Disclaimer: By now it should be obvious that I don't own Naruto
Chapter 20: Making progress
Kurenai let out a small content sigh when she slid into the water of the hot spring and relaxed. She and her team had returned this morning from their mission, finished all the usual after-action business before noon and now she had two and a half days to herself. Although she liked teaching her group of genin it was very different from her life before she became a jonin-sensei. Sometimes she secretly wondered if she was truly ready to take over a team; she hadn't been a jonin that long in comparison to her fellow team leaders. Kakashi had been a jonin since the middle of the third shinobi war while Asuma had around seven years under his belt. Even her friend Anko had achieved promotion to full jonin more than two years ago and had her beat by one and a half years. That didn't even count the years Anko had spent as special jonin. Still, the opportunity had been too good to pass up.
In her opinion her team was coming along fine, both Ino and Yakumo were more skilled than she had expected from fresh genin and were improving at a rapid pace. They had even managed to drag Shinji along with them. Originally she had grave doubts about the boy's suitability for shinobi life, but after his first kill on the last mission he was changing for the better. It appeared all he had needed was a wake-up call. Still, something bothered her about her two girls. At times they just seemed too skilled and she couldn't get rid of the suspicion that they held part of their skills back and that there was a whole lot going on that was kept from her. On the other hand they hadn't given her any reason to openly doubt them and they were both clan heirs, even if the Kurama clan no longer existed. Above average skills were to be expected, really, and from what Anko, Asuma and Kakashi said the clan heirs on their teams were very skilled, too.
With a shake of her head Kurenai dismissed these thoughts. She had come here to relax in peace, not to worry about her team or her teaching capabilities. At this time of the day the hot springs were mostly empty and she had her pool to herself. Positioning her towel under her head she leant back and closed her eyes. Soon the comfortable warmth was causing her to doze off and her mind drifted in blissful nothingness for a while.
The slight splash of a body entering the pool caused her to become fully awake again and to open her eyes. Sitting on the opposite side of the pool Anko was grinning at her. "Hey Kurenai-chan. Do you mind if I join you?"
"Hello Anko-chan. No, I don't mind. How did you know I was back?" Kurenai asked.
"Hinata saw you this morning when you passed through the woods near our training ground while she was training with her byakugan. Since I already had a self-study session scheduled for this afternoon and I know you prefer to visit the hot springs whenever you return from a mission I decided to look for you. How did your team's first C-rank go?"
Kurenai pressed her left hand against her brow. "Don't remind me. The client was an obnoxious idiot; the caravan we were guarding ran into an ambush by bandits because he forbade us from scouting ahead. I should have ignored him, but he is a regular client. They caught us individually. I feared the worst, but my genin exceeded my expectations. "
"Really? What did they do?" Anko inquired curiously.
"Shinji had the least enemies to deal with and he managed his first kills without problems. I must confess I expected more problems with him judging from his track record. Instead the entire event seems to have worked as a wake-up call. He's still far behind the girls, but now he has the right mindset." She hesitated a moment. "Ino used some clan jutsu to make the bandits fight among themselves. She managed to take out the main bandit force all by herself."
Anko let out a low whistle. "Now that's impressive. What about your third pupil?"
"Yakumo killed her share of the bandits with a single genjutsu. I'm not sure if she developed it completely on her own or if she took some parts from her clan's techniques, but it was devastatingly effective." Kurenai shook her head contemplatively. "It caused six adult and generally healthy men to see something so terrifying that their hearts gave out. There was one survivor, but his mind was completely broken."
"Wow, she sure sounds like a genjutsu prodigy."
Kurenai nodded. "She is. I have more than a decade of experience on her, but I can't match her raw talent. In a few years' time she will surpass me in all likelihood. I would have liked for them to wait with their first kills for a few months, but they took it in stride."
Her friend shrugged. "You know my opinion on the matter. If they are genin they should be able to kill. The earlier they find out if they can't the better."
It was an old point of contention between them. Anko despised what she saw as counterproductive coddling of the young genin, but Kurenai was hesitant to burden the children with too much too soon. Well, the matter had been resolved for her team and she saw no reason to dwell on it. "How about your team? Did everything go well on your last mission?"
Anko's face lost the cheerful expression. "It was a nightmare. We almost died." After making sure there was no one who could overhear them she launched into a detailed recount of her mission in a low voice.
Despite the warm water Kurenai couldn't suppress a shiver. Encountering unexpected problems was a depressingly frequent occurrence, but it was seldom as bad as what had happened to her friend. When the tale came to an end she was silent for a moment. "Naruto really used 'it'? And you had to explain it to him and the others?"
"Yeah, I could hardly tell them that nothing out of the ordinary had happened. They had a clear view and the fox's chakra is rather unique. I tell you the Hokage wasn't happy about it. It's not the first time I have wondered what the old man is thinking. Considering that apparently no one knew if and how Naruto could use the fox's chakra it would have been far safer to tell him about it years ago; at the graduation at the latest. Now it appears emotional stress is the key. It could have ended very messily if Naruto had lost control. How were the chances that a boy of almost thirteen years could control the power of an ancient demon on his first try without any idea what was happening?" Anko asked.
Kurenai snorted. "Not bloody likely."
"And still he did it somehow. He said it was quite the power trip, but he managed to control the bloodlust and rage. We were really lucky. Anyway, Choji and Hinata have accepted the true story without problems. I imagine Naruto will tell Yakumo and possibly Ino and Shinji about it at the next opportunity. The law stays in effect, but he can tell others." Anko explained.
Nodding her head in acknowledgement Kurenai thought about the implications of that. Before this development it had been straightforward who knew about the fox. Now though it would get increasingly uncertain. "This complicates matters. I can understand keeping it secret for a short time to give Naruto the opportunity to tell his friends in person, but wouldn't it be better to repeal the law? I mean most adults know already and it isn't exactly difficult for foreign spies to connect the dots."
Anko shrugged. "That's the Hokage's decision and we have to abide by it." She looked around for a moment, apparently making sure that no one was nearby before she scooted over to Kurenai. "Listen, I have a favor to ask from you. Do you know a medic-nin who would be willing to train Hinata? We have to keep it secret because her father has an entire tree stuck up his ass about her only learning the Gentle Fist. I know no one who I can trust with this."
Kurenai tapped a finger against her lips thoughtfully. "I think I can help you there. I do know a trustworthy medic-nin who owes me a big favor. Even better, she doesn't work at the main hospital. In exchange I want you to teach Yakumo and Ino about fire and earth jutsu respectively. I would do it myself, but you know I'm almost useless with elemental ninjutsu."
"Deal. I have around two weeks for training before I plan to head out again. Our last mission pay was upgraded to B-rank and we collected a good amount of loot, so there is no pressing need to go immediately on another mission."
