This is AM, welcome back! Without any further ado, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own any manga. But if I did, it would have to be Beelzebub.

Chapter 6: Journey to the Land of Waves

Naruto silently entered his apartment and shed his orange coat. Wearily, he stumbled into the kitchen and fished around in the cabinets for some instant ramen.

"You should eat something healthier," Kyuubi suggested from within Naruto's mind.

Naruto paused his search to respond.

I would if I had the money. I won't get paid for the library mission until the end of the month.

"There are other ways to earn money."

Naruto blinked.

Kyuubi, if you're suggesting prostitution-

"Of course I'm not, boy."

What then?

Kyuubi took a second to gather its thoughts and Naruto took the opportunity to grab a cup of ramen and fill it with water. He then turned and placed the container in a small box, closed the lid and laid a hand on top of it. A seal array glowed along the sides, winding around the box as steam rose from the holes at the top. After a few seconds, Naruto removed his hand and extracted the hot ramen from the box, gingerly avoiding the hot edges. He stuck a pair of chopsticks into the soup and took a deep sniff of the glorious yellow broth.

Best use of fuuinjutsu ever, he mused, and swirled the ramen around as he waited for it to cool down a little.

"This is what I'm talking about," Kyuubi spoke up interestedly. "Fuuinjutsu is an extremely rare art. I'm sure there are many people willing to pay for simple seal applications like the ones you've created."

What, people will pay to spend less time cooking? Are they really that lazy?

"You'd be surprised."

Naruto gazed at his chakrawave in thought.

"There's also that other stuff that I've made," Naruto muttered, this time aloud. "Like the chakra transformers on the walls that power my whole apartment just from the charkra that I unconsciously give off..."

"Exactly. Most ninja exude chakra constantly without realizing it. Being able to use that unnecessary chakra to save money will interest them greatly."

Naruto frowned.

"Okay, I get what you're saying. And I guess the combat seals will get a lot of customers," Naruto pondered. "But how am I going to make enough tags to sell on a large scale?"

"Your Hokage already gave you a solution to that."

Naruto was confused for a second but then his eyes lit up in realization.

"Kage Bunshin," he breathed.

"Yes. You could essentially make your own assembly line of fuuinjutsu products. You just need the startup capital to buy enough tag paper and ink."

"Where am I going to get that?"

Before Kyuubi could answer, there was a knock on Naruto's door. Bewildered at the lateness of the vistor, the blond went to the door and laid a hand on it. The wood in front of him glowed with the tell-tale glimmer of a seal array, and them became transparent, allowing Naruto to see who his visitors were.

"Sasuke? Sakura?"

He swung the door open and allowed the two to stumble in. They both looked disgruntled and still had their scrolls strapped to their backs.

"Thanks Naruto," Sakura grumbled. "There's a parade going through Konoha right now and rooftop travel is being restricted."

Sasuke unbuckled his scroll and threw himself onto Naruto's futon.

"I really hate that festival," Sasuke muttered. "Who cares anymore about the Kyuubi anyways?"

Naruto stood stock still.

"A lot of people, Sasuke-kun," Sakura responded, frowning slightly. "I mean, I wasn't born until a month after it attacked but I can understand why people still celebrate its defeat. It killed a lot of people."

"Is it...October the tenth?"

Sasuke nodded sleepily at Naruto's question. The blond turned to Sakura, who was gazing at him with a hint of worry in her eyes.

"Everything alright, Naruto?" she asked, her green eyes searching his face.

"Yeah," Naruto muttered. "Just realized that I'm thirteen now."

Sakura's eyes lit up and she clapped her hands together happily.

"Happy birthday! I didn't know! Did you, Sasuke?"

A grunt came from the couch.

"It's okay, guys, I don't celebrate my birthday anyway," Naruto interjected quickly. "Not much reason to, so..."

Sakura frowned for a moment before nodding her head. A small silence settled over the room.

"So," Sakura spoke loudly, trying to start a conversation. "Naruto, are your parents home yet?"

Sasuke sat up quickly and gave Sakura a warning stare. The girl was taken aback by the look, but then she turned to Naruto and saw him silently stirring his ramen, a small sad look on his face.

