Wonderful and lovely the one and only Cyrro, yhaa! Thank you for putting through this long chapter dear.
Warning: Violence and death. A quite long chapter.
6. Thunder.
Kakashi was having a nice day. First, he talked with Obito and Rin for full three hours, making him three hours late for his meeting with his cute little genins. Then he went to meet with them and received cute glares from his boys and a dry look from Naruto. Next he spent his time supervising his genins, who did another torturous D-rank mission: uprooting weeds from a crop field. It was all peaceful...until now.
"So you want another C-rank?" Hiruzen asked with a raised eyebrow.
All of Kakashi's not-so-cute-right-now genins nodded their heads together. Sasuke was apparently the spokesperson of his team and upon entering the Hokage's office, he put forward his, or rather his team's, request for another C-rank mission. This time they wanted a real C-rank, not involving cats and the Fire Lord's wife.
The Hokage looked a little amused at this display. Beside him Iruka, who went into depression again just by looking at Naruto, looked a little concerned. He looked like he wanted to say something, probably lecture them how it was not safe for fresh rookies to go on C-rank missions this often. But he decided to stay silent. He knew Kakashi wasn't normal and he was pretty sure his genin team wouldn't be normal either.
"Kakashi what do you say?" Hiruzen asked.
Naruto looked back at him and gave a glare which screamed, say something against it and you are dead. He gulped down his negative response. Whenever she gave that glare to anyone in ANBU, that person was doomed to torturous pranks for at least a month. It was those times when you could totally tell whose child she really was. Kakashi might not be a normal person himself, but he still had fear for his life.
"…Umm...I think an easy C-rank will be good Lord Hokage," he said. Don't blame him. He loved his peaceful life, thank you very much.
"Very well then, your mission is to escort a bridge builder to Wave Country. Kakashi here is the scroll. Meet Tazuna the bridge builder at the gate in three hours," the Hokage said.
Kakashi caught the scroll tossed at him and bowed to his Kage. His not-at-all-cute and very-much-pleased genins did the same, and the team went out.
His good mood was ruined, he would not be able to talk to Obito for the next week or so. He was so going to tortu- no he means 'train' his genins, brutally.
Line break...
"Big brother, I shall be leaving for a C-rank mission in two hours. Will you be all right by yourself?" asked a concerned looking Sai.
"Don't worry about me Sai. I will be fine. Besides, you should probably start thinking about yourself for a change now. Go, shoo! Go and pack properly," Shin, his pseudo big brother, answered.
Ever since Danzo was imprisoned, all ROOT members were pulled into normal ninja ranks. Those who were too loyal to him were executed. Turns out that the curse mark actually starts controlling their mind after a certain age. It was a relief that neither Shin nor Sai were at that age yet. But they were not free of the curse mark placed on their tongue until the old war loving fool died, though it was deactivated by the Hokage and one of the legendary sanin, Jiraiya. So hopefully they will not be controlled by the curse mark in future. Soon after that, Sai and Shin requested that the Hokage let them stay together. The Hokage had granted their wish. Shin was grateful towards him and the village for that.
They started living together as siblings. But their life wasn't easy. Shin was suffering from a chronic lung disease that had no cure. Treatment could only prolong his life for a short period of time, but it couldn't save him from his coming, fated end. So, both Sai and Shin decided to utilize all their moments together as much as they could. The Hokage also gave Shin permission to retire from the ninja ranks and Shin happily did that. He disliked killing, in ROOT he had killed his fair share of innocent people. He was just happy that he didn't have to kill again or fight his little brother figure. He could never hurt Sai. After all, blood relations mayn't always be true, but relations made from heart were always true.
"Well, I should be back in three weeks," Sai said.
Shin smiled and looked at his brother, who went back to packing his belongings again. He always wanted to see Sai behaving like normal kids and it seemed his wish was being granted. He was relieved that the nightmare called Danzo would never touch his little brother again. He knew his time was getting closer. He could feel it. But he never dared to tell his condition to Sai. His last wish was to see his precious little brother smile before he died. He couldn't stand a sad look on Sai's face. His brother would be happy with or without him. Sai had already faced so many hardships in ROOT, he deserved a little happiness.
"Ok, I am going now. Take care."
"See you soon little brother."
Sai smiled a little and went out. He never saw the sad look that crossed his brother's eyes.
Line break ..
Naruto was putting the last few things in her backpack when she felt a presence in her new apartment.
After her temporary retirement, the Hokage placed her in a new apartment. She wouldn't admit it, but she was a little paranoid about living among civilians again. She had placed a number of traps and seals on her apartment for that reason. This person must be either really foolish or really brave to break in, especially with so many traps surrounding her new home, in broad day light! She maintained her relaxed posture, and kept on doing her job.
