A/N: Here's the next chapter! I'd just like to answer one thing a few people have bought up- Naruto interacting with his age group. We've had a bit- and I'll do a little bit more, especially around the Chunin Exams, but if you're looking for a story where he pops out the front and wtf!pwns Sasuke, shows off his skills, surprises everybody, etc- look away. I imagine that that would be as boring to write as it is to read. There'll be some interaction, don't get me wrong, but there won't be any bashing.
It was late in the afternoon that Naruto and his team departed from Konoha. Their ANBU equipment stored in the seals embedded in their ANBU tattoos, Team Sigma were dressed as ordinary shinobi for the most part. Kage and Komachi wore Jonin vests while Yuuka, Daichi and Towa wore Chunin vests. They each had a headband strapped around their forehead. Naruto was the odd one out, as he had technically didn't own a vest despite his ranking. He wore a black shirt with the Uzumaki spiral emblazed on the front and back and had a basic utility belt strapped around his waist. He had to steadily ignore Yuuka's cooing over his 'cuteness' for most of the trip as they travelled south, towards Crater City.
Twelve kilometres south-east of Konoha was the first sizable town in the area. Otafuku Gai was a small town made primarily up of massage parlours, brothels and hot springs. It was home of the largest pleasure quarter in the Land of Fire and, for many shinobi, was considered the ideal destination when their leave came up. For many of the Chunin Military Police that enforced the laws of the land in the Land of Fire, Otafuku Gai was considered to be the best posting available. South-west of Konoha, at least two hundred kilometres away, was Tanzaku Gai. Home to the historic- and largely irrelevant- Tanzaku Castle, was a large population centre of the Land of Fire and home to more than one-hundred thousand men, women and children. It was a great jewel in Konoha's economy, its trade markets importing goods from all over the world. From the finest silk, cloth and grain from Konoha's Plains to the spices from Suna's Plantations and the ore from Iwa's mines, if it existed in the Elemental Countries it could probably be found in Tanzaku Gai.
In between these two cities was Crater City. As its name suggested, Crater City had been built in a giant trench that had been carved into the ground. The trench had gone on for kilometres and, over time, had been filled in or covered up by earth or water. The depression where Crater City had been built had been separated from the main trench by large mounds of rubble and debris that some speculated had come from an exploding volcano- an explosion strong enough to have removed the mountain entirely off the map. The speculation was only fuelled by constant conspiracy theories and scientific discoveries. Crater City had become world-renowned almost twenty years ago as a group of archaeologists and their shinobi guards had discovered that the incident that had created the giant trench had not been natural- it had been the result a beam or arc of some kind of energy. As the trench itself had been dated back before the time of the Sage of the Six Paths, most academics were puzzled by what could have created it- as chakra had been introduced by the Sage roughly a thousand years ago.
These days, Crater City remained a popular destination for tourists. It held festivals all throughout the year, inviting tourists and residents to dress up in elaborate robes and clothes and partake in the festivities. The influx of new money didn't hurt its economy either and recently a series of small casinos had been built to take advantage of this fact.
After leaving Konoha, it took Naruto and his team approximately an hour and a half to arrive at Crater City. The sun was shining brightly in the sky in the late afternoon as the group of shinobi jumped out of the unnaturally large trees that made up the region and landed in a crouch on the paved road. A wagon passed them slowly as they stood up, the driver eying them with disinterest, long since used to the feats of shinobi.
"Crater City," Naruto murmured, staring down the top of the hill they were standing it. It stretched out before them, rows and rows of houses and buildings. There were no walls or checkpoints here as they were in Konoha- visitors needed to feel as if they were welcome.
Yuuka was sweating and Towa's face was a bit red but otherwise nobody complained about the breakneck pace that Naruto had worked them through. Kage came up to stand beside him, the middle-aged man's face completely blank.
"There are a lot of bystanders," he said quietly.
