Rejoice my dear English readers! This you have not only caught up with the French version but you even get an extra scene that wasn't included in the chapter 10 of 'Un Prisonnier Oublié'.
It's not that I'm more in inspired with Shakespeare's language but I just realized I sucked at chapter arrangement. Really really sucked. Since I had more time to think about it for the English version, I rearranged it a bit.
Thanks again for all the reviews, adds and everything! I think I already said it but You Guys Are The Best!
Anyway, back to the story. Enjoy!
Robertz: might be the last chapter by Libertybell.047
Forgotten Prisoner
Chapter 10: Multiple Mysteries
The land of Star.
A state of limited influence in the ninja world, rarely considered by the five other Elemental nations. But this small country in fact held a powerful and mysterious weapon. The people of Hoshi no Kuni had been very protective of their secret for several generations, almost never allowing foreign ninjas to approach it.
"So why are they calling us now?"
Running through the forest, a brown haired shinobi turned to his young student. "It seems that this time the threat comes from their ranks and apparently, they don't have enough fully trained ninjas to protect it."
Sakura nodded slowly, thoughtful. Then another question popped in her mind. "But what is it exactly, that weapon?" She asked, curious. "It's not a real star, isn't it?"
Her two teammates were wondering the same thing and they listen closely to their sensei's explanations. "We don't really know. It seems that it fell from the sky, several decades ago. But what we learned for sure is that it possesses particular powers and that the star ninja managed to exploit them." Arashi said. "But don't ask me what those powers are, I don't know anything."
To be honest, he did have a slight idea but the reports he read were supposed to be only available to the Hokage. Well, a little white lie wouldn't do much harm. Yondaime began to slow down and told his students to follow him. "We'll stop here for today. The sun is already down and I don't want to travel by night in this region."
They set their camp in a small clearing and while his students were settling down, Arashi quickly checked the area. They weren't out of the Fire country yet but near its border, it was safer to keep alert. When he came back at the camp, he found a desperate Sasuke who was trying to escape Sakura's clutches by all means whereas Naruto was quietly starting to prepare the dinner. Holding back a smile at the children's antics, Arashi was going to sit down when he realized something.
"Uh oh..." Why Naruto always volunteered to do the meals? Walking to his son, he put a hand on his shoulder. "Leave it to me; I'll take care of that. Could you refill the gourds instead?"
Naruto seemed a bit surprised to be stopped so soon but he simply nodded before walking away to a near river. Yondaime couldn't help but sigh in relief.
On the other hand, Sakura hadn't lost a single bit of their exchange. She frowned disapprovingly, they might be father and son but that didn't mean he could excuse him all the time. "Why wouldn't he do the cooking too?" She asked her sensei.
Arashi gave her a soothing smile. "I'm not doing that out of favoritism. It's quite the opposite in fact." Seeing her confused face, he lowered his voice to explain. "Since it's your first mission out of the village, I suppose you've never tasted one of his meals yet?"
"No."
"Well, you should better keep it this way. The last time he cooked, everything was almost burned to ashes.." Arashi felt his stomach cringing at the only memory of that dinner. "I thought I was eating carbonized dirt, if not worse."
Naruto came back at this moment, and while he was going back to his stuff, paying them no attention, Sakura whispered to her sensei "Was it really that bad?"
"You have absolutely no idea." Arashi replied in the same way.
He looked so horrified that the pink haired girl couldn't help but laugh quietly. At first, she had been a bit suspicious of this new sensei, mainly because of this weird misunderstanding about his name. But in fact, she thought he was a very nice person. She didn't know yet what kind of ninja he was but if Godaime had assigned him to this mission, he should be at least as strong as Kakashi.
Now much more at ease with each other, sensei and deshis spend the rest of the evening chatting together. To tell the truth, Arashi and Sakura were doing a large part of the conversation since Naruto was rarely speaking and Sasuke had not warmed up to this new sensei like his teammate.
The young girl had an insatiable curiosity and she was firing question as easily as shurikens. "You fought during the war?" She said in awe. "Then you must have travel a lot."
"I had my good share of travels, indeed. I was often sent in Tsuchi no Kuni, for spying missions. It's a beautiful country but unfortunately, we were at war and I don't think I would be welcome there, even today."
It was quite strange...when he was Hokage, he had been more than reluctant to talk about those missions which were mainly dangerous killer spree. But now, it seemed to him that all of this belonged to another life. A past life which didn't fit him anymore. Besides if the new generation was curious then he shouldn't try to hide the past history, it might prevent them from doing the same mistakes.
"... and when the treaty of peace was signed..." Well, he couldn't tell everything either. Being promoted Hokage was one of them. "I continued to do some missions out of Konoha even if most of the time; I stayed inside the Fire country. Many ninjas were sent to guard the frontiers which were still dangerous, or sometimes to escort craftsmen or foreign diplomats. We had to rebuild almost everything, buildings but also exchanges, alliances. It was also during that time I married Kushina." He added slowly, almost for himself.
