Chapter III: The Frail, the Fragile, and the Wretched

"Those who hate most fervently must have once loved deeply; those who want to deny the world must have once embraced what they now set on fire." –Kurt Tucholsky


Naruto rapped on the door three times, looking back and forth to ensure no one saw him waiting for entry. After a few seconds, sounds could be heard and the echoes of footsteps grew louder until the door finally swung open and the young jinchuuriki was assaulted with the smells of sex, stale sweat, and smoke.

"What the fuck do you want at this hour, you little shit!?"

The blonde regarded the house's owner with disdain. He was a genin even at the age of twenty, denied promotion because of his known drug, alcohol, and prostitution habits. He was currently dressed in a pair of loose, blue shinobi pants… and nothing else; allowing anyone who bothered to gaze upon the numerous tattoos, seals, and kanji that had been inked into his skin. The flowing black ink began at his neck and descended to cover the entirety of his torso, stopping just below his navel on his abdomen, and fully covering his arms in a pair of sleeves that stopped at his wrists. The wonderful image of "addict" was completed with a mop of dirty blonde hair that fell to the man's shoulders, a few stray bangs hanging over his eyes.

"You know why I'm here, Tetsuo." Naruto answered as he crossed the threshold and entered the house.

Tetsuo slammed the door shut behind him. "I know why the fuck you come here to bother me every week, fuck-twat! I'm asking why the fuck you have me up at five-thirty in the goddamned morning!?" The junkie snapped as he made his way to one of the two large couches decorating his sitting room.

"Someone's crabby this morning; did I catch you before you caught the dragon?" Naruto remarked as the pair sat down in opposite couches.

"Ha ha. So fuckin' funny! Who writes your material?" Tetsuo exclaimed sarcastically before he began to nudge something under the table with his foot.

"So I'll take that as a yes, then…" Naruto trailed off as a naked, most certainly female, form gingerly rose from the floor and blearily surveyed the room.

"Party's over, hime," Tetsuo stated as he pulled a tray of white powder closer to himself and began separating some from the pile.

The girl pouted and pressed herself to Tetsuo, Naruto figured she couldn't be older than seventeen. "Come on, Tetsuo-kun… I'm sure you're little friend over there wants me to stay…"

The junkie inhaled sharply through his nose before throwing his head back in rambunctious laughter. "HA HA HA! Naruto!? Kid's a fuckin' faggot! Watch, hey fuck-twat, you want a blow job?"

Naruto scowled at the older genin. "Can we just get on with what I came here for?"

Tetsuo smirked as he held a kunai to the girl's nose and allowed her to snort some of his drug. "See? What kind of fairy-fuck doesn't want his dick sucked by some young… pretty… little thing?" Tetsuo asked as he began to nip at the girl's neck.

"I'm not sure, Tetsuo-kun…" the prostitute murmured, leaning her head back.

The jinchuuriki blushed and looked away when he saw Tetsuo's hand make its way between the girl's legs, causing her to moan softly.

"Why don't you head up stairs, hime? I'll deal with the little faggot and be up in a few," Tetsuo suggested, giving the girl a firm slap on the rear as motivation.

Naruto watched the girl give him a suggestive wink before she scampered up the stairs and disappeared from sight. "You are by far the sorriest excuse for a human being I have ever met," Naruto commented as Tetsuo withdrew a hand rolled cigarette—which Naruto assumed wasn't actually a cigarette—and lit it.

The overly pungent smoke Tetsuo blew in his face confirmed the jinchuuriki's suspicions.

"You never did tell me," Tetsuo began as he smoked his "cigarette," "why it is you saw fit to bother me this early in the morning. You're usually an afternoon visitor, half-pint."

"My sensei is administering a 'survival test' in half an hour and I don't know when I'll be finished, my instructions were to meet my new contact immediately after my completion of the exam."

"Awww… little Naruto-chan's growing up!" Tetsuo simpered while getting up and withdrawing a sealed envelope from the end table next to his couch.

"Don't give me that shit, Tetsuo! You might be older than me, but you're still nothing but a genin in the village, and an Assassin in the Brotherhood. As far as everyone's concerned, and as much as it disgusts me, we're equals now."

The older genin handed Naruto the envelope and exhaled more smoke. "You're not my equal, fuck-twat. Put that business out of your faggotty mind right goddamned now. The only reason I don't outrank you is because I've got better things to do than give a fuck about moving up in this shithole of a world.

