Author Notes:
Ok everybody let me start my notes for this chapter with acknowledging one of my readers. I found his optimism to be quite refreshing and its comments and praise like this that certainly make me want to continue writing even when I'm busy as hell. So anyways the following review was from 'Human Kitsune Hero':
MUST...GET...MAKERS...OF...NARUTO...TO...MAKE...THIS...INTO...A...MOVIE...NOW!
That is how great this story is. Man I want this to be a Naruto movie so dam bad.
ps. when you make the next chap. can you post this up to show the other readers i said this because I bet some of them must think the same thing. And I want to see how many will say they agree with me. You just rock hard as rock core!
So anyways as much as I doubt the above will ever happen I do find myself suddenly curious as to how many of you all agree with him. so be sure to give me your answers in your reviews when you review this chapter.
Ok so now onto other more stressing matters. I realize that I have fallen behind on my updates and I hope that my readers can forgive me for this. This holiday season has been hell on earth for me. I can not remember the last time that I found myself this busy with work. Anyways that's just one of the trade offs of running your own business. When everybody else can take it easy you got to work your butt off. Anyways I am hoping that things will quite down a bit over the next month and in the mean time I am going to try my best to update once a week. Once things cool off then I will be back to my abnormally fast update times of once every day or two.
Oh speaking of updates. For those of you who are interested in I am starting a second Fan fiction. This one is for the series Bleach. I have had an idea in mind for quite some time now and it's driving me up the wall. If I don't start writing it down I swear I am going to go nuts.
No worries, It will not cause me to abandon this fiction and I will just alternate updates between the two causing each to get an update every 2 – 3 days hopefully.
Well happy reading and make sure you REVIEW!!!
Second Chances
Chapter Nine: Another Step forward
By Cybergades
Naruto was lost deep in his own thoughts as he lay on the ground, resting against a tree. They had just finished their first evening training session less then an hour ago and he had decided to stay behind to try and organize his thoughts and think out his next move. Time seemed to be against him in everything he was trying to do. Naruto found himself wondering yet again if he would truly be able to stop the disasters that awaited his village and friends in the not so distant future.
Hinata rested beside him, laying her head against his shoulder as they stared up into the stars. She had grown rather close to Naruto over the past month or so and while part of her wanted to be closer still she understood his reasoning behind taking it slow. It was a well known fact that women matured quicker then men and while Hinata was just coming into puberty Naruto still had another year or two before he experienced the same thing. It would just not be appropriate for them to be anything more then good friends at this point. That did not however dim her spirits in any way. She knew from talking with Naruto that his feelings for her were strong and that when the time came that they were both a little older that their relationship would grow as well. it was all just a matter of time now verses a matter of chance.
Hinata imagined that this must be much harder on Naruto then he let on and even harder then it was on her. He had 10 years of pent up feelings for her and he genuinely seemed to want to be with her but he also wanted to follow the social rules that were present in Konoha and the rest of the world. Despite his desires he was committed to waiting until they were a little older before engaging in any type of more intimate relationship. Hinata was still very happy despite all of these thoughts. Even if their relationship was not intimate in nature, Naruto was still her boyfriend and she was his girlfriend. She had been waiting half her life for this and the last month had been the happiest days of her life.
Hinata looked over at Naruto quickly for about the 9th time in the past hour. She had been stealing glances at her hearts desire constantly since the beginning of their training session tonight. She would smile and blush brightly whenever her lavender eyes met his ocean blue. Hinata had noticed that he had been getting more and more anxious throughout the day and wondered what was bothering him. They had done amazing in their training of their teammates. The results were beyond what they had hoped for. Something was on his mind and once again she found herself wondering what troubles he still hid from her.
Hinata stole one last glance and decided it was time she talk to him and try and bring him out of his shell. "So things went well today didn't they Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata as she stared at her love. Naruto looked towards Hinata and smiled weakly making it obvious that he was not fully paying attention to her. He was still lost in his thoughts. "Yes they made good progress. Although this was the easy part. The next day or two will tell if they are going to be able to complete the techniques in time to be useful to us in the upcoming battles and not just a hindrance." Said Naruto as he looked back towards the stars.
Hinata frowned as he turned away from her. He was hiding his thoughts and she hated it when he did that. "What do you think of their individual progress?" asked Hinata as if she had not heard him mention their progress in that area. Naruto turned back towards Hinata and smiled brightly. He could tell what she was trying to do. She knew him to well to miss the way he was staring off into space as if something was bothering him. He just hoped she would leave it alone. He wasn't really interested in talking about it right now.
"Well Sasuke made a lot of progress with the Fire Dragon technique that I was showing him. His family background in flame jutsus has made it a lot easier for him then I had thought. He pretty much has the seals down solid and he seems to almost have the chakra molding figured out as well. I imagine he will be testing it out in a day or so. Although the real challenge will come with him trying to control it. That is when the hard part comes in and none of his previous jutsus have had that type of control property to it. Still I am hopeful that he will have a pretty strong handle on it by the end of the week." Said Naruto. He looked at Hinata and realizing she was not going to let him off the hock he figured he would continue. It was better then talking about what was troubling him.
"Your progress was the best of everybody's. Obviously since we have been training for so long, you have gotten used to my style and are able to pick things up a lot easier. That and your really smart of course." Says Naruto trying to earn some brownie points. "You already have a strong handle on how to rotate the wind at high speeds and your ability to mold your chakra to force the wind to contract tightly so that it becomes similar to a blade has come along nicely today. I'd say you'll have the jutsu down by the end of the week if not sooner." Naruto took a deep breath before continuing.