"Kushina?" Sakura repeated, hearing only the last part this sentence and wondering why her sensei seemed so lost in his thoughts. "Who was she?"
"Hm? Oh, Kushina was my wife, Naruto's mother." He added, glancing at his son. "She wasn't native of the Fire country but she lived in Konoha and definitely settled there when we were engaged." To be honest, he didn't really know why he was telling her that too. It was rather personnal and made him feel quite depressed. But on the other hand, he could see an interested look appear on Naruto's face and hear the young girl whisper something like 'Oooh, how romantic...' unconsciously made him smile.
"Romantic?" The tomboy girl that had been Kushina during their first meetings would have laughed her head off.
Yondaime just hoped his student wouldn't ask him- "Was she a kunoichi? Is she still one?"
Bullet's eye.
Naruto, who had curiously listen their conversation until now glanced at his father, a bit worried. He knew it was still a delicate subject for him and was going to answer for him when he replied first.
"Yes, she was a Jounin, trained and working in Konoha. But... She died, many years ago."
Sakura was shocked but this last statement. She clapped a hand on her mouth, very embarrassed. "I.. I'm sorry sensei... I didn't' mean to... I'm so sorry."
Naruto knew he was getting confused and almost sad looks from his team mates but he chose to stay silent.
"Don't worry." Yondaime assured her. "You couldn't know and I was the one who talked about her in the first place."
The young girl nodded slowly, apologizing one more time. She should have guessed since he was speaking at the past and she was a bit angry at herself for being so curious.
A heavy silence had taken place between them and Arashi had to fight hard against it to restart the conversation on a less serious matter. "But tell me more about you. As a sensei, even replacing, I must learn to know my students. "I often worked with the Uchiha but I never met your parents, they are not shinobis if I remember well?"
The young girl was relieved to talk about something else and she did her best to avoid asking other personal questions. "Yes, my parents are both civilians... ..." They continued to discuss together for quite a long time. Each time Minato or Sakura tried to include Sasuke, they only received an uninterested shrug and their sensei had to keep up not rolling his eyes.
But on the other side, their attempts to make Naruto talk weren't really successful either and Yondaime was starting to get a bit worried. His son wasn't exactly the most talkative person on Earth but usually, he was more open. Thinking that maybe he was uncomfortable to stay with his team mates and perhaps a bit tired, Minato took the first watch to let them rest.
The next day, at dawn, team 7 was back on the road, running and jumping through the trees toward North West. If Arashi had been alone or only followed by Naruto, they would have made it by the end of the morning but since they had new team mates, they were forced to slow down a little. They had now less than an hour of walk so Yondaime decided to send Naruto ahead.
After a nod, the blond ninja gathered his chakra in his legs and a few seconds later, he was out of sight.
"How did he do that?" A surprised kunoichi asked her sensei. But the man only gave her a vague answer. "I taught him a few things."
He understood that this would earn him a lot of questions later, not to mention that Sasuke only darkened more each time his team mate performed this kind of thing. But it would have been ridiculous to ask Naruto to keep a level of genin. Sakura and Sasuke knew perfectly well that he had never attended to the Academy's classes, they should guess that he had followed another training.
Lost in his thoughts, Minato didn't realize that his son had not said a word since they had woke up.
Far ahead his team, Naruto was now approaching the end of the forest. He had not sensed any danger all the way long and began to slow down so they could catch up.
Since the previous day, he was strangely calm, as if all the doubts and worries he had felt those few months had suddenly flown away. It was surprising, not really disturbing, just strange. He had a duty to respect, team mates to protect and for now, only that mattered. He didn't say anything to Minato. Why would he? There was no need to embarrass Yondaime with his ninjas' personnal problems, the mission came first.
Naruto had jumped off the trees and was now walking on a road which lead out of the forest. After a few minutes, he arrived in front of a large canyonwhich crackedearth on several kilometers. It seemed that there wasn't any bridge in this area. The young ninja was going to inspect it more thoroughly when he sensed a presence.
Naruto immediately stepped back and avoided the bombs which exploded just in front of him. He turned around and threw a few shurikens in the trees to force his opponent to come out.
Hidden in the foliage, a dark silhouette dodged the shurikens and pressed itself against the trunk. If that blond ninja thought he could find him so easily, he was mist-
"Don't move."
A cold blade brushed against his neck as a hard voice was questioning him. "Who are you? Why did you attack me?"
Naruto had used the Henge to transform in a shuriken and a Kage Bunshin to throw him. The other ninja wasn't taller than him but he couldn't see his face since it was covered by some kind of gas mask. The former anbu was keeping alert and thought he had caught him when a sudden burst of chakra took him by surprise.
An explosion of energy forced him to step back and the black haired shinobi managed to free himself. He jumped on the ground and fled from the forest.
Naruto frowned and quickly ran after him, he wasn't going to let him escape. "I've never seen this kind of chakra." he thought, seeing that it surrounded the enemy like a purple aura. Naruto sped up and swiftly created two clones who followedthe shinobi like shadows. When he turned around to attack, the stealthy former anbu easily dodged the bursts of chakra and with his clones, he sent him a shower rain of shurikens.
Surprised by this triple attack, the enemy ninja didn't manage to avoid all the needles. They were soaked in a poison which paralyzed muscles and Naruto didn't wait long to see his opponent stumble and fall on the ground. The violet chakra was less intense but had not disappeared yet. Naruto had no problem dodging the weak attacks but since this ninja didn't seem eager to give up, he decided to finish it quickly.
The easiest solution was to use the Rasengan. Naruto made a new Kage Bunshin and they both created a whirling orb. The clone moved first, deflecting the purple chakra with the energy of the sphere. The blond ninja was going to follow him when he felt another shinobi coming.
"Naruto! Stop it!"
The former anbu dispelled his jutsu as his father arrived, Sakura and Sasuke trailing behind him. On a sign of their sensei, they went to the mysterious ninja who had collapsed, while Arashi was talking to Naruto, looking rather shocked. "What happened here?"
"He attacked me when I came out of the forest." Naruto replied. "I wanted to catch him and question him later."
"You didn't need to go that far. He could have died." Yondaime had immediately seen that Naruto had the situation in hand and he didn't understand why he had used the whirling orb. A good ninja should indeed make sure that his enemy would not stand up again but still... He didn't think he would go so far.
"I wasn't going to kill him, but he was trying to escape." Naruto said with an indifferent voice.
"He can't move! The Rasengan is a powerful jutsu and he's only a child!" Arashi protested. The boy could even be older that his own students.
"He's a ninja."
Minato was taken aback by this answer. Yes, in theory, every shinobi whatever his age was considered like an adult but to think that Naruto wouldn't hesitate to harm him that much.. He didn't know what to say anymore.
"Putting this aside," He continued. "I'd like you to use the Rasengan only as a last resort. And if possible, not against children." He was going to join his other students when the answer of his son froze him on the spot.
"As you wish."
The green eyes of Arashi widen in surprise and astonishment. "What?" He whispered faintly. He wasn't sure that he heard it well, those words, this voice, there were exact reminders of what Naruto used to be a few months ago. But Minato didn't have time to think about that, he was pulled out of his thoughts by another voice.
"Sensei!" Sakura called. "He's waking up, what do we do?"
Arashi and Naruto walked to them and the Jounin took the place of his student, kneeling besides the young ninja. The boy was pushing himself up with difficulty and flinched when he saw that he was surrounded. "Don't worry, we will not harm you." Minato said.
The ninja glanced at their hitai-ate. "...Konoha?"
"Yes, we were given a mission in Hoshi no Kuni. You're a ninja of the hidden village aren't you?"
The teen nodded. "Why did you attack him?" Arashi asked, showing Naruto. There was a short silence but the ninja finally decided to answer. He removed his mask, revealing a headband marked with the symbol of the star and well as two piercing brown eyes. He pointed to the canyon. "It'd filled with toxic gas, invisible and inodorous. I wanted to make him go away."
Arashi sighed, apparently at this age; all the boys had the same kind of mind: battle first, explanations later. There were other ways to warn from danger. "So why did you run away?"
The ninja looked away, frowning. "I didn't think he would find me.. I panicked..." He had said those last words so quietly that Arashi almost missed them. The paralyzing effects of the senbons were starting to fade and Minato helped the ninja to stand up. "You could have told him more simply that it was dangerous." He said, smiling. "But thanks for warning him."
Naruto caught the look of his father over the ninja's shoulder. "Sorry for attacking you." He said simply.
The other boy crossed his arms, not looking at him directly. "Yeah.. sorry."
"Well, now that everything is settled, could you take us to the hidden village? You seem to know this area quite well." Minato didn't really need his help but this way, he could keep an eye on him and it would be easier to enter the village.
The boy hesitated for a few seconds before nodding. "Okay, follow me." He tried to stand up by himself but his legs were still shaking and he would have fallen if Naruto, who was the closest to him, had not caught him. "Hold on my shoulder." The former anbu offered.
The ninja didn't answer but still complied, admitting he couldn't walk properly yet. Minato smiled at the two boys and the team took the way to the village. "By the way, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Arashi, Jounin of Konoha and this is my team."
"I'm Sumaru, genin of Hoshi-gakure."
The kunoichi walked besides him. "My name is Sakura, nice to meet you." She told him, smiling. Sumaru nodded and turned to her other teammate. "Sasuke." He presented himself.
"My name is Naruto." The blond ninja finished.
Sumaru had not yet forgiven him their little duel. "Naruto? Hn, weird name." He added in a sarcastic voice. Naruto didn't reply and just shrugged, making the brown eyed genin wince in pain. "Teme..." he grumbled.
Amused by their antics, Minato would have almost forgotten Naruto's strange behavior. While walking to the village, he was constantly observing his son, promising himself to have a serious talk with him later.
When they reached the village, Sumaru could already walk on his own, which was good since he was almost kidnapped by a bunch of younger ninjas wanting his help for training. And that's how they exchanged guides. A kunoichi, named Hokuto guided them to the office of Hoshi-gakure's leader. They only waited for a few minutes before being greeted by their host. The man had a pale and emaciated face, framed by grey hair.
"I am Akahoshi, the leader of the star village." He said when they introduced themselves. "I thought that the ninjas of a great nation such as Konoha would be more punctual. We were expecting you sooner." He
"I am terribly sorry, we came across some problems." Arashi apologized, although he knew that those reproaches were perfectly ridiculous.
"It doesn't matter. As you know, your mission is the protection of our star." Akahoshi explained. "It is our country most precious treasure and had it been possible, I wouldn't have called foreign shinobi. A ninja has deserted our village and is trying to steal the star."
"What could he do with it?"
"This is none of your concern!" the ninja retorted. "The only thing you should focus on is the protection of the star against that thief. Do not approach it either; our shinobi must not be disturbed during their training. Hokuto will show you the way." He assigned the young girl.
But as he was going to stand up, the door of the office suddenly burst open, revealing a young boy. His black hair was messed up and he was breathing heavily.
"Akahoshi-sama!"
"Mizura?"
"The star! The thief is back!"
"What?"
Arashi also stood up and told his team to follow him. "Let's go."
The seven ninjas ran out of the building and took the road toward the training grounds. While running, Mizura was trying to explain them the situation. "He took us by surprise, we couldn't stop him. Sumaru told me to hide and to call you once the thief was gone. I think he went after him- Ah!"
"Mizura!" Hokuto ran besides the young boy who had fallen on the ground, one hand clutching his chest. "Are you okay?" Mizura slowly nodded but his response was cut by a hard cough. "Go, we'll catch up later." Hokuto said while helping the boy.
"You'll be all right?" Sakura asked, worried.
"Yes-"
"What are you waiting for?" Akahoshi cried out. "The thief is running away!"
Surprised looks were exchanged among the ninjas of Konoha but they didn't protest. "Be careful." Arashi told the two kids before following the Hoshikage. He didn't like how this man acted toward them. Even in situations of emergency, a leader should also think about his ninjas and their security.
The ninjas of the leaf followed Akahoshi who lead them to a strange valley. The landscape was blighted by an enormous crater. All around the cavity, burned trees had fallen on the ground and a large building was towering up in the middle. It looked like a sanctuary but Arashi guessed it was the star ninjas' training place. A pitiful vision greeted them when they walked through the doors.
In the main room, several young ninjas were lying on the floor, unmoving. An in the center, the pedestal which usually supported the star was now empty.
The group from Konoha had stopped at the doors and was going to help the unconscious ninjas but they were surprised by Akahoshi who rushed at the pedestal. "Kuso! He already ran away with the star!" He cried out, not even glancing at his shinobis. "We must catch him, leave your brats with them and follow me!" He said to Arashi before storming out.
Minato frowned; he was getting more and more revolted by his attitude. But it wasn't a good time to discuss, they could settle that later. "Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, take care of the kids and protect them here. Don't forget Hokuto and Mizura, they should arrive soon."
"Hai!"
While the genins rush up besides the young ninjas, Minato discreetly held back his son. "Check the place and if there's no danger, leave some Kage Bunshin and follow us. Akahoshi went to the North." He told him before turning back.
"As you wish."
Minato froze.
He really hoped he had misheard it. But unfortunately, the serious face and the cold voice of Naruto didn't allow him to doubt. He felt as is his heart was encircled by a deep worry and a growing fear… Fear to see him slip away again.
Yondaime turned to his son, his eyes filled with uncertainty. Why was he speaking like that again? He thought he had started to open up to others.
"Naruto…" he whispered.
But the former anbu wasn't listening to him anymore. Focused on his mission, he had left to take care of the ninjas.
"Sensei?" Sakura's voice pulled him out of his troubled thoughts. The young girl was staring at him, not understanding why he was still standing at the doors.
Arashi pulled him together and after giving Naruto a last look, he dashed outside. It was hard for him but there was still danger out there and he couldn't afford to forget the mission. Catching up with Akahoshi was a matter of seconds. The man started another round of reproaches, that he was late, that he thought Konoha's ninjas were more competent, blah, blah, blah… But Minato was totally deaf to all of this, only wanting to end that mission as fast as possible.
Back to the sanctuary, Naruto and his team mates had quickly taken care of the ninjas. None of them had awakened yet but fortunately, they weren't seriously wounded, just knocked out. Sakura sat beside them while Sasuke was leaning against the wall, watching the whole room. The blond shinobi was standing at the doors. He sent a few clones to check the area and gathered the information when they disappear.
Five minutes later, he saw Hokuto and Mizura coming. Sakura ran beside the young girl to help her support Mizura who looked exhausted. The boy sat near his companions to catch his breath. Naruto was wondering why Mizura was still training with the ninjas. In his state, he should have been placed in a medical center to rest for a while.
Naruto saw that one of the shinobis was waking up, apparently plagued with a wonderful headache. But his story didn't give them more information than what Mizura had told them so Naruto decided to rejoin his father.
If Sasuke had been aware that the blond ninja was leaving to fight with the others, he would have turned green with envy.
Naruto followed Minato's indications for a few minutes and easily found their trail. It would have almost impossible to miss the enormous waves of chakra emanating from the border of the forest. He tried to walk furtively but realized that the ninja thief had already spotted him with his strange violet chakra. Not bothering to be discreet anymore, the former anbu came by Yondaime.
Minato sensed him coming and retreated from the battle during a few seconds while Akahoshi was holding back the masked shinobi. "Naruto, take Sumaru to a safe place." He said, pointing to the unconscious genin. "He was fighting the ninja but he got distracted when we came and he was knocked out."
"Haï. »
In the blink of an eye, Naruto was besides Sumaru and scooped him in his arms. As he ran back into the forest, he caught sight of the enemy ninja who was trying to follow him, but Minato quickly blocked his way. Naruto put Sumaru down in a secured place a few hundred meters away. After checking that the genin and no other wound, Naruto left three Kage Bunshin (good thing he had learned that technique) and went back to the battle field.
"Kujaku Myohô: Kemono!" (2)
A roar echoed in the forest, almost instantly followed by a breaker of pure energy that forced him to slow down. Taking a full view of the scene, he saw that the ninja thief had created a huge beast out of his chakra and with a fling of his arm; he sent it right in their direction. Minato and Naruto had no problem dodging the massive attack but it wasn't the case for Akahoshi. The man had barely enough time to move back, he couldn't avoid totally the blow but managed to reduce its intensity.
The thief called back his chakra monster to prepare another attack. Yondaime rushed besides Akahoshi and wanted to help him to his feet but the ninja of the star didn't take his hand.
"I don't need your help!" He spat while standing up. "You should better get the star back!"
"If you weren't always getting in my way, I would have taken it back a long time ago!"… was what Arashi wanted to tell him but his usual patient nature and his experience in dealing with extreme situations transformed that into "All right, create a diversion and I'll try to break his barrier."
Akahoshi nodded and started to gather his chakra. Yondaime only need to give Naruto a quick glance to tell him they were going to work together. The blond ninja reluctantly turned away from the so called Hoshikage he was glaring at. Had they been anywhere else than in the middle of a fight, he would have gladly volunteered to teach the man some manners. Especially toward the Hokage.
The former anbu focused back on the battle and observed Minato. His father took out his special kunai and discreetly held out three fingers.
Triple offensive then.
"Kujaku Myohô: Zan!" (3)
Akahoshi and the thief attacked at the same time. The sphere of energy around them suddenly shattered as hundreds of chakra feathers cut through the air, aiming for their enemy. The thief's technique was undoubtly the most powerful one but the aggressive shinobi wasn't giving up.
Minato and Naruto didn't lose time to admire them. Using their kunaïs at top speed, they moved around the whole field, quickly dodging the deadly feathers which exploded against each other. The two ninja of the leaf were so fast that they seemed to be at several places at the same time. As soon as they appeared next to their kunai, they picked it up, threw it, and disappeared again.
The ninja thief seemed to have a hard time following them with his feathers of chakra.
Shokou, first attack
Less than fifteen meters now separated Minato from the shinobi and in a swift move, he took out a scroll and made a seal which send a shower rain of shurikens and kunaïs toward his opponent. The thief stopped half of it with his feathers and managed to block the rest with his shield but he was temporarily blinded by the smoke of the explosions.
He kept the jounin of Konoha in his field of vision when he appeared again and strengthen his frontal defense.
Nikou, second attack
But just as the ninja was going to send another wave of feather toward Minato, he felt a presence behind him.
"Kaze Tsurugi no jutsu!" (4)
Naruto violently attacked the weakened barrier with his katana. The thief was taken by surprise and tried to reinforce his shield as quickly as he could. But the blade had already pierced too deeply through his defense and Naruto managed to reach his arm before being pushed back by the feathers of the Kujaku (peacock). The thief had involuntarily dropped the star but it was still on his side of the barrier.
The purple bursts of chakra forced Naruto to move back but he stayed in front of the masked shinobi. Disorientated but still standing, the ninja realized the brown haired jounin was gone just one second too late.
Sankou, third attack
Minato appeared above the ninja, several forming Rasengan in his palms. "Bakugan no jutsu!" (5) Yondaime threw the small orbs before using his Hiraishin to teleport himself. The Rasengan created dazzling explosions when they touched the ground.
The shinobi quickly protected his body by shrinking his shield to concentrate his chakra. But because of the whirling waves of energy, he didn't realize that the star was now outside. Two flashes later, Naruto had picked up the violet meteorite.
"Good job Naruto." Yondaime congratulated him.
Akahoshi (aka the drag) rushed besides them so quickly you would have thought he also mastered the Hiraishin. He almost tear the star out of Naruto's hands. "Give it to me!" Minato frowned but still motioned his son to give him the stone. However, as short as this interruption had been, it had provided enough time for the thief. The three shinobi didn't expect him to get up so quickly and were taken by aback when he gathered again his chakra.
"Kujaku Myohô: Yoku! » (6)
Four violet wings appeared on the thief's back and he immediately jumped in the poisonous canyon behind him. Yondaime and Naruto couldn't use the Hiraishin in the ravine so they tied to follow him by foot but much to their surprise, they were stopped by Akahoshi.
"Let him go."
"He isn't seriously wounded; if you let him escape he will come back soon." Minato argued, wondering where this sudden change of mind came from.
"He won't come again. " Akahoshi replied, smirking. "I'll make sure of that."
"But-"
"You're paid to protect our star, not to catch a pathetic thief."
Arashi was getting more and more suspicious but he stayed silent for now. A direct attack didn't always give the best results. "As you wish." He called Naruto and the two ninjas were ready to walk back to the village when Akahoshi came again across their way. He was looking at the blond ninja, blissfully ignorant that the boy was on the verge of killing him for being so disrespectful in front of Yondaime.
"This kid… he's far above the level of genin." Akahoshi began. "A mere ninja student couldn't possibly be powerful and wouldn't have been able to face that thief. Who are you really?"
Minato's hand rested on the shoulder of his son, firm but soothing. "We are paid to guard the star, not to answer your questions."
The two adult ninjas started a glaring contest above Naruto's head. Defiance and suspicion had filled Akahoshi's grey eyes whereas the cerulean blue irises of Minato were shining with determination and assurance. The ninja of the star finally looked away, frowning.
"Let's go back to the village." He said before taking off into the trees.
Minato sighed. He wanted to have good relations with the other villages, especially the ones than employed them, but sometimes it was almost an impossible mission. Diplomat was such a hard job…
"Let's go Naruto."
The two ninjas went back to the village and Arashi used those few peaceful moments –relatively peaceful- to review their fight. He was quite proud of their team work. They had often trained together and created a few combinations of techniques. The one they had just used was one the bests.
Sanbai Kyougeki: the triple attack coming from both sides.
It was based on the speed of the Hiraishin to confuse the enemy and force him to focus on only one target. If he chose Naruto, Minato would attack and if he chose Minato, Naruto would take over. Then the first blow, the senbons rain, was made to distract the opponent and wound him if possible. It was also a feint to hide the presence of the second attacker.
The second blow was made to break a kekkai (barrier) and to hit the enemy before finishing him off with the third blow: Bakugan. Minato had got his inspiration from Naruto when he was making his Rasengan blow up during his training. Smaller orbs, more energetic and less stable. Real bombs.
It was the first time they used the Sanbai Kyougeki in a real fight and it had been a total success.
On the way, they retrieved Sumaru who was slowly waking up. Yondaime carried him on his back and a few minutes after Akahoshi, they were back in the village. While answering the genin's questions, Naruto and his father were walking toward the sanctuary where their teams were still waiting. Minato hadn't forgotten the strange behavior of his son but he thought he would have time to talk with him later.
"Sensei!"
Sakura ran to them as they arrived but strangely, she stopped a few meters away, her emerald eyes filled with confusion at the sight of her blond team mate.
"U.. Uzumaki-kun?"
Naruto started to understand why she looked so surprised when he saw Sasuke step out of the sanctuary. "Why the hell are you here?" He asked in a disbelieving voice. He was looking back and forth between Naruto, the former anbu and Naruto, the Kage Bunshin.
…
Oops
°-°-° Later this evening °-°-°
The sun had just disappeared behind the mountains of the Star country, leaving the valley of the sanctuary fall in the dark. The young genins, Akahoshi as well as the Konoha team were in one of the common room of the second floor. The star was just under them, guarded three of the best genins and two jounins from the village: Shisô and Yotaka.
Akahoshi was vouching for them but although he didn't say it out loud, Minato honestly doubted the efficiency of this weird team. A brown haired guy with sneaky face framed by a bowl cut and a bald whale (according to Sakura) to protect the star, it wasn't very reassuring. They were probably playing cards right now…
Minato's gaze went over the room and he sighed. Maybe he should just join them. During the evening, the atmosphere had gone from sullen and tensed to desperately unbearable.
Sasuke was sitting at his right, glaring daggers at Naruto for being left out of the battle while the blond ninja was fighting. Besides him Sakura was also giving Naruto dark looks and Akahoshi too for good measure. She wasn't really mad for missing the action but as long as she could support her dear darling… As for Sumaru, he was sulking on the other side of the table. Being knocked out two times in one day had not brightened up his mood. And as it wasn't already enough, Naruto was glaring darkly at Akahoshi, only waiting an insult toward Yondaime to go for the jugular.
Minato could have forgiven that, they were still children after all. But to think that Akahoshi himself would glare at him during the whole evening! It was really too ridiculous.
Diner finished, the shinobi continued their conversation about the protection of their star. Akahoshi had refused Minato's help at first, saying that the thief wouldn't come back or that he would be able to dissuade him from now. But Arashi's arguments were slowly weakening his resolve.
"… … … And we could keep watch around the village for a few more days. It would prevent the thief from coming back immediately and it would give you more time to reinforce the security." Arashi explained while observing his interlocutor. Good, he was starting to hesitate.
"Of course, but.. how long would it take? We are a small village and we couldn't pay you more than what we planned."
Minato had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. That was all he could come up, money problems? Too easy. "I understand very well. But rest assured, we are not asking for a greater compensation. Konoha only wishes to improve the relationships between the Fire Country and Hoshi no Kuni. And with your accord, I could use this time to train your genins while you take care of the star."
Akahoshi slowly nodded, mentally debating over his arguments. But Minato was sure he would accept. The offer was too good to be true and the genin wouldn't understand if he refused.
"Very well, I agree." Akahoshi finally said. "Strengthen the alliance will benefit our countries."
"Sure, besides it's not like you're doing anything…" Minato kept his thoughts to himself and their discussion ended on a more polite tone.
On the other side, the genins of the leaf had followed this exchange with confusion. They weren't really sure about their sensei's motivations. Help to reinforce diplomatic relations was one thing but what Arashi offered was close to voluntary work. Naruto was the most confused between the three. He really didn't understand why his father insisted so much to continue the mission. Orders were to bring back the star, nothing more and they should have already been on the road back to Konoha.
But he got the opportunity to talk alone with him a few moments later. Akahoshi had left the valley for the village, bringing Sumaru with him. Sakura and Hokuto were watching over Mizura in the room next door while Sasuke and the other genins were guarding the star downstairs.
"Naruto? Come, I wanted to talk with you." Minato released his jutsu and reverted back to his normal appearance. Seeing his son standing straight, his face dead serious made him smile. "Relax, I'm not going to scold you."
"Haï." His smile froze. It wasn't an answer and it did nothing to ease his worries. Yondaime leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. "You didn't talk much today, and yesterday too… Are you okay?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure? I've got the feeling that something has changed since we left Konoha." His son seemed to be hesitating and he sat next to him. "You know you can tell me Naruto."
"Well… it's about the mission."
Yondaime nodded, thinking he understood what he meant. "Ah, so you noticed it too? This man, Akahoshi, he's too suspicious. He calls us to protect his star and when we finally fight and beat the thief he lets him run away and he wants us to leave. I wanted to ask Sumaru a few things but he left." He admitted. "And I still don't know why Akahoshi took him by the way. He had no reason to do that since Sumaru already reported to him. I'm sure he's preparing something. I sent Konoha a message to ask them some information but I hope I'll discover as much as I can here."
Naruto could see where Yondaime was going but he didn't think they were still talking about the same thing. "Hm, it's not what I meant."
"Eh? You saw something else?"
"No, no, I'm wondering why we're not going back to Konoha."
Minato raised an eyebrow, surprised. "You already want to go back? It's only been two days."
"No, I mean... Well.." The former anbu didn't knwo how to explain without opposing him. "Why are we continuing the mission?" He finally asked. "We protected the star against the thief and Akahoshi was sure he didn't need us anymore. I don't understand why we should still investigate on him."
"I thought you had noticed he acted in a strange way."
"Of course, but I don't see how it concerns us since our mission is over."
Minato didn't like the new turn of this conversation. "Yes, in theory it's over but you don't think I'm going to leave now, do you?"
The young ninja didn't answer but his silence clearly betrayed his incomprehension. Minato could almost read on his lips the question he didn't dare to ask. 'Why not?'
"Naruto. You saw how he acted with his ninjas. They were hurt, unconscious and the only thing he was thinking about was that star. Mizura couldn't stop coughing during the whole evening and the only thing he did was to glare at him!" Yondaime felt again indignation rise in him. "His genins are even afraid to look at him and he doesn't do a damn thing to make them feel better. That's not the behavior of a real Kage, you should know that!"
"He's the leader of this village, his shinobi must show him respect and obedience."
Minato paled terribly at those words and couldn't find his voice in front of those blood red eyes. He wanted to protest, get angry at Naruto, beg him not to speak like that and even to think that way but no sound crossed the barrier of his lips. The two blond ninjas remained silent for a few moments which seemed like an eternity for Minato. He finally found the strength to move forward and put his hands on his shoulders.
"Naruto… What happened to you?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly. "I know that's how you were raised but I thought you understood the Council just wanted to use you. Yes, shinobis are trained to fight and kill, but it doesn't mean they have to become machines!" Minato didn't want to shout but he couldn't help it. All the anger and the frustration he had bottled up those past months were rushing back, pouring in his words and mixed with worry and incomprehension. "Ninjas must obey their superiors, it's true, but those orders aren't always absolute. You have a heart and an independent mind, you can judge by yourself. No, you have to judge by yourself. Even outside the mission, a leader can be mistaken and take the wrong way. There're some choices you have to do by yourself, you can't follow blindly the orders forever!"
He had almost shouted those last words and they were followed by a deep silence. Although his hands were shaking a little, he was looking at his son straight in the eyes. Blood red orbs where the utmost confusion could be seen.
"But… It's.. it's not…"
Naruto didn't know what to believe anymore. He knew he had to obey the Hokage's orders without asking questions but what was he supposed to do when he was given the opposite orders? Since the day Minato came back from the dead, he had taught him many things and not just techniques or jutsus but also a whole new lifestyle. Gone were the dangerous and deadly mission assignments as well as the never ending training sessions with the Anbu units. Naruto wasn't the one who asked for that but he had accepted it without protesting. First because it was his father's wish and also because it had interested and, he admitted it, often amused him.
Since the previous day, he was beginning to see how wrong this second reason was. He couldn't understand why he had allow himself to waste his time with those kids from the Academy, speak openly with a Sannin without permission, letting himself be overpower by that strange voice who could be an enemy, share important secrets with a genin of Kaze he didn't even know…
That last thought made Naruto hesitate but he quickly crushed his doubts. He made the mistake of forgetting who he was, a former anbu and a shinobi of the leaf above all. He wouldn't repeat the same mistake twice.
Humans can sometimes guess what another person is feeling, but without jutsu, it's impossible to know exactly what the other is thinking. And this is fortunate because if Minato had heard the thoughts of his son at this moment, he would probably abandon all hope. Instead, he only saw his red eyes lose their confuse gleam and his young face being darken once more by the cold and indifferent mask he feared so much.
"Only the Hokage and the Council have the right to decide, I can't-"
"No Naruto!" Minato cried out although his determination was slowly fading away. "I will not accept that! You're a ninja, not a tool that can be used by those damn counselors! You must open your eyes!"
"But I-" Naruto seemed to change his mind at the last moment. His gaze was filled with a resolve equal to his father and he looked straight at him. "Is it an order?"
Minato's hand jerked back and he stepped back, as if he had been hit. But this blow was much more painful because it didn't only inflict him an almost physical pain but it also burned what was left of his resolve. He stared at Naruto in silence, almost with horror. The horror to see his only and beloved son walk again away from him.
In front of him, Naruto was getting slightly alarmed by his lack of reaction and he took a step forward. "Hokage-sama?"
"ENOUGH! DON'T CALL ME LIKE THAT!" Minato yelled. He moved back again and found himself against the wall. The shout had drained his last forces and he rested a shaking hand on his forehead, hiding his eyes. "Enough… please." He said quietly. "Go find Sakura, Sasuke, guard the star or do whatever you want."
A short silence took place between them and since his father wasn't saying anything else, the young boy finally turned away. "As you wish."
When Minato heard the door close, he sat down on the floor, tears of despair running silently on his cheeks. For the first time, he cursed the day he chose to become a shinobi. Being able to sense Naruto's presence just behind the door, probably keep watch there, seemed like the height of injustice right now and he couldn't bring himself to face him.
The hours passed slowly and standing just a few meters away from the other, neither of the blond ninjas managed to sleep this night.
TBC…
(1) Kujaku Myohô, Kemono: Mysterious Technique of the Peacock, Beast
(2) Kujaku Myohô, Zan: Mysterious Technique of the Peacock, Destruction
(3) Kaze Tsurugi no Jutsu: Blade Wind
(4) Bakugan: Explosive Orbs (baku = explosion, gan = round, circle, comes from Rasengan)
(5) Kujaku Myohô, Yoku: Mysterious Technique blah blah blah… you get it, yoku = wings.
Hope you enjoyed the chap!
Well, enjoy is maybe a big word.. the last part was bit sad. I was rereading old romantic classics when I wrote this scene so I got a bit carried away with the tragedy, he he
Don't be too hard on Naruto, he's a bit harsh with his dad but it's not like it's- ... oops, I shouldn't tell you anything. you'll understand everything in the next chapter.
Tell me what you think!
See ya.