When that person was right behind her, she turned her body halfway at lightning speed, holding a kunai on the intruders throat, ready to slice it open. A hand shot up with equally blinding speed and caught her kunai, holding wrist just before it touched the skin.
The intruder was invading her personal bubble now and her slightly annoyed blue eyes met with a pair of amused black ones. She relaxed immediately, lowering her hand. She gave the intruder a accusing look and turned her back to him, intending to finish what she was doing.
"You were not joking when you said you don't feel comfortable without your mask," Itachi said amused.
She stiffened a bit at that. He held her shoulders and turned her around to face him. She was looking anywhere but at him with a little pout on her face.
In reality, she was a little embarrassed to get caught off guard like that. Truth to be told, Itachi was probably the only person who could actually do something like that. After all, he was very good at suppressing his chakra.
Itachi was highly amused at her reaction at first. Then he noticed how close he was to her. Now this wasn't good. He should stop coming this close to her or he would end up doing something he would regret later. She was still a child no matter what her rank said. He removed his hands from her shoulders and stepped backward slowly, giving her more space. Damn his stupid heart! That stubborn thing didn't know when to beat properly!
Naruto didn't seem to notice his discomfort, she looked up at him still pouting.
'Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with your little brother right now? Giving him advice on how to survive out there?' she signed.
''Are you jealous of my little brother?" he asked in a teasing tone. "That I spend more time with him than you?"
'What?' her eyes widened. 'No no no, I was just...' she signed quickly, shaking her head furiously.
Itachi started laughing at her reaction. Naruto pouted even more. Only he could make her 'speechless' like this.
"Naru, one of my clones is with him right now. Besides my whole family is there to support him," he said in a reassuring manner. 'Besides you don't have anyone around to support you' was left unsaid.
Naruto bit her lip. She took a deep breath.
'Itachi, I feel like something bad is going to happen today,' she signed, lowering her gaze.
"Nothing is going to happen Naru. Everything is all right," Itachi said in a gentle tone, placing his hands back to her shoulders.
He met her gaze and said, "Are you worried that you won't be able to hide your skills in front of my brother and that ex-ROOT agent?" he asked being completely serious.
Naruto shook her head.
Itachi straightened up . "Then what is the problem, Naru?" he questioned. In all the years he had known this girl, she never showed any sign of discomfort like this. Something must be bothering her, and he needs to know what that was.
Naruto bit her lip again. After a moment she looked up and met his gaze, 'Itachi I haven't told anyone about this, but I can sense negative emotions from people; or more like a group of people. I can't specify a single person yet, but I can specify a group and general area surrounding it. If any person has a lot of negative emotions pent up inside them, only then I can specify the person,' she paused and took another breath.
"How long have you been able to sense this?" Itachi asked in a completely serious tone. He never heard of something like that before, but it could be possible that it was unique to her. She was the Jinchuriki of the Nine Tailed fox after all. It was a known concept that all the
jinchuriki eventually developed a technique unique to them, due to their burden. Maybe this was her power, sensing negative emotions.
'Since I was a child, I could sense people around me hating me,' she lowered her gaze again.
Itachi immediately felt a pang in his heart. The wound made in her heart was deep, if he only knew how to heal her, he would have done anything to help her. Though her team was helping her, at times like this he really felt helpless.
"Naru, please look at me," he said in a pleading tone. Naruto seemed to compose herself quickly. She looked up, meeting his eyes again.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked.
Naruto nodded. 'I am sure about this. I felt the same way on my sixth birthday, I only went out when the genjutsu blocked all my senses. Same with the day when Sishui was... I could tell where those emotions were coming from and went to check on my own. I feel a ton of frustration coming from Danzo, every time I see him.'
"And you feel the same now?" he asked in a worried tone.
Naruto nodded again.
'Now I am sensing a very strong negative emotions coming from Uchiha district,' She signed. Itachi was more than a little concerned now. But he didn't let it show on his face.
"Hmm. Naru don't worry I will inform the Hokage about this. I believe you, and I am sure Lord Hokage will as well. I will keep an eye on the Uchiha district as well," he said reassuringly. "Now get going. Be safe and keep an eye on Sasuke for me," he said with a little smile.
Naruto nodded, she felt a little better telling all this to him. It always felt good and a little lighter after sharing her concerns with somebody who would understand, and Itachi always understood her. Soon they said farewell to each other and teleported to different locations.
Line break...
