Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
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Konohamaru rubbed one finger over the goggles he had received yesterday from Naruto.
He smiled lightly when he remembered his advice for reaching his dream.
Flashback
"Just what do you think you are doing to the Third Hokage's honourable grandson?" the voice repeated. Naruto frowned and stepped away from the blue man, he hated having people invade his personal space without permission.
"Oh, you mean the annoying little brat I hit? Nothing much, why?" Naruto looked off to the side as if in complete boredom, though any ninja could see he was still paying attention from the slight tilting of his lips when the man's shoulders slumped.
Naruto sighed quietly before walking off, avoiding the newest member of the conversation by about a meter. Just as he turned the corner he threw a smile at them "By the way, you might want to buy a leash for the little guy. It's hard to control snotty brats."
Konohamaru opened his mouth to say something but the blonde was already long gone.
Naruto frowned again as he saw the odd pattern on the wooden wall. He couldn't understand why this kid didn't just go away. Was he not making it obvious that he had seen him from the first moment he had starting following him?
The blonde turned around and glared at the mixed matched pattern on the wall with annoyance. "You can come out now kid, I know you're there."
He heard a muffled groan before the sheet was peeled away to reveal Konohamaru grinning like a mad-man at him. "Wow!" he said before running up to Naruto and standing in front of him expectantly. The older boy frowned and walked away after giving the brunette a warning glance, practically telling him to stop it.
"H-hey wait!" Naruto let out a small, barely audible sigh and stopped his fast pace so the boy could catch up to him. "What?" he asked through gritted teeth while glaring down at Konohamaru who happily smiled back.
The blonde watched as he walked in front of him and pointed his thumb to his chest "I want you to train me!"
"No, now leave me alone. I've got to get ready for tomorrow." He stepped around the deflated boy and continued to travel to the same apartment Jiraiya had brought for him three days ago. "Please!" Konohamaru was back in front of him again with his little arms thrown out to the sides, baring his way.
"I'm a good student and my current sensei isn't teaching me anything useful! Everyone says you're the son of the Fourth Hokage so that means you're really strong! Please, you've got to teach me something, even just one thing that I can use!"
He heard a sigh and Naruto shuffle his feet, "If I teach you something will you leave me along?" he asked in a tired voice. The boy's head shot up and his eyes sparkled with awe, happiness and gratitude. He jumped in the air and let out a loud shout.
"Cool! What are you gonna teach me? How to spit fire from my mouth? Oh, how about flying! Wait can ninjas fly? Do I need any kunai or anything? Or how 'bout-" his rant was cut short by the blonde's hand over his mouth and his amused smirk that danced across his lips.
"How about we learn how to keep quiet? Silence is a ninjas best friend." He suggested while taking his hand from Konohamaru's mouth. The boy clapped his hands together and nodded seriously "Sounds good to me boss."
"Boss?" one of Naruto's eyebrows cocked up at the title before letting out a chuckle and shaking his head.
"Come on, let's go. The faster I teach you something the faster you'll leave me the hell alone."
"Legs further apart" Naruto's stern voice ordered from a few feet away. Konohamaru growled angrily and adjusted his stance once again to fit his 'mentors' description of how to perform the jutsu.
"Ok, good. Now copy my hands exactly otherwise you might end up sucking up all your chakra and dying." His matter-of-fact tone caused a shiver to run up his spine. "Ok, what now boss?" another smile flashed on Naruto's lips before disappearing again.
"Now, you think about the curviest body you've ever seen with long brown hair and eyes." He ordered. Konohamaru closed his eyes and nodded, signally that he was ready.
"And, transform." The blonde ordered again.
He waited patiently until the smoke cleared, revealing a young, pretty girl around the age of 20 surrounded in smoke and smiling brightly at him. Konohamaru changed back when Naruto nodded in approval. "Nice work kid, it was good, but not as good as my version."
He chuckled at the boy's downtrodden expression and waved him over to a fallen log lying near the edge of trees. Naruto clapped him on the shoulder and pulled something out of his kunai pouch. He waited until Konohamaru was seated before holding the green goggles up for him to see.
"What are they?" the brunette asked taking them in his small hands and looking through the blue lenses. "They were mine. A friend gave them to me as a gift when I was young. Now I'm giving them to you." He sat next to his student and pulled out a small box and handed it to him.
