Naruto: Hunt for the Nine Rings
Review Response
illusionfox: Not necessarily.
DivergenceMagic: Thank you for the support. Haku will not be dying in this one, particularly by an oversized calamari. While the tracking team has had some close calls so far, they won't be finding him for a little while, and then it will be for different reasons than one might expect. Sarutobi's not going to be forgiven anytime soon, if at all, and Kakashi has his own piper to pay, but that will come much later.
Meteorthunder3: Made up, and thank you I wasn't sure about putting it in when I first started the chapter, but it sort of developed on its own and I'm quite proud of the result.
Ryu no Kitsune: Interesting, but no dice, I've already got all ten planned out.
Leaf Ranger: Why does everyone assume its Kisame? A lot of Kiri shinobi had shark-teeth, and even more 'shark-like grins' do not mean shark-man.
huntsman3: Wrong on both counts, but glad for someone guessing other than Kisame.
Dragonskyt: Ah Tortuga, a haven of corruption and deviance. It was actually one of the better inspirations for Kuroiwa.
ben revel: 1) No, 2) What do you think, 3) Yes, but later, 4) Yes, but I'm stretching out the timeline a bit, putting the Chūnin exams later than they were in canon to give Naruto room to grow.
Guest: No new groups and NO KISAME DAMN IT! Seriously, it's too early for the fish-man, as good as Naruto's gotten, he and Haku would still be slaughtered by the Great Blue Shinobi.
MrNeedsToRemoveAllFavs: I didn't say she was bleeding out, just that she was dying.
Woflone10: True, but think about this way: The idiot persona is what Naruto is known by, if he starts acting differently people will get suspicious and that's a big no-no. So in order to keep the charade going, idiot mask must be preserved.
ballinore: Thank you, as for the dragon, yes there is a dragon contract, and no pirate attacks, I've got something else planned.
agnar: I suppose I could have explained that one better, but let me try. Kakashi wasn't suffering as badly from this fight because it wasn't as bad, he wasn't trapped, didn't use his Sharingan as much, and only tried to use a Chidori instead of Raikiri. He was saving chakra in order to keep the Naruto duplicate up and running. If he'd had to he could have done a lot more. Also I think Chakra Exhaustion takes a long time to recover from, but reserves fill faster, add in he could have scarfed a soldier pill or two on the way, and we have a Kakashi capable of throwing around a lot of mid-level jutsu. And remember, he's an elite jounin, almost kage-level, even as improved as Naruto was, his clones are still frail one-hit knockouts.
To everyone else who read and reviewed thank you for your time and attention
"Normal Speech"
'Normal Thought'
"Demon/Large Summon Speech"
'Demon/Large Summon Thought'
Jutsu, Kung Fu Technique, Ring Power
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Marvel, or even the original idea for this story. All I own is any of my original ideas.
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Chapter 10 Picking Up Trouble
(Kuroiwa Warehouse District, Three Weeks Later)
Naruto yawned as he felt himself stir into wakefulness. As the blonde slowly crawled out of bed, careful not to disturb his still sleeping bedmate, he looked around the large flat that had been their home since they'd arrived nearly a month ago. It was large and quite spacious, easily three or four times the size of his old apartment back in Konoha, containing a large sitting room, kitchen, bath, and a separate bedroom with a large double bed. It was situated over a large warehouse that they'd rented as well to use as a private training ground. Yari had negotiated the rent on behalf of the owner as well as the terms, taking a small 'finder's fee' from the final agreement as payment.
Yawning to himself slightly as he stretched, the blonde quickly went through his morning routine, a quick shower, brushing his teeth, followed by tying his hair back into its short ponytail and getting dressed before heading down the two flights of steps to the warehouse's main floor, which was currently empty besides the small amount of training equipment that they'd unsealed after moving in.
After stretching lightly to work out the morning kinks, the blonde began flexing his muscles testingly. "Guess, it's about time I boost the weights again." muttered the blonde when he noticed he no longer felt any significant drag from his limbs. He slowly formed an Ox seal and began channeling chakra into the seals placed around his wrists and ankles, slowly raising the weights. Settling on about seventy-five pounds on his arms, and ninety on his legs. According to his mom's journal, it was best to start differentiating the weights on the upper and lower body after a certain point. Something about how the leg muscles were supposed to be stronger than the arms, Naruto hadn't really got it but had still complied. After he'd reached fifty pounds each, he'd started increasing the differential with each increase. When he'd first raised it, there was only five pounds difference, fifty-five and sixty pounds respectively, and now he was up to about fifteen pounds.
Once finished, the blonde flexed again, feeling the dull pull on his muscles from the increased strength of the weights. Nodding his approval, he quickly formed his hands into the now familiar cross-sign of his favorite technique, the blonde channeled his chakra and proclaimed, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shadow Clone Technique)," calling over eight dozen clones into being. "Alright you lot, let's get to work!" ordered the original to his assembled doppelgangers.
The massed clones let out a loud and synchronized "Aye!" accompanied by a plethora of raised fists
"You five are on Rabbit while you five work on Crane, you six work Snake, you six on Northern Mantis, you six on Southern Mantis, and you six work on Dog. I want you ten to continue working on putting them together into a single style, now that we've got Dog down pat, it should fill in some of the gaps. I want the ten of you working on Suiton today, half on jutsu practice and the other half on affinity training, while you ten do the same for Fūton and you guys work on Raiton. The rest of you split up into groups of six, six on water-walking, six on wall-walking, six on Fūinjutsu practice, and the last six practices our shurikenjutsu." ordered the blonde dispatching the clones at random.
The clones saluted as one with another loud "Aye!" before splitting into their assigned groups. The taijutsu practitioners spaced themselves throughout the large warehouse floor while the fūinjutsu headed off to find a quiet spot outside the city so they wouldn't cause any damage with a misdrawn seal. The Suiton and water-walker headed toward a largely unused portion of the nearby docks to practice, while the Fūton and Raiton workers joined the fūinjutsu team heading to the outskirts of town where they'd cause less damage with a mishap. The wall-walkers and shurikenjutsu workers also headed outside, wall-walkers using the sides of the building for practice while the shurikenjutsu workers were using a nearby lot that had the burned-down wreck of a former warehouse as a target range.
