Chapter 4 New Developments
The small village had a clinic that worked as a hospital, it had around ten beds and a couple of doctors but fortunately that had been enough to help the leaf ninjas and the trapped workers. It had been a week since Naruto was called there and the other events prior to his summoning.
Kakashi and he talked about the fight, the jounin explained his opponent didn't have that impressive skills but the terrain was difficult for him to fight on and the only technique that made him famous was troublesome to get around, his Raikiri was the only technique with enough piercing power to pass through his black skin but in a terrain so unstable he had to allow him to land a hit to be able to strike him back, he expected Gantetsu to be in a similar shape to his because he was sure he pierced his stomach completely but he didn't expect the man to die from that wound.
When Naruto asked about the brother Shino and Hinata told him he was a large man with powerful strikes that based his style in using his long-distance attacks to cover his moves and capitalize with potent strikes, he didn't seem nothing out of the ordinary but was a strong rock ninja.
Sasuke on the other hand was busy training himself to the ground, he didn't want to get defeated by a loser like that again, he was able to realize the two-missing ninja were brothers and they were stuck with the loser one and lost against him, just like Itachi and him, the genius and the common one…
At this moment Naruto was sitting on the clinic's roof with Shino and Hinata while the three of them watched as Sasuke trained at the back of the clinic, he was trying to improve his fire jutsus to give them more power "excuse me…were you at the academy with us?" asked a shy Hinata who remembered that never-give-up attitude from the blond.
"I also believe you were with us during the first year" added Shino adjusting his glasses.
"It surprises me you two remember…no one payed any attention to me…but yes, I entered the academy with all of your generation but after a couple of months the Hokage allowed me to drop if I fulfilled some requisites" replied Naruto with a neutral tone, he wasn't complaining just remembering.
Naruto remembered the time where he was at the academy and despite his efforts nobody talked to him or helped him when he needed something, at first he left to work on his creations and when he convinced the Hokage with his first flying prototype he was allowed to drop out entirely.
"Why did you leave?" asked Shino this time
"Because no one talked to me and I found working on my creations was more interesting" was the Uzumaki's answer that made both clan heirs get silent in that spot, for them the academy was a place to grow and share with other in their same position, for the blond it was a place of isolation and boredom
"You're adding more chakra…it'll only make it broader you need to compress the chakra if you want your techniques to be more powerful" said Naruto in a loud voice surprising the other three genin.
"And what do you know…in case you weren't aware this technique is the signature of the Uchiha clan and I've been able to perform it for years" replied Sasuke talking about the great fireball technique. Naruto took a deep breath in annoyance and doing a single tiger seal did the mentioned technique, creating a larger and more powerful fire sphere than the Uchiha did, leaving everyone looking at Sasuke wondering what would be his reaction.
When they looked at the blond again, he was already gone from the roof, Kakashi had said theese men could come back so he wanted to spend some time there recovering in case they returned. The village elder had said a couple of weeks ago the two of them appeared in his office threatening to harm the people of the village if he didn't tell the workers to abandon the mine, they tried the same with the chief but he didn't even listen to them so attacking seemed like the only logical step.
Naruto believed after hearing Kakashi's explanation he could take on the black shinobi guy and he hoped Sasuke and Hinata were able to defeat his brother if they had to fight again so for the meanwhile they would keep watch over this village to protect them in case the missing ninja returned.
After two weeks Kakashi was back on his feet, he could move, walk and use his chakra but he still felt it was dangerous for him to fight seriously because his ribs were just mending, with any kind of force they would break again but he didn't want to leave the place because he suspected those guys could return and he wanted to protect these people.
He was walking around the village when he felt a chakra spike, it was at the outskirts of the city so he supposed they rogue ninjas were back "Don't rush things up!" shouted Naruto running past him, he was being followed by Sasuke and Hinata, good it seemed his students trusted in him by now, he tried to move as fast as his body allowed him.
When he arrived Sasuke and Hinata were trying to fight Choseki, the man was was showing some bruises this time which meant his students were getting better but instead he decided to stick at long range ninjutsu where earth users used to triumph over fire users and members of the Hyuga clan.
"Lightning Style: Lightning Beast Tracking Fang" said Kakashi surprising everybody, the electrical hound chased after the Iwa ninja at blinding speeds shocking him and inflicting a lot of damage so a single kunai to his chest thrown by the copy ninja was able to do the trick.
He searched for Naruto and found him fighting around the mountain, the same mountain where he fought against that ninja but there was a difference, Naruto was more resourceful than him despite his thousand copied techniques, Naruto could stop his attacks using his chains, he could also use them to raise himself from the ground level, he couldn't fly on his own but he could step on them to get higher than the spikes could reach.
Kakashi could see Gantetsu getting frustrated with each second he couldn't harm Naruto, the blond on the other hand was just testing the man, measuring his own capabilities against his, Kakashi and Naruto were able to see the victory was at his reach but the blond was using this chance to see how he fared against an enemy shinobi, this man seemed like a chunin level ninja with some nice tricks but Naruto was around the same level and his tricks were better "Okay, time to finish you off" said the blond with a bored tone that irked his adversary, he ran towards Naruto with his full body covered in black skin but Naruto used two chains from each sleeve to grab each one of his limbs and suspend him into the air
"Fool, no matter how hard you push you'll not able to harm me while I'm in this form" shouted the renegade ninja
"As much as I would like to prove you wrong…I don't need that to kill you" replied Naruto doing the same move he did on the clinic's roof, he did a single tiger seal and fired a hot stream of flames towards his adversary, what surprised Sasuke was the fact he didn't stop, he kept the fire technique for two minutes until his opponent's chakra signature disappeared which spoke wonders of Naruto's chakra and mastery over the fire element.