He made a correct decision when he passed Team 7, thought Kakashi. Though he was still a little annoyed at them. But still, one harmless outing would do him good. Back to the topic, yes it was a really good decision to pass them. They were absolutely adorable. All three of them had come to make an excellent team. They came to understand each other fairly quick too. There was not much visible strength difference among them, and for that reason there was a mutual respect among the team. It had been just a few D-ranks, a C-rank, a few team exercises and some chakra control exercises and they had bonded quite well. On bonus point, Naruto was more open than ever. Her team mates were learning sign language fairly quick too. She seemed so much more relaxed and childish these days, just like he wanted her to be. Kakashi was happy to have such an wonderful team. From the first week they learned how to help and grow strong together. Things were going well. He only hoped it kept on going this well.
Or maybe not...
"You sure they can handle it, they look like they are only just out of diapers!" questioned Tazuna, their client, addressing Kakashi.
Sasuke twitched a bit.
"I mean how can they be ninjas ? They are all squirts..." whined their drunk client again.
Sai's eyes narrowed.
"Look at them, why doesn't your village send grown up out to do jobs? These shrimps should be playing house together. Pathetic."
A scowl formed in Naruto's face.
Not a good sign for his team. "Well Mr. Tazuna, they mayn't look like much, but they are really skilled. Besides if you wanted higher ranked ninjas, you should have paid more," answered Kakashi, finally getting a long enough pause from the drunk to actually speak.
He could see his genins getting agitated.
They had been on the road with the bridge builder for a whole day now.
Naruto, as well as his boys, were in the verge of attacking their client any moment now. He really couldn't blame them. Since the time they left the village yesterday, Tazuna hadn't stopped his complaints. He was like a broken record, going on and on and on about how stupid it was to send kids to do a grown up's job.
Tazuna seemed taken aback by his answer. He didn't say anything in answer to that for a long time.
Kakashi sighed in relief. He just prayed this man shut up and stopped complaining about his team so much. He had become quite sensitive about his cute team and didn't want any drunk man to bad mouth them. Period. But his relief didn't last long.
He saw Naruto break out of their formation and suddenly move at a high speed. She placed a barrier seal around a small water puddle on the road. Now where did that thing came from?...And...Is that thing emitting chakra? Hmm, it hadn't rained in few weeks, had it? So Mist ninjas than. Now only to figure out why some ninjas were hiding so badly in the middle of the road and they could continue their journey. Both of his boys also caught onto what was going on quickly. How adorable, he thought like a proud parent...err...like a proud ninja parent. He wasn't completely sure, but he don't think civilian parents would like their kids playing with random chakra emitting puddles while on the road, so he would stick with the ninja parents idea.
Sai quickly drew a few snakes and they surrounded the barrier seal. Sasuke covered the, now slightly sober Tazuna, kunai in one hand ready to defend the client if needed.
Naruto nodded to them and released the barrier. As soon as the barrier was released, two masked mist ninjas jumped out of the water puddle. But before they could make a move or attack, they were caught by Sai's chakra infused ink snakes. They were now bound by chakra infused ropes.
Before they could even try to break free, Naruto hit one of them heard, just above the central nervous system. He was out cold in a second. Next, she held a kunai to the other one's throat.
Sasuke relaxed a bit. He switched places with Sai, who was now drawing out mice for a perimeter check.
"Well, start talking, who are you and why were you hiding in there?" asked Sasuke in a cold tone.
"You think I will tell you anything? Just let me out for a bit and I shall tear you dimwits apart!" hissed the ninja with a scowl.
Naruto rolled her eyes and looked pointedly at Sai. Sai nodded in understanding and made a sign of concentration with his left hand.
The Mist nin screamed in pain, the snakes that bonded his toes and ankles tightened a bit. "Why you little bastards, let me out or else-"
"Tell us the reason why you were hiding there or the pain will increase," Sasuke cut his threats short. "If you don't, then those snakes can cut through your skin quite easily. Do you want a demonstration of that? Or will it be better to let my teammate cut open your throat. My team mate is pretty good at that. Besides if you die we have your brother to get the information out of," Sasuke finished in a cold tone.
Tazuna flinched at the scene unfolding in front of him. And he was insulting them before! These were devil kids! What on earth did the village feed them to make them like this?
Kakashi was enjoying the scene quietly. He was more than a little proud of his team by then. They have been together for a little more than one month and they worked so well together already. Obito would have been proud. He almost felt like dancing, 'Almost' being the key word. They hadn't even planned this before attacking! 'Nice going team,' he cheered inwardly.
"Well, Sasuke I shall take this from here," he said after a while and lifted his headband. Sasuke wordlessly moved out.
He walked in front of the mist nin and kneeled down to match his venomous gaze.
The Mist nin suddenly went still and started to speak in a robotic voice. He said they were missing-nin from the Mist known as the Demon Brothers. They were henchmen of Zabuza, one of the Mist's Seven Ninja Swordsmen, who is a missing nin himself. He also told how his master was hired by Gato, and how they were ordered to kill Tazuna, the bridge builder.