"Sakura seemed to be having a little trouble with the healing jutsu I was teaching her early on in our session but by the end she had pretty much gotten over the hurdle that was holding her back. Her amazing chakra control is aiding her a lot and I honestly don't think she will have any problems once she fully understands the principals behind the jutsu and how it is meant to work. If she keeps it up she should be able to have it at an acceptable level before we meet with Zabuza although there is a great deal that I can't teach her." said Naruto.
"Shino and Kiba both seem to be having some troubles with their techniques and I am honestly worried that they will not progress far enough. If this is any indication of their speed of progression then they will be having a lot of problems when we run into Zabuza and his group of merry thugs." And with that Naruto sighed before looking back up towards the stars.
Hinata's frown deepened as she realized that he had stopped talking again and was not going to openly tell her what the problem was without her coming out and asking. She reached up and ran her hand through his messy golden locks causing him to jump slightly before turning back towards her and looking deep into her eyes. Naruto let out a soft sigh of content as Hinata slowly massaged his scalp. "What's wrong Naruto-kun? You seem so down. Please tell me what's bothering you. I hate it when you keep secrets from me and it hurts to see you upset like this." Said Hinata with a pleading tone in her voice.
Naruto cursed his luck; he really didn't want to hide anything from her but at the same time he didn't want to bother her with his worries. He turned and resigned himself to his fate. She was not going to let this go so he might as well face the music and just come out with it.
"Hinata-chan… I'm concerned. That's what the problem is. Their progress may be good but it's not good enough. I mean I knew going into this that their chances of succeeding with these jutsus in the time we had were not very impressive but I had hopped that they would by some miracle pull it off. But now I am almost certain that they will not be able to use them effectively when the fight with Zabuza comes. Which means they are sitting ducks." Said Naruto while rubbing the back of his neck.
"out of the 8 of us that will be involved in this fight only 4 of us are skilled enough to hold our own against these guys and even then I am concerned about you going up against the likes of Zabuza and Haku. Even with the skills I have though you, they still outclass you. As far as our jonin sensei's go, they can handle themselves but as it stands right now they have no idea that we will be running into them. They are on their guard now because of the last attack but they still are not prepared for a pair of S-Class ninja to be starting a fight with us. They will try to protect the 6 of us while fighting and that type of action can get them killed in this battle."
"What's more is it's likely to be more then just the two of them coming for us. And you can be sure that at some point during the fight their attention will turn towards us genin, at which point I may very well have to show my true abilities in order to keep us from getting killed. And if that was not bad enough, with the way things are right now I have absolutely no idea how we are going to be able to bring Haku and Zabuza over to our side. Everything is against us Hinata-chan. That is what my problem is." finished Naruto who was breathing heavily now. it would have been obvious to anybody that could see them that he was extremely anxious about this whole situation and as a result his mask of calm and tranquility that he usually wore was nothing more then a pile oh dust at his feet.
Naruto looked over at Hinata and what she saw scared her more then she thought she ever could be. Naruto had the look of a lost child on his face. He was supposed to be insanely powerful, everything she knew about him told her that he never gave up, he was always confident in his success and he was never afraid. But now all of those things lay at their feet and all she saw in his eyes was fear, worry, and a sense overwhelming confusion.
Hinata was shocked. She realized that he was worrying about something but she did not expect him to break down like this. She couldn't even begin to understand how much pain his must be in with all the memories haunting him of what he considered his failures in the past. All of his friends dieing around him. It must have been so hard on him and yet he almost never talked about it. It was eating him up inside and it showed at times like this. Hinata leaned over and gave Naruto a hug, holding him close.
She realized of course that these feelings were not for himself but his friends. He was not afraid for his life, he was afraid for the lives of his friends, his precious people. He was afraid that he would fail them when they needed him most and that it would result in an even grater failure which would ensure the loss of everything he knew. That was what he was afraid of, that was what he was worried about. And the confusion, the confusion was simple. He was just unsure of what he should do. She had always known him to be decisive in his actions; he always knew what he was doing. He may not have always had a plan but he always moved forward and never looked back. For the first time in his life he was genuinely unsure of what to do and confused about what he could do and that scared him. Doing nothing was just as good as accepting failure and yet if you do not know what to do then how can you move forward.
For the first time in her life she decided to take things into her own hands. It was her chance to be a guiding light for him instead of the other way around. If he wasn't sure what to do then she would show him the way and together they would see each other through this mess. Hinata pulled back slightly and grabbed Naruto by the shoulders, shaking him roughly to snap him out of his thoughts before speaking. "Naruto-kun… Your not alone in this fight, you have to let others help you or we will never succeed. Trust in your friends and they may very well surprise you. Even if they can't master these jutsus they will fight hard to ensure that we succeed and they won't die as easily as you think."
Naruto seemed to perk up a bit at her words. She was right of course. They may be jonin but they were still Konoha ninja and they would not give up. They would fight with every ounce of their strength until they felt they could not go any more and then they would go for another round. He was once again snapped out of his thoughts by her words. "From what you told me Haku and Zabuza are no push over's. Killing them was one thing, talking them into coming over to our side while trying to keep them from killing us is going to be a whole other matter."
