Chapter 10
"Ummm… Tazuna-san?" asked the pinkette
"What?" asked an old drunkard
"You're from the Nami no Kuni, right?"
"What about it?"
"Umm… Kakashi-sensei? Do they have ninjas in that country too?" Sakura asked the jonin of the group, but before he could answer someone else did.
"No, they don't need them" said Naruto "Water should protect them from danger of the world. Lands like Nami no Kuni or Umi no Kuni had military significance when Uzushio were around, but since said village fall at the end of the Dainiji Ninkai Taisen having shinobi stationed there would be a liability." seeing shocked faces out of the corner of his eyes he decided to elaborate "Jiji says that I should learn history to learn from previous kages mistakes and since it's knowledge about my clan it would be kind of stupid to not know it." before either of his teammates could question him, Tazuna did.
"You're an Uzumaki? You don't look like one." the bridge builder asked
"Yeah, appearances are deceptive, in the end you look like homeless drunk without perspective" said the blond with a smile while the old man gained a tick mark
"Tch, cheeky brat" Tazuna said as he took a sip of his sake, but then something caught his attention "you know, I saw that strange coloring of the Uzumaki swirl once when I was young, but that guy was wearing black kimono with…"
"… gold cherry blossom petals? Yeah I have it back at home, but I don't like to wear it, it's so formal" said Naruto interrupting him
"But I thought that it should belong to…" the bridge builder started only to be interrupted once again by the blond
"… me and me alone" he said as he glared at the adult. The message in his cold electric blue eyes was clear "Shut up or you will regret it"
"I see…" said Tazuna as he looked away, this did not go unnoticed by the jonin
"Why weren't we told about Uzumaki clan, sensei?" asked shocked Sakura
"Hmm? I don't know why, but they should be mentioned since they helped in creation of the village, even though they had their own village to begin with. Mito-sama, the wife of the Shodaime Hokage was an Uzumaki and she created some of the seals that are used to protect our village to this day." said Kakashi not taking his eyes out of the book
"I thought Uchiha and Senju created the village." said Sasuke with raised eyebrow
"Uchiha gave the land, Senju connections and Uzumaki clan gave the money to build it" said Naruto in a bored tone as he stepped over the puddle seemingly not noticing it. Once Konoha shinobi made couple steps two Kiri missing nins came out of the puddle and not wasting any time one of them jumped in the air with the intent to wrap the jonin of the group in their chain. Unfortunately for them Naruto was only waiting for them to do that. When the one that jumped saw the blond just above him he was shocked which was quickly capitalized by said genin who kicked the missing nin in the side of his head sending him head first into the tree, rendering him unconscious.
"Gōzu!" screamed the other attacker. Naruto seeing the distraction in the other man quickly created a clone and used it like a springboard "I'm gonna fu-…" he started as was interrupted by the blond who twisted in the air and kicked him straight in the jaw breaking both the gas mask and the missing nins jaw and sent him into another tree. Once Naruto landed he took out two brown kunais and throw them straight at each of the missing nins chest and the rest of the group eyes widen even more when they thought he was going to kill the attackers.
Just as the kunais were about to hit they poofed out of existence and were replaced by two small disks with the Uzumaki clan crest in the same colors as the one on young genins back. When the disks hit missing nins chests blue ninja wire shoot out of them and wrapped itself around the targets and after a second it started to glow slightly. Naruto then took out black book and without using any handseals once again created clones, this time two of them that wordlessly went to do their work.
"You know Naruto, I allowed them to attack, because I wanted to see who they were after" said the jonin of the group
"And I should care because…" said the blond not looking up from the black book
'Is this how everybody else feels when I do that?' thought a little annoyed Kakashi "Because I'm your sensei"
"Sensei is someone who helps you further yourself either mentally, physically or in gaining new skills. You are sensei only to the teme at this point in time as you did nothing to become mine or Sakura-chans sensei. This two were a threat to Sa-… to the team so I acted accordingly." said Naruto as he finally found them in his bingo book not caring about Kakashi that flinched a little at his words.
