A/N: Hi guys, how long has it been. Sorry for the lengthy delay, but this has been one of those years so I'm not gonna get into it, you're hear to read this fic not here me gripe and/or rant. I hope my long delay didn't take away from the quality, it was read three time to make sure that the quality was good. I will try to put out the next chapter sooner than this. So, without further ado, please, Read, Enjoy, Review.
Last time on son of whirlpool
Naruto and pain fights tooth and nail to the death with Naruto finally emerging victorious. He speak with the man, the real man, and instead of killing him, he makes him into an ally after convincing him that his methods are wrong and he is no better than the ones he condemn.
Meanwhile, the dragons are busy assembling ninja from the fallen village oto and gathering them to Arashigakure.
Naruto then returns to his village, he is not happy about what the akatsuki has done.
And now, the continuation.
FIVE DAYS TO WAR
Day 1
Naruto sat in his office going over some papers; it was not much, considering Hinata did a far better job than he did. This fact made him feel a little bitter since he had to resort to shadow clones to accomplish the daily torture session called paper work. But begrudgingly he accepted, maybe he could persuade her into doing it again. Tsubaki, who stood in her usual position at his left, saw the look on his face turn from sour to contemplative then to conspirational. It had always amazed her how he could be such an expressive child one moment, then a stone faced shinobi capable of instilling fear into any enemy the next. However, before she could complete this thought, shouts began emerging from outside the door that progressively got louder as it came closer to the office.
She could sense the anger of the person approaching. She quickly reached towards her sword and was about to walk into position when all of a sudden Naruto gestured for her to stop and remain where she was. She did not quite understand, but she did not disobey. Maybe he was expecting this.
Before she was able to think of a plan of action in case something happened, the door suddenly burst open. Naruto did not even look up from his paper work to snag the few sheets that flew when the door was rudely and suddenly slammed open. He did not even acknowledge the dark and brooding look of the young man his own age that glared at him.
"I have been waiting for you," he said in a calm tone that barely disguised his impatience, "you are going to answer all of my questions."
Naruto calmly placed down his pen after signing the last sheet and leaned back with a smile on his face.
"It's nice to see you again Sasuke," Naruto replied, "we have been waiting for you."
Of course, Sasuke noticed when he said 'we', but didn't pay it any mind since he saw the kunoichi standing rigidly behind Naruto's chair eyeing him suspiciously. He thought twice when a sudden shift behind him made him spin around to meet eye to eye with none other than his own older brother.
"Hello, Sasuke," Itachi said, in a way that might qualify for awkward, "I see you are doing well since our last departure."
Sasuke glared at his older brother, but Itachi noted that it lacked the same burning hatred that he himself had inspired in his own younger brother, or at least lessened to a great extent.
"Sit down you two," Naruto said, "Tsubaki, make sure we are not disturbed."
They complied, although Sasuke did wait until Itachi sat first before sitting and keeping an eye on him. Naruto was about to start the conversation, but he was cut off by Sasuke.
"Is it true," he asked, "did Konoha betray our clan and order you to kill them all in cold blood?"
Itachi waited a bit, not looking at Sasuke before he finally answered.
"No," Itachi said simply.
"Then why, why did-"
"It was the clan that betrayed Konoha," Itachi said, "they planned a coup that would have eventually destroyed the peace of the village...I couldn't allow it, so I chose to do what was necessary."
Sasuke froze in shock, unwilling to believe what his ears were listening to; his clan, traitors... impossible.
"Those bastards, I will never forgive them" he said lowly, barely above a whisper, "they destroyed my clan and made you into a criminal."
As Sasuke spoke, his eyes appeared to be glazed over, as if taken over by sadness and anger, and then, by hatred.
"I will not forgive them, the Uchiha cannot forgive those elders that destroyed everything," he said, his voice getting louder as he spoke, "Nii-san, I want to stay with you."
That did not surprise Itachi as he had pretty much expected that. However, he also guessed why Sasuke asked for such a thing and because of that, it brought a frown to his face. He still had to ask though, if only to confirm what he already knew.
"Why, Sasuke," he asked, "why would you leave Konoha twice, after all that Naruto-sama has done to clear your name and give you a new start? Why would you throw all that away?"
"Naruto-sama; a new start; what nonsense are you talking?" he bellowed, "there is no new start; I will never forgive that village for what they have done. Won't you help me get revenge on them?"
Seeing that his brother would not answer him, Sasuke's face darkened.
"Fine, if you will not help me then I will avenge our clan myself," he said as he got up, "and I will get revenge for you as well, aniki, and then I will-."
"ENOUGH!"
That one word made him stop abruptly as he spoke and rose from his seat. At first he didn't recognise it, so it came as a shock when he saw Naruto standing from his own seat and glaring at him. He was about to reply to the command, but that thought too ended in a most sudden way by what happened next.
Naruto retook his seat.
"Sit down, Uchiha Sasuke; I did not give you permission to leave," he said calmly, "or to be a fool."
Despite the direct command and insult that accompanied it, Sasuke had no choice but to obey. The way he spoke, it did not inspire fear, but rather, absolute obedience that even a stubborn person like Sasuke felt compelled to obey, or rather, his body could not disobey while his mind was sent into disarray. Had he been a weaker person, Sasuke might have even complied with a 'yes sir'.
"What is this pressure? It's as if my body cannot disobey." Sasuke wondered as he took his seet, "Is this really Naruto?"
"Haven't you learned anything? Haven't you realised the real truth as yet? What kind of genius are you that you would be deceived and played with all this time?" Sasuke glared at the insult, but was unable to reply, "You say the Uchiha should be avenged, and I would agree if they did not deserve their end. They committed the worse crime possible for ninja, they betrayed their home. And worse of all, it was a home they helped create."
