Chapter 4: Encounter

"Another D-Rank? Are you shitting me?" Kane shouted in frustration. "C'mon sensei this is bullshit! You said we were ready for a C-Rank! We've been training our asses off, and we still have to do these stupid chores. I'm sick of chasing demon cats, or planting crops. I want some action!"

"Kane! You are so rude! Don't yell at sensei!" Minsane scolded. Naruto laughed and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Relax; I acted the same way, except his language is a lot more colorful than mine. After we're done today's mission, I will talk to Tsunade-Baa-Chan about it, okay Kane?" Naruto asked, to which he got an aggravated huff. This was their 10th D-Rank mission, and after a week of the boring chores, they were becoming restless. Even the two level-headed members of the team were annoyed with it, although they didn't voice it like their brash teammate did.

"Naruto-Sensei, what's the difference between a D-Rank and a C-Rank anyway?" Sedrit asked.

"Well, the ranks go like this. D-Rank missions are assigned to fresh out of the academy Genin. They pose an almost zero percent chance of you getting hurt, and are usually odd jobs around the village. A C-Rank mission poses some threat, because you may encounter bandits or thieves, but no enemy ninja. They usually consist of guard duty, or border patrol, and basically they are the lowest missions that require you to leave the village. B-Rank missions pose more of a threat because you are likely to encounter enemy ninja and engage them in combat. They usually consist of espionage or combat with enemy ninja. A-Rank missions are almost guaranteed to fight high level enemy ninja, and are usually given to Jonin level ninja, and they usually consist of assassinations or guarding very important people. S-Rank mission are missions that involve government or village secrets, like transporting secret documents, or assassinating very important people. You usually encounter extremely powerful ninja on those kinds of missions." Naruto explained.

"Wow, have you ever been on any S-Rank missions?" Kane asked excitedly.

"Yea, I have." Naruto replied nonchalantly.

"What's your mission record sensei?" Minsane asked with equal vigor.

"37 D-Ranks, 63 C-Ranks, 41 B-Ranks, 32 A-Ranks, and 7 S-Ranks. You three should memorize your mission records; it's a good thing to know off the top of your head." Naruto suggested, to which each Genin nodded.

"So our mission records would be 10 D-Ranks right sensei?" Kane asked.

"Yep, and hopefully you can add one C-Rank to that soon." Naruto said, causing Kane to get excited.

"Alright! Let's hurry up with this stupid mission and get a C-Rank!" Naruto laughed as Kane tried to drag his teammates to their destination. He hoped that they could get a C-Rank soon as well; he was tired of watching them do D-Ranks.

XxX

"Tsunade-Baa-Chan, here is the mission report." Naruto said as he handed the Hokage a piece of paper. Tsunade read it over and nodded twice, before going through her stack of papers.

"Okay, well here's your next D-Rank mission." Tsunade said as she handed him another piece of paper.

"Actually…I was wondering if you had any C-Ranks." Tsunade quirked an eyebrow.

"A C-Rank? They haven't been Genin for that long Naruto."

"I know, but I think they're ready. They have been training a lot, and they can definitely handle danger. And I'll be with them. You know I won't let anything happen to them if something goes wrong, like my first C-Rank mission." Tsunade sighed as she looked at Naruto, then the hopeful Genin behind him, and Naruto again. She dug through her stack of papers and pulled out a new piece of paper.

"Border patrol on our northeastern border. You are to go out there and relieve the current team, and you will be there for a week until someone comes to relieve you. This is a C-Rank mission, although things are pretty quiet right now, I doubt you will run into any trouble." Naruto smiled as he took the mission info.

"Thanks Baa-Chan! We won't let you down!" Naruto exclaimed as he ushered his Genin out of the office. When they were outside, Kane let out a whoop and started dancing.

"Yes! We got a C-Rank!" Minsane grabbed his collar and pulled him abruptly out of his reverie.

"You are so embarrassing. Can you be mature for once?"

"But Minsane, we got a C-Rank! You're excited too, I can tell you are!" He said as he poked her shoulder.

"Yes, I am, but I am not going to dance around like an idiot because of it. Why can't you act like Sedrit, he knows how to stay calm." Kane scoffed.

"I'm sure he's excited too, he's just too shy to show it. Ain't that right Sedrit?"

"Uh y-yea. I am bored of the D-Rank missions." Sedrit said quietly.

"Hey guys. Shut up." The Genin looked at their sensei. "Jeez, I have no idea how Kakashi-Sensei put up with us. Go back to your houses and pack for a week-long trip. Meet me at the gates in one hour. We leave before nine."

"Yes sensei!" All three Genin darted different ways to go get ready for the mission. Naruto shunshined to his house and grabbed a pre packed bag that he always kept, and left to go see Sakura before he left. When he got to the hospital he saw that Sakura's window was open. So he decided to drop in.

