Hello everyone! Me... again :D I just returned from a lively holiday in Curaçao and upon returning I was highly motivated so I have two new chapters (after this one) I will also update soon.
You, by the way, witness a première: The first ever chapter I wrote that was checked by a beta reader. So all the credit for the spotless grammar goes to Mai'shardstyle! I just hope I don't mess up he general picture, by writing the author notes by myself XD
Since SddR requested it (thank you all for the lovely reviews by the way :***) insight on Team 10's thoughts in this chapter.
EnjoY!
I don't own Naruto... yes, that's true... sadly
Chapter 3
They sun burned down on training ground 7 with only little clouds to dampen the heat. Nevertheless the rain from the night prior still kept the ground muddy. The lake's surface lay still and there was no leave rustled except by a few birds, searching for food.
Team 10 had hidden in the woods immediately, to come up with a plan. The three targets they had were, if Shikamaru was correct and he usually was, no piece of a cake. Though Ino seemed to doubt it, he was convinced that aside from Naruto, who was a Jounin, Sakura and Sasuke were also forces to be reckoned with. He knew no Jounin would go on this many joint missions if there wasn't something about them. She could work with any Genin or Chuunin, but in the end it was always the three of them. Odd.
He recalled Sakura's and Ino's training session with the blonde Jounin. He couldn't say she hadn't left an impression on them. While, in the afternoon beforehand, Ino had been eager to dig up dirt concerning Naruto, her bruised pride after the training kept her from asking Sakura anything. They had all watched as Naruto finished the mind jutsu user without much effort. Ino now pretended like she didn't care about this Uzumaki-person in the least, so Shikamaru had to rely on other sources. What a drag.
He had brought her name up in various places, always casual and then observing the reactions closely. When with shinobi, he received respect, admiration and affection. Especially higher ranked ninja were fond of her.
Civilians though mostly were a stark contrast. Everyone roughly above the age of twenty-five seemed to despise her. There were few exceptions.
Through his research, Shikamaru learned that Naruto was an orphan and was picked up by the Hokage at the age of four. She disappeared from the public for a few years, until she resurfaced as a Chuunin at the age of nine. Something was amiss there. She hadn't been to the academy, he had looked up the old files. There was also no entry in the Chuunin exams' participants lists. So she had been field-promoted.
He also heard of her becoming Jounin as a eleven year old. If so, then she must be amazing. No one knew what she was capable of at the moment, five years later.
He and his team gathered in a tree, hidden by the leaves. As Shikamaru started explaining, he had his team mates undivided attention.
"A simple distraction or trap won't work on them. They'd work it out. We need to work multi-layered." As he continued he already knew about the screaming flaw in his plan. He knew nothing about Naruto's abilities and the last time he had seen the other two fight had been in the Chuunin exams three years ago. I need to find out about this woman, he thought, she should be observed closely in the future. He remembered the ANBU jumping in the clearing months ago and kneeling next to Naruto, addressing with a respectful honorific. He had had to work hard to keep the surprise out of his face. Ino had been downright shocked and Chouji had been similar. That he understood. To be greeted by an elite-shinobi this way, you had to be in a very influential position, since the ANBU stood under direct Hokage order. ANBU respected only those who were also in the Black ops or were appreciated by the Hokage himself very much. It was now to draw a conclusion.
"I think we should give Naruto our scrolls." Sasuke's suggestion came from the right. They jumped through the trees at a slow pace, only for the reason to keep moving.
"I disagree." Sakura piped in. "Concentrating all our scrolls on one point isn't smart."
"You don't think they are able to beat Naruto?" Sakura looked offended.
"I don't! But there is always bad luck. Besides the purpose of this training isn't 'Give Naruto all the work and lean back'." Now it was Sasuke's turn to look unhappy.
"I didn't mean that! I was merely suggesting the best way to win." Both looked at Naruto for she had yet offered her opinion.
