"I still can't believe it," said Akane, inside of Shippuu, Kouun, and Zenpou's joint hospital room.
"I know," said Tsubame. "Them of all people!"
"Come on guys," said Sora. "It's not everyday that one of your classmates is promoted to chunin. You should be congratulating him."
"But Sensei, why was Shippuu promoted to chunin?" complained Kouun.
"First of all, the judges thought that he showed great potential in his match with Shin," answered Ryuuko. "But that alone isn't enough to promote you to chunin. They found that he showed great judgement in chasing after Hachuumaru when finding that something was amiss."
"Well, I chased after Shippuu and Zenpou! Doesn't that count for something?"
"You also tried to buy time for Shippuu to arrive during your match," was Ryuuko's deadpan reply. "I doubt that they saw a whole lot of potential in you in that fight."
"Hey Kouun, does that mean that I get a win in our little rivalry?" asked Shippuu. "That would mean, seven wins, seven losses, and three draws."
"Whatever," Kouun replied reluctantly.
"Sensei, you said that two more people were also promoted to chunin," Zenpou said to Ryuuko. "Who were they?"
"Suishou and Yamamaru were both promoted to chunin," answered Akane.
"That last fight was incredible," added Tsubame. "But Yamamaru won it with a good feint."
Everyone in the room carried on their own conversations and were basically having a very fun time. Who would've thought that they had recently found out that one of their most trusted friends was actually a spy for some organization. Perhaps this was all just some way of coping with that reality. Regardless, there was a knock on the door and before anyone could tell that person to come in, the door was kicked down.
"SHIPPUU!" yelled an angry voice.
"H-hey, what's up, Naruto?" asked Shippuu timidly.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU GOT PROMOTED TO CHUNIN BEFORE ME!"
"I'M SORRY BUT YOU GOT TRAINED BY A FRICKIN SAGE! THAT'S HARDLY FAIR!"
"DAMNIT! THAT'S BECAUSE OF SPECIAL REASONS!"
"SHUT UP! I OUTRANK YOU NOW SO YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO ME!"
"THIS ISN'T A MATTER OF RANK DAMNIT! I'M YOUR BIG BROTHER! WHO PICKED YOU OFF OF THE STREETS WHEN YOU WERE CRYING LIKE A LITTLE BABY?"
"SH-SHUT UP, STUPID GENIN!"
The two brothers went back and forth like this, throwing insult after insult at each other, none of which were very good. This whole time they hadn't noticed that everyone in the room was laughing at them. After a while the two calmed down and had a little laugh at themselves.
"Shippuu, I'm proud of you," said Naruto.
"Come on, Naruto, it's not like you being a genin will change anything," replied Shippuu. "You've been trained by a Sannin for god's sake. Your probably the strongest genin in history. I bet you came back to the village with Sasuke with you!"
"… No, not this time. Sasuke's stronger than ever before. But I'm about to work on a new jutsu to kick his ass and bring him back to the village!"
"That's great, Bro! I know you can do it!"
There was then another knock on the door and Tsunade walked into the room.
"Naruto, Kakashi and Yamato are looking for you," she said. "You should probably go see what they want."
Naruto said goodbye to Shippuu and went out the door.
"What's up, Grandma Tsunade?" asked Shippuu.
"You should be recovered in a day or two," answered Tsunade. "And I'm here to give you your orders upon your discharge. You are going to be a part of a special task force. It is composed of twenty ninjas divvied into teams of four. Your goal is to acquire any information on the Akatsuki possible. This team is known as the Nijuu Shotai. Your team leader will be Sora Washi and your teammates' names are Raijun Akatori and Yuki Kurotsuchi."
"You mean, I'm gonna be hunting the Akatsuki?" asked Shippuu excitedly.
"Not the Akatsuki, but information regarding the Akatsuki," corrected Tsunade. "Sora can I talk to you outside for a bit?"
Sora and Tsunade went outside Shippuu's room, while the others remained inside to carry on their own conversations.
"We had some ANBU do a memory scan on the boys to find out what happened. It turns out that they're after Kouun Raiden. I think it's best that the kids don't know this. Well, except for Shippuu and Kouun, who already know."
"Is that all, Milady?"
"There's another thing. While they were scanning Shippuu's memory they found out something interesting in his subconscious, his real name. His birth name is Shippuu Ryuuma."
"Ryuuma? I haven't heard of that name before. And what do you mean, 'in his subconscious'?"
