Hmm.. Not much of a response on that last chapter neh? Sorry for the back history laden chapter, but every good story has one or two. That way you, my dear readers, will understand everything that I do. Please realize that just about everything learned in the Dawn of Mana story will have it's own place somewhere. You just may not realize it at first when it rears it's head again. This new chapter will bring about even more changes. I probably don't need to say this at this point, but by plot, personality, and timeline, this fic is strictly AU.
Travis: You may be right about that. I tacked that on for future chapters. I'm actually planning on getting into that soon enough though, so don't worry.
I do not own Naruto or the World of Mana series. Never will. I'd probably ruin either anyway.
The Waves Will Calm
This is what I've been told, merely a small bit of two other stories that intertwine intricately with my own. The night I had been out, answering Undine's call, two of my companions had dreams of their own. It was a strange experience as they told me. Both shared the same dream, while the world around them was a sea of swirling, brilliant color...
"Friends and allies of the Mana Chosen, hear me and heed my words." A soft, gentle voice with the weight of one with ages of wisdom behind it echoed over the world from everywhere. "The time will soon come when events that will shape the face of this world will occur. When the time comes, and nothing seems right with the world, watch for my messenger. She will know you. She will guide you to me, and I shall grant you the strength to become pillars of support for the Chosen. Say nothing of this to anybody, the time has not come for the Chosen to know of me." The voice began to fade, as did the sea of color until the sun had it's way, rousing all in the house from their sleep.
Tsunami had been up early, hunting through the market for what little food she could find to prepare a sufficient breakfast for those in her overcrowded home. Not that she minded the presence of the Konoha Ninja force, but with Gato's blockade, very little could be found. After everybody had finished eating, Sasuke went back out with both Hinata and Ino to continue his training, while Sakura went with Shikamaru and Naruto's clone to the bridge. Along the way, the real Naruto had caught his clone's attention, and switched places covertly. That day went without incident, Naruto creating several clones to help Tazuna who was losing more workers by the day due to Gato's death threats. Naruto himself was working alongside Tazuna, chatting back and forth with the older man.
In that time, Sasuke decided to finally take the girls' advice, and managed to scale the tree, though not without pompous gloating on his part. Hinata and Ino, grateful for the change of pace, promptly ignored him to spend the rest of the day alternating between sparring and hammering out ideas for new jutsu.
That night, each was coping with the knowledge that they would me meeting Zabusa and his accomplice again in their own way. Naruto had retrieved his honing tools from one of his storage scrolls and was tending to the blades of the rest of the ninja, a look of serenity on his face as he made the metal sing in a steady rhythm. Inari sat with him and watched, working on his mother's cutlery in order to learn by sight and feel. Ino and Hinata were talking with Shikamaru, catching up on each others lives, while Sakura made futile attempts to swing the conversation to something she could join in. Sasuke was doing what he always tended to do, brood while glaring at Naruto, and Asuma and Kakashi were talking about old missions they had been on, chuckling every once in a while.
Unknown to everybody else, Naruto was on autopilot. Instead of paying attention to something his hands knew by instinct, he was in his mindscape, conversing with the denizens within. Though Naruto was calm, avoiding the subject of what was to come the next day, the other three seemed on edge. Undine was chastising Jinn for the umpteenth time about being too hasty, while the wind spirit merely allowed her to carry on. If that's what she had to do to cope with her nerves, then so be it. Yuuko and Naruto were in deep conversation about the current state of his body.
"Well, it was lucky for us that Undine showed up when she did. Otherwise, I don't think I could have healed you as far as we have now. That's not to say that you are at peak though. If you try even a few of the stronger jutsu you know, there's a chance you could rupture your chakra coils again. Luckily, you haven't had to show any of them off yet, so it's still assumed that you are primarily a taijutsu and kenjutsu type shinobi. Drawing on Jinn is something else entirely though. As long as you don't try to absorb any of his energy yourself, and merely let it all flow into Tsukihitsume, I don't see any real problems. Undine isn't quite comfortable enough with your body yet to lend any of her power, aside from aiding me with healing you."
Naruto merely shrugged, flexing his silver coated hand in thought. "You know I don't care much about the specifics Yuuko. As long as I'm well enough for what needs to be done at the time, I'm fine. Even then, if I have to push my body to its very limits to protect my allies, I will. It's not like you to be so worried about the future you know. We've always just taken things a day at a time, with only the Tree, and the cease of war as our ultimate goals." He looked up, his sapphire eyes glinting playfully. "Have you lost faith in me Yuuko? You know exactly what I can do, even weakened like I am."