They lapsed into a comfortable silence for a while and Kurenai's thoughts began to drift aimlessly until they settled on the matter of relationships. Or rather the lack thereof. It had been a while since she had gotten laid the last time. Perhaps Anko was interested in reviving the 'with benefits' part of their friendship. Tentatively she placed her hand on her friend's thigh.
A few seconds later Anko gently removed her hand. "Sorry Kurenai-chan, I'm currently seeing someone."
Kurenai nodded in acknowledgement, suppressing a pang of disappointment. While they occasionally shared a bed they never did it while one of them was dating someone else. "Another boy toy or something serious?"
"Serious. I think it just might work out this time. He's a very sweet man. We've know each other for a few months but we've started dating only a few days ago. It's too early to tell if it will really work out long-term."
"I wish you good luck. I'm still searching." For a while Kurenai had thought there might be something between her and Asuma, but by now she had recognized that while the man flirted with her he didn't seem to harbor any real desire for a relationship. Well, there was nothing she could do about that.
With a slight puff of smoke that was nearly invisible in the omnipresent mist the sealing scroll divulged it contents; a small heap of black dust. From behind obsidian eyes an inhuman intellect examined it carefully before probing it with additional otherworldly senses. After ascertaining that the dust constituted no danger he began studying it in earnest.
"How unusual."
Hana Inuzaka was in a pensive mood when she left the veterinary clinic after her shift ended. She didn't have far to go; the relatively new clinic was practically an annex of the Inuzaka clan compound. It had just seemed practical to relocate the clinic here after the original building had been damaged irreparably in an explosion a few years ago. The Inuzaka dogs were the largest chunk of their patients, after all.
She had hardly entered the compound when her three canine partners greeted her enthusiastically. "Down boys, I'll right back. I just need to change my clothing before we can go for a run." The three dogs immediately backed off and allowed her to approach her house.
The usually noisy compound was rather quiet at the moment because most people were sitting down for dinner. Having been fed earlier most dogs were napping until the human part of the clan returned from their meals. Unfortunately there was no dinner waiting for Hana. Her mother and her little brother were away on missions, meaning the house was empty. If everything went as planned she would get something to eat later. Quickly changing out of her medic-nin uniform into more practical attire she stopped for a moment to consider what reading material she should take along to the meeting. After a moment of thought she decided to pack some of the advanced texts. Even with them her bag wasn't that heavy and they might prove useful.
When she left the house again her partners were already waiting for her. "I've to meet someone in the woods. We can use that to get some training in. What do you say, boys?"
The enthusiastic barks left no doubts about her partners' willingness. As soon as she left the gates of the compound Hana began to run. Occasionally she took to the roofs with her three dogs following faithfully behind. She didn't need to pay much attention to where she was going, by now she knew most travel routes rather well. With her conscious mind free to pursue other avenues her thoughts returned to the impending meeting. The reason for her pensive mood was that she had been asked to tutor a young kunoichi in the use of medical jutsu. That alone wasn't that unusual in and of itself. Despite her long absence from the village Tsunade of the Sannin still served as a role model for many of the young females of each generation who dreamt of becoming a famous medic-nin. Unfortunately most young kunoichi lacked the necessary seriousness and either gave up after a few weeks or had to be kicked out. Becoming a medic-nin was a long, hard and arduous process with a lot of responsibility, not a place for young girls to chase their daydreams.
No, the first unusual part of the request was that the tutoring had to be done in secret. Frankly, Hana couldn't think of a reason for that. Medic-nins were a respected profession. Why would anyone need to keep that under wraps? She didn't know much more than that her prospective pupil was female and not on Kurenai's team.
The second unusual fact was that Hana had been asked to do the tutoring. While she was a fully qualified medic-nin she preferred to work with animals, not humans. It was far less glamorous and one received far less recognition for that. In fact it was the first time anyone had asked her for tutoring and it had come as no small surprise when her friend Kurenai brought it up yesterday. That the intended pupil wasn't one of her own genin wasn't that unusual though; if people called in favors from other people it could cause quite the chain reaction until everything worked out.
'I really, really hope the kid isn't like so many others. Well, I'll have to test her knowledge and skills extensively before I let her anywhere near my patients.'
It didn't take long at all to leave the city zone of Konoha behind and enter the woods. Despite her empty stomach she enjoyed the run greatly after a long day in the veterinary clinic. The Haimaru triplets seemed to share that enjoyment. She really had to do that more often, but ever since she had taken over the job at the clinic there were fewer and fewer occasions to run and train. After a few minutes of running she finally arrived at the agreed upon meeting place. Awaiting her were Kurenai, a purple-haired kunoichi and a young Hyuuga girl. Four skewers of meat were cooking above a fire. From the looks of it several skewers had already been eaten and the scents of two additional girls and three boys still lingered in the air.
'The girl has to be the one. Unusual, I've never heard of a Hyuuga taking up the profession of medic-nin.'
Kurenai took over the introductions. "Hana, this is my friend Anko Mitarashi and her pupil Hinata. Say hello to Hana Inuzaka and her three partners."
After they exchanged greetings Kurenai excused herself, leaving Hana alone with Anko and Hinata. Hana knew Anko due to her reputation, but they had never been on missions together. She vaguely remembered Kiba talking about his classmates, but aside from 'shy and cute' she didn't have much information about Hinata. Anko motioned for them to sit down and handed Hana one of the skewers.
"So, you want me to teach Hinata here about medicine? Why all this secrecy?" Hana asked between bites.
To her surprise it was Hinata who answered. "My clan d-doesn't approve of anything other than the G-Gentle Fist, but I like to learn o-other things. I've already learned m-many things in self-study, but I'm at a point where I need help of s-someone knowledgeable in the subject."
"Hinata here is already very good; she patched us together during our last mission. She's already past anything I can teach her in that area. We hope that you can help her in this regard." Anko added.
The Inuzaka mulled that over for a moment. The argument certainly sounded reasonable, but she would have to check things for herself. It wouldn't have been the first time that someone embellished a pupil's abilities. "Before I agree to anything I would like to test Hinata's knowledge and skills. I trust you have no objections?" she asked.
"No, I would expect nothing less." the jonin answered. "If you don't need me for anything I'll leave you two alone; I have to look after the rest of my team. It will take me around two hours to return."
"That's no problem. Should we finish earlier I'll train a bit until you're back." Hana replied. After Anko disappeared into the woods she turned to the Hyuuga girl. "Now Hinata, what do you know about…"
Hana was in a daze when Hinata left for her home after about two hours, her thoughts running wild in her head. She still hadn't completely caught herself when Anko returned.