As the clones headed off to work, Naruto headed toward his section of the warehouse to start his own training with his newest style, Leopard.
~~~ XXXXX ~~~
Hey it's been a while, but a lot of things have been happening. I guess I should explain.
Well first off, I started the newest form earlier this week: Leopard. It's a very offensively focused style with the only real defense being dodges. 'The Leopard does not block, for that only wastes time which can be used to attack,' is how Gramps described it. Gramps says that Leopard combines the aspects of Speed and Power into one form, meaning it's meant to hit fast and hard. There are no real stances in it either, instead it focuses on hit-and-run tactics, always staying in motion, either attacking, dodging, or preparing for the next attack. Its signature move is something called the 'leopard fist' which is basically a half-opened fist. From what Gramps showed me either the ridge formed by the bent fingers or the palm can be used to strike and it has surprising penetrating power when used as a thrust, and the curved fingers can work a lot like claws when slashed. It also features something I haven't learned before, a technique called 'circle walking.' It's basically walking in a broad circle while keeping your focus solely on the center of the circle, which is usually your opponent. It's a lot more difficult than it looks, just keeping you balance while doing it is hard, but it's useful practice and Gramps says it can really unnerve or unbalance opponents in a fight. Its weapon of choice is a curved, single-edged saber called a Dao, which are usually wielded in matched pairs rather than singularly.
Anyway, a couple days later Dad came to visit and had everyone gather for a family meeting. Family meetings are hardly ever a good thing, the last time we had one was right before I started training and it was because a group of Iwa-nin had tried to assassinate Dad while he was on a diplomatic mission. If it wasn't for the fact that the group had been declared nuke-nin a week before it could have ended up starting a war. As it was, all it caused was a 'major political shit-storm' as Gramps described it and a few extra shinobi being assigned as guards around the house. Anyway, we all gathered in the meeting room around the small table. Dad was sitting at the head; Gramps and Granny were on one side while Mom and I were on the other. After we all sat down, Dad made the announcement. In two years, I'll be heading to Konoha for five years, starting with a year attending their Shinobi Academy then four years working as a shinobi, in accordance with the peace treaty Great Grandfather signed with the Shodaime and my status as heiress of Uzu.
Gramps was furious when he heard, shouting that it would ruin my training. I've never seen Gramps shout at Dad before and I hope I don't ever have to see it again. Gramps was so angry his chakra was visible and flaring off him; some of it reached out and crushed a teacup sitting in front of him into powder while he shouted. I keep forgetting that, before he retired and gave the position as Daimyo of Whirlpool and leader of Uzushiogakure to Dad, Gramps was one of the most feared shinobi alive, a man who was supposed to be a match for the Nidaime Hokage, Tobirama Senju, in his prime. I just couldn't connect the cantankerous old goat that I call Gramps with the man who earned the nickname 'Ryūsō.' (Dragon Claw)
I don't think that's going to be a problem from now on.
But Dad didn't even flinch. He just stared calmly at Gramps and told him that it had to be done in order to keep our alliance secure. They both just stared at each other for a while after that, neither one so much as blinking. I swear lightning was starting to spark between them when Gramps finally backed down. Mom was really excited about this, which is strange since she's usually so mature and in-control. She was going on about how much I'd love Konoha and what a beautiful place her homeland was. I guess I was pretty excited to, it'll be the first time I've left home for a period longer than a few days. Then she started about how I may meet the perfect boy, just like she met Dad. BLEGH! I'm soooo not interested in being all kissy-face with a boy.
After the meeting ended and Dad left, Gramps took me to the side. He told me that, 'if this foolishness is going to happen then we're going to increase your training. I will not have you leaving our homeland for that village unprepared.' I was really surprised by that. Konoha's supposed to be one of our oldest and most trusted allies, hell Great, Great Aunt Mito married the Shodaime Hokage, but Gramps is talking about it like it was our worst enemy. When I asked him, he gave me a look I couldn't really place; it looked like something half-way between a scowl and a smirk, before telling me he'd explain before I left.
This is really confusing, but I guess I'll find out the truth eventually. 'Til then I'm going to bed. Talk to you later.
~~~ XXXXX ~~~
Naruto frowned in thought as he remembered that entry while he moved through a quick, striking kata for Leopard. It sounded like something had happened between his family and Konoha, something that had left a bad taste in at least a few peoples' mouths. A part of him was tempted to skip ahead and see what had happened, but he quickly shook it off. Finding out would just add more motivation to learning his newest form faster so he could move on in the journal.
"Morning lover." whispered Haku as she appeared behind him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a loose embrace.
Naruto instantly relaxed from the slight tense he'd fallen into when she'd snuck up on him. "Morning Haku-chan, how'd you know I was the original?"
"You're the only one practicing this style, the others are practicing ones I've seen before." answered the dark-haired ice-user as she kissed his cheek. "Remember, we're heading to Nezumi's later. He sent a messenger last night saying that our order had come in." she reminded him.
"We can leave around 2 and grab an early dinner on our way back." offered Naruto. The two had come to greatly enjoy eating out over the course of the month. After spending several months eating only what they could gather, cook, and safely store in scrolls, the novelty of having someone else cook for them wasn't going to fade fast. The fact that Kuroiwa had plenty of restaurants and taverns available that served good food and they had money to burn thanks to Gatō and his mother's accounts only helped make the decision to eat out as often as they wanted while they had an opportunity
"I think the Black Boar is making that fish chowder you enjoy so much tonight." offered Haku, noting Naruto's favorite places nearby, a tavern just a couple streets down from the from their warehouse. The clientele was a little rough but the food was always good, cheap, and with very generous portions.