"Hey Sakura-Chan!"

"WAH!" The girl fell out of her chair, and Naruto noticed something weird. She had brown hair.

"You're not Sakura-Chan." The girl stood up slowly, and dusted herself off before glaring at Naruto.

"Yes, I am aware of that. Lady Sakura took a day off today." The woman said angrily. Naruto nodded.

"Thank you, and sorry for scaring you." He hopped off the window ledge before the woman could retort. He dashed through the village to get to Sakura's apartment.

'She almost never takes a day off. I wonder if she's sick.' Naruto thought as he arrived at her apartment complex. He climbed the side of the complex with his chakra, not bothering to use the stairs like a normal person would, because let's face it; Naruto isn't a normal person. So when he reached her window, he politely knocked, and waited for Sakura to let him in. After a few seconds, a confused Sakura walked into the room, dressed in only short red cotton shorts, very short ones, and a tight white t-shirt. She looked out the window and smiled when she saw Naruto. She came over and opened the window.

"I had a feeling I'd be seeing you today." She said as she turned around. Naruto's eyes drifted down her back, but he shook his out before he started staring. He didn't want Sakura to catch him.

"Are you sick? You don't look it." Naruto said as they went into her kitchen, where she was making an omelette.

"No, I'm fine. I just haven't had a day off in a while, so I decided to sleep in today. I actually just woke up, and as you can see I'm making breakfast. Do you want some?" She asked as she flipped the egg over.

"No, that's okay. Wait, since when can you cook? No offense, but you were a horrible cook." Sakura laughed at Naruto's comment.

"Yea, I was pretty bad. Last year I decided I wanted to learn something that was not ninja related, so I took some cooking classes. They helped a lot, and I'm not as bad as I used to be." She took the omelette out of the pan and put it on a plate. They both sat down at her kitchen table and Sakura started to dig in. "So, anyway, why are you here?"

"Well, I wanted to say goodbye. I'm going on a week-long mission with my team." Sakura cocked here head.

"They have a C-Rank already? Don't you think it's a little early? Especially considering what happened on our first C-Rank." She said as she shoved a piece of egg in her mouth.

"Yea, Tsunade-Baa-Chan said the same thing. But you have to admit the odds of that happening are pretty slim. We were just really unlucky. And I'll never let them get hurt, even if I have to fight a hundred S-Class Missing Nin." Naruto said with confidence.

"You know if anyone else said that, I would just call them crazy and forget about it. But, I know that if anyone, you would somehow find a way to do it. Hopefully you don't have to. Things are pretty peaceful right now. Most of the Hidden Villages are keeping to themselves. Even Sound is staying quiet." Naruto nodded.

"Yea hopefully everything goes okay. I don't want my Genin to have to go through what we did. They're definitely not ready for that." Sakura nodded to show she agreed.

"Then again neither were we. But you and Sasuke somehow freed Kakashi-Sensei from that Water Prison Jutsu. That was an ingenious plan, and the fact that you came up with it was incredible." Naruto rolled his eyes.

"C'mon I wasn't that stupid." She looked at him with a tiny smirk. "Okay whatever so maybe I was, but it wasn't my fault! And Zabuza just underestimated us. You know my students actually tried the same plan on me during the bell test? I was shocked to see them showing that level of skill and planning. I told them that if I hadn't used that strategy before they probably would have gotten me."

"They sound like good kids. I want you to introduce me." She said as she got up and put her now empty plate in the sink.

"Sure, after this mission you can come to one of our training sessions." Naruto offered as he stood up. "Well, I gotta go; I told them I would meet them at the gates at nine. I'll see you in a week Sakura-Chan." Naruto waved as he jumped out the window, leaving Sakura with a wide smile.

'I don't know how you do it Naruto, but you always know how to put a smile on my face."

XxX

"Sensei, are we almost there? We've been traveling for hours!" Kane complained as Team Uzumaki jumped through the trees. They had left the Leaf Village about twelve hours ago, and the Genin were starting to get a little tired.

"Actually, we're here now." Naruto descended from the trees onto the forest floor, and his team followed. At the designated campsite, he saw the team he was supposed to relieve.

"Shikamaru? You're the team I'm supposed to relieve from patrol duty?" Shikamaru turned around and gave Naruto a lazy stare.

"It seems to be that way. Looks like I can finally go home and get some rest, these missions are too troublesome." Shikamaru stood up and yawned. "Team Nara, we're heading back to the Leaf Village, let's go." Without another word, Shikamaru's team jumped into the trees and took off towards the village. Naruto turned around to address his team.