"Sorry I'm late; had to take care of something. Well, how did it go?" the purple-haired kunoichi asked.
Looking at her without really seeing her Hana replied with another question. "When can she start at the veterinary clinic?"
"Pardon?"
Shaking herself out of her stupor Hana managed a more coherent response. "Sorry, I'm still overwhelmed. Hinata is good, and I mean really good. I didn't reach her level until about a year of studying after I did the entrance test for medic-nins. To think she achieved that purely in self-study… She could take the test now and the guys at the main hospital would welcome her with open arms. Oh, there are holes in her knowledge of advanced fields, but she is far better than I expected. I would be honored to help her improve her skills."
Anko nodded while smiling brightly. "Very good. I assume you already have found a way to keep everything secret?"
"Not completely. It would make everything just too complicated, but we found a compromise. Hinata will have to check things with her clan, but apparently only the learning of techniques requiring medical chakra is outright frowned upon by the Hyuuga. Mixing of medicine, operating conventionally and things like that are seemingly allowed. Officially I will only tutor her in those skills, but unofficially she will get the full training."
It didn't take long for them to hash out a schedule for the next two weeks. When Hana returned to her home she was very glad that Kurenai had called in the favor she owned her in that manner. Teaching a capable pupil was its own reward, but considering Hinata's level of skill they could get to the interesting subjects with only a cursory review of the basics. It was a shame the girl would be away on missions and other training so often. Hana would have preferred having her permanently on staff.
'Oh well, I can't get everything I want.'
Kiba was happy; tired but happy. They had just completed their first C-rank missions without any problems. In fact, the mission had been rather boring, but at least he had been out of the village for a time. After creeping through the valleys and forests of the western Land of Fire to search for bandit camps he looked forward to sleeping in a real bed again. They had even travelled during the night to arrive in Konoha this early; they just had to deliver their report and he could return to his home. Akamaru was already napping in his jacket. Kiba wished he could do likewise, but as a shinobi he had to stay alert at all times.
He could hear angry voices coming from the room down the hallway. Apparently someone was causing a scene in the mission office and delaying everything. When he got closer he could identify the shrillest of the voices; it was unambiguously belonging to Sakura Haruno. The lower, deeper voice of Sasuke Uchiha added to the picture and a faint "Troublesome." completed it.
A few seconds later Team 7's sensei emerged from the room, his eyes glued to the orange book in his hand. His free hand gave a lazy wave to Asuma-sensei before he passed them. A scruffy-looking grey-haired man followed behind him; the overpowering stench of cheap sake that surrounded him had Kiba wrinkling his nose in disgust. The three genin of Team 7 were the last to emerge. Sasuke ignored them, but Sakura and Shikamaru greeted them with a nod. Normally Kiba would have used the opportunity to tease Sasuke a bit, but at the moment he was just too damn tired.
"What a disgusting old man." Asuka muttered as soon as they were out of earshot. "It's only midmorning and he's already drunk. I'm glad we don't have him as our client."
"Yeah, I don't think me and Akamaru could stand to be around him." Kiba said.
"I agree. That would be unpleasant." Shino added.
Asuma-sensei didn't comment.
Anko was in a pretty good mood when she perused the available missions in the mission office together with her genin. The past two weeks had been very productive for all of them. Teaching Kurenai's team about elemental jutsu had been a joy; Ino and Yakumo were just as good students as her own team. Shinji's performance was weaker, but still acceptable. Still, something was strange about the boy. During the first week there seemed to be little personality shifts and his two female teammates watched him attentively the entire time. That meant she wasn't imagining things, but during the second week he seemed stable.
'Probably an aftereffect of his first life-and-death battle. Such things happen and the changes seem to be positive.'
It was funny to see how her friend Kurenai was astonished about the girls' progress. Apparently she still hadn't figured out what was going on with her two female pupils. Anko felt a little bad about keeping that knowledge from her friend, but she wasn't about to disappoint her team's trust. Besides, some lessons Kurenai had to learn on her own and she hadn't asked her. It was important that Kurenai learned to recognize small inconsistencies, investigate and draw conclusions on her own without prompting. Such things were necessary at their rank; seeing underneath the underneath and all that crap.
Her own team was coming along nicely, too. Hana was raving about Hinata's medical skills and wanted to keep her indefinitely, which wasn't going to happen. Anko had far too much fun teaching the girl about infiltration and her work with water manipulation was very impressive, too. Naruto and Choji had the least obvious progress to show for their efforts, but that didn't say much. Choji had only yesterday reached a level with his elemental training that his fire element could be considered mastered; an impressive feat at his age. Most people only really mastered their primary element after three or four years of shinobi life, not a few months. Naruto was still working hard on the development of his own ninjutsu techniques. The boy had decided to concentrate on lightning techniques first, making it possible for Anko to help him somewhat. There just weren't enough wind users around that he could ask for help. It wasn't a quick process by any means, but according to Mizuki it never was. Considering their close relationship it was no wonder that the white-haired chunin helped Naruto as good as he could without neglecting his work at the academy. When Anko visited his house one evening she had found Mizuki and Naruto engrossed in an in-depth conversation about jutsu crafting that she could hardly follow. Anko had been able to observe them for several minutes before they noticed her and Naruto excused himself after giving Mizuki a thumbs up.
'Well, I never expected to keep my relationship with Mizuki secret for long. At least none of them seem to have any problems with me dating their old academy teacher.'
Now though it was time to head out again. "How about this one?" Choji asked while handing her a mission description. After three missions she had picked it was time for her genin to choose the next one. Their choices would tell her much about their own estimation of their skill level.
Anko scanned it quickly. "Looks promising. Let's see what the others come up with." Choji had picked a mission to track down and annihilate a group of bandits that had made a nuisance of themselves by attacking a tax collector. The government took a dim view of such activities. It looked like a straightforward search and destroy mission that was well within the capabilities of the team.
Naruto and Hinata were still looking through the available missions when a chunin with several scrolls in his arms appeared from the direction of the aviary. The scrolls were quickly dispersed to the people working in the background and Anko could see a messenger leaving for the jonin standby station.
Then one of the chunin on duty called her over to his desk. "Mitarashi-san, we have a time-critical missing person case here. There is a possible follow-up mission to bring the perpetrators to justice included if it turns out to be abduction. We are currently a little short on ready genin teams with tracking capability and the mission doesn't really justify dispatching a jonin´or a group of chunin. Do you want to take it?"
"Where is it located and who is the client?" Anko asked.
The chunin handed her the scroll. The client was the mayor of one of the mid-sized harbor towns on the east coast of the Land of Fire. His granddaughter had gone missing about two days ago, taking in account the travel time of the message. Anko thought about it for a moment. The mission wasn't especially interesting, but they would get to see the ocean. Familiarity with new types of terrain was always useful and they could stay a few days after the mission was completed. She could always let the genin pick the mission after that.
