Disclaimer: Hell just froze over and I still don't own Naruto.
Chapter 7
The assault group walked through the forests of the Land of Fire in an awkward silence. Noting Naruto's constant glares at Sai, Asuma pulled up to his side in an attempt to distract him. "So, another wind user, huh? I used to be the only one in Konoha. Jiraiya-sama must have had an interesting time teaching you."
Naruto looked up in surprise at the older man. "You're a wind user too? Ero-sennin mentioned there weren't many in Konoha but didn't say who. He didn't train me in the elements, actually it was the toads who tested my affinities and taught me to use them. He doesn't know much wind stuff ya know."
"Makes sense, most in Konoha don't know many wind jutsu." The bearded man paused for a drag on his cigarette. "How much did they teach you about nature transformation?"
"Not much, they started late and I just mastered the leaf-cutting exercise. There was only time to learn a couple of lower level jutsu," the boy replied with a scowl.
"Wind's a good element to work with, since there's always air around to manipulate you can learn some of the simpler jutsu before mastering the nature transformation." The older man pulled one of his trench knives from his belt and angled it outward. "Once you get better at producing elemental chakra you can use much stronger techniques, and do cool things like this," he said as he flowed some invisible wind chakra into the blade.
Naruto's eyes widened as a deep cut erupted on a nearby tree trunk. "Awesome! I'm gonna have to learn how to do that after this mission. They taught me some water jutsu too, but they're pretty useless without a water source," he grumbled.
"Wind and water, huh?" Asuma commented. 'That's actually quite fitting considering his parents,' he thought to himself. "Those will let you work with or defeat most other elemental jutsu."
"Yeah, and it makes me a good match for Sasuke," Naruto replied with a sad expression.
"I guess it would, lightning is weak to wind, and fire to water," Asuma replied carefully, hoping that the conversation wouldn't go into dangerous territory.
"That's not what I meant," he replied with a frown. "I could work with him real well. Water conducts electricity, and only wind can fan a dying flame."
Sai sidled up to the duo with his blank smile. "I don't know why you would be thinking about working with a filthy traitor like Sasuke. When we do bring him back he'll be locked away for a long time, though personally I think he should be executed or at least sealed away so he can't run off again."
Asuma facepalmed at the ROOT member's utter lack of tact. 'Why don't you just throw an exploding tag or two into the group while you're at it?' he thought wearily.
Naruto's reaction did not disappoint. "You bastard! Don't go mouthing off about stuff you don't know anything about! You're not even a member of team seven ya know, you're just filling Sasuke's spot. I would never accept someone like you as a teammate!" the yelling attracted the other members of the squad, who approached with concerned expressions.
"That's good, I wouldn't want to be compared to that weak imbecile who betrayed us all and ran off to suck Orochimaru's dick for power," the pale boy replied as Naruto clenched his fists in rage and Ino yelled in protest.
Before Naruto could jump at Sai, Sakura moved in front of him and held her arm out before him. "Sai, please forgive Naruto, he doesn't know you and said too much," she said with a soothing smile.
"Don't worry about it," he replied, as Asuma and Yamato sighed in relief at the apparent aversion of the crisis.
Before anyone could react she stepped forward and decked the ROOT member in the jaw. "On the other hand, me you don't have to forgive. I'll let you off easy since you don't know anything, but badmouth Sasuke-kun again or I won't hold back," she said menacingly as she shook her fist.
"Now wait just a minute," Kiba interrupted as he helped Sai up. "This guy might not be the most polite about it, but he does have a point. Sasuke betrayed us all and went rogue. Even if he didn't kill Naruto we still can't trust him."
"You stay out of this dog-boy," Naruto growled angrily.
"Yeah, if Naruto and Sakura trust him I think that's good enough for us," Ino said supportively.
"Trust in one who has already betrayed us is misplaced. For once I think Kiba is right," Shino replied authoritatively. "And Naruto, this matter affects us all as well as you. Why? Because we are being sent to help retrieve Sasuke and could suffer or die if he betrays your trust again. The last mission ended without any permanent damage, but would you still be so willing to overlook Sasuke's offences if Kiba, Akamaru, Choji, or Neji had died? Your personal attachments to him are blinding you to the danger he presents."
"But Sasuke didn't have anything to do with those fights, the only one of us he fought was me and he left me alive!" Naruto protested. "Sakura-chan and I know Sasuke best, if we can show him how strong we are and get rid of Orochimaru's influence he'll definitely come home! Don't you agree?" he asked with a glance at the three who had stayed out of the argument so far.
