The Strength of Blood

Chapter Six: The Land of Iron

The end of year Academy exams came and went, with Alex barely scraping by on the Genjutsu exams. They threw a party for Tenten after graduation and it was a night of laughter and fun, but that all disappeared when she came home from her first team practice. She refused to talk about it, while often muttering about bushy eyebrows and at odd times would say the word 'youthful' before slamming her head into the nearest solid object.

They were unable to discern the cause this strange turn in character before they had to leave, which led to Alex's current situation. He was being hugged goodbye by Yoshino even as she tried to get him to stay. Apparently without his or Shikamaru's knowledge, she'd planned for Alex to spend the summer with them at their family retreat. They didn't know when they would go again since Alex and Shikamaru graduated next year and their schedules would often conflict with Shikaku's, making them unable to go as a family. Alex had only come to say goodbye and now he felt kind of bad, if he'd know he might have refused Kenshin's offer. He might not show it often, but he really liked spending time with Shikamaru and his family. Unfortunately it was too late and all Alex could do was apologize, while trying to make it up to her. "I won't be gone the entire summer, just a month or so and I promise to stop by as soon as I get back." He said stepping back and waved goodbye to Shikamaru before leaving.

Yoshino watched him go with a frown. There was a reason she was being stubborn, she was worried about Alex leaving the Village. The road to the Land of Iron was quite dangerous and this sort of trip would usually be classed as a mid C-Rank mission. Only the fact he was traveling with Kenshin Yamada a renowned Smith and Samurai back in the day, brought some ease to her mind. While that would scare away some of the danger it would also be the cause of some of it, but she was confident Kenshin would keep an eye on him.

"Don't worry about him mom." Shikamaru drawled from next to her. "Troublesome though he might be, Alex is strong. If I had to rate him via strength in class, I would rank him top of the class and that's just with what I've observed."

That brought a raised eyebrow from Yoshino "And you think the teacher wouldn't have noticed this?" While she had little doubt he son was right, she still wanted to hear his thought process.

Shikamaru sighed. "He's not as guarded around me as he is the teachers and our other classmates" he then returned inside with his mother following soon after planning to wring some more answers out of her son.

He met Kenshin by the front gates of the Village. Kenshin wore a white umanori hakama, zori and white tabi with a backpack slung over his shoulders and a katana at his waist.

He'd told Alex that this is what he preferred to travel in. to be honest he'd actually been surprised that Kenshin knew how to use a sword and when he brought it up Kenshin laughed. "Were do you think Tenny got her love of weapons or who taught her how to use them?"

Alex waited till they were day away from the village before changing out of his usual garb and into what he'd planned on saving till he graduated, but this trip made him bring it out earlier than planned. He wore dark mesh armor under a black vest with Anbu style pants tucked into combat boots he'd had to special order, with matching armguards, shin-guards and fingerless gloves. He still had a Kunai holder on each thigh and a new utility belt around his waist, the one difference being this one was styled and had Scroll loops along the front. His entire outfit had dark purple accents. His camping and traveling gear were stowed in two scrolls in his pack and several other Scrolls containing survival gear, spare equipment, extra Kunai, Shuriken, etc. Where sealed into a Seal on his left bicep. He had another Seal on his right bicep that he could use to replace what he was wearing with civilian clothes and then switch back if needed.

It took them three days to reach the border and Kenshin explained a few rules about Iron. "Testu no Kuni is neutral, so if we see Ninja from another Village no hostile action can be taken, even Ninja from Iwa. We can fight back if attacked, but no picking any fights. Unfortunately you won't be able to train either, another one of their rules."

Sighing Alex nodded. He knew Iron was neutral and he would have to play nice which he had no problem with, but the fact he couldn't train was new and it threw a wrench in his planes to see if Kenshin wanted to spar with him. Learning how to fight someone with a blade would be invaluable, especially if he crossed paths with any Kumo Ninja in the future. At least he brought Mito's books so he could continue to learn Fùinjutsu.

They crossed the border no problem and Kenshin regaled him with stories about his time as a samurai, but kept a close eye about him. Alex followed his lead and commented occasionally if the need arose.

