Chapter 7: Down a dark path

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Summary: Naruto travels the town and takes his first Oto mission. Meanwhile Konoha copes with the loss.

A/N: Thank you to all my loyal readers for reading this far. I certainly didn't expect my first story to go this well so thank you. As always if you enjoy the chapter and/or story please review. Let's me know you care With that being said on with chapter seven!
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"What the fuck are you looking at?!"

Naruto was a tad shocked to say the least. All day people have been respecting him and treating him with kindness. He just got these two new affections and he was going to be damned if some foul mouthed red head ruined it. Narrowing his snake eyes he peered directly into her eyes without so much as blinking or looking away. Just focused on her.

Now Tayuya is not one to be scared easy as she would no doubt tell you over and over. But after being Orochimaru's personal guard for so long and seeing the things he could do to people tended to make you a bit fearful of the man. Then when his son gives you the exact same look as his father you can't help but to feel a little fearful of him. Even if he was two years younger than her.

"Tayuya it's not nice to speak to Naruto-sama like that. And you should not be using that language any way. It's not suiting of a lady." Jirobo spoke up and ended the little staring debate. Although the two seemed to hit it off rough the other members of the Sound Four found the scene hilarious. Here was the foul mouth ice queen of Oto being scared of some little kid.

"Ha! Good one Naruto! I haven't seen Tayuya that scared in a long time!" Kidomaru said while holding his sides laughing. Sakon and Ukon joined in on the laughter while Jirobo just sighed. Tayuya on the other hand was turning red from embarrassment of the situation.

"Shut the fuck up! I was not fucking scared!" Tayuya tried to reaffirm herself even though she knew that she was. Odd thing was that Tayuya liked being scared by people who have power and can command others. It's what drew her to Orochimaru in the first place. She would never admit it but underneath it all. She liked to be controlled and her loud personality was simply a front to hide this intention.

"It's okay Tayuya. I was a bit scared too." Naruto spoke with kindness which shocked everyone in attendance except Jirobo. Sure the big guy could be mean and nasty but he most defiantly had a soft spot and a kind soul when he needed it. The rest of the group stopped laughing and looked at the kid like he was crazy. Why on Earth would he be so nice? It would do him little to no good here but he will figure that out soon enough. Either way the group had a mission to do and really did not feel like betraying their master in this regard.

"Well Naruto-sama we do have a village to explore so let's get to it." Sakon said while opening the door for him to pass through. Naruto walked through and down the stairs followed by the Sound Four.

Once outside they began their walk around to see what the place was. This place had advanced fast from the little town a little over a year ago. You see Orochimaru sold a lot of things in the castle to pay for things that the village needed. Food, water, tools and building material. Orochimaru then hired many builders and put them to work throughout the town. The now refurnished town had a style of building that showed that they went through hardships. Most of the buildings had sturdy and rough walls that looked like they could stand for ever and never have a problem. The roofs where plain wood that allowed for water to slip into the gutters and into the water supply to be cleaned for later use. A device Orochimaru picked up from his travels in Ame. Despite the rough appearance many buildings had designs on them to show their individuality and uniqueness, much like the people themselves. Naruto was in awe at the buildings. The buildings in Konoha all looked similar to show that they were a unified peoples. These buildings show cased how unique and special each person could be. Naruto fell in love with the city real quick. Naruto even liked the people better here. Not because they kissed his sandals wherever he went but because these people know what it was like to be truly down and crushed and rose above that and conquered their own hate to work together. The stores that were in Oto were very spread out and varied. Some were the basics such as restaurants and ninja stores. While others had things Naruto never seen before like a tattoo shop and a strip club. Jirobo told Naruto he should stay away from there seeing as how gentlemen do go to such places. Sakon and Kidomaru just laughed and Tayuya said she would cut Naruto's manhood off if she ever caught him there. Not that she cared about him or anything!

