"Human talking"
"Human thinking"
"Demon or Summon talking"
"Demon or Summon thinking"
Jutsu will be underlined
4 days later, 1012Hrs, Konohagakure:
Naruto stood before a pensive Hokage who had been briefed on the events of the Wave mission, hating that he had been forced to reveal his trump card so soon. The Hokage dismissed Kakashi and summoned Danzo. The man was furious enough to order his ANBU to bring the 'crippled' man to him ASAP, prompting them to carry the war hawk to his office.
"Sarutobi, what is the meaning of this?!" Danzo yelled, after suffering the indignity of being thrown over someone's shoulder like a sack of potatoes and spirited away, instead of being properly summoned like his rank as a village elder demanded.
"Danzo, don't bullshit me. You know exactly why you're here," Hiruzen stated with barely restrained fury, killing intent whispering off him like smoke.
Looking around the room and seeing Naruto, Danzo took a seat and calmly addressed his former friend and rival. "Since he was placed in the reform school five years ago, he has been trained and protected by Root."
Hiruzen looked at Danzo, a mixture of shock and outrage on his face. He knew that the old war hawk wouldn't disband Root, despite being ordered to by both him and his late successor, the Yondaime. He had wanted to have Danzo executed, but something had changed his mind and for the life of him he couldn't remember what it was.
"Danzo, I told you that Naruto was off-limits! Did you think it was a suggestion; did you think there wouldn't be repercussions for your disobedience?" Hiruzen asked angrily, giving his ANBU the signal to restrain the focus of his wrath. But then something he never saw coming happened—the room's hidden ANBU grabbed him instead! Hiruzen didn't waste time by trying to question the obviously Root-compromised shinobi, but responded by shooting kunai hidden under his robes into the faces of the ANBU on either side of him and jumping over the table to end Danzo once and for all. However, while he was dealing with the two ANBU, Danzo had removed the cloth covering his right eye, and upon looking into the stolen Sharingan eye, Hiruzen was ensnared in Danzo's Kotoamatsukami before even landing.
"Listen to me carefully, Hiruzen, this is the way you will remember this meeting going. You called me here and I admitted that Root has been protecting and training young Uzumaki, and while you didn't like the idea, you came to realize that without Root the boy would have been assassinated a long time ago. You gave me permission to further his training so that he may survive Iwa's eventual attempts on his life. After much debate, you also agreed to renew funding to Root due to the current situation at the northwestern border, so that the Leaf may be prepared for the upcoming war," Danzo stated, going through the Kage's mind, rearranging mental pathways to enforce his hypnotic commands.
When he was finished, two Root ANBU materialized near their fallen comrades and retrieved their bodies. Hiruzen walked back around his desk, sat down and started doing his paperwork as if nothing had happened. "Danzo, Naruto-kun, you're dismissed."
Main Root compound, underneath the Hokage Monument, 1104Hrs:
Naruto was in a kneeling position before a stone-faced Danzo. He knew that he was in for it, having forced Danzo to use such a jutsu. If they were any other master and apprentice combo he might try apologizing, but Danzo hated apologizes and making one would only make his punishment worse.
However, to Naruto's surprise, Danzo reached behind his back and retrieved his Crane mask and handed it to him. "I read Hatake's mission report. I know that you had no choice but to use the cloak. But because of your actions, a delicate situation in the north has taken a turn for the worst," Danzo said, before taking out a remote, turning on the room's projector and pulling up a map of the elemental nations.
"Because of our theft of the hero water, Takigakure has abandoned its isolationist attitude and instigated a series of skirmishes with Kusagakure, who they blame for our actions. Normally such conflict between two small villages wouldn't be much of a concern, but two days ago Takigakure signed a treaty with Iwagakure. There is no way that our ally Kusagakure could stand up to Iwa's might, and if they fall, Iwa will be able to march it's forces right up to our door step and force us to fight them on our own land—something that has never happened before in our village's history," Danzo informed him.
"What about Amegakure and Sunagakure, how do they factor into this?" Naruto asked.
"Ame is currently locked in civil war and Suna, while technically our allies, are resentful of us due to their daimyo outsourcing missions to our village, causing them to suffer a recession. It's unlikely that they will take a side in the upcoming conflict until a side proves to have the upper hand."
"So let me guess. You want me to take out Taki's Jinchuriki and weaken them," Naruto assumed.
