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Chapter 9: Expect the Unexpected
A several hours later:
Team 8 was walking down the path towards wave, making conversation with one another.
Hinata would talk to Kurenai about healing techniques and plants that were good in teas and drinks.
Shikamaru would converse with Naruto when said blond wasn't asking Tazuna questions.
"So what's Wave Country like?" Naruto asked.
Tazuna looked down at the short blond. "Well, Wave country is a beautiful country. We exported and imported to all the major villages and were known for a our harbors. It was beautiful until..." the old man seemed to trail off, now looking up at the clear blue sky above them. Naruto wondered what could have happened to the old man's home.
The rest of Team 8 were also curious. Last time Kurenai heard, Wave was doing quite well for itself, and controlled most shipping industries in the area.
"If you don'r mind me asking, Tazuna-san." Kurenai asked. "What happened to Wave?"
Tazuna looked down at his sake bottle before taking another long gulp. He shook his head and wiped the alcohol from his lips and sighed. "Wave has been going through... a tough time, if you could call it that. We're in a bit of a bind, so we need my bridge built so we can get more shipping done."
He sighed and took another swig. "The open waters aren't so safe anymore."
Kurenai nodded, trying to put all the pieces together. It was obvious to her that Tazuna was not telling them the whole story.
The group continued down the path. Naruto looked around with glee, as he had never been this far from the village. He gazed back down at the path and noticed on the side of the road that there was a puddle.
'Has it rained at all these past few weeks?' He asked himself. 'And why is there just one puddle? Shouldn't there be more if it rained around here?'
He then looked up and saw that there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Something seemed off to him, so he edged his way closer to Shikamaru as they walked. He got right along side the lazy Nara and decided to voice his concerns.
"Yo Shika." He said quietly. "Did you see the puddle?" Shikamaru sighed and looked at Naruto without turning his head. "Yeah, I noticed. It looks like it's a genjutsu. I sensed two people inside it. We should be ready for an ambush. There may be more up ahead."
Naruto nodded at the information. He wished he could tell that it was a genjutsu, but he still had trouble with it, especially with seeing them. 'Looks like more training is needed.' He thought bitterly.
Both Naruto and Shikamaru relayed their info to Hinata and Kurenai, who also noticed, and they were all on high alert, waiting for when the assailants would attack.
They didn't have to wait long, as out of nowhere, Kurenai was suddenly bound up in chains, stopping the group from moving. They all watched in horror as two men wearing Kiri headbands jumped out of the trees and pulled the chains, ripping their sensei apart.
"One down. Four to go." Whispered one of the assailants.
Naruto was ready to freak out, but he managed to quickly relax when he saw that the chunks of his sensei were actually butterflies, which proceeded to fly away. He strengthened his resolve, knowing that his sensei was probably alive and just hiding somewhere.
Naruto looked up to see the two men in dark clothing charging at the rest of them and he quickly flashed through hand-signs. "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!"
A dozen Narutos all formed into existence out of the water in the air and spread out. It seemed to startle their opponents alittle bit. They all then charged, in an attempt to confuse the enemy.
It seemed to have worked, as the two were forced to release the 'bloody' chain and defend themselves from the small horde of blond ninjas.
Shikamaru and Hinata jumped into action as well, each taking on a ninja for themselves. Shikamaru went forward with the real Naruto to finish off the enemy ninja, who were now getting tired from having to fight half a dozen Nautos each. Hinata jumped back and assumed her Hyuuga stance to protect a shocked Tazuna from the enemy. She was the main line of defense against any attack that came at the client.
Naruto summoned several more clones to help hold off the two fighters, hoping to give Shikamaru a chance to capture one of them them.
Naruto charged in and attacked one of the fighters using his water strike taijutsu while his clones went after the other. Naruto and the twin horned fighter traded blows, but it was obvious that while the enemy had more training, Naruto had more raw power and resolve. Naruto avoided or blocked against his opponent's attacks, making sure to avoid the razor sharp claws at the end of the man's left arm. Luckily the gauntlet seemed to be heavy, so it was not too hard to counter for the blond.
