Author's Note: I've temporarily removed my poll on who should win between Sasuke and Itachi. It will go back up later. The poll that replaced it is to help me decide what animal contract scroll Haku should find and sign later in this story.
Leaf Village's Dynamic Duo
Chapter 4: Meetings, Journeys and Waves
The Next Morning, Leaf Village,
Hiruzen Sarutobi had gone with Naruto and Shark to meet with Serpos and found the meeting quiet enjoyable. Serpos explained that Manda and Orochimaru had overthrown him and that he wanted payback. The three-headed snake listened as the Third Hokage confessed to being the reason why Orochimaru had not been stopped yet and Serpos accepted the old man's apology, stating that he probably would have done the same if he had been in the old man's position.
Naruto brought up the subject of Anko possibly being allowed to sign the true snake contract. Serpos said that it would be best to take it one step at a time since he wasn't sure he could trust the woman after hearing her history. The three had left after Shark and Naruto filled the Hokage in on what their clones had learned the previous day.
Sarutobi allowed the boys to get back to working on the information while he went to his office and was greeted by none other than Squad Seven, aka Team Kakashi. 'This is going to be one of those days…' Sarutobi thought with a sigh.
Meanwhile, in Tanzaku Town,
After over a week of searching, Jiraiya was finally able to track down his old teammate, Tsunade. It didn't surprise him that she was in Tanzaku Town because of the gambling halls that were there. He was just about to call it quits for a while to have something to eat and rest up when he walked into a tavern and, low and behold, he saw Tsunade, who looked to be in her twenties even though she was the same age as Jiraiya, sitting in a booth towards the back of the tavern with her faithful assistant Shizune. "TSUNADE!" He shouted comically.
"JIRAIYA?" Tsunade shouted in shock as she stood up at her booth. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Jiraiya smiled happily as he walked over to Tsunade's booth. "Finally, I've been looking all over for you." He said as he sat down across from Tsunade, who had also sat down.
Tsunade glared at Jiraiya. "You didn't answer my question, you old pervert." She knew that if Jiraiya was looking for her it was either for a date/trying to get a peek or their old sensei needed her for something.
Jiraiya smiled at Tsunade. "You haven't changed a bit I see." He said happily. He ordered some food and decided to fill her in while he waited. "I'll cut to the chase." He looked Tsunade in the eyes and got serious. "Tsunade, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi-Sensei, has requested that you return to the village to being a Medical Ninja Training School."
Tsunade froze in shock at what she had just heard. After all this time, Sarutobi was finally going to allow her to start up the training school. Her feelings were torn on this. It had been a dream of hers to start that Medical school but at the same time the painful memories of the past was still haunting her. "I…don't know if I can…" She said sadly.
"Sarutobi-Sensei took that into account when he sent me." Jiraiya said calmly as he reached into his coat and pulled out the scroll the Third Hokage had given him. "Sarutobi-Sensei had been given this scroll a long time ago to be delivered to you but never got the chance to deliver it before you left and you were gone a lot longer than he thought you'd be." Jiraiya set it down on the table for Tsunade to see.
Tsunade looked at the hand writing on the seal and immediately recognized it. "But that's…" She snatched up the scroll and opened it to begin reading the scroll's contents:
"Dearest Tsunade,
If you're reading this then it means that I have died on our mission into enemy territory. I know that you will be heartbroken but I am glad that I was able to give my life for the village that I love so much. My only regrets are that I wasn't able to start a family with you or become the next Hokage.
Please, Tsunade, for my sake, don't run from the past. I know it will be painful but eventually you will be able to move on and maybe even find someone else. I want you to move on and be happy in your life.
I know it is a lot to ask but I have a favor to ask of you. Since I am no longer alive, please, carry on my dream for me. Protect the village that I loved so much by becoming the next Hokage in my stead.
With all my love,
Dan"
Tears were streaming down Tsunade's cheeks as she read the letter over and over again. 'Oh Dan…' She thought sadly. She wiped her tears from her eyes. 'I'm sorry I haven't been doing what you wanted but that changes now.' She got a serious look on her face. "I'll do it." She said with conviction and a fire in her eyes that Jiraiya hadn't seen in her eyes in a long time.