"Eventually, but once Iwa shinobi step foot on the battlefield and shed the blood of a Kusagakure shinobi, Konoha will have no choice but to declare war. I want your team to gain battlefield experience and prestige during this conflict, so when you're ready, I'll be arranging for your 'advanced' team of Genin to be field-promoted to the rank of Chunin and sent to the front lines," Danzo stated.
"You want to create a new group of legendary Sannin loyal to Root," Naruto realized.
"Hai, Konoha has always prevailed in war because of our Village's ability to produce 'super ninja' such as the Yondaime, the white fang, the copy-nin, Shisui of the Shunshin, and the Sannin, just to name a few. But as of today, Jiraiya and Kakashi are the only truly remarkable shinobi that are currently battle-ready due to Sarutobi's age, Orochimaru's defection, and Tsunade's bullshit."
"But the Sannin each had talents that made them special. One, the greatest med-nin the shinobi world has ever known, the other an amazing—if twisted—scientist, and the last a prodigious spy master. Not to mention that they all possessed summoning contracts of biju-sized animal clans," Naruto said, wondering how his team could ever hold a candle to the legendary three.
"Your teammates will be evaluated by Root, and their greatest talent will be nurtured just like those three. When I initially evaluated you, I discovered that you had an abnormally high aptitude for Fuinjutsu, but decided not to pursue this skill due to a fear that you might free yourself from my control."
"But because of that show of force earlier, you aren't worried about that anymore?" Naruto asked.
"No, I commissioned my scientists to use the hero water we acquired to boost certain enhancements I made to myself, but the procedure backfired. I contracted some kind of slow-acting cancer. That's why you becoming too powerful and killing me is no longer a concern. By the time you become skilled enough to try, I'll already be at death's door," Danzo stated with absolutely no emotion.
"So what now?" Naruto asked, not completely believing that the old war hawk was dying from some disease.
"Your parents left scrolls and other items behind for you. Jiraiya has the items left to you by your father, but I was able to obtain your Uzumaki inheritance and secure it, "Danzo stated while taking a scroll the size of Naruto's arm out from behind his chair and giving it to him."A private three room training bunker located under training ground 14 will be provided for your sole use, you can expect your team to be sent to the Northwester border within the month."
"Won't I be a liability to my team and whoever we're attached to, with Iwa out for my blood?" Naruto asked. "Now that the need for you to hide your abilities is gone, I have no doubt that you will be able to keep yourself and your teammates alive," Danzo answered, standing up and limping out of the room.
Naruto's Bunker, 1212Hrs:
When Naruto closed the door to one of his 40 by 55 foot training rooms, the automatic seals placed on the walls gave off a faint glow. He noted that the front right side of the room was set up like a study, with a desk, blank scrolls, ink, brushes, and other Fuinjutsu supplies already stocked. The rest of the room was bare, but Naruto decided it wouldn't be for long.
Setting the scroll down on the floor, Naruto unrolled it and deposited a small amount of chakra into the seal, unsealing its contents. After the puff of smoke dissipated, he was faced with 2 scrolls and a fairly large gold chest, with the symbol of Uzushiogakure in its center.
Naruto picked up the scroll on the left, and observed that a blood seal prevented just anyone from opening it. Biting his thumb, he smeared his blood over the seal while simultaneously applying chakra, and unrolled the scroll—which turned out to be a letter from his mother.
