The Path I Walk
Chapter Four
Whoo…Man I haven't been able to get anything done in a while, and I apologize for that, I've had car problems since October, as in, I broke my car and can't fix it. But I'm still here, and I'm still trying to get this stuff out as fast as I can and as good as I can.
Now, I know it hasn't been much change from the actual storyline yet, but it's getting there, the next couple chapters will give you enough changes as it is, and that's before the Chunin exams even get started…
Ahh, I'm not going to ruin the surprises, so on with chapter four!
The three Genin stared at their mentor, mouths hanging open. Kakashi knew what was coming next and put his hands over his ears.
"WHAAAAAAT?" Sakura screamed
"YOU GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING!" Naruto roared
AAAARGHH, CUT ME LOOSE GUYS, I'M GONNA SKIN THIS COCKSUCKING BALLJUNKY, JUST WAIT TILL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU KAKASHI, I'M GONNA SHOVE MY FOOT SO FAR UP YOUR ASS, MY PINKY TOE IS GONNA TICKLE YOUR PEA-SIZED BRAIN!"
Kids…they eat too much sugar these days... he sighed inwardly.
"You both sacrificed a bit of your lunch so your teammate would be able to help, that's true teamwork, you all pass. You have now truly become Genin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves" Kakashi said, smiling his weird eye smile.
Naruto's glare could have melted diamonds, and Sakura's wasn't any better, but Sasuke's shit eating grin compensated for most of that.
Kakashi turned and began walking into town. "Come on, cut Sasuke down and we'll all go to get some food, my treat." He said over his shoulder.
Sakura sighed. "You'll regret that Sensei, Naruto eats more in one sitting than most families eat in a year."
Naruto cut the ropes holding Sasuke to the log and shot Sakura a reproachful glare. "I might, but if you haven't noticed, this little asshole eats twice what I do."
"Shut up dickhead." Sasuke said, trying to wipe a grin off of his face.
Kakashi just sighed and began walking toward the cheapest grill in town, his wallet was going to be hurting in the morning.
Kakashi sat at the table crying silently into his saucer of sake. He hadn't quite believed Sakura's estimate on Naruto until the fifteenth plate of grilled pork went down his throat; and what was worse…Sasuke was matching him plate for plate. And the worst part was that they were fighting over everything like animals.
"Is it always like this?" he asked Sakura; who, after one plate stopped eating nearly two hours ago.
She sighed, "Yeah, they're gonna eat till they throw up, and then they'll argue about who ate the most down to the last peace. You should have seen them at the Academy; usually their table manners aren't this good." She replied, silently sipping her tea.
Kakashi turned a regretful eye at the two rabid dogs attacking all the meat on the table and wondered how they could be worse, his mind couldn't fathom it. "You call this good?"
She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "You are the one who wanted to treat us to dinner, I blame you.
My wallet does too…Kakashi thought sadly.
"Hey Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto piped up in between shoveling down another plate of pork. "I think the manager wants to talk to you."
Kakashi turned his attention to a red faced man staring at the two boys with utter horror. He sighed and made his way over to the dumbstruck fellow.
"I'm awfully sorry about all this, I promise to get them out of here shortly, how much for the four of us?" he asked, forcing himself to smile at the gentleman.
"I don't want your money…the two of them just went through a month's stock of beef and almost three times that of pork, them out the door is all the payment I need, that and the assurance that you won't bring them back."
Kakashi sighed dejectedly. He hoped that this wasn't going to repeat itself often.
Naruto sighed happily as he walked down the road, rubbing his bulging stomach. Sakura walked beside him with a look of irritation.
"Naruto," she started angrily "the moment you take a break from being a ninja, your muscle is gonna turn into fat and you won't be able to get your fat ass out of a chair."
Minato snorted and Naruto shot him an indignant glare.
"You're supposed to be on my side you mutt." he shot at the wolf.
Minato growled and stared him down. Sakura walked between the two giggling.
"Let's just get home before mom blows a gasket. She's probably been worried sick about you."
Naruto stopped walking and stared at the girl walking ahead of her. "Why should she be worried about me? You're her daughter." he said with feigned irritation.
She turned and winked. "Because she knows her beautiful daughter catches all the boy's eyes."
"Yeah, well what does that have to do with me?" he asked.
"Well. She knows how extremely jealous you get." she replied. "Usually she's patching you up for getting your ass beat because you don't want anyone else to look at me." she giggled and began walking briskly; counting down.
Three…two…one…
"WHAT? NO! I CALL BULLSHIT ON THAT ONE! GET YOUR SCRAWNY ASS BACK HERE! I DO NOT ALWAYS GET MY ASS KICKED!"
Sakura laughed and started running; an irate blond hot on her heels.
Minato cocked his head slightly and gave a small huff before continuing his steady pace back to the compound and to his comfy den.