Jiraiya smiled. "Well that's good because I really was not looking forward to having to force you to come back with me." He joked.
Tsunade smirked. "I may be a little out of shape but I can still knock you into the next country if I feel like it." To emphasize her point, she cracked her knuckles.
Jiraiya held his hands up in surrender, even though both of the Sannin knew that Jiraiya was by far the strongest of the three when he got serious. He played the fool mostly to get people to underestimate his abilities and, for the most part, it worked. "We'll head back to the Leaf Village once we've finished eating and gathering your things from your hotel room." He said before they began talking about the good old days.
Later that day, at the Dragon Compound,
Naruto and Shark were working on their S-Rank Assignment from the Hokage and were going through the information on the experiments and weapons from Orochimaru's Hideout, looking to see what would be of use to the Leaf Village. Naruto and Shark were using Shadow Clones to help with the work and it was making things pretty easy to go through but the graphic details of what he put those people through was disgusting and the two Genin constantly had to go get some fresh air or take a shower from how dirty they felt. They had just gotten done with some of the most disturbing by far which had to do with a Curse Mark that Orochimaru was working on and some sort of transference jutsu. The information seemed really important so the boys decided to take their finding to the old man.
At the Hokage Mansion,
Hiruzen Sarutobi was sitting at his desk reading through a report from Kakashi that mentioned the Demon Brothers had attacked his group and that the mission was much more difficult than they had been told. Apparently, Tazuna had lied about the mission because he couldn't afford anything higher than a C-Rank and was afraid that the Leaf Village would turn down his request if they had been told the truth. He was building a bridge to link his homeland to the mainland and a corrupt business man named Gato was trying to stop him because the bridge would break his control on the country. In all honesty, Sarutobi would have accepted the mission anyway because he knew that Gato was in deep with criminals and illegal activities but could understand why Tazuna was reluctant to tell him the truth.
Sarutobi was thinking of who he should send when Shark and Naruto came into his office. "Well, I take it you boys have some pretty important news for me?" He asked seriously seeing the looks on their faces.
Shark did most of the talking as Naruto was pretty disgusted by what they had learned. "According to the information, the Curse Mark grants the wearer a major power increase but it also subjects them to the will of the caster, provided that the caster infuses a portion of their own essence into it." Shark explained. "The Curse Mark doesn't work very well if the person does not have a deep rooted hunger for power."
'So, that's why Anko has been able to fight the Curse Mark…' The Third Hokage thought as he listened to Shark's explanations.
"Apparently the Curse Mark is also connected to another jutsu that Orochimaru was developing." Shark said calmly. "Some sort of jutsu that allows him to jump into another person's body like the Yamanaka family jutsu but this one is on a more permanent basis."
Sarutobi froze and dropped his pipe, his eyes widened with horror and his skin had turned a deathly pale color. "My God, he actually did it…" He said under his breath. "He actually created that jutsu…"
Naruto and Shark could tell that Sarutobi was scared by what he had just been told. "I take it you've heard of both these jutsu old man?" Naruto asked curiously.
Sarutobi blinked before regaining control over his body. "Yes, the second jutsu is a horrid abomination that allows Orochimaru to jump from another body and consume the very soul of the original user of the body while he takes the body as his own." He explained. Both Genin looked sick at the implications of that.
"That's…disgusting." Shark said after a few moments of silence.
"Yeah…" Naruto agreed.
The three shook off their disgust with Sarutobi looking at the letter from Kakashi. "I think you two need a break from your current assignment." He said calmly. "As it just so happens I need you to go backup Kakashi's squad." Sarutobi explained. "Apparently, the C-Rank mission they were given is actually an A-Rank Mission and Kakashi is in need of some assistance."
Shark and Naruto realized how serious this was. "So, the great Uchiha needs even more company to come and bask in his glory?" Naruto asked trying to lighten the mood, which he succeeded in doing.