The temperature started to dip the further they went into Iron Country and quickly turned into snow. "I always forget how cold it is here" Kenshin muttered, his breath now visible in the cold air. He then grinned at Alex, while making a show of adjusting his winter cloak "How's your first taste of the cold and snow?"

"I've been in snow before, it's why I started wearing boots and don't think I didn't notice that you didn't warn me about the cold." Alex glared adjusting his own cloak. "Now can we hurry up, you said we'd get there today"

"Eh, grouchy. Wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?"

"Waking up I had no problem with, doing it with a face full of snow on the other hand. No so much." On the morning of their second day, Kenshin had tried to wake him and he'd reacted instinctively by giving him a hard kick in the stomach. Since then he'd made a game out of trying to wake Alex up. This morning had been his most recent success, a face full of snowballs. Even though he was already a light sleeper, this trip was making it worse which might have been Kenshin's goal in the first place.

The trip from Konoha to the capital of Iron took a week and a half. As a Ninja Alex could have made it in half the time, but Kenshin was a Samurai and they weren't trained to run for long periods of time, not to mention having slow down to a civilian pace once they crossed the border. After passing the main gates Kenshin left to immediately start his business, leaving Alex to his own devices. They were to meet up at a local hotel; Kenshin didn't really know how long his business would last so he'd booked a room with two beds for the month just in case. That gave him the entire day to explore the Capital of Iron. For the most part Alex just wandered, walking down broad crowded streets or exploring back alleyways, even wandering into random shops.

It was coming out of a shop selling Fùinjutsu supplies that he found himself in the middle of a confutation between three Leaf Ninja and one unknown Kunoichi. He recognized the Leaf Ninja as Genin who just graduated this last year. "Your Grandfather killed my dad and Kenchi's mom!" the Leaf-Nin in front pointed to the guy on his left, while stepping into the Kunoichi's personal space. Either he didn't notice the way she was coiled ready to strike like a snake or he was an idiot.

"And your Hokage brutally killed hundreds of our Ninja." The Kunoichi snapped back. "It was war and people died on both sides, you think you're the only one who's lost something?" she was doing a remarkable job at keeping her temper, unlike her counterpart.

"Why you…"

Alex had heard enough and stepped in-between them and physical shoved them apart, effectively cutting of whatever else he was going to say. "That's enough!" The Leaf-Nin glared at him, but the Kunoichi looked surprised. Getting a better look he saw she was a Rock-Nin from Iwa. Well crap, he's just stepped in to help a Rock-Nin. What were the chances he'd accidently step into help someone from a Village that his absolutely hated, though it did explain why the Leaf-Nin were so worked up. "This is neutral ground; I don't care what her grandfather did. I will not allow you to cause an incident between the Konoha and Tetsu no Kuni." He then turned to the Rock-Nin. "And I don't think Iwa would appreciated that either."

The leader amongst the Genin was about to saw something but was cut off when Kenchi put a hand on his shoulder and nodded to a group of Samurai that was watching them closely, all of them were clutching the hilts of their kattanas. Muttering a soft curse he stepped back away from Alex's outstretched hand. "Fine you make your point, but don't think we'll forget this. The names Zan, this is Kenchi and this is Tomi." He said gesturing to himself, the black haired kid on the left and the brown haired girl on the right. "If we ever see you again Rock girl your dead." And with that they turned around and stalked off.

Alex lowered his arms and nodded to the Samurai Captain who nodded back, before moving off down the street.

"I hope you don't expect a 'Thank You' I could have taken them on by myself." The Rock Kunoichi said to him and for the first time he got a good look at her. She had short black hair and pupil-less pink eyes that are accentuated by her eyelashes running upward at the corners. She wore the Iwa-nin standard red uniform, with her right sleeve missing and a lapel over her left leg, with fishnet tights and a skirt over them. She also wears regular Shinobi sandals and a pair of gloves.

"That is neither here nor there. I don't think Your Tsuchikage would appreciate one if his his Ninja straining Iwa's relation to Testu no Kuni."

"I guess you're right, but what does it matter to you? You're not from Iwa."

"It matters very little to me. I just wanted to stop a few of my soon to be fellow Leaf-Nin from making fools of themselves and causing trouble."

"Soon to be fellow Leaf-Nin." she repeated him. "That means you're an Academy student still. It's pretty gutsy of you to stand in the middle of seasoned Genin, or you're just an idiot."