After listening to everything, Kakashi dropped his genjutsu, and the Mist nin followed his brother's example and hit the ground, unconscious. Kakashi lowered his headband with a sigh.
Three pairs of eyes, plus one eye turned towards the now slightly trembling Tazuna.
"Did you forget to tell us something Mr.
Tazuna?" Kakashi asked Tazuna with a creepy eye smile.
"Please help me!" Tazuna was suddenly on his knees. "My county was taken over by Gato and he is ruthless. He killed off those who opposed him and raised taxes so much that we can barely survive. I really need to complete the bridge to
connect us to main land , otherwise the Wave will never be out of his clutches," he pleaded.
Kakashi hummed. He should have known. "What do you think guys? Should we continue?" he asked his team.
'I am not sure. Sai, Sasuke what do you say?' Naruto signed. She wasn't
concerned about Zabuza. She was capable of handling him herself. But she was a bit concerned about her team. Sai may be able to handle the pressure, but was Sasuke able to do that? She doubted it.
Sai and Sasuke were in a bit of a confused situation themselves. On one hand, they didn't like their client a bit. He was an annoying old drunk, who kept on insulting them till now. Why should they put out their lives on the line due to this jerk? On the other hand, they wanted to help the Wave Country. The Village Hidden in the Leaves always helps others in need.
"It's ok if you don't help me. I will surely die, then my cute little grandson and my beautiful daughter will curse the Hidden Leaf and all the ninjas in it. But it will not be your fault. Go on leave this old man to die!" said Tazuna in a pitiful attempt to guilt trip them.
Kakashi shook his head on that attempt. He looked at his genin and sweat dropped, it seems Sai fell for it; to his horror Sasuke fell for it too. Well, his boys need better emotional control. He looked at Naruto and found her looking very determined with fire in her eyes. It looked like she needed to understand pitiful guilt trips too.
"We will go help you and your country," said Sasuke firmly. Naruto and Sai nodded in determination, agreeing with him.
Tazuna's face lit up. He did a victory dance, amine style!
"Well, if that's what you want, let's get goi-" Kakashi paused halfway through his sentence. Both he and Naruto tensed up a bit, they both sensed a chakra pulse nearby. It was a friendly pulse but it screamed emergency.
An ANBU squad jumped in front of them. That was Genma's team.
"Kakashi we have an emergency in the village. Your team is ordered to report back immediately. Three ANBU from my squad will continue this mission," Genma said in a robotic voice.
"What happened?" asked Kakashi, he suddenly had a very bad feeling about this.
Genma wordlessly handed him a scroll.
Kakashi took the scroll and went through the content in it quickly and his posture changed completely.
Naruto noticed the change immediately. It was the same posture which let her ANBU captain kill ruthlessly. Whatever it
was, it was not good. Her earlier gut feeling came back in full force. Itachi be alright, she thought worriedly.
Kakashi looked at his team with a stony face. "Team we are heading back. I will explain everything while we are moving," he ordered.
Sai and Sasuke become tensed. They never saw their sensei like this. It was like a completly new person talking to them.
But, Naruto recognised that voice immediately. It was not her easy going jonin-sensei speaking. It was copy-nin Kakashi, captain of her ANBU squad, speaking. She nodded and followed him alongside Sai and Sasuke.
Tazuna didn't even dare to say anything.
Line break..
"The Uchiha clan was attacked last night by an unknown foe. The whole clan was massacred by this foe. Itachi was out on a mission. He returned at the last minute to face that enemy. They fought and he is gravely injured. He is unconscious and is being operated on as we speak. It was done so swiftly that when ANBU reached the Uchiha clan compound, all were dead save your injured brother." Kakashi finished explaining with a single breath. His voice was emotionless and his posture was completely blank. In his mind he was cursing the person who did this. Who was that person? There weren't many who could take on Itachi and survive. He glanced at Naruto out of the corner of his eye. He was more worried about Naruto than Sasuke. That girl was more dangerous when it came to saving her team mates, and this time it was her only friend who was attacked.
Naruto had gone completely rigid. It remind him of days when she first joined ANBU. She was not showing any sign of what was going on her head. It wasn't good, he thought.
Kakashi then glanced at Sasuke, the poor child was trembling, unable to decide whether to cry or burst out in rage. He noticed red, one-tomoe sharingan in his eyes. Sasuke activated his sharingan already! He was clutching his fist so tightly that his fingers were bleeding. But he was ignoring the pain.
Sai had his ROOT face on. Totally blank. But Kakashi could tell he was worried about his teammates.
He sighed inwardly and increased his speed.
They all kept speeding towards the village.
A/N: Didn't see that coming did you? Well I had to do this. I wanted avenger Sasuke back. Go on flame me for this one. But I had to do it.