KG: Man this is later than I had truly wanted to get this done. It wasn't supposed to take this long, but I think I managed to piece it together fairly well.
KG: Man that rotating game mode queue, too much fun sometimes. It distracts you hardcore.
Music of the Week: Nara by E.S. Posthumus
Quote: "If you create an act, you create a habit. If you create a habit, you create a character. If you create a character, you create a destiny," by Andre Maurois.
Shiho stared at the members of Team Seven. "D-rank Mission 8T532-AD6? I…Did I hear that right?" Shiho asked just on the off chance that her mind was messing with her. She was looking through the group of genin. Forgive her as they were more or less her age group, but she doubted any of them was a Nara. While Shiho didn't know a whole great deal on the procedures of the special D-rank missions, she still knew that they required a person with an abnormal intellect to fully comprehend or even attempt. Actually Shiho was one of the few…non-Nara shinobi to take the special D-rank missions.
The person she identified as Uchiha Sasuke, while a remarkable genin, she didn't see him as someone who had the aptitude for these. It took more than being proclaimed 'Rookie of the Year' to handle these missions. It's not that Shiho was looking down on the Uchiha heir. She was sure that he was a very capable individual, but…personally she didn't think he was for these types of tasks.
She turned her eyes to Haruno Sakura. Shiho wouldn't lie. She had felt that out of all of them, Sakura had the…most aptitude from her grades more or less. While not necessarily better than Sasuke in the shinobi department, it held weight that she excelled at theory in shinobi classes. Shiho had actually been one of the assistant teachers who graded Sakura's papers. She had been intrigued by some of Sakura's deductions and calculations which is why she believed Sakura to be the most…capable of all of them.
She turned to finally rest on Uzumaki Naruto. What…was she supposed to say? There was no way Uzumaki Naruto could do these. Someone with the worst grades in the academy would never be able handle these missions. It's not like Shiho was trying to be mean, but she was a definite realist. How Uzumaki Naruto even graduated was beyond her, but the fact that their sensei, Hatake Kakashi, a famous shinobi no less, recommended them for this obviously told her that she was missing something here. Plus, the way Naruto's blue eyes seemed to pulsate and glare into her form nearly made her shiver. They were nice in a…creepy sort of way.
"Yup, we'll be taking that mission," Kakashi said with a small grin behind his mask. Shiho just nodded before turning over to her supervisor. "Looks like you won't be able to go home early Mitoku-sensei. Team Seven is reporting for Mission Number 8T532-AD6," Shiho said. The man, Mitoku, frowned before he took the mission scroll from Shiho and looked it over. Yup, this was the mission that they had, by obligation, put into the mission system. Mitoku wasn't actually expecting anyone short of a Nara to do these. He pinched the bridge of his nose.
"What a bother," Mitoku said before he stood up from his chair. He walked past the genin team. "Shiho, gather the papers, we're heading to the CDR room," Mitoku said. Shiho nodded and quickly moved grab some scrolls of the shelves.
"Please follow us," Shiho said. The group turned around and walked after them. As they walked, Naruto couldn't get rid of the feeling that something was off here. Never mind the fact that his sensei had a grin on his face the entire time, but also the way the entire Cryptanalysis team had looked at them when the mission was stated. Naruto didn't like it. Something was going on here and he was sure he would hate Kakashi for it.
"Tell me, Shiho-san, you guys at the Cryptanalysis Team encode and decode messages. Does that mean your team can decipher any message?" Sakura asked. Shiho withheld the smirk at her lips. "No no Sakura-san, that would be rather impossible. There are even texts from the Shodaime's era that we have trouble deciphering. We make out bits and pieces thus allowing us to get a rather hazy view of the message. Most of the encoded messages are by others who want to get us select information. We most deal in the work of undercover operatives in the other nations. We need their messages to help keep tabs on the other nations," Shiho replied. Sakura slowly nodded.
"Given that tactic of yours. Does that mean you believe they would do the same to us?" Naruto suddenly asked. Mitoku and Kakashi nearly lost their stride for a brief moment. Undercover operatives…while common were sometimes some of the best shinobi. Not only did they have to blend into the village, but they had to interact in such a way that raised suspicion from no one. No village liked undercover operatives and getting discovered easily warranted execution, but the idea that their village could even have some based on Shiho's explanation and Naruto's question, Kakashi and Mitoku suddenly felt a need to go see Hokage.
Not even Shiho could deny that Naruto's question disrupted her thoughts a little bit. She hadn't expected such a question out of him of all people. She never thought he would turn her own explanation right back at her like that in form of a question. "Well I would hope that wouldn't happen to Konoha. It would be bad if it did, but we do have some of the best detection forces out of the Five Great Nations," Shiho replied. Naruto would have made a certain type of comment that could have been flooded with sarcasm, but he decided not to.
Kakashi could see that Naruto wasn't entirely satisfied, but he was glad that the blond decided to not pursue anymore. Kakashi knew that if Shiho kept answering then she would have found herself going around in circles with her arguments against what Naruto was saying. It was probably in Kakashi's mind, but he was sure that Naruto almost liked doing this to some people. "Here we are!" Mitoku said as he opened a door to a much larger room. Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto could see and hear a computer beeping, a glass room with a platform and the door leading to the platform.
"You still haven't told us what we're doing!" Sasuke said a little irritated at getting nothing done. He leaned against the wall as the others filed into the room. Everyone began to spread out over the entire room as Mitoku walked over to the lone computer in front of the glass room. He placed the files down.
"Impatient, aren't you? You should learn to take things easily when you can Sasuke-san. Now then, since we're all eager to get started, I will tell you that we will be running a training simulation. This is to not only help create new combat sequences that we can put into books in the library, but it will also help us in creating new fitness books for shinobi your age. This is a D-rank mission after all," Mitoku said as Shiho placed some more scrolls and papers on the computer. Naruto raised an eyebrow.
They actually needed genin for this? That was odd. Usually you didn't have genin doing exercises like other genin or even other civilians. That was what the academy taijutsu was for, to give everyone a starting point. This 'mission' just essentially made the Academy Taijutsu a useless endeavor. "Is there something wrong with the Academy's taijutsu that you would need something like this?" Naruto asked. Mitoku sent Naruto a small look, a little intrigued before moving back to his computer.
"Did you think that all students not coming from a clan favored the Academy's taijutsu? For those who are looking for something more personal, or to set themselves apart from the standard then that is what we are doing. Now since I won't ask Uchiha Sasuke to showcase his Uchiha taijutsu for just anyone to copy I had Shiho give us some scrolls we had on some old taijutsu forms. What we're going to do is have two spar while the third helps Shiho with the adjusting. It will help us discover any flaws or weaknesses," Mitoku said. Naruto didn't truly believe him, but he didn't comment.
"Hn, then the dobe and I will fight. Sakura can run the simulation numbers. Let' get this over with," Sasuke said, sounding, in Naruto's ears, a little more eager than just a few seconds ago. It seemed like Sasuke was looking forward to being able to look at more taijutsu. Naruto wasn't going to hide it. He was too. He had recognized in his fight with Kakashi that he still had holes he needed to cover though some of those holes were only ones that time could fulfill such as him not having enough experience or him not having the same strength as Kakashi who was a grown human being. That said, Naruto did find it interesting that they could look.