The beautiful woman shook her head while the two spirits gave their argument a rest. "No, never Naruto. I know all too well what you can and will do for your dream." Naruto's hand was placed on her cheek, his fox grin wide on his face. "Good. I need you to have my back in times like this. Just don't worry too much, it's too weird. I have no doubt I'll be fighting Zabuza tomorrow, no matter what he decides. We don't need to worry about the what ifs. What we need to do now, is find the right path. Here's what I plan on doing..."
He came out of his trance-like state shortly after finishing with the last blade, looking around to find that everybody else had already gone to sleep. Taking the opportunity, he created three shadow clones. "Alright, these are your orders, so listen up. Run patrol through the forest tonight and well into the morning. I have no doubt Gato is the kind of man who wouldn't leave well enough alone, so mercenaries will probably be on their way. Dispel if you see anything out of the ordinary." Three Naruto's chorused their acknowledgment at the same time and went to their work. Naruto himself propped his blade against his shoulder and fell into a light sleep.
Morning came with a rude awakening, though one that the blonde boy had more or less expected. That feeling, like a bucket of ice water to the brain, that signified one of his clones ending its existence pulled him out of his rest. "So.. It's as I thought. Still a ways off though.." Footsteps were heard on the stairs, and he looked up to see Shikamaru rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Kage, good, you're awake. Sit down and listen."
The lazy Nara did just that. Naruto rarely ever used the code names he had given his friends for fun. "What is it? You come up with a plan or something?" Naruto shrugged, using his sword to help him stand up from the floor where he had slept. "Something like that. Look, I was going to play this one close to the chest, and I know how you guys hate that.. But here's the deal. I'm trying to work out an alliance with Zabuza and his companion. They are deserters from Kumo, and Konoha could use ninja like them." He paused to let Shikamaru show that he was following. "However, something has come up here that needs somebody's attention. Asuma or Kakashi would want to field this one, but they need to be at the bridge. Gato's got a couple of mercenaries headed this way to use Tazuna's family as insurance. I know exactly where they are right now, and will head out to take care of them before they become a problem. I need you to take attention away from me. When you get to the bridge, you, Hime, and Tenshi need to stall. I'll be there as soon as I can."
Naruto's blade found its place at his waist as he moved towards the door, taking a backwards glance at his genius friend. "Don't die before I get there, yeah? I'm counting on you to watch out for everybody while I'm away. That includes Duckass and Banshee." Shikamaru sighed, waving to his friend. "Yeah, yeah. Dying would be too troublesome. Troublesome as it is, I'll do what needs to be done. Those names aren't too professional though neh?" Naruto flashed his signature grin. "But they fit well. I'll think of something better when they actually prove they can do something besides act like little kids." With that, he was off, leaving Shikamaru chuckling to himself. "Duckass..."
It wasn't long afterwards that Hinata and Ino made their way downstairs, retrieving their weapons that had been tended to by their friend over the course of the night. Speaking of him.. "Hey, Shika, where'd Naruto get off to? He'd usually be down here helping Tsunami cook or something." Ino questioned as she pulled her long blonde hair into its regular ponytail. "Him? That dumbass has gone out to do things his own way again, and left us with the bridge until he gets back." Hinata sent a halfhearted glare at Shikamaru who merely shrugged unapologetically. "He is what he is Hinata. He says he needs us to stall for him until he can get there. Says he's trying to get those two to join up with Konoha. What a troublesome guy.." Hinata finally decided to chime in, dropping her glare. "Shikamaru-kun, you know how he is. He'd rather make allies and avoid the killing if at all possible. He would even go so far as to take it easy on Sasuke-san in the academy."
"What's this I hear? Somebody talking about me? If you wanted to know anything about me, Hinata, you could have just asked." It would seem Sasuke had finally dragged himself out of sleep and had made his way downstairs, only hearing his name in the conversation, and nothing else. Ino quirked and eyebrow, giving the last Uchiha an incredulous look due to the seductive tone he had attempted to use. "Sorry, but everybody knows all there is to know about Sasuke Uchiha. You already talk about yourself enough, so why would we want to hear more?" Sasuke grumbled to himself, his advances on the pretty Hyuuga girl spurned once again. He just couldn't see why she wouldn't want him. Instead of pushing his luck any further, he changed topics. "So, where's the Dobe? He get cold feet already?"
