Chapter 12
Hana never thought that she would actually be on a mission with 'the' Naruto. She felt somewhat excited over the chance to do a mission with the redhead. He was after all a shinobi who was known in all corners of the Elemental Nations. It wasn't because his father was the Hokage, but because he was a powerful shinobi who has accomplished so many things in his life.
More to that, he was also a good looking man - That was something a girl always looked at into a man. It was especially pleasant since the redhead carried himself well and was generally liked. He did treat people who smiled at him with kindness after all.
It was people who treated him with kindness because it has been known that Naruto wasn't fond of anyone who didn't like him. Hell, his enemies were treated with some cruelty that had many question if the famed Uzumaki was actually a good person or not. In the few times Hana had seen him, he was conversing with either Kurenai or Anko and each time he looked like a pleasant person.
Hana steeled herself as the redhead strolled towards her. She tried hushing her partner who was growling when the Uzumaki grew closer to them. Her partner was usually well mannered, so it was strange for him to be this rude to someone on first sight. The redhead didn't look like a dangerous person even.
Arriving at the Village gates, Naruto smiled at the woman who was waiting for him. He kept his eyes closed as he spoke. "You must be… the person accompanying me to this emergency."
Hana nodded. Her partner now barked and growled at the redhead, looking as if it was ready to jump on him. Hana patted the dog in effort to calm it down, but it didn't stop it. It was almost as if it was barking at an enemy who needed to be torn apart.
She smiled nervously at Naruto, "Sorry, he isn't usually like this," she said apologetically to the redhead. It would have been a little embarrassing if there had been a lot of people around. At least it was just the gate guards.
"It is fine," Naruto said with a smile before kneeling down. He didn't say a word, but just opened his eyes slightly and looked at the dog for a second before the dog dragged its tail between its legs as it zipped its mouth shut. "See?" The redhead said, with his head tilted to the side.
Hana felt fear in her partner. What had Naruto done? Was he that much of a scary person that with just one look he could make the prideful beast before her squirm like a puppy?
"We should head out," Naruto said to Hana, sounding a bit hurried. "I didn't introduce myself, did I? Uzumaki Naruto," he said holding out his right hand.
Hana looked at the bandaged right hand for a long second before she took it and shook it. "Inuzuka Hana," she said.
Naruto's smile widened slightly. "First time I am being accompanied by such a pleasant person in a mission… I hope to get to know more of you… after the mission of course. I have a strict policy about conducting business first before pleasure."
Hana didn't know how to respond as the redhead led the way out of the village. She could believe him about not doing any missions with a pleasant someone. The redhead didn't do teams. In fact, since he became Jonin, he has consistently done solo missions and only partnered with a handful of people. It was mostly Kakashi and Itachi. There was a rumour that those who did missions with him when he was still Chunin never really wanted to do it again. Details were never dished out, but whatever it was, Anko seemed to like it.
Anything that was liked by that woman wasn't something tasty. Hana hoped it wasn't anything bad.
"What is the mission about?" Hana asked as she caught up to Naruto.
The redhead took out a cloth and handed it to her. "I asked for a sensor to track this person. He stole some information from Konoha. He is suspected to be a spy from Iwagakure. We have to chase after him and either eliminate or drag him back to the village."
Hana wondered why this mission hadn't been rushed if they were going to be chasing after a person. They shouldn't have even wasted time at the gate. The redhead had said it was an emergency and that was what she had been told by the Anbu who tracked her down and had her head to the village gates for an important mission with Naruto.
Hana sniffed the cloth before she allowed her partner to sniff it as well. She was surprised that they were on the right direction. The scent had definitely passed around here. It was faint, but she could sense it. She guessed this is why they called her.
"Lead the way if you have the scent," Naruto said, falling back slightly. "I was told you were the fastest the Inuzuka could offer at the short notice. In any case, I would advise, you run as fast as you can. You can use chakra to increase your speed if you like. If you're tired, I will carry you," he added with a smile.
"I will do my best," Hana said as he took off through the ground, where the scent had travelled. "How strong is the target?"
"Chunin at best," Naruto said calmly, running beside Hana. "We're likely to encounter enemy shinobi though."
"Shouldn't I preserve my chakra just in case?" Hana asked. If the redhead was telling her to use chakra to increase her speed, it would make her a liability in battle as she would have exhausted her chakra with all the running. She didn't want to be a burden. Her mother had asked her to make a strong impression.
Naruto shook his head. "There is no need," he said. "Your mission is to point the enemy for me and I will do the elimination…" the redhead paused for a moment. "Shall we increase the pace?"
Hana wanted to ask why elimination as he had said that the mission was either to drag the target back to the village or eliminate him. She figured elimination would come if he retrieving was proving to be a difficult task. So, why had Naruto chosen elimination? She shook her head, and gave in to his request, pumping chakra into her muscles.
They ran for a couple of hours and Hana was seriously worn out, but because the person before her didn't look winded at all, she pushed herself to her limits. She could not falter when she knew that someone with important Intel was gaining away from them. She didn't want to be the cause of a mission failure and so she pushed as hard as she could.
Hana felt relieved when the scent grew strong and she realized that the enemy was now closer. They had not lost track of him. She was relieved. She tried telling Naruto, but no word came out of her mouth. She was seriously winded.
The redhead motioned for her to stop. Hana did so. The weariness hit her at full force as he panted harshly, with her hands on her knees. It took a few moments for her to recover enough breath to be able to talk to the redhead. "T-target ahead…" she said tiredly. "J-just move straight…"
"I see," Naruto said before cutting the distance between them. Hana let out a yelp when Naruto suddenly picked her up, and held her bridal style.
"W-what are you doing?" She managed to stammer out.
Naruto tilted his head to the side as if her question confused him. "You're tired and I can't leave you behind. Stopping for you to regain your breath means we allow the enemy to get away," he explained as if it were obvious – well it was obvious. "Don't worry, I don't mind," he added with a sly smile and eyes half-way opened.