"Now now Sasuke, I know you're eager, but everyone's going to fight. It will get some good taijutsu practice for all of you while I observe. Besides, you don't even know which ones you'll get so keep calm," Kakashi said with an eyesmile. Naruto and Sasuke glanced to each other before they noticed Shiho open a box. A box full of sticky suckers. Shiho quickly applied a bit of glue and wire to them.
"Naruto-san, Sasuke-san, I'm going to apply these to your clothes. With them we will be able to record the data as you practice. This mission might go over a week or even a week and a half. I'm sure we'll have a productive session," Shiho said as she applied the stickers to Sasuke's face and his clothes before doing the same to Naruto and his clothes.
"Pick a scroll and read it. You'll have half an hour to read as much as you can while Shiho explains the equipment to Sakura-san," Mitoku said. Sasuke and Naruto glanced to each other before moving to the scrolls in the pile. Naruto didn't bother looking at what Sasuke was picking as he was too busy thinking while searching. A D-rank mission that lasted that long? From how Iruka had taught them in the Academy, one's typical D-rank mission lasted at least one hour, a max of a day or two. What type of D-rank needed a week? Naruto frowned. Something was really wrong here. There was something here he wasn't getting. That said, he still needed to participate even if he didn't really want to.
Naruto rummaged through some of the scrolls present. He didn't know how many they were intent on doing. He had done some reading, but none of the styles that he read on any subject seemed to suit him. Naruto pushed each scroll to the side. His taijutsu, he admitted, was lacking. He didn't have the most amazing hand-to-hand combat techniques on the class. Books could only offer so much and quite a few teachers saw fit to make his life hard. Naruto shook his head, opting to forget those things.
As he rummaged, Naruto felt his hand scrape through something wooden. He narrowed his eyes before he moved to grab the scroll. A wooden scroll to be exact. Naruto picked it up and unfurled it. He looked at the name. "Shigōken( Deathfire Fist)," Naruto read the scroll. He gazed down through the stances in front of him. There were graphical images of the chakra point system. It was telling how even the chakra points were susceptible to feeling different temperatures such as cold and heat. It was a little more precision based than Naruto thought, but he figured it was good enough though as he looked at the content of the scroll he noticed the dirt in his hands. He frowned as he looked at it. Naruto held some of it to his nose. It didn't look like the dirt that came from Hi no Kuni, but some other country.
Now you might be asking yourself, why would Naruto ever know anything about the dirt of other regions? It had actually been during a time where he had been reading an article the Hokage had let him borrow about the First Great Shinobi War where all the nations had been involved. He remembered reading that certain dirt in a region connected with a person's chakra of that region. It was one of the reasons that Iwagakure had managed to repel the forces of Kumogakure, by using the terrain to their advantage. Something about Iwa's dirt in combination with an Iwa nin's chakra was capable of making it explode when used. Not many other nations could do that. So that's why Naruto was looking at this remainder of dirt with a frown. "Naruto-san, do you have your scroll? We'll be beginning soon," Shiho called jerking from his thoughts. He turned back to see Sasuke already in the glass room and on the platform.
He just settled for a nod before he moved into the room as well. Naruto and Sasuke stood side by side. A sound from the microphone behind the glass came into their ears. "We'll spend the first two or three days going through the routine exercises and then we'll proceed to forms and then to application of them," Mitoku said. Naruto and Sasuke nodded while Sakura was currently at the computer with Shiho. Kakashi seemed content to just watch.
"Alright Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, you may begin!" Mitoku said. Naruto and Sasuke saw the white lights on the ceiling suddenly turn red. "Do not worry about the lights. They are merely sensing your chakra and relaying it back to our computer. It will copy the movements and allow us to make a better analysis," Mikotu replied. Naruto and Sasuke stared at each other for a moment before Sasuke began his own exercises. Naruto opened his scroll and stared at one of the exercises to the technique. The scroll did say that a study of the chakra network was needed so Naruto would go to that when he went home.
Naruto dropped to the ground and fell to a meditative posture. The scroll said to mediate, to make the attempt to send chakra to all points of the body simultaneously. Generally for some this was impossible as when thinking or fighting chakra cycled through the body, but never stayed in parts of the body at the same time. It was concentrated into specific areas. If you were fighting then you concentrated your chakra into your hands or feet since those were where the pressure was hardest. Emitting chakra was more than one part of the body was…difficult.
Naruto continued to mediate, attempting to do as the scroll indicated. Naruto didn't expect any real results in the first fifteen minutes or even half an hour, but nearly an hour later. "Naruto-san, can you stop for a moment?" Naruto opened his eyes hearing the speakers. Sasuke, who had been doing his exercises, stopped as well.
On the outside of the glass, Mitoku stood up. "Did you find something?" Mitoku asked as Shiho and Sakura looked over the computer. Kakashi leaned from over the wall and gave the screen a look as well. The representation of Naruto was sitting on some kind of floor as well, but everyone could see the beginnings of an orange hue in the far left shoulder of Naruto's chakra points.
"Three of his chakra points suddenly turned orange. They've been changing from orange to blue and back for about 45 minutes now," Sakura said, looking at the computer screen. What this meant…she had no freakin' clue. They didn't go over this when she was in the academy.
"It might be a product of him and the exercise from the scrolls, but he's only been meditating. Sasuke-san has been the most…physical in his exercises from his scroll. I've also be watching his other…body functions. It's odd, the temperature in the left side of his body steadily rose for a moment," Shiho said. Mitoku placed a finger to his chin.
"Let's continue to observe for now. When two hours passes then we'll have Sakura-san do hers. But keep a closer eye on Naruto-san," Mitoku said. Shiho and Sakura nodded before Mitoku spoke into the mic. "No more worries Naruto-san. You may continue!" The head of the Cryptanalysis Team said. Naruto blinked before he closed his eyes. He knew there was something they weren't telling him, but he would figure it out later.
It was another two hours before Naruto and Sasuke stopped their exercises. Sakura had the amazing sight of Sasuke rubbing his face with a towel from his sweat while Naruto looked over to see Shiho and Mitoku discussing something that he couldn't hear. The scroll did say that when the meditation was finished then the user should have been a bit warmer than before. Naruto felt…warmer, but that could been from a number of different factors.
Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, Mitoku, and Shiho continued to observe Sakura's own exercises from one of the scrolls she picked. Naruto looked at the scroll. It's premise wasn't bad in his eyes, though Sakura stuck a little too much to form in Naruto's eyes. "Sasuke, do you remember what Sakura was like in taijutsu class?" Naruto suddenly asked as he watched his female teammate work. Sasuke raised an eyebrow before he snorted.
"You and I both know she struggled with her taijutsu. Even Shikamaru was better than her and he was about as low as you were on the grading system," Sasuke said with a fold of his arms. Naruto stared at the glass. He then turned to Shiho. Out of the corner of Mitoku's eyes, he watched Naruto's action. Naruto moved over to the computer. Shiho turned and noticed Naruto looking at the numbers.