"Call me what you will, I don't really care and as for seasoned Genin." Alex scoffed. "The three that were just here could barely be call such; they only graduated this last year. As for you I can't say."

"Want to find out?" at seeing his raised eyebrow she elaborated. "My father's off doing business and I could use a distraction. I promise no kill shots." She said smirking.

Alex frowned. "I can't tell if your serous or not, but it doesn't really matter. I'm sure your father explained the rules here before you crossed the border."

Her smirk grew wider. "Your smarter then you look, you might actually be fun. What's your name?"

"Alexander"

"I'm Kurotsuchi."

"Well Kurotsuchi, while it's been nice meeting you I have to get going." He waved goodbye to her and disappeared into the crowd. "Well that was weird, never thought I'd meet a semi-friendly Iwa-Nin here. Not to mention defend her against Genin from my own Village. What a strange day." Alex thought.

After that he found exploring kind of dull, but still enjoyed it enough to continue till night, where he met Kenshin at the 'Wandering Samurai' how appropriate for the name of the hotel Kenshin had rented a room at.

"How was your day exploring the Capital?" Kenshin asked as they lay in bed.

"Not bad, met an Iwa Kunoichi and stopped a couple of Leaf-Nin from making fools out of themselves. Yours?"

Kenshin gave him strange look. "Not to good, I think I may have stepped on some others toes somewhere along the line, because while my usual suppliers are happy to continue shipping. Some people have been raising a fuss about me selling my forged goods from their materials in a Ninja Village. So I'm being stonewalled at the moment." He glanced once more towards Alex about to ask more about the Iwa Kunoichi only to find him already sleep, which he could only blame himself for. He'd hardly let the kid sleep the entire trip. Being a really light sleeper would help him greatly in the future. Rolling over he closed his eyes and followed Alex into sleep.

The day's drug on as Kenshin tried to secure his supplies for the next few years. They found out who was attempting to block him though. A man by the name of Funji Sata. Kenshin had explained to Alex that Funji had been a rival of his for years and had always tried to get the better of him. Kenshin had been the better Samurai back when the both served together, causing Funji no small amount of jealousy. Afterward he retired and went on to become a world class smith, while Funji tried to worm his way into power and it looked like he'd finely succeed and was adamant about causing Kenshin as much grief as possible. Pulling every trick in the book to postpone and stonewall him.

Their two maybe three week trip had at this point gone a month and a half and Alex found himself getting antsy. Without the ability to train he focused primarily on Fùinjutsu, he met Kurotsuchi a few more times and every time she'd ask about that spar. Alex didn't know if she was just trying to get him in trouble or if she really wanted to spar. Unfortunately though she had to leave before he did, but she didn't go without saying they would be having that match in the future. Despite their two countries hating one another Alex found himself looking forward to it.

It was two full months before Kenshin managed to get everything squared away. Even after he'd called in a favor and had Funji investigated and subsequently removed for several discovered accounts of corruption and Illegal dealings, Funji had made sure to have the last laugh and left a mountain of paperwork that needed to be gone through before they could get back to Kenshin.

After all that, once everything was signed and stamped they were on their way back to Konoha. At this point they'd spent most of the summer in Iron and the Academy would be started up again in a couple weeks. At least the summer wasn't an entire bust; all that time devoted to Fùinjutsu had jumped him ahead to level Six.

However their journey, while coming to a close, was still far from over.

They had just gotten a mile or so passed the border sign when Alex sensed them. Three figures were following them in the trees."Uh, Kenshin." He whispered quietly, barely moving his mouth.

"I know, they've been following us for some time now. Waiting for us to cross the border no doubt." he replied in the same way.

"What do we do?"

"Well if their just bandits they might decide were too much trouble and go away."

"And if they're not? What happens then?"

"Well I…MOVE!" Kenshin shoved Alex one way and jumped the other. A hail of shuriken struck the ground where they were standing.

Using the momentum of the push Alex rolled back to his feet. Kunai in hand, he followed the path of the shuriken. There in the trees now stood four men, three stood with their faces bare, but the forth had his rapped in a balaclava. "There are four! I can't even sense the fourth, even now that I'm looking right at him" he thought before catching sight of the forehead protector he was wearing and cursed. It was from the Village Hidden in the Mist and it had a long scratch through it which meant he was a Missing-Nin.