Naruto nodded in agreement. "Our target likes to visit the bars and casinos. She'll probably be staying in a high-class hotel." He turned to his team, his face a little grim. "Tsunade is S-ranked, so be careful. I'm not quite sure how good she is at tracking but she's not going to appreciate us looking for her. If you find her, get me so I can talk to her."
"Gotcha," Daichi said with a wink.
Naruto turned his eyes back to the city. "Let's go," he ordered.
Team Sigma descended from the ridge and moved into Crater City itself. Naruto wasn't sure how many other cities or towns the other members of his squad had visited but, for him, this was only the second time he had left Konoha- and the first he had entered another town. The loud shrieks, cries and squeals of excitement and happiness almost deafened him as he walked past a giant and elaborately decorated sign. It read "Welcome to Crater City- Festival Town of the Elemental Countries!". His senses were assaulted as sounds, smells and bright colours flooded into his head. He narrowly avoided being pushed over by a group of laughing teens, not much older than himself, as they pushed past him in their haste to get to wherever they were going.
Naruto decided that he preferred Konoha over Crater City. At least in the Village you could use the rooftops to avoid the crowded and often packed lanes and streets. In other villages and towns, it was considered to be rude and bad-form, and it would have attracted the attention of the Chunin Military Police and the Fire Lord's Samurai that policed this town. Technically, Team Sigma was only there for their two-week leave period. Acting as if they were on a mission would raise questions and Naruto did not want to get drawn into that mess. Lying about your mission parameters was quite a serious offence and he doubted the ANBU Commander would appreciate being asked to forward the relevant documents.
"Let's split up," Naruto called out to the Team as the happy citizens moved past them obliviously. "Use the standard signals if you find what we're looking for."
They nodded and disappeared into the throngs of the crowd, leaving Naruto alone.
He eyed the stalls along the road speculatively as he walked past them. While his teammates might have gained a few looks here and there from there flak jackets, to the world Naruto appeared to be a normal young boy enjoying the festival. He approached one of the stalls and forked out the money to buy a map of Crater City. He had barely even opened it before his tattoo burned, a series of pulses running down his arm.
Kage had found her already. That had been quick.
S-Rank shinobi were the legends of the Elemental Countries. They were the top of the top, the most elite of all shinobi. Their presence on the field of battle could alone turn the tide. Naruto was unsure of the exact requirements of how to be classed as S-rank, but each S-rank shinobi he had heard of had possessed devastating power and skill, able to take on whole armies or an entire village. They were also exceedingly rare. With current shinobi rosters of approximately ranging from anywhere from five to fifteen thousand, Konoha had three, Kumo had two, Iwa had one, Suna had one and who knew what Kiri had anymore. S-ranked Shinobi were a matter of Village pride and were held up as a measure of the Village's power. They attracted an enormous amount of public attention and interest. The publicity of a newly-ranked S-class shinobi was awe-inspiring and could undoubtedly turn the economic tide of that Village.
Konoha had three. In every generation there were those one or two that rose above the others. Hatake Sakumo had been one of them. Namikaze Minato had been one. Uchiha Itachi had been well on the way before his crimes. Now, in present times, Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai seemed to be the next up-and-coming legends. Each were in their mid-twenties, regarded as Konoha's elite Jonin, possessed incredible skill and had plenty of time to continue to improve.
Until then, the Leaf Village made do with those already rostered on. There was the Third Hokage, the God of Shinobi and one of the longest-living S-class shinobi in the world. There was Jiraiya of the Legendary Three, the master of a Class-5 Summoning Contract, an expert with sealing techniques and a devastating force on the battlefield.
Then there was Senju Tsunade. Of all the Legendary Three, she was perhaps the most dangerous. During the Second Great Shinobi War, she had over five hundred confirmed kills in a six-month period. Her strength enhancement techniques made a flick from her bone-shattering. A single touch allowed her to use her immense knowledge and legendary medical skills to disrupt the physiology of the body. These same medical skills apparently made her extremely hard to kill and she could receive wounds that would have been fatal to even other S-rank Shinobi and remain alive, none worse for wear. On the battlefield, she was an unstoppable juggernaut who could take enormous amounts of punishment and return it three-fold. She had two confirmed S-class kills and had once wiped out an entire Kiri Division singlehandedly.
