Author's Notes:
Sorry about the long wait, but with MW3, Battlefield and Skyrim… I think you understand. Not to mention The Old Republic is supposed to be giving out Beta codes soon… Oh man.
Oh yeah, how about 564? I can't wait to see if Naruto really does rip that mask off! Was kinda bummed out that there wasn't an update the week before, but this one was worth the wait.
Happy Thanksgiving, too. I can practically taste the sweet-potato pie now…
Well, here's the latest chapter. Enjoy!
IIII
Set it Off Like Napalm!
IIII
Naruto whistled a merry tune as he locked the door of his home and began making his way through the streets of Konoha.
The previous night he and his team had faced their toughest test to date – a pack of hungry and possibly mutant tigers – and come out without any injuries. He was practically aching to face some more danger, even if it came in the form of Tora; he certainly hoped the old man could do better than that though.
"Good morning, Naruto-kun," said Ino politely as she entered the training grounds they'd recently been using, several minutes after he had.
Naruto blinked once, twice, three times before a devilish grin made its way onto his face. "It's 'Naruto-kun' now, eh?"
Ino's face reddened but she still managed an irritated glare. "I could easily change it back to baka if that's what you want!" she snarled.
"No, no," he said pleasantly. "Kun is fine, Ino-chan."
Ino's groan was like music to his ears. Any more bickering between the two was cut short when Shikamaru and their sensei arrived together.
"You two seem friendly," said Asuma with a grin.
"I could say the same," Naruto shot back.
Asuma snorted. "I was playing a little shogi with Shikamaru and his old man, Naruto. Don't get any thoughts." Asuma grinned proudly at all of them. "I believe we are ready."
"Ready for what, sensei?" Ino asked.
"You'll see," he said cryptically and began making his way towards the Hokage Tower.
Naruto bounced on his toes excitedly as he and the rest of Team Ten followed their sensei; today was definitely going to be special if they weren't even bothering with training and heading for their daily dose of missions.
Maybe were going to finally rescue that princess!
IIII
"Ahh, Asuma-kun, you're here early," said the Sandaime, smiling at Team Ten and their sensei.
Asuma nodded curtly and gave the Hokage a stiff bow. "I am a here because of what we talked about yesterday, Hokage-sama."
"Yes, yes," the old man murmured. "If you truly believe Team Ten is ready then I shall grant you this one request."
"We are," said Asuma without hesitation
"What's going on, sensei, old man?" Naruto demanded.
"Naruto!" Ino barked. "I'm sorry for Naruto's lack of respect, Hokage-same," said Ino, bowing low to the Hokage; Naruto surely had no complaints about Ino bowing as the view was spectacular.
To her astonishment, the Hokage actually chuckled! "You could say that Naruto-kun and I go way back," he said affectionately before getting serious once more. "If you truly believe Team Ten for a C-rank mission then I shall allow it."
"Yatta!"
"C-c-rank?"
"Troublesome…"
Asuma ruffled both Naruto and Shikamaru's heads, chuckling. "Yup! We've done over thirty D-rank missions and I believe we are truly ready as a team for a more challenging mission; if we manage to complete a mission of this caliber with relative ease then we will see what we do from here on out."
The Hokage nodded and began rifling through a stack of scrolls that each had a yellow tab marking on it, signifying that the scrolls were of C-rank. He eventually stopped on and held two scrolls in each as if testing the weight of them.
He slowly raised his eyes and seemed to be conveying a message with their sensei – his son. "You truly believe they are ready?" he asked in resignation.
"Without a doubt," he said with conviction.
The elder Sarutobi nodded and placed one scroll back in a drawer before tossing the scroll in his hands to Asuma. "Rather simple mission I feel; guarding a master bridge-builder from here to his home in Wave Country and watching over him as he builds a bridge," he explained.
"That's it?" Naruto whined.
"Naruto," said Asuma sternly before the Hokage could, "this is an important mission and milestone for Team Ten; our first mission outside of Konoha and of mid-level importance," he explained. "While this may only be a C-rank, that does mean we may have to deal with bandits looking to end," he checked the scroll, "Tazuna-san's life. Someone's life is in our hands, Naruto, and I'd appreciate it if you took this a bit more serious."
Naruto swallowed whatever retorts he had and nodded. "Hai, sensei," he murmured.
"Good," Asuma murmured and checked over the scroll a few more times before handing it to Shikamaru. "We'll head out as soon as we can Hokage-sama."
"Mhm," the old man hummed and grabbed his pipe. "I'll have ANBU inform Tazuna-san that his guard will be waiting for him at the gates. You may go now."