Hinata shook her head in exasperation. "He's out taking care of his own business, and will meet us at the bridge as soon as he can." She didn't supply any more information, which made Sasuke grumble to himself again. It wasn't long at all before Kakashi and Asuma came down and rounded the group up to go. Asuma knew Naruto well enough to know that the boy had plans of his own, and let the matter be, the cyclopean jounin taking a cue from his comrade. Sakura merely followed the crowd, lost as usual in dreams of Sasuke and her.
Naruto was leaping from branch to branch, thanking the heavens that he had thought to use three clones instead of just one. As the third took itself out of existence, he finally found the small group of ten rogue ronin, hacking away at anything that got in their way. Making a few hand seals before tapping his throat, Naruto activated one of his personal effect jutsu. His voice deepened and echoed through the forest as he spoke, not giving his position away. "Fools! Impatient thugs. You dull your blades on the trees of the forest when you have ninja ahead of you. Did your master fail to tell you that he was sending you to die?" He got the desired effect. The ronin looked around, confused and frightened, but managed one managed to yell out his answer.
"Bah! Ninja are cowards who hide in the shadows. Why should I be afraid of somebody that has no honor? If you're a man, then fight like one!" This managed to rally his other allies who began shouting for the voice to show itself. Naruto let out a dark chuckle, dropping from a branch into the center of the group. "Very well then, you take your life into your own hands." He pulled his sword, sheath and all, from his belt and slid into a low stance, holding his right hand over the hilt. "Who wants to be first?"
The same man who had yelled out earlier stepped up, a confident smirk on his face. So, you do have some honor. But you're just a kid. I'll take you out nice and easy, then go have my way with that bridge builder's pretty little daughter." As the man began to laugh, Naruto saw red. The ronin marked himself as good as dead with that remark. "Iai Strike." The words were ground out low and soft, and in a single fluid motion, Naruto had drawn his blade, severed the man's neck, flicked the blood off, and sheathed. It took a few seconds before the man's head rolled off of his neck, the look of laughter still on his face, and his body slumped to the ground, drenching the earth with blood.
Naruto turned on the rest of the group, keeping his tone low. "Who was he to speak of honor? Anybody else with delusions of victory, step up. Those who wish to keep their lives, run." Though most of the group ran, three stayed behind, eager to either avenge their fallen comrade, or take glory for themselves, Naruto couldn't care either way. He brought one hand up to his face, sending up a short prayer for the man he had killed, and the men he would now fight. "I am sorry, but I have more important things to do right now than fight you one at a time." He jumped into the air, backwards, twisting around to land gracefully on his feet while summoning a line of five shadow clones in front of him. "Marble Stream!" Six voices cried out in unison as they sliced through the air, imbuing it with chakra and passing it to the next. In quick succession, they formed a blade of pure white air that cut through the three remaining ronin before the clones let themselves go. The blonde took a calming breath before heading off in the direction of the bridge.
Sasuke was getting angry. That masked ninja was good, but he had been winning. Ever so slightly, he had been able to see her moves and counter them. That is, until she created a dome of ice mirrors. He didn't even know a jutsu like that was possible until Kakashi explained that it was something like a bloodline limit like the Sharingan. Meanwhile, Shikamaru was commanding Hinata and Ino in a strategy that was keeping Zabuza too busy to either help Haku or attack Tazuna.
The dark eyed boy was hit with another volley of senbon, just able to catch Haku's movement as she jumped from mirror to mirror. In her next move, he was able to catch the hem of her cloths with a fireball jutsu. Unnoticed to everybody, his eyes had turned red, a single tomoe in one eye and two in the other. That still wasn't enough though. He could see the movements clearly, but didn't yet have the reaction time to act quickly enough.
This was the scene that Naruto found when he arrived at the bridge. Using surprise to his advantage, he blurred through a set of hand seals before announcing his jutsu. "Futon: Daitoppa no jutsu!" He threw the raging wind towards Zabuza, appearing at the tail end of the jutsu, between the large man and his friends. "Sorry to make you wait Zabuza-san. I hope you were entertained." He turned his gaze back ever so slightly to catch his allies out of the corner of his eye. "Good work guys. I'll take over from here. Go help Duckass out before Haku decides to use lethal force."