For the first time, Hana saw those crystal blue eyes of his. She was mesmerized for a moment before Naruto suddenly vanished. She didn't feel anything as he sped through the ground with her partner legging behind him. Hana allowed her eyes to close as she enjoyed the comfort and a breather. The breeze hitting her body was refreshing and since it didn't feel like she was being carried by a running person, it allowed her to relax.
Everything came to a halt as Naruto stopped and then jumped on a tree branch, and gently placed her down. Hana felt disappointed as her behind touched the not so gentle tree branch.
Naruto pointed a distance away and Hana looked. She saw a young man wearing civilian clothes leaning against a tree trunk. He was breathing heavily while holding a scroll close to his chest as if it was his life. Hana almost felt sorry for him. If he was a spy, and now that he was known to Konoha, it was likely that his home village would quietly try to get him killed if he manages to escape Naruto.
Being a spy was dangerous business.
"Why aren't you going after him?" Hana asked seeing that Naruto had also settled beside her, his closed eyes focused on the young man.
"I don't know if there are traps around him or not," Naruto responded calmly. "Besides, he is likely taking the information to someone. If I make a move, I won't know who and where. That will be a problem."
Spies were some strong willed bastards and didn't really break down when faced with extreme pain. Naruto had dealt with damn spies before and he knew they were willing to die than give out any information. Pain did break a few, but most were not easily broken. He was feeling a bit merciful today because of the company. He could attempt to break the spy, but he didn't want to scare the Inuzuka.
"Oh," Hana blinked as a thought came. "So we're going to follow him," she said. "But doesn't that make things troubling? If we allow him to meet whoever he is going to meet, it increases the difficulty of the mission. It is risky, especially when we don't know what we are going to meet at the other side."
"Don't concern yourself with the difficulty," Naruto said nonchalantly. "I have accounted for that. Just rest and we will move when the target moves."
Hana simply nodded and went back to resting her body as she tried to recover her lost chakra and some energy. Who was she to try to talk him into changing his mind? Naruto was the one who specialized in eliminating 'numbers.' That was actually putting it in a nice way: the redhead was best known for slaughter and massacres. When it came to dealing with groups of enemies, or any army if you like, Konoha always sends him with no backup and he always won within a minute or a couple.
He wasn't a one man army, but a demolisher of armies. One thing that stood out from what people say about him was that he was brutal in battle. Hana never really believed it. The redhead seemed like a good person and not the sadistic person people paint him to be in their books.
Nobody outside of his circle actually knew how strong he was because anyone who has seen him go all out has never actually lived to tell the tale. There were just a bunch of things that people say about the redhead, some of them were just ridiculous. Well, Hana would see the truth today with her own ey-
"We're moving," Naruto whispered as their target started to move once again.
Hana nodded and they tailed the target, keeping a safe distance so that they are not noticed. The pace was not fast as before, so that meant she wasn't burning as much energy as she was before. They tailed the target until they reached the borders of the Earth country.
A dangerous place for Konoha shinobi.
Just entering into the country made Hana's hair stand as she knew that it wasn't often that Konoha shinobi entered and left in one piece. Iwagakure shinobi were not fond of them and the first thing they did when they saw them was simply to attack without saying a word. That was how hostile it was. It was different in other countries though.
"There's a group of shinobi up ahead," Naruto suddenly said. "I would rather you close stay here and close your eyes," the redhead added as he took the sword that was placed on a sheath on his back.
Hana was curious about that. What was it that he didn't want her to see that he would request that she close her eyes? Hana was sure that he wasn't joking but being actually serious about his request. As he blurred out her presence silently, Hana moved closer as well. She wanted to see.
Naruto appeared behind the target using Shunshin. "Hello," the redhead greeted with a smile.
The young man quickly jumped away in fear as he hadn't sensed anyone behind him. He quickly turned around to face his enemy. His grit his teeth as he came face to face with the flat smile of a monster. Of all the shinobi to pursue him it had to be this demon. Well that had been planned... Still he would have preferred it if the man did not appear.
"I had a feeling I was being pursued, but it didn't really matter since I knew that there company waiting for me was strong," the young man said, confidently. "Still of all the shinobi, I never thought I would be pursued you, monster."
Naruto tilted his head to the side as he responded indifferently, "I am sensing some malice. Well, it doesn't matter," he said before blurring out of sight.
The Uzumaki appeared in front of the young man. He had travelled so fast that the spy didn't have the time to react. Naruto's left hand grabbed the spy by his face and lifted him up into the air. The grip was so strong that the young felt like he was being gripped by an iron hand. Naruto didn't waste time in swing his sword. The blade cut through the right shoulder, severing the hand off the shoulder. It happened so fast the spy didn't feel a thing until his right hand hit the ground. The hand Naruto cut had been the one holding firm unto the scroll containing the valuable information.
"This is a thing about spies: you're never strong enough," the redhead said as he flicked his blade, wiping the blood away before he sheathed it.
Naruto fluidly switched hands, holding the spy with his right hand. "Water Prison," he muttered. Water burst out from the palm of his hand, and encased the spy, trapping him a bubble of water. The redhead looked calmly at the spy as he spoke again. "Tell me, who were you going to meet?"
The spy smiled. "You're in the Earth country, and given your past actions, you're not the most favoured person here. You won't be leaving this country," the spy said confidently even in his position. "But first wave is led by Kurotsuchi, the Sandaime Tsuchikage's granddaughter. Well, you will find out the second wave eventually…"
Naruto's look narrowed slightly. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"We knew Konoha would probably send you since you're the fastest behind the Yondaime Hokage. We waited until you returned to the village before moving…"
"Oh, I fell into a trap," Naruto said calmly, and still with a smile. "I was feeling a bit merciful today but since you have gone your way to plot this, I shall reward you…" the redhead paused for a moment, tilting his head to the side. "What do you think would happen if I were to boil this water to the point where it can melt your skin like acid? How long do you think you can live? I am curious, shall we test it?"
The moment Naruto said those words; he started pouring katon chakra into the water. Within a second, steam started to come out of the water as it begun to boil.