"You're robbing them?!" scream shocked pinkette
"*Sigh* According to the law pertaining missing nins, what you catch or kill is yours, so whatever they have on them is mine now" said young jinchuuriki reading through missing nins profiles
"Are you going to kill them?" asked Uchiha causing the girls and old man's eyes to widen slightly
"That depends on what they are wanted for…" said the blond as he was still reading not caring about that both genins and civilian flinched "No, they're wanted only for taking part of the rebellion against Yondaime Mizukage, nothing much" he added as he closed his book and put it away
"Y-You would kill them?" asked young Haruno with a meek voice making the boy to look at her
"You have to understand something Sakura-chan - this world is not a perfect place. They…" Naruto said as he pointed at the unconscious missing nins "… would kill you given a chance and they would do that without second thought, but considering that overall you're a beautiful girl death is easy way to go. There are people out there that have no honor, no humanity that will try to catch you and use you as either sex slave or just rape you, before killing you. Open your eyes Sakura-chan, you are not a damsel in distress and Sasuke is not your knight in shining armor. He is not strong enough to beat down every enemy we could encounter for at this point he's as strong as newly appointed chunnin, barely and Kakashi wasted his potential of becoming S-rank long time ago and have no chance against people like Itachi Uchiha or Kirigakure no Kaijin Kisame Hoshigaki. Did you even think about what would happen if you got separated from everybody? This isn't a world for fangirls Sakura-chan, the sooner you understand the better, because right now you are just as useless as our client" said young Uzumaki as his clone walked over and gave him two scrolls that were quickly sealed off in one of the storage seals on the originals glove and a photo. Naruto then unsealed two black scrolls with kanji for "Prison" and gave them to the clone to do what he should as he looked up from the photo "I was wrong, our client is more useless then you as he even forgot to tell us that there are missing nins after him" he said as he showed the photo to the rest of the group. Seeing no other way the bridge builder explained everything, the situation with Gatō, why he lied to the Hokage, everything.
"You're stupid. If you would tell it to Jiji he would come up with some payment plan or something. He wouldn't leave you alone." said the blond annoyed at Tazuna's actions
"I couldn't…"
"… couldn't what? Trust Jiji? Tell me you stupid old drunkard one thing - if you couldn't put your trust in Jiji, our Hokage, how can you put it in us?" asked Naruto causing the old man to look down in shame "*Sigh* Either way, I think we should go to Kōnyū village, it's close and I can cash in the bounty for those two"
"Won't it be easier to attack us in the village?" asked Sasuke as Sakura was quietly standing to the side gripping the hem of her dress desperately trying to hold in the tears after the tongue lashing she just got.
"Attacking a civilian village brings hunter nins on your neck, so only one kind of people would do that and I highly doubt we will encounter that kind of people on this mission" said Naruto as he took two black scroll from the clone and immediately sealed them back, then took the brown kunais and put them back into the kunai holster while the clone dispelled
"And what kind of people would attack us in the civilian village according to you, dobe?" the Uchiha asked
"Your brother kind of people, the kind that can easily take care of every hunter nin send after them and I doubt someone like that would send two weaklings after us. The one behind those two is an A-rank at most so Kakashi should take care of it, let's go" said the Uzumaki as he started walking with Tazuna in tow
"You know I am a jonin so I should give orders" said Kakashi annoyed that blond was doing whatever the hell he want
"And I don't care" said Naruto waving over his shoulder as Sasuke joined him
"*Sigh* No respect for your elders" Hatake said as he looked at his third student that didn't move apart from the slight trembling. He sighed once again and put a comforting hand on her shoulder "Let's go" he said at which the girl just nodded at walked after the rest of the team making the man sigh once again 'Be a sensei they said, it's an easy job. Tch, easy my ass'
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(Later, Kōnyū village)
"OK…" started Kakashi "… now that we're here we should find some place to-…"
"Naruto?!" asked someone from behind interrupting Kakashi. When all of them saw who it was only the boy in question recognized the man
"Kenta!" exclaimed the boy as he walked up to the grizzly looking man "What are you doing here?"
