Does anyone know Ranmaru's actual age? Because I have no idea and I even looked on wiki!

7: Mission pt. 1: Ranmaru

x|Kawa no Kuni|x

The trio of shinobi stood atop a large mountain over looking the Katabami Kinzan. Over the last few days in their journey to the mines, one things had been made clear, Naruto needed to visit Suna. Jiraiya had knowledge in most Jutsu except for Naruto's particular type. Wind. Just like his father, and the one element that Jiraiya couldn't teach him. Tayuya's was much simpler. She had a strong Fire nature, and a secondary Water nature. He could easily teach her Fire styles, but water would have to wait until he could send a request to Konoha for some jutsu from the shinobi library.

That's not to say that Naruto's training had come to a halt, far from it. Since they started, he had taught Naruto three of his favorite techniques. Hari Jizo, Toton Jutsu,and Hari Jigoku. Naruto had taken to them with gusto. Tayuya had, to his amusement, made the mistake of making fun of the way he looked when using the jutsu, which led to her being nailed to a tree, showing Naruto's careful aim when she came out of it unscathed.

Tayuya's training had gone off much easier. She had two simple, yet powerful Katon under her belt. Her favorite of the two was Katon: Onidoro. She once used them to spook the hell out of Naruto, who thought they were ghosts. She was also working on Kasumi Enbu no Jutsu, which she planned to use in conjucntion with her Onidoro.

Now the three of them were looking down at the miserable sight of the mines, and a graveyard. It was the graveyard that was holding the blond Chunin's attention. There was a troupe carrying a coffin made of silver...and it was moving.

"Can't we do something?!" Said blond growled, not liking the fact that Raiga was living up to the rumors. Beside him, Tayuya's hands were shaking as they balled up into fists. Not even Orochimaru had done something like this!

"Not yet," Jiraiya growled, "We wait for a little while. After they've left, I'll give you two the go ahead to start the mission. Remember, this guy's rumored to be a swordsmen of the Mist, meaning he could very well have one of the legendary swords with him. If he does, I'm stepping in."

"Sword or no sword," Naruto growled, raising his hands with chakra boiling at his fingertips, "This guy's going down hard when I get through with him!"

"Calm down," Jiraiya cautioned, "Now I want you to take a good look at those men. Do you sense anything?"

"Sense?" Naruto asked.

"Your mother was a fairly good sensor," he told the boy, "What I want you to do is see if you can sense his chakra signature. If there's anything off about him, or how potent his chakra is."

Naruto was still a bit confused.

"Alright, let me put it this way," the old man said, "Get a feel for him. Like can you feel something coming from him, like a power source, something like that?"

Naruto nodded, and closed his eyes, concentrating. The moment he did, he felt something off. There were seven men standing down there, but he felt eight chakra signatures...

One was obviously Raiga, and he felt powerful. Almost as powerful, if not more so than Zabuza. But there was more. There was a smaller, peaceful chakra radiating from his back where a large lump was seen under his cloak. Was this guy some sort of Jinchuuriki like he was?

"Raiga has two chakra signatures," Naruto said, opening his eyes, "One's under that lump on his back...what's that mean?"

"It means," Jiraiya said, "That this might be more challenging than I thought." He looked down at his two charges, "Chunin Naruto Uzumaki, and Genin Tayuya!"

"Hai!" Both answered.

"Your mission: Assasinate Raiga Kurosuki and retrieve whatever sword he may possess. Begin!"

With that, both shinobi shushined away.

=x=

"He was such good man!" Raiga yelled, tears streaming down his face as the coffin was buried, "Always smiling and laughing, even when he was put down by us! He was so full of life and will be dearly missed!"

Naruto, unseen thanks to his Toton, landed on one of the make shift grave markers. Trying to keep himself from charging up a Rasengan and ending the mission right there. He could feel Tayuya hiding herself nearby in case she was needed, but with the rain, her fire attacks would be weakened. Finally, Raiga spun around with his arms out. "AH! Nothing like a good funeral! I can't wait until the next one!"

