I don't own Naruto.

Chapter Four: Of C-ranks and affinities

Finally after two months of training with Yuugao and doing a D-rank mission (kuch Chores Kuch) a day Naruko was finally deemed ready for a C-rank mission. In fact Naruko had long surpassed the necessary amounts of D-rank missions but Yuugao wanted to make sure her student was ready for the responsibility and the danger a C-rank mission could be. Yuugao was extremely proud of her pupil and told Naruko that numerous times. In two months time Naruko had learned six of the ten basic kata of the Taijutsu style to perfection. The other four she was still learning but she already could do them in an adequately fashion. Her Ninjutsu had improved as well and Naruko now had 'Tsuchi-Bunshin', 'Mizu-Bunshin', 'Henge', 'Kawarimi', 'Bunshin no Jutsu', ' Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu No Jutsu' and 'Doton: Doryuuheki No Jutsu' in her arsenal. Yuugao had refused to teach her any offensive jutsu until she had mastered these to perfection and while Naruko protested at first she had eventually accepted it.

But what had changed to most was Naruko's speed. Thanks to all the weights and the training Naruko had acquired almost low Chuunin level speed. This might not seem very impressive but for a Genin it was actually very good. Yuugao knew that Naruko wouldn't be able to compete with Lee once he removed his weights but it was a start. Combining that speed with her Tanto fighting style and you had one deadly kunoichi in the making.

Naruko had also fully opened up to Anko and Yuugao and she truly considered them family now. In the beginning she had been a bit hesitant but now she knew she could trust both women with her life and soul. It felt really good to have a family and it had changed Naruko's look on life. It was noticeable when she started to joke around like Anko did though not so extreme much to Yuugao's relief as one Anko was more than enough.

"So, ready to get that C-rank mission?" Yuugao asked after their morning run around the village.

"You bet Sensei." Naruko enthusiastically answered. "I've been waiting for this. No more stupid D-ranks."

"Don't get your hopes up." Yuugao warned her. "Some C-rank missions are equally dull."

"Gee, thanks for ruining my hopes." Naruko grumbled.

"You're very welcome." Yuugao laughed a bit.

When they reached the tower they noticed that they were first to arrive and Naruko was very happy about that. After the 'diaper incident' she had made sure that they were never late again when it came to mission selection. She'd rather do no mission than having a mission like that again. Iruka wasn't there anymore as the summer holidays had reached their end last week so now it was the Hokage and some unknown Chuunin that handled the missions' handout.

"Good morning Hokage-sama." Yuugao said while Naruko flashed the man a bright smile.

"Ah good morning you two, here for a mission I presume?" Sandaime greeted them. "What kind of mission did you have in mind?"

"I think a C-rank mission will be fine, Hokage-sama." Yuugao said.

"A C-rank you say?" The Hokage said hesitantly. "I don't know…."

"Don't mess with me Ji-chan." Naruko warned glaring at him. "You know I'm ready for one."

"Hahaha, don't worry I was just teasing you." The Hokage laughed. "Here you go, one C-rank mission."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama. We'll be off then." Yuugao said accepting the two scrolls smiling.

"Good luck." The Hokage said. 'And be careful out there, Naru-chan.' He silently thought.

Yuugao and Naruko exited the tower and secluded themselves enough so that they were alone to read the scroll with the assignment on. It turned out to be a very straightforward mission as all they had to do was deliver the second scroll to a nearby town a few hours away from Konoha. Naruko complained that this was basically a D-rank mission just outside the village.

"Remember Naruko that once you leave the village anything can happen." Yuugao warned her. "We might be attacked by mercenaries, bandits or even shinobi. This is why missions outside the village are always categorized as C-rank or higher."

"Do you think we'll get attacked?" Naruko asked her sensei.

"Since this is a low C-rank mission the risk is very low but you never know." Yuugao said shrugging. "Alright, let's get going."

After securing their equipment and last minute check the two kunoichi left through the immense gate that guarded Konoha and took the shinobi express (leaping through trees and high speed running) and headed toward their destination. Yuugao explained that they were lucky enough to be able to travel like this as often when you escort someone you have to travel at their pace which seems awfully slow to a shinobi. The two of them would reach the town in about three hours time while otherwise they would have to travel at least half a day if not more when you added resting time.