"It's a date." agreed the blonde as he wrapped Haku in a brief hug and gave her a quick kiss, which the giggling ice-user eagerly returned, before he watched her turn and walk away, the blonde's eyes happily lingering on her form as she left
She would be joining the clones by the waterfront for her own training. From what his clones had observed, she was making good progress translating the scrolls she'd recovered in Snow to work with her bloodline and was steadily improving with her own fighting style as well.
Naruto smile stiffened slightly as he returned to his practice. He would not, could not, stop. He needed to grow stronger, not just to complete his goal, but to protect his tenshi as well.
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(Kuroiwa Streets, Several Hours Later)
Naruto and Haku walked easily down the black-stone streets that made up much of the port town, the road and surrounding shops were much more sedate than they were the night they had arrived. Kuroiwa was a center for commerce, even if it was underworld commerce, Kuroiwa was never truly dead. Still, due to its nature, the place was more active at night, most of the day business centered around the docks, where ships left and came in. Most of the stores were open and trading, people walked through the street, some groups muttering quietly among themselves while others were loud and boisterous, many of those obviously drunk by their stumbling gaits, while individuals either walked quietly along, their faces averted, or ran, working on one errand or another. At first glance it looked to be like any other busy and industrious port town.
Then one noticed it, a slight unease in the air. Naruto often said it made him think of a forest filled with predators all sizing each other up, trying to decide who was prey and who was to be avoided. Neither young shinobi failed to notice that most of those they passed eyed them as they walked by, as if trying to judge whether they were marks worth the effort. Luckily, their shinobi equipment, which both wore openly, dissuaded most of them from taking a second glance. Shinobi were hardly ever worth the effort unless they had a bounty on them, and even then it was hardly ever easy.
"I hate the feel of this place." grumbled Naruto, the uneasy feeling of the city putting him in a foul mood whenever they moved into the city proper. It reminded him too much of Konoha.
"I know love, and I'm not too fond of it either. We've already got the paperwork for the Dragon ready so if our orders are complete then we can leave as soon as we'd like." agreed Haku.
"We'll talk more about it over dinner, but leaving soon sounds like a good idea to me." stated Naruto as they arrived at their destination.
It was a two-story building, made from the same black stone as the rest of the island. A sign hung out over the door, showing a painted image of a rat sleeping on top of a chest, the words, 'Nezumi's War Chest' painted in dark red kanji surrounding the image. Standing on either side of the door, two large and surly men dressed in the uniform of the island's enforcers stood guard.
The two guards eyed the young shinobi as they stepped in; giving both a glare that clearly stated "Don't start trouble." Once inside the two studied the racks of weapons as they headed toward the counter on the opposite side of the shop. As always the room was filled with a wide array of weapons in all sizes, shapes, and quality. There were barrels filled with low quality swords and spears, racks displaying more impressive weapons, and the best were displayed on the walls, secured in glass cases reinforced with seals.
As they approached the counter, Naruto caught sight of the shop's owner and proprietor, Nezumi. When Naruto had first met the man, his most immediate thought had been that either Nezumi (Rat) was a nickname, or fate had a very twisted sense of humor. The man was medium height and extremely lanky, with thin reedy arms and legs and noticeably long fingers. He had a narrow face with small black eyes, oily black hair that he wore in a long braided ponytail that made Naruto think of a rat's tail, and an unusually small and twitchy nose. Turning his attention to them as they approached, he smiled in greeting, revealing a pair of unusually large buckteeth.
"Haku-san, Naruto-san. So glad to see you." greeted the man in a friendly and professional manner.
"Nezumi-san." greeted Naruto cordially, nodding his head at the man. "Your messenger said our orders were done?"
"Of course, of course." agreed the rat-like merchant, nodding his head absently. "Just let me get the items from the back." he stated before turning around and moving to one of the shelves that were lined up behind the counter. "Haku-san's and most of your order I already had in stock, but the final items gave me a bit of trouble. Luckily one of my business associates acquired a full set shortly after the Third War ended. I've already done a thorough inspection to ensure their quality of course, and they are top of the line."
Nezumi called himself an 'import and export manager specialized in the sale and resale of military and shinobi items.' In other words he was a smuggler, trafficker, and fence specializing in the weapons market, particularly shinobi weapons and equipment. He prided himself on handling quality goods, and always backed his guarantees when it came to the quality of his merchandise. It was actually a good survival tool when dealing with shinobi, after all nobody wanted disgruntled customers when said customers were mostly highly trained assassins. Haku had met the man on her previous visits to the island with Zabuza, the man acting as her former mentor's chief supplier for equipment. The rat-like merchant had actually expressed what Naruto thought might actually have been genuine remorse when Haku had confirmed Zabuza's death, whether over the loss of a good customer or some actual respect for the man Naruto wasn't sure. That didn't stop the young ice-user from carefully avoiding mentioning where Zabuza had died. She didn't want the man trying to claim Kubikiribōchō to sell, that is, if the Konoha group hadn't taken it for themselves.
"Ah, here we are." exclaimed Nezumi as he picked up a set of several scrolls and a wrapped package and brought them up to counter. "Let's see, Haku-san. First item, twenty-five standard sets of senbon, ten sets of exploding notes, ten standard medic-nin field kits, and five sets each of shuriken and kunai, all top-quality." stated the merchant as he picked up one scroll and unrolled it, revealing several storage seals.
Haku selected one at random and charged it wither chakra, causing a container of about a hundred senbon needles to appear in a puff of smoke. Picking up one of the needles Haku examined it before tossing it at a target dummy placed on the opposite side of the counter. The needle impacted perfectly, piercing the dummy on a vital point in the neck. Haku nodded her head in approval as she resealed the rest of the container.
"Second item," continued Nezumi, opening another scroll once he confirmed Haku was satisfied with the senbon, "a dozen pressurized senbon-launchers. These are seal-augmented and can be activated through chakra manipulation as well as physical activation. They are slightly more expensive than their mechanized counterparts but the extra versatility is well worth it in my humble opinion."
