I don't own Naruto.
Hello and welcome back to the next chapter of this story. Already twelve chapters, time goes fast doesn't it. Not much to say so let's just move on to the chapter. Let me know how it was.
Chapter Twelve: Konoha in trouble?
It had been little over one month since Haku had joined the team and now Haku's probation was finally finished as well. This meant several things. One was that they could get higher missions than D-rank and that was something everyone on the team was happy about. Naruko hadn't been kidding when she said that D-rank were nothing more than chores. Secondly Naruko had pleaded with the Sandaime to let Haku into the secret of her parentage and her status as a Jinchuuriki. The Sandaime had been against it at first but realized that it was only a matter of time before Haku would start connecting the dots. Naruko had told him that she had already noticed that there were people in Konoha who had a large dislike of her and she had grilled the blonde several times already.
Naruko knew she wanted to tell Haku about her secrets but she also knew that she wasn't allowed to do without speaking to the Sandaime first. When she had told Haku that, the girl accepted that but she still asked that Naruko seek permission. Naruko had agreed reluctantly as she feared that Haku was going to leave her after she found out about the Kyuubi but in the end she agreed that Haku had the right to know if they were going to make this relationship work.
Thus the day that Haku's probation was over Naruko told her everything. She told about who her parents were and the Kyuubi all while stressing that this was a S-ranked secret and that any transgression what so ever is punishable by death. Haku had been shocked to hear that Naruko's father was a Hokage and that he would seal the Kyuubi into his own child. Naruko reassured her that she held no grudge against her father saying that she considered it a mission from her parents. When Naruko had asked if Haku still wanted to be together, Haku had tackled the girl before kissing her passionately. Ever since that day the two girl had even gotten closer.
"Come on girls, time to get a mission." Yuugao yelled from the kitchen. "I want to get there first before all the good ones are taken."
"Coming!" both Naruko and Haku yelled from the bedroom.
"Oho Haku-chan, you changed in a skirt as well?" Yuugao said when she saw Haku's new outfit. It now resembled Naruko's completely.
"Yep, Naru-chan said that I shouldn't hide my, and I quote 'sexy legs'." Haku smiled while Naruko blushed.
"Haku-chan!?" She yelled out embarrassed.
Yuugao just laughed at seeing the two girls' friendly bickering and lead them to the Hokage tower. It was still pretty early so there wasn't much activity in the tower just yet. Except from the ANBU guards and the Hokage nobody was there yet. They went straight to the desk were the Hokage was checking some mission scrolls. He looked and smiled when he recognized the three kunoichi.
"Good morning, Hokage-sama." Yuugao greeted her leader while Haku and Naruko smiled at the man.
"Good morning, you three. I trust you're all in good form?" the Sandaime smiled.
"We're fine Ji-chan." Naruko answered. "I'm close to mastering my new Taijutsu style and Haku is getting better and better in her Kenjutsu training."
"Oh, that's good to hear. I'm looking forward to see you in action some time." Sandaime said impressed.
"Hokage-sama, are there any C-rank missions available for us?" Yuugao asked. She was hoping to get some action after all those D-ranks.
"I'm sorry Yuugao but at the moment I have no missions for you and your team." The Sandaime admitted. Seeing that they were disappointed he ruffled through some scrolls and smiled. "However, I can give you a one week border patrol as an extra experience."
"Border patrol?" Naruko asked interested.
"Yes, border patrol is vital to our village." Sandaime explained. "It prevents that another shinobi nations try to invade us and is also very important for security. We need to know who enters our vicinity. As you might have guessed border patrol has little to do with the actual borders of Hi no Kuni. Those borders are guarded by the Daimyo's army but in our case we have several guard posts that surround Konoha from a distance."
"So if someone passes those posts, we know it." Haku added already familiar with the concept.
"Quite right, Haku-chan. This way we can capture any Missing-Nin or prepare ourselves in case of an attack." Sandaime nodded. "Of course, we're not expecting an attack any time soon but you never know. Usually, it's the duty of a team of Chuunin to take care of this but since all the teams are preparing for an important event I'm willing to let you take care of this."
"Important event? What's that event?" Naruko wanted to know. "Come on, tell me."
