AN: Thank you for all of the kind reviews!
Chapter 8: Reporting Home
The four shinobi of Konoha returned to their village quickly and without incident. Naruto couldn't wait to get the best ramen in town. As he was about to dash off Kakashi reminded him they had to report back at the Hokage tower first.
"Ahh but ramen!"
Kakashi's one visible eye twitched violently. Every time he thought he was making progress…
The three reported directly to the Hokage. Sarutobi had a pipe in his mouth as he saw team 7 enter to make their report. The first report had led to the mission being upgraded to a rank B mission. The 2nd report after the battle that led to the death of Zabuza turned it into an A ranked mission. Hiruzen had great confidence in Kakashi's abilities but really this was a bit much for a young genin team's first mission.
Kakashi made his report efficiently and effectively. The Hokage's eyebrows shot up at having the genin kill so quickly. He had wanted them to retain their innocence a little longer. He shook himself out of his thoughts as the elite jonin continued the debrief. When Kakashi finished the third Hokage smiled at the four shinobi.
"You've exceeded my expectations, well done."
Kakashi took the praise in stride while his genin team basked in it. Kakashi could tell even Sasuke was effected by the words, though he hid it well. Naruto's smile was an ear to ear grin. Sakura was more demure but she positively glowed at the praise from the village's legendary leader.
The Hokage dismissed everyone but Kakashi. Naruto invited the other two for ramen. Sasuke shrugged and agreed. Kakashi would expect him to be part of the team. With Sasuke going it made Sakura's choice a foregone conclusion. All three of the genin headed to Ramen Ichiraku. Hiruzen looked at Kakashi, "I understand you don't want it in writing that Sasuke has unlocked the Sharingan?"
"Hai, if no one knows Sasuke has developed the Sharingan he will be better protected. A live Sharingan can make him a target. Furthermore it always helps for a shinobi to be underestimated."
The Hokage chewed on his pipe in thought. "I'll keep it out of the written reports, I understand caution but only a few people have access to the reports. Sometimes your wariness is more like paranoia Kakashi-san. The masked jonin looked at the Hokage and replied with simple logic, "If I take precautions that aren't needed it is a minor inconvenience. But if I take precautions when it is needed it could make all the difference. Any edge no matter how small that will help them survive I will give them."
He couldn't find fault with the argument so he agreed to do as his jonin asked. The written copies of the report were different then what had been orally communicated. Most everything was the same but the Sharingan was absent completely as was any mention of the genin helping Kakashi deal with Zabuza. With a bow Kakashi left Sarutobi alone with his thoughts.
Kakashi took the pay for the mission and also turned in the sealing scroll that had Zabuza's head. Zabuza's blade was also given up but instead of using it as part of the bounty it would go to the care of Konoha where it would find a worthy wielder. Kakashi would split the money with his team in the next morning. For now… it was time to see if the latest Icha Icha had arrived while he was gone.
***BREAK***
Naruto was ecstatic! Not only was he finally getting his favorite food at Ramen Ichiraku but both of his teammates would be with him! Naruto introduced them to Teuchi and his daughter Ayame. Sasuke said little while Sakura introduced herself properly. Soon they were all eating delicious ramen, while neither was as enthusiastic as Naruto it was tasty and they enjoyed it.
After completing the ramen they went their separate ways. Naruto returned to his home. Since placing a few traps the home had not been vandalized. The fact that he was a shinobi now meant that he could legally assault someone for breaking into his residence. Naruto made a dozen clones that began reading books.
Naruto considered what he would like to with the money he would soon be receiving as his share of the bounty and the A ranked mission. His come use new furniture but Naruto honestly didn't care about that. He wanted to get stronger; he wanted to purchase something that would enhance his skills.
Kakashi had told him about "chakra blades" that would be very expensive but extremely useful for a wind affinity like himself. Naruto also thought about getting alternative weaponry. Most shinobi favored small weaponry that allowed for easy carrying and stowing so that hand signs could be used at a moment's notice.
He did like the thought of wielding a katana or a staff. From reading historical battles he knew his jiji used a staff in battle that he summoned. Naruto decided to go shopping at a weapons store and see what might be effective for him. He left his clones to continue their reading while he used his Henge to look like a non-descript teenage shinobi. That done he went into town avoiding all of the glares and hate he had been subjected to for most of his life. The young genin was still kicking himself for not thinking of this plan prior to Kakashi telling him.
Naruto found himself browsing a weapon shop. Like a kid in a candy store Naruto drooled over the potential additions to his shinobi arsenal. The shopkeeper allowed him to handle the various weapons and Naruto tried a few moves with each of them. Laughter interrupted once one of his practice strikes; he turned and found a young kunoichi shaking her head. "You are holding that katana all wrong!"
Naruto flushed thankful the Henge hid his embarrassment. "I never trained with any weapons other then the academy standard ones," he defended himself. Naruto recognized the girl; she was a fellow genin a year ahead of his graduating class. Her name was Tenten and she had a reputation for knowing her way around weapons. Naruto's clones had learned a lot just observing the village and this was one of the little facts that came to mind.