IIII
In what seemed like no time at all Team Ten was waiting patiently by the gates for the master bridge-builder Tazuna
Naruto didn't know whether he should have been worried or excited – worried about taking on an actual C-rank mission or excited about leaving the village for the first time.
Nothing ever comes normal for me, he thought with a small smirk. It's only fitting that my first time outside the village be paired with a possible life-threatening situation.
Ino and Shikamaru were another story – they were just worried if there stances were anything to go by.
Shika hid it well but Naruto could see his wrists tensing in his pockets and Naruto knew without a doubt he was practicing his clan's techniques. Ino, on the other hand, was a lot less subtle, chewing at her finger-nails with gusto; but that wasn't even how Naruto knew.
She just got her nails done yesterday with our missions pay from the day before!
"Ready?" Asuma asked, tossing away a cigarette.
Naruto chewed on his lip as he went through a mental checklist of everything on his person; if he wasn't prepared for the mission about to start then he'd be damned cause he couldn't think of anything he forgot.
Eventually, they nodded, ready and resigned to accept their fate. Too bad they had no idea who Tazuna the bridge-builder from Wave really was.
"This is what I paid for?" he slurred with a bottle of sake in his hand that clearly wasn't his first of the day, "a pretty girl, a punk with whiskers and a pineapple-head. I might as well just give up now!"
Shikamaru didn't look offended in the slightest, Naruto looked ready to prove his toughness and Ino looked pleased with his statement.
"Watch it, old man," Naruto growled.
"Now, now, Naruto," said Asuma, smiling frostily at Tazuna, "we don't want to upset our humble client now, do we?"
Naruto gave Tazuna a sneering-smile. "Of course not, sensei. After all, the client is always right."
"Very good," said Asuma, smiling. "Due to this being an escort mission we'll have to travel by foot, that is unless you wish to be carried, Tazuna-san?"
Tazuna's bloodshot-eyes glared at Asuma. "I can walk jus' fine, thank you very much!"
"Good!" said Asuma, "because we ninja pride ourselves on efficiency and keeping up a steady pace! Move out!"
IIII
Naruto was disappointed, to say the least. The disappointed was mainly pointed towards the fact that even though they'd left Konoha everything had still looked fairly similar; trees, trees and more trees.
He nodded to himself as he twirled a kunai on his fore-finger. Scenery won't change much till we reach Wave…
From Konoha to the port that'd take them to Wave wasn't very far, and seeing as they left fairly early, they'd more likely than not be heading to Wave before nightfall. Rest while moving wasn't going to be comfortable but it would be safer then sleeping in what was possibly a hostile country.
Wave wasn't an enemy of Konoha – the thought alone was both ridiculous and foolish – but Wave was a desperate country, and desperation could lead people to do awful things.
"Will you put that kunai away, kid!" Tazuna snapped, in an oddly enough, Kiba-ish way.
Naruto smirked at the older man; he could practically smell his fear. "If it bothers you…"
"Sensei," Ino spoke up.
"Yes, Ino?" replied Asuma.
"I'd been doing some reading about the economics of the Elemental Nations and bordering countries lately –"
"Really?" Naruto asked, genuinely surprised.
Ino gave Naruto an annoyed look. "Of course!" she snapped. "Wind Country makes some of the best scarves around; the quality here in Fire County just doesn't compare," she said more to herself than anyone else; she was the only woman there. "Anyway," she muttered, "I heard that Wave has been in a really bad way lately."
Asuma nodded and spared the nervous looking Tazuna a look. "You could say that Wave Country has hit a dry spell," he said, glancing towards a puddle of water.
"Sensei, that puddle isn't natural!" Ino shrieked, pointing at the puddle, and a moment later, the puddle exploded before morphing into two ninjas wearing breathing masks, attached by a claw on each hand – one being the right, and the other the left.
Shikamaru shook his head as he lazily pulled a kunai from his pocket. "Subtlety never was one of your finer points, Ino," he muttered.
"Now really isn't the time," Naruto growled, glaring at the two nins; he too had noticed the puddle but chose not to speak on the subject, instead settling for an ambush he was positive their sensei was aiming towards.
Too bad their sensei had disappeared almost as soon – if not before – the nins showed themselves.
With two warbled cries, the nins charged, only they didn't charge Ino, Naruto or Shikamaru; they charged Tazuna, using the razor-sharp chain connecting them as a close-line.
Lashing out with a swift, but somewhat weak kick, Naruto shoved Tazuna out of certain death and leapt into the air while palming two kunai. With two snaps of the wrist the explosive-tag laden kunais soared at the enemy nins, forcing them to avert their path. Two small explosions shook the ground sending dirt and earth into the air; from the cloud of debris the two nins appeared looking shook but fine.
Wasting no time, they took off towards the bridge-builder again, only to suddenly stop.