"I'm sorry, Naruko-chan but you'll find out in a few weeks." Sandaime smiled at how curious his adopted granddaughter could be. "So, do you accept? This will be a joint-assignment with another team."
"We accept Hokage-sama." Yuugao said after checking with the girls.
"Excellent, I'll tell the other team to meet you at the front gates in two hours." Sandaime beamed. "The assignment will take five days and then a new team will relieve you of your duties there."
Yuugao ordered the two girls to go pack for a week long assignment while she went to see Anko to inform her. She knew Anko didn't like to come home and read it in a note so she always made sure to go and tell her if they had a long term mission. Haku and Naruko didn't need much time to pack as they had storage scrolls ready for this kind of situation. Once they were packed they waited for Yuugao to join them and they went to the front gate to wait for the other team. Seeing there was still a half hour before they agreed time they sat down and talked a bit. Suddenly, Naruko saw someone coming their way and she cursed loudly.
"Please don't tell me she's coming." Naruko growled. Haku turned to see what Naruko was talking about and saw a girl heading their way. She winced as she recognized the girl as Haruno Sakura; Naruko had told her all about this girl and she too didn't look forward to work with her.
"What are you doing here?" Sakura said glaring at Naruko.
"The same thing you're doing Haruno; waiting for the other team to arrive." Naruko glared back.
"You're the other team that will do the border patrol?" Sakura asked surprised. "Oh that's just great. Spending a whole week with you will be so much fun." She added sarcastically.
"The pleasure is all mine." Naruko said coldly.
"Who are you?" Sakura said looking at Haku. "I've never seen you before. Were you at the academy?"
"My name is Haku and no, we haven't met before." Haku said politely. "I only joined this village one month ago and…."
Sakura didn't listen any further as the object of her fantasies had just arrived wearing his customary outfit of blue shirt and white pants. As soon as she saw him she dropped her conversation with Haku and went to talk to Sasuke.
"How rude." Haku just said a bit mad that the girl would ignore her like that.
"That's just the way it goes with fan girls, Haku-chan." Naruko informed her. "Remember, I told you about her and the Yamanaka before didn't I?"
"Yes but I didn't think it would be this bad." Haku admitted. "She could have at least excused herself."
Soon Team 7's third Genin, Tsuyoshi Matsuda arrived as well and the only one they were still waiting for was Hatake Kakashi. Yuugao however knew all about the man's tendency to be late and she told the Genin to wait there while she went to look for him. It wasn't difficult to know where she would find him so she went straight to the moment of the fallen heroes and sure enough Kakashi stood there staring that the names on the stone.
"Thought you might be here." Yuugao said to him. "It's time to go."
"Yeah I know, but every time I come here I find myself staying longer than I intended." Kakashi said still looking at the stone. "So many of our friends and family…."
"I know. Yet I don't let myself get carried away; I mourn them every day but I refuse to let it control my life." Yuugao said knowing he would understand what she meant.
"I try you know, still it's not that easy." Kakashi nodded.
"Come on, let's go and don't read that stupid book of yours when Naruko is around." Yuugao warned him. "You know she detests perverts."
"Yeah, Hokage-sama explicitly forbade be to read it around her." Kakashi said. "I wasn't planning on reading it. I know what happened years ago."
"Thanks; you'll see, she'll respect you more for it." Yuugao smiled and they both used 'Shunshin No Jutsu' and disappeared from the clearing.
When the two Jounin arrived at the front gate they noticed how both teams had separated from each other. Team 7 stood a few meters away from Haku and Naruko with Sakura nagging Sasuke's ears off and Tsuyoshi had a look on his face that spoke images of how much he looked forward to this assignment. Naruko and Haku were staring at Sakura wondering how a girl could fall that low. Yuugao called them all together and explained that they would leave in a few minutes. She hoped to arrive at the guard post early in the afternoon so they had better get a move on. After they took a formation with Team Yuugao in front and Team 8 following they started running.
So far the trip to the guard post had been running smoothly and they had made some good headway. They had been traveling for about three hours now and it became clear that the Genin needed some rest to recuperate after running for so long. Yuugao checked the condition for each Genin and was pleased that while getting tired Naruko and Haku were still holding on nicely. When she looked at Team 7 however she noticed how Sakura and Tsuyoshi started getting behind while Sasuke was breathing heavily.