"It was us who were betrayed," Sasuke rebutted, "we were scorned and treated like second class citizens after all we have done, for a reason that was not our own. We should have respect, instead were treated like...like-"
"A jinchuuriki?" Naruto finished Sasuke's statement, getting him to widen his eyes at the similarity, "and yet your clan's name still remains touted as one of the greatest clans of ninja, both praised and feared. Any other clan would have lost not only their lives, but their name as well. Your brother made sure that wouldn't happen, and most of all, he made sure to leave you a great legacy and a reason to live."
"Naruto-sama, you...," Itachi said softly as he realised that Naruto did understand far more than he let on.
"If you continue down this road, Sasuke, you will become a disgrace; a disgrace to your village, your clan," at that Sasuke looked surprise, "and a disgrace to the brother who sacrificed everything for you."
"What am I suppose to do then, just forgive them?" Sasuke asked, "what they did to nii-san was unforgivable."
"There is nothing left to forgive," Naruto said, "your clan turned on the village, and they were killed by one of their own. All that anyone knows is that they were betrayed by the best Uchiha genius in generations. History shall see it as a tragedy against Konoha's most noble and powerful clan, and you, will be the ray of hope that will bring back the Uchiha clan from the ashes."
Silence reigned after Naruto finished what he said. It was a tough pill for Sasuke to swallow, and for him it was akin to opening your eyes to see the light after having them shut while hiding in the darkness. It was revealing but it hurt and he wanted to close them once more so that the pain of the truth would go away. But fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on a person's point of view, Sasuke was in the presence of the only two people that would not allow him that luxury, at least in Itachi's case, not any more.
"Then what am I to do?" he asked, "How can I live in the same place knowing the truth and not do anything about it? Why won't you just let me be Naruto?"
"It's simple really," Naruto smiled when he saw an unbelieving look on Sasuke's face, "Just live like I did. Fight for respect, work for strength and earn your power. Be more than the Uchiha ever was before, and even though what was done will never be known, that blight still exists so it's up to you to rise above it."
Sasuke looked as if he had doubts, but Naruto's next words and a strong hand on his shoulders quickly erased.
"You are my friend Sasuke, and to me that means more than you would know, and as my friend and rival only you could have a chance of doing it," he said with a smile, "and besides, you are a hero that killed Konoha's two most notorious nuke nin. Who else can I entrust my dream of becoming Hokage to?"
That certainly put a shock and a spark into Sasuke. Even though it was a frivolous excuse, but one which could be easily used to take him back into the village. After all, while some would question it, who would be wise enough to see the ploy for what it was?
"You mean..." he said and gained a nod from Naruto. Sasuke then smirked. "Heh, like you would have become Hokage anyway."
"Doesn't matter bastard," Naruto replied, "I am the Kanshisha of this village. Now get out of my office."
Sasuke simply smirked and walked towards the door. But as he reached it, he paused and looked back noticing that Itachi was not with him.
"Onii-san?" he asked.
"I will be with you shortly," he said, giving Sasuke the first smile he had seen in many years, "there is much I still need to tell you."
With that Sasuke left and Itachi turned back to Naruto.
"You do have a certain power," Itachi said, "the kind that makes people want to believe in you. But for saving my brother from walking down a dark path, I will forever be your loyal servant."
At that Naruto blushed and scratched the back of his head.
"None of that Itachi, I would have done the same for anyone of my friends, and Sasuke was like a brother to me. Had things gone differently, he and I would have been standing in the other's position," Naruto said, "but that is not the only reason why I called you here."
"You have a mission for me?"
"Yes, I believe you have heard of the attack on Konoha by now?"Itachi nodded.
"Only what you have eluded to the dragons in the village at the moment."
"Not even Hinata-chan knows the full extent, but I will disclose all to you right now," Naruto began, "Konoha was attacked by pain... they were looking for me."
"That makes sense," Itachi said, "when I left, I made Kisame forget about finding you in this country so Konoha was the only lead they had on you. How come he didn't leave after finding out you were not there?"
"Because the people of Konoha kept my secret, so he didn't find out until it was too late," Naruto said with a smile, "but he almost destroyed the village had I not arrived at that time. That was a huge jutsu; I even performed an S-rank futon jutsu and it still didn't completely neutralize it."
They remained in silence, taking in the information.
"We fought for a bit and I eventually came out on top, and let me tell you, those six paths were no joke, had he fought me in person, it would have been a completely different battle."
"So, what became of his eyes and his body?" Itachi asked, "the one pulling the strings would no doubt seek out his eyes to use for his own purposes."
"I didn't kill him," Naruto said calmly, "I persuaded him to believe in what Jiraiya sensei taught us."
Itachi again was shocked. This boy, no older than sixteen, not only defeated a powerful s-rank ninja and came out of it in one peace, but also persuaded him to his side. But the surprises would not end there.
"We formed a pact and decided to be allies. The leaf would not be too glad about that, but it is better to have friends than enemies, and if you only have enemies it is better to keep them close rather than at arm's length," Naruto said, sounding far wiser than his age, "for this, Itachi, you shall be my proxy in negotiations."
"I see," Itachi said in understanding, "when do I leave?"
"Since it will take you two days to reach there, you will leave today," he said, "this is very important, not only to this village, but also to the future of the ninja world."
"I understand, I will not fail."
With that Itachi left.
"Forgive my impertinence, Uzumaki-sama," Tsubaki said after he left, "but he was once a member of akatsuki along with Pain, do you think it is wise to let them meet unsupervised?"
"Wise, no," Naruto admitted, "but sometimes in order to gain trust, we must give it. Also, Itachi is one of us now and you must remember he is part of the Juryuu along with you and the others. You all are part of a family and you must learn to trust each other since you all are a symbol of the Kanshisha's power and therefore act as my body. I cannot have my left and right hands suspicious of the other."
"My humblest apologies for questioning you, Uzumaki-sama."
Naruto had long since grown accustomed to her submissive behaviour towards him, even though she was allowed to question his decision due to her station as part of the most elite group in the village.