"You cold hearted monster!" The spy shouted as the water began to burn him. The next thing that came out of his mouth was a cry of pain as the water's temperature increased to the point where the blood inside his body started boiling as well. It didn't take too long before his eyes burst out. The water turned red.
Naruto cancelled the jutsu and looked up for a moment. It was better to get out of here as it was probably unsafe. He was only able to take a couple of steps before he felt was being surrounded by a number of shinobi.
Well it couldn't be helped. He had to fight.
"Well, well," Kurotsuchi said standing atop of a tree branch with her men surrounding the redhead. "What do we have here?"
"You have Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto responded without even looking at the woman. "You must be Kurotsuchi. First time meeting the Sandaime Tsuchikage's granddaughter in battle... Are you going to entertain me, girl?" the redhead asked, this time, his face looking towards the black haired, yet his eyes remained closed.
"I'm not here for you entertainment, I am here to eliminate you," Kurotsuchi said calmly before waving her right hand, motioning for her men to attack while she stayed behind to observe.
Naruto unsheathed his sword as around 20 shinobi flashed around his sides, surrounding him. Another unfair battle he was forced to deal with. What was wrong with these people always trying to get the upper hand by ganging up on him? It hasn't worked before, but that didn't mean that it didn't bother him.
Before anyone could make a move, Naruto suddenly jumped into the air, before twisting around in great speed as he released multiple kunais, sending them in all directions. All the shinobi were able to dodge the kunais, which imbedded on the ground. Naruto didn't mind though. He hadn't been trying to hit them after all. As gravity started to pull him down the ground, he went through hand seals.
"Earth Style: Earth spikes!" It wasn't Naruto who released the jutsu; it was one of those Iwa shinobi. Large sharp spikes burst out from the ground, rising up a bit tall. One burst forth beneath Naruto, charging towards him.
The redhead summoned six chakra chains, lit with intense flames. As he was falling down the ground, towards the earth spikes, Naruto slammed the chains into the spikes, crushing them. The demolition of the spikes caused debris to pick up as Naruto landed on the ground.
Then he suddenly disappeared in a flash of red.
The redhead suddenly appeared behind enemy lines. It all happened so fast that no one actually saw it coming. Naruto's chains suddenly pierced through six enemy shinobi from behind. The chains were still engulfed by flames.
Before Naruto could do anything, two shinobi flashed behind him, with one yelling, "Don't underestimate us!" the one who yelled suddenly jumped into the air, while spinning around. He tried to kick the redhead on his head with his right foot. The other slammed his hands into the ground, causing firm earth hands to burst forth from the ground and grab both his feet.
Naruto raised his right hand, using his sword as a shield to block the incoming kick. The kick crashed into the side of the sword. Because Naruto was held to the ground, he didn't move an inch even though he struggled to contain the kick that hit his sword.
"Hmm?"
Naruto was put on alert mode two more shinobi flashed on his sides. One appeared in front of him, aiming a right punch towards his forehead with the other coming towards his left side. In response, Naruto raised his left hand, while forming two more chains. The chains created a barrier in front of him as the punch neared him. There was a small boom when the punch connected with his barrier. The resounding shockwave caused by the punch, caused the hands holding to shatter and the redhead slid back slightly.
A kunai cut through his left hand, cutting through the bandage that was wrapped around it. For a moment, Naruto stood still as the bandages fell down the ground and blood began to leak out of the gash on his left hand.
The redhead held single hand seal. "Death!" he uttered as flames burst through his chains, rushing toward the six he had apprehended. The moment the flames hit the targets, they exploded into six clouds of intense flames that turned everything within them to ashes.
Naruto cracked his neck as the enemy prepared for another wave of attack. "120 seconds," the redhead said automatically like a robot as the chains wrapped around his body. "119 seconds… Sate…" he disappeared.
And the slaughter began.
Naruto appeared in front of a kunoichi holding a pair of kodachis. The redhead swung his sword in a downward slash in a fluid and fast motion. The woman reacted instinctively, by raising both her swords, crossing them to form an x like defence. But Naruto's sword just cut through the swords cleanly, before he slashed across her chest. He followed through by stabbing a kunai through her throat.
Before he could move again, a shinobi flashed above him, holding a kunai with both his hands, attempting to stab him. Naruto didn't react to until the kunai hit the defensive jutsu around his body, the man widened his eyes when his kunai failed to pierce through. A chain suddenly pierced through his heart, before he was sent sailing towards an incoming shinobi.
Naruto disappeared once again, appearing between two enemy shinobi: two chains burst forth from each side, piercing through both of them. Naruto held his sword firmly before slicing through the shinobi on his right. He spun around, and did the same to the one on his left.
A smoke bomb hit him on his back before it exploded, covering him.
Naruto held a single seal before slamming his hands on the ground. The chains surrounding his body flashed disappeared, leaving him exposed, but Naruto didn't mind. He knelt down and slammed both his hands to the ground. The ground glowed orange, "Chain Field!"
All around the redhead, there were cries and piercing sounds.
Kurotsuchi widened eyes at the sight before her: the area around Naruto was filled with hundreds of chakra spears that had burst forth from the ground. The moment the glow had occurred, the spears burst forth in ridiculous speed. There was no space for one to escape because the spears covered the entire field around him.
What disgusted the black haired was that the chains had pierced through all her shinobi: some of them had been torn apart because the chains had pierced almost every inch of their bodies. It didn't take a minute for the chains to become bloodied by the blood of her people. The blood was just all over and everyone else dead.
Except for one person who was on his knees, panting slightly.
It was just blood and body parts all over. Naruto stood up in that field, and turned around to face her. There was no blood on him except for his own blood, which was leaking from the cut he received earlier. As he walked towards her, the chains cleared path for him, returning to the ground, intense flames burning everything on the ground.
While he was still walking out of the execution ground - That was what Kurotsuchi was going to call it – Naruto snapped his fingers, and the chains burst into flames. The fire burnt slowly, but Kurotsuchi could feel the intensity from where she stood.