Once they were done chuckling, Shark got serious. "Maybe we should grab Rin just in case we need a medic." Shark suggested.
Sarutobi sighed. "I'm afraid that Rin is already on a mission and won't be back for a few days. I need you two to head out as soon as possible." Shark and Naruto nodded their heads and left to get ready.
A few minutes later,
Shark and Naruto were rushing from tree to tree as fast as they could, trying to catch up with Kakashi's team before they ran into trouble. Naruto was reading his Bingo Book about the Mist Ninja while Shark was completely focused on making sure they didn't run into any sort of ambush along the way. "Hey bro, looks like we'll be up against Zabuza Momochi, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist." Naruto said calmly.
"I figured as much." Shark said calmly. He had already memorized all the different Bingo Books he had bought, even though he kept them with him at all times just in case he needed to refresh him memory on who he was up against. "Considering who Zabuza is, we may also have to deal with a few other Mist Ninja that are after him and don't feel like playing nice."
Naruto was about to say something when a blade of chakra shot towards the two Leaf Ninja. "Whoa!" Naruto shouted as he dodged the attack.
Two streaks of fire went towards Shark but he easily dodged that attack. "Looks like I was right about an ambush." He said as he and Naruto prepared to battle.
Two male ninja then appeared on the tree branch in front of the Leaf Genin. They were both wearing standard Mist Village gear and had Mist Headbands on their foreheads. Both had blue tinted skin with sharp teeth in their mouths. One had blue hair and a single sword, which looks like the Dragon Sword from the videogame Naruto Shippuden: Dragon Sword. The other ninja was bald and had two swords, both of which looked like the Sword of Omens from the ThunderCats but it had a dragon symbol instead of the ThunderCats' symbol on the hilt. The blades were blood red and the hilts were black.
"Well if it isn't Konjo Kengen," Shark said to the one with a single sword, "and Kuro Seiryu." Shark pointed at the one with the two swords. "I take it the sword Konjo has is the one known as the Chakra Sword while Kuro's is the legendary Dragon Fangs. I take you two are after Zabuza, right?"
Kuro smiled evilly. "Well, it seems that you know who we are. I'm almost impressed."
Shark and Naruto pulled their katana from their backs but saw that the swords of the Mist Ninja seemed to be shaking. "Dammit, of all times for these swords to start acting up again, they have to do it now." Konjo complained as he seemed to struggle to hold onto the Chakra Sword even with both hands on the handle.
"So, you two didn't go through the Swordsmen Ceremony." Shark observed with a smirk.
The two Mist Ninja were shocked by what Shark had said but Naruto was confused. "The Swordsmen Ceremony, what's that?" He asked.
"According to a book in my family library, there's a special ceremony in the Mist Village that a swordsman must go through before he gains a powerful sword from a place called the Tower of Blades, like the ones those two have." Shark explained. "It didn't say the details about the ceremony but it did mention that should a ninja fail the test or not go through the ceremony, then the swords won't work very well for the wielder and may even turn against the user should someone more worthy come along."
"That stupid ritual has been removed and these are our swords, whether they like it or not, so it doesn't matter." Kuro hissed angrily as he tried to keep control of the Dragon Fangs.
"They are merely tools for us to use as we see fit." Konjo said as he was struggling with his sword. "If we no long have any use for them, then we can just get new, more powerful weapons."
Shark and Naruto glared at the two men. "You call yourselves swordsmen?" Naruto asked angrily. "Your sword is not a mere tool! It is an extension of your own body and you're not complete without it!"
"We may not be fully trained swordsmen but even we know that a swordsman is nothing without his sword!" Shark growled.
"Shut up!" Kuro shouted angrily as he and Konjo lost their cool and attacked the two Genin with the swords.
Unfortunately for the so called swordsmen, the swords broke free at the last second and Shark and Naruto used their katana to stab their now weaponless opponents in the chest. The two Mist Ninja were horrified by what was happening, not only had their swords abandoned them but they, two of the Mist Village's Elite Jonin, had just been beaten by two fresh Genin!