Once again Haku activated one of the seals at random and tested the small device, strapping it to her wrist before firing a pair of senbon at the target dummy, one usually the chakra method as Nezumi instructed, the other using the physical method. The weapon's accuracy was slightly off, but Haku was pretty sure that was mostly due to her lack of practice with this particular weapon. Still they'd be a useful addition once she had gotten the hang of them. They not only allowed longer range than her normal senbon, but the launchers put substantially more power behind each shot than a thrown senbon had.
"Final item," finished Nezumi as he unrolled another scroll, this one with a single seal and unsealed it himself, revealing a slightly longer than average sword with a more pronounced curve, "one sword, high-quality steel in addition to being chakra conductive. Given the description of the sword-type you wanted I went with an uchigatana rather than a standard katana. It's designed for faster drawing and striking, and particularly well-suited for Iaido or Battōjutsu (Art of Sword Drawing) techniques, but it's a good sword for any speed-based kenjutsu style."
Haku took the offered sword and drew it before going through a few test swings, checking its balance and weight, before attempting to channel her chakra through it and getting a satisfying glow in confirmation. Resheathing the blade, she hooked the scabbard's mount onto her supply belt and adjusted it so the hilt rested easily against her side for easy drawing.
Seeing that Haku was satisfied, Nezumi turned his attention to Naruto. "Now Naruto-san, the first part of yours was a bulk order correct?" questioned the rat-like merchant as he picked up the last, and largest, scroll. "Fifteen sets each of both kunai and shuriken and five sets of Fūma shuriken, all top quality. Ten sets each of assorted smoke bombs, flash bombs, and flash-bangs. Thirty spools of high-strength wire strings. Twenty-five large containers of top-quality ink and twenty sets each of sealing scrolls and paper." as he read off each section he began unrolling the scroll, revealing several sections of storage seals, each marked with a different header.
Naruto nodded as he quickly checked several seals at random, making sure everything was as he'd ordered it. The merchant nodded in return before turning his attention to the cloth-wrapped bundle he'd brought up with the scrolls, a small smile appearing on his lips.
"Now the other item was the tricky bit." stated Nezumi excitedly as he began unwrapping the cloth bundle. "Uzu weapons are quite rare these days, since it's been nearly twenty years since the nation and its village was destroyed at the start of the Third War. Luckily one of my contacts recently secured these. It actually came from an Iwa-nin involved in the original attack. He took these as a trophy when the invasion was done. After the war ended, the man fell on some hard times and sold off most of his war trophies to a contact of mine in order to cover some bad debts. So, when I started asking around, he was kind enough to sell them to me, for a modest sum of course." he explained as he finished unwrapping the package, revealing its contents.
Sitting on the now opened cloth was a pair of armored leather bracers. They appeared to be divided in half, the bottom half showing pure black leather while the upper half was covered in what appeared to be a several interlinked plates of dark blue-black metal. Inscribed on the armored portion of the guards were twenty animals, circling around a single spiral located at the center of the bracer, all of it depicted in gold. Studying the items closely Naruto noticed an array of seals scribed both in the leather and the metal portions of the guard. Just from his brief once-over Naruto noticed several enhancement seals and a storage array connected to the images on the top portion of the guards.
"Each of the animal images corresponds to a specific storage seal carved into the metal." explained Nezumi as he touched one of the symbols; one depicting a mantis with its claws raised high. "Simply channel chakra into the appropriate image and…" in a puff of smoke a tonfa, no a Guǎi, appeared in the man's hand. "and a corresponding weapon is unsealed. I have no idea why each weapon is located under each animal, but the seals seemed to be designed to store only that specific weapon." finished the man as he resealed the weapon back into its slot.
Naruto slowly picked up the bracers and studied them more closely, until he noticed an engraving in the underside of the leather. It was a name, Kushina Uzumaki.
Naruto throat suddenly ran dray. "Do you know anything else about them?" he asked; his voice suddenly hoarse.
Nezumi seemed to think for a moment. "Well my contact did say the man he bought them from claimed they were supposed to be a welcome home gift for the princess of the nation. Something about how she was supposed to return from a diplomatic mission that had taken her away from home for several years only a few months after Uzu was destroyed. Though, I think he was just trying to get a better price out of them. After all, what kind of princess carries around a plethora of weapons?"
'An Uzumaki princess.' thought Naruto solemnly as he slowly strapped the bracers onto his wrists, the leather seemingly melding into a solid shape once he finished tightening them. Cautiously, he slowly unsealed each of the first six, a pair of war fans, a jian, a matched set of tonfa, another pair of kama-like sickles, a pair of steel batons, and a matched set of sabers; testing each of them through a set of practice kata before moving on to the other twelve, ensuring they were all still in the best condition. They were.
"I take it everything is in acceptable condition?" questioned Nezumi calmly.
Naruto merely nodded before reaching into his belt-sash and pulling out a small purse and tossing it to the merchant, who caught it easily, before picking up his other scroll and placing it in his belt while Haku did the same with hers. The man slowly opened the pouch and checked its contents, pulling out a single golden koban coin and taking an experimental bite to ensure it was real. The gold koban were worth a good deal more than the simple ryō bills most used, and that bag had contained a good number of them, easily paying for the small arsenal the two shinobi had purchased. Seemingly satisfied with both the amount and the quality, he placed the pouch in one of his pockets and bid the two a good day.
As they walked out, Haku leaned in close to him. "What's wrong?" she whispered worriedly.
"I'll explain when we get to the tavern." stated the blonde, his eyes never leaving the bracers now wrapped securely around his forearms.
~~~ XXXXX ~~~
(Kuroi Izakaya (Black Boar Tavern), an hour later.)
"So those bracers belonged to your mother?" asked Haku quietly to her tablemate. The sound was barely audible in the clamor of the tavern they were sitting in. The Black Boar was a large and spacious establishment that, even during the slowness of the day, always had a steady stream of customers. It was a loud and boisterous place, making it an easy place for the two shinobi to go unnoticed. They were currently enjoying a meal of thick and nicely spiced fish chowder, fresh bread, and some cooked greens.