It gave a menacing appearance.
For the first time, Kurotsuchi saw Naruto's eyes. They were just cold, and the expression on his face just indifferent. He apparently didn't care about what was happening behind him.
He looked up, whilst still holding his sword firmly before he spoke. "I have done enough killing for one day," the redhead said. "Besides, killing you will cause trouble…"
When he turned to face her, Kurotsuchi felt something… It was fear. He looked like a peaceful person before, but now she was seeing a bloody shinobi. Eyes dead of any emotion, and thick oppressive bloodlust gripped her heart. She could barely feel it and even so, it frightened her. He may have looked like a peaceful person earlier, leaking no amount of bloodlust, but now she was facing a man… no that thing was not a man… a monster that could kill her.
"Well, I could just cut off your legs and incinerate them… that would ground you for…" Naruto trailed off and narrowed his eyes before completely disappearing.
A few seconds later, Iwa's Black Ops flashed into the area. "Got away," Kurotsuchi said. "Let us not pursue."
Although she would not show it, she was relieved he had fled. She could breathe freely now, and the beat of her heart had slowed down.
That was one fearsome opponent.
"Are you sure?"
Kurotsuchi nodded firmly. "We have lost something but gained something else well. I have come to understand that loathsome ability of his," she said.
With Hana
Hana could now understand why not much was known about Naruto's Ninjutsu abilities. Most people in Konoha knew that Naruto was the greatest Katon user in the village, and yet he wasn't the one who used it regularly in battle. The redhead used his Ninjutsu when going against one on one, but with multitudes he used his Uzumaki fighting style: Less, Ninjutsu, but more of taijutsu, Fuinjutsu and Kenjutsu.
Still, watching that scene, Hana felt sick. She had never such a gruesome image before in her life. She had been a kunoichi for a number of years, but that kind of image wasn't one she had seen before and she had not been dreaming of seeing it. It made her feel sick.
When Naruto suddenly appeared before her and picked her up with one hand, while the other grabbed her partner, she tensed slightly, but he just smiled at her before disappearing. He ran for about an hour nonstop, and in great speed, despite the load he was carrying and the fighting he had been doing.
Once they where deep within the forest of the Fire country, he stopped before placing her on the ground – her partner as well – and he too settled down against a tree trunk.
"Why did we run?" Hana asked.
"I sensed some powerful shinobi coming," Naruto responded looking slightly tired. "A tactical retreat was in order. The mission was done anyway, so there was no need to risk it."
Hana nodded as she walked over to him. She knew the basics of medical Ninjutsu so, she knelt down and had him hold out his right hand. It was then that she noticed how badly burnt his hand was. Not by the cut, but it was burns, not from fire but water. She didn't ask, but focused of trying to close his wound. Once she was done, she asked something that had been bothering her.
"Why didn't they notice me? I thought they would have when they surrounded me…"
"When I picked you on our way, I placed a chakra suppression seal on you. I figured it would be necessary as I didn't want you to fight and it would've been bothersome if you got caught," Naruto explained lightly.
Hana blinked, "I didn't sense it," she said. Had his hands moved so fast around her body that she couldn't feel anything? The word there should have been feel been instead of sense then.
"Come on," Naruto said as he stood up. He held out his right hand, and Hana took it. The redhead noted that she wasn't tense at being touched by him. Back then she had tensed when he took her up, and he was certain that it wasn't because he had caught her off-guard but because of what she had just seen.
Hana followed her Naruto from behind as they travelled back to Konoha with her kin right next to her, but away from Naruto. Perhaps the dog had been barking furiously at the redhead because it could sense the danger that she could not sense. She had been forming her thoughts about him based on what she was seeing. He certainly didn't look like the person she saw in the middle of a death field that just matched his hair in colour when he wasn't fighting.
"Given how quickly you… dispatched those, I am surprised that you chose to retreat though. Couldn't you have fought the coming wave as well?" Hana asked curiously.
"Things may have happened quickly, but I use a lot of chakra and I don't really like facing the unknown. Some battles you fight and some you avoid for another day," Naruto responded calmly. "As a shinobi, you must know your limits and always think about what will happen next. If I'd stayed and fight, I would have exhausted more chakra and wouldn't been able to carry you back. That would have put you at risk as you can't move as fast as me."
Hana nodded in understanding.
She glanced at the redhead: so this is why some call him Crimson Uzumaki… there were other names, and each fit in with the situation. Crimson Uzumaki fitted what she had just seen. Hana shook her head as the thoughts tickled her stomach. She buried them deep at the back of her head.
This had been one hell of an experience.
Konoha
Hokage Office
Minato smiled seeing Hana back in one piece. She didn't look a bit disturbed even. That was a good sign. He really hoped that Naruto had held back on his merciless way of fighting against enemies. It had been a pain to hear some shinobi request to be assigned with other people other than Naruto after doing a couple of missions with him. Not everyone could stomach the brutal deaths Naruto gave to those he considered enemies.
The Yondaime Hokage focused on Hana, "I hope Naruto wasn't too much trouble," he said.
Hana shook her head. "He was a gentleman," she said to the Yondaime Hokage. "Everything went okay," she said.
Minato nodded. "Go the office next door and collect your pay. Without you, Naruto wouldn't have found the target and the mission would've ended up in failure."
Hana blinked at that. She was surprised because they had yet to give their report to the Hokage. So how did he know that Naruto had succeeded in the mission and they had found the target? Did the two have some sort of a mental link and could speak telepathically?
Seeing the look on Hana's face, Minato spoke, "We don't have anything fancy like that," he said as if he could read her mind. "I just know that Naruto will succeed in any mission he is given unless there are some forces that are beyond his control. But if everything is up to him, he will succeed."
Hana glanced at Naruto – who just looked indifferent. She shook her head slightly and focused on the Hokage once more. "If you'll excuse me, Hokage-sama," she said with a small bow before turning around to leave.
Once Hana was out of the office, Minato spoke in a serious tone. "You may want to sit down for this," the Yondaime Hokage said motioning for the redhead to take a seat. Naruto did as instructed and before asking.