"Okay, we take it." She turned to her genin. "I want to see you at the eastern gate in twenty minutes. Let's go!"
It did take only fifteen minutes for them to assemble and move out. As soon as they were underway Anko briefed her genin on the particulars of the mission. "I don't have a lot of details, but time is critical for missions like this. I know we dealt with a missing person case just two missions ago, but we were the most qualified team available that wasn't complete overkill. Do you understand why I took it?"
Hinata was the one who answered. "If y-you didn't take the m-mission an overqualified team would have been assigned. They would then b-be unavailable for missions that require a higher skill level."
"Correct. There are some genin teams that would have qualified, but they generally have lower chakra reserves than you have and wouldn't be able to travel as quickly as we. The sooner we get there the better." Anko replied.
The route to the east coast was mostly easily traversable terrain and they arrived on the evening of the second day of their mission. Her genin acted suitably impressed when they first laid eyes on the eastern ocean. It was a pretty sight with the evening sun glittering on the waves, but they soon resumed their journey. The sun was touching the horizon when they arrived at their destination. Anko had never been to this particular harbor town. It was of middling size with a small garrison and seemed completely unremarkable; neither especially rich nor especially poor. A short chat with the gate guards later the team was approaching the mayor's mansion.
Her trained eye immediately noticed the strange mood the servants and guards seemed to be in. Some were angry, but the majority was gloomy. After announcing their presence a butler led them into the mansion after a perfunctory greeting. From the looks of it the interior decoration was in line with what she expected the official of such a town could afford without corruption. It was always nice to work for honest people. They were ushered into a meeting room to await the arrival of the mayor.
"What do you think is all that about, sensei?" Naruto asked.
Anko shrugged. "No idea. Could be that all these people are angry about the disappearance of the girl we have been hired to find, but there seems to be more to it. We'll have to wait until the client talks to us."
It was almost a quarter of an hour later when a middle-aged, muscular man wearing the uniform of the imperial army entered the room. Unfortunately he wasn't their client but the local commander of the small army detachment and the harbor guard.
"Can you tell us anything about why we are here? The information in the mission request was rather vague." Anko asked.
The man sighed. "It is not really my place, but I am involved in the matter. I guess there is no harm in telling you. Four days ago the granddaughter of our honored mayor Akira Ojima vanished. At first her grandfather wasn't overly concerned; the Lady Yuna is rather high-spirited and likes to mingle with the common folk incognito. When she didn't return a day later Ojima-sama was beyond himself with worry and immediately sent for help from your village while commanding me to search the town. We found her this morning."
"She turned up again?" Anko asked.
The man hesitated a moment. "Yes, but… she is not in a good state. Forgive me, but please wait with further questions until Ojima-sama arrives."
This time they had only to wait for about five minutes before three men entered the room. Judging from their clothing the first one was some sort of doctor while the second one seemed to be the mayor. His white hair was in disarray, his shoulders slumped and he looked like he hadn't slept in days. The last one seemed to be a secretary.
Her impression proved to be correct when introductions were made, but the mayor never said a word. He seemed to be staring into the distance sightlessly, so it fell to the secretary to explain the situation. "Mitarashi-san, we are honored by Konoha's quick response to our request. The first part of the stated mission is no longer applicable, but we still want to enlist your help in the follow-up mission."
Anko held up her hand. "Before I agree to anything I would like to completely understand the situation. I know the girl went missing and turned up again, making finding her unnecessary. Who exactly is my team supposed to find?"
The secretary was clearly uncomfortable, but after a quick look to the mayor he explained the situation further. "When the Lady Yuna was found she was unconscious and hasn't woken since. She was clearly beaten severely and…" he stopped for a moment and breathed deeply, "raped over the course of the three days she was missing."
Suddenly the mayor spoke up and looked at her with burning eyes. "I want you to find the scum who did that to my granddaughter. Preferably alive, but if circumstances don't allow you to safely capture them make their deaths as painful as possible. I don't care what it costs."
After speaking his piece the old man lapsed again into a brooding silence. Anko thought for a moment. The circumstances were certainly nasty but well within the original mission parameters. Bringing criminals to justice was nice and clean; her genin would soon enough be confronted with the morally questionable stuff. "In the name of Konoha I accept the mission to find these criminals and bring them to justice. What do you know about the perpetrators?"
The commander took over the explanation. "Criminal investigations fall under my responsibility. The Lady Yuna was discovered in a back alley. We have no direct suspects, but shortly before I was called to our meeting I was informed that seven low-life mercenaries apparently left the town via ship yesterday evening. We don't know if there is any connection. I didn't want to take any further action without consulting you. If you would accompany to my office in the town I can show you what we've found until now."
"E-Excuse me, but c-could I take a look at L-Lady Yuna? Maybe I w-will be able to do something." Hinata unexpectedly said.
Despite the interruption by the young girl the doctor answered immediately. "I have done everything I could for Lady Yuna, but she will not wake. In my opinion she has some internal injuries that are beyond my skill."
Anko was a bit surprised about Hinata's boldness but didn't show that reaction. "That is a good idea; my pupil Hinata here is very skilled in the medical arts. Additionally I would like to examine the clothes she was found in. There might be traces we can use to find the culprits."
Soon Anko and Hinata were led into the bedroom of Yuna Ojima while a servant was sent out to retrieve her clothes. It wasn't a pretty sight, although she had seen worse. The girl was a few years older than her genin and she could have been considered very pretty under other circumstances. Now though her body was covered in bruises, or at least the parts that weren't bandaged. After a quick talk with Hinata she left the room and returned to the meeting chamber to confer with the military commander about the suspects.
It wasn't long before Hinata returned with the doctor in tow. "She h-has several broken bones, but these and the bruises w-will heal. The problem is that h-her brain was injured. There is swelling under her skull and the p-pressure on her brain is increasing. If nothing is d-done she w-will die in two days at the latest."
She hadn't thought it possible, but the face of the mayor fell further. "Is there anything that can be done?"
The doctor shook his head. "I'm sorry, Ojima-same. This is beyond my skill."
"I m-might be able to save her, but the chances a-aren't good. It h-has been too long since the i-initial injury." Hinata answered. "I know the p-procedure but never did it m-myself. It has to be done as soon as p-possible; with each m-minute her chances for a r-recovery are growing worse."
Hinata was obviously surprised when the old mayor knelt before her and took her hands into his. "Please, I beg you. Do everything in your power to save my little girl."