Konohamaru plucked some rice from the tray and beamed up at the blonde. "Hey I never got the chance to ask you before. Why were you running in the tower anyway?" Konohamaru rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and grinned "Well, it has to do with my dream" he looked forward again and a delighted look fluttered across his face "To be the Hokage, that's my dream."
He obviously didn't see the tightness in Naruto's shoulders or the pain that flashed through his eyes. However the blonde pushed the thought away when his young friend began talking again. "My grandfather named my Konohamaru after Konoha, but even though everyone knows my name….no one uses it. No one ever sees me for me, all they see is the Third's grandson." He said in a depressed tone.
"I'm sick of it. That's why I have to be Hokage, so I can make my own name." Naruto looked at his companion and chuckled to himself.
"You think you can become Hokage just by saying you will?" he asked rolling his head to look at the fuming boy beside him. "It's not that easy brat. If you really want to be Hokage then you'll have to do something no one else can do."
Konohamaru blinked then frowned "What?" he asked angrily while standing and glaring at the smiling blonde.
"You'll have to beat everyone, including me."
He saw the look of fear and uncertainty appear on Konohamaru's face and let out another chuckle. "I may not want to be Hokage anymore, or like this place very much. But I guess it only makes sense for the Grandson of the Third to battle the Fourth's kid for the title of 'Best Ninja in the Leaf'. Don't you?"
"Found you" they both spun around and locked onto the figure standing in the tree above them. Konohamaru groaned quietly as the blue man from before landed gracefully on the ground.
"Now my young ward, we must get back to your strict training schedule. Hanging around a former delinquent like this" he gestured to the blonde who scoffed softly in reply. "Will not help you. If you want to became the next Hokage you must stay under my wing until you are ready." He explained calmly while approaching the two boys.
Konohamaru stepped forward and glared at his Ebisu "You haven't been teaching me anything! Only the boss has taught me something useful!" he pointed at Naruto who coughed to cover up his laughter at the statement. 'There's nothing useful about that justu other than to distract perverts' he thought while snickering quietly behind his hand.
Ebisu pushed his black glasses back up the bridge of his nose and cleared his throat. "Young master, I can assure you that only a qualified shinobi like me would be able to teach you the way to become the Hokage one day. This…..boy…. does not have the amount of patience or knowledge to train you the proper way." Naruto clicked his tongue in irritation, this guy wasn't really nice. He was much more experienced than most three times his age!
"I said no! Naruto is going to teach me from now on and there's nothing you can do about it!" he brought his hands together and focused his chakra. Naruto sighed and looked away, Konohamaru was really pushing it with his chakra, if he continued to use that jutsu he was pass out.
Ebisu stopped his approach when he felt the build up a chakra flare around his student and did a double-take. Where did he learn something that required so much chakra? His eyes landed on the blonde a few feet away from his ward and narrowed. He knew of the Kyuubi trapped inside the Fourth's son, most of the adults still remembered that bloody night, he really shouldn't be surprised Konohamaru would pick up something that would waste precious chakra from this brat.
He looked back at the youngest of the three and saw a cloud of smoke surrounding the area he was a few seconds ago. He felt an uneasy feeling settle in his stomach when the blonde smirked at something he couldn't see. As the white cloud began to disperse Ebisu swore he just had a small heart attack.
Standing in front of him was one of the most beautiful and curvy women he had ever seen. Her long, soft brown hair covered her chest and lower back and her eyes seemed to hold a sense of mischief in their chocolate depths. However the illusion only lasted a few moments before transforming back into Konohamaru.
The small brunette fell back on the ground and let out a whine "It didn't work!" he shouted angrily while glaring at Naruto who still had his smirk in place. "Because for someone as talented at hiding his inner-pervert like this" he jerked his thumb at the disgusted Ebisu "you have to use something extra special."
The blonde turned around and smiled at the confused jounin. He watched as the man slipped into a battle position, waiting to see what he would do. Naruto's smile seemed to grow larger, if that was possible.
He brought his fingers together in a familiar sign and felt a very, very, very small dip in his chakra as his fifty odd clones 'popped' into existence around them. Ebisu faltered for a moment at the shear amount of the grinning blondes. It was obvious that the boy had grown dramatically from when he used to pull pranks all across Konoha as a hobby.