"Okay, tonight we set up camp here. Our mission is to patrol the border of Fire Country from the Fire-Rice Country border to the Great Naruto Bridge and that's where we will be relieved of duty."

"Uhm, the Great Naruto Bridge? Why does that bridge have the same name as you sensei?" Minsane asked.

"That would be because it is named after me." Naruto said nonchalantly, which elicited the three Genin to let their jaws drop in surprise.

"It's named after you? Why is it named after you?" Kane asked.

"Well, you remember when I told you about my first C-Rank mission. The one where I fought Zabuza Momochi?" His Genin nodded. "Well, when Gato was killed, the Land of Waves was able to rebuild their economy. They named the bridge after me because they saw me as their savior."

"Wow! I had no idea you were such a great ninja sensei!" Kane shouted in excitement. "Tell us more about your adventures!" Naruto chuckled at Kane's request.

"I will later. For now we need to make a quick patrol before we can relax. I want you three to go about ten minutes west, and come back if you see anything. I'll be going north. We'll meet back here and then we'll settle in." The Genin nodded.

"Yes sensei!" The three Genin of Team Uzumaki took off to the east, while their leader took off to the north.

XxX

After both teams arrived back at the camp with nothing to report, they started to set up their tents. Naruto and Minsane would get their own, while Kane and Sedrit were to share one. After Naruto finished his tent, he sat on one of the logs that surrounded a burnt out fire pit. Minsane joined him next, followed by Kane and Sedrit.

"So, sensei, tell us about some of your adventures." Kane requested as he sat down, poking the dirt with a stick he found.

"Alright let's see. I'll tell you about one of the toughest battles I've ever fought. Do you know who the Kazekage is?" Naruto asked his team.

"The Kazekage is the leader of the Village Hidden in the Sand; much like the Hokage is the leader of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The current Kazekage is the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara of the Sand." Minsane expertly stated.

"Very good Minsane. Gaara is actually one of my closest friends." Naruto told his team.

"Really? You're friends with the Kazekage?" Sedrit asked.

"Yes, but we weren't always friends. In fact, at one point we were enemies. You've heard of the Sand-Sound war right?" The Genin nodded solemnly.

"Yea, we were really young when that happened. I don't remember it that well, but I know it was pretty bad. They briefly covered it in the academy, but I think that no one really wanted to talk about it, since it was so soon." Kane said quietly. Naruto nodded.

"Yea, it was pretty bad. It took place during my first Chuunin Exams. I was in the finals, and my teammate Sasuke Uchiha fought Gaara, who was a Genin at the time, in the first round of the tournament. That's when the invasion started. Gaara was supposed to be their ultimate weapon. Tell me, do you know what a Jinchuriki is?" Naruto asked, to which he got a bunch of blank stares. "I see, then I'll explain that first. A Jinchuriki is a person who has something called a Tailed-Beast sealed inside of them. Do you guys know what a Tailed-Beast is?" Minsane cleared her throat.

"Tailed-Beasts are powerful demons that have are insanely strong and have an evil sort of chakra. The Nine-Tailed Fox that attacked our village all those years ago was one right?" Naruto flinched, but nodded.

"Yes, the Nine-Tails was a Tailed-Beast; it was the most powerful one too. But anyway, Gaara was a Jinchuriki, a person with a Tailed-Beast sealed inside of him or her. These Jinchuriki are very powerful, because of the beast sealed inside of them. They have almost unlimited stores of chakra, and some can even control their Tailed-Beast to make them even stronger. Back then, Gaara was just a bloodthirsty killer, because the people of his village were so scared of him, that no one wanted to be friends with him. They feared him, so to hide their fear they hated him. His own father, the previous Kazekage, even tried to have him assassinated because he was so scared of him."

"That's horrible! Why would they do that?" Minsane asked.

"I agree, it is a horrible thing to do. But, when people are scared, they tend to hide their fear behind hate. Gaara's Tailed-Beast gave the power of an ultimate defense. Whenever something or someone threatened to injure Gaara, his sand would rush up and block the attack. That was how he survived all those years. Anyway, back in the Chuunin Exams, when the invasion started, Gaara was supposed to be their secret weapon, because he could transform into his Tailed-Beast, the One Tail Shukaku, which could have easily destroyed the entire village. But, because Sasuke was able to injure Gaara, he had to retreat before he could attack the village. I followed Gaara out to the edge of the village, where I fought him alongside Sasuke. But Sasuke was exhausted from already fighting him, and my other teammate Sakura Haruno was incapacitated. So I had to take on Gaara by myself. Gaara then transformed into his Tailed-Beast, the One-Tailed Shukaku. In order to defeat him, I summoned Gamabunta the toad boss and battled him. I was able to make the Shukaku go back into the seal, and I defeated Gaara. After that, Gaara started to change, and now he's the Kazekage of the Sand." Naruto explained. His Genin just stared at him in awe.

