So, another note. I will be unable to update this story for a while. So sad, I will miss being able to write. I should be back by December, but until then, I will have to take a short break. Hopefully, all you guys will stick around that long. Please enjoy this chapter.
Ibiki left his genin with scrolls and an assignment. He had a few… guests to visit this afternoon before he could go home to work out more training and tests for his team. There would be some paperwork to deal with as well. The jonin would be pushing the three genin more as the days went on. Right now, he was easing them into team practices and routine. Once they got more comfortable around him and each other, he would being pushing their limits. Naruto and Shikamaru would be harder to gauge than Shino. The Aburame didn't downplay or conceal his skill. Both the others did. Shikamaru was too laid back and lacked the drive to prove himself. Naruto was just to timid and cautious. The blond boy might have legitimate reasons for being that way. Ibiki would be assigning a few of the new recruits and maybe an ANBU or two to look into this. The Hokage would not be pleased if something had been going on around Naruto. For that matter, Shikaku would have a lot to say about it too. The jonin sighed slightly. He had too much work to do now. Kids were too much trouble. He was never getting married.
T&I headquarters was rather quiet when he walked in. The petite woman at the desk nodded silently at him as he passed. Anko couldn't be in the building if it was this calm. Shame, she would have been a nice addition to his interrogation routine today. Ibiki stalked through the hallways to the cells putting his three kids out of his mind for the time being. He passed the ANBU guard outside the cell and entered to see their target. The man was tied with both chains and a chakra seal. Ibiki shut the door behind himself and towered over the seated captive.
"My my, our guest must be tired of waiting. No matter, I will have this done soon." He let a malicious grin quirk his features before he started. Two hours later, outside the small cell, the hallways echoed with the rasping sobs of their guest.
Naruto walked quickly through the streets to his apartment. He took as many back alleys as he could, but he did have to cross a few areas with people. He held his 'homework' close to his chest, in fear of losing it. He wouldn't be chancing Ibiki's wrath over a failed assignment any time soon if he could help it. Iruka-sensei was scary enough. He didn't need to find out what Ibiki would do if he failed. His apartment was just as he left it when he passed through his window. He checked everything carefully to be sure.
He had just put his scroll down on his bed when a bundle of scrolls on the kitchen counter caught his eye. Naruto couldn't help his grin at the sight. He loved getting new resources. He had no idea who could be leaving them for him, but he loved them all the same. He hurried over and scooped them up. A large book was at the bottom. He picked it up curiously. He only had a few books. Most of what he had were easy readers from when he was just teaching himself to read.
This book, bound in dark brown leather with what seemed to be painted lettering on the front, was very fancy. The title read "Sealing and Matrixes: The Basics" . Naruto had never heard of such a thing. What on earth were matrixes? He would read this book though. He read every single thing that was given to him. Even though some of them were boring, he wouldn't discard any information. Who ever chose these gifts always left things that were really helpful too.
He set aside the book to check through the rest of the scrolls. Two were more advanced kata for the two styles he was combining, and one was a scroll on chakra and chakra building exercises. The fourth and final scroll had a second roll of paper wrapped around it. Naruto pulled it off and was about to toss it away when the ink on it caught his eye. It was a note. This was very unexpected. Naruto had never had any sort of correspondence from his benefactor. He hastily glanced over it.
'Naruto, good job! You passed the Academy and are now a Genin. You have a team now, so take good care of them all. I hope you continue to progress well in your studies. The book is a family heirloom from your mother's side. Take good care of it. The scroll with this note is a jutsu scroll. It contains four basic jutsu of various sorts. Be careful when trying them. The fire and wind ones can be super dangerous if something goes wrong. Keep working with the shadow clone jutsu. It will come in handy. Good luck.' A smudged doodle of a dog was the only signature.
The handwriting was messy and more of a scrawl than anything else. Naruto couldn't help running a finger over the words though. After years of these things just showing up, he finally had at least some contact from their giver. Who ever this was, Naruto was forever in their debt. He re-read the note, and then stared at the doodle.
The more he looked, the more it looked like a picture of a wild hound he'd seen once. That's decided then. I'll call this person Hound now. Grinning again, he flopped back on his bed. Things might just be looking up. He had talked with his team more easily today, and Ibiki might not be as bad as he thought. Iruka had given him advice and lots of ideas to help with his anxiety. Now he might be able to figure out who Hound was. He reminded himself that things were still really new right now. It would take awhile for any of these things to actually pan out if they were going to. But the little bubble of hope he'd felt at training that morning was rising again.