"Transform" they all said calmly.
Ebisu's mouth hit the ground and he felt his nose begin to bleed at the sight of all the beautiful, blonde, NAKED girls giggling and winking at him. The Naruto's giggled again when he fell to the ground before disappearing. Naruto sighed and turned back around to face Konohamaru who had a look of pure awe written across his face.
The blonde glanced at Konohamaru how was clenching his fists "Damn, I just want to be able to beat that old geezer so I can become Hokag-" He was cut off by Naruto hitting him on the head. "It's not as easy as that idiot." He said in a stern tone.
"The Hokage is the greatest and most powerful shinobi in his village. You have to be prepared to go through a lot of difficult challenges. If you want that title" the blonde turned away and began to walk off "If you really want everyone to acknowledge you for yourself."
He placed his hands behind his head and smiled at the confused brunette.
"You can't take any short-cuts." Konohamaru smirked and turned his back on the blonde. "Argh, you can't lecture me like you know everything in the world. You sound just like my grandfather" he muttered "I've decided I don't want you to teach me anymore."
Naruto blinked in expectation, he knew the boy wasn't finished. "From now on, we're rivals."
Naruto smiled and nodded, when he was a few metres away he shouted back "I'm looking forward to it Konohamaru!"
End Flashback
The boy smiled happily, Naruto was the first to say his name. It was too bad the blonde had left for his mission earlier this morning, he would have liked to say good bye.
"Hey Konohamaru! Are you coming or what?" he swivelled in his chair and blushed, realising he had been out of it for a while. Moegi waved him over so they could leave for playtime. He tied the goggles securely around his forehead and ran over to his friends.
Udon gestured to the newest addition to his outfit "Nice goggles, where'd you get them?" he asked while closing the door behind them.
They both noticed the ear-splitting grin that spread over the boy's face. "Oh, just some guy."
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Kakashi smiled at Naruto who was leading the team through the forest. Seeing as he had yet to teach them how to travel over the trees they had to make due with walking, though none seemed to mind.
The blonde seemed in an unusually happy mood this morning, he had yet to frown or insult Sasuke once. In fact he actually teased his teammates for being so slow or about Sakura's crush on the dark haired boy. Maybe Jiraiya was right and Naruto was becoming used to the village again. Either that or he was just happy to be out of Konoha. Kakashi couldn't really tell.
"So Kakashi-sensei, how long until we get to Wave?" Sakura asked, trying to distract herself from laughing at Naruto who had revealed his rather playful and funny side. Their team leader smiled over the rim of his perverted book and turned to Naruto who was in the middle of studying the horizon with his goofy grin on his face.
"What do you think Naruto?" he asked cheerily, said boy stiffened at the sound of his name then frowned and looked at the position of the sun. "Well, we've been traveling for a good three hours so far, we have about a day to go until we reached the border." He quickly sent a glance in Tazuna's direction "then we have to get to the town, if it's where the map indicted then that would take about another hour, and we have to consider the sleeping and rest stops we'll make there. A little over 26 hours I'd say."
Sasuke and Sakura stared at him in surprise, they didn't realise someone could switch from such a relaxed and unconcerned personality to serious and all business then back again so quickly.
Kakashi smiled and nodded to himself, the boy was a born shinobi. Not that he was surprised with his heritage but it was slightly hard to believe he had been keeping track of their movements so precisely while he was talking no-stop since they left the village.
They continued walking until dark with Sakura asking Naruto questions about where he had been in his travels and what the different countries and villages where like. Everyone was quite shocked that he answered so freely and carelessly about his past considering how hostile he had been towards everyone the past week.
Sakura found a small smile slip on her face as she took in his bright blue eyes, ablaze with excitement and amusement; his blonde hair was dishevelled and messy though it complimented well with his attitude-rough and wild. His well-toned arms were thrown casually behind his head which appeared to be his most comfortable position. And his smile; she swore she blushed lightly whenever it was directed at her, his canine teeth seemed a little sharper than the average person but it just added to his overall appeal.
She couldn't help but be drawn into his stories of the adventures that he and his sensei had been through. Some were funny and she couldn't help laughing every now and then, one time she saw Sasuke smirk at the hyperactive blonde as he told them once in his first battle without his sensei he managed to fall over in the mud several times and still survive the deadly blows that flew at him.