Three nods, and they were off, Shikamaru already formulating several different scenarios in his mind. Naruto turned to the larger man with a smirk on his face. "So Zabuza-san, have you thought about my offer? I have ties with the Hokage himself, so arranging your position shouldn't be too hard." Zabuza grinned beneath the bandages covering his face. "Well connected huh? That's good. However, I'm not going to follow somebody that can't give me a run for my money in a fight. Consider this a test. You do well, and Haku and I will join you."
Naruto nodded, pulling his crimson scarf up like a mask. "Fair enough. This time, I won't hold back. I think it's time to cut loose a bit and show what I can do." Setting himself in a slightly modified Kazenagare stance, he began to channel a small amount of wind chakra into his blade. Zabuza quirked a nearly nonexistent brow. "That stance didn't work last time, you know. What makes you think it will do any better this time?" He was ignored though as Naruto charged forward. 'Yuuko, I'm going to work at full capacity. How long before it's too much for my body?' His advance was blocked by Zabuza's zanbato, but he merely used it as a foothold, flipping over the man while delivering a slice that cut the man from hip to shoulder. 'At this rate, I would say you have about a minute.'
He landed on his feet, turning just in time to roll out of the way of a simple water jutsu used by the man. 'That's all I'll need. Ninja battles should be finished as soon as possible.' Turning the roll into a handspring, Naruto flung himself into the air, charging his blade with more wind chakra. "It's no Marble stream, but it'll have to do! Hunting Falcon!" He swung the blade in a wide arc, sending a vacuum blade down at Zabuza. The man managed to block the attack with his own sword, but the act left a deep scar in the side of the blade.
"Wind chakra manipulation at your age. I'm impressed brat, but that won't be enough!" As soon as Naruto landed, Zabuza was on top of him, trying to keep the boy locked in one place. Naruto had other plans though, and Zabuza hadn't figured out the intricacies of the Kazenagare style yet. Naruto used a blade lock to his advantage, faking weakening strength, he crumpled to the ground, only to roll away again before Zabuza could land a heavy blow while he was down. He reached into a modified kunai pouch, producing five mini chakram, and threw them all at once. Zabuza, unaware of the nature of these weapons scoffed as they missed him by a wide margin, only to come back and slice across the already agitated sword wound across his back. This caused him to arch his back in pain for a slight moment. One that Naruto took advantage of. He sheathed his blade and ran forward. With the grace of an acrobat, he did a quick handspring that led into a mule kick to Zabuza's chest, knocking the man off balance. He then pulled his blade once more, landing on top of the man's chest with the edge of Tsukihitsume pressed to his neck.
Panting from the exertion, though grinning, he looked back to see Haku being held down by Hinata, arms locked behind her back by the Hyuuga girl's tonfa. Ino had the blade of her spear resting close to the girls neck to keep her from moving. "Well now Zabuza-san. It looks like you're pretty well beaten, though I'll admit that this would have been much harder if they hadn't wore you down first.
For his part, Zabusa let out a gleeful laugh. "Ah, damn it's been a long time since anybody beat me like this. You know what kid? I like you. Tell your Hokage that we'll join up with Konoha. I'll make it clear though. My allegiance is to you not the village." Naruto nodded and stood up, offering his hand to the older man who took it and hauled himself up. In the mists at the beginning of the bridge, a clapping noise was heard, followed by a pompous voice.
"Very touching Zabuza. You've backed out on your contract though, and I just can't have that." The fat, squat man known as Gato grinned like he held all the cards. "Get 'em boys!" From behind him came his small army of thugs, confident that they could best the group of ninja after they had been weakened by fighting amongst each other. However, they hadn't counted on the two fresh jounin who were itching for a little action of their own. While Naruto went to help Haku up, Asuma and Kakashi tore through the thugs with ease until they captured Gato, who had been trying to sneak away once he realized things weren't going his way. Just after that had happened, Inari and Tsunami showed up at the head of an impromptu militia, wielding whatever they could find on short notice.
Asuma took a long drag of the cigarette that was hanging from his lips, exhaling slowly. "Well now, looks like the cavalry's arrived. This slimeball's all yours kid. You and the villagers decide what to do with him." Gato was kicked towards the militia and was once again surrounded by weapons. "Looks like that wraps this mission up nicely. Hey, Naruto." The blonde boy looked over from his conversation with the ice user. "Nice leadership skills on this one. I'm impressed. Your first A rank, and we come off barely injured with new allies to boot. If I could give out field promotions, you'd have it." This comment made his friends beam proudly, but not a certain Uchiha with a chip on his shoulder.