"Kakashi, I think it's time we took a little breather." Yuugao said alerting him. Kakashi nodded in agreement and they stopped a few minutes later when they reached a small river where they could rest a bit.
Naruko and Haku sat down together not wanting to be too close to the heavily breathing and wheezing Sakura, who just dropped down. They stiffed a giggle at the way the pink-haired girl sat there; her face red from exhausting and her muscles sore from the long trip. They looked at Sasuke and saw while he was breathing deeply it was obvious that he still had something left in his reserves. Tsuyoshi, was much like Sakura and desperately tried to catch his breath. Naruko and Haku weren't the only ones who were checking the Genin; Yuugao and Kakashi did so as well.
"I can tell you trained Naruko and Haku pretty well." Kakashi admitted. "Their stamina and reserves are very impressive."
"Thanks but I didn't do much but improve their already present abilities." Yuugao thanked him. "What's the deal with Sakura and Tsuyoshi?"
"Basically, Sakura is a fangirl and Tsuyoshi, while trying his very best isn't made for this line of work." Kakashi admitted. "Don't get me wrong, they're both talented enough to be good shinobi or at least adequate but Sakura refuses to do any training outside team training. She's more focused on her fairy tale fantasies where Sasuke will save her when she's in trouble. I tried everything to get her to understand that things don't work like that in real life. I had hoped that the mission in Wave might have changed her but unfortunately I was naïve. Tsuyoshi on the other hand, is more suited for interrogation and stuff like that. He's really smart when it comes to analyzing people and he has a talent for spotting when someone lies." He finished.
"Sounds like you could use some help." Yuugao said. "If you want I can ask Anko if she's willing to teach Tsuyoshi some stuff. If he's as talented like you say, Ibiki might be interested in him. I know for a fact that they could always use a good interrogator."
"I would appreciate that, Yuugao." Kakashi smiled. "I thought of asking Ibiki that as well but I haven't been able to catch him yet."
"As for Sakura, have you tried shock therapy?" Yuugao suggested.
"You mean like Kurenai did with Hinata?" Kakashi asked in return. "I thought about it but the problem with my team is that their teamwork is nothing like that of Team 8. If I did use that option I risk destroying whatever bit of teamwork they have. Also I might crush Sakura's spirit completely."
"I'll tell you the same thing Naruko said to Kurenai when she objected as well." Yuugao smiled. "Either she steps up or she steps down. Kakashi, you're a gifted shinobi and I'm sure you did your best with her but sometimes you have to take drastic measures. If she doesn't shape up she'll get killed sooner or later and I know you don't want that."
"Of course not." Kakashi said hotly. He liked his Genin, no matter how they did.
"Well, then isn't it better that she quits and lives then to keep going and getting killed in the line of duty?" Yuugao gently added.
"I guess so but I'm not willing to give up just yet." Kakashi agreed.
"If you want, I had planned to give my girls some training during this mission. I can include Sakura if that's okay with you?" Yuugao suggested. "Maybe if she sees how far behind she is, she might change her ways."
"Really? You wouldn't mind? I mean, it's obvious that Naruko and Sakura don't get along." Kakashi said surprised.
"Don't worry about that; I'll deal with Naruko." Yuugao smiled. "Besides, Naruko doesn't really hate Sakura; she only dislikes her because she's a fangirl and gives kunoichi a bit of a bad name."
Kakashi, seeing that nothing that he did helped his student, agreed to let Yuugao take care of Sakura during the mission. It could turn out to be a good experience for the girl and maybe, just maybe it would affect her enough to shape up. Yuugao and Kakashi saw that their students were rested enough so they ordered them to get ready so they could move out again. Soon after getting ready, the Konoha shinobi were once more jumping through trees at high speed. It took them another three hours to reach the guard post and when they arrived the Genin were giving instructions.
"Alright listen up." Kakashi said. "For the next seven days we'll be guarding this place and take note of any suspicious actions or people. We'll work in shifts as this kind of mission can get boring after some time." He remembered how he felt about this kind of duty. "Starting tomorrow, Sakura will join Yuugao and her team. They will take the morning shift while the guys will train. Then in the afternoon we'll switch. Each day will be divided into guard duty and training."
"Kakashi-sensei, why do I have to join Yuugao-sensei's team?" Sakura whined. "I want to stay with Sasuke-kun."