Naruto could easily turn what was meant to be a horrible and depressing story into an entertaining and thrilling tale of his many blunders.
"So yeah" he finished off yet another one of his hilarious account of Jiraiya, his mentor getting caught peeking in the women's bathhouse and being beaten to a 'bloody pulp' as the blonde so gently put it while he was laughing in the background. "Ero-sennin was out for a day before I woke him up by throwing a bucket of cold water on him and leaving him in his soaked clothes, the ladies seemed to enjoy the sight."
Naruto beamed at the memory, Jiraiya hadn't spoken to him for a week after the cold bucket; though he had learned that his protégé wasn't going to bail him out if he was caught doing most would called 'perving on young innocent women' but what the Sannin had deemed 'inspiration'.
The blonde looked over his shoulder at the sun and sighed, it was almost dark and they would have to stop soon if Kakashi didn't want only them standing by the end of the next hour. He could already see the fog clouding Sakura's eyes and Sasuke's slowed pace. Tazuna seemed to be faring well but he would be doing better if he wasn't pumping himself full of liquor.
The silver haired jounin stepped up until they were side-by-side and Naruto casually asked "Don't you think we should stop before they-" he jerked his thumb at the three following at a slow pace "-fall while their walking." Kakashi nodded and ruffled his blonde locks much to his annoyance. Kakashi glanced along the sides of the path before turning to Naruto who was trying to put his hair back into place with a small frown of irritation as it continued to defy him.
"You think you could find a place a little way away from the road for tonight?" he mentally smiled when he saw the flicker of anticipation in the clear blue eyes. "Give me four minutes" he said just before he suddenly disappeared into the trees surrounding them.
The jounin pulled his book back up into his line of sight and turned the page, he knew Naruto wouldn't take long to find a good camping spot big enough for them all to fit.
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Kakashi was beginning to doubt Naruto's sense of direction, the trees above them blocked out the any light that might flitter down to them other than the occasional patch of soft light that allowed them to see until they once again became surrounded in darkness. He could hear Sakura, Sasuke and Tazuna grumbling behind him as they trekked farther away from the road.
Naruto smirked again when he hear Sakura muttered a very un-ladylike curse under her breathe, probably too low for anyone else to hear but the shadows were his domain, he had grown up trusting them to hide him and they gave him comfort since he was a small, defenceless child and now; his senses were at their peak. His eyes scanned the trees for his kunai slash that marked the direction, his nose twitched every now and then to check the air for any sign of disturbances.
"Naruto" Kakashi muttered from behind him and gentle touched his shoulder. "Yeah" he replied, tilting his head to catch any noises that didn't belong in the woods. "I don't think you understood the meaning of 'close to the road' we've been travelling for a while now."
Naruto flashed him a smile over his shoulder, though he was sure the man couldn't see it. "Wrong, we've only been moving for about three minutes and I've been sensing something off near us for the last part of the day. I don't want to take any chances if it's an enemy ninja, and trust me Kakashi-sensei. Surely Ero-sennin told you of my abilities, he must have mentioned something about my excellent night-vision, sense of smell, hearing and chakra sensing skills; I have everything under control." He sent another smile when he felt the man's unease, this time a small patch of light allowed the silver haired jounin to see the confident and at-easy posture.
"Up ahead" Naruto's quiet voice seemed to carry easily over the tired group, the thought that they could rest in peace gave them the extra strength to push through the last of the trees and collapse on the ground in relief. Sasuke looked around them and even in his current shape he could still admire the clearing.
It was very large. Perhaps thirty by twenty metres with a clear but quiet stream running directly to his right and the ground was clear of everything but a few twigs and fallen leaves.
There were preplaced logs surrounding an ash pile with stones around the outside. Naruto walked over to and slide his sword off his back, he walked over to the nearest tree and began hacking away at it. Another Naruto appeared beside that one and walked to the pond with kunai in his hands, he stood patiently on the bank before his hand flicked out and a fish was pinned to the river floor.
Sakura unhooked her canteen on took a deep drink from it, she immediately started trying to take out her tent however her hands fumbled on the rope securing it to her pack. Two steady hands easily finished the job for her and quickly assembled the makeshift shelter. She looked around and realised everyone's tent had already been set up and they were now making their way to sit around the fire where two Naruto's were currently placing their dinner around the flame to cook.