"Something wrong Naruto-san?" Shiho asked as Naruto looked at the images on the computer as they translated into numbers while Sakura worked. Naruto turned back to see Sakura breathing. He then looked back at the computer. Her heart rate was increasing which wasn't so far out of the ordinary. Naruto closed his eyes.
"Sasuke, did you feel any…weight in the glass room?" Naruto asked. Sasuke turned to himself once again. Everyone saw Sasuke give a nod and at this Mitoku gave Naruto a look. He hadn't told them, but to get some better results, those stickers were embedded with seals that increased weight over the body, but it shouldn't have been so big that a genin would notice.
"Nothing more than usual. What are you getting at?" Sasuke asked. Naruto turned a stare to Mitoku. The man looked into Naruto's eyes before he turned to Kakashi. The jonin looked at the head of the Cryptanalysis Team. He gave an unseen nod. Mitoku turned back to Naruto and gave him the nod to do what he wanted. Naruto excused himself and knelt next to Shiho. She widened her eyes as he took the keyboard and pulled up his and Sasuke's files.
"If this is because of her lack of training or even her lack of muscle strength I don't know, but Sakura's going to wear herself out before she gets her two hours finished," Naruto said. Mitoku and Shiho widened their eyes as they turned and noticed Sakura perform a sidekick. Kakashi, Sasuke, Mitoku and Shiho looked at Sakura and then at Naruto.
"How do you know that? I mean sure she doesn't train as often as I'm sure you guys do, but that shouldn't hinder her that she couldn't get to her training," Shiho said in slight amazement. Naruto leaned up and turned back to the glass. He watched Sakura perform more exercises.
"Rather than call it a tactic of know how Sakura does things, it would be better to call it…a heavily-based intuition," Naruto said. Shiho looked back at the screen and then turned around to look at Sakura. She then turned her eyes to look at Naruto. Somehow, Shiho couldn't help some form of anxiety surfacing. She wasn't sure why. Had Uzumaki Naruto always been this attentive?
Everyone watched as Haruno Sakura continued with her exercises. She seemed to be keeping well in stride as her heart rate continued to increase. As it stood, Sakura was approaching 1 hour and 45 minutes. Shiho didn't see it. Sakura still looked to be fine. Shiho had suppressed a laugh. It looked like Naruto wasn't able to trust in his teammate's abilities. Course then again he probably assumed that as physically women were weaker than men then Sakura wouldn't be able to hold her own, but obviously that wasn't the case. Either he had looked at the numbers on the screen wrong or he was just boasting about their training. With his grades, Shiho didn't necessarily believe it to be the former. "Then again I would have been impressed if Naruto-san was right. That would have took a lot of prediction and calculation to achieve," Shiho said to herself.
"Shiho, give Haruno Sakura new stickers in five minutes," Mitoku said as Shiho looked up from her thoughts. "Huh? Erm…why?" Shiho asked as Mitoku glared through the glass. Sasuke, Kakashi and Naruto continued to look on though Shiho could tell that they were a little surprised.
"Tell me Shiho, when training, how long does it take you to work up a sweat?" Mitoku asked. Shiho blinked. She blushed at the question in embarrassment. She hadn't trained as much as she probably should have given her time with the team, but Shiho always managed to get her times in when she could. That didn't mean that she didn't stop thinking about the question.
"I guess a good sweat is two hours in depending on what I'm doing. Maybe by four hours I would be drenched I guess," Shiho replied before she widened her eyes. She stared back at the glass and noticed Sakura's pink outfit completely soaked from her sweat as Sakura performed a set of punches. Shiho stiffened. Had Sakura been moving too hard? How was that much sweat accumulated in only 1 hour and 50 minutes?
"I think either Sakura will have to change her scroll to fit something more to her style or she might have to have another method. If what Naruto said is true then there is some weight, while unnoticeable at first, accumulates over time. I think she's worked enough," Kakashi said with a narrowed eye. Mitoku quickly nodded and leaned forward.
"Sakura-san, you can stop there. We will leave everything for tomorrow!" Mitoku said as Sakura threw out a punch. She gasped as she, surprisingly, fell to her knees and panted. She watched as the drops of water fell from her forehead and to the ground. She didn't realize she had been working that hard. Sakura just nodded. Her arms and legs were killing her. Yet, with Kakashi's help, Sakura was able to get to a chair and rest. Sakura panted as she had a towel draped over her head.
"Alright I think we can stop there. We will pick this up tomorrow. There is water in the receptionist area. We will see you back here at noon," Mitoku said as he and Shiho left. Naruto noticed Shiho give him a look before she followed after her supervisor. This left Team Seven alone.
"Kakashi-sensei…what are we doing here?" Naruto suddenly asked. Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi glanced at Naruto. Kakashi had a mirthful smile. "We're doing a D-rank mission Naruto. Did you forget that? It's just a little special is all" Kakashi said. Naruto folded his arms. This was no D-rank mission.
Naruto had thought about it when explaining Sakura's predicament to the others, but he was hella sure that he had seen her taijutsu form before from that scroll. Maybe it wasn't from THAT scroll in particular, but he remembered that form from somewhere. Maybe one of his history books? But…which one? Plus the style Sasuke had used. Naruto had been able to read it just a bit. That one was recognizable also! They didn't look like Konoha taijutsu techniques. The one Sasuke picked was called Botsuraku( Downfall) and Sakura's was called Tenkōka( Heavenly Descent). Naruto had one seen a list of every taijutsu form recorded in Konoha, chunin-level and above. Neither of these was in what he had seen from the scrolls.
"Right. Sure it is," Naruto answered before Kakashi had them all file out of the room. They were allowed to take the scrolls home if they so desired so Naruto took his taijutsu scroll home. He figured he would need it. So Team Seven had gone their separate ways for the day.
Naruto came through his door and turned on his lights. A quick shower and dinner followed soon after. Once those were finished, Naruto immediately made his way to his backpack. He took out the taijutsu scroll and got to work. "Warning, this exercise will hurt. First aid is required to complete this exercise. Have ice nearby," Naruto read from the scroll. He took out a tray of ice and his first aid pouch. Looking over what he had, Naruto gave a nod before going back to the scroll.
"If you have prepared yourself…take a candle and touch the flame for one minute," Naruto frowned. Perhaps it would have been a good time to switch taijutsu scrolls. Yet, Naruto found himself lighting a candle and staring at it for a time. He then looked at his left hand. He gave a small sigh. Naruto closed his eyes and…held his hand over the tiny flame.
Moments passed as Ashe, the frost archer, found herself in her summoner's home suppling him with a multitude of ice arrows as Naruto continued to wrap his hand. "I…do not understand this process you were trying to make," Ashe said as she watched Naruto take one of the arrows and hold it in his hands. He gave a small groan of relief. He looked at some of the burned parts of his skin. He then registered Ashe's response.
"Sorry for calling you all the way out here. It's training," Naruto said. Ashe blinked. She looked at the flaming candle before looking back at Naruto. An odd training method, but Ashe could relate…somewhat. A rite of passage for all warriors of the Freljord was to be able to survive in the harshness of the frozen wasteland with suboptimal gear and food. Ashe remembered when she had done it. When she returned she had a cold spanning weeks. Not her best time that she could remember.
