Summary: He was a Jinchuuriki who was murdered by his best friend. But Fate has other plans, and Naruto wakes up in his five year old body. KakaNaru Yaoi
A/N: Happy Birthday to me! Today, I am officially 18, and since I'm in a good mood, here's an update for you all!!!! V
Chapter 3: Waves
Naruto was reading a scroll on Suiton Jutsu as Team 7 stood before the Hokage.
"Let's see," the Sandaime muttered, "We have a mission to help the herbalist weed her garden, chase the Fire Lord's Wife's cat, baby-sit the Fujikawa twins…"
Naruto paused and rolled up the jutsu scroll and slipped it into his pouch before saying, "Enough D-ranks, Sandaime-jiji."
"Naruto!!!" Iruka roared, "Show more respect to the Hokage!"
"Naruto," the Sandaime said calmly, "You should know that all missions are ranked accordingly, and are given to shinobe according to their abilities. As genin, the D-rank missions allow you to learn to work together as a unit, so when you do go out for a c-rank, you have a higher chance of staying alive."
"I'm aware of that, Hokage-sama," Naruto said, his head tilted downward so his bangs hid his eyes, earning himself surprised looks from various people in the room, "However the abilities of Team 7 are wasted on d-rank missions. We became adults the moment we received our hitae-ate, and as shinobe of Konoha, it is our duty to grow stronger in order to serve our village."
Naruto… Sakura thought, surprised and awed.
He's grown very well… Kakashi thought, watching his student from behind his book.
Naruto… Iruka thought, pride swelling in his chest. You've matured… I'm proud of you, Naruto…
Naruto raised his head suddenly, meeting the Hokage's eyes. "Let us test our strength and our growth, Hokage-sama! Please give us a C-rank mission!"
Sandaime smiled. Let's see how much you've matured then, Naruto… "Very well," the Sandaime picked up a scroll labeled with a C. "You will receive an escort mission. I will introduce you…"
The door slid open and a man walked in, carrying a sake bottle. "I am Tazuna, the super bridge builder. Are these really ninja?" the man said arrogantly. "They look like a bunch of useless kids. Especially the midget over there."
Naruto twitched. He could practically smell the vast quantity of sake that the man had consumed from where he stood.
"On the contrary, Tazuna-san," Naruto said amiably, "this 'midget' has been trained to kill, as have the other two "children", and all three of us are quite capable of killing a civilian such as yourself." His eyes narrowed dangerously and his voice became icy cold. "So watch what you say. We are children who are capable of killing you."
The adults in the room shivered at the icy coldness of Naruto's chakra. Who would have ever believed that the normally bouncy blonde could become so dangerously… intense…
The trip out of the village was noisy, with Naruto being his own normal bouncy self, utterly confusing the heck out of Tazuna.
Kakashi watched the blonde from behind his book, noting the way cerulean eyes swept over the road and their surroundings, and his hands linked behind his head, tense and ready, and in a perfect position to pull out the long knives that were hidden under his fluorescent orange jacket. Unseen behind his mask, the jounin frowned.
Naruto caught out of the corner of his eyes, the soft glimmer of sun on water, and his eyes narrowed imperceptibly. His shoulders tensed, and he watched from the corner of his eye as Kakashi dropped to the back to take rear guard. They passed the puddles minutes later, and two men bearing the slashed hitae-ate of Kiri nuke-nin emerged from the puddles.
Two chains wrapped around Kakashi, and the jounin had barely time to scream before he was ripped apart in a shower of blood and flesh. Sakura screamed in shock and horror, while Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"One down," the two nuke-nin said in unison.
The chains then shot toward the apparently immobile blonde, and Sasuke swiftly moved to intercept the chains before Naruto could meet the same fate. In the trees, Kakashi shook his head, unimpressed by Naruto "freezing up" in an important moment. The jounin blinked in surprise when the blonde vanished in a puff of smoke as Sasuke pinned the chains to the trees with a kunai and shuriken.
Kage Bushin? So maybe he didn't freeze up then… the jounin thought contemplatively.
The two missing-nin decided to go for the easier target, and turned their attention toward Sakura and Tazuna. Sakura swallowed nervously and quickly pulled out a kunai, and slid into a defensive position in front of Tazuna. Sasuke quickly positioned himself in between Sakura and the two nin, intent on completing the mission. Hidden in the trees, Kakashi was about to leap out of his hiding place when a blonde blur shot from the trees and smashed the skulls of the nuke-nin together, knocking them out. Kakashi dropped from the tree he was hiding in and reappeared in front of his student, and he quickly checked over the missing-nin, and was faintly relieved to note that the Demon Brothers were only unconscious.
"Hmm… Good job Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto," the jounin said, looking up from the prone forms of the two nuke-nin and smiling at his students, "I'm proud of you."
Sakura looked pleased, Sasuke smirked, and Naruto nodded, his eyes cool. Kakashi's features became serious and he turned toward Tazuna.
"We need to talk," the silver haired jounin said seriously.
The bridge builder swallowed nervously, and nodded, looking faintly anxious.
The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful but for a brief moment of panic when Naruto vanished. The blonde reappeared after a few minutes, dressed in black slacks made of a stretchy fabric and a black long sleeved jacket with a mandarin collared trimmed with red. His orange jumpsuit was nowhere to be seen. After several minutes of scolding from the members of Team 7, and a brief interrogation from Kakashi to confirm that he was really Uzumaki Naruto, the group set off once more.
Kakashi glanced at Naruto from behind his book once in a while during the boat ride to the island. There was a strange emotion stirring in the back of his mind, one that he could put a name to, and it bothered him. All the Copy-nin could be sure of was that it concerned the youngest of his students, and he couldn't help but worry. It wasn't normal, after all, for a ninja to suddenly vanish and change one's clothes during a potentially sensitive mission.
It wasn't long before the ride ended, and Team 7 and their client continued on foot toward Tazuna's home. As they neared a lake, Naruto's senses picked up on a powerful chakra source, one that was being very skillfully hidden. His features were smooth and blank, but his eyes shone in amusement. Had Naruto not been a Hunter, he would have missed the slight flare of Kakashi's chakra as he sensed Zabuza's hidden chakra.
"Duck!" Kakashi yelled suddenly.
As Kakashi yelled, he grabbed Tazuna, pressing him against the ground while Naruto tackled Sakura and Sasuke. A quiet whoosh and a slight breeze ruffled their hair as a large metal sword flashed through the air over their heads and imbedded itself deeply into the trunk of a tree. Slowly, as the five lifted their heads, they noticed the pale skinned man standing on the handle of the sword, his arms crossed over his chest.
Momochi Zabuza…
Naruto's eyes narrowed. It had begun…