"But you also said that you encountered them twice in your last mission. So don't try and convince them during the first battle. Instead beat them into the ground and make them see what Konoha Ninja are really capable of. Then before they retreat we make our offer. Keep in mind Naruto-kun that you said you know where Haku will be after the battle when we reach town. You can take that chance to convince him discretely about the benefits of coming to Konoha."
"Naruto-kun. You don't need to worry about the rest of us. We are all ninja and we know the risks. You need to trust that we will not let you or the village down. But more then that I know that you will watch out for us. You are a great ninja and you have 10 years of experience more then anybody would think that you had. It's a huge advantage to you in our upcoming battles. Everybody will underestimate you and since nobody was around to tell our enemies about what you did to the last ninjas we fought, our enemies will not know what to expect. They will think you're just a genin like the rest of us even though you have the skill of an Anbu captain. We can do this Naruto-kun, you just need to trust that we will all do our part and allow us to show you our ninja way." And with that Hinata pulled Naruto back to her and continued to hold him tight while waiting for his response.
Naruto stared wide eyed at the actions of the once shy girl that he knew. You are truly becoming a woman of great strength Hinata-chan. I am so proud of you, I will never understand how your father could ever call you weak. You said you wanted to be more like me. My only response to that is your already there. You have all the confidence and strength you need Hinata-chan, you just don't realize it yet. Thought Naruto. "Your right hina-chan, I need to trust that we will all pull our own weight and that in the end it will be us standing on top. What would I ever do without you?" teased Naruto.
Hinata blushed at the obvious comment before pulling away from Naruto and smiling brightly at him. Naruto smiled back and got to his feet. He still had his concerns but for now he had his wits back and was ready to call it a night. He needed his rest if he was going to maintain this schedule and stay sharp enough to be able to look out for his friends. He looked down at Hinata. Putting out his hand he said. "Shall we go?". Hinata smiled shyly at Naruto, blushing gracefully and took his hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet and into his arms. Naruto started to walk back to camp with his arm around Hinata's shoulder, talking happily about nothing in particular. Just enjoying her company.
It was the 4th day of their training together and once again Naruto found himself sitting under yet another tree staring up at the stars with Hinata sitting next to him. There was however one major difference now compared to there earlier encounter several days ago. Naruto was practically freaking out. Of course on the outside he was cool as ice, he was trying his best to keep up appearances until he determined what to do about this new problem. He had woke up early this morning before his and Hinata's watch and decided that he would go for a walk. He had masked his chakra and left behind a Kage bushin to be sure that nobody noticed he was gone.
That was not what was bugging him now though, what was bugging him is what he had discovered on his little walk. He had been walking around trying to sort his thoughts and just genuinely trying to get his plans in order for what was to come in a few days when he sensed a chakra signature that he didn't recognize. His training immediately kicked in and he took off in the direction he had sensed it. he approached the location with stealth, being sure to watch his surroundings and almost jumped into the middle of an enemy camp. He had in fact landed in a tree with one of their sentries and had barely managed to avoid detection.
He had observed them for nearly 30 minutes, listening in on their conversations and gaining valuable intelligence on what they were planning. Now you would think that he would be excited about this, after all he now knew exactly what to expect. Well sure he was happy that he knew but that did not change the fact that there was no way his team would survive unless he tipped them off about the ambush. There had been 14 ninja in their group spread out over nearly a mile of land in various hidden camps. They had obviously been following them for a day or two and that in it self worried him because he had not sensed them until now and even then he had barely sensed them. He was nearly certain that the rest of his team including his senseis were oblivious to them. As far as he could tell the ninja were varying levels from chuunin to jonin and they were all obviously well training in stealth.
Naruto knew he would have to thin out their ranks if they were going to succeed. The best choice was to make a preemptive strike on them and wipe them out. The only way to do that would be to inform Kurenai and Kakashi and have the 3 of them with possibly Hinata make an assault on them. Of course in order to do that they would need to know how he knew about them and the end result of that conversation would almost certainly be him revealing his secret to the two jonin.
One thing confused him though. Why the large force. He knew that Gato wanted to stop the bridge from being built but he didn't think he would go this far, or that he had this kind of fire power. Sure he had lots of thugs at his disposal but these guys were trained, highly trained ninja. Were they employed by Zabuza through Gato? No that wouldn't make sense. Zabuza was to full of himself to bring in this kind of backup when going against 2 teams of genin. He would be the type of person to go against them with just Haku and maybe one or two more ninja. Gato must really have been serious about this whole destroying the bridge thing if he was willing to spend the kind of money needed to hire this kind of heat.
Well regardless of whom they worked for he did know they were working with Zabuza. He had learned that Zabuza and Haku were waiting 3 days ahead at the very lake they had fought before. The plan was a fairly simple one. Zabuza and Haku would engage the jonin and once they were busy with their own fights the ninja following that had been following them would attack from behind and wipe out the genin and the bridge builder. It was the worst case scenario. They would not survive such a scenario and that was why he felt like he was having a mental breakdown right now. He was trying desperately to determine how to deal with this situation and he kept coming back to the same answer time and time again. He had to tell Kurenai and Kakashi and prey that they supported him without divulging the information he gave them to the Hokage or anybody else.