The trip had gone without any trouble and they had made excellent progress thanks to Naruko's stamina. Had it been another Genin they would have been forced to take a small break but Naruko didn't need one and she was able to travel at an adequate speed much to Yuugao's pride and delight. When the village came into view Yuugao and Naruko dropped from the trees and walked the remaining distance. Naruko, who had never left Konoha before looked around like a kid in a candy store but managed to control herself until the mission was over. Yuugao had promised that once the mission was done they could spend an hour or so looking around.

"Who do we have to deliver the scroll to?" Naruko asked.

"We need to find a place called 'The Wanderer's Inn'." Yuugao read from the scroll. "There, we must deliver the scroll to a certain Miyazaki Toshiro."

It took them ten more minutes to find the Inn they were looking for and Naruko was impressed. She had thought that the place would be some run-down sleazy hotel like so many she had seen before but to her surprise this one was actually very new and obviously aimed at the richer crowd as it seemed very luxurious. When Yuugao asked the receptionist to speak with the manager the woman hurried to her boss' office and came back half a minute later saying they could go in.

"Miyazaki-san, I presume?" Yuugao said to the man.

"Ah, you must be the Konoha Team that would deliver my scroll for me." The man said smiling.

"That's correct, sir." Yuugao said handing over the scroll after confirming the man's identity. "If you would sign here as proof of delivery."

"Of course." He quickly signed the receipt confirming that he had received the scroll without any trouble. "Thank you for your hard work."

"Thank you for relying on Konoha and our services." Yuugao and Naruko bowed. "We hope to do business with you again in the near future."

Now that the mission was over Naruko pulled Yuugao all over town looking around. To Naruko it was strange seeing people looking at them in reverence and when she asked about Yuugao told her that it was because they were shinobi. While villagers of Konoha were used to seeing ninja, people from other towns and cities rarely saw or met a shinobi and thus they were still shrouded in mystery. Naruko accepted that answer and continued looking around. When they came to a large marketplace where several stands were selling food or small souvenirs Naruko and Yuugao mixed in with the crowd and browsed around.

Naruko was enjoying the little stands and she hoped she would be able to see them all before Yuugao deemed it time to leave again. She noticed that Yuugao was ahead looking at some stand and made her way over through the crowd when suddenly she felt a hand touching her left butt cheek. Enraged she turned around grabbing the offending hand and squeezed hard making the owner of the hand yell out in pain. When she saw the man that had touched her Naruko narrowed her eyes at him and unconsciously blasted him with killing intent making the man froth at the mouth before he fainted. Yuugao, who had sensed Naruko's distress was immediately at her side calming her down.

"Naru-chan, take a deep breath and relax." Yuugao said calmly. "What happened?" Although she had an idea she still needed to know.

"I was walking towards you when I felt a hand touching me." Naruko said after taking a few cleansing breaths. "I grabbed it and turned around and saw him. Then he started gurgling and he fainted."

"Naru-chan, you blasted him with so much killing intent he literally saw his own death." Yuugao explained. "What were you thinking when you looked at him?"

"I was thinking about how I would rip it off and make him eat it." Naruko said angry.

"That would do it." Yuugao smiled. "He probably didn't notice you were a kunoichi otherwise he wouldn't have groped you."

Naruko nodded and looked at the man laying there on the ground still shivering about what he had seen and perceived as real. She really hated men that touched her so he deserved every bit of it Naruko thought. Yuugao told her that the man would think twice before groping a woman from now on and they left him laying there for everyone to see. The crowd that had formed had a lot of women and most of them had been submitted to the same thing once or twice in their life before so they took advantage of it and gave the man some payback by kicking and hitting him while he was down.

It took Naruko an hour to calm down and even then she was still very upset. It was this sort of behavior that made her untrusting of men and while she knew not all men were like that it was very hard not to put them all in the same category. Yuugao had managed to calm her down and explain that there were men that just didn't understand the rules. Naruko really doubted she would ever trust a boy or man enough to let him touch her like a lover could.

When they reached Konoha Naruko had decided to stop thinking about it and just accept the fact that as a girl and woman she would have to deal with perverts on a regular basis but she wasn't about to let them get away with it though. If she encountered one that tried anything to her or another woman he would pay for his behavior with the loss of it. That'll teach the bastards she grinned. Yuugao told her that they needed to report the success of the mission and after that they would enjoy a nice bath at the onsen. Naruko nodded and followed her to the Hokage Tower. When they arrived at the tower a certain team under the guidance of Hatake Kakashi just exited the building and both Naruko and Yuugao glared at the gray-haired, one-eyed shinobi for reading his perverted book in public. Kakashi was used to being glared at for reading his book and didn't bother turning around until he felt a bit of killing intent aimed at him. He stopped in mid step and turned around but nobody was there.