Naruto made sure he remembered that while he stared at the legendary Senju Tsunade. Kage had found her almost instantly because she and the casino really hadn't been trying to hide her presence. A large poster and her smirking face had been pinned up. 'Come and see one of the Legendary Three', it had proclaimed, and as soon as Naruto had stepped onto the casino floor he had seen her.
She was S-ranked.
She was dangerous.
She was beautiful and apparently hadn't aged a single day on her extended leave from Konoha.
Her cheeks were flushed red and she was shouting loudly as a milling crowd cheered and heckled the other players on her table. Her boisterous and somewhat obnoxious laugh filled the air as the crowd joined in.
"Found her," Kage told Naruto quietly. It was hard to tell if he was being deadpan or merely stating the obvious as he pointed at her. "There she is."
"Uh huh," Naruto answered with a weird look at the other man.
The group moved closer to the hovering crowd, gliding past and sliding through dozens of people until they reached the front. Tsunade was sitting there, laughing unceremoniously as she played a game of cards against four other people. She was a fairly tall, light-skinned woman with golden-amber eyes and straight blonde hair. Shoulder-length bangs framed both sides of her face and her hair was tied in two loose ponytails. She wore dark pants and a light grey blouse. On top of that she wore a green jacket with an intricate symbol for 'gamble' emblazed on the back. On her forehead was a tattoo of some kind, a small diamond-shaped dot that was barely noticeable. She looked nothing like her age would suggest, appearing somewhere in her thirties with a rather well exposed cleavage that drew the eyes of many in the crowd.
Compared to her, her opponents were barely noticeable. Three of them were sweating wrecks, gulping nervously as their furtive eyes danced around. They looked like they would rather be anywhere else apart from where they were. The fourth was a well-dressed man, albeit in slightly faded clothes, who carried himself extremely well. His somewhat bored look never faded as Tsunade slammed her hand down on the table, causing her nervous opponents to flinch.
"Three of a Kind- tens high!" she howled. She pumped her fist up. "The game's mine!"
The crowd went wild, howling and hooting, as the last Senju lapped it all up with a brilliant grin. The three stammering opponents almost immediately folded while the calm and composed man just gave a slight smile.
"Three of a kind," he murmured, his voice somehow cutting through the noise. He straightened and stared unflinchingly at Tsunade. "Jacks High."
Tsunade's smile faded and the crowd went eerily silent. Her opponent gathered his chips quietly as the crowd seemed hesitant, almost lost. Then, Tsunade roared with laughter and the crowd followed suit, almost with a sense of relief. Naruto watched the laughing Senju carefully as a small, short, balding man approached the table, wringing his hands nervously. He was dressed in a smart red and white vest, which bore the logo of the casino.
"I'm sorry, Senju-sama," he stuttered and the laughter faded away. "But I'm afraid that this table has a minimum betting range and…" He ended in a squeak as Tsunade's head shot his way.
"Really?" she said, her amber eyes narrowed. Her fists tightened and the crowd shied away.
"But!" the floor manager hastily interjected. "But, as a loyal customer, we're pleased to…um… offer you these chips as a reward for your patronage! Yes!"
"A loyal customer who's only been here for a week," Tsunade remarked dryly. The floor manager smiled uneasily.
"Yes! Please, take them!" he practically begged, looking like he was wishing hard for the opposite.
Tsunade smirked and took the proffered box from the trembling man's hands. She paused, the crowd went still and suddenly she was out of her seat.
"The game's back on!" she roared and the crowd roared and stamped with her. She turned back to the table, only to notice that three of her opponents had fled and the fourth was calmly stacking his chips.
"You're leaving already?" Tsunade said in disbelief. She scoffed. "At least give me a chance to win back my money."