To top everything off their training had not been going as well as he had thought it would. Other then Hinata the whole team had pretty much hit a brick wall on the second day and had been struggling with the jutsus ever since. They had all manage to produce low level versions of the defensive skills he had been showing them but nothing even close to being able to stand up to the attacks these ninja would through at them, as far as the attack jutsus went, they all had their own problems. The only one even remotely close to mastering theirs was Sasuke and as it was he was practically putting himself in the ground with the amount of chakra he was wasting while trying to control it. He may have got it to work but in a battle it would be the end of him because of his chakra use. Hinata at least had everything solid; she would be fine, he was fairly certain of that.
And so Naruto found himself staring up at the stars as he had been for nearly the past hour trying desperately to figure out what to do and trying to keep his cool at the same time. He had already informed Hinata of what was to come and everything that he knew about the ambush to come. Naruto had already convinced himself that if things got bad during the battle that he would use his true strength to crush the opposition even if it meant revealing himself to his teammates. It was better then loosing his friends. He only hoped it didn't come to that, if it did then he was almost certain that the news would get out and that would be disastrous.
Naruto jumped slightly as he felt a hand on his shoulder but relaxed as he realized that it was just Hinata. She had been worrying about him all day as he had been getting more worked up. He smiled to Hinata and gave her a quick hug before standing up and offering her his hand. They walked quietly back to camp hand in hand while Naruto made up his mind about what to do. As they reached camp he finally made his choice and turned to Hinata.
"Let's get some sleep Hina-chan. Our shift is last watch tonight and we need to be on our guard from now on even more so then we are now." said Naruto. Hinata smiled and then nodded. "Okay Naruto-kun." And with that they walked into their tent and proceeded to fall to sleep. Well at least Hinata did. Naruto on the other hand had already made up his mind to talk with his senseis. They needed to know what was coming and he wanted to talk to them by himself. He laid quietly for about and hour until he was positive that Hinata was fast asleep and then he got out of his sleeping bag and headed outside to talk to Kakashi and Kurenai while they were on watch so that nobody would disturb them.
Kakashi sat in the branches of a large tree on the outskirts of their camp reading his copy of Ichi Ichi paradise while Kurenai sat in the opposite tree glaring daggers at him for his perverted nature. She could not stand perverts and it was a well known fact that Kakashi was one of the biggest perverts in all of Konoha. She continued to glare at him until she was suddenly startled out of her thoughts by a voice behind her.
"He's quite the pervert isn't he" said the voice before moving out of the way of the kunai that imbedded into the tree behind him a second later. Kurenai spun around and found Naruto standing on the ground with his arms folded, his eyes closed, and a smirk on his face. "You're a little on the slow side Kurenai-sensei don't you think?" mocked Naruto
Kurenai closed her fist tightly and clenched her teeth. Who the hell did this kid think he was to mock her like that. How the hell did he sneak up on them? "Naruto what the hell are you doing out of your tent. It's not your watch yet, get to bed." Said Kurenai. Naruto laughed and shook his head. Kurenai instantly stiffened as she heard the voice come from behind her again as Naruto blinked out of existence. "I think it's time we have a little talk Sensei" whispered Naruto before reappearing on the ground, this time leaning up against a tree between the two trees his sensei's occupied.
Both jonin stared in shock. How the hell had he traveled so fast. The only technique that allowed speed of that extent was the Hiraishin no Jutsu, but only the Forth Hokage knew that technique, how could he possibly have learned it. And yet it didn't seem to be quite the same. Kakashi could not quite put his finger on it but he had seen the Forth's prized jutsu in action and it had been different. Not much different but still different. This seemed inferior somehow but he didn't know how. Regardless the fact still remained that it had to be a offshoot of the forth's jutsu and there was no way that a genin could learn such a jutsu, let alone the dead last of the academy. It just didn't make any sense.
Naruto looked at both his senseis out of the corner of his eyes and chuckled to himself. That had gotten their attention. Both of them would be sure to know what technique he had used and they would have to listen to him now, at least to some extent. And he would not have to deal with them looking down on him while he was trying to explain the situation to them. "Well are you two going to get out of those damn trees and talk to me or are you just going to sit their looking at me like a bunch of idiots." Joked Naruto.
Kakashi put away his book at removed his headband from his eye revealing the Sharingan. "How did you learn that technique Naruto, and how did you learn to sneak up on us like that?" asked Kakashi in a stern voice. Naruto shook his head. "That's not important right now, what is … " Naruto never finished his technique however as Kurenai cut him off. "No, it is important right now Naruto, answer our questions. How did a Genin learn the Hiraishin no Jutsu and learn to mask his chakra so well that not even a pair of highly trained jonin could detect it."
Naruto clenched his teeth. He did not have time for their bullshit. "I do not have time for your crap right now, either get your asses down here and talk to me or I will personally beat you both into submission and tie you up so that we can have this little chat. When were done talking you will have all the answers you need, so shut the fuck up and get down here." snapped Naruto. The last few days had been hell for him and he was sick of being looked down on. These two were going to listen or he was going to make them listen.
Once again Kurenai and Kakashi found themselves staring in shock at their student. It was easy to tell that he was being series and the killer intent that escaped him for the briefest of moments was incredibly strong. Now Naruto will probably never know why they finally agreed to come down and talk to him but it's a fairly safe bet that at the time it was because they feared that the nine tails was breaking free and were afraid of provoking the beast but regardless of what the reason was the end result was the same. Within seconds of letting off his burst of killer intent to show them that he was being serious they both landed on the ground a few feet away in what could be considered a very loose fighting stance. Meaning that while they were not actually in a fight stance they were clearly on edge and prepared to fight if needed.