"Oh my god, are you-? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright, Sakura," Naruto mumbled. "They died when I was a baby. I don't remember them."

Sasuke silently watched the blond from the couch. Sakura's face was flushed with embarrassment as she sat on the chair next to Naruto.

"So...you live here alone?"

He nodded. Sakura thought for a moment before turning to Sasuke, who seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Sakura and nodded to her.

"Naruto," she spoke sharply, and the blond looked up. "Can we live here with you?"

Naruto's eyebrows threatened to disappear into his bangs. His dumbfounded expression prompted Sakura to explain.

"I figure that since the Library is so close, it would be more convenient for us all to stay here. Plus, we're a team, right?"

Naruto was still speechless and Sasuke smirked.

"Yeah," Sasuke agreed. "Besides, it's not like I have anyone to go home to either."

Naruto looked from one teammate to the other before smiling happily.

"Thanks, you guys. I'll have to get some more furniture, but-"

"We'll help. Just one rule though," Sakura interrupted, and suddenly she grew angry. "You must have all of your clothes on at all times in my presence. I've seen too much of you already."

Naruto burst out laughing and Sasuke stood, no longer sleepy.

"Hey, guys," the Uchiha grunted as he lifted his scroll. "We won't have time to do this tomorrow, so why don't we sign our contracts now?"

There were no objections and the other two teammates retrieved their scrolls and unrolled them beside Sasuke's. All three rolls of parchment were blank, signifying that they were to be the first summoners.

"Ready?" Naruto mumbled, more to himself than anyone else.

Sasuke and Sakura nodded. All three simultaneously bit their thumbs and wrote their names onto the parchment with fresh blood, watching as the crimson substance glowed golden and faded into the scroll.

"From what Aoba said, the summoning seals are boar, dog, monkey, bird, and ram," Sakura reminded them. "Let's space out a little so that our summons don't feel crowded."

The three shuffled apart to a free space of the living room floor. Sakura made the seals first and slammed her hand into the carpet, watching a black array appear before a plume of smoke obscured her vision. A small, wobbly legged foal stumbled from the cloud, neighing cutely. Sakura squealed and nearly crushed the horse with a hug. She put the foal down and addressed it gently.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. I am your summoner. What is your name?"

"E-Ed," the foal whined.

"That's a...nice...name," Sakura lied, glancing at the boys as they stared at the odd horse. "Please tell your friends that I will be summoning them sometime in the future, okay?"

The foal neighed and disappeared, leaving the three staring blankly at the plume of smoke.

"That's it? That's all there is to summoning?" Naruto deadpanned. "I figured you would need to pass some sort of test. The little guy looked like he was happy to become a slave. Huh."

Sasuke shrugged and performed the seals next. A poof of smoke filled the space in front of him, and he watched the spot intently. The smoke slowly parted.

"Uh."

Sasuke sat uncertain, staring at a tiny little owl who had a head tucked beneath his wing in rest. He stared at the other two.

"Should I wake him up?"

"You just did," muttered the owl. "I'm not supposed to wake up for another hour or so. What do you want?"

Sasuke puffed out his chest.

"I am your summoner," he declared impressively, waiting for the bird to respond.

The owl eyed him with a bland expression.

"And?"

"Er, well," Sasuke stammered, taken aback by the bird's unimpressed nature. "I would like to...er...know your name."

"Pig."

"Ah, of course."

Sasuke threw a pleading look towards his teammates, who giggled at his plight. Sasuke drew himself up again and stared directly into the owl's eyes.

"Tell your comrades that I will be summoning them, for I want to-"

The bird rolled its eyes and disappeared in a poof of smoke, leaving Sasuke to stutter in protest. Naruto roared with laughter at the Uchiha's reddened face.

"That little feathery-"

"Actually, he reminded me of you, Sasuke-kun," Sakura giggled. "Except he talks even less."

The Uchiha stopped talking and crossed his arms with a sour expression. Naruto cracked his neck and fingers in anticipation.

"I guess it's my turn, then."

The blond made the seals and declared, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A gigantic plume of smoke filled the room and the teens scrambled back in fear. A pink nose emerged from the cloud and sniffed.

"S-Summoner? I-Is that you?" the giant white mouse squeaked.