"My dearest Naruto-kun,
I'm so sorry that I couldn't be there for you while you were growing up. The doctors tell me that because of my status as a Jinchuriki, I won't survive giving birth to you—that my body won't be able to handle keeping the Kyuubi at bay and bearing a child. I haven't told your father yet; he's so happy, so proud that he's going to have a son. I think he's going to burst. If I told him about my condition, he'd try to convince me to have an abortion, and I just can't do that. I love you so much and I haven't even met you. (There's a water stain on the paper here; Naruto assumes that she started crying at this point.) I won't let you die. Since I'm not around, you've probably had to hear about your Uzumaki heritage from well-meaning people that aren't of our clan. Well, there are few clan secrets that no one in Konoha knows, well, not anymore that is. One would be that our supposed Kekkei Genkai, chakra chains, are predominately inherited through the female members of our clan. Another is that our clan has a summoning contract of its own. Years ago, before the founding of Uzushiogakure, our clan would go into battle with the little armored ones of El Dorado, which translates into our language as 'The City of Gold'. They are an extremely proud clan of animal summons that are able to form massive biju-sized bodies out of the materials around them, and instead of the entire clan only having two of three elemental affinities, they have all five spread throughout themselves. The reason that we haven't used them in battle in so long is because they are extremely selective of who they allow to summon them. Once you sign the contract, you are reverse-summoned before their leader, the armor sage who makes you undergo 'The Trials.' When I attempted to become their summoner, I was tasked to fight 5 members of the clan one after the other. I only made it past two before I was knocked unconscious and woke up back in Konoha. From what I understand, the trials are different every time and you don't always survive. Naruto-kun, I'd rather you didn't try to become their summoner, but if you feel you have no other choice, the contract is in the chest accompanied by this scroll. But be sure to take the other scroll I sealed away with this one as the tribute that they require to even consider you as a potential summoner. Always remember how much I love you.
Your Mother, Kushina Uzumaki
As Naruto resealed the letter and placed it in his left leg's cargo pocket, he felt a tear run down the left side of his face. "I'm crying? I'll need to talk to Danzo about going through another round of emotional conditioning, Naruto thought to himself. He then turned his attention to the gold chest that contained the Armadillo summoning contract. Kakashi gave us the next two days off and once Danzo starts pulling strings, team 7 will probably be going on missions non-stop until we get promoted. Now would be the best time to undergo the trials" Naruto decided, using his blood to undo the seal on the chest and on the contract.
Unrolling the contract, Naruto saw twelve names with a line running through them. Above them, he saw the name Hiromasa Uzumaki, which was line free. Naruto assumed that the man was the last successful Armadillo summoner, and decided to try and look him up later. Biting his thumb again and writing his name on one of the few lines left available on the contract, the reverse-summoning wasn't immediate, and 30 seconds later, Naruto wondered if there might be something he was missing—until he remembered what his mother said about a tribute and picked up the other scroll. As soon as he touched it, he felt the room spin around him so hard that he closed his eyes.
Before he opened them, he felt a 10 degree hike in temperature, and smelt the scent of dirt all around him. Opening his eyes, he found himself in an underground cavern that had stalagmites and stalactites made of gold seemingly growing out of the ground, and hanging from the ceiling. "So you're the next Uzumaki bobo to try and get us to fight with you, huh?" Naruto heard someone ask from behind him in a thick accent that he had never heard before. Turning around, he saw a small, bearded Armadillo that was about the size of a gallon of milk. It was on all-fours and its back armor was a silvery gold, with the exception of its white beard and gold-covered claws.
"My name is Nar..." Naruto started, before being cut off by the small Armadillo.
"I can freaking read, nino. Now, before I introduce myself, I'll have to ask you for our tribute," the Armadillo stated impatiently.
Naruto unsealed the contents of the scroll and had to jump back to avoid being crushed by a huge block of lead, roughly three times the size of the Ichiraku Ramen stand. The armadillo walked around to the block, inspecting it before sitting up on its hind legs, clapping its foreclaws together and placing them on the block, turning it into solid gold.
"This will do, nino. My name is Arumaeiji; I'm the armadillo sage of El Dorado. I've only held the title for the last three years, as my predecessor passed away shortly after the last potential summoner failed her set of trials. Our clan specializes in both battle and scouting/espionage, and if you pass your trials then we will fight with you anywhere, at any time, even if you summon us into the depths of inferno to face El Diablo himself," Arumaeiji informed him. "Now, if you are ready to begin, assume the lotus position with your head bowed low enough for me to reach it, but be advised that once you do this, there is no backing out and you might die just from me touching you."
Naruto simply nodded and followed instructions. Arumaeiji walked over and climbed atop Naruto's crossed legs. Placing a single paw on Naruto's head, the elderly Armadillo said something under his breath and Naruto felt a cold sensation start at his head and spread throughout his body.
"I'm going to temporarily turn you into gold so that I can take a look at your soul. As long as you stay calm, I shouldn't have a problem turning you back."
Naruto's eyes widened at this, but since the process had already started and he didn't want to end up as a golden statue, he dipped into his Root emotional conditioning and calmed himself, making sure to slow his heart rate. About 20 minutes later, the armadillo sage reversed the process and released Naruto, crawling off of the young ninja.