"I see. Well we all do things to strengthen our bodies I suppose. Though I don't know a lot of training that requires the user to burn themselves," Ashe remarked. Naruto gave a snort at her remark which earned a smile from the archer. Naruto took another pained sigh as he applied some burn ointment to his hand.
"So this training is a part of your…'taijutsu' arts. Am I correct on that assumption?" Ashe asked. Naruto gave a nod to her question. "That's right. It was a training exercise. The scroll said that the exercise would hurt. I was supposed to feel a warmth in the chakra points on my burned hand," Naruto answered her. Ashe placed a finger to her chin.
"Would you consider this…chakra to be like mana?" Ashe asked. Naruto looked up at her in relative surprise. He was about think she was crazy for believing in magic and mana of all things, but Naruto remembered who he was talking to. He was talking to an heir who was from a land where magic and mana were the norm unlike chakra. "I suppose it's something similar in the term that you're thinking about, but we have vastly different aspects I imagine," Naruto replied to her. Ashe nodded as Naruto took another arrow and held it in his hands.
"How long will you be doing this?" Ashe asked. Naruto glanced at Ashe, then the candle, and then back to his hand. "Until I get it right," Naruto said to her. Ashe just stared at her summoner, still much confused by the person whose home she was in. Such an unusual young man she had decided to help. Though given that he was only perhaps 4 years younger than her, but she had to admit he had spirit if not much else. She was certain he had a lot of other things too. He was smart, though her extension of smart men were labeled to a very…very select group of men in her life.
"So will I be summoned again to take care of more burns?" Ashe asked, rather good-naturedly. Naruto turned his eyes toward her and she watched him give a light grin of his own. "Well I would imagine this to be the only thing ice arrows are good for," Naruto said. Ashe twitched at the jab before she folded her arms.
"Very funny," Ashe drawled out. The smile on Naruto's face didn't leave as he closed his eyes and wrapped his hands. "I'll try not to be so cold next time," Naruto responded with another. Ashe looked at him, her eyes unmoving from his form for the very poor joke. Still Ashe couldn't hold her stern look as she offered a light smile. Not that she would ever tell her tribe about this, but despite paperwork, a war, and being a champion in one life, Ashe was looking forward to the coming days.
And look forward to the days she did as Ashe had been summoned each days for four days in a row by Naruto to provide her with ice arrows. Ashe was happy to oblige him. It actually benefited her as well. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn't easy for Ashe to create ice arrows. They actually took a regular portion of her Mana, which she explained to Naruto was like Chakra, to create. Naruto's continued injuries had been great practice for her in making arrows for dire situations. However, there was always one thing Ashe couldn't understand and that was Naruto's ability to heal. Just by his burns, his hands should have had at least second-degree burns by this time which how much he had placed his hands in that candle, but each and every day his hands had healed like nothing had happened. Ashe couldn't understand it. She had asked Naruto about it on the fourth day. The way he stared at her had told her that she had most likely come across a land where she shouldn't have treaded. Well, Ashe had her secrets as well. She could respect privacy. Ashe didn't feel the need to comment on it, but this was an interesting time. No war meetings, no politics, just a bit of story time between her and her summoner.
The fifth day passed as Ashe gave Naruto another arrow. Naruto squeezed it tightly, it's cooling aura surrounding his burn. "Any progress?" Ashe decided to make small conversation. Naruto sighed. "I have made a bit. Shiho-san said that I should be careful because my temperature was getting high. I don't feel sick so I believe it to be the results slowing coming," Naruto said to her. Ashe merely gave a nod.
"I will admit, from this distance you do feel…warmer though I haven't been around you enough to tell for sure. However I have noticed that while you…heal your burn wounds you always ask me to bring you a book to read. You seem to be looking for something rather than just reading," Ashe said to him. Naruto nodded before he looked back at the scroll.
"I have a feeling there is more to this mission than my sensei is saying. He tells us that it's a D-rank mission and yet what we're doing…doesn't feel like a D-rank mission. D-rank missions generally start and finish in a day or two. There can't have been any records of D-rank missions that have taken over a week to finish. Add that this is the Cryptanalysis Team, they encode and decode messages…, classified messages. They work directly with the Hokage. I have trouble believing that they would need a group of genin for help," Naruto said. Ashe watched as Naruto used his right hand to grab the scroll.
"And then there are these scrolls. I've read on every taijutsu style in this village. Why don't I know these? And that dirt on my scroll, it can't be from Konoha. It's too dark. It's also a different gradient from Konoha's. Then they have us learning these styles, showing the data to not only us, but claiming to make…it…a training manual!" Naruto said as he widened his eyes. Ashe raised an eyebrow. Obviously her summoner had just had some type of epiphany. She watched Naruto jump to his feet. Ashe watched him run from the main room and into a dark room which left the Frost Archer alone.
It was only about two minutes later that Naruto returned with a book in his good hand. "Ashe-san, turn these pages for me please. Go to page 65," Naruto said. Ashe took the book from him and looked at the title. "Shinobi Taijutsu: A True Guide?" Ashe thought to herself. She placed the book on a table and flipped through to page 65. Ashe couldn't help, but shiver as Naruto had a hand on her shoulder as he looked at the page. She was sure he wasn't aware of it, but she was actually lost in how his blue eyes seemed to get even darker.
"Page 32!" Naruto called which made Ashe jump for a second. She turned back and landed on the page that Naruto wanted. Naruto skimmed over the words that were written on the pages. "Page 107, 120, and 130 please Ashe-san!" Naruto said. Ashe turned to each page for Naruto and the blond read down each list. Naruto's hair shadowed his eyes for a second. Ashe's ears picked up on chuckling. She turned back and noticed Naruto's body twitching. She blinked her blue eyes as Naruto's chucking turned to a light laughter. Naruto then proceeded to clap his hands.
"Not bad. Not bad at all Cryptanalysis team! So that's how it works, dattebayo!" Naruto said before he covered his mouth. He sent a glare at Ashe which made the Frost Archer blink. "Never. Speak. Of. That. To. Anyone!" Naruto remarked slowly and glaringly. Ashe gave a small smile.
"Of course Summoner. I will take my leave now!" Ashe said as she vanished in smoke. Naruto watched her go before he cursed underneath his lips. That was definitely going to come back and haunt him somehow. However, Naruto was willing to let that go for now as he couldn't stop the grin on his face. As he clutched an ice arrow, he moved over and picked up the scroll.
"Just a little special Kakashi-sensei? Very well, I'll play your tactic for now. Yours and Mitoku-san's," Naruto thought to himself. He gave one last chuckle as he turned out the lights to his apartment room and closed the door to his bedroom. As Naruto climbed into his bed, he looked at the moon. It's natural beauty made him smile before he drifted off to sleep.
-x-
Mitoku was never one for superstition. He was a scientist, lazy as many people called him, but he was still a logically sound person. He had spent a lot of his career working with fellow coders and decoders as well as other fellow scientists in the field of shinobi and science. It was a great thrill for him. However he was also a shinobi. He was always cautious and he was always alert even when most thought he wasn't. And right now, he truly thought he was being watched. It hadn't happened in the beginning of the week, but on the fifth day of the D-rank mission he and Shiho had with Team Seven. Every time his back was turned he was sure that eyes were looking at him. Whoever was watching him, if anyone, he tried to give the feeling that he didn't know, but it was making him anxious. This in combination with Uzumaki Naruto's…odd progress was weighing on his mind.