He would wait and exploited the openings in the Kiri ninja's attacks, then used strong and harsh strikes at the man's joints and chest. It seemed to work, as the man would wince under his mask when he tried to maneuver certain ways, while also pissing him off, making him try harder to kill Naruto.
"Why are you attacking our client?!" Naruto demanded as he ducked under neath a clawed gauntlet aimed for his head.
"That is for us to know and for you to die slowly!" the demon horned man said as he went for another slash at Naruto, who jumped back to avoid it. The attack was cut short though, as the man suddenly stopped mid attack, as if frozen in time.
"Kageshibari no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique) success" called out a familiar voice. Naruto to see Shikamaru, who was in the bushes a few feet from the fight, with shadows extending from his feet to the enemy's. Naruto gave a big smile to the use to be lazy Nara. "Way to go Shika!" He half yelled as he gave a thumbs up. The Nara then put his hands behind his back, as did the ninja who was forced to copy the move, and Naruto started binding the mans hands together with rope from his bag.
"Yo boss! We got the other one down over here!" Naruto turned to see about half a dozen clones all surrounding a worn out and beaten Kiri ninja.
The frozen one looked at his partner in horror. "Brother!" He turned his attention to Naruto, who was still tying his hands, with obvious anger written on his face." When I get out of this ridiculous bind, I will kill you slowly for what you did to my kin."
"The only thing you will be doing is telling us who sent you." said a female voice. Team 8 all knew who it was and looked up to see where the voice came from.
Kurenai took this moment to step out of the canopy of the tree she was hiding in. She smiled down at her students then jumped down elegantly, landing right in front of the team and bewildered client. "Good job team. It was good to know that you all could handle yourselves in a fight like that. I was prepared to jump in when it was needed, but I'm glad that I didn't have to."
Naruto smiled widely at the compliment, and so did Shikamaru and Hinata, but not near as much as their energetic teammate.
After knocking both of them unconscious, Naruto and his clones tied up the two immobile fighters to a tree. while Kurenai flipped through a small pocket book. Shikamaru and Hinata stayed close to the client, just in case of another attack.
Kurenai finished flipping through her book and slowly walked over to the two tied up fighters. She saw they were still unconscious and it might take awhile to wake them. "*sigh*, Naruto, could you please assist me with waking these two up?" Naruto didn't needed to be told twice, as he smiled and flashed through several quick handsigns. "Suiton, Suidan no Jutsu (Water Bullet Jutsu)!"
A small water shot hit both the ninja in the face, startling them and forcing them to wake up. They looked around and saw that they were now tied up. Before they had a chance to think of escaping, Kurenai walked up to them stoically.
"Gozu and Meizu, otherwise known as the Demon brothers. Low Chunin ranked ninja who specialize in team assassination using poison gauntlets and a shuriken chain. Wanted in Kiri as missing nin. Tend to work for other clients. As of now, known to have worked for Demon of the Bloody Mist, Momochi Zabuza, A rank missing nin. Would you mind explaining anything to me, or shall I have to resort to other means to get information?" She demanded coldly.
"You can go to hell you leaf headed whore. We won't tell you a damn thing." Meizu snarled out. "I agree with my brother. We would rather die than release any info on who hired us." The other brother known as Gozu said, but more coldly than his sibling.
Kurenai simply smiled sweetly at them. "Well, don't say I didn't warn you."
-;-;-;-;-;-;-
The two ninja told Kurenai everything and where now waiting for other ninja to capture them and arrest them.
Team 8 and Tazuna were curious as to how Kurenai got the brothers to give up the info. She shooed them away before she did it. When the three genin plus old man returned, they saw two brothers awkwardly holding each other while still bound, bawling their eyes out, and Kurenai walking away from them slowly with a sickly sweet smile on her face.
They would forever question what she did while also being careful to not piss her off. They wouldn't want that, whatever it was, to happen to them.
Kurenai questioned Tazuna about what he was hiding, and he tried to brush it off, but after being pushed alittle more by the still smiling Kurenai, he hesitantly confessed that Wave was under the control of a terrible business man named Gato. Gato forced his home country into submission by buying up most businesses in the area, and starving out the country as he drained its resources.