Shark and Naruto didn't hesitate to decapitate the two Jonin before they recovered from their shock. The katana the boys were using suddenly shattered and the weapons of the fallen Mist Ninja appeared in their hands: Naruto had the Chakra Sword while Shark had the Dragon Fangs. "I think these swords want us to be their new users." Shark said with a smile as sheaths appeared on his and Naruto's backs for their new weapons.
Naruto smiled. "Awesome." He said as he watched to orb near the hilt of his sword start to turn blue. "Uh, why do I feel my chakra being pulled into the sword?"
Shark smiled. "According to my info, that sword absorbs the chakra of the user and stores it for them to either power the sword with it or take back during battle so they can fight longer." He explained. "Mine have something to do with Dragon Style Jutsu but I'll have to look into it once we're done with the mission." The two put their new swords into the sheaths.
Naruto nodded. "We better get a move on." The two boys took all the possessions that were on the dead bodies before sealing away the heads of the Ninja and destroying the bodies. The two then headed out to catch up with Kakashi and his group.
A while later, in the Land of Waves,
Kakashi Hatake was not in a good mood to say the least. First, his team is attacked by the Demon Brothers of the Mist and only he had noticed the puddle that they were hiding as. After allowing the brothers to think he was taken out, Sasuke tried to showoff while Kiba and Sakura tried their best to protect Tazuna. Kakashi had to step in to make sure no one got killed.
Once Tazuna told them the truth, Kakashi had sent for backup, which had yet to arrive. Unfortunately, Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden in the Mist, had shown up and attacked him. Kakashi was forced to reveal his Sharingan Eye so he could fight Zabuza, which he didn't want to have to use since Sasuke would demand to know all about it and that Kakashi teach him how to activate his eyes. To make matters worse, Kakashi had made a mistake in trying to hide underwater only to be caught in the Water Prison Jutsu as soon as he came up.
Kakashi was being forced to watch as Zabuza used his Water Clones to attack the Genin squad. Sasuke had arrogantly demanded that Zabuza release Kakashi from his prison, Kakashi knew the only reason he wanted that was because Sasuke wanted Kakashi to teach him how to awaken his Sharingan eyes, while Kiba and Sakura got ready to defend the bridge builder. Akamaru had transformed into a clone of Kiba and was helping to protect the bridge builder but they weren't doing very well. Sasuke was getting the crap beat out of him because he was trying to get to the original all by himself while Kiba, Akamaru and Sakura were doing everything they could to keep Tazuna safe but if help didn't arrive soon, they'd all be dead.
"I think it's time for me to wrap this up." Zabuza said menacingly.
'So, this is it…' Kakashi thought sadly as he was thinking about Rin, Naruto and Shark.
Suddenly, the sounds of bagpipes filled the air, confusing everyone. This gave the Genin the opening they needed to take down Zabuza's Water Clones. Sasuke immediately tried to run out into the lake to attack the real Zabuza, only to fall into the water, which was much deeper than he thought because of how Kakashi and Zabuza were standing on top of it.
As Sasuke was getting out of the water, everyone else was watching as the fog cleared and Shark and Naruto appeared, walking on the water and playing bagpipes no less. The two eventually stopped once they were in view. "Oh, so we finally caught up with you guys." Shark said as the bagpipes disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Yeah, I thought with Tazuna drinking so much we'd catch up a lot sooner than this." Naruto commented as the two nonrelated brothers continued to easily walk on top of the water.
Kakashi was relieved to see them but only for a second as they were the only ones he could see. Figuring that they had a plan, Kakashi decided to play ignorant of their true abilities. "What the hell are you two thinking?" He yelled at them. "Get out of here and get whatever help you can!"
Naruto and Shark knew immediately what Kakashi was doing and played along. "Awww but we wanted to play with no-brows!" Naruto whined.
Zabuza got angry at that comment. "You two must really think you're something to challenge me like this." He growled.
Shark smirked. "Considering we already took down Konjo Kengen and Kuro Seiryu on our way here, I think we can handle the likes of you." He declared hoping that information would distract Zabuza and it worked.