Kakashi walked past his students to see Naruto "Are you okay?" asked the copy ninja
"Yeah, you already described his fighting style so it was easy to figure a way to fight him efficiently" replied Naruto before seeing the two missing ninja dead "Can we go back to the leaf now?" asked the blond, he knew Kakashi wanted to protect the village and while he didn't care much he could empathize with the jounin for wanting to help.
Kakashi just asked for someone to get Shino so the blond created a doppelganger and went for the Aburame boy, Hinata expressed her concern for Kakashi to travel after his injury but the jounin said there was no need to worry because Naruto would take care, both Hinata and Sasuke were very confused until the blond opened three scrolls on the ground "Sealing technique: release!" shouted the Uzumaki before something massive appeared next to the mountain.
"One of the flying machines?" asked Hinata who didn't believe Naruto could have one
"No…they're not that big…this must be two times longer" replied Sasuke who was pretty amazed when the Hokage showed the three flying ships that would patrol the country
"Hahaha it's an innocent mistake but this is no ordinary vehicle, this is the Sky Regent, two point five times longer and one point eight times higher than a normal flying device…and if you're wondering how I have one of these, that's simple I'm the person who invented them after all" said Naruto making a mad-scientist pose but with a proud smile on his face
"You!" both Sasuke and Hinata shouted in surprise, those machines were the most revolutionary invention in ages and they came from this blond boy who was the same age as them…that didn't seem possible at all
"Wait…you always brought cool things to the academy…little vehicles and machines" added Hinata remembering those old days
'you payed attention to me?' wondered a very surprised Naruto
"How…I mean, you have the same age as us…how could you come up with something like this?" questioned Sasuke, he knew this wasn't something that made Naruto powerful but it clearly made him special and he wanted to find out how he achieved that.
"To be honest…I don't know, once I created my first hand-made toy I felt joy at making things with my own two hands" replied Naruto raising his hand to the sun "Then I felt curiosity for some things and took all the steps I believed could lead me to that goal…for example I wanted to forge my own metal so I trained until I was capable of using fire jutsus when I was nine" explained the Uzumaki making the Uchiha's eyes go wide.
He learnt the great fireball technique around that age but he never suspected another person outside of the Uchiha clan having that skill, what could this possible mean about Naruto
"it feels as if I've been cast aside from something important" was Shino's greeting that prompted a moment of silence between the other genin including Naruto who didn't want to make Shino feel sad.
"Summarizing Naruto created the flying machines the village uses and is going to take us back to the leaf in one of them" explained Kakashi trying to help mending the mood.
"Oh! That certainly is remarkable" was Shino's reaction before asking the blond how to go inside.
In the end Kakashi went to gather the village elder and explained to him the threat had been eliminated so now they could leave and work with the same peace as they ever did, the villagers were very grateful with the leaf ninjas and thanked them, then all members of team seven boarded on Naruto's flying machine and went back to the leaf.
Sasuke was studying the vehicle with a critical eye, he didn't understood much but he was able to see the metal composing the globe was much sturdier, and there were four control points besides the central one for the person navigating the ship, later Naruto explained he did many modifications from the original design based on his own chakra capabilities and skills, the standard ship was made to be piloted by any ninja without expending too much chakra because it could be an obstacle if he had to fight, while this one was made to work with a larger amount of chakra but the blond had a lot to spare and after watching his performance during the fight against the Rock ninjas Sasuke had no doubt about that.
The Uchiha had followed Naruto's advice and compressed the chakra for his great fireball technique, but it was smaller than before and did the same damage but in a closer area, then he realized adding more chakra but keeping the compression was enough to make the jutsu have the same reach as previous but with at least twice as much power, the only problem was the fact it also used twice as much chakra so he needed to be very accurate when using it. Naruto casted a long-range fire jutsu and kept it unwavering for two whole minutes besides the use of those chains of his, the blond was clearly a powerhouse type of ninja but for some reason his control over fire seemed superb.
"What kind of ninja are you Naruto?" questioned Sasuke during their journey back to the village
"none" replied Naruto confusing Sasuke, Kakashi was close so he was able to hear and he already knew the Uzumaki's character well enough to understand that answer "I never wanted to be a ninja, I just want to invent things but I've had to learn the things I believe will allow me to make and use better inventions" added Naruto to explain his first answer 'and also to be ready when the threat who faced my father comes back' added the Uzumaki on his mind.
Just like that a journey that took team Kakashi two days the first time was covered by Naruto's flying machine in twenty hours, they landed into the ground at the outsides of the village and no one activated the alarms because they already knew about Naruto's personal vehicle…and the possibility he created more in the future.
A few minutes later the whole group was in the Hokage office and said man was quite confused at seeing Naruto along with Kakashi's team so he asked the copy ninja for his report and then he understood how the blond got there, he was pleased because the jounin ensured his team safety to the best of his ability and managed to complete the mission without losing anyone, he would still need a week or so without hard efforts while Shino probably would take twice that much time but the Aburame could always train with their insects or just some chakra exercises so for them the recovery time was always useful.
When Kakashi finished his report he asked the genin if any of them wanted to add something but they seemed to agree with their teacher which showed Naruto did a very job with them during the mission, because according to the jounin's report he took a role of leadership and if he had to guess it would be based on his skills and power.