Two Weeks Later.
"I have a visual of the target. Over." came a voice through the earphone. A male voice, young, kind of higher pitched. The pinkette nodded and replied quickly.
"Roger. Don't move until all of us are in position. Over." she began moving quietly through the forested are they were currently in. this chase had been going on for an hour and had covered half of Konoha's cityscape before they had finally gotten the damn thing cornered.
A third voice crackled through. Another male, this one slightly lower pitched.
"Who's Rodger? There's just us three THIS time."
The girl sighed and rested her head in her hand, massaging the temples slightly. "That means affirmative Sasuke."
"Oh…I get it now…"
"God, Sasuke. You really are the biggest idiot I know. I've always wanted to ask; how do you know which shoe goes on which foot? I'd expect it would take you a couple hours to figure it out." Naruto asked cheekily.
"Well, it did for a while, but then my mom got this…HEY! YOU ASSHOLE! I'M GONNA-"
"Shush!" Sakura said, cutting him off. "We have a mission to do so let's just get it done ok?"
"Fine."
"Rodger…or should I say Phillip? Or Bob? John? Better yet, who the fuck came up with that in the first goddamn place?"
"Just be quiet Sasuke. Naruto; do you still have a visual on the target?"
"Yeah, its still where it-wait. Argh! goddamn; it's moving, fuck getting into position, I'm engaging."
There was a rustle in the foliage to Sakura' left, and then a howl.
"ARGH!GODDAMN PIECE OF SHIT! GET IT OFF ME" rang out, followed byNaruto's "Come on, Sasuke! Grab it! It's practically in your lap!"
"YEAH! IN MY LAP HUH? IT'S USING MY GODDAMN BALLS AS PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT!"
Sakura rushed in quickly to find Naruto rolling on the ground laughing as a large tabby cat tried to claw it's way down Sasuke's leg. She sighed and switched the channel on her earpiece.
"Mission accomplished Sensei." she reported.
The three genin stood in front of the Hokage's table with frowns on their faces as a large woman hugged the infernal bastard cat to her overly large bosom.
"Come on you old fart! Give us a decent damn mission for once!" Sasuke shouted at the Sandiame when the woman left. "We've been doing these shitty ass D-ranks for the last two fucking weeks! Give us something good old man!"
Sakura looked at Sasuke with a mixture of shock, outrage, and embarrassment, but Naruto just shrugged.
"He has a point Hokage-sama. We have been doing several D-ranks a day for several days now. I agree with Sasuke, I think we need a better mission."
The Hokage nodded; then turned to Sakura. "And what about you, young lady? Do you think Team 7 is ready for anything more than a D-rank mission?"
"Y-yes I do Hokage-sama. We have done fairly well with the missions given to us. I believe that we could not continue D-ranks and still form a cohesive unit."
"I think what she's trying to tell ya is that more D-ranks are gonna drive the three of us bat shit crazy." Sasuke put in, earning him a slap to the back of the head from the female part of his team.
The Hokage sighed, "Very well. At the moment we have a C-rank escort mission to the Land of Waves. Hatake, do you think your team can handle this one?"
"Fairly well Hokage-sama. If any assistance is needed I can provide it. The mission should be no problem for the four of us." Kakashi said with a smile.
"Fine. Then a C-rank you get, an escort mission to the Land of Waves. Your duty is to protect a bridge builder by the name of Tazuna. Let me introduce the four of you to him."
One of the assistants scurried off at a nod only to bring back an older man who was too drunk to stand.
"What's this?" the man slurred, "I pay for a team of ninja and I get a couple kids and a blind guy? You tryin to rip me off?"
The Hokage smiled. "I assure you Tazuna, these fine young ninja will be able to protect you to the extent you have asked for."
"Hmph. Ninja? They don't look old enough to be outta diapers yet, especially the one in the blue."
Naruto and Sakura shot a glance at Sasuke; shaking their heads no just as they were pulling ear plugs out.
Sasuke only grinned and pulled out a single shuriken. He twiddled with it for a moment before lazily flicking it in Tazuna's direction. The shuriken sliced through the firs few buttons off of his jacket and severed the string to his hat. The hat fell of and the jacket popped open. Tazuna stared with bulging drunken eyes at his hat laying on the floor.
"Just a bit more power and that shuriken would have slit your throat wide open. Do we fit your standards now?"
"You're just kids."
"So."
Tazuna sighed. "Fine, if it's the best I can get, I'll take it."
"Then we will meet you tomorrow morning at the Eastern Gate." Be sober, we'll be doing a lot of walking."
The old man was led out of the room grumbling.
Kakashi dismissed his team, but as they were walking out of the door, the Third stood.
Uzumaki-san. I would like a word with you alone if it would not be a hindrance."
Naruto stopped and turned back into the room. "Not at all Hokage-sama, I always have time to talk."