Anyways eventually the group decided that it would be nice to stop and get something to eat seeing as how they have been out and about for a little over two hours now and the fact Naruto kept complaining that he hasn't eaten in ages. They stopped at a popular barbeque joint that was growing in customers fast. Sitting down they all got their menus. Sakon and Ukon sat across from each other, Kidomaru and Jirobo sat across from each other and Naruto and Tayuya sat across from each other. The waitress came up and bowed to them. How lucky was she that she got to take the food order for the Sound Four! But who is this in the back with Tayuya? He looks just like…..Oh! That must be Orochimaru's son!

"Good evening honored guests. What can I get you to drink?" (Not)surprisingly the group ordered water except for Jirobo who ordered tea instead. While they waited the Sound Four decided to learn a bit about their charge.

"So Naruto, how do you like the Village this far?" Kidomaru asked while sipping his water and letting his five remaining arms just dangle.

"Well…I like that it makes unique people feel welcome and 'normal' people feel unwelcome. Konoha was far too bland for me in that regard."

"Speaking of Konoha. What was that place like?" Kidomaru asked with slight curiosity

"It's like one big unified family. Always looking out for each other and always caring. If you were accepted by the general population. If you were like me then you are hated at every turn and beaten every chance they got." Naruto said with a slight disappointment in his voice.

"Well I know what it's like to be considered a freak." Sakon and Ukon said earning a nod from Kidomaru.

"Kinda hard to have six arms and live a normal life yanno?" Kidomaru responded.

"Well I know how I got here with Orochimaru but how did you guys get here?"

This caused a slight break in the conversation with each of them looking around like they didn't want to answer but they all decided to anyway. With Sakon and Ukon leading the way.

"Well you see my clan had a fight over their Kekkei Genkai. The very same one that me and Ukon use. The ability to merge bodies on a cellular level was quite the gift for those who wanted to do stealth instead of brute force. This made our clan very popular for stealth missions as we could hide in other people's bodies and sneak in or over hears conversation. Well with that pride came arrogance. Eventually the clan literally tore itself apart from the inside out. Me and Ukon here didn't see the point so we fled before the actual battle happened. When we fled we ran into Orochimaru. He offer me a chance to join him and have a purpose again so I accepted the offer and came here. End of story." Sakon said with no amount of sorrow in his voice at all. Ukon just nodded with his twin. Kidomaru was the next to speak up.

"Well I had a similar situation to ole two-bodies over there" He said pointing at Sakon and Ukon who frowned "Having six arms like I do tends to make you stand out in a crowd and in some cases even hated. I remember I use to try to fit in with normal people only for them to hate me too. So I said to hell with them and I left my village. I traveled around for a bit. Gambled, drank, met some pretty women and showed them good times. All in all I was letting my talents go to waste. Until Orochimaru-sama found me and offered me a chance to hone my skills and not be hated for them. To be embraced as a good shinobi and not just a creep. I took the offer and voila! Here I am!" Kidomaru said as he held up his arms in mock praise of himself. Jirobo shook his head and decided it was his turn to explain his story.

"Don't let Kidomaru fool you. He didn't really sleep with any women. They all beat him down. Right Tayuya?" Said red head turned and was about to tell her fat teammate off when the waitress came back. She asked what she could get everyone to eat. Sakon and Ukon said a slab of rips each. Kidomaru said a salad. Jirobo said two slabs of ribs. Naruto and Tayuya both looked over the menu until they got to the noodle section. Once there both of their eyes widen as they slammed down their menus and said in unison.

"Beef Ramen!"

Several moments went by after the two stated their orders. Both of them sat back in their seats and crossed their arms while glaring at each other. It wasn't until the waitress left that Tayuya spoke up.

"Why the fuck did you order the same thing as me?!"

"Because I like Ramen! You got a problem with that?" Naruto proudly proclaimed defending the food of the gods.

"You could have picked a different fucking type asshole!" Tayuya fired back.

"I don't see how this is my fault! What crawled up your ass and died?!"