"Well team Kakashi, you earned a payment equivalent to a B-rank mission and that also includes you Naruto" informed the Hokage surprising the blond "I thank you for supporting Kakashi and his team, now all of you have a week off and I expect to hear from Shino's recovery in the meantime" instructed the village's leader before asking all of them but Naruto to go "There is a person I'd like to introduce you" added the village's leader before taking the Uzumaki for a walk.
The Jinchuuriki was a little confused when the Hokage led him towards the village's hot springs, they were talking about the last mission because the old man was impressed with Naruto's performance because as the blond itself said many times in the past he wasn't a ninja nor he did want to be one, he only trained and honed his skills in order to have a greater success as an inventor and also to have the strength to protect his creations but many things like stealth and underhand tactics that pretty much every ninja knew were things that didn't interest him.
They arrived at their destiny and saw a large white-haired man who was trying to watch to the women's side with a small telescope, the Hokage cleared his throat getting this man's attention "Jiraiya-kun I brought young Naruto here" introduced the old man "Naruto, this is one of my students, Jiraiya the toad sage" added Hiruzen getting them to know each other before leaving the place.
"Mmm mister are you some kind of pervert?" asked a confused Naruto who didn't know what to expect from a man like that, on one side he was a student of the Hokage and he knew about the three-legendary ninja but on the other he was peeping at the women's side of the hot springs
"Hahahaha it's normal for a kid like you to make the mistake of thinking I may be a simple pervert but you're wrong…I'm a super pervert! I gather information about the wonders of woman body all through the elemental nations!" stated the white haired sanin with pride in his eyes, making Naruto very confused because he didn't understand how that was any better.
The two of them walked away from the hot springs towards a small store close to the forest, there Jiraiya sat and talked to Naruto explaining him about his relationship with the blond and what he had been doing during this time, the sanin was able to tell Naruto wasn't used being close with adult people because while he listened with attention he didn't seem personally invested, so they talked for a long time to know each other and Jiraiya was marveled at how Naruto's mind worked, he told the Uzumaki all the things he had already accomplished were incredibly great for a twelve years old so he should also be proud of his success so far, the blond also asked some things to the toad sage about his own life and the styles he preferred as a ninja.
After talking about themselves, the young Uzumaki asked about his parents and this was how Jiraiya got his way into Naruto's hearth, he told the blond many stories about the two of them and how they seemed incredibly happy when they found Kushina was pregnant, he even gave the blond a copy of the book "Tale of the gusty ninja" where the name Naruto was first introduced, he explained to the Jinchuuriki that his father named him after the main character hoping he would inherit some of the traits he showed, in particular his perseverance and his hopes to make the world a better place.
When Naruto found about his parents and the Kyubi from the old Hokage, he felt overwhelmed by all the new information, when he looked at it with a clear mind nothing changed currently in his life but it explained how he came to his current situation and it was a real eye-opener, the most he felt after learning the truth was a great weight lifted from his shoulders, now hearing about his parents and the personal information about his origin he felt his hearth being filled with love he didn't know he had in the first place.
The next day Naruto would meet Jiraiya again but this time they would work together, the sanin was interested in the Uzumaki's work, he had seen the large flying machines patrolling the fire country and was amazed a ten years old kid was able to come up with something like that, the Jinchuuriki showed them some of his newer creations and both of them talked about some ideas he had, the toad sage was very interesting in his sealing because the blond was a very adept student of the art.
One of Naruto's current projects was a portable shield, something he could control remotely so it could block attacks but don't restrict the movement of his hands, he was using a shield he forged with many barrier seals engraved on it and while it was something strong, Jiraiya suggested he used some kind of draining seal so instead of just creating a wall, the seal could suck the energy behind the attack to make it more resistant, all the barrier seals had a maximum resistance that depended on the type of seal and the chakra used to create it, any attack above that resistance level would break the barrier, if he opted for a seal that absorbed the attack then it would make any barrier capable of protecting him and even use that energy for something else. Then he showed him the fire containment seal Fuka Hoin he used on some scrolls to protect himself from some nasty fire techniques, having the seal made allowed him to react quickly in case he received that kind of attack (after learning of the Uchiha clan's intentions he did dozen of this and shared them with some high-profile people in the village).
Kakashi came in the afternoon to check on Naruto and found him working with Jiraiya in the shield he was creating, he was happy the blond had another person in his life, and especially if it was connected to his roots, soon he asked how was the progress and joined them pointing some ideas and flaws he could see for the blond to improve his creation.
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Itachi always thought his brother had a lot of talent but his insecure personality sometimes got the best of him, now he was frustrated a boy around the same age as he was so much skilled than him, he was even more proficient with fire based techniques, something was outrageous so the older brother took upon him to have some training with Sasuke to ease his mood.
"That advise Uzumaki-san gave you is very useful but you must understand father did not tell you in order for you to discover that on your own" explained Itachi "It's very common among young ninjas to try to learn as many techniques and styles as they can but learning something is not the same as mastering something, you need to hone your skills on your own, do the techniques you already know over and over until you use less chakra, find new ways to use them and make them more powerful" said the Uchiha prodigy in a lecture voice
If Sasuke had to be honest he should have to say his father said something very similar after he learned the great fireball technique but he discarded his words for him being too busy to train him but now he was beginning to see the point in them, Naruto himself had said he trained hard until he got what he needed for his work so he should probably follow his example "I think I get it now brother" replied Sasuke with a more peaceful expression "although it would be useful if you could give me some pointers…" added the young Uchiha looking at the ground, he still admired his brother and wanted to spend some time with him but was too old and prideful to say it loud.