"That's enough whining, little girl." Yuugao said sternly. "You'll join us and like it. That's an order from your Jounin sensei and last time I looked it is us who make the decisions."
Sakura gulped at seeing Yuugao glare at her and knew that she would regret accepting this mission in the first place. After getting their instructions the Genin were ordered to unpack and then report back to them for further instructions. The guard post was actually pretty big; it was a large building with several guard towers and a large open space that could be used for training. There were two teams currently placed at the guard post and one team was being relieved by Team 7 and Team Yuugao and would leave first thing in the morning as it was too late to leave now. While they would stay the night, they weren't on duty unless needed and thus most of them looked forward to a night of some fun and games. When the Genin had returned Kakashi explained that they would be helping the other team by guarding until about midnight and then they would take over so that the Genin could get some rest.
The next morning Yuugao entered the girls' room and woke them up for morning training. Naruko and Haku, who were used to getting up early, didn't complain and quickly got ready but Sakura complained loudly and Yuugao dragged her out of bed and ordered her to get ready or else she would be charged with insubordination. That threat was enough to get Sakura moving and she quickly joined the two other girls.
"Alright girls, since we have limited space for training, we'll focus on stamina and strength training this week." Yuugao explained. "The two of you know what to do while I explain the exercises to Sakura here." Yuugao said to Naruko and Haku who promptly started running laps around the open space. "Okay Sakura, I don't know what exercises Kakashi made you do but my training is strict and hard. For starters I want you to run laps until I tell you to stop. I don't care if you're tired or if your muscles hurt but you won't stop until I tell you to, is that clear?"
"H-Hai Yuugao-sensei." Sakura nodded not wanting to get another scolding from the scary kunoichi.
"You don't have to worry about catching up with Naruko or Haku but I want you to give it your best." Yuugao said. "Once your laps are done, we'll move on to the next exercise."
Sakura gulped and started on her laps while maintaining a certain speed. She wanted to conserve some energy for later on and thus opted to run a bit slower. Yuugao however noticed this immediately and ordered her to pick up the pace a bit. Sakura did as she was told but silently cursed Yuugao already. She looked at the two other girls running the same laps and fumed as they passed her several times. It didn't take very long for Sakura to get tired and soon she started slowing down again. Her chest and sides hurt from the constant running and she was breathing so deeply that they probably could hear her from outside the guard post.
"Come on Sakura, only ten more laps and you're done." Yuugao yelled out trying to encourage the pink-haired girl. "You can do this."
Haku and Naruko had already finished their laps and started on doing the rest of their exercises. They were now doing sit-ups and push-ups while sticking to the walls. This was a great exercise as it trained them psychically and improved their chakra control a bit as well.
"Good job, Sakura." Yuugao congratulated the girl who had just finished her laps. "Take a five minute break and catch your breath."
"T-T-This is i-insane." Sakura wheezed loudly. She had never run that long before and it felt like her legs were on fire.
"Insane? Naruko and Haku have been doing this for months." Yuugao said raising an eyebrow. She didn't mention the weights however as she didn't want to crush the girl's confidence right away. "Okay, enough resting; next is that exercise." And she pointed to the wall where her two official students were currently exercising. "This will strengthen your body and increase you chakra reserves. Again, you don't stop until I tell you to. Now get moving."
By the time noon came around Sakura was dead on her feet. Never before had she felt this exhausted and every muscle in her body was hurting. Yuugao had been relentless and had pushed her to her limits and far beyond that.
'This is insane; if I have to train like that for the rest of the week then I'm a goner.' Sakura thought. 'Shannaro, what did I do to deserve this?'
She heard the voices of Naruko and Haku in the girls' room and she dragged herself towards it so she could get some rest before they would relieve the guys from guarding duty. To her surprise the two girls were happily chatting away, seeming unaffected by all the exercising they had done that morning. Sakura walked in and just let herself drop on the makeshift bed, groaning loudly as her muscles protested painfully.
"Are you okay, Sakura-san?" Haku asked half concerned, half sarcastically.
"No." Sakura just answered. "Your sensei is a slave driver. How am I supposed to survive this week?"
"Well, if you had taken your training seriously before like any self-respecting kunoichi does then you wouldn't have these problems." Naruko said hotly. "But no, you and the others just chased the Uchiha instead of training."