"Ah, you know me, getting supplies, looking for a job, that kind of thing, but what about you? I see you became shinobi." said Kenta smiling down at the boy
"Yeah, I'm here on a mission… Oh, where are my manners…"
"You don't have one to begin with" said the big man while laughing
"It's funny coming from a man that was burping alphabet. Anyway, come on I'll introduce you to my team and client" blond Uzumaki said as he led the man back to the group "This stupid pervert is Kakashi Hatake, jonin assigned to my unit" the boy said as he pointed at said jonin
"You don't have it easy, I know Naruto don't like perverts… wait "jonin assigned to your unit"? Don't you mean "sensei"?" asked Kenta
"Nah, he's just another let down. Anyway, this teme over here is Sasuke Uchiha. He's very arrogant, but funny to prank and I think he's gay" said Naruto with a smile
"I'm not gay dobe!" screamed angered genin at which both the blond and grizzly man laughed
"Hehehehe… This old drunkard over here is Tazuna, our client that claims that he know how to build bridges" said young jinchuuriki and a tick mark appeared on said bridge builders forehead. "And this is…"
"Sakura Haruno… hehehe it's good that I left Mira at home, you know how possessive she is of you" said the man with a sly smile at which the blond blushed slightly
"W-Well… We have to go since we have to find a place to sleep…" said the boy trying to avoid the look of a curious team, especially the girl that was slightly shocked, that the man before her new her name
"You can come with me, the inn I'm staying in have free rooms" Kenta interrupted him
"Cool, let's go." said Naruto once again taking command, but yet again, everybody listened to him
"So, Kenta-san…" said Kakashi gaining the big man's attention "How do you know Naruto?"
"Hmm… If Naruto don't trust you enough to tell you, why should I?" asked Kenta successfully ending conversation.
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(Next day, Morning, Local bar)
"It's still hard to believe that you can eat so much…" said Kenta as he was looking at Naruto who ended 12 bowl of ramen
"Eehhh… not to me, but that one definitely hit the spot." said Naruto as he patted his stomach "Oy, I want to pay!"
"Do you have to always be so loud, dobe?" asked Sasuke, who just entered the bar with very quiet Sakura trailing behind
"Teme? What are you doing here?" said the blond as he was paying for his and Kenta's meal
"Kakashi send us to find you. We're leaving." said Uchiha with a bored tone
"OK, I just have to use a toilet and then we can go" said Naruto as he turned around
"I'll go with you" said Sasuke
"You're going to peek on me, aren't you?" asked the blond as he was inching away from his teammate
"I'm not gay!" raven haired genin all but screamed
"Yeeeaaa… sure… just don't think about trying anything funny, I prefer girls"
"Hn" and with that they both went away.
"You know, Naruto told me many things about you, but never told me that you're so quiet." said Kenta startling the girl a little.
"So, he told you how useless I am" said pinkette as she was looking at her feet while rubbing her left arm with right hand.
"Useless?" asked shocked man
"Y-Yeah, he told me that right now I'm as useless as our client after we were attacked by two guys" she said tearing up a little
"Well, then you probably are useless in fights…" Kenta said and when he saw that the girl before him flinched as if she received a physical hit he quickly added "…, but then again nobody is strong from the start and I think Naruto knows it best. That boy trains insanely long and hard, because he wants to protect his precious people, like some people from my village, Ichiraku family, your Hokage, a man named Iruka, some family from a weapon shop, two green clad ninja and you…" said the man as Sakura finally raised her head and looked at him with wide eyes "…, especially you. That boy…, he has no regard to his own life. All he cares about are his precious people and doing what he thinks is right, and if he falls doing one of this things he will go as a happy man." he said looking down at his plate with a faraway look and fond smile, not looking at the wide-eyed shocked girl, that was listening intently "He saved my younger daughter and wife from a mad man, saved my older daughter from some thugs, knocked some sense into me after I've taken to drink after my wife miscarriage. When our home burned down he took us in and after all of this he was shocked, that we thanked him. "I've just done what was right, there is no reason to thank me" he said" said the man as he laughed lightly as he looked hack at the girl "To defend him, he was probably scared, that he wouldn't be able to protect you, one of his most precious people. I know that he might hurt you with his words, but knowing him as good as I know him I think he is doing it for some reason. Can I ask you a question?" seeing as the girl nodded he continued "Why do you care so much? I mean, from what Naruto told me about you, you never really cared what he said to you or about you, so why?"