After a moment of thought Anko signaled Hinata her approval. While she worked on the girl the rest of the team would search the town for clues. It was then that a servant brought a tattered dress stained with dried blood and other bodily fluids. Naruto sniffed at it closely for a while, which earned him strange looks from the other occupants of the room.
"Okay, I have her scent. Too many people have handled that thing, but if I get an uncontaminated sample I can match who had close contact with her." Naruto announced.
Seeing the relaxing faces Anko took over. "Good work, Naruto. Choji, I want you to collect all info related to this case you are able to find. Concentrate on the suspects, but keep your mind open. Pay special attention to leaving and arriving ships, if the commander's suspicion is correct we'll need a ship to follow them. Naruto, you stay by my side. Commander, if you would be so good to show us where the people you suspect lived?"
The first one's abode was a simple wooden shack. Nothing suspicious turned up besides some old, discarded clothes, but Naruto said the smell of the man matched with one of the scents on the girl's clothes. Anko thought it prudent to keep a sample of the man's scent on hand and took a piece of cloth with her. They had more luck at the second location, an abandoned house.
"The girl was clearly in this room; I can still smell her scent clearly. Five other scents; all male. They all had their way with the girl several times. She was most definitely not the first one" Naruto said with a shudder of disgust.
A bit of searching yielded blood-stained bedding on a trash heap behind the house, further supporting their conclusions. Five more empty residences later they were sure that they had determined the people responsible and Anko had collected scent samples from all of them.
It was well past midnight when they convened again in the mayor's mansion. Choji was there, but Hinata was still operating. "We are now sure who the perpetrators are. Naruto can now recognize their scent as can my snake summons. Choji, what have you been able to find out?" Anko asked.
"I have learned fewer facts than I wanted; the available time was just too short. Two of the suspects were heard boasting that they had been offered a well-paying job and would be leaving town shortly. One said he and some of his friends wanted to have a little fun beforehand. They were seen boarding a ship headed for-" Choji was interrupted in his report when a tired-looking Hinata entered the room, followed by the doctor.
Hinata turned to the mayor. "Ojima-sama, I've d-done everything I c-can for Lady Yuna. The o-operation went as w-well as I could hope for. Only t-time will show if my efforts w-were enough."
A bit of life returned to the eyes of the mayor. "I thank you for your efforts, Hyuuga-san. You have my gratitude. What is your opinion, doctor?"
"It was impressive work." the doctor said. "As my young colleague said, there is nothing further she can do. I will be able to handle any complications that might arise, but we hope Lady Yuna will wake in a few days."
Anko was sure she spied tears in the eyes of the mayor when he continued thanking her female pupil profusely. He even promised to pay for the initial, now unnecessary C-rank mission to reward her for her efforts. It took them a few minutes to return to the matter at hand.
"Before we were interrupted you wanted to say something, Choji?"
Choji nodded. "Yes, Anko-sensei. I had only their names and a rough description to go by, but I was able to discover their destination. The ship they took was going to Whirlpool Island."
The buzzing of untold kikaichu filled the air when Shino settled in his place at the side of his father in the underground meeting hall and some of his own allies joined the colossal swarm. It was the first time for him to participate in the biannual clan meeting that was only open to adult Aburame with full control of their hives, shinobi and civilian alike. The people who had married into the clan weren't allowed in here and would be informed by their spouses later. Their lack of kikaichu would have caused problems. For a few moments he allowed himself to freely savor the feeling of unity caused by the intermingling of their hives.
They were the Aburame. They were all part of the same swarm.
The voice of elder Shikoru brought him back to reality. "All participants have arrived. I call the conclave to order." Almost immediately the buzzing sound grew fainter. "As the first order of business I welcome young Shino into our ranks. You are now an adult and are able to speak for yourself. May your contribution make the clan prosper."
Shino politely inclined his head. No answer was expected from him at this point.
Following that declaration Shikoru continued with announcing the deaths and births since the last meeting. Four elderly Aburame had perished due to different ailments of old age. They would be missed. More painful was the loss of young Shinju. The girl had only reached the age of four before she succumbed to a severe case of fever. There were so few of them left that each death was a tragedy, especially of clan members that didn't have the chance to procreate yet. The announcement that cousin Muta's wife had born healthy twin girls and cousin Shizuko had given birth to a son were far happier news. If projections held up the recovery of the clan would pick up speed in the next few years when more of the young generation like him reached the age to marry, provided they were able to find suitable spouses of course. After concluding that topic the conversation moved to the political developments.
"Torune, what do you have to report about Shimura's covert activities?" Shikoru asked his son.
The man didn't answer loud, but that wasn't surprising. Torune wasn't able to speak directly about his dealings with Danzo Shimura and work in ROOT thanks to the special seal the old man employed, but one little fact had slipped by the paranoia of Konoha's most secretive elder: An Aburame didn't need to speak or write in order to communicate with other Aburame; contact with the other clan members' kikaichu was perfectly sufficient.
"Clan head Shibi has already received a detailed report. The only matter of significance is that Shimura has become aware of the current planned proposals of the Hokage to phase out some of the shinobi clans' tax privileges. He doesn't intend to oppose them."
The assembly pondered that for a moment. This was only the last measure of the Hokage to slowly and subtly chip away at the shinobi clans' privileged status. If the changes were approved it would further weaken the position of the clan. Unfortunately there was nothing that could be done. With Danzo remaining neutral there was no hope of stopping the changes from becoming law. All nine of the civilian councilors would naturally approve. Combined with the Senju vote of the Hokage and the Kurama seat in the hands of a civilian the six votes of the great clans wouldn't be enough, even if it was unknown how the councilors Homura Mitokado and Koharo Utatane would vote on the issue. The slow dismantling of the clan privileges had noticeably picked up speed ever since the Hokage had achieved a stable majority of his civilian allies, even if they didn't agree with him on all issues. It did nothing to endear the old man to the Aburame.
"Our association with Shimura has proven to be less profitable than originally envisioned." another elder voiced his opinion.
"That is true." Shino's father Shibi replied stoically. "Unfortunately our clan has less political weight than in the past. He seemed the only possible option for opposition to the Hokage's policies. Contrary to our expectations he doesn't seem to actually want to go against the Hokage. On the other hand we have access to more information than without our association. Currently I feel it is in the best interest of the clan to continue the secret alliance with Danzo."
Shino remained silent while he listened attentively to the unfolding debate. It was the first time he was included in the political maneuvers of the clan and he learned a great deal. He pondered for a moment to reveal his membership in Naruto's political circle, but decided that the time wasn't right. His voice wasn't important enough yet to sway his clan. His father and some of the elders were aware of what he was doing and approved; it wouldn't do for the Aburame to keep their eggs in just one basket. They intended to survive no matter which side proved successful.