"Something serious?" The redhead asked; head tilted to the side.
Minato nodded; his expression grim. "You approved of a mission that was requested by the Daimyo of the Land of Vegetables."
Naruto nodded. The mission had required his approval because he was the one acting as the Uzumaki clan head and the mission was requesting his clan's specialities. With his mother on the standby, he handled matters when he could but he had yet to officially assume the role as clan head. Something about reaching age 18 first.
"Well," Minato stopped as he tried to find a way on how to go about things. He decided to just let it out as Naruto wasn't really a child anymore. "The Uzumaki Sealing Corps was annihilated on their way back to the village by two members of the Akatsuki. We don't know who hired them, but I suspect it is Iwagakure. Sunagakure has had dealings with the group, but I doubt they would do anything like that."
Naruto's eyes partially opened as he digested what his father was saying. "The future looks bleak," he said after a few moments. "Without the Sealing Corps, the clan loses its major contributor of income. Not only that, but this has literally stripped the clan of its power."
It was now just him in the clan. His father was part of that clan because he had married into the clan, but there had been an agreement that he should focus on his duties as Hokage and the Uzumaki would handle their deals. Without the sealing corps, the clan was now exposed. There were just a handful of them remaining and if this trend continued, the clan would really face extinction.
"You look calm," Minato said, but then he shook his head. When has Naruto actually let out a burst of emotions? Nothing much really moved the redhead these days and to get a reaction from him really took much doing. This has led to some people say that he had no emotions.
"Jiraiya is conducting an investigation to see who is really behind the attack. Once he concludes, I will leave the decision on what to do to you," Minato said.
Naruto nodded. "Is there anything else?"
Minato shook his head, "No, but don't forget to submit an official mission report," the Hokage said.
"I will get it done," the redhead said as he stood up. He then disappeared in swirl of flames.
'Ah,' Minato leaned on his chair. 'This is going to be a little troublesome,' he thought. Naruto was probably going to get drunk and that meant that by tomorrow morning, he would be receiving some complains.
Grave site
Naruto was sitting at the site in front of a small stone with a two bottles of sake beside him. One was already empty, and the other had yet to be opened. It was a regular scene when Naruto was this place and each time he came, he always had a bottle with him.
"You're really embarrassing at times," Natsumura said as he walked towards the redhead. He wasn't coming to this stone, but had come here because he saw Naruto. The redhead never actually visited the stone of their former teammate and sensei.
"That is a first," Naruto said without turning to face the Jonin. "I have never been accused of being an embarrassment. Well at least to my face…"
"When you do not smell like a brewery, you're fine, but when you're intoxicated, you become a completely different person. It doesn't really suite you," Natsumura said. "And I doubt most people would be willing to say something bad into your face. You don't have a reputation of being gentle, amongst shinobi at least."
Natsumura shook his head. The redhead was really someone who appeared discipline and well-mannered when he wasn't drunk. Really, you could say he was an exemplary shinobi on a good day, and treated people with a smile. But when drunk, he became something else and that was the embarrassment, especially when it didn't suit him at all.
"Well, it can't be helped, I am a little crazy after all," Naruto said calmly. He took out a small sack of money and threw it at Natsumura, who caught. "…This month's allowance."
"Sensei's family?" Naruto nodded. "You will have to face them you know. They don't really resent you for what happened." Natsumura stressed firmly.
"Like you didn't blame me for it," Naruto said with a snort. "If I remember correctly, you spent months cursing my name when you refused to face your own uselessness in battle…"
"You don't have to remind me," Natsu said. "And I have already apologized for my actions. I guess when things have gone awry and we don't want to admit a few things, we blame someone for it to comfort ourselves. I blamed you to get over the fact that I couldn't do anything but just watch while you fought. In any case, that is the past now, and I have grown from that."
"That is at least something pleasant," Naruto said indifferently.
"What is it this time? Another slaughter?"
"Just trying to quiet down the demons singing inside my head…" Naruto said calmly. "They are little noisy this time around…" the redhead said before trying to step up. He stumbled a bit a nearly fell, but Natsu caught him.
"You okay?"
Naruto nodded. "A little migraine," he said.
Natsu raised an eye brow. When has a migraine been little? If he had said he was suffering from a minor headache, Natsu
Naruto and shook his head. "Nice talking to you, Natsu," the redhead said slowly walking away.
Iwagakure
Kurotsuchi walked into her grandfather's office to deliver the report of their latest mission. She may have lost some men, but she was happy that they had managed to find something that would be useful in the future. Iwagakure's future meant more to her before anything else. She would not hesitate to take actions that would weaken other villages.
"I take it the inevitable happened," Onoki said as Kurotsuchi walked towards his desk.
The black haired raised an eye brow at the statement. "What do you mean by that?"
"Konoha has been conserving its shinobi forces. Anything that smells like a trap, they don't send normal forces they either send Itachi or Naruto. If you come across one of the two, it's likely that the men you had were defeated," the Tsuchikage said.
He hadn't thought that those two could be defeated so easily. Onoki knew it would take more to defeat those two, but if it does happen, it would go a long way to weaken the Hidden Leaf. A weakened Leaf village would be much easier to handle.
"Naruto appeared," Kurotsuchi said after a few moments of silence. "Slaughtered everyone I had. Well, I'm not too shocked: that is how he conducts his business. I am a little disgusted though."
Onoki stared at his granddaughter as he went over a few thoughts. "You didn't fight?"
Kurotsuchi shook her head. "I was just observing, waiting for the right moment. The bastard is deadly fast. Well, they don't call the second fastest man in Konoha behind the cursed Yondaime Hokage for nothing. I didn't get the chance to make a move. When the second wave appeared, the coward ran off without a word."
"Coward?" Onoki asked in thought. "I'd say it was the smart choice to make. You don't win many battles as he has by being stupid. Then what did you discover?"