Naruto looked over his new sensei's and was struck with how different they truly were now compared to how they were years in the future during the war. The war had changed them greatly like he had changed most of those it touched and he was once again struck with the realization that he had to much to protect to stop now. So he took and deep breath, stealing himself for the hours to come and then began.
"What I am about to tell you is to stay between the 3 of us unless I give express permission otherwise. The information I am about to pass on to you effects the very fate of Konoha and every person living within her walls not to mention the lives of our allies. We have 1 chance and 1 chance only to stop what is to come and that chance will be lost if this information falls into the wrong hands. In fact it could very well make things worse."
At the mention of the fate of Konoha both jonin stiffened and gave their full attention to the young ninja in front of them. Neither understood what was going on but they were both fairly certain that if they listened to what Naruto had to say that they would get the details and at that point they could determine the next course of action.
"I am being serious when I say that this information must stay between us. That means that not even the Hokage can find out until I deem it safe to tell him. And so that you both know, I will protect this information with my life and yours. If you try to betray my trust I will kill you without a second though. Do not think for a second that I am incapable of it either. Neither of you have any idea of what I am capable of and I will not let your ignorance ruin the only chance I have to prevent the death and destruction of everything I hold dear." Said Naruto.
Kakashi and Kurenai were taken aback by Naruto's suddenly aggressive and heartless attitude. It was so unlike him and yet they really didn't know him to begin with. He was acting more like a experience ninja with a mission then the genin he was and everything about him right now screamed authority and superiority. It was very disconcerting for the two jonin.
Naruto smiled slightly before continuing. "Now that we have that out of the way allow me to enlighten you on the current situation that we find ourselves in. and for the sake of time, please do not interrupt me. We can discuss your questions when I am done. The situation is like this. During the next chuunin exams Konoha will be attacked by the Hidden village of Sound and the Hidden village of Sand. The attack will be lead by our very own S-class missing ninja, a certain Sannin that we are all familiar with. Orochimaru will have by that time if he hasn't already infiltrated the Village of Sand and assassinated the Kazekage and replaced him without the village knowing. The same is to be said about his personal guard."
"Without any intervention from us the Sound will fail in their attack and the sand will be beat back. at the end of the conflict the sand will join us again as allies after realizing that their Kage was a fake but the damage will have already been done. The Hokage will be killed during the attack and nearly half our ninja will die with him. The village will be seriously damaged and the people will be scared. Over the next few years Konoha will try to rebuild with the help of Tsunade and Jiraiya but in the end before we are able to rebuild our strength the Sound will attack us again and we will be drawn into a war. For 7 years we will fight a loosing battle until finally Konoha will be destroyed and every last ninja that stayed behind will die."
Naruto paused briefly for this to all sink in before he continued and to get a feeling for how they were taking this information.
The jonin were not exactly taking it very well. Kakashi was trying to determine weather he thought this was a huge joke and a sick one at that or if Naruto somehow was telling the truth. Kurenai on the other hand was just shocked beyond words and did not know what to think. In the end Kurenai was the one to speak first. "H-how do you know all of this Naruto?"
The change in the mood was almost instant and both Jonin immediately knew that Naruto was telling the truth. Naruto's expression changed from one of power and superiority to one of sorrow and loss, to that of a warrior who has experienced years of hell and watched everything he knew slip away. Both jonin had been involved in the previous war to different degrees and they both immediately recognized the look on the boys face. It was a look that only war could give you.
"I know because I was there the first time and was unable to stop it. I watched as my friends, my family, and my home was destroyed by a monster and nobody could do anything to stop him. I watched as we were slowly driven farther and farther into Konoha as the sound began to occupy our wonderful village and I watched as brave warriors fought along side me and my friends in a vain effort to regain our homes until finally I was the only one left. In the final attack I watched as all my remaining family and friends were killed including the fifth Hokage and when it was all said and done I was left with only one option. Return to the past and stop that war from ever happening. I will do everything in my power to avoid watching that horror again. And it's as simple as that."
"If this is all true Naruto then we must inform the Hokage at once." Began Kakashi but was cut off by a kunai being placed at his neck. "What did I tell you about telling others Kakashi? You will keep this to yourself or I will end your life here. Konoha has spies within its mists. We must deal with them first before we do anything else or the sound will learn of our plans and may advance the invasion. It was a close call the first time around at the chuunin exams. It could have just as easily gone the other way and then we would have lost then and there. And if they know that we know they will come in larger numbers, of that you can be sure. They will throw their whole weight at us and try and crush us in one fowl swoop. We must play our cards carefully and ensure that it is the leaf that wins and NOT THE SOUND." Said Naruto as he returned to his place at the tree he was leaning against.
Kurenai was the next to speak up as Kakashi was still to shocked to speak again. "Naruto, how did you get back in time and if you did come from the future, why do you look like your 12 years old." Naruto sighed. "I used a forbidden jutsu that has been practically lost for hundreds of years. Only a small amount of information is available on it and none of that information is within Konoha. I personally learned about it from Kyuubi and before you two go freaking out relax. I am in control. But over the years I have built a relationship with the stupid fox. We have been through a lot together and I have learned to tap into his immense power almost completely at will which is a good thing because the damn jutsu took a shit load out of me. Even with my power It almost killed me."