She shuffled over and sat down next to Sasuke, too tired to even blush at being so close to her long time crush. They sat in silence while their food slowly turned a nice brown colour and ate without much conversation.
Naruto disposed of their left overs without complaint, he understood that they were tired and needed to regain their energy back. The blonde stayed in his seat next opposite Sasuke for about a minute before standing up and walking to the river. "We should all turn in" Kakashi stated and opened his mouth to add something but Naruto beat him to it "Can I take first watch?" he asked without turning around. They all took one look at the boy to know there wasn't much pointed arguing with him.
Kakashi sighed and moved off to his tent, slowly the others followed his lead and drifted off to their bed. Sakura paused at the entrance of her tent and turned to the blonde who had moved to sit below a tree near the fire "Good night Naruto" she whispered just as she slipped through the flap.
Naruto glanced at the girl's tent and blinked slowly "Night."
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Kakashi watched as Naruto shot up out of his place on the ground a few metres away from his position. Kakashi had offered to share his tent with the boy but he had refused profoundly saying he preferred sleeping under the stars.
The jounin watched as Naruto calmed his erratic breathing and wiped the sweat off his brow. His shoulder slumped under relief and he gently hit his forehead with the palm of his hand while muttering darkly.
"You ok?" he asked while turning back to his book, Jiraiya said that the boy suffered from terrible nightmares, he had been smart enough not to ask what they were about. "Don't push him Kakashi. Naruto may not show it but he trusts really easily, if you lose it it's nearly impossible to regain again. Try not to pressure him into answering, he'll talk but only if you are calm and don't make him feel like he's been back into a corner."
He could see the distrust in Naruto's eyes, but there was also something else. Better hidden beneath the mask of laughter and jokes; it was fear.
Naruto slowly nodded to answer his question "Yeah" he muttered lying back down and turning so he was facing his new teacher. Kakashi took a deep breath through his nose and quietly let it out, he opened his mouth to say something but stopped when the blonde rolled onto his back and stared up at the stars that twinkled brightly above them.
"You know I sometimes I wondered what they were like." He said putting his hands behind his head and sighing "I've asked Jiraiya a couple of time and he answered them as best he could but it's not the same as knowing them, if you get what I'm saying. He said my dad was a joker, always laughing or goofing around with his friends. But when he needed to be, he was the deadliest man on a battlefield, I've heard heaps of stories about him and mum, how they met, what they did on missions together." Kakashi cast a sympathetic look at the boy, he knew how hard it was to lose a parent and be cast into a world of cruel people without any guidance.
Naruto closed his eyes and frowned "It's all my fault" he whispered as he cursed angrily in his head. "If mum wasn't pregnant with me at the time then the seal wouldn't have weakened and Kyuubi wouldn't have broken out. Dad wouldn't have died sealing it inside me and the village would still have it fourth Hokage. This entire world would be better off if I was never brought into existence." Naruto slammed his fist onto the ground and let out an unhuman growl, he didn't care if he barely knew this man or if Jiraiya had already told him everything about him. He needed to get this off his chest before he burst.
Naruto stood up and glared at the ground as if it was the reason all this had happened. "Why did it have to be me huh? Why did my dad have to sacrifice himself for that selfish village? It's full of nothing but liars and monsters, they stole my family from me and Jiraiya just expects me to skip in there and befriend every person I see! He may or may not know this but it's like a stab to the heart every time I see someone who beat me or hurt me some other way and not kill them. And seeing how many people have beaten me throughout my life that's a lot of stabs."
Kakashi winced when the blonde punched a tree and left a large imprint in the dark bark. He could practically see the guilt and pain eating him alive, and the worst part of this was he didn't know what to do. He wasn't experienced with children, he didn't give out hugs or fatherly advice. He didn't even want this team!
Naruto sighed heavily and grabbed his hair in frustration "Why did he have to be so damn heroic? Why couldn't he find some other way to get rid of it, I'm sure somewhere in his genius brain he had another way; a way that still involved us together as a family. Maybe then my life wouldn't be so screwed up."