"His cursed jutsu," Kurotsuchi said with a grin. "It is Fuinjutsu based as we suspected. He uses special kunais to create a field of battle. Once the field is activated, it becomes his little field of vision and he can move freely at any place. With how fast he moves, I think it is teleportation but it is still limited to field he has created.
"The flaw with it is that he only seems to sense things with chakra and things that are touching the ground. I assume the seal is connected to his senses and since he focuses too much on it, his other senses dull. A smoke bomb was thrown at him and he didn't notice it until it had hit him. Also, he was also cut by someone while in air, but on the ground, you can't do that.
"We know that he always has a second layer of defense around himself when fighting, but it appears that when using that cursed jutsu, that defensive jutsu isn't usable. And when he uses those damn chains to create an execution ground, he diverts most of his chakra into the jutsu and at the same time, he leaves himself open to long range attacks. Given everything we have seen, I'd say he is a short range fighter.
"There is also a time limit to how long he can keep this field activated. To defeat him, we just have to stay clear out of his field. That will force him to step out of it and then we hit him with long range attacks. As am as I hate to say this, getting closer to him is a little suicidal when in that field."
"But now that we have discovered this, can we take him down?" Onoki asked firmly.
Could they defeat him? Kurotsuchi's smile slipped from her lips, and the confidence disappeared, leaving nothing behind to trace that it was ever there. She had been speaking confidently, ignoring the memory that had made her fearful.
"Something wrong?" Onoki asked in his granddaughters silence.
"When I look at his picture in the bingo book, I see a handsome young man. When I saw him in a person, I saw a beautiful shinobi walking with grace. He really didn't seem like what some people call him. You have always said that appearance can be deceiving, old man. You were right, when it comes to that person, appearances are deceiving. He is the personification of the concept.
"When he took into battle, I couldn't feel his power, no amount of bloodlust and no killing intent, yet he was slaughtering shinobi with precision and indifference. He looked still, cold and just deathly silent. But when he got closer to me, I felt an ominous feeling that gripped my chest with fear…" Kurotsuchi paused for a moment before speaking again. "Forget my earlier regards about him being a coward. When he faced me, he said he had killed enough for one day. If that hadn't been the case, he might have fought. To answer your question grandfather, I think this will make that cursed jutsu ineffective, but defeating him? I don't really know."
Later that Day
Naruto was sitting in a dark corner, trying to intoxicate his body to stop his mind from giving into the demons that made his hands itch to the point where he just wanted to slaughter things. Yes, he was crazy in the head, but he calmed his nerves by stopping his mind from thinking clearly and cleanly.
"I knew I'd find you here," Anko said as she settled down beside the redhead, with Hana right beside her tail. "Don't tell Kurenai I saw you here. She'll kill me if she finds out I didn't tell her so that she can come and fetch you."
Naruto didn't respond, he looked at Hana with a raised brow, his eyes fully opened. "I didn't know you also visited such dark corners…"
"I-I don't," Hana said. "T-this is just f-for today…" she said, sounding a little tipsy.
"You raped her mind today," Anko said, still managing to smile.
"You not drinking today?"
Anko shook her head. "No," she said. "I have things to do. I was coming to check out things when I found this amateur here. I just thought I'd bring here to you. You know, there are some sick bastards around here, if this one gets drunk, they will take advantage of her."
"And I won't?"
Anko snorted. "You never make a move. Well, you don't have to. With your looks and reputation women just throw themselves at you and the nasty thing about you is that you don't turn them down. Drunk, you can hit a dog if it threw it self it you," Anko said with a shake of her head. "This innocent girl won't do anything. She is too innocent after all…"
The following Morning
Slap!
That was what woke Naruto up in the morning: a cold slap straight into his face not his cheek. The redhead abruptly woke up. He winced and closed his eyes as something much more painful than a slap on his face hit him: A major headache. How much had he drunk last night?
Naruto opened his eyes and looked at the ruby eyes glaring at him. "Kurenai? That is a rather cold way to wake someone up," he said. "What did I do?"
Kurenai could not believe it. She was really tired of this kind of thing from Naruto. She could no longer deal with it. Was it always going to end up like this? Every after mission there was a girl waking up beside him? When was he going to control himself and just say no? Every girl that throws at him, he indulges. He never says no, even if it is more than one.
Just hearing him ask her what he had done infuriated her. She really wished she had his ability to control fire at free will. She could make him burn just looking at him. it would make her a little happy seeing him slowly burn in the flames he loves so much.
Kurenai pointed at the side of the bed, without saying a word.
Naruto turned around and saw a black haired sound sleep. "Oh," that was the reaction he could give at the scene and the fact that Kurenai had basically caught him red-handed. "Well that explains why you hit me." He turned to face Kurenai once more.
"Is that all you are going to say, Naruto?" Kurenai asked dangerously. "My friends are off limits. I understand Anko waking up in your bed. I understand women taking advantage of you and raping you, but Hana? She is a sweet young lady Naruto! Do you know how much this is going to destroy her? She was innocent Naruto!"
Naruto got up from the bed, and realized that it wasn't his place. He didn't mind his nudity as he looked for his clothes. Kurenai just hit him on the face with the clothes. "Thank you," Naruto said. "I don't quite remember dragging her here. Since this isn't my place, it is safe to say that she brought me here. I don't see the need for me to be blamed."
Slap!
Kurenai slapped the redhead once again. "The only reason she got drunk is because if you…" the ruby eyed woman shouted pointing at him.
Naruto blinked. "I see," he said. But he lacked the emotion within him to say the right words. Kurenai wasn't even baffled by his lack of emotions. It was to be expected. She has known him for a while now. It didn't really surprise her.
Yet it frustrated her.
The black haired woman sighed in frustration before speaking. "When are you going to handle your problems like a normal person, Naruto? You know, if you'd learned to change, we'd still be together. I don't think I will reconsider my choice now. Anko and now Hana, who is next, Yugao?"
Although his eyes displayed no emotion, Naruto's lips curled into a tiny sad smile. Someone else wouldn't notice it, but Kurenai had seen it too often to miss it. "You make it sound as if I am actively pursuing your friends, Kurenai," the redhead said in a quiet tone.