Uzumaki Naruto, Mitoku had never thought he could be thrown for a loop as hard as when he had met the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. Dead last, worst of the generation, bottom of the barrel, none of the phrases described Uzumaki Naruto to Mitoku. Mitoku had his own phrases. Calm, assertive, hell even analytical. Mitoku was actually beginning to understand why the special D-rank was given to Kakashi's team. It wasn't even about Haruno Sakura or Uchiha Sasuke, it was just about Naruto. Ever since four days he had shown the burn marks on his hands. Shiho and Sakura had asked him about it, but he had tactically been able to weave through their questions. Mitoku couldn't understand it.
Naruto was also starting to show signs of a light temperature increase. Mitoku had checked him over to make sure he wasn't running sick or something, but Naruto always claimed he was fine. If the average human temperature was a solid 37 celsius then Naruto was probably at either 40-45 celsius. It was odd and then there was those light orange spots in his chakra. It might have been signs of his taijutsu style. Mitoku wasn't sure. Man he was tired. He really wanted to go home and sleep.
"Alright Naruto-san, Sasuke-san, we're increasing the water's pressure slightly. Be prepared," Mitoku said as Naruto and Sasuke were thoroughly submerged in the glass room as it filled with water. Naruto and Sasuke nodded as Naruto balled his fist. He released a punch through the water. Slow, very slow just like he had imagined. The water's resistance was stopping him dead. Naruto followed up with a kick from the scroll and then a right elbow. It was hard to breathe. Naruto turned and eye over and watched Sasuke grunting in vain to get back the speed he had lost when they had air.
Naruto opened his palm. They were warm. "Even now, in this cold water, my hands are still warm. I think I'm getting there. The scroll did say I would feel warm in parts of my body. It was just the beginning. Though it's going to take me even longer to get used to this heat, then again I doubt that was meant to be the same for someone like me," Naruto thought to himself. He had been going over the chakra system chart that he had at home. Thankfully a couple of days ago, Naruto had been allowed to practice on a training dummy that Iruka provided for him. It was easy…on a still, unmoving, unfeeling object or at least the basics of stances 1 & 2 were. Stances 3-5 weren't that difficult either, but they were for the beginners of the course. If you could call Naruto that after five days of practice.
Naruto continued through his stances while Sasuke did the Naruto wouldn't give to have a water person to summon so he could do this at home, but he would rather not chance anymore of his luck than what he already had going for him. So, just like Sasuke, he continued on with his exercises.
Thankfully it had only been about fifteen minutes considering the conditions before Naruto and Sasuke exited the chamber. A quick shower from the chlorine and the two young genin came back into the room to see Sakura working in the water as well. Naruto sat on a chair and turned to the head of the Cryptanalysis Team. "Mitoku-san, how old did you say these taijutsu scroll were?" Naruto suddenly asked. Shiho looked up from her computer as Mitoku turned from his microphone. Kakashi and Sasuke looked at Naruto. Inwardly Kakashi gave a , just a special D-rank mission.
Normally Mitoku would have been happy to remind Naruto about what he had said days ago, but the look in Naruto's eyes dissuaded him slightly. It was almost like Naruto was…coming to a conclusion and Mitoku wasn't almost sure he wanted. Unfortunately Shiho had to choose now of all times to be a know-it-all. "Some of the scrolls date back to the Shodaime's era. They are all Konoha taijutsu scrolls after all," Shiho replied before she noticed Mitoku's hardened look.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. He knew that look. It was the same look Naruto had when he was explaining to Sasuke the meaning of the bell test. That…air of confidence wasn't lost on Sasuke. If he were honest he hated it and he was jealous of it. It was the same aura he wished he had sometimes. He would never let Naruto know that though. "What are you getting at?" Sasuke asked. Naruto looked at Sasuke for a moment before he turned to Mitoku.
"It's just that in Konoha there is every record of every taijutsu style that is catalogued in its archives. Even in the academy, Sasuke, Sakura, myself, and other academy students learned at least a majority of them and some are clan-oriented. It's just strange that I've never seen these taijutsu scrolls before," Naruto said, staring at Mitoku instead of Shiho. The girl widened her eyes before she looked at Mitoku.
"Perhaps they were lost scrolls. Anyone could find them digging around," Sasuke said, but Naruto quickly shook his head. "I thought that, but that wouldn't explain the dirt. The dirt on my scroll is a gradient that's not from Konoha. See, I remember owning a book that listened every known taijutsu style from Konoha written by a variety of taijutsu experts and even non-experts. Not a single one of these scrolls belong to this category. Considering the Konoha department we are in, then I have my conclusion," Naruto said which forced everyone into silence. Naruto stood to his feet and walked over to Mitoku until he was about a shoulder-length from the man.
"This was a training manual, but not for civilians or for other genin shinobi. This was a training manual…on how to fight against the users of these taijutsu techniques," Naruto declared. Mitoku glared at Naruto while Shiho's glasses threatened to fall from her face. Sasuke widened his eyes while Kakashi raised an eyebrow. Naruto didn't give anyone the chance to speak.
"My assumption is that these scrolls…do not originate from Konoha. If I had a guess then from the names I would say that Sasuke's taijutsu scroll comes from Kirigakure, Sakura's from Kumoagkure, and possibly mine from either Sunagakure or Iwagakure, perhaps even one of the other two that I just mentioned, but I know it's not a Konoha style taijutsu. There are Konoha shinobi infiltrated in each of the other nations stealing scrolls like the ones we have and you have an unassuming genin team perform the tasks as you record the data before encoding it on its strengths and weakness before sending it back to Konoha's undercover operatives. More than likely in case they get spotted then they know how to combat the person wielding the taijutsu. Please, did I miss anything?" Naruto asked.
Mitoku stared at Naruto for a long time. The room was deadly silent. Sasuke had been stunned into silence as did Shiho. Kakashi smiled behind the book he had been reading. "Any mission involving foreign shinobi, no matter the conditions, are at least C-rank level. This D-rank mission you have us on is a veil over our eyes," Naruto said, adding a little more.
Shiho didn't know what to say. Either the term 'dead-last' had changed one year since she hadn't been in the academy, or the term 'genius' was being used a little too loosely. Who was the Uzumaki Naruto in front of her? ever since she had listened to Naruto in correcting Sakura's weights, she had been observing Naruto. She didn't get it. How could someone at this level be the worst at the academy? Shiho didn't get it. Okay maybe his shinobi skills weren't the very best, but he should have at least been second or third in the academy!
Mitoku suddenly smiled. "Honestly if you were a chunin right now I would have went to the Hokage to put in a recommendation for you into my division. That's a very unique analysis into what you believe we're doing. The only thing you missed was where your scrolls came from. Sasuke-san's is from Takigakure, Sakura-san's is from Kumoagkure, and yours, Naruto-san, is from Iwagakure. All in all, a very good conclusion, one that I didn't think the 'dead last' of the academy would figure out. Then I will tell your unit again, this is Mission 8T532-AD6, an unofficial A-rank mission for Team Seven," Mitoku said making Sasuke widen his eyes. Naruto turned back to Kakashi.