"Will you be bringing Minato along with you on this mission?" the Third asked with a smile.
Naruto didn't pause. "Hai, he is very useful at spotting enemy threats and hidden dangers. Plus he is an excellent fighter; and I enjoy his company."
The Hokage nodded, "So no chance of using that jutsu then?"
Naruto gave a slight pause. "There will always be a chance. It's a last resort, but something about this mission strikes me as odd. Tazuna might be hiding something."
"Your powers of observation are becoming sharp, Naruto. But I ask as a friend and mentor; please don't use that jutsu unless your life, or the lives of your teammates or your charge are in danger. I've seen it up close, the results are not always pretty."
"Of course Hokage-sama. Is that all you request of me?"
"At the moment, yes. Now get home and pack. You have a three week journey ahead of you."
Naruto bowed and excused himself from the room.
Sarutobi sighed and leaned back in his chair.
Your powers of observation are correct Naruto. I just hope this mission doesn't turn out to be too much for you.
The sky was black with thunderclouds. Flashes of lightning striking all around him. And standing not thirty feet away was the object of this nightmare. A man in a dark black cloak walking towards him.
"I'll kill you this time weakling. There is no one here to call for help, no Anbu to save you now Uzumaki."
He settled into a fighting stance, slipping his sword out of its sheath. "Give me a reason not to kill you Itachi, you'll get what you deserve."
"Is it what I deserve, or what you do?" Itachi laughed. "Or do you just wish to wash this memory away? That is what divides us, I know what I want, and I take it; you just yearn for it until it's taken from you. LIKE YOUR LIFE!"
Naruto shot up, kunai in hand as an alarm sounded. He scanned his room quickly, double checking every shadowed corner , door and window before locating the source of the sound. A small alarm clock on his dresser. He slipped out of bed and shut if off before stretching and walking towards the bathroom for a hot shower.
Once or twice every week he would have one of those dreamscape conversation nightmares, he pushed it to the back of his mind and began to prepare for the day
He slipped on his battle wear, opting to take his trench coat for all the pockets and extra padding it would provide, over a tight black shirt with overlapping metal plates on the front and a large one covering the back. He had ordered the shirt and coat as a set, as the back of it had two plates down the side of the coat that could be removed and used as swords, while any of the plates on the front could be detached and thrown, the back plate was stationary, but it's purpose was to protect his back when he was outnumbered. The plates were thin and lightweight, so as not to affect mobility and dexterity, and as such, protection was limited to kunai and shuriken. He slipped his sheathe into the custom fitted slot in the back of his coat and filled the pockets with assorted shinobi weaponry, from senbon, kunai and shuriken, to a couple pairs of differently sized sets of spiked knuckles. His pants were another custom order. They zipped down the side to hide a tanto strapped to each leg, along with several holsters for knives of various sizes. The under layer of the pants were fitted with the same type of plates as on the shirt and jacket, non-detachable and only for light protection. His boots were spiked and steel toed, with a spring loaded knife in the sole of the toe, and another located in the heel.
The whole outfit weighed about forty-five to fifty pounds without weaponry. The jacket weighing about twenty, the pants twelve, the shirt seven, and the boots, four apiece. Naruto wasn't fully accustomed to the weight yet, but he had been training with them every night for the past couple weeks. He had ordered them the day before he became a genin and the smiths and tailors were paid handsomely to get the project done in less than a week; they had it done in four days.
He grabbed his pack, which just had his regular Uzumaki jacket and pants, along with a couple undershirts and a set of sandals. The Land of Waves was an island, and he figured it might be a little hot for the armor with summer approaching.
He stepped out of his room and began walking for Sakura's wing of the house and nearly ran into her as he turned the corner.
"Oops!" She said with a laugh. "I guess we had the same idea, huh?"
He smiled, "Yeah, I guess so…so, are you ready?"
She nodded.
"Then let's get this show on the road." he said as he began walking down the steps to the road out of the main compound.
Tazuna and Kakashi sat by the gate watching the sun rise when they heard the whooping. Turning the two saw four blurs speeding through the streets in their direction; slowin to a stop at the gate.
Sasuke turned his head slightly and addressed the two.
"You old pigfuckers coming or do we need to stop by a Wal-Mart to get you some more tennis balls for those walkers?"
The three genin stared laughing at the look of indignation on Tazuna's face. Kakashi cocked his head slightly.
"What's a Wal-Mart?" he asked.
Sasuke shrugged. "Beats the hell outta me."
They all laughed as the made their way out of The Village Hidden in the Leaves, next stop, the Land of Waves.
And done with this one, sorry it took so long. Excuses are like assholes, and I don't need but the one. Anyways, I've been strapped for time, so that's why it's been a while. Sorry, but Sasuke's filthy mouth will play itself out later, it's all part of the story
Till next time.