"I think I'll take what I can get, Tsunade-sama," the man said evenly. "Besides…" his eyes flickered towards Naruto. "I think you'll have other people interested in playing against you."
Tsunade frowned. She turned to the crowd. "So, who's game to take me on?" She asked with a beautiful smile and a 'jiggle' of her exposed cleavage. Naruto stepped forward before any of the suddenly very-willing young men of the crowd could. She stared down at him, her face suddenly blank.
"Beat it, kid," she snapped. "I don't play against people of your…"
"Age?" Naruto suggested as she paused to consider her words. The crowd was silent, watching the spectacle. "Or status?"
"Both," Tsunade said after a few moments. Her golden eyes watched him almost warily as he ignored her and sat down at the table. "Playing against shinobi tends to make some enemies- not that I'm worried, but I really don't like the fuss it causes when I pound them into the ground."
Naruto's team moved to circle around the table as Kage turned to the crowds.
"This is a private game," he said politely. "Please disperse."
Their headbands and jackets must have made the point as the crowd dispersed and moved away a trickle at the time. Tsunade closed her eyes, breathing deeply as if trying to restrain her temper, while Naruto merely smiled pleasantly at her.
"Now that we're alone," he began. "Let me say that it's an honour to meet you, Tsunade-sama. Your exploits are legendary."
"Get on with it," Tsunade grunted. She idly twirled a chip in her hands, watching Naruto lazily. "I have things to do."
Naruto smiled. "Of course," he said pleasantly. "Have you heard of what's happened in Konoha recently?"
Tsunade smiled thinly. "A bit," she admitted. She examined her nails as delivered her next words. "But I don't really care what happens to that shithole anyhow."
Naruto's smile froze. "Ah," he said quietly. "Is that so?"
Tsunade watched him with visible amusement while his team formed a perimeter around the table, making sure they were left alone. It wasn't as if they were discussing vital village secrets but Naruto wanted this conversation to be private.
"If there's nothing else…" Tsunade prompted, bringing the spinning chip down with a loud clack. "I have games to play and booze to drink."
"I have an offer," Naruto said quietly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He passed it along the table and Tsunade picked it up. Her eyes widened and she glanced at her speculatively.
"What do you want?"
Naruto paused. "The Hokage is…not well," he admitted. "He'll get better in time, but I would prefer it if the most renowned Medic of all time was looking after him. To help things along," he added.
"I said I would never step foot in that village again," Tsunade said very quietly.
"I can't offer you anything else," Naruto said regretfully. "I've been working as the Hokage's aide for the last few years, and he's supplied all my equipment and food and housing. The payments for all the missions I did went into that account. There's nothing else."
Tsunade stared at the check for a very long time. Then, a tight smile came over her face. "You could buy a house in Sector 5 with this."
"Will you come back, Tsunade-sama?" Naruto asked. There was a pleading note in his voice as he stared intently at her. "Please. It's only for a little while. Check on his health, make sure he's fine, speed things along- and that's it."
Tsunade bit her lip. Then, she sighed. "Fine," she said irritably. "I'll go with you."
Naruto beamed at her and she stiffened. Her eyes widened and suddenly she stared at him as if she had seen a ghost. Naruto frowned.
"Tsunade-sama?" He asked worriedly.
"It's nothing," she replied faintly. "Just…" She gathered herself. "I've got appointments for the rest of the day. Meet me here tomorrow at nine and we'll leave for Konoha."
"Thank you, Tsunade-sama," Naruto said gratefully. He stood up and nodded to his team. "We'll see you tomorrow."
"Go away, already," Tsunade commented snidely. She remained at the table, her golden eyes troubled as Team Sigma exited the casino.
The street was busy and the sky was beginning to darken as the sun set. Naruto listened idly to the background noise as the team lingered around him. Yuuka was practically sending longing gazes to one of the stalls down the street, and that made his decision for him.
"Alright," he said quietly and they all fell silent. "We're all on leave here, so let's go have some fun. We'll meet back here tomorrow morning to escort Tsunade-sama back to Konoha. Until then, you're dismissed."