"Good, nino. You've passed the first trial. Your soul is tainted, but with the life you've had, I'm not really surprised. If it wasn't for the fact that you care for your teammates, if only a little bit, I would boot you out of here right now, but you do—so I won't. Normally, the next two trials would be to try and rid you of that Uzumaki anger problem, but this Danzo person has already done that, so I'll just skip to your final test." Turning from Naruto, Arumaeiji put his fore claws to his snout and yelled in a surprisingly loud voice, "Arumagoro! Get out here and meet the potential summoner!" Seconds after he said this, a set of foreclaws, each twice the size of Naruto's head, broke through the ground about 10 feet in front of Naruto and Arumaeiji. Naruto sized up the animal as soon as it was out of the ground. It was far larger than Arumaeiji; standing on its hind legs it seemed to be about 8 feet tall with the same color scheme as the sage. It was extremely muscular and had a black spear with a 10 inch blade strapped to its back. Upon closer inspection, Naruto noticed that the large armadillo had two horrific-looking scars on the right side of its face and his right eye seemed to be sewn shut.
"Odelay! We're finally getting a summoner, huh, gramps?" Arumagoro asked, obviously extremely excited.
"Perhaps. Naruto, although Arumagoro here is young and easily excitable, he is extremely talented and is next in line to be Armadillo boss. The position is unfortunately vacant at this time. For your final trial, I want you to fight him, and if you're still alive after 10 minutes, then I will accept you as the armadillo clan's summoner. Arumagoro, if you can kill this human nino before time runs out, I'll make you boss today," said Arumaeiji.
"Seriously?" Arumagoro asked in his childlike voice.
"I promise, but you have to fight him as you are, no expansion techniques," Arumaeiji responded.
"Naruto, ready?" Naruto nodded and took out a scroll from his inner hoodie pocket, unsealing Kubikiribōchō. "Arumagoro, ready?" The armadillo air nodded, dropped to all-fours and then took his spear from his back with a ridiculously-long tongue and pointed his weapon at Naruto. "Begin!"
Arumagoro didn't waste any time, rushing Naruto and thrusting his spear forward, his tongue extending to over 3 yards. Naruto swung Kubikiribōchō while spinning his whole body, successfully parrying the spears thrust. Jumping forward while still in a spin, he attempted to slice into Arumagoro's tongue, but the future boss summon proved to have an amazing amount of dexterity with the organ, and pulled it back out of the range of Naruto's attack. Naruto placed the end of his blade on the ground and its hilt on his shoulder. Bringing his hands together, he created 15 regular shadow clones and 4 of their reinforced counterparts.
Sending in 7 clones in a bum rush, he ordered the rest, save two of the reinforced ones, to surround his opponent. "Mid-to-long range support," he ordered his two remaining clones. One left in a shunshin and reappeared on the cavern's ceiling, already going through the hand seals for a wind jutsu. The other used the Hiding Like a Mole Jutsu to tunnel under the ground to make itself available for a surprise attack. Hearing an explosion, Naruto knew that one of his other two reinforced clones had been destroyed, and focused on the memories streaming to him from his fallen clones. Arumagoro had abandoned his semi-stationary approach to the battle, and was now moving his entire body around at astonishing speeds; only 4 of the attack clones remained, one of which was reinforced and primed to dispel in a gust of wind blades. Naruto resealed Kubikiribōchō, estimating that the sword would slow him down too much and entered the fray, wind chakra-enhanced kunai at the ready. Naruto emerged from a shunshin and attempted to slash at Arumagoro's side, only to abort his attack and block a swipe of his opponent's armored tail which hadn't been used until then.
"Arrgh!"
Naruto heard a pained yell, and observed via a dispelled clone that 2 feet of his opponent's tongue had been cut off and his spear chucked halfway across the cavern.
"Time to get serious!" Arumagoro declared, apparently having little difficulty speaking even with his injury. Standing on his hind legs for only a couple seconds, he slammed his foreclaws into the ground, pumping a massive amount of chakra into the rock surface. "Earth wave pulse!"