Naruto stared blankly at the giant rodent.

"Why are you so fucking huge?" Naruto roared, pointing an accusing finger at the gigantic mouse, who shrank back in fright.

"I-I think it's because master put too much chakra into the summon..."

Naruto just stared slack jawed.

"So, uh, what's your name?"

"Mortimer!" the mouse squeaked. "A-and may I say, it is a p-pleasure to-"

"You don't have to do that," Naruto frowned. "I'm taking advantage of you."

The mouse squealed and scampered thunderously forward towards Naruto, enveloping the boy in a hug.

"Master! Don't say it like that! We have been ignored for so long," the mouse whined. "You are our savior! Please let us be your summon!"

Naruto nodded, bewildered as his face pressed into the mouse's white fur.

"Th-thank you! I will go tell my friends that a loving, generous summoner has come to pay attention to us! Goodbye!"

The mouse bowed and, with a squeak, disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Sasuke walked over to Naruto and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Oh great Naruto-sama, are you okay?"

"Shut it, Sasuke."

"I liked him," Sakura snickered. "He was cute."

"Yeah, he was," Naruto growled. "He was also the size of a dumpster and had the backbone of a worm!"

Sasuke smirked.

"So that's why he reminded me of-"

"I swear Sasuke, if you utter one more syllable!"

The Uchiha grinned and threw himself back on the futon, lacing his fingers behind his head. The three sat in content silence until Naruto remembered something.

"Sasuke, you have a lot of money, right?"

The Uchiha raised an eyebrow at him.

"A lot of money is an understatement, but yes, I do."

"What would you say to making even more? You too, Sakura?"

The pink haired girl tilted her head in interest. Naruto grinned.

"I was thinking of starting a company, one that sells Fuuinjutsu tags. I could use kage bunshin to produce them on a huge scale and our profits would be unbelievable. I just need startup capital, and maybe a place to be able to mass produce tags like an assembly line."

Sakura's eyes lit up in intrigue.

"Naruto," she spoke. "That's genius. Exploding tags are really, really expensive. If we can undersell competitors, which we will because of our efficiency, then we could rake in millions."

"I'm not just talking explosive tags," Naruto grinned. "I have so many other arrays. I have storage seals, paralysis seals, smoke screen seals, privacy seals, chakra storage seals! The choices are endless!"

"I'm on board," Sasuke spoke.

"I am too!" Sakura agreed, her eyes glittering in excitement.

Naruto smirked.

"Good. We'll start it up after we get back from Wave country."

Morning dawned and team 7 was already waiting at Konoha's gate. Naruto was sitting on a bench, clumsily using a needle and thread to weave something into his orange jump suit. A small white mouse squeaked from his shoulder, giving him eager tips and quick praise. Sasuke leaned silently against a pole, and Sakura drew designs in the dirt with her toe as she sat on the bench next to Naruto.

"When are they going to get here?" Sasuke muttered.

Silence answered his question. Naruto finished with the design on his coat and switched to his pants, occasionally wincing as he accidentally pricked himself. Sasuke stared up at the sky and sighed.

Fire jutsu suck, huh?

The Uchiha lowered himself onto the ground and rested his head against the pole, wondering what he'd do next. He hated toa dmit it, but Aoba had made some good points. If fire techniques weren't going to cut it, he'd have to choose something else. What though? What technique would pass Aoba's standards? Low chakra expenditure, quick availability, easy to use while moving...

The Uchiha blinked in irritation.

What is he talking about, no elemental technique passes that test.

He continued to ponder until he heard Naruto gasp in excitement.

"It's ready!"

Naruto's teammates watched as he placed a hand over the stitched arrays on his clothes and concentrated. Suddenly his orange jump suit turned jet black. The blond grinned victoriously. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"You changed your clothes? Big deal."

Naruto glared.

"Sasuke, it's a self-sustaining Henge no Jutsu. It uses the chakra I unconsciously give off to power it, and it lowers the chakra amount required to keep it running. It can only be dispelled by a command by me or if the array tears. That's pretty damn impressive."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Like using an academy level jutsu will ever make me respect you," the raven haired boy muttered.