"As far as the age thing, the jutsu works by merging the future and pass selves together to create something more. My soul is stuck into the body of my past self. The result is that I look like I'm 12 but I have all my skills and experience and I also have all my chakra from the future plus my chakra from the present which in itself was a problem seeing as I did not have the space to store such power. Which is what this seal is for." said Naruto as the rolled back his sleeve on his right arm and pushed chakra into his arm revealing a incredibly intricate seal which Kakashi could tell was partially demonic in nature.
"This seal stores all my excess chakra along with the Kyuubi's excess chakra so that I do not explode from chakra overload. As a result I have nearly limitless amounts of chakra. In the event I really need it I can open the seal and gain access to the sealed portion of my chakra which is nearly double what isn't sealed." Naruto released the chakra from his arm and rolled down his sleeve again before continuing.
"Now that we have dealt with that it's time to deal with more pressing issues. We can worry about the invasion when we return to Konoha. For now we have several key issues to deal with if we hope to even make it home to Konoha. The first of which is dealing with the 14 ninja that have been following us for the past day or two that are planning on ambushing us in a few days time." said Naruto in a calm voice.
Both Kakashi and Kurenai nearly had a heart attack on the spot, they hadn't sensed anything of the sort, what the hell was Naruto talking about. "Naruto what are you talking about, I haven't sensed anybody." Said Kakashi as he stepped forward closer to Naruto.
"Sensei they are there, they are highly skilled in the art of stealth and that is why you have not sensed them. They are waiting for us to run into two other opponents farther up the road at which point they intend to ambush us. I came across their camp late last night after sneaking out for a walk to think. I had barely sensed the chakra signature of another ninja and when I went to investigate I came across their camps. I was able to gather enough information to determine their ranks and numbers as well as their purpose but none of that matters. What does matter is that if we do not stop them before they ambush us we are all as good as dead. The 3 of us will not be able to protect the rest of the genin, we may be able to escape, and even possibly Hinata but the rest would die for sure. Our only hope is to take them by surprise and slaughter them before they can react." Said Naruto as he stared intently at the two jonin's in front of him.
Realizing that both of them were still thinking about what was said Naruto decided to lay out his plan for the attack. "My plan is simple; we go in as 2 teams. Hinata and I are team 1 while you and Kurenai are team 2. I go in solo first to take out their 4 sentries quickly and quietly seeing as how I am the only one the can ensure that they will not detect me and that they will not be able to react quick enough to save themselves. As soon as the Sentries are dealt with Hinata will meet up with me at their western most camp while you and Kurenai will go to their eastern most camp."
"When I scouted previously they had 2 ninja at each of the 2 outermost camps, 4 sentries and 3 ninja in each of the 2 inner most camps. One of two things will happen. The first is that we will take them by surprise again and will be able to kill them before they can alert anybody leaving the inner camps completely unaware of our presence or they are able to call for help at which point they will be forced to split their forces in some manner to deal with the issue. Regardless of what happens no one must escape. They must not be allowed to inform the party ahead of us."
Kakashi once again found himself surprised by the young ninja in front of him. He clearly had this thought out and everything he said made sense. It was a strong and sturdy strategy and it was true that if they caught them by surprise that their 4 man strike team would be able to tear apart their forces before they even had time to mount a defense or offence for that matter. "When do you propose that we make this strike Naruto." Asked Kurenai before Kakashi could ask the same questions.
"The best choice would be tomorrow night after we make camp. You should take first watch like you usually do and have Sasuke and Sakura take second watch. When you two get off watch you should meet us at the rendezvous point by which time I will have taken care of the sentries and we will proceed with the plan. Sasuke will most likely sense our chakra signatures once we engage in battle and he will rouse the others. if they follow their training they will stay behind while Shino uses his bugs to scout ahead and check on us. That's our best choice."
"Now if you will excuse me I should really get back to my tent. I need to get some rest if we are to succeed in our operation tomorrow and I imagine that Hinata-chan will begin to miss me if I don't get back soon. She has an interesting habit of cuddling up to me while she sleeps. My bushin won't likely last long if she tries to latch onto it." said Naruto with a smile on his face. And with that he disappeared.
The pair stood still staring at the spot where Naruto had stood a moment earlier until finally Kurenai spoke. "Kakashi… what do you make of all of this. I mean this just seems a little out there to me but at the same time, he does have the Kyuubi within him. He would have the power to pull of that kind of jutsu if it really did exist and there is no denying that he knows a very powerful and very unique jutsu that only the Forth Hokage was known to of used. I just don't know what to think. If even a portion of what he says is true we are in so much trouble I don't want to think about what's going to happen. Can you even imagine? Konoha falling to that bastard Orochimaru and the Sound. But the worst part is it's exactly the type of thing that he would do. he has hated Konoha for years, ever since the Third passed him over for the position of Hokage. It would certainly be something he would do and you can't deny that he is capable of doing such a thing."
Kakashi stared at the spot Naruto had been for a moment longer until he turned his attention to Kurenai. He had heard everything she said and the truth was he was in the same boat as her. he was just as confused about this whole situation but at the same time he could find no other explanation for what Naruto had said. And there was of course the seal on his arm and the look in his eyes when he began talking about his experiences in the past. He knew that look. It was not something that could be faked and he was positive that Naruto was genuine in his sense of loss. Kakashi knew that look because he had dealt with it almost every day of his life after his teammates death.