"Alex, Run!" Kenshin now had his sword drawn and held at the ready.

Alex stepped up next to him. "Not a chance in hell." See Kenshin about to argue Alex spoke overtop him. "Now's not the time to argue Kenshin. You may be good, but it's still four on one. At least this way it's four on two."

No more words could be shared. One attacked Alex, while the other three went after Kenshin. Who had to immediately retreat into the trees. They followed leaving Alex and his opponent alone. The man was tall bald and muscular and his voice was gruff. "Hey kid we're not here for you, make this easy and I'll kill you quickly." Seeing Alex drop into a stance he laughed. "So be it, but I should warn you I've been trained by a Ninja in their arts. What chance does a kid like you have?"

"Who knows, why don't you come find out."

And he did, charging Alex. As he threw a punch Alex sidestepped and parried the blow, before leaping to account for the height difference and slamming his elbow into the man's nose and followed it up with a kick to the chest.

Stumbling back the man held his bleeding nose "Why you brat. I'm going to kill you nice a slowly for that." he charged again and they began trading blows.

Alex was smaller and more agile, but he was bigger and stronger. "My punches aren't strong enough to be of much use against this guy, I'll have to rely on my kicks and throws." Alex blocked a wild haymaker only for him to be kicked in the stomach. Righting himself in mid air he landed back on his feet. "Scratch that, he can block all my kicks and he seems to know enough not to leave himself open to throws. Looks like I'll have to step it up." he brought his hands together and started forming hand-seals. "Bunshin no Jutsu" he called as several clones appeared and charged.

"What? How?" His opponent panicked and took a swipe at a nearby clone, only for his fist to go right through. "They're just Illusions" he figured it out, but that was all the time Alex needed to finish another set of hand-seals.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa" Alex exhaled sending a blast of wind at his opponent. Sending him crashing threw one tree and into the one behind it. Alex finished up with a handful of shuriken, pinning him. Alex made sure he was knocked out before following after Kenshin and his attackers; he'd wasted enough time as it was.

What he found wasn't good. Two more of their attackers lay dead and around them was a radius of destruction. And in its center Kenshin sat with his back against what used to be a tree, but now ended just a few inches above his head. In front of him stood the leader of their attackers with his long almost needle like sword to Kenshin's throat. Kenshin was in bad shape; he was deathly pale and was holding his side. Alex could clearly see the blood seeping through his fingers. But he was still breathing and it was time he kept it that way. He threw a couple shuriken at him knowing he would dodge and he did, giving Alex enough time to grab Kenshin and leap to a safe distance.

"Alex!… your ok." Kenshin breathed as Alex leaned him against another tree a safe distance away.

Alex was actually a little offended. "Well ya, my fight wasn't too hard, although you look to have the tougher opponent. Oh well, you wore him down, let's see if I can finish him."

Kenshin grabbed his arm. "He's too strong for you, you won't stand a chance."

"Well you better rest quickly or else we're both dead." Alex said removing Kenshin's hand and turning to face his next opponent.

"Be careful he can redirect his sword mid-flight with the wire at the handle." Kenshin called after him.

Raising a hand in acknowledgement Alex went to meet his match, but hopefully not his death.

"That was nice of you to let us finish talking." Alex commented coming to a stop a few feet from his opponent.

"Well you're going to die anyway, what are a few more moments." The man's voice was slick and oily.

"Are you sure? Kenshin almost kicked your ass and that was with three against one. I don't have to beat you; I just have to stall you. So shall we begin?"

Alex had the feeling the man was smirking at him behind the balaclava. "Yes, lets." They clashed, sword against Kunai. Alex was quickly pushed back. Flipping the Kunai around in his hand he tried again this time with one in each hand, but was rebuffed again and again and again. Each time they broke apart Alex had a few more nicks from his blade.

Alex would fall back get his bearings then try again, with the same result. This guy was way above his level and the fact Alex hadn't practiced all summer was beginning to show. "This isn't working" he thought begin thrown back yet again. The man was obviously playing with him. As if to accentuate the point, the man dipped his sword and slashed across his right thigh. Jumping away he fell to one knee clutching his leg. The wound wasn't deep, but it was bleeding profusely.