"How did you beat a Tailed-Beast sensei? Those things are supposed to be super powerful." Kane asked.

"Well, the Shukaku is the weakest, having only one tail."

"Still, it was a Tailed-Beast! Not many humans could defeat one. The only one I know of is the Fourth Hokage." Minsane interjected.

"Well, first let me ask you this. Do you think what they did to Gaara was wrong?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"What do you mean sensei?" Sedrit asked.

"Well, do you think that just because someone else decided to seal a demon into Gaara that he is in fact a demon. If Gaara had lived in our village, would you have hated him for what he held?"

"Absolutely not! It's not his fault he holds a demon. And, if the villagers had just been nice to him, I bet he would have turned out alright." Minsane answered honestly. Naruto nodded and looked at his other two Genin.

"And you two?"

"I agree with Minsane. Those villagers are stupid." Kane said as he crossed his arms.

"I also agree with Minsane. If they had just been better to him, he wouldn't have turned out so bad." Naruto nodded, and then started laughing.

"What's so funny sensei?" Minsane asked with a raised eyebrow. Naruto took a minute to calm down, and then he started explaining.

"It's just I completely agree with you. And, you pretty much just insulted your own village." Naruto shook his head. "You know, the story they told you about the Fourth killing the Nine-Tailed Fox is a lie."

"A lie? What do you mean?" Kane asked.

"Well, you can't kill a Tailed-Beast. It's just not possible. So, he had to seal it into someone."

"Does that mean that our village has a Jinchuriki too?" Minsane asked, to which Naruto nodded.

"Indeed it does, and he was treated very poorly by the villagers. They beat him, stole from him, vandalized his house, and tried to kill him. Shop owners would kick him out of their stores just because he was the 'demon brat', and the ones that didn't immediately kick him out would charge him triple what they did normal customers, or give him expired products and ratty clothes. When he was at the ninja academy, the teachers would ignore him and treat him horribly. They would kick him out of class for no reason, and they would destroy his learning materials. They would teach him the wrong thing on purpose, and they changed answers on his tests so it would be impossible for him to pass. And he never had any friends or parents. His parents were killed by the Nine-Tails, and no one wanted to be friends with him. Instead they spit on him and threw rocks at him, and called him names. They pretty much made his life a living hell. It's a miracle that he didn't turn out by Gaara, but no matter what he never blamed the villagers. Instead, he vowed to protect the villagers at all costs, even if it meant his life." Naruto explained.

"That's terrible! I had no idea that the village was so cruel." Minsane exclaimed in disgust.

"Sensei, how do you know all of this? And why did the academy lie to us about it?" Sedrit asked with a puzzled expression.

"Because I'm that Jinchuriki." It was completely silent, except for the sound of the stick Kane was holding hitting the ground. The Genin stared at their sensei with wide eyes. Naruto sat there with an amused smile. He waited, and waited for someone to respond, but he was patient. He knew that it was some big news to them, especially since they were lied to their whole life. Finally, Minsane shook her head and stood up. She walked over to Naruto, and gave him a hug. Naruto's eyes widened in shock, but then he smiled, and returned the gesture. It was weird how easily that came out. He used to be terrified of letting people know his secret. Maybe Tsunade and Jiraiya were right. Maybe it was time he told his friends. Sedrit and Kane got up and soon all of Team Uzumaki was holding each other in a tight embrace. It broke after a few minutes, and the Genin sat down again.

"I…how sensei? How did you put up with it?" Minsane asked softly, her head facing downwards.

"Well, I never gave up. When I was a kid, I didn't know why the villagers did it. I always figured that they were just mad. Sometimes I would go to my apartment and cry, but I was always alone. But, I do remember the first time I made a friend. On October 10th, which is my birthday as well as the date of the Nine-Tails attack, after one of the more brutal beatings I always got from the villagers on my birthday, the Third Hokage chased them off. He then took me to the hospital and forced the medical staff to heal me, because normally they would just kick me out back onto the street. He then gave me the first birthday present I ever got. It wasn't much, it was just a nightcap with big eyes, but I loved it. He was so nice, and ever since that day he looked out for me. I saw him as a grandfather figure, and he was my first precious person. I saw that wherever he went, even if he was with me, people would say hello and smile at him, and he would smile back. I asked him why everyone was so nice to him, and he said because he was the Hokage. I asked what that was, and he explained to me what it was. I remember his exact words. He said 'The Hokage is the strongest ninja in the village. But, he never uses that power to hurt others. Instead he uses that power to protect the ones he loves. The Hokage is the leader of the village, so he must protect everyone in the village. I love everyone in this village, and I would do anything to protect them, and keep their Will of Fire burning brightly.' Then I asked him what the Will of Fire was, and he told me it was the spirit of the people of the village, the will to always go on and never give up. He told me that my Will of Fire burned brightly, and that I should do everything in my power to keep it that way. After that, I vowed that I would become Hokage so I could protect the people of the village, so that they would acknowledge me and respect me. After that, I didn't meet another one of my precious people until my last year at the academy. Soon, I started gaining more and more precious people, and now I have many. That includes you guys. I would do anything to protect you guys, even if it meant my life. I will never let a comrade die, remember that." Naruto explained with a smile. He loved that memory. The Genin were once again speechless, so Naruto gave it a moment to sink in.