The three heard the sound of voices and turned to see another genin team approaching. Naruto lost his angry expression and smiled happily at the girl in the center.

"Ino-chan!"

The girl grinned, completely ignoring Sasuke as she bypassed him and gave Naruto a hug.

"How are you doing, baka?"

He smiled and rubbed his stomach.

"Just trying to keep the weight off."

"Thanks," Kyuubi muttered sarcastically.

Ino grinned knowingly and turned to Sakura, who seemed utterly dumbfounded that Sasuke had not been molested yet by the girl.

"Sakura, how are you?" Ino asked, hugging Sakura as well.

"Fine, Ino, it's been a little while..." Sakura responded, bewildered.

Ino nodded to Sasuke, who grunted and nodded back.

Now Sakura was really, really confused. Shikamaru and Chouji greeted them, followed by their instructor Sarutobi Asuma. A drunken, older man followed, a sake bottle clenched in a worn hand.

"This is Tazuna, the bridge builder," Ino informed the other team. "We're going to escort him to the Land of Waves."

Tazuna took a swig of his alcohol.

So as I understand it, you will be accompanying us to the bridge and then going to visit the Gatou Corporation headquarters?" Asuma clarified, addressing team 7.

A blubbering sound could be heard as the old man starting choking halfway through swallowing.

"Yeah, that's right," Sasuke answered.

Asuma looked at the other seven people and nodded.

"Well, no reason to waste time here. Let's go."

They all turned and walked out the gate, saluting the gate guards Izumo and Kotetsu as they passed.

"So...why don't you guys have packs?"

Naruto turned his gaze on Shikamaru, who was genuinely curious.

"Storage seals on our bodies," Naruto explained. "I applied them last night."

"Ah. Smart."

"I could teach you if you like. Carrying a pack can be troublesome."

Shikamaru grinned and nodded, walking alongside Naruto as the blond pulled out his sketch pad and started to show Shikamaru the array. Ino was gossiping with Sakura and Sasuke was walking silently at the front, determined to keep his distance from the smelly drunk. Asuma had one hand in his pocket, and the other one was flicking a cigarette. None of them seemed to notice the puddle on the side of the road until they had reached it. Suddenly two figures grew from the water and threw themselves at the group. They wore horns and twin gauntlets, which were attached by a chain between the two.

"Shit!"

Sasuke jumped and threw a kunai , pinning the chain to a tree. The demon-like ninja grinned and both disengaged their gauntlets before making a second attack.

"Stay back, everyone!" Sasuke shouted, glancing over his shoulder as he dodged a swipe from a heavy metal claw. "This is my fight!"

The others hung back and Asuma watched with slight worry as Sasuke lithely dodged the men's arms by mere inches. Sasuke flipped back and, on instinct, started making seals.

"Katon! Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

The fireball raced towards the demon brothers but they athletically weaved around the flames and leaped at Sasuke, their gauntlets outstretched and blades extended. Sasuke watched helplessly as the gauntlets grew closer, still disappointed that the fire technique hadn't done anything.

I should have found a replacement for fire, Sasuke mused, almost giving up as the claws were inches from his face. Wait...

Suddenly, like he had been struck by lightning, Sasuke had an epiphany. The others watched in horror as Sasuke was stabbed through the head by one of the gauntlets, blood coming out the back of his head.

"Got you," one of the demon brothers taunted, glancing toward his partner in glee.

But where his partner had been, there stood a shocked raven-haired boy.

"That fucking worked?" Sasuke shouted, feeling his forehead where the blade had been about to penetrate.

The enemy ninja shouted in confusion and turned to see his brother's surprised face speared on the end of his gauntlet. A feeling of disgust rose up inside of him and he screamed in horror, swiping his other gauntlet at the boy. Sasuke only smiled and replaced himself with a log.

"Naruto!"

Naruto looked up to see Sasuke in a tree next to him.

"Throw a rock at him," the Uchiha crowed, glee on his face.

Naruto glanced at the raven-haired boy warily before grabbing up a rock and winging it hard at the demon brother, who leaned his head to the side to avoid it. Suddenly, the rock exploded in smoke as Sasuke appeared and slammed a knee into the man's face, feeling the man's nose break and his body go limp.