"Or we would be," Daichi remarked casually. "If we were on a mission. Which we're totally not."
"Nope!" Yuuka said with a grin.
"Our activities are indeed clandestine," Kage offered tonelessly.
Towa and Komachi exchanged looks, the former rolling his eyes and the latter nodding her head in agreement. Kage didn't seem to notice- or care- and, without another word, wandered off into the crowd. He disappeared amidst the throngs of people and was out of sight in seconds.
"That's Recon for you," Towa muttered under his breath. Then he winced as Daichi none-too-subtly jabbed him in the ribs. "Hey, man, that was uncalled for."
"I'm Recon too, you Combat grunt!" Daichi snapped with a huff. With his Byakugan, his over-the-top hurt expression made him look almost feminine.
"Aw!" Yuuka squealed. She hugged Daichi from behind. "There, there, little boy. Let's leave the meanie here and go and have some fun. Do you wanna go on a ride? Huh? Do you?"
"I do," Daichi responded petulantly. A childish expression crossed his face and he folded his arms. "And I want ice-cream!"
"Two-scoops," Yuuka agreed as she waved to Naruto and the others and began to walk away.
"I want three!" Daichi was relentless.
"You get two!" Yuuka scolded.
"Poopie-head!"
"Idiots," Komachi murmured fondly, shaking her head. She gave Naruto a side-along glance. "Did you want some company, Captain?"
Naruto noticed Towa twitch and the expectant tension running through his body and shook his head. "I'm sure you two can find something to do," he said. Komachi nodded and Towa grinned. "Just…just don't kill each other. Or fight. Or cause any property damage."
"Who do you think we ~ ah! Ow, ow, ow, ow!" Towa cried out as Komachi grabbed his ear.
"Come on, moron," she grumbled. "You owe me a new painting and I thought I saw a stall down here that had something I liked."
"What? That was a painting? It looked like a toddler's finger-painting!"
"It's called art, dickhead!"
Naruto watched the last of his team disappear into the crowd with a truly befuddled look on his face. Although they had been through a lot together, this was just a reminder that he really hadn't known them and their eccentricities that long. He shook his head and gazed up and down the street, suddenly feeling a little nervous.
He had never really been to a festival before, and he had never been by himself in his time off. In Konoha, even when he had been granted the minimum required leave, he had used to it to continue his training or catch up on chores in the Hokage's Residence. Now, with the sun setting and the candles and lights beginning to brighten the town, Naruto found that he was in a completely new situation and he had no idea what to do.
"Huh," he said out loud, to nobody in particular.
He began to walk down the streets, gliding past the milling crowds as they laughed and chatted to each other. It was almost like training, as he ducked and weaved around elbows and knees, doing his best not to get clipped. He watched the stalls, his eyes wide as he took in the new scents, sounds and sights. One of the stalls caught his attention and he looked as a man with a round stomach and chubby cheeks cried out to the crowd.
"…and now, watch this modern-day miracle!" the man boomed.
He gestured down to the table, where there were two large, thick dull-greyed metal rods. They stood apart, attached by a single loop of wire at the base while the man held two ends of some more wire in his hands. The man gestured at his assistant, who reached into his sack and pulled out a lemon. Naruto cocked his head, looking as puzzled as many others in the crowd, as the assistant put the lemon in the table.
"And we insert the wire into the lemon, and…"
The man trailed off as it stuck the two ends of the wire into the lemon. Almost instantly, arcs of lightning started to bounce off the iron rods. Naruto gaped, astonished, and reached out with his senses. There was no chakra at all!
The electricity sparked and arced off the rods as the man invited a brave-looking boy to come and touch it. The boy, grinning to his friends, leaned over and slowly raised a finger. He moved it closer and closer to the sparkling rods until there was a 'snap' and a 'hiss' and the boy jerked back with a yell. He put his finger in his mouth as the crowd roared with laughter, unaware that his hair was now standing completely on end.