He sighed and rolled over to pick up the scroll from Ibiki-sensei. He flipped it open and started reading the report. The mission was from at least twenty years ago. It involved a team called 'Team Jiraiya'. The team, a genin team, was supposed to take a scroll containing trade agreements from a wealthy merchant in a fire country city to a trade city just inside the borders of the land of Rivers. They were also transporting a small amount of other things for the same client. The Jonin was listed as Jiraiya, who Naruto recalled, was one of the Sanin. The three genin were not named, but Naruto would have bet they were all competent if they had that caliber of sensei. He browsed the details of the mission for several minutes.
He would have to get out his map later and look at the route they took and compare to others available. The blonde sat up and carefully tucked away his new scrolls, but left out the 'homework' one. He had to get a move on with his hunting. It was already nearly six o'clock.
The sun would start to dip below the horizon soon. He didn't mind being out after dark, but it was easier to find some of the things he was after when it was light. That in mind, he switched his nicer clothes out for a torn and stained jumpsuit. It had been orange once, but now it was more brown than anything. These were his work clothes. He left his forehead protector and his pouch of kunai and shuriken. He needed to pack light, so he could bring back what food he found. Only his senbon and a long bladed hunting knife were kept. He slung an empty pack on and then checked his traps before leaving.
He left the main area of the village swiftly. He took off north and slightly west, over the rooftops. He kept low and did his best to move quietly and stay out of sight. He passed by the busy parts of the village and out past some of the clan areas. He kept going through the trees where the buildings were suitable any longer. There were few people out this far, and nearer to the walls and the river there were less. Naruto kept to the tree tops for a little longer. He sure this was far enough away.
Dropping down to the forest floor, he secured his pack and made sure he checked the area for any signs of people. He calmed he breathing and concentrated. When he tried, he knew he could often tell if there were ninja around. He listened hard, and sniffed the air. Nothing. Last, he sensed around him for any tingle that would be chakra. He didn't really know what this ability was, but it was damned useful when he snuck around. People wondered how he got into some of the places he did when he pranked. This would be their answer.
Confident that he was alone, the blond boy crept to the river's edge. He took a deep breath and then jumped in the water. He couldn't open his eyes once in the cold rush, but he knew the feeling of the large stones embedded in the banks and bed of the river from long practice. He crossed his fingers in the seal, and created two clones of himself. One pushed off the other to propel him up stream. The second clone followed after Naruto and Naruto used it to pull himself a few more feet up. It was hard going, but he made it through the underground portion of the river and to the tiny pocket of air just outside the wall. A sealed chakra barrier was cutting off his progress. He could feel the tiny hint of chakra buzzing only inches in front of him. The pocket of air was only big enough for his head, and then the protective wall was above it.
Naruto dispelled his clones and reached up to slide the single loose stone aside. It had taken him weeks to chip away the mortar to free the large stone. Inside the wall in the spot, there was a hollow pocket. It wasn't a tunnel, it didn't lead anywhere. It was just a hollow space left in the building. Naruto could use it to get outside the walls undetected though.
He hauled his dripping body up into the space and shook some of the water off. To the left, there was a small swell in the wall. It was a round-ish area only three feet around. Naruto had to get this part just right, or ANBU would be coming. He slid another loose stone aside and backed up as far as he could. A running jump propelled him out past the seal shield that coated the wall. He had to keep his limbs all in a line to avoid the fringe of the seal, but he made it.
His landing was much more rough. He didn't have anything to catch himself on, and so crashed into a bush headfirst. He lay still for a moment, shaking off the impact. Eventually he sat up and took stock of the area. He knew this particular stretch of the forest well. He had discovered this way out about three year ago, and he had spent many hours wandering around out at night. He started making a mental list of what he was after. He only had so much time to spend out tonight. Ibiki would be expecting his report tomorrow after all.
Let's see, there is meat of course. A rabbit or two would do. Then, some veggies and fruit if I can find it. So, set a trap, then go farther to forage. The wild asparagus and tubers should be in season. He walked to a small fallen tree and moved aside a bush to pull out a set of wires and twine. He untangled them and then set up five snares and traps around the area. He then headed deeper into the forest. Two hours later, he was back in the clearing, with a good ammount of plants and fruits in his pack. Only one trap had caught anything. He unstrung the rabbit and went around to collect the other snares. He then set to skin and clean the animal. He grimaced once he was done. He hated getting bloody, but hey, a guy's gotta eat. It took a few minutes to clean up and hide any signs of his presence before he was ready to head back in.