Smack!

"Ow!"

Sasuke turned and saw Naruto rubbing the side of his head as a rock rolled away.

"Warn me next time, bastard!"

Sasuke only grinned. Asuma laid a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and smiled.

"Great work. Kakashi wasn't lying, you are good."

Naruto walked up and Sasuke smirked at him.

"Impressed, idiot?"

"Please," Naruto grinned. "Like using an academy level jutsu will ever make me respect you."

Sasuke's smirk turned sour.

He's right. I'm a hypocrite.

"Good job, Sasuke-kun," Sakura chimed, blushing at his heroism.

Ino stepped forward, looked as though was about to talk to Sasuke, then pointedly turned to Naruto and grinned.

"Nice throw."

"Thanks," Naruto grinned in return. "I tried to aim over his left shoulder because Sasuke is right handed so-"

"What?" Sasuke interrupted, glowering at Ino. "You compliment him? I'm the one who almost died!"

Ino smirked.

"Your ego's big enough already."

Sasuke frowned and crossed his arms with a petulant pout.

"Yes, well done, Sasuke," Shikamaru drawled, rolling his eyes. "I think what we need now though is an explanation."

Tazuna paled as everyone turned to him.

"Those were obviously mercenaries," Shikamaru spoke. "We don't have any sort of valuable items that they could be after. But valuable people, that's another story."

"Well, I-I," Tazuna stammered, but Asuma glared at him.

"You lied about the mission requirements," the jounin spat. "You've endangered my students. I refuse to let this go further. Tell us everything and maybe, just maybe I'll consider not pulling out of this mission right here and now."

Tazuna stuttered before becoming deathly silent. Everyone's eyes were trained on him as a bead of sweat rolled down his temple and he corked his sake bottle. Finally, he let out a sigh.

"Fine, I'll talk," Tazuna decided reluctantly. "It all started when Gatou came to wave. We all thought he was going to be just another merchant, but soon he started buying up all of the transportation companies that controlled the overseas passage from Wave to the mainland. We all thought it was a strategic, intelligent move, for those boats took in a lot of profit each year. However, there came a day when we all went down to the marinas and everything was gone. There were no boats, no personnel, nothing. We sent letters to Gatou, but they went unanswered. After a couple weeks of being isolated, a gang of thugs somehow got into wave and started terrorizing us, demanding tributes and claiming taxes we'd never heard of. It was a slaughter. People foreclosed left and right, homeless roamed the streets in hordes, and still the thugs demanded more money. It wasn't until a group of vigilantes caught one of the thugs and tortured him that we found out something..."

"That they were on Gatou's payroll," Asuma breathed, his eyes closed in thought.

"People started realizing that we were being suffocated. I used that panic to launch a bridge project, one that would save our country...but after that, our problems got worse," Tazuna related darkly. "We started disappearing. Here and there a familiar face would vanish, until eventually we were too scared to leave our own houses. I continued building the bridge with a few brave souls, but I knew it wasn't going to be enough. Gatou would sure of that."

"Bastard," Naruto muttered, shaking in anger.

"I knew I needed to get help. I found a man with a boat he had managed to hide from Gatou's minions. He ferried me to the mainland at great risk to his life and we were able to avoid detection, but after that, I believe one of Gatou's men saw me on the road. My only option was to get to Konoha and hire a ninja team."

"But you didn't have enough money," Ino muttered.

Tazuna looked down in shame.

"I knew that the full details of the mission would make it extremely expensive. I only told them that I'd like to have an escort back to Wave and, like I'd thought, they had no clue that anything was wrong there. And here we are. I just want to help my country. I don't know who's remaining in my absence, but I do know that Gatou won't stop until he's milked everything from our country."

At the end of Tazuna's explanation everyone was silent. Sakura seemed worst off; her shoulders quaked in anger and she didn't try to conceal her clenched teeth.

"We're going," she growled. "We have to do something about him."

"No we're not," Asuma ordered, frowning. "This is too high of a mission level. We're going home."

"Technically, we don't have to listen to you," Sasuke pointed out. "We were assigned no sensei and, seeing as we're on library duty, we have to do anything and everything to complete our mission, right guys?"