Tenten showed Naruto the proper way to hold the blade. Naruto had an idea, "Hey Tenten how about you some weapons and help me pick out something that will be useful for me!" Tenten looked at the shinobi she had never seen until now and asked, "Hmm I have my own training to do plus you haven't even introduced yourself. Who are you? "
Naruto considered lying but he suspected the keen eyed kunoichi would be able to detect the Henge and any falsehood. Instead he leaned in close, "I'm Naruto part of team 7, a lot of the shop owners don't like me so I use a Henge."
Tenten was surprised that Naruto was in disguise. Naruto had been held back so for a brief time he had actually been in Tenten's class. A subtle Naruto instead of a bright orange overly excitable Naruto sparked her curiosity. Tenten said, "All right… let's do this. I'll show you a variety of weapons for a couple of hours and you tell me what you've been up to these days." Naruto laughed, "All right! Let's head the practice field right now!"
Both of them left the shop and proceeded to the nearest training field. Along the way Naruto regaled Tenten with how awesome it was to be a shinobi. About how they went on their first mission outside of the village and how it had turned into a rank A mission. Naruto did manage to hold back anything related to his and his teammates training. While Tenten was clearly a fellow leaf shinobi Kakashi had warned him about sharing news about his abilities. Spies existed in the shinobi world and one never knew who was listening.
Tenten didn't ask about that anyhow. Instead she was fascinated by Zabuza's weapon, Kubikiribocho. Naruto didn't know why she was so obsessed with it but he answered all of the questions she had. He didn't really know much about the weapon, Kakashi had been the one to do nearly all of the battle in that conflict.
When they arrived at the practice field Tenten showed the jinchuuriki all types of weapons. Naruto was in awe at the arsenal she pulled out. Several of the weapons were not practical in his mind but she wielded them with a grace that was astounding. Tenten had him test out several of the weapons and adjusted his forms and grip as needed.
"Are you a close range fighter or do you prefer to stay in the back?" That was an interesting question. The immediate answer was a ranged fighter due to Kakashi's lessons. But Naruto had been working on looking underneath the surface. While Kakashi would want his team to stay back and minimize their risk, he expected Naruto to use his clones in close combat. Any weapon skill he learned could be transferrable to his clones.
Naruto answered her, "I'm in between, I don't mind getting in close though." Tenten frowned at the non answer but then shrugged. "In that case let's set you up with what you had in the store, a katana. It's straightforward but allows for a longer reach then a kunai but still allows combat in close quarters." They spent the last 30 minutes going through weapon drills. Naruto thanked Tenten profusely and declared, "With this extra training I'll have all I need to be the next Hokage!" Tenten rolled her eyes but accepted the thanks with good grace.
Naruto asked her if she knew any good books or scroll techniques he could pick up for using a katana. She named a book he could pick up that showed the basic stances and a generic fighting style. "Anything too far advanced is typically held secret by families or clans. Don't let that stop you though! Come up with your own style and your opponent will be in trouble because they won't have ever seen it before." Naruto again thanked her and returned to the shop to purchase a pair of katanas, having backup equipment was another rule that his sensei had drilled into him.
At the shop he also requested the chakra blades. Chakra blades were made of material that absorbed chakra and were rare. The store didn't have them but if Naruto paid for them up front he would order a pair of kunai made of the chakra absorbent material. Naruto would have to come back the next day to put in the order as Kakashi hadn't split the proceeds from the bounty yet. Naruto returned home excited about showing off his new weapon to the team tomorrow.
***BREAK***
Sakura had enjoyed the meal with the team. She loved her Sasuke-kun and Naruto wasn't nearly as annoying as he used to be. The team was starting to feel like a family and she wanted to do all she could to protect it. It was time to make a decision. Genjutsu or training in medical jutsu. Sakura made her decision based on what had happened in the battles they had been in.
Death was swift, death was often instantaneous. Haku died to a kunai to the brain. Zabuza died due to his heart being obliterated by Kakashi's Chidori. No medical jutsu could fix that. Threats to the team could be fatal before she even got a chance to heal. But what if she could prevent an attack from landing in the first place? What if she could use her superior chakra control to ensure her teammates didn't even get hit? With these thoughts in mind she chose her specialty, it would be in Genjutsu.
Genjutsu was a rare art in Konoha. The primary users had been the Uchiha clan through the use of their dojutsu. That path required the Sharingan, a clear dead end. The most famous Genjutsu user currently in the village was Kurenai Yuh. The problem was that she had her own genin team, and jonin instructors should put all of their efforts on improving their own team. That went double for the first year as a jonin.
Kakashi would absolutely train her but she knew that was not his specialty. Kakashi was a master at ninjutsu and an absolute terror with taijutsu but his Genjutsu was limited. Sakura would need someone else to help supplement her training in this if she was to develop it to the point where it could actually fool dangerous opponents.
Sakura decided to put her ear to the ground and see if she could find a jonin who was skilled with Genjutsu who could tutor her a couple of times a week. Between that and the training Kakashi would give her she should be able to make significant progress. Her share of the bounty would be used to pay for the lessons. Sakura felt a burst of energy inside of her. She had confidence in her choice; she was not going to be a liability to her team!