Naruto grit his teeht as his companions turned with him and started to leave. For a single moment, Naruto had a dead bead on Raiga. He could had thrown a shuriken right through the back of his skull if he'd wanted to, and he desperately wanted to. But that other chakra signature worried him. Now that he was closer, he could tell that it wasn't a part of him. It was a different person...a child!

Suddenly, Naruto's ears picked up a voice. "Raiga-san, someone's hiding behind you!"

"Shit!" Naruto barely had time to react as the man whipped around. His eyes searching. "Where is he, Ranmaru? We can have another funeral!"

Naruto lept back and moved toward the cliff, hoping whoever was talking to him, wouldn't alert Raiga again. Tayuya, meanwhile, was flashing through hand signs for her jutsu, filling her lungs with air, "Kasumi Enbu!" She spewed out a white mist from her mouth, blanketing the area. As the mist reached the nukenin, he failed to see the danger as the hidden red-head began a new set, "Katon: Onidoro!" All around her small, demonic faces appeared as flames, and shot forward into the mist, and this time, Raiga did see the problem.

"SHIT!" He lept away just as the little demons faces came into contact with the gas. The demon lantern techinque was already designed for explosions, but with the added power of the gas, Tayuya's jutsu all but cleared the ground around the graveyard.

On the cliff, Naruto moved toward her and picked her up without a second thought, drawing her into his own jutsu, making them both invisible. "What the fuck'er you doin', Shithead!"

"He's got a gaki on his back!" Naruto hissed back at her, "And he saw me! Whatever this is, that kid needs to be taken from him before we do anything!"

"Where are you!" Raiga yelled gleefully from the wall of another cliff, "Come out, come out wherever you are! It's such a lovely day for funerals!"

"Crazy bastard," Tayuya growled, "What's the plan?"

"First thing's first," Naruto said, looking at the man from his hiding spot, "There's a little boy under that cloak of his, and we need to get him out of there!"

Tayuya grinned at him devilishly, "You leave that to me. Meantime, you think you can get that guy outta that coffin?"

"Consider it done," Naruto said, and set her on her feet, "Be careful, Tayuya-chan." He felt a light hit against his arm.

"I fuckin' told you and Jiji not to call me that!"

Meanwhile, Jiraiya was watching the chaos unfonld, wondering what had gone wrong. Naruto had been in a good position, and then Raiga had been onto him. The Toton was normally undetectable, but the moment Raiga had turned, Naruto had been on the move, quickly getting Tayuya out of danger as soon as she had caused the distraction.

Back with the ragtag team, Raiga was getting impatient. "Ranmaru-kun, can you see them?"

"No," came he voice of the boy, "Their covered by a jutsu my eyes can't see...but their chakra is close."

Raiga just smiled, "Well, I might as well give our guests a proper greeting then." From his cloak cam thr proof of who he was as he produced a pair of swords, each with slim and straight double-edged blades. Both blades also had an upward-curved bladed prong near the tip of one side of blade and another one near the base of the blade's other side. These were the Kiba. The twin thunderswords of Kirigakure no Sato.

Lightning flashed over head as Raiga raised the swords. Naruto and Tayuya closed in on their positions as they watchd him, and then a bolt of lightning struck the blades. An aura of electricity surrounded him, and he began to spin. "Rairyū no Tatsumaki!"

A massive vortex erupted from around him, spinning higher and higher into the air, forming the gigantic head and body of a thunder dragon, complete with two gleaming red eyes.

Naruto was so startled that he dropped his jutsu and became visible. "Oh, shit..."

"Go! Bury him!" Raiga yelled manically, and the dragon reared back to strike. That was when Tayuya dropped the cloak Naruto provided her with, and tackled Raiga from behind. Startled, Raiga stumbled, and started to panic when he felt the girl's arms wrapping around his hidden eyes.

"Naruto, get up here!"

"Ranmaru!"

Naruto was moving in a flash. Scaling the cliff, and avoiding the biting jaws of the dragon as it attacked. He found Raiga wrestling away from Tayuya as she torn the smaller form from his back, slicing through the cloak with a kunai as the blond barreled into the fray, the dragon close on his heels, still locked on its target.

"You bicth, give him back!" Raiga yelled slashing at her.