"Oh well," Naruto mentally sighed, "somethings just never change and I guess I should get accustomed to it."
With that, Naruto got up.
"Tsubaki, you should remember you are no ordinary ninja and have earned the right to ask questions," he said, "any way, let's go surprise Hinata-chan, I haven't seen her as yet."
Hinata was usually always on top of her work, in fact, she was one of the only few who always had her work done and completed by mid day. However, this time things were a little different. Hyuuga Hinata, one of the most powerful ninjas in Arashi was right now lagging far behind her paper work. If looks could have killed, the glare that she had on the stacks of paper would have made them spontaneously burst into flames. Unfortunately, she had no such luck, so, sighing heavily she walked to the door.
"Can you make sure that no one disturbs me," she asked one of her guards posted outside her door, "I am very busy so I cannot see anyone."
"As you command," the masked ninja said.
With that, Hinata went back to her desk, and with a devious look on her face she formed an all too familiar hand seal.
"Kage bunshin no jutsu."
From out of the smoke, three copies emerged.
"Ok, let's get this over with," the original said before they all practically dove at the paper work.
"You know," started one of the clones, "what do you think Naruto-kun would do if he catches you doing the same thing you told him not to do?"
It was an innocent question, but as the words left its mouth, the temperature in the room dropped causing all the clones to stop what they were doing and look frightfully at the lavender eyed girl.
"He will not find out... ever."
"Y-yes, of course, it was just idle thought."
After that, not another word was said as they furiously tried to finish the paperwork before Naruto decided to visit, because since he had returned they had not seen each other, and it was only a matter of time. Unfortunately, she also knew that if he decided to sneak up on her, then the guard outside would not make a difference in the world.
So, it was not too her surprising when she suddenly heard a slow rhythmical tapping of feet from directly behind her. As she heard this, she instantly froze. Although she was a bit preoccupied at the moment, to sneak up on her like that was ridiculous and there was only a handful of people in the village able to do that, and the fact that the guards were not alerted it narrowed in down to even less.
Hinata and her three clones turned slowly only to turn back immediately when their thought were confirmed. A rather upset looking Naruto stood behind her with folded arms. In an instant she dismissed her clones
"Na-Naruto-kun," she said, cursing her stuttering.
"Hinata," Naruto said, eyes narrowed and a smirk on his face, "you got some explaining to do."
And explain she did. In fact Hinata had spent the better part of two hours trying to explain her actions. Of course, it would have taken less time if she could have stopped stuttering and make a coherent sentence. Unfortunately, Naruto was enjoying himself far too much to let her off that easy, so, with his best angry face, he patiently waited to hear what she had to say.
He just loved to get her flustered to the point of falling back to her old shy habits. In the end, he had to forcefully stop her. She did not complain. Who would complain when you were forced to shut up with a kiss?
In the end it simply ended with an "okay," from Hinata.
Poor girl never stood a chance and from that day, no one would tell Uzumaki Naruto not to use shadow clones to complete his work.
So, it was for this reason that a grinning Naruto stood hand in hand with Hinata at the village's entrance as they wished their Konoha visitors a farewell and safe trip back to the leaf.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Naruto-k- sama," Naruto laughed lightly, "let us continue to share good relations in the future."
"Yes, and I want you to deliver a message to Hokage-dono," Naruto said formally, something that still never failed to shock those who knew him as a child, "Like how our ancestors, Uzushiogakure were brothers and shared a strong bond, let us reform that bond, but unlike Uzushiogakure, the storm will not fall. The bond between Uzumaki and Senjuu is now renewed."
Kakashi did not quite understand all what that meant, but it did not matter, it was not meant for him.
"I will relay this message," and with that, he turned and started his walk through the paved path through the genjutsu barrier.
The Konoha contingent walked for a few minutes minutes before Kakashi held up his hand and brought everyone to a halt.
"We know you are there," he announced, "you might as well show yourself."
From out of the shadows of the trees, stepped a person. The person was garbed in a dark travelling cloak with a hood shadowing his face and a mask similar to Kakashi's over his mouth further concealing his identity. On the back of the travelling cloak, were two kanji written vertically that read "10 dragon".
"Who are you," Kakashi asked, "did the Kanshisha have a message for us?"
"No, I was on my way to fulfil a mission," the figure began as he reached up to remove his hood, "so I decided to accompany you till our paths diverged."
As the hood was removed, it was clear to all those who knew who this person was.
"I see, well, we are still within your territory and it will be an honour to have one of Arashi's elite accompany us, even if it is only part of the way."
Day 2
Konoha was nothing more than a circular patch of barren, compressed earth surrounded by some rubble and then the remaining buildings that pain's jutsu didn't touch and as Tsunade watched out from her temporary office she could not help but wonder just how lucky Konoha was. While she did not know exactly what Naruto had done, she was quite certain he did indeed stop pain. After all, the patch of village that was destroyed hardly seems to be worthy of the kind of pain that the red headed former akatsuki was preaching of.
The sun had just peaked over the Hokage monument and Tsunade basked in the light of a new day. However, her moment of peace was interrupted when one of her ANBU suddenly appeared in front of her desk.
"Yes, what is?" she asked
"There is a team of kumo ninja here with a message from the Raikage."
"The Raikage; what does that blow hard want?" she pondered to herself, "Send them in."
With that, the ninja faded from view in a blur of speed. A few moments later, the door opened and in walked a trio of two females and one male. The male and one of the female were darker in skin tone while the boy had white hair and the girl had red hair. The other female was of lighter complexion with short blond hair, a large bust and sharp piercing eyes.
From her first glance of the three, even if the blond weren't standing in front, Tsunade had already figured out that she was the leader of this team. The three stood in a straight line before the Hokage.
"Please, have a seat." Tsunade offered.
"Thank you Hokage-sama, but this is fine." The blond politely denied.