"I…I'm sorry Naruto-Sensei. I don't…" Minsane stuttered, while her two teammates just sat in silence.

"What do you have to be sorry for? You didn't do anything. And I'm okay with it now, like I said I have a lot of friends now. You don't need to feel bad about it guys." Naruto said with a laugh.

"But I can't help but feel bad. No one should have to go through that." Kane said with a clenched fist.

"Well, I can't argue with you there, but I'm fine now. It turned me into the person I am today. And for that, I guess I'm kinda glad. Okay not glad, but you know what I mean. It's good that I didn't turn out like Gaara." All three Genin nodded. "You know, you three are the first people I've ever told about this."

"Really? You haven't told you friends?" Sedrit asked.

"No, not yet. Only my teammate Sasuke knows, because I've had to use the Nine-Tails power against him."

"Why would you use that power against your own teammate?" Minsane asked in surprise.

"Well, that's a story for another day. For now, let's start a fire and eat some dinner. I'm really hungry!" Naruto stood up and made a Shadow Clone. "Go find some fire wood."

"Okay boss!" The clone saluted and dashed into the woods.

"Man, are you sure you won't teach us that technique? It seems really useful." Kane said as he watched the clone go.

"Eh, maybe when you're older. You still don't have enough chakra. You know how Minsane can only make three Water Clones?" Kane nodded. "Well, she would probably only be able to make one Shadow Clone, and then she would be useless for the rest of the battle. Trust me you guys don't have the chakra. The reason I have so much is because of the Nine-Tails. Like I said before, even regular Jonin can only make about ten before they run out of chakra."

"Fine. Do you think you could at least teach us some new Jutsu while were here? It's not like we have anything else to do anyway." Kane asked.

"Eh, maybe after dinner. I think I have a new Jutsu you guys could learn. For now, let's eat."

XxX

Naruto and his team jumped through the trees to the second check point. After dinner last night Naruto had taught his Genin the Body Flicker Technique, or the Shunshin Technique. They all mastered it pretty quickly, and Naruto was proud of them. Suddenly, Naruto, who was in the lead, stopped on a tree branch. His team stopped behind him with curious looks on their faces.

"Sensei, why did we stop?" Minsane asked, to which Naruto quickly held up his hand.

"Someone's coming, and fast. Must be some ninja, get into the bushes, now." All four of the Leaf ninja jumped down into the bushes and hid in them. Above, two cloaked men jumped through the trees, seemingly oblivious to the ninja under them. "What are ninja doing in Fire Country…you three wait here, I'm going to see who that is." Naruto jumped out of the bushes and landed on a branch in front of the two intruders. "Hey! What are you doing in Fire Country?" The two cloaked figures stood, silently. "I don't wanna fight you. I won't ask again, what are you doing here?" The shorter one on the left stepped forward.

"My, it's been a long time…Naruto-Kun." The man pulled his hood back to reveal his identity.

"Kabuto! What the fuck are you doing here!" Naruto shouted, his eyes widening as he used his chakra to pull a kunai from his seal. 'I can't believe this is happening again! I have to protect my team at all costs.'

"That's a neat little trick. Quick on the draw aren't you now, Naruto-Kun. We were just passing through." Kabuto said smugly.

"Shut up. Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you now traitor." Naruto said as he brought his kunai up in an attacking position.

"Do you really think you can take both of us on Naruto? My associate and I could easily take you on. You're in no position to order us around."

"Hmph, why are we wasting our time here Kabuto? Can't we just kill this brat and get on with it?" The taller, bulkier man said.

"Do not underestimate him Zoronmaru; this is the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox. He's quite resilient." Zoronmaru looked over at Kabuto and snorted.

"The Nine-Tails? Looks like I get a chance to flex my muscles before we arrive in the village." Zoronmaru grabbed his coat and threw it off. Under the cloak he had on a dark blue ninja vest with ripped shoulders showing his burly arms. A tattoo of a squid ran down his left arm, its tentacles wrapping around his arm in a criss-cross pattern. He had a gray cloth belt that held up dark blue and gray tassets that went down to the back of his calves. His mid length green hair covered one of his onyx eyes.