"Tayuya, run!" Naruto roared, creating a shadow clone to help him, a Rasengan forming in his palm. Raiga rounded on him, his blades sparking with lightning.

"There you are!"

Naruto ran at him, ready to drive the jutsu home, "RASENGAN!"

"RAIKYU!" Raiga roared, the tips of his blade coming together, forming a ball of their own, and launched it at the blond. Naruto was startled by the projectile and dodged out of the way, causing it to collide with the waning dragon. The resulting blast of electricity sent bolts all across the ground. Raiga didn't seem to mind them as the twin swords absorbed the energy. Naruto, however was dancing in and out of the bolts trying to avoid a potentially leathal shock. Tayuya was running toward the cliff face, her objective done, only for a stray bolt to leap from the ground and strike her right in the middle of her back.

"Tayuya!" Naruto roared as he watched the girl fall to the ground.

"She's dead," Raiga sneered, "Worry about yourself, Gaki!"

Naruto growled, "Ninpou! Habari Jizo!" Naruto's golden hair came alive, enfused with his chakra and wrapped around him in a protective shield. Raiga laughed at the sight as Naruto looked like a pin cushion with eyes.

"What the hell are you gonna do with that?!" He grinned, and slammed the tips of his blades into the ground, "Raisō: Ikazuchi no Utage!"

"Ninpou: Hari Jigoku!" Naruto yelled at the same moment. Raiga's techinque sent two powerful bolts of lightning at the blond, and Naruto's attack turned his spiny shield into a thousand flying senbon that shot right over Raiga's bolts and buried themselves deep into his flash. Naruto was struck by the lightning, and Raiga, recovering from the barrage, thought for sure that he'd just won from the pained screams the blond was letting loose.

And then he was gone in a puff of smoke, signifying a clone. "WHAT?!"

"Here!" Naruto yelled at him from behind. Raiga spun in time to avoid the spiraling mass of chakra that flew past him, and slammed into the ground. Naruto grunted as he missed his target, and was thrown away by the force. Raiga was no better, because, while he had doded it, he had little to no time to brace himself for the shockwave of the jutsu the boy used.

Naruto had intended to end the fight right there, which is why he poured so much chakra into the Rasengan, making it twice as big, and twice as deadly. Raiga was blown toward the opposite cliff, one of his blades falling from his grip and clattering to the ground. He tried to regain his balance, but another clone popped into existence, and slammed into him. Raiga yelled in anger as he felt his feet slide off the cliff face, aiming one last bolt of lightning at the blond's chest.

"Raiton: Raiga!" A bolt of lightning shot from the tip, and arched through Naruto's body, and the blond screamed as it passed through him, his right shoulder smoldering. That was the last Jutsu he was able to cast as Raiga fell from the cliff, and down into the unforgiving river below.

Naruto fell back, clutching at his injured shouldr as the Kyuubi's chakra started healing him. He glanced over at his downed partner and grew worried as she hadn't moved for a while. "Oi, Tayuya-chan?"

Tayuya moaned, shifting slightly, "Don't call me that, you jackass..."

"You okay?" He asked, ignoring her snipping, "Not hurt too bad are you?"

Tayuya just gave out a tired, pained laugh, "I just got the shit shocked outta me, and you have to go ask a fuckin' question like that?"

Naruto shrugged, wincing because of his injury, "I just had a lightning bolt go through my shoulder...for a third time in my life, and let me tell you I did not like the first two times at all!"

Tayuya giggled, trying to sit up, "Mission accomplished?"

Naruto sighed and looked down at the river, seeing no sign of Raiga. "I think so...not a lot of people could survive a fall like that...not without a lot of pain."

Tayuya sat up, taking the bundle with her, "Great, one missing shinobi dead and gone, and one mission complete. To think this was a B rank!"

Naruto rose and went to her side, "What's in that, anyway?" Naruto asked, "When I sensed something earlier, I thought it was a kid!" Tayuya raised her brow, and started unwrapping the bundle. Tayuya finished and sat stock still. Naruto saw this and looked over at the bundle, and saw a small boy, barely four or five years old, his eyes closed, laying inside the the ruined cloak.