Shikamaru, Choji, and Hinata looked at each other uneasily, each reluctant to involve themselves in the debate for their own reasons. "We would like to believe in Sasuke," Shikamaru said carefully," but three years with Orochimaru would be enough to change anyone. Your survival is the only reason we're willing to give him the benefit of the doubt."
Hinata nodded in agreement. "If he had killed you I would never forgive him," she said softly with an uncharacteristically harsh expression which reminded Naruto of Neji... or Sasuke himself.
"Yeah, at this point you probably don't know Sasuke any better than the rest of us," Kiba said scathingly.
Naruto shot him an angry glare, but as he took a step forward and opened his mouth Yamato growled "Enough!" and slammed his palms on the ground. A large wooden cage erupted behind him. "The mission is to retrieve Sasuke, by whatever means possible. That should be your focus for now, and whatever comes afterwards will come. If you guys won't stop arguing, I'll have to toss you all into a cage," he said and crossed his arms as those unfamiliar with his ability looked on in surprise.
"As team captain, here's my proposition. You can spend the evening in a cage and work out your differences, or we can stop by a town with hot springs on our way to the hideout. What'll it be?" The ANBU captain's eyes widened and face lowered into its "scary" expression as he leaned forward. "You guys don't know me that well either, I like to be all nice and friendly, but I don't have any problems with ruling by fear either," he said ominously as Naruto, Kiba, and Akamaru whimpered in terror.
"Ahh, nothing like taking a nice long bath to bring people together and improve camaraderie," Yamato sighed in contentment as he stretched luxuriously in the hot springs. "Don't you agree?" he asked Naruto, eyes bugged out into his 'scary face.'
Naruto recoiled in horror from the terrifying, soulless gaze. "Y-yeah," he sputtered weakly.
At his side, Sai inspected his comrade curiously. "Well well, looks like I was wrong," he said with a smile. "You really do have one."
"Don't stare at it you bastard!" Naruto yelled angrily as the other ninja chuckled with mirth. "What's it with you and penises anyway?!"
Across the wooden divider in the women's section, Kurenai and Ino laughed while Hinata turned beet red and Sakura glared in exasperation. "That idiot's too loud," she grumbled. "Still, the spa was a nice idea of Yamato-taicho's. We should do this again sometime… without the guys."
Ino nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that'd be nice. Hey, if it bothers you so much maybe you should switch teams with Hinata. I'm sure she wouldn't mind Sai's favorite topic of conversation," she said with a wicked grin.
Steam rose from Hinata's red face as she ducked under the water and burbled, desperately hoping that no one would notice the thin cloud of red around her nose. Sakura laughed at her distress. "Sorry Hinata, but no way. After three years of tagging along with you guys or Lee's team I'm looking forward to getting my own team back."
"Damn, not giving up on your quality time with Sasuke-kun, are you forehead?" Ino grumbled.
"Not on your life pig," Sakura replied with a grin.
"Well, just don't expect me to make things too easy for you!"
Kurenai let out a big sigh of contentment at the friendly bickering. "It sure does feel nice to stretch out and relax for once. After this mission I might even have enough time to do this more often," she said contemplatively with a downward glance.
"What do you mean by that sensei" Hinata asked hesitantly as she poked her head out of the water now that the conversation was on less embarrassing matters.
"You'll find out soon enough," she replied with a mysterious smile at the curious stares of the three younger kunoichi.
"Don't tell me it has something to do with Asuma-sensei," Ino asked with a sly gleam in her eyes.
Kurenai's breath caught in surprise and she blushed ever so slightly. "Not telling," she replied, poker face firmly back in place.
Ino rolled her eyes and shot an exasperated glance at Sakura. Whatever it was, they'd ferret it out eventually. Sakura turned her eyes to Hinata, who was still holding her arms defensively over her chest. "Hey Hinata, don't be so uptight! After all, we're all girls here!" she said trying to get the shy girl to loosen up a bit.
The girl in question blushed. "It, it's just… they keep floating up," she muttered in embarrassment. Sakura and Ino both cringed and looked down in envy, while Kurenai simply laughed in amusement.
"Wow, you've grown so much!" Sakura's surprised (and envious) exclamation carried over the barrier.