"Kakashi-sensei, we're waiting you know." Sakura complained. 'Shannaro, what did I do to deserve a teacher like him?'

"Aha, sorry Sakura." Kakashi said hurrying after his team so they could do their bi-daily D-rank mission.

The Sandaime was having a good day as for once he didn't have paperwork up to his elbows. This allowed him to catch up with some less important and demanding stuff that had been accumulating over the past few weeks. Those matters were usually regarding the villagers' requests and complaints but as Hokage he was supposed to deal with all that as well. Some of them were really stupid like complaints that a neighbor's dog barked too much or petty arguments and some were more important like someone wanting to build an extra floor to his house. All of this was the duty of the Hokage so it was no wonder that there were days where he was buried with paperwork.

As he was reviewing one request his favorite granddaughter had returned from her first C-rank mission and he felt very proud of her. He had been watching her training and he was very impressed with her improvements over the past two months. He wondered why she hadn't started on her father's techniques yet but he figured that Yuugao had something to do with that. Assigning her to be Naruko's Jounin sensei had been the best decision he had made the past few months.

"Ah, welcome back you two." He greeted them. "Everything went fine, I hope?"

"Thank you Hokage-sama." Yuugao bowed. "Mission complete sir."

"Excellent job." Sandaime smiled at Naruko who nodded with a slight blush on her face.

"It wasn't all that much, Ji-chan." Naruko said. "Just delivering a scroll, no big deal."

"On the contrary Naruko, every mission is a big deal." The Sandaime explained. "These missions keep the village afloat and we need each and every one of them. Thanks to these missions, no matter how insignificant they might seem, our village is flourishing and successful. That's why we need to be sure to keep the clients happy so they'll want to do business with us again. Maybe today the mission for that particular client was just to deliver a scroll but maybe in the future he might rely on us for a higher ranked mission. Every successful mission is a possible future mission."

"Well, in that case I'll just have to do my best to keep the clients happy." Naruko said understanding what the man was saying.

"I'm sure you will." Sandaime said before dismissing them so he could return to his paperwork wanting to get most of it done before he retired for the evening.

Yuugao took Naruko straight home to get their bathing supplies so they could enjoy a nice soak in the onsen. Unfortunately Anko couldn't join them as she was still on duty but they went anyway knowing that she wouldn't mind all that much. On their way over to the onsen they encountered Kurenai and her team as they had just returned from reporting the completion of their mission. Kurenai who saw them coming in their direction waved at the two and made her way over, her team following closely.

"Yuugao, Naruko-chan how have you two been?" Kurenai asked pleasantly.

"We've been doing okay, haven't we Naruko." Yuugao said. "Is this your team?"

"Ah yes I would like you to meet a very good friend of mine, Uzuki Yuugao and her student Uzumaki Naruko." Kurenai said to her students. "This is Hinata, Kiba and Shino."

"Nice to meet you all." Yuugao said smiling. "How do you like teaching so far, Kurenai?"

"It's been a challenge but very rewarding." Kurenai said. "We have been getting better and better at teamwork and I'm sure that in a few weeks they might be ready for their first C-rank mission."

"Really? That's great." Yuugao said refraining from mentioning that she and Naruko took a C-rank earlier that day.

"How's Yuugao as a teacher Naruko?" Kurenai asked her.

"Oh Yuugao-sensei is the best. She's really strict at times but she has taught me so much already." Naruko said beaming at her teacher.

"Hey, Naruko and I are just on our way to the onsen so how about you and Hinata here join us." Yuugao asked them.

"I-I-I'm sorry Y-Yuugao-sensei but m-my f-father expects me h-home straight after t-the mission for p-practice." Hinata said declining the offer.

"That's too bad but maybe another time then?" Yuugao said nodding. She knew just how big the stick up Hiashi's ass was as she had dealt with him before as an ANBU.

That being said the three women said their goodbye's, Kurenai giving her students the order to gather at the normal hour the next day, and went to enjoy themselves. Luckily it wasn't very crowed at that time of the day and Naruko went straight ahead and parked herself on a stool and started washing herself. Yuugao looked at her and figured that she wanted to make sure that she was clean after having that man touch her earlier. Once she was done Naruko went over to the warm bath and jumped in; she was used to the hot water by now and she had no trouble what so ever getting into the water. Yuugao and Kurenai joined her shortly after and soon they started talking about little things like how annoying Asuma's smoking is or how irritating Kakashi could be with his perverted book. After that it changed more into discussing their students and Naruko listened intently to what Kurenai was telling.