"Oh, for the love of.. Would somebody tell me why that idiot's getting all the credit for everything? We didn't even want him here from the start! Team seven could have handled this mission easily by ourselves. And what's with sparing the enemy like that? How do you know he won't just go turncoat once he's got everybodys trust and start leaking information? I say we take him out here and now to save ourselves the trouble later." Sakura stood beside him as usual, nodding her agreement, not that it was much of a surprise.
Kakashi sighed. Somehow, he knew this was going to happen. "I, as your jounin sensei, along with Shikamaru, decided that we would need more help after the first ambush. Nobody specifically requested this team. Hokage-sama sent them because he knew they would get the job done right. Asuma was given the lead on this mission, and he let Naruto work his way. I'd suggest you calm down before you make a bigger scene out of yourself."
Though Sasuke wanted to continue, he knew Kakashi was right, and that this wasn't the time. "Let's see how the idiot likes it when I take it all away from him for my use," He grumbled under his breath.
The rest of their time in Wave was uneventful. Soon enough, Tazuna finished his bridge, allowing the ninja who had saved them all to be the first to cross it. As they waved goodbye to the villagers of Wave, Naruto felt a hesitant tug at the hem of his shirt, and looked down to see Inari. "Yo, kid. Looks like you'll be living nice and free now, huh?" Inari nodded, looked back towards his mother, and then back at Naruto. "Umm.. I don't really know how to ask this.. But, do you think I could join Konoha and be trained as a ninja like all of you? I want to learn how to protect my family properly."
The blonde boy took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly before kneeling to be at eye level with Inari. "I would let you kid, I really would. You're a little old to start at the academy though, but not old enough yet to be apprenticed. Tell ya what. Look me up in three years time, and I'll teach you myself. By that time, I should at least be chunin. If you can wait until then, I promise I'll make you one of the strongest ninja to ever walk this earth. Let me tell you something that helped me though. Somebody once told me not to try to grow up too quickly. Quick growth hardens the heart, and I won't teach anybody who can only care for themselves. Until then, work at the forge here to get yourself nice and strong." Ruffling the boy's hair, he stood back up.
"Alright guys, it's time we got back home, don't ya think?" There were several nods of agreement to the blonde's comment, and with that, the group walked away at a relaxed pace. Once they were out of earshot, somebody from the crowd piped up. "Hey, Tazuna. Thought about what you'd name this bridge yet? Something that's gonna save our village has got to have a name." The wizened bridge builder scratched his chin, and with a moment of thought came up with the perfect answer. "The Great Naruto bridge. Since that kid saved all our asses, we should at least thank him in some way." This decision was met with hearty approval before the townspeople filed off to their own homes.
Their trip home was relaxed, with those that were comfortable around each other catching up on their lives, leaving Sakura in a frustrated attempt to join in the conversation with Ino, and Sasuke brooding and planning his request to the council. They hadn't denied him yet.
Finding no place in the conversation for her, Sakura let her shoulders drop. 'Just when did Ino and I get this far apart? She'll barely even talk to me any more.' To her surprise, a rough echo of her voice sounded through her head, mocking the most recent thought. "Well duh! It was the minute you buried your head in that stupid Uchiha's ass, cha!" As if sensing her shock, the voice spoke again. "That's right idiot, I'm back. You can't keep me away for too long, I'm your true thoughts. You just don't want to accept me. Get used to having me around." Nobody else could figure out why, though it could have been another denial by Sasuke, but Sakura had an almost comical look of depression written on her face.
Somewhere in the middle of their trek, Zabuza took Naruto aside. "Kid, I need to ask you something. How well liked are you in your village? I'm not gonna change my terms or anything, but it may help me be ready for the future." The answer wasn't long in coming, Naruto had made his peace with the matter a long time ago. "Not at all I'm afraid. Let's just say I have a friend who isn't very well liked that they often mistake me for." He pat his stomach where the seal was a couple times as a hint. Zabuza, not having all the facts was mildly confused, but moved on. "Then you are aware, of course, that a typical village would do one of two things to you. Exile or death. Since you have ties with the Hokage, I doubt death is the option, which leaves us with only one thing."