"I think Sakura is right. The two of you have grown so much since I got to know you. You are definitely able to hold your own against them. I also wondered... shouldn't we put the winning-loosing aspect a bit aside and try out a bit. It's time you mark your place."
"What do you mean?"
"I requested clearance for the two of you for the next Jounin exams, next spring." Sasuke and Sakura were at a loss for words. So they just continued jumping for a while.
Sasuke thought about it. It was true, since Naruto stepped into their life they had grown exponentially. She pushed them from average Chuunin to high Chuunin level, and now she suggested in half a year they'd be Jounin level.
If there was anything possible to be named the best trait about Naruto, he'd choose her unshakable faith in others. She gave trust so freely, and everyone worked hard to not to disappoint her. He had needed this after his father's death and his brother burying himself in work.
"Thank you." His voice was soft and he saw her smile. She really changed him for the better.
It was several minutes later that they were ambushed, or at least Team 10 tried. Sasuke saw the exploding tags glued to the trees from afar. They pondered on changing the course, but figured it was exactly what Shikamaru might plan. They halted.
"The problem with geniuses is, you never know how many moves they included in their plans. Possibilities, possibilities... ", Naruto muttered.
"We didn't do ourselves a good thing, letting them do the first strike.", Sasuke agreed. "It's his game now."
"We could just blow it up. They can't really hurt us." They both looked at Sakura. It was a very reckless thing to consider, especially since it came from her. "Don't look at me like that. It's the one thing they won't predict, jumping in head first. Normally we'd change direction or something, but to dive in?" She shook her head. "This is being used to distract us. They wouldn't waste energy on something we'd try to avoid anyway." She seemed confident in her reasoning.
"Can't really argue that point." Naruto seemed to actually consider the idea.
"But to jump into a field of exploding tags? What if Shikamaru guessed we'd think this way? A double bluff?" Sasuke felt uncomfortable at the idea of literately agreeing to getting yourself blown up. It seemed like a very un-shinobi-like thing to do.
"Well, if we don't want to go in, but also not turn around, let's stay here." Naruto decided happily. Sakura inched closer to Sasuke.
"She's going to blow up another forest, isn't she," and indeed she did.
"Time for a giant lawn-mower! Fuuton: Razor blade!" Her team-mates sweat-dropped as the woods around them were reduced to a collection of tree trunks. "At least Shikamaru wouldn't know this possibility. For any other shinobi, this jutsu would be an incomprehensibly huge chakra drain." The pink haired girl sighed. "Time to join, shannaro!" She jumped from their branch to the ground, building up chakra and releasing it upon landing, causing the earth to crack up.
"Suiton: Summer rain." This came from Naruto again.
"Raiton: Charge!" Finally, Sasuke added his jutsu, which carried through his arm into the completely drenched ground and hit the now soaked Team 10.
"Chakra repellent shield." They saw Shikamaru and Chouji standing behind Ino, who had her hands outstretched and a seal glowing in her palms. She worked hard to keep the blue bubble up, saving her from being paralysed by Sasuke's jutsu. By combining it with Naruto's water jutsu it became a perfect long-range attack, while normally the electricity could only jump a few centimetres.
"Ah, how boring", Naruto whispered to her friends. "She used a prior made seal. No creativity." Sakura rolled her eyes. Working with seals as well, Naruto was always drawing up stuff in the middle of the battle.
"Let's see what it can manage." She sprinted forward on the cracked ground, the other two following. They fell into an easy routine. For them, working together was like breathing.
Naruto's index finger started glowing blue with chakra and as soon as she reached the shield she drew up quick characters on its surface. The bubble shattered like broken glass. The two Chuunin overtook her left and right and attacked the male members of team 10.
Ino just looked at Naruto, who now observed the other fights, making mental notes, what to praise or criticise later. Sakura was jumping to avoid the shadow that ran over the ground, but was soon tricked with one of her opponents tactics. She stood next to a cut tree and the blackness seeped out of the leaves littering the ground. Her eyes darted to Naruto, who just raised an eyebrow, but otherwise stayed rooted to the spot.