Several other topics were swiftly dealt with until something came up that had the kikaichu in the room buzzing in anger and hate. "The last three Kamizuru left Iwa approximately one month ago for an unknown destination. All clan members leaving the safety of the village should stay on alert. If the opportunity presents itself use all means possible to end the feud once and for all." Shibi commanded.
Shino made a mental note to look out for their insect-using rivals. Their feud stemmed from the era of the clan wars, but it had flared up to new hate in the third shinobi war. The Kamizuru had led a covert invasion force into the Land of Fire that had come very close to destroying Konoha. They had managed to reach the village undetected and breached the walls while most forces were away. By a quirk of fate their avenue of attack had led them directly into the Aburame clan compound. A large part of the non-fighting Aburame clan members and children had died in repelling the attack while the shinobi of the clan sustained heavy losses in the field. The Aburame had retaliated by almost wiping out the Kamizuru remaining in Iwa by the means of an infiltrator poisoning their water supply. It had been elder Shikoru's brother who did they deed with his special breed of nano-sized kikaichu. The man had died when he was discovered, but his sacrifice had decimated their enemies.
The meeting was about to end when his father raised his voice again. "There is another matter. You all have noticed that my son is employing a technique to conceal his true chakra reserves. Shino, please show the others what your true reserves are."
Accommodating the request of his father Shino stopped suppressing his chakra. Slight gaps could be heard and the buzzing grew louder. The uncommon show of emotion was completely understandable considering the surprise. Despite his young age Shino possessed the second largest chakra reserves in the room. His father had him still beat by the tiniest amount, but no one else.
"How is this possible?" Muta asked.
"My improvement is due to new chakra training techniques Naruto Uzumaki developed with the help of Hinata Hyuuga. Thanks to my close association with them they shared them with me under the condition that I don't share them further." Shino answered.
Shikoru posed another question. "Is that his last word in the matter? This technique is incredibly valuable."
"No. Should we agree to politically support Uzumaki he would be willing to reveal the secrets of his techniques to us. Before you ask, I will not go against my word. Why do you ask? The promise was witnessed and shared by the heirs of the Akimichi, Hyuuga, Kurama and Yamanaka. It would damage our credibility if I should forsake my word."
The following discussion was unusually lively. Many were wary of the jinchuuriki, but the possible advantage to be gained from agreeing to his terms was swaying an increasing number of clan members. It had grown late when his father ended the meeting. "There is no need for making a hasty decision. I only asked my son to reveal this fact because some of you have doubted my decision to let him befriend the boy. Considering the clear advantage he already gained from this friendship I trust there will be no further objections. In time his association with the last Uzumaki might prove even more useful and worthy of our support. This meeting is adjourned."
If he had been so inclined Shino would have smiled. The first step in getting his clan to support the goals of the circle was successful.
Sea foam sprayed all over Naruto when another wave hit the ship. The cruise was not going well due to the increasingly rough sea, but he wasn't that worried. The captain said they would be able to reach the safety of Whirlpool Island before it became too bad. Unfortunately their weather-induced slow speed would give their targets even more of a head start. They had been lucky they had been able to catch a ship going in the right direction at all. The harbor guard only possessed two small boats that were completely unsuited to bracing the sea outside of coastal waters.
Naruto wasn't sure what to feel about the next step of their journey. The ancient home of the Uzumaki clan, Uzushiogakure, the Village hidden by the Whirling Tides, was their goal; or rather the settlement near the ruins thereof. He had searched for information on his clan in the libraries of Konoha and he wasn't completely ignorant of his clan's history.
The Uzumaki had settled on Whirlpool Island several hundred years ago and had maintained that seat even during the time of the clan wars. It had only been transformed into a proper shinobi village a few years after Konoha's founding when several small shinobi clans asked for permission to settle on the island. The Uzumaki had remained the one major clan of Uzushiogakure, though. Their specialty had been the sealing arts. Individual seal masters here and there may have been just as good or even better in their own way, but only the Uzumaki had the sheer number of seal masters among their members that allowed them to employ seals on a massive scale. It had made them quite powerful and influential, but in the same vein the sealing arts had been their downfall. They had been just too powerful to be left alone, but not powerful enough to survive against the odds arrayed against them.
The third shinobi war had been a protracted mess of several individual conflicts over the course of more than a decade that had involved the whole shinobi world, although the normal populace hadn't been affected all too much. In Konoha they mostly remembered the struggle against Iwa, but the Village hidden in the Leaves had fought against pretty much all major villages and most of the minor ones at one point or another. Alliances had been fleeting, and today's enemies could be tomorrow's friends and the other way round. Uzushiogakure had been one of the first victims of the war. The stalwart defenses that had held against every assault in the clan wars had proven insufficient against the combined might of Kumo and Kiri as well as several minor villages. The coalition had fallen apart not even two months after their victory, but by then it had been far too late. From all accounts the battle had been gruesome, but in the end Whirlpool Island had fallen and the Uzumaki with it. The victorious forces had scoured the island clean. After their withdrawal no living thing had remained on the island.
Some isolated Uzumaki who hadn't been there like Kushina or who had been taken prisoner had survived, but when the dust settled there hadn't been an Uzumaki clan anymore. Their secrets had been either destroyed or seized by the victors, leaving nothing behind but ruins. The thought of seeing that place made Naruto slightly depressed. He may have renounced his biological parents, but in some sense he still was an Uzumaki. Suddenly Naruto noticed Hinata standing by his side.
"I have been standing here a while. Thinking deep thoughts?"
Naruto sighed. "You could say that. I'm just wondering about what we'll find there. That is if we even have the time to look around."
Hinata shrugged. "Who knows? I doubt much remains after all this time."
They continued staring into the distance until Hinata signaled him that Anko was approaching. "Is everything alright, Naruto? You have been here for hours, staring into the distance." their sensei asked.
"I'm just not in a good mood, sensei." Naruto answered.
"Is it about what happened to the girl? Such things happen. The world isn't a nice or friendly place. Sometimes we make it slightly better, sometimes worse. You have to learn to keep your emotional distance to the clients and targets or it will crush you before long." Ako-sensei said.
Naruto shook his head. "No, it isn't about that. It's… well, Whirlpool Island was once the home of the Uzumaki clan."
"Oh." Anko was silent for a moment. "I should have thought of that, but it was long before my time."
"Do you know anything about the battle, sensei? I read what texts were there in the library, but it wasn't much." Naruto asked.
"Some facts, but not many. My sensei once took me here when he searched the ruins, but we didn't find anything. I know there was a siege and most of the island was ravaged by tidal waves. There are no openly accessible reports, most likely because what information Konoha has was gathered via hidden agents. There are some small fishing towns and the harbor we're now heading to that were founded a few years after the battle, but otherwise the island is a desolate wasteland. Nothing grows there anymore besides some weeds; the salt from the tidal waves poisoned the soil." she answered.