"Heh, you don't scare me. Just because your arms are bigger than your brain doesn't mean you can beat me." Naruto insulted, causing the man to scowl.

"That's it! I'm killing this kid Kabuto!" Zoronmaru cracked his knuckles and was about to charge before Kabuto grabbed his shoulder.

"Wait, we don't have time to mess with this kid. Orochimaru-Sama is expecting us."

"Then help me kill him." Kabuto sighed and threw his cape away as well. He charged his hands with blue chakra and smirked. He jumped down onto the floor and charged at the bushes that Naruto's Genin team was hiding in.

"You think we didn't notice then Naruto? How will you defend them when there are two of-"Kabuto was interrupted by a foot crashing into his jaw, sending him flying. He twirled through the air and skidded to a stop, kicking up dust in his path. He looked up to see Naruto with his arms crossed.

"You will not touch them Kabuto. Sedrit, Kane, Minsane, run back to the village and tell Tsunade-Sama that I'm in trouble! Now!" The three Genin jumped out of the bush behind Naruto. "What are you guys waiting for? Go now!" Naruto yelled, not taking his eyes off of either Missing Nin.

"But Naruto-Sensei! Didn't you say that those who leave their comrades behind are worse than trash? We don't want to leave you! We can fight too!" Kane shouted. Naruto looked back at his Genin team with wide eyes. He sighed and shook his head.

"Fine, but do not engage them directly, only use Ninjutsu. You got that?" His students smiled.

"Yes sensei!"

"Hmph, you really think a bunch of Genin can stand up to us kid? If you didn't have a shot, what makes you think they will?" Zoronmaru said cockily.

"You shouldn't underestimate them just because they're Genin. And you definitely shouldn't underestimate me. The last person who did that ended up six feet under."

"Enough! I'll show you how a real ninja fights!" Zoronmaru started making hand signs. "Water Style: Water Dragon Missile!" A water dragon appeared out of thin air and rushed at Naruto, who also started doing hand seals.

"Wind Style: Pressure Veil!" The air around Naruto started spinning violently until it formed a half sphere around him. The water dragon crashed into the shield, and it dissipated upon contact. Naruto dropped the shield and disappeared immediately. He reappeared behind Kabuto. "Don't think I've forgotten about you." Kabuto gasped as Naruto sent him flying with a punch to his back. Zoronmaru dashed past a whirling Kabuto with his arm reared back for a punch. The punch connected with his face, and it hurt like hell, but he stood his ground with his chakra and drove his arm into Zoronmaru's abdomen. Zoronmaru fell backwards and onto his ass, and Kabuto came to his side with his chakra scalpels ready. 'He can pull the water molecules out of the air to use his Water Style Ninjutsu? The only other person I know of that could do that was the Second Hokage. I have to watch out for him,'

"It seems we must start taking this seriously now Zoronmaru." Zoronmaru grunted and pushed himself off the ground.

"I guess so. This brat is pissing me off. Water Style: Violent Water Wave!" Zoronmaru brought his hand to his mouth and shot out a hard stream of water.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" A gust of wind shot from behind Naruto and collided with the water wave, negating the attack. Naruto looked back to see Sedrit smirking. He nodded and charged in.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" Kane shouted as he blew a large fireball toward the enemies. Naruto jumped up, so that the fireball soared under him. Kabuto appeared behind him and kicked him in the back, sending him flying towards the ground. He landed with a thud, but quickly pushed himself back up.

"Water Style: Great Water Wall!" A giant wall of water formed in front of the fireball, and when they made contact a thick steam floated through the air. Naruto came charging through the wall, and was about to punch Zoronmaru, when Kabuto appeared in front of him. Kabuto slashed at Naruto with the Chakra Scalpels, making contact with his left thigh. Naruto yelped out in pain, and fell to the ground. He slowly pushed himself up, and spit some dirt out of his mouth. While he was on the ground, Minsane came charging in with a kunai poised for attack.

"Stupid child, you should have listened to you sensei and held beck. Now I have to kill you." Kabuto took a slash at the Genin's throat, only to have it burst into water. "Water Clone!" Two more Minsanes charged in from each side and threw their kunai at Kabuto. He dodged out of the way of both, and then back flipped to get out of the way of the two clones' flying kicks. Naruto was back on his feet, and he made his signature sign.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Ten Narutos appeared and each charged at Zoronmaru. Zoronmaru swung his leg out and made contact with one clone, dispelling it, while two other clones landed a punch on his gut. He coughed up blood before another Naruto clone kicked him in the chin and sent him flying backwards. Kabuto came charging in at Naruto, but he had to jump out of the way of Sedrit's Great Breakthrough.