On the men's side, Naruto surreptitiously began to make his way towards the dividing wall with a grin. 'After three years with only toads and Ero-sennin I've earned this,' he thought to himself.
Before he could get very far, Yamato stood up and stretched lazily. "Well, I'm done for now," he said as he wrapped his towel around himself. "By the way Naruto-kun, there's an interesting story I'd like to tell you about," he said, and Naruto and the other male ninja perked up and looked at him curiously. "When Jiraiya-sama was young, he came very close to dying once… six ribs, both arms, and a leg were broken, several internal organs were ruptured, and he was trapped in a three day long genjutsu which makes him shudder in horror to this day," Yamato's dark eyes bored into Naruto's, his expression creepily friendly. "It seemed that the cause was his teammate Tsunade, whose techniques have been passed down to your teammate… and the cause was him doing the same thing you're about to attempt," he said icily as Naruto sweated and shivered in fear.
The other ninja laughed as Yamato casually left the bathhouse. "Forget Sakura, if Kurenai-sensei caught you peeking she'd turn you into a quivering vegetable!" Kiba exclaimed with a shiver at the memory of his sole abortive attempt to peep on his female teammates.
"True. And while Hinata is far too forgiving to do anything so lethal to you, the Hyuga clan would mark you for death," Shino commented dryly from his side. "Why? Because someone such as you spying on their heiress would be a blot on their honor they would go any lengths to… purge."
Naruto quailed in terror and looked pleadingly at Shikamaru and Choji. The big boned boy chucked at his plight and joined in on the fun. "Well, if you're lucky Ino might take it as a compliment… if you were tall dark and handsome," he joked consolingly.
"Even if she didn't, her father is very protective of his little princess," Shikamaru drawled from his slouched back seat in the corner of the pool. "He'd remove all your memories of the incident. Memory techniques are delicate matters, one small slip and, well…"
"I wouldn't worry about that though," Sai said cheerfully. "Your brain is so small you could cut it in half and it wouldn't make a difference, just like your –"
"SAI!" Naruto angrily cut his annoying teammate off, then slumped down between Shikamaru and Asuma, who had been watching the teasing with a grin. "I guess with so many violent kunoichi around it's best to stay far away," he grumbled. "Don't know how Ero-sennin survives."
"Well, if he survived Tsunade he can probably take whatever anyone else could dish out. I doubt that even those four over there could match up to her when she was really mad," Asuma commented wistfully.
"Hey, hey, what's the story with this Tsunade woman?" Naruto asked curiously. "Ero-sennin mentioned her once or twice, and everyone says she's super amazing and trained Shizune-neesan, but nobody talks about what happened to her ya know?"
Asuma scratched his beard pensively. "It's not a story people like to talk about, but maybe it's something you all should hear," he said as the younger shinobi gathered around him curiously. "She was on a team with Jiraiya and Orochimaru under my father, the Sandaime Hokage," he began slowly.
"What? I never knew that Ero-sennin was trained by gramps!" Naruto exclaimed, then quickly clammed up as his friends glared at him for interrupting.
"Well they were, and as you might expect they became a very powerful team," the older jonin continued patiently. "They were an instrumental part of our forces during the great shinobi world wars. However, they grew up in a more violent time than you, and Tsunade… well, some say that she was cursed."
Shikamaru snorted in amused disdain. "Stop hamming it up sensei, curses are just superstitious nonsense."
Asuma smiled leniently. "Perhaps, but it makes for a better story. You see, there was a necklace in her family that belonged to her grandfather the Shodai Hokage, a green gem attuned to his unique chakra. When she was about your age, her parents were killed in battle and passed the family heirloom on to her. She kept it for a while, then gave it to her younger brother as a present. On his next mission, he was killed despite her best efforts to save him."
Asuma stared pensively off into space. "Despite losing her entire family, she went on to become the world's greatest medical ninja, and one of the strongest shinobi in the village. But then, she fell in love with another ninja named Dan. They were happy together for a while, and she gave him the necklace as a sign of her love and trust. Sadly, on his next mission he was mortally wounded and died in her arms. Something inside her shattered that day," he sighed. "The legend says that when Dan died she took the Shodai's necklace in her hand and crushed it to dust. She then ran off, never to be seen alive again. At first we though she simply sought solitude to grieve, but then sounds of battle came from the enemy's territory. Jiraiya and Orochimaru followed them, and found her body, surrounded by piles of enemy shinobi she had slaughtered in grief and rage."