Tayuya's face turned a slight tinge of red as she got a bit more angry and frustrated. "Because a "Gentleman" as fat ass over there puts it lets a women go first!"

Naruto simply snorted and refused to say anything else. Jirobo took this time to shake his head and tell his story.

"Well while we wait for the food to come I may as well tell my story. I was a wrestler in a place called 'The Pit'. This was not a nice place at all. People were mean and cruel to each other. The only way to get food to eat was to win your fights that your owner put you up against. My owners name was a short man by the name of Gato. He was a cruel little man but he did teach me about how to have certain manners and how to keep calm at times. Anyway I had a record of over one hundred fights with no losses. This was due to the fact that I knew how to control chakra to make myself stronger. In the pit anything goes. It wasn't until I was defeated that I met Orochimaru. I was depressed that I had lost but he told me that I could win again if I came with him and helped him and now. Now I am here with you guys. And I am happy with that." Jirobo finished right as the food arrived. He dug in instantly while Sakon and Ukon seemed to enjoy their meals more. Kidomaru was enjoying his salad when he heard a lot of slurping noises coming from the end of the table. It was Naruto and Tayuya as they were in a heated race to see who could finish their ramen quicker. Caution was thrown to the wind as the two guzzled down the salty soup. After almost a minute of attacking the two they both set their bowls down at the same time.

"Done!"

"Ah damn it you little fucking runt!"

"I am almost as tall as you!"

"Shut the fuck up!"

"Make me!"

Ah poor Naruto. Twas the wrong thing to say to an enraged Tayuya who took prompt action by lunging across the table and on to the former blonde leaf shinobi. They tumbled and rolled on out of the store and finally stopped in the middle of the road in a rather awkward position. Tayuya was on top of Naruto as she straddled him at his waist line with her legs on either side of him and pinning his arms back to the sides of his head. Once Tayuya got over her anger she noticed the position she was in with him and instantly got off of him with a blush threatening to make itself known.

"Woooo Naruto! You work fast my man! I have been trying to get her on top of me for a year now!" Kidomaru said with a grin quickly earning him a heavy haymaker from Tayuya who just grumbled about annoying spiders and their sex drives. Jirobo was about to say something when Kabuto showed up.

"Ah Naruto-sama enjoying the city thus far? And the "company"?" Kabuto asked while flicking his glance over to Tayuya who just snorted and blushed slightly.

Naruto got up and dusted himself off and nodded ever so slightly.

"Good. Orochimaru-sama wishes to see you as soon as you can make your way there. I would suggest you go now that you are free from lunch. He is back in the tower that I showed you to earlier." With that Kabuto turned and walked away from the group. Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and said he would catch up with them after talking with his dad. The group nodded except for Tayuya who simply said "Fuck. You." Naruto shook his head and took off back to the tower.

The group watched as Naruto left and took off towards the tower to talk with Orochimaru. Kidomaru came back and decided to bring something up.

"You like him don't you?" Kidomaru said with a grin.

Tayuya turned a light shade off pink from embarrassment "How the fuck do you figure? I only just fucking met the guy!"

"You didn't react like that when you were introduced to the rest of us. Hell I do not ever remember being able to make you that mad in the first day. "

"Fuck you Kidomaru."

"Ehh maybe another time babydoll. I got things to do." With that the spider ninja walked off towards the inner city. Sakon, Ukon, and Jirobo all made up different excuses and left her in the street alone. Tayuya looked off in the direction of the Tower blushing before hopping away to practice her flute skills and melody.

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Naruto quickly made pace through the town and in the direction of the tower all the while having some new thoughts.

'I have a father now. They may not be my friends now but they will be! The Sound Four will be my friends! I wonder what dad wants now? Is it a mission? Maybe some cool jutsu! Maybe a pet snake! YA!'