"No, but they were meant for her. They were supposed to be some kind of welcome-home gift for when she came back from her time in Konoha." explained Naruto. Uzu's destruction at the hands of Iwa was actually the attack that started the Third Shinobi World War. Also, it had occurred mere months before his mother was scheduled to return from her six year stay in Konoha. Naruto couldn't help but wonder what his life would have been like if Uzu hadn't been destroyed. Would he have even been born at all, since it had occurred several years before his own birth shortly after the war had ended?
Sensing her lover's falling mood, Haku gently reached out and squeezed his hand. Naruto looked up and smiled at her. 'Better not to dwell on 'what ifs." he told himself. 'I am here now and I will rebuild Uzu one day. I swear it on my name as an Uzumaki.'
"Hey babe, why don't you drop the runt and spend some time with a real man!" a drunken shout suddenly broke Naruto from his musings. Turning his head towards the source of the noise, Naruto caught a look at the offender. It was a man, late thirties maybe early forties. He had short dark black hair and a pronounced scar over one eye. He was dressed in dark green shinobi pants, and a dark green sleeveless vest which left most of his torso bare. Which was not a good thing since, while the man sported the proper muscles of a shinobi, his rather hairy stomach bulged in a pronounced beer gut. His forearms and fists were wrapped in bandages and he wore a slashed Kusagakure (Hidden Grass) headband on his left bicep while the right was covered in a large cobra tattoo. He also carried an open and half-empty bottle in one hand
Haku promptly ignored the man while Naruto snorted. This guy had to be at least twice their age. It was pretty pathetic.
This seemed to anger the slightly inebriated man. "HEY! Don't ignore me you brats! Do you know who I am!?" roared the man drunkenly.
"No, and we don't really care." responded Naruto absently as he turned his attention back to his chowder.
"I'm Habase Tomori, the Kusa no Kobura (Cobra of the Grass) you punk!" shouted the man indignantly. "I'm one of the most feared nin to ever come from Kusa! The fucking bastards are too scared to even send hunter-nin after me or put me in the Bingo Book. I've killed hundreds, no thousands of nin. I even faced down Orochimaru of the Sannin and beat him before he managed to run away! A couple of worthless Wutari-nin like you don't even deserve to be in the same room as someone like me." shouted the man as he tried to loom intimidatingly over Naruto, who obviously couldn't care less about the man's boasting.
"Then please, leave our most unworthy presence." stated Naruto sarcastically, not even bothering to look up from his meal. Across the table Haku giggled softly.
"You little fucking…" snarled the Kusa-nin, before he swung the bottle still in his hand at the blonde's head in hopes of smashing both in a single swing.
Instead the bottle passed through empty air as Naruto easily leant forward and under the incoming attack. Then the blonde pushed himself up off his stool, allowing him to easily spin around and face his attacker. At the end of his spin he lashed out with one leg, connecting the back of his heel solidly with the older man's ankle with a loud crack, causing him to buckle to one side with shout of pain. Seconds later Naruto's rising knee came flying upward, connecting with the man's descending jaw and sending the already injured man flying backward to the ground and into unconsciousness, while Naruto plopped easily back into his seat.
Naruto slowly looked up and caught sight of two other men, both wearing slashed Kusa headbands, who'd been standing back the whole time. Both were now staring wide-eyed at him, occasionally glancing to the downed man before refocusing their gazes on Naruto. It was obvious the two were this Tomori guy's teammates or subordinates, and it was equally obvious both were scared stupid by the blonde's display of skill. One had a hand slowly and shakily heading toward his kunai pouch.
Naruto really didn't feel like getting in a fight that could see them all kicked out from his favorite tavern. "Take your friend, pay for your drinks, and leave." ordered the blonde coolly, his eyes never leaving the two Kusa nuke-nin. Next to him Haku, shifted slightly, readying herself for a fight if needed.
The two Kusa-nin exchanged a look before looking back at Naruto and nodding. One stepped forward and picked up their unconscious friend, while the other reached into a pouch and dropped some bills on the table before helping the other carry the unconscious Tomori out.
The silence that had covered the tavern when Tomori had started making his scene quickly faded back to the normal hum of active noise that filled the tavern. Naruto looked toward the bartender, who caught his eye and offered a quiet nod showing that all was well, before turning back and returning to his meal.
"That was quite the impressive display." a new voice interposed, this one far calmer and quite sober.
Lifting his head slightly, Naruto caught sight of a new trio that were calmly approaching his and Haku's table.
One was a guy who looked slightly older than them. He was slightly taller than average and had broad shoulders. His face was mostly covered by a dark green hood shaped like a fish and a facemask, leaving only his eyes, and a pair of curving purple-red marking beneath each of them, visible. He was dressed in black shinobi pants, a long-sleeved gray shirt, a dull green, sleeveless vest with a dark green fish scale pattern over his shirt, and a dark green scarf wrapped around his neck. His forearms were wrapped in bandages and a giant shuriken was secured against his back.
Standing next to him was a young woman, again apparently slightly older than them. She was slightly taller than average with a slender build. She had dark brown hair held back by dark purple barrette with a fish-head design and cold blue eyes that were surrounded by a pair of dark purple markings. Like her partner, the lower half of her face was covered by a facemask. She was dressed in black shinobi pants, and a dull purple sleeveless vest with a dark purple fish scale pattern similar to her partners, only with a prominent slit down the center that emphasized her bust and showed a chain mesh shirt beneath, and a dark purple scarf wrapped around her neck. Her forearms were also covered in bandages and she had a matched pair of kama strapped to her back.