Zabuza was shocked not that the brats had taken down two very powerful Mist Ninja but that those two were nearby. 'How the hell did they know I was here?' He thought. 'I was sure that I gave them the slip, unless, Gato was the one who told them!'
Realizing that Zabuza was distracted, Naruto decided to strike. He formed a series of hand signs and puffed out his chest. "Wind Style: Air Bullet!" He shouted as he released a burst of wind from his mouth.
Zabuza realized what was coming straight for his arm that was holding the Water Prison and didn't have time to use any of his jutsu, so he did the one thing he could: he released the jutsu and jumped out of the way. The second the jutsu broke, Kakashi pulled out a much of kunai and threw them at Zabuza before he could get his balance. The kunai embedded themselves into the rogue Ninja's arms and legs. Shark delivered a powerful kick to Zabuza's stomach, sending him crashing into a nearby tree. Kakashi finished it up by throwing shuriken with wire attached to them at Zabuza, which circled around the tree trapping Zabuza.
Shark, Naruto and Kakashi approached the trapped Ninja. "This is the end for you, Zabuza." Kakashi said as he pulled out a kunai to deliver the final blow but was beaten to the punch by a couple of senbon which struck Zabuza in the neck, seemingly killing him immediately.
A Mist Village Hunter Ninja appeared on a nearby tree branch. "You were right about it being the end for him." The Hunter Ninja said with a chuckle.
Shark and Naruto were a bit suspicious about who the hunter was because she was around Naruto's age and had come out of nowhere to take down Zabuza even though Kakashi was going to kill him. The Hunter Ninja explained that she had been tracking Zabuza for a long time and that she would have stepped in sooner but the Leaf Ninja seemed to have things under control.
Naruto stepped forward. "Well then, Ms. Hunter, maybe I could be of assistance in getting rid of the body." Naruto suggested as he pulled out a kunai.
"That won't be necessary." The girl said calmly as she released Zabuza's body from the wire. "I will take care of it myself." She picked up the body.
"Are you sure you won't need any assistance, 'Ms. Hunter'?" Shark asked. The sarcasm was evident in his voice.
'They know!' The hunter thought in a panic as she disappeared with the body.
Naruto, Kakashi and Shark were disappointed that the hunter had disappeared so quickly before they could do anything. "Well, that was a little anticlimactic." Shark said in disappointment.
"Yeah, I guess we should've expected Zabuza to have a backup plan just in case something went wrong." Naruto sighed.
The three walked up to the group. Kiba smiled at Naruto and Shark. "Man, am I glad that you two showed up!" He said happily with Akamaru barking happily in agreement. Unlike most people, Kiba, along with Choji and Shikamaru, knew that Shark and Naruto were a lot stronger than most people thought.
"Humph, we don't need their help, we were doing just fine on our own." Sasuke sneered arrogantly.
"Give it a rest, Sasuke." Kiba growled.
Sakura was remaining quiet as she wasn't sure what to make for Naruto and Shark being as skilled as they were. 'Maybe they really were just holding back in the academy, like Kiba had said, and are now showing what they are really made of.' She thought as she smiled at Naruto and Shark.
"Alright, let's get moving before anything else happens." Kakashi said as he started to lead the group away. Suddenly, Kakashi started to fall forward but Shark managed to catch him before he fell to the ground.
"Looks like you over did it, Kakashi." Shark said with a smirk. "You must be getting out of shape."
Kakashi chuckled. "I guess you have a bit of a point there." He agreed. Shark pulled down Kakashi's Headband so it was now covering Kakashi's Sharingan Eye, much to Kakashi's gratitude. Naruto came over and took the other side of Kakashi so the two could carry him the rest of the way to Tazuna's House. "Boys," he whispered to Shark and Naruto, "I need to talk to you about something once we get to Tazuna's…alone."
The two nodded but Sasuke had still heard what Kakashi had said. "Hey, how come they get a private lesson?" He complained. "I'm far more deserving of anything you have to say than these two losers."
"Sasuke, shut up." Sakura said, surprising everyone.