He explained how he and the rest of his village only had enough money for a C- Rank mission, and that he knew that if he didn't have protection, he would be killed by Gato's men. Kurenai nodded her head, understanding what he meant, judging by what had just happened. While she knew that while she was not suppose to, it was only right to help Tazuna. But then again, if they were facing someone like Gato, who had big connections to mercenaries and dangerous missing nin, her genins could get hurt, or worse, die. She shook her head at tazuna and explained that they might now be able to take the mission, as it was too dangerous for a new team such as them.
Naruto stepped in and pleaded for Kurenai to let them finish the mission. She explained her reasons to the blond, but he wasn't having any of it, and told her that he wanted to complete his first real mission. Along with support from both Shikamaru and a shy Hinata, Kurenai knew that her team wanted to do this for the 'poor old man'.
Kurenai looked down at the ground and put her hand on her chin to think about the options. While her team had made great strides in strength, she didn't think they were ready for a jonin ranked missing nin. Too many ninja have died trying to fight someone above their level of skill. But if they gave up the mission, then Tazuna could die, and an entire country could suffer. After thinking for what felt like ages, Kurenai decided it would be best to send a message back explaining what happened and that her team would be finishing the mission, but asking for assistance aswell.
She looked up and told Tazuna that Team 8 would continue the mission. The acceptance of continuing had Tazuna crying tears of joy and profusely apologizing for the woman comment he made to Kurenai earlier that day. Naruto jumped into the air with excitement. Shikamaru and Hinata smiled and laughed a little at their teammate's antics and knew he had just gotten them into a very dangerous situation.
Kurenai pulled out some paper from her bag and wrote a note explaining everything and the need for help on a mission that should be considered an A-Rank. She tied up the scrolled paper and bit her thumb, letting the blood droplets fall to the ground. Everyone wondered what she was doing until she screamed out "Kuchiyose no Jutsu".
The area was blanketed with smoke, forcing everyone to look away. After a moment, Naruto, Shikamaru, Tazuna, and Hinata all turned to see a butterfly the size of a dog, with beautiful wings that shimmered like a transitioning rainbow, hovering by Kurenai.
"Hello Kurenai-san. What is it that you need of me?" A feminine voice said. "Hello Chou-san." Said Kurenai. "I'm glad that you came. I need you to take this to the Hokage and that it is urgent that he reads it." She handed to tied scroll to the large butterfly, who then used one of its claws to grip it. "I will come back to you with the Hokage's answer as soon as I can, Kurenai-san." Said the beautiful butterfly.
Chou then poofed away, leaving a confused Team 8 and old man to look at Kurenai with surprise. "Kurenai-sensei! What was that thnig?!" Yelled Naruto.
"That was my summon. I have a contract with the butterfly clan, and as such, I am able to summon them when I need them for objectives or combat." Kurenai explained.
"Oooh.. So like Jiji's monkeys?" Naruto asked as he started to get what she was saying. Kurenai looked at Naruto with surprise, as did everyone, except Tazuna, who was still confused.
"You met the Third's summons?" Kurenai asked.
"Yeah, the Monkey King Enma or whatever. I tried to give him a banana but he wasn't amused by it." Team 8 sweatdropped at the blond's usual antics.
It was at that moment that Chou returned with a poof of smoke. "Kurenai-san, the Hokage said he would send a team to catch up with you as soon as possible, and to avoid confrontation with any other ninja if possible." Kurenai nodded.
"Thank you Chou-san. You are free to leave." The butterfly nodded and poofed away once more. Kurenai turned to her team and Tazuna.
"Alright everyone, you heard that, right? We are still moving, but I want all of you to be vigilant as we head there. We are still about alittle more than two days away from Wave, so we will keep moving with haste, but be ready in case we face more enemies or if reinforcements show up." Everyone nodded and they continued to Wave, with Naruto now asking questions about Kurenai's summons or about Gato.
-;-;-;-;-;-
Sarutobi reported back to Kurenai through her summon and checked his roster to find any teams available for the mission. Sadly, most teams of chunin or jonin were busy at the moment, or getting ready for the exams coming up in Konoha soon. That left his genin teams.