Lastly, standing slightly ahead of and in-between the two others was the apparent leader and speaker of the group. He appeared slightly younger than the other two, probably the same age as Naruto and Haku, He stood the slightest bit shorter than the other male, but much narrower in build. He was wearing a shark-like hood that covered the majority of his short black hair, leaving only a small patch viewable from the front and a small length shaped like a dorsal fin coming from the back of his hood. His eyes were a cold green and he had a pair of dark violet marking beneath each one, shaped like crescent moons with a single line going down each cheek from the center of each moon. He was dressed in black shinobi pants, a dull blue sleeveless vest with a dark blue fish scale pattern over a long-sleeved white sweater, and wore a white scarf around his neck. Like his comrades his forearms were wrapped in bandages, but he didn't carry any visible weapons.
Naruto shrugged. "Either the guy was lying through his teeth or the quality of Kusa-nin has really gone downhill." he answered casually.
The lead man smiled, revealing sharp, shark-like teeth much like Zabuza had once possessed. "It's the former I assure you." he agreed, before motioning to an open stool across from them. "Do you mind?"
Naruto gave Haku a glance. When she shrugged, he nodded his head in agreement.
Still grinning, the man took the seat while his companions stood behind him. "My name is Kajika, and these are my companions Iwana," the green-clothed one nodded, "and Yamame." the purple-clothed kunoichi nodded. "As for the fellow you just sent packing, the self-acclaimed Kobura (Cobra) is a mere genin who deserted his village with his teammates after failing to be promoted ten times. The only reason they aren't already dead is the fact that his village doesn't view him as worth putting a bounty on just yet. Though, unless he learns to keep his mouth shut, someone is going to kill him out of principle alone sooner or later."
"So what do you want Kajika-san." asked Haku coolly as she studied him. "I highly doubt you came over here to simply let us know that my partner just beat-up a genin missing-nin."
"Ah, straight to the point, I like that." stated Kajika with a small predatory grin. "Very well then, the reason I came is that I have an offer I'd like you two to consider."
"An offer?" asked Naruto curiously, raising an eyebrow.
Kujika nodded his head before explaining, "Yes, our Master has tasked us with keeping an eye on this dingy little rock. When you two arrived, your guide was kind enough to inform us, and we've been keeping an eye on the two of you ever since, and what we've seen has been most impressive."
"You've been spying on us." growled Naruto lowly, his eyes narrowing as he regarded the dark-haired boy.
"More like scouting." returned Kajika calmly. "You see our Master is attempting to do something great, but requires more skilled individuals to make it a reality. We're what you could call talent scouts, looking for those with the right abilities and temperament to help him accomplish his goal."
"And what is this goal exactly?" questioned Haku
"The formation of a new shinobi village." answered Kujika grandly.
This caused both Naruto and Haku to raise their eyebrows in surprise. Forming a new shinobi village was indeed a grand undertaking. Anyone attempting to do so would require vast amounts of capital and resources, not to mention the ear of a Daimyo and great personal power and charisma.
"That's quite a goal." stated Haku calmly. "I believe the last time a new village was formed was when Sanshōuo no Hanzō (Hanzō of the Salamander) united the warring clans of Rain Country and formed Amegakure no Sato (Village Hidden in/by the Rain) at the start of the Second War."
"Indeed." agreed Kajika. "Our master is among the greatest shinobi ever born. With the formation of our own village he hopes to create a place above the fickle politics of the warmongering Great Five. A place where we shinobi can find and unlock our true potential and surpass it." the young nin's eyes seemed to glow with a fanatical light as he spoke of his master and his great plans.
"And you want us to join?" asked Naruto, not having a very good feeling about this.
"That is correct." agreed Kajika again, a grin now showing itself on his lips. "Our village is almost complete, but Otogakure no Sato (Village Hidden by the Sound) is still lacking in the most important resource: skilled shinobi. We've been watching the two of you, and can see plainly that you both possess a great amount of potential. Come with us and our Master will help you not only reach that potential, but surpass it." promised the dark-haired shinobi.
Naruto and Haku shared a look, neither liking this. Neither had an interest in joining a village at the moment, Naruto's, and by extension Haku's, quest to find the other eight rings being far more important in both of their minds. That and the way Kajika spoke about this 'Master' of his was definitely unnatural. You can tell a lot about people from the way those who serve them refer to them. A man despised by those who serve them rules by either fear or a long-standing tradition. A man who is spoken of kindly is likely to be loved or at least respected. The way Kajika talked about this Master of his, it was more like a priest referring to his god rather than a shinobi referring to his leader. That kind of rabid devotion set off alarm bells in both their minds.
After two finished sharing their silent glance, it was Haku who answered. "While it is a very interesting offer Kajika-san, I'm afraid we'll have to pass. Currently we are already committed to a job, and it is of dire importance to both of us that it be completed. Perhaps in the future…" she finished uncommittingly.
Neither missed the way the two shinobi standing behind Kajika stiffened slightly at the response, or how the man's eyes darkened slightly as well. "A shame." stated Kajika absently as he rose to leave. "If you two change your minds, we're staying at the Black Wind." he offered over his shoulder as he and his companions left the tavern.
After a couple minutes, Naruto and Haku turned to face each other.
"What do you think?" asked Haku calmly.
"I think we should leave as soon as possible," answered Naruto cautiously, "and I don't think our new friends are the types that take rejection all too well."
"Agreed, if we have your clones start packing up as soon as we get back, we can be ready to leave when the ports open at first light." agreed Haku. While incoming ships were allowed to enter Kuroiwa's ports after dark, ships were only allowed to leave during daylight, something about the currents and security according to Yari.
Naruto merely nodded as the two stood to leave, placing their money on the table before heading toward their home to start packing.