Shikamaru grunted. "You gonna stand there all day, baka, or are you gonna put them down?"
Naruto snorted and palmed two more kunai before flinging them at the captured nins.
He didn't revel in killing, but he'd do it for his teammates, even if it meant saving them a little sleep. They'd been trained to be ninjas longer than he'd been able to read, but they'd still yet to take a proper life; stray rodents did not count, no matter how much Ino said it did. It was an unspoken agreement made; a pact: he'd spare them the hardship until the time came for them to act and be the executioner for the time being unless their sensei said otherwise.
Speaking of sensei…
"Why'd you block my kunai?" Naruto demanded; only one the projectiles had found their home between the eyes of their targets.
"Ino!" Asuma barked all business.
"H-hai, sensei," she replied timidly, and even Shikamaru looked a little disturbed; tigers was one thing, but people were another, and they could both clearly see the kunai buried to the hilt sticking out of the nins forehead; the other had been knocked unconscious upon Asuma's return.
"We need to interrogate this one and you have the easiest means do just that; tear his head apart if you have to, but find what we're looking for," he ordered.
"Hai, sensei!" she replied, her confidence returning and went to work.
"Great job, Naruto, Shikamaru," said Asuma seriously, though he was glaring at Tazuna who looked a bit peaky himself. "You acted phenomenally without my help against tough opponents."
"Tough?" Naruto couldn't keep the small sneer of his face.
Asuma smiled. "Don't let it go to your head, kid," he said, ruffling Naruto's hair and stepping away to talk with Tazuna.
"So," said Shikamaru.
"So?" Naruto repeated.
"Thanks for doing it," he muttered, sparing the cooling corpse a small glance.
They were friends and he didn't need to say it, but it helped.
An extremely pale Ino made her way towards the team.
"What's up?" Naruto questioned as Shikamaru watched her with narrowed eyes.
"Back already, Ino?" said Asuma cheerfully, only to stop when he saw the shade she'd gone. "What is it?"
"Sensei, the man after Tazuna-san is none other than the millionaire Gatou – Gatou of Gatou Shipping!" Her eyes were bulging and had the situation not been so serious Naruto'd probably laugh at her.
Asuma stroke his chin in thought. "This is bad, but not too bad, yet," he murmured. "Gatou may have plenty of cash at his disposal but he's obviously underestimated Tazuna's resourcefulness, and us, for that matter."
Ino swallowed and shook her head. "These people were only working for the man Gatou hired."
Asuma sighed. "Figures," he muttered, "and who would that be?"
"Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist," she whispered shakily; the mere sound of his name seemed to terrify her.
"An A-rank missing-nin? Sweet!" Naruto exclaimed. He obviously knew who the Demon of the Mist was; only an idiot would become a ninja without getting a hold of a bingo book. While his teammates may share different thoughts, or opinions, the thought of fighting an opponent as strong as Momochi Zabuza excited him; he'd get a true chance to test his limits.
"Naruto!" said Asuma sharply, though his heart wasn't completely in it, "this is serious! Momochi Zabuza is a real monster." He gave Naruto a meaningful look. He then rounded on Tazuna, "And you!" he barked. "You knew Gatou was after you yet you didn't mention it to the Hokage!"
Tazuna had no idea who Momochi Zabuza was, but if the name alone was scaring a group of ninjas, then he'd follow along and be terrified as well. "Wave is poor and it's only getting worse! We barely had enough for this mission; there was no way we could afford anything above a C-rank! I knew Gatou wanted me dead but I had no idea it would be this bad!"
Asuma shook his head and ran a hand along his face. "This is very bad," he said, shaking his head as if to clear some thoughts. "Momochi Zabuza is as ruthless as they come and this is our first C-rank mission." He shook his head again, this time in what looked like defeat. "I will not risk the lives of my students because you decided to lie to the Hokage. I'm very sorry, Tazuna-san, but the mission ends here."
Tazuna looked like he wanted to protest, but stopped and nodded weakly, what little color he had draining from his face.
"What's going on?" Naruto shouted. "Were just going to let Tazuna-jiji here just walk to his death? What kind of punk-ass ninjas are we?"
Shikamaru groaned. "Naruto, as strong as we are, this is a missing-nin were talking about with no conscience who would kill is without hesitation."
Naruto glared at his long-time friend before shaking his head. "I could expect this from Ino, and maybe sensei, but you? I thought I knew you better than that, Shika. I'm disappointed…"
"And what is that supposed to mean?" the Nara asked hotly – a rare show of emotion.
Naruto shrugged. "Chouji or Kiba, hell, even Sasuke would have wanted to keep going; to test ourselves and help an entire country who needs it. I know you're a lazy bastard and all that, but this is serious."