It was a simple and subtle show if defiance to show that while she did respect the Hokage's power and position, their loyalties was not with her. It also showed that she was not a slouch with verbal battles.
"Suit yourselves," Tsunade said as she leaned back in her own chair, "now, what message was so important that the Raikage had to send you three, Karui, Samui and Omoi, to deliver it personally?"
They were not surprised by the fact that the Hokage knew who all three of them. They would have been more surprised if she didn't. So, without wasting any more time Samui spoke.
"We were charged with a vital message," Samui began, "the Raikage has called for a meeting of the five kages."
Now that got Tsunade to raise an eyebrow. The Raikage and the Tsuchikage were the last two persons she would expect to call for such a meeting. So, what could possibly have been the cause for such a meeting? A smile crept across Tsunade's face.
"I certainly didn't expect this, I definitely would not have expected this from 'A' of all people," Tsunade began, "tell me, what is the reason for this?"
"I am not at liberty to discuss such a matter, Hokage-sama," Samui politely declined, "the meeting will be held, three days from now in tetsu no kuni."
Tsunade thought this over for a while.
"Very well, I shall attend," Tsunade said as a pair of ANBU entered the office while one held the door open, "They will escort you to the gates."
With that, the three bowed respectfully and left.
"A meeting of the five kages, huh" Tsunade thought, "Nothing good ever happens when kages from different nations meet."
Arashigakure ninja academy
Things did indeed start to change, especially for a group of children who stood outside of the Arashigakure ninja academy. They all knew what today was and why they were all assembled. Today was the day of Arashi's first ever genin exams.
Some were nervous, some were anxious, while some just waited calmly while they bottled up their anticipation.
However, they did not understand why it was not only the special advance class and the final year class that were taking the exams.
Juubei especially, kept wondering about it as he couldn't help but watch at the students that he knew for certain were from the year one, year two and year three class.
"Hey, kuro," he whispered to one of his two closest friends.
Kuroran did not answer him verbally, but nodded his head to acknowledge him.
"What the hell is going on," he asked, "I thought only the advance class and the fourth years were taking this exam."
While Kuroran was also curious about this, he was not one to ask questions about what his superiors did, so naturally all he did was shrug. Sighing, Jubei turned to his other friend.
"Kimi, do you know why is it that a bunch of first year kids are taking the exams too?"
Kimiko turned to him with a look on her face that practically asked if he was stupid. In hind sight, he should have asked her first since she was the smartest of the three. That was something he would never admit though. The thing was, she didn't know either, it was just the fact that she was still a child trying to keep up the image of knowing it all to the strongest guy in class, because even though he was physically the strongest, he was also an idiot with a short temper. It would not do to be in the same boat.
Before she was able to say anything, a puff of smoke appeared before them.
"I see you are all in anticipation," the grizzled voice of a middle aged warrior spoke out as the smoke cleared, "good, because for the next two days, you will be tested, because as of now, the genin exams begin."
The man was a fearsome looking person in his late forties. His hair was now starting to turn grey, but that did not take away from the sharp, cold look in his eyes; the eyes of an old soldier that constantly saw his next battle field. His name was Hayame and he was the teacher of the first year class.
"However, before we begin, there are a few things you must know. First-"
"Excuse me Hayame san," a gentle voice said at his side, "Would you be so kind as to allow me to explain the rules to the children?"
Many of the genin hopefuls didn't take so kindly to being called children after they had all underwent a year's worth of hell especially the year one's and year two's. It could be seen on their faces as well as the muted muttering that went about the assembled students.
"Quiet... you will listen and pay full attention to all that Hinata-sama has to say," Hayame said in a deathly silent manner, "commit it all to memory as what she is about to say will decide your fate at the end of tomorrow."
Hayame stepped back allowing Hinata to step forward. She smiled at all the faces looking at her. They were so focused on her that she almost felt unnerved for a second, but looking at them she couldn't help but smile at the determination on each of their faces.
"Good morning everyone, as you may or may not know, my name is Hinata and I will be explaining to you how you will be tested," she began, "first, you all would have noticed that you are all not from the same year group."
They nodded in reply.
"This is because you are the first batch of students to enter the academy and since many of you were either part of a wondering clan, or another village, you would have already had prior training," she continued, "however, Arashigakure is not like any other village, our standards are far higher than that of all the other villages. This is why those of the advance class are now being tested rather than simply made genin. The rest of you however, were placed in classes according to the skills you lack, and after one year of remediation, you are now ready to prove yourself worthy to join the ranks of Arashi."
After she said this, she paused to look at the faces of the students. They truly were surprised; some even outraged realising that they were intentionally held back. Before anyone could voice their opinions to the gentle looking woman in front of them, Hinata continued.
"General knowledge, stealth and cunning, weapons, Taijutsu, Ninjutsu and genjutsu," Hinata stated, "these are the six main skills of the ninja as they form the basis for all other more advanced skills such as sealing techniques, barrier techniques, medical techniques and assassination techniques. To be a jounin of this village one must master all six of these, and in order to become a genin of this village, you must show acceptable competence in at least four. In other words, you will have six tests, each based on one of the six concepts, for each one you pass, you will receive one point and at the end of the test, you must have four out of six points to pass."
That last part caused a collective sigh; it was a shame she would have to burden them with what she had to say next.
"However, stealth and cunning is compulsory," this seemed to put a damper on some of their spirits, "stealth and cunning is the most powerful tool a ninja possess, second only to knowledge. However, knowledge is something that can get you killed trying to collect without the sufficient amount of stealth and cunning."
"Come on, why don't we get this thing on already," a boy shouted, "I'm burning and ready to go."
Hayame was about to reprimand him but was stopped by Hinata who was giggling in her sleeve at the boy.
"You must be Jubei-kun, Naruto-kun mentioned about you," Jubei had an arrogant grin on his face, "very well then, I will allow Hayame-san to begin the exams."