"That's what you meant by a special D-rank mission," Naruto said. Kakashi rubbed the back of his head, a little embarrassed at Naruto's glare. "Hold on, genin aren't normally supposed to take A-rank missions, no matter the kind! Why are we here?" Sasuke asked. Mitoku blinked before sighing.
"That's why it's known as a special D-rank mission. They aren't missions that just any genin can do. They require a more…analytically, physically, or even spiritually gifted genin to be able to complete. This is normally given to Nara genin as they have a lot of intelligence in these fields. My guess? Your sensei was either here for you, Uchiha Sasuke, or for Uzumaki Naruto. Not to be rude, but I doubt it was for Haruno Sakura. She is a smart, young girl, but she does not have the capabilities, yet, to achieve these kinds of missions," Mitoku said. Sasuke and Naruto glanced to each other. They were actually doing an unofficial A-rank mission.
"Before you get your hopes up, I will tell you that should you complete this mission it will only go on your official records as a D-rank mission. This missions aren't known to a lot of our shinobi force and many shinobi who take them are sworn to secrecy. Unofficially it will be put in another profile for all of you," Mitoku said. Naruto raised an eyebrow. That was a rather interesting prospect. An ingenious tactic too. Naruto had to to hand it to the Hokage; a mission where you could find select special genin and train them to improve upon what they already had instinctually. Not a truly bad method, in Naruto's eyes.
"That said, now that you know I guess we can stop all the secrecy. Naruto-san, Sasuke-san, have you discovered any weaknesses in the style of taijutsu that you have taken this week?" Mitoku asked as Shiho drained the water allowing for Sakura to come out, seeing as how the girl had been in there for awhile. Sakura had arrived just in time to hear Mitoku ask Naruto and Sasuke the question.
"I didn't discover much, we hardly did enough for me to see anything," Sasuke said with folded arms. Now it was Naruto's turn to look at his teammate in surprise. "Seriously? You didn't see it?" Naruto asked. Soon, once again, everyone's attention was on Naruto as Sasuke shook his head.
"Are you telling me you saw something that Sasuke-kun couldn't?" Sakura asked. Naruto looked at her incredulously before sighing. Yup, the headache was already forming. "Would you care to enlighten us then Naruto-san?" Shiho had asked, a notepad in her hands. Mitoku couldn't resist the smile on his face. Looked like Naruto had Shiho's curiosity more than a little piqued. She actually had a pen in her hands, ready to jot everything down. Naruto didn't seem to mind before he spoke.
"The taijutsu that Sasuke picked relies too much on the opponent overcommitting to an attack. It's a counter taijutsu style and one that works best against aggressive taijutsu styles, but against the style of say a Hyuga, a Nara, or even the Uchiha's Interceptor Style, then it's bound to fail. Though given that most taijutsu styles tend to be aggressive then I would say that the Taijustu Sasuke took is better suited to fighting the Inuzuka or the Akimichi, opponents who like to be in the face of their opponents. Another problem is that the taijutsu has no hard counters, only soft counters. This was probably to make up for the user having to save energy and chakra rather than exert themselves. So whoever uses that style is going to have a rather small chakra capacity," Naruto said. Shiho wrote what she could as Naruto moved on.
"Sakura's taijutsu is perhaps too fluid. Normally having a fluid form is a requirement in all taijutsu, but Sakura's taijutsu forces more on weaving between opening with quick footwork. My guess is that it was too make the user a hard person to catch, but being that fast it sacrifices striking power so I would guess that the wielder used either kunai, senbon or some other blade to make their attacks more sharp. This style would more suit medics or control-oriented shinobi, perhaps puppeteers like those in Suna or even some shinobi in Kiri for their infamous Kirigakure technique. Sakura's form isn't made for prolonged fighting. It's only made to be an assassin-oriented attack. Weave in and then out. If you need to fight? Then do it fast and then exit. It can't be prolonged or Sakura will lose with that style. It's a useful and tactically sound taijutsu for stealth missions, but not much else," Naruto then said. Sakura didn't know how to reply. It felt like she was having a class rather than a mission.
"Mine is the only one I have trouble with. It reminds me of the Hyuuga clan style of taijutsu in focusing on chakra points. I would say that this is more a combination of the Strong Fist taijutsu style by Konoha Jonin, Maito Gai-san, and the Gentle Fist taijutsu style by the Hyuuga clan. Judging from how I see most of the stances I would surmise that one weakness is in the users on knowledge. Chakra points react differently so the user has to be able to hit them, on a moving target, to get any benefit. I would say that perhaps Sakura's taijutsu style would be better against mine since that one revolves around being fluid. I would guess long-range capabilities would tactically stop mine," Naruto remarked finally finishing. He looked up up and noticed everyone looking at him like he had grown a second head.
"Why were you the dead last if you were this smart?!" Sakura asked, voicing everyone's thoughts. Naruto looked at her and sighed.
"Well the ninjutsu and genjutsu portions of our classes didn't go well for me. I have always been terrible at jutsu. It's a problem I haven't been able to figure out. Iruka assumed it was my chakra control, but I excelled in every chakra control exercise we had. As to me being smart or whatever, it's really that. On most of our written essays I was about middle ground. However if you remember our many games of Capture the Flag or Infiltration, then I still had the most wins because I merely enjoy a good tactic situation. That's all ," Naruto said. Kakashi's lone eye narrowed. So Naruto liked tactics, did he?
"But what about the Kawarimi, the Henge, or the Bunshin? You failed the Bunshin, yeah, but I remember you being able to do the Kawarimi and the Henge just fine!" Sakura said. Naruto scratched his cheek. "True, but I wouldn't know anything about that either. Perhaps I was just lucky," Naruto said. Clearly no one truly bought that, but they decided not to argue.
"Mitoku-sensei, with Naruto-san's observations I think we have enough to make the manual," Shiho said. Mitoku looked at her and gave a small nod. "That is true. I suppose we can consider this mission a success. We got more than I believe we were hoping to get out of it," Mitoku said. Everyone quickly nodded.
"Team Seven, Mission success," Mitoku said. Team Seven quickly lined up and nodded. "We will file the report to Hokage-sama, and you will be given your pay. Though Naruto-san, I would like to recommend you come back to my department if you so wish," Mitoku said. Naruto raised an eyebrow for a moment before he gave a small nod. Shiho gave a smile and a wave as Team Seven left the room.
"Never in a million years would I have thought of Mitoku-sensei actually trying to recruit someone," Shiho said as the man rubbed the back of his head. "Sooner or later, whether he knows it or not, people are going to look to him for advice. He has the makings of a good leader and a sound mind. I won't let just anyone have him," Mitoku said. Shiho nodded. She admitted it would be fun if Naruto stayed around a little longer. Behind her glasses, Shiho widened her eyes.