Sasuke glared at the girl but didn't say another word as the group continued to make their way to Tanzuna's home.
An hour later, at Tazuna's House,
The group had finally reached their destination much to the relief of Tazuna and his daughter, Tsunami, who was ecstatic that her father had actually made it home safely. Kakashi was given his own room to recover in while Sakura was also given her own room because she was the only girl on the squad but the four boys were going to have to share a room. While the others were getting situated, Shark and Naruto went into Kakashi's room to have the talk he wanted with them.
Kakashi weakly sat up from the futon he was lying in. "I must say that I'm glad the Hokage sent the two of you to back us up." Kakashi admitted. "However, I'm a bit concerned about what you said to Zabuza when you arrived."
"You mean about us beating Konjo Kengen and Kuro Seiryu?" Shark asked with a grin.
"We might have exaggerated the part about us actually beating them in a fight." Naruto said before telling Kakashi about their encounter with the swordsmen.
Kakashi smiled under his mask. "So the rumors are true about those swords." He observed. Kakashi then chuckled a bit. "I still can't believe that those two would be so arrogant to admit that they had no bond with their swords while they were in a battle no less."
Shark smirked. "Yeah, well that's what happens when you underestimate your opponent." He said. "You lower your level a bit to save energy only to end up dead because your enemy was stronger than you thought."
Kakashi nodded. "If I didn't know you two as well as I do, I probably wouldn't stand a chance against you." He admitted. Kakashi looked at the swords on the boys' backs. "I suggest you two begin training with them while I work with my squad to increase their chakra control." Shark and Naruto agreed and left Kakashi to rest.
Meanwhile, at Zabuza's Hideout,
The hunter ninja from earlier was tending to Zabuza's wounds that he had acquired from his fight with Kakashi. The hunter was a pretty girl with long black hair and brown eyes. "Haku, we may need to change out tactics." Zabuza said quietly. "I fear that Gato has betrayed us."
Haku nodded. "Yes, I overheard what those two boys had said when they arrived and their weapons look to be the Chakra Sword and Dragon Fangs." She whispered back.
"Use your jutsu to spy on Gato and those two boys." Zabuza whispered back as the door to his room opened.
Entering was a short man wearing a business suit and using a cane to walk with two samurai bodyguards. "Well, well, so much for the great Demon of the Mist." The short man said. "You got beaten and now you come back here with your tail between your legs."
"Shut up, Gato." Zabuza growled.
"Yeah well you better have a good reason for failing me." Gato sneered as he walked closer and was about to grab the blanket covering Zabuza's body but was stopped by Haku grabbing his forearm.
"Keep your filthy hands off of him!" The female ninja growled, releasing a good amount of Killing Intent as well as tightening her grip.
"Ah, you're going to break it!" Gato shouted in pain.
The samurai bodyguards went for their swords but Haku appeared in between them with their swords in hand. She held them to their throats. 'Impossible!' Waraji thought.
'No one is that fast!' Zori thought in shock.
"You may want to think about it." Haku hissed. "I'm in a really bad mood."
Gato and his thugs backed off immediately. "You get one more chance, if you mess this up I'll cut you off and there will be no one left to cover for you." He threatened before leaving with his bodyguards.
Haku sat back down in her chair next to Zabuza's bed. "Was all that really necessary Haku?" Zabuza asked calmly.
Haku smiled. "I may have overreacted but I did manage to place my jutsu on Gato." She stated before creating a crystal ball. "Now we'll be able to watch and hear whatever he's planning to do."
Activating the jutsu, Zabuza and Haku were able to watch as Gato complained to his bodyguards. "I can't wait until Zabuza kills the bridge builder and then I can get rid of him and his little ice slut." Gato said as he rubbed his wounded arm.
Zabuza and Haku continued to watch but Zabuza was also trying to think of what they could do to get out of this situation. 'I may have to go to the Leaf Ninja for help…' He thought as he closed his eyes. 'Too bad, this job was supposed to be one hell of a payday…'
Haku was also thinking of the situation but didn't like where it could possibly lead them to.