"As far as I can tell Kurenai he was telling the truth. It explains a lot actually if you think about it. The sudden change in style, skill, and attitude starting the day of the team assignments. The way he was reported acting that morning when he saw the rest of the genin. The way he was able to so easily beat us during the survival test and the sudden increase of skill and confidence in Hinata who has been training constantly with Naruto. I mean this is Naruto we're talking about, you said yourself that he never paid any attention to Hinata and then suddenly he just accepts her and they have been inseparable since then not to mention he told her his secret about the Kyuubi. The very day that they got together. Those are too many coincidences. It all makes sense if we take what he said to be true. Do that and everything falls into place."
Kurenai thought on that for a moment before finally agreeing. They continued to discuss the issues at hand for the rest of their watch before retiring for the night to get some sleep like Naruto had suggested. He was right after all. They would have to be well rested if they were to succeed. Kakashi made a mental note to cancel the teams training for tomorrow; he couldn't have Naruto and Hinata tiring themselves out with training if they were going to be fighting a battle against superior numbers in the evening.
Things had progressed pretty much how Naruto thought they would from the moment he left his senseis and the following evening. He had returned to his tent to find his bushin gone as he had expected and Hinata lying close to his sleeping bag. She had instantly wrapped her arm around him after he lay down on his bag and had pulled herself close to him before resting her head on his chest and settling into a more restful state of sleep to which he followed shortly after.
The following morning Naruto had awoken to Hinata sitting up with a huge blush on her face as was usual when she woke first and realized how close she was to her dream boy. Naruto was however surprised that they had not been awoken for watch. During breakfast they found out that Kurenai and Kakashi had taken their shift saying that they felt they needed more rest after all the intense training they had been doing.
Kakashi had announced that the days training would be cancelled so that they could all rest and then they had packed up and left. The rest of the day went as usual; they stopped for lunch, rested a few times for the bridge builder and then setup camp at dinner time. it had all been fairly routine and nobody had expected a thing was going on. Naruto had pulled Hinata aside to inform her of the plan during their journey that day and they were both pulled away from the group by Kurenai and Kakashi that night under the guise of discussing a new training regiment.
The remainder of the night went by quickly and without incident and so now Naruto found himself out on the edge of the perimeter of their pursuers camping area while Hinata held back and their sensei's finished up their watch.
Naruto slowly approached the first sentry as he had the night he found them. Just like that night, he was able to get into the same tree as the sentry only this time he carefully climbed down the tree and slipped around the trunk of the tree until he was directly behind the guard. The last thing the Sentry saw was the edge of a kunai slid across his neck before he died.
Naruto Grabbed the body and carried it away to ensure that nobody happened upon it by chance before turning around and finishing off the other 3 sentries in much the same fashion. In less then 10 minutes he returned to the rendezvous location where Hinata, Kurenai and Kakashi were waiting. Hinata gasped as she caught sight of Naruto. The last sentry had turned around at the last second by chance and as a result he had be sprayed with blood when he slit the guards throat drenching the front of his jump suit in blood and covering his face in a thin spray.
"I'm sorry you had to see this Hinata but you should get used to it. This is what happens when you kill. It's not usually a clean job." Said Naruto as he grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Alright you guys know your jobs. Lets get this show on the road." Said Kakashi as he and Kurenai jumped away through the trees in the direction of their target. Naruto looked at Hinata who nodded her head in agreement of the unspoken question and then they were off as well.
Naruto looked over at Hinata as they approached their destination and whispered softly as to not attract attention. "Be sure to keep your chakra masked as much as possible. We're going to wait for Kakashi and Kurenai to make their move. As soon as they do our opponents should drop their guard to us as they focus on the new chakra signatures at their far camp and when that happens we take them out quickly and with as little chakra as possible. The goal is to kill them without alerting the others to our presence. If it works then we will be able to sneak up on the next camp without them even knowing we're there."
Hinata nodded and they continued for another minute or so before landing in complete silence less then 50 feet from their objective. They didn't have to wait long for the fun to begin as they almost immediately sensed the battle beginning off in the distance. Naruto vaguely sensed several of the enemy ninja in the inner camps moving to provide support. He smiled and tapped Hinata on the shoulder to give her the go signal.
For the 5th time that night Naruto eliminated an enemy ninja without his prey even knowing he was there. Using the forth's signature technique he appeared behind the ninja, wrapping his hand around the persons mouth and ramming his Kunai through the mans chest before he could even make a sound. It was a move he had perfected during the war and he used it often.
The second ninja spun around when he heard the body of his comrade hit the ground but before he could say a word Hinata was on him. 3 quick strikes from her family technique to vital organs throughout the body and the man dropped to the ground dead. She had used the technique flawlessly and with very little chakra output resulting in an almost non-existent chakra signature being produced. Naruto was fairly confident that if the enemy did sense it that they would have passed it off as their comrades coming to join the fight. It was to small to really sense who it belonged to.
Hinata looked over at Naruto after the deed was done and smiled brightly when she saw his face light up with respect and pride for her. She had done her job perfectly and he was proud of her. That was a feeling that she enjoyed. Nobody had ever been proud of her except for Naruto. Her family had always thought of her as a failure but she had just proved them all wrong and it was all because Naruto believed in her and gave her a strength that she didn't think she had before.