"Zoronmaru, it seems like we must retreat for now. We can't take him on like this. He is much stronger than I remember." Kabuto said as he jumped back to the Mist Missing Nin's side.

"Yea yea I hear you." He stood up and started flashing through hand signs. "Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!" A large wave of water formed in front of Zoronmaru and Kabuto and rushed at Team Uzumaki. Naruto formed seals and slammed his hands on the ground.

"Earth Style: Mud Wall!" A large wall of mud rose in front of the Leaf ninja in time to block the wave of water. When the wall sunk back to the ground, Zoronmaru and Kabuto were nowhere to be found.

"Shit, they got away. We need to go report this now. Let's go." Naruto jumped into the trees and started towards the Leaf Village with his team right behind him. Kane jumped up next to him.

"Sensei, who were those guys?" He asked as they swiftly hopped through the foliage.

"The guy with glasses and the silver hair was Kabuto Yakushi. He was a former Leaf ninja until the Sand-Sound invasion, when he revealed himself to be Orochimaru's right hand man. He's a dangerous medical ninja, and he's on par with my sensei Kakashi Hatake. The other guy seemed to be Zoronmaru Mizushi. From what I read in the Bingo Book, he was an S-Rank Missing Nin that escaped the Mist Village with valuable data and scrolls after trying to overthrow the current Mizukage a while back. The reason they didn't kill him was because they needed to find where he hid the scrolls, and he never gave in to their torture. But what I don't get is why the hell he was with Kabuto. What is Orochimaru planning?" Naruto explained to Kane. Kane nodded and stayed silent. After twelve hours of high speed travel, they arrived at the gates of the Leaf Village. He quickly checked in with the gate guard and shunshined to the Hokage's office, hoping his Genin would get the idea and follow him. When he appeared in the office, Tsunade and Jiraiya were sitting at her desk drinking sake. Tsunade dropped her sake saucer when she saw Naruto appear.

"What the hell Naruto! I've told you a hundred times that I hate when you do that! And aren't you supposed to be on a mission?" She asked angrily as she grabbed a new saucer out of her desk and poured herself some more of her favorite drink. Meanwhile Jiraiya was laughing his ass off.

"Never mind that Tsunade! We have a problem." Both of the remaining loyal Sannin immediately stopped their antics when they heard Naruto address Tsunade without his usual honorific.

"What happened?" Tsunade asked, putting the sake bottle in her secret desk compartment.

"I ran into Kabuto during my patrol duty." Jiraiya's eyes narrowed at the mention of the traitor.

"What is the snake up to now?" He asked with disgust in his voice.

"I'm not sure, but Kabuto was on his way back to Sound with someone. Zoronmaru Mizushi of Hidden Mist." Naruto explained, eliciting surprised reactions from both of the Sannin.

"Zoronmaru Mizushi? What the hell does Orochimaru want with him?" Jiraiya asked. Naruto shrugged.

"I have no idea, but I'd bet that it means bad news for us."

"Did you engage them?" Tsunade asked.

"Yea, but they weren't fighting at their full power. They retreated after we got the upper hand on them. That Zoronmaru guy worries me, he can make Water Style Ninjutsu out of the water molecules in the air, just like the Second Hokage." Tsunade's eyes widened at the mention of her grand-uncle.

"Even worse news for us. Well, Tsunade, looks like our date will have to end short. I have work to do." With that, Jiraiya shunshined away. Naruto turned to Tsunade and quirked his eyebrow.

"Date?"

"Shut up. When you ask out my apprentice you can make fun of me." Naruto clammed up and shunshined out of the room as well. Tsunade sighed and decided she would get reacquainted with her bottle of sake.

XxX

Naruto arrived back at the gates to see his Genin still standing there. He sighed.

"Guys, you were supposed to come with me, although now I suppose it's better that you didn't. Tsunade-Baa-Chan wouldn't have been happy with that. Anyway, good job on the mission; you handled yourselves well against two Jonin level ninja. I'm really proud of you guys. As a reward, I'm going to teach you guys a Jutsu that is very special to me. We'll meet at the training grounds tomorrow at 9:00."

"Okay sensei." The three Genin chirped. Naruto nodded.

"Good. Go get some rest." The Genin all started walking home, and Naruto figured it was early enough to go catch Sakura at the hospital. He jumped across the rooftops until he saw the pinkette through her open window. He decided to go for a loud entrance this time, so he jumped through the window from the adjacent building and landed in front of her desk. "Hey Sakura-Chan." Sakura jumped as he landed and sighed when she saw who it was.

"Naruto, what the hell are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on a mission?" She asked after getting over the initial shock.

"I missed you so much I had to come see you." She glared at him. "We ran into trouble and I had to come back early." She sighed.