Team 4 was a good option, but he heard that two of their genin were injured. It happened after a roof collapsed during a mission to fix up old houses in the red light district. That meant they were out as an option.
Team 9 was on an escort mission for a paranoid merchant, so they were out.
That left Team 10. He knew that they were not ready, and even if there were, they could not face a jonin ninja. And who was to say there were not more ninja that this 'Gato' had hired. That meant he had only one option, and he knew he was going to regret it.
-;-;-;-;-;-
Team 10 walked into the Hokage tower, wondering why they were called in. Kiba was kind antsy, and wanted to know if he did something wrong again and would be punished again by his troublesome mom. (Cue Shikamaru sneezing.)
Apparently, after hearing about Kiba's behavior, his mother Tsume was not happy. She punished him for such behavior that shamed the Inuzuka Clan, and put him in anger management class to mellow him out. He complained heavily at first, and fought for a good few weeks about it, but he was mellowing out now, and it seemed to work out for all of Team 10. Now they could complete missions without too much trouble and were getting closer. Though, Kiba would instantly slip back into his old behavior if he got too mad.
They walked into the the Hokage's office to see him sitting at his desk with a serious expression on his face. It must be something important then.
"Thank you for bringing your team Son. I am in need of all of you for a mission, but I think I should wait for the rest of the people I invited to show up first." They wondered who he meant, until Team 7 walked in.
Sasuke had a scowl on his face, obviously still peeved about what happened to him and the punishment he still had.
Ino seemed more irritated then usual, but it was directed at her team, including Sasuke, which confused everyone.
Sakura was still trying to fawn over Sasuke, no surprise.
And lastly, Kakashi was reading a special edition Icha Icha book with a gold seal on it. Asuma and the Hokage knew that they would have to go to the book store in order to get the new copy, which they though wouldn't come out for another few weeks.
Kakashi looked up from his book reluctantly and gave an eye smile to the populous of the room. "Oh, hello everyone. Is my team late?"
The Hokage sighed. "Actually, I told you the time two hours early so you would actually come when I needed you." Sarutobi explained.
The Hokage stood up and looked at the ninja in the room, making sure to get all their attention. "I have called you in because I have received an important report. Early this morning, I sent Team 8 on a C-Rank mission to-"
"Wait! You sent the loser team on a better mission!? Why not give us that mission?! Sasuke-kun is way stronger than any of them!" Sakura yelled out. Everyone was forced to cover their ears at the loud banshee screech that seemed to run in the Haruno family.
"Actually." Shino said coolly, with his bugs buzzing around him with irritation from the scream. "Sasuke-san is still on probation for another two months for what he did during the team exercise. That, and it is proven that Team 8 has the best success ratio of any team of fresh genin. Logic does not lie, which explains why they would be the first to receive a higher mission." He finished, Sasuke didn't seem too happy about his probation being brought up again.
"Thank you, Shino." The Hokage stated gratefully. "As I was saying before I was interrupted," He threw a glare at the pink haired kunoichi, who looked down at her shoes nervously."Team 8 is on a C- Rank mission that is not what it seemed. They encountered two Chunin, the Demon Brothers of Kiri along the way. Luckily, Nara Shikamaru and Uzumaki Naruto were able to subdue them before they attacked the client." This seemed to get mixed ideas from the genin.
Choji, Shino, Kiba, and even Ino were all wondering how strong the supposed 'losers' have gotten.
Sakura was angered not only that Sasuke didn't get the same chance, but how the losers did it. 'They probably cheated.' She thought to her self, with her inner Sakura saying nothing. Probably not wanting to agree with her.
Sasuke wondered how the losers were able to do it and how they got that power. He needed it so he could avenge his clan, so he supposed he would have to find out for himself the next time he saw them.
"Sadly, they learned that Zabuza Momochi, A- Rank jonin missing nin, is waiting for them. That means that this mission is no longer a C-Rank mission, but a B or A rank. They have called for help in order to save Wave country and complete the bridge that the client is building. I need both Teams 7 and 10 to go there and assist team 8 with the mission." Sasuke smirked, happy that he was not only getting a chance to prove himself against a jonin, but that he was being let off the hook. The Hokage noticed and scowled at the young man.
