Hello everybody, welcome to Chapter 9 of "Naruto Shippuden Zero: A New Leaf"! I hope you all enjoyed last chapter, as it was over 3,000 words long. Now that we're in Chapter 9, the journey is going to begin.
If you like this chapter, make sure to review/favorite/follow this story if you have a Fanfiction account. You can review this story regardless if you have an account or not at the bottom of the page.
Also, check out my Naruto Amino page. I post daily updates on there now instead of Tumblr. Username: "Zer0Insanity" I'll also be holding some sort of contest, well it really isn't a contest, on my Naruto Amino page. I'll be asking the readers and followers of my page to come up with characters for the next story after I'm finished with this chapter. Remember, character submissions will ONLY be accepted on my NARUTO AMINO PAGE.
So anyway, I hope you enjoy Chapter 9!
The light managed to make its way through the window of Hinata's room. Birds were chirping through the morning day, with the sun slowly ascending over the horizon.
Hinata was still asleep in her bed back in the room. The sound of a foot pressing against the ceiling above her woke her up from her night's rest. "Huh?" She asked herself, quietly. Hinata got up off her bed and looked over at the corner where Zero normally is resting. The scythe that Naruto and her had given him was still there, but Zero wasn't resting in his spot. "Where did he go?" Hinata questioned herself to where her new friend was.
"I'm up here." Zero replied from above the room, past the ceiling.
The shy Hyuga girl looked up in confusion. "I whispered that...how is he able to hear me through the wall?" Hinata thought to herself.
The window had opened to Hinata's room, and Zero whisked himself back into the room by grabbing the top of the window. "Thank you guys, for giving me the scythe."
"You're welcome." Hinata said with a smile.
"How did you manage to buy it anyways?" Zero asked. "It looks like it cost a lot of yen."
Hinata chuckled a little with blush appearing on her face, thinking of the yellow-haired hero that insisted on them giving it to Zero as a gift. "Naruto said that we should take it, we found it in some small basement below a store." Hinata explained. "The cashier didn't seem to have a problem with it..."
"Oh, wow." Zero acknowledged with a little bit of awe. "So it cost you guys nothing?"
"Yes." Hinata replied.
Zero looked up at Hinata and back at the scythe. "Well it sure as hell is an amazing gift." Zero commented. This made Hinata chuckle. "Maybe it could fit with-"
At this moment, a knock came from the door of Hinata's room. Since Zero was closer to the door, he went to go open it. Tsunade appeared in the doorway once it was opened, with Shizune behind her. "Zero. Hinata. Come with me, please."
"Uh, sure." Zero replied, looking back and motioning Hinata to come with him. "What's up?"
"Do you remember that mission that I was talking about last night?" Tsunade asked the two, getting a nod from both of them. "Well, I want you two to go with Naruto on this mission, along with Ino and Kiba."
Hinata was grabbing her backpack that was lying under her bed. "Zero, do you need to take anything?"
Tsunade asked Zero something before he could reply to Hinata's question. "What is that, Zero?"
"Oh, this is the weapon I've decided to use. Hinata and Naruto gave it to me as a gift." Zero replied, looking back at the scythe next to his bed.
"Oh. I see." Tsunade analyzed. "Oh, and here you go." Shizune handed Tsunade some sort of small pack of clothes. Both of the torso and pants were both black. "This is your uniform that Kakashi picked out for you before he went on his mission. I suspect that your current clothing is a bit dirty?" Zero nodded his head yo confirm that it was in fact, dirty. "Well, here you go, if you would like to change clothes." Tsunade handed Zero the new ninja clothes. "Well, Naruto, Ino, and Kiba and I will be waiting by the main gate at the edge of the village. We expect to see you there in no less than twenty minutes." Tsunade closed the door of Hinata's room.
Zero sighed at the thought of a mission. The thought of Hinata and Naruto coming along with him returned a smile to his face. "Well, looks like this is our first mission, you and I!" Zero exclaimed.
"Yes it will." Hinata said, giving a smile. "You should probably put on your ninja uniform, however." She suggested.
"Yeah...I guess." Zero said. "I know this is your room, but could you stand outside for a moment while I put this on?"
"Yes, of course!" Hinata chuckled a little before going to the door and leaving the room.
Zero looked back at the clothes after Hinata left the room. "Huh..." Zero asked himself as he realized something about the clothes that Tsunade gave him that were now on Hinata's bed. "This looks kinda like what Kakashi was wearing...but why is it black?" He thought. Regardless, he took of his current raggedy clothes and threw them out of the window next to Hinata's bed. "Won't really need these anymore, maybe someone else will find them." Zero grabbed the clothes of Hinata's bed and put them on. For some reason, they fit him perfectly when they were on. "That's a little strange..." Zero commented on the clothes size. What was strange about the pants of the clothes was that of they looked a little like Rock Lee's jumpsuit, except it was dark gray. Everything else was black.
When his jumpsuit was finally on, Zero felt like he could move very freely. The jacket looked a little flat but was easily bendable. "Fits pretty nice...it's also light." Zero thought, grabbing the weapon holder that the group had given him yesterday and putting it in one of his pockets. He stretched a little bit more before walking towards the door. The door opened with ease, and when he was outside, Hinata was standing about five feet from the door, waiting for him.
