without the aide of the wires."
"For what purpose" Naruto asked whilst still trying to concentrate on the wire training.
"What do you think Genjutsu entails, fine control of your Chakra outside your body working on the mind of your opponent"
Naruto let the wire drop in surprise "your trying to teach me genjutsu, the pervy-sage said I didn't have the natural talent for it"
"That doesn't mean that you shouldn't have the basic understanding of at least some minor Genjutsu. Trust me it is going to be far more painful for me to teach you than it will for you to learn Genjutsu. This is all pending, of course, on your fine tuning of your Chakra flow."
Naruto picked up the wire again, it might be boring but if it achieved results he would give it a go.
--xxxxxxxx--
"Hey Naruto"
Naruto recognised the voice, sure enough when he turned around he found his old teacher leaning against a tree. The large horizontal scar across his face was crinkled by the large smile across his face.
"Iruka-san" Yamato acknowledged politely.
"Yamato-san" Iruka returned the greeting.
"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked gracelessly. His efforts to control the wire had not met with much success and he was a little out of sorts.
"I have some good news for you" Iruka answered cheerfully. I have just seen the Hokage and she told me herself"
Naruto ruffled his hair, Iruka was far too happy for his own good at the moment.
"You are now officially back on duty"
Naruto made sure that he looked surprised. He cast a surreptitious glace at Yamato. Yamato was looking very smug "Patience" he mouthed.
Naruto grinned, that was it, he was back. "Thanks Iruka-sensei"
"No problem" Iruka replied back to his normal self "you have looked down recently I though that you needed some good news" Iruka placed a hand on his cheek "although I was expecting you to be a little more exited"
"I'm just surprised is all, I became a little used to living in the village" Naruto lied, apparently it was convincing as Iruka seemed to buy it.
"Well it's a good thing you didn't become too comfortable. How about we go for celebratory Ramen"
"Are you buying" Naruto asked mischievously.
"Yes, I suppose I will have to wont I, I guess you left your wallet at home"
"Yep, you know me to well." Both Naruto and Iruka knew that his wallet was not a home but rather was resting in his pocket. Naruto motivated by his desire for free food conveniently forget it was there, and Iruka was in a good mood and didn't really care overmuch if he had to pay.
"Will you join us Yamato-san" Iruka asked
"Sorry I'm afraid I must decline, I have other matters that I must attend to" Yamato answered. "Congratulations and remember I was right, patience. I also want you to continue that training whenever you get the opportunity; you don't really need me to oversee it."
"Yeah"
Yamato disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"Patience " Iruka asked.
"I have been bothering him about going on missions, he always says patience."
"Oh, well we had better head to the ramen stand. If we leave now we can still get lunchtime prices."
The short walk back to the village was silent. Iruka understood that his student just needed a little time to digest the new information. Naruto's presence had dimmed somewhat during his prolonged stay inside the village walls. He just needed time to readjust.
What Naruto was thinking was far different than what his old teacher had imagined. His surprise was nearly genuine when he learnt that he was back on duty. He had expected that it would take a few weeks for Danzou to get him back on the active roster, he had pestered Yamato about it simply for his own amusement. Having him back on active duty in less than one week was both impressive and surprising, Danzou's influence was apparently far greater then he had realized.
He had to be very careful; he was treading a very thin line between the Hokage on one hand and Danzou on the other. If Root truly desired to protect Konoha he was willing to do what Danzou asked of him, if however Danzou had ulterior motives he would change the organization form the inside if possible, destroy it if necessary.
He was still unsure about where Root fitted upon his worldview. For the time being it was a means to an end. Since Danzou had fulfilled his part of the agreement, Naruto felt obligated to give his views a test.
When Danzou had explained what his duties would entail he was slightly surprised. He had expected Danzou to give him a Bingo book and tell him to go eliminate all the targets therein. Instead he was told that he would be reporting directly to Yamato and all he was expected to do was follow Yamato's instructions. He wasn't surprised at Danzou's insistence that he keep his new affiliations a secret, for it was no secret that they're friction between him and the Hokage. Although it was surprising to learn that Sai was also to be kept in the dark. When he had discovered that Yamato was a member of Root he had logically assumed that he and Sai were working together, apparently Sai had no idea that Yamato was also a member of the ANBU splinter group. The organization of the secretive division was apparently very complex.
Naruto had concerns about his ability to keep his affiliation a secret. He was accustomed to saying whatever came to mind; this attitude was not the best if one had to conceal anything about oneself. He wondered what might happen if he accidentally let something slip, the results could be disastrous; however if he was overly cautious the people close to him might become suspicious. He was fortunate for the moment as nobody was expecting him to act completely normal however such a state could not last forever. He needed to be able to separate Root from the rest of his life so that he didn't risk revealing anything. It would be difficult but he had to make the attempt.
"Hey Iruka-sensei"
"Hmm" Iruka answered.
"I just wanted to say thankyou for helping me"
Iruka looked embarrassed he shruged his shoulders self-effacingly. "You don't need to thank me, I just wanted to help"
"Thanks though, I know I haven't been myself. I appreciate you trying to cheer me up"
"Your more than welcome." Iruka laid a hand on his shoulder.
"I think what I need right now is a nice long mission to clear my head?"
"Don't worry your next mission will more than make up for your stay in the village"
"You know what it is don't you Iruka-sensei"
"I might" Iruka answered evasively.
"That's not nice Iruka-sensei, give me a few hints then try to be all mysterious, it's not going to work. Tell me"
"No, the Hokage will tell you tomorrow"
"Come on, please"
"No"
--xxxxxxxx--
"I have just heard Danzou-sama, that Naruto has been re-entered into the roster of active Shinobi"
"Yes the meeting took place earlier today"
"Were the councillors easy to convince"
"They didn't pose a major obstacle"
"That's good, I think your offer to help with hat situation was one of the main reasons that he decided to join."