The next morning, at Tazuna's House,
Team Kakashi, Naruto and Shark were all sitting at the table eating the breakfast that Tsunami had made for them. Kakashi was using a pair of crutches to help him get around. "Alright, I think it's best to make sure we're all on the same page." Kakashi said once everyone was done eating.
"What are you talking about?" Kiba asked in confusion.
"That hunter ninja from yesterday was a fake right?" Sakura asked much to the surprise of Kiba, Akamaru and Sasuke.
"Well, I'm impressed that you were able to figure it out Sakura." Kakashi said with a one-eyed smile. "Anyway, Sakura's guess is correct. Zabuza is most likely still alive and recovering from our fight."
"So what are we going to do in the meantime?" Kiba asked curiously. "I mean, you're still pretty banged up from the fight."
Kakashi chuckled. "I can still train you." He said with a one-eye smile.
"And just how is some last minute training supposed to help us?" Sasuke asked angrily as Kakashi refused to teach him privately.
Shark and Naruto shook their heads at Sasuke's arrogance. "Sasuke, you and the others were unable to defeat Zabuza's water clones until they got distracted by Shark and Naruto's arrival." Kakashi said calmly. "Right now you wouldn't last two seconds against the real deal. However, if you train until he arrives, even if it increases our chances of victory by a half of a percent, then it is worth doing. Wouldn't you agree?"
Sasuke kept his mouth shut and just glared at Kakashi while Kiba and Sakura agreed that it was a good idea since they both realized that they needed more training. "So, now that we're all done eating, we'll get started." Kakashi said as he got up with the help of his crutches.
The six Leaf Ninja then left the house and made their way into the forest near Tazuna's home. Shark and Naruto paused briefly to create a set of Shadow Clones to watch the house while they were gone. 'Good thinking you two.' Kakashi thought as they continued deeper into the forest. Kakashi stopped as he felt that this was a good place for training. "Alright, today I'm going to be teaching you about chakra control." Kakashi stated.
"How's that?" Kiba asked curiously.
"By having you climb a tree," Kakashi started to which Kiba went to the nearest three and started trying to climb up it, "without using your hands."
Kiba fell flat on his back; fortunately, he hadn't gotten very far up. "What?" He asked in shock. "But that's impossible!"
"Is it?" Shark asked before he and Naruto focused their chakra and walked up to a tree, placing one foot on it before walking straight up to the branch that could support their weight and hung upside down from it.
"Very good, you two," Kakashi said with a one eye smile. He then turned to his students. "The trick for this is to concentrate a steady stream of chakra at the soles of your feet and use the chakra to walk up the tree." Kakashi pulled out a kunai and tossed one to each of his students. "Use the Kunai to mark your highest point on the tree and then try to beat that the next time, until you reach the top. After that it will be to be able to walk up the tree without getting tired, which will increase you control over your chakra."
Sakura and Kiba immediately got to work while Sasuke glared at Kakashi. Sakura followed Shark and Naruto's example to the letter and walked straight up to the branch but had to take a break. Kiba had tried using a running start but only got up a few feet before he slipped off and fell back down to the ground. Sasuke just glared at Kakashi. "You really expect me to do this lame ass training?" He sneered.
Kakashi glared at him. "If you want to awaken your eyes, then yes." He said. Sasuke looked at his like he had grown a second head. "The fundamental property behind the Sharingan is chakra control. Without chakra control, you might as well give up on ever awakening your Sharingan Eyes."
Sasuke hated to admit it but Kakashi had a point as Itachi had once told him the exact same thing. He reluctantly began trying as well but his smashed through the bark of the tree. 'Now I get it, if you use too much chakra you'll smash through the bark but, if you use too little, you fall right off.' Sasuke thought. 'This really will be worth my time to master. Then I will be one step closer to my goal.'
Naruto and Shark jumped down and landed next to Kakashi. "I want the two of you to go and guard Tazuna." Kakashi said calmly. "You'll be able to work with your swords while you guard him."