The gathered shinobi fell silent for a moment, then Sai spoke up with a strange expression. "And that's why a shinobi should have no emotions or attachments. We are tools of the village, nothing more. If Tsunade-san was less emotional she would still be with us."
Naruto frowned at the boy's attitude. "But shinobi are people, not mindless tools. Treating someone like that is wrong!" he protested.
"Yeah," Kiba agreed. "Besides, how can you be loyal to your pack if you're not emotionally attached to them?"
"But how are you supposed to serve them best if your mind is clouded by emotion? I don't have them, so I can't pretend to understand, but they seem to be meaningless distractions to me."
Naruto and his friends stared at the ROOT boy, shocked at how different he was. "My feelings for my friends are what drive me to protect them all. The bonds I've made with others, that's why I'd give my life to defend the village. That's why I'd do anything to help get Sasuke back… even work with you," he declared confidently.
"Both of you have valid points," Asuma spoke up. "While attachments and emotions can lead us astray, they are necessary for the village to function. They say that the lack of concern Orochimaru showed for his teammate's plight is one of the reasons he was rejected as Yondaime Hokage. Still Naruto, if you want to become Hokage you'll have to put your friends in danger, perhaps even send them to their deaths. As a shinobi, death and loss are ever present and you cannot avoid it. A true shinobi must be able to live with this," he warned the boy
"Can't, won't, I don't want to hear it ya know," Naruto scowled. "When I'm Hokage I'll protect my friends no matter what!" he said, then stomped out of the baths.
'Still young and naive, but at least he's focused on working with Sai now,' Asuma thought to himself. Still, a part of him hoped that Naruto would never lose that youthful optimism of his. The boy's behavior and the tale of Tsunade confirmed something that had been growing in the back of his mind for a while. 'Once this mission is over, I'm proposing to Kurenai… we're getting to old to fool around anymore.'
The group of ninja waited tensely in the bushes outside the entrance to a cave system leading to Orochimaru's hideout. "Kakashi's late," Asuma hissed to Yamato agitatedly.
"He always is. Ino, Hinata, Kiba, can you sense anything?"
Kiba shook his head and Akamaru whined a negative. At their side Hinata's eyes returned to normal as she released her Byakugan. "I can't see any sign of him, the compound is built to confuse and shield against my dojutsu."
The duo turned to Ino, whose eyes were scrunched up in concentration as she tried to sense the interior of the compound. With a small sigh, she released the hand seal and opened her eyes. "I can make out several dozen presences inside, but can't identify any of them… and some of them seem to be fighting."
Shikamaru's brow furrowed in confusion. "Kakashi-sensei? Or perhaps an internal conflict," he mused.
Kiba looked over at Naruto, who was kneeling with two fingers on the ground, uncharacteristically still and silent. "Hey Naruto… say something. You're starting to freak me out here," he said worriedly and nudged the unnaturally still ninja.
"Hands to yourself dog boy, it's just a sensing technique I learned," Naruto replied as he stood up and opened his eyes. "I can't make out their location very well, but Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke are definitely in there."
All eyes turned to Yamato, waiting for a decision. "We go in. Whatever's happening in there should help mask our presence, and regardless of Sasuke we can't leave Kakashi-sempai hanging." The group nodded in assent. "We'll go in fast and try to slip past anyone inside. If we do run into anyone we'll split up and use the members of team eight to meet up again later, but short of Orochimaru we should be able to overwhelm anyone we come across."
"Fucking Kakuzu!" a silver haired man in a black cloak roared in rage as the last and nimblest of Orochimaru's henchmen dodged around his triple-headed scythe, eyes wide with panic. "Going off after the big game while he leaves me with the piss poor small fry! They're barely even worth killing, and their blood tastes like shit!" Not that Hidan would ever shy away from killing, but the curse seals on the henchmen deeply offended his religious sensibilities. Intent to kill should come straight from a pure (evil) heart, not be induced by some blasphemous steroid. He wanted to kill someone exciting and virile, not a husk of a man dulled by years of torture, drugs, and indoctrination.
The scythe flew through the air once more, and embedded itself into the floor as the flunky dodged back and sent a brace of kunai at the Akatsuki member. Hidan didn't even deign to take note of the feeble attack, but instead suddenly retracted the cable propelling himself feet-first into his enemy. The man crashed clean through the opposite wall, then screamed in agony as four metal spikes pinned his extended arms and legs to the wall in the adjacent room.