Naruto was hit by a large wall of gravel and dirt that had surrounded the armadillo and expanded in all directions, making it nearly impossible to dodge. Despite having the air knocked out of him, Naruto looked behind him and saw that if he didn't do something, the wall of earth that was pushing him back would smash him against the side of the cavern. Dropping the kunai in his hands and making the necessary seals, he was able to pull off a substitution with the support clone on the ceiling. The substitution was sloppy and jarring, making Naruto unable to apply the necessary chakra to his feet in time to avoid falling.
While plummeting toward the ground, Naruto saw Arumagoro going through what he assumed were hand-claw seals. "Fire release: Fire ball barrage Jutsu!" Arumagoro spat out dozens of fist-sized fire balls that were moving with amazing speed.
Thrusting his palms in front of himself, Naruto yelled out, "Wind release: Great Breakthrough!" using the recoil of his technique to narrowly dodge the first wave of his opponent's still incoming attack. Capitalizing on the short break in between waves, Naruto quickly swallowed a soldier pill and activated his chakra cloak. Firing off a chakra claw into the ground below him, Naruto yanked himself out of the air and landed, creating a large crater in the ground. Arumagoro was about to adjust his aim and renew his attack, but the shout of "Time!" made him stand down.
"Bueno, Muy Bien done! You both pass!" Arumaeiji called out in a pleased voice, while emerging from the ground.
"We both pass?" Arumagoro asked, confused.
"This last trial was for both of us. While Arumaeiji-sama wanted to see if I was skilled enough to stay alive in a fight with you while not taking your life, he also wanted to see if you would really be willing to kill a potential summoner just to get promoted into a position that'll be yours in a few years anyway," Naruto explained.
"Si, and instead of trying to kill each other from the beginning, you both pulled your punches while making sure to put on a good show. Naruto, because you had already deduced the point of the trial and you, Arumagoro, because you didn't want to kill Naruto when you could go out and battle with him in the human world and get all that glory you want so bad," Arumaeiji elaborated.
"Well, si, we've become something of a joke to the other animal clans, and the humans don't even remember us," Arumagoro said, bothered by his clan's current state.
"Come here Naruto, take a knee," Arumaeiji commanded. When Naruto did, the sage pushed the left sleeve of Naruto's hoodie up and exposed Naruto's bare skin. "Naruto Uzumaki, the covenant in which you are entering is lifelong and can only be dissolved by you signing a contract with another clan or purposely taking the life of one of your armadillo comrades. Do you accept these terms?"
"Hai."
"Then with the application of this summoning tattoo, I, Arumaeiji, Armadillo Sage and the acting leader of the armadillo clan of El Dorado, acknowledge you, Naruto Uzumaki, as our summoner," Arumaeiji said, before one of the nails on his right claw began to glow and he drew the kanji for 'summon' on Naruto's left forearm right above the wrist. The black symbol rose up from his skin and turned gold in color.
Two days later, Training ground 7, 0830Hrs:
As team 7 sat together, waiting for their sensei to show up, Naruto came to an important decision regarding his teammates. "Guys, after we're released for the day, I want to talk to you," Naruto stated in a serious tone. Sasuke raised an eyebrow but then nodded, hoping that the dobe had finally decided to clue them in as to what the hell was up with him. Ino was about to say something, when she sensed an approaching chakra signature.
"Incoming nin," Ino warned her teammates, who rose to their feet, preparing themselves for anything. An ANBU trainee with a blank mask appeared before them in a puff of smoke.
"Impressive, Yamanaka-san. Team 7 is to report to the Academy auditorium in 15 minutes for a Genin meeting; after which you will then return here to wait for your Jonin sensei, who is currently in a Jonin meeting," the trainee informed them, before leaving the same way he came.
"Since when do Genin have meetings?" Ino asked.
"It'll be more like a mass briefing. Something big must be going on," Sasuke guessed.
So it started already huh? Naruto thought to himself.
Academy, 0841Hrs:
As team 7 entered the auditorium, they saw that the room was only a quarter full, with about a hundred Genin of various ages and sizes. They took a set of seats toward the middle of the room, and noticed that while they didn't see any of the Genin of their graduating year, the group of upperclassmen they had defeated back in the Academy were in the row in front of them, slightly to the left.
Up on the stage, Hayate Gekko, flanked by Iruka and a Nara Chunin, walked out from behind the curtain and called the room to order. "All right, Genin, listen up. Two hours ago, the Hidden Leaf village declared war on Takigakure and Iwagakure. You have been recognized as the top third group of genin the village has to offer, and will be more involved with the war effort than your less-skilled counterparts," Hayate started, before explaining the reasons behind the upcoming conflict as well as its potential for becoming another shinobi world war.