"I could kill you where you stand on a whim, and there wouldn't be a fucking thing you could do about it. The only reason I haven't reduced you to a stain on the wall is because Lucien would come down on my ass like a ton of bricks."

Naruto scoffed. "I thank you for your kindness, oh great Tetsuo-sama."

Tetsuo blew another stream of smoke in Naruto's face. "Be damn grateful for my mercy streak, fuck-twat. Because one of these days, you're gonna run your mouth off to the wrong person, and they're gonna fuckin' erase you– like you never even existed." The older boy warned before biting his thumb and smearing blood on one of the two seals imprinted on Naruto's letter. "There, when you're ready to read that, put some blood on the other seal."

"Thanks, Tetsuo. That just might be the nicest thing you've ever done for me." Naruto quipped as he pocketed the envelope.

"Yeah, well, I'm about to get some pussy—good pussy, at that—so I guess I can afford to be charitable today," Tetsuo answered as he rose and grabbed a handful of powder, dumping it into his pocket as he ambled over to the stairs.

"Girls don't like that word, you know," Naruto stated sagely.

The older genin stopped halfway up the stairs and snorted the powder sticking to his fingers. "I'd imagine the things girls don't like could fill a very large book. Thing is, I'd sooner use that book to wipe my ass than actually read it– lock the door on your way out."

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Tetsuo stumble up the stairs, breaking out into full laughter when he heard a door get kicked open, Tetsuo loudly announcing that it was "time for some fucking."


Sakura Haruno was bored.

Her new sensei had told her to be at the training ground by six, and, being the sensible girl she was, Sakura had arrived at five-thirty to give herself ample time to warm up.

It was now nine-thirty and the wayward jonin was nowhere in sight.

And as if his tardiness wasn't bad enough, the silver-haired jonin also deemed it necessary to inform Anko of her actions towards her foulmouthed teammate.

The snake mistress had been merciless in her teasing, assuring a horribly embarrassed Sakura that she was in fact not yet ready to "play with the big girls," and to "keep practicing, and always remember that women are defined from the waist down."

Sakura looked down at her breasts and scowled, remembering the condescending poke in the chest Anko had given her.

"It's not my fault I'm a bit behind… not like Hinata," Sakura thought, remembering her shy classmate, "I know what she's hiding under that coat…"

The pinkette tore herself from her musings on breast development, after assuring herself that she was at least beating Ino at the moment, and turned to her male counterparts. Sasuke was… well, being Sasuke. The Uchiha was sitting quietly besides a training post, eyes closed and hands resting in his lap. Sakura knew he was in one of his "moods" because of the survival test Kakashi had sprung on him. The kunoichi didn't think Sasuke's pride could survive being sent back to the Academy for another six months. Deep down, she realized, Sasuke Uchiha was nervous.

Letting out a sigh, Sakura turned to her other teammate. Naruto had arrived last and, after a brief greeting of "Mornin' Sakura-chan, Sasuke-chan," had proceeded to sit himself under a nearby tree and meditate.

And there he remained for the next three hours, clad in what he had cleverly dubbed his "work clothes" with his newfound katana laid across his lap. For the first two hours, Sakura had simply ignored her two teammates, focusing on the kunai she kept spinning on her right index finger. But when the third hour of waiting began, the kunoichi had put her kunai away and returned to scrutinizing her teammates. The girl was about to ask Naruto and Sasuke what the hell they hoped to accomplish by meditating when Naruto's eyes snapped open and the blonde jinchuuriki swiftly rose to his feet, reaffixing his katana across his lower back.

Sakura quirked an eyebrow as Sasuke exhaled deeply and opened his eyes, Sharingan rotating intensely. "Did I miss the memo…? What's got you two all jittery?"

Naruto finished securing his katana and proceeded to tighten his gauntlets. "Kakashi-sensei is near."

"Okay, that explains the sudden attentiveness, but do you care to explain your little joint meditation exercise?"

"We were gathering and focusing our chakra," Sasuke answered as he too stood, rolling his shoulders and popping his neck, "when one is in a 'natural' state, chakra flow is at a minimum; our coils pump only what is necessary to sustain our base life functions, while the majority of our chakra is stored in our reserves, located near the stomach. When we are agitated or excited, our coils increase chakra flow based on the amount of adrenalin we have pumping through us at the time.

"It's a natural process that happens within everyone, but by focusing our chakra and manually stimulating our coils to increase the flow of chakra within our bodies, chakra itself is more readily available, saving time and energy by reducing the need to draw out chakra from our reserves because it is already flowing through our coils." Sasuke finished as Sakura nodded in appreciation.