"Do not think that just because you are allowed to go on this mission that you are off the hook. If I find out that you do anything out of order during the mission, then I will revoke your license as a ninja. Do you understand, Uchiha Sasuke?" he asked coldly. Sasuke gave his angered scowl, but nodded.
"Good." the Hokage stated. "Now make way with haste. I need all of you to catch up with Team 8 and the client before something happens. Good luck." With that they all bowed and made their way to pack and head out to Wave, wondering how their fellow genin are doing on the dangerous C-Rank mission.
-;-;-;-;-;-;-
Several Hours later: Nighttime
Team 8 was setting up camp for the night. Naruto's clones were used as a source of fresh water, Shikamaru collected wood. Hinata and Naruto pitched the tents and set the firepit up. Kurenai was keeping watch for now.
Naruto finished tying up the corner for the last tent and thought about the last few months.
He learned a cool water clone jutsu, passed his exams, fought Mizuki and won, got onto Team 8, passed the second test, got great teammates, got a great sensei, trained like crazy, fought in a team exercise that totally backfired, trained even more, went on annoying D-Ranks, and was now on his first C-Rank mission and he defeated a Chunin rank ninja.
It was amazing. He couldn't help but wonder if he never got the water clone jutsu in the beginning. Probably fail the test again, still be a loser deadlast, still have a crush on Sakura, and never have a chance to have what he did right now.
He walked over to the unlit fire and thought about his team again. Kurenai was the first real teacher to help with all his problems. Iruka was great, but he had to focus on several dozen other students, so he couldn't always be there for him. Kurenai-sensei on the other hand, pushed him to become stronger, helped him find a taijutsu style, helped with his abysmal chakra control, taught him how to be smarter with his decisions, got him on a better diet, and even taught him a cool water jutsu. She was a great teacher. He was glad he got her and not some lazy pervert. (Cue Jiraiya and Kakashi sneezing).
Shikamaru was his sleeping pal in the academy. The same lazy Nara that showed him the wonders of dozing off and cloud-watching. Now he was way stronger and could make rock walls, use shadows without getting tired, and could even run around without complaining about things being troublesome. Well, not that often at least. And best of all, he was a great friend.
Then there was Hinata. She was the team's soft hearted hero. When he first saw her at the academy, he thought she was alittle weird, always stuttering and poking her fingers together. But after meeting her, he couldn't imagine his life without her in it. She was there when he needed her. She helped with chakra techniques when Kurenai wasn't there, helped with plants and how to care for them, made healing balms for any injuries, and always worried about others. That was not to say she wasn't badass though. She could run on water and kick anyone's ass with chakra infused palms when necessary, but she was very passive, so she only did it when her friends were hurt.
"Friends" He said to himself. He had friends now. Not some rivalry like with Sasuke or a crush with Sakura. It was friendship. The one thing he had always strived for, and he realized that he had had it for quite awhile.
Friends with a lazy but motivated Nara, and a shy but cute Hyuuga. 'Wait, did I just call her cute?' he asked himself.
"Yo Naruto, the firepit is better when it's actually on fire." He shook his head quickly and looked up to see Shikamaru and Hinata standing above him. "Oh, sorry guys. I forgot, I have the matches." He went over to his backpack and pulled out his box of matches. "Alright, we have some fish that Naruto's clones picked up from the small river nearby, so I hope your're all hungry." Kurenai said as she walked out of the forest. Everyone nodded, even Tazuna, who was somewhat out of it at the moment after almost dying earlier that day. Naruto walked over to the fire and lit the oil at the bottom, starting it up and cooking the fish that were over it. He stepped back and sat back down, looking back at his teammates and his sensei, with a smile gracing his face. 'Yeah. I'm pretty lucky to have a team like them.'
(End Chapter 9)
Hey everyone, Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Please give me any ideas that you have for an Omake, as i couldn't think of a good one to add for this chapter.
Please Follow and review and let me know what you think.
Until next time, see ya!