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(Approximately 2 am next morning, Warehouse District)
Two figures moved through the darkness of the night. Expertly flitting from shadow to shadow until they found their target, before easily cutting through the meager defenses that kept the door closed. Once inside the two shadows expertly moved forward. A half-dozen blondes stood guard on the warehouse's floor, passing the time by seemingly practicing the kata for some form of taijutsu. The two shadows moves quickly and effectively, destroying the blondes in a blur of motion. Two fell as a sickle-like blade passed through each of their throats. Another three fell as a giant shuriken passed through them in a blur of razor-edged steel. As the other five disappeared in puffs of smoke, the last tried to raise the alarm, opening his mouth to yell only for a kunai to pierce his throat before a sound could exit before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
Retrieving their weapons from where they'd fallen after the clones had been dispatched, the two figures, now revealed as Iwana and Yamame, quickly climbed the steps, passing silently through the rooms until they reached the bedroom door. Silently easing the door open, the two assassins shared a silent grin when they saw two figures, seemingly asleep in the bed. Gripping her kama in each hand Yamame leapt forward, lashing out with both blades to disembowel the sleeping figures before they had the chance to awaken.
Only there was no blood, no screams of sudden pain; only two explosions of smoke and a faint hissing sound coming from above them. Looking up they found the ceiling of the bedroom had practically been wallpapered with exploding notes, several of which were now ignited and readying to blow.
"Shit!" shouted both Oto-nin as they made a break for the only window in the room, Iwana breaking through first with Yamame following seconds before the room was filled with a massive explosion.
As the two landed on the roof of the neighboring warehouse, a voice caught their attention. "So, any particular reason you two decided to pay us a visit tonight." questioned Naruto as he and Haku stood on the opposite end from the two masked shinobi, both dressed and ready for battle. Naruto had not just set up guards inside the warehouse, but had several monitoring the surrounding streets from the rooftops and alleyways. One had noticed the shadows approached and signaled the original, who'd already been up. Both he and Haku agreed that, given their encounter earlier, a single sleepless night was worth the risk. They could always catch up tomorrow on the Dragon after they left.
"Those who refuse the Otokage's (Sound Shadow's) offer are to be eliminated." started Iwana coldly as he reached behind him and readied his giant shuriken.
"Otogakure (Hidden Sound) must remain a secret until the time is right." finished Yamame as she tightened her grip on her kama blades.
As one the two shinobi shot forward, aiming to eliminate their targets as quickly as possible. Yamame leapt at Naruto, her sickles lashing out in attempt to decapitate the blonde, while Iwana leapt at Haku, his shuriken spinning wildly as he lashed out at Haku's midsection.
The two shinobi leapt backwards, off the edge of the roof and dodging the incoming attacks. The two landed on the docks right below and outside the warehouses as their opponents moved to follow them. Naruto held his arms and activated two of the storage seals in his new bracers. In a small puff of smoke, a matched pair of black war fans appeared in his hands. Flipping them open revealed a pair of jade-green dragons emblazoned on the black cloth. Haku meanwhile drew out a set of senbon. The two shared a nod before moving in opposite directions onto the open waters, separating to give both of them room to fight freely.
*** Naruto vs. Yamame ***
Naruto met Yamame in a clash of steel, the reinforced and bladed ribs of his war fans meeting the blades of her kama in a flash of sparks before separating. Naruto vaguely noted that the cloth cut by the kama blades on both his fans reknitted itself almost instantly after they broke contact. 'A repair seal?' thought the blonde absently, before refocusing on the fight as his opponents lashed out again with her sickles. Naruto blocked one with his fans again, before pivoting out of the way of the other and lashing out with his second fan, Yamame, still off-balance from her attack, barely dodged it, receiving a shallow gash along her stomach instead of seeing her own intestines.
The two continued to exchange blows for several minutes, but it quickly became clear that Naruto had the edge in this fight. Realizing this Yamame leapt backward while channeling chakra into her kama blades. Seconds after landing she lashed out with both directly in front of her, the two crossing less than an inch over the other, while shouting, "Fūton: Kamaitachi Akaei! (Wind Release: Razor Wind Stingray) (1)," releasing two broad, sickle-like wind blades that instantly joined together, forming a broad, ray-like mass of cutting winds that flew directly toward Naruto.
Naruto himself brought both fans to bear and quickly swept both outward, one downward toward the left and one upward toward the right, calling out, "Fūton: Tsuru Toppū! (Wind Release: Crane Wind Gust) (2)." releasing a massive, spinning gust of wind from both fans.
The gust and wind-ray met midflight, the stronger winds of Naruto's attack deflecting the wind-ray enough that it flew by a charging Naruto, smashing into the front of one of the warehouses and leaving large, deep gouges in the wood and stone. As the winds continued to barreling forward, they slammed into Yamame, sending her hurtling backward. Yamame quickly regained her footing as she landed on the water, only to find Naruto directly in front of her, slashing forward with both fans, the bladed ribs now coated in a fine layer of wind chakra. Yamame quickly moved to block with her kama, only for the wind-enhanced fans to cut through the normal metal. Yamame eyes widened as her weapons fell broken to the ground. They stayed that way as the wind-enhanced blades continued their journey, leaving twin gashes across her throat and upper chest.
She fell into the water dead moments later, her dead body sinking due to the weight of her equipment.
*** Haku vs. Iwana ***
Haku lashed out, throwing all six of her senbon at the charging Iwana. The larger nin quickly deflected them with his giant shuriken while still charging her before lashing out with his weapon as he got into range. Haku dodged, leaping backwards and out of the way before moving forward again, drawing and lashing out with her new blade in the same instant, slashing at the Oto-nin's side. Iwana blocked the blow with his shuriken before leaping backward and trying to gain some distance. While useful, the giant shuriken was not designed for close-range combat. Only an extremely skilled user could match it against a sword or other weapon designed for melee combat in close-range, and Iwana's skills hadn't reached that level yet.
Instead, he retreated and tried to fight from a distance. A bad mistake, given Haku's own specialty was ranged combat. The young Hyōton-user quickly resheathed her blade before launching another barrage of senbon needles at the retreating shinobi. The larger nin blocked the first six, only to grunt in pain as three more stabbed into his right arm, courtesy of Haku's Kage Senbon no Jutsu (Shadow Senbon Technique) (3). Iwana scowled as he felt his arm slowly begin to grow numb, barely catching his shuriken in his left hand as it slipped through his slackening fingers to keep it from falling into the water and sinking. The Oto-nin quickly began flexing the muscles of his right arm and hand, hoping to keep it active for as long as possible.