"I wish I would have thought of that…"

"Basically, we're getting ready to fuck someone's shit up!" Naruto explained, holding his hand up to Sasuke for a high-five, and obviously forgetting that Sakura did not require layman's terms.

The high-five, much to Naruto's disappointment, was not returned by the Uchiha.

"And who's 'shit' are you preparing to 'fuck,' Naruto?"

Team 7 turned to find their sensei standing on the middle of the three training posts, hand raised in mid-wave.

"Yo."

"You're a little late, Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura deadpanned.

The jonin chuckled as he removed a pair of brass bells, tossing one to Sakura, the other to Sasuke. "Well, a little old lady dropped her groceries, and, as I was watching her produce roll away from her, I suddenly remembered that I myself was out of milk! I then proceeded to rectify this by visiting my local grocer. Had it not been for that old lady, I might have been forced to go the day without dairy!

"Let this be a lesson to you, students: we should treasure the elderly, for they are wise." The copy-nin finished sagely, throwing in a nod for added emphasis.

"Did you even bother to help the old lady, Sensei?"

"Sakura, I was out of milk, my calcium levels are of paramount importance to me!"

Kakashi chuckled inwardly as his students looked at him like he was a madman, children were so easy sometimes.

"Are you even a real ninja? Or is this some kind of stupid joke?" Sasuke asked, killing intent barely restrained.

As Kakashi removed a scroll and unsealed a large timer and set it for five o' clock, he allowed himself an audible chuckle. "I suppose we'll find out soon enough, Sasuke. Now, I've given two of you a bell. I want you to think of those bells as your 'golden ticket,' whoever has one when the alarm goes off, gets to keep being a ninja… I'll also treat you to dinner as an added bonus."

"But sensei, I didn't get a bell…"

Kakashi grinned under his mask as he ruffled Naruto's hair, much to the jinchuuriki's annoyance. "That, Naruto, is the twist! Whoever doesn't have a bell when five rolls around gets to go back to the Academy! You see, you can take the bells from each other, as can I, so I advise you to plan accordingly."

"So Sakura and I just have to avoid you and Naruto to pass?" the Uchiha questioned.

"I suppose, or Sakura could take your bell so she'll have a spare when I catch up to her…"

Sasuke stiffened, but pressed on and raised another question.

"What if we kill each other?"

It was at that moment that Kakashi understood why the Sandaime feared what these three could become. They had power, the jonin had watched Naruto and Sasuke focus their chakra, an advanced technique for genin, and they had the right mindset. All three were damaged, quite severely, but when the Uchiha had made his statement Kakashi had seen "it." When Sasuke spoke, his features glazed over with cold, unfeeling dedication to his goal; emotion, concern for others, and concern for his health were cast aside.

Sakura had at least looked uneasy, but her eyes told a different story. Bright green had suddenly dimmed, only to be relit with unwavering determination to succeed. Kakashi knew that those were the eyes of someone who fought for something greater than what you were, the eyes of someone tied to the past.

Then there was Naruto. The boy had hidden his reaction well, but Kakashi was more perceptive than most, and for one brief second, the eager gleam in Naruto's blue eyes coupled with the stretched cloth of his mask—an indicator of the predatory grin that he couldn't quite hide—had screamed out at Kakashi.

Killer.

"I'd prefer if you didn't kill each other—it'll mean more paperwork for everyone—but feel free to come at me with all you've got should it become necessary to defend your bell." Kakashi answered, pushing his negative thoughts aside. The jonin checked to see if his students were ready before raising his hand. "Begin!"

Immediately, Sakura and Sasuke took off in opposite directions, eager to put as much distance between themselves and Kakashi. Naruto, however, just stood there.

"Hmm," Kakashi mused as he pulled out an orange book from his hip pouch and flipped it open, "maybe he's figured it out? He'd be the first…"

Naruto's brow raised slightly when he saw his teacher pull out his book, the jinchuuriki wasn't a hundred percent sure what was going on, but Naruto had a suspicious feeling that not everything was as it seems…

"If he's really a jonin, then it would be no challenge at all for him to track the other two down and take their bells… so what is it that he's playing at…?"

"You'll never get a bell by just standing there, Naruto…" Kakashi remarked after fifteen minutes of having Naruto silently scrutinize him.