"I-I thought all night about it and I think it's because it came from him, that it hurt so much. That baka never said anything bad to me, no matter how awfully I treated him and even though I always knew that I'm not the strongest person there is, hearing those words from him really hurt" said pinkette looking sadly at the floor as Kenta smiled at her fondly.
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(With Naruto and Sasuke)
"You know…" started Sasuke as he was washing his hands "… Sakura didn't say much since yesterday"
"So?" asked Naruto
"So?! I thought that you like her."
"And?" asked Naruto and when Uchihas eyebrow started twitching, the blond laughed lightly "You're right, I like her, but then again she likes you." Uzumaki smiled sadly as he put his hands on both sides of the sink and looked in it "*Sigh* I am not as stupid as all of you think. I know that in our line of work people dies and because of my recklessness my chances of living a long life are even slimmer. That's why I can and will be… unpleasant if I have to, hell she can hate me for all I care and I will bear that hatred with a smile on my face no matter how painful it will be for me. I will do everything to grant her bigger chances for survival, but to do that she needs to train. If I have to be her stepping stone, something, someone that she wants to overcome, then so be it." said Naruto as he sighed once more and looked at the mirror "You know I always wanted to become strong, to become Hokage, that way I can protect the village, it's people, my precious people and the villagers would put that faith in me and accept me as me, but to be top notch, is really something to think about. To have strength, means you become isolated and if you don't have someone to keep you grounded you become arrogant although, at first you only sought what you had dreamed for… ARGH! I'm getting all sentimental again dattebayo" said young jinchuuriki as he ruffled his hair in exasperation
"You… that… s-similar thing said Itachi couple days before he…" said raven haired genin as he clenched his fists. The blond looked at him for a second in shock.
"I know it's not my thing and that I don't know what exactly happened, but do you know?" asked Naruto
"What do you mean? Itachi killed them all, he…"
"I know, I know, it's just… if he had similar thoughts to me, then he should do everything to protect his precious people, not kill them and why didn't he kill you? From what Hiro told me once Itachi was afraid war, or more importantly you participating in it and even though he could snap, since he was in ANBU from a very young age, there always is a possibility. From many reports and archives I know that many people wanted to get revenge on people that are just as much of a victim as themselves. I'm not saying that your brother is innocent, or he didn't do that for some mambo jumbo that he told you, but do you know exactly what happened back then? Not what your brother, Jiji, villagers, elders, the council of idiots or your own fillings are telling you, but cold, hard truth?" when Sasuke didn't said a word for a minute he sighed once more "Let's go or Kakashi will weep, you can think after the mission is over, or not think at all, your choice" said as he left the toilet with Sasuke in tow.
"So, this is a goodbye, huh" said Keita as he raised his hand, that Naruto gladly shaked
"Yeah, say Hi from me to everyone back at the village" said the blond with a smile
"Mira will be sooooo disappointed, that she couldn't go with me" said the man with a sly smile
"Ugh… Yeah, good luck with the job, see ya' around dattebayo"
"Good luck with the mission, see ya'" said Keita as he waved at the genins as they left the bar.
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(Four days later, Nami no Kuni)
"Take Tazuna-san and run! You have no chance of beating him!" screamed Kakashi imprisoned in Suirō no Jutsu as he watched his genins face off against three Mizu Bunshins "As long as he's keeping me trapped in this prison he can't move. Mizu Bunshins cannot go very far from his real body. Just run away, now!" screamed Hatake and Zabuza took that time to see the reactions.