"Thank you Hinata-sama," Hayame said, "ok everyone, head to the indoor training room, today we will be testing you on only three skills, first of which shall be..."
"...knowledge," Jubei thought bitterly as he stared at the sheets of paper in front of him and the pencil and eraser next to it, "why the hell did it have to be a written test? I suck at these."
He panned the room and could see that almost everyone was busy shading and writing away, especially Kimiko who seemed as if she was having the time of her life and Kuroran who did the test as if it was somewhat beneath him.
They had three hours to complete one hundred questions consisting of multiple choice and short answer questions. The questions were not placed in any order of difficulty, so it meant that a student could reach a question that he or she thought was the toughest. This would see if the student had the common sense to leave it and return when they were finished instead of losing time over it. Unfortunately for Jubei, question eleven proved to be his Achilles heel as he was stuck on it for the better part of half an hour. He had at one point decided to try to take a peek at someone else's paper, but then he happened to glance at the one thing he considered to be the ultimate cheat deterrent, an activated byakugan. The other academy teachers acting as proctors didn't even register. At least that little reality check helped him figure out question ten before falling into his current predicament.
Eventually, he had enough of trying to figure out question eleven and decided to move on. Unfortunately, he didn't get far.
"Time," called out the voice of Hayame, "put down your pencils, put your scripts on the top right hand corner of your desks and exit at the back. You have half an hour before you are to return to continue the examination."
"Dammit, " Jubei swore, "oh well, I will get them with the next one."
The next test was taijutsu. To say that Jubei was overjoyed would have been an understatement. He thought that he would simply walk through his opponents and show just how good he was; unfortunately it was not to be. He was placed in a twenty by twenty box wearing only his pants. No shoes, no shirt, no jewelry, no other apparel or garments of any kind. His opponent who stood across from him was in a similar manner of dress.
Jubei hated this, not the lack of clothing, he was a guy and for his age, he was in good shape. What he hated, was the skinny bastard standing across from him not even bothering to act as if he was serious. Across from him, stood the only person he was yet to defeat, Kuroran, his friend; he would never openly admit that though, as they were more like rivals on the surface.
A man wearing simple clothing akin to a gi walked between the two boys as they stayed on their respective sides.
"Next match, Jubei against Kuroran," he announced, "this match will end when we see fit and you must fight only within the bounds of the ring. Begin!"
As he said this, he leapt out of the way, and as the word escaped his mouth, both boys moved towards each other. Jubei surged at Kuroran quickly while Kuroran moved towards him at a slower pace. He did not run, but walked in a calculating manner. It was not that he was underestimating Jubei, quite the opposite actually. Jubei was the only student in the entire academy that could potentially beat him. The only reason why Jubei hadn't beat him yet was because his fighting style was more of a flowing counterattack kind of style, and for someone like Jubei, who fought in a very straight forward manner, it was the worst possible match up for jubie. To make matters worse for Jubei, since Kuroran was a member of the Raizoku clan, he was taught from an early age on how to fight and dismantle opponents that were three times his size, so he knew just where to hit that would cause the most damage. On the other hand, Jubei was not sloppy in his taijutsu, and he was capable of not only guarding well and blocking, but he delivered quite a strong punch. In other words, this would be a fight to see who would deliver the first clean hit.
Sitting on the sidelines, Kimiko looked at her two friends fight each other, or rather Jubei trying to pummel Kuroran into dust while Kuroran evaded and countered only to be blocked by Jubei. While all the other examinees looked on in wonder, it was all she could do to not flinch each time a foot or fist came close to connecting.
"These two are amazing," said a voice at her side, "you should be proud of your two friends."
She was shocked by the sudden appearance of the voice, however she was even more surprised as she saw who it was. Wearing a hooded cloak over his usual clothing, Uzumaki Naruto was behind Kimiko sitting on the ground as he watched Jubei and Kuroran fight.
"Kan-" she began but was quickly silenced by Naruto.
"Not so loud," he said, "despite you guys being no better than genin it's not that easy for a guy like me to stay unnoticed."
"Sorry, Kanshisha-sama," she whispered.
"It's ok," he whispered back and smiled, "You look worried for some reason, aren't you proud of your two friends? By the looks of them they are potentially the two best genin here, but we would have to wait till tomorrow to see that for sure."
"They are the best," she affirmed, "it's just that, with most things one is always clearly better than the other, like Kuro is better at academics and weapons while Jubei is better at ninjutsu and genjutsu, they are both equal in stealth, so that just leaves them with taijutsu."
"Ah, so that's it, they are rivals," Kimiko nodded, "and since the things they are better at is due to their backgrounds and make up, that just leaves taijutsu to decide who is better, and you are worried they might hurt each other."
"Forgive my forwardness Kanshisha-sama, but I am not worried that they might hurt each other, I am worried because if this doesn't stop, they will hurt each other."
From the way the two boys were fighting, Naruto had already figured out that much, however, he wanted to see if the Fuuman girl he was speaking to was simply being an overly protective friend, or analysing the situation.
"hmm, what makes you say that?" he asked feigning ignorance, "they don't look like they would land a single blow on each other, heh, they might probably get tired first."
"I hope that don't happen," seeing Naruto'sraised eyebrows, she continued, "if, no, when that happens, one of them would get a hit in. If Jubei gets a blow in, it would severely damage Kuro since Jubei is really strong, but if Kuro gets a blow in, the results would be the same since Kuro only strikes at weak points."
She was right, these were the exact same things that Naruto had noticed, in fact, he was the one giving the cues on when to end the fights. Naruto had also realised that these two boys were indeed rather dangerous. Just thinking of what would happen if Kuroran had his Naginata, or if Jubei was allowed to use ninjutsu left Naruto with a smile. Of course, he didn't neglect the third member of that team, the girl he was speaking to, Fuuma Kimiko, the girl said to be the one capable of mastering all of her clans hidden techniques, and from just speaking to her and listening to her analyse the fight, he could understand why.