Naruto watched that for a little while and then moved on. There were so many different things that he had never seen before! One of the stalls had a very realistic model of a volcano spewing out reddish-yellow foam from the top. Another had set up dozens of plates on wooden rods and was spinning them- without using chakra! There was food from all over the world, from the spicy thick-breaded wraps from Suna, the delicious sorbet from Kumo, Iwa's infamous pasta recipes and Kiri's delicious sugary sweets. In one area, there were animals that Naruto had never seen before- weird looking creatures with grey skin and thick white tusks. A pair of monkeys eyed him, chittering madly, and Naruto grinned at them. He waved but they stared back at him incomprehensibly and he lowered his hand, suddenly feeling stupid.
The sky had gone dark. The moon and stars were out. Fires burned and people laughed and danced as a concert began. They started with the traditional drum beats of the Land of Wind, the beat echoing in Naruto's head and causing his heart to beat faster and faster. He continued browsing the stalls, suddenly regretting his lack of money as the rich aroma of food filled his senses. He had a little change in his a pocket but that was about it. Still he had a ration bar and it wouldn't be the first time he had went hungry on a mission. He ate his bar methodically as he walked past a dizzying fountain with multi-coloured jets of water spraying in elaborate angles and shapes until a stall caught his attention.
It was a kids one, where a group of boys and girls his age were watching one of their peers throw a weighted sack of rice at several targets. The targets were only ten or so metres away but, for some reason, the boy was having trouble knocking them down. Naruto moved closer to observe, his keen eyes analysing the targets carefully, and when the boy left, dejected, the young ANBU hovered around the front of the stall. The owner saw him and a smiled invitingly, gesturing to the sacks. Naruto reached into his pocket, feeling the last of his money, and shrugged.
He paid the man, who put down five rice sacks. Naruto picked one up, testing its weight, and considered the targets. Just to make sure his suspicions were correct, he lobbed one at the furthest target and smiled thinly as it refused to be bowled over. He had spotted the adhesive strip attached to its base- but noted that it had only been stuck down at the front.
He smiled.
With his remaining four bags, he hurled them at the targets in quick success, one right after the other. Two of them slammed into the side targets, knocking them down easily, while one went soaring high over the last target. He hurled the fourth sack of rice with greater power, and clipped the third, which ricocheted towards the back of the target, which fell onto the ground with a clatter. Naruto smiled as the owner scowled.
"Hey!" he said roughly. He pointed to a sign. "No shinobi allowed!"
"Hey," Naruto said a tad mockingly. "I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to fix the games."
The owner frowned as Naruto smiled. A few moments later, the blonde shinobi left the stall with his money back in his pocket- plus a little extra. He wandered away, feeling pleased, until he stopped as the boy who had gone before him approached with his group of friends.
"Hey, man! That was so cool!" He shouted gleefully
"Way to put him in his place," one of the girls in the group added brightly.
Naruto's eyes narrowed for a split second as he instinctively assessed them.
Five children- ages twelve or thirteen- no audible chakra emanations- stances loose and unfocussed – no formal discipline apparent – class- civilian, E-rank : Minimal Threat
"Thanks," he said a minute later. His voice was much more quiet and steadier than the others.
"Are you really a shinobi?" the youngest-looking member of the group asked him, his blue eyes wide with awe.
"I am," Naruto answered with a polite smile.
"Of Konoha, right?" the lead boy confirmed, his eyes narrowed. When Naruto nodded, he grinned and raked a hand through his messy black hair. "Good."
"Where's your headband?" the girl from before asked, her dark brown hair swaying over her formal robes.
"I'm on leave," Naruto answered and shrugged. "I didn't bring it with me."
That answer seemed to satisfy them.
"Hey, did you wanna hang with us?" the lead boy asked.
Naruto frowned, considering his options. After a few moments, he shrugged. Why not?