"You have heart small-fry, but unfortunately I can't play with you forever so I'll offer you a deal." He stuck his sword in the ground and leaned on it lazily. "You have skill and a lot of untapped potential. So how about you let me kill the man I'm being paid to and I'll let you tag along with me, I can teach you a thing or two. Well how about it?"

Getting to his feet Alex reached into his pack and grabbed a bandage, quickly wrapping it around his leg. "Sorry, but I'll have to pass. Seeing those three who work for you reveals a thing or two about you." He paused for a minute before adding in an afterthought. "Well that and I like the other guy better then you, nothing personal."

The man just laughed. "Kid despite myself, I like you. Well it that's your final answer lets end this." Yanking his sword from the ground he leveled it at Alex.

"Ok no more buying time." Alex thought. He'd been using the Academy Style to fight both offensively and defensively, which was good for buying time, but terrible for winning a fight and it looked like his only shot at walking out of this one was to go for the win against a superior opponent. "Well here go's nothing." Sliding down into his 'White Tiger Style' this was it, after this there was no going back to the Academy Style even when attended the Academy. From now on he would use his Style.

He started by throwing kunai his right hand, while at the same time throwing the one in his left up behind him. He then grabbed a hand full of shuriken and throwing them, before taking off at a full sprint. He held nothing back punches, kicks, grapples, he threw everything he had.

"Now this is a surprise. Such ferocity, like a predator attacking its prey. However, you mistake who the predator really is." Spinning his blade he ducked a kick and stabbed Alex right threw the chest. "You lose."

Alex smiled. "You sure about that?" and burst into smoke leaving a log in his place.

"Suiton: Teppoudama"

The Jutsu's name was the only warning he had. Spinning around just in time to Simi-block a blast of water, he then quickly threw his sword at Alex. Who deftly dodged, only for him to tug on the wire trailing from the hilt of the sword redirecting it towards him again. This time Alex couldn't dodge and was nailed to a tree, only to once again puff into smoke leaving another log behind. This time he was ready and was already turning to meet and block the kick coming his way. They once more traded a few blows, but unlike before he no longer had his sword, which put them in a Taijutsu only battle. For the first time since they'd begun Alex found himself finally being able to give a little back now that his opponent no longer had his sword, but his window was closing fast he had to finish this fast.

Blocking a wild haymaker Alex gave a swift jab to the Missing-Nin's exposed ribs. Bringing both arms back the Missing-Nin tried a dual palm strike to create some distance. Stepping in Alex parried both arms too one side creating an opening once again. Cocking back an arm to deliver another attack, Alex had to duck a roundhouse kick. Unfortunately for the Missing-Nin this left his entire left side open to attack and Alex wasn't going to miss this chance. Stepping in closer, arm outstretched the Nin watched as an kunai fell from the sky right into his outstretched hand and with him being completely open, he had no way to stop Alex from driving it right in-between his ribs, before yanking the knife free and delivered a swift kick to the wound he'd just created, sending the man crashing to the floor.

He tried to stand once more, but couldn't. Falling back to his hands and knees he pulled his balaclava over his chin and started coughing up blood. Alex had most likely punctured a lung. "Well damn, I survive a Civil War and manage to steal one of the Seven Swords out from under the new Kage's nose, only to be killed by you. Not by my target, but by you." pushing himself up, he set back on his heels as Alex crouched down leveling their gaze, ice-blue against dark gray. "If you're waiting for me to beg, I won't. I tossed my dice and lose." He dissolved into a brief coughing fit, bringing up more blood, staining the ground and running down his chin. "You've shown yourself to have the training of a Shinobi, but do you have the heart for it?"

Alex understood what he was asked, but hesitated. "Before we find out, you mentioned someone hired you. Who was it?"

"I guess it doesn't really matter if I tell you or not since I've already been paid in full and my benefactor now resides in a prison cell." Pausing to spit out another mouthful of blood he continued. "Funji Sata was his name and as I understand it you friend was the one responsible for putting him there."