The blonde started, causing Kakashi to chuckle. "Well, eventually you'll go find Sasuke and Sakura to take their bells. The way I see it, I don't really have to do anything until you do something, Sensei." Naruto answered, words conveying his hypothesis. "I'm on to you…"

"I suppose so," the copy-nin answered, idly turning a page in his book, "but what makes you think I haven't already taken their bells?" "Good for you, but I'm still two steps ahead."

Naruto blinked. "That's impossible, we've been standing here the whole time; I would have seen you leave!"

"What makes you think I'm me?" Kakashi asked, turning yet another page.

The genin shook his head; his current line of action was getting him nowhere fast. "Well, there's always one way to find out…" Naruto muttered, drawing his sword out in the process.

The jonin sighed and put his book away, for a minute it looked as if Naruto was going to figure it all out. "Genin are so predictable…" "Kenjutsu, eh? Wow… it's been awhile." Kakashi reached into his vest and removed a scroll, biting his finger and smearing blood across its seal.

"That's it!?" Naruto exclaimed, dumbfounded. When he saw the containment scroll, Naruto had assumed Kakashi was summoning his ANBU katana; the swords were finely crafted, but were still nothing compared to the Ebony Blade. But instead, Kakashi had only summoned a small tanto—a broken one—that was held in a tubular sheath.

"Appearance isn't everything, Naruto," Kakashi cautioned as he tested various grips on the tiny blade, "this little guy was once feared by shinobi far and wide."

Naruto snorted and raised his own weapon. "I find that hard to believe, Kakashi-sensei. Why would anyone be afraid of that miserable little thing?"

"Why don't you come and find out, Naruto?"

With a snarl, Naruto launched forward, preparing for a downward swing that would cleave Kakashi in half– if there was one thing Naruto hated, it was being brushed aside.

So, imagine the blonde jinchuuriki's anger when Kakashi lazily brought his tanto up, deflecting Naruto's swing much like someone batting away a bothersome mosquito.

"It seems you're lacking a little power in your swings, Naruto. Perhaps you should switch to a lower stance?"

"Perhaps you should shut the fuck up!" Naruto shouted, twisting and pivoting for a horizontal swing at Kakashi's neck.

Remaining a few steps ahead of his enraged student, Kakashi easily swung his tanto into position before Naruto's blade could lop his head off. "That's perhaps you should shut the fuck up, Kakashi-sensei, Naruto. Genin should never forget decorum."

"ARGH!"

Naruto pulled his blade back and held it in a reverse-grip, the blade's edge kicking up dirt as he dragged it low to the ground. Kakashi readied his tanto but was thrown off when his student rolled forward past him, bringing his katana around to cut at the back of Kakashi's knees.

The silver-haired jonin reacted in an instant, jumping over Naruto's blade and causing his swing to carry further than the blonde had intended. As the genin's swing continued to follow through, Kakashi caught Naruto's left wrist and twisted, forcing the edge of Naruto's own katana against his throat.

"Shinobi are trained to keep their emotions in check for a reason, Naruto." Kakashi critiqued before releasing the blonde.

Naruto stumbled forward, panting hard. "You think… you think that's all I can do… Sensei?" The boy asked, readying his sword.

"Actually, Naruto, I know you can do more. The problem, however, is that it won't be enough to matter." Kakashi replied idly, readying his tanto once more.

The genin's eyes narrowed dangerously as he gripped his katana tighter. "I think it's time I show you why my blade is legend, why the ninja world once feared the sting of the Ebony Blade." Naruto hissed before focusing his chakra and feeding it to the blade, causing black flames to spring to life and lick at the katana's edge.

With a feral shout, the young jinchuuriki charged towards his mildly surprised teacher, his katana crackling with tainted chakra.

Naruto grinned as he barreled towards his unsuspecting sensei; no matter how skilled Kakashi actually was, the chances of him being prepared for the Ebony Blade's abilities were very small.

Then it happened.

In the blink of an eye, his sensei snapped into action, bringing his tanto down in a blazing arc of blinding white light. Naruto skidded to a halt, kicking up blades of grass and particles of dirt, when Kakashi brought his tanto down; causing sparks to fly when the blades met. For awhile Naruto could do nothing but watch as the black flames pitifully attempted to overtake the foreign chakra before they shied away from the tanto's white chakra, receding into the Ebony Blade completely.

The jinchuuriki's eyes widened in fear as the familiar sense of being trapped and completely overwhelmed returned, a feeling not felt since the night in the alley six years ago.