'The target looks terrified, raven haired brat and pink haired brat are scared shitless, girl more so than boy, but the third one looks almost bored, like he don't give two shits about the killing intent or the situation he's in.' thought the swordsman
"Teme, I have a plan" said Naruto gaining Sasukes attention "After I take care of the clones you will shot the biggest fireball you can at me" whispered blond
"Even if you somehow dispel them I will hurt you with my jutsu, dobe. Are you insane?" asked Sasuke at which young jinchuuriki only smirked
"Yes" said Naruto simply as he ran at the clones with a speed, that young Uchiha could barely follow, meaning Tazuna and Sakura saw only a blur "Let's get wild!" screamed blond as he neared the middle clone
"You're fast… but not fast enough!" said the clone as he swing Kubikiribōchō cutting the boy in half
"NARUTO!" screamed terrified Sakura. Not even a second later both halves poofed out of existence and out of the first Naruto's shadow second one came out and the two halves turned into two kunais that the blond caught and using that the clone in front of him was wide open to his advantage cut his chest in an x-like pattern dispelling it.
'Shadow step at this speed at this age?' thought original Zabuza as he saw that Naruto used the initial shock and threw kunai at each of the clones neck dispelling them, all the time not taking his eyes of the real Zabuza, at which the man smirked "Brat's skilled" said as he looked from the corner of his eye to see him equally shocked, but stored it for later.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" screamed Sasuke as he exhaled quite big fireball, that was currently flying straight at young jinchuuriki
"Naruto! Look out!" screamed pinkette, but blond paid no heed to her warnings and stood his ground. When he felt heat of the fire on the back of his neck he smirked and quickly formed a half ram seal
"You're going down you eyebrow less freak dattebayo" said Naruto and Zabuza glared at him… or rather at the kunai that appeared in the place he was in
'Kawarimi no Jutsu without smoke, without handseals or even calling out a name of the jutsu, it's a mastery to the point of Mikoto-sama, just like with the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. How the hell did he end up as a class dobe' thought a shocked Kakashi
"Fūton: Daitoppa" screamed Naruto as he sent a gust of wind straight at the fireball making it larger, hotter and faster. Zabuza seeing that decided to cut his losses and jumped out of the way of the fire freeing Konohas jonin in the process. Kakashi was about to stop channeling chakra to his legs and escape the fire by staying in the lake when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. His eyes widen, when he saw a kunai sailing through the air next to the fireball. Not a moment later though the kunai was replaced by the blond genin, that was for some reason upside-down with hands clasped together as if he was praying.
"Fūton: Kaze no ryū" screamed Naruto and not a second later Chinese dragon made out of wind shot from in front of the boy straight at the ball of fire with amazing speed. Once it came in contact with the fire in less than a second it absorbed the fire and now instead of Chinese dragon made wind, a Chinese dragon made of incredibly hot white fire flew straight at Zabuza while the blond substituted yet again with the kunai just before he hit the water and appeared next to his team. The missing nin seeing no other choice quickly went through handseals and purred as much chakra as he could muster.
"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu" screamed swordsman as Chinese dragon made out of water raised from the lake and started a fight for dominance with the fire dragon that everybody watched intently. Soon both dragons dispersed each other creating a steam that shot everywhere.
"… That fuckin' brat…" panted Zabuza "… I'm gonna… fuckin'…"
"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu" screamed Konoha jonin
'Kakashi?!' thought swordsman as he saw the water flying his way "Fuck!" said Kirigakure no Kijin as he did the only thing he could in his situation - braced himself for the hit. Once the water went down Kakashi jumped in front of the missing nin who sat leaning against a tree that he was undoubtedly slammed against. "Because… of that brat… I forgot about you…" said Zabuza forcing through the pain
"And that was your last mistake" said Kakashi as the kunai he was holding started crackling with electricity and when he was about to end the life of his opponent three needles struck the missing nins neck. When he looked up he saw someone in a hunter nin mask, but to be sure he checked the fallen nins pulse '… He really is dead…' thought jonin
"Thank you very much." said the masked person "I have been searching for the opportunity to kill Zabuza for a long time.