Naruto gave a rueful grin. "Yes, I am aware. The time will come, and I will cross that bridge when it does. Actually, staying with Konoha for the rest of my life wouldn't be much help to my goals after all. There's only so much I can do in the Hokage seat. Especially with the council system that's in place. Speaking of, expect some entertainment from them soon after we get you settled." Zabuza growled to himself. "Damn, I hate politics."
When they finally arrived at the Hokage tower a day later, Naruto snapped to attention. He gave his full report from his view of things, including his meeting with Haku out in the forest. He did, however, leave out anything pertaining to Yuuko or the Sword. The old ninja thought about matters for a little while before reaching into his desk and tossing two new hite-ate complete with the spiral leaf to Haku and Zabuza. "I understand your wishes Zabuza-san. You and Haku-san will be acting Konoha ninja, directly allied to Naruto. As such, you should not feel honor bound to serve should anything befall him." Zabuza and Naruto shared an inward smirk. 'perfect.' "Now that I've heard your report, you may take your R&R until the next mission. Your pay will be sent as soon as the paperwork is filed." The old man sighed at the thought of more paperwork.
Naruto, grinning, caught the old man's attention again before he left. "You know Jii-san, there's a really easy way to get paperwork done and have your free time. I'm surprised you hadn't thought of it earlier." Seeing that he had the Hokage staring right at him with the most hopeful look in his eyes that Naruto had ever seen, he merely made a cross shaped hand seal, turned around, and left the room. The rest of that day, people could hear maniacal laughter coming from the hokage tower as he finally conquored the beast he had been fighting a losing battle with for years.
True enough, only a few days later saw Zabuza, Haku, and I standing in front of the council. As usual, whenever I was called in for whatever civilian grievance, the ninja portion of the council looked bored. Hiashi decided to call the whole affair to order, and I had a good idea of what was coming at the time...
"Naruto Uzumaki. The council has called you here today for two reasons." He shook his head as he read the first. Did the civilian members even use their brains. "Please note that it was the civilian council that called you in on behalf of Sasuke Uchiha." Naruto gave a snort of laughter, yeah he knew exactly what was coming. "Sasuke demands that two objects in your possession be given to him immediately. These being the sword you carry at your hip, and the one bound to your arm. The second matter is that of Konoha's new allies, Zabuza Momochi, and Haku, no last name. He requests that we place them as his personal teachers, barring all missions for them, and that they switch their allegiances to him."
Naruto had barely been listening to the second demand, too busy scanning the area around until he found who he was looking for. There sat Sasuke, a smug grin on his face. Naruto matched it with a confident grin of his own and turned back to the assembly. "With all due respect members of the council, I refuse all terms. Let's state it off like this. One, when I say Tsukihitsume is picky about who holds her, I mean it. The blade itself is semi-sentient and will only be drawn from its sheath by me of those I have given permission to. Needless to say, Uchiha is neither of those two. As for this.." He held up his right hand, flexing it into a fist. "I will never give this up until it is the proper time. Not that I could if I wanted to. When Hiashi-sama says that it's bound to my arm, he means that in the most literal sense imaginable. Last, Zabuza and Haku here joined Konoha of their own volition, expressing that they wouldn't follow the village itself, but me who won their trust through combat."
Over the course of his denial, one of the council member, who harbored a special hatred for him stood up, slamming his fists against the table before him. "You pretentious little snot! Fine, keep your rusted piece of scrap and your traitor friends. However, you have held the Holy Sword in your filthy hands for far too long! It's high time that power went where it belonged, in the hands of somebody of noble blood and standing."
Naruto scoffed at that, further raising the ire of the councilman. "Is that the kinda bullshit you've been feeding him all of his life? No wonder he thinks he can do and get anything he wants by simply demanding it. Just because this village clings to the Sharingan, you'll treat a single, power thirsty boy like a prince. Besides, you can't make me do anything until a vote has been passed, so don't start acting like I've denied an order. Hiashi-sama, you have my thoughts on the matter now, there's nothing left other than put it to the vote."