"Hey, I trained every day." Sakura defended herself.
"Really? How many hours did you train once the academy classes were over? Naruko asked her. "How many hours a day do you practice outside of team training?"
"Euh, well I, I don't know okay?" Sakura said angry at the blond.
"Girls like you disgust me." Naruko said before walking out the room. "You have no idea what it means to be a real kunoichi." Haku quickly followed after Naruko.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura yelled after her.
"It means that your image of the shinobi world is naïve, Sakura." Yuugao said from the door. She had been listening closely to the girls and she thought it was time to educate Sakura a bit. "You think that Sasuke or Kakashi will be able to save you each and every time you're in trouble? Do you know what happens to kunoichi when they get caught?"
"They get killed?" Sakura answered weakly.
"Yes, eventually they do get killed." Yuugao nodded. "But that's only after they get raped and used for personal pleasure by their captors. Kunoichi face this danger on every mission and it happens more than I would like to admit. That's why kunoichi have to train very hard to make sure that they never get put in such a situation. What would happen if your team gets killed or hurt and you're the only one to help them and you're too weak to help them. You have to realize, Sakura that being a kunoichi or shinobi isn't a laughing matter. It's a hard world full of dangers and your fantasies about being saved by your prince on the white horse will only get you killed." When Yuugao finished she told Sakura that she had an hour to rest and then they would relieve the guys.
Sakura sat on her bed shocked and somewhat angry. Oh, she wasn't just angry at Yuugao or Naruko but also at herself. For a moment, when Yuugao asked if she was strong enough to defend her teammates, she knew instantly that she wasn't. She wasn't strong enough to protect those she loved and that hurt her pride more than anything. She wasn't willing to admit total defeat to Naruko, but she realized that she had to shape up.
'We'll see if I'm a real kunoichi or not.' Sakura thought. 'Shannaro, that bitch is going to get it.'
It was halfway through the week long mission that something finally happened. Naruko and Haku were part of the night shift and were standing guard hoping that something might happen. The past few days nothing had happened and they were starting to get bored out of their minds. Naruko was guarding the east side when all of the sudden she noticed someone sneaking past the guard post and to her shock she had recognized the shinobi. It was Mizuki from the academy.
'What is he doing here? And why is he sneaking past the guard post?' Naruko thought. 'Something's not right.' She quickly made a Kage Bunshin and send it to alert Yuugao who was currently enjoying a rest before her turn to guard came up.
"Yuugao-sensei, wake up." The clone said shaking the sleeping Yuugao.
"Naru-chan, is it my shift already?" Yuugao said sleepily.
"No, the boss send me to warn you that she saw Mizuki sneak past the guard post." The clone quickly explained.
"Mizuki? What is he doing here?" Yuugao said shocked. "Where did he go?" While she quickly went to join the real Naruko.
"He went east." The clone answered.
"Naruko, stay here and don't tell anyone." Yuugao said when she reached the real Naruko. "I'm going to follow him and see what this is about."
"Okay, Yuugao-neechan be careful." Naruko nodded.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Yuugao assured her before jumping over the banister and went in pursuit of Mizuki.
It didn't take long for Yuugao to find Mizuki's trail and she quickly gained up on him but stayed out of range so he wouldn't notice her. She followed him for about half an hour and already she was getting more suspicious by the minute. It was obvious to her that Mizuki knew where he was going as he didn't slow down or hesitate to find his way. When he finally stopped she saw two other men waiting for him and she sneaked closer so she could hear what they were saying and maybe get a good look at the others.
"You're late." One said to Mizuki.
"It's not that easy to get past the guard posts you know." Mizuki sneered. "Luckily I heard that there were only a few Genin and a team of Chuunin there to guard the place."
"Whatever; are you sure you weren't followed?" the second one said looking around making sure nobody could over hear them.
"Of course I'm sure. Who do you take me for?" Mizuki rolled his eyes.
'Idiot, you were noticed by a Genin.' Yuugao thought. 'a very talented Genin but a Genin nonetheless.' She then got a good look when the light of the moon lightened up the clearing they were gathering in. She didn't recognize the two men but she noticed that one of them had a headband of Suna and the other one sported one with a musical note on it. She hadn't seen anyone with that headband before so she gathered that it must be a new village.