In that moment the silhouette of an island became visible in the distance, but they couldn't make out many details. The ship changed course slightly to keep its distance while heading in an eastern direction.
"Why don't we get c-closer to the shore? It would make the journey much shorter." Hinata wondered.
Anko pointed towards the water. "You can't see it from here, but there are shoals everywhere. The whirlpools caused by them gave the island its name. Originally you needed a native to pilot you through the natural and artificial channels leading through the shoals, but not anymore. The attackers took care of that. You'll see it yourself when we get there."
It took hours, but finally their destination came into view. It was the mouth of a river surrounded by steep, barren hills. The surroundings were even more interesting. Even after two decades the remnants of elemental jutsu and other high-powered techniques could be seen if you knew what to look for. Rock formations that were out of place, traces of solidified lava, a stretch of land that had deep grooves dug into it like it had been hit by lightning again and again.
Naruto blinked. It seemed the water on the river was flowing backwards because of the rising tide.
"I see you noticed the river. It reverses its direction in tune with the tides. Look into the water." Anko told them.
Naruto did as he was told and he saw what their sensei was pointing out to them. The waves made it difficult to recognize, but the ubiquitous shoals, reefs and whirlpools were missing here. When he looked left and right he could see that it was a large gap in the shoals.
Anko took over the explanation. "This is where the forces of Kiri and Kumo breached the defenses of the island and the seal barriers anchored on the reefs. I don't know how they did it, but somehow the Kiri-nin caused the water to recede, leaving the sea bottom uncovered. Then the Kumo-nin blasted the reefs to pieces with lightning. With their support destroyed the seal barrier surrounding the island was pierced. When the attacking forces formed the returning water into a tsunami it did further damage to the inner defenses. There are other breaches, but this one here is the biggest. The rest of the seal barrier was destroyed later."
"Why didn't Konoha help their allies?" Choji asked. He had joined them about an hour ago.
"We couldn't. Things were tense with Iwa and we were fighting against a coalition of several minor villages at the time. Furthermore, we never had much power at sea. With Kiri controlling these waters there was no way we could get troops here." Anko answered his question.
With the high tide it wasn't difficult for their ship to make its way on the river. It was a good thing for the weather was steadily getting worse. All the waves were getting bigger and bigger and whitecaps were everywhere. When the ship passed a bend in the river they laid eyes upon the harbor town. It's location was certainly unusual. Something had completely obliterated two of the hills, creating an artificial bay that served as a harbor. Several ships and boats were laying at anchor. Most of the buildings were made from rubble or driftwood. All in all it was a dingy, miserable place that hardly qualified as a town.
"What happened here?" Naruto asked.
"You mean to the hills? This is the site were the head of the Uzumaki clan fought against the Sandaime Mizukage and his elite guard. When he was about to lose he used a sealing technique in an attempt to take the attackers down with him, but unfortunately they escaped in time. If you refer to the village; there just isn't much traffic or trade. Most ships don't stop here until they need a sheltered harbor. Some smuggling is going on, but not much. The ruins of Uzushio are behind these hills over there."
"You sure do know a lot, sensei." Choji said.
Anko shrugged. "I always try to collect as much information as possible about the terrain. It could come in useful at a later point."
As soon as they entered the harbor they split in search of their targets. It was surprisingly easy to find information about them; they hadn't left a good impression behind. Unfortunately they had already left the town. After the team met up again they tracked down the ship-owner who had given them passage and had just returned earlier the day.
"Aye, I've seen your guys. They met some friends and paid me to ferry them to a specific beach on Wave Country to the south. Unpleasant lot, I was glad to be rid of them." the white-haired man said while chewing on some tobacco.
"Could you bring us to the same spot? We'll pay well." Anko offered.
Unfortunately the answer wasn't what they hoped for. "Certainly, but not soon. My ship isn't sturdy enough to handle this weather, and I don't think anyone else is willing to take the risk. It will probably be two days until we can head out."
Anko nodded in acceptance. "I see. Thank you for your time; we will return as soon as the wind calms down."
"Couldn't we simply water-walk?" Choji asked when they left the man.
"Theoretically, yes. Unfortunately it's rather unpleasant and dangerous to do that on the ocean at the best of times, not to mention under the current conditions. Think about it, the ground is moving under your feet and the waves are large enough that it will be hard to keep our direction. If I remember correctly Wave is pretty much flat, so it's easy to miss from a distance. Additionally, without the captain guiding us we won't find the specific beach our targets used." Anko lectured.
Choji thought about it. "I see. Well, what do we do in the meantime, sensei?"
Anko shrugged. "We can't do much besides taking a room and wait until the weather clears. There's nothing here and I don't want you to run off alone. Do you have any suggestions?"
"I would like to visit the ruins. There is no telling if we ever get the opportunity to visit here again." Naruto said.
"Okay, we can do that tomorrow. For now we need a place to stay the night. Did any of you come across an inn that wasn't a rat-infested shithole?"
The ruins of Uzushiogakure made for a depressing sight in Choji's opinion. Broken columns and collapsed buildings littered both banks of the river. Parts of the destroyed village had been flooded and some bones could be seen lying around here and there. Obviously the village population had gone down fighting and the signs of jutsu damage were obvious.
'One of the most powerful minor villages wiped out like that. If we fail in our plans Konoha might meet the same fate in the future.'
They had been here for hours without finding anything valuable. That wasn't unexpected, according to the townspeople the ruins had been picked clean by treasure hunters. Even after the original sacking almost all shinobi villages had sent several expeditions over the course of the last two decades in hope of finding some valuable remains. That wasn't even counting the hordes of independent scavengers that had descended on Whirlpool Island after the shinobi had left. Apparently even now there were two or three groups of treasure hunters each year. Most things that hadn't been stolen had rotted away in the moist island climate. Only the bare bones of the buildings were left and it looked like someone had removed some of them, probably by using massive sealing scrolls.
Choji was walking alongside Anko; Naruto had wanted to explore for himself and Hinata had accompanied him.
"All this really drives the point home that nothing lasts forever, doesn't it sensei?" he suddenly remarked.
Anko was visibly startled for a moment. None of them had spoken for more than twenty minutes. "Yes, Choji, it does. Uzushio was actually much older than Konoha, but all that history didn't prevent its end." She sighed. "No matter what we do, one day will see the end of our village. Sometimes I wonder how long Konoha will last and what will be remembered of it. Will we be seen as the paragons of the shinobi world? Or will we be pictured as tyrants who imposed our worldview on other countries? Or will we be forgotten completely?"