"You won't help her? She always says how great of a friend you are." Naruto just glanced at Ino, who now aimed one of her blood line techniques at her. Easily avoiding it, she jumped next to Sasuke, who sent Chouji to the ground with a open palm thrust, curtsey to training with Naruto's ANBU team, which also held a Hyuuga.
"Sakura, we're finishing up now." The pinkette smiled slightly and stomped her foot to the ground, regardless of the shadow possession justu. The earth broke.
"How? I had you." The genius' face revealed confusion.
"Ino didn't see correctly, when she said Naruto didn't help me." She bend down and pulled the zipper for her boot open. Drawn onto her skin at her ankle was a tiny, but complex seal.
"It gives me the possibility to take control of a number of muscles thrice. It needs to be charged for 30 seconds, but I can nullify any possession or control." Naruto explained. "It takes an understanding on seals, that's why it isn't well known."
Sakura joined her team-mates and they got into formation. Chouji had also fought his way over to the other two and completed the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
"I might warn you." Sasuke spoke up now, a smirk present on his face. "We're a heavy-assault squad." Naruto gave hand signs and the match started anew. Now it was mostly Taijustu and Team 7's training paid off. Their reflexes were superior, when they used Ninjutsu it was so in sync with the others that it took only minutes before the outcome was settled.
Ino was the first of them to loose her scroll, Chouji followed.
Finally it was only Shikamaru who fought Naruto. The exchange was unbalanced. While Naruto didn't seem to make an effort, the Chuunin worked hard to meet her blows. Her style was working against his carefully drawn up plans.
"Ino, plan B!" He shouted and took his scroll out, throwing it. Chouji's hands expanded, shielding its course from Sakura and Sasuke, so Ino could catch it. She took off.
"Oh dear, running, are we now?" Naruto sighed and pushed a seal onto Shikamaru's forehead with a quick move. He was out instantly.
"Tie them up or knock them out, I'll be right back." She made to follow Ino and the other two nodded.
By the time Naruto caught up to the blonde they had reached the open area with the lake. Ino skipped to a halt.
"Don't look so sure of yourself, considering the chakra you must've used for the jutsu already, you have to be extremely exhausted." Nevertheless Ino's voice wavered slightly.
"I'm sorry if I gave you the feeling that you you're loosing Sakura, but you need to look at her. She's growing up, Ino. You need to as well and I can't be blamed for this. You know this."
"I really can't stand you."
"I can't say I like you, you've never given me reason to. But I trust Sakura's judgement. You must be a good friend to her." She smiled. "Give me the best you got."
Then the fight started. Ino tried hard not to give an inch and at first she succeeded.
"You're holding back," she growled. "Don't!"
"Fine." And it was over.
Naruto had placed a storage seal in a nice clearing in the forest. From the seal, Naruto released three large baskets filled with food and drinks for everyone. While the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio was still out, Team 7 carried them to the chosen spot and also invited Itachi to join the picnic. They propped the unconscious shinobi against trees and started laying out food. Naturally, Chouji was the first to come around.
"I take it we lost?", he asked, but smiling.
"Very much so." Itachi, as the proctor had taken the progression of the battle into close account and was delighted by the teamwork both teams had displayed. He wasn't at all surprised by the outcome, knowing that Naruto had intended to let her two Chuunin work. He was sure she could have gathered the scrolls alone without Team 10 even noticing, but her refraining pushed the team further a great deal.
"So, are the three of you doing any missions currently?", he asked. Sasuke shared close to nothing at home, which Itachi had to blame on his own disinterest for a long time. While they talked a bit more, since Naruto came to visit, Sasuke had developed into a very closed off person, when around his family. He still felt betrayed and Itachi knew it was his fault. After the Uchiha's coup d'etat he should have been there for his brother.
"We are on stand-by." Sakura answered. For her, the response was shockingly short and Itachi marvelled at the team's progress once more. Gone was the squealing girl with a crush on his brother, who would have jumped at the situation to chatter about their missions.