Naruto dashed into the tower and quickly made his way to the top. Once there he politely knocked on the door and heard Orochimaru tell him to enter. Once in there Naruto saw a scroll on the desk. The only thing on the desk was the scroll. Naruto began to become excited.

"Hello Father. You asked for me to come here"

"Yes I did Naruto. In fact I did for a good reason. Me and you are going on a mission together. Just us. This way I can show you how I will be training you and what styles and jutsu you will learn with time."

At this Naruto shot up and down with happiness! He got to go on a mission with his dad to learn how to fight the Snake Sannin Style way!

"Calm down Naruto. We leave in roughly an hour so go get ready and meet me outside the tower then."

(One Hour Later)

"Ah Naruto there you are. Are you ready?" Earning a nod from Naruto "Good. This would be classed as a C-rank but it is a personal thing to me. We are going to raid a building that is hiding someone who would rather see me dead. We are going to go there and stop him. Okay?" Earning another nod from Naruto the two took off in the direction of the town with the traitor. On his way Naruto couldn't help but to think.

'I wonder what Hinata is doing right about now.'

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Hinata, who had just woken up delivered a powerful sneeze into her pillow as she felt it come on out of nowhere. Hinata looked around and noticed that she had fallen asleep for a long time after the emotional toll Naruto laid on her. She did not blame him of course. He was just fulfilling his dream with his new found family. Hinata would have done the same thing if she was in his shoes. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and got up from her bed. Kurenai noticed she was having a rough night so she let Hinata have the bed. Hinata was of course grateful but she didn't get much sleep that night until her mind had been overloaded and forced her to shut down. Walking out of the room in her normal shinobi attire she was greeted with the streaking rays of sun light that indicated it was late in the afternoon. Kurenai and Shino were there all packed up and ready to head out. Hinata got there stuff packed and left without so much as one word.

It had hit them all rather hard, Naruto's defection. But for Hinata it felt as though a piece of her soul had been ripped apart from her. She tried to think of every possible reason he would leave and settled on the one she told herself now a hundred times. 'He is just doing it to accomplish his dream.' It helped to calm her down but you don't get over something like that in one night. With haste the trio managed to make it back in record time. Hinata told Kurenai she wanted to go home to her family and Kurenai said she would be back later to give Hinata the mission money. Hinata nodded and left. Determined to get home.

Once home Hinata ran instantly into Hiashi who was waiting to her how her first C-ranked mission went and all the little details that came with. Once he saw the state his daughter was in he took her to his study and the two sat down.

"What is troubling you daughter?"

"So much father I don't even know where to start."

"Please start at the beginning of this problem."

"O-Okay. W-well we had j-just left for the mission a-and…" Hinata went on to explain to her father all of the details of the mission. Starting with how they arrived and the man showed them around and explained the situation around the ANBU killing off the guards one by one. Then she went on to tell them how they went through the steps of searching and tracking as a team. Then she grudgingly explained how they combated the criminal. She conveniently left out her part of getting strangled as to not worry her father. Then the tears started to fall as she spoke through sobs about how Naruto met his father and the real reason for the village treating him like dirt.

"…..*sob* Then h-h-he gave me h-his headband *sob* and l-l-l-left." Hinata broke down fully into tears again over the incident revolving around her best friend and her love.

Hiashi's face during her re-telling of the story was a jumble of mixed emotions ranging from proud to happy then sad then confused. Finally it went from embarrassed to straight up shock. Naruto willingly left the village? Fully aware of all the consequences that follow such a decision? Hiashi was beyond stunned. He felt a great deal of sadness as he had come to care for the boy like his own child.

"Hinata I'm sorry. I know how much he meant to us. Especially you. I can't imagine the type of pain you are going through after losing his. I wish there was more I could do to ease the pain in your heart but other than training I can't do much more." Hiashi spoke with a tone that had an underline of depression in it. Hinata wiped the tears from her eyes and looked into her father's eyes with a fire that could not be matched or subdued no matter how hard one may try.