Though the Hyuuga head disapproved of the language used by the blonde boy, he did like his style. "Very well, let us do just that. For the first request, those for?" Nearly all of the civilian side spoke up, aside from those who Naruto was on good standing with, namely Techui and Shinrei. Hiashi spoke up again, after taking count. "And those against?" The entire Shinobi side spoke up for him, as did those on the civilian side who hadn't voted for. Hiashi, himself, raised his hand on Naruto's behalf. "Those against have it, bot swords stay in Naruto's possession. As for the second request, on further review nothing can be done. The chances of them following our orders are almost nonexistent, though the chances of them defecting are great. We apologize for the inconvenience this council has caused you Naruto-san. You may go." Naruto nodded, turning about to leave.
Once the boy had left, Hiashi rounded on the civilians, dropping his usual mask of indifference in exchange for a bone chilling glare. "I thought we of the Shinobi council and the Hokage himself made this perfectly clear before. That boy is not to be bothered by your petty concerns. What do you think the Fourth, our villages greatest hero and the man who expressly wished for Naruto to be seen as a hero, would say if he heard of this? Trying to take an artifact like the Holy Sword from its chosen wielder, just to give it to a power hungry child who you think deserves it more? Do try not to waste our time like this again, we have families of our own, and jobs to do." With that, the council adjourned and filed out, having only called the meeting for Sasuke's ambition.
Naruto walked with his two new allies, enjoying Zabuza's stories of life before they had met up. This reminded him of something though. "Hey, how is that blade of yours? I didn't really get a good look at it after our fight." The older man stopped, pulling a wry face. "Pretty damn near ruined actually. That move you pulled, Hunting Falcon? Left a deep scar down the entire side of the blade. I hit anything with it, and I run the risk of shattering it." Naruto sucked in air through his teeth, making a pained hiss. "Sorry about that one, but you did want me to give it my all right? I don't like to draw my fights out if I can help it. Tell ya what, let me have a good look at it, and I'll see what I can do."
He was given an odd look before the man bit the pad of his thumb, wiped the blood across a seal on the back of his hand that was cleverly disguised as a simple tattoo, and summoned his Zanbato. "Well, here you go. I won't go expecting to get it back as good as new, but if you can find a smith who can do a good patch job, I'd appreciate it." This caused the boy to chuckle, surprising Zabuza as he easily shouldered the weight of the blade. "You're lookin' at him actually. You won't even recognize it when I get done." The older man smirked as Naruto went off his own way, vanishing into the back streets.
Life was uneventful for the next few months. Ever since my team had successfully cleared an A ranked mission while avoiding casualties, we were getting regular C ranks, and the occasional B. Haku and Zabuza acclimated to village life far better than expected. While Haku donned yet another mask to join the ANBU hunter division, oddly enough, Zabuza decided to help at the academy while he was off missions. All he would ever say about it for the longest time was that he wanted to make sure the children never had to go through something like he did. Although frightened at first, the academy children began to grow fond of him, even if he had an extremely strict teaching style. Often enough, I would find either of them, along with the others, relaxing at my house in the woods. Somehow, Kiba and Choji had gotten Shino to open up to them, and then to us in turn. As Kiba said, once you got past the bugs living in his body, and the semi-antisocial personality, he was actually a good guy.
All breaks come to an end though. It was around this time that Asuma stopped training early, having us gather at his favorite barbecue restaurant like he always did whenever a team discussion was in order..
"Well guys, you've been gennin for a while now. I've got to say I'm pretty damn lucky to have gotten such a good group. Under normal circumstances, I would wait until the next time this rolls around, but I've put your names up for the chunin exams this next week. Still, it's ultimately your choice if you decide to take it or not. If you will, sign these forms and show up at the academy at noon in three days. Don't be late. Until the exams are over, further training and missions are canceled, so get some rest, think of new strategies, and show me your best. I'll be watching." Asuma grinned to himself as he saw his students eyes light up at the thought of the test. Of course, he had only said that they could back out as a formality, he knew them well enough to know that it was hard for them to back down from a challenge like this.
That next day, Naruto was enjoying his time off while playing around with the Hokage's grandson, Konohamaru, who had taken a shine to him, when an odd feeling struck. Before he could pass it off as nothing, his young ward ran right into a person dressed completely in black with purple war paint on his face. The only thing Naruto could use to identify him was the hite-ate attached to the boy's hood, emblazoned with Suna's symbol. This person lifted the poor boy into the air by the back of his shirt, growling under his breath. "Watch it brat, I'm walking here. Maybe I should teach you some manners, huh?" He pulled his hand back, only to have it caught by Naruto before he could hit the boy in his grasp.