"Ugh get over yourself Shiho!" The girl thought to herself before she went back to her computer to type up a report that she needed to submit to the Hokage. Mitoku watched his subordinate leave and then gave a small smile in return. He turned off the lights to the glass room and walked out as well. Hopefully now, he would be able to go home and get some rest.
-x-
"Mission accomplished Hokage-sama!" Kakashi said forcing Hiruzen to look up from his work in relative surprise. He had to hide that surprise very well that the team had finished the D-rank mission on only a week. Hiruzen had heard from Mitoku that missions like those generally took two or three weeks, something around that time. To already hear those words was an astounding thing to Hiruzen.
"I see. Well done Team Seven. And tell me, how did you find the experience?" Hiruzen decided to ask. Sakura didn't seem to mind answering. "It was actually enlightening Hokage-sama. Before we left Mitoku-san said that we could take home one of the scrolls if we wished. It surprised all of us, but Naruto was the one who figured out the mission," Sakura said. Hiruzen turned an amused eye to the blond. How Naruto didn't want the attention.
"You're really making a big deal out of nothing Sakura. Anyone could see it if given the time. I just made it go faster," Naruto replied. Sakura gave an incredulous huff as she folded her arms. She never could get over how Naruto was. A couple of chuckles went around before the Hokage held up another scroll.
"Well as nice as that D-rank mission was. I have another one for you," Hiruzen said as Team Seven looked at the scroll. Sasuke smirked while Sakura groaned. Naruto only managed to give out a sigh. He had hoped he would have been able to go home. "Is it another one?" Sakura asked. The only thing Team Seven had to off on was the smile on Hiruzen's face. Naruto could tell he was not going to like this.
Eight hours passed by as Naruto opened the door to his room with a glare. "While I can appreciate a good tactic Jiji, I hate getting dogged!" Naruto thought as he came through the door. 3 D-rank missions. All just as boring as the one before them. Cleaning gutters, raking leaves, grocery shopping? Were civilians this naturally lazy or was this just a need to give everyone something to do? Naruto didn't know. At least with that first mission he had been able to focus his mind and abilities on more productive things than arguing with Sakura about what type of carrots to get from the store. Carrots were carrots dammit! Naruto was going to make sure someone suffered for this. Never had he been so bored in all his life.
Naruto gave a sharp sigh. Screw training. That could wait till tomorrow. Naruto was tired. So with that being said, Naruto opted out of cooking and made himself some instant ramen. He ate the noodles swiftly before throwing the cup in the trash. What proceeded was a long overdue shower from the heat and dirt of the day. That being done, Naruto quickly hopped into his bed and turned out the light. His head couldn't have hit his pillow harder before he closed his eyes. His eyes…lingered on the moon in the sky before they gave way to exhaustion.
"Wake up! How long are you going to sleep?! Do you think you have time to waste?! Wake up!" A voice shouted into the reaches of Naruto's ears. Naruto groaned as he squinted his eyes. It was cold. Near deathly cold. He didn't remember it being this cold when he slept. Naruto slowly opened his eyes. Flurries of snow and ice being carried by the wind crossed his face. The wind was cold. It crashed through his face, picking up his blond hair. His eyes turned looked at the ground. His body was nearly covered in snow. Yet he could feel the heat of the sun on his face.
"Where…am I?" Naruto asked rather tiredly as he pushed himself up on his hands and to his feet. He looked down. He was back in his orange outfit. He distinctly remembered changing into his sleep attire before he went to bed. He covered his eyes from the sun for a moment. The cold had a way of waking a person up when it rushed at someone's face. Naruto blinked as he looked at his surroundings. Where…was he? All he could see was mountains, ice-covered mountains and ice-covered plains.
The cold chilled Naruto's body. Was this a dream? This had to be a dream. There was no way that he was from where he had slept. Okay, think Naruto. What places in the elemental nations were cold? There was the Land of Snow, but even now Naruto had no real explanation for how he could have gotten to a place where it would have taken two weeks, BY BOAT, to get to. "I could be in the Land of Iron. It's really cold in that land as well," Naruto thought to himself as he picked up his feet and started his walk. Naruto trudged through the snow as he made his way away from the mountain. Let's see, no idea where he was, no water, no food, his body heat was likely dropping from the cold, he had no way of contacting Konoha or his team. Well…this was bad.
Naruto continued walking. He turned his gaze back to the mountain. His eyes stared up at it in wonder. Did the Land of Snow ever have such a mountain before? "What the hell am I talking about? I've never even been to the Land of Snow," Naruto thought to himself before he forced his eyes to turn away from the glorious mountain behind him. As he kept walking, his feet trudged and trudged until he came to the edge of a cliff. Just as he reached the edge, Naruto stiffened. His nose picked up a scent.
"Smoke…and blood. Lots of it," Naruto said to himself as he looked from the very ledge of the cliff. He widened his eyes at what laid below. "Haha, take all you can! Then we head for the mountain! Untold riches and glory await us! For the good of the Kro'thar!" Naruto heard a man shouted as he stared at the skeletons of deceased men, women and children being collected as trophies for a group of other men, women and children who only covered their modesty with rags. There had to have been enough of these people, in his vision, to form a clan rivaling the Uchiha in number.
Naruto watched and his had to give it his all to not wretch at the sight of debauchery he laid his eyes on. People dancing around a fire, laughing, jeering, cheering, partying on the corpses of the dead as they drank…whatever they were drinking from their flasks. "Pathetic," Naruto said to himself and as if the universe was taunting him, an arrow shot past his face nicking some of his blond hair to the ground.
"Oi Dratre! What do you think you're doing?!" The obviously leader of the clan asked as Naruto watched an archer appear. Naruto nearly shivered when he thought the man's eyes were looking right at him. He ducked behind the cliff. "Jus' a lot of sportin' Kragga, sir! Thought I saw a lil mouse. You know I love me some 'untin" he said while the man named Kragga laughed to himself.
Naruto peered over the cliff and watched as people talked. This was getting dangerous. He didn't have any of his equipment…which he still thought was nonsense, but he would have to let it go. "I should go somewhere I can think this over," Naruto thought as he stood to his feet. He quickly turned himself around and walked away…his steps sending a small pile of snow and rocks down the ledge side. Dratre and Kragga looked up at the falling rocks and snow as they rolled down the cliff and to the ledge. Kragga smiled before turning to Dratre.
"Well it looks like I gots me a straggla'. Be right back Lord Kragga," Dratre said as he gave a bow and took his bow with him. It looked like it was time to do some real hunting once again. How Dratre enjoyed hunting…especially against a moving target.
Meanwhile, Naruto continued walking away from the cliff. Strange, between the icy wind in his hair and the snow that adored his head, he thought he would have been much colder. Oh trust him, he was cold, but his body was going rigid from the ice just yet like he thought it would have. "Wait, Mitoku-san said that my body temperature was warmer when he checked me over. Is this from my training?" Naruto finally thought aloud.
"Run. They will kill you. You will die. You will never return if you die here. Run," A voice in the breeze called out to the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. Naruto didn't even have time to question what he thought his mind was playing on him. He could see and hear people in the distance…behind him.