"Okay Sasuke, let's do that" replied the older Uchiha flicking his forehead before walking to the lake they used to train their fire techniques.
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After the success of the last mission involving Naruto, the third Hokage was thinking about sending the blond as a reinforcement with other rookie teams, this would allow them to take slightly riskier missions and could be a chance for the Uzumaki to interact with other genin, he spoke to his son and he seemed willing to give this idea a chance so the next time he would assign them a C-rank mission the blond would travel with them.
Jiraiya left the village a week later but this time would not be the same as always because he had bonded with Naruto, his godson and he promised to come back in a couple of months to meet him and talk about his work, the blond was very happy having someone with deep knowledge in seals because it helped him a lot, if somehow he was able to find some expert puppet master and forger he would be very lucky but for now he would have to explore those fields on his own just like he had been doing to this day. The day after the toad sage left the village Naruto was called for another mission.
The third Hokage explained to Naruto he wanted for the Uzumaki to have some relationship with his peers so he would ask him to fulfill some missions with the rookie teams somewhat often, the blond thanked him for being so forward with that determination and only asked to have some time to work on his creations, the old man had a plan for Naruto but he needed to acquire more experience in the real world first, not only in combat but meeting other people, and exploring the world, he could not solve the world's problems if he only knew the leaf village.
For this mission, he would assist team Asuma, composed by Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi and Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru remembered him from his days on the academy but neither of his teammates did, also despite remembering him, he didn't know anything about he like Hinata did so that was something. To Naruto Shikamaru was a smart but lazy guy, Choji was an insecure person with a weak will and Ino was a little girl who lived in a world of princesses and unicorns, obviously he didn't say that to them but he was surprised the Hokage's son allowed such behavior on his students.
They had to travel to the border of the Earth and Wind countries to act as the guards of a famous local auction, the town mostly filled with people from both countries would likely have some ninjas from the Sand and Rock villages respectively, but the organizers hired them as a third and neutral party, It was a journey of four days so the ninjas had to pack accordingly before leaving their home. There was high risk of confrontation but Asuma's name and fame should dissuade most ninjas from trying anything funny.
During the first part of the travel Naruto realized how hard it was for most people going from one place to another, he had a good stamina but wasn't used to jump through the trees for so long and got mildly winded after the first hours, he could keep the pace but wasn't satisfied with his performance, looking around he could see the three genin doing just like him, the only difference was Naruto and Chouji weren't complaining because Ino talked about all the things that weren't up to her standards while Shikamaru ranted about things he considered unnecessary 'How could Asuma-san withstand this all the time?' wondered the Uzumaki sick of their bickering after only six hours.
They did some shifts to keep watch and rest a little around the borders of the fire country, they needed to be in good shape before going into foreign lands, away from the protection the leaf village and the flying ships provided to its people, the avoided wind country taking a slightly longer route because Asuma wanted a place too hot, traveling through that country or worst the desert was a harsh task to do with a team of rookie genin so they went through the Grass, Mud and Earth countries to arrive at their destiny.
The journey there was uneventful, usually bandits and common people stayed out of a ninja team's way because being affiliate to a village in official business meant they had access to back up in case someone got funny with them, only people very confident tried their luck with a team from one of the large villages or a team from another village that also had the required support in case of need.
Team Asuma plus Naruto arrived to the Kotamo Town at the expected date, the major was happy to see them because their presence was very important to the auctions and that event was one that provided a large source of income to the village every year, they invited only the most influential people in close countries so the exact location was an information known by few, not all of the leaders and important people came but most of them sent some emissaries in case there was something their masters wanted, when Asuma saw the amount of people with ninja bodyguards he began thinking this might be too much for his team, any person could come in person or send a representative and any participant of the auction could have two bodyguards, the people needed to have their face uncovered and they were not obligated to wear their respective headbands, actually they asked the Konoha ninjas to take them away the moment they entered the village to avoid suspicions of favoritism, the Sarutobi could see this moved a lot of money, mostly illegal money and people very powerful came here.
The jounin leader was asked to check the installations for any kind of hidden trap or device while his genin team was staying at their hotel, it was information too sensitive to share it with them so early, their job was to guard the two doors that allowed the access to the venue and to report anyone suspicious to their team leader or the security managers who were missing ninjas the major trusted after working for him during many years.
Due to the large amount of foreign people gathering in town, they had a lot of stores, attractions and food stands prepared, the whole city thrived thanks to the money the auctions provided so all of them worked towards the same goal, this captivated Chouji's stomach and Ino's desire for nice clothes so both of them checked on the market as often as they could, Naruto and Shikamaru on the other hand did some surveillance, both of them realized with all the money and wanted objects around problems were just around the corner and they preferred to be prepared when the things went south
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At the day of the event, the genin were at the doors, receiving and checking the invitations that allowed the people to enter at the place where the auction would be held, most people were wearing formal clothes, some with robes others with suits but in the end, it seemed money was abundant in this place
Shikamaru had a bad feeling about this, it was a very secretive event based solely on the fact the Hokage wasn't aware of a gathering as large as this where at least four hundred of the richest people in the world met, they were banned from bringing visible weapons but they weren't checking with other methods, the Nara was practically waiting for something to happen but so far everything seemed to be in order, he was guarding a door with Ino hoping to protect her if necessary while Naruto was with Chouji on the other gate, the Nara genius didn't know much about Naruto but he was able to tell the blond was a serious ninja, had more power than them and also had a good head on his shoulders so he trusted the blond to protect his best friend if necessary.