"Oh, so you have something big coming up? Or does the Hokage think you should take a break?" Chouji was nosy now. Both Chuunin stiffened a bit, but Naruto stayed perfectly relaxed.
"You can stop asking, we won't share." She smiled sweetly. "I guess as shinobi you must know the term 'confidential'." She and Itachi nodded at each other, they both had seen Shikamaru's eyelashes flutter. He was awake and very much listening. Naruto knew that if it was possible for someone to figure out her identity, he was definitely one of them.
Some minutes later Ino finally stirred and woke up. She opened her eyes wit a start and looked around in slight panic.
"Relax, Ino. Fighting is over. You want some fruit salad?" Sakura pushed a bowl into her hands. The mind user's eyes travelled to Naruto, who picked at a sandwich. Her expression was open and relaxed, as she listened to Chouji go about his family jutsu. Ino caught her eyes. There was a new understanding between them and when everyone went home in the evening Ino lingered. Soon, the two blonde kunoichi were the only ones left. They stared each other in the eyes.
Then Ino turned to go. She had almost left the clearing, when she halted and spoke. "Take care of her. I'll catch up soon."
"Group C, please get to the gathering point and sign in!"
"ANBU briefing in five minutes!"
"Any Genin who has yet to hand in the forms, report to Suzuki-san asap!"
The space in front of the front gates was packed and buzzing with noise. Today was the day the trek to Mist began and any poor soul who had been picked for organising the event was close to a nervous breakdown. From Konoha seven Genin teams had signed up for the exams and all of them were taking their teachers along. There were ambassadors from the coucil, since this was a political event, and three clan heads were travelling with them, too. Each had their bodyguards and finally there was the Hokage, who had a whole ten people assigned just to him.
Altogether about seventy people were leaving the village, and not all of them were shinobi.
It had been decided to split in three groups, each one holding Genin, Chuunin, Jounin and even ANBU to guarantee a safe journey.
Team 7 was travelling in group A, directly with the Hokage. The old man was intent on progressing project Sannin 2, so the team had to appear in the public face more often and become famous or infamous.
Especially for this event there were masks designed, to keep their identities hidden a bit longer. While the ANBU masks were from white porcelain, these were deep blue. Glossy red paint in various dark shades gave them the features of a panther, a tiger and a puma.
They now wore matching garments, consisting of blue pants and shirt, and red armour and protectors. Each of them had managed to still be individual. The clothing differed slightly in the tailoring and the weaponry they carried was fitted to their fighting style and all of them looked deadly with nothing short of ANBU-professionalism.
As they walked through the crowd of shinobi, civilians and other people, everyone looked at them closely, this garment was unknown and without the Konoha symbol engraved into the mask at forehead level, they would have been mistaken as strangers. No one knew of a group with blue masks.
The three of them approached the Hokage and bowed in greeting. The old man smiled.
"Nice to see you this morning. And actually on time." This was for Sakura and Sasuke, as their sensei had been notoriously late.
"Sir, on the list for group A are three spots just with question marks. Who do we await? I need to tick them off." The stressed looking Chuunin called Aoi asked in a stressed out voice.
"This will be us. Mark us as present." Naruto's soft voice instructed. The boy seemed to realise someone was there just then. He jumped, looked at his clipboard, and then went of, scribbling hastily. "He doesn't look very healthy." Naruto voiced. The Hokage sighed.
"A lot of us have been on too little sleep lately. Exams are always a lot of work, but since we are going to Mist..."
"Take-off in 30 minutes! ANBU briefing now. Squad leaders should gather with Hokage-sama in 10 minutes.", someone called.
"Aren't you going to the ANBU briefing?", Sakura asked.
"I can't go like this, I'm not on ANBU duty right now, but I sent a shadow clone." Naruto looked over where a blonde kunoichi with a white wolf mask joined the other ANBU. "Let's go through our list one last time."