Naruto removed the bodies quickly with Hinata's help and then returned to the camp they had just cleared out. They could both sense the battle that Kakashi and Kurenai were involved in and it didn't feel like they were doing to great. Naruto looked over at Hinata and then jumped off into the forest with her hot on his heels. He didn't even need to tell her, she already knew. That was how well they worked together. He smiled to himself again.
"Hinata we don't have time to be stealthy anymore. We hold back our chakra until we get to the next camp and then we show our presence. Be sure to show them everything you got. We need to draw their attention even if just for a moment. The sooner we get to the battle the better our chances of success are." Said Naruto as he continued toward on of the inner camps.
"Hai! Naruto-kun" replied Hinata. A moment later they could see the next camp approaching. Naruto took the lead and jumped into the camp alerting the 2 occupants to their presence. It seemed that one of them had left to help out their comrades. That would make their job easier thought Naruto.
Naruto charged at the chuunin in front of him with Hinata following close behind. At the last moment he blinked out of existence and reappeared inside of the second chuunin's guard. He smirked before slamming his hand forward into the mans chest and yelling out "RASENGAN". The ninja's eyes shot open in surprise and pain as the ball of energy ripped through his clothes and began to rip apart his skin before he was sent flying back into the tree behind him, instantly knocking him out.
The moment Naruto had shifted Hinata had dropped down low as the chuunin Naruto had been running at threw a kunai followed by a kick, all of which were meant for Naruto. His eyes went wide with confusion when Naruto just simply disappeared and then was full of shock as he heard the yell behind him followed by his comrade's scream of pain. Both actions left him unprepared when for Hinata as she began to bombard his body with Gentle Fist strikes. Within moments the chuunin dropped to his knees and keeled over.
Hinata stood back up straight and turned around to see Naruto standing over his opponent's body with kunai in hand. She watched as he plunged the blade into the chuunin's chest before removing it and walking toward her. "Hinata we can't leave anybody alive. If they live, they'll inform Zabuza and Haku of what's going on and that means trouble for us." Said Naruto if answering her unspoken question. He knew that she didn't like to keel people without reason, she was still only a genin and killing was always hard for a genin. He remembered his first kill and the effect it had on him. he truly was sorry to have to push this on her but their was no choice.
Naruto quickly stood up straight as he sensed pair of chakra signatures coming his way. He and Hinata got into a battle stance and prepared for a fight. A moment later Kiba and Shino jumped out of the trees and landed in front of them. Naruto smiled and shock his head. He should have known they wouldn't stay put. "How's it going guys. Shouldn't you be back at camp sleeping." Teased Naruto. Kiba laughed. "Yeah but we figured you would need a hand. After all it's not like you can do anything right in the first place."
"We have disposed of the ninja in the camp to the west of here. He seemed to be by himself and was not a problem to deal with. Sakura and Sasuke have gone to aid our Sensei's" informed Shino in his normally dry and emotionless tone of voice. Naruto nodded his head making it known that he understood before speaking up. "Very well, you two return to camp and watch over the client, you shouldn't have left him in the first place. Take Hinata with you. I'll go on to see if our all powerful senseis could use a hand. I'm sure their getting their butts kicked by now." laughed Naruto and with that he blinked out of sight.
Naruto reappeared on the edge of the camp where Kakashi and Kurenai were fighting and instantly relaxed. It didn't look like they needed his help after all. it had all been a ploy by the looks of things. Kakashi was leaning against a tree with his stupid book in hand while Kurenai filed her nails a few feet away. Sakura and Sasuke were standing around with bored looks on their faces which told him that they were never needed in the first place. All in all they had faired fairly well against superior numbers although granted they had probably killed the two ninjas in the camp long before the back ups arrived at which point a 3 on 2 fight would not have been a problem for the famous copy cat ninja and Kurenai.
Naruto shook his head and turned around to leave. "Well I suppose were done then. You guys can deal with the clean up. I'm going back to camp to check on Hinata." Said Naruto as he left the clearing at a slow pace, deciding to travel normally instead of using his jutsu.
The next few days passed rather quietly. Naruto was aware that his senseis were keeping a close eye on him and Hinata after learning of both their skill and their knowledge. He wasn't sure weather they truly believe him yet but he was sure that they at least considered it a possibility and as such were not going to let it go without further investigation. Luckily they had chosen to keep their questions to themselves for the time being and had lied to the rest of their team about the reasons for leaving them behind on the raid.
The other genin had accepted their explanation or at least mostly accepted although it was obvious to Naruto that they were becoming very suspicious of him and they all seemed to know that he was holding something back. He resolved himself yet again to the fact that it would not be long now before he was forced to reveal the whole truth to his friends and hope that they could handle it.
Naruto was fairly sure that they were close to the lake now. he was having a hard time remembering the exact location as it had been so long ago that he had completed this mission but he was sure that they would reach it before long.
Less then an hour later he saw the familiar scenery that told him they were only a few minutes away from the lake and he began to prepare himself. As they walked out of the forest as a group and towards the lake a think fog began to roll off the water and surround them. This time Naruto beat Kakashi to the punch and yelled out a warning to the team. "Everybody DOWN" and with that the group dropped just in time to avoid Zabuza's sword flying overhead and imbedding itself into a tree.
Zabuza sneered at the genin and said "That was impressive kid, being able to sense my attack at such a young age. To bad I'm going to have to kill ya. The name's Zabuza. Remember it well. For it's the last thing you'll ever hear." And with that Zabuza jumped off the sword and landed on the water. Naruto smiled inwardly. It was time to get the games started.