"While you will initially be used to carry supplies and messages, you will, due to your skill level, eventually be called upon to fill in for injured or fallen Chunin on the battlefield. If you survive long enough, it is highly likely that you will be given field promotions and your Genin cell split up," Iruka told the Genin.
"All 102 of you won't be active at the same time during this conflict. 17 teams will be on duty while the other 17 is in recovery/skills training. During this time, any innate talents you may have in Fuinjutsu, Medical jutsu, and any sensory abilities you may have will be sharpened by retired shinobi," the Nara Chunin threw in.
"All right, if I call your cell number, you are to join me on stage. If I don't, you are to remain seated," Hayate stated while Iruka and the Nara Chunin jumped of the stage. "7, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 32, 33, 37, and 38," Hayate read off his clipboard, and waited for the Genin to join him on stage. Once they were, he led them behind the curtain and out of the auditorium to a random class room.
Team 7 sat toward the front, ignoring to whispers of the older Genin who wondered whether they deserved to be there. "All right, question time. Raise your hand and I'll answer whatever questions you have to the best of my ability." As soon as Hayate said this, 2/3rds of the Genin immediately raised their hands.
Hayate pointed to Tenten, who asked, "Jonin-san, will our sensei be with us on our missions?"
"Initially, yes, your sensei will (cough) continue running missions with you unless their particular skills are needed on the front lines, in which case another Jonin, Special-Jonin, or a (cough) high-speed Chunin may be attached to your cell to lead you. Once you guys start getting promoted, you may end up in a three-man team. Like, um… you, Rock Lee, and Neji Hyuga make up team 9, right?" Tenten nodded. "Well, let's say your team gets attacked while transporting (cough) rations or something, and you do so well that Gai-san puts you in for promotion and it gets approved. Then, 3 weeks later Gai-san gets ordered to fill in as a platoon leader on the front lines and there aren't any senior ninja available to fill in as your team's leader. If that happened then you, newly-promoted Tenten would take over as team 9's leader—do a good job and you might get pulled from your team and attached to a platoon on the front lines, depending on how bad things get out there," Hayate answered, causing quite a few of the hands to go down.
Pointing to an older genin of about 22 years of age, Hayate was asked another question.
"How often can we expect to be hit while transporting supplies, and what will the enemy consist of?"
"It will probably be small teams of enemy hunter-nin. We've already (cough) been deploying border patrol teams with sensor-nin attached, but small teams of enemy ninja with small chakra reserves may be able to slip past. When they do, some will act as scouts, and some will be gunning for you guys," Hayate answered, pointing to a female Genin next.
"What will the other Genin be doing while we're mobilized?"
"Well, the crappy ones will be up to their necks in D-rank missions, that's for sure. Um… some will be covering C-ranks with the occasional D-rank, and the ones who prove themselves will be bumped up to the advanced group of Genin, like you guys. Like, say team 15 all get promoted and sent to (cough) the front, or killed. If that happened, they would get replaced by a new group of Genin," Hayate answered.
"How long will we be active and inactive?" someone asked, without being called on.
"Can't follow directions, huh, kid? You won't last long," Hayate said, annoyance present in his voice. "But to answer your question, no team will be inactive for more than a month. However, how long you're active (cough) is up in the air, could be a few weeks, could be a few months." Hayate pointed to Kabuto Yakushi, someone that Naruto knew from Root and had been told by Danzo was most likely a traitor and double agent.
"Gekko-san, didn't you fight in the last world war? Do you have any advice for us?"
"My Genin cell got bumped up to forward status like you guys, toward the end of the war. We only ran two supply missions before the war was over, but on our last mission our sensei died protecting us, and my teammate Genma took over. When we got back, he was promoted even though the war was wrapping up. That type of thing can happen when you're out there, and if it hadn't been for Genma stepping up, my whole team would have been wiped out. So I'd say, obey your superiors, don't squabble over who's in charge if they bite it, don't be a hero since you're just Genin, and don't hesitate. I've seen so many skilled comrades get killed because of hesitation; it's ridiculous. You guys haven't seen war before, so you're gonna be second-guessing yourselves, but remember that any decision is better than none," Hayate told the Genin, so serious that he fought off the urge to cough.