"I a-am g-going to t-train harder father. Ill n-need your h-help there if I am t-to be H-Hokage one d-day." To say Hiashi was surprised would be like saying Naruto only liked ramen a little bit. He was surprised at his eldest Daughter's newfound pride and determination and ambition.

'To be Hokage was Naruto's dream. She must have picked it up for him when he left the village. Well my daughter asked for my help training so I am going to train her to be the best Hyuuga I can!'

"Very well Hinata I will train you to the best of my ability. But are you sure you really want to be Hokage?"

Hinata smiled and copied a two word phrase that her old friend used to say.

"Believe it!"

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A few hours later Kurenai shows up at the Hyuuga residence as she promised with a boy in tow. This boy has on a grey jacket with fur lining the hood. He has to red face markings that symbolize the clan he is from. Walking beside the boy is a little white dog.

Kurenai gets to the guards and asks for Hinata to come out to receive her money and introduce her to her new teammate. Once Hinata comes out Kurenai is a bit shocked to say the least. Hinata is wearing her normal blue shinobi pants but the old tan jacket she used to wear is now a vibrant and bright colored orange. Kurenai gave her a sad but happy look.

"H-hello Kurenai-sensei, H-hi Kiba."

"Oh good you two already know each other. He is going to be Naruto's repla- Substitute for Team Eight. He's got a good nose plus Akamaru is with him and he has a better nose." Kurenai caught herself as she knew the feelings Hinata had for Naruto was still blazingly strong. Kiba grinned a toothy grin and proudly proclaimed his new position.

"Yeah! I'm gunna replace that traitor!" this statement earned Kiba the death glares of a lifetime for just mentioning his name in such a manner. Kiba sheepishly lost his grin and remained quiet for the rest of the conversation. The rest of the day went without a hitch as Hinata and Hiashi trained and trained so that Hinata could succeed in her dream and become a stronger person in the process. Hinata had but one thought before she went off to sleep.

'Naruto-kun…..I hope you are safe.'

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Naruto and Orochimaru stopped at the edge of the tree line in which they were traveling in when Naruto let out a sneeze albeit a quiet one. Shaking his head he focused on the objective at hand. In front of him roughly a football field length away was the building of target. It was a square twenty story apartment building with three guards on the roof and several on the floor doing constant sweeps of the area. There was no way to tell how many there were inside of the building or where this traitor was at. From the way Orochimaru explained it, it would be safe to assume he would be at the top floor. Plus they were under the cover of a night fall with no moon present. Making their job much more easy in terms of stealth.

"So Naruto what do you see?"

"I see three roof guards. Ten ground guards on constant sweeps. If this man is as arrogant as you say then the best way to go about this would be through the roof seeing as how he is most likely on the top floor of the complex." Naruto carefully dissected the situation at hand.

"Very good Naruto. That's the way we shall go then." Orochimaru calmly but proudly stated as the two jumped off of the branch they were standing on. Applying chakra to their legs they dashed through the open plane while Orochimaru casted a cloaking genjutsu to hide them from sight. The speedily dashed through the plain and up the side of the wall of the building. They slowed down and carefully snuck up to the top. Two guards have moved to cover the door. No doubt some type of sensor went off to alert them of the intruder's presence. One guard was still making his rounds. Orochimaru held up his hand in a closed fist and they stopped. Orochimaru waited till the guard was close and put his plan into action.