=x=

Tsunade was having yet another bad day as she satt behind her desk, flanked by Sakura, and a very happy Shizune on either side of her as she glared at the three civilian council members. Koharu, and Homura were bad enough, but they'd brought the old war hawk, Danzo, the Yami no Shinobi, with them. If there was anyone in the world besides Orochimaru that made her skin absolutely crawl, it was this man.

"I asked you why you have deemed to endanger our only Jin - "

"Sakura, out please," Tsunade snapped gently, and the rosette scurried out, knowing an argument was bound to break out. As soon as the door was closed, Tsunade cast her deadliest glare on the trio. "You almost broke the Sandaime's law, Shimura. One more word like that in front of the younger generations, and I'll have you locked away. Understood?

Danzo was unphased by her threat, "Perfectly, but you have failed to answer my question, Hime."

"A simple B rank mission like this is nothing for Naruto, or have you forgotten who he is?" Tsunade growled, "If so, then let me explain it to you!" She slammed her hands down on her desk, splintering the wood, "He is Naruto Uzumaki, Chunin shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato! Son of the two greatest, bravest shinobi this village has ever seen, and you would have me keep him locked away like some mongrel pup!"

"No, we would have him safe from Akatsuki," Danzo stated, "And you sending him after one of the Seven at his age is just short of suicidal, even with his Bijuu, the boy is still weak compared to the rest of his age group."

"Weak?" Tsunade chuckled, "You think he's weak?" She fell back in her chair, holding her sides with laughter burst from her, "You idiots!" She roared an instant later, becoming fury itself. "You really think he's weak?! I can count the A rank shinobi he's killed on one hand, while that Uchiha you seemed to worship so much has not killed any, even though he had the chance, it was all Naruto! WEAK, you say?"

"The mission has been upgraded to S rank for some time, Tsunade-hime," Koharu reasoned, "The scroll you took was an older one that we had yet to update." She cast a glance at her companions, "It's really not her fault. A B rank is perfect for Naruto, which is just what she was looking for, but still, this is Raiga of the Thunderswords we're talking about - "

"Jiraiya was told to step in if things don't go well," Tsunade told them, "You really think I'd send them to their deaths?"

"That brings up another question," Danzo sneered, "Why did you think it a good idea to not have that girl brought back to the village for interrogation? She could have vital information on Orochimaru's whereabouts, as well as Sasuke Uchiha's."

"I thought about that, but Jiraiya made it perfectly clear that he will train her from now on, thus taking resposibility for her until she come with them back here in the next two and a half years or so."

"And you trust her not to do something against us?"

"I trust Jiraiya," Tsunade growled at them, making herself clear on where her trust lay. "Now, get out. I'm expecting them to send a message to me soon, and I'll inform you of it's arrival. In the meantime, why don't you all get to work on the civilian paperwork I found on my desk yesterday?"

They did indeed leave, much to her relief, and Sakura wandered bakc in a few minutes later with a tea tray, "I'm sorry for not telling them to not bother you, Shishou, I know you must be busy with the day's missions."

Tsunade leaned back in her seat with a tired sigh, "It's no fault of your's, Sakura-chan. Those three will always try to force my hand, and yesterday's stunt with Homura didn't help matters either way."

Sakura smiled and set the tray on her desk, "If it's okay, would you tell me why they're so upset?"

Tsunade shook her head as the girl poured her a cup, "I'm afraid that's classified as an S rank secrete punishable by death to those that leak it."

"Oh...I see," Sakura nodded, a bit disappointed. She then looked at her smiling senior, "Shizune-nee, were you sick yesterday? I didn't see you at all!"

"Oh, no, Sakura," Shizune smiled with a blush on her cheeks, "Tsunade just gave me a day or so off is all, so I spent some time with an...old friend of mine."

Tsunade grinned as she drank, "Is that what you call it nowadays?"

=x=

Naruto stared down at the boy as he opened his eyes, a red glow in them, "Who are you two?" The boy asked politely as his eyes dimmed to grey. "Where's Raiga-san?"

"What's your relationship with him?" Naruto asked cautiously, wary othe boy's eyes, which boasted a Doujutsu he'd never seen before. "Was he your dad?"

"No," the boy said, "He said I was his second set of eyes...he cares for me, so I must be useful to him." Naruto growled, hearing these familiar words from the boy.