"Hmm, very impressive indeed," Naruto said before looking over to the proctor and giving him a nod.
As he gave his nod, the proctor stopped the fight.
"The fight is over, thank goodness," she sighed looking at her two friends, "they don't look to happy that it ended before they could make their own conclusion, but I'm sure they would be happy that they impressed you, Kanshisha-sama."
Naruto chuckled.
"I was referring to you actually," he said before making a single handed seal.
"Wha-," Kimiko gasped in surprise as she turned back to see Naruto after he had said that.
However, as she turned to where he was sitting, he was gone.
"Hey Kimiko, what did you think, the ref stopped the match before I could kick this guy's ass, so you tell us, who won?"
Kimiko just kept turning her head around as if looking for something.
"Is something the matter?" Kuroran asked.
"Yea, and who were you talking to just now?" Jubei asked.
Kimioko simply looked at her friends with a smile on her face as she whispered to them.
"I think the Kanshisha is here somewhere."
At one end of the open field were the students who gathered after their break. In front of them was Hayame as he looked over at the examinees.
"Your third and final test of the day," he withdrew a scroll and unsealed the contents in a puff of smoke, "will be weapons."
As the smoke cleared, two tables were revealed. On one of the tables lay an assortment of weapons. These weapons were, Kunai, shuriken, senbon, swords, metal wire, exploding notes, and wooden staffs. On the other table lay a more exotic assortment of weapons such as war fans, kusarigama, clubs, axes, spears, Naginatas and many other different weapons.
The students stared at the assortment of weapons wondering just how they would be tested them. Hayame stepped forward between the two tables and raised his hands to them. On his left were the regular weapons, and on his right were the exotic ones.
"The weapons on my left are the kinds that you will see and interact with most often during your ninja career, whether it is in your hands, the hands of an ally, or the hands of an enemy. For this reason, you will be required to show competence in each of them," he said, "on my right however, are an assortment of every melee, medium ranged and long ranged weapons that exists on this continent. Many of these weapons you may have never seen before and probably never will after this day. The use of any of these weapons would count as extra points and may serve as to make up for any inconsistencies in your use of the regular ones."
The students all had determined looks in their eyes with some even seemed to have smug looks on their faces.
"That being said, please step up to the table on my left and select as many of each as you need, and those that can, select your weapon of choice from my right," after they did this, he continued, "The test will be straight forward. The indoor training room is where you will be tested. It has been modified for this purpose. I will send you in, in pairs, and once inside, you will be guided through the course. Now let's begin."
The students assumed that there would be someone inside to guide them through, but that was nothing more than a guess since with each pair of students that went in, no one came out. That had the effect of raising all sorts of rumours that the students had died or worse. Eventually, he selected Kuroran and Kimoko to enter.
As they entered, they were met by a chunin and a long range directly in front of them. The range appeared to be divided directly down the centre, and at the end of each partition, was three targets.
"Step up to the red line," said the chunin as Kimiko and Kuroran did as told, "You must use your kunai, shuriken and senbon to hit the target, you have three chances with each. Begin."
With that, they both nodded and took out their weapons and started throwing. Since the chunin didn't say which target any particular weapon had to be used on, they selected at their own discretion. When they were done, Kimiko, while not perfect was acceptable with her shuriken and surprisingly, with her senbon, while her kunai was simply passable. Kuroran on the other hand, was perfect with all three weapons.
The chunin simply scribbled something down on his clipboard.
"Pick a door," he said pointing to either sides of the room, "follow the path and eliminate all of the enemies while taking care not to harm any non enemies. The enemies will be in black. Use any weapon at your discretion to eliminate the enemies. Begin."
At this they both entered their respective doors. This test was made to simulate as closely as possible actual battle field conditions, where enemies could pop from anywhere, and considering they were ninja, they could come out in any position, so upside down on the sealing was fair game. This test also had the advantage of putting the students under pressure so not only did it allow to test a student's accuracy, precision, awareness and speed of weapons use, it also tested how well they held under pressure. In addition, the efficiency in which weapons were used was also tested. After all, a ninja who used up all his throwing weapons on one enemy at the beginning of a fight was destined to be in a bad situation later, and a ninja who used exploding tags to kill an enemy holding a valuable or important person or object, while in some cases was the only choice, in others showed the limitations of the ninja.
The test went on with both students doing impressively well. While Kuroran was a natural that could handle just about any weapon, Kimoko could make better use of them in an actual battle and was quite surgical with those senbon. They both thought that the test was going quite well; even so far as saying that it was easy. Unfortunately, they forgot that in Arashigakure, when your superiors make things look easy, it usually was not.
This became apparent when Kuroran had to leap to a side to avoid getting impaled by a sword.
In front of him stood a person wearing a mask and bandanna that completely obscured their identity.
"This is the final part, real combat," the person said, "try not to die."
Meanwhile, in her own section of the test, Kimiko was in a similar situation. Instead of dodging her opponent, she instead blocked her opponent with her windmill shuriken and then spinning it to cause her enemy to jump back to get away from the saw like action.
"This is your final test, real combat," the person said.
To say that both Kuroran and Kimiko had a run for their money would be a lie, they were utterly defeated, well, Kimiko was, although, she did put on a rather impressive showing, her use of ninja wire in combination with her windmill shuriken was genius, causing the examiner to back off from the whirling metal of death to seek cover. It was almost a moot point since she used the wire to curve the windmill shuriken around the barrier her enemy was hiding behind. Unfortunately that had been where it went downhill for her as the weapon lodged itself within the surface of the barrier forcing her to abandon it and be defeated after a short exchange with her defending herself with a wakizashi.