"That mask…" said Kakashi "You're Kiri's Hunter-nin"
"Impressive. You are correct" said the person bowing slightly
"Hunter-nin?" questioned Sakura
"Yes, my duty is to hunt down missing nins" said the person in even tone "I'm a member of Kiri's Hunter-nin team"
'From his voice and height… He's probably not much older than Naruto yet he's a Hunter-nin… ' thought the scarecrow 'He's not a normal kid… but so is Naruto' he thought as he looked at said boy whose body was tensed and who was watching every move made by the new arrival as if waiting for him to attack 'He's much stronger than I thought' "Well, I don't want to stop you from your duties" said Kakashi as he stood up and walked to his team as the Hunter-nin appeared next to the body
"Farewell" the person said and disappeared with Zabuza's body
"Haaa… Now we have to get Tazuna-san back home." said the jonin of the "Let's go"
"Hahaha! Super thanks guys!" said bridge builder "Come over to my house and…" he stopped mid-sentence as he saw the man before him started falling
"Sensei!" screamed pinkette. Just as Kakashi were about to hit the ground Naruto caught him by the back of his vest glaring in the way the Hunter-nin left "What happened to sensei?"
"Chakra exhaustion, he will be OK" said the blond as he created two clones and gave them the jonin to carry around "We have to go, it's not safe here"
"What do you mean? After that swordsman…" started Tazuna only to be interrupted by young jinchuuriki
"Zabuza is alive" said Naruto shocking all conscious people
"W-What do you mean "Zabuza is alive", dobe?" asked still shocked Sasuke
"The points that senbons hit on Zabuza's neck are used for putting someone in a death like state. I know that from learning about anatomy and pressure points while learning how to use senbon and I can do exactly the same thing with senbon." said blond Uzumaki
"Then why the hell didn't you tell anything, baka?!" screamed Sakura
"I'm gonna kick your ass, Shannaro!" screamed her inner persona
"Kakashi was on his last legs and fighting unknown enemy protecting you, old drunkard and Kakashi himself would be probably near impossible, because this person was not like those two weaklings before. This fake hunter-nin is skilled and I choose to not engage them in battle today." said Naruto with a sense of finality in his tone.
"So he's going to super attack us again?" asked Tazuna
"With his wounds, chakra exhaustion and after being put in a death like state he will need at least a week to recover, don't worry. Besides, Kakashi is a jonin, so he will come up with some plan" 'hopefully' "so there is nothing to worry about. Let's go to your house for now and lay him somewhere. We all deserve some rest. What are you looking at you old drunk, lead the way dattebayo" said Naruto
"Tch, super cheeky brat." said the bridge builder as he started walking with the blond following. Sasuke and Sakura only watched Naruto's back for a couple seconds
'Is this really the same Naruto from the Academy? The baka that was asking me for dates?' thought pinkette
'Cha! Next time he calls us useless we should kick his ass shannarooo!' screamed her inner persona, that was completely ignored
'Using jutsu without handseals, sometimes without even speaking the name of the jutsu, plus that wind dragon and the speed that I could barely follow. How did you get so strong in such a short time, dobe?' thought raven haired genin 'Or maybe you were this strong in the Academy? How far ahead are you?'
"Oy, are you coming or what, dattebayo?!" screamed the boy in question and they quickly joined him and left the scene of battle.
Jutsu:
Fūton: Kaze no ryū - traditional Uzumaki clan jutsu, it is different from ryūdan jutsus, because it absorbs the first element it comes in contact with creating a sub-element jutsu; with fire it becomes a scorch jutsu, with water it becomes an ice jutsu, with earth it becomes a sand jutsu, with lightning it becomes a storm jutsu (not as strong as those from kumo, but still a black lightning is a black lightning); it's one of the jutsu Naruto found in the chest
Author's note:
Ok, this took longer than I thought. I had couple things to do, so yea… Anyway, as you see you get to know what was in the chest, at least some things that were in it.
Kenta is from Takumi no Sato, just to be clear with that. That's the village of artisans, where Hiroshi Kushoku lived.
When it comes to pairing, I don't know if it will be a harem or who Naruto will end up with. I go with the flow and I don't know all the things yet.
As always I don't own anything just my ideas, OC's and original jutsu. If you have something constructive to say or if you like the story, review, if not I won't force you to read it.
PS. Thanks for 100 reviews, your awesome.