Travelling proveditself to be a long and slow procedure. The way to Kiri-gakure would take a average shinobi about three days, but with the supplies and civilians they calculated ten to twelve days.
Team 7 was on almost constant duty, guarding and observing. They kept to the trees and stayed in contact with the other groups, who took parallel roads left and right. The weather became slightly colder and the air was damp after five days. All of the shinobi were very aware of the fact that they were getting closer to once enemy territory.
On the eighth day Team 7 scouted forward to meet a team from mist, who would lead the way. The team consisted of seven members, the leader being a blonde women in her early thirties. Everyone bowed.
"My name is Terumi Lana. On Mizukage-sama's behalf I, as her sister, welcome you to our country. We were informed you travel in three groups, there are two shinobi for each group to lead the way, which is very difficult to find in the mist."
"Thank you for your kind words, Terumi-san. I am panther, this is my team puma and tiger. We will lead you to Hokage-sama and afterwards to the groups." Terumi nodded and they started walking in the camp's direction. As the leaders Naruto and Terumi naturally fell into step next to each other, the rest following behind.
"I am slightly curious to see these masks. I am fairly sure they are not from the ANBU black ops." the woman was careful not to reveal too much knowledge, but couldn't keep the curiosity out of her voice.
"We are independent from the ANBU, that is right. This is a unit Hokage-sama is testing at the moment. So to say a pilot project." Naruto didn't reveal anything about its cause nor their skills. The plan about a second Sannin squad was S-ranked confidential.
The Mist shinobi were refreshingly fast, so after the awfully slow civilian speed team 7 had for the last few days they were happy to flex their muscles and just enjoy the speed. They arrived at the camp-site for the night very quickly and Naruto led Terumi to the Hokage's tent. While they talked she stood close to the entrance next to an ANBU with an owl mask.
"So I'll have someone escort your teammates to the other two groups, I suppose you want to stay here? You're very welcome to make use of the unoccupied tents." The old man sat in a leather armchair and behind a solid wooden desk, curtsey to the storage seals.
"As the squad leader I believe this is the best place for me to be. Thank you." The Hokage stood up.
"I am very happy that this event can take place. I look forward to a good relationship with Kiri-gakure and Mizukage-dono. If you need anything at all or you have a question while you are in our trek, please ask panther." He gestured to Naruto.
"Thank you Hokage-sama." Both bowed, albeit the Hokage not as low and Terumi walked out.
"You keep your eyes open, but I believe there isn't an ill thought in her, at least concerning us. The Mizukage also must be glad to have us, since she sent her own sister to greet us." He smiled at Naruto. "Well done so far. You and Team 7 are now responsible for the three Mist shinobi in our group. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
In the next few days Naruto and Terumi learned they got along horribly. Both hid behind professional façades and nice expressions, but Terumi despised the fact that Naruto was so closed off and calm, which clashed with her more bubbly personality that now showed. Naruto disliked that the woman often played the 'I'm-the-Mizukage's-sister-card'. She expected especially her subordinates to follow her just because of that aspect.
Glad to wear a mask, Naruto only spoke the necessary with her and used a polite tone to avoid confrontation. The relationship between Leaf and Mist was fragile and everyone was treading on thin ice. The tension was palpable.
They arrived at Kiri-gakure no sato in the late afternoon on the tenth day. The village was located at the foot of a mountain, completely engulfed in thick mist.
"It's the evening mist, it should be gone within half an hour.", Terumi explained. She led them to a district in the outskirts that revealed small bungalows in neat rows. The houses were made of white, smooth material, almost looking like snow, but comparable to marble in texture. Terumi gestured to a small sign showing the Konoha leaf.
"We have parts for each village, as you see this is you district. There are twenty-five houses for rooming and another five for different purposes as storage, dojo and office. Each bungalow can house up to four people. So since you are less than eighty people it shouldn't be too packed." She smiled. "Please settle in first, we'll send someone over so Hokage-sama can meet our Mizukage-sama." She bowed and then left.