He had nothing to say to that and they continued wandering the ruins in silence until they arrived at the agreed upon meeting place. While waiting for Naruto and Hinata Choji suddenly noticed that someone was using the Fire Arrow jutsu in the distance, most likely his wayward teammates.
'The color is green, so they aren't in any danger. I wonder what this is about.'
Before he could say anything Anko had noticed it on her own. "Well, it seems something came up. Follow me."
Anko started moving in the direction of the fire arrow with Choji following her. It didn't take them long to arrive at their destination. Once upon a time it had been an impressive garden sequestered behind several walls and buildings, but now it was a waste of brown earth with a few weeds sprouting here and there. The trunks of dead trees towered over the garden when they approached the waiting Hinata who motioned them to be silent. Several large slabs of stone were standing at the other end of the garden. Naruto sat before one of the large chiseled stone, tracing inscriptions with his fingers and seemed lost in thought.
Hinata moved over to them. "These stones are s-similar to the memorial stones we have in Konoha, but they r-record what the persons died for. Naruto is m-memorizing them. He has been at it for a while and I didn't want to d-disturb him."
Anko gave her a nod of agreement and gave Naruto a bit more distance. Choji and Hinata followed. It was a very personal moment for Naruto and none of them wanted to disturb their blond teammate.
'What would it be like to only know my clan from old history books? To wander a ruined Konoha and wonder what could have been?'
It led to a rather depressive line of thinking. Naruto's voice interrupted his thoughts after a while. "I'm finished; thanks for giving me the time. I memorized them as good as I could. They should be remembered by someone."
"Don't mention it. Ready to return to the harbor or do you want to explore more?" Anko asked.
Naruto shook his head. "No sense in doing that. There's nothing here but ruins, dust and bitter memories. If there are some hidden caches left I doubt me being of Uzumaki descent is enough to find them. At least some of the expeditions must have enough forethought to bring known Uzumaki descendants with them."
Neither Choji nor Hinata had anything to say to that and they began the journey back. On the next day the wind had subsided somewhat, but it was still strong enough to prevent their ship from leaving the harbor and they spent a rather boring day in the town. Choji and the others used the opportunity to hone their information gathering skills, but unfortunately nothing interesting came up. Most rumors and news they picked up were already out of date.
On the morning of their third full day on Whirlpool Island the weather had finally improved enough for them to set sail. After a quick meal of mussels they purchased from one of the street vendors they left the island behind. The voyage on the new ship was even more boring than the day before. The captain wasn't a man of many words and the small crew didn't talk much to them either. Things weren't made better that around midday Choji's stomach began to grumble and he was beginning to feel a bit queasy.
'It's probably sea sickness. This ship is far smaller than the last one and the waves are much more noticeable. I can deal with it.'
The sun was already touching the horizon when they arrived at their destination, a mid-sized beach bordered by dense mangrove forests.
"Welcome to Wave Country. That's the beach where I dropped the other lot off. We made good time; we needed several hours more to get here last time. Unfortunately you'll have to swim to the shore; the wind wrecked my longboat before I got back to Whirlpool." the captain announced.
Anko-sensei waved the man off. "That's no trouble for us. Thank you for your service and have a good journey home. Let's go, kids."
True to Anko's command they jumped off the ship and simply walked on the water towards the shore. Hinata let out a small giggle after a few steps and a sidelong glance showed him that she had her byakugan active.
'The reaction of the sailors was probably funny.' he decided.
Once upon the shore they almost immediately stumbled upon the remains of a campfire. Unfortunately another subject soon required his attention. The queasy feeling in his stomach had increased over the last hours and was now replaced by a sharp pain and pressure. After relaying his predicament to the team he barely managed to reach a convenient bush before vomiting. From the way it felt he would have to use another body orifice of his to relieve another part of the pressure. Some part of his brain that wasn't occupied with his immediate needs noticed how Anko and Hinata seemed to be in similar straits while Naruto seemed fine but confused about what was happening. His mind connected the dots and came to the inevitable conclusion.
'Food poisoning. Shit.'
Naruto had a headache. His entire team was incapacitated by diarrhea and vomiting just because each of them had ignored the initial symptoms and decided to tough it out. At least Anko-sensei and Hinata should have known better than keeping stomach problems to themselves. Now it was too late for Hinata's medical techniques to cure them before it became a problem. Oh, it wasn't dangerous thanks to his own skills, but his teammates had some very uncomfortable days before them until their bodies recovered. He cursed himself for not noticing that the mussels had been slightly spoiled. Well, he had noticed that they tasted a bit strange, but not having eaten that dish before he hadn't known how they ought to have tasted. Only his unnatural resilience had prevented him from sharing their fate.
The trail of their targets would probably go cold, but there was nothing to be done about it. His team was pretty much helpless and needed him to take care of them. They didn't know anything about the state of affairs here in Wave and had decided to remain hidden in the woods. The entire thing was stupid, but stupid mistakes were what got good shinobi killed. Currently he was busy with searching for some herbs that should make things easier. Hinata's doctor's bag was well stocked, but some herbs were better fresh. Suddenly a shift of the wind brought him the smell of the herbs he was searching for along with the scent of a woman.
'Great. The herbs I need apparently only grow in one spot in this entire damned forest and someone else is already there.'
Quickly checking himself over once more he made sure that he wasn't immediately recognizable as a shinobi. His headband was back with his team and his weapons were carefully hidden. Breathing deeply he continued in the direction where he had smelled the herbs. It didn't take him long to reach a clearing where a young, beautiful black-haired woman was picking herbs. When he deliberately made some noise she spun around far more smoothly than usual for a civilian. Naruto had to consciously keep his eyes from narrowing when he noticed that she had a hand inside her kimono.
'She's a kunoichi, and a skilled one from the looks of it. I have to be careful.'
Plastering a genuine-looking smile on his face he called out. "Hello there. I'm looking for some herbs. Do you mind if I come over?"
"Good morning to you, too. No, I don't mind. Which herbs do you need?" she called back.
Naruto had to hand it to her, she was really good. Gentle voice, friendly facial expression and a good imitation of a civilian's movement patterns. If he hadn't paid special attention to her initial reaction the girl would have been successful in presenting a completely harmless image. Still, there was no reason for them to fight. Their targets were low-life mercenaries who would never be able to afford the services of a kunoichi of her caliber, meaning she was no threat to their mission. Hopefully it wouldn't come to a fight before he could make that point to her.
Slowly Naruto made his way to her. "I'm looking for herbs useful for treating stomach disorders; some friends of mine ate something that didn't agree with them. My name is Naruto, by the way."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Haku."
Author's notes: It only took me 250k word and twenty full chapters, but now we are finally in Wave. Yay!