"Well now, you don't make all that great of an impression for your country, ninja of Sunagakure. Why don't you let the kid go, he was just having fun like all young ones do." Another voice came, this time from the black-garbed boy's blonde companion who, for whatever reason, was carrying what looked like a giant fan. "That's enough Kankuro! We just got here, and we don't need you starting trouble right from the start. Do you want to piss Gaara off?" The mention of a third name had Naruto looking around until he found a red haired boy, roughly his age, staring down at the scene with cold eyes from the branches of a tree.
Letting Kankuro's hand free, Naruto felt that strange sensation again as he locked eyes with the redhead. 'Yuuko.. What is this? He feels familiar somehow.' His answer came after a moment of hesitation. "Naruto, be careful around this one. This aura has to be Shukaku, the one tail. That crazed demon has probably taken that poor boy to the limits of sanity, and I've no doubt his life was much like yours before the incident at your old apartment." While listening to Yuuko, Naruto had been taking everything about Gaara in. The large gourd strapped to his back, and the dark rings around his eyes, almost as if he hadn't slept in years, caught his attention in particular.
"I take it you're Gaara then, right?" As Naruto spoke, Kankuro and his female companion gave him a look that he wasn't quite sure to interpret as surprise at finding Gaara, or surprise at openly addressing him. Regardless, he continued. "Since you seem to be the leader here, I'd ask that you keep your team reined in while in Konoha. It wouldn't do to be thrown into prison instead of taking your exams."
Gaara's answer came with an eerie smirk. "So, you aren't afraid of me? You address me like another human. You are either too stupid to know fear, or you are like me. Interesting... What is your name?" By the time he had finished speaking, he was standing right in front of Naruto, that strange expression still on his features while the other two ninja looked on, nervous.
"Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki. Though, if you ask most of the village, they'll tell you something along the lines of Demon Spawn. You don't frighten me Gaara-san. I know all too well what life must have been like. What would you do if I said I had a way to 'tame the beast' as it were?" Naruto flexed his bandaged hand while looking into Gaara's cold eyes.
Gaara merely quirked a brow, his smirk fading. "I would have to call you a liar. Nothing can tame such a beast. The only thing I can do is avoid sleep so that it can't take over. Now then, if you'll excuse us, we'll be on our way. Kankuro, Temari, let's go." Naruto watched as they faded out of sight, sighing once they were far enough away. Without looking, he had known that another person had been watching their conversation. "Sasuke, why do you insist on following me around like this?"
Ignoring the question, Sasuke dropped from the tree he had been hiding in with his sharingan active. "Because, dobe, if I can't take what should be mine, I'll copy what is yours and make it better now that I have these eyes. You'll give me power one way or another." Naruto gave a mild chuckle, turning to help Konohamaru off of the ground where Kankuro had dropped him. "You can try Sasuke, but can your body handle what I do? You may know how it works, but that means nothing if you can't even bend the right way. I take it Kakashi put you up for the chunin exams, right? If you can make it all the way to me, I'll give you that fight you've been craving for since the academy. I won't hold back this time though, so train well." Konohamaru tugging at his sleeve pulled his attention away from Sasuke. "Nii-san, I'm bored talking watching you talk to that duckass. I wanna go play some more!"
Naruto flicked the boy in the center of his forehead. "I know you hear me and my friends say things like that a lot, Ko, but you shouldn't curse. It's a bad habit. Besides, isn't it almost time to meet up with Jii-san for lunch?" Eyes wide, Konohamaru was off like a shot, though Naruto had no trouble keeping up. Sasuke watched them leave with a sneer on his face. "Finally, once he shows me what he can really do, I'll steal it all and beat him to the ground with it. Nobody mocks an Uchiha, Dobe, especially not a nameless punk like you."
Aaand end of chapter. Sorry if this is a bit short compared to the last one, but I was caught under a bit of a writers block. Still chipping away at the one sitting right on top of ToLaD though.. Ah, whatever, it's not dead, and I am working on it, it just goes so slow. Felt like ending the chapter here, because otherwise I'd be inclined to go through the entire first part of the exam, and that's not good chapter breakdown. Also, I know this chapter probably jumped around quite a bit, yeah? That's because not much really happened between Wave and the exams. Anyway, not much to say down here this time around, so I'll stick with my shtick.
I love constructive criticism! Got a suggestion? Got a correction? Give 'em to me in a nice long review. Go on, hit that button! You know you wanna! Till next time folks.