Drawing a kunai he quickly jumped up and grabbed the guard and pierced his heart with the knife. Blood gushed out of the wound and the man was dead. Orochimaru let him drop unceremoniously to the ground and dashed over to the other two guards. He quickly brought the kunai across the first guard's throat and threw him down. He tossed the kunai at the second guard who was running. The kunai lodged itself in the back of the guards head and he fell over instantly, dead before he hit the ground. Orochimaru whistled and Naruto came up to see the blood filled scene. His stomach was in knots upon seeing so much blood but he knew what he had to do. He made his way quickly over to the door that lead downstairs to where Orochimaru was at. The two carefully opened the door and went inside. There was loud music and people cheering. The arrogant prick was having a party! Naruto quickly scanned the area with his hearing and found the room that was most quiet compared to the rest. Pointing at a door at the end of a long hallway with wooden floors and several paintings on several doors. Orochimaru nodded and slithered over to the door motioning to Naruto that it was all clear. Naruto looked at the door and looked upon a poster with the man on it. This man was a fatter man in a business suit that looked like it barely fit him. He had greasy slicked back hair and a pair of sunglasses on. He was smiling a bent smile that showed he had several golden teeth. At the bottom it said "Down with the Snake, Up with Kormoto!" Naruto shook his head and Orochimaru unlocked the door slowly.

The fat pig was seating on a sofa with a parade of naked women of all kinds dancing for him. None of them seemed to actually enjoy the attention he was giving them. Some of the girls moved and Naruto saw a girl on her knees in front of Kormoto and he seemed to be having a pained expression? Naruto could not tell as this was the first time he had seen anything like this. He blushed at the scene and followed Orochimaru.

"So Kormoto. This is how you choose to live your last few minutes? Wallowing in this?" Orochimaru pointed towards the women with a frown on his face. At the moment Orochimaru spoke the other women did their best to cover themselves up and they dashed out of the private room. Kormoto zipped up his pants and lazily stood up. He was shorter than Orochimaru by at least a foot. Naruto was almost on point with the man and he was twelve!

"What the hell do you want?" Kormoto asked brashly. His voice sounded strained like he had been chain smoking for most of his life and was raspy as the result.

"I am here to make you a symbol of all who dare to mess with me." With that Orochimaru quickly dashed and brought his Kusanagi across the man's knees causing them to buckle and wavier. Keep the momentum he quickly spun around and slashed his ankle's Achilles heel causing his to lose mobility from his legs. Kormoto yelped out in pain as he fell to the ground and had to use his arms to keep himself up on his knees. By this time Kormoto was sweating and Naruto was shocked that any person could move that fast with that kind of grace. Orochimaru looked up to Naruto and gently handed him the hilt of his sword.

"Naruto if you would please do the honor."

Naruto gingerly took the handle of the sword but was shaking quite fiercely. Naruto had never killed before without the Fox's help unknowingly. His heart rate pulsed and his breath became ragged and unsteady. He swallowed hard as he looked down at the man and Naruto swore he could hear his heartbeat pulse in the fat man's body. Naruto brought the sword up, shaking violently as he did it and the fat man looked up at him pleadingly.

"Please don't….don't do this. I'll pay you whatever you want. Please just let me live!" Kormoto pleaded with Naruto who seemed to falter a bit as he was raising the sword. Naruto looked down at him. His eyes must have been playing tricks on his because he suddenly morphed into one of the villagers that used to beat on him when he was a kid. Naruto became cold at this sight.

"This is for betraying my father." Naruto's eyes turned steel hard and his shaking seemed to stop. Kormoto's eyes widen and he started screaming for his life. Naruto closed his eyes and brought the sword down in one swoop. Blood shot out and landed on Naruto's face. Silence…there was no more screaming. Only the sound of a severed head rolling off of its host body. Naruto stabbed the blade into the ground and used it for support. He had done it. He had killed someone and taken their life and it felt kinda good to take out some of his pent up rage on a person and do what he envisioned in his head so many times before. Orochimaru smiled and took the sword and re-sheathed it to its proper place.

"Good job Naruto and congratulations on your first kill. How do you feel?"

"I feel better. It felt good to release some of that pent up anger for once." Orochimaru smiled and the two took off back to home.

Naruto was shaking most of the time still not coming down from that high he had from killing his first person. It wasn't until he got back to the village that he finally relaxed a bit. A small smile formed on his face before he went to bed that night.

'That was…fun.' Naruto thought as he closed his eyes for sleep.

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