Asuma on the other hand was in the presence of the event organizer watching the safety vault, all the items were kept in a hidden vault underground whose access was hidden from simple view, the place where the auction was held changed every year but they prepared the place accordingly a couple of months before, the organizer's employees would actually take the objects from there to the auction room, the jounin would be the person in charge of receiving the payment and delivering the product to its final buyer, after checking for the tenth time everything was alright the auction organizer walked with Asuma to the main hall, there he greeted all of the assistants and thanked them for being there, also he said he expected everyone to get what they truly desired from his event so they could go home happy with their new possessions.
Just after Asuma and the rich merchant left the place a man cursed behind a wall, he was sick of waiting for them to leave, he hated waiting and losing his time with every fiber of his body but this time he had a mission to fulfill and his feelings could be put aside for the sake of the mission.
Some minutes passed and the merchants and bodyguards were called to the auction room, they took their respective seats and waited for the event to start, the leader of the event introduced Asuma as his own personal bodyguard and the person in charge of getting the money and delivering the goods, making sure everything was in order, in past versions some people tried funny things but after very cruel paybacks they stopped trying that to avoid retaliations from the other people who didn't get the chance to acquire what they desired.
The first item was a rare belt supposed to be made by the first feudal lord of the Earth Country, it had a large black jewel on its center and passed through many generations in that dynasty, quickly some people raised their hands manifesting their interest of the object, two men competed to get it until one of them gave up and allowed the other to get the belt, the other people in the room applauded the first victorious man of the night and one of his bodyguards walked along him carrying a large briefcase with the money. They got to Asuma's position and the leaf ninja checked the money to be sure the amount was the same he offered, then they called one of the workers to get the belt but after two minutes nobody came with the item. The organizer got a little nervous and ordered more of his people to get the item and check what was happening in the first place until a blond man appeared, he wore a black robe with red clouds and had a mechanical device on his left eye.
"Who are you!? What is the meaning of this!?" asked the organizer using a very loud voice, there was a lot of money involved in this event and he would use all his influences against anyone who dared to cross him.
The blond man walked towards the organizer and Asuma got between them quickly "My esteemed people from all around the world…I've been asked to thank you in the name of Akatsuki for your selfless contributions to our goals…and…art is a bang!" said this blond guy popping a white figure out of nowhere and throwing it to the center of the room, the Sarutobi among other ninjas were able to pick the amount of chakra it emitted and realized it was bad news, he searched with his eyes and saw his genin team gathered at the main door, the four of them were together but the distance between them was too large because this would be released in less than a second.
Akatsuki's agent Deidara did a single hand seal before shouting "Katsu!" and the white object he threw exploded in the middle of the room, generating different reactions among the people there.
"Sealing: release!" Shikamaru heard Naruto say before everything went black around them, a strong tremor was felt at their feet and both Ino and Chouji began feeling insecure in the darkness.
"Naruto, what is this?" asked Shikamaru trying to get a hold of the situation
"It's a portable bunker I've created and sealed in my scrolls, it has many barrier seals so it's highly unlikely it gets damaged by the explosion" explained Naruto
"We need to meet Asuma and get the hell out of here!" stated Shikamaru trying to rally his other two teammates who were affected by the darkness and all the cries of pain and despair around them
For the first time in his short life Naruto had no idea what to do, if he dropped the bunker he risked being exposed to the man who produced the powerful explosion but if he didn't release the barrier they would not be able of finding Asuma…God, what should they do….
"Naruto!" shouted Shikamaru trying to assess the situation
"Shikamaru do we drop the shield?" asked the blond making Shikamaru doubt, the Nara kind of believed Asuma as a jounin was able of anything but deep down he realized he was only a skilled and experienced ninja just like many others out there, it was possible they faced a problem he wasn't able to overcome
"We need to get Asuma-sensei" said Chouji regaining his composure, Ino was also getting there and with his whole team there he felt a little more confident
"Naruto…the man that attacked the auction was alone, he could be working with more people but we just need to stop him for a moment until we meet with Asuma" stated the Nara getting a nod from the blond Uzumaki.
"Okay, I'll get Asuma while the three of you make some time" replied Naruto who didn't know about them but he knew some general information about the Nara, Akimichi and Yamanaka clan's techniques, also using his chains he would be able to extract the jounin from a medium distance. He dropped the bunker scroll to the ground and shouted "Fuuin!" before re-sealing the protective dome in the paper.
They weren't ready for what they saw, around them it was all destruction and death, people lying around heavily wounded, some of them missing some body parts, other ninjas were in better shape trying to help someone and a couple seemed to be fighting the blond guy who set the explosion but he used even more exploding techniques to take them down, he looked around for Asuma and found him with some burns on his face, he seemed to be covering the merchant in charge of the auction with his body but whatever he did to protect himself left half of his body exposed.
The blond moved a couple meters from his teammates in order to divide the bomber's attention in case he went for the leaf's ninjas he would have to pick one of the two sides, using his chains he dragged both their captain and the client to his position while Shikamaru and Ino had their hands ready to perform their clan techniques, at this moment the blond guy was fighting one of the bodyguards but from time to time he sent some explosives around the room at some survivors.
Shikamaru saw a blur behind him that triggered his next movement "Kagemane no jutsu!" said the Nara as a reflex before his attention was on the enemy
"Shikamaru, don't! That is a puppet!" shouted Naruto who knew a little more than the basics of puppetry.