"You got it." Naruto said as he and Shark went off to guard Tazuna. Shark and Naruto ended up meeting up with the Master Bridge Builder as he was leaving his home. Since the bridge was still far from being done, Tazuna was relieved to have them with him but when they got to the bridge and the boys created a large number of Shadow Clones to help since there were very few workers, Tazuna was more than relieved as the clones were able to cover for all the workers that had quit out of fear of Gato. The originals practiced with their swords while they were guarding Tazuna.
While everyone on the bridge was hard at work, Haku snuck into the construction site and set up her jutsu so she and Gato could keep an eye on what was going on at the site.
Meanwhile, in the Leaf Village,
The Third Hokage was having a very good day for once. Tsunade had returned to the Leaf Village and accepted his offer to have her start up a Medical Ninja Training School. Jiraiya was a bit upset that his godson, Naruto, wasn't in the village so he couldn't begin training the boy. Sarutobi informed the two loyal Sannin of the recent discoveries made by Shark and Naruto.
Tsunade insisted that she be allowed to look over the information on the experiments and that Shizune could handle getting the Medical School started in her stead. "No child should be allowed to look at that information until after they have had proper medical training!" She argued to which Sarutobi agreed but only if she moved into the Senju Clan Compound and had its security on twenty-four/seven to prevent anyone from stealing the information, namely Danzo. Tsunade was reluctant about it but agreed because of how important this job was. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be allowed to start right away because Shark had sealed up the Dragon Compound before he and Naruto left to backup Kakashi and his squad.
Jiraiya immediately started going over the information on Orochimaru's Curse Mark to find a way to remove it from the other person's body. He was impressed by how detail Shark and Naruto wrote down the effects and development of the horrid jutsu. He also was impressed that Shark Dragon had been able to summon Serpos and promised to have a long talk with Gamabunta and the Sages of Mount Myoboku about this development.
Sarutobi was feeling confident that now that he had Tsunade back in the Leaf Village, should anything happen to him, the village would be in good hands. 'I truly wish you were here for all of this, Hiro.' The Third Hokage thought sadly as he looked out his window. 'You'd be so proud of your grandson.'
Just then a messenger hawk flew towards his window. Sarutobi recognized it as being on the special messenger hawks that was used by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire for delivering important information. He pulled out the letter and what he read was shocking. "This is unbelievable!" He said in shock.
Land of Fire's Capital City, the Daimyo's Private Hospital,
The Fire Daimyo was watching in happiness as the doctors were treating the finally awaken Hiro Namikaze. Hiro had awoken and was calmly and patiently letting the doctors do their jobs even though he wanted to begin getting back into shape and learn what he had missed. Hiro's body still looked to be in good shape because of him being a ninja and his chakra keeping his body preserved but he was still weak from not moving for such a long time.
"How are you feeling, Hiro?" The Daimyo asked with a smile.
"Not as well as I would have hoped, sir but I should be able to fully recover in a few weeks maybe even days if I'm allowed to train as I please." Hiro said with a grin as he looked at the doctors.
"Hiro, I'm afraid that I have so bad news for you." The Daimyo said calmly.
"I know I've been out for a few years at the least but I'm sure I haven't missed too much." Hiro said waving it off.
"I'm afraid you've been in a coma for fifteen years." Daimyo admitted much to the shock of Hiro. The Daimyo motioned for the doctors to give them some privacy. Once the doors were closed and the Daimyo had activated the room's privacy seals that anyone could activate. The Daimyo explained how Minato and his wife, Kushina, had both died while sealing the Fox into a newborn infant whose umbilical cord had just been cut.
"You mean…I have a grandson…?" Hiro asked in shock. For the first time in a long time, Hiro was worried. "I need to return to the Leaf Village immediately." He said as he tried to get out of his bed.
The Daimyo stopped him. "I have already sent a letter to the Third Hokage and he will most likely send someone for you. You just focus on getting back up to strength, after all, your son had a lot of enemies and you'll need all your strength to deal with them."
Hiro nodded in agreement. 'I will protect my grandson.' He thought as he got out of bed to begin his training by first getting something to eat.
To Be Continued…