Danzou simply nodded looking out the the window of the room.
"Officially Tenzou you are now the sensei for team seven instead of the interim team captain."
"Though Naruto is the only official Genin still on the team" Yamato added.
"It gives you a legitimate reason to continue to observe him. It would be best if you keep a close on him in the next mission, it shall be his first mission as a member of Root."
"Yes, sir"
"In regards to your mission, it is all detailed in the dossiers I have provided for you. You have the discretion to use whatever means you feel appropriate to carry out your mission, however continue to keep in mind the normal constraints"
"Don't reveal my identity, don't draw too much attention. Yes sir I understand"
"Good, Your name shall continue to be Yamato for the duration of your role as Naruto's controller"
"Yes' sir"
--xxxxxxxx--
"An A-class assignment" Naruto stated incredulously.
"You have a problem" Tsunade demanded her voice like thunder as she pushed herself up from her chair. The nearby Shizune cowered from the tone of the Hokage's voice.
Iruka slammed his head against his desk rubbing his hands through his hair in near despair. Did Naruto never change, just last night at the ramen shop he had railed no stop about how eager he was to have another mission, and now he was going to complain about it.
Yamato stood with his hands in his pockets looking very much like the proverbial schoolchild being brought before the headmaster. Kakashi could hide behind his mask in such situations; Yamato was not quite so lucky.
Sai looked on in interest, Naruto's exclamation seemed to be some sort of social ritual considering how many people were affected by it.
Sakura stood with her hands on her hips, she shock her head. "What's wrong, Naruto"
"It's nothing I was expecting a C-class mission or something boring like that instead we actually get a good assignment"
"All assignments are good ones but yes this one is particularly so" Tsunade answered smugly as she sat back down.
Shizune visibly calmed down, she knew how hard Tsunade had worked to find the perfect mission for the team, and Tsunade hated clerical duty. If Naruto had complained about it somebody probably would have needed to restrain the Hokage from beating him within an inch of his life, and that somebody would have been her. Shizune, like Sakura, had an immense respect for how scary the Hokage could be when she was angry.
Tsunade continued, " Your assignment is in the land of swamp"
"Maybe the mission won't be any good after all" Naruto remarked.
Tsunade either didn't hear or she ignored the comment as she continued, "Your mission shall be to protect the Daimyo of the country, His name is Kiyoshi."
"Hokage-sama since this is an A-class mission that means that we can expect to encounter enemy Shinobi. Whom might we have to face"? Sakura asked.
"All missions that concern guarding Daimyo have the possibility of combat with enemy ninja however in this case there is a more direct threat. Over the last few months there have been some extremely worrying reports emerging from the land of Water. As far as we can verify it would appear that the village hidden in the mist is currently in the midst of a civil war."
"Isn't that their national pastime" Naruto joked.
"Perhaps however this time it seems more serious. From what we can tell it appears that the Mizukage suddenly vanished. Some of the upper echelons tried to continue the administration of the village concealing the disappearance of the Mizukage. Eventually their ploy was seen through and other members of the village felt that those responsible for concealing the disappearance were trying to seize power for themselves. The land of Water has had a troubled history and it was only through the strength of the Mizukage that these resentments have been relatively minor, a few attempted coups but very little success. Without the strong leadership of the Mizukage the old antagonisms in the village are flaring up once again."
Tsunade regarded the squad before her, they were young and probably wouldn't understand exactly what she was talking about but they did need to know what they might have to face.
"Now the land of swamp is on the northern end of the peninsular to the south of the land of Fire. It has strong trade ties with the land of water and other islands in the archipelago. The civil war in the hidden mist village is causing two rather opposite effects. Many Mist ninja on assignment outside the village are returning to the village to join the fighting, this doesn't concern us that much. However many ninja are also fleeing the village to journey to lands along its borders in a kind of centrifugal effect.
With the absence of any strong authority coming from the centre a large number of mist ninja are falling prey to adventurism and are taking advantage of the countries nearby. With the strong trade and travel between the land of water and the land of swamp we suspect that some of these rogue mist ninja may start to operate in the region."
"Is there an indigenous ninja village in the land of swamp"? Sai asked.
"No, the land of Swamp has a long history of cooperation with the land of fire and its ninja forces were disbanded in favour of Konoha shinobi."
"How long are we to protect the daimyo" It was Sakura who spoke this time "I mean 't seems like such a mission could last quite a long time"
"We have a longstanding relationship with the Daimyo he usually has a constant guard from Konoha. You will be replacing his previous guards and will remain guards for abut six-weeks until you are replaced in turn"
"Six weeks" Naruto complained, "of guarding some old geezer"
"Six weeks, living in the daimyo's palace, guarding some old Geyser" Tsunade corrected smirking, se watched as Naruto's mouth dropped.
"We have a Shinobi on long-term assignment advising the daimyo, he will fill you in on the details of the assignment. You have six-days to reach the capital of the land of swamp. You should be able to make that easily. All I have left to say to you all is good luck"
AN: alas I am back at school which means updates will probably be slower. The Olympics shall also slow my update time since it will take up more of my free time (watching). I hope Australia comes in the top ten in the medal count, top five would be awesome.
In regards to the almost lack of Sakura so far, basically that is because this story is naruto-centic and at the moment Naruto is slightly wary/confused/cautious around her. There will be more Sakura as the story progresses however. I honestly don't mind if you have any criticism (particularly regarding the fight scene)
Peace.