"Let's hurry up. I don't want to be here any longer than necessary." The one with the Suna headband said.
"Fine, here are your orders from Orochimaru-sama." The third one said. "Make sure you don't fail him or else…."
"Don't worry; I'll get him everything he wants as long as he keeps his promise." Mizuki snapped.
"Of course, you'll be rewarded greatly for your part." The man nodded. "How about Suna? Is everything going okay there?"
"We're ready to hit Konoha whenever Orochimaru wants." The Suna shinobi grunted. "The Kazekage is most anxious to wipe Konoha off the map."
"Tell him that Orochimaru-sama needs him to wait." The man said. "Orochimaru-sama has chosen to launch the attack at the final round of the upcoming Chuunin Exams. Konoha will be too distracted by caring for the nobles and higher up's and it will a fitting end for those tree-lovers."
"So, what's next?" Mizuki asked.
"You go back to Konoha and ask like nothing is amiss. You know your assignment and it's of utmost importance that you succeed." Orochimaru's shinobi said.
"Don't worry about it. I'll deal with those pesky academy students once I dealt with my fellow teachers." Mizuki smiled.
"Very well, there will be no further communication between us until the day of the third part of the exams." The third man said. "Do not try to contact the others unless the invasion is compromised. We do not want to alert Konoha by mistake."
"Understood." The two others said and they each went their separate way.
Yuugao's head was spinning from everything she had heard here. By mere coincidence Naruko had managed to catch Mizuki sneaking past the guard post and now she had uncovered a plot against Konoha. An attack was coming and if it wasn't for Naruko's quick actions they wouldn't have known about until it was too late. The consequences were staggering and she knew she had to alert the Hokage as quickly as possible. She raced back to the guard past and called Naruko and Haku to her.
"Girls, I just uncovered a major threat against Konoha." Yuugao told them. "Don't tell anyone what you saw tonight. Naruko, I need you to summon Gamakichi; I need to alert Hokage-sama." Yuugao said while quickly writing what she had witnessed down on a scroll. When she was done she gave the scroll to Gamakichi. "Gamakichi, I need you to bring this scroll the Sandaime Hokage; it's extremely important and for his eyes only. Tell him it's of the utmost importance to the safety of Konoha."
"You got it, Neechan." Gamakichi said.
"Thanks, I'll get you a bag of sweets as reward." Yuugao smiled at the little toad and she watched him disappear into the night.
The Sandaime Hokage was having the best dream of his entire life. He was surrounded by beautiful women in skimpy clothes and the best part was that they were doing his paperwork for him while he could enjoy the greatness that was 'Icha Icha Paradise'. Ah bless Jiraiya's wooden geta's; the man surely had talent for writing these smutty novels. He was rudely awakened however when something fell on his stomach knocking the air out of him.
"Yo, Hokage-Jiji." Gamakichi said.
"Gamakichi? What are you doing here at this time of night?" Sandaime said after turning on the light.
"Got a message for you from Naru-neechan's teacher." Gamakichi answered and he coughed up the scroll.
"Thank you Gamakichi, please wait in case I need to write something back." The Sandaime said before opening the scroll. His face hardened when he read the scroll and if he wasn't so old and behaved he would have cursed for a few hours. 'This is bad. Orochimaru, you finally decided to attack your old village. I have failed you, my student but no more. I'll show you why I'm called the 'God of Shinobi'. You won't get away with this.'
The Sandaime quickly wrote a reply for Yuugao and her team and gave the scroll to the little toad asking him to deliver it as soon as possible. The toad swallowed the scroll and jumped out of the window. Meanwhile Sarutobi was already thinking about how Konoha would deal with this attack. While he had always expected Orochimaru to attack Konoha, the fact that Suna was involved as well worried him greatly. Dealing with Orochimaru and whatever troops he had would be hard enough as it is but dealing with two villages joining up together just made the whole thing that much worse.
"It seems that Konoha will once more have to do battle." He said while staring at the village that was unaware of the coming hardships.
That's it for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know. The Chuunin exams will happen but after that things will divert from canon for a while. I have yet to decide if I will use the movies in this story but it might be a good way to add to the story. If any ideas let me know. See you all later.