"Does it fit alright?" Hinata asked Zero about his new ninja clothing.
Zero stretched some more before answering. "Yeah, fits a little nice."
"Good!" Hinata exclaimed with her casual shy girl voice. "We should better get going to the main gate."
"Hey wait, I want to see if my scythe fits in the weapon holder you guys gave me yesterday." Zero said, pulling out the weapon holder. "Could you, uh, see if this attaches to the back of my ninja uniform?"
"Sure!" Hinata said with a smile. Zero gave her the weapon holder and then turned around. Hinata looked for a place where the weapon holder could attach, and eventually finding a small patch that had sort of two creases in it that fit the weapon holder's attachment spot. The weapon holder slid in the two creases with ease and made some sort of locking noise showing Hinata that it was in place. "There you go."
"Thanks, Hinata." Zero thanked her. She replied with a simple nod and a smile. "Did Kakashi know about the weapon holder?"
"I don't think so." Hinata answered.
"Well, isn't it a bit strange how he knew exactly what size it was to fit my ninja uniform?"
"Yes...that is a little strange. It must've been a coincidence, though."
"Yeah, I guess." Zero looked down at his clothes. "Alright, time to try this thing out." Zero went back into Hinata's room and came back out a few seconds later holding the long scythe that Naruto and her had given him the night before. Zero lifted the scythe up and swung it around his back. Hinata was next to him, but far enough to where the scythe wouldn't hit her. Zero slid the scythe and found the weapon holder that was attached to his back. The wood of the scythe seemed to be attracted to the holder and attached easily, creating a locking noise to show that it was in place. Zero took his hand off the scythe to see if it worked, in which it was in place. "Nice, it works."
"How does it feel?" Hinata asked.
"The scythe's a little heavy, but I'll get used to it and it shouldn't be a problem." Zero replied.
"Good!" Hinata grew a happy expression. "Well, we should probably get going to the main gate."
"Yeah, let's get going."
The town was going through a normal day, the merchants buying the items of stores in Konoha, and the children were running around with each other playing "Ninja". The sun was beaming down onto the village, regardless of the fact that it was autumn this time of year.
Zero and Hinata were almost at the main gate of the village. They were casually walking towards the gate while Hinata introduced Zero to other parts of the village that were being made. Zero learned mainly about Ichiraku's Ramen, which was apparently Naruto and Hinata's favorite place to eat. A couple other of their friends liked to eat there too, it was mainly like a gathering place at times.
"HINATA! ZERO! COME ON!" Naruto yelled from the main gate, which was not very far from Zero and Hinata's current location.
"N-Naruto is going to be g-going with us?" Hinata thought of the yellow-haired hero. She had completely forgotten about what Tsunade had told them the night before about the mission. Hinata started to blush at the sight of Naruto.
The two had quickly rushed to the gate to make sure they weren't late. The people that apparently were waiting for them were Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, Akamaru and Ino. Naruto was still waving to them until they got into close proximity.
"Sorry guys, we were held up by something at the Hyuga household." Zero informed. "We're not late though, are we?" Zero asked as he looked around to make sure there was no one else coming. Five other people didn't trigger his anxiety, but any higher than eight usually would. Hinata didn't technically count though, since they were both good friends now.
"No, you're not." Ino assured. "At least you're not like Naruto, who is usually late."
"So what?" Naruto asked. "At least I'm not late for this one."
Shikamaru coughed to get the group's attention. "Everybody, listen up." The group looked towards him. "I've got clear instructions from Lady Tsunade. That trail over there?" Shikamaru pointed at a small trail made of burnt grass. "We apparently need to follow that to get to our destination. Kiba, since you have Akamaru and yourself, can you make sure to follow the scent just in case this trail starts to become a decoy and pans off into two directions?"
"Got it!" Kiba claimed. "Akamaru, get a hold of that scent." Akamaru barked and continued over to the burnt trail. His nose twitched for a second before looking up to the air. Akamaru finally got a hold of the scent, and barked once again to assure the group that he picked up the scent. "I think he's got it." Kiba confirmed, starting to follow his dog.
"Okay, let's get going. Ino, get your medical ninjutsu ready in case we get ambushed." Shikamaru said.
"Okay!" Ino exclaimed as she went to go follow Kiba.
"Naruto, you're probably one of the strongest ones here at the moment. You've got our backs, right?"
"Yes sir!" Naruto made a fake salute and ran over to the others.
"Zero, get your Z-vision out and see if you can hear anything in case of rogue shinobi trying to ambush anything. Hinata, when he hears something, use your Byakugan and see if anyone is around us,"
"Alright!" Zero and Hinata said in sync. Shikamaru started to walk back towards the group, with Zero and Hinata following behind him.
The group eventually were all together now, following the trail and departing from the Hidden Leaf village. They all hoped that this trail would lead to wherever the anonymous enemy was.
And that's Chapter 9 of "Naruto Shippuden Zero: A New Leaf"! I hope you all enjoyed, and make sure to review/favorite/follow if you liked this chapter and want to keep up with the story.
Also, about the character creation thing on my Naruto Amino page, (Zer0Insanity) I will be doing it later today.
Chapter 10 will be out by Monday or Tuesday. This is AM, signing off.