"Come on now! Move yor' arses! I ain't paying ya lot for missing me 'unt! Get moving!" Naruto heard the man from previous shout. Dratre if Naruto remembered correctly. No tools, no knowledge of territory, no backup, and no truly battle experience? Heh, did Naruto really have a choice in what he decided? Nope, not really. Naruto must have been heard as he heard footsteps increase in number after him as he trudged through the snow. Naruto huffed and cursed as the weight of the snow weighed down his legs as he moved. He could see the silhouettes of about eight men in the distance of the icy wind behind him. Five arrows were his signal from his brain to his body to…as the brain said 'Hurry the fuck up!'
Naruto kept running and running. Before long he noticed the base of the mountain he had looked at before. He breath visible to the cold wind, Naruto could feel his heart rush out of its cage as he continued. Arrows littered the ground behind his feet as he continued running to the mountain which kept getting bigger and bigger in its view. Naruto's eyes looked up. The peak was easily covered in the clouds, hidden from anyone's view on the ground. Naruto didn't have the time to marvel it as he turned back to see the men still chasing him.
With time, Naruto finally, against the raging snowstorm outside, made it to the base of the mountain. He quickly located a nearby tunnel entrance and slid inside. He didn't move as the footprints got bigger and louder. "Hold fast ya bunch 'a lards! Leave it to die. I'm not about to lose my life to the Paragon on that mountain! I might be the best archer out of us lot, but I ain't 'bout ta lose ma nuts to that guy who guards this place. Let's get out of here. I'm sure he'll take care of whoever is on that mountain. I ain't takin' my chances," he said. The rest of the group looked at each other before they all headed back to their site.
Naruto watched the footsteps vanish into the snow before he exhaled his breath. He leaned against the cavern walls. What a dream this was turning out to be…if it even was one. "At least I'm safe for now," Naruto thought to himself as he placed his head on the rock walls. Strange, given how cold it was outside, the rock didn't reflect the temperature. It was actually rather a neither cold nor hot temperature. Naruto turned his head and noticed a path leading through the dark. He had no idea what was in the caves and he was really hoping to not find out, but it was better than dealing with the cold and…ruthless tribe from before.
So…Naruto stumbled through the caverns. He used one of the walls for leverage as he moved through the caverns. "What I wouldn't give for a light summon," Naruto thought to himself. He turned a corner and walked down what he had assumed to be a hallway. Naruto jerked himself as his right foot had nearly sent him sailing down a crevice if he hadn't grabbed a ledge in time. Naruto gave a short sigh before he maneuvered around the steep drop into the abyss below. Put mountains on Naruto's top list to never go camping to.
As Naruto exited one chamber and came into another, he assumed he was a lot more tired than he thought as he noticed a far off light illuminating the caverns. He also…heard giggling? Naruto took a step to the light, but he watched it almost avoid him as it turned a corner. Naruto followed after it.
Corner after corner he followed it. It nearly led him to his death numerous times between potholes, crevices, tight spaces, and dead ends, and Naruto was nearly reaching the full amount of his patience as he watched the light turn another corner. "Why am I even doing this? I should be focusing on how I even got here! I don't have time to be chasing my imagination!" Naruto thought. However his words didn't belie his true thoughts. Somewhere in his heart, he knew he was being guided. Yet, to what…he didn't know.
Naruto turned the last corner. The giggling stopped and he noticed a small flaming torch on the ground. Naruto picked it up. As its flames illuminated the darkness, Naruto noticed a vast number of drawings on the walls. "Harmony are the sun and moon. Order and balance is there nature. Since time immemorial both have kept the world at peace. Both have offered their powers to the mortals of the non-astral plane, the divide growing and expanding. The peace and order breaking. Why do the sun and moon fight? Do not the sun and moon both offer light? True, the sun is the most beneficial in the growth of life on the planet, but does not the ebb and flow of the tide coincide with the moon? Do not the creatures of the deep and the animals on the plains rely upon the moon as well as the sun? Why must two partners be at war with each other?" A voice asked. Naruto touched his head and groaned.
"Why must there be one time where the sun and moon are of one mind, one body, one spirit, one soul?" It asked. Naruto looked up at the drawings; images of people fighting and dying, images of executions, heretic speech, and proud declarations were known to him. "Help them, the sun and moon. Help restore them to peace and balance. Help them understand…one cannot exist without the other. Help them understand…their true…place. When you are ready, you will return here and either you will climb…or you will die," The voice said as Naruto fell to the ground and clutched his head in pain, his mind assaulted by memories! His mind assaulted by people. Two bright lights clashes against each other in a battle for superiority. Both lights exploded and through the light Naruto could make out only a few brief things.
He could make out a woman, clad in mixture of bright gold, borderline yellow, armor and strips of red cloth. Her bright auburn-isa brown hair rested underneath her gold headpiece. The shield she held was traced with the same gold color with a hint of dark purple insignia added to it. Her blade, long and glimmering, was a testament to her strength. Her beauty was…stunning just like the radiant dawn of the Sun.
He could make out another woman, clad in a dark armor of a mixture of black and purple, the tails ends of her armor and the breastplate she wore glimmered with the everlasting coolness of the moon. Her eyes and her hair looked like they have been touched by the Lunar Goddess herself, a soft mixture of white and light blue. Her blade was an odd one; curved in nature, black on all its form, it reminded Naruto easily of the curves of the moon. Her beauty was…cool, unyielding, unwavering, and…enchanting. Her scorn was of the Moon.
Both stayed in Naruto's mind before the image became much to bright as he closed his eyes tightly. "You will climb. Dark times are coming. You must be ready," The voice said to Naruto before all became dark.
Naruto gently opened his eyes. His greeting was a pure white ceiling. His nose picked up on many medical supplies. He turned his head and noticed he was attached to a beeping monitor. He groaned for a brief second. "Naruto?" The blonde heard his name called and turned his head. He noticed his entire team looking at him in what he could only describe as worry. It only took him a minute to realize that the Hokage and even a couple of doctors were present.
"Kakashi-sensei? Where am I?" Naruto asked, but he really didn't have to ask that question. He could think of only one solid guess. Kakashi patted Naruto's shoulder. "Easy Naruto. Don't talk too much and rest. You've been out for a little while," Kakashi said. Naruto stiffened. He narrowed his eyes.
How long?" Naruto asked. Kakashi turned to Hiruzen for a moment. The Hokage nodded as Kakashi turned back to his student and sighed.
"You've been out for four days Naruto," Kakashi said.
KG: I guess this is a good place. I will admit that the pacing was…a little ahead of what I had planned, but I think it all worked out in the end. I also decided that going over my list, I can think of ONE more that I can add to this list of the harem. Six! Six is the max! No more! Spur of the moment perhaps, but only six! That seems like a good number that's not to small and not too large. I remember I have to check myself. This wasn't/ISN'T supposed to be an absurdly large harem.
KG: Anyway, NO! I did not get Deathfire Fist from the Deathfire Touch! I am not THAT creatively-inept.
KG: Anyway, I guess we can stop there. Stay Breezy, protect what's important to you, never give up, review, and SEND ME SOME GODDAMN CREAM SODA!
KG: I also demand that you all RESPECT THE CREAM! YOU GOT THAT?!