"My senbon struck several pressure points along your right arm, soon it will be less than useless to you for several hours." stated Haku calmly as she stood opposite of her opponent.
"Bitch!" snarled Iwana as he regripped his shuriken in his left hand and threw it at her, before forming a single handseal, forcing his rapidly numbing arm and hand into position. "Suiton: Shuriken Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu! (Water Release: Shuriken Water Clone Technique) (4)," snarled the injured nin, causing a half-dozen other giant shuriken to form out of the surrounding water and start flying toward Haku as well.
Haku merely remained calm as her hands rapidly ghosted through a set of seals. "Hyōton: Tsubame Fubuki! (Ice Release: Swallow Snow Storm) (5)," called Haku, as the surrounding water quickly rose into the shape of over a dozen flying swallows that quickly froze into ice. The ice swallows flew directly toward the incoming shuriken. Each of the water clones were swiftly sliced through by the razor-wings of one of flying swallows, the original was deflected as the chakra-hardened ice of three swallows hit it as once, and the remaining swallows continued their flight, straight toward Iwana.
The Oto-nin tried to dodge, but the swallows swerved mid-flight, catching the shinobi in midair and engulfing him in storm of razor-edged wings. Iwana barely had time to scream as the blades fell onto him, slashing through his flesh. Moments later he fell into the water with a large splash as his body sunk to the bottom.
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"That was surprisingly quick." stated Naruto cautiously as the two regrouped at the edge of the water.
Before Haku could respond, a dull clapping caused both shinobi to turn toward the rooftop of a nearby warehouse. There, sitting easily on the edge of the building's roof, was Kajika clapping his hands slowly as if enjoying a show.
"Bravo, bravo." complimented the hooded shinobi as he stared at the two with a shark-like grin. "You took care of those two quite easily."
"What the hell is the matter with you!?" growled Naruto as he stared at the nuke-nin. "They were your teammates and you're acting like their deaths was some kind of entertainment."
"Teammates?" questioned Kajika curiously. "They weren't my teammates, they were my subordinates; weaklings that lacked the potential to truly serve my Master. Their job was merely to test the merit of our potential recruits. Anyone who couldn't defeat them lacked the power needed to join Otogakure. Now I'll ask you once again, will you join us?"
"Not on your life." snarled Naruto as he fell into a stance. Haku merely gripped a new set of senbon in response.
"A pity." stated Kajika, a soft frown on his features, as he stood up. "You would have truly done well under Otokage-sama's command, your powers growing exponentially with his gifts. Now you will simply die." he finished as he launched himself forward.
CLIFFHANGER NO JUTSU
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JUTSU IDENTIFICATION
(1) Fūton: Kamaitachi Akaei(Wind Release: Razor Wind Stingray) – C-ranked offensive Fūton technique: The user of this jutsu channels wind chakra into the blades of two weapons before slashing both of them at the same time, one arcing directly over the other as they intercept at the midpoint. This releases two large wind blades that merge into a vaguely ray like mass consisting of two large wind blades acting as fins and the merged ends stretching backward acting as a tail. The combined strength of the wind blades gives this technique immense cutting power at the cost of some speed.
(2) Fūton: Tsuru Toppū (Wind Release: Crane Wind Gust) – C-ranked defensive/supplementary Fūton technique: A defensive wind technique that creates a large burst of strong, spiraling winds that can be used to deflect incoming attacks. The user either swings their weapons or arms outward in opposite directions while channeling wind chakra through them, enhancing the wind created. Can also be used supplementary to move objects or opponents by directing the wind gust towards them.
(3)Kage Senbon no Jutsu (Shadow Senbon Technique) – D-ranked offensive shurikenjutsu: A simple technique where two or more senbon are piled one onto each other and thrown simultaneously, causing one to be hidden in the shadow of another. While simplistic, it can be highly effective if used correctly.
(4) Suiton: Shuriken Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu (Water Release: Shuriken Water Clone Technique) – C-rankedoffensive Suiton shurikenjutsu/ninjutsu/bunshin jutsu technique: The user creates a number of water clones from one shuriken and the surrounding water to strike at an enemy. This is a lesser variation of the Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique) that relies on existing nearby elements to create the clones, reducing the power of the newly created shuriken.
(5)Hyōton:Tsubame Fubuki (Ice Release: Swallow Snow Storm) – B-ranked offensive Hyōton ninjutsu. This technique creates a cluster of ice needles in the shape of miniature swallows out of water or existing ice, which the user then directs at the opponent. These needles can change direction in midair and will maim the opponent with their sharp wings.
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END CHAPTER 10
Yes, I know I'm a bastard for leaving it at the start of another battle, but be patient, I promise the fight with Kajika will be well worth the wait.
Before anyone says anything about the fights between Iwana and Yamame being too quick, they were supposed to be quick. Both Oto-nin were only High Genin level in strength while Naruto and Haku are both at least mid- to high-Chūnin in strength. They eliminated Naruto's clones using stealth and a surprise attack combined with the fragility of Shadow Clones, not through superior skill. Their fights were partly designed to show how strong the two had gotten since they first met in Wave, particularly after their difficult fight with the Yuki-nin. Believe me Kajika, who is at least jounin-level, will be an entirely different matter.
Oh, and I thought I should point something out, while the names and techniques of the styles Naruto practices in the fic are made up, the styles themselves are each inspired by an actual style of Chinese Martial Arts. For Example: Rabbit was inspired by Chuōjiǎo (Poking Foot). Crane was inspired by the Crane aspect of Ng Ga Kuen (Five Family/Animal Style). Snake was inspired by Shéquán (Snake Fist). Northern Mantis and Southern Mantis were inspired by Tánglángquán (Praying Mantis Fist) and Nampai Tángláng (Southern School Praying Mantis). Dog comes from Góuquán (Dog Boxing), and Leopard was inspired by the Leopard aspect of Wǔ Xíng (Five Forms).
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