Tayuay sighed, "Look, Gaki, we're sorry about your friend, but this village hired us to kill him."

The boy blinked, "Kill him? Why?"

"He's been burying people alive," Naruto growled, looking down at the ruined graveyard, the fresh tomb churned and obliterated by the thunder dragon. The coffin lay smashed open with a limp arm dangling out, blood dripping from the finger tips, "You really have to be a sicko to enjoy doing this!"

"But the people love Raiga-san," the boy argued, "He's a good man."

"What makes you say that?" Jiraiya's voice asked as he made his appearance.

"Because I cannot walk on my own, and he picked my up when people tossed me aside when they found I had a kekkei genkai." He said, his eyes gleaming red again, "My Shakugan...I am Raiga-san's second set of eyes."

Shakugon, eh? Never heard of that one before,Jiraiya mused, He must be the first to develop the skill. A first generation kekkei genkai weilder. "I'm sorry, Gaki - "

"Ranmaru is my name," he said pleasantly.

"Ranmaru, then, I'm sorry to say that you don't know what he's been doing here, and why." The old man said. Naruto was listening to them go back and forth for a few minutes when his eyes landed on the solitary Kiba blade laying on the ground, still sparking with unused electricity. Guess it's mine now. He bent to pick it up, and grasped the hilt...and thousands upon thousands of volts of lightning ripped through him.

=x=

Further down the banks of the ravine, and water logged man pulled himself out of the river, grasping his one remaining blade, imagining the sight of the boy he would kill with it.

Burn! Burn through writer's block and cramps because IT'S SHOW TIME!

Kurama: Here we go again...Oi, why didn't I have a part in this chapter?!

You're int he next one!

Kurama: But I didn't even get any lines!

Sorry, Kurama...anyway, don't forget to review!

Jutsu List: Tayuya

Katon: Onidoro (Fire Style: Demon Lanterns):This technique releases many floating fireballs around the user, which take the shape of ghosts at the final stage of the technique. After performing the required hand seal, they attack the opponent in swarms. Each fireball creates a huge flame at the moment of impact. B Rank

Katon: Kasumi Enbu no Jutsu (Fire Style: Mist Blaze Dance):The user is able to create and blow a flammable gas from their lungs. Once it comes in contact with fire or spark, the gas ignites into a large fireball. C Rank

Naruto

Ninpou: Hari Jizo (Ninja Art: Needle Jizo): This is a technique where the user encases themselves in a countless number of sharp needles, but in truth, the spikes are the user's hair. Chakra grants the strands of hair the hardness and shape of needles, endowed with a capacity to injure and kill on par with that of metallic weapons. In addition, if activated in response to an opponent's attack, it can also be used as a counter. The hair is made hard enough that it can withstand blows from certain types of weapons such as arrows.

Ninpou: Hari Jigoku (Ninja Art: Needle Hell) : After using Needle Jizō, extending his hair around his body, the user shoots multiple hardened needle-like hair towards the enemy.

Toton Jutsu: (Transparent Escape Technique): Jiraiya's famous transperant technique invent for the soul purpose of peeping without getting caught. Allows to the user to blend in with the surrounding area, making the body become transparent.

Raiton: Raiga (Lightning Style: Lightning Fang): Using Kiba, the user sends bolts of lightning to electrocute their enemies.

Raisō: Ikazuchi no Utage: (Lightning Burial: Banquet of Lightning) Using the Kiba, the user can create several thunderbolts that cut through the ground until they hit the enemy.

Rairyū no Tatsumaki: (Lightning Dragon Tornado): Drawing the Kiba together, the user will raise them into the air and draw lightning down upon their body. The current will be contained within and around their form. They will then begin to spin in place forming a whirling vortex of wind and electricity. The vortex will take on the form of a dragon's head and will cover the area in front of them. It will then strike out against his opponent and painfully trap them in the vortex. Even if the attack doesn't directly connect with his foe, the lightning can jump from the vortex to hit a nearby target.

Raikyu: (Lightning Ball): By gathering chakra between the twin Kiba swords, the user can create a ball of electrical energy and launch it at the enemy.