"Hinata is really shy and she hates to spar as she's afraid of hurting her teammates." Kurenai sighed. "I've tried everything but I can't seem to get through to her."

"Have you tried scaring her?" Naruko asked.

"What do you mean by scaring her?" Kurenai wondered. At this point she was willing to try anything.

"Well, you're Konoha's Genjutsu Mistress right?" Naruko said getting a nod. "Why don't you put a Genjutsu on her where because of her weakness her teammates get killed?"

"That sounds a bit much." Kurenai hesitated.

"No, Naru-chan is right." Yuugao agreed with her student. "If Hinata is unwilling to fully use her potential in the field that's what could happen. She needs to understand that she's risking not only her life by holding back but also her teammate's lives."

"I don't know." Kurenai said. "It might work but it could also break her beyond repair."

"If she can't handle it then she didn't have what it takes to be a kunoichi." Naruko said calmly. "It's sad because Hinata has a lot of talent, much more than Sakura or Ino but she refuses to use it. Don't get me wrong though, I think she's a nice person and probably a good friend if I knew her better but being a kunoichi isn't fun and games. It was okay in the academy but in real life she needs to either step up or step down."

"I can see why you're so proud of your student." Kurenai said to Yuugao.

"Oh Naru-chan is a joy to teach. She's serious in her training and she's talented to boot." Yuugao winked at Naruko. "On top of that she's cute as a button."

That made the two women laugh loudly at seeing Naruko's blush as she turned bright red at the 'cute' comment. After spending a bit more time in the water it was time to leave and Kurenai promised to think about what Naruko had said. Yuugao and Naruko wished her good luck and left for home as well.

The next day Naruko had all but forgotten about yesterday's events and she was in a very good mood. The reason was that she would be allowed to learn two new jutsu today. Not just any jutsu but offensive jutsu; until now Yuugao had refused to teach her any but last night she had told her that she deemed her ready. Needless to say Naruko was very impatient to know what kind of jutsu she would learn but first came a pesky D-rank mission. It was a D-rank mission today because no C-rank was available at the moment that only she and Yuugao could do. But even that couldn't ruin her day and she buckled up and just did the stupid and boring D-rank. The faster she had this done the faster she would get to training.

"Alright Naruko, that's it for this mission." Yuugao nodded after inspecting Naruko's painting abilities. "I'm guessing Mrs. Yamaguchi will be very pleased with how her fence turned out."

"I still think she should have chosen a different color." Naruko argued. "White is so cliché."

"Not our call to make, Naru-chan." Yuugao smiled. "Now get cleaned up and we'll continue our training at the usual place."

"Gotcha." Naruko said and sped away to wash the paint off her hands and face.

After she scrubbed all the paint off Naruko hurried to the training field where Yuugao was waiting for her. Of course being the kind teacher she is, Yuugao first made Naruko do all her other exercises and training before she started on the new Jutsu training. Yuugao laughed at Naruko's frustrated face but she told her that good things come to those who wait.

"Okay, let's move on to what you've been waiting for all day." Yuugao laughed. "I'll teach you two new Jutsu today and which ones will depend on your chakra affinity."

"Chakra affinity?" Naruko asked curious. "What's that?"

"I'll show you." Yuugao said before taking out a piece of paper. "This is a piece of paper made from a tree that was grown with chakra. When someone focuses chakra into it will have a reaction depending on the affinity of said person. Watch." Yuugao said and she focused a bit of chakra causing the piece of paper to become soaking wet. "This means my affinity is Suiton. This will make learning and performing Suiton Jutsu easier for me. On the other hand Raiton Jutsu are very difficult for me to perform, let alone master. With me so far?"

"I got it." Naruko nodded. "So if I'm right there are five different affinities like the kind of jutsu?"

"That's right. There's Suiton, Raiton, Katon, Doton and Fuuton." Yuugao said. "Katon burns the paper, Suiton makes it wet, Doton turns it to dust, Raiton crumples it and Fuuton cuts it in half." She took out another piece of paper and told Naruko to focus chakra in it.

Naruko grabbed the paper and did as she was told. As soon as she focused chakra inside it the paper split in half with both sides crumpling up. Naruko looked at Yuugao in shock and asked what had just happened.

"Well, it seems you have affinity for both Fuuton and Raiton." Yuugao said. "While most Jounin have more than one affinity, it is pretty rare to find a Genin who has two from the start. You're both lucky and unlucky."