Hayate pointed to Sasuke, who didn't even have his hand raised. "All right, Uchiha-san, your team encountered a drug during your last couple missions that we've named Cerberus. I'm getting kind of tired of talking, so would you please brief us on it and I'll elaborate when you're done?" Hayate requested.
"On our first mission outside of the village, we were attacked by two low-level samurai who had been exiled from the Land of Iron and reduced to working as bandits. Initially, one was of about Chunin level and one at Genin, but once they drank the drug, three of their Celestial gates opened and they became juggernauts. Our sensei defeated one, while we killed the other though teamwork and a well-placed Genjutsu. According to our sensei, there were traces of a foreign chakra in their systems. Before we could complete our mission, we were sent on another one in the Land of Waves, where Ino, our team's sensor, detected traces of the same foreign chakra present in a group of bandits that were approaching our position. Naruto and I did a short recon and then dealt with them; upon examining their bodies, we discovered that they all had the drug on their person," Sasuke reported, and sat down once he was done.
"Okay, nice job, Uchiha-san, so it turns out that Orochimaru is the creator of this (cough) drug and is supplying it to bandits and missing-nin. The foreign chakra present in the drug's user is the snake's. In the short term, it provides a ridiculous boost in chakra, as well as speed, strength, and endurance. But over time it erodes the (cough, cough) chakra coils, resulting in the loss of the ability to mold chakra, and in some cases, death. It also appears to be somewhat addictive. According to our scouts, the enemy has already hired mercenaries equipped with Cerberus and are using them with mixed (cough) results. Usually forward Genin aren't needed until the war has been going on for a (cough, cough) while, but because of these juiced-up idiots acting as a force multiplier for the enemy, the war council decided to tap you guys now," Hayate explained and looked at his watch.
"This is A group, and the one still in the auditorium is B. Teams in A group will be mobilized at different times within the next 72 hours. If your family and friends aren't shinobi with a level 2 security clearance or higher, then don't tell them that you were assigned to this taskforce. When on active status and in the village, you will be staying in barracks that your Jonin-sensei will take you to after this. The Jonin meeting should actually be over by now, so they will answer any questions you guys have left, so… you guys are all released," Hayate finished, and left through the door at the front of the classroom.
Training ground 7, 1133Hrs:
Team 7 landed in the familiar training ground after leaping from the trees. Turning to an obviously worried Ino, Naruto asked her to do a thorough scan of the area, to which she reported that no one was around. "I wanted to do this is in a more secluded place, but I need to tell you guys something before we go on any more missions…" Naruto started, before he was interrupted by Sasuke's dry statement of "Finally."
"Apparently, Iwa is under the impression that I'm the son of the Yondaime. Someone in Konoha's upper levels tipped them off about me, as well as where I would be during the Wave mission. The assassin that attacked me was sent by them," Naruto informed.
"Are they right? Are you the fourth's son?" Ino asked.
"All I got from Hokage-sama was a maybe, but apparently, I'm in Iwa's bingo book with a bounty on my head and a kill-on-sight order, so that the Iwa ninja that we come across will probably do everything they can to kill me," Naruto explained.
"Which is why we will have to be on guard even more than the other teams," Kakashi said from right behind them.
Ino let out a yelp and addressed him. "Sensei, h-how did you sneak up on me?" she asked.
"I've eluded my fair share of sensor-nin, plus, you haven't been properly trained as one yet."
"So sensei, what are our orders?" Naruto asked, wanting to get down to business.
"Our team is one of the first to go out. We are to report to the supply pick-up point by the northern gate in three hours. We'll be given the coordinates to the drop-off point then. Pack for a 2-week mission, but leave enough room in your bags for three 9 by 2inch supply scrolls. Oh, and it's supposed to start raining soon, so make sure you pack wet weather gear. I'll see you guys back here in exactly two hours, with your packs lied out for inspection," Kakashi said before leaving in a swirl of leaves.
A/N: Thanks to Hidden Fox for the name of the Cerberus Drug, and to Bottle Glass for Beta-ing this chapter. The next two chapters are actually already written and just need editing so you can expect 10 to be posted by Friday night.
My Spanish sucks but according to Google nino means child, Bobo means stupid and Odelay means Okay or Cool—to express enthusiasm.