The next hour or so was an eye-opener for Naruto. The boys and girls he was accompanying were completely different from anybody he had ever spoken to before. He hovered in the background- when they would let him- and listened to them as they talked and joked with each other in between grilling him over what it was like to be a shinobi. They truly were oblivious, Naruto decided as he explained the difference between Kumo and Kiri (which confused one of the girls, since they both started with 'K'). Their eyes were bright, their bodies gangly and untrained and their innocence untouched. Konohamaru, for all his immaturity, knew more about the harshness of the shinobi world than they did. After experiencing the horrors of war during the Sky Blitz, Naruto wasn't quite sure if he pitied or envied them. He smiled politely, answered their questions softly- but vaguely- and followed them around as they wandered the stalls.
"Wow!" one of the girls said, bringing her hands together and looking amazed.
She and the rest of the kids darted into the crowd surrounding the stage as a giant burly man with rippling muscles grinned. He held up a chunk of rock and, to the amazement of most of the crowd, took a bite in it. The rock made an audible crunch and the man chewed it thoughtfully. He swallowed, rubbed his stomach and bowed as the audience gasped and clapped. Next to him, a thin, lithe woman danced on top of a roaring bonfire unharmed, while on the other side another man used some very impressive water manipulation to create a miniature roaring dragon, which arced out into the crowd and exploded in a spray of hazy droplets.
Naruto watched all of the performers, absently identifying the techniques or chakra manipulation that each of them used to demonstrate their feats- although the man eating the stone was quite impressive. His new companions, on the other hand, wanted to keep watching so he stayed there, observing his surroundings lazily.
"Hey, watch it!" somebody snapped.
"Fuck off, Rock-head!" somebody else snapped back.
Naruto turned his head and observed as a group of Konoha Chunin wearing the armbands of the local police force strode forward, bearing down on a small group. He stood on his toes and peered past the suddenly interested observers as the Leaf Nin advanced. Their targets seemed to be a small, dimple-faced boy and a thin, pasty man dressed in fine robes. Surrounding them was a standard Iwa C-ranked Squad- four young genin, none past fifteen, and two experienced Chunin.
"We have our papers right here," one of the Chunin said calmly as the young noble shrunk back from the somewhat hostile glares of the police.
The lead Konoha Chunin, a man in his late thirties with a nasty scar carved into his face, only glanced at them briefly before passing them to his subordinate.
"These look like counterfeit papers to me," he said grimly. He cracked his knuckles. "We might have to take you in for some questioning?"
"Do you really have to do this?" the Chunin asked with a sigh. "We're just a protection squad for our client. We're allowed to be here."
"You're allowed to be where I say you can be!" The Leaf Nin growled.
Naruto was frowning.
"Eh, fuck off, tree-hugger!" one of the Iwa Genin suddenly burst. It was short, mean-faced girl with a crooked nose. She bared her teeth at Chunin, unafraid. "You've got nothing to keep us here!"
"What did you say, you little rock-head?" the Chunin growled. He advanced and suddenly metal flashed asweapons were drawn.
"Stand down," the Iwa Chunin barked loudly. He turned to his Leaf counterpart with an apologetic face and stepped forward. "I'm sorry for…"
He didn't get that far as two of the police members jumped on him, wrestling down and wrapping wire around his wrists amidst the cries of his team. The mean-faced girl yelled and darted forward, her kunai raised. The lead Chunin snarled, his own weapon rising as he leapt forward to meet the girl-
And suddenly Naruto was there, two kunai in his hand as he blocked both blows. Sparks flew as metal grated on metal and, with a flash of chakra-enhanced strength, the unmasked ANBU pushed both fighters away from each other and towards their respective teams. Naruto, his face grim, concentrated for a brief second. He manipulated his chakra, much like he did when he performed his collaborative techniques, and folded itself back on itself in a cyclic loop. The resulting density exploded from his tenketsu and suddenly the street was covered in deep, heavy pressure that weighed down on both sides, causing them to freeze.
"Stand down!" ordered Naruto, his eyes cold and his face blank.
The Leaf Nin had frozen, unused to such potent chakra, and the lead Chunin growled.