The Nara heir trapped the newcomer with his shadow and while his movement were indeed restricted, it was just one of many puppets, a moment later a new one came from his opposing side but fortunately for him, Asuma was able to destroy it throwing one of his special knives at it.
Naruto looked around to see the puppeteer controlling the dolls but he wasn't in sight, cursing on the inside for how wrong things went in this mission he created five doppelgangers, the original used his chains to gather his teammates, first Ino and Shikamaru, then Chouji who was heavier and required more focus, on the meanwhile one of the copies went towards the bomber to throw some fire techniques and draw his attention, the second clone used the same fire techniques against any puppet on sight but more than destroying them, he wanted to be the focus of their attacks while the other three bunshins stood around the original guarding them from attacks.
When the real Naruto was bringing Chouji closer, one of the copies saw two people raising their hands at his direction, they probably were asking for help so he used his own chains to drag them at their position, he knew what the real was going to do and that would not be a problem.
At the moment all the leaf ninjas plus the client and the two people one of the clones gathered Naruto released a new artifact, the eighth version of his chariot but it was more like a tank than a chariot, it was heavily covered in metal, had the capacity to hold up to ten people and while the first versions had pedal systems, this used a chakra based engine much similar to the one his flying machines did, the blond placed his two hands on the switches and the wheels on both sides started to move, the blond bomber was going to give chase but his partner called him.
"Let them leave…we have more important things to do" said the puppeteer pointing at the people lying around, this operation main goal was to gather resources for their organization and the people they attacked had lots of money with them so with some luck most of the briefcases endured the explosions Deidara set in that place.
The Konoha's group moved forward without doubts they just wanted to put as much distance as possible between them and the auction place, after thirty minutes of travel Asuma stated he wasn't able to feel any kind of chakra signature from the two people attacking the auction so Naruto stopped and opened the vehicle, he sent two clones to the outside and after they confirmed the coast was clear the rest of the ninjas came to the outside, no city or town was visible and that meant they had to talk among each other to take a decision.
In these talks the leaf ninjas found the people rescued by Naruto's doppelganger were a niece of the Earth country's feudal lord and one of the Tsuchikage's bodyguards called Akatsuchi, the merchant was also grateful for their help despite not being able to fulfill the original mission, they saved his life in a very chaotic situation where they could have left him to die there, Akatsuchi said he remembered somethings about the place they were in and informed everyone there were two close cities, one towards Wind Country and the other closer to Earth Country, Shikamaru looked at Asuma and the jounin seemed to be in pain but without serious injuries that could risk his life.
"I think we should part ways…my team and me should go to the wind country as it's Konoha's ally after all and the lot of you can travel towards Earth Country to avoid any kind of international misunderstanding, it would be highly unfortunate to be saved from dying in the middle of an enemy attack to be captured by people blinded by hatred" said the son of the third Hokage who was aware of the bad blood between Leaf and Rock ninjas since the last war.
"it's sad to hear that but I believe you're totally right…I think I'll be able to escort these two gentlemen to my country, but I'll forever in your debt Asuma Sarutobi…Uzumaki-san" replied Akatsuchi with a formal bow
The merchant thanked Asuma while the feudal lord representative also thanked Naruto, both men coming from earth country promised Naruto their respective leader would know about this and maybe it could be a first step to a better relationship between both nations, the blond smiled and bowed in return, thanking them for their kind words but the truth is he didn't know why he did that, a part of him believed technology and power were only to help people, while another part didn't thought just acted when he saw two people asking for help, whatever reason it was he was happy with the result.
What started as a very traumatic experience ended as a warm goodbye between the leaf ninjas and the rest of the people who survived that attack, all the genin could say they returned from that place as different people, some got a sudden wake up to reality of the ninja life while other saw how they fared against the dangers of the world out there. After arriving to the closest city, the genin insisted Asuma got some medical treatment, the place didn't have a full equipped hospital but a small clinic would be able to provide some care and much-needed rest for the bearded jounin. The Uzumaki used one of his canine summons to notify the Hokage about the delay in their return and some key events to help him understand and obviously assure him his son was out of danger.
At this point it was inevitable to relieve the events of the last mission, for Ino and Chouji it was very hard to forget the sight they faced when Naruto released the bunker, they had never seen so many corpses and wounded people in the same place, it didn't help they were physically close to them and that same people were the ones they checked some minutes ago. None of them had been able to get any sleep because every time they closed their eyes that image was there haunting their rest, Shikamaru could see his two best friends in the world acting different, Ino was very silent which was wrong on many levels because she usually spoke about everything, and Chouji on the other side was too stressed to think or talk about food which told the Nara they needed help but he wasn't so sure himself about how he felt and he didn't want to impose on his friends.
Naruto on the other hand was frustrated and a little overwhelmed, he never wanted to be a ninja in the first place but this time he had seen some weirdos hurt even one of the jounin sensei and he kind of woke up from the genin-like bubble, he saw their teachers weren't invincible paladins of justice that slayed the bad in the world, no they were just more experienced and skilled ninjas who guided them with those skills and experiences to allow them growing as persons and ninjas, he didn't want to think how he would be freaked out at this moment if Kakashi was the wounded instead of Asuma but the point was the same, if he wanted to be a world-wide known inventor he needed to be able to deal with these kind of thugs, people who had no contempt for the human life or even fear from the great ninja villages to reach their goals 'Akatsuki' is what that blond man said remembered Naruto, who for some reason believed he would know about them again in the future.