"Well, it seems that Shippuu has a bit of amnesia from before he was six years old. And the Ryuuma were a powerful clan a long time ago, but they went extinct about seven years ago. Only a few months before Shippuu and Naruto became brothers."
"That's a little suspicious."
"I did some research on the Ryuuma clan's history but there wasn't anything recent, I had to go way back. The Ryuuma clan predates the village, back in the times when clans fought constant wars. They were as famous as the Senju and Uchiha clans, but not for their combat abilities. They were well known for their sealing jutsu, they could seal away anything or anyone."
"Anyone?"
"Yes, apparently, about a century before the foundation of Konoha, there was an incredible individual in the clan. He was the one who gave the clan their name. His name was Ryuuichi, and his chakra was massive. Apparently, because of his massive chakra supplies, no matter how old he got, he never aged a bit. For this, people feared him as a monster, and due to that fear people called him Ryuuichi no Ryuuma."
"And what's he got to do with Shippuu?"
"Because people feared him as a monster, he became a monster, and abandoned his clan. He went on a rampage, shaking up the entire ninja world. Eventually there was only one way to stop him. His grandson sealed him away inside of himself. However because of his massive chakra, if his host dies, then he will be released again. So the tradition became that he was to be resealed into the first-born child. But there was another catch. His chakra would also render the previous host impotent after the birth of his or her first child."
"So that's the story," said Sora. "Don't you think it's a bad idea to let someone like that chase after Akatsuki?"
"No, it should be okay. For a while, the Ryuuma were a nomadic clan, going from country to country. Eventually they settled down in Konoha due to the Second Hokage's kindness. The only records of the clan are here, in Konoha."
"I see, so what your saying is that Shippuu is like some sort of Jinchuriki, in a way. Damn, my team just keeps getting weirder and weirder."
LATER THAT NIGHT
"Yo, Kouun, you awake?" asked Shippuu.
"Yeah, what do you want, Shippuu?"
"I know why Hachuumaru defected, they're after you."
"Yeah, I know, your old pal Kensha told me."
"Well, if they want you over me, then I guess that's a win on your part."
"I'm okay with that, so that puts you at seven wins, eight losses, and three draws."
"Wait, it does? Nevermind then, I take your victory back."
"You can't take a victory back, dumbass. You're just being a sore loser."
"Well, I would've won our fight, so we should just leave it as a tie."
"You have no way of knowing that you'd win, just a hunch. So we stay with 8-7-3."
"Man you're stubborn," Shippuu chuckled.
"I guess that's one of my charm points."
"… Kouun, one more thing."
"Lemme sleep already, dammit."
"Fine, whatever," huffed Shippuu, raising his voice a bit, but slightly red in the face.
"Hey keep it down," mumbled a barely awake Zenpou.
"… Kouun, I won't let this Karasu organization take you… not like they took Hachuumaru."
With that thought out of his head, Shippuu drifted comfortably into the land of dreams.
MEANWHILE, IN AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
Kensha and Hachuumaru were kneeling in a dark room with Ka standing next to them.
"Sir, regarding the recruitment project…" started Kensha.
"It's fine, the only one we need right now is Kouun Raiden. Good job in finding him," answered a man with messy silver hair, a black karate outfit, and sharp canines.
"But Master, what of Shippuu Uzumaki?" asked Hachuumaru.
"That little punk is of no use to us, right Boss?" asked another man with long, dirty blond hair, no shirt, blue pants, and penetrating red eyes.
"Silence, Kanzen Kinzoku," said a very short man with no hair. He was clad in a green robe with armor underneath. He would look like a very goofy character if not for his pure black eyes. "This meeting will be going nowhere if we start shouting over each other."
"Dango is right," said a woman with short red hair, a blue shirt and skirt, a flame patterned jacket, and Tsunade-sized breasts. "Master Ougi, should when should we commence to attack to acquire the Raiden child?"
"We won't need to," said Ka. "He'll be coming to us. It depends on his willpower, I expect it'll take six to nine weeks."
"Are you sure about that Ka Hae?" asked Dango.
"I'm very sure, Dumpling."
"… It's Dango, not Dumpling…"
"Enough!" said the silver haired man, Master Ougi. "Our plan is coming to fruition. We will create… the ultimate ninja."
END CHAPTER
Shippuu is now a chunin, and will be hunting the Akatsuki. He has made a pledge to protect Kouun from the organization Karasu, who plan to create the ultimate ninja! What will happen next in the chapter: Nijuu Shotai…