Naruto must have finally noticed the extremely uncomfortable look on Kakashi face because he flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry, you shouldn't have had to hear that. I'm just a little worked-up over returning, I've been running from that village since I was 8; now being dragged back is…weird." He finished before sitting next to the jounin on the ground and leaned up against the tree truck that had been the assigned 'watch post'.
"Thanks Kakashi" he said after a few minutes of silence. The silver haired man blinked in surprise and sent his companion a strange look. "I didn't do anything but listen" he argued without much bite behind the comment. A grateful smile weaved its way onto Naruto's mouth.
"But you listened." He said while closing his eyes and relaxing for what seemed like the first time in his life. Pretty soon he had drifted off to sleep again, not moving when Kakashi placed him back where he was sleeping before.
Neither of them seemed to notice Sasuke frowning as he tried to piece together what he had heard.
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Sasuke hadn't looked at Naruto all morning, he was still confused about what had transpired between their sensei and the strange blonde. Naruto was angry, that much was clear, and it had something to do with his past; namely his father. And he swore on his parent's graves that he had heard something about the Kyuubi and a seal.
But none of this made any sense, the Kyuubi was dead. Naruto's own father had sacrificed himself to stop it. He frowned when he heard the blonde crack another one of his cheesy jokes and the third member of their genin squad laugh.
It was kind of creepy how he could fool anyone behind that smile. Before last night Sasuke was sure that this kid was just a normal teenage boy with a bad past. But he was wrong, Naruto was more like him than he first thought. They both had an uncontrolled rage that was hidden from others; his behind the cool and better-than-you attitude and Naruto's behind the wise-guy comments and innocence smile and eyes.
He snuck a quick glance at the central point of his thoughts, he had only seen the blonde in action for less than a minute before he ran off to step up his traps. If he could last against Kakashi who was a jounin for more than half an hour who knew how strong this guy was. He wasn't just hiding his real personality under his mask, but also his true strength.
There were too many thoughts swirling around in his head, he needed a break from all this uncertainty of the blonde who was now walking next to him.
'Wait' Sasuke thought; he looked up ahead of them seeing Kakashi, Tazuna and Sakura a few metres in front. His onyx eyes slid slowly over to Naruto who still had his grin in place. "You ok teme? You've been lagging behind and moping more than usual. I was being to think you had lost your touch; maybe all this physical exercise doesn't agree with you?"
Once again the Uchiha felt a weird knot in his stomach at how easily the blonde could pretend he wasn't angry or upset. It was just unnatural.
"What no 'I'm better at everything than you' response. And here I was looking forward to proving you wrong. Ah well, hurry up so we can finish this mission already." Without even giving the black haired boy a chance to say anything Naruto was already walking next to Sakura.
"Something's really off about him" Sasuke muttered but sped up until he was slightly behind Kakashi.
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The first sign that something was wrong was the puddle lying in the middle of the road. Naruto didn't openly show that he had noticed the faint chakra intertwined in the water, but he glanced at Kakashi who also looked tenser, silently telling him that he knew as well.
He turned back to Sakura and continued laughing and talking, if this was the guy that had been following them since yesterday they would notice something was up if he stopped talking. 'If someone knows you're tactics play along until you have a chance to be unpredictable.' Jiraiya's rules never really made sense until he put them into practise.
'Pretend to be oblivious and that's just what the enemy will think you are, they won't suspect that you are ready for anything.'
So he did just that, he didn't react when they walked past the water, he didn't react when he sensed a figure emerge from the puddle and he didn't react when he heard the soft clicking of metal.
Kakashi spun around just as two thick chains wrapped tightly around his body-stopping him from moving. The two men that had thrown the chains quickly jumped forward and stabbed the man "KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Sakura screamed just as the two enemy ninja teleported behind her and prepared to strike.
Naruto let two kunai fly; momentarily distracting them long enough for Sasuke to get her out of the way. "Sakura protect Tazuna, Sasuke get ready" Naruto ordered, his voice betrayed the excitement he felt as one of the men rushed at him, the other heading for Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna.
The blonde didn't seemed concerned with the spiked hand that was heading for his head. He could feel the guys smugness rolling of him in waves, at the last possible second Naruto's hand whipped up grabbed the weapon, not caring that he got cut.
Using the momentum already built up Naruto reached out with his other hand and flung the man in a semicircle before letting him go and watching him fly into Kakashi's right arm. The second enemy was held securely around the neck by his other arm.