Despite Asuma's protests the genin led by Shikamaru and Naruto insisted on waiting there to allow the jounin to recover from his wounds, the doctor explained he didn't have any serious injury but his organs suffered from the shockwave caused from the explosion and he had medium degree burns on half of his face and one of his forearms including his hand, they could only give him painkillers and lots of water for that hoping the medic ninjas in the leaf village could help him to prevent the tissue from scarring, they doctor also recommended him to wait at least a week before traveling again and the genin took that to the letter.
Shikamaru was starting to see Naruto in a different light, the blond genin was constantly creating shadow clones and using them to patrol the town and its borders, he knew about all the people that entered and left the place and he could swear some of those copies discussed about some seals placed in their surroundings, the Nara saw the Uzumaki as someone he could count on, the blond was very formal and detached with his teammates but it wasn't something against them in particular he believed the blond to be a lonely person who didn't have much experience with peers.
His other two friends were opening a little by this point, fortunately after three days the tiredness was too much for them and the three genin members of team Asuma were able to sleep, from that day forward they were returning to their normal selves little by little, they were still shocked by all that ordeal but now they were dealing with it on their own ways.
After the week of rest and rebuilding the five leaf ninjas left that town thanking to the people who helped them and started their journey back to their home, it wasn't as relaxed as their previous travel but wasn't as silent as the first days neither, Asuma was feeling better and hoped he could get some help for his burns, Naruto considered suggesting the use of some vehicle but decided all of them needed some time to reflect so unless they were in trouble a normal travel back to the village would be more appropriate.
Three days later team Asuma plus Naruto arrived to the village, the jounin suggested going immediately to report the situation at the Hokage office, he was able to see his father relax when he saw him cross his office's door, despite Naruto's words he was worried by his son safety and seeing him alive put his old soul to ease, each of them gave him a verbal report of the mission, the Hokage asked some questions to investigate the men responsible for the attack and put some resources on his auctions but those were tasks for later, now he congratulated all the ninjas involved declared the mission a failure but still assured them they would get the C-rank payment for protecting the client's life and after that he allowed them to leave, stating they would have some free time before their next mission.
At the moment Naruto got his house on sight he saw Kakashi standing there, the copy ninja was worried when one of his dogs appeared on the village so he asked the others and they told him as much as they knew but he still wondered about the Uzumaki's safety, Naruto told him everything and expressed how insignificant he felt in front of the bomber who leveled an entire place full of ninjas and the puppeteer who attacked with multiple weapons without even being visible "How am I supposed to defend from those kind of ninjas?" asked a concerned Jinchuuriki who had seen some of the most dangerous criminals out there and was a little overwhelmed.
"You're not supposed to face them…not at least in the next two to five years, and you should be a lot stronger by then" replied Kakashi trying to calm Naruto but knowing the blond was too smart to fall for that.
"But what if they just decide to screw some other random mission…I realized being a jounin doesn't guaranties anything, some powerful guy can appear anywhere and kill you guys…I…I don't know what to believe…I preferred the dreamland where the jounin teachers were invincible…" admitted Naruto holding his head between his hands and lowering it, he was in a somber mood and the copy ninja wasn't sure how to help him out of it.
"I don't know if I should feel sad for you to get that lesson so early on your life or glad nobody had to actually die for you to pick that up" was Kakashi's answer while placing a hand in Naruto's back, he remembered his fist mission as a jounin, he was so young and talented…everyone called him a genius and for a while he believed it but your enemies out there didn't care if you were a genius or not, they just killed you and if somehow you got away they killed your friends…or worse, they tricked you to kill your friends by yourself.
After spending some minutes in that position Kakashi helped Naruto inside his house and shared a light meal with him before leaving, he reminded himself to talk with the Hokage later because the blond needed help and he didn't have that many relationships with other people to be there for him.
….
…
Hiruzen could see with his own eyes Naruto wasn't in his best shape at the moment he opened the door, the Hokage made sure his best doctors assessed his son and reassured him there would be no lasting damage to him other than some minor traces of the burns, he also talked with the bearded jounin and the copy ninja who came to his office two nights ago worried about the genin he saw as his younger brother.
Naruto allowed him to enter and led him to his workshop, the village's leader was able to see lots of paper sheaths tossed everywhere, it was obvious the blond had been working which was a good sign, he was shaken but his spirit was not broken, in Sarutobi's mind an artificer like Naruto was doing the only natural thing he could do when reality overwhelming him, he was working on a machine "I wanted to talk about a couple of things with you so I would appreciate if you sit down" asked the Hokage taking an empty seat and motioning the Jinchuuriki to do the same.
The Hokage looked around and saw so much potential he knew the decision he had taken was right "Naruto, Asuma will probably talk to you in the near future but he's very grateful because it thanks to you that his team is alive" began saying the old man trying to make emphasis on the positive lessons from the last mission.
"I just did the same any other person could have done in the same situation" replied the Uzumaki trying to point it was no big deal.