"I know you're not, but it doesn't change what I have to see and hear," Kurenai said. "You should leave before she wakes up and I think it will be best if you stay away from her and me."
Naruto stared at Kurenai for a few moments and closed his eyes, and put on an expressionless mask as he responded. "I see," he said before walking away.
Uzumaki Compound
Naruto was taking his medicine within his own study at the main house: When not handling clan matters, he did spend some time here and when not busy with anything, he retreated to his apartment to get some alone time.
"You're home," Azumi said as walked into the study. "I looked for you at the apartment but didn't find you. Another night in the streets?"
"No," Naruto said with a shake of his head.
"But another drunk night," Azumi said with a shake of her head. Naruto was the type of person who'd get raped and wouldn't have nightmares over it. Well, he does often admit that he has loose screws inside his head and Azumi didn't deny any of that. it was true after all. At least he handled clan matters seriously.
"I figured you'd be out when your father told me about what happened," Azumi said settling down in front of the desk within the study. She handed the blond a bottle of pills. "Delivered from Kirigakure. You don't have to get drunk and do despicable things. Take one of those and they will knock you out cold. You won't dream anything."
Naruto stared at the small bottle for a moment before pocketing. "Thanks," he said. "Kurenai might be a little mad at me," he said before shaking his head. "What is my mother saying about this Akatsuki problem?"
"She said she was leaving it to your hands," Azumi said. "She isn't even worried about our dire financial situation."
"That woman can be a bit careless sometimes," Naruto said with a shake of his head.
"How are you dealing with it though?"
"I am infuriated. Whoever hired those dogs will pay one day, and I mean dearly," Naruto responded calmly as if he wasn't mad as he was saying he was. "The other clans know by now and I think we'll be getting a few mock condolences."
"Well, without the sealing corps, our clan has taken a suicidal dive off a cliff," Azumi stated bluntly. "The orphanage, support program and the academy consume large portions of our funds. And with how things are, it won't be long before we hit rock bottom."
Yoshino was insistent on creating a grade A academy that would produce the best of students. Since the clan operated its small academy, it meant that all costs burdened the clan. The academy was highly successful though. It was named the prestigious academy within the village and if it wasn't because the academy hosted orphans, rich parents would be sending their children into the academy.
"Maybe we should expand the academy to accommodate other children from around the village. I mean if we are able to build another academy with the same teaching standards as the one we have in the compound, we could market for villagers to send their children into our academy. Everyone almost agrees that the current shinobi academy within the village is useless. We could make some money with it."
Naruto thought of it for a few moments. "The village would have to accredit it, but that could work. I assume other clan heads would have to agree to it," the redhead said in thought. "We may even have to adopt some people into the clan to keep it from going extinct. There are just about 8 young people and the others are old. Not thinking about birth. What awaits them is just death."
"Can you be a little grim when you go about it?" Azumi asked. "When are you going to marry?"
"Have no such plans. I have only shown interest in one woman and she dumped. Aside from her, I have no interest in fooling around," Naruto said with indifference.
"Should you really be saying that? You of all people?" Azumi asked with a look on her face.
"Yes," Naruto said. "This is me, and that drunk is another person who comes out to ease my burdens. If I enjoyed that kind of life, I'd be partaking in it every day of my life. In any case, you ask me about marriage, what about you?"
"What about me?"
"You're a delightful person, beautifully enchanting, don't tell me you don't have any love letters coming your way," Naruto said with his eyes partially opened, a flat smile on his lips.
"Naruto-sama," Azumi said. "I am not worried about the influence of the clan even if you the sealing corps is no more and it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that the Yondaime Hokage is part of the clan, do you know why?"
Naruto just stared.
"It is because we have you. Your other activities may have damaged your image with most of the civilians that they prefer Itachi over you, but they still respect your power. The shinobi population would never dare anything against you: they fear and respect you. I am your right hand, and of course your bloody shadow will fall over me."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"People are scared to come near me," Azumi said. "People trust you for sure, but they know there are lines that must never be crossed with you. I am yours, and no one would want to take that away if they value they lives."
Naruto just shook his head. "I have never threatened anyway in this village," the redhead said. "People just make conclusions based on what they hear… this isn't that important anyway. I won't be here tomorrow. Send my love to my sister."
"Where are you going?"
"Mission: I will ask one from the Hokage and leave early tomorrow. For now, I am going to rest."
With Itachi
"Damn it!" A shinobi shouted, with a group of shinobi behind him. "Retreat!"
Itachi deactivated his Susanoo as his enemies scattered around, making away for it. The Uchiha wasn't going to pursue them as there was no need for him to do so. He just had to drive them off the goods that he was protecting and that would be his mission complete – well not until the goods reach their destination, but without annoyances along the way, he would get there.
The Mangekyo Sharingan was really feared amongst the shinobi. Well, Itachi would also be cautious around the doujutsu that needed just one look to take you out of the game. A single mistake in battle against someone like him and it was all over.
"I'm getting a little jealous of you," Jiraiya suddenly, standing a distance away. "I mean, these days you don't get to fight those many battles. When they see its Itachi, they run… more so than they do when seeing Naruto… well, unless they do engage him prepared to die."
Respect was now being given to the young ones and he – a Sannin – was now seen as a relic of the past. But of course that didn't mean that smart shinobi would willingly challenge him. Perhaps it was different with someone like Naruto because the redhead slaughtered his enemies, unlike him who sometimes lets them live to fight another day.
"What are you doing here, Jiraiya-sama?" Itachi asked, not bothering to respond to the Sannin's earlier words. There was no point in indulging in them, was there?
"A week ago the Uzumaki Sealing corps was wiped out by the Akatsuki. I just recently sent the report to Konoha. As I was busy trying to find out who hired them, I came across the members of the group," Jiraiya paused, organizing his thoughts. "They told me that they were hired by the Tsuchikage."
Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly. "They just told you like that…" he stated.