With Kuroran, it was a lot closer than the chunin would have liked to admit. Kuroran first tested his enemy by throwing weapons at him, but seeing that all his weapons were either dodged or deflected, and having to dodge a few of his own, the chunin decided to bring things closer. But that may have been a mistake on his part, because as soon as he got within sword range, he was greeted with the sound of his clothes being cut by Kuroran drawing his ninjato in a very fast manner. The chunnin was not daunted and considered it a lucky hit brought on by quick reaction. Unfortunately for him, he later had to admit that the boy was indeed quite gifted. He had Kuroran in a dead lock with their blades, but Kuroran simply abandoned the sword causing the chunin to go off balance and in one swift movement, Kuroran removed his naginata. He attempted to get behind his enemy, and that was what eventually lead to Kuroran's downfall. His impatience made him predictable and he was eventually defeated.
The chunin however made a special note about the boy's prowess. It looked like the future of Arashi was assured.
Next day (3)
The morning sun rose steadily above the eastern horizon as the wet grass was trampled under the feet of the anxious students. The air was crisp with the morning dew, yet to them it felt heavy, like an invisible all encompassing pressure filling the air and making it hard to breath and warming the cool morning air.
"Good morning students, no, examinees," said Hayame not really caring for a reply, "today is the second part of your examination."
A known fact, but it still increased the tension.
"Today you will be tested on your ninjutsu, genjutsu, and your stealth and cunning," he paused for a moment, making sure he had everyone's undivided attention for what he had to say next, "let me remind you, you need to pass 4 out of these 6 exams, and it is mandatory to pass stealth and cunning. In other words, you WILL fail if you fail stealth and cunning, and for this reason, that exam will be last and will be presided over by Kanshisha-sama himself.
A collective gasp.
They all knew the Kanshisha, and the thrashing he had given to them a few months earlier was a changing point in many of their lives. The words he said to them were still fresh in their minds. One would have expected the tension to increase, but instead it turned into something else; it turned into a fierce determination.
Naruto and Juugo sat in lotus position facing each other. Their breathing was slow and shallow while sweat poured off Naruto's body and after a few more minutes, Juugo opened his eyes and released a sigh. This prompted Naruto to open his own eyes.
"You are doing well, Juugo," Naruto complimented, "it looks like you are finally at the final step."
"Yes, to face it," Juugo said in a quiet tone.
"What was that Juugo?" Naruto asked
"Oh, nothing," he said, "I was just wondering…Naruto?"
While Juugo had been speaking, Naruto suddenly got a faraway look in his eyes.
"Sorry Juugo, it looks like this would be all for the day," Naruto said getting up, "feel free to enjoy the day."
"You mean no one is going to be overlooking me?"
"Well, I don't see any reason for it; you made a lot of progress," Naruto said with a smile, "well then, later."
A group of seven walked calmly through the forest. Three lead the other four. Of the first three, there was a man a child and the third a woman, judging by the way her hips swayed with each step. The four behind walked with an obedient gate as they were led through the forest.
"We shall soon be through," said the man in front as they continued their walk, whatever you do, do not lose sight of me unless you want to be wondering this forest for an entire day."
The blind leading the sighted, there was something poetic about that, and the woman would have made a comment about it had they been in less hostile company. In this case, they were the four individuals that tagged behind them obediently. They were the only ones they could acquire from Orochimaru's north base, the base where he conducted his worst human experiments. It was rather unfortunate though, these four was the only ones who maintained enough of their sanity to not go berserk like the rest. The rest, were all killed and the base looted for any valuable information, which there were none, then burnt to the ground. The atrocities on that island were far from redemption, so a merciful death was the least that could have been done.
They soon came upon a gate guarded by two ninja and after presenting their proof of identity, they continued into the village. However, as they entered, the two adults leading the group suddenly froze.
"Master, what is it?" asked the youngest of the group.
Without acknowledging the boy, he turned to the four people behind him.
"I am sorry gentlemen, but it looks like this is as far as I am going to carry you," he said but put up a hand to stop any queries, "my apprentice here will continue where I left off."
While he said this, Mira, the woman of the group, simply gave Ranmaru a wink making him blush before leaving ahead of the blind swordsman. Ranmaru tried his best to ignore it while his master gave him instructions before leaving, but as he was about to leave, he paused feeling that one more bit of advice for the people which he, his apprentice and Mira had got from Orochimarus's base would be prudent.
"Before I go, let me welcome you to Arashigakure, and while this village does not look very active please don't cause any trouble, you never know who lurks in the shadows of this village."
With that, he left in a shunshin.
The rain fell heavily from the heavens as it tried endlessly to wash away the blood that had long since stained the lands of Ame, but it was no use. The blood and tears had already stained the ground and no one knew that more than the three that stood at the threshold of the village. They were all covered from head to toe in hooded cloaks, to keep the rain water from soaking them, however, one appeared to be far shorter than the other two as he sat in a wheel chair with a person behind him holding an umbrella to help further keep the rain off. The rain affected none of the three, but for the two facing the other, the cloaks were more to keep their identities private than anything else.
"I was quite surprised that you would be the one that Naruto-kun would send," the one in the wheelchair said, "the whole world thinks you are a dead man. And now you are the servant of a boy the age of your younger brother."
Most men would have taken offence to this, however, the one facing the two was no ordinary man, and it showed in everything he did. To this, the man only chuckled, a strange sound considering who he is.
"I longed for death," he replied, "but Naruto is quite the person, especially for someone like me to be saved by him, don't you think, pain?"
"You are right. He is quite the person. Even after all I did he still did not kill me but ended my cycle of hatred before my very eyes," the wheel chair bound man said, "no, pain did die that day, I am only Nagato."
"Very well, Nagato-san,Ii will be sure to-" said the tall man as he suddenly froze.
Nagato looked at the man curiously before turning to the person behind him, a radiantly beautiful woman with blue hair.
"Itachi-san, what is the matter?" Nagato asked.
"Yes," Itachi soon answered, but it didn't seem as if he was speaking to them, "as you command."
He then turned to face the pair in front of him.