***BREAK**
Team 7 met up again the next day. As was typical they quickly and efficiently completed a D ranked mission and then turned to training. Kakashi talked to them about what they would want to tackle next on their training agenda.
Kakashi was approving of Sakura's choice to specialize in Genjutsu. He told her to continue working to improve her taijutsu and conditioning with weights. On that subject he had purchased a new set of weights for all of them. These weights at first were incredibly light until they pushed Chakra into them. "These seals are designed to be only accessed by yourselves, only increase the weight when I advise you to but in a fight you can quickly release the excess weight. Additional when we travel too much weight and you'll snap tree limbs as you leap from branch to branch."
All three of the genin also had their weights increased. Kakashi created a pair of clones so he could have some one on one time with each of his students. The original went with Sasuke; he was going to teach the last Uchiha the original move he had created. The Chidori. Sasuke had seen it in action and knew it was a fantastic kill move; it would burst through most defensive barriers, especially earth which was often used for defense.
Kakashi cautioned Sasuke on the use of it. "Never use this on a comrade or a leaf shinobi. This jutsu should only be used on the enemies of Konoha." Sasuke promised to obey this command. Sasuke also learned his chakra reserve would only allow him to use it two times before being exhausted. "With constant training you should be able to increase the number of times you can use this jutsu to three fairly quickly."
With the aid of the Sharingan it was easy for Sasuke to pick up the jutsu and by the end of the day he had successfully performed the jutsu and slammed it into the earth leaving a crater. "Excellent work, now on to your taijutsu training." Sasuke pushed his groaning muscles the limit with the new chakra weights. He was still able to maintain the perfection that Kakashi required in taijutsu forms. He was determined not to fall behind Naruto with weights and speed.
With Sakura he taught her some more basic Genjutsu applications. Most Genjutsu operated on sight but a few operated on auditory senses. The auditory ones were extraordinarily rare but very effective since it meant the victim could be affected before even laying sight on the caster. "I don't have any auditory Genjutsu in my repertoire, it will be a long shot if your tutor has one either. Sight Genjutsu is still amazingly powerful. Remember on this team you don't necessarily need to isolate and control an individual for a significant length of time, as soon as the Genjutsu has them one of us should move to eliminate the threat instantly."
The clone with Naruto observed him use the katana. Naruto explained his reasoning as well as Kakashi looked on. "I need to get good with this so my clones can use it well. I'll still keep my hands free for using jutsu." Kakashi praised Naruto for the plan, "Good thinking Naruto, I'm glad you thought ahead of this. I'm also glad you are putting in the order for the chakra blades, with your wind affinity those chakra kunai will be devastating."
Kakashi also taught Naruto a new jutsu. "You are already familiar with Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). I am going to show you a modification of this technique." Naruto jumped in the air with excitement, a new jutsu! The clone's visible eye twitched. He doubted he would ever get used to Naruto's un-shinobi like behavior. He also doubted he could break him of the habit without breaking the boy completely down.
Kakashi clapped his palms together. "Futon: Reppusho" (Wind Release: Gale Palm) A burst of wind pushed out from around Kakashi in all directions. Naruto was shoved backward a dozen feet but landed agilely. "This attack unlike Daitoppa has a 360 degree arc. Using this will allow you to stop projectiles from all directions. You can also use it as a surprise in close quarters but it doesn't have the destructive potential of Daitoppa."
Naruto eagerly made a score of clones and began practicing. As always Kakashi was amazed at the sheer level of chakra Naruto had. Most shinobi, including himself had to be cautious of using too much ninjutsu. Naruto had just left the academy and had chakra reserves that surpassed most jonin. While hid started at pathetically abysmal levels, it had grown much better. The shadow clone technique had got Naruto's chakra control to appropriate levels in a fraction of the time it would otherwise have taken.
Overall Kakashi was very pleased with the progress of team 7. He didn't want to interrupt their training too much by tackling missions away from the village. However he did want them to have more exposure to real shinobi missions. For the next two days he would train them hard and he would scan the mission list for anything that was relatively close by that was a C or B rank.
Normally no genin would be going on B rankings but he knew he could convince the old man that his team could handle it. In all honesty any B rank would be a piece of cake for Kakashi to solo, his mission success rate on A missions was quite nearly flawless. Regardless of rank, the important part of the mission was that it be close to Konoha. It was difficult to train at the level he demanded his team to train at on the road.
As was typical Kakashi completed his own training after team 7 split. Kakashi practiced what he preached. He would place his own chakra weights and continue to hone his own body. He also liked to experiment with jutsu combinations and find new uses for them. After three hours of training he cooled down and drifted on to rest. Kakashi felt good about his team's progress and eagerly looked forward to see how his three genin would develop.
AN: A little bit of training in this arc. I won't spend as much time detailing training as I did earlier. I do want to put in place how and why they picked up certain skills. The next mission will be a brand new one outside of the anime. Remember team 7 has returned back from wave quicker because there was no recovery period and Naruto's clones helped build the bridge faster.