"I'm in charge here!" he snapped, shrugging off the pressure with apparent ease- displaying a skill or ability level not usually seen in such a policing role.
Naruto rolled up his sleeve, displaying his tattoo. It flared with a bright green light as Naruto identified himself as a friendly ANBU agent. "No," he disagreed. "I am. I said, stand down!"
The two Leaf Nin jumped off the Iwa Chunin and backed away, while their leader looked murderous. Weapons were sheathed as the Iwa team leader got to his feet, motioning for his team to stand down as well. When both sides looked like they weren't about to kill each other, Naruto released the pressure on the street and straightened up.
"Papers," was all he said, gesturing at one of the Leaf Nin. The man silently handed him the papers and Naruto took the time to carefully identify them. It was just as the Iwa Nin had said- it was just a routine protection squad for the son and attendant of a minor noble. He folded them up and approached the Iwa Squad. "Here," he said, giving them back to the leader. "These look like they're all in order."
"Thank you," the Iwa Chunin said. He sighed, rubbing his mouth. "I'm sorry for the commotion. Akane has a temper and your comrades didn't help."
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience," Naruto apologised as well. "Enjoy your stay in the Land of Fire."
He turned and approached the Chunin Police Squad, his eyes narrowed. The leader stared back at him boldly while his subordinates squirmed on their feet.
"What do you think you were doing?" He asked quietly.
"My job!" the leader snapped. His scar stretched painfully across his face as he glowered at the Iwa Squad, who were conferring quietly with their client. "We've got to be really careful around those Iwa Nin." He rubbed his scar absently. "They're tricky bastards!"
"Take your grudge somewhere else!" Naruto snapped back, his annoyance rising. He jabbed the man in the chest and took pleasure in how he recoiled. "It's idiots like you who start the wars!"
"We thrashed them the last time," the scarred man's said. His voice rose, carrying over to the Iwa Squad. "The Yellow Flash tore those Rock-Heads apart, one by one. It's just a pity he didn't finish the job!"
Naruto closed his eyes in exasperation. When he opened them, they were hard. With a sudden flash of movement, he lashed out at his own comrade. Chakra flared and lightning sparked on his hand as Naruto jabbed the man in the throat with two fingers, sending a powerful electrical pulse through the unsuspecting Chunin. He gurgled and fell to his knees, his limbs shaking.
"Take him back to your station," he informed the other members of the squad. "He's off-duty until he's been reviewed."
"Yes, ANBU-sama!" the Chunin barked.
They grabbed their leader and dragged him away, leaving Naruto alone. He rubbed his face tiredly, his ears prickingly as he heard the Iwa Squad begin to move away. As they passed him, the Chunin Leader moved in.
"Pardon me, but is your name Uzumaki Naruto?" the leader asked politely.
Naruto eyed him blankly. "Yes," he replied shortly.
"I see," the leader murmured, looking thoughtful. "Again, you have my thanks."
He walked off as their genin whispered to each other, shooting glances at Naruto. He was pretty sure he heard 'The Right Hand of God' somewhere in their talks and, for the first time, was suddenly annoyed by the moniker. His mood disgruntled, he waved an absent goodbye to the group of gawking kids he had been hanging around with and disappeared in a blur of movement.
The festival no longer seemed as appealing as it had before. Naruto wandered back to the hotel and paused as he felt Kage appear by his side. The blank-faced man nodded respectfully at him and lowered his head.
"I followed Tsunade-sama's assistant," he informed Naruto quietly. "She was making preparations to leave early- tonight. I don't think she's coming back to Konoha with us."
Naruto exhaled noisily. Shaking his head, he concentrated chakra into his ANBU tattoo and sent a series of pulses through it. Then, he waited as the various members of Team Sigma began to arrive at his side.
"Put on your uniforms," Naruto ordered once they had all arrived.
"What's wrong, boss?" asked Daichi, his smile fading.
Naruto smiled thinly. "We're going to have a talk with Tsunade-sama."