He heard a couple of gasps and looked at Sakura who had probably never felt more relieved in her life that he was alive. Kakashi smiled at them and after making sure both assassins were knocked out he dropped them on the ground in front of him.
Naruto sighed in relief that everyone was ok and not hurt. 'Well' he thought wincing down at his hand and the deep cut in it 'Almost everyone.' He quickly moved over to where everyone was waiting and Kakashi was praising his team for their good job. Naruto tried not to snort 'Yeah, they did great jumping out of the way like that. Never seen better.'
There was another throb in his hand and he quickly pulled it up so he could see it better. The edges of his cut were already turning a sick green colour. "Urgh" he moaned, he could already it slowly spreading through his hand. 'Stay calm, if you freak out your heart will beat faster and spread it quicker. Just stay calm.'
"Kakashi-sensei, I think these guys have poison on their weapons." He stated holding up his hand so they could all see the slowly spreading green. Sakura covered her mouth with one hand when she saw the state of his hand.
"Open the wound and get it out of you" Kakashi ordered sternly. He was actually surprised the blonde was standing at the moment; assassins usually carried very strong poisons to ensure their target would die one way or another.
"Yeah, yeah" he replied taking a kunai out and stabbing it into his flesh with only a barely supressed groan of pain. Once he was done they all watched in a small amount of disgust and amazement as the wound slowly began to close, once he was sure he wasn't going to bleed to death Naruto looked up and glared at Tazuna who was trying to make himself as small as possible under the furious blue eyes.
"What the hell is wrong with you!" He shouted angrily at the man, Kakashi also fixed him with an angry look once he had finished tying the men to a tree. "You asked for a C ranked mission! Please than explain why two chunin level assassins who were obviously paid specially to take out you because they've been following us since yesterday almost killed Sakura!"
"How did you know we were there?" a muffled voice asked angrily. The blonde's head snapped in the prisoner's direction and rolled his eyes as if the answer was as clear as sunlight. "A puddle in the middle of a road on a clear where it hadn't rained in weeks." Kakashi said with a cocked eyebrow.
"Well then why did you leave your students to take care of them when you could have the moment you realised they were there?" Tazuna asked, obviously still slightly shaken-up from Naruto's outburst. Kakashi sent him an irritated look but answered it anyway. "They need experience, they have to learn to react without a spilt second if there was an ambush; what would happen if I was to die? They'd either have to work together almost instinctively or die with me."
"Plus, if I did take them out straight away I wouldn't know who they were targeting. As Naruto pointed out, they were going after you." Tazuna gulped and took a step back; he quickly began trying to deny that he was any part of it. "Now I know that they weren't just attacking for the fun of it. They were after you, the Master bridge builder."
Naruto stepped forward and crossed his arms in annoyance "You asked for protection from robbers and common thieves, you seemed to have forgotten to mention you had hunter-nin after you. This mission is at least a B or A, Sasuke and Sakura haven't had enough experience with these kind of things." He said, ignoring the glares his teammates shot at him, but they couldn't deny the truth, they weren't ready for this type of mission.
Kakashi once again took over "If we had known this was a higher mission we would have given you a different team and charged more; you obviously have your reasons for not telling us but lying to a Hidden Village is not the smartest thing to do."
Sakura stepped forward and sighed "Naruto's and Kakashi-sensei are right, we're not strong enough to take on something this large yet. We should return to the village. Plus we don't know if Naruto got all the poison out of his hand, we need to get him to a hospital just in case."
Naruto made a small noise of annoyance at her. "I got the majority of it. And are you really suggesting we just run back to Konoha without at least hearing Tazuna's side? I'm sure he had a good, honourable reason for lying."
The old man let his shoulders drop and nodded. "The man who wants me dead is a very powerful and rich businessman called Gato." Kakashi blinked in confusion "Gato? The guy from Gato's Transport?" Tazuna nodded grimly.
"Many just think he is a powerful capitalist, but his is a ruthless and evil man who has taken control of my village. He sells drugs and contraband to whoever wants it. His crew consists from thugs to missing-nin who are just looking for a free excuse to kill people. One year ago he came here, to the Land of Waves and managed to take over. Anyone who stood in his way was cut down or just disappeared. Gato has a lot of wealth and power but he can't let this bridge be built, it's completion would mean and easier access to the mainland and that would break his control."