"Exactly!" Shikamaru nearly shouted. "This is serious! This isn't just a game. We could die!"
"You think I'd let any of you die?" he asked quietly.
"What? No, of course not. Ugh," Shikamaru groaned as Naruto smirked. The lazy Nara turned. "Sensei, I'm with Naruto."
He nodded and looked at the last member of Team Ten. "I say no, so the vote is up to you, Ino. We're a team and we'll continue or forfeit this mission as a team."
"Me?" she squeaked.
"Come on, Ino-chan!" shouted Naruto. "Don't you wanna see what kind of underwear they sell in Wave Country?" He wiggled his eyebrows.
The Yamanaka did not giggle, nor did she smile. "What did you mean when you said, 'I could expect this from Ino'?"
Naruto sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I like you, Ino, I really do, but you priorities as a ninja are totally shit," he said seriously.
"What did you say?" she shrieked.
Naruto sighed and was about to just repeat himself before stopping. "This mission is going to be very serious, and more likely than not, dangerous. By the way, where did you get that top?"
"This one?" she asked, giving a little twirl. "My mother and I went shopping last weekend. I think Sasuke-kun will like it!"
Shikamaru groaned as Naruto smacked his head.
"That is my point. Not only did you lose track of the proper subject but your infatuation with Sasuke is both sad, and disappointing. I could expect that kind of worship form Sakura or any of the other civilians, but you? I'd of figured your mother and father would have knocked some sense into you by now."
"Naruto," Ino growled, "you're just saying that because you think your Sasuke-kun's rival. Get it through your head, baka, he was the rookie of the year!"
Naruto just shook his head. "I'm trying to help you," he said with a hint of desperation and longing creeping into his tones. "Sasuke cares about himself and revenge – not you, me, Sakura and Kiba, his sensei or even the Hokage, Ino-chan. He wants power and will do anything to get it. You need to let go of your foolish beliefs that he'll one day grow a soul and sweep you off your feet."
"Shut up," she choked out; it saddened Naruto to see he'd brought her to the verge of tears.
Naruto gave a nod. "I will, just remember that you're a ninja and we have a chance to do something important right now. This has nothing to do with Sasuke; it has everything to do with Tazuna, Wave Country and Team Ten. Just remember that when you're making your choice." His speech finally over, Naruto walked away with Shikamaru on his heels.
He never heard Ino's choice.
"Sensei, I wanna continue…"
IIII
"Thanks, kid," said Tazuna.
Naruto nodded and kept walking, his hands stuffed deep in his pockets, each hand wrapped tightly around a kunai; he knew they weren't being watched or follow but that didn't help him get a grip on his nerves.
The choice Ino had made had been a big one, but they were ninja, and life in the field didn't come easy nor was it black in white all the time; it was one of the first lessons given to a ninja and their sensei had made it a point to burn it into their memory. Shades of gray mingled with the black and white and nothing was ever set in stone when it came to the life of a ninja.
Death was as certain as life, but life never crept up on you with a blade poised to tear out your throat like death did. Life was, ironically enough, slow and filled with pain while the best death possible was quick and painless.
Asuma, Ino, Shikamaru and even Tazuna knew it. On some level Naruto had known it all of his life whether he knew it or not.
The Yondaime had been young and full of life with a child supposedly on the way, not to mention the strongest ninja to have ever walked through streets of Konoha, yet his life had been snuffed out without mercy or hesitation due to his own sacrifice; quick and painless didn't make it simple or any easier.
But he was the Hokage, Naruto thought, chewing his lower-lip. I want to be the Hokage, but I'm not the Hokage! What if–he swallowed thickly–what if I'm not ready for that sacrifice yet? He took a look back at his team. Asuma was walking with aura of confidence Naruto felt was there for their sake; Shikamaru's normally lazy eyes were slowly sweeping around the scenery and Ino looked a bit jittery and nervous. Yes, he decided. I'll make the sacrifice if it comes to it because what kind of Hokage would I be if I couldn't even save a friend?
"We're here," said Tazuna, pointing to the rickety boat that'd bring them to Wave.
Things were about to get interesting and the fight for Wave was literally about to begin…
IIII
Author's Notes:
A bit of a cliffhanger at the end (not really for anyone with half a brain who knows what's(who's) lurking in the trees of Wave Country atop his blade). I'd originally planned on having the battle with Zabuza be this chapter as well, but I decided to save it for the next one.
Title of this chapter is another favorite song of mine by a favored band as well, although the title of this chapter is sort of a two-parter with the next chapter. A lot of the chapters are some of my favorite songs (chapter 8 as well as this one and the next for example). Anyone who notices them has good taste in music ;).
Translation:
