Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Rurouni Kenshin. Seriously, if I did I would be the happiest man on earth...well with sexy women in bikini's as well. That would be awesome.
"Talk" Talking
'Think' Thinking
"Talk" Bijuu talking
'Think' Bijuu thinking
"Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one-hundred...million." Naruto drawled out after his last sit up. Of course he didn't do one-hundred million sit ups, Kyuubi's regenerating properties or not, he would have been out for months for that stupid stunt.
After getting to his feet, Naruto brought a towel to his face and wiped away the perspiration that accumulated during his rigorous workout routine. The first thing he always did was some warm up stretches, then some Pilates for concentration, control, centering, efficieny of movement, precision, and breathing. After that he began his real work out. Two-hundred push ups, three-hundred squats, one hundred and fifty crunches, and one-hundred regular sit ups. That was all he could do for the time being due to his current lodgings.
Since his return to Konohagakure the blond had currently been renting out a room at a cheap motel. He had no complaints, it had a bed, hot water, and it was relatively close to his current project that would be officially start tomorrow. Barely three hours ago teams Seven and Eight arrived through the gates with Tazuna and his workers in tow. After they reported in and the Jounin senesi's handing in their reports, the Sandaime gave Tazuna and his men a safe place for them to say, all of it paid by Naruto of course, a list of stores that sold the materials they would need for the upcoming months, and a big thank you for doing this despite their recent tragedies.
Naruto could only roll his eyes at that, of course Tazuna would take up the work, he could not afford to do it. Despite slitting Gato's throat, the little weasel did do a whole lot of damage to the small country. Homes were in disrepair, their Daimyo was broke, their economy collapsed, family permanently separated.
"That fucking low-life son of a whore." The blond had to physically calm himself from lashing out and destroying a wall. The man was dead and burning in hell, there was nothing more that could be done about it. The damage was done and all was left to do was to rebuild. Now he was not much more than a hired sword, but Naruto did feel for the people of Wave Country, after all he had been down that road before.
After calming himself completely Naruto walked over to the night stand peered down in disgust at the new piece of ID he acquired that today. It was his Ninja Registration ID. It simply read:
Name: Naruto Uzumaki
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Blond
Height: 5'6
Blood Type: B
ID Number: 012607
Rank: Genin
Naruto's eyes narrowed at the rank. "That is bullshit. I'm above Genin-level that's for sure." He said to himself in displeasure. "If anything I'm at least high Chuunin, maybe low Jounin-level." That was what he would like to believe anyways, but to tell the truth he was not completely sure anymore. The years of being a hired sword taught him many things, but if the experience in Wave taught him something it was this: He would not improve by killing some shitty mercenaries who couldn't use chakra. From now on he would be fighting those who had it, and see how he would hold up.
It would be a interesting change of pace after all.
The next day Naruto greeted Tazuna and his workers, the reception was...uncomfortable for him.
"Naruto my boy! I cannot thank you enough for this!" Tazuna hugged the blond in greeting.
"You can start by letting go of me."
"Haha! Good enough." Tazuna set the blond on his feet and clapped him on the shoulders. "Again, I cannot thank you enough for this wonderful opportunity. I mean first you liberate my country, and then you contact Mister Kaishu to give us work. I don't know what to say!"
"Think nothing of it, Mister Kaishu is just that type of man that helps people get back on their feet." That was of course was a lie. Just like with Ronin the mercenary, and Getsuei Setsudanki the businessman, Mister Kaishu was a well respected humanitarian from Marsh Country that spent millions to help rebuild villages. He was one of his more...likable aliases, and it was all run by a man that got paid a million ryo a year just to sit on his fat ass and do nothing but take in the credit Naruto did.
"Again, thank you. Now this is the place isn't it?" Tazuna looked at the worn down buildings, not even flinching when a part of the roof to the old apartment building caved in. "Whew, this is going to be a doozy."
"And you still have the rest of the quarter of the slums to rebuild after this." Naruto reminded the old bridge builder. "I fear you may have some thug problems, but the Hokage has supplied me, and a team of shinobi to guard you guys until the job is done."
"Ah, a bunch of street urchins are nothing compared to Gato." One of the workers boasted.
"Damn right, we ain't afraid!" Another one chimed in.
"But, we appreciate the protection." Tazuna cut in. "Thank you, Naruto I want us to get this done without any harm coming to my men."
"This will be as safe as possible." Naruto promised him. "I have never failed a mission, and I'm not starting now." Well technically this would be his first official mission, not counting the one in Wave which he assumed was unofficial, and the various jobs he took after Shishio's downfall. But it was still the same thing, more or less.
"I'm glad to hear it my boy. All right men, we're burning daylight. Lets tear this pile of shit down and rebuild her!"
The cheers of the men were deafening. It was a good start.
Four hours later the entire rotting apartment complex was torn down, cleared, and was in the process of getting the pipelines installed. It honestly took only thirty minutes to take down the building, with some well placed explosive tag on Naruto's part, and taking out the rest with sledgehammers for Tazuna's crew. The clearing took an hour and a half, it was not the worst time considering that they had a lot of crap to move and dispose of. And the last one, well they had to dig into the ground, measure, and get the pipes ready.
Like I said, it was a good start.
"Excuse me. Is this where we're supposed to work?" A lazy voice alerted Naruto of some newcomers.
Turning his head Naruto was greeted by a teenager with a lazy or, was it an irritated expression? Eh, who could tell? He had shoulder length dark brown hair tied in a spiky ponytail, narrow brown eyes, and a simple pair of silver hoop earrings. His attire was rather plain, consisting of a long-sleeved black shirt with matching pants and sandals, and green lined mesh armor on his wrists and ankles. His Leaf hitai-ate was secured to his upper left arm, and he had a utility belt strapped around his waist with pouches attached to it.
There was a second teenager accompanying him. He was...large for his age. The guy had long, spiky brown hair that went to his waist, swirl marks on his cheeks, hooped earrings, and was currently scarfing down a big bag of potato chips. Attire-wise, he wore a red suit with plated armor on his torso, arms, and upper legs, which looked to seemingly be the standard attire for shinobi in his clan. On the front of his chest armor was the obligatory kanji symbol for "Food". Naruto searched for a Leaf hitai-ate, finding it tied to his forehead.
The last person was a fair-skinned woman with pupiless blue eyes, long, blonde hair, which was in a high-ponytail that went down to her hips, and bangs covering the right side of her face. Her attire was quite revealing, she wore a short, purple sleeveless blouse, and open-front purple apron-skirt over a shorter, black skirt, with short, fishnet shorts underneath. She wore a medical pouch around her waist with her Leaf hitai-ate secured on it as a belt buckle.
"And who are you?" Naruto asked, his right hand not so subtly resting on the hilt of Shishio's katana.
"We're Team Ten." The lazy-looking one yawned. "We were assigned by Hokage-sama to come to the slums, and look over the demolition of an old building."
"Which we obviously missed!" The girl hit the lazy one in the arm. "Dammit Shikamaru, if you only got your lazy butt up we would have been here on time!"
"Troublesome woman." Shikamaru rubbed his sore arm irritably.
While the exchange of words were happening in front of him, Naruto palmed himself in the face. So these were the people he was supposed to work with? Kami dammit Sarutobi, what fresh hell did he get him into this time? "All right, before I do anything drastic. Tell me, what are your names? And where is your Jounin sensei?"
It was the blond woman who spoke up, answering all his questions. "I am Ino Yamanaka, the lazy bum is Shikamaru Nara, and the last one is Choji Akimichi. And our sensei is out on a mission that required his expertise." She then marched up to him and poked Naruto in his muscled chest. "But who are you, I've never seen you in the village before. What gives you the right to order us around?"
Naruto slapped Ino's finger away, he did not like being touched. "I will have you know, Hokage-dono appointed me to oversee this mission until he has deemed otherwise. And as proof," Reaching into his pouch he pulled a letter of authorization, his own Leaf hitai-ate, and his Ninja Registration ID to show all three he was a member of Konohagakure. "Read it, or I'm sending you away for insubordination."
The sleepy-look was immediately wiped from Shikamaru's face as he took the letter and ID. His eyes scanned the words, never blinking as he stored the information into that big, but lazy brain of his. "Naruto Uzumaki...where have I heard that name before?" He said to himself.
"You should talk to yourself more quietly Shikamaru." Naruto said after snatching the paper and ID from the lazy Genin. "Now since you're late, all three of you are in need for a punishment."
"What!" Choji spoke for the first time. "But we just got here, nothing bad happened."
"Not this time. But what if you failed to show up for an important assignment? Failed to check into a meeting? Your team mates would have to either abort the mission and leave you to die, or risk their lives trying to look for you." Naruto's blue eyes burned into theirs, sending cold chills down their spines. "That single fuck up could cause great backlash, and endanger your friends and family because someone did not beat any discipline into you. Do you understand me!?"
"Gah! Yes sir!" Choji stood straight like a tree, and trembled from being yelled at.
"Good, you three head towards Tazuna. The old guy with the funny hat, beg him to have you do something and work with a smile on your face!"
(Konohagakure-One week Later, Akimichi All you can eat Restaurant)
The Akimichi Restaurant was one of the many establishments in Konoha owned, and run by Choji's clan. It was a large building that could easily seat one-hundred people in it. Various patrons were seated at tabled along the walls, laughing with their friends and devouring the delicious food. The food itself was settled in the middle of the room, warmed under hot lights, and settled in metal pans that stayed afloat by boiling water.
The food was one of the many things that kept people coming back to this place. If you named it, the Akimichi's had it, if they didn't then they damn well would have it by the next time you came around. They had everything from sweet and sour chicken, sushi, ramen, steak and other foodstuffs that filled your belly. Everyone was having a great time.
Well...except an exhausted Team Ten.
"I hate you Naruto...I really do!" Shikamaru collapsed in his seat from exhaustion.
"Don't...be a baby." Ino sighed tiredly, her head falling down with a loud thump on the table they were sitting at.
"You heard the lady. Don't be a bitch." Naruto nodded his head towards his fellow blond. "Despite some minor incidents, the three of you did remarkably well this week, hell we're a little ahead of schedule. So eat up, this is for all of you."
"Here, here!" Tazuna and his workers, plus Choji cheered in response. After all their benefactor was paying for their meals this night.
"Ugh, troublesome blond." Shikamaru waved over a waitress and ordered what he wanted.
"Don't you forget it." Naruto said with far too much satisfaction for their tastes.
"So, Naruto there is something that I have been wondering." Choji said at the table next to them, his fifteenth plate of food settling in his stomach. "Didn't you use to live here?"
"What makes you say that?" The blond swordsman questioned the hefty Genin.
"I had a talk with my parents, and they seemed surprised the hear you were back." Choji quickly shoved a forkful of barbeque beef into his mouth. "They explained you vanished around ten years ago. I remember our families and Hokage-sama putting up a huge fuss, and sent out many of our shinobi for a month long search."
"I did not know that." Naruto found himself a little taken back. He knew that the Hokage searched for him, but knowing the old man he secretly searched for years, and used a month as a cover story. More than likely he used his most loyal shinobi to search for him, it was a little warming to know that.
"So where were you for all those years?" The hefty Genin bluntly asked. "I mean, it is unusual for someone to just reappear out of the blue and become a shinobi for the village."
"Especially with all the changes made to the Academy," Shikamaru pointed out. "What gives?"
"You ask too many questions." Naruto took a drink of his tea, "It's all classified."
"Oh come on! That is so not fair. We trained three extra years to become Genin, and you get to become a Genin right off the bat. Can't you tell us something?" Ino continued to push for some answers.
"Kami, you're an annoying one. Fine if you really want to know something then here it is." Naruto placed his cup of tea onto the table, and entwined his fingers together as it he was going to tell a long story. "Unlike you three, I am battle-tested. For four years outside the village, I was strictly trained in the shinobi arts without a moments rest, and I literally mean without a moments rest." Shishio made damn sure that he trained his body to adjust to anything, from a week of barely any sleep, to freezing temperatures, and scorching heat. And it worked, by Kami did it work.
"When I was ten I went out into the vast world for six years, and did a shit ton of mercenary work." Naruto did not even spare a second glance at their shocked looks. "Whether is was being a bodyguard for some fat Daimyo, collecting debts from stubborn business owners, roughing up a troublemaker, or if the job demands it ending a life."
"Wh-"
"I'm not done yet." The blond swordsman hushed Ino from speaking any further. The three quieted themselves, waiting for Naruto to continue his story. Instead he finished the last bit of food on his plate, drank the rest of his tea, and stood onto his two feet. "Now I'm done." Quickly placing his hands into the Ram seal, Naruto disappeared into a cloud of smoke.
"DAMN IT!" Ino's loud scream caused the patrons to cover their ears in agony.
The very next day, the group of workers and Genin arrived at their work site. Instead of the intact walls they erected yesterday, a good half of them were torn down, and everything else defiled with graffiti.
The members of Team Ten were appalled. All their hard work was destroyed by vandals, and for what? An hour of getting their jollies off for destroying something? That was bullshit!
Tazuna only sighed and said to his men, "Well we all knew this was going to happen. Lets salvage whatever we can, and what needs to replaced will be done so today." He clapped his calloused hands. "Get on it!"
"That's it? You're just going to lay back and take it?" Ino asked.
"This is nothing, some of this is only a eyesore." The old bridge builder scratched the back of his head irritably. "Where is Naruto? He'll want to take a look at this."
(Council Chambers, around the same time)
Where was Naruto indeed? Well, he was in a personal hell that both he, and the Sandaime desperately tried to put off.
Completely disarmed, and standing in-between two Anbu guards, Naruto glared impatiently up at the members of the council. Behind him the Sandaime was sitting behind his podium, a gavel loosely hanging in his right hand. Beside him were on the lower panels were his advisers, both who were trusted friends and former teammates. Sitting on his left side was Homura Mitokado, an elderly man with a strong jaw-line, grey hair, beard, green framed glasses and wearing what appeared to be a constant frown on his face. Clothing-wise, he wore a robe that was similar with the Hokage's, but instead of the red and white colors, his was a light cream color and a dark blue. On Hiruzen's right was Koharu Utatane, an elderly woman that always seemed to have been squinting, her gray hair was pulled back in a twin bun locked by a traditional hairpin and long pearl earrings. She wore a simple long black and gray kimono, closed by a white obi, a jacket, and a sash over it.
And in front of Naruto were the members of the Civilian, and Shinobi Council. On the top row was the Aburame, Akimichi, Hyuuga, Inuzuka, Nara, and Yamanaka Clans. Already Naruto could tell that whatever would happen to him was going to be unbalanced. There originally were thirteen clans that operated on the council, but both the Kurama and Kedouin Clan fell out of favor, and eventually removed themselves from the council to get the members of their family stronger, and rise through the ranks to become prominent clans again. Their efforts however, had no success at all.
The Senju and Shimura Clan's were more or less disbanded due to such few members existing into this day and age. The Sarutobi Clan, while one-hundred members strong were not able to officially take a seat on the council due to the Hokage being a member, and should the Hokage support something, they would more that likely go along with it, at least until the Sandaime retired again.
The Kohaku Clan, while they participated in the early foundations of the village decided to live on the outskirts of Fire Country after the Sandaime took office. The Tsuchigumo Clan, while also official members of the council, respectfully removed themselves from village matters after The Third Great Shinobi War. And finally the Uchiha Clan...well do I even have to tell you why they were not on the council?
On the bottom rows were of course the formerly ten so-called honorable members of the Civilian Council. While a good half of them were just doing their jobs, the four remaining were corrupt to the core. And with Yuuji Satou gone, they were that much closer to being put out of business for good. He honestly had no idea why they were called here, especially when this was a shinobi matter. If they were going to try and strong arm him, then they had another thing coming.
"Naruto Uzumaki." Hiruzen's powerful voice echoed over the room. "Do you know why you were summoned?"
"I do not know Hokage-dono." Naruto respectfully bowed his head towards the village leader. "I was preparing to meet Team Ten at the building site, but then these two arrived at my door, told me I was summoned you you, and then whisked here before I could even arm myself." He crossed his arms across his chest, and tapped his right foot impatiently. "Can you please tell me what is going on so I can get going?"
"We both knew that this was going to happen regardless of how long we delayed it." There was absolutely no denying that Sarutobi kept Naruto a secret from them all, and now they were going to hopefully not get any sort of backlash from it.
"Hokage-sama is correct." Shikaku Nara stood from his spot. "While I personally am glad that Naruto Uzumaki has returned home, him being kept secret from all of us. It's a little insulting."
"Well, can you blame him?" Naruto demanded. "For the first six years of my life, this village treated me like absolute shit. The things that have been done would give a normal child services representatives die from shock!"
"Yea, but-"
"Do not but me, sit down Haruno!" Naruto's voice forced the councilman back into his seat. "I am glad that during the last beating I was taken from this village. By who, it does not matter. He has been dead since I turned eight." He hated lying about Shishio, but those assholes did not need to know about a man who was thought to be long dead. "I was doing some mercenary work around the area, and it was only by chance that he found me in this village when I came to resupply. He offered me a shitload of money to work for him, and him alone."
"What!?" Itou Nakamura, a wealthy silk trader demanded. He was a thin as a skeleton, and it didn't help that he was bald. "How much did he pay you? A thousand? Five thousand?"
"More than you can even imagine." Naruto held in a self-satisfied smirk, it was funny seeing their faces scrunch in thought.
"Outrageous. Hokage-sama, how could you even think about paying this...this...abomination to work for you." Itou's shallow face turned purple with rage.
"It's because he is the only thing that will prevent the other nations from attacking." Surprisingly, it was Hiashi Hyuuga who spoke on Naruto's behalf. "For too long, we have been without our jinchuriki. It would only have been a matter of time until the other nations found out, and it would have been either an arms race to either find him, or we faced annihilation from either Kumogakure or Iwakagure with their two jinchuriki's." If Naruto wasn't completely sure that the male members of the Hyuuga Clan was born with sticks up their asses, he would have sworn he saw a ghost of a smile form on Hiashi's face. "I for one am glad he came back, even if it did cost us a mountain of gold."
"Well said Hiashi," Choza Akimichi, the cheery one of the bunch agreed with the stoic Hyuuga. "Welcome home Naruto."
"Thank you, Akimichi-dono." Naruto bowed his head towards the hefty man. Afterwards he turned towards the Hokage. "Is it all right for me to go now?"
"Not just yet, Uzumaki-san." Homura spoke out for the first time since the meeting started. "While I'm not complaining you're back, there are ten years that are missing from your history. We need to be sure that no village secrets were diverged, we need to know who took you, and determine exactly what your knowledge for the ninja arts entails."
"Homura, I can tell you right now that no secrets were told." The Hokage explained to his old friend. Naruto was six after back then, so there was absolutely no way he could have told anyone about any secrets of the village. "If he does not wish to reveal who took him, leave it be, a dead man cannot be tried after all. For his skill in the shinobi arts," He pulled out the report for Wave Country from his robes and handed it to Koharu. "I will leave you to be the judge."
"Great Kami!" Koharu exclaimed, the details of the report were shocking enough to for her eyes to actually open. "A thousand mercenaries?"
"A thousand mercenaries?" Tsume Inuzuka questioned with a raised eyebrow. "I will admit, that is impressive for a wet behind the ears pup with some back up."
"I'm afraid you misunderstand Inuzuka-dono." Naruto said to the Inuzuka Matriarch. "I did this with no back up. On my first day there I wiped out two bandit camps, and killed 'Leader of the South' Raijuta Isurugi."
"It's true," Koharu confirmed his story. "Ibiki's report shows various DNA tests and proof that Raijuta was killed by him."
"That is impressive." Shibi Aburame spoke up for the first time since the meeting started. That caused the entire council to turn toward him in surprise, after all if an Aburame had something to say, it was damn important.
"That is not all Aburame-sama." Koharu continued to read off the report. "It also says here, by the various members of Teams Seven and Eight, that Naruto displayed true cunning and ruthlessness against Gato an his forces. They report day after day the villagers found the mutilated bodies of his mercenaries, also both him and Sasuke Uchiha eliminated five ships full of hostile forces."
"Now I am impressed." Inochi Yamanaka rubbed his chin in deep thought.
"As am I. Our Uchiha always-"
Koharu interrupted Shibumi Haruno. "On the last night of his mission, Naruto Uzumaki killed Gato, Lightning Lion, and Aoi Rokusho. Afterwards he delivered us not only the Raijin no Ken, but also Zabuza Momochi, The Demon Brothers, and a girl named Haku, a last known member of the Yuki Clan."
The members of the Civilian Council visibly paled at the mention of those names. And even a few members of the Shinobi Council couldn't hide the surprise on their faces.
"How did we not know this?" Shikaku demanded. "Zabuza Momochi of all people, is he properly secured? What about the other three?"
"Nara-dono, relax." Naruto baded the the shadow-user. "These four have sworn fealty under me, and I can personally assure you that they will cause no harm."
"It also says in the report that Gozu and Meizu, both who are high Chuunin-level shinobi, are carriers to two very rare kekkei genkai's." The elderly woman cleared her throat, and reread the report to make sure her eyes were not playing any tricks on her. "Gozu the older brother is able to use the rare, and nearly extinct Boil Style, a powerful advanced nature kekkei genkai that combines fire and water-based chakra to create a powerful corrosive vapor capable of dissolving anything. And Meizu the younger brother is able to use the Lava Stye, while it's not as rare, it's another powerful advanced nature kekkei genkai that combines fire and earth-based chakra to molten hot lava."
"Well, this is perfect! Our villages power will double in might!" Shibumi cheered. His smile showed rejoice for the village, but his eyes showed something darker and malicious. "Hokage-sama, with your permission, I would like to introduce Haku-chan to my son, and I'm sure that Gozu and Meizu-san would willingly enroll into a breeding progra-" A blast of malicious killing intent caused the pink-haired man to unable to finish his sentence.
If looks could kill, Shibumi Haruno would have been a huge pile of ash. The two members of the Anbu had to physically place their hands on Naruto's shoulders, and dug their fingers in to warn him not to cause any harm within the chambers.
Hiruzen, unfortunately knew this subject would come up in the meeting. He knew that Naruto was well aware of it happening as well once he handed the report in, but for them to weed out the corrupted, it had to be done with something that no one could ever resist. And they took the bait, hook, line, and suckers.
"Mister Haruno," The Hokage said to him, and all of the council. "Those four have sworn fealty to Naruto Uzumaki, and are under his protection under Clan Law: Article Five, Paragraph Eight, Section Four. Homura if you will?"
"Of course Hiruzen." Due to his many years of being an adviser, Homura was well advised with multiple clan laws and had them all memorized by heart. "Under Clan Law: Article Five, Paragraph Eight, Section Four. Should a member of a clan bring in a foreign shinobi with a kekkei genkai, who swore fealty under him or her, they are never to be pursued romantically, or inducted into a breeding program unless granted by the person they swore their fealty to."
"And as the last member of the Uzumaki Clan, I will not allow you or your son a hundred miles within Haku's presence," The second sentence that came from his mouth caused both Gozu and Meizu to feel like they got kicked in the balls. "And both Gozu and Meizu will not be siring any bastard children under my watch."
"Insolence little wrench!" Itou bellowed hotly. "Hokage-sama, I demand you put this piece of filth on a leash, and teach him to respect his betters."
"That is enough Itou Nakamura." The Hokage slammed his gavel upon the table. "This is your second strike. If you undermine my authority again, nay undermine the law I will have you removed from this room."
"I don't think so!" Itou's anger finally got the better of him. Now literally foaming at the mouth, he began to speak his mind, completely disregarding exactly who he was speaking to. "I have been on this council for twenty years, and the silk trade has prospered thanks to it. I firmly remembered this village being peaceful without this...this...thing being in our folds. Jinchuriki of not, he has no rights here or anywhere! Everyone show of hands, and we oust him from the village!"
Not a single person raised their hands. The members of the Shinobi Council did nothing more than shake their heads, and the remaining members of the Civilian Council were too afraid to do anything.
"It looks like that is strike three, Hokage-dono." Naruto turned towards the village leader, and he cracked his knuckles from clenching his fists. "What are your orders?"
Sarutobi's tired eyes narrowed at the purple-faced councilman. Before responding he brought his pipe to his mouth, and lit the tobacco with a small spark of fire. What Itou said was true, he had been on the council for twenty years, and the silk trade did prosper enormously. But the man also had a short temper, and from what Naruto showed him weeks ago, and his own findings, he knew for sure that the man was embezzling funds. There was only one course of action now. And it was with an extremely heavy heart that he had to do it.
"Naruto," The Sandaime breathed out a mouthful of smoke. "Deal with him."
"With pleasure." Knocking the hands from his shoulders, Naruto disappeared in a burst of speed. He appeared, crouching in front of the thin man, and quickly, brutally chopped the man right in his windpipe. The force of the blow was so quick, yet strong enough for a large visible dent to emerge in Itou's throat. The silk trader soon began gasping, and clawed at his throat as he struggled to breathe. Eyes bulging, veins protruding from his forehead, mouth drooling, his face turning blue, Itou let out a pitiful death wheeze, and collapsed face first onto the desk. He finally expired, and voided his bowels, absolutely ruining his expensive silk outfit.
"That will be all Naruto, please proceed continue on with your day." Hiruzen tapped the gavel, signaling the end to Naruto being in the room.
"Of course Hokage-dono." Without another word, Naruto placed his hands in the Ram seal, and disappeared in a small cloud of smoke.
Before he dismissed the remaining members of the council, the God of Shinobi gave on last order to each and every member. "Nothing will be said about this meeting. Ever. To reveal it to the populace will result in a swift execution without trial, and just so you know, anyone who violates my law, or makes an unlawful approach to Naruto and his associates, then your life is forfeit by him and said associates."
He tapped his gavel signaling the meeting coming to an end. After all he now have two members of the Civilian Council to replace, and he had no doubt that the clan heads were going to be very busy this night.
(Naruto-Ten minutes after the meeting)
'Well, that was completely unexpected.' Naruto thought to himself while he traveled to where his building was being constructed. The meeting went almost as expected, there were a lot of surprises, a lot of yelling, and of course calls for his execution, banishment, or whatever else. He took a risk in revealing Gozu and Meizu's kekkei genkai's, and telling them about Zabuza and Haku. The results were expected, and man did it piss him off. But Itou Nakamura losing his temper at the Hokage, that was the most unexpected.
Initially he was not going to lay a finger on the corrupt members of the Civilian Council, not only would everyone immediately suspect him, but it would have sabotaged what he was trying to accomplish in the village. So, in some sort of sick sense of gratitude, Naruto thanked the now deceased silk trader for losing his head. Because if it was not for him, the Hokage would not have given them both the chance to show the council they had a backbone.
There would be a fallout, not now, but it was going to happen eventually. After all, there were only three corrupt bastards left to deal with, and after that...
"The fuck happened here?" Naruto demanded when he arrived at the work sight. The place was an absolute mess, graffiti covering the walls, and part of the walls were torn down.
"Vandals." Tazuna gruffly explained, both his arms full of broken timber. "I sent those Genin to a warehouse to replace our losses. Where were you?"
"Hokage-dono called me into an unexpected meeting." Naruto explained himself, "It was village related, nothing I could do about it. Plus, I had to head back to my place to retrieve my weapons." He patted the Mugenjin's hilt affectionately. While it was true that he could deal with many people with his bare hands, he preferred a weapon by his side. "That aside, who were the culprits?"
"The lazy kid mentioned the name Ronin." He pointed at the gang symbol that depicted a fierce black dragon head within a yellow circle, with white clouds surrounding it.(1) "Apparently, those punks don't like us encroaching on their property."
"Well, they are in for a rude awakening." Naruto cracked his knuckles. "They get one chance, and if they do it again." He left the threat hanging.
"Right, come on, we're going to need your help today."
"Got it Tazuna, hand me a hammer."
For the rest of the day, Naruto and the members of Team Seven tore down, and rebuilt the walls that were ruined from the previous day. Despite the minor set back, the workers were still in good spirits, and Naruto really could not blame them. After all this was practically a nice spring day, sure they had to do a ton of rework, but no one died, so that was something at least.
Finally the sun was beginning to set, and the workers finally stopped what they were doing, packed up their tools, and began to head towards their sleeping quarters. Naruto however stayed stark still on the place he was last working on.
"Oi, Naruto. It's time to leave, you're not planning on staying the entire night are ya!?" Tazuna hollered from his position.
"I'm going to be on watch." Naruto hollered back, "There is no way I'm going to let this happen again. Ino, Shikamaru, Choji I'm going to need you guys to head over to the Hokage and inform your folks that you're going to be needed tonight."
"Maaaan," Shikamaru yawned tiredly, "Come on, we worked twelve hours today. We need some rest."
"Oh quit being a wimp." Naruto berated the lazy Genin, "When I was a mercenary I stayed up for three weeks straight guarding a spoiled Daimyo. That fat bastard ate, drank, and was merry while I made damn sure an assassin didn't cut his throat open during the day and night. And trust me, I was tempted to do it myself just to save them the trouble."
"All right we got it!" Ino responded in a tired fashion. "We will be back in thirty of so minutes, but we better get paid for this!"
"I will put it in for Mister Kaishu." Naruto waved them away.
(The Slums-Thirty minutes later)
Fortunately for Team Ten, they arrived in thirty minutes on the dot. And Naruto was waiting for them, his blue eyes staring into the alleyways of the slums, the sheathed Mugenjin clutched in his left hand. "I assume there weren't any problems." He said upon their arrival.
"Not really, my mom was a little too eager to kick me out of the house." Shikamaru yawned tiredly. Normally he would have spoken with his dad, but he more than likely just missed him by a few minutes after heading back to the work site.
"My mom packed me four bentos to share." Choji said with a happy smile as he patted the sack he carried in his right hand. Ah, good ol' Akimichi women sure knew how to cook, they would be all in for a treat. He was only a little disappointed that his father did not see him off, but whatever kept him away must have been important.
"No, I was just told to be careful." Ino barely managed to keep her composure. Unlike Shikamaru and Choji's fathers, Inoichi managed to catch her when she was halfway out the door. And he told her to to be careful around Naruto. He went on to tell her to be careful around him, she tried to coax more out of him, but he absolutely refused to do so. The look in her fathers eyes scared her, what could he have known that would have made her swear to be careful around her fellow blond?
"Perfect, all right you three, I'm going to make this good and simple. We are going to guard this place with our very lives, if they advance without warning, if they threaten, brandish weapons, or if they even look at you funny. Shoot to capture or kill."
"Kill? Naruto these are just civilians, that's like kicking with a puppy with a steel-toed boot!" Ino exclaimed in alarm.
"These people cost us a day of work. A full day completely wasted where we could have easily built some floors, and maybe stairs." Naruto violently shook his right arm at the rebuilt frames. "I'm giving them one chance to walk away. Just one chance, and if they say fuck you, then their lives are forfeit! Do you understand me?"
"C-crystal." Choji gulped loudly.
"Good, now prepare whatever you brought. I'm going to light up the place."
"Ugh, troublesome blond." Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. This was going to be a loooong night.
Several hours passed the four Genin by. The watch was monotonous, boring, and to Shikamaru a huge drag. Currently it was one in the morning, their only source of light being from high-powered light bulbs from construction lamps. The members of Team Ten busied themselves by either chatting, or taking turns by walking around the area to stretch their legs. But Naruto kept watch, his blue eyes constantly scanning the alleyways, and his hand never leaving the hilt of his katana.
"Hey Naruto," Choji called over to the swordsman. "Come take a seat, your feet must be killing you."
"I'm fine Choji, I assure you this is not the first time I stood watch." Naruto dismissed his offering.
"No please, I insist. You still haven't had any of my moms cooking. It is truly out of this world!"
"He's right, come on if Ino can chow down on her cooking with that diet of hers, then I know you can."
"Shut up Shikamaru!"
"All right, all right, but keep your eyes open okay?" Naruto moved from his position for the first time since the night started, and walked over to where the members of Team Ten placed themselves. Choji happily gave over the bento box and looked one expectantly when he opened it up.
Naruto did not raise an eyebrow when he looked at the neatly placed rice, egg rolls, noodles and meats that formed into a picture of a leaf. He just simply took the chopsticks into his right hand, pulled down his white scarf to expose his whiskered and scarred face, picked up a small bit of rice and one of the egg rolls and plopped it into his mouth. Almost immediately he began devouring like a man who had not eaten in days, and it stunned the Genin to see someone other than Choji scarfing down food faster than the speed of light.
"You were right Choji." Naruto said to the portly teenager. "I have not had a meal like that sense..." The members to Team Ten saw him cringe for a brief second, "It just has been a long time."
"Exactly how long?" Shikamaru questioned. "Naruto, who exactly are you?"
"What do you mean?" Naruto demanded.
"Don't play dumb with me." The lazy Nara said. He pointed at his head with his right index finger. "A Nara never forgets anything. When I was six years old I remember seeing you at the park daily, alone. I also remember seeing you in the Academy for a total of three months before disappearing without a trace until about a week ago."
"And what is your point exactly?" The blond swordsman crossed his arms.
"You're not the cheery kid anymore. And quite frankly I want to know what made you into...this."
Naruto spat to the side in response. "I don't see that it's any business of yours."
"We're just curious." Choji defended his best friends inquiry. "I-I mean look at you, you're in a mixture of Iwakagure, and Kumogakure clothing. Your face is scarred, you're the only person I've seen that has a tattoo that is not clan related, and you're armed to the teeth. There has to be a story behind all of them."
Naruto barely managed to not roll his eyes. Damn, who knew that Genin would be so freaking nosy? Eh, he figured there would be no harm in humoring them in a story or two. He raised his right arm and had the sleeve fall to his elbow to his elbow, and pulled the sleeve up to his shoulder to reveal his armful of tattoo's. The Genin noticed that it was slightly red in a few parts of his arm, there looked to be a thin yellow blade that had yellow lightning crackling around it, and coming out of a light gray vajara hilt on the underside of his forearm. The second one was on the deltoid, and it resembled a roaring lion's head made completely out of blue lightning with crimson red eyes.
"All right, you three get to choose one thing on my person you can ask about. But be warned, I will not hold back in telling you, and this will be the only freebie." Naruto's said to them in an authoritative manner.
"Freebie? Why do we have to go out of our way to learn something about you?" Ino loudly demanded.
"Hey, you kept pestering me for information. And I'm not going to just reveal anything about myself for free." Naruto snapped his fingers to get their attention. "Now choose, the clock is ticking."
The three Genin exchanged glances, each one of them mentally deciding what the would have him talk about. Before the males of the group could speak, Ino piped up. "Your clothing." She declared. "Sorry boys, but I have to know why he is wearing the clothing of our villages enemies."
Shikamaru only sighed in response. "It'll do for me."
"Aw, all right." Choji was visibly disappointed, but he figured he could get an answer out of Naruto at a later date if he proved ever himself.
"Very well then," Naruto rolled his sleeve down to hide his arm, and settled on a pile of lumber to get himself comfortable. "Just so you know my shirt is based off of Iwagakure's shinobi clothing for a few reasons." He held his right fist up and began to raise his fingers for each reason. "The first reason is that despite all appearances, it is really comfortable. Two, it's great for nearly any weather condition; except for extreme cold and the harsh winds of Wind Country. Trust me I know this from experience. Three, it's great for surprises and I will not tell you what they would be. Four, the sleeve could be torn off for a makeshift tourniquet. And the last reason is to always remind me of Earth Country."
Naruto began to open his mouth tell them about the Kumogakure scarf and armor, but a snap of wood drew his eyes back to the dark alleyways. "This story will have to continue at a later date. We got company."
Immediately the members of Team Ten readied themselves to face the oncoming threat. The four Genin were greeted by the red, white and black clad gang members. All of them were between the ages of sixteen and forty, had various, punkish hairstyles, many were either scarred or tattooed, all were smirking, a few chuckling, and all of them were armed with swords of various sizes, cleavers, and clubs.
"Haha well, look what we got here boys. Guards for those fools who dared to invade our turf!" The leader of the band, a seventeen year old male who wore a blank hitai-ate on his forehead, showing he was a Academy drop out said to the group. "Listen here you brats, we are giving you one chance to leave before things get ugly."
Naruto only turned towards Shikamaru. "All right, I'll bite. Who is this guy?"
"His name is Jizo, he was in the Academy a year a head of us. I heard that his team failed their test and were dropped from the shinobi program." Shikamaru answered him with an irritated sigh.
"He was not a nice person." Choji added his two-cents.
"I get that, thank you." Naruto held them back before leaving with some instructions. "Listen, I am going to give them their one chance. If things go south do not hold back because they can't use chakra. Trust me on this."
When Naruto departed from the group, he approached the dozen assholes that were glaring at him. He knew that there were more in waiting, hiding in the shadows like the cockroaches they were, and he sincerely hoped that those three were up to what he was about to put them through. "This is private property," He said to the group, "I must ask all of you to leave immediately."
"Haha! What did you say Blondie?" Jizo barked in laughter.
"You heard me dick-face." The blond growled irritably. "I tried being nice about this, so you got two choices. Get the fuck out of here and never return-" Before Naruto could tell him the second option, Jizo struck him right in the face with a pair of brass-knuckles. The blow was unexpected, and caused him to stumble to the side.
The members of Team Ten immediately bolted towards the blond swordsman, but he sharply help them back by sticking his right arm out, and glaring at them. Naruto wiped the blood from his nose and the corner of his mouth, and spat the remainder onto the ground. After taking a deep breath Naruto continued where he left off. "The second was me taking your life!" Without another warning Naruto unsheathed the Mugenjin, and faster than anyone could blink Jizo's head was parted from his shoulders in a shower of gore.
That single move caused all hell to break loose. Dozens of gang members emerged from their hiding places and attacked the four Genin.
Unfortunately for them, they were used to fight against rival gangs, or intimate the weak and feeble. Shinobi were something completely different.
Shikamaru placed his hands into the Rat hand seal, and the shadows from the lights of the work site expanded outwards. He easily captured ten gang members in his shadows, and a smirk of satisfaction came to his face. "Shadow Possession Jutsu successful. Now Choji!"
"Right!" Focusing his chakra into a single point, Choji expanded his right arm into huge proportions until his hand and forearm were the size of a giant's. The plump Akimichi backhanded his fist against the ten gang members. It was after countless hours of practice that Shikamaru timed his shadows to disconnect from the gang members, and did not share their fate of being hit by two-hundred pounds of flesh and muscle, and hitting the nearest objects with bone-shattering force.
Standing far apart from her teammates, Ino was confronted by six very armed, and very mean-looking men. They had erratic, malicious, and perverted looks on their faces. The Yamanaka narrowed her blue eyes and moved her hands into a square shape with her index fingers and thumbs connecting together, and unleashed her jutsu. She sent her chakra into three of the approaching thugs nervous system, and gained complete control of their bodies. The three, now completely under her control began attacking their allies, clubbing and hitting them with their weapons. After the three were knocked unconscious, Ino directed the other three to beat the living crap out of each other until they couldn't move.
But Naruto, he did not show any sort of mercy. And to Team Ten's horror he dispatched the gang members like he was sending sheep to the slaughter. The Mugenjin's serrated blade cut into flesh, and sheered off limbs. Those were the lucky ones, the unfortunate ones lost their heads or he cut a little too deeply. In the same amount of time the new Ino-Shika-Cho trio took down their enemies, Naruto did it several seconds faster with ruthless efficiency, and left one survivor staining the front of his white pants yellow.
Naruto glared at the gang member, speckles of blood were splattered his face, giving him a terrifying appearance. Pointing the bloodstained sword at the man, the blond glared at him. "Listen to me carefully. This area is now under shinobi rule, if you or any of your gang tries this shit again, I will personally rain hellfire down upon you. Do you understand me?" The man only nodded in response. "Good, now git!"
When the man ran off with his tail in-between his legs, Naruto flicked the blood off Shishio's katana, and sheathed it in the scabbard. After spitting to the side, he placed his fingers into the familiar seal for the Shadow Clone Jutsu. After the doppelganger popped into existence, Naruto immediately began barking orders at it. "All right, we had a situation here. Go tell Hokage-dono to bring a squad of Konoha's Military Police Force, tell them to bring body bags...and I guess some medics, not sure if it will do any good though."
"Got it boss." The clone saluted before placing his hands into the Ram seal, and quickly disappeared into a small cloud of smoke.
Knowing that they had a ten to fifteen minute response time, Naruto turned towards the members of Team Ten. And seeing the defeated gang members lying unconscious, he nodded in satisfaction. "Well, I'm pleasantry surprised. Good work you three."
"Yea, uh, thanks." Shikamaru turned away from the carnage. "I guess you too."
"I'm more disappointed with myself." The blond admitted. Removing himself from the carnage he created, Naruto slowly approached the three Genin. "I told myself I would fight people who could use chakra, but here I am killing two-bit gangsters. Kami damn it I feel myself getting weaker just doing that."
"How many people have you killed?" Ino demanded. "How many people could you have possibly killed in order to say that!?"
"Too many Ino, far too many." Naruto's voice trailed off before snapping back to its usual bluster. "No more questions, it's obvious that the new system works, or three years ago I would have to inform your families that you were killed...or at least your sensei would." Naruto paused for a second before speaking again, "Anyways, good job and all that."
"Yes, indeed. You all did a good job." The Hokage's voice said the four. "Chief Uramura, I assume you and your men can handle this?"
"Of course, Hokage-sama!" Chief Uramura, a small but athletically built man saluted the leader of the village. He wore a navy blue police uniform with a well-made katana strapped to his belt, and white gloves on his hands. He had black hair that was cut close to his head, a small stylish mustache on his upper lip, and wire-rimmed glasses placed on his face.(2)
"Good man, Naruto I need you to come with me. Ino, Choji, Shikamaru, you three are allowed to go home, but I want you to report to my office at nine o' clock in the morning."
"Yes, Hokage-sama." The three Genin saluted their leader, and left for their homes.
Immediately after Team Ten left the area, and the police began arresting the Ronin gang members, some were mending wounds, others stuffing several into body bags. The Hokage placed his left hand on Naruto's shoulder, and with one hand seal they both disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Within a minute they appeared in his office, both sitting at their respected seats, and both had their respective smoking instruments already lit in hand.
"Naruto, I appreciate everything you've done, but you are starting to become a pain in my side." Hiruzen said after blowing smoke from his nostrils.
"I want to say I'm sorry, but honestly I'm not." Naruto calmly responded.
"You killed five people today, I know that a few more won't survive the night, and I'm unsure the rest will live normally after their trial and prison sentence."
"Then they they should not have joined a gang." Naruto countered him. "Hokage-dono, before I cut their leaders head off, Shikamaru told me about a former Academy student named Jizo. Apparently he and his team failed their final test and were dropped from the shinobi program. Check the report, you'll see his hitai-ate."
The Sandaime was quiet after that revelation. What Naruto said was true, the new programs were more strict, and many people were either sent back to the Academy, or dropped from the program altogether. And unfortunately it was more the latter with some kids cracking under the pressure. He personally knew that a good lot of the kids that dropped out or quit went off to work in various civilian jobs. But the small few disappeared completely, and apparently joined gangs.
It was very sad to see that those very few fell so far from the great tree.
Finally after ten minutes of thinking, Hiruzen finally sighed and emptied his pipe into the ashtray. "Naruto, I will look into this. But I will do it without you being in the village."
"I see," Naruto emptied his kiseru pipe into the same ashtray. "I assume you're either giving me a mission or a vacation."
"It's a mission. I need you to investigate a town in Hot Springs Country that is being plagued by bandits. There were also reports that there were three shinobi leading them."
"I'm assuming that I'm also having a team come with me?" Naruto raised an eyebrow in question. "If so, I would like Team Ten to come with me. They're going to have to learn the trade sooner or later."
"I was planning on it." Sarutobi pulled a scroll from his desk marked B-rank. "You leave at ten o' clock in the morning. You have ten days to complete this mission, if you finish it earlier take some time off. Enjoy the sights, soak in the hot springs, I honestly don't care what you do, just stay away for ten days until all of this dies down."
"Understood Hokage-dono. But who will watch over the work site?"
"I'm going to have Zabuza and the other three watch over him." The Sandaime said. "Not only will it show goodwill, but it will help them through their probation period, and into our forces faster."
"Well, don't expect us for ten full days then." Naruto thanked the village leader, and then placing his hands into the Ram seal, disappeared into a cloud of smoke.
Armageddon: Hey folks how the hell are you doing? Me? Well Murphy's Law just loves me. But that will all end soon enough, oh yes it will...but if not I will become the most feared pirate in the world!
Lt. RasenganFin:...uh, wrong story sir.
Pvt. Killjoy: Yea, we still haven't heard from Liquor. Hell, we sent half of our forces to find him, and I fear that they may have joined the guy.
Armageddon: Impossible! I let you guys get away with enough crap as it is, but being a pirate without me is over the damn line.
Pvt. Leafninja: Uh, sir we got a message from Liquor.
Pvt. Liquor: *Over the computer* Yearr me maties, *hiccup* how's the land?
Armageddon: Dammit Liquor get your drunk ass back here, and I won't give you a Court Martial!
Pvt. Liquor: Never! And I'm not Private Liquor anymore, I'm Marcus "Booze Hound" McDaggertooth! Ain't that right mates!?
Sgt. Shadowstrayster: Damn right!
Pvt. Fox: Yes! Blargh! *he throws up over the side of the ship*
Pvt. Killjoy: Ie Ie Cap'n
Lt. Doom: It's Aye, Aye, you retard. *smacks Killjoy over the head, and guzzles down his flagon*
Pvt. VFSNAKE: Let's sing everyone!
Armageddon: God dammit.
(1) If you know who these guys are from, then you are awesome...also I do not own it.
(2) He is actually a character in Rurouni Kenshin. The guy didn't make too many appearances but he is a responsible Police Chief, and I thought he would suit this story greatly.