His teammates nodded and Asuma frowned deeper, knowing that his hands were metaphorically tied.

"So what you're saying, sensei," Shikamaru drawled, "is that it's okay to abandon people in need?"

Asuma was caught off guard.

"No, I-"

"Because that's exactly what this is," interrupted Chouji, who looked angry. "A whole nation needs our help. I'm not going to ignore them."

Asuma pondered their argument and the whole group remained silent. Naruto seemed to realize something though, and he grinning widely.

"Well," Naruto interjected, clapping his hands together. "When you guys decide, send us a letter. There's one part of our mission I'd rather not be late for."

His teammates looked at him in confusion and he grinned back.

"Face time with old Gatou himself."

Naruto laughed out loud and Sasuke and Sakura caught on, finding themselves smirking evilly.

"Yeah, I don't want to miss that either," the Uchiha declared, fingering his kunai holster. "I really need to have a chat with the guy."

"We'll all have a nice little talk with him," Sakura growled. "I can promise you one thing, Tazuna-san."

The pink haired girl stared into the man's eyes, her face contorted darkly.

"It's going to be one hell of a conversation."

Asuma looked at the librarians and seemed to come to a decision.

"Alright, we're going," he spoke. "But from here on out you must listen to my every order. Got that?"

Shikamaru, Chouji and Ino nodded.

Team 7 and 10 bade each other farewell at the shore, at the spot where the bridge was scheduled to be finished. Asuma, Tazuna, Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru boarded a small skiff and sailed off into the fog, waving at Team 7 as they disappeared.

"The company boat should be up the beach a few miles," Sakura muttered, glancing at a map contained in the mission scroll. "We should be able to get there in under ten minutes if we hurry."

Her teammates nodded and they all took off, sand spraying behind them as they bounded up the shore with superhuman speed. After a little while they saw a white shape loom out of the fog. As they drew closer, the shape revealed itself to be a luxurious longboat, drifting lazily along a long dock. A man in sailor garbs stood when they reached the pier and greeted them with a smile.

"I'm glad you were able to make it on time! I hope the trip wasn't too troublesome," he asked courteously.

"Oh, only a little," Naruto replied, smiling facetiously. "We did learn a lot though."

"Good, good, I'm glad to hear it!"

The oblivious sailor gestured them onto the boat. A few minutes later, they were flying over the sea, leaving white ocean spray in their wake. A butler came up from below deck and bowed to them all.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen. I will be your server on this trip. May I interest you in anything to eat or drink as you sail?"

He saw Naruto raise a hand and went over to the blond.

"What would you like, sir?"

"Gatou dead at my feet," Naruto mumbled, the drone of the boat drowning out his voice.

"Would you be so kind as to repeat that louder, please? The engine, you know."

"A rib eye steak, medium rare with diced potatoes on the side."

"Ah, I see. And you two?"

"Your rarest wine, please," Sasuke smirked. "And a cheese sample platter."

"I'm okay, thank you," Sakura blurted in embrassment while sending scathing glares at the boys.

The butler bowed and retreated below decks. Naruto and Sasuke fist bumped and Sakura leaned back in her seat, enjoying the ocean air on her face. Somewhere in her mind, though, she knew that it would be a while before they would feel this relaxed again.

The next chapter will be the ENTIRE wave arc, from this point to the finish. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please REVIEW! I posted twice in one day just because I loved you guys' support.

P.S. Yes, you can pretty much call our favorite Uchiha (no, wait, our third favorite Uchiha) "substitution Sasuke" from now on. A long time ago I realized how many sick things were possible with the Replacement technique, considering how easy it is and how little chakra it took. I also noticed how jounins always use the jutsu far more often than genin. When Sasuke unlocks his sharingan, it'll be an even better technique because he can time things to the last possible second with that whole "slow motion" aspect of the doujutsu (even though sometimes I wonder if it's just an exaggeration of him being able to predict things. Either way it has the same concept). Expect Sasuke to be pulling off some wicked maneuvers in the future!

P.P.S. For all you Sakura fans screaming 'Naruto's got fuuinjutsu, Sasuke's got the substitution, what's Sakura got?' don't worry. I have something planned for her very soon.

REVIEW!