There was one house designed for the Hokage and, after a team of ANBU checked it, he went in. After that everyone else started looking for room. Team 7 occupied the house right next to the Hokage's.
Sakura squealed slightly as they entered. Naruto could definitely understand that motion. The floor was a dark wood with a slight reddish tint. The walls were cream coloured and the furniture dark and light green. There was a small living-room with a kitchenette and a dinner table. The bathroom revealed facilities in white porcelain and hammered copper. There were two bedrooms identical to each other. Sakura and Naruto put their stuff in one of them and began unsealing the scrolls they carried. Sasuke placed various safety seals at every window and door.
Outside, the light was fading, but the lighting in their room was bright and warm. They unmasked and Sakura took a quick shower. Sasuke and Naruto settled on the sofa to wait for her.
"This definitely nice housing. I could get used to this." Naruto stretched.
"So ANBU housing isn't the greatest?"
"Well it's fine. But it's always just for one person if you live at the HQ. A lot of ANBU live with their families. Those who don't have any, like me and also single ANBU live in there."
"So if you wanted to, you could just move out?"
"Yes, of course. But where would I go?" They stayed in silence for a while, the only noise the running shower. "I thought about building. Some areas close to the HQ are quite cheap because most don't want to live close to the assassins. But just for me is also boring."
"I'd like to get out, too. Being in a clan compound leaves little to no freedom. I thought a flat might be a nice idea, but they're quite expensive in the village and most people don't like the ungodly hours shinobi are about.
"Sakura also said to me lately, she was thinking about moving out. Her parents are great, but she wanted to grow more independent and get away from her little sister." Naruto laughed. Haruno Kei was seldom sweet. She was barely seven and mischief sparkled in her eyes.
"Are you guys ready? We can report now." Sakura stepped out in clean clothes and her long pink hair in a long braid similar to Naruto's.
"It was you we waited for, so no hurrying me."
"You will be glad to learn that the delegation from Suna has arrived just yesterday, and Kumo the day before. Soon everyone will be here." The young Chuunin that led them through the village towards the mountain seemed to feel the need to inform them of the current progress. The Hokage and Team 7 were glad.
They walked through a labyrinth of white houses made from the same material as their bungalows. The streets were not very busy as it was already evening, but everyone they met greeted them in a polite and friendly manner. Years of war and mutual distrust had been tiring and made everyone eager for peace and Kiri-gakure put a lot of hopes in these exams.
"You probably know that Suna has yet to elect a new Kazekage. The only were able to send three ambassadors from their council and two of the Kazekage's children."
Naruto looked up. She knew Suna was still without a leader, but maybe she got the chance to meet Gaara.
"One of the is very skilled with puppets, quite impressive, I must say. The other displays a fine elemental manipulation. As most of us here are also element users this is quite interesting."
So Kankuro was here. But the elemental user could be both Gaara and Temari. Naruto felt like walking on coals. She knew it wasn't her place to ask anything now, so she waited.
They were led into the mountain, which seemed to contain a whole network of tunnels and hallways.
After numerous stairs they entered a vast hall with high ceilings and ice-like pillars. A woman in white robes came towards them. Naruto noticed the similarity to her sister, they almost looked the same, minus the hair colour.
"Hokage-dono! I am so pleased to welcome you here, I hope you are content with your accommodations?"
They started to exchange pleasantries and Naruto's gaze was dragged further into the room. There stood Kankuro in dark blue robes, identical to the ones the person next to him wore.
A person with shocking red hair and a pure white shard of porcelain on a ribbon around his neck. Naruto's breath halted. He was there.
And they meet again. Dadadam!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was the longest by now and I have so many time jumps... -_-
But hey we're finally in Kiri and Gaara is in sight again, that's something positive, right? I just tend to overwrite things and now I had to draw a line.
Literally ;)
Anyways, reviews are appreciated, I love to read them :D Maybe I'll even send the next chapter to my beta today if you ask nicely ;) don't worry, I don't do blackmail, it's already on the way.
So everyone take care. Love, Cold Moon