"Why is that?" Naruko asked.

"Because usually by the time people start developing their second affinity they already have mastered their first making training a bit easier." Yuugao explained. "You have two options. Either you work on both at the same time or you pick one to learn now and start on the other later. It's your choice."

"Hmmm, if I choose to learn both right now I'll need to train much harder won't I?" Naruko wondered making Yuugao nod in agreement. "Do you know Fuuton and Raiton Jutsu, Sensei?"

"I know a few of both but neither of them are my strong points." Yuugao said. "My affinities are Suiton and Katon."

"Well, extra training never scared me so I chose to learn both at the same time." Naruko decided. "I don't care if it take me a bit longer to learn master them."

"Yes, well you won't master them anyway as to do that you need to learn Nature manipulation first." Yuugao said. "What we just did was to determine what Jutsu would be easier for you to learn. Once you're Chuunin level then maybe we can start on nature manipulation."

"Geez, why don't they teach all that in the academy?" Naruko complained. "You keep on telling things I've never heard of."

"Naru-chan, the academy is to prepare your body and mind for the actual shinobi training from your Jounin sensei." Yuugao explained. "Besides most Genin, and all academy students for that matter, are unable to even learn chakra manipulation. Only the gifted few reach that level before several years of training and being a shinobi."

"Still, it wouldn't have hurt to mention it once or twice." Naruko pouted.

"Ok, enough whining and let's get to work." Yuugao said. "Like I promised I'll teach you one jutsu from each element. First is the Fuuton: Daitoppa no Jutsu." Yuugao then explained the handseals before she showed what the jutsu did. She then had Naruko practice the handseals a few times before giving her permission to try it out. Naruko nodded and concentrated for a few seconds before rushing through the handseals, focusing chakra in her lungs and then exhaled.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa no Jutsu" her voice sounded through the clearing and a second later a strong wind erupted blowing branches and everything not attached several yards away. Naruko looked proud of succeeding the jutsu on the first try and Yuugao seemed impressed as well.

"Well done, Naruko-chan." Yuugao said impressed. "That was excellent; I can see that Fuuton jutsu won't give you any trouble to learn."

"Thanks Sensei." Naruko blushed at the praise.

"Okay, now for the Raiton jutsu."Yuugao continued. "This jutsu is called 'Raiton: Dengeki Te no Jutsu'. What it does is create a small layer of chakra over your hands which will numb, stun, hurt or kill the opponent according to the amount of chakra you put into it." She then showed the jutsu and a blue glow appeared over her hand and she touched Naruko's arm. Naruko flinched when she felt the chakra numb her arm making it impossible to move it. "Don't worry; it will wear off in a few seconds."

True to Yuugao's words Naruko regained mobility in her arm a few seconds later and she started to practice the handseals until she felt confident enough to try it. After performing the handseals she concentrated her chakra in her hands and just like with her sensei a blue glow covered her hands showing she had succeeded into doing the jutsu.

"Good job, Naruko-chan." Yuugao congratulated her. "Remember the more chakra you put into it the more damage it will cause. It's a very handy jutsu that almost every ANBU knows and uses regularly in missions when needed to subdue prisoners."

The next few hours of the day Naruko spend practicing the two new jutsu she had learned. Yuugao stood by and watched as Naruko repeated the jutsu time and time again without resting. After seeing her do this for three hours Yuugao started wondering just how much chakra and stamina Naruko had. Even she wouldn't be able to do this for so long she knew. She decided to ask Naruko about it.

"Naruko-chan, stop for a moment please." Yuugao said calling her over. "You must be getting tired and low on chakra, right?"

"Hmm, well it's getting harder to do them yes." Naruko nodded. "But I think I could go on for another half an hour or so."

"Really?" Yuugao asked getting a nod. "Nevertheless, let's stop for today. If you were to continue you would surely get exhausted and that might ruin tomorrow's activities."

"Oh, if you think so." Naruko said not wanting to risk not getting a C-rank the next day due to being too tired.

Once Naruko was asleep Yuugao told Anko what she had learned today and Anko was also very impressed with the blonde. Not many shinobi would be able to practice a jutsu over and over again for hours on end; least of all a Genin. Yuugao felt absolutely giddy about what this meant for the future; she knew Naruko was strong for a Genin but in those aspects she stood largely above the rest. Naruko would go far she knew and she would do everything in her power to help her reach her dream. She lost all thoughts about that when Anko cuddled closer.