"Fuck the damn ritual, I'm going to finish this bastard off and find someone more worthy to sacrifice," Hidan grumbled blasphemously as he leapt onto the splayed man and drove another stake through his gut, piercing his spine. With a deranged grin at the man's scream of pain, he pulled out his execution rod and swiftly drove it through the roof of his mouth.
"Well, that's that," he muttered as he stepped back, brushed himself off, and pulled his scythe back to his hand. As he looked around the new corridor a delighted grin sprang to his face as he finally noticed the horrified stares of the group of Konoha shinobi he was standing in the midst of. "Why hello there," he said with a winning smile. This was certainly unexpected, but could be more interesting than whatever pathetic scum Orochimaru had lurking around the place. "Do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior Jashin?"
Author's Note: Happy new year everyone! Another chapter out, and while this one was slightly filler-ish, the next few will be solid action and plot. I felt that this one was necessary to establish and develop everyone's character a bit more. Naruto's not going to suddenly give up on saving Sasuke or dramatically change his ideals, but that doesn't mean they won't be challenged, even by his friends. Likewise, Sai's going to take a bit longer to turn away from Danzo, but I've got some good stuff planned for him. He's a fun character to write since I can use him as a foil while unleashing my repressed inner potty-mouth.
As some of you guessed Naruto learned a bit more from his training trip than in cannon. He's got a slight head start on elemental manipulation and Sage mode, but not enough to make him too strong too soon. The only new power I'll be giving him is secondary water manipulation; I've got some interesting ideas for it and it fits the theme of him being the opposite of Sasuke. However, he's also a bit weaker in some ways...
A reviewer asked me what pairing(s) I'm going to put in. While those who know me well enough can probably guess, I'm not going to reveal anything unless I get a lot more questions or complaints on the matter. This is to avoid spoiling anything about the plot (nothing like a confirmed future pairing to spoil dangerous moments), and because romance won't play much of a role in the story. Don't expect any fluff or confirmed couples (if any) until the end. However, I will guarantee that there won't be any yaoi, harems, incest, or crack pairings.
As always, any and all feedback is extremely welcome. I'm especially concerned about how the multi-character scenes turned out. Giving everyone 'screentime' without dragging things out too much is proving challenging, and I'd really like to know what you all think about it. Also, any comments or concerns on how I've characterized everyone would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading, please leave a review!
Omake: Elemental Training
"Nature draining stick, chakra draining stick, chakra transfer stick, walking stick, backup walking stick..." Ma toad grumbled as she shuffled through a closet filled with a mind-boggling assortment of sticks. "Where the hell did that old bat put the element testing stick?" she wondered aloud, throwing each stick in a pile behind her as she inspected them.
"Erm, that's quite the collection," Naruto commented awkwardly as she rummaged through the closet.
"Well, I probably should have cleaned it out years ago, but then I might throw out one that we'd need someday. Hmm, nope, thunder stick, boom stick, Oh, here's the walking stick we were going to give as a gift to cousin Yoda… whatever happened to him? Eh, probably nothing important. Hair growth stick, hair curling stick, pervert repelling stick…"
"Pervert repelling stick? How's that work?" Naruto asked curiously.
Ma pulled her head out of the closet and grinned. "I'll show you boy…"
"Jiraiya –boy, come here and help an old lady!" a voice rang out to Jiraiya as he was meditating outside on a mountain peak. The Godaime Hokage clambered down from his post and poked his head into the room. "Yeah whaddaya wan- OH YEAH!" he exclaimed as his eyes fell on Naruto's Orioke no jutsu form. The sannin giggled and advanced, arms outstretched with drool falling down his chin. "That's the stuff, now come to - YEAAAARGH!"
Naruto's transformation dispelled as he doubled over with laughter at the sight of his teacher gasping in pain and clutching his favorite body part.
"Damnit Ma, why'd you have to do that?" Jiraiya asked angrily once he had recovered, shaking his fist at the diminutive toad.
"That's what you get for not mastering Sage mode already brat! If you had succeeded your body would be so hard you'd barely notice the blow!"
"Why you-" then a sudden thought ran through the super pervert's head. "Oh, I am definitely learning how to do it on my own now," he giggled dreamily, his mind firmly in the gutter.
"YEAAAARGH!"