"So because you're the main guy standing in his way and he thinks if he gets rid of you the bridge won't be finished." Sakura said and after he nodded Sasuke looked around the trees. "So these guys are working for him" he said glaring at the two assassin's.
"You still haven't explained one thing" Naruto said stepping forward and crossing his arm "Why did you hide all this from us? If you had asked for a higher rank the Hokage would have sent more prepared ninja to guard you."
"Because my village is small and poor. We don't have enough money to pay for a mission that big, even our nobles are poor. If you ended the mission now the bridge will never be finished and Gato will remain in control of everything. Of course there's my family as well; my grandson will cry and whine about it for a while and my daughter will be distraught and denounce the Leaf village. But it's not your fault so don't worry."
Naruto sighed but brightened up almost immediately "Well I guess we have no choice, shall we continue to the Land of Waves?" he asked than turned and began walking down the path they were taking. Sakura frowned but began moving after him, it just wouldn't be right to leave Tazuna and his village like that.
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Naruto almost kissed the ground when the boat beached, he hated going on boats. The only fun part of the trip was seeing the bridge up close, it was pretty amazing.
The village he noted looked very colourful and lively, though he knew well that looks are often deceiving. They walked quietly through the maze of houses before finally getting into trees again. Naruto and Kakashi shared a look and nodded, they both knew that the next shinobi Gato decided to send wouldn't be Chunin, he would be a jounin for sure.
Naruto walked ahead of them by a few metres and constantly scanned the area around them. This time he wouldn't give the guy a chance to attack first, this time he would do what he did best. Fight.
He spread his chakra out, searching for any irregular chakra patterns.
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'This kid is good' he thought as he watched the blonde casually look around. He could feel the kids chakra touch his own and instantly masked it.
He could see the small frown etch onto his face and his steps slow down; his chakra was prodding more around his hiding place now and he realised this kid was something different from a normal genin, he was trained by someone very good.
His dark eyes travelled to the tallest member of the group and he smiled crazily. 'Kakashi the Copy-cat ninja. This will be fun.'
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Naruto's hand had a kunai in it the moment the bush twitched without any wind. It left his hand a millisecond later; aimed at where a man's head would normally rest while crouched down. He could feel his group tense up and stare at the bush where his kunai disappeared.
When the little white rabbit hopped out a looked around Naruto sighed in relief. "Sorry bunny" he said sheepishly though he didn't let his guard down, some instinct was screaming at him to get into a defensive position and get ready. Maybe he was just jumpy after that last attack.
Kakashi frowned as the blonde picked up the white puff of fur and patted it quietly. He looked at the tree top behind him "LOOK OUT!" he shouted as a flash of light flew towards Tazuna. They all dropped to the ground as whatever attacked them slammed into a tree.
Naruto looked up just in time to see the large broadsword burry itself into the soft bark of the tree, and to see the wielder of the weapon to appear standing calmly on it. The guy was around Kakashi's age; he wasn't wearing a shirt, only long grey pants with weird patterned arm and leg warmers on. The whole bottom part of his face was covered bandages and his Mist headband was tied securely around his head.
He recognised him instantly from the bingo book Jiraiya had made him memories. Zabuza Momochi-Demon of the Bloody Mist.
"Well well, if it isn't Zabuza. I should have known only someone as twisted and sick as you would except a mission like this." Kakashi said stepping forward and acting as if they hadn't just been attack, more like if he was talking to and old friend.
"Yes, well it will be an honour fighting someone as well-known as you Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan eye." Zabuza replied just as evenly. Naruto frowned and looked at Kakashi seeing as how he was team leader he might not appreciate Naruto attacking right now.
Kakashi simply reached up and pulled up the left side of his headband, when his eyes opened Naruto couldn't help but stare. He had never seen the Sharingan in person before and he couldn't help but watch in awe as the three black totems twinkled with something deadly.
"Let's get this over with" Kakashi said while Zabuza ripped his sword from the tree and leapt away from them chuckling.
"This will be fun."
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Ok, tell me how it was. I personally kind of liked the little Naruto tantrum a little but I didn't want people to think he was already settling down in Konoha and happy again. Anywho, review please.
~Ninjalover-02~