"I am afraid I must cut our talk a bit short," Itachi said, "Since my business is done, I have been summoned. Kanshisha-sama sends his regard."
With that, he vanished in a puff of smoke.
The two stared at the spot for a brief moment.
"Konan," the wheel chair bound man said.
"Yes?" konan answered.
"Wouldn't it have been cool if summoned the members of akatsuki when I wanted to call a meeting, Naruto-kun is trying to look cool in front of me."
Konan sweatdropped, but smiled none the less at the failed attempt at a joke. It seemed that the old Nagato was returning. With that, she took hold of the wheelchair handles.
"Quite a person indeed," she whispered as she strolled back to their tower while Nagato nodded in silent agreement.
Itachi appeared in a puff of smoke. He looked around and saw that it was that place again, the place where they had all received their seals. In fact, the last time he was here, it was when he was inaugurated as a member of the juryuu no arashi. The memory would have been nostalgic to him , however, the look on everyone's face, even the usualy upbeat and talkative shigure who was sitting quietly with a tense look on her face, made him stray from memory lane.
He soon took his position and waited for Naruto to begin.
"I hoper your mission was a success, Itachi?" Naruto asked
"It was simple, Kanshisha-sama, your name carries much sway with the leader of Ame," Itachi said, and as if as an afterthought, "he sends his regards."
"I see," Naruto said before continuing, "the last time we gathered here it was after a crisis which we averted most decisively. Despite that though, one of you was badly injured. That will not happen again."
He stared at Shigure letting his words sink in. Some would have thought it laughable that a mere sixteen was reprimanding people who were all older than him. But, these ten knew better. Probably with the exception of Itachi, they all knew what he was capable of since he made it a point to train them in the harshest way he knew how, the way he was trained. So when he demanded that his select ten be the ten most unstoppable force on the continent, he meant it.
"However, something has happened, something which I can no longer sit idly by any more."
His words were calm and as clear as the air of night, but like the air at night, it was cold, cold and biting . This could only mean one thing, heads were about to roll.
"According to the intelligence division, the Akatsuki members, Hidan and Kakuzu attacked and kidnapped killer bee, the jinchuriki of the hachibi."
Their eyes widened as they heard this news.
"The akatsuki are getting rather brazen, attacking not one, but two of the major hidden villages," Riku added.
"Kisame even attack here," Konta said.
"Although, according to the reports, that attack wasn't sanctioned by Akatsuki." Mira countered.
"Considering the ones who did the attack on kumo, it is no surprise they are so brazen, Kakuzu and Hidan are actual immortals." Gin offered.
"That hardly makes them invincible," Itachi said, "it is so difficult to stop them that they have lost all sense of fear and danger and think themselves untouchable."
"Then let us show them that they have gone too far." Naruto said quieting down the chatter, "there are far worse fates than death.
"Most wonderful Kanshisha, are you saying that we are going to assassinate them?"
"That is exactly what I mean," he said before scanning the room and stopping on two faces, "Mataza your ability with your Kinzokuton should be of great use, so I am assigning Hidan to you, if you cannot kill him, bring him back to me. Kakazu is your responsibility Tenoko. With your ability to fight multiple targets as well as your mastery over elemental ninjutsu, I think you are best suited for him, if you can't kill him incapacitate him and bring him to me as well. However, should you need it I am ordering the rest of the juryuu to remain at the village should you need to summon some support."
"As you command, Kanshisha-sama," they both said in unison.
"Now that that is over with, let us begin with other matters," Naruto said, the mood immediately lightening, "how have you all been doing with your last assignment? "
"Very well Kanshisha-sama," Danjo started, "They don't seem to trust anyone around them, especially not Guren, but I think you will be pleased with them, especially Guren."
Mira giggled.
"You keep mentioning this Guren woman, Danjo-san, is she of a particular interest to you," she asked while lifting an eyebrow and giving a smirk.
Danjo merely huffed and ignored her, causing Mira to scowl at being ignored.
"Well then, tomorrow should be interesting then when I see exactly what they have to offer," Naruto said, "along with Tsubaki, I want those of you who are not assigned to a mission to accompany me as well since the other department heads will be there as well."
"Oh, Naruto-sama, what about the genin exams," shouted out Shigure.
"They are having their final exams later this afternoon," he said, "I'm personally going to judge that one, after all, who is sneakier than me?"
In a dark cave at an unknown location, a hooded male with pale scaly skin and glasses suddenly sneezed while performing some hand seals.
"hm?" he wondered before restarting his task.
"This is your final exam," Hayame said as he stood in front of the collection of examinees, "this is the one which will make or break you and select those which are truly to be called ninja of Arashigakure. This may be the single greatest challenge any of you will ever face"
"When you say it like that, you make it sound like there is no hope of passing."
The voice came out of nowhere and after scanning the area looking for the voice, a small twister of wind suddenly appeared then dispersed revealing Naruto dressed in the clothes of his office with Tsubaki standing silently at his back.
"Welcome everyone, to the beginning of the rest of your life."
The wide fox like grin on his face caused more than a few gulps of apprehension. The final exam, stealth and cunning was about to begin, and it was proctored by the most unpredictable ninja.
"Just a little longer," the person said to himself as he ran nonstop, "Hokage-sama's message must be delivered to Arashigakure at all costs."
A/N: It's a bit jumpy and I think it is a bit rushed with so many different things happening, but there is a reason for that. You will have to read the next chapter to find out.
Oh, by the way, I had written a new fic, its called "Sword of the leaf", or "Blade of the leaf" (which ever one sounds better). I wrote 8 chapters of it, and you wont believe what happened… my laptop decided to die, I'm talking about complete death here so I ended up losing that as well as a whole shit load of stuff. So, I have to start from scratch with that. Oh well, I should be thankful, having to do something over often gives a chance to think it through better and its actually coming along nicely (its only a plot for now, but im excited about it).
So, until next time, Read, Enjoy, Review