Jiraiya nodded. "I didn't even ask them. Once they confirmed it was me, and that I knew about their recent activities, they told me. It was as if they had been looking for me just to tell me about it."
"Do you have reason to doubt this information?"
Jiraiya shook his head. "Iwagakure has used the group before. This is hardly a surprise. They were also involved in the original attack against the Uzumaki. I don't know what Naruto will do when he does hear about this. He can be quite vengeful…"
Itachi didn't deny it – he knew Naruto all too well after all. "Naruto may have some screw loose, but I don't think he will do anything. When not feeling the effects of alcohol, he thinks responsibly. He takes his responsibilities seriously."
If Itachi was saying that Naruto would not take any drastic measures, then Jiraiya was going to go with it. "He is really a well-mannered and disciplined person who commands respect on his day… but when on the battlefield, he becomes something else that even scares me and to think we have yet to even see his full power," the Sannin said of the redhead. "In any case, I think that this is a first step of trying to weaken Konoha. From what I have been able to gather, Uchihas may also be attacked as well."
"Once they have weakened us enough, they will attack," Itachi concluded. "I dislike war, but in this case, I think a war is the best thing that can happen to the current situation in the Elemental Nations."
"Likely and we have to win that war," Jiraiya said firmly. "I just thought I inform you about this. Warn your father about it as well," the Sannin then disappeared in a burst of smoke.
'Clone?'
Konoha
Mikoto looked at the sleeping redhead with a small beautiful smile on her face. He looked so peaceful when was sleeping. She wouldn't go as far as to say that he looked like an angel when sleeping: that would be a serious crime against angels. The redhead was more of demon than anything. His pleasant smiles didn't fool her. At least he did have a real smile.
Mikoto leaned over, staring at the clean face that was truly well taken off. Naruto did care about his appearances after all.
Naruto's eyes opened, slightly feeling a warm breath hitting his face. You'd think he was still asleep with how partially his eyes were opened. The black haired woman merely smiled, but did not make the distance with Naruto's face. "Good evening, Naruto…" she greeted.
"Mikoto," Naruto said. "What do you think Itachi will say if he finds you this close?" He asked.
Mikoto merely shrugged as she made the distance for Naruto to get up from the couch and sit up straight. "He'd probably just act like he saw nothing," she said. "You'd think he is emotionally crippled sometimes," she added with a shake of her head.
"That is your son you're talking about…" Naruto reminded the woman. His partially opened eyes went towards the clock on the right side of the wall. Evening already, how long had he slept? Well, being cooped up in here, he did manage to avoid unnecessary talks with what happened this morning. He would still stay away by taking missions after missions.
"Shouldn't you be preparing dinner for your husband?" Naruto asked - his eyes still at the time.
Mikoto shrugged, "I have prepared what Sasuke needs…" she said. "Fugaku was asking about you and sent me to check on you. You're hardly at the compound these days."
"I dislike his lectures," Naruto said indifferently. "In any case, when I am needed I do go there. He shouldn't have any reasons to complain. It's not like I have terminated my relationship with him anyway. I still get along with you and Itachi."
"That may be true, but when you think about past memories, you start seeing the difference," she said, standing up. "Azumi told me you were here, so I brought you something to eat. Itachi counted. I figured since he will be returning later on from his mission, he will spend the night here."
"Thanks," Naruto said with a smile. "I don't think I have eaten anything since morning…"
"Watch out for your health," Mikoto said, handing Naruto her right hand. The redhead took it and she helped him on his feet. "You feel light," she noted. "Walk me back to home. It's late…"
Naruto nodded, figuring the woman wanted to speak to him. He followed her towards the exit and when they stepped out, Itachi was walking towards the apartment. "Excellent timing," Naruto said to the Uchiha.
Itachi just glanced at Naruto for a moment before looking at his mother. "Mother," he greeted her.
"Itachi," Mikoto said with a smile. "Glad you're back in one piece. A mother always worries when her son goes out to face dangerous situations," she said taking Naruto's hand. "I'll see you home tomorrow…"
Itachi nodded.
"Heat up the food. We'll eat when I return," Naruto said to the Uchiha.
Minutes Later
Itachi looked at Naruto curiously as the redhead walked towards the kitchen. Naruto was lot closer to Mikoto than he was with Kushina. Mind you, the latter was his mother. Itachi had never really dug deep into the relationship between Naruto and his mother. They had always had some connection he could not understand when Naruto was still a brat. Not to mention his mother was one of the handful of people Naruto genuinely cared for.
"I met up with Jiraiya and he told me what happened," Itachi said. Naruto didn't respond. He prepared his plate and went on to sit across the Uchiha before digging in on the food. "Your clan has taken quite the knock, I know, but it is still a prestigious family that is well loved by the villagers."
A different thing from the past when the people used to hate the clan for using the Kyuubi. Itachi could see why Yoshino had called the shots even though Kushina was the clan head. The old woman had taken in orphans into the clan and built a prestigious academy that was envied by other clans, she pushed all the responsibility towards Naruto.
The redhead was forced to work tirelessly to ensure that the people being looked after by the clan were fed and were taken care off. Perhaps she had done it to teach Naruto some responsibility and to try to give something to care about.
Either way, the good deeds of the clan hadn't gone unnoticed, especially when Naruto came to the rise. The clan had gained a new light, and was respected by the villagers.
"Prestigious yes, but our powers are fading. I'm the only holding it together now," the redhead said. "Well, this works well for me anyway."
Itachi shook his head. "How displeased are you about the situation?"
"Immensely," Naruto said calmly. "What is there to talk about? This kind of subject is making me a little ticked off. I would rather not think too deeply about it."
There will be questions, I won't answer some of them, but I show things as the story goes on. This chapter was originally not planned, but I decided to write it after seeing how chapter 13 ended out.
What is it that I can add? Thanks to those who gave their thoughts on what I should call Naruto.
Someone gave me this name… break a leg Uzumaki… that one is amusing.
Oh, a guest asked if I am really from South Africa… Yes, I am from the country.
The omnipresent Sage