"Thank you." Tightening his grip around his Kunai and brought it in a slashing motion across the Missing-Nin's throat. With the deed done the Missing-Nin just smiled and nodded, before his eyes glazed over and he toppled backwards. Alex let out a deep breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. This may not have been his first kill, but whereas the other was an accident beyond his control. This one was his choice. Abruptly remembering Kenshin, Alex removed and sealed the Missing-Nin's head into a scroll that he then fastened to his belt. Most Missing-Nin had bounties posted for them by their Villages and since he'd mentioned stealing one of the Seven Swords of Mist. Alex would bet his bounty was pretty high. Speaking of said sword, Alex yanked it out of the tree it was embedded into. Being one of the Seven Swords made it too valuable to leave behind. Rolling his mesh sleeve up his arm, Alex exposed his forearm and quickly drew a Seal Array onto it, before Sealing the sword inside and tugging his sleeve back down. With the head and sword taken care of, he quickly searched the body and found a scroll containing the man's payment. There was no sense in letting it go to waste. Flipping through hand-seals. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu" he exhaled a large blue fireball incinerating the body of the Missing-Nin. It was standard procedure when dealing with them.

He found Kenshin right where he left him. Dropping to his side Alex began to tend to his wounds now that the danger had passed.

As soon as he laid hands on him, Kenshin gave a start. "Easy there Kenshin, it's just me"

"Alex, what happened? Where's the Missing-Nin?" Kenshin's voice was weak and his skin pale. He must have lost a lot of blood.

Alex held out his hands placating him. "The Missing-Nin is dead and now I'd like to tend to the wound in your side if you'd let me."

"Oh, right, sorry." Kenshin removed his hand from his side and letting Alex pull open his shirt to examine the wound fully. It didn't look good. It looked like the Missing-Nin hand stabbing him in the side and then ripped to the side, opening a deep gash. "I don't suppose you know any Medical Ninjutsu do you?"

"Unfortunately I don't, but it would be a worthwhile skill to learn this year. I've already learned the Academy Jutsu's after all. Now hold still, I'm going to have to clean and cauterize the wound." All Academy students were taught field first aid. Cauterizing a wound was a last resort. Not only was it painful, but also could damage the nerve tissue and muscle around the wound.

"That's right I forgot Tenny was teaching you them in exchange for helping her with Fùinjutsu." At this point Kenshin was just trying to distract himself from what Alex was about to do. "You know, an Academy year isn't very long. Especially for someone trying to learn something as precise and demanding as Medical Ninjutsu."

"True." Alex said as he channeled fire Chakra into his hand. "But I don't have to learn everything at once; I'll have my whole career to practice it. Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, Elemantal Ninjutsu, Medical Ninjustu and Fùinjutsu. Trying to master all these Arts takes time. Most practice two or three, but I'm learning all of them at once. I'm not going to master anything overnight, neither would I want to." Using one hand to help hold Kenshin still he pressed his hand against the wound searing it closed. To Kenshin's credit he did little more than groan at the pain. With the more concerning wound taken care of he turned his attention to his arm, which Alex hadn't noticed was injured at first glance. Again he cleaning the wound, this one wasn't as bad so he stitched it close with a needle and thread from his pack. Once done he then wrapped it in bandages before making a makeshift sling by cutting a strip out of Kenshin's hakama.

After returning Kenshin's sword to him from where it was laying off to one side, Alex helped him up and they started the long slow journey of two injured men home.

"Well this has been quite the adventure hasn't it?" Kenshin asked wryly.

"The adventures not over till your home safe and sound." Alex said shaking his head.

Kenshin nodded conceding the point. "At least it'll be quite the story huh?"

"Ya, two months burned in Iron and then ambushed on the way home because someone was a sore loser." Alex said sarcastically. "But look on the bright side, I bet Aiko and Tenten will be thrilled to hear about it. You were the one who said it would be perfectly safe for me to tag along after all."

Kenshin hung his head as they hobbled along. "You don't suppose they'll understand that it was completely out of my control and leave it at that?" at Alex's look he sighed. "I didn't think so."

The continued on in silence for a time before Kenshin spoke up again. "What are the chances of you being there to help smooth things over?"

"Nonexistent, I'll be busy dealing with Yoshino."

"Damn."

"Yep."

A/N. well another chapter down. I'm not sure my fight scenes are Naruto enough so suggestions are welcome. Well until next time, Cya. (Usual declaimers here)