"Yes Naruto, young Shikamaru could have forced other people to cover them, Ino-san could have controlled someone to act as a shield sacrificing herself in the process, Chouji-kun could also use his family jutsu to protect all of you risking himself…you see in the ninja world there are people capable of great things but just a few of them actually do them" tried to explain the Hokage about the importance of the people that performed the actions because it was actions not intentions that changed the world "When I was much younger our teacher Tobirama Senju was leading a six-man squad under enemy territory until he detected we were ambushed, at that moment it was obvious one of us would have to stay as a decoy holding the enemy forces for the rest to escape, I volunteered for the position without thinking much about it…any of my teammates could have done the same, we were all around the same level in terms of combat capabilities but I was the only who offered to stay…a few seconds later Tobirama-sensei smiled and named me the third Hokage, saying he would be the one to stay behind because it was the duty of the old generations to protect and foster the new ones, that was the will of fire and he saw that trait in me…think about it, any of us could have volunteered and named Hokage…even Shimura Danzo but the one who took a step and did something was me…so don't sell yourself short, Asuma described how you summoned a black dome that protected you and his team, then dispelled it and rescued him, the client and even two random people you didn't even knew…all those qualities would make you Hokage material if you wished to pursuit the position" told the old monkey to Naruto who was listening with his complete focus on the Hokage.
"It was my duty old man…I know I don't have many friends but what is power for if not to help other people?" was Naruto's reply "I never wanted to be a ninja and fight other people, I understand it's important to have the power to protect your work and the people you love but I don't like having to fight and killing other people…I only want to create awesome things that make life better" admitted Naruto frustrated and resigned, the world was a violent place where the strong imposed his beliefs on the rest and it was the only system known for everyone.
"Hashirama-sensei always hoped people would see past their differences and work with each other, he even believed sharing something as powerful as the tailed beast would create a sense of balance and justice but unfortunately some people's greed is more powerful…Jiraiya has always dreamed about people understanding each other through words and ideas instead of fighting, when he was younger he believed his books could be a way to share his views with the world…that's where your name was born but we all know how that ended for his literary goals…Minato…your father died too young, he regretted killing those Iwa ninjas but he was forced to protect what he loved…he had so many plans to establish better relationships with the other villages, he understood power like his got respect from other people and he endured the pain of taking all those lives to create a figure whose words could be really heard by other people…important people but the events related to the Kyubi crushed all those efforts" said the old man with a melancholic face, all of those were good people with dreams of peace, Naruto was still a kid who grew up in the middle of an unfair reality but he felt his heart was the same as those people he mentioned.
"Sometimes I believe you put too much hopes in a kid that doesn't even want to be a ninja" replied Naruto who felt those incredible famous and amazing people were something he could never hope to reach.
"Have you ever stopped to think if I wanted to be Hokage again?" asked Hiruzen surprising Naruto very much "I had not said this to anyone but once Minato took the mantle I hoped to rebuild my relationship with Asuma, spoil my grandsons and have another role in the village, like an advisor but instead he left us and there was no other person with the proper skills and mindset for the job so while anyone could have taken it, I did it…not for my sake but for the village and the people I love... sometimes it's very difficult to send people in dangerous missions where you know they could easily die, sometimes I've been forced to take incredible hard decisions but that is the life we have to live and we can only do our best effort hoping it's enough" added the wise Sarutobi letting Naruto to think for a couple of minutes.
"I need some time off old man…to train…to build new things, I can't keep doing this if every second I have to wonder what will I do if some powerful man decided to attack us" stated Naruto who had many things in mind but needed time to develop them.
"Could you explain to me what are you building this time?" asked the old man curious about what new invention the blond would do.
"I'm reverse-engineering the chakra-armors some people used in the now called Spring Country, it greatly enhanced its user's power so I believe it could be a good asset in combat but it had many vulnerabilities so I need to understand how it works and then how I can improve it" explained the Uzumaki showing the Hokage the damages pieces he had brought from that mission and some of the blueprints he had done the last days.
"Naruto…I have a new proposition for you" commented the Hokage getting the blond's attention because he remembered their first deal "At first I feared if you dropped from the academy and got isolated from human contact you could fall like my old student Orochimaru did but clearly your hearth is much stronger than his, so I have no doubts now. During the last two missions you have done you have shown a good head and a natural talent for leadership along with more combat skills than any genin in the village so you clearly deserve a promotion to chunin but I was thinking about delaying it a couple of months to let you rebuild yourself and your self-confidence…and speaking of rebuilding I want to reinstate the Research and Development Department for many years it worked under Orochimaru's leadership to work in chemical and biological advances to protect our people from enemies' abilities and toxins among other things, if you accept you'll work along with the Torture and Information Department, the Cryptology Team and Jiraiya as the leader of our spy network, you can still work on your own things but you'll be asked for some things that solve problems for the village, you'll have some staff and a couple of laboratories you can equip as you like within a reasonable budget and despite your rank you'll only answer to me and the jounin commander…What do you think?" offered the Hokage taking the blond by surprise, he was just twelve years old and was getting a position in charge of a whole department in the village's organizational system, it was awesome…but he wasn't ready yet.
"Is there any time frame for this offer?" asked the blond who wanted the job but not right now.
"I can only wait your answer for a year, any day beyond that and I'll have to put those resources on something else but we can always keep the business relationship we have right now where you work at your own pace and if I see something that could be useful for the village I'll buy the rights to use it" replied the Hokage with a welcoming expression, he didn't want to force Naruto but he believed it was a very good opportunity for him.
"Okay, I'll take it…In a year…old man, in a year I'll be ready to lead my own department…that's a promise" reassured Naruto giving a handshake to the village's leader.
Okay, that's the new chapter. I hope you guys liked it
We got to see Naruto in the real world facing threats he was ready for and some he wasn't.
And there is a new challenge for our favorite Uzumaki.
Please leave your thoughts,
This week and the next I have a lot of work to do, so there is a chance I take a little longer to post the new chapters, please be patient.