"You seem a little surprised, Naruto-kun," Kakashi remarked as he used his strength to slowly force Naruto to his knees, "Don't tell me you thought your katana was the only one of its kind?" The jonin questioned, exerting more force on his weapon, causing Naruto to grunt under the strain while the white tanto continued to hum with power.

"I'll admit your forms are quite impressive, and your moves are somewhat… unorthodox, but your ability to adapt to a superior opponent is severely lacking. You can't assume that your skill alone will best opponents; in the ninja world you will constantly find yourself squared off with people much stronger than you.

"If you don't learn to adapt to those situations, I'm afraid you'll wind up nothing more than human litter strewn about on the battlefield." Kakashi finished, eye curving in that infuriating smile once more.

"W-what… what is that thing!?" Naruto ground out, as he struggled futilely against his sensei.

"The Hakkou Chakura To?" Kakashi asked in a tone one would use to discuss the weather, "It's just a little something that's been passed on to me by my father…" The jonin's elaboration stopped there as he looked down at his defeated student in contemplation. "Well, it looks like you won't be getting a bell after all, Naruto… kind of a pity, really; you might've made a good–"

Kakashi paused when Naruto looked up at him, his mask barely concealing the sadistic grin that marred his features.

"And you might have made a good teacher…"

Naruto watched in satisfaction from his position in the treetops as his shadow clone exploded, swallowing his sensei in the raging inferno and transferring its memories to the original Naruto.

"Hmmm… Kakashi-sensei sure got that bunshin riled up," Naruto remarked after sorting through the clone's memories, "It was a good strategy, though. I'll definitely have to be on guard for that angle in the future…"

"You should always expect the unexpected, Naruto…"

The jinchuuriki froze as he felt the oppressive killing intent cascade over him, like a mighty tsunami sweeping past and devouring everything in its wake. Naruto swallowed and looked at his sensei, resisting the urge to shiver as a bead of sweat slowly traced its way down the side of his face.

"Bunshin Daibakuha… a good strategy, it shows that you're serious about this, but I'm afraid you're wholly outclassed." Kakashi explained, drawing out a kunai and taking a step towards Naruto.

The genin backed up, pressing his back flush to the tree's thick trunk, heart beating wildly in his chest as the killing intent increased and took hold of him.

"Do something!" Naruto berated himself mentally, struggling to regain control of his body. He knew what Kakashi was doing, shinobi—Naruto included—often used killing intent to mentally attack opponents, but having someone with more power than you could possibly imagine do it to you was an entirely different experience.

Naruto was helpless, and he knew it.

In a moment of desperation, Naruto flipped through a few seals, stopping on "tori," and raised his hand. "Futon: Dai–"

The jinchuuriki was cut off when Kakashi shunshin'd forward and pinned his hands to his chest.

"You forgot one thing, Naruto…"

"W-wh-what…?" Naruto chocked out as he strained against his sensei's iron grip.

To Naruto's horror, Kakashi smiled as he leaned in and whispered into his ear.

"Boom."

On instinct the blonde's eyes closed in preparation for the coming explosion that would surely kill him, a voice clawing at the back of his head, screaming of death, pain, and suffering.

Moments frozen in time once again turned into seconds and Naruto opened his eyes to find Kakashi smiling down at him, eye curled once more in that damn smile of his.

"Gotcha!" The clone said before it dissolved away in a poof of smoke, leaving Naruto to slide down into a sitting position against the tree's trunk, hands still clasped in the bird seal.


A/N: Been awhile, but here's the new chapter. I figured I was at a good stopping point, and so I took it. The next chapter will wrap up the exam and showcase Naruto's first assignment as an Assassin for the Brotherhood. I'd also like to thank everyone for all the great reviews and Community adds. You guys are the reason I keep writing. Now for fun time: anyone who guesses who Naruto's new contact is will get a little something. Perhaps an early chapter preview, or an omake, or something like that. Get it right, and we'll work something out. As always, I welcome all comments and questions. Also, the next chapter might be a bit delayed because I really need to pump out a new chapter for my other Naruto story, check it out, or don't, it's whatever.

A/N2: I, in no way, shape, or form, believe that women are inferior to men. The words spoken in this story are meant to keep the characters true to themselves, not to express my or anyone else's beliefs. Furthermore, drug use is not something I condemn or encourage. Such things are a personal decision to be made based on your own life style. Live your own life and let others live theirs.

Thanks to Uzumaki200 for helping with beta work, and thanks to Grumpywinter for keeping me on track and listening to my incoherent ramblings.