"Trouble? As in…?" Sakura asked, hoping Naruto would fill her in.

"Kabuto Yakushi." Her eyes narrowed at the mention of the ex-Leaf Genin.

"That slimeball? What the hell was he doing in Fire Country?"

"Nothing good. It looks like Orochimaru is up to his old schemes again." Naruto explained. Sakura took a sip of the water that she kept at her desk and sighed.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

"Because anything that has to do with Orochimaru comes with a bad feeling." (A/N: Or a sore asshole XD)

"So how is your team doing?" Sakura asked, wanting to change the topic.

"They actually handled it really well. They didn't freeze up," Sakura coughed, which Naruto ignored, "they didn't get hurt, and their Jutsus were flawless. I gotta say they're pretty damn good. So good, that I'm teaching them a special Jutsu tomorrow." Sakura cocked her head.

"What Jutsu?"

"Why don't you come and watch tomorrow? We're starting training at 9:00." Sakura nodded.

"I guess I can come into work late, although I did just take off yesterday…oh well. I haven't take off work in two years, they can live without me for a few hours." Naruto chuckled.

"You're becoming irresponsible Sakura-Chan. I hope I'm not rubbing off on you."

"I hope you're not rubbing off on me either."

"Way to kill the mood." Sakura giggled.

"You have to leave now. I have a lot of work to do." Naruto nodded.

"Okay, I was just about to turn in anyway. I'm kinda tired from the battle today." Naruto jumped out of the window with a quick wave to Sakura and shunshined to his house. He made himself an instant ramen before settling into bed and going to sleep.

XxX

Naruto and Sakura walked down the street towards the training grounds. It was about 8:45, and they had caught a quick breakfast before heading off to the training grounds. When they arrived, Kane, Minsane, and Sedrit were already waiting for them.

"Ah, you guys are already here? Well, then I guess we'll get started. Oh, guys this is Sakura-Chan, Sakura-Chan this is Team Uzumaki. The girl is Minsane Hikatri. She's pretty book smart, along with decent chakra control. The blue haired one is Kane Anlotra. He's loud and annoying, so just imagine me as a Genin. The last one is Sedrit Purazuma. He's a little shy, but he's pretty good with Ninjutsu."

"Hey sensei, is that your girlfriend?" Minsane asked, causing Sakura to blush and Naruto to laugh.

"No, she's not; although I wish she was. Anyway you guys wanna learn that special Jutsu?" All three Genin responded enthusiastically, so Naruto missed the look on Sakura's face.

'Do you really mean that Naruto? Do you still feel the same after all these years?' Putting those thoughts aside, she followed Naruto and his team over to a tree.

"Okay, this Jutsu is an A-Rank Jutsu that a famous ninja created."

"A famous ninja? Who was it sensei?" Kane asked excitedly. Sakura laughed at this, because she could picture Naruto doing the same thing when they were Genin.

"The Fourth Hokage." Sakura stared at Naruto with wide eyes while his Genin gave him three 'wow's.

"How do you know one of the Fourth Hokage's Jutsu Naruto-Sensei?" Minsane asked.

"Well, my other sensei, Jiraiya of the Sannin, also was the sensei of the Fourth Hokage. When the Fourth created this Jutsu he taught it to him as well as my other sensei, Kakashi Hatake, who happened to be the Fourth's student. Basically all you need to know is that it was originally the Fourth's Jutsu. Anyway, enough questions. Let me give you a little demonstration." Naruto walked up to a tree and held his palm out face up. Chakra slowly started forming until it was in the shape of a swirling ball. He shoved it into the tree, causing it to splinter and shatter everywhere.

"Rasengan!" When the Jutsu ended, a large hole was blasted through the tree. He turned around with a smile. "Now, here's the first step."

XxX

A/N: And there's chapter four. The first action scene, hope I did okay. I want to explain the power levels of everyone quickly, because I feel like people may be confused. Kabuto and Zoronmaru were not fighting at full strength. While Naruto was not either, his Genin were. I didn't want them to seem overpowered, although it kinda looks like it came out that way. Oh well, if anyone wants to complain about that, just go watch the episode when Konohamaru beats one of the Paths of Pein (or is it Pain? I really have no idea at this point) with the Rasengan. If that's not overpowered then I don't know what is. Speaking of Rasengan a lot of people probably think I'm teaching it to his team too fast, but really I don't see it that way. They're also NOT going to master it in a week, considering that was absurd in the anime. I mean, c'mon a week? I understand that they were trying to make it look like he has the will to do anything (and that Tsunade is a shitty gambler) but a week was a little short. I would have been okay with a month, but whatever that was a loooooong time ago. Anything else you want to ask, criticize etc. just review, but I